During 2023 personal situations developed which made it difficult to continue with this blog. I did manage to post my best watched of 2023, but that will be the last posting here for the forseeable future. The lists of shows watched both alpabetical and by rating are up to date only through 2022, and updating those lists is aso on hiatus. To check for a possible future resumption of postings, as Rachel Maddow says, "Watch this space."
Better late than never, here is the list of the best of what I watched in 2022. As a reminder, this is what I watched, not what was released in 2022.
All Creatures Great and Small(Season Three) – 2022 (3.1). The season begins with the wedding of James and Helen and ends with Triss going off to the War. In between Mrs. Hall has a romance and has a brief visit with her estranged son who is already in the Navy and the doctors cope with ongoing issues in their veterinary practice and personal relationships. The Christmas finale episode is particularly affecting as characters let down their emotional guards to be honest.
Children of Las Brisas – 2022 (3.0). Ten years in the making, this quite watchable honest documentary follows two young Venezuelan boys and a girl who are part of the long time extensive government program of making orchestral instruments and training available to poor children. The boys are teenagers and the girl is just entering her teenage years as we begin following them. All three play the viola. They are dedicated and talented and each sees a musical career as a hopeful opportunity. We meet their immediate families and see them engage with fellow students and teachers. Seamlessly integrated into the movie is an inside look at the impoverished lives these families live and how the politics of Venezuela affects them. As life conditions in Venezuela deteriorate, we see how that affects the three students and their plans.
The Movement and the Madman – 2022 (3.0).Shown on PBS American Experience, this documentary covers the movement against the Vietnam War as Richard Nixon was assuming the Presidency following the 1968 election. Nixon said he had a secret plan to end the war and this movie shows his plan was to get the North Vietnamese to capitulate to his demands either through bullying them or getting the Russians to lean on them. Neither plan worked, but this film shows through now unclassified documents that the plans included the threat to use and possible actual use of nuclear weapons by convincing the Russians and North Vietnamese that Nixon was madman enough to unleash a possible nuclear holocaust. The mass uprisings and demonstrations of 1969 did not end ithe war, but though the war went on for several more years, this film shows that the movement prevented Nixon from using nuclear weapons. Most refreshing about the technique used in this film was that the usual archival footage and photos did not have to share screen time with inserts of people sitting in chairs and talking to the camera about their remembrances; instead the audio of the remembrances was played as narrative to the images with an on screen indication of the identity of the speaker.
The Big Payback -2022 (2.9). Closely following the efforts of a Black woman alderman from Evanston, Illinois to pass a first of its kind local law funding reparations for slavery in America, this documentary comes across as very personal in concentrating on the woman herself and interviewing other community members with varying opinions on the efficacy of such a remedy and the difficulty of crafting the implementation. Without interviewing scholars and historians, this movie cuts to the chase of reconciling public opinion enough to come up with a first actual program to make some form of reparation, establishing the first such government program in the country and prompting other local governments pursue reparations in their domains.
Miss Scarlet & the Duke (Season Three) – 2022 (2.9). The third season of this series scores an uptick as a man running his own detective agency becomes more professionally (and maybe he wonders if possibly personally) involved with Miss Scarlet, her surrogate mother housekeeper has a suitor, and the Duke is smitten by an old school nemesis of Miss Scarlet. The mystery plots seem to be even more tightly drawn also. Enough cliffhangers are left to esaily invite viewers back for another season.
Top Gun: Maverick – 2022 (2.9). Action genre, military macho and Tom Cruise brought back to the screen almost thirty years later turns out to be better than expected. Modern movie technology and enough drama and a touch of pathos blend fairly effectively into the genre. The story of an old Navy fighter pilot being brought in to train the new top guns for a vital and extremely dangerous mission won a best movie award from the AARP Movies for Grownups.
Hidden Letters – 2022 (2.8). This documentary from China tells of two young women who are striving to find their independent place in the modern world while also learning about, teaching and engaging with the history of the highly subjugated women of the past in China some of whom, from the same rural area as the two young women, invented their own secret language Nushu to communicate their thoughts and feelings to each other.
