DNF

Trying a Netflix instant movie is about as convenient as can be. Even if it starts out as something I can’t imagine ever wanting to sit through, I am usually patient enough to hang in a little longer just in case it gets better. But after more time, if it still looks like a loser, I can bail out. I have hesitated to adopt this practice mostly because I try to pick movies I expect to like. But the time may have come to take some more flyers.

On the page for a movie at Netflix, below the place where you can choose your star rating, there is a box for “not interested”. If you mark that, they may not recommend that movie to you again. It will still show up in filmographies, but the star prediction will be blank. I have marked a few films this way and if I start bailing out of some more, I can mark those also. Then in my personal movie database, instead of giving my decimal rating I will mark it as DNF to indicate I did not finish watching. When I update my master lists on this blog, I will include DNF movies, explaining I did not like them enough to finish watching but I cannot fairly give a rating to a film I did not see completely. Whenever movies are listed from highest to lowest rated, DNF movies will be put at the end of the list.

Susan browsed the Netflix instant play listings for romance movies and came up with 18 films for my queue, and I’ll start integrating them into the viewing cycle, starting with the ones Netflix predicts I will like best. The predictions run from 3.2 down to 2.3, with the two highest being from the 1950s and the two lowest being from this Century.

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].

Being Elmo – 2011 (3.1). The red furred character from Sesame Street was omnipresent a few years back and seemed so commercialized that I was a bit repulsed, even though he was a favorite of my granddaughter and we have one of him sitting on the toy shelf in the living room. What attracted me to this documentary was the fact the puppeteer who operates Elmo is an African-American man and this movie is about him. In a straightforward way the movie tells about how Kevin Clash from the Baltimore projects was attracted to working with puppets and how his parents supported his aspirations. We see how he gave Elmo a new personality of love and how touchingly effective that is with children, particularly the sick and handicapped. There is a briefly touched undercurrent of a failed marriage and not enough time spent with his daughter, but the film is quite encouraging.

Please Vote for Me – 2007 (3.1). As China begins to dabble with tokens of democracy, this interesting and enjoyable Chinese documentary shows a third grade class being exposed to the concepts of political campaigning and popular election of a student to be class monitor. The candidates are the boy who has held the job for two years, another boy who sees himself as the best candidate and a sensitive girl who often seems intimidated. The parents are shown operating like political stage mothers while the teacher is impressive in gently guiding the process. Though the democratic concepts are foreign to the kids and their parents, we quickly see that the tactics of campaigning are not that different from ours. While political tactics might be universally discouraging, the love of parents for their children and the individual personalities of the kids are universally appealing.

Deliver Us from Evil – 2006 (3.0). Telling the story of Irish Catholic priest Oliver O’Grady, who was assigned to various parishes in California, this documentary uses extensive interviews with some of the scores of men and women whom he molested and raped when they were young children. Also interviewed are some of the parents and experts in the fields dealing with such predators as well as a priest who has made it his mission to try to get the institutional Church to face up to the reality of the extent of the problem and the great damage it has done to the victims, their families and the Church itself. Excerpts from depositions of O’Grady and from those in the hierarchy who covered up his offenses are chilling, but extensive interviews with O’Grady himself capture attention in the same way a horrific auto accident does when we drive by without wanting to look. If this movie does not give rise to your retribution instincts, I don’t know what will.

The Wonder Years (Season Four) – 1990 (3.0). As ninth graders in the last year of middle school, issues of family, friends and school are still being dealt with in the now quite familiar style. Though some of the episodes deal with incidents of not great depth, others touch on more substantial matters of love, friendship and family relationships. One somewhat surprising omission is treatment of any racial matters; in fact, though there has been a black male teacher, and a black little league baseball coach who was a war buddy of the family father, the few black students shown are always in the background and appear quite integrated, but are never give more than a passing word to say.

The Mating Game -1951 (3.0).  A pleasant surprise, this early version of a romantic dramedy has a good script (which sort of cries out for a contemporary remake) about a post WWII executive social climber with a hamburger cook mother (played by Thelma Ritter in one of her 6 Oscar nominated performances in a 12 year span) who doesn’t fit in with her son’s new style. There are good and bad characters on both sides of the social classes and though some are purposely a bit over the top, they all ring true. Sure it is predictable, but still fun to watch and not very dated, mercifully without annoying musical score until the quick wrap up ending sequence.  Gene Tierney’s classic beauty is so timeless she could fit right into a movie of today.

Anytown, USA – 2005 (2.9). This documentary about a small town Mayoral election in New Jersey is not very stylish and does not actually have anything much to teach, but after a fairly slow start with too many brief interviews with potential voters it gains momentum when an independent write-in candidate enters the race against a controversial incumbent Republican and his lethargic Democrat opponent. At that point the movie starts following the campaigns more and interviewing voters less. Adding to the interest, two of the candidates are legally blind and the independent enlists the services of the campaign manager of the successful Jesse Ventura campaign for Minnesota Governor.

