Europe on Top

 

The DVD holds from the library are starting to come through on some of the movies from the most recent awards time. Six American ones are included in this list. But the top three movies rated here are from Europe. Thankfully many good foreign films and documentaries are available on Netflix streaming and DVDs from the library, because the newer Hollywood movies coming to DVD have not been very impressive.

 

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

 

The Broken Circle Breakdown – 2012 (3.1). The male lead in this Belgian drama wrote and acted in the play on which this Oscar nominated movie is based; he plays a man who idolizes the hope that is America and he leads a Bluegrass band which sings in English. The female lead is a Belgian actress and singer who plays a tattoo artist who hooks up with the male romantically and joins the band as a singer. The young director is a friend of the male lead and he has made a seamless film flowing smoothly between the present and the past, drama and music; and happiness and tragedy. This is ultimately a very sad film about the difficulty of struggling with grief, whether as a spiritual person or not. It is also another of those films in which we care enough about the characters that we want them to get counseling to help them through their problems even if that could result in a film of less impact.

 

 Philomena – 2013 (2.9). In 1950s Ireland a single father entrusts his daughters to the nuns to educate and when she comes up pregnant he relinquishes her to their care. After a traumatic delivery the boy child is put up for adoption and the mother forced to work to pay for her care. Fifty years later, the retired mother decides to renew her search to find out what happened to her son, aided by an established journalist on a career downturn. Inspired by this true story, the movie takes some liberties to make the journalist a former Catholic who is now an atheist, thereby creating dramatic tension with the mother, wonderfully played by Judi Dench. The search becomes a bit of a road trip story mixed with mystery as all moves along at good pace, even though, or perhaps because, the characters of the woman’s daughter, who never knew about the existence of her brother, and the wife of the journalist, who seemed to also have some dramatic tension with her husband, get left behind quite early.

 

Romantics Anonymous – 2010 (2.9). Short and sweet, like the chocolates made by the characters portrayed, this French romantic comedy pairs a couple who are each painfully shy emotional types getting counseling for their problems. Their paths cross when she goes to work for his failing chocolate factory. The actress Isabelle Carre has that plain every girl quality of some of the better old Hollywood films. The man is less appealing but still sympathetic and their chemistry seems to work enough to make the audience root for their togetherness.

 

Enough Said – 2013 (2.8). In this romantic comedy about a middle aged divorced couple who hook up, but then the woman gets some inside negative information on the man from his ex-wife, the female writer-director does a good job of capturing both the fun and the awkwardness of making new connections after being divorced. It helps that the couple are played by James Gandolfini in his last full role before his death and Julia Louis-Dreyfus who finally gets a chance to add some dramatic work to her always great comedic talent.

 

 Lee Daniels’ The Butler – 2013 (2.8). One comment at IMDb rhetorically asks the same question I have: Why is Lee Daniels' name above the title … after only one other film we've heard of? He did not even write the script for this fictional story (“inspired” by a true one) about a White House butler who served eight Presidents. The good: the acting of Forest and Oprah; the poignancy of the archival and reenactment footage of pivotal events in American history during those times; the quirky accuracy of Cusack as Nixon. The bad: distracting appearances by famous actors playing Presidents, particularly Robin Williams as Ike; not being able to go deeper into historical events despite the length of the movie; never quite bringing the inner conflicts of the butler more to the surface. Expecting this to be more of a sermon about the son of the butler failing to appreciate and respect him, it was a pleasant surprise to find the father son failures cut both ways.

 

Nebraska – 2013 (2.8). Capturing boring small town mentality, what a life of alcoholism can wreak and the disconnected dynamics of marginally functional families are things this drama does well. The premise of an old duffer actually believing he has won the prize mentioned in the magazine marketing letter he received is a bit preposterous but with this man in this stage of life in this part of the world, it actually works. Anecdotes about the old man are periodically delivered, but somehow they disappointingly fail to produce a sympathetic understanding of who he really is.

 

The Great Beauty – 2013 (2.8). In some ways this Oscar winner for best foreign film harkens back 50 years to La Dolce Vita, examining the decadent life of Rome through the eyes of a writer. In the older film the writer was early middle age, while the new film features a man entering retirement years. Based on the DVD interview with the serious minded director and co-writer, the movie is not really as deep as some might think, but rather an intimate character study of the old writer who is beginning to see that he wasted lots of his life with partying and is overdue to write that great second novel after forty years. The lush cinematography and active lighting techniques are very effective, as is the acting, but don’t expect much of a story.

 

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage – 2010 (2.8). Starting right out of high school, the Canadian rockers documented in this movie have been challenging their own talents for decades. Archival footage, interviews with fans, critics and admiring musicians are the components of the film. But the enduring friendship of the three men and their mutual desire to challenge themselves to always improve and explore is what sets them apart.

 

The Bletchley Circle (Season Two) – 2013 (2.7). The former code breaker women continue their self-appointed detective work in two more two part episodes, with one character out and a new one in, but now the novelty factor of their war time work is worn off and it has become just another detective show.

 

Prisoners – 2013 (2.7). This overlong thriller about the disappearance of two young girls starts off fairly believable and intriguing enough to hold attention, but then the characters start to deteriorate in authenticity and an increasing number of holes begin to appear in the script as the story continues. The chief investigator increasingly proves to be the typical American cinematic loner cop who does not follow the rules but gets results. Central characters quickly become wacky under the pressure and before we know it we have several nut cases to suspect. Eventually we realize the extent of interconnection and then wait for the movie to catch up and conclude. These thrillers always seem to prove that playing by the rules may actually be the best course, and one personal rule for me is probably that thrillers are usually a waste of time.

 

Rush – 2013 (2.7). Ron Howard always makes a well-crafted film. This story of an intense battle in the 1970s between the two top Formula One racers captures a couple years of that battle and strikes a good balance between race track action and the personal lives of the men. Unfortunately neither side of that balance is well enough developed. We do not really learn much about the racing beyond the two men, nor about the two men beyond the racing. The Austrian racer in particular seemed a deeper man deserving deeper treatment.

 

Mildred Pierce – 2011 (2.2). Starting with unsympathetic people plodding through a muddled script, this HBO miniseries remake of the 1945 classic wastes a lot of time at the beginning and then rushes to its end. Production values are high in capturing the look of 1930s Los Angeles, but there are too many shots of the vintage automobiles just going from one scene to the next. Thankfully the profanity has been kept true to the time rather than the usual HBO anachronistic transporting of current foul mouth jargon; but the typical HBO full nudity is included early. Full spoiler written intros to each of the five parts are quite helpful, particularly when combined with the fast forwarding DVD feature.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street – 2013 (1.2). One and a half hours of self-indulgent libidinous debauchery about a stockbroker making money by cheating clients is followed by another one and a half hours of the same as the FBI close in on him in this useless drivel of a movie. Based on a book by the crook, one wonders why did anyone buy the book and why in the world was a film made of it. Once again, be thankful for DVD fast forwarding. Incredibly, this was nominated for awards and was supposedly a comedy.

