This list wraps the end of 2016 and includes a first DVD for
2017. Viewing has certainly slowed down. A lot of what I watch on TV is PBS
documentaries and I continue to debate which ones should be included on these
lists. I do not miss Netflix streaming and have not taken advantage of Amazon
Prime viewing or free Xfinity movies on demand. Checking availability of 33
movies viewed through the years and highly rated by me, Amazon Prime only had
two and Xfinity on demand for free had one, but the library had 28. I have put some newer movies on
hold at the library but it will take a while for them to come available.
Meanwhile I will be watching more PBS shows. An article with the updates
through 2016 will be forthcoming.
Poldark (Season Two)
– 2016 (3.0). As the story lines progress, Elizabeth becomes less appealing
while Demelza is more so. Ross continues principled if sometimes troubled and
the dastardly George seems overdue for a fall.
The Durrells in Corfu
(Season One) – 2016 (2.9). This fun series follows an impoverished Brit
widow and her four children who relocate to the Greek island of Corfu in the
late 1930s and settle into a charming rental house from which they integrate
with the locals to varying degrees. The children include an aspiring novelist
son, another son who is a bit of a bumbler, a coming of age daughter who is not
too bright but means well and a young boy who is a budding naturalist.
Citizenfour –
2014 (2.9). NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden comes across as more of a patriot
than a traitor in this Oscar nominated documentary about him contacting the
filmmaker and a journalist for help in exposing the extensive, secret and
probably illegal gathering of massive amounts of private communication and other
information on all Americans and millions of people in other countries. Snowden
spent five days in a Hong Kong hotel explaining the clandestine government
activity to two journalists while the filmmaker documented the process and the
immediate aftermath during which Snowden sought asylum and eventually obtained
it in Russia.
Black America SinceMLK – 2016 (2.8). This documentary
uses plenty of archival footage and commentary from social historians all
hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr to tell the story of African Americans over the
last 25 years. Progress but not enough is the message, not surprising in view
of the longer history before MLK. No new insights but a useful compilation.
The Intern - 2015
(2.8). Robert DeNiro plays a widowed executive who is bored with his retired
life and answers an ad seeking interns to work at a new Internet company
selling fashion clothing. He is assigned to company founder Anne Hathaway who
has no use for him at first but then they predictably form a bond. There is no
real depth here but DeNiro projects an appealing authenticity and has pretty
good chemistry with Hathaway. There is gentle humor, but no slapstick or farce,
except for a scene about trying to intercept an e-mail sent in error. Though
set in Brooklyn in 2015, the company and cast are surprisingly devoid of
diversity.
The Judge – 2014
(2.8). Robert Duvall plays a long
serving judge in a small town in Indiana who has just lost his wife of 50
years. His middle son, a hotshot lawyer from Chicago, returns home to a cold
reception from the Judge after having chosen to distance himself from the
family for many years. The plot thickens when the judge is accused of killing a
man he felt he had been too lenient on in sentencing him for a killing many
years ago. The movie should have been shortened by half an hour, which could
have easily been done without damaging the story.
Anne of Green Gables
– 2016 (2.7). It is a challenge to take a classic story which was told on
screen so effectively in the 1985 series and try to condense it into an hour
and a half. There is not enough time for character development and nuanced
acting. It is a testament to the strength of the material that this production
is marginally effective. For those not familiar with the story, this might serve
as an inducement to watch the excellent series.
Indian Summers
(Season Two) – 2016 (2.7). This series about the Brits in India in the
1930s was originally hoped to run for five years, but the second season
succumbed to wandering story lines and characters coming and going in all
directions. As ratings fell the decision was made to end after two and the
finale was a slapdash of sewing up plot lines. Too bad a series with the exotic
charm of India, a typically excellent cast and a fascinating time and place in
history could not have done a better job of telling its story.
The Secret Life ofPets – 2016 (2.7). The parts of this animated movie that show what pets do
when their owners are gone ring pretty true and make us knowingly laugh. But
much of the film follows the created drama of animals with homes suddenly being
on the street and besieged by evil animal control officers and a motley gang of
strays headquartered in the sewers. There does not seem to be any clear message
or point being made by the drama, so a gentler film with a light drama about
our pets at home when we are gone would have been more enjoyable.
45 Years – 2015 (2.7).
On the verge of their 45
th wedding anniversary a Brit couple hits a
bit of a bump when the man receives a letter from Switzerland bringing up the
matter of a girlfriend from his pre-marriage days who was killed in an accident
way back then. The feelings this taps into for both people is subtly presented,
but the resulting movie could have benefitted from at least a pinch of drama.
American Sniper –
2014 (2.7). This movie directed by Clint Eastwood is quite heavily weighted in
favor of showing action scenes of the true exploits of a Navy Seal who served
four tours in Iraq providing defensive sniper fire to protect American troops.
There is very little depth about his personal life, his relationships with
family and fellow service members, the Iraqi people and circumstances involving
American forces, or the attitude of American troops beyond pursuing their
violent duties with a vengeance. This is a bit at the end about the
psychological effects of his service on him and others who served.