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne – 1987 (2.9). Maggie Smith is an excellent actress, particularly at playing repressed spinsters, as she does in this fairly sad drama, misidentified by Netflix as a romance. Orphaned and raised by an aunt who then extracted the duty of returning the caregiving in the aunt’s dotage, Judith supports her life as a boarder by giving sporadic piano lessons, all the while pining for the romance that has eluded her and focusing her attention on the brother of her landlady. Well done all around, but especially carried by Maggie.

August – 1996 (2.8). Another variation on Uncle Vanya by Chekov, this time set in Northern Wales in the early 1900s, with Anthony Hopkins in the lead, but even if you are a little familiar with the story line, you still may be confused by the early portions of this movie as the characters gab along without telling us who they are via the dialogue triangle. It doesn’t help that Hopkins looks older than the woman playing his mother. Thankfully, a lot of the filming is done outdoors in gorgeous Welsh scenery during the month designated by the title.

That Obscure Object of Desire – 1977 (2.8). In this his last movie Luis Bunuel dealt with the consumptive attraction of a wealthy middle aged French widower with an impoverished young Spanish dancer whose ambivalent interest in the man so frustrates him that he wants to run away from her and after her at the same time. Not a dark comedy nor a light drama nor really a romance, the French film holds its age well, because of the absence of a music track to become dated and the avoidance of trendy camera work. Noted for the fact two actresses played the lead role, there is no profound reason for that and the film does not really have much to say, but it is pleasant enough to watch, including some tasteful female nudity.

A Town Like Alice – 1956 (2.8). I remember the TV miniseries of this story from about 30 years ago (which is not available on DVD), and the epic story of British women stuck in Malaya after the WWII takeover by the Japanese benefited by the extra screen time allotment, while this movie suffers in comparison. The years the women spent walking the country because the Japanese did not want to deal with them do not come across as well in the movie and the romance of one of the women with an Australian prisoner is limited to just a few brief scenes. Perhaps a viewer who does not remember the TV version would rate this film higher.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir – 1947 (2.8). A classic fantasy romance in which a widow moves into the home of a deceased sea captain who haunts the place and then falls in love with her, the script for this movie has some holes in it but still retains enough charm to make it watchable, especially enhanced by beautiful Gene Tierney.

The Importance of Being Earnest – 1952 (2.7). This is almost like a filmed version of the Oscar Wilde play, with the wit still there if less relevant 100 years later. The plot is minimal situation comedy, so the witty lines and British acting are the main draws. Watching the bit players, such as the parson, provides a quick stage acting lesson.

Castaway on the Moon – 2009 (2.6). This Korean movie is supposed to be an imaginative romance about a suicidal young man who becomes a castaway on an island in a river. It is also supposed to contain some social commentary and a hint of science fiction. What I saw was a stylish looking film with nice camera work, but with a poor acting performance from the lead in a weak script which had more logic errors than science fiction. The reclusive voyeur female lead was more intriguing but the supposed romantic attachment never came across. The small amount of social commentary was enjoyable, so maybe the film should have skipped the romance in favor of the commentary.

Forks Over Knives – 2011 (DNF). Another documentary about processed foods being hazardous to our health, the first ten minutes told me that it was not going to offer me anything new and was going to include a dose of the conventional misinformation behind the food pyramid. I’ll stick with the Paleo program, so don’t need to finish this film.

Netflix is Sinking

John from Phoenix just posted about the movie Moneyball, so I went to Netflix to see what the prediction is for me. But when I typed the title in the Netflix search box, it only gave me some other halfway similar titles of hokey looking movies. Trying out some other searches, I realize that Netflix has now made their site even less useful to me; their search engine is now only showing me movies that are available for instant view. It is as if there are no other movies in the world, only the ones Netflix has on instant view. This is a ridiculous contraction of service continuing the same downward plunge I wrote about here under the title “Netflix Limits My World”.

When information on the movies is not available through Netflix it also means any previews and member opinions are unavailable, and most importantly, I cannot see what rating I gave the movie or even know whether or not I have seen it. This last part seems a real breach of contract with the members; one of the reasons I have rated over 2,600 movies at Netflix is so that I could quickly determine whether or not I have seen the movie and how many stars I gave it. Fortunately I had the foresight to make my own database of movies I have seen and rated [the database that is accessible on the sidebar of this blog].

A recent article at The Motley Fool explains how Netflix has lost streaming content and will be losing more, and would probably be wise to sell itself before it goes under completely. I will be gleaning what I can from Netflix instant viewing for a while longer, but the deteriorating functionality of their web site is causing me to look to the Internet Movie Database for filmographies, ratings and previews. Netflix and I seem to be agreeing on one thing; neither one of us wants me to sign up for movies in the mail. So I need to get more serious about other sources of movie viewing, like the library and Redbox, and maybe even think about visiting a movie theater.

TV or Not TV?

If you were expecting a report on the 2012 Oscar movies, then you are obviously not a regular reader of this blog. Unless I give Redbox a try, I won’t be seeing any of those films until they get to Netflix instant play or become available through the library. Of most interest are The Artist, The Descendants and The Help. John from Phoenix picks up the slack by hitting the theaters and reporting here on the new films he has seen. Thanks for that John.

