Just Mercy – 7
The always compelling Michael B. Jordan plays real-life
Harvard lawyer Bryan Stevenson who upon graduation headed to Alabama to defend
death row inmates. His top candidate for
complete exoneration is played by Jamie Foxx and Stevenson’s up-hill battle against
prejudice and racism is consistent with history.
None of this star power can save this movie from being
manipulative and simplistic. While it’s all uplifting and ideological, it’s so
predictable that there’s no suspense. This
is by-the-book filmmaking of the horrific problems of racism and wrongful death
row convictions and because it’s a true story you can’t help but be drawn in.
The real-life problem is dramatic and heart-breaking and to
most people of color time has stood virtually still. The movie problem is that
some innovation would have gone a long way in lifting this above a tv movie-of-the
week feeling.
Call of the Wild – 7
Hollywood has done it now.
It’s one thing to inundate us with unrealistic super-hero movies where
ridiculous abilities exist. Now they’ve
put a super-hero dog on film, and done it to embellish a classic story. I guess you could’ve never gotten a real dog
to do this stuff, like pull a sled, jump into an icey river, or fight off wolves
and bears. So they inserted a computer
generated dog and challenged Harrison Ford to act like “Buck” was actually
knocking liquor out of his hand. I’ve
had dogs, and love dogs, and no dog is this perfect.
All of this doesn’t mean the movie is terrible. Because the dog isn’t real, the animal-cruelty
people didn’t have to be called in.
There are brutal scenes that any animal lover is going to hate, but none
of it is real, and you don’t even have to keep telling yourself that. If you have accepted “comic book” world
dramatizations over the original novel you will probably enjoy this. If the filmmakers hadn’t given away in the
first 60 seconds that this wasn’t to be taken seriously, maybe I would’ve
suspended my disbelief. The reality is
that dogs are so damn entertaining without being perfect that they enhance the
adventure of living just fine, without the special effects.
In our house, every day my dog exhibits the Call of the
Couch.
Scanning the Smaller Screen:
The Pharmacist – 10
This Netflix drama is by far the best thing I saw this month,
and the discomfort in watching it is what lifts it to its heights.
This riveting documentary series is built around two lucky
breaks: Finding a Pharmacist who has
been fighting battles against ravaging drug addiction since his son was
tragically killed in the 9th Ward Area of New Orleans – AND
recording much of it on an old tape recorder and with a video camera.
This is as much a portrait of obsessive-compulsive behavior as
it is an expose on the pharmaceutical industry.
Maybe we would have recognized the dangers of Oxycontin without the
efforts of a Chalmette, Louisiana pharmacist named Dan Schneider, but his
relentless pursuit seems to have accelerated things, at least in Louisiana.
When Schneider’s 22 year old son is tragically killed in a
drug deal gone bad, he realizes that the only way the murder will get solved is
if he solves it. The New Orleans Police
Department is dismissive, disinterested, and overwhelmed. He is obsessed, blindly obsessed. Schneider puts his life in danger by walking
the streets of the city for years until he solves the crime, and there’s one
more thing: he tapes everything. Here’s another thing. He keeps the tapes in the attic and they
survive Katrina when his house is flooded.
Without that preservation, there is no documentary.
Once that is out of the way (the first episode) he takes on
the subject he knows best. Drugs. Not the illegal ones, but the legal one that
people are overdosing on – Oxy. And his
tape recorder is always running as he realizes there is a local “pill mill”
doctor who is stepping over the line in a big way. It is astounding how long it takes to get
this stopped. It takes an obsession that
is a match for the addiction. This is a
sad chapter in American history and it’s not over yet as over 400,000 deaths
have now been attributed to this drug.
Meanwhile the pendulum has now swung the other way to the point that people
who are in constant pain can’t get prescribed the drug because it was abused so
badly.
I doubt there will be a more compelling documentary this
year. The Schneiders had no idea that their son was using. Their story is in turn heartbreaking and
heroic.
