Don’t Forget April

April is almost gone and I have not published an update, so here it is. Four DNF movies are bringing up the rear.

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. [The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar].

Frozen Planet – 2011 (3.2). Filmed by the BBC, this Discovery Channel documentary series boasts all the same qualities the movie makers demonstrated in their Planet Earth series, this time concentrating on the polar regions. Years of work pay off in stunning camera footage capturing spectacular natural events.

One Bright Shining Moment – 2005 (3.1). George McGovern is an impressive man of integrity and empathy who managed to build a progressive political career without compromising his principles. This documentary looks back on his surprising rise to the Democrat nomination for President in 1972, and the collapse of his campaign after securing the nomination. His experience as a WWII bomber pilot informed his ten year opposition to the War in Vietnam, and his South Dakota farm upbringing led to his work with food for peace. Wrongly remembered as a big loser, this movie (with particularly interesting commentary by Gloria Steinem, Gore Vidal and Dick Gregory), shows that McGovern should be remembered as a prescient leader who kept the Democratic party open, inclusive and alive at a time when it could have disintegrated, and as  the man who would have ended the Vietnam fiasco much sooner and would have set an example of leadership based on integrity.

The Stoning of Soraya M. – 2008 (3.0). Chillingly and graphically this movie tells the story of an Iranian wife and mother whose husband wants to divorce her in order to marry a young girl. When the wife refuses to agree to a divorce, the husband plots to get her falsely convicted of the capital offense of adultery. Set in 1986, it is outrageous to realize the perverted concepts portrayed in this well-acted movie are still prevalent today in various parts of the world.

One Week – 2008 (2.9). A young Canadian teacher learns he has terminal cancer and decides to take a break from his fiancée and life and take a motorcycle trip across country to digest the bad news, in this indie. A terse script, good acting and varied scenery move it all along at a comfortable pace, striking the right balance between gravity and levity as his one week trip plays out.

The Wonder Years (Season Five) – 1991 (2.9). As Kevin enters high school, girls, spurts, jobs and cars become a great focus as horizons expand. But the most affecting episodes this season actually involve the rift in the relationship between Karen and Dad as she cohabits with her lover while away at college and then returns home after a lover’s quarrel. When dense Wayne decides to join the Army we remember how easy it is for naïve young men to become hoodwinked by military recruiters. Flashbacks to earlier seasons remind us how much the kids have grown in a few short years.

Bill Cunningham New York – 2010 (2.8). The subject of this documentary is an octogenarian photographer for the NYT who rides his bike on the streets of the Big Apple, taking pictures of real people on the streets wearing clothes he finds fashionable for his newspaper column. He also attends fashion related galas as part of his job, but the street action is what he loves. A happy workaholic, he is well respected in the field even as his monkish living style amuses those who know him.

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? – 2006 (2.8). When Dick Gephart retired from Congress after 28 years, his St Louis area House seat was up for grabs and ten Democrats ran in the primary, including Jeff Smith, a 29 year old political science teacher. The story of his grass campaign against the expected winner, a scion of the powerful Carnahan political family, is the subject of this documentary, which does a good job of showing his energy and passion and the dedication of his young campaign staff. Using mostly footage from the campaign trail and some interviews with local reporters and campaign workers, the movie captures the highs and lows of the battle and keeps us in suspense to the end.

The Waiting Room – 2007 (2.8). A somewhat typical weakness for an independent movie like this Brit drama is a slow starting script during which lots of characters interact without us learning very much about what is actually going on. This movie was almost one third gone before we began to understand the dynamics between the characters. There are three primary female characters and two males, with an affair taking place and couples becoming estranged, and everyone having to decide whether to look for greener grass or stay where they are. The brief encounter romance is actually more an enticement than a blossoming part of the plot. Professionally looking and well-acted, the film is worth staying with in spite of the slow start.

Autumn Spring – 2001 (2.8). In this Czech comedy, a 76 year old man and his sidekick engage in pranks and mischief to spice up their old age, but sometimes their cons backfire and sometimes they end up giving money to their victims. The sidekick is single but the other man has a long suffering wife who sides with their serial marrying son in his attempts to move the folks into a retirement home so he can have their apartment for his current wife. Not hilarious, there is some humor which tones down as the film gets a little more serious toward the end. This is a great vehicle for the three principals to show their acting chops.

A Dinner of Herbs – 2000 (2.4). This Brit miniseries of another Catherine Cookson melodrama is definitely marginal and it does not help that, when streaming it from Netflix, you learn half way through that they don’t have one of the middle episodes available for streaming [another example of the deterioration of Netflix service]. The plot is so predictable by midpoint that the absence of the episode does not prevent following the story. Two orphaned boys in the rural north and a girl whose mother died young are the central characters in this story of unshared love, recurring violence and long held antipathies.

The Mill on the Floss – 1997 (2.4). This surprisingly weak effort from Masterpiece starts with a limited cast of characters of limited dimension, none of whom generates much audience sympathy or concern. Lacking any real drama until well over half over, the movie then kicks in some supposed drama when it is already too late and no one really cares. I suppose this film does not do justice to the George Eliot novel, but it also does not motivate me to want to read it.

Birdsong – 2012 (1.5). PBS should have renamed its program Messterpiece Theater for this garbled tale of a young WWI English officer who has an affair with a young Englishwoman married to an older Frenchman. Disruptive time shifts, gratuitous jump cuts, mumbled dialogue, wooden actors and an unappealing attempt at a story, with some lip sucking trying to pass for eroticism and dusty uniforms with occasional intestines on display faking as graphic war violence, viewer discretion is advised – do not watch at all because it is a total waste of time.

Rango – 2011 (DNF). I can’t imagine this animated movie making any sense to a youngster, or for that matter to an oldster.  I bailed out quite early.

The Waiting City – 2009 (DNF) An Australian couple goes to India to pick up the girl they are adopting, but they have to wait around, and after 25 minutes of waiting with them and not really beginning to care about them or anyone else, it was time to leave them.

Never Again – 2001 (DNF). Supposedly a comedy about an unlikely match of a middle age couple, this started with annoying music, then proceeded with boring characters who were starting to act stupid. Appropriately titled, I told Netflix to never recommend it again.

Heaven Can Wait – 1943 (DNF). Lubitsch directed this classic, but after an initially interesting premise about a new decedent trying to get into Hell, the following story belied boring stage play roots and was not funny or interesting.