The first three on this list are worth watching, but the last three are not recommended. The list is fairly short because it includes a miniseries and a full season each for two other series. 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.
Omar – 2013
(3.4). Suspension of viewer disbelief is a desired accomplishment for a
dramatic movie. Too many film scripts are full of credibility holes. This Oscar
nominee from Palestine manages not only to make us suspend our disbelief as we
become involved with three young Arab male friends and the sister of one of
them but also creates a realistic insecurity regarding trust in what we
believe. As Israeli agents arrest, torture and try to turn one of the
Palestinians into an informant, the relationships of the four young Arabs are
seriously disrupted and trust itself becomes a major casualty.
The Roosevelts: AnIntimate History – 2014 (3.3). The lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor
are examined against the backdrop of the great historical events in which they
were major players in this PBS series from Ken Burns. Familiar Burns techniques
such as archival footage, talking head historians and voice over correspondence
readings by actors voicing central characters are employed. The readings of
very personal correspondence played against the archival footage of the
individual are particularly effective as the movie exposes the inner feelings
often hidden by the outside demeanor. Frictions between the TR and FDR branches
of the family are interestingly explored. A personal quibble is the readings by
Meryl Streep as Eleanor, whose admittedly unappealing voice and style of
speaking would have been better played down rather than overemphasized [yet
another example of Meryl supposedly becoming the person she plays even as we
marvel as she does it what a great acting job she is doing].
Parenthood (SeasonTwo) – 2010 (3.3). After the two senior members of the cast tone down their
own problems, the series concentrates more on their children and grandchildren,
realistically presenting situations which echo some of our own past
experiences. Many of the issues that arise in this extended family seem
contemporary and then we realize they are actually matters that families have
always faced but that have not often been portrayed so well on TV. Good writing
and effective performances by the ensemble, combined with coming to know them
better as characters raise the series a notch and bode well for the future.
Sense and Sensibility
– 1995 (3.0). Directed by Ang Lee from a script by Emma Thompson, this version
of the Austen story is solid and appropriately refined. The novel is copiously
cited in the 2014 best seller economics book “Capital in the Twenty-First
Century”, because the characters continuously use the wealth and income of people
as a measure of their worthiness, particularly as prospective spouses.
Still Mine -2012
(2.8). Married for over 60 years, a rural New Brunswick couple, effectively
played by Genevieve Bujold and James Cromwell, struggles with the coming of
Alzheimer’s to the wife in this Canadian drama based on a true story. The husband draws on his sturdy heritage to
build a small house for them to live in together as long as possible, contending
with unyielding building regulations and bureaucracy along with the declining
condition of his wife. There is strength in the love and resoluteness of the
couple, but the overall effect of the movie is not encouraging.
Titanic: Blood andSteel – 2012 (2.8). Ireland and Italy combined talents for this miniseries
about the building of the great ship in Belfast, set against the background of
political, labor and religious turmoil. We see from the inside both the
shipyard management and the worker families, though the script takes some
dramatic license with the facts. The subplot about trying to track down an
adopted child is a bit distracting but pays off in the end. There are also some
production design flaws such as the kitchen wall with missing plaster and
broken lath in the apartment of immigrant Italian who happens to be a master
plasterer and the fact that his daughter who works as a copyist in the shipyard
somehow is able to afford such a lavish wardrobe of fashionable clothes that
she never wears the same thing twice. The final episode as the people board the
ship for its maiden voyage is appropriately affecting in the realization that
all those who would become lost were real people who had been through much in
their lives and had great hopes for better futures.
Dancing in Jaffa
– 2012 (2.7). An international ballroom dance champion who was born in Jaffa
returns to that city to start a program teaching Palestinian and Jewish
children to dance together, in this earnest documentary. As usual, the children
are quite appealing, particularly the ones on whom the movie concentrates. The
teacher has many cultural barriers to overcome as he works with the children,
their parents and other teachers. The film could have been better organized and
the version being streamed on Netflix lacks subtitles for the portions that are
not in English.
About Time – 2013
(2.6). As a fantasy concept for a movie, being able to travel back in your life
to a time and place where you once were and then to change how you acted back
there sounds fairly simple and potentially fun. But this film shows that the
process is supposed to have some rules as to how it works in practice, and this
script leaves the rules too fuzzy. It doesn’t matter that much though, because
none of the characters are interesting or appealing enough to generate concern
for what happens to them. Opportunities for probing the obvious deep questions
about how changing one life affects the lives of others are lost in the fuzz
and we are given a few trivial platitude morals at the end.
Homeland (SeasonThree) – 2013 (2.4). The writing has definitely become seat of the pants.
The central characters wear out their welcome with repetitive acting and no
nuance or character development. Some previously important characters are dropped,
while new ones are invented and waste our time as does a subplot about a
teenage tryst. The holes in the story and implausible security lapses become
too great to ignore and the season finale rather than enticing us back for next
season instead provides a convenient reason to stop watching.
The Secret Life ofWalter Mitty – 2013 (2.4). Ben Stiller directed and played the title
character in this version of the fantasy. The look and special effects were
fine, but plot of the story was jumbled and weakly connected while the script
was poorly paced and uninteresting without any drama, humor or romance. Walter
had more chemistry with his E-Harmony customer service guy than he did with the
female lead.
The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though
some of the streaming rights may now have expired):
Omar
Parenthood (Season Two)
Titanic: Blood and Steel
Dancing in Jaffa
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