Love in the Time of Fentanyl – 2022 (2.8). This documentary closely follows leaders and volunteers of a safe drug injection site in the east part of downtown Vancouver BC. The members of this community are like a family united in love for one another and for drug addicts, as some of them still are, as they offer loving support for addicts in the midst of a fatal epidemic. There is not much back story telling or excuses for addiction, just the hard work and dedication of those on the front line of compassionately dealing with the consequences. For viewers who are not addicts, simple solutions to eliminate the problem are always in mind, but this movie is not intended to offer answers except showing love for the addicted.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – 2021 (2.8). YouTube to short to full length animated, the idea like the shell character is cute and the frail story about missing family, and about friendship has heart and it is only 90 minutes long. Clever stop motion techniques is well executed.
No Straight Lines – 2021 (2.8). At first a documentary following five self-proclaimed queer cartoonists talking about their careers and showing some of their work and the process involved in creating their art would seem not to have a broad appeal. But after the first few minutes, their talent, personal stories and sharing of career experiences in a changing America, told through their own actions and words, supported with appropriate archival footage, holds the interest even of a straight viewer.
Remember This – 2022 (2.8). David Strathairn plays polish diplomat and Holocaust witness Jan Karski in this filming of the one man stage play. Karski tried to warn Churchill and Roosevelt early about the horrors, but they did not heed him. He settled in the USA and had a many decades career as an international studies professor at Georgetown University. The PBS presentation includes a video about how sound effects, lighting and cinematic techniques such as varied camera positions and different lenses were used to film the performance. The PBS supplement also includes some biographical info and footage of Karski.
Storming Caesars Palace – 2022 (2.8). This documentary tells the story of Ruby Duncan, a Las Vegas mother who became frustrated with the dysfunctional welfare system supposedly set up to help single mothers like herself. Styled with a bit of a funkadelic look, the movie is a little confusing at first but soon comes together to tell a coherent story of the activism of Ruby and other women who took on the system, ultimately leading to the forming of the National Welfare Rights Organization which attracted celebrity supporters to the movement. Interviews with the women (a couple of whom died before the film was released) are combined with archival footage. The title of the movie comes from a highly successful eat in the woman conducted at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in order to get Nevada to join in the Federal Food Stamps program, which every other state had already done.
Wildcat – 2022 (2.8). Viewed on Amazon Prime, this documentary shows a young British soldier released from the army due to depression and PTSD who goes to the Amazon jungle and works with a young American woman scientist who runs an animal rescue shelter. Among the animals she rescues are orphaned ocelots and the man helps her work with the cats on an 18 month program of preparing them to live in the wild. The first ocelot effort does not end well but the second one is more successful. During the time of the movie, the man and women become personally involved, his parents and younger brother come for a visit, the woman returns to the US for a visit with her family, the man has serious emotional ups and down and the relationship between the man and the woman deteriorates. The jungle setting is rather claustrophobic and the man is not shown getting any serious training for his job. The relationship also conflicts with the professional endeavor in some ways. But through it all the ocelots are beautiful animals and the young kitten stage is irresistible.
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space– 2022 (2.8). Shown on American Experience on PBS, this documentary uses archival footage and interviews with literary and other academic scholars to give a biography of the unique black American anthropologist and novelist. Her life was in fact somewhat disjointed and the biography comes across the same way, but she was such an interesting woman that the movie is worth watching.
I Didn't See You There
– 2022 (2.7). A disabled man in a wheelchair shot this movie to
show what life is like from his perspective, literally using a
handheld and wheelchair mounted camera without including himself in
any shots other than some window reflections and shadows. A premise
is the erection of a circus tent near his apartment, causing him to
ruminate on freak shows and historical ways disabled people are
viewed. Involving himself a little more in the movie would have been
helpful to viewers wanting to understand the nature and extent of his
limitations. It was encouraging to see that, even though some people
are unaware of the problems they cause people in wheelchairs such as
mindlessly blocking ramps, most are very respectful including those
who politely ask if he would like navigational assistance. For those
of us not in wheelchairs determining the line between being an
interested potential helper and an insensitive gawker can be
difficult. This movie offered no help, though in fairness it was not
intended as such an aid.
