Two Winners

A very good documentary streamed on Netflix shares top honors with a library DVD by way of Iran on this list. After getting some newer Hollywood films from the library, this time around Netflix streams make up more than half the listings.

 

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.

 

Inequality for All – 2013 (3.5). Robert Reich is the star of this documentary about the widening gap between the richest Americans and the rest of us. A Rhodes Scholar who has served in Government since the Ford Administration, Reich is most famous for his work as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton. He left that job after the first Clinton term because he felt his insistence on consideration of the impact of administration economic policies on working class Americans was being ignored in favor of the policies advocated by Secretary of the Treasury Geithner. Reich is a charmingly fascinating man who is able to express ideas very clearly. Born with a genetic defect, he is extremely short, a matter which he is adept at using as a conversational ice breaker. In this stylish movie he manages to bring dry and depressing data to life as demonstrated by the standing room only lectures he gives as a Berkeley professor, the enormous auditorium audience listening in rapt attention to his dynamic presentation, mixed with just the right amount of personal history. Reich clearly gives the answers to how we got into this inequality mess but freely admits that there is no magic prescription to get us out. Political will needs to be changed and he challenges his students to make that a goal of their career. We should have followed Reich instead of Geithner.

 

The Past – 2013 (3.5). Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian film maker of perceptive intelligence. He writes his own scripts, directs and oversees the editing. This French language drama is set in a Paris suburb, but in spite of being so near the beautiful city, we never see any tourist sites. Instead we see very real feeling locations such as the modest home of the French woman who is finalizing her divorce from her estranged Iranian husband who has just flown in for the process. He is expecting that she has booked him a hotel as he requested, only to be told that he is going to be staying with her so as to more easily pay his farewells to her two daughters from a prior marriage. But the teenage daughter is having problems with Mom and maybe he can have a talk with her. And so the story starts to develop, all in the present, for in spite of the title, the movie contains no flashbacks. There is lots of talking but all the conversations are so real and engrossing that nothing feels theatrical or gratuitous. There is plot and drama with other characters becoming involved, but the story develops like most of our real lives have and are and will, in spite of our efforts to be in control. This film makes us ask questions about our motivations and those of others and whether we even understand our own, much less those of the others. The ending may be a little subtle, just as in real life, and dependent on perspective. And that very realistic house in the suburbs was actually designed and built under the supervision of Farhadi. This is a film maker who knows exactly what he is doing in all regards.

 

Steve Jobs: The LostInterview – 2012 (2.9). Not big on being interviewed, Jobs did allow one in 1995. Long thought to have been lost, a VHS copy was found years later and released as a documentary movie, with only minor bridging narration by the interviewer. Ten years before the interview, Jobs had been forced out of Apple, the company he cofounded. He had started his own company but was still feeling the hurt of what had happened. He talks about his early interest in computers as a twelve year old and how he came to be involved in the formation of Apple. His answers are very reflective and seem quite honest as he shares his ideas on the technical creative process and the teamwork involved in working ideas through transformative stages to fruition. Jobs was as interesting as the products he was part of bringing into being, just as Bill Gates is as boring as most Microsoft products. A year after the interview, Jobs sold his company to Apple and was soon hired to bring Apple back from the brink of bankruptcy, a task he accomplished with unprecedented success.

 

Gravity – 2013 (2.8). Viewing this movie as I did on from a library DVD meant no 3-D and no special features explaining the special effects employed. This is the kind of film for which 3-D makes sense and watching it that way might well result in a higher rating. Winning many technical Oscars as well as best cinematography and director awards reveals the strength of the film as an extraordinary technical accomplishment, beautifully photographed and cohesively directed. But the script and acting were no match for the technical achievements.

 

The Moo Man – 2013 (2.8). The British organic dairy farmer followed in this documentary works valiantly with every aspect of his business for long hours, losing money but managing to hang on by distributing his raw milk directly to customers, and being salvaged by taxpayer funded subsidies. The upbeat farmer talks to the camera throughout the film as he goes about his business, always centered on his personal relationship with each member of his herd. We see the sloppy nitty gritty of dairy farming in great detail and in the process we become surprisingly emotionally involved with cows and their different personalities. At the end, we understand his wistful sadness about some aspects of what he does for a living.

