Turn Left at the End of the World, 2004
I don't remember how this movie ended up in my Netflix queue. I'm sure I randomly clicked it or read the synopsis and thought it would be interesting. And it was. Turn Left at the End of the World is set in the Negev desert in Israel in the 1960s and it focuses on the newer immigrants from Morocco and India. I did not know there were immigrants from India; I was aware of Moroccan Jews, but not really of their lives in Israel. Two girls, one from an Indian family and one from a Moroccan family, become friends despite their families' differences and disagreements. Both groups are wary and judgmental of the other. The movie is mostly in Hebrew but also in English and French. I think if you're looking for something a little different in terms of topic and locale, this might be of interest.
5/1/2015 Woman in Gold, 2015, not yet nominated
Woman in Gold is based on the true story of Maria Altmann and her fight to get back several family paintings taken by the Nazis during the Second World War. I mentioned this story about a year after I read the book The Lady in Gold, the Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor. Helen Mirren stars as Marie Altmann and Ryan Reynolds is Randy Schoenberg, her reluctant attorney who takes up her cause and int he process, learns a little more about his own history. The movie uses flashbacks to help tell the story of Maria and her family's life, including her beloved aunt, Adele Bloch Bauer, who was at the center of many social gatherings in Vienna and the subject of an historic painting by Gustav Klimt. Mirren is wonderful as always, avoiding sentimentality but dealing with things in a determined, matter-of-fact way, occasionally with stubbornness, a little humor and a hint of satisfaction at the end result of her case (not smugness, though); Reynolds is up to the task, showing a bit of reluctance at even taking on this case, but eventually getting drawn into the enormity of the issue at hand and the connection to his own family (his grandfathers were Austrian composers Arnold Schoenberg and Eric Zeisl; Schoenberg is specifically mentioned as a friend of the Bloch Bauers), as well as matching wits with the very sharp Altmann/Mirren. There are very definite good guys and bad guys here, without guns or weapons, just a history of anti-Semitism and a desire to bury the past. Schoenberg and Altmann are met at every turn with roadblocks from the Austrian government, but Schoenberg finds loopholes in international and US law that allow them to pursue their case. There was something about Toman, the official from the Belvedere Museum that made me want to hiss and boo. Schoenberg and Altmann are assisted by Hubertus Czernin,(Daniel Bruhl) a Hungarian journalist who believes that in order to heal and move forward, Austria must acknowledge and make amends for its role during the Holocaust. I enjoyed the movie and am so glad this story has made it to film, but I was glad I read the book first because even though I struggled to get through the first hundred pages or so, O'Connor provided a rich background of life in Vienna in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and especially culturally; she also included information about the wider Bloch Bauer clan and what happened to the different members of the family. Obviously, that couldn't all be put into a ninety minute movie. I liked the movie, but if you haven't seen it on the big screen, I think it's a great film for your DVD or streaming pleasure, but you should see it.
5/2/15 Avengers: Age of Ultron, 5/2/15, not yet nominated
Followers of this blog will recall that I love my superhero movies, and as you can imagine, I have been waiting for this movie and the others promised by Marvel over the next few years. Age of Ultron reunites our heroes from the first Avengers movie and adds War Machine, Falcon, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and my favorite, The Vision, plus a new villain, Ultron. The movie opens right away with an action/fight sequence with the team fighting a Hydra outpost; this is where Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are introduced (if you saw the last X-Men movie, you may recall that Quicksilver made a key appearance there as well). There is some awesome action sequences, especially towards the end, but to be honest, there was too much talking for me. I just want flying and fighting and stuff like that, I was not thrilled with the subplot with Hawkeye (I have to agree with a column I read that Hawkeye should have been knocked off instead of the character who was); and I thought the subplot with Black Widow and The Hulk was ridiculous. I could use more Black Widow and other female heroes, so I am happy they added the Scarlet Witch to the mix (although it took a very long time for Elizabeth Olsen to grow on me, and I'm still not 100% there). On a side note, a friend of mine and I, who often discuss the merits of superhero movies, talked about how there are so many good female characters, enough to create their own movie. Oh well, maybe another time. I love The Vision and can't wait for more of him (played by Paul Bettany). I also LOVED how James Spader brought Ultron to life with his voice dripping with sarcasm, irony and and all the characteristics that make his Raymond Reddington character so enjoyable (and the best thing about The Blacklist). Without disclosing too much of the plot, what I will say is this not my favorite Marvel movie (although I still liked it) and it seemed more like a bridge to the upcoming Captain America: Civil War and other movies like The Black Panther and the next Avengers. My guess is that it will get nominated for one or more of the effects categories.
