Best of 2022

 Here is the list of the best of what I watched in 2022. As a reminder, this is what I watched, not what was released in 2022. 

The top one rated 3.2:

Hotel Portofino - 2022                            

The next five rated 3.0:

All Creatures Great and Small (Season 2) -2021

Apart - 2021                                

Call the Midwife (Season Eleven)  -2022

In a Different Key - 2020                 

Children of Las Brisas - 2022

The final eight rated 2.9:

Touch the Light (Tocando la Luz) - 2016

Wind Rises, The - 2014                         

Crown, The (Season Four) -  2021

Indian Doctor, The - 2010 to           

Around the World in 80 Days  - 2021       

Sanditon (Season Two) -  2021

Anything Goes - 2021                         

U.S. And the Holocaust, The - 2022      

                

End of 2022 in the First Week of 2023

 Six months since the last posting indicates I have not been watching many movies lately. The ones on this list have no particular significance other than they must have been more readily available, for example by being broadcast on PBS, which is the case for the first nine shows listed. Gleaning movie award lists for new movies of interest did not actually produce many new movies of interest.

Hotel Portofino – 2022 (3.2).Beautifully set by the sea in Genoa in the 1920s, this PBS series is a pleasant surprise, with an interesting mix of characters, including some quite appealing young actresses. Without a specific main plot, there are plenty of subplots running the gamut from minor personality conflicts to the major fact that the fascists of Mussolini are in control of the country. English people run the Hotel with guests including many English and an American couple. Only six episodes in length, the series managed to point most characters in new directions in the sixth episode. The announced renewal for a second season could allow us to check in on old characters and see how there new directions are working out, and we can also expect new guests to arrive with their own subplots. There is potential here for multiple worthwhile seasons if the writing does not disappoint.

In a Different Key – 2020 (3.0). An experienced duo of journalists created this sincere documentary about autism. The movie is quite informative in a refreshing way by using very few talking head experts and introducing viewers to lots of actual parents and their autistic children. There are also encouraging glimpses of some effective programs for integrating autistic people into ordinary society. One of the people we meet is literally autistic patient number one, a 1934 born man who lives in a small town in Mississippi. It obviously helped the movie making that the female journalist has an autistic son and the male journalist has an autistic brother-in-law.

The Indian Doctor -2010-2013 (2.9). Three seasons was apparently all that was planned for this BBC series about a medical doctor and his wife from India that accept a position as a GP in the UK, only to find out they are assigned to a small coal mining town in Wales. So we have the fish put of water story with colorful locals and their stories. Some of the stories continue in a bit of a three season arc, but there is a distinct villain in each season, first the evil coal mine manager, then a missionary reverend who preaches against small pox vaccination after a case shows up in town, then finally an evil sham property developer and his disgraced physician brother. If the show had kept simply to the theme of the first year and continued to develop and progress the characters, it probably could have lasted several more seasons. But apparently that was never the intention.

The U.S. And the Holocaust – 2022 (2.9). Ken Burns and his team tackle this tragic story with his experienced tools of archival footage and with interviews past and present. The best part is the research which is presented against the graphic detail of the horrors of the genocide, telling the story of the U.S. politics and public opinion of the time in a much deeper and more nuanced way than we are used to being given.

Annika (Season One) - 2021(2.8). Nicola Walker plays yet another police detective with inner turmoil and a wry self-effacing sense of humor. This time she is in Scotland investigating homicides where the victims were found at sea. Each episode is self-contained and she leads a diverse team. She has returned to the area after an absence to take the lead job. Her daughter turns 16 in the last episode and we are teased that her no show father might actually be one of the team detectives.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special2022 -2022 (2.8). Several plot lines quickly develop involving existing cast members and some new people and they do come together somewhat but not as tightly and Chistmas centered as might be expected. Nevertheless the usual production values, acting and overall empathetic feel of the series is still felt.

The Letter: A Message For Our Earth – 2022 (2.8). In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’, a letter to every single person in the world, confronting the looming calamity of human impact on Earth and ourselves. It is one of the most ambitious and revolutionary papal statements in history, since it is directed not just to Catholics, but to everyone on the planet and outlines the most critical environmental and social issues that we collectively face. This documentary tells of four people chosen to represent the poor, indigenous people, young people and wildlife who meet with the Pope and interface with each other revolving around love and protection of our planet. There is some overview and background but the story of the four chosen people and how their lives are affected by environmental impacts on the earth predominates the movie.