 

The Way Way Back – 2013 (2.8). A 14 year old boy comes of age on a vacation at the beach house of his divorced mother’s jerky boyfriend after being mentored by a charismatic man working at the local water park in this pleasant comedy with overtones of the pain of broken homes.

 

Ping Pong – 2012 (2.8). Several individuals over eighty years of age from various countries are shown discussing how they became involved in international ping pong competition in this quick moving documentary. Then they are shown competing at a tournament in China. This movie is more about how some people handle the health related issues of advanced age rather than about how they play ping pong. But the fact is, especially considering their age, these people are quite good players, both of ping pong and life.

 

Unfinished Song – 2012 (2.8). An upbeat terminally ill woman loves singing in the senior choir. Her grumpy husband is perennially depressed and now doting on his wife in fear of losing her. Their son is pained by the cold relationship he has with his father. The eight year old granddaughter is appropriately cute as is the young woman volunteer who joyously leads the choir, even as her personal love life is a mess. Formulaic as it is, this Brit movie accomplishes its task without being too smarmy.

 

Miss Representation – 2011 (2.8). Without telling us anything particularly new, this documentary does bring the stats together and provide lots of interview commentary and archival footage to show how the American media and cultural norms treat women unfairly. The movie is a good reminder but is short on actual suggestions for meaningful change.

 

About Elly – 2009 (2.8).  A happy getaway to the beach by several couples and their small children turns sour when a last minute invitee, the teacher of the child of one of the couples, is uncomfortable and wants to go home early. A newly divorced man was apparently intended as a possible match for her, but before that has a chance to develop, the young teacher vanishes. Mysterious disappearance is a theme that runs through the movies of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, as is the undependability of taking what people say at face value. Trying to understand the present in the context of an as yet unrevealed past with an eye on the future is a tricky task. Yet that is a common task in our everyday life and relationships and the truth of that struggle is what makes , as is the undependability of taking what people say at face value. Trying to understand the present in the context of an as yet unrevealed past with an eye on the future is a tricky task. Yet that is a common task in our everyday life and relationships and the truth of that struggle is what makes Farhadi’s films so relevantly watchable.

 

Fireworks Wednesday – 2006 (2.8). From Iran Asghar Farhadi directs this story of a middle class Tehran couple whose marriage is in trouble. The wife suspects the husband is having an affair and he vehemently denies it. A young house cleaner is hired and soon gets caught in the middle. Honest dialogue about lies and lying in personal relationships is quite watchable. We are in the present like the newly hired house cleaner and we can only guess about the past of these people and what the future may hold for them.

 

House of Cards (Season Two) – 2014 (2.6). The original British miniseries was just three episodes, but this American takeoff has now logged 26 episodes. Season one offered an interesting mix of devious politics, questionable journalism and outrageous violent crime. But with the second season the cuteness of Kevin Spacey’s character is wearing thin, the political issues are spread around too much and the journalists are relegated to second string. The machinations become ludicrous, the personal sex scenes gratuitous, and the gullibility of many of the characters hard to swallow. This Netflix series is too stuck on itself and should have been one season max.

 

Child’s Pose – 2013 (2.6). A sixtyish architect has only one child, a man in his thirties who is finishing up getting his chemistry degree, in this Romanian drama. The son lives with his single mother girlfriend, whom the mother dislikes, because mom wants to control her son’s life and keep him close to her. He resents this very much and is nasty to his mother. There is a father who seems to have pretty much given up on both his wife and son. When the son is a driver in a fatal accident, the mother makes it her job to save him from the consequences. The script is not as clear as this summary. None of the characters has any appeal. But the older actress plays her role to the hilt.

