More from the Library

PBS is going into summer rerun mode but the DVD holds are continuing to roll in from the library, so here are several more.

The Handmaid's Tale (Season One) – 2017 (3.1). Imagine Trump continues to wreak his havoc on our democracy and then is followed by the sanctimonious Pence and you have the scary warning story behind the 1985 novel that became this series. The author Margaret Atwood is working with the series producers to keep things true to the novel and in planned future seasons to take it beyond. The show garnered several Emmy awards, most notably for the drama itself and for the lead actress Elizabeth Moss. Sinclair Lewis told an earlier fascist menace version of this story in his 1935 novel, “It Can't Happen Here”. [Update March 2019: I watched the first couple episodes of season two, which takes the story beyond the book, and found them slow moving, wallowing in horror, and not able to hold my interest enough to watch further].

Coco – 2017 (3.0). Colorful, well-paced and with an interesting story and characters, this movie about family and the remembering of our dead ancestors earned the Best Animated Feature Oscar. The featured song “Remember Me” also won. It is refreshing to watch an animated film without being distracted by the use of many well known actors to supply the voices and the insertion of scenes too cute for their own sake.

The Man Who Invented Christmas -2017 (3.0). This under appreciated movie about Dickens writing “A Christmas Carol” starts a little slow but then soon takes off and draws us into story of the man himself, the writing process and the way he came up with the story that gave Christmas the human empathy we celebrate. The characters truly speak to him as he is writing, especially Scrooge himself (wonderfully played by Christopher Plummer). The production values, acting and directing (Bharat Nalluri needs to do more feature films) in this Canadian and Irish movie are excellent.

Darkest Hour – 2017 (2.9). Gary Oldman inhabits Winston Churchill in this Oscar winning performance about the few weeks starting in May 1940 when Britain faced invasion by the Nazis and pressure at home to let Mussolini broker a peace with Hitler. This is another story so open to the “what if” school of history. If Churchill had not rallied the people and government to stand and fight, it is impossible to tell what would have happened.

Paterson – 2016 (2.9). Paterson lives in the same named city in NJ , which is where he was born and now drives a bus. He is married to Laura and they have an English bulldog. He leads a fairly repetitive life, up in the morning, walk to work, drive the bus, walk home, take the dog out for an evening walk and stop at the local bar for a beer. Laura spices things up a bit with her home and personal improvements, always in black and white and without an particular showing of talent. In his quiet way he does not discourage her, while she overly encourages his artistic endeavor of writing poetry. The city of Paterson has lots of celebrity connections celebrated by thebarkeep, including with the great poet William Carlos Williams. This is a Jim Jarmusch movie, so not a lot happens, but we get to watch quietly as Paterson lives his so-so life, deeply in love with Laura and always observing the people and places he will put into poetry.

Aquarius – 2016 (2.8). Sonia Braga plays 65 year old Brazilian widow Clara still living a block from the beach in the Recife condo unit where she and her husband raised their three children. Developers have bought all the other units and want to tear the old building down and build a new one, but Clara adamantly refuses to sell. The filmmaker is a native of Recife and loves to make movies there. The film is watchable as a bit long study of the current life of Clara with some flashbacks about her past, but it is also intended as an allegory on the social, political and economic change forces in Brazil.

How to Be a Latin Lover – 2017 (2.8). Eugenio Derbez is a very popular actor in Mexico and the humor he brings to this comedy shows why. His character learns early in life in Mexico that working for a living is not the way to go. He scores his ideal lifestyle by marrying a much older American woman of wealth, but after 25 years is supplanted by a younger man. In desperation he seeks out his estranged sister to house him. She has an 8 year old son who the Lothario uses to try to snare his next rich meal ticket. Lots of laugh out loud slapstick and self deprecating humor are blended with just enough heart to not be kitschy, in spite of the low ratings at IMDB. Time to try his earlier hit, “Instructions Not Included”.

My Life as a Zucchini – 2016 (2.8). Animated puppetry is labor intensive as shown in the special feature on the DVD of this French movie about a small group of orphans living at a rural orphanage. Our hero is 10 years old with a no-show Dad and an alcoholic mother he may have accidentally killed. The kids all have similar hard life stories and quite different personalities and coping styles, but they all are ultimately bonded by their common plight and hope that their futures might not be so bleak,

Served Like a Girl – 2017 (2.8). In this documentary several women who served in various branches of the US military are followed as they struggle with the transition back to civilian life. Though their personal stories have differences, there are also commonalities in their struggles. Another common thread in the movies is that they all participate in a competition to be crowned “Ms. Veteran America”, which is intended, like this film, to call attention to the needs of our women veterans.

Carol – 2015 (2.7). In 1952, a wealthy unhappily married New Yorker with a young daughter is instantly drawn to an attractive young woman who works in a department store and has ambitions to be a photographer. While a child custody hearing is pending in the older couple's divorce, the divorcing New Yorker decides to take a break and go on a road trip west, inviting the young girl along. As can be expected, about halfway through the trip they have sex. Despite the age, wealth and class differences, both people are struggling with their sexual identity even as they are clearly drawn to each other. But the greatest difficulty with the relationship is that they are both women. Based on a novel written at the time, the movie goes to great effort to get everything right in the feeling for the time and place and the internal feelings of the women. The story is told on a very personal and non-societal level, which seems to limit the impact it can make on an audience today.

The Disaster Artist – 2017 (2.7). In 2003 a mysteriously eccentric no talent man who believed he was a great actor and cinematic master was befriended by a newbie classmate in an acting class in San Francisco. They moved together to LA and the mystery man self-funded an indie film [The Room] he wrote and directed and in which he played the lead and his friend the second role. Though the movie reportedly cost around $6 million, it was a total box office dud. However, it was so bad that it became a midnight movie cult laugh fest and eventually earned enough to break even. The current movie tells the ludicrous story of making that dud, but never answers any questions about the mysteries of the man. If you want to make a film about the making of a truly lousy film, this may be about as good as you can do.