Magpie Murders – 2022 (2.8). This is an inside clever detective miniseries about a mystery writer who hates the genre but is highly successful. His editor and publishing house have prospered on the book series about a detective from the 1950s named Attuicus Pund, but the draft received for what could be the final book in the series is missing the last chapter. Before the missing chapter can be located, the writer turns up dead at his country estate. Searching for the chapter, the editor travels to the estate. Subplots include the relationship of the editor and her lover, a pending sale of the publishing house contingent on finding the last chapter, and entanglements of people in the community where the writer died . The editor is aided in her pursuit of the mystery by Pund himself who educates his apprentice and the editor about the dynamics of mystery solving along the way to him eventually solving the case. Though clever as expected for five episodes, the resolution typically comes together quickly in the last episode.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke (Season Two) – 2021 (2.8). After a pandemic delay the series continues for a second season with essentially the same dynamics, each episode being a separate crime to be solved. The chemistry between Miss Scarlet and Duke of Scotland Yard is engaging enough to bring viewers back.

Nomadland – 2020 (2.8). This movie earned an Oscar trifecta, picture, director and actress. Frances McDormand recognized the nomads featured in this movie were a subject she could relate to and so she bought the movie rights to the non-fiction book on which it is based. For some reason immigrant Chloe Zhao is drawn to the outdoors of the western United States. She collaborates with her favorite Director of Photography Joshua James Richards, who captures poetic images of the landscapes to meld with the poetic direction by Zhao. There are a few professional characters, but mostly real nomads in real locales, contributing a documentary feel. Non-nomads are curious about the American nomadic life, about which little has been known, hence the appeal of this movie. As would be expected from McDormand and in particular from Zhao, this was not intended as an indictment of the treatment of nomads or as a recruiting tool to produce new nomads.

Let the Little Light Shine – 2022 (2.7). A K through 8 public school on the south side of Chicago was not a good school, but then community involvement and a great principal turned it around and it became beloved and top notch. But then the political powers that be decided the school needed to be phased in to use as a high school. That got the school community up in arms. This documentary earnestly covers the subject but lacks enough organization and structure to make it quite as good as it should have been.

Must Love Christmas – 2022 (2.7). This Canadian made for TV movie broadcast in the US on CBS has the Christmas look but does not actually register adequately as a Christmas movie. It is more of a romance with an attempted balance of drama and comedy, as a reclusive romance novel author is stalked by a male magazine writer seeking an interview. By coincidence they both get stranded in the same small town where the high school crush of the novelist also happens to be living. Maybe the addition of at least one child would have added to the Christmas charm.

Retrograde – 2022 (2.7). A young Afghan General and hisa US Green Beret counterparts are followed closely in this documentary made during the final stages of the American pullout. The following is so close that the movie suffers from showing us pretty much only trees with no view of the forest.

Who Killed Vincent Chin? - 1987 (2.7). A bit dated, this Oscar nominee for documentary has a misleading title in a way. We know Chin was killed in a fight that started in a strip club and spilled over to the streets outside. The white perpetrator plead guilt to manslaughter. But maybe the title refers to the American system of racial animus towards Asians which spilled over to the justice system. An old white Judge without any real input put the killer on probation with a minimal fine because he had a full time job and no criminal record A federal hate crime trial went through an appeal and a retrial but the perpetrator was found not guilty.The prejudice appears to be as bad as ever, but has there been at least a little progress toward criminal justice?

C'mon C'Mon -2021 (2.6). A writer director made this black and white low budget drama and got Joaquin Phoenix to plat the uncle and a nine-year old kid to play his nephew. The man has some kind of NPR type job traveling around recording interviews with kids whom he asks questions about life. He ends up having to watch the boy while the mother tends to her mentally ill husband. The boys travels to some cities with the uncle and they have conversations and goof around a little. There is not much to be gotten from this movie though AARP like it because it is intergenerational.

The Basket – 1999 (2.5). This well intended drama generated from Spokane and told a story about two German teenagers orphaned by WWI who are placed in a foster home in Waterville Washington by way of an internment camp, while the war continues. The sister is a bit older but the brother is school age and attends a one room school house. The siblings experience some anti-German prejudice and the boy is bullied. Their teacher is a man from Boston who loves opera and basketball. The writer director tries to weave this into an appealing story but the script, direction and some of he acting are fairly amateurish. The setting in Waterville is very rare and for those interested in that central Washington area, there are some beautiful scenes of the golden rolling hills.

Three Wise Men and a Baby – 2022 (2.5). Three adult brothers are close to their mother but somewhat dysfunctional in their own lives, having been walked out on their father at Christmastime when they were young. Then a few days before Christmas, a baby is left at the firs station where the older brother works, with a note asking him to take care of the baby for a few days while the mother of the child sorts a few things out. This is a Hallmark movie, so everything is expected to work out. There is some mildly self-deprecating humor about the men but no drama whatsoever, especially about who is the mother of the child.