I watch a lot of good documentaries on PBS (usually first on TV then online), and I rate at Netflix to help me remember that I have already seen them, though Netflix often does not have them listed until later when they are released on DVD. But now I find that I am watching some documentaries on Netflix instant view and then realizing I have seen them before on TV. Writing about them on this blog provides a place for me to refresh myself about what the program covered and what I thought of it. But I have wondered whether my ratings of programs from TV are appropriate to publish in what is titled as a movie blog, so I have not written about many of them here. As a memory jog and in the spirit of using an open definition of movie media, and  with the belief that it is better to maybe have too many listings than too few, I will now be including most such documentaries. However, basic travelogues, classroom type educational films and many news documentaries will probably not be posted here.

I’m also continuing to catch some Netflix instant play movies before their availability on Netflix expires. These are usually films I expect to be marginal, but there is an occasional pleasant surprise.

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].

Downton Abbey (Season Two) – 2011 (3.7). The Masterpiece miniseries evoking Upstairs Downstairs in its British social and political themes continues from where it left off, taking the characters into and out of WWI with the profound changes that made in British life being shown through the microcosm of the Downton household family, friends and servants. As well done as the first season, the added knowledge of the characters and their backgrounds makes this second season even a little better. Once again, we are left with cliffhangers to entice us to watch the third season to come – as if any enticement is necessary.

More Than a Month – 2012 (3.3). Shown on PBS, this documentary by Shukree Hassan Tilghman questions whether Black History Month is a bad idea, because it relegates the history to a limited time of year, instead of fully integrating it year round. Starting with an engagingly clever humor, the film intelligently pursues its topic with effective interviews, introspective analysis and even a short public survey. Societal history is told by those in power in the way they want to tell it. American society was dominated by whites which is why Black History Week and then Month was developed by African American scholars. As African Americans become more integrated into the American power structure, the need for Black History Month will start to diminish, but are we there yet?

The Wonder Years (Season Three) – 1989 (3.2). Continuing in the vein of the previous seasons, as “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, the kids deal with becoming teenagers and finishing eighth grade, while an eclectic mix of issues are touched upon involving students, teachers and parents. Most all episodes are nostalgic and some tug at deeper emotions.

Amish, The – 2012 (3.0). From American Experience on PBS, this documentary about the religious sect includes a little background material but mostly contemporary footage and audio interviews with sect members, academics and a few former members. Complicating the effort is the fact that the Amish do not want their pictures taken, so there are no face to face interviews. In lieu of narration, graphic titles set out pertinent facts at appropriate spots. While the film answered many questions, there were noticeable omissions, such as the Amish attitude toward birth control, teen pregnancy, modern medical practice and medical insurance.

Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird – 2010 (3.0). We should all know what a great book and movie Mockingbird is, and most of us know Harper Lee never wrote another novel and does not give interviews. This documentary uses archival footage, interviews with contemporaries of Lee, audio from her last radio interview in 1964, and further interviews from other writers about the effect Mockingbird had on them, all to reverently but in an entertaining manner renew our appreciation of this modern masterpiece and fill in some knowledge gaps about Lee for those of us who are less informed.

Slavery by Another Name – 2012 (3.0). This PBS documentary tells the story of mistreatment of African Americans in the South during the Reconstruction years after the Civil War and on into the 20^th Century, focusing primarily on the use of the criminal justice system to produce convict labor to replace the slaves and secondarily on the abusive sharecropping system. The expose of the perversion of the law to produce convict labor is particularly revealing and the fact convicts whose labor was being leased from the State were treated even more terribly than slaves is astounding. The production used dramatic simulations, historic photos and interviews with historians and told the specific stories of a few individual victims, interwoven throughout the film. I realize interweaving the stories with the various topics as they are developed allows a continuous progression, but I find it hard to keep track of each story when I am only getting them piecemeal and mixed with all the others. I prefer to have the story of each person told as separate chapters, perhaps after some general introductory material and the after the stories the film can end with some general conclusions.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front – 2011 (3.0). This documentary does a good job of conveying the frustration that young environmental activists felt when efforts to use the political process, letter writing and picketing failed to stop corporate assaults on the environment. After peaceful protests met with excessive police force, some protesters decided to take it up a notch and start torching the property of the violators, giving birth to the ELF, which was labeled an eco-terrorist organization. Following primarily one man facing prosecution for his involvement, the movie, in a sensitive and balanced way, uses filmed footage, some reenactments, interviews with other ELF members, the man’s family and law enforcement officials to explain how the movement came to be, how it ended up splintering as some began to realize it had gone too far and how law enforcement finally was able to find and prosecute the members.

Waste Land – 2010 (3.0). Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, himself of humble origins, decides to apply his photographic skills to capturing images of the piecework pickers who glean recyclables from a Rio garbage dump, the largest in the world, in this engaging documentary. In the process, Muniz also applies his people skills and is surprised to find how attached he becomes to his subjects and how deeply sympathetic he is to their personal plights. Reworking his photos by incorporating found materials from the dump, the artist brings the workers into the process as assistants, changing their lives and also his.