 

 

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Romantics Anonymous

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Binge Watching

Netflix has established a precedent by releasing all the episodes of an entire season of its new productions all at once. Older complete seasons of many series are available for streaming. This allows binge watching which is more akin to book reading. Waiting for the next weekly episode of a series is like reading a book a chapter at a time in a weekly magazine. Comcast has released entire seasons of some shows for watching during its Watchathon week. DVD sets of one or more seasons of a series are available from libraries, often with four weeks allowed for viewing.

 

I have started watching and re-rating some movies that I first watched and rated years ago. If the ratings change, the newer rating will be used when my master lists are updated. I suspect the new ratings tend to be lower, probably because I have seen so many movies now that I am a bit harder rater and also because the impact of many films is greater when they are freshly viewed. An example from the current list is Elling, which I originally rated 4 stars at Netflix; it is a good movie but on this watch it did not have as great an impact.

 

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

 

Boardwalk Empire (Season Four) (2.9). As the series moves into the mid twenties, the gangster entwinements become even more twisted and the FBI comes into being and starts to get involved. The family lives of some of the principal characters become more involved in the stories, some new characters show up and some old ones get snuffed. The season finale has a lot going on and seemingly closes some story arcs, while leaving plenty of room for a few seasons more.

 

Captain Phillips – 2013 (2.9). Without spending much time on back story, this thrilling drama, based on a true story, gets the Captain to his American cargo ship and sailing through the Gulf of Aden. His concern for possible Somali piracy quickly turns into reality as his isolated ship is targeted and boarded, resulting in tense cat and mouse dealings between the Captain and the nominal head of the ragged team of pirates. Once the US Navy gets involved, negotiators and Navy Seals are engaged in stopping the pirates and saving the kidnapped Captain. Intensely well-paced with good acting and production values, the movie holds interest throughout.

 

The Newsroom (Season Two) – 2013 (2.9). Reminiscent of the trouble for CBS when a fake document was used as part of the evidence to show Bush II ducked the draft, the Newsroom team is duped from the inside resulting in major litigation which provides a continuous story line for the second season. The personal stories of the characters are entwined with the internal investigation of how the story made it through the institutional process to get on the air. Culminating with the election night coverage of 2012, there are some happy developments to offset the setbacks.

 

The Hunt – 2012 (2.9). Having lost his teaching job in a school closure, a man has taken a job helping out in a kindergarten back in the small town of his birth. Divorced and in custody negotiations over his teenage son, the man, in spite of reuniting with other local men, leads a lonely life. His best friend has a fragile marriage with a sensitive daughter who attends the kindergarten and befriends the teacher. The little girl becomes piqued one day and tells a lie about the man, which soon escalates out of control. Very well acted, particularly by the little girl, this Danish movie concentrates on the impact of the lie on the teacher, how the love a community feels for its children can easily turn to irrational fear, and how the teacher struggles to deal with the situation without any help. The DVD includes an alternate ending, which once again confirms neither denouement is satisfactory.

 

The Act of Killing – 2012 (2.9).  Watching the DVD special feature interview of the director before viewing the documentary will help understand the historical background behind the Indonesian political genocide of 1965, and why the killers, shown in this movie in their old age, are still respected and feared. Wanting to emulate American gangsters and sadistic Nazis as shown in American films, young thugs were easily recruited by the repressive dictatorship to help with massive purges of a million or more people seen as potential political opponents of the repressive regime. The film maker spent eight years working with these former killers, culminating in the killers themselves putting together a documentary with their personal vision of why and how they tortured and murdered and how they feel about it now. Reminiscent of the film Shoah and its interviews with Nazi death camp workers, this movie is at times surreal and most often disgustingly perplexing.

 

Burma VJ – 2008 (2.9).  Public indignation roiling up against the repressive military regime in Burma is captured by undercover video journalists whose footage made it to the Internet and international TV news. Slow starting, this documentary gains power as Buddhist monks take to the streets inspiring the people to join them and speak up against the regime. The tide was turning as this movie was made though the protests suffered setbacks near the end of filming.

 

Elling – 2001 (2.9). Two men with mental health issues are given a probationary opportunity to leave the institution where they have been living for many years and move into an apartment in Oslo in this enjoyable Norwegian comedy. One man is small and very uptight. The other is large and uncouth. But they have developed a strong friendship which helps them cope with adjusting to their new situation. Good acting and nice pacing contribute to this story about the benefits of being yourself while open to new situations.

 

Blue Jasmine – 2013 (2.8). Another Best Actress Oscar goes to the portrayal by Cate Blanchett of a woman with serious mental health issues, in this Woody Allen drama. This time the character was not as over the top as some prior winners, but rather a woman who had suffered some serious life bumps and was losing ground in spurts in trying to deal with them. All the characters seem authentically mixed, even without us knowing their back stories, though we are shown flashbacks of Cate and her husband from time to time. The story is mostly middle, with a few hints of beginning and not much end.

 

30 for 30: You Don’tKnow Bo – 2012 (2.8). Archival footage and interviews are used in this ESPN documentary to tell the athletic story of Bo Jackson, All Star MLB baseball player and All Pro NFL running back, whose career was cut short by the fluke of a devastating injury. Straightforwardly done, the man who was probably the next best natural athlete after Jim Thorpe is shown in his astounding performances on the field and in his dignified and mellow current life.

 

Elon Musk: Bloomberg Risk Takers – 2011 (2.8). This short documentary does a quick job of capturing the confident genius and dynamic entrepreneurship of Musk, with archival footage and interviews of the man himself, his family members and those who have been in business with him. Starting with Internet ventures like Pay Pal, Musk has moved on to successful space exploration and electric car ventures.

 

Medora – 2013 (2.7). The title is the name of the very small Indiana town whose high school has not been consolidated with other small schools. The school basketball team has to compete against schools with ten times as many boys enrolled, and the results are not pretty. The movie tries to use the struggles of the team as its focus, but it is clear the real issues are the struggle of the boys in their daily lives with splintered families and a dying home town. This is not encouraging and the film does not make any effort to seek or show any hopeful signs or constructive criticism.

 

Indie Game: The Movie – 2012 (2.7). Following a few independent developers of video games who spend years intensely bringing their vision to reality, this documentary shows the pressure they experience even as they eschew the pressure of working for corporate game developers. There could be broader issues of motivation and achievement, but these young men always knew what they wanted to do from the time they were children immersed in video gaming and fantasy art and they concentration of this movie is on the development of their individual games and whether they will meet with critical and popular success and whether they will be understood and appreciated for the full vision behind their creation.

 

Veep (Season Two) – 2013 (2.7). Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is still in the number two spot in season two, with her quirky staff pretty much the same and she is still striving to appear important and manage her political career in the face of continuous political turmoil. The HBO required excessively vulgar language continues but the running joke asking if the President called is dropped. A few new characters come along, but none of major importance. More time is spent near season end with the family dynamics of the Veep, her ex-husband and their daughter and the finale reveals surprising news about her political future.

 

Udaan – 2010 (2.7). After eight years in a boarding school without seeing his widowed father, a teenage boy is expelled, returns home and is received sternly by his abusive parent in this overlong and sometimes slow Indian drama. The boy is a talented inspiring writer but his father insists that he work in his factory and study engineering. The boy is a sneaky rebel with a poetic bent and his character has a certain appeal. The six year old half-brother he discovers on his return home is a cutie to whom he is cold at first. The father is a rigid tyrant incapable of love. An uncle is sympathetic to the boy but remains a minor character. The teenage actor has to carry the movie, which he does.

