More nominated films Logan, Marshall, The Post, Victoria and Abdul

A few comments since the nominations came out on Tuesday. First, I have a lot of work to do ('work' probably isn't the right word, so let's just say, I'm behind the eight ball). There were some surprises for me: not more nominations for The Disaster Artist (does Hollywood not find The Room amusing?); no nominations for Murder on the Orient Express, when I thought it had better cinematography, sets and costumes than Victoria and Abdul; SHOCKED that Wonder Woman didn't any nominations, not for director, not for editing, nothing (okay, maybe I shouldn't be shocked, but it was a kick ass movie); I had hoped for more nominations for The Greatest Showman. Second, I feel like I should have a little footnote for the next several posts because my movie attendance has been sponsored by some great friends who bought me a three month Movie Pass, which lets me see one movie a day (if I actually could) for free at dozens of theaters. Such a great idea.

6/15/17 Logan, nominated Best Adapted Screenplay, 2017

I write this knowing full well that I may be in the minority, but I'll get over it. I was so excited to see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in Logan, but then I heard it was heavy, and serious and so dramatic, and over two hours, I couldn't drag myself to the theater. I watched on the flight from New York to Barcelona (as one does) and it felt like the movie was longer than the flight, and I don't mean that it a good way. I fell asleep at one point. Wolverine is losing his powers, Professor X is fading fast and they're being hunted. There's a girl who has powers similar to Wolverine. Blah blah. I don't really know much else, except it was too long.

1/20/18 Marshall, Nominated Best Original Song, 2017

We need Thurgood Marshall as much today as back in the 1950s and 1960s. Marshall looks at one of Marshall's cases, when he was working for the NAACP, that was taking place in Connecticut. It might not have been as overtly racist as Mississippi, but there was definitely racism and anti-Semitism in the Northeast. Chadwick Boseman ( who also played Jackie Robinson and Black Panther) is Marshall, and is boisterous and brash and very confident, which is a little overwhelming for Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), the Jewish attorney who is 'sponsoring' Marshall (I think because Marshall was not licensed to practice in Connecticut) as well as for the judge (James Cromwell). They are representing Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown, "This is Us") who is accused of raping and attempting to kill a white woman. Marshall and Friedman come to an uneasy peace and try to figure out what Spell isn't telling them and how to get it across to a jury. It is not easy to see how this is going to turn out. The movie is good and hopefully inspired and/or educated people (it was released in the autumn, which is prime time for teachers to assign it for a class), but I didn't feel as inspired as when I watched Hidden Numbers or 42 or Selma. I think it's tough when you do a movie based on a real person or real events; there are certain expectations that an audience has. And something was missing for me; nothing to prevent me from recommending it, but I wanted more. It was nominated for Best Original Song "Stand Up For Something" and it is very good and did give me goosebumps.

1/21/18 The Post, Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, 2017

I'm struggling with my feelings about The Post; I liked it, especially the last 25 minutes, but I really wanted to love it. The story that director Steven Spielberg tells about The Washington Post's publication of the Pentagon Papers, after The New York Times was served with an injunction to prevent them from publishing any more, is an undeniable example of freedom of the press, something under attack by the current administration. The movie tells two stories, really, one is of Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) running The Post, a rare role for a woman in the 1970s, and her struggle to make her voice heard amongst her many male advisors; and then the story of publishing the Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg made copies of The Pentagon Papers which were classified reports on America's involvement in the Vietnam War, unfavorable reports. Ellsberg gave much of the documentation to The New York Times, but turned to The Post after the injunction. Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) is looking for a story and is anxious to get his hands on whatever The Times was working on. Something about the pacing of the movie bothered, maybe it was the way it bounced between Graham's personal life, life at the paper and the newsroom; it seemed uneven. The cast includes names you'll recognize, even if you don't recognize the actors under the makeup: Sarah Paulson, Bradley Whitford, Tracy Letts, Bruce Greenwood, David Cross and my favorite, Michael Stuhlbarg. I loved watching the process of writing, editing, setting the type, and then hitting the button for the massive machines to start printing. They don't do it like that anymore. There is the inevitable link to Watergate, and you can't help but make the connection between this and All The President's Men. The Post is an important and good film, a good history lesson, but I don't think it's the Best Picture, and I don't think Meryl Streep will win Best Actress. 



