It seems I have seen and rated most of the good movies on my
lists and avoided the bad ones, so now the movies I have been watching and
rating here are in the marginal 2.9 to 2.7 range (60% of the last 100 movies
rated here). Adding a decimal to my ratings has allowed more accurate
measurement than the Netflix five star system, but sometimes it seems hard to
decide whether, for example, a movie is a 2.8 or a 2.7. Going to double
decimals would allow a 2.75 in that case.
One problem with making such a change would be backward
incompatibility whenever a combined list of all rated movies is published; a
movie rated 2.8 before the change might have only been a 2.75 after, so it is
not necessarily better, even though it has a higher rating. Supposedly that
issue could be addressed by rating all movies after the change in double
decimals, such as 2.80. Then on publication of a combined list it could be
explained that the double decimal was a later adoption and should be considered
more accurate. For that reason, 2.80 movies would be listed before 2.8 movies. I
doubt if I will make such a change though, because it seems like too much work
and confusion to differentiate one marginal movie from another; and with such a
fine degree of separation, the vagaries of mood at the time of viewing could be
a bigger factor.
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.
The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were:
Bramwell (Season Two) [Stream availability expired
8/15/2013]
House of Cards
Raw Faith
Hitler’s Children
Sing Your Song
The Hedgehog
Bramwell (Season Two)
– 1996 (3.2). The British series about a young female doctor running a
charitable medical clinic in 1890s London continues with the same central cast
as the doctor encounters various social issues behind the medical conditions
she treats. A new character is introduced, a young up and coming male doctor at
the local hospital, with whom our heroine clashes; but then a mutual attraction
draws them together, even as we join her father in wanting her to drop him.
More developments occur in the lives and families of others at the clinic.
Excellent acting and good scripts more than make up for second tier video
quality.
House of Cards –
2013 (3.0). This Netflix original American version of the BBC series from the
1990s is an impressive production and quite well acted. The writing is sharp
and the story arc stays on track, though in mid-season as the sex and drugs
become more prevalent it gets a little precarious. The spurned and power driven
House Majority Whip and his wife are ruthlessly focused on their usually mutual
goals, which are not entirely clear at first but then become more apparent as
the season progresses. Cynical about any actual policy or even ideology, the
scripts focus on power plays, back stabbing, alliances and exploitation – all
the things that make me keep watching Survivor. The symbiosis of politicians
and journalists plays a significant role and having the key reporter be a
female neophyte willing to use sex to get ahead, which at first seems a
titillation, turns out to be more significant. This is good enough to justify
watching in expectation of the inevitable collapse.
Raw Faith – 2010
(3.0). This documentary closely follows Marilyn Sewell, Minister of a Unitarian
church in Portland, Oregon, as she openly and honestly shares through the movie
her struggles with a retirement age transition in her life. She loves her work
ministering to her congregation and they obviously love and are quite touched
by her, but as she examines her unhappy childhood, failed marriage and lack of
closeness to her two sons, she begins to realize what is missing in her life
and what she wants to do next.
Lincoln – 2012
(2.9). Spielberg gives his Hollywood treatment to the man on the penny. From a
Doris Kearns Goodwin book, the original script was of miniseries length, but
Spielberg chose to concentrate on the last four months of Lincoln’s life,
centering on the political maneuvering to get the 13th Amendment
passed to abolish slavery and the negotiating attempts to try to bring the
Civil War to its inevitable conclusion. Daniel Day-Lewis does his expected
super job as Abe and Sally Fields matches him as Mary, though her part in a
story about politics and war negotiations is necessarily more peripheral. To
those not schooled in the details of this phase of history, much of the
political maneuvering may have been a bit confusing. The African-American
characters in the script had no depth and were way too 21st Century,
especially the soldier from Massachusetts who challenged the President in the
opening scene. Some of the Hollywood touches are falsely iconic, such as the
scene near the end where Lincoln slowly rides his horse through a body strewn
battlefield right by a pristine rebel flag still flying proudly in the breeze.
Hitler’s Children
– 2011 (2.9). The descendants of members of Hitler’s inner circle have to
figure out how to deal with the guilt and shame of carrying on such infamous
names. This thought provoking documentary uses interviews with the descendants,
some archival footage and film of their interactions with young German students,
holocaust survivors and their descendants (which is quite moving) to show how
they are handling the matter in various ways. While watching and thinking about
the aftermath of what the Nazis in twelve years did to Jewish people, I could
not help but think about what many of our American ancestors over almost two
and a half centuries did to African people.