Binge Watching Hearts

 Over three months of binge watching from TV and the library brought me up to date on the Hallmark series "When Calls the Heart". The schmaltzy but wholesome soap is the all time top watched series on Hallmark, but it is not as good as the even longer (11 seasons) running "Call the Midwife" on PBS. Some of the oddball movies on this list were shown on the Comcast Watchathon.

Call the Midwife (Season Eleven) – 2022 (3.0). This series always manages to evoke a deep and legitimate emotion that is at the heart of the vocation of the midwives, helping people who are in need of help in times of physical, emotional and spiritual pain. Good writing captures that feeling both with ongoing characters, new additions to the cast and people just passing through. Good casting, acting, directing and production values completes the task of making it all work so well.

Anything Goes – 2021 (2.9). Some classic Cole Porter songs highlight this musical filmed from a live stage performance in London. But once again it is a delight to see the ensemble tap dancing, particularly to the title song. Sutton Foster reprieves the role of Reno for which she won the Tony in 2011. As expected the story is not much, though the 1930s cultural aspects have historic interest, especially with the a historical casting of some black players in key roles.

The Crown (Season Four) – 2021 (2.9). Great production values and good acting continue as Diana and Margaret Thatcher enter the story to add personal and political complications for the Queen. Though a viewer may feel “been there done that” about watching a retelling of the story of The Royals,it is entertaining enough with its inside the castle view. Obviously covering a multi year span of history (1979-1990) in ten episodes leaves a lot untold, but the real emphasis is on how The Crown is affected. Season Four won the Emmy for best drama series and also won many acting awards. The Diana actress was very good. Gillian Anderson as Thatcher wa a performance hard to take, as was the real Thatcher. Critics point out some historical inaccuracies, but nothing earth shaking.

Sanditon (SeasonTwo) – 2021 (2.9). Though new characters are introduced in the second season, they blend with the story arc and their interfacing with existing characters lends greater depth and feeling for the characters. Using the old Gene Siskel test, we care more what happens to them. Two cliffhangers tease the promised third season.

Boy – 2010 (2.8). Taika Waititi, half Maori and half Jewish, made this movie about the small east coast New Zealand community of his roots and an 11 year old boy growing up there in 1984. The movie has heart and humorous authenticity which though cast in an interestingly different culture, still has universal connections.

Judas and the Black Messiah – 2021 (2.8). When the family of slain Black Panther Fred Hampton is involved in making a movie telling the story of his rise and his killing, you know the FBI and the police are going to come out as villains, which is exactly what happens in this film. A sincere young black visionary meets with early organizing success in uniting the community to stand up and take care of their own, and the FBI and police quickly label him a terrorist, turn a black criminal into an infiltrator and plot his assassination. The Judas kept a very low profile thereafter, but did give an onscreen interview for the Eyes on The Prize series and then went home and committed suicide.

Lean on Pete – 2017 (2.8). This independent movie set in Oregon follows a teenage boy, ably played by Charlie Plummer,with a no-show mother and a no-good father. The boy stumbles into a job at the local racetrack while jogging one morning. The trainer he works for is not tops, evidenced by Steve Buscemi playing the part. The kid knows nothing about horses, but is a hard worker and quick learner. He ends up falling in love – with the horse after which the movie is named. When Pete is a likely candidate for the Mexican horse meat mill, the boy steals the horse and trailer and sets out to find his estranged aunt in Wyoming. The movie has heart and does not sentimentalize horse racing or Oregon.

Silent Sacrifice: Stories of Japanese-American Incarceration  – 2018 (2.8). Well done documentary about the incarceration of persons of Japanese Ancestry (three quarters of whom were American citizens) during WWII. Archival footage and interviews with prisoners and their descendants bring the story to life. Produced by American Public Television and by filmmakers concentrating mainly on persons from the Fresno California region.

West Side Story – 2021 (2.8). Spielberg must have anticipated the question when he gave the answer in an on screen graphic with the end credits of this movie saying how many jobs and worker hours the making of the movie enabled. The stage musical was a fantastic hit, the movie of 50 years ago was legitimately highly acclaimed. This remake shows what we already knew, the songs, music and dancing are iconic classics and any remake could not help but be enjoyable. But one thing the new version did remind us is that the love at first sight romance story line was actually quite shallow.

When Calls the Heart (Season Five) – 2018 (2.8). Comings and goings continue this season as the town grows. The same sorts of issues arise and are deftly handled primarily by the capable womenfolk, primarily the schoolmarm and the mayor. The preacher man who was the love interest of the mayor takes his leave from the series (apparently because the writers thought his role was tapped out and too restrictive on the mayor), though he pops back in to perform the long awaited marriage of the schoolmarm and Mountie. The Mountie survives a dangerous gang fighting assignment up north and the long expected wedding occurs, but then profound tragedy occurs in the last episode of the season. Hallmark schmaltz sometimes taps into legitimate hopeful sentiment, which is easier to ring true on the 1910s frontier.