Roberta Flack – 2022 (2.7). With concert pianist training and gifted singing talent, Roberta Flack found success back in the day, but who knew she remained active in the business, doing duets, solos and mentoring young artists until her medical retirement a couple years ago. This documentary shown on the PBS American Masters series is short on the non-professional side of her life but follows her career extensively. Lots of archival footage of performances and many interviews are included, but the technique of having the interviewee voice used as narration while the screen shows shots of them that do not match their voice is a bit jarring,
Everything Everywhere All at Once – 2022 (2.6). In an era of an expanding number of award shows and not much competition, this movie has earned more major film awards than any movie in history. Two guys named Daniel thought it up and somehow brought it into being after many years. The technique of the varied special effects is an accomplishment and it certainly moves along at a fast clip, jumping all around in time and space. Action, adventure and comedy are some of the genre terms it has been given, but Wikipedia uses “absurdist” which seems most accurate. The only parts that seemed funny were the phony looking fight sequences and Jamie Lee Curtis turning into a stalking monster. Absent true drama or emotion beyond comic book status, the awards for acting are confusing and the one for Jamie Lee seems more like a lifetime achievement award. And since it moved so fast, one wonders why the movie had to last 139 minutes.
Outta the Muck – 2022 (2.6). A man returns to his small town home on the east shore of Lake Okeechobee in Florida, an area known for its dark black soil and local name of The Muck. He has been gone thirty plus years and makes this documentary about the area and his extended family and friends. High school football is the local obsession. The film comes across as a home movie of people talking and acting up and playing football. Some history of the area is mentioned. Out of the way and forgotten places do not just exist in the middle of the country; they are also in coastal states.
Here is the list of the best of what I watched in 2022. As a reminder, this is what I watched, not what was released in 2022.
The top one rated 3.2:
Hotel Portofino - 2022
The next five rated 3.0:
All Creatures Great and Small (Season 2) -2021
Apart - 2021
Call the Midwife (Season Eleven) -2022
In a Different Key - 2020
Children of Las Brisas - 2022
The final eight rated 2.9:
Wind Rises, The - 2014
Crown, The (Season Four) - 2021
Indian Doctor, The - 2010 to
Around the World in 80 Days - 2021
Sanditon (Season Two) - 2021
Anything Goes - 2021
U.S. And the Holocaust, The - 2022
Hotel Portofino – 2022 (3.2).Beautifully set by the sea in Genoa in the 1920s, this PBS series is a pleasant surprise, with an interesting mix of characters, including some quite appealing young actresses. Without a specific main plot, there are plenty of subplots running the gamut from minor personality conflicts to the major fact that the fascists of Mussolini are in control of the country. English people run the Hotel with guests including many English and an American couple. Only six episodes in length, the series managed to point most characters in new directions in the sixth episode. The announced renewal for a second season could allow us to check in on old characters and see how there new directions are working out, and we can also expect new guests to arrive with their own subplots. There is potential here for multiple worthwhile seasons if the writing does not disappoint.
In a Different Key – 2020 (3.0). An experienced duo of journalists created this sincere documentary about autism. The movie is quite informative in a refreshing way by using very few talking head experts and introducing viewers to lots of actual parents and their autistic children. There are also encouraging glimpses of some effective programs for integrating autistic people into ordinary society. One of the people we meet is literally autistic patient number one, a 1934 born man who lives in a small town in Mississippi. It obviously helped the movie making that the female journalist has an autistic son and the male journalist has an autistic brother-in-law.
The Indian Doctor -2010-2013 (2.9). Three seasons was apparently all that was planned for this BBC series about a medical doctor and his wife from India that accept a position as a GP in the UK, only to find out they are assigned to a small coal mining town in Wales. So we have the fish put of water story with colorful locals and their stories. Some of the stories continue in a bit of a three season arc, but there is a distinct villain in each season, first the evil coal mine manager, then a missionary reverend who preaches against small pox vaccination after a case shows up in town, then finally an evil sham property developer and his disgraced physician brother. If the show had kept simply to the theme of the first year and continued to develop and progress the characters, it probably could have lasted several more seasons. But apparently that was never the intention.
The U.S. And the Holocaust – 2022 (2.9). Ken Burns and his team tackle this tragic story with his experienced tools of archival footage and with interviews past and present. The best part is the research which is presented against the graphic detail of the horrors of the genocide, telling the story of the U.S. politics and public opinion of the time in a much deeper and more nuanced way than we are used to being given.