 

Sarah Palin: YouBetcha! – 2011 (2.4). Nobody realistically expected Palin to run for President in 2012. In 2008 she proved herself to be a political joke, totally unfit for any public office. So this Brit documentary going to Wasilla to interview family, friends, enemies and maybe Sarah herself had to be a little tongue in cheek. Amateurishly made, it covered some old ground and left many interesting angles uncovered. The depth of her childish us versus them back stabbing vendetta mentality was fairly interesting as documented in interviews with some of her previous acolytes who she threw under the bus.

 

 

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

Inequality for All

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview

The Moo Man

Ping Pong

Unfinished Song

Miss Representation

House of Cards

Sarah Palin: You Betcha!

A Dozen Newer; Half Disappointments

Additional newer movies have been coming through, but four of them plus two documentaries from Netflix all scored below 2.8. A Brit TV series was the best watch on this list.

 

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.

 

 

Mr. Selfridge (Season Two) – 2014 (3.3). This fine Brit series jumps ahead five years to the start of WWI, as Harry Selfridge ties to salvage his relationship with his wife whom he has estranged by his philandering. The department store must make adjustments throughout the War and Harry is tricked by an evil Lord into looking like he is undermining the War effort. The love lives of several store staff are followed as they blend their current lives at the store with future aspirations. The season finale executes quite well a theme of unselfish love.

 

Doc Martin (Season Six) -2013 (2.8). Family matters get more involved in the eight episodes of this season, with a few new characters and many of the old. Quirky and ornery as the Doc is, the audience still wants to see him make progress toward the happiness which always seems to elude him.

 

Saving Mr. Banks – 2013 (2.8).  The story of Walt Disney prevailing on Mrs. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, to let him turn her stories into a movie musical is actually a story of a woman coming to terms with the loss as a young girl of her beloved but seriously flawed alcoholic father. Tom Hanks channels a great Disney and Emma Thompson, added by continual flashbacks adeptly conveys the inner turmoil of the author. Sadly, though not covered by this movie, it seems the real Mrs. Travers, who lived to age 96, was never able to find the inner peace she sought. Here is yet another idea for a meaningful sequel.

 

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story - 2012 (2.8). A talented Alsatian artist comes to America after WWII and creates wonderful children’s books covering some of the dark and edgy side of life. He wins awards and is celebrated, but then disappears from the scene for about 25 years, when his work in other genres is considered too far out. Still working in his eighties, this documentary includes an extensive interview with him telling of his life journey and his work. Other artists and critics join in praise of Tomi. Delightful animation is employed throughout the movie to help capture the joyous spirit of this edgy illustrator.

 

King of Devil’s Island – 2010 (2.8).  While stylishly capturing the bleakness of an island reformatory for boys in 1915, this well-acted Norwegian drama based on true events never lets us learn anything about the back story of the inmates or the authorities in charge. A new inmate is obviously going to be a major disciplinary challenge and the trusted boy put in charge of helping shape him up soon bonds with him instead. After a scandal is swept under the rug, a revolt is inevitable, as is its outcome.

 

Crossing the Line – 2006 (2.8). Four young American soldiers defected to North Korea in the 1960s and this Brit documentary tells their unfamiliar story of decades living in that oppressive country. Through times of suspicion, indoctrination, exploitation, isolation and integration, the men age, marry, start families and are put to work in anti-American propaganda efforts. Two died of natural cause along the way. One eventually went to Japan with his Japanese wife and negotiated a deal with the US to resolve his status. The main participant in the movie is a man who as a child went from a broken home to foster homes to the Army, through a young jilted marriage and back to the Army where he could not handle the discipline so ran away to the communists. Interviewing him extensively and following his activities along with dramatic reconstructions of some of the back story, we learn of his two marriages and three children. As he tries to explain his motivations and feelings at various times of his story we realize how little this man had going for him in life, how shallow his contemplative side is and why ultimately his story, unusual as it is, has never been consequential in America.