1/21/18 Victoria and Abdul, Nominated Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, 2017

Alas, here is another movie that is good and pretty to watch, but not great. It's being called a 'sequel' to Mrs. Brown, which also starred Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and another man, not her husband, who threatened the Royal Household. In this case, many years later, the man is Abdul (Ali Fazal), a Muslim Indian, who is brought to England as part of Victoria's Jubilee. He charms her, and she gives him more access, and asks him to teach her Urdu and the Qu'ran. It's not hard to imagine that this did not sit well with her family or advisors, including the Prince of Wales (Eddie Izzard) and her physician, Dr. Reid, who was very obstructionist. There were times that I felt the family/retinue were clownish exaggerations. Abdul's place in the Queen's retinue was hidden from history until recently when Abdul's papers were discovered, and I was interested in that. Judi Dench is wonderful, I mean, when isn't she? You can watch this on the small screen.

Oscar noms are out and I have so much work to do: Darkest Hour, The Greatest Showman

1/7/18 Darkest Hour, nominated Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, 2017

Winston Churchill is one of the most confounding personalities of World War II, or maybe even the first half of the twentieth century. I say this not just after watching Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Churchill, but after reading a biography of his wife, Clementine Churchill. Churchill was in charge of one of the most devastating failures of World War I, Gallipoli, and it was a long road to regain the faith of his party, Parliament and the British people. This is important to understand the film, because it references it several times as Churchill's enemies try to dislodge him from his role as Prime Minister. Joe Wright directs this occasionally claustrophobic film, set in the Cabinet War Rooms, that were located underground, and from where Churchill directed the war. The timeframe for the film is the week or two leading up to the evacuation of Dunkirk, and Churchill's constant battles with former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and Viscount Halifax (Stephan Dillane). Churchill can be vitriolic and immovable in his manner, which is tempered by his unflaggingly faithful wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas) (who played a significant role during the war, not covered here, due to scope creep only, I'm sure). Oldman is terrific as Churchill, and he's barely recognizable under the makeup; he captured the power of Churchill's oratory, especially in his last speech, when even Chamberlain is forced to admit defeat. I would suggest watching Darkest Hour and then Dunkirk, and then reading Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell, which provides great insight into Mrs. Churchill, but also Churchill himself.

Photos from the Cabinet War Rooms in London

1/7/18 The Hero, not nominated, 2017
Okay, here's a quick review because nominations just came out and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I saw a clip for The Hero starring the mellifluous voice of Sam Elliott (well, all of him, but you know his voice best of all), and the reviews were great, and it was at Sundance, and I thought perhaps Elliott would be nominated for an Oscar. Well, as I found out today (and guessed after watching the movie), there were no nominations forthcoming. Elliott is Lee Hayden, an actor who hasn't done a lot lately, smokes way too much pot with his fellow actor buddy and drug dealer, Jeremy (Nick Offerman), when he meets Charlotte (Laura Prepon) who is buying drugs from Jeremy. There's a lot of existential angst as Lee deals with his mortality and his damaged relationship with his daughter, Lucy (Krysten Ritter). I wanted to care, but I couldn't.

1/20/18 The Greatest Showman, Nominated Best Original Song, 2017
Faithful readers (raise your hands) may remember my review of last year's multi-nominated film, La La Land was less than enthusiastic. It just didn't move me, in spite of all the hype. In The Greatest Showman, my response was the absolute opposite. I loved the music ("This is Me" is nominated for Best Original Song); I thought the set designs were gorgeous; the message was powerful and positive; Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum was a force, and yet, only one Oscar nomination. I cannot vouch for the historical accuracy of the film and Barnum's life or the beginnings of his circus, but this isn't necessarily about history, it's about people, and being different, and an outsider, and finding strength in being unique. Sure, it sounds heady and perhaps a little overreaching for a musical, and maybe I'm buying the hype, but I am not the only one. One of my movie friends saw it with me for the second time (I missed out original date with a yucky cold) and she loved it just as much. Michelle Williams is Charity Barnum, P.T.'s supportive and tolerant wife; Zac Efron is Phillip Carlyle, Barnum's partner, whose goal is to bring in more highbrow clientele. Of course, there are a few bumps in the road: people in the city don't like 'the freaks' and get violent and hostile; Barnum sees dollar signs when he brings Swedish singer, Jenny Lind to America for a tour, but loses sight of what's important; Carlyle and Anne (Zendaya) face the racism of Carlyle's family. All of these obstacles are overcome with nary a swear word, no bloody bodies and no uncontrolled sex, making it the perfect PG movie for family night. I'm glad I saw this on the big screen, and I urge you to go before it's gone.