When Calls the Heart (Season Six) – 2019 (2.8). The widowed schoolmarm passes through her initial time of grieving, aided by the arrival of baby Jack. Two new potential schoolmarm suitors arrive. Telephones come to town. Ethic extras continue to appear in the background of scenes, though in the opening Christmas show a black girl is among a group of orphans but has no lines other than sihnging Carols in a chorus. Mid season the mayor Lori Loughlin character is dumped over her off screen role in the Varsity Blues scandal, without anything dispatching her beyond a voice over by the schoolmarm writing in her journal that the mayor had to go back east a couple weeks ago to take care of her ailing mother. Unrealistically the town still does not encounter one foreign accented immigrant and no national news is mentioned, while the World War which started a couple years ago might as well be non-existent.

When Calls the Heart (Season Seven) – 2020 (2.8). The series continues to do what it does in an acceptable way, though it also continues to avoid a lot of historical reality, likely because the author on whose book the series is based as well as the die hard fans of the series are not interested in the historical realities of indigenous peoples, foreign immigrants, black and Asian settlers and a massive world war. The first motion picture comes to town though, as does the chicken pox. An early episode included a charismatic young black traveling salesman who had a fairly significant part and mentioned his parents living on the farm nearby where he grew up, raising hopes the man would become a regular character and that his parents might at least sometimes bring some produce to town to sell, so that we could meet them. Alas, it was not to be. There is a black school child now though we do not know her name and have never heard her speak or heard her spoken to. The romantic competition between the two suitors of the school marm appears to be an even match at this point.

When Calls the Heart (Season Eight) – 2021 (2.8). The series continues on apace with same occasional warm high points and also same shortfalls with one notable exception. The town now has welcomed the first black family to become a significant part of the cast. The father even becomes the new preacher, the mother quickly bonds with the other women and ends up cooking in the cafe, the young son is active but pleasant and the teen daughter is blind and musically gifted on the piano. Town romances are still always bubbling and bumbling, but in the last episode the school marm chooses between her two suitors.

When Calls the Heart (Season Nine) – 2022 (2.8). So after catching all the way up on nine seasons of this series in three months of binge watching,he question becomes whether to continue to the plane ride or bail out. As the most popular series in the history of the Hallmark channel, it is likely to continue on for many more years. The school marm seems to be the only indispensable character, and that actress has ascended to be an executive producer. Everyone and everything else is plug and play Hallmark formulaic, but it works well for what it is, just like a Hllmark card whose sentiments are predictably hokey but also appropriate to generic occassions.

In the Heights – 2021 (2.7). The stage musical debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda is brought to the screen with great exuberance, telling the story of the Washington Heights Caribbean neighborhood of NYC. Vigorous music, singing and dancing fill almost 2 ½ hours, but none seems particularly resonant with older non-Caribbean audience members.

Ridley Road – 2021 (2.6). This four part miniseries “inspired by true events” deals with English Nazis in 1962 London and the Jewish group designed to expose and defend against them. Naive Jewish girl goes inside the Nazis where her boyfriend is already a mole. BBC look of quality but no depth to the script.

This Is Us (Season Six)  - 2022 (2.6). If there was a master plan for the arc of this series, the decision for the sixth year to be the last probably undermined it. The first few years of flash backs and flash forwards worked surprisingly well, because they seemed to be appropriately balanced with the present. But the downside is that they created lots of expectations of longer backward and forward visits, and that expectation ultimately could not be met. This last year was a disappointing jumble of “remember this”, “here is something we wanted to explore but never got around to” and “alright, here is mashup of some of what we would have covered with more seasons before finding ending with the grand finale death”. After the first couple episodes of season six, sadly most fans probably were anxious counting the days before the relief the whole thing would be over.

A Quarter way thru 2022

All Creatures Great and Small(Season Two) – 2021 (3.0). This typically all around high quality series continues with the story arc moving forward for the central characters and the season ends with what looks to be the brink of WWII.

Apart – 2021 (3.0). Filmed over three and a half years and shown on PBS Independent Lens, this documentary by Jennifer Redfearn follows three women inmates in an Ohio prison aas they work to prepare themselves for life after prison. The three woman were each addicted to drugs, one as a result of pain medication for injuries from an accident, and the other two by virtue of having grown up in families of addicts and pushers. The movie intimately follows the women and includes some footage of their supportive family members on the outside. All the women are mother of young children and long to be reunited with them. The film is so well done that it is a relief not to have any interviews with academics and other “experts” pontificating. In this production, the women are fully capable of speaking for themselves.