Annika (Season One) - 2021(2.8). Nicola Walker plays yet another police detective with inner turmoil and a wry self-effacing sense of humor. This time she is in Scotland investigating homicides where the victims were found at sea. Each episode is self-contained and she leads a diverse team. She has returned to the area after an absence to take the lead job. Her daughter turns 16 in the last episode and we are teased that her no show father might actually be one of the team detectives.
Call the Midwife Christmas Special2022 -2022 (2.8). Several plot lines quickly develop involving existing cast members and some new people and they do come together somewhat but not as tightly and Chistmas centered as might be expected. Nevertheless the usual production values, acting and overall empathetic feel of the series is still felt.
The Letter: A Message For Our Earth – 2022 (2.8). In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’, a letter to every single person in the world, confronting the looming calamity of human impact on Earth and ourselves. It is one of the most ambitious and revolutionary papal statements in history, since it is directed not just to Catholics, but to everyone on the planet and outlines the most critical environmental and social issues that we collectively face. This documentary tells of four people chosen to represent the poor, indigenous people, young people and wildlife who meet with the Pope and interface with each other revolving around love and protection of our planet. There is some overview and background but the story of the four chosen people and how their lives are affected by environmental impacts on the earth predominates the movie.
Magpie Murders – 2022 (2.8). This is an inside clever detective miniseries about a mystery writer who hates the genre but is highly successful. His editor and publishing house have prospered on the book series about a detective from the 1950s named Attuicus Pund, but the draft received for what could be the final book in the series is missing the last chapter. Before the missing chapter can be located, the writer turns up dead at his country estate. Searching for the chapter, the editor travels to the estate. Subplots include the relationship of the editor and her lover, a pending sale of the publishing house contingent on finding the last chapter, and entanglements of people in the community where the writer died . The editor is aided in her pursuit of the mystery by Pund himself who educates his apprentice and the editor about the dynamics of mystery solving along the way to him eventually solving the case. Though clever as expected for five episodes, the resolution typically comes together quickly in the last episode.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke (Season Two) – 2021 (2.8). After a pandemic delay the series continues for a second season with essentially the same dynamics, each episode being a separate crime to be solved. The chemistry between Miss Scarlet and Duke of Scotland Yard is engaging enough to bring viewers back.
Nomadland – 2020 (2.8). This movie earned an Oscar trifecta, picture, director and actress. Frances McDormand recognized the nomads featured in this movie were a subject she could relate to and so she bought the movie rights to the non-fiction book on which it is based. For some reason immigrant Chloe Zhao is drawn to the outdoors of the western United States. She collaborates with her favorite Director of Photography Joshua James Richards, who captures poetic images of the landscapes to meld with the poetic direction by Zhao. There are a few professional characters, but mostly real nomads in real locales, contributing a documentary feel. Non-nomads are curious about the American nomadic life, about which little has been known, hence the appeal of this movie. As would be expected from McDormand and in particular from Zhao, this was not intended as an indictment of the treatment of nomads or as a recruiting tool to produce new nomads.
Let the Little Light Shine – 2022 (2.7). A K through 8 public school on the south side of Chicago was not a good school, but then community involvement and a great principal turned it around and it became beloved and top notch. But then the political powers that be decided the school needed to be phased in to use as a high school. That got the school community up in arms. This documentary earnestly covers the subject but lacks enough organization and structure to make it quite as good as it should have been.
Must Love Christmas – 2022 (2.7). This Canadian made for TV movie broadcast in the US on CBS has the Christmas look but does not actually register adequately as a Christmas movie. It is more of a romance with an attempted balance of drama and comedy, as a reclusive romance novel author is stalked by a male magazine writer seeking an interview. By coincidence they both get stranded in the same small town where the high school crush of the novelist also happens to be living. Maybe the addition of at least one child would have added to the Christmas charm.
Retrograde – 2022 (2.7). A young Afghan General and hisa US Green Beret counterparts are followed closely in this documentary made during the final stages of the American pullout. The following is so close that the movie suffers from showing us pretty much only trees with no view of the forest.
Who Killed Vincent Chin? - 1987 (2.7). A bit dated, this Oscar nominee for documentary has a misleading title in a way. We know Chin was killed in a fight that started in a strip club and spilled over to the streets outside. The white perpetrator plead guilt to manslaughter. But maybe the title refers to the American system of racial animus towards Asians which spilled over to the justice system. An old white Judge without any real input put the killer on probation with a minimal fine because he had a full time job and no criminal record A federal hate crime trial went through an appeal and a retrial but the perpetrator was found not guilty.The prejudice appears to be as bad as ever, but has there been at least a little progress toward criminal justice?