Trying to prep for Oscar noms - Baby Driver, The Boss Baby and Girls Trip and American Assassin

12/24/17 American Assassin, not yet nominated, 2017

What can I say? I had a free movie with Redbox and the choices were pretty limited. That and the previews looked interesting. Eh. American Assassin was like a Jason Bourne movie without the smart plot and cool locations.

12/24/17 Baby Driver, not yet nominated, 2017

I understand that the title of Baby Driver comes from a Simon & Garfunkel song, but when I first heard it, it just sounded dumb. First impressions can be wrong. The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. Directed by Edgar Wright (Ant-Man, Shaun of the Dead), it's got action, some good acting by Ansel Elgort as Baby/Miles, and a soundtrack that propels the narrative in a fun, unique way. Baby is a driver (duh) for a gang of bank robbers, led by Doc (Kevin Spacey). Baby lives with his deaf foster father, and driving. He has music in his ears constantly as a way to offset tinnitus. Baby is pretty quiet, letting the rest of the 'crew' do the trash talking, even if it was about him; he let his driving speak for itself. Doc uses different crews, including Buddy (Jon Hamm, very scruffy and grungy), Bats (Jamie Foxx, foul, violent and dangerous), Eddie (Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Griff (Jon Bernthal). Baby meets Debora (Lily James - Cinderella, "Downton Abbey") who is a waitress. Baby owes Doc a debt, and once it's paid, he wants to leave town with Debora. The plot isn't all that complex or intellectual, but I liked the pace of the movie, and the way the music was used with the action, like it was choreographed. There was humor (it's nominated for a Golden Globe for comedy/musical, and it's described as a comedy) but it wasn't thigh slapping laugh out loud funny (not a bad thing, just my opinion). I thought it was an original take on heist films, and it could be nominated for original screenplay, sound editing or film editing. This was also part of my Redbox night, and it more than made up for American Assassin.

12/31/17 The Boss Baby, not yet nominated, 2017

When I saw the previews for The Boss Baby, starring Alec Baldwin as The Boss Baby, I thought it might be cute, mildly entertaining, and then I heard some initial reviews, and they weren't great. Normally I make up my own mind, but I have so many movies to watch, that I thought if I could avoid a 'bad' one, I should. Then it goes and gets nominated for a Golden Globe. Often, but not always, a Golden Globe nomination indicates an Oscar nomination. So, The Baby Boss it was for our annual New Year's Eve movie night. Our narrator (Tobey Maguire) introduces us to Tim, an inventive and imaginative 7 year old, who has the sole attention of his parents (Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy Kimmel) until a mysteriously precocious baby arrives. Tim suspects there is something different about the baby, and it turns out, that the baby is in management at Baby Corp. It seems that babies are losing affection to puppies, and the Boss Baby has been sent down to change the course of  Puppy Co. and it's leader, Francis E. Francis (Steve Buscemi). Baldwin brings aspects of his Jack Donaghy personality to the role, and he seemed perfectly cast, and there were parts of Francis' character that reminded me of Buscemi's Randall Boggs from Monsters Inc. There's lots of cute scenes with babies doing unbaby-like things, and Tim behaving like the reluctant brother, and his parents clueless to everything. It was sweet and funny, but compared to other animated movies from the past, this is no Oscar nominee. It might have won me over as a nominee if it was done as a short.

12/31/17 Girls Trip, not yet nominated, 2017

Our second movie of the night was Girls Trip, not my typical fare, but it looked interesting, and I love Queen Latifah, and it could be good for a laugh. Sasha (Queen Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), Ryan (Regina Hall) and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) are school friends who reconnect in New Orleans after some years of estrangement. They have all taken different paths in life; Ryan is a very successful author and motivational speaker; Lisa is a tightly wound nurse and mother; Sasha is a journalist who has fallen on hard times and has resorted to writing a gossip blog; and Dina, well, Dina is the crazy friend who has no filters. Mike Colter is Stewart, Ryan's cheating husband, who puts on a good show for the cameras. I only saw The Hangover once (hated it, but I was told I wasn't the target demographic), but Girls Trip had that buddy movie/road trip feel, with New Orleans and Bourbon Street as the setting; music plays a big part in the film, with hip hop and R&B stars making cameos throughout the movie. There were some laugh out loud moments (Tiffany Haddish was hilarious), and I like seeing more movies with women as the featured characters, I just felt it was a little long, and sometimes a little too raunchy for me.