Faces Places – 2017 (2.7). Agnes Varda, octogenarian movie director, teams up with a young male photographer muralist for a road trip to villages in France, where they park his van and attract locals to pose for photos which he then prints out on large sheets and works with his crew and Agnes to install them on local buildings. The documentary has the charm of an inter-generational road trip and the warmth of interactions between the two artists with each other and with the locals. There is commentary on the philosophy of art and life, but not enough of a message to make the film especially memorable.

The Greatest Showman – 2017 (2.7). Lots of work went into creating this lavish musical about the making of P.T. Barnum. We have a classic rags to riches story with a fall and recovery, lots of vigorous dancing and varied songs, elaborate production values and costumes, and the incredible cast of natural (more or less) oddities. But somehow all the gusto and the songs and music and story do not quite come together enough to fully take hold and remain memorable.

The Revenant – 2015 (2.7). DiCaprio wins an Oscar (on his sixth nomination) for doing survivalist revenge as an 1823 fur trapper (an actual historical person) in the Rockies (at first filmed in Canada and then moved to Argentina as the Canadian weather warmed) who is left behind in the hands of three men after being mauled by a bear. Unfortunately one is a scoundrel who must be hunted down in the next two and a half hours of screen time, for which the director Alejandro G. Iñárritu also won an Oscar (his second in a row). The beautiful all natural light cinematography of winter in the Rockies (and Argentina) by Emmanuel Lubezki also won (for three in a row).

Things to Come– 2016 (2.7). A pair of French philosophy professors are settled into their lives and emptying their nest when the man unexpectedly announces he is leaving his wife for another woman. We follow her as she is at first disrupted and then seeks to identify and explore her new found freedom, including visits to a mountain retreat commune where a young former student is exploring his own emerging activism. There is not much that actually happens in this French movie, though it passes easily enough.

Inside Out – 2015 (2.2). Pixar again used celebrities to voice odd looking animated characters in this psycho babble story about an 11 year old girl unhappy over her move to Frisco from Minnesota. Supposedly we are able to see the girl from the outside and also her emotions from the inside. The interior world is drawn in excruciatingly extensive detail.

Phantom Thread - 2017 (2.2). Put a top notch actor in the role of a temperamental fashion genius in 1950s Britain, mix in his very uptight sister who is his fashion partner, then add a young foreigner waitress who is drawn to him in a sickish way, clothe in ridiculously expensive silly gowns and serenade first with jazzy music and then with classical pieces, make sure it is slow moving, boring and overlong and you have this dud.

Anomalisa – 2015 (1.7). This stop motion animated movie about a bored middle age man having an evening with an ingenue who enchants him is supposed to be a life changing inspiration, at least for him. Rather good animation techniques are marred by three gimmicks, in no particular order of annoyance: faces with visible modular joints, male voices for all characters except the ingenue who speaks with a beguilingly cute voice, and oral sex performed by the old bugger on the young woman.

Nominees, Winners and PBS

So the award nominees and winners are starting to become available on DVD at the library and most are only marginal or worse. The few better ones rise to the level of the several PBS shows also at the top of the list presented below.

Call the Midwife (Season Seven) -2017 (3.2). The series continues to maintain its quality as it progresses chronologically further into the 1960s, with character progression, succession and suppression. Color is added by a midwife from Jamaica.

Loving Vincent – 2017 (3.0). One hundred or so artists painted thousands of oil paintings over the course of two years, in a style like Van Gogh, and these were brought to life through animation to make this evocative movie. The story line is that the postmaster who was friends with Vincent was given a letter Vincent had written to his brother Theo but not mailed before Vincent died, The postmaster deputizes his aimless son to deliver the letter, but the young man quickly finds Theo is also dead. He then embarks on an inquiry of the locals, trying to determine whether Vincent had in fact shot himself or been shot by someone else, perhaps by accident. The frames of the film pulse with the motion evoked by the paintings of Van Gogh, and the faces of the historical people are rendered as there similar looking actors. As the young man discovers the real Vincent, we are motivated to reacquaint ourselves with him also.

The Breadwinner -2017 (2.9). Adapted from a novel, this animated drama tells the story of a young girl in Afghanistan who poses as a boy in order to work and earn money for her family after her father is sent to prison by the Taliban. The movie alternates between the somewhat bleak story of the family struggles and a more colorful storytelling of an ancient fable about a young boy facing monsters in order to save his village.

Little Women -2018 (2.9). The Alcott classic makes yet another appearance, this time on PBS as a two part presentation. The appeal of the story and quality of production and acting beg for a more in depth treatment spread over many episodes. Though there are items from the life of the author in this story, it is not an autobiography. The American Masters film on Alcott gives the true story of her life and makes a good double billing with the new movie.

Unforgotten (Season Two) -2017 (2.9). The series improves ever so slightly as we know the detectives and the investigative techniques better and become better detectives ourselves. Still the ending to the second season is a new twist product of cleverly believable writing.

The Big Sick -2017 (2.8). Based on a true story and starring the real Pakistani American comedian, this romantic comedy starts of fun decently paced but then begins to bog down a bit and seem a little draggy. The chemistry is good between the leads and the supporting cast is adequate, but the script spends too much time on the comedy club supporting characters and too little time on the Pakistani family conflicts over the cultural traditions. Nevertheless it is basically a fun movie to watch, knowing the big sickness is not going to be the end.

The Florida Project – 2017 (2.8). Independent filmmaker Sean Baker wanted to entertain and inform with this movie about a six year old girl and her single mother living a “nearly homeless” life in a rundown motel near Disney World in Florida. The girl and her playmates are intended to be entertainingly reminiscent of Spanky and Our Gang, while the plight of the mother trying to come up with motel rent informs us of this other world under our noses. The mother is not a particularly sympathetic character, indeed she is an easy target for justified criticism. Willem Dafoe, the only professional in the cast, playing the beleaguered resident motel manager serves as a brusquely sympathetic link between the precarious life of the girl and her mother and the rest of the world that is considered more normal. The DVD special features are helpful in understanding how Baker works and in meeting the cast.