 

August: Osage County – 2013 (2.7). Meryl Streep plays Violet, a bitter woman addicted to liberally prescribed drugs. She lives in a small Oklahoma town with her alcoholic husband and a quiet fortyish daughter she nags for not being married. Two other daughters who live elsewhere come to town for an unexpected reunion of sorts, one with her estranged husband and their teenage daughter, the other with her too oft married fiancé. Violet’s sister and brother-in-law and their bumbling son also come. An Indian woman hired to help take care of Violet completes the ensemble. Based on a play, the movie is quite talkative with some theatrical dialogue, as the family members yak to each other and reveal some of the family back story. Unfortunately, the movie is three quarters over before it actually gets interesting and some actual drama is introduced. Once again Streep does a fantastic acting job, and I have trouble seeing it as anything but that – an act.

 

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – 2013 (2.7). There is so much to tell in the life story of Nelson Mandela that selecting what parts to cover is a challenge for a movie. Unfortunately, the script for this film decided to skip the story of his youth and what he learned in his village and from his father and other elders. We were not shown his family relationships and village friendships, nor any of his schooling from elementary level through law school. Instead, we were quickly shown Mandela as a rising attorney becoming politically involved as well as having some romantic flings during his first marriage. Then Winnie comes in and we see their early romance and eventually we see how the years of separation made them different people and no longer compatible. These are a bit of new turf. But too much time is spent in all too familiar territory, his long imprisonment and eventual release and election, without giving us any new perspective. Except for his famous speeches, we never see discussions and arguments through the years as his ultimate embrace of peace and reconciliation as the solution develops. Too much valuable screen time is wasted on lingering contemplative pans, meaningless movements at the beginning of scenes and an overuse of action scenes with extras. Idris Elba does a good job of channeling Mandela but should have been given more opportunity for introspection.

 

Trash Dance – 2012 (2.7). A young woman choreographer imbeds with the trash collectors in Austin Texas to gather ideas and recruits for a performance of trash collecting as dance in this earnest documentary. The relatively short film follows the woman as she rides along with workers doing various tasks and she learns about the work they do and some about their lives. But we do not learn much about the woman herself, her background and how she came to be involved in the work she does. We do get to see a capsulated version of the performance, but it feels a bit distant. It would have been nice to have more interviews with family members of the workers, before and after the performance.

 

American Hustle – 2013 (2.4). David O. Russell supposedly makes genre bending movies with nuanced characters of many layers. What was actually created in this film was a pretty boring movie set in 1978 about con artists being trapped by an overly ambitious FBI agent who promised to not charge them if they cooperated in stinging bigger fish. The layers apparently come in the form of the characters playing each other. The start of the script made all the characters seem unappealing and there did not seem to be much of a story. Then as the outline of a story started to take shape the characters all started morphing in somewhat confusing ways and after over two hours it wound up quickly like a typical sting movie. The most enjoyable thing about the movie was actually distracting – the music track with hit songs of the period prompting viewers to sing along and try to remember who the singer was.

 

Inside Llewyn Davis – 2013 (2.4). The Coen brothers made this movie with T Bone Burnett because they were interested in the transition that was taking place in American folk music around 1961. They cast Oscar Isaac in the title role, because he could act and play guitar and sing folk songs as he slept on the couches of friends in Greenwich Village while he kept trying to get his musical breakout chance. Not much as a comedy and certainly with no drama, the chances for a real story were obvious but ignored. The camera is always on Isaac or showing his point of view, and he is not that likeable a character. In the course of the film, he plays numerous songs all the way through, so in a way it is an offbeat musical.

 

Milius – 2013 (2.4). John Milius, the writer and sometimes director who is the subject of this documentary, is not a household name. He went to film school and buddied and worked some with Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas and others who contribute interviews to the movie. Milius also is shown in older footage interviews and there are scenes of him interacting with others. Born fairly well-off and with a body of large size, with natural writing ability, he had no problem exuding brash confidence and he enjoyed being contrary. Unable to enter the service for Vietnam duty because of health problems, he lived life, including his film making, as a militaristic wannabe. Despite all the talking in this film about his writing and the scenes that are shown from some of the movies he scripted, this documentary does not seem to impart much knowledge about the details of his actual writing style.

 

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

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

King of Devil’s Island

Crossing the Line

Trash Dance

Milius

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