Sing Your Song –
2011 (2.9). Harry Belafonte has been a pioneer in race relations and an icon of
the struggle for social justice for so many decades that we may have taken his
involvement for granted or even forgotten most of it. This documentary is a
good reminder, proceeding chronologically through the decades, using interviews
with Harry and others who joined in the struggle, archival footage and
narration. Some of his personal life is shown, including interviews with his
second wife and his children, but the focus is primarily on the causes with
which he has been involved.
The Hedgehog –
2009 (2.9). Young French filmmaker Mona
Achache shows promise in this gentle story of an artistic and intelligently
introspective eleven year old girl who is bored with her life and family in
their luxury apartment in Paris. She decides to commit suicide before her next
birthday and uses her home movie camera and drawing talent to explore and
address her feelings. The hedgehog is the grumpy and frumpy female
superintendent of the apartment building, who is actually a highly literate and
avid reader behind her closed door. The girl, the hedgehog and a new apartment
resident, an elegant widowed Japanese man, are kindred spirits who begin to
develop friendships, as the birthday of the girl draws near. Interesting camera
techniques involving the home movie camera are effectively utilized as are
close ups of the art work being drawn by the girl and animations of her
drawings. There is something said in this movie, with a typical French closing,
but it is the style of the telling that is most impressive.
Bramwell (Season
Three) – 1997 (2.9). The disapproved pending marriage of the heroine was
the cliffhanger ending of season two continues into season three but quickly
takes a dramatic change which lingers through the season, perhaps a bit too
much. The work of the clinic continues as before and the senior Doctor Bramwell
finds a love interest of his own, culminating in his marriage and relocation,
which impacts the operation of the clinic. Drama continues in the lives of the
clinic staff and young Doctor Bramwell and her clinic colleague are drawn
together as this season ends. The script quality tapers off a little this
season as the love life issues become more melodramatic.
Rust and Bone –
2012 (2.7). He is a virile, brutish wanderer with a sometimes sensitive side,
showing up on the doorstep of his sister with his five year old son after a
three year absence. The woman he meets as a bouncer at a club has been roughed
up and he takes her home and offers his phone number if she needs further help.
She is happy in her work as an Orca trainer in marine shows, but unhappy in her
personal life. After a few months, an accident at work leaves her even unhappier
and she calls him. Their resulting relationship is atypical and confusing to
her, though he does not give it much thought, until an accident also happens in
his life. This is an interesting exploration, but falls a bit short because we
never get to know much about the background of these two people in order to
better understand who they are and to make us care more for them.
Bully – 2011
(2.7). The subject of bullying in schools deserves a better movie than this
amateurish documentary which disjointedly follows parts of the stories of
several victimized middle school students who live in small town locations from
Iowa to Georgia. School authorities are mostly shown to be clueless about the
problem while parents are understandably upset, particularly in the cases with
the most egregious results. Noticeably absent are interviews with the bullies
themselves or peer discussions of the topic. Finally near the end the film
shows some parents taking action to arouse community attention to the problem,
but otherwise there is no indication of what can and should be done by our
communities and schools to address the subject.
Quartet – 2012
(2.4). Not a comedy or a drama, this poorly written script wastes a wonderful
cast in a muddled and bare story of a retirement home for old singers and
musicians, three of whom want to reunite in a singing quartet performance while
the fourth does not. The movie gives no indication whatsoever that Dustin
Hoffman has any particular talent as a film director. Billy Connolly provides a
little comic relief. Maggie Smith being persuaded to deliver the “f” word for
the first time was a shameful idea that fittingly fell flat.
Bramwell (Season
Four) – 1998 (2.2). What happened here? Two long episodes comprise the
fourth season, in which the senior Doctor Bramwell and his new wife are barely
mentioned, other supporting cast members disappear without explanation, a new
love interest for the heroine is plopped in, her clinic doctor colleague is
painted in an inconsistently different light, the heroine turns into an
hysterical twit and the whole disjointed mess ends with an implausibly lousy
supposedly happy scene. There was a Season Five of at least one episode in
2000, which nobody seems to have cared about, which is quite understandable.