I, Tonya – 2017 (2.8). In a variation on Rashomon, the story of ice skater Tonya Harding is told through enacted interviews with the skater and others in her life, interwoven with enactments of the events in her life as they are being told by the various participants. We may already know the story, the movie says, or do we only have an amalgamation of viewpoints with varying truth. The film moves along, the skating special effects are seamless and while you may not particularly like her, you have to begrudge a degree of sympathy. Supporting Actress Oscar winner Allison Janney as the mom is a real life Cruella.

Lady Bird – 2017 (2.8). A promising writing and directing debut for actress Greta Gerwig, this dramedy brings some freshness to the story of a high school student wanting to break out of her shell and go to a college away from home. There is a lot going on in her life and it would be fun to follow her experiences in more depth as was done in a very good TV series with similar themes almost 25 years ago – My So-Called Life.

The Post – 2017 (2.8). The decision whether to publish the Pentagon Papers revealing the decades of deceit behind America's involvement in Vietnam was a monumental one for Katherine Graham, the owner of the Washington Post. She had taken over the helm after the unexpected death of her husband and was in the process of taking a huge segment of the company public. The New York Times was under a temporary court injunction not to publish, so legal exposure for the Post could be enough to scare off investors and potentially be the beginning of the end for the paper. In the short period of time portrayed in the movie, Graham with the support of her editor Ben Bradlee decides to do it and the Supreme Court ultimately comes down in favor of the newspapers. Steven Spielberg puts his familiar touch on the direction, at times unable to resist a tendency to be hokey, but Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks do good jobs as the principals.

Unforgotten (Season One) -2015 (2.8). In this Brit mystery miniseries a body is discovered after being buried for who knows how many years. Identifying the deceased, determining if there was foul play and trying to track down witnesses and suspects after decades falls to a special task force dedicated to seeking justice for the unforgotten. The format of the script alternates between the crime lab and detectives diligently pursuing every lead, while we also get glimpses into the current lives of several people who soon become persons of interest. They all seem to be hiding something, but is it material to determining responsibility for the death and will the police be able to figure it out by season end?

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – 2017 (2.7). This movie had a lot of promise, with an unsolved heinous crime in a small town, a dying policeman taken to task by the mother of the victim and supporting characters who interestingly filled out the cast. Unfortunately about midway through the script took a turn for the worse deteriorating into a succession of criminal acts of vengeance that nobody seemed interested in stopping or punishing and that did nothing to actually solve the crime.

Molly's Game – 2017 (2.6). This overlong drama about a very bright Olympic skier who became the organizer of a poker game for high rollers contains lots of fast and witty dialogue but the movie drags and fails to create any empathy or much drama. We know from the start that she will eventually run afoul of the law, but we are not sure until the end what will be her punishment. Apparently we are supposed to be uplifted by her ultimate decision on a plea bargain and the effect that has on her sentencing, though the main effect on the audience may be relief that the movie is finally over.

Call Me By Your Name – 2017 (2.5). The 17 year old precocious son of a professor spends the summer at their Villa in northern Italy and is enraptured with a confident man who comes to stay a while and work under the professor. This happens at a time when the boy is confronting his sexual identity, a task with which the visitor helps him, while the parents seem to remain a bit disengaged. This movie is for those drawn to the subject matter, otherwise it plods.

The Shape of Water – 2017 (2.5). Guillermo del Toro likes his creatures and odd stories and this movie is another one. A fish man from the Amazon is of interest to cold war scientists. He is in an American facility being tortured by the evil security head while a mute cleaning lady becomes romantically interested in him. Lonely oddball people meet fish man, so therefore give it the Oscar.

The Square – 2017 (2.4). This movie had something to say, but good luck figuring out what it was, in spite of two and a half hours of trying. The fact that it is a Swedish film is not the problem. The script is a muddle with scenes supposedly connected but with the links not actually interesting enough to click on; yet nevertheless they just keep playing themselves. Beggars and people needing help, immigrant prejudice, pretentious art and a hodgepodge of other garbage, like a predator ape man at a fund raising gala for a museum and quite literally an overhead shot of the museum director looking through a dumpster of trash bags. Oh and do not forget about the after sex scene where the participants have a tug of war over the used condom.

Long Again

Here is another list of some length, some from the library and PBS and some from cable Watchathon week. Scouring the awards nominees from the last couple months of awards lists has produced a couple dozen prospects for the library hold list and those should be coming available in the next few months. This Is Us made it to the top again.

This Is Us (Season Two) – 2017 (3.2). It can be hard for a new series to improve in the second season, especially when the first year was very impressive, so a drop off for this series was probably expected. The originality of the story line and the time shifting techniques held attention throughout the first year but did lose a bit of novelty in the second. Nevertheless, viewers were able to learn more about the background and depth of the central characters and their relationships even as some new characters were introduced. Some questions from the first season were answered in the second but new questions also came into play. Near the end of the season, some episodes seemed to lag at times or have less consequence. The last episode offered a couple teases for next season.

The Crown (Season One) – 2016 (3.0). Nice production values and acting with decent writing make for an enjoyable experience reliving the years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The first season takes us up to the retirement of Churchill (played well after the initial casting jolt by John Lithgow). Claire Foy as the Queen captures the noblesse oblige and the basic humanity of this monarch most of whose family come off as pretty insufferable. Historians may quibble with various details and political characterizations, but the gist of what it is like to be the one wearing The Crown and upholding its symbolism and meaning is what the series is about and that is well presented.

Victoria (Season Two) – 2017 (3.0). The second season of this series did not show improvement in writing and in fact flattened and fell slightly. The problem is lack of historical information on the bigger picture of what was going on in the empire Victoria ruled and in the world at large. The series takes more of a romance novel approach to the Queen and her relationship with Albert and her extended family, which is not that bad in itself, but then too much time is spent on the romantic novel aspects of the lives of minor characters. There is much production quality to hold faithful viewers, but covering more significant historical matters and spending less time on the love lives of peripheral people would take the series up a few notches.