Still Bill – 2009 (3.0). Though we are close in age, I have to say I don’t remember songwriter and singer Bill Withers. But I do remember many of his songs, which he is shown performing in archival footage in this easy going and appealing documentary. So many talented entertainers let their careers mess up their lives, I often wonder why they don’t see it coming and ditch the career before it does them in. Bill Withers is a guy who did just that, and when you follow him through this documentary as he imparts his life philosophy while interfacing with family and friends, you know by the character of the man that he made a wise choice. But we can also see that his talent has endured and he has been thinking about whether to let some of it be publicly expressed again.

The Interrupters – 2012 (2.9). Former gang members who have done prison time and become wiser with age work the streets to intervene, mediate and interrupt the cycle of youthful gang violence in Chicago in this documentary shown on PBS. Not much for talking head commentators, this movie concentrates on showing the interaction between these older mentors and the young people they are trying to save. Even knowing the bad hand these kids have been dealt, it is hard for those of us who have been more fortunate to sympathize with these kids and to understand why they cannot see other options than gang banging. The interrupters have been in the shoes of these kids and understand them, which also gives them street cred with the kids. My sympathies were most aroused by the tears of the very young kids who are so afraid of the violence and by the emotional impact the crimes of violence have on the lives of the victims and their families.

The Glass Virgin – 1995 (2.9). I watched this BBC production of a Catherine Cookson novel three years ago and gave it 3.1. The drop to my current rating is a reflection of my becoming less impressed by seeing the same kinds of movies several times. The Cookson stories are all watchable plots and decent productions, but the themes of British 18^th Century class structure and male chauvinism interfering with true love get repetitious. This time an upper class young lady learns she is actually ill bred and must make her way in the world without privilege. As usual she meets two kinds of people, good and bad. Melodramas do not have room for areas of gray.

Clinton – 2012 (2.8). From PBS American Experience this documentary about Bill Clinton tells the story of the Clinton Presidency as part of his personal biography, concentrating primarily on his eight years in the White House, but unfortunately spending almost half of the nearly four hours on the Lewinsky scandal and impeachment. There is no new ground here, but plenty of historical footage and current reflective reminiscences of many of the people who interacted with him during his Presidency.

Marion Bridge – 2003 (2.8). This well-acted Canadian movie from Film Movement tells about three adult sisters whose mother is dying, forcing them to face a future without her, but more significantly to come to grips with the past that has made them who they are. Not overly long, the film nevertheless spends the first third not letting us learn much about these people, which when the story turns out to be fairly good by the end makes us wish more had been done with the beginning.

Blind Faith – 1998 (2.8). In this Showtime movie the well-bred 18 year old son a black cop in the Bronx in 1957 confesses to robbing and strangling a white boy. His uncle, a lawyer who handles minor criminal cases cannot find anyone to take the defense of the case, so he ends up doing it himself, not believing the confession, even though the boy will not recant. Uneven at times and suffering some of the usual legal technical faults of courtroom scripts, the film is still an effective commentary, not just on racial relations of the era, but also on other prejudice.

The Wingless Bird – 1997 (2.8). Yet another Brit three part TV melodrama of a Catherine Cookson story, this time about a sensible but plain and unappreciated daughter who helps run the family sweet shop where a romantic upper crust gentleman takes a shine to her. Nothing new here, but if you like the Dame’s stories, this one is well enough done to hold your attention.

The Naked Spur – 1953 (2.7). The best thing this western has going for it is the fantastic Colorado scenery around Durango where it was filmed. The story of Jimmy Stewart bringing Robert Ryan in for a reward starts with interest as Ryan has young Janet Leigh along with him and Stewart ends up reluctantly accepting two men he encounters on the trail as helpers to share the reward. One of the men is an old prospector who is not too sharp and the other is an Army office dishonorably discharged. Ryan cleverly plays the men against each other but the opportunities for drama get cut short.

What Would You Do If I Sang Out of Tune?

The Wonder Years series from the late 1980s uses the above titled song for its theme. I have been working my way through the episodes and now am in the third of five years. Stripped of commercials and other time waters, these TV episodes are 23 minutes, and if you speed through the opening and closing credits, there is about 20 minutes of show. Netflix instant view is a great way to watch an old series that you missed or that you want to revisit.

Interspersed with TWY I have picked movies by whim from the higher rated ones in my queue, which you can see from my ratings below are not really very high. Documentaries dominate since that genre is a personal favorite. You may also notice the prevalence of movies about different cultures.

Taking the title question literally and understanding that the question comes from a friend, my answer would be that I would sing along – probably also out of tune, which is pretty easy for me to do.

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].

The Wonder Years (Season One) – 1988 (3.5). Through the years I have seen various episodes of this series and always enjoyed the way it captured the feeling of 1968 in general and the feeling of 1968 suburbia in particular. The awkwardness of becoming a teenager in 1968 was not much different from what I experienced in the mid 1950s and what my children experienced in the 1980s, so there is another nostalgic reason to watch, both from the child and the parental point of view. The pilot season, as the kids become sixth graders and enter middle school, only had six episodes and I remember them all, as we got to meet the friends, school mates, faculty, parents and siblings. This kind of series can be timeless; made in the 80s reliving the 60s, and in the new century reliving how the 80s portrayed the 60s.