Around the World in 80 Days – 2021 (2.9). Surprising pleasant is this adaptation balancing humor and drama and walking a good line between realism and comic book. The production values are high and blend actual sets with cgi appropriately. The casting of the co-leads Miss Fix and Passepartout works well even with Passepartout now being black.

Touch the Light – 2016 (2.9). Known also by its Spanish title Tocando La Luz, this Jennifer Redfearn documentary follows three blind women in Cuba as they contend with their blindness while striving to live the fullest life attainable. This movie style was also used effectively by Redfearn in her later film “Apart” which followed three female prison inmates on their return to society. This movie was streamed via Kanopy through the public library.

The Wind Rises – 2014 (2.9). The gorgeous animation art of Studio Ghibli and direction by Hayako Miyazaki may have been brought to the screen for the last time in this story of the man who designed Japanese fighter planes for WWII. The hero is followed intimately as hi creative drive blossoms and he reunites with the woman who is the love of his life. The War itself is barely a minor character even as we occasionally see some of its aftermath such as a burning Tokyo. The love story, though relegated to second status, is surprisingly touching.

American Reckoning – 2021 (2.8). Shown on PBS Frontline, this documentary tells the story of an overlooked time in Natchez Mississippi when civil rights workers were physically menaced by the local white supremacists, but a local group of armed black men, calling themselves the Deacons for Defense and Justice, provided protection for black activists. An NAACP led boycott of local businesses eventually became successful, but the murder of a local back man was never solved. The movie has interviews with the surviving siblings of the murder victim and also uses lots of archival footage from the Natchez of that time.

Marian Anderson: The Whole World inHer Hands – 2021 (2.8). American Masters broadcast this comprehensive biographical documentary on PBS. Archival footage and interviews are the basis and the emphasis is on Anderson while still touching appropriately on the racial context of her life and times.

Roma – 2018 (2.8). Alfonso Cuaron wrote and directed this homage to his growing up middle class in Mexico City with a beloved indigenous servant nanny. Watching the DVD special features reveals it was a cathartic experience for him in some ways. He also put his heart and soul into getting the exact right look and feel of the 1970s times. The resulting directorial Oscar may have been well deserved for all the hard work. The special features also include a documentary about the efforts Cuaron expended to take the movie on a full Mexican tour including to plcs where indigenous people do not have cinemas. But ultimately the film lacks much character driven drama, except for the character of the nanny, that would help the audience care about the people depicted and learn about their lives and times.

Sanditon (Season One) - 2019 (2.8). Confession: Though watched in 2020, this first series season got overlooked in rating and writing, so what is written here is based on a revisit of episode summaries at IMDB and conjecture that it was good enough to watch all episodes but not exciting enough to remember to rate. The IMDB visit vaguely refreshed memory but maybe a rehash at beginning of season two will help more and seeing the characters again in season two will help even more. Promise to self: rate and write up season two promptly.

Sun Come Up – 2011 (2.8). This early short documentary by Jennifer Redfearn follows some residents of the Cateret Islands of Papua New Guinea as they embark on a journey and tour of Bouganville Island in search of a community that will welcome them and give then land to replace their home island which is succumbing to sea level rise. This early movie shows the effective style of Redfearn in directly and intimately following the subject people of her film. This movie was streamed via Kanopy through the public library.

When Calls the Heart (Season One) – 2014 (2.8). Hokey is expected from Hallmark via Michael Landon Jr and so is delivered in this series about an upper crust young schoolmarm sent to a fictional coal mining company town in the Canadian Pacific Northwest of 1910, shortly after a mine tragedy has killed over forty miners. The time and place are different but the labor and management dynamics familiar enough to modern times that the basics are present to hold attention. The schoolmarm and the young Mountie dejected by his rural assignment are obviously going to hook up, though it takes to the last episode of the season for the first kiss (well this is a Hallmark). Characters and problems rush through the episodes anthology fashion, but the schoolmarm, Mountie and noble miner widow [played by Lori Loughlin who would a few years later do a two month prison stint as part of Operation Varsity Blues and be dropped from the series] remain central. The series is still going, so coming in eight years late and getting DVDs from the library will allow catch up as long as interest does not wane.

When Calls the Heart (Season Two) – 2015 (2.8). The mine closes and a dynamic good guy comes to town and replaces the mine with a sawmill. Modernity starts to come to town with some automobiles and electricity. Most characters from season one remain and are developed further while many new characters join the cast. We now sometimes go to the big city where the schoolmarm stays at her palatial family home where the Mountie feels out of place. Character development includes some shading of people to see there is more depth. We'll see what happens in season three which is ready to put in the DVD player.