Brooklyn – 2015 (2.9). Saoirse Ronan does a star turn of acting in this story of a young woman from a small Irish village who comes to Brooklyn in 1952 to start a new life of opportunity. Under the guidance of an old Irish priest she lives in a boarding house and gets a department store job and goes to night school at Brooklyn College to gain bookkeeping certification. Along the way she falls for a son of Italian immigrants. Meanwhile back in the old country her older sister cares for the widowed mother and lives vicariously through the younger girl. On a trip back to Ireland the immigrant sees her old home through new eyes and likes some of what she sees, but also remembers there is much not to like. The movie and work of Ronan capture some of the inner turmoil, but the novel on which it is based had more opportunity for depth, capturing the inner thoughts of the young woman which are hard to fully transmit on the screen. The movie script also took some liberties with the novel, not only leaving out parts but also changing some of the aspects of the story.

Crown, The (Season Two) – 2017 (2.9). The series moves along chronologically and we continue only briefly to touch on major world events but go into rather a lot of detail on the personal lives of the members of the royal family. This is apparently what the series will continue to be as it runs up to date. It is rather like a docudrama with a bit more drama than doc.

Game of Thrones (Season Seven) – 2017 (2.9). The penultimate season has the protagonists narrowing down to the dragon queen, the evil Cersei and the dreaded white walkers. Political machinations continue and relationships develop as we anticipate the final year of the series and speculate on the ultimate denouement.

Icarus – 2017 (2.9). Illegal doping in sports is common but especially practiced by the Russian State and Putin. This documentary involves one American bicyclist working with a Russian whistle-blower doctor. As we follow the Russian we are first enchanted by him and then become fearful for his safety.

Mudbound – 2017 (2.9). In rural Mississippi after WWII a white bomber pilot and a black tank driver are depressed by what they have come back to and they bond over their common experiences in the war in Europe. This does not sit well with those, black and white, who remained home during the war. Racial tensions are great and are inevitably going to come to a head creating drama in wondering what the outcome will be. Some may see the ending of the movie as a bit of a compromise.

Their Finest – 2016 (2.9). England in 1940 during the blitz and after Dunkirk needed morale boosters and propaganda to encourage the US to enter the war. A movie about the heroism of the English people in rescuing their trapped troops from Dunkirk so that they could fight on was just what was needed. Desperate for writing talent, they recruited a young secretary to work on the script. She was talented and attractive and came with her own life story as she encountered her new work mates on the film. The resulting movie within a movie is effective in evoking the danger of the blitz, the heroism of ordinary people, the serendipity of life and death in wartime on the home front and the connections that people need and find in times of strife.

Winnie – 2017 (2.9). Behind every great man, they say, there is a great woman. This documentary does an effective job of persuading viewers that Winnie Mandela was that woman behind her husband Nelson. During all his years of imprisonment she was the defiantly activist face of the African National Congress movement to end apartheid and allow black South Africans the right of self-determination. The white government fought her all the way both openly and by clandestine operations such as infiltration and planting of false news. Under the pretext of Winnie being unfaithful to their marriage during his imprisonment, Nelson chose to ditch Winnie in order to become the first black leader of South Africa. She still serves in the SA Parliament and was a key interviewee in this film along with one of her daughters, black advocates and white SA officials who discuss their tactics to undermine her. Winnie is disappointed that SA did not become a more socialist country.

Dolores -2017 (2.8). Dolores Huerta was a cofounder of the farmworkers union movement with Cesar Chavez, but she is much less well known, something this earnest documentary is intended to change. Using much archival footage and current interviews with still living activists of the time, with some of her eleven children and with Dolores herself, the movie chronicles the movement and touches on her personal life, though not always in a linear trajectory.

Get Out – 2017 (2.8). An Oscar nominated horror movie by a first time black director is worth a look, even for someone not a fan of the scary genre. The movie holds interest as we realize the white New England gentry hosting the black boyfriend of their daughter are a little creepy and they and their friends more than a bit awkward in the way they readily accept the black man. Even weirder are the black maid and gardener who seem related to the Stepford Wives. The original story was written about the time of the first Obama election, but the ending was changed as the Obama Presidency continued and the idea of what type of conversation on race the movie might prompt also changed.

Stronger – 2017 (2.8). Based on a true story of a man who lost both legs while a spectator in the Boston Marathon bombing, this drama starts out strong as he and his off again on again girlfriend and his alcoholic mother and various relatives and friends cope with the aftermath. He becomes a poster boy for the Boston Strong movement, which while well intended adds to his burdens. But the movie loses some steam as the character of the man who saved his life at the scene enters the picture and the transformation in attitude of the victim seems a little abrupt.

When God Sleeps – 2017 (2.8). This documentary follows an Iranian rap/rock musician in exile in Germany. His writing and music has resulted in an Iranian fatwa with a bounty on his head that increases as he continues to put his music on the internet. Living in constant fear for his life, his band members quit but some Germans take their place. His girlfriend and mother worry about him as he vows not to be intimidated from performing. In the course of the movie we learn a little more about his early life and how he became an opponent of religion in general and the state religion in particular, and ultimately whether he is an atheist, agnostic or maybe someone who just thinks God is asleep.

The Red Turtle – 2016 (2.7). Studio Ghibli reached out to a European animator to create the first animated movie Ghibili would produce that was not made by a Japanese artist. Without dialogue and with noninvasive music and simple but highly detailed drawings, the story of a man stranded on a bamboo forested island is a timeless tale of fighting nature evolving into integrating with nature. However, the film does not have the same allure and spirit as the traditional Ghibli offerings as its subtle message plays out over eighty minutes.

Baby Driver – 2017 (2.6). A mysterious young man who is always listening to music on his i-pod as he drives getaway cars for a rotating band of bank robbers is the central character of this offbeat movie. At the start of the film the music choreographed with the movements of the man and the cars he drives is engaging, but then the film devolves into a more standard actioner with a young girl love interest and conflict with the gang boss. Never mind all the innocent victims along the way.

The Boss Baby -2017 (2.6). Animation from DreamWorks checks off all the blocks for what is supposed to be worth producing, but the story line is a curious mix of corporate management ills and young sibling rivalry. Fortunately it moves along fast enough that the audience does not have to be concerned about esoteric corporate aspects.