C'mon C'Mon -2021 (2.6). A writer director made this black and white low budget drama and got Joaquin Phoenix to plat the uncle and a nine-year old kid to play his nephew. The man has some kind of NPR type job traveling around recording interviews with kids whom he asks questions about life. He ends up having to watch the boy while the mother tends to her mentally ill husband. The boys travels to some cities with the uncle and they have conversations and goof around a little. There is not much to be gotten from this movie though AARP like it because it is intergenerational.
The Basket – 1999 (2.5). This well intended drama generated from Spokane and told a story about two German teenagers orphaned by WWI who are placed in a foster home in Waterville Washington by way of an internment camp, while the war continues. The sister is a bit older but the brother is school age and attends a one room school house. The siblings experience some anti-German prejudice and the boy is bullied. Their teacher is a man from Boston who loves opera and basketball. The writer director tries to weave this into an appealing story but the script, direction and some of he acting are fairly amateurish. The setting in Waterville is very rare and for those interested in that central Washington area, there are some beautiful scenes of the golden rolling hills.
Three Wise Men and a Baby – 2022 (2.5). Three adult brothers are close to their mother but somewhat dysfunctional in their own lives, having been walked out on their father at Christmastime when they were young. Then a few days before Christmas, a baby is left at the firs station where the older brother works, with a note asking him to take care of the baby for a few days while the mother of the child sorts a few things out. This is a Hallmark movie, so everything is expected to work out. There is some mildly self-deprecating humor about the men but no drama whatsoever, especially about who is the mother of the child.
Call the Midwife (Season Eleven) – 2022 (3.0). This series always manages to evoke a deep and legitimate emotion that is at the heart of the vocation of the midwives, helping people who are in need of help in times of physical, emotional and spiritual pain. Good writing captures that feeling both with ongoing characters, new additions to the cast and people just passing through. Good casting, acting, directing and production values completes the task of making it all work so well.
Anything Goes – 2021 (2.9). Some classic Cole Porter songs highlight this musical filmed from a live stage performance in London. But once again it is a delight to see the ensemble tap dancing, particularly to the title song. Sutton Foster reprieves the role of Reno for which she won the Tony in 2011. As expected the story is not much, though the 1930s cultural aspects have historic interest, especially with the a historical casting of some black players in key roles.
The Crown (Season Four) – 2021 (2.9). Great production values and good acting continue as Diana and Margaret Thatcher enter the story to add personal and political complications for the Queen. Though a viewer may feel “been there done that” about watching a retelling of the story of The Royals,it is entertaining enough with its inside the castle view. Obviously covering a multi year span of history (1979-1990) in ten episodes leaves a lot untold, but the real emphasis is on how The Crown is affected. Season Four won the Emmy for best drama series and also won many acting awards. The Diana actress was very good. Gillian Anderson as Thatcher wa a performance hard to take, as was the real Thatcher. Critics point out some historical inaccuracies, but nothing earth shaking.
Sanditon (SeasonTwo) – 2021 (2.9). Though new characters are introduced in the second season, they blend with the story arc and their interfacing with existing characters lends greater depth and feeling for the characters. Using the old Gene Siskel test, we care more what happens to them. Two cliffhangers tease the promised third season.
Boy – 2010 (2.8). Taika Waititi, half Maori and half Jewish, made this movie about the small east coast New Zealand community of his roots and an 11 year old boy growing up there in 1984. The movie has heart and humorous authenticity which though cast in an interestingly different culture, still has universal connections.
Judas and the Black Messiah – 2021 (2.8). When the family of slain Black Panther Fred Hampton is involved in making a movie telling the story of his rise and his killing, you know the FBI and the police are going to come out as villains, which is exactly what happens in this film. A sincere young black visionary meets with early organizing success in uniting the community to stand up and take care of their own, and the FBI and police quickly label him a terrorist, turn a black criminal into an infiltrator and plot his assassination. The Judas kept a very low profile thereafter, but did give an onscreen interview for the Eyes on The Prize series and then went home and committed suicide.