 

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Burma VJ

30 for 30: You Don’t Know Bo

Elon Musk: Bloomberg Risk Takers

Indie Game: The Movie

Udaan

Thirteen Streams

 

 

This list includes thirteen that were streamed via Netflix. At the stream only monthly member charge that is a pretty good bargain and home streaming is certainly convenient. I suppose it is time for a price increase, especially since it is being reported that Netflix is now paying Comcast (and other ISPs?) a premium to make sure viewers are getting sufficient bandwidth. A few Oscar nominees and winners are starting to come through from the library also.

 

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

The Way – 2010 (3.2). Emilio Estevez wrote, produced and directed this surprisingly effective drama starring his father, Martin Sheen, as an American ophthalmologist whose only son is killed at the start of a traditional pilgrimage through the Pyrenees. Having been somewhat estranged from his son, when the father goes to collect the body he decides to walk the pilgrimage himself. What follows is a well-acted and authentically scenic 500 mile road trip on foot during which the bitter man encounters his own anger, begrudges and struggles to relate to fellow pilgrims and various residents encountered along the route and gradually realizes what the pilgrimage means to him. The movie is often touching and alternately gently humorous.

The Square – 2013 (2.9). Netflix enabled the production of this Oscar nominated documentary about the Arab Spring launching in Egypt and the ensuing turmoil. Alternately intimate in closely following a diverse group of protestors and large in scale in showing the massiveness of the demonstrations, the movie captures the zeal of the protestors and the frustration that comes from their political inexperience. Ultimately we learn that revolution is not just about overthrowing undemocratic regimes, but also about changing the culture of a people to enable them to better understand democracy and politics, a lesson Americans could benefit by reassessing our own political culture.

Brooklyn Castle – 2012 (2.9). IS 318 middle school in Brooklyn is a national chess powerhouse and the reasons why are well shown in this documentary. First the school created a chess program to show kids what the game can do for sharpening their thinking and concentration skills and what chess competitions can do for their life coping skills and self-esteem. Next, dedicated teachers and mentors were enlisted. And finally, interested students of all skill levels have become involved, supported by their families and the school community. While following the entire team over the course of a few years, the film concentrates especially on three very appealing children of immigrants, an intelligent and beguiling girl with Caribbean roots, a boy who could be the next US President with African Ancestry and a quiet boy whose parents came from South America. Without preaching, this movie generates enormous enthusiasm for immigration, education, teachers, mentors and the ancient game of chess.

First Position – 2011 (2.9). Watching kids work hard to get really good at doing something that excites them and then seeing them in competitions to be recognized as one of the best is the subject of this documentary. The kids are boys and girls age 11 to 17 from diverse backgrounds and their passion is ballet. We hear from the kids, their teachers, families and friends as we follow them on the course to the final competition, and even without knowing much about ballet, we can see that it is a rigorous and artistic endeavor, we can tell which competitors are really good and we can’t help but find favorites for whom to root.

Undefeated – 2011 (2.9). This Oscar winning documentary intimately follows a white businessman who volunteers to coach an inner city Memphis high school football team which has a tradition of being a whipping boy for other schools. We pick up with the coach in his sixth year, with a promising group of players he urges to reveal their character, self-esteem and spirit of teamwork and try tp make the playoffs and do something no team from the school has done in its 110 year existence – win a playoff game. Two players of special interest are followed closely. Both are being raised by their grandmother. One is a good student too small to play college ball while the other is a marginal student with great size and athleticism. A third player has serious behavioral problems.

Dallas Buyers Club – 2013 (2.8). The overwhelming purpose of this movie seems to have been to create Oscar type roles for the male lead and supporting actor, a feat successfully accomplished. There is not much drama beyond how long these HIV positive men will live, and with the story set in the 1980s we pretty much know the answer to that. Character development is minimal for the lead and non-existent for the support. Criticism of the doctors, drug companies and the FDA is ho-hum. The female doctor role is a throw away. The only reason to watch is to judge the Oscar winning performances.

Our Nixon – 2013 (2.8). Home movies taken by three insiders of the Nixon White House are interspersed with interviews of them in later years, archival footage and recorded phone calls between them and Nixon in this unusual documentary. The three men all served time in federal prison for their crimes in the Watergate break-in and cover-up. Admittedly most appealing to political junkies and especially those who remember the Watergate times, the movie still is chilling to watch the stiffly sanctimonious President in public and then hear him on the phone with his sycophants as he gives his flattering self-assessments and expletive laden jibes at his perceived enemies and spotlight stealers.

Twenty Feet from Stardom – 2013 (2.8). Background singers aer the subject of this Oscar winning documentary. Predominantly African-American women, these singers often have voices better than the stars they support, but as their fairly extensive interviews show, they either were content to remain in the background or not that successful when they tried to go solo. We get some history and lots of memories and musical vocalizing. Though the movie could have used with a little more cohesion and structure, it is great to see these women finally given the respect they deserve.

Carol Channing: Larger than Life – 2012 (2.8). Definitely alive and still a dynamic and universally beloved entertainer, the Broadway star shines in this documentary that shows vintage clips of her performances through the years and adds many interviews and interactions with other entertainers and show biz types as well as fans of all ages. But the real strength of the movie is the time it spends close up with Carol as she shares so many of her stories with obvious relish, except for a few curve balls life threw, including one that lasted 42 years. There is a man in her life and they make a delightful couple.

The Invisible War – 2012 (2.8). The number of sexual assaults in the US military has increased as more women have enlisted and as the caliber of the men entering the service has become lower. The intimate interviews with some women who have been victims of sexual assault puts a real face on the problem and is the strength of this documentary. We learn that the trauma is compounded by the fact the perpetrators are men who were trusted comrades of the women and sometimes even their seniors in the chain of command. The final insult is the purposeful lack of justice in the system of addressing these charges, often with the alleged perpetrators becoming the judges or being friends of the judges, and blaming the victim being one policy employed. Time spent showing the pathetic PR attempts of the military and interviews with sympathetic members of Congress could have been left out. Mention was made of the fact some of our allies have set up systems to have such charges adjudicated by a process bypassing the military chain of command, but it would have been helpful to document further how those systems have worked in fact.

Starlet – 2012 (2.8). Dree Hemingway (daughter of Mariel) gets her first lead role, playing a young woman living with a young couple in a nondescript place in the San Fernando Valley, in this engaging indie drama. This trio does recreational drugs and the male is also hooked on shooter video games, but Dree kind of floats on her own. She buys a thermos from an elderly lady’s garage sale and finds $10,000 inside, and after quickly spending some on herself and her rescued Chihuahua mix, goes back to see whether the old lady might need the money enough to make Dree feel guilty. What follows is more comfortable to watch than it would seem to be, as Dree stalks the ornery old gal and they each indulge in only minor inquiry about the other and they both keep a lot to themselves, including what Dree does for a living and is not what parents would recommend. The ending seemed a bit flat, but on reflection should be taken more as an opening to the next chapter and an opportunity to think back and look for nuances in the story. I very much enjoyed the dog which is an exact copy of one I live with, except for gender and one ear position.