Do Not Resist – 2016 (2.6). The maker of this documentary is the son of a police officer with significant SWAT team experience. Concern for undue militarization of police forces and SWAT teams was the impetus for the movie. For a couple years such police teams were followed and filmed in action. There is also much footage of police involvement with community protestors and of teams executing search warrants. There is some showing of politicians in public forums considering the acquisition of military equipment for police forces. There are no interviews with opinionated experts and there is no narration, just occasional screen text with information and data. We are left feeling like a case was made against excessive militarization of police but without clarity of the details of the case.

The Child in Time – 2017 (2.4). This novel turned into a movie is about a man whose four year old daughter disappeared while he was checking out at the supermarket. Over time he and his wife from whom he becomes estranged try to cope with the loss of their only child. We see a little bit of his parents and too much of his publisher (he writes children's books). We get many flashbacks and false sightings but no real news about the investigation or search for the child. We know the stories of all the characters are supposed to tell us something about lost childhood as well as a lost child – but it comes across as a tedious effort for naught.

A Longer List

This list is larger than usual, extending an extra month. Normally the movies through year end would be added to my ratings lists and then the new lists published here. Unfortunately, the host server for my lists has been down for an extended period and may not return. I have tried to post the lists as blogger pages, but they are in long Excel spreadsheets and do not convert well in Blogger. I need to find a new server or a better way to convert them to Blogger.

This Is Us (Season One) – 2016 (3.7). NBC came up with a winner when they approved this series about a couple delivering a multiple birth in 1980. That starting point takes us to multiple intertwining story lines both forward and back and even a bit sideways as we get to know the characters in ever increasing depth. It is almost like the arc was written out on index cards which were then cleverly rearranged out of sequence to take us back and forth relevant to what we are learning at a given time about the characters and about life cycles in general. The experience would be familiar to a genealogist who develops the family history from expanding research that is never completely linear. Individual characters ebb and flow in our likability index as we learn more about them and how, in the words of a favorite cliche, they play the hand they were dealt. Often a development in the show makes the viewer realize that is something they never thought about in their own life; for example, who was present and waiting at the time of your birth.

Wadjda – 2012 (3.2). Saudi Arabia does not even have any movie theaters, but a Saudi woman director managed to film this movie in that country, the first feature length movie ever made there. The story is about a free spirited girl who wants a bicycle and joins the religion club at her school in order to enter a Koran knowledge contest to win the money to buy the bike. With help from Germans and other Europeans, the script was perfected and the movie shot under restrictive circumstances, including the director not being allowed to be present in public for the filming (she had to direct some scenes by walkie-talkie from a nearby van. The heroine is perfectly cast for the role and the movie offers a knowledgeable peek inside everyday Saudi Arabia. The DVD special features about making the film and an interview with the director are very good.

Little Big Lies – 2017 (3.1). The story from an Australian novel is transported to Monterrey California and made into a miniseries giving several actresses a chance to showcase their talent. A tale of female rivalries and friendships interwoven with issues of stress and violence in family and personal relationships, the plot also involves some whodunit aspects, with a few different twists. Smoothly directed and well-acted by the women and also the children, with good support from the men, the series was well enough received that it is being extended into a second season, where it will face the challenge of extending original material without deterioration.

Close-Up – 1990 (2.9). This Iranian movie is considered a classic because of its uniqueness. In real life Iran, a sad and weak man with maybe some talent but certainly some delusions that he could do impressive artistic work falls into an opportunity to pose as a famous young movie director. The upper middle class family he targets figures the ruse out quite soon and goes to the authorities. The man is charged with fraud and the story makes the papers where it intrigues an older movie director. This all really happened. The older director then decides to make a movie reenactment of the story, using the actual people. The DVD includes a follow up interview with the faker and some people who know him and a couple interviews with the older director.

Gifted – 2017 (2.9). This is a story of a first grade girl who is a super math whiz. She is being raised by her uncle in Florida who wants her to live a more normal life instead of the prodigy life that was forced on the similarly gifted mother of the girl. But Grandpa has a different plan. Shot entirely on location (actually in Georgia) with a small cast, the movie is emotionally effective, primarily because of the winning performance by the young actress Mckenna Grace.

After the Storm – 2016 (2.8). A flash in the pan novelist working as a detective to make ends meet is also a barely-show Dad. The man finally spends some time with his son and pines for his ex-wife who now has a financially successful suitor. Widowed grandma would like to see the whole family reunited. The sister of the flaky dad is rightfully concerned about him taking advantage of grandma. Not a lot of story is presented here, but the characters and interactions hold interest.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special 2017 – 2017 (2.8). Set during the deep freeze during which 1962 changed to 1963, the various stories covered seem to lack any connection other than the weather. An older grouchy police sergeant pops up in the neighborhood and could become a foil for the oldest midwife.

I Am Another You -2017 (2.8). A young female Chinese filmmaker studying in New York travels to Florida and meets an interesting young American from Utah who is joyously living the free life of a homeless person, so she decides to follow and film him. All starts well enough, but then problems develop and she aborts the project. Sometime later she decides to track him down and see how he is doing. What she finds is a more complete story on the man and his family and the mental health issues with which he and so many other homeless people contend. The technique is mostly interviews and filmed interactions. There are no experts or analysts.

Land of Mine -2015 (2.8). During WWII the Germans heavily mined Danish beaches to thwart any Allied invasion. After the war, German prisoners were forced by the Danish to remove these mines. This gripping Danish drama centers on an abusive Danish sergeant in charge of a detail of young Germans given this very dangerous task. This movie is yet another reminder that wars do not actually end when we think they are over.

The Salesman – 2016 (2.8). In this Iranian drama, a husband and wife both are appearing in a stage production of Death of a Salesman when she is assaulted by an intruder in their apartment. The incident causes strain in their relationship and the husband embarks on a mission to find and punish the perpetrator, without having a clear idea of what the punishment should be. Tying in with the stage play, humiliation is a theme in the movie.

Unrest – 2017 (2.8). A newlywed Harvard doctoral candidate became ill with a mysterious disease and she and her husband struggled to get it diagnosed. When they finally learned it was chronic fatigue syndrome, she decided to make a documentary about her efforts to cope with it. What could have been a depressing movie for the audience is avoided by the realistically upbeat attitude of the couple and by her finding other people around the world with the same problem and incorporating their stories into the film. This effort should help raise awareness of this very misunderstood disease which afflicts twice as many people as MS.