The Last Mountain – 2011 (3.2). This intelligent documentary presents the issue of the dangers of mountaintop coal mining by focusing in on a move by Massey Energy to blow the top off the last mountain in a particular part of West Virginia. Aerial footage shows the scale of destruction and activist victims of pollution of air and water and the flooding and other damage caused by such operations are followed as they struggle against the corporate behemoth and its governmental enablers. Bobby Kennedy, Jr. who is an environmental lawyer is shown offering his support and is a voice of knowledgeable understanding throughout the movie. Clean energy alternatives are offered near the end of the film and Kennedy gets the ear of President Obama who sets the ball rolling to start to hold Massey responsible for its wholesale violations of environmental protection and safety laws.

The Wonder Years (Season Two) – 1988 (3.2). The second season follows the story arc as the kids enter seventh grade and concentrates more heavily on Kevin who has always been the narrator looking back 20 years. The same techniques are continued from the pilot season. In addition to the well done narration, there are vintage songs, simulated home movies, TV news clips and some surreal dream or imagination scenes (a la Ally McBeal). Though each episode covers a new aspect of the growing up experience, the novelty appeal is slightly diminished.

Last Train Home – 2009 (3.0). The largest simultaneous migration in human history is the travel by young Chinese city workers back to their rural homes for Chinese New Year. This Chinese documentary shows one young couple who for many years have left their two children with the grandparents so that the parents can earn money to support the family and hopefully make life better for the younger generation. As the granddaughter reaches teen age, her resentment against her parents erupts and causes turmoil almost as great as the human turmoil in the overwhelmed train stations. Maybe her generation will address the issue her parents’ generation seems to be ignoring: what should be done about a government that reneged on a promise of lifetime security for everyone.

Off and Running – 2009 (3.0). An African-American high school girl in NYC, who has been raised since infancy by a white Jewish lesbian couple, decides to contact her birth mother who gave her up for adoption in this efficient and intelligent documentary,which was co-written by the girl. Unfortunately, while her adoptive mothers support the attempt at contact, the birth mother reacts with ambivalence and the girl becomes confused and her relationship with her adoptive family strained. Her adoptive family includes her Princeton bound older brother, a multi-racial African-American, who is a confidante to her but who is more interested in choosing how to go forward with his life, and a younger Korean brother to whom she is almost like a loving aunt. The girl lets the process affect how she lives her life as she becomes more and more confused. When she gets with an Asian counselor with a similar background, better understanding is bound to result, but we are only able to see just the beginning of that relationship before the movie ends. The girl says she will hold off on pursuing her birth mother until she finishes college; so maybe a sequel can cover that.

21 Up in South Africa – 2006 (2.9). Modeled after the British series, this documentary started with a disparate group of seven year olds at age 7, at the end of the apartheid era, then checked back on them at 14, and now at 21. Not as captivating as the British series, here we have a much more unsettled and desperate group of young people, giving evidence to the actual lack of economic opportunities even though the racial restrictions of apartheid have ended. The devastation of Aids and is evidenced by the fact that two of the three children who did not live to 21 died of the disease.

Don Juan DeMarco – 2004 (2.9). Johnny Depp thinks he is the legendary Don Juan. Marlon Brando is a burned out shrink who becomes captivated by his imaginative new patient. Pleasantly different and watchable to the end, even if there is nothing profound or touching.

Africa – Savannah Homecoming – 2001 (2.9). Part of a seven part National Geographic series, this episode tells about two women in East Africa who are facing a mid-life decision about whether to change their way of living. One woman is a city bred college graduate who married a man from a primitive hunting village where they live with their children. She travels back to the city to see her family for the first time in ten years and to consider whether to move back to the city. The other woman has a strong tribal identity, though she now works as a hairdresser in the big city. She is pregnant by a man from her tribe who is apparently not going to stay involved with the woman and child, but it is very important for her to travel back to the country home of her tribal roots so that her child can be born there according to tradition. This is a straightforward and respectful presentation of these culturally diverse stories.

Custer’s Last Stand – 2011 (2.8). From PBS American Experience, this documentary, using interviews of historians, archival photographs and filmed re-enactments, told the story of Custer from an unfamiliar viewpoint, offering some biography and personality exploration along with explanation of how the man came to be mythologized. Of particular novelty was the information on his marriage to the woman who as his widow strived to perpetuate the myth of Custer as a symbol of rugged American individualism bringing about manifest destiny.

Ocean of Pearls – 2008 (2.8). This movie about a top notch young Canadian surgeon who is offered a dream job in Detroit, but then realizes his Sikh turban is holding him back is watchable enough, but leaves a sense of never getting deep enough into the characters and issues. Cutting his hair and discarding the turban would be a travesty to the religious principles his immigrant father continuously preaches and it would also undermine his relationship with his Sikh girlfriend. But aren’t these religious trappings outdated and no longer necessary, particularly where they interfere with the pioneer life-saving organ transplant work he wants to do?

Africa – Mountains of Faith – 2001 (2.8). Part of a seven part National Geographic series, this episode tells about two teenage country boys in Ethiopia, one who goes to the big city to shine shoes 72 hours a week to support his family back home and one who trains to follow in the religious footsteps of his father. The mountainous geography of Ethiopia and the unique blend of its ancient religious beliefs with Christianity are the features here.