Treme (Season Three) – 2012 (2.8).  Producer David Simon says this series is not meant to be entertainment or drama, but rather stories of individuals making up the larger story of the recovery of New Orleans from Katrina. A little entertaining drama could help the series which seems to be dragging out the stories of so many people, interspersed with long scenes of their involvement in music and cuisine. This season seemed a little better than last, maybe because the characters and their stories are becoming a little more familiar, even as the story line of corruption in connection with contracts for rebuilding still is too muddled to follow. Lack of much violence this season seemed anticlimactic.

The American Scream – 2012 (2.7). Three families in a small town in Massachusetts really are into creating a frightening experience for Halloween visitors to their homes, and we watch them as they prepare their creatures, props and scenes in this documentary. The men in the households are quite different except for this hobby they share, but though we learn a little about their personal lives in the course of the movie it would have been nice to go a little deeper. The extensive work involved in their creations is elaborately covered, but the scenes of the visitors on Halloween night are quite short changed.

Beauty IsEmbarrassing – 2012 (2.7). Wayne White is an artist whose work is whimsical and irreverent and productive of enjoyable chuckles. His interviews in this documentary show a man who is comfortable with what he does even as he has a small chip on his shoulder about being dismissed by some critics. The movie does not have anything particularly memorable to say about art or artists, but it is fun to watch Wayne create and talk about his life and work.

Cutie and the Boxer – 2013 (2.6). A 19 year old Japanese girl comes to NYC and meets a 41 year old Japanese artist who paints with boxing gloves and sculpts with cardboard. Forty years later we have this documentary of their 40 year marriage which uses some of their old home movies but mostly just follows them interrelating and working on their art. She draws comic book style scenes about dealing with his ego, abuse and alcoholism. He is supposedly famous yet struggles to pay the rent. She has supposedly become liberated from his dominance but it seems to be mostly just her talk. Neither seems to have taken one ESL class in 40 years, their art must be an acquired taste and their sad son seems like a reticent chip off the old block. The couple is quirky enough to provide a few laughs though.

C. O. G. – 2013 (2.4). Some short stories can be made into full length movies. Some cannot. This one by David Sedaris about his memories of a break from post-graduate work at Yale to pick apples in Oregon probably should have been limited to a short film. The introspective commentary of the writer comes across in some scenes but is left to be intuited in many others and the net effect is disappointment.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

The Way

The Square

Carol Channing: Larger than Life

Brooklyn Castle

First Position

Undefeated

Our Nixon

The Invisible War

Starlet

The American Scream

Beauty Is Embarrassing

Cutie and the Boxer

C. O. G.



God Save British TV

With the largest ensemble of great actors in the world, a thousand years of readily available historic locations and many writers of intelligent scripts, British television has the inside track on quality. While keeping up with the new output, I hope to go back and try some older ones I missed.

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

Downton Abbey (Season Four) – 2013 (3.5). A major character is confirmed dead from last year’s end, more new cast members and story lines are added, including a serious affront to a loveable character. Shirley MacLaine reappears at year end with her son Paul Giamatti. Season four ends with more upbeat notes than three did.

Island at War – 2004 (3.3). A miniseries about the impact of the start of WWII on the residents of an independent English Channel island that does not actually exist seems like a bad idea. Why make up a story about people in a pretend place when there are so many true stories about real places? But with this expertly nuanced production Britain’s Granada TV was able to create a place with its own sovereignty and independence from Britain while at the same time its residents have an expectation of British protection from the Germans who have just occupied Western Europe. Without the impact of our preexisting knowledge of a real location, the script allows us to focus instead on the way the War affects the island people in their relationships and attitudes toward Britain, Germany, their families, neighbors, friends and new contacts such as other islanders previously unknown and German military personnel. With the expected excellent British actors and production values, it does not take too long to accept the premise about this island and to start to appreciate what the script has to say and how it raises some interesting questions.

West of Memphis– 2012 (3.1). In 1994, three teenage boys in Arkansas were convicted in what was charges were the satanic murders of three eight year old boys. Through the years, the convictions of “The West Memphis Three” have become the subject of widespread activist efforts to obtain new trials. This documentary joins a trilogy of films by Joe Berlinger under variations of the title “Paradise Lost” in telling the story of the defendants and the efforts to gain them a new trial. Though the story of injustice based on inept profiling, sloppy police work, incompetent forensics, overaggressive prosecution, inexperienced defense counsel and feckless trial judge oversight is all too familiar, the unique facts of this case and the well-funded and tireless work on behalf of the defendants is covered in engaging depth through the compromised conclusion for the defendants, while leaving the ultimate question intriguingly hanging.

 

A Bottle in the GazaSea – 2011 (3.1). Many languages are spoken in this independent film, because the young principals are a Jewish female who has recently relocated with her family from France to Tel Aviv and a Palestinian male living in Gaza who is studying French and wants to travel to France to study there. The girl has been traumatized by a nearby suicide bombing and has her brother who is an Israeli soldier patrolling in Gaza throw a bottle in the sea. In the bottle she has written a letter in English asking the finder to explain why Palestinians use suicide attacks and she gives an e-mail address for response. This hokey premise is quickly out of the way as a group of young men find the bottle and joke about the stupid message. But the boy does respond and an e-mail correspondence ensues. We see what is going on in the lives of both of these people as they keep their contact secret from their families. Will they get together or will the horror of war interfere? Nice pacing keeps the interest level up and is rewarded with an effectively moving ending.

Page One: Inside theNew York Times – 2011 (2.9). At a time when print journalism is being challenged by declining advertising revenue and competition from Internet based reporting, this look inside the New York Times to see how that venerable paper is coping makes for a quite interesting and fast moving documentary. Rather than have journalists talk to the camera, we learn from seeing them talk to each other at work, in social settings and in debates and seminars. The movie does not give answers; it instead shows the struggle to keep the paper alive and journalistic standards honored while recognizing that some changes must be made.

The Taking of PelhamOne Two Three – 1974 (2.8). The hijack for ransom of a NYC subway train was believable at the time this taut thriller was made and the tight script, actual locations, crisp direction and fine acting hold up well as a movie about a crime back then. The brash title music is annoying but thankfully not employed elsewhere in the film. A remake in 2009 reportedly failed to match the quality of the original.

Dirty Wars – 2013 (2.7).  In this documentary an investigative journalist follows stories about innocent civilians and supporters of American troops being killed by Americans in covert operations in Afghanistan and Somalia and an American citizen being targeted for assassination by American drones in Yemen. He travels to these places and interviews witnesses and he also interviews American officials and former operatives, and he even presents his findings and questions to an American Congressional Committee. The movie presents a dedicated journalist risking danger to seek the truth, but it never follows up on the legal and ethical questions involved in the type of operations being investigated, and it does not even begin to explore the difference between using such an operation to kill Osama and assassinating an American Imam in Yemen who posts Internet videos espousing jihad against America.