Lean on Pete – 2017 (2.8). This independent movie set in Oregon follows a teenage boy, ably played by Charlie Plummer,with a no-show mother and a no-good father. The boy stumbles into a job at the local racetrack while jogging one morning. The trainer he works for is not tops, evidenced by Steve Buscemi playing the part. The kid knows nothing about horses, but is a hard worker and quick learner. He ends up falling in love – with the horse after which the movie is named. When Pete is a likely candidate for the Mexican horse meat mill, the boy steals the horse and trailer and sets out to find his estranged aunt in Wyoming. The movie has heart and does not sentimentalize horse racing or Oregon.
Silent Sacrifice: Stories of Japanese-American Incarceration – 2018 (2.8). Well done documentary about the incarceration of persons of Japanese Ancestry (three quarters of whom were American citizens) during WWII. Archival footage and interviews with prisoners and their descendants bring the story to life. Produced by American Public Television and by filmmakers concentrating mainly on persons from the Fresno California region.
West Side Story – 2021 (2.8). Spielberg must have anticipated the question when he gave the answer in an on screen graphic with the end credits of this movie saying how many jobs and worker hours the making of the movie enabled. The stage musical was a fantastic hit, the movie of 50 years ago was legitimately highly acclaimed. This remake shows what we already knew, the songs, music and dancing are iconic classics and any remake could not help but be enjoyable. But one thing the new version did remind us is that the love at first sight romance story line was actually quite shallow.
When Calls the Heart (Season Five) – 2018 (2.8). Comings and goings continue this season as the town grows. The same sorts of issues arise and are deftly handled primarily by the capable womenfolk, primarily the schoolmarm and the mayor. The preacher man who was the love interest of the mayor takes his leave from the series (apparently because the writers thought his role was tapped out and too restrictive on the mayor), though he pops back in to perform the long awaited marriage of the schoolmarm and Mountie. The Mountie survives a dangerous gang fighting assignment up north and the long expected wedding occurs, but then profound tragedy occurs in the last episode of the season. Hallmark schmaltz sometimes taps into legitimate hopeful sentiment, which is easier to ring true on the 1910s frontier.
When Calls the Heart (Season Six) – 2019 (2.8). The widowed schoolmarm passes through her initial time of grieving, aided by the arrival of baby Jack. Two new potential schoolmarm suitors arrive. Telephones come to town. Ethic extras continue to appear in the background of scenes, though in the opening Christmas show a black girl is among a group of orphans but has no lines other than sihnging Carols in a chorus. Mid season the mayor Lori Loughlin character is dumped over her off screen role in the Varsity Blues scandal, without anything dispatching her beyond a voice over by the schoolmarm writing in her journal that the mayor had to go back east a couple weeks ago to take care of her ailing mother. Unrealistically the town still does not encounter one foreign accented immigrant and no national news is mentioned, while the World War which started a couple years ago might as well be non-existent.
When Calls the Heart (Season Seven) – 2020 (2.8). The series continues to do what it does in an acceptable way, though it also continues to avoid a lot of historical reality, likely because the author on whose book the series is based as well as the die hard fans of the series are not interested in the historical realities of indigenous peoples, foreign immigrants, black and Asian settlers and a massive world war. The first motion picture comes to town though, as does the chicken pox. An early episode included a charismatic young black traveling salesman who had a fairly significant part and mentioned his parents living on the farm nearby where he grew up, raising hopes the man would become a regular character and that his parents might at least sometimes bring some produce to town to sell, so that we could meet them. Alas, it was not to be. There is a black school child now though we do not know her name and have never heard her speak or heard her spoken to. The romantic competition between the two suitors of the school marm appears to be an even match at this point.
When Calls the Heart (Season Eight) – 2021 (2.8). The series continues on apace with same occasional warm high points and also same shortfalls with one notable exception. The town now has welcomed the first black family to become a significant part of the cast. The father even becomes the new preacher, the mother quickly bonds with the other women and ends up cooking in the cafe, the young son is active but pleasant and the teen daughter is blind and musically gifted on the piano. Town romances are still always bubbling and bumbling, but in the last episode the school marm chooses between her two suitors.
