Three Identical Strangers
– 2018 (3.0). [This
was watched a couple months ago but left off the lists here]. This
documentary has a dramatic way of telling a fascinating story of what
can happen when well meaning academics forget about the importance of
the human relationship of the people they study.
RBG
– 2018 (2.9). SCOTUS Justice Ginsburg is a remarkable woman and
this bio documentary does her justice. Interviews with family and
colleagues are combined with archival footage and audio recordings of
her appearances as an attorney before the high court on which she now
serves. Her intelligence, dedication, commitment, amazing work ethic
and outspoken brilliance in speaking for this discriminated against
have made her an icon to young people, who gave her “The Notorious
RBG” as her octogenarian Rap name. Her testimony to the Senate
Judiciary Committee was mesmerizing and the scenes of Senators of all
political stripes paying rapt attention is as inspiring now as it was
in 1993 when the Senate confirmed her appointment to SCOTUS by a vote
of 96-3.
Victoria (Season Three)
– 2018 (2.9). The series maintains the high quality values while
still being subject to the complaints about season two, and this year
there is too much time spent on the turmoil in the relationship
between Victoria and Albert, especially with the introduction of her
scheming half sister to the cast. The turmoil seems to be resolved by
the time of the great exposition at the Crystal Palace, a major
accomplishment for Albert, but perhaps at the expense of his health.
Foreign Secretary Palmerston is a major presence and though he seems
to exit at the end, history may bring him back.
Churchill's Secret
– 2016 (2.8). Michael Gambon plays Winston and Lindsay Duncan plays
Clementine in this telling of the three month 1953 recovery of the
Prime Minister from a major stroke which was kept secret from the
public for many years. The novel on which the movie is based creates
a fictional nurse (played by Romola Garai) who tends Churchill and is
key to his recovery. The toll the man's greatness took on his wife
and children is shown, with the kids in particular coming off as
unpleasantly damaged people.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season Nine)
– 2017 (2.8). Seinfeld version 2.0 continues with Larry David style
tact challenged quirkiness and HBO normal profanity. Young women are
still supposedly attracted to old buggers - at least those with
money. How long can this keep going on, but then why do we keep
begrudgingly laughing?
Doc Martin (Season Eight)
– 2017 (2.8). This series may be getting a little long in the
tooth. New characters get introduced, often only for an episode or
so, and the Doc always has an emergency that enables him to
demonstrate his extraordinary medical skill, even while his Asperger
type behavior continues. More imaginative writing would help insure a
few more years in the picturesque setting with the quirky village
locals.
Ida –
2014 (2.8). This Polish Oscar winner tells the story of a young
novitiate run in bleak Poland in the 1960s, who came to the convent
as an infant orphan. On the verge of taking her final vows she is
informed that she has an aunt living in a Polish city who wants her
to come for a visit. The aunt is a prosecutor and is severe, but with
loose morals. The younger woman is informed that their family was
Jewish and the two women agree to travel to the countryside to look
for the burial place of their relatives who they expect were victims
of violent death near the end of WWII. The journey affects each of
them differently.
Minding the Gap – 2018 (2.8).
Three teenagers from screwed up households in a post industrial rust
belt city share a love of skateboarding as a way of escape. One is
white and soon becomes a dad himself, one is black and sometimes
feels like he is walking the line between black and white. The third,
whose mother is Chinese, starts making home movies of their skating
adventures and then grows into a documentary film maker, tracking the
boys as they try to figure their lives out. There are some really
exciting shots closely following the skaters as they whiz through the
streets and everywhere that looks challenging. The movie maker
probably just had a Go Pro on his head as he careened after his
buddies, but the spectacle easily rivals the work of much more highly
funded productions.
Short Term 12 – 2013 (2.8).
The movie title is the name of a short term residential treatment
facility for teenagers. The residence leader is a young woman in her
twenties who has had troubles of her own in her youth, so she
understands and relates to the kids particularly well. But her
troubled background is baggage she has not been able to leave behind
and she is not able to open up and share it with her therapist and
boyfriend. The film has a genuineness about it and the characters are
all appealing in their troubled ways, evoking sympathy for children
who are victims of their own parents.
A Christmas Story Documentary: RoadTrip for Ralphie – 2008 (2.7). A Canadian couple who both love
the classic movie A Christmas Story, decide to check out the reports
that part of that movie was filmed near their home in Ontario. They
embark on a quest to try and locate all the places where filming was
done for the movie and they make a movie documenting their search.
The result is a home movie that grows on the viewer as the joyful
attitude of the couple and their success with their mission gains
appeal. Along the way they offer lots of trivia about the making of A
Christmas Story and we meet lots of people who were involved in
various ways with the movie when made or through the years as it
became a classic.
A Street Cat Named Bob – 2016
(2.7). Based on a true story and starring the real street cat, this
story follows a street busker who took to the streets as a teenager
and got hooked on heroin. We meet him when he is on methadone and his
caseworker makes special efforts to get him housing. He does not do
well with his income from music, until he is adopted by Bob who
insist on busking with him, which causes business to improve
significantly. There is an offbeat animal lover woman who lives in
the same complex and they become friends. This is a feel good movie
that doesn't quite get beyond that.
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far OnFoot – 2016 (2.6). Made by Gus Van Sant for Amazon, this drama
based on a true story is about an Oregon man who relocates to the
party life in California to indulge his alcoholism and ends up in a
wheelchair for life. Abandoned by his mother at birth, he struggles
with his psychological burdens and with the help of AA and a good
looking lover is able to parlay his quirky humor and marginal art
skill into a career as a cartoonist. Slow, without much drama or
character charisma.
Isle of Dogs – 2018 (2.6). Wes
Anderson accents this animation with Japanese language and setting,
but the eccentricity of his work is still present and the limited
appeal of his style is even more of a detriment to anyone thinking a
young child might like this.
