Additional newer movies have been coming through, but four
of them plus two documentaries from Netflix all scored below 2.8. A Brit TV
series was the best watch on this list.
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.
Mr. Selfridge
(Season Two) – 2014 (3.3). This fine Brit series jumps ahead five years to the
start of WWI, as Harry Selfridge ties to salvage his relationship with his wife
whom he has estranged by his philandering. The department store must make
adjustments throughout the War and Harry is tricked by an evil Lord into
looking like he is undermining the War effort. The love lives of several store
staff are followed as they blend their current lives at the store with future
aspirations. The season finale executes quite well a theme of unselfish love.
Doc Martin
(Season Six) -2013 (2.8). Family matters get more involved in the eight
episodes of this season, with a few new characters and many of the old. Quirky
and ornery as the Doc is, the audience still wants to see him make progress
toward the happiness which always seems to elude him.
Saving Mr. Banks
– 2013 (2.8). The story of Walt Disney
prevailing on Mrs. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, to let him
turn her stories into a movie musical is actually a story of a woman coming to
terms with the loss as a young girl of her beloved but seriously flawed
alcoholic father. Tom Hanks channels a great Disney and Emma Thompson, added by
continual flashbacks adeptly conveys the inner turmoil of the author. Sadly, though
not covered by this movie, it seems the real Mrs. Travers, who lived to age 96,
was never able to find the inner peace she sought. Here is yet another idea for
a meaningful sequel.
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story - 2012 (2.8). A talented
Alsatian artist comes to America after WWII and creates wonderful children’s
books covering some of the dark and edgy side of life. He wins awards and is
celebrated, but then disappears from the scene for about 25 years, when his
work in other genres is considered too far out. Still working in his eighties,
this documentary includes an extensive interview with him telling of his life
journey and his work. Other artists and critics join in praise of Tomi.
Delightful animation is employed throughout the movie to help capture the
joyous spirit of this edgy illustrator.
King of Devil’s Island – 2010 (2.8). While stylishly capturing the bleakness of an
island reformatory for boys in 1915, this well-acted Norwegian drama based on
true events never lets us learn anything about the back story of the inmates or
the authorities in charge. A new inmate is obviously going to be a major
disciplinary challenge and the trusted boy put in charge of helping shape him
up soon bonds with him instead. After a scandal is swept under the rug, a
revolt is inevitable, as is its outcome.
Crossing the Line – 2006 (2.8). Four young American soldiers
defected to North Korea in the 1960s and this Brit documentary tells their
unfamiliar story of decades living in that oppressive country. Through times of
suspicion, indoctrination, exploitation, isolation and integration, the men
age, marry, start families and are put to work in anti-American propaganda
efforts. Two died of natural cause along the way. One eventually went to Japan
with his Japanese wife and negotiated a deal with the US to resolve his status.
The main participant in the movie is a man who as a child went from a broken
home to foster homes to the Army, through a young jilted marriage and back to
the Army where he could not handle the discipline so ran away to the
communists. Interviewing him extensively and following his activities along
with dramatic reconstructions of some of the back story, we learn of his two
marriages and three children. As he tries to explain his motivations and
feelings at various times of his story we realize how little this man had going
for him in life, how shallow his contemplative side is and why ultimately his
story, unusual as it is, has never been consequential in America.
August: Osage County
– 2013 (2.7). Meryl Streep plays Violet, a bitter woman addicted to liberally
prescribed drugs. She lives in a small Oklahoma town with her alcoholic husband
and a quiet fortyish daughter she nags for not being married. Two other
daughters who live elsewhere come to town for an unexpected reunion of sorts,
one with her estranged husband and their teenage daughter, the other with her
too oft married fiancé. Violet’s sister and brother-in-law and their bumbling
son also come. An Indian woman hired to help take care of Violet completes the
ensemble. Based on a play, the movie is quite talkative with some theatrical
dialogue, as the family members yak to each other and reveal some of the family
back story. Unfortunately, the movie is three quarters over before it actually
gets interesting and some actual drama is introduced. Once again Streep does a
fantastic acting job, and I have trouble seeing it as anything but that – an
act.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – 2013 (2.7). There is so much to tell in the life story of Nelson
Mandela that selecting what parts to cover is a challenge for a movie.