When Calls the Heart (Season Nine) – 2022 (2.8). So after catching all the way up on nine seasons of this series in three months of binge watching,he question becomes whether to continue to the plane ride or bail out. As the most popular series in the history of the Hallmark channel, it is likely to continue on for many more years. The school marm seems to be the only indispensable character, and that actress has ascended to be an executive producer. Everyone and everything else is plug and play Hallmark formulaic, but it works well for what it is, just like a Hllmark card whose sentiments are predictably hokey but also appropriate to generic occassions.
In the Heights – 2021 (2.7). The stage musical debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda is brought to the screen with great exuberance, telling the story of the Washington Heights Caribbean neighborhood of NYC. Vigorous music, singing and dancing fill almost 2 ½ hours, but none seems particularly resonant with older non-Caribbean audience members.
Ridley Road – 2021 (2.6). This four part miniseries “inspired by true events” deals with English Nazis in 1962 London and the Jewish group designed to expose and defend against them. Naive Jewish girl goes inside the Nazis where her boyfriend is already a mole. BBC look of quality but no depth to the script.
This Is Us (Season Six) - 2022 (2.6). If there was a master plan for the arc of this series, the decision for the sixth year to be the last probably undermined it. The first few years of flash backs and flash forwards worked surprisingly well, because they seemed to be appropriately balanced with the present. But the downside is that they created lots of expectations of longer backward and forward visits, and that expectation ultimately could not be met. This last year was a disappointing jumble of “remember this”, “here is something we wanted to explore but never got around to” and “alright, here is mashup of some of what we would have covered with more seasons before finding ending with the grand finale death”. After the first couple episodes of season six, sadly most fans probably were anxious counting the days before the relief the whole thing would be over.
All Creatures Great and Small(Season Two) – 2021 (3.0). This typically all around high quality series continues with the story arc moving forward for the central characters and the season ends with what looks to be the brink of WWII.
Apart – 2021 (3.0). Filmed over three and a half years and shown on PBS Independent Lens, this documentary by Jennifer Redfearn follows three women inmates in an Ohio prison aas they work to prepare themselves for life after prison. The three woman were each addicted to drugs, one as a result of pain medication for injuries from an accident, and the other two by virtue of having grown up in families of addicts and pushers. The movie intimately follows the women and includes some footage of their supportive family members on the outside. All the women are mother of young children and long to be reunited with them. The film is so well done that it is a relief not to have any interviews with academics and other “experts” pontificating. In this production, the women are fully capable of speaking for themselves.
Around the World in 80 Days – 2021 (2.9). Surprising pleasant is this adaptation balancing humor and drama and walking a good line between realism and comic book. The production values are high and blend actual sets with cgi appropriately. The casting of the co-leads Miss Fix and Passepartout works well even with Passepartout now being black.
Touch the Light – 2016 (2.9). Known also by its Spanish title Tocando La Luz, this Jennifer Redfearn documentary follows three blind women in Cuba as they contend with their blindness while striving to live the fullest life attainable. This movie style was also used effectively by Redfearn in her later film “Apart” which followed three female prison inmates on their return to society. This movie was streamed via Kanopy through the public library.
The Wind Rises – 2014 (2.9). The gorgeous animation art of Studio Ghibli and direction by Hayako Miyazaki may have been brought to the screen for the last time in this story of the man who designed Japanese fighter planes for WWII. The hero is followed intimately as hi creative drive blossoms and he reunites with the woman who is the love of his life. The War itself is barely a minor character even as we occasionally see some of its aftermath such as a burning Tokyo. The love story, though relegated to second status, is surprisingly touching.
American Reckoning – 2021 (2.8). Shown on PBS Frontline, this documentary tells the story of an overlooked time in Natchez Mississippi when civil rights workers were physically menaced by the local white supremacists, but a local group of armed black men, calling themselves the Deacons for Defense and Justice, provided protection for black activists. An NAACP led boycott of local businesses eventually became successful, but the murder of a local back man was never solved. The movie has interviews with the surviving siblings of the murder victim and also uses lots of archival footage from the Natchez of that time.
Marian Anderson: The Whole World inHer Hands – 2021 (2.8). American Masters broadcast this comprehensive biographical documentary on PBS. Archival footage and interviews are the basis and the emphasis is on Anderson while still touching appropriately on the racial context of her life and times.