When Calls the Heart (Season Three) – 2016 (2.8). Fairly hokey and a fair bit religious, the appeal of this series is that good usually wins out even as some tragedies occur, and people grow as individuals and as part of a community. New characters and story lines get sprinkled in even as the central characters continue their story arc. Checking on some of the actors at IMDB gives a hint of what is to come in that the list of cast members also includes the number of episodes in which they appear. Curiosity about how they get written out is one of a few reasons to continue catching up on the seasons via DVD.

When Calls the Heart (Season Four) – 2017 (2.8). Apparently lack of ethnic diversity on the screen prompted some attention, because the first episode of this season had a middle age black character who actually spoke a few lines, but after that diversity meant only an occasional dark skin person in the background of a gathering and more diverse people walking the streets. There was one scene in which one of the walking women of color seemed to be moving extra slowly as if to maximize her cameo. There is also a male extra who could either be Asian or First People or a mix. As for character and content, arcs continue and new characters show up including new students, though none of color. The Loughlin character becomes mayor and plays a theme of giving people the benefit of the doubt and eligible for second chances [ironic, since in a couple years Hallmark will decide not to follow suit with Loughlin]. Some students and their parent have secrets and problems, but the capable schoolmarm usually resolves them. She even solves a problem which put her job in jeopardy. But she also is distraught as her love interest takes a dangerous temporary assignment elsewhere.

Big Hero 6 -2014 (2.7). An enticing preview led to a DVD viewing of this Disney animated super hero tale. The first half had heart as the real people nerds showed their creativity, but then it became an action superhero genre as the fight against the villain consumed the last half of the film. For someone not enamored of the genre it was at least a near miss.

 

Another Suck Year

 For a lead in to the list of best watched in 2021, I can repeat what I wrote about 2020:

Supposedly staying home during a pandemic would afford an opportunity to watch lots of movies some of which might even be good. But the resulting mix was, not unexpectedly, disappointing. Most were actually shown on TV. Here are the few that scored the highest (listing those watched this year, rather than made this year).

 All 2021 viewings have been incorporated into the complete alpha and ratings order lists linked in the right sidebar.

Last of 21

 

Another pandemic year ended with the following list and uncertainty about what 2022 will bring. Maybe start Netflix again?  And use library system streaming more; Doc Martin Season 9 was streamed through the library Hoopla.

Call the Midwife (Season Ten) – 2021 (3.0). Ten years of a series with the quality holding up is quite an accomplishment and credit is first due to Heidi Thomas the series creator and writer throughout. Progressing chronologically through the years is a good idea, allowing the issues to be faced as they actually occurred and enabling viewers to become even more familiar with remaining characters while some old ones go and new ones come. Here is to at least ten more years.

Dead to Me (Season One) – 2019 (3.0). Engaging writing, good acting and overall effective production values elevate this Netflix original dark comedy above the average. Husband killed by a hit and rub driver while jogging late at night has elements of coping with grief, anger at the police and general discouragement. Enter the second lead in the person of a somewhat kooky other woman and the chemistry leads to believable bonding. Both have problems in their personal and professional lives and they are able to discuss their inner feelings – to a point. There is a different spin to this series and it is deftly handled. Second season ordered from the library. Third and final season delayed due to Covid and MS diagnosis for Christina Applegate, who along with Linda Cardellini received award nominations for their performances.

Dead to Me (Season Two) – 2021 (3.0). Surprising but believable plot twists continue in the second year as the series continues to hold attention and the characters generate empathy, even as they are sometimes realistically annoying. Once production is able to resume, the third season is expected to be as satisfying.

American Experience: The Codebreaker – 2021 (2.9). After decades of secrecy were lifted, the true story of Elizabeth Smith Friedman became known, and a fascinating story it is. This American woman backed into the field of cryptoanalysis and mastered it, protecting the country against WWI subs, Prohibition era gangsters and Nazis in WWII, and then helped in the founding of the CIA.

Annie Live! - 2021 (2.9). The Depression era classic orphan and billionaire story made into a musical gets an exuberant live TV production in this NBC special. All the dancers, adult and children are exciting, including many tumbling moves, and the singing is solid, Casting many black performers, while a bit unusual feeling at first, soon became irrelevant. This is not a racial story; it is a people story. Taraji P. Henson is delightfully over the top as Miss Hannigan and Celina Smith quickly wins hearts as Annie. Filming was pleasingly more cinematic than theatrical. Well done.