5/9/15 Father Goose, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, 1964
I love Cary Grant, not in that way, because I would have a lot of explaining to do, but I love his movies. Father Goose features a less than dapper Cary Grant as Walter Ecklund a drunken, ne'er do well, who finds himself in the South Pacific as the Japanese are threatening invasion to the islands. He is coerced/bribed into becoming a coast watcher for the Australian Navy. Ecklund is not really interested, but he really doesn't have a choice. He is sent on an unexpected mission to another island where he meets Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) who is in charge of seven young girls. Walter and Catherine are very different and exchange barbs and witticisms, with the girls often taking Catherine's side, until one of the girls, who has not spoken a word, forms a bond with Ecklund and they begin working on his boat that was damaged by the Australian Navy, essentially to strand him on the island. Relations improve between Catherine and Walter after they mistakenly believe she has been bitten by a poisonous snake; the audience is in on the misunderstanding and it's pretty funny. The group soon finds itself under attack from Japanese planes and tries to get off of the island. I certainly do not think this is the best movie ever, or the best Cary Grant movie ever, but it was fun to watch; one might even say 'cute'. There is a lot of drinking, it's pretty much Walter's raison d'etre, so it's hard to say this is a 'family movie', but there's practically no real violence (the gunshots don't really hit anyone), there's no swearing (I don't think, nothing sticks out, maybe a 'hell' or 'damn'), the kids are cute in the precocious 1960s way. This movie came towards the end of Grant's film career, in fact it was the next to lat movie that he did. Watch The Bishop's Wife or The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer for a glimpse of him in his prime.
Billy Joel, The Target Center, Minneapolis, 5/16/15
I've been to a lot of concerts over the past two years, and I have to say, that I feel very fortunate that every one of them has been a great experience; I've seen solo acts with just their guitars, I've seen bands with great stage shows and I've had fabulous seats, I've gotten signed CDs, etc., overall, I have not regretted a single event. Last night with Billy Joel was no exception. I've had the chance to see Billy Joel in the past, thirty years ago, in fact, and I just never wanted to. I must be getting old and nostalgic, but I really wanted to see him this time around, even if it was going to be at the Target Center, my least favorite venue. Gavin DeGraw opened up the show and he was full of energy and excitement and the crowd was very receptive. I appreciated his stage presence and performance, but I have to say, after twenty minutes, his stuff sounded the same. That may be because I am not as familiar with his material or because it really did sound the same. After realizing I was in the wrong section (it was not my only 'duh' moment of the evening), I scooted over one section to the left and waited for Mr. Joel to take the stage. Thank goodness for the screens, otherwise, I would have to take it on faith that he was on stage because I was pretty close to the roof (did I mention I hate this venue?). Billy opened with "My Life" and then played most of his well-known songs and a few gems that the hard-core fans really enjoyed. He played with a great energy and the band seemed to be really having a good time. There wasn't any of the 'arena rock' planned banter, it came off as being a conversation between a guy and 20,000 of his friends, it was easy, self-deprecating (he looked up at his image on the screen and said he thought he saw his dad; joked about the tiff between him and Elton John and songs about his former wife, Christie Brinkley) and appreciative. He gave the audience the chance to pick a couple of songs early on in the set. Songs included "Pressure", "Allentown", "Uptown Girl", "Vienna" (a song I had never heard before), "The Downeaster Alexa", "She's Always a Woman" (a favorite of mine), as well as a bit of "Like a Rolling Stone" just before he started "Piano Man". The encore had to be about 20 minutes or more and included another favorite "Big Shot", as well as "You May Be Right" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". His band would have been fun to watch if I had not been blinded by the landing lights that totally obscured them. That is probably my only issue with the concert, is the lights were so overwhelming and you couldn't watch the band rock out; if the camera wasn't on them, they weren't on the big screens. I love a band/performer that uses a horn section, and he had a trumpet, saxophones, slide trombone, with only three people. They were great and all multi-instrumentalists. My other issue is the woman behind me; look, I love rocking out to my favorite bands and singing with them (just wait until the Indigo Girls in July), but she was so high pitched and behind the count, that it was a little distracting. Love her passion, just wished it was quieter. I definitely got my money's worth that night, and I so enjoyed myself I didn't even care I went to the wrong parking garage to get my car.