Happy People: A Yearin the Taiga – 2010 (2.7). Primarily following some men who work as trappers in the frozen north of Siberia, this documentary follows them through all four seasons. They come from a village of about 300 people and the movie shows a few touches of village life, but it is primarily about the life of the men out in the wild with their dogs, showing them at their work and letting them talk to the camera about their lives. The title is a little misleading, as the men come across more as self-sufficient and not unhappy, rather than outright happy.

Encounters at the Endof the World – 2007 (2.7). Werner Herzog travels to the scientific station at McMurdo in the Antarctic to make this documentary not just about the wonders of the continent itself, but more about people who travel there to do work and research. There does not seem to be a plan to the film, rather it is approached more as the tile suggests as an encounter.

Submarine – 2010 (2.6). The characters in this UK movie are presented as a little to quirky to take seriously, but are not funny enough to make the film a comedy. A teenage only child boy is concerned for the lifeless marriage of his parents while at the same time wanting to find his own first love. Mom is checking back on an old flame, as the boy spies on her. He finds a girl and they seem to hit it off, but then he runs into a problem when she needs him in a more mature way. The material is not as good as the acting and directing talent. For a low budget film, there are some beguiling cinematic shots.

The Winds of War – 1983 (2.6).  Long enough to be a half season, this ambitious miniseries based on the Herman Wouk novel about the lead up to WWII boasts impressive production values using multiple European locations. The story centers on a career naval gunnery officer, ably played by Robert Mitchum, who has been assigned as an attaché to the diplomatic service in the late 1930s. One reviewer aptly points out that the man is a bit like Forest Gump, always present at important meetings of heads of state. The device enables us to see these meetings from the inside American view. This elevated status was inadvertently achieved because the officer wrote a report that went against the grain of the higher ups and somehow came to the attention of FDR who made the officer his unofficial intelligence agent with a direct line to the White House. The actors portraying the heads of state are very good, especially Ralph Bellamy who delivers a direct hit as FDR. Unfortunately the uneven and poorly paced script by Wouk also covers the personal romantic lives of the officer, his wife and three adult children, all played very ineffectively. As a dramatized history lesson of the real winds of war through the attack on Pearl Harbor the series was informative, but the family romances are a major waste of time.

Happiness – 1998 (2.2). This black sometimes comedy is definitely perverse; in fact it is also in several ways perverted. An early performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman was the impetus for checking it out and a scene of him in his sloppy apartment drunkenly collapsing after making obscene phone calls is sadly prophetic of his actual depressing death. There are some real aspects of empty and depressing lives portrayed in this film but watching it can also be depressing and leave an empty feeling. Movies should have something better to offer.

 

Carmen Jones -1954 (2.2). On the plus side for this musical are the music of Bizet, the screen presence of Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, and Pearl Bailey singing in her own voice. On the minus side are the forgettable book and lyrics by Hammerstein and the singing voices of the leads being dubbed by other vocalists, with the voice coming out of Belafonte’s mouth absolutely ludicrous.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Island at War

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Dirty Wars
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Encounters at the End of the World
Submarine
The Winds of War
Carmen Jones

Eclectic Tastes

This list includes a half dozen streams from Netflix, a new PBS show and several old movies of which the library has only one DVD left. Genres and vintages are another mixed bag, due to eclectic tastes.

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

Bridegroom – 2013 (3.5). [Spoiler Alert - if you click this title link to go to IMDb, the immediate information there includes something which spoils part of the impact of this movie; so it is best not to go to IMDb until after seeing the movie]. This is a documentary about love, families and friends. Love is the strongest message this movie delivers, as it captures the deep love a couple has for each other and how they live it so completely. How family and friends can embrace who a person is, or how they can fail to do so, is a related message. The two messages combine in a third, how family and friends either embrace or reject the person their loved one loves. Using archival footage and photos, together with interviews of one member of the couple and with family and friends who embraced both members of the couple, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason has made a very powerful and moving film. The couple is Shane and Tom, two wonderful young men from small towns in Montana and Indiana. This movie should be part of high school programs on human sexuality and relationships. In an ideal democracy it should be required viewing for anyone voting on banning gay marriage.

The Scarlet and the Black – 1983 (2.9). Based on a true story, this well-done TV movie uses real Rome and Vatican settings to dramatize the cat and mouse game between an Irish Monsignor (Gregory Peck) who is a Vatican official and the Gestapo Colonel (Christopher Plummer) who is put in charge of policing Rome during the German occupation in WWII. After the initially flawed Allied invasion of Italy, many Allied prisoners were able to escape and seek refuge in the neutral Vatican, but the numbers were overwhelming and the Vatican was nervous about endangering its neutrality. As the escapees and Jewish refugees continued to come, the Monsignor fell into the job of heading an underground operation to place them in safe houses in and around Rome. Perhaps to gain access to the Vatican for filming, the movie goes a bit easy on Pope Pius XII, showing him as primarily interested in preserving the historic heritage of the Church but willing to allow the Monsignor to continue his rescue efforts at his own peril in spite of strong threats from the Colonel. This film gets better as it progresses and has a powerful ending personally involving the Monsignor and the Colonel.

The Mark of Zorro – 1939 (2.9). Dashing masked he-man heroes who are alter egos of milk toasts and weaklings have great appeal to a certain type of male [present company included – Zorro was a favorite on TV in my high school days]. This first sound movie version put Tyrone Power in the role of the son of a beloved California Governor who has been deposed by a corrupt regime while the son was away in Spain learning to be a dashing horseman and swordsman. On his return to California the son learns what has happened in his absence and understands that armed rebellion would be too costly in lives, so he cleverly plots the reinstatement of his father without all-out war. The son pretends to be a dandy as cover for his clandestine adventures as Zorro. An efficient script is stylishly directed by Mamoulian and competently acted. This may be hard to find; Netflix does not have it and I was only able to find one copy at the Library, a colorized version that is not garish.

Only Angels HaveWings – 1939 (2.9). Cary Grant runs a marginal air mail and freight line serving an Andes Mountain region and Jean Arthur passes through and falls for him in this Howard Hawks directed adventure. The script is tightly entertaining and the pilots and mechanics who risk their lives are tough with underlying tenderness. The scenes of planes flying are well done and it is not always easy to determine what is a real airplane and what is a model. After 75 years, this is still enjoyable.

Salinger [AmericanMasters] – 2013 (2.8). Ten years in the making, this documentary of the reclusive writer uses numerous interviews of other writers, critics, editors, publishers, celebrities and people whose lives were involved with Salinger, including one former girlfriend who wrote a kiss and tell memoir and Salinger’s daughter. Some archival footage and reenactments are also employed. What emerges does not seem worth the ten year investment if the goal was to find and understand the man. We learn from the start that Salinger was born into wealth and had some major adjustment issues as a child. His combat experience in Europe in WWII was admirable and obviously impacted his psyche as it did all who served there, but in his case it was impacting someone who was already troubled. His giant ambition and ego seemed to be validated by the success of Catcher in the Rye but then became questionably eccentric with his later work and his perverse retreat from the public eye. Ironically he managed to maintain himself in the public consciousness by hiding from the public. Forty years of unpublished work may start to trickle out from the Trust he created in his Will, and time will tell whether it was worth the wait.