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin – 2017 (2.8). The San Francisco writer and his friends and colleagues are interviewed and shown in archival footage to deliver an enjoyable documentary about his life and his stories celebrating the humanity of the individual without prejudgment based on race, gender or sexual preference.

Winter Sleep – 2014 (2.8). An actor and his divorced sister have inherited a historic hotel in a secluded Middle Eastern village in this Turkish drama. The actor has a young wife who is trying to be a community school activist. The actor has a long time foreman and a long time tenant family seriously in arrears. Since it is winter, only a few international guests pass through the hotel. Many conversations take place between the various characters, revealing underlying tensions without any apparent progress being made.

Shadow World- 2016 (2.7). Archival footage and interviews with various people familiar with how arms dealers and defense contractors peddle their wares to governments are the components of this documentary intended to shine a light on the shadowy arms trading. But the movie jumps around to different parts of the story in different places and times and never gives any hopeful possibilities for reigning in this dangerous beast.

Sully – 2016 (2.7). The Story of the "Miracle on the Hudson" emergency landing of a commercial jetliner on the river is told through the vehicle of following the inquiry into the accident and interleaving it with flashbacks of the lead up to and actual time of the crash, all focused on the celebrated pilot. At first, his decision to ditch on the river rather than head back to the airport is questioned by computer simulations, but the pilot challenges the accuracy of the sims. This is a formulaic but entertaining celebration of the value of sill, temperament and experience.

I Am Not Your Negro – 2016 (2.6). At the time of his death James Baldwin left the beginnings of a novel he was writing about the deaths of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. This documentary attempts to envision the completed book, but it never seems to come together. Lots of archival footage is shown of Baldwin and the three men who were killed, tied together with footage from old movies intended to make some points which at times are obvious for the stereotyping of black characters and at other times are just not clear as to why they were included. There is a fair amount of Baldwin giving talks and dialoguing and debating on interview shows at an intellectual level that can be hard to digest. The final talk by Baldwin makes the point that white America created "the Negro" so it is really the problem of white America to figure out how that creation has failed and to correct it.

Steve Jobs – 2015 (2.6). Eschewing the cradle to grave biopic approach, this script uses the backstage before three Apple product reveals for dialogue intensive reveals of back story and relationship frictions. Jobs is so unlikable and two of the three Apple products featured were flops. This movie comes close to being a match to the person and those products. 

Where Do We Go Now? – 2011 (2.6). Lebanon barely has a film industry, so this movie by a female Lebanese director is a rarity. Her goal was to make a statement about the stupidity of wars between people who foolishly allow themselves to be divided into rival groups. Set in a small village in a generic Middle Eastern country, the villagers are composed of Christians and Muslims who all get along fine – until trouble between the groups in other part of the country breaks out into fighting. Soon, the village is caught up in the same nonsense and the women decide they must do something to stop it. The concept is good, the amateur acting is authentic enough and the locations are excellent, but the script is problematic. The characters are not adequately developed or nuanced, musical numbers are inserted at odd times, occasional attempts at humor are inconsistent and there is little if any dramatic arc.

Movie Ratings Lists Being Revised

January 2018

My lists of movies rated Alphabetically and from high to low are in the process of being revised. New lists will be posted here when the revision is completed.

Unseemly Politics

Keeping track of our current nasty political times cuts into video viewing time, but it has motivated me to catch up with the last couple seasons of Veep, the nasty political spoof that unfortunately is becoming more real.

Veep (Season Five) – 2016 (3.1). Broadcast in the spring of 2016 before Trump secured the Republican nomination for President, the profanely irreverent fifth season of this comedy seems to be like fiction turning to sick reality. The personality clashes, dubious alliances and perpetual back stabbing that seem so far-fetched have now become reality. Maybe to some degree Presidential politics has always had these problems, but what this series presents is now being played out daily in the real White House. The series is supposed to wind up next year. Hopefully the Trump Presidency will end even sooner.

Merchants of Doubt – 2014 (3.0). This slick looking documentary from Robert Kenner does an impressive job of exposing the think tanks and spokespeople for the sleazy world of anti-government prostitutes and obstructionists, concentrating on climate change deniers.  The tactics that were developed by the tobacco industry have been transferred to the fossil fuel field without skipping a beat and with more vitriol as our political discourse has continued to deteriorate. Rational discussion is rebuffed by these people. Violent reaction is tempting, while a midway tactic seems elusive. The movie could have done a better job of guiding the audience to what to do.

The Durrells in Corfu(Season Two) – 2017 (3.0). The family becomes even more attached to their new home and all learn more about their surroundings, themselves and the other family members and friends. Mercifully, the cast is not burdened with an excess of new characters; there are just enough to add to the story of the family. For the audience, the cast and setting continue to endear and invite back for further stories.

The Eagle Huntress – 2016 (3.0). On the desolate but beautiful plains of Mongolia a thirteen year old girl wants to follow in the footsteps of her male ancestors and learn to hunt with a golden eagle. Village elders say women are not fit for the task, but the father of the girl knows she is a natural and works with her to develop her interest and skills. The process and results are shown in this documentary, scenic in its settings, respectful of the culture shown and uplifting in presenting the relationship of father and daughter and the ability of desire and work to accomplish a goal.

The Night of – 2016 (3.0). Based on a BBC series, this crime miniseries tells a compelling story of a NYC college student son of Pakistani immigrants who is charged as the murderer of a young woman supported by what they consider is overwhelming evidence of guilt. A courthouse trolling lawyer with serious skin problems initially gobbles up the defendant who is confined to the horrors of Rikers Island pending trial. We are kept guessing about guilt as the defense turns up other possible suspects, a dedicated cop keeps seeking more evidence against the student, other defense lawyers horn in and the defendant seems to adapt to his new environment. The characters are interesting and thetrial ends in such a way that the door is left open for a possible second season.