Doc Martin (Season 9) – 2019 (2.9). The crotchety but brilliant and grudgingly lovable Doc is in trouble with the licensing authorities and is being monitored as he continues to handle the tricky cases that always come his way. The locals are so familiar and their relationships always developing even as new, and sometimes old, characters come through, that viewers cannot help but feel at home watching this show. And even as his career is in jeopardy, the Doc may be expanding his family.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special 2019 – 2019 (2.8). Filling a void and exploring a place for possible expansion to the New Hebrides takes a group from Nonnatus House to the islands at Christmastime. They encounter mixed reception from the locals and get involved quickly with some highly pregnant women. We do not learn much of anything new about the main characters, except possibly learning a little more about the circumstances of the birth of the older woman Phyllis.

Call the Midwife Christmas Special2021 – 2021 (2.8). This Christmas Special is spent in the London neighborhood where the midwives are based. During the holidays they have to cover some extra patients from nearby which results in several cases with complications. Meanwhile the Caribbean nurse Lucille and her betrothed Cyril get married on Boxing Day, with some complications that get worked out. Once again, we do not learn much of anything new about the main characters, except to learn that adopted daughter May had been born to a drug addict and needed extra care in her early months.

Home from School: the Children of Carlisle – 2021 (2.7). Many Indian children died and are buried at the Carlisle Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania. This documentary follows Arapahoe tribal members from Wyoming as they work successfully to obtain permission to have three young tribal members relocated from the Carlisle Cemetery to cemeteries on their Wyoming reservation. They were the first tribe to obtain permission, and now other tribes have followed the same path. The movie covers some history of Carlisle and some effort by Carlisle researchers to help the tribe on its mission to verify and remove their members bodies, but mostly it covers the tribal members involved as they explain the Indian meaning of this process to them.

Halloween Posting

 

Though this list is being posted on Halloween, it is not a list of horror movies. In fact, since the genre is not a favorite of mine, none are on this list. This list is a typical hodge-podge of PBS and library materials. Some of the library ones come from old lists of showings at the Seattle International Film Festival. The gap since the last posting is a summer watching doldrum.

The Crown (Season Three) – 2019 (3.1). The cast changes as the characters age. The production values remain impressive and the acting as always is first rate. We begin to understand the people more as we live through their personal struggles in the midst of significant events in the outside world. Phillip has a reckoning with his cynicism and Charles grows into a fairly likable young man of sensitivity. The Queen continues her strong performance and Margaret continues to struggle. Sometimes it is strikingly evocative; even though these people are royals, they are still people.

Muhammad Ali – 2021 (3.1). This production from Ken Burns is a biography of the fighter as a man, an African-American a Muslim and a boxer, adeptly interweaving all elements chronologically with ample movie footage, some still photos and frequent comments from family, friends, boxers and sportswriters. The movie feels like a new generation from Burns, perhaps in part due to the more contemporary subject matter but also to a realization that the old Burns techniques had become dated. Ali was a highly talented fighter and a very charismatic man, but he had lots of human flaws and contradictions which he finally came to realize and atone for, but not until he had fought on too long past his prime with the sadly pathetic toll it took on his body.

Citizen Hearst – 2021 (2.9). An American Experience production on PBS this documentary uses movie footage, still photos and numerous interviews to tell the biography of William Randolph Hearst and his building of the first major American media empire. Along the way we touch on American history from the 1849 Gold Rush that made his father to rich, through his fling at Harvard, his battles with Pulitzer on entry into the newspaper business, yellow journalism, the progressive movement, anti union actions, more war mongering, romantic flings, marriage and absentee fatherhood, the movie business, Marion Davies, the Depression, financial fiascoes with the empire, losing control, a personal war against Japanese Americans, financial salvation via WWII, declining health and death by whimper instead of bang. Not a nice man, but fairly portrayed in this movie.

The Most Dangerous Year – 2018 (2.9). Filmed in the Seattle area in 2016, this documentary addresses the issue of transgender people and attempts to change public laws to restrict the manner in which they use public bathrooms. The movie puts a human face on transgender people especially by following some young transgender children and their families. It also includes interviews with medical and psychological professionals who give scientific insight on transgender issues. And finally coverage is given to the political arena where efforts to discriminate against transhgender people are defeated.

The Nightingale – 2018 (2.9). Though a bit long and expected to be maybe just another revenge movie, this film pleasantly surprises by holding attention and having a genuine feel for telling the story of a time and place very unfamiliar, 1825 in Tasmania. Writer director Jennifer Kent and her team made some wise choices in how to tell this tale of horrors in an authentic context. The characters have nuances but not unrealistic ones, the costumes are accurate right down to original dies, wooded Tasmania is rally wooded Tasmania, the screen is narrow, the shots are close and no drones or modern technology is indulged. Good to see a rarely told story presented so effectively.