Frances Ha – 2012 (2.8). Bouncing around the NYC area hoping to make it as a dancer, a 27 year old from Sacramento, graduate of an upstate New York college, is at times funny, pathetic, flakey and sympathetic in this black and white independent movie co-written by the featured actress, Greta Gerwig, who was nominated for a best actress Golden Globe. The film feels like it accurately captures this stage in the life of its heroine, warts and all.

Brighton BeachMemoirs – 1986 (2.8). Neil Simon wrote this story about coming of age in Brooklyn on the edge of the start of WWII. The family includes the overworked father, his wife, their sons age 18 and 15, the widowed sister of the wife and the two daughters of the widow, one in high school and a younger sickly one. Holds its age well and captures the feel of the time and place with smart dialogue and appropriate troubles being encountered.

Blackfish – 2012 (2.7). Tilikum is an orca responsible for the deaths of three people while he has been in captivity. This earnest documentary uses interviews with former Sea World trainers and other experts to engender sympathy for the plight of these highly intelligent and sensitive prisoners and outrage over how Sea World treats the orcas and misleads their trainers. But the movie does not go enough into the scientific knowledge about these majestic animals nor does it effectively cover efforts being made by activists and regulators to bring about needed changes.

Dumbstruck – 2010 (2.7). There is something delightful about seeing scores of people walking around with ventriloquist dummies. This documentary includes such scenes at a ventriloquist convention and proceeds to follow five people as they work with their dummies and hone their skills, with varying degrees of family support, in pursuit of employment as entertainers. One makes the big time, one has a cruise ship gig that strains his marriage, one is a teenager possibly with potential and the other two are questionable in their prospects. More showing of full acts with the dummies would have enhanced this movie.

Mephisto – 1981 (2.7). A Hungarian production in German language, this drama tells of a moderately celebrated but insecure stage actor during the rise to power of the Nazis. As many of his friends decide to leave the country, he tries to ignore what is happening and then allows himself to become an accommodator moving into collaboration. Intensely concentrated on this one man, the film is much longer than it needed to be and fairly devoid of political discussion.

El Dorado – 1966 (2.7). This next to last movie directed by Howard Hawks, is a marginal vehicle for John Wayne to continue his iconic role of a footloose highly respected gunfighter for hire who always manages to work for the guys in the white hats. He is joined by Robert Mitchum as a drunken sheriff, a crusty old deputy and a young greenhorn played by James Caan. Two young women serve as eye candy.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – 1962 (2.7). John Ford directs John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart in this story of a US senator returning to the frontier town where he made his reputation by shooting a notorious outlaw. Iconic characters and familiar situations culminate in a not too surprising twist ending. A bit long, but one of the last hurrahs for the two Johns.

Behind the Candelabra – 2013 (2.4). Liberace was an over the top performer, flaming on stage at a time when gays were still in the closet. Based on a book by one of his lovers, who claims to have been the love of Lee’s life even though he was discarded and paid off after just a few years, this movie was intended to be a story of their love. If true, the film did not capture any kind of love, gay or not, that had any audience appeal. Instead, the sight of Michael Douglas and Matt Damon all gussied up played like a comedy and it was next to impossible to see the actors as the characters they were portraying, which was not much of a loss since the characters were so unappealing.

Meek’s Cutoff – 2010 (2.2). In the early days of the Oregon Trail, a mountain man named Meek claimed to know a shortcut through Oregon that bypassed the Columbia River upstream from The Dalles and avoided supposedly troublesome Indians along that stretch of the river. If he did know a shortcut, he had forgotten it by the time in 1845 he persuaded some pioneers to follow him with their wagons as he fumbled his way through the high desert of eastern Oregon. They suffered mightily with bad terrain and lack of water. A recent book chronicles the modern day search for the route they followed, based on diaries kept on the trip by some of the pioneers. Even after recently reading the book, it is hard to find the story in this movie drama. The script which is loosely based on the true story barely explains anything, but instead just shows the fumbling Meek and the anxious pioneers squeaking their wagons through the terrain and finally encountering an Indian, whom Meek wants to shoot but whom the pioneers hope can help them find water. On the positive side, the film was shot in the real locations (though curiously filmed in narrow screen to evoke old western movies rather than using wide screen to show the awesome vastness of the land) and the wagons and costumes looked appropriate.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Bridegroom

Salinger [watched on PBS but also available on Netflix streaming]
Frances Ha
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Blackfish
Dumbstruck
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

 

Starting the Year with Netflix Streaming

If you like documentaries and foreign films, it is easy to fill the winter months with streams from Netflix, as this list shows. Several were gleaned from the new arrivals list at Netflix.

 

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

 

 

The Gatekeepers – 2012 (3.0). All six living former heads of the Israeli Shin Bet, the government security agency tasked with protecting Israel from terrorism, are interviewed in this thoughtful Israeli documentary. Their statements about their time in charge and how their attitudes have changed over the years are stylishly blended with archival footage and CGI enhanced photographs of the events about which they speak. The main focus is on the problems involving dealing with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Though they all agree on what the path should be to solving the problems, they also are one in their lack of confidence in the politicians to take that path.

 

Stuck – 2013 (2.9). Ten million children are languishing in poor conditions in orphanages around the world and there are many qualified Americans who want to adopt some of them, but are encountering significant problems and delays in the process. Following prospective American adopters (three couple and a single woman) of children in Vietnam, Cambodia, Haiti and Ethiopia, and including interviews with attorneys, child development experts, teenage adoptees and various government officials, this documentary illuminates some of the political problems involved but most movingly shows the wonderfully appealing children and the unconditionally loving people who want to become their parents. Doubts about the wisdom of international interracial adoptions are seriously challenged by this movie, and the fact that the single mother who wants to lovingly parent a beautiful Ethiopian girl is African American is refreshing. This film shows how hard it is for deeply loving parents to adopt, and by implied contrast, how easy it is for some biological parents to bring a child into the world and abandon it.

 

Protektor – 2009 (2.9). He is a popular radio announcer on the radio. She is an up and coming young movie actress with platinum hair. They live in Prague and it is right after the Nazis have invaded. At home she removes her wig to reveal her dark hair and we begin to see the good and bad parts of their marriage as they each deal with the Nazis in their own way, complicated by the fact she is a Jew. This Czech movie has a smart script, good acting and efficient direction and editing as we move between what seems like black and white dramas and then bright colored realities. The movie is about how they each handle the Germans differently, as she flirts with dangers and he tries to protect her by not rocking the boat, and about how their marriage suffers in the process.

 

1964: AmericanExperience – 2013 (2.8). Shown on PBS fifty years later, using archival footage and narration, this documentary captures the events of 1964 that signified the many pivotal changes occurring in America as the country continued to mourn its recently slain President and the new President LBJ pushed his broadly progressive political agenda on a country that was openly beginning to tear itself apart.