Unfortunately, the script for this film decided to skip the story of his youth
and what he learned in his village and from his father and other elders. We
were not shown his family relationships and village friendships, nor any of his
schooling from elementary level through law school. Instead, we were quickly
shown Mandela as a rising attorney becoming politically involved as well as
having some romantic flings during his first marriage. Then Winnie comes in and
we see their early romance and eventually we see how the years of separation
made them different people and no longer compatible. These are a bit of new
turf. But too much time is spent in all too familiar territory, his long
imprisonment and eventual release and election, without giving us any new
perspective. Except for his famous speeches, we never see discussions and
arguments through the years as his ultimate embrace of peace and reconciliation
as the solution develops. Too much valuable screen time is wasted on lingering
contemplative pans, meaningless movements at the beginning of scenes and an
overuse of action scenes with extras. Idris Elba does a good job of channeling
Mandela but should have been given more opportunity for introspection.
Trash Dance –
2012 (2.7). A young woman choreographer imbeds with the trash collectors in
Austin Texas to gather ideas and recruits for a performance of trash collecting
as dance in this earnest documentary. The relatively short film follows the
woman as she rides along with workers doing various tasks and she learns about
the work they do and some about their lives. But we do not learn much about the
woman herself, her background and how she came to be involved in the work she
does. We do get to see a capsulated version of the performance, but it feels a
bit distant. It would have been nice to have more interviews with family
members of the workers, before and after the performance.
American Hustle –
2013 (2.4). David O. Russell supposedly makes genre bending movies with nuanced
characters of many layers. What was actually created in this film was a pretty
boring movie set in 1978 about con artists being trapped by an overly ambitious
FBI agent who promised to not charge them if they cooperated in stinging bigger
fish. The layers apparently come in the form of the characters playing each
other. The start of the script made all the characters seem unappealing and there
did not seem to be much of a story. Then as the outline of a story started to
take shape the characters all started morphing in somewhat confusing ways and
after over two hours it wound up quickly like a typical sting movie. The most
enjoyable thing about the movie was actually distracting – the music track with
hit songs of the period prompting viewers to sing along and try to remember who
the singer was.
Inside Llewyn Davis
– 2013 (2.4). The Coen brothers made this movie with T Bone Burnett because
they were interested in the transition that was taking place in American folk
music around 1961. They cast Oscar Isaac in the title role, because he could
act and play guitar and sing folk songs as he slept on the couches of friends
in Greenwich Village while he kept trying to get his musical breakout chance.
Not much as a comedy and certainly with no drama, the chances for a real story
were obvious but ignored. The camera is always on Isaac or showing his point of
view, and he is not that likeable a character. In the course of the film, he
plays numerous songs all the way through, so in a way it is an offbeat musical.
Milius – 2013 (2.4).
John Milius, the writer and sometimes director who is the subject of this documentary,
is not a household name. He went to film school and buddied and worked some
with Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas and others who contribute interviews to the
movie. Milius also is shown in older footage interviews and there are scenes of
him interacting with others. Born fairly well-off and with a body of large
size, with natural writing ability, he had no problem exuding brash confidence
and he enjoyed being contrary. Unable to enter the service for Vietnam duty
because of health problems, he lived life, including his film making, as a
militaristic wannabe. Despite all the talking in this film about his writing
and the scenes that are shown from some of the movies he scripted, this
documentary does not seem to impart much knowledge about the details of his
actual writing style.
The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though
some of the streaming rights may now have expired):
Far Out Isn't Far
Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
King of Devil’s Island
Crossing the Line
Trash Dance
Milius
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