Grandma with Lily Tomlin, Stanwyck & Fonda in The Lady Eve and Affleck in The Accountant

10/23/16 Grandma, 2015

Grandma starring Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner and Marcia Gay Harden is a small, independent film that was released in 2015. It's a dry comedy with some serious moments along the way. Lily Tomlin is Elle Reid, a lesbian poet sill in mourning over the death of her long-time partner, Violet. The movie opens with Elle breaking up with her young, admiring girlfriend, Olivia (Judy Greer). Elle's granddaughter, Sage (Garner), stops by, looking to borrow money. Elle hasn't been doing so well financially (hint: poetry is not always monetarily rewarding even if it's good for the soul). Sage reluctantly reveals why she needs the money - she's pregnant and wants an abortion, and as we find out, neither Sage nor Elle have a very good relationship with Judy (Harden), Sage's mother and Elle's daughter. The rest of the movie is like a quest, with Elle determined to help her granddaughter get the money; along the way, Sage (and we) learn about Elle's past lovers and friends. It's a touching and funny story that doesn't get caught up in sentimentality or easy resolutions. Tomlin is stellar as the gruff, stubborn but very caring Elle who has a complicated history. Garner as Sage was up to the task of an 18-year old young woman who is making a life-altering decision, practically on her own, because she knows that any discussion with her mother will result in an argument; she finds a surprising ally in her grandmother. Judy (Harden) is a driven single mom by choice, who likes to ; we learn control the situation; her relationship with Elle is tense if not outright hostile; we learn that Judy was closer to Violet, so there is a little ground to make up. The three leads are fabulous and the supporting cast is great with Judy Greer, Laverne Cox and Sam Elliot. There are no special effects or car chases, no prat falls, but a story that is probably more fact than fiction told in a funny but sweet way. This might not be on your list, but you should add it.

10/23/16 The Lady Eve, 1941, National Film Registry, #32 BBC

 For me, this movie was a case of 'don't judge a book by its cover' or really 'don't judge a movie by its title'. I thought The Lady Eve was going to be some of kind femme fatale movie starring Barbara Stanwyk and Henry Fonda. I was totally surprised to find out it was a comedy, and pleased to boot. It also involves a little bit of role reversal with Stanwyk as Jean Harrington is part of a team of con artists trying to take heir Charles Pike (Fonda) for a ride. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned when Jean and Charles fall for each other, and then unfall for each other.  I don't know what you think, but when I think of Barbara Stanwyk and Henry Fonda, comedy is not what comes to mind. But Preston Sturges (Sullivan's Travels) directs these two in this sharp, fast-paced and funny comedy. The movie didn't win any Oscars and you don't often hear it mentioned, certainly not like the Hepburn/Tracy or James Stewart comedies, but I think it deserves more attention.

10/27/16 The Accountant, 2016 not yet nominated

After the movie ended, my friend asked me what the blog would say, I didn't know then, and I'm not sure I know now. I liked it, didn't love it, thought there was something with the story line that bugged me, but I can't put my finger on it. I thought it was an intriguing concept (I worked for one of the Big Three accounting firms, mentioned in the movie, actually, and I find it hard to believe that any of the accountants there could be sharp shooters, experts in the martial arts or any of the other traits that Ben Affleck's character does). Ben Affleck is Christian Wolff, an accountant who specializes in 'uncooking' the books of clients, he goes in, figures out where the embezzling or 're-directing' of money is happening, and then, well, I'm not sure exactly. He is also on the autism/Asperger spectrum, so he struggles with interpersonal contacts, oh, and he's an excellent marksman, fighter and mathematician. The movie uses flashbacks to give us a glimpse into young Christian's life with his family; his mother wants Christian to go to an institution to get some help for his condition, but his father, a military man, refuses and this places stress on the family to the point where his mother leaves the family. Christian has a younger brother, Braxton, who does not have autism, but still experiences the effects by watching and living with his brother. Christian is called in to look into the books of a robotics company owned by Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow); he's brought in because a junior accountant, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), found an anomaly in the numbers. Wolff and Cummings talk a lot of accounting gibberish at a lightening fast pace, and what I realized towards the end is that it really doesn't matter. It's all smoke and mirrors and not really relevant to the story (just know, people are moving money around for their own benefit), otherwise, you'll get a headache. As Christian is sorting out the missing money, there are federal Treasury agents trying to find a mystery man who travels the world performing financial magic for some pretty big crime names. Raymond King (J.K. Simmons) asks analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson)to look into the mystery man. I enjoyed the detective work that she did, finding the connections and patterns to find the man. Meanwhile, there's another man who has a similar skill set to Christian's but they are not working together, and in fact, may be working at cross purposes here. There is a lot going on, and what you see may not be what is. Affleck's Wolff has a similar gravitas to his portrayal of Batman with some intentional and unintentional humor (his character doesn't always recognize irony); Kendrick is sweet and funny and a little confused by Wolff, but the two have a connection with accounting and numbers. There are several twists, so I don't want to give too much away. It's not quite at the adrenaline rushing pace of the Jason Bourne films, but it's an accounting action film, which is a novel idea.