 

Good Ol’ Freda – 2013 (2.8). Freda Kelly was a 17 year old girl in a Liverpool typing pool in 1962 when some friends took her to a local basement pub to watch a new bank perform. She immediately became a regular and an intense fan of the group and soon fell into the job of heading their fan club. When they got a recording contract, she was chosen to become their secretary, a job she held for ten years as the Beatles rocketed to stardom and then broke up, right around the time she got married and started a family and decided it was time to quit her job. In this documentary Freda takes us back on a memory trip, aided by interviews with people who had been involved back then and with her grown daughter, and we see the qualities that made her the perfect person for the job, a fan who was not fanatic, a secretary with devoted integrity and loyalty in her work. Still working in the secretarial field fifty years later, Freda characteristically has never cashed in on her pivotal connection with the iconic group. Bad on Sir Paul for not even contributing a nod to his former faithful employee and good for Ringo for doing so.

 

Birders: The CentralPark Effect – 2012 (2.8). Central Park in NYC is one of the greatest accomplishments of city planning, a wonderful mass of nature in the midst of urbanity, enjoyed by millions of people, a couple hundred different species of birds and a few score people who delight in going to the park to watch the avian wonders. Interviewing the bird watchers and showing them delight in watching the birds and spotting and counting the colorful varieties is what this documentary does, with efficiency and appeal.

 

Booker’s Place: AMississippi Story – 2012 (2.8). In 1965, following the murder of three civil rights workers in the area, Greenwood Mississippi was visited by an NBC news documentary crew wanting to see what people were like there. The only African American interviewed was a waiter in the best white restaurant. He was famous for his memorized recitation of the extensive menu, but when he was filmed reciting, he added comments about how he was treated by the white patrons and how that made him feel inside. After warning Booker about possible consequences if his comments were aired, he said he wanted them included. This new movie was made by the original documentarian’s son who had put the footage on the Internet to archive it. Meanwhile the granddaughter of Booker had been looking for a copy of the scene which she had never seen. Matched up, the two descendants went back to Greenwood to fill in the story and bring it to date. Well done with a few surprises, even if the attitudes don’t seem to have changed much in fifty years.

 

5 Broken Cameras – 2011 (2.8). This Arabic language documentary was filmed by a resident of Palestine, starting with the birth of his youngest son in their small village in Palestine. Around that time the Israelis were building new settlement apartment houses encroaching into the area the villagers had been using for their olive growing. The Israelis installed security fencing which was policed by their army. The villagers began continuous protests and encounters with the settlers and army and this movie documents these protests through the fifth birthday of the young son. In the course of these five years, five cameras used in the filming were broken by the Israelis. Definitely a home movie, but from an unusual enough perspective to have earned an Oscar nod.

 

The Kid with a Bike – 2011 (2.8).  Practically no back story is provided in this French movie about a young motherless boy age about ten whose father dumps him at a boarding home and then tries to ditch him. The boy naively chases after the father and in the process encounters a young woman who has her own hairdressing shop where she lives in the back and where he starts to visit her on weekends. Roaming the streets on his bike, he is soon being targeted for recruitment by the local gang leader. Fine acting by the young boy and the hairdresser carry this movie, which makes one think about abandoned children and appreciate loving people who are willing to be surrogate parents. There is no preaching here, just concentration on the two people and their relationship.

 

Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home – 2010 (2.8). Under pressure from gentrification, Skid Row in Los Angeles is the only surviving community for low cost housing for poor people. Denizens are diverse, though their hard luck stories share elements of mental illness, drug addiction, bad luck and bad choices. This documentary follows several residents as they discuss their personal stories and what the community means to them. People who at first glance make one want to turn away are shown to have some admirable aspects midst their eccentricities. Personal touch is the basis of this film, not political proselytizing.

 

Citizen Cohn – 1992 (2.8). Sleazy lawyer Roy Cohn is the subject of this biopic drama, which concentrates on his time as counsel to the McCarthy committee communist witch hunts and touches on aspects of his personal life and post McCarthy years as well as his start as one of the Rosenberg prosecutors. The delusional egotism of the man is intensely portrayed by James Woods but the movie is so focused on his personality and unscrupulous tactics that the larger issues involved are only barely touched.

 

Jane Eyre – 1983 (2.8). One of nineteen TV or movie productions of this classic listed at the IMDb, this BBC miniseries suffers mostly from scenery chew acting by many of the males, though that may have been somewhat true to character. The primary blessing is the finely subtle acting of the adult Jane by Zelah Clarke, who seems to have not done any further screen acting.

 

Dark Days – 2000 (2.6). Underneath plush riverfront property in NYC is an old railroad tunnel which includes extra space intended for workmen. This documentary shows several otherwise homeless people who suffer from various addictions and other problems and who have made makeshift homes in this tunnel, some for many years. The squalor in which they live is palpable. They emerge from holes to scrounge garbage above ground hoping to find food and other items to use or sell. With only a few interviews with other people, the movie spends most all its time underground listening to these denizens expound on their lives. Though the film captures the bleak lives in the tunnel, it does nothing to address the issues that brought the people there.

 

Danton – 1983 (2.6). Made by a Polish director in France during the martial law response to the Solidarity movement, this French language film is set in Paris during the 1790s and tells of the conflict between revolutionaries Robespierre and Danton regarding whether the purges and executions of The Terror had gone too far. Revolutionaries are always worried either that counter revolutionary plots to restore the overthrown regime are afoot or that the ideals of the revolution have become perverted. This movie shows this conflict, but unfortunately does it with somewhat low production values, theatrical performances, excessive dialogue and the absence of any particular drama or character exploration. Danton was played by Depardieu, so his scenes were shot in French, but Robespierre was played by a Polish actor, so his scenes were shot in Polish and dubbed into French.

 

The Conversation – 1974 (2.4). Written, produced and directed by Coppola, this slow moving supposed thriller lacks any drama or punch as we labor through the intricacies of what was then state of the art snooping, watching a seriously paranoid private snoop who fears that, once again his work will lead to criminal violence and he will not be able to stop it. As a character study of the snoop, the script barely goes anywhere. Issues of privacy and personal responsibility were supposedly addressed, but if so, the passage of time has made the treatment mediocre. There are some interesting audio effects employed in the tape recording and listening scenes.

 

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

 

Stuck

Protektor

Good Ol’ Freda

Birders: The Central Park Effect

Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story

5 Broken Cameras

The Kid with a Bike

Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home

Jane Eyre

The Conversation

Last Day of the Year

As written here before, don’t look for a list of best films of the year, since I won’t get around to seeing many 2013 films until next year. But I can report watching only seven shows this year that I rated 3.3 or higher. Three were new from PBS: Downton Abbey, Last Tango in Halifax and Mr.Selfridge. Three were documentaries: Dirt! The Movie; Serving Life; and StoriesWe Tell. There was only one drama, Boy A. My movie wish for 2014 is better ones to watch, which may require revisiting some older classics.

Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link on the sidebar. Clicking on a movie title will open a new browser tab with the IMDb page for the movie.

 

Stories We Tell – 2012 (3.3). The interesting story of the mother of Canadian independent film maker and actress Sarah Polley, who died when Sarah was 11, is the subject of this documentary made by Sarah. As the last born child, Sarah interviews her father and her brothers, sisters and other people who knew her mother. The interviews are interwoven with home movie footage, which often shows the very things about which the interviewees are speaking. As with all our family stories, the truth can be hard to pin down, especially given the different versions witnesses relate. This movie cleverly and subtly recreates the feeling of being at a gathering of older family and friends and knowing that the various people belong there but not being sure of just who exactly they are. As the film develops, we also begin to realize that recalled images and memories we think are highly accurate, may in fact be something our minds have recreated.