To Sir, with Love – 1966 (2.7). Sidney Poitier plays a man who worked his way to an engineering degree but then could only find a job as a high school teacher in an East London school populated by a band of undisciplined kids. Of course after an initial shock he wins the kids over and changes his life in the process. Maybe it was a new theme back then, particularly with a black teacher in a predominantly white school, but this was not well done. The cast had much new talent, none of whom ever became famous, but the script was unconvincing and the direction mediocre. Poitier was shown in a lot of facial close-ups just sort of pondering or brooding. The music and dancing was sort of hot back then but is pretty laughable now, especially Sidney doing what looks like a funky chicken.

First Batch for 2012

Continuing to pluck away at my Netflix instant play queue, here is another batch, none of which was particularly impressive. The top five are probably worth considering, the bottom two are not and the rest are marginal. Looks like I need to either freshen my queue or start watching movies from other sources.

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].

Troubled Water – 2008 (3.1). On release from prison a young man gets a job as a church organist (his unique playing style is nicely captured) and attracts the romantic attention of the single mother female priest in this Norwegian drama from Film Movement. We early learn his crime involved the death of a young boy, but as the story unfolds flashbacks are interlaced and overlap the direct narrative line as we follow the man, the priest, her son and the parents of the victim. The intelligent script touches on guilt, grief, atonement, forgiveness, vengeance and God, without delving deeply enough to become heavy.

Plastic Planet – 2009 (3.0). Mostly in English, this documentary by an Austrian film maker, the grandson of one of the pioneers of the plastic industry, is highly informative in telling how this 100 year old man-made product has become so invasive in our lives and how little we actually know about the environmental and health hazards it presents. The approach to the subject is fairly low key, with many interviews of scientists and environmentalists, a few industry insiders and some diverse people from around the globe. An attempt to confront an industrialist a la Michael Moore is awkward and mercifully brief. When an industrial mouthpiece says the top science panel has debunked all claims that plastic is a hazard and tells about the exciting future of smart plastics that will be able to watch over our safety, it is downright creepy. Watching this will likely prompt you to inventory your household and make you want to start reducing the amount of plastic in your life. Safer plastics are possible, as are consumer protection regulations, but they may be a long time coming, and meanwhile the already overloaded planet will continue to be inundated with plastic waste.

Cherry – 2011 (2.9). Artistic Ivy league freshman engineering student with uptight parents gets a sex crazed roommate and ends up bonding with an older female student whose 14 year old daughter is attracted to him. Good balance of laughs and sorrows in a dramatic context, well enough done to evoke memories of early college experiences.

My Future Boyfriend – 2011 (2.9). This is an ABC Family romantic comedy about a man from the distant future who discovers a paperback romance novel, during a time when books and emotions no longer exist. He travels back to our time to ask the female author to explain what love is. A simple production, but well done, though the Valerie Harper character seemed a little hackneyed.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – 2007 (2.9). This Romanian drama follows a college student on the day of her roommate’s illegal abortion, as she struggles with the normal frustrations of dealing with scarcities in the waning days of Communism and with friction in her relationship with her boyfriend. But on this day she has the added burden of facilitating the whole criminal process for her minimally appreciative friend. Intentionally slow moving at times, the movie is well acted and gives a feel for the bleak side of life in Communist Romania.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 2010 (2.8). Discovered in 1994, the Chauvet Cave in France contains the oldest (perhaps 40,000 years) known paintings by humans, made at a time when that part of Europe was home to animals either extinct or now found only in Africa. This documentary by Werner Herzog reverently introduces us to the cave, but with the sometimes strained attempts typical of Herzog to take it to a more poetic level. I would prefer a more straightforward approach, a la Nova on PBS. 

Friday Night Lights (Season Five) – 2010 (2.8). The concluding season of the series started some new story lines while trying to dip back into some old ones, all while trying to carry the main arc forward and then bring some of the stories to conclusion or at least to the verge of the next chapter. The result was a bit of a mish mash and left a sense of disconnection.

Entre Nos – 2009 (2.8). This sincere indie memoir was made by a woman whose Columbian father abandoned her and her brother and mother in Queens, New York, leaving them impoverished and homeless on the streets, struggling to earn enough money recycling bottles and cans to pay for an occasional flop house. After a short lead in with the father around, the movie bleakly follows the ordeal until a final quick glimmer of hope to come. Overwhelmingly intimate between the mother and children, this Spanish language film would have benefitted by having more interfacing with other characters, particularly the law and government figures who are astoundingly absent from the streets as portrayed.

The Sicilian Girl – 2009 (2.8). Inspired by the true story of the young woman who broke the Mafia code after her “good” Mafia involved father and brother were killed by rival “bad” Mafia members, this Italian movie did a fair job of showing the pressure and danger the girl encountered as she had to be put in a witness protection program and as her mother disowned her and her boyfriend tried to discourage her. The dedicated prosecutor was in as much danger as the witness. This case turned the Italian public against the Mafia, but the script for this film never seemed to ably capture the potential of the story.

