As written here before, don’t look for a list of best films of
the year, since I won’t get around to seeing many 2013 films until next year.
But I can report watching only seven shows this year that I rated 3.3 or
higher. Three were new from PBS: Downton Abbey, Last Tango in Halifax and Mr.Selfridge. Three were documentaries: Dirt! The Movie; Serving Life; and StoriesWe Tell. There was only one drama, Boy A. My movie wish for 2014 is better ones
to watch, which may require revisiting some older classics.
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. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the
IMDb page for the movie.
Stories We Tell –
2012 (3.3). The interesting story of the mother of Canadian independent film
maker and actress Sarah Polley, who died when Sarah was 11, is the subject of
this documentary made by Sarah. As the last born child, Sarah interviews her
father and her brothers, sisters and other people who knew her mother. The
interviews are interwoven with home movie footage, which often shows the very
things about which the interviewees are speaking. As with all our family
stories, the truth can be hard to pin down, especially given the different
versions witnesses relate. This movie cleverly and subtly recreates the feeling
of being at a gathering of older family and friends and knowing that the
various people belong there but not being sure of just who exactly they are. As
the film develops, we also begin to realize that recalled images and memories
we think are highly accurate, may in fact be something our minds have
recreated.
Homeland (Season Two)
– 2012 (2.8). The holes in the plot get larger and the questionable
portrayal of security practices continues as the second season seems to be
written on the go. A few new characters come on board and many more meet their
maker. Suspension of belief helps overcome logical gaps and other
irregularities. The acting remains quite good, though once again acting honors
are given for the portrayal of people with serious mental problems. The season
finale mixes things up enough to entice viewers for the third year.
The Paradise –
2012 (3.0). Based on an Emile Zola novel, this BBC series is centered on a
Victorian Era London upscale department store “The Paradise” headed by a
self-made man who is being pursued for marriage by a spoiled young lady of the
upper class abetted by her widowed banker father. In staffing, the store uses a
philosophy of mutual loyalty, with unmarried employees living in dormitories on
the premises. The heroine is a sharp and attractive country girl who comes to
the city to pursue a career sometimes at the store and sometimes with her uncle
whose dressmaking shop across the street is one of the many shops negatively
impacted by the rise of the larger store. The heroine naturally catches the eye
of the store owner both for business and romance. Peopled with a supporting
cast of interesting characters, the series boasts the usual stellar British
acting and production values. With many subplots and variations on the main
story, a second season is already underway overseas.
Side by Side –
2012 (3.0). Asking the question whether making movies on film is on the verge
of being totally replaced by digital cinematography, Keanu Reeves is the
interviewer in this interesting documentary, talking to many directors and
cinematographers as well as a few editors and representatives of camera and
film companies. The diverse opinions of those interviewed are well expressed
both in terms of subjective perception and by way of technical distinctions
between the two formats. Refinements and improvements in digital equipment are
discussed and there is some mention of special effects and 3D. Particularly
engaging are the many illustrative clips from movies which are shown as they
are being mentioned. This movie does not answer the question it raises, but
gives a good feel for the direction in which movie making and viewing is
headed.
Benjamin Franklin
– 2002 (3.0). This PBS documentary biography of the founding father manages to
be both quite entertaining and informative in following the life and
accomplishments of this extraordinary genius who only received two years of
formal education, yet rose to international prominence as a scientist,
philosopher, businessman, politician, revolutionary and diplomat. Actors
deliver monologues based on correspondence and other historical records and
scholars supplement the narration with their insights. Historical re-enactments
without dialogue and paintings and drawings of Franklin contribute added color
and context.
King of the Hill
-1993 (3.0). Set in St. Louis in 1933, this nicely dramatized memoir of a young
teenage boy coming of age during the early years of the Great Depression
evocatively captures the mix of good and bad in people contending with life
during those hard times. As the immigrant traveling salesman father hopes for a
WPA job, the tubercular mother is in and out of the sanatorium, the younger
brother is sent away to live with an aunt and the young teenager is left to
fend by his wits and occasional goodwill from others, all the while fabricating
adventurous cover stories to hide his plight.
Jimi Hendrix: Hear MyTrain a Comin’ – 2013 (2.9). Shown on American Masters on PBS, this
biographical documentary of the rock star uses archival footage of concerts and
interviews together with commentaries by musicians looking back to recall the
meteoric rise and unique talents of the young man from Seattle. Particularly
helpful is the straightforward explanation of what led to his untimely death,
which the entire movie puts in the context of how serious and dedicated a
musician and man Hendrix was.