Homeland (Season Two) – 2012 (2.8). The holes in the plot get larger and the questionable portrayal of security practices continues as the second season seems to be written on the go. A few new characters come on board and many more meet their maker. Suspension of belief helps overcome logical gaps and other irregularities. The acting remains quite good, though once again acting honors are given for the portrayal of people with serious mental problems. The season finale mixes things up enough to entice viewers for the third year.

The Paradise – 2012 (3.0). Based on an Emile Zola novel, this BBC series is centered on a Victorian Era London upscale department store “The Paradise” headed by a self-made man who is being pursued for marriage by a spoiled young lady of the upper class abetted by her widowed banker father. In staffing, the store uses a philosophy of mutual loyalty, with unmarried employees living in dormitories on the premises. The heroine is a sharp and attractive country girl who comes to the city to pursue a career sometimes at the store and sometimes with her uncle whose dressmaking shop across the street is one of the many shops negatively impacted by the rise of the larger store. The heroine naturally catches the eye of the store owner both for business and romance. Peopled with a supporting cast of interesting characters, the series boasts the usual stellar British acting and production values. With many subplots and variations on the main story, a second season is already underway overseas.

Side by Side – 2012 (3.0). Asking the question whether making movies on film is on the verge of being totally replaced by digital cinematography, Keanu Reeves is the interviewer in this interesting documentary, talking to many directors and cinematographers as well as a few editors and representatives of camera and film companies. The diverse opinions of those interviewed are well expressed both in terms of subjective perception and by way of technical distinctions between the two formats. Refinements and improvements in digital equipment are discussed and there is some mention of special effects and 3D. Particularly engaging are the many illustrative clips from movies which are shown as they are being mentioned. This movie does not answer the question it raises, but gives a good feel for the direction in which movie making and viewing is headed.

Benjamin Franklin – 2002 (3.0). This PBS documentary biography of the founding father manages to be both quite entertaining and informative in following the life and accomplishments of this extraordinary genius who only received two years of formal education, yet rose to international prominence as a scientist, philosopher, businessman, politician, revolutionary and diplomat. Actors deliver monologues based on correspondence and other historical records and scholars supplement the narration with their insights. Historical re-enactments without dialogue and paintings and drawings of Franklin contribute added color and context.

King of the Hill -1993 (3.0). Set in St. Louis in 1933, this nicely dramatized memoir of a young teenage boy coming of age during the early years of the Great Depression evocatively captures the mix of good and bad in people contending with life during those hard times. As the immigrant traveling salesman father hopes for a WPA job, the tubercular mother is in and out of the sanatorium, the younger brother is sent away to live with an aunt and the young teenager is left to fend by his wits and occasional goodwill from others, all the while fabricating adventurous cover stories to hide his plight.

Jimi Hendrix: Hear MyTrain a Comin’ – 2013 (2.9). Shown on American Masters on PBS, this biographical documentary of the rock star uses archival footage of concerts and interviews together with commentaries by musicians looking back to recall the meteoric rise and unique talents of the young man from Seattle. Particularly helpful is the straightforward explanation of what led to his untimely death, which the entire movie puts in the context of how serious and dedicated a musician and man Hendrix was.

Modern Family (Season Four) – 2012 (2.9). Still fast paced and witty as the lives of the characters pass another year, some of the elements of the humor are getting a bit repetitious, but most episodes generally produce enough laughs to make the year worth watching.

The Belle of Amherst – 1976 (2.9). Detracting from the rating of this production is the fact that it is an old TV recording of a one actress stage performance by Julie Harris playing Emily Dickinson. But compensating for this is the very fact that it is the great actress Julie Harris in a Tony Award winning role, playing the intriguing poet. This is a great way to introduce viewers to Emily or to rekindle a perhaps postponed or forgotten interest.

TheAfrican-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross – 2013 (2.8). A PBS series with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recapping the history of black people in America from the earliest times to the Obama Presidency is ambitious, but the result seems to live up to billing, given the limited amount of screen time. Even if the techniques used and the rivers crossed seem a little familiar, there are always some new people and stories that Gates manages to inject.

The Sapphires – 2012 (2.8). Inspired by the true story of a quartet of young aborigine women who went to Vietnam in 1968 to sing Motown style songs to American troops, this Australian drama about three sisters, their cousin and the white man who tries to manage them has an indigenous charm fitting for this different story. The script is not real tight, but the music and genuineness of the acting hold it together. The DVD includes a brief interview with the four Sapphires in their senior years.

The Sound of MusicLive – 2013 (2.7).  NBC and Carrie Underwood deserve credit for risk taking in putting on this live TV production of the classic musical. Underwood is not an actress and her singing pipes are not as impressive as those of some of the Broadway talent on display, but in a way, her earnest underperformance fits the somewhat naïve character she plays. The original movie is an almost impossible act to follow, but for a TV show this well mounted production is about as good as can be expected.

Treme (Season Two) – 2011 (2.7). The series seems to lag in this second year and the ongoing celebration of the music and cuisine starts to feel redundant. So many characters are being followed that the jumping around from story to story becomes a bit annoying. If having an episode concentrate on one story line would be too narrow, maybe two or three per episode would be a reasonable compromise. Or maybe having somewhat of a specific theme to an episode playing into the various characters would help, something beyond just the calendar time for the next community event. There were some character and plot developments this season, but they were slow and disjointed in coming.

The Trials of DarylHunt – 2006 (2.7). The makers of this documentary spent ten years filming the story, but Daryl Hunt spent twenty years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. The story is sadly all too familiar; a black man in a southern state (North Carolina this time) is targeted by lazy and unscrupulous police detectives and prosecutors. A weak case results in a conviction based on racial prejudice and dedicated members of the black community mount a long legal process to overturn the wrongful verdict. The movie uses numerous interviews from various times with people involved in the case and incorporates some archival footage but does not give enough details about the two trials and several court hearings which are at the heart of the process. Some perspective from legal academics and scholars would also have been helpful.

Before Midnight – 2013 (2.6). Eighteen years after the first movie, the director and lead actors put together this third part of a trilogy. The first was a chance romantic encounter ending with the couple agreeing to meet at a set time and place in the future if they were both still interested. There should be no spoiler alert needed before saying the second was about the meeting taking place. This third visit tells what has happened in their lives since, with the exposition coming mostly through a realistically boring and frustrating evening of argument between the couple. The only other scene is a dinner with friends earlier in the day where the conversation seems generally pretentious. This is a disappointment after the romance of the first two movies, but that actually seems to have been the intention.

David Holzman’s Diary – 1968 (2.4). A young film maker is supposedly making a documentary of his life in order to find its meaning and we get to watch him as he records his journal, tours his NYC neighborhood, exasperates his girlfriend and engages in voyeurism. Clever in some ways and maybe a decent commentary on self-indulgent introspection, but basically watching this movie is a somewhat annoying and essentially boring experience. Leonard Maltin likes it.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Side by Side

King of the Hill

The Belle of Amherst

The Sapphires [watched on DVD before found on Netflix]

The Trials of Daryl Hunt

David Holzman’s Diary