Sandra Day O'Connor: The First – 2021 (2.9). This PBS American Experience documentary not only captures the personal biography of the late Supreme Court Justice, but also manages to effectively inform how the Republican party became beholden to the so-called moral majority.

Becoming Helen Keller – 2021 (2.8). From the Miracle Worker movie the story of Helen Keller is familiar, how a deaf blind child is brought out of her gloom by a gifted teacher. But this American Masters documentary passes over the early story quickly and moves on to the brilliant student who graduated from Radcliffe and became a socialist human rights advocate, not just for deaf and blind people but for all the oppressed. The movie also manages to touch on her personal life and emotional feelings. This should be a prompt to rread her writings.

Marriage Story – 2019 (2.8). This movie was intended to be a bit different in covering the story of a marriage breakup, with more emphasis on the mechanics of the legal process and with a better look at the dynamics of the marriage itself. While there may have been some different nuances presented, the net effect is pretty much the same as most divorce movies,though the parts about the divorce lawyers analyzing and strategizing are all too true and sadly funny. Starting with a scene where the wife basically rejects efforts at counseling, the movie goes through familiar territory in covering the frictions and frustrations, but never seems to approach the fundamental question of why people who obviously are not a long term match nevertheless get married.

Minari – 2020 (2.8). Lee Isaac Chung wrote and directed this authentic memoir of growing up on a farm in rural Arkansas in the 1980s with his Korean immigrant parents, older sister and maternal grandmother. Though the struggle of the parents in their relationship and in operating the farm are the heart of the story, it is still understandably written from the viewpoint of the young son.

The Rider – 2017 (2.8). Director Chloe Zhao came to the US from China graduating here from high school and college and going on to film school at NYU. Forr her NYU project Chloe, who had lived all her life in big cities decided to go to the prarie land, where she shot her first movie. While there she met a charismatic young rodeo rider who was recovering from a debilitating rodeo accident ad she decided to use his story as a basis for The Rider. The movie effectively captures the feel of the prarie life the young man and his friends and family live. The cinematography of the landscape is appropriately reverential. Watching the DVD special features after the movie is valuable. Chloe went on to win Oscars for movie and direction for Nomadland.

Unforgotten – 2020 (2.8). A carload of newly minted coppers is somehow involved in the death 30 years ago of a young criminal type whose body just turned up in a freezer at a salvage yard. Cassie, though only about 48 years old has PTSD and wants to retire, but budget constraints are delaying the move, so in need of income she decides to lead her team on one more case to determine if any of the coppers might have committed a crime. Of course her team resolves issues surrounding the death, but the most significant development is actually in the unsettled personal life of Cassie.

Us– 2020 (2.8). This Brit miniseries is based on a novel whose author collaborated on the screenplay. After about 20 year of marriage a wife tells her husband she thinks it is time to end the marriage and each go their own way. He is unpleasantly surprised and says they should go ahead with the European tour they had planned, hoping it might bring them back together and strengthen the poor relationship the father has with the son who is going to be heading off for college. The trip takes place and with the help of flashbacks we learn that the scientist husband and artistic wife were an odd couple but truly loved each other, overcame tragedy together and had a workable marriage. The son seems to have inherited the artist genes which helps explain the problem with the father. The trip takes place, problems are compounded, understanding is sought and a realistic conclusion is reached.

Mountain – 2018 (2.7). A collaboration between a documentary director, a noted chamber orchestra conductor and a writer of books on mountain climbing whose sparse words of narration are delivered by Willem Dafoe, those involved in this production are all devotees of climbing mountains. The cinematography is tremendous, the feats shown harrowing and the music at times inspiring and sometimes (especially the new compositions) a bit jarring. Obviously appealing to aficionados, the appeal is less for those of use not fond of the cold, in fear of heights and inclined to avoid strenuous physical exercise. The fast moving footage of people coming down the mountains by speed skiing, paragliding and combining both are breath taking and make those of us who would not do such a thing wonder why other do.

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decidedto Go For It – 2021 (2.7). Though it covers the basics of her biography, this American Masters documentary does not leave the viewer wanting to learn more about Rita. In fact, to a small degree it seems to leave a feeling that we got a lot of Rita in interviews but not much depth into her soul.

Guilt – 2019 (2.6). From the BBC this mystery miniseries was muddled and more twisted than need be as it told the story of various people in Edinburgh entwined in an accidental death of an elderly man dying of cancer. People are all hiding something from each other and have reason to feel guilt, but the audience has no understanding of the back story of anyone and no reason to care about any of them. When the show first started it was hard to tell whether it was intended to be part comedy, but that aspect soon disappeared; maybe it would have worked better as a comedy.