Poldark (SeasonThree) – 2017 (3.0). The saga progresses into the years of the French Revolution and corresponding political concern in England. Various characters come and go but the main ones remain with their ongoing problems. Ross Poldark struggles with many issues and loses a bit of his appeal, but the Villain George continues to repulse. By season end, Ross seems to be realizing he needs to become more politically active, which makes us primed for season four.

Veep (Season Four) – 2015 (2.9). After watching season three on DVD it seemed so discouragingly cynical about the American Presidency that I decided not to watch any further seasons. I rated it low but forgot to even write a note about it on this blog. After the series cleaned up for the sixth year at the Emmys, I decided to watch season four, which finished up just a week or two before Donald Trump came down the escalator to begin his ridiculous run for President. Trump must have watched the show and is using parts of it for his Presidency. Looks like I will need to watch the rest of the seasons to see how it turns out. Julia Louis-Dreyfus would likely be better at the job than Trump.

Almost Sunrise – 2016 (2.8). Two Milwaukee vets of US 21^st century wars struggle with PTSD and decide to hike 2700 miles from home to California for a mental break and to call attention to the issue of vets struggling with PTSD. This documentary follows the men and interviews their wives and family, friends and some counselors. A type of meditative practice seems most effective. From the counselors we learn about moral guilt men carry from fighting in these latest wars of dubious basis and purpose.

The Beatles: EightDays a Week – 2016 (2,8). Ron Howard mixed lots of performance and other archival film with old and new interviews to make this entertaining documentary about the years the Beatles toured. Nothing really new is learned but revisiting the songs is quite enjoyable for fans, which means just about everyone. The Special Edition DVD set has extended content including more early performance footage, discussion of their musical technique and a Japanese narrated segment covering the Beatles in Tokyo.

Dark Horse – 2015 (2.8). A Welsh mining village fallen on hard times is lifted a bit by a group of residents who form an alliance to breed and race a thoroughbred horse in this heartfelt documentary. The horse comes from unlikely prospects but a top notch trainer is surprised to see a bit of hope, so the horse is entered in a series of races and does fairly well with ups and downs and then starts to blossom. How high can he rise, will he remain healthy and what will happen to him if he does not are questions that keep us watching and cheerfully rooting for the horse and for the owners too.

Fats Domino and theBirth of Rock and Roll – 2016 (2.8). Archival performance footage, interviews with Fats and his colleagues and opinions from admirers comprise this tribute movie. There is only a minor amount of biopic, as it is almost all about the music. American Masters played it as an hour piece but the DVD has a director's cut of about an hour and a half.

Our Little Sister –  2016 (2.8). Dad is estranged from the three young adult daughters of his first marriage when he dies during his third. The daughters travel to his funeral where they meet the orphaned 15 year old half-sister from the second marriage. The oldest girl has assumed the mother role since the first wife has also been estranged from her daughters, so she and invites the half-sister to come live with the three sisters in the ancestral home. This Japanese movie is well acted and gently directed. The bits of humor are not contrived and the script, though not particularly dramatic, plays out naturally as the back story of the family and the feelings of the women start to be revealed.

Veep (Season Six)– 2017 (2.8). In a way it is like the so-called "previous investment trap", watching season six because of having watched the first five. With the disgusting Trump now actually in the White House, the Veep team coping with the big setback finale of last season might offer hope for the biggest of all Presidential setbacks for Trump and his team. The sixth season does not get us there yet, but sets up a seventh and supposedly final season. It would be great if next year was also the Trump finale.

Master of None(Season One) – 2016 (2.6). Comedian Aziz Ansari plays a struggling actor in NYC hanging with a diverse group of friends who like him are obsessed with sex and are barely mindful that people might want to have some deeper direction to their lives. There is a small amount of wit buried in the shallowness of the lives of the characters, but not much actual comedy to make one laugh, causing me to lauch my parachute hallway through.

Toni Erdmann – 2016 (2.6). A workaholic daughter is out of touch with her divorced father, so he goes to extremes to renew his touch with her and to encourage her to lighten up in this overlong German comedy drama, which is not that funny and not that dramatic. There is full frontal nudity of both sexes and nothing much in any of the characters to make one particularly care what happens to them.

Into the Fall

What little I watched this summer is on this list.

All the Way – 2017 (3.2). Movies made from stage plays are often a bit static, but this film defies its stage origins. Bryan Cranston gives an awesome performance as LBJ pushing Congress to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The humanity and profanity of President Johnson are on good display along with his empathy, self-doubt and prodigious political ability.

Hannah Arendt – 2012 (3.0). Quite a bit of research paid off in accomplishing the difficult task of making an entertaining and thought provoking movie about a brilliant German-Jewish professor in the US who was an early exile from Germany and then from a concentration camp in France. The film wisely concentrates on four years of her life, when she covered the Nazi Eichmann trial in Jerusalem and eventually wrote about it in The New Yorker and in a book and then had to weather enormous criticism for her portrayal of Eichmann as a thoughtless bureaucrat mindlessly following orders and for her questioning of whether Jewish community leaders could have done more to protect their people. More of a thinker than a feeler, Arendt failed to properly account for the emotional weight Holocaust survivors were carrying. A great philosopher of political theory, she did significantly contribute to discussions which remain highly relevant. The DVD has some very good special features.

Joe's Violin – 2016 (3.0). This short documentary briefly introduces us to two people in NYC, a 91 year old Holocaust survivor and a 12 year old Hispanic girl attending an all-girl school composed of mostly children of immigrants. The man donates his violin to an instrument drive for school kids and the girl is chosen to have the use of the violin for one school year. His love of the instrument and music is wrapped in family memories, especially of his mother who died in the Holocaust. Her love of music is genuine and deep which is why she was chosen to have the use of this beloved instrument. When the two eventually meet, the connection is immediate, heartfelt and inspiring. 