Modern Family (Season
Four) – 2012 (2.9). Still fast paced and witty as the lives of the
characters pass another year, some of the elements of the humor are getting a
bit repetitious, but most episodes generally produce enough laughs to make the
year worth watching.
The Belle of Amherst
– 1976 (2.9). Detracting from the rating of this production is the fact that it
is an old TV recording of a one actress stage performance by Julie Harris playing
Emily Dickinson. But compensating for this is the very fact that it is the
great actress Julie Harris in a Tony Award winning role, playing the intriguing
poet. This is a great way to introduce viewers to Emily or to rekindle a
perhaps postponed or forgotten interest.
TheAfrican-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross – 2013 (2.8). A PBS series with
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recapping the history of black people in America from
the earliest times to the Obama Presidency is ambitious, but the result seems
to live up to billing, given the limited amount of screen time. Even if the
techniques used and the rivers crossed seem a little familiar, there are always
some new people and stories that Gates manages to inject.
The Sapphires –
2012 (2.8). Inspired by the true story of a quartet of young aborigine women
who went to Vietnam in 1968 to sing Motown style songs to American troops, this
Australian drama about three sisters, their cousin and the white man who tries
to manage them has an indigenous charm fitting for this different story. The
script is not real tight, but the music and genuineness of the acting hold it
together. The DVD includes a brief interview with the four Sapphires in their
senior years.
The Sound of MusicLive – 2013 (2.7). NBC and Carrie
Underwood deserve credit for risk taking in putting on this live TV production
of the classic musical. Underwood is not an actress and her singing pipes are
not as impressive as those of some of the Broadway talent on display, but in a
way, her earnest underperformance fits the somewhat naïve character she plays.
The original movie is an almost impossible act to follow, but for a TV show
this well mounted production is about as good as can be expected.
Treme (Season
Two) – 2011 (2.7). The series seems to lag in this second year and the ongoing
celebration of the music and cuisine starts to feel redundant. So many
characters are being followed that the jumping around from story to story
becomes a bit annoying. If having an episode concentrate on one story line would
be too narrow, maybe two or three per episode would be a reasonable compromise.
Or maybe having somewhat of a specific theme to an episode playing into the
various characters would help, something beyond just the calendar time for the
next community event. There were some character and plot developments this
season, but they were slow and disjointed in coming.
The Trials of DarylHunt – 2006 (2.7). The makers of this documentary spent ten years filming
the story, but Daryl Hunt spent twenty years in prison for a rape and murder he
did not commit. The story is sadly all too familiar; a black man in a southern
state (North Carolina this time) is targeted by lazy and unscrupulous police
detectives and prosecutors. A weak case results in a conviction based on racial
prejudice and dedicated members of the black community mount a long legal
process to overturn the wrongful verdict. The movie uses numerous interviews from
various times with people involved in the case and incorporates some archival
footage but does not give enough details about the two trials and several court
hearings which are at the heart of the process. Some perspective from legal
academics and scholars would also have been helpful.
Before Midnight –
2013 (2.6). Eighteen years after the first movie, the director and lead actors
put together this third part of a trilogy. The first was a chance romantic encounter
ending with the couple agreeing to meet at a set time and place in the future
if they were both still interested. There should be no spoiler alert needed
before saying the second was about the meeting taking place. This third visit
tells what has happened in their lives since, with the exposition coming mostly
through a realistically boring and frustrating evening of argument between the
couple. The only other scene is a dinner with friends earlier in the day where
the conversation seems generally pretentious. This is a disappointment after
the romance of the first two movies, but that actually seems to have been the
intention.
David Holzman’s Diary
– 1968 (2.4). A young film maker is supposedly making a documentary of his life
in order to find its meaning and we get to watch him as he records his journal,
tours his NYC neighborhood, exasperates his girlfriend and engages in
voyeurism. Clever in some ways and maybe a decent commentary on self-indulgent
introspection, but basically watching this movie is a somewhat annoying and
essentially boring experience. Leonard Maltin likes it.
The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though
some of the streaming rights may now have expired):
Side by Side
King of the Hill
The Belle of Amherst
The Sapphires [watched on DVD before found on Netflix]
The Trials of Daryl Hunt
David Holzman’s Diary