Ugly Betty (Season One) - 2006 (2.8). I like the premise of this series, with the ugly duckling in need of a makeover going to work for a playboy boss who wants her to quit, but I was unpleasantly surprised to find she wins him over in the first couple episodes, which is all I have watched. The workplace politics and sniping are worthwhile to show, but the Cruella inspired villain is too cartoonish for me. The underlying intrigue about a battle for ownership of the company smacks of the type of nonsense that turned me off of Desperate Housewives. America Ferraro does a good acting job and it would be appealing to see her make the transformation that apparently comes later, but I don’t think I could stay around long enough to see that happen.

Omagh – 2004 (2.8). A dramatization of the efforts by the families of the victims of a 1998 IRA bombing in Northern Ireland to see that those responsible for the deaths of 29 people would be prosecuted, this modestly produced movie, filmed with some pseudo-documentary moments, captures some of the grief and much of the anger as the families determine the authorities are not being honest about their efforts to find and punish the perpetrators.

Colour Blind – 1998 (2.8). A three part filming of the melodrama by Catherine Cookson about a young woman from Newcastle, England who marries an African merchant seaman during WWI, this movie shows the prejudice the couple faced at the time, especially with the woman’s creepy incestuous minded brother. The couple had a daughter and after a quick look at her early school years, the story picks up with her at age 20 and pushes the parental story back a notch. This film was fairly well done with some interesting characters about whom we never seem to learn as much as we might like. I watched this two years ago and gave it a 3 at that time.

Ponette – 1996 (2.8). This French movie is a unique drama in that it concentrates on a four year old actress, playing the role of a child whose mother has died in an auto accident and who struggles with her loss and grief while trying to understand death and the religious mythology surrounding it. There is some interfacing with adults but more with her young peers, some of whom consider themselves quite knowledgeable on the subjects. This film makes one appreciate how hard these concepts are for young children to grasp and how unhelpful it is for adults to try to explain things with religious ideas that adults themselves don’t really understand. When other children offer their naïve ideas, they don’t sound any more far-fetched than what the adults say. Though the young actress is amazing, I just wonder whether it was right to draw such an emotional performance from her.

The Scent of Green Papaya – 1993 (2.8). In this Vietnamese language movie, a young illiterate country girl goes to the city to work as a domestic servant for a wealthy family and then ten years later has to go to work for a young pianist with whom she is infatuated. There is not much plot, drama or character development in this film but the lighting and cinematography are so beautifully done, with wonderful close-ups of nature intersecting the households and lovely tracking shots respectfully showcasing the interiors, that you can’t help but keep watching anyway.

Death of a Salesman – 1985 (2.8). Produced for TV and directed by Volker Schlondorff, with Dustin Hoffman in the lead and a young John Malkovich playing his antagonist son, this classic tale of a washed up man and his family conflicts has to be very verbal due to its stage roots, but this version has some imaginative sets and cinematic touches. Though it is supposed to be somewhat claustrophobic, I was disappointed it was not filmed in wide screen.

And Justice for All – 1979 (2.8). The Al Pacino character in this movie would have become a lawyer about the same time I did, so this look back at the screwed up legal system rang a lot of bells of familiarity for me. Capriciousness, prejudice, hypocrisy and corruption were part of the frustration of practicing law. The music is dated but enjoyable and the picture does not seem too aged, because it captured a contemporary scene which now looks like a throwback. There are relatively few legal technical flaws here, but an ending that feels truncated and maybe a little too much comic relief, but still passable.

Lorenzo’s Oil – 1992 (2.4). A dramatization of the then recent true life efforts of the parents of a young boy victim of the rare ALD disease to understand it and research ways to possibly prevent it or at least stop its progress, this movie deals with the conflicting approaches of passionate parents willing to try anything, meticulous scientists applying accepted research techniques over time and support groups for parents to cope. Lorenzo’s parents were passionate (his father was from Italy and his mother a redhead of Irish extraction) and in seeking a treatment for the disorder that allows certain fats to eat away at the insulation of bodily nerves, they came up with a combination of olive and rapeseed oils which apparently has had some success in slowing the progress of the disease. Lorenzo lived until his 30^th birthday, dying in 2008. The drama does not hold up well, suffering from a bad Nick Nolte accent as the father, an overlong and uneven script and mediocre direction. Watching the parents do research in medical library books and on microfilm makes one appreciate how much the Internet of today facilitates such work.

Continental Divide – 1981 (2.0). Tell it like it is Chicago columnist John Belushi has to leave town to avoid retaliation by a corrupt alderman. He takes a vacation in the remote Rockies meeting dedicated Bald Eagle protecting Federal environmentalist Blair Brown in this unromantic, unfunny romantic comedy with no chemistry, poor scripting and all around dud. Pretty scenery though.

My Movie Ratings - Updated January 2016

Through the end of 2015, I have rated 3323 movies and TV shows I have watched on DVD, streaming and live TV, mostly in the last few years, but some from memory of earlier viewings. I rated them, to help me remember what I have watched and how I liked it. My rating system is built around the Netflix five star system, but starting a couple years ago, I began adding decimals to make it more accurate. It essentially has evolved into a four star system. A 2.7 or lower movie is one I would probably not bother ever watching again. Ratings of 2.8 and 2.9 are marginal or reasonably satisfactory, so I might consider watching again someday.  From 3 to 3.2 are probably worth watching again. From 3.3 on up are definitely worth seeing again. Several of the older ratings were done before I started using decimals, and they are identified on the lists as "no decimal" and should be taken with a grain of salt, since a 2.7 and 3.3 movie would both have been rated three stars. Some movies are rated DNF, meaning I did not finish the movie and decided that, even though it was not good enough to hold my attention, I should not give it a low rating without seeing it all.