The Vietnam War – 2017 (3.0). This ten part documentary telling of the story of the US involvement in the Vietnam War should be considered definitive, at least by those interested enough to take the time to watch it all and digest what is being documented. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick worked for several years putting this series together, using much historical footage (some of which includes enactments) and interviews with various participants, all woven together by effective narration. The interviews with Americans give the sweep from their initial involvement and then all the years that have passed with new information about the war and more time for contextual reflection. With the help of a Vietnamese producer, the interviewees also include Vietnamese who were involved in the war from three different elements, North Vietnamese Army, South Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong guerillas. Even for someone who lived through the time and has followed events closely, the film includes new information and perspectives, especially from the Vietnamese. This series documents that the war was a huge mistake and those who prosecuted it for the US knew that it was going to be a loser, but still persisted. Sadly, the lessons taught by the war have not been well learned and this series will probably not do much to change that.

Trumbo – 2015 (2.9).  Bryan Cranston augments a good script in portraying Dalton Trumbo as he takes on the HUAC and is blacklisted and convicted of contempt of Congress. We see the pressures he faces at home, the turmoil the witch hunt created in the Hollywood community and the clever workarounds Trumbo concocted for himself and his fellow screenwriters. Some actual news footage is seamlessly incorporated.

Everything is Copy – 2015 (2.8). Nora Ephron was a well-regarded magazine essayist before becoming a movie director. This nicely paced documentary by her son chronicles both careers and includes personal biographical materials, all presented through home movies, archival footage and lots of interviews with family and colleagues.

Kubo and the TwoStrings – 2016 (2.8). Five years of animated stop motion filming combined with computer techniques to tell an epic story enmeshed in Japanese culture is an impressive effort. The resulting film about the young son of a deceased samurai who goes on a quest to find the lost armor of his father is quite showy but the exact meaning of the quest is not particularly clear, especially for young audiences.

Last Men in Aleppo – 2017 (2.8). This intimate documentary follows a group of "white helmets", self-appointed rescuers, Syrian men from Aleppo who respond to bombings and use their knowledge of construction trades to dig survivors from the rubble. Over some years, we meet the individuals, see them interact, watch them in action and in moments of contemplation, despair and recommitment. There are no interviews with other talking heads and no political views other than condemnation of Assad and the Russians.

Prime Suspect:Tennison – 2017 (2.8).  Shown to Brits as Prime Suspect 1973, this six part prequel shows us Jane Tennison when she first joins the police force while still living with her parents. She is a natural cop and is so good looking that her boss can't resist the mutual attraction. An early ethical challenge affords an opportunity to prove she is a loyal team member or to take the high road. An ongoing case leads to catching bank robbers in the act, with devastating results. No word yet on whether there will be a second season.

Shalom Italia – 2016 (2.8). Three surviving Jewish brothers, born in Italy and driven with their family during WWII first from their Florentine home, then from a small town and finally into hiding near a small village in the hills, decide to go back to the village and look for the cave where their family lived for a time. We travel with them in this documentary and watch the men as they try to sharpen their recall, re-experience the Italian life, philosophize, bicker and complete their quest. We learn once again how fragile and personal memories are and how revisiting those by talk and by travel can be an emotional journey.

Tribal Justice – 2016 (2.8).  Tribal Judges on two Indian reservations in California are followed as they work with tribe members who have run afoul of the law, both on and off the reservation. Both Judges are women, one with considerable experience and one fairly new. Dealing with repeating patterns of addiction and low aspirations, the Judges adopt a more mentoring approach to help the offenders deal with their personal problems.

Captain Fantastic – 2016 (2.7). In this drama, a father raising his six kids off the grid in the Pacific Northwest learns that his hospitalized wife has died. Her father tells the man not to come to the funeral or he will have him arrested. Of course the man and grieving kids do travel to and attend the service, leading to strange confrontations with the "civilized" world and the family of the deceased woman. Unfortunately a very important part of the movie was never made, the story of how the couple decided to live off the grid in the first place and the conflicts they had in their relationship in doing so.

Denial – 2016 (2.7). The problem with this movie about the libel suit brought by a Brit historian holocaust denier against an American historian who calls him a liar is that the script is unfortunately clumsy. The true story calls for a concentration on the British law of libel, the legal tactical decisions of the defense and the presentation of the case in court, which is more appropriate in a documentary film or in a miniseries. In making it as a feature length drama, the script writer has to decide on the major area of concentration, and the script for this movie settled for touching all areas without any concentration.

Lili – 1953 (2.7). Young Leslie Caron embodies the role of the naïve orphan who finds a home with the circus where she talks to puppets as if they were real people. Her acting is the highlight with her dancing playing a lesser role.

Presenting Princess Shaw – 2015 (2.7). A young African-American woman from an abusive background writes and records songs on YouTube. An Israeli video artist composer likes her work and puts it into a video with some of his own musical ideas. We see her struggling in her life and him working on a kibbutz. Eventually they meet and her dream of performing on stage is met. The movie mostly follows the singer, so we get to know her much more than we do the quiet Israeli. The filmmaker says her posting on YouTube was like a message in a bottle thrown into the sea. Though she is quite sincere in her singing, she does not seem to have star potential. It would have been nice to know more about the Israeli.

Hitchcock/Truffaut – 2015 (2.7). In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock granted an extended interview week to the fast rising young film director Francois Truffaut. In spite of the need for a translator, the two men hit it off and Truffaut recorded 27 hours of conversation covering in detail the art and craft of cinema in general and of Hitchcock in particular. Truffaut published a book presenting the interview with numerous pictures from Hitchcock films. This documentary took on the task of presenting the story of the two men and that week in less than 90 minutes. The movie is a decent introduction to the book, especially for film students and cinephiles.

Raising Bertie – 2016 (2.7). Six years in the lives of some young boys growing into men in rural Bertie County, North Carolina are documented in this movie. The cycle of poverty, incarceration, lack of education and absence of male role models swirls around them. Stern but overworked mothers do the best they can and one local woman starts an alternative high school that shows promise, but the odds seem stacked against these fellows.

Remember Me – 2014 (2.2). The BBC wasted talent and resources for three episodes of this drivel about an elderly widower who escapes from a nursing home after a woman dies a mysterious death. There is a scary Indian woman ghost who may think she has a good reason for doing bad things. The investigating detective ultimately decides he doesn't care about solving the murder. The potential series viewer would be well advised to make the same decision before starting to watch.