Roma – 2018 (2.8). Alfonso Cuaron wrote and directed this homage to his growing up middle class in Mexico City with a beloved indigenous servant nanny. Watching the DVD special features reveals it was a cathartic experience for him in some ways. He also put his heart and soul into getting the exact right look and feel of the 1970s times. The resulting directorial Oscar may have been well deserved for all the hard work. The special features also include a documentary about the efforts Cuaron expended to take the movie on a full Mexican tour including to plcs where indigenous people do not have cinemas. But ultimately the film lacks much character driven drama, except for the character of the nanny, that would help the audience care about the people depicted and learn about their lives and times.
Sanditon (Season One) - 2019 (2.8). Confession: Though watched in 2020, this first series season got overlooked in rating and writing, so what is written here is based on a revisit of episode summaries at IMDB and conjecture that it was good enough to watch all episodes but not exciting enough to remember to rate. The IMDB visit vaguely refreshed memory but maybe a rehash at beginning of season two will help more and seeing the characters again in season two will help even more. Promise to self: rate and write up season two promptly.
Sun Come Up – 2011 (2.8). This early short documentary by Jennifer Redfearn follows some residents of the Cateret Islands of Papua New Guinea as they embark on a journey and tour of Bouganville Island in search of a community that will welcome them and give then land to replace their home island which is succumbing to sea level rise. This early movie shows the effective style of Redfearn in directly and intimately following the subject people of her film. This movie was streamed via Kanopy through the public library.
When Calls the Heart (Season One) – 2014 (2.8). Hokey is expected from Hallmark via Michael Landon Jr and so is delivered in this series about an upper crust young schoolmarm sent to a fictional coal mining company town in the Canadian Pacific Northwest of 1910, shortly after a mine tragedy has killed over forty miners. The time and place are different but the labor and management dynamics familiar enough to modern times that the basics are present to hold attention. The schoolmarm and the young Mountie dejected by his rural assignment are obviously going to hook up, though it takes to the last episode of the season for the first kiss (well this is a Hallmark). Characters and problems rush through the episodes anthology fashion, but the schoolmarm, Mountie and noble miner widow [played by Lori Loughlin who would a few years later do a two month prison stint as part of Operation Varsity Blues and be dropped from the series] remain central. The series is still going, so coming in eight years late and getting DVDs from the library will allow catch up as long as interest does not wane.
When Calls the Heart (Season Two) – 2015 (2.8). The mine closes and a dynamic good guy comes to town and replaces the mine with a sawmill. Modernity starts to come to town with some automobiles and electricity. Most characters from season one remain and are developed further while many new characters join the cast. We now sometimes go to the big city where the schoolmarm stays at her palatial family home where the Mountie feels out of place. Character development includes some shading of people to see there is more depth. We'll see what happens in season three which is ready to put in the DVD player.
When Calls the Heart (Season Three) – 2016 (2.8). Fairly hokey and a fair bit religious, the appeal of this series is that good usually wins out even as some tragedies occur, and people grow as individuals and as part of a community. New characters and story lines get sprinkled in even as the central characters continue their story arc. Checking on some of the actors at IMDB gives a hint of what is to come in that the list of cast members also includes the number of episodes in which they appear. Curiosity about how they get written out is one of a few reasons to continue catching up on the seasons via DVD.
When Calls the Heart (Season Four) – 2017 (2.8). Apparently lack of ethnic diversity on the screen prompted some attention, because the first episode of this season had a middle age black character who actually spoke a few lines, but after that diversity meant only an occasional dark skin person in the background of a gathering and more diverse people walking the streets. There was one scene in which one of the walking women of color seemed to be moving extra slowly as if to maximize her cameo. There is also a male extra who could either be Asian or First People or a mix. As for character and content, arcs continue and new characters show up including new students, though none of color. The Loughlin character becomes mayor and plays a theme of giving people the benefit of the doubt and eligible for second chances [ironic, since in a couple years Hallmark will decide not to follow suit with Loughlin]. Some students and their parent have secrets and problems, but the capable schoolmarm usually resolves them. She even solves a problem which put her job in jeopardy. But she also is distraught as her love interest takes a dangerous temporary assignment elsewhere.
Big Hero 6 -2014 (2.7). An enticing preview led to a DVD viewing of this Disney animated super hero tale. The first half had heart as the real people nerds showed their creativity, but then it became an action superhero genre as the fight against the villain consumed the last half of the film. For someone not enamored of the genre it was at least a near miss.