The Netflix star system is designed to make three of the five stars positive ratings (and thus encourage rentals). My reaction to that tactic was to hold my ratings down to mostly three stars (liked it), with a few four stars (really liked it) and a rare 5 star (loved it). From memory of viewings many years ago, I have rated some movies at Netflix, mainly for the purpose of helping the Netflix predictions of what I will like and to help me keep track of what I have already seen. At the end of 2012, I decided to add those to the ratings lists, with an indication the rating is from memory. During the year I also posted my ratings to my account at the Internet Movie Database, using their 10 star system.

References to seasons or disk numbers are not meaningful unless more than one rating is made for that title. In the case of a TV series, sometimes the series is rated as a whole and sometimes the individual seasons are rated. All of the movies include the year of release, but various sources might report the year of release as one year earlier or later. Sometimes movies of the same title are released around the same date, in which case I have tried to distinguish which one I rated, usually by indicating a country of origin. Other than for that reason, I have not indicated the country or language of a movie, since I want to discourage people from avoiding non-English language films.

Remember, these ratings had been my current opinions of what I want Netflix to recommend to me, based on my most recent viewing of the movie, and also on my mood of that day. In years past I may have rated a movie higher, but recent viewing reduced my opinion. I am not rating based on the historical merit of the movie as of the time it was released. I have tried to mostly pick movies to watch that I did not remember seeing and that I thought would at least be marginally acceptable (2.8). Of the movies listed through 2012, I rated 86% at 2.8 or above. I think the toning down of my ratings at Netflix a few years back had enabled the Netflix prediction algorithm, which was calculated to one decimal, to more accurately guide my choice of what to watch. However, during 2014 the Netflix predictions became unusable, as they claim that practically every movie I will be rating five stars. Calls to Netflix customer service made it clear they could care less if the algorithms are not working. In fact they told me they do not think people actually pay attention to the predictions.

My movie ratings lists are now updated through December 31, 2015, and are linked to in the blog side bar, both alphabetically and from high to low rated. I will try to update the lists every year.  Direct any requests for clarification to me, Tom Blake.

[NOTE:  Since this post is intended to be an ongoing resource, it will not accept any comments. If you want to post a comment about this resource or about anything else, you can do it under a different post.]

Best of 2011 – Not

During 2011, I watched about 259 movies and TV productions, of which some were multiple episodes and seasons. All were watched on my home movie setup, with my only sources non-premium cable TV, Netflix steaming year long, Netflix mailing through the summer and a few from the library. I’ll add these to my lists of movies rated (alpha and from high to low) and post a comment here when that is done.

With such limited sources I cannot really offer my list of best movies of 2011. The few I did watch were not very good and the only new TV productions I rated fairly high were from PBS, Prohibition and the new Upstairs Downstairs.

A year late I can offer my list of the best 2010 productions I watched in 2011. Here they are in roughly diminishing order:

Downton Abbey – PBS Masterpiece about rich people and servants

Fair Game – about the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

The Fighter- quirky boxing family

The King’s Speech – working on the impediment

Inside Job – documentary about the financial crisis

The Pacific – Series like Band of Brothers on land and sea

Treme (Season one) – series about New Orleans musicians after Katrina

Marwencol –brain damaged man creates WWII 1/6 scale village in his back yard [this one was on PBS in April and I gave it 3.1, but did not write it up in this blog]

The Social Network – the birth of Facebook

The Tillman Story – cover-up of friendly fire death

Rabbit Hole – grief and guilt over death of child

Expanding the range of movie dates, here is a list of the 10 best of what I watched in 2011, again in roughly diminishing order:

The Wire (Five seasons)– 2003-2007 series about crime in Baltimore

The Duchess of York Street – 1976 PBS series about hotelier consort of King

Prayers for Bobby – 2009 about religious mother of gay son

Downton Abbey – 2010 from Masterpiece

Cautiva – 2005 Argentine girl’s parents were among “disappeared”

Emma- 2009 version

Stand by Me – 1986 classic

Scenes from a Marriage – 1973 theatrical version of Ingmar Bergman production

Twin Sisters – 2002 Dutch -  twins separated in youth

Fair Game – 2010 Valerie Plame Wilson CIA agent outed

City Island – 2009 – son of no-show Dad suddenly turns up

Wild China – 2008 documentary

Under the Same Moon – 2007 Spanish - illegal immigrants from Mexico

Bertie and Elizabeth – 2002 bio of parents of Elizabeth II

Amreeka – 2009 Arabic – Palestinian immigrants in US after 9/11

South of the Border – 2009 documentary about Latin American politics

For My Father – 2008 Israeli - drama about conflicts with settlers

The Country Teacher – 2008 Czech – big city teacher relocates to village

Friday Night Lights (Multi season) – Texas high school football and families

Elephant Man – 1980 classic