In a “let’s get high” world there is a lesson here.
Hold your friends close, and your children closer.
Raising Hell: The
Life and Times of Molly Ivins – 9
Legendary Texas columnist Molly Ivins is the subject of a
paint-by-the numbers biography. What
lifts this one is the subject herself. “Colorful”
is an inadequate description of Molly Ivins. “Fearless” is another one. She took on Texas politicians, then National
ones with a passion that has to be admired.
She wrote her mind.
In a society where free-thinkers are being replaced by a
what I call the “two lane highway” we need more Molly Ivins and less of what we’ve
got.
High Fidelity – 9
There are many things I miss about the past. High on the list is the hours I’ve spent in
record stores browsing for that vinyl discovery, then coming home and breaking
it open to slap on the phonograph. Of
course, my gear is better today, and I can play it louder than I could on that
old two speaker Magnavox, but today’s music…well don’t get me started. Sure, I still make playlists. My current one is 3000 songs on itunes (and
it’s spectacular), but I miss the curating that comes with trying to make that
perfect 16 song cassette. Those were the
days – when the transition from song to song was art and life wasn’t a “shuffle”
mode. It was a singular comfort to know
what song was next and how cool that transition was. There was a time when you would bring new
music home and just sit and listen to it, not listen as you were cooking, or
driving. Those were the days, my
friend. (At this point you are either
nodding your head, or shaking it and saying “what planet is he on?”)
Apparently, or fictionally perhaps, the record store lives
on in Brooklyn New York, fighting extinction, and even making a little bit of a
comeback. One of my favorite recent
movies, “Hearts Beat Loud” captures such a place, but in the series High
Fidelity the record store anchors the action.
The action being the lives of 3 unique characters. I won’t spill much about them, but they bring
so much gusto to this 10 episode Hulu series, that I hope the series is renewed
just so I can see what’s next in their lives and the satisfaction that they
just can’t get, no.
In the middle of it all is Zoe Kravitz playing “Rob,” short for
Robin, the female version of John Cusack’s character in the Nick Hornby
film. Her natural charisma is the gravity
that holds this together. She’s awesome
and her character is a mess. In fact the
series is a little bit of a mess. She suffers
through old boyfriends and new, careening through life with the backup and guiding
commentary of her friends. Most nights,
after days spent arguing the merits of Fleetwood Mac or disco music, or naming
their “top 5 comeback songs,” they close
the shop and head out to listen to music.
What could be better?
If you love music, plunk down the $6 for a month of Hulu and
enjoy this. It’s not perfect, but it’s
entertaining. Well, actually the episode
where Rob goes, across town to buy a record collection is pretty perfect. There were two recent mini-series that I
enjoyed. “Vinyl” on HBO, and “Roadies” on Showtime, that scratched the surface. This series plays the record, scratches and
all.
McMillions – 9
You’re not going to believe this HBO documentary
series. I’ve watched 3 episodes and I’m
flabbergasted. Remember playing “Monopoly”
at McDonalds? Remember the million
dollar prizes? Well, you never had a chance. It was rigged. Who rigged it and who collected and how the
FBI caught them is the subject here, and I’m not going to give it away, but telling
you who would be perfect to direct the feature film would even give this
away. If you can’t trust McDonalds, who
can you trust?
Alita, Battle Angel – 9
Much like Call of the Wild, the hero cyborg with the
enhanced human brain is inserted amongst live actors in a ridiculous adventure
movie. There’s just one thing. It’s actually pretty good. James Cameron scripted, and Robert Rodriguez
directed, so this is elevated plotting and imaginative locale. They create a world. You get to visit it.
Alita is the cyborg and she’s got feelings and she’s got
skills. There isn’t a realistic moment
in the movie, and yet it’s fun in a ridiculous sort of way. I have no idea why some of these cartoonish
movies work and others don’t, but this one works, so if you enjoy this kind of
movie, chances are you’ll enjoy this one.
78/52 Hitchcock’s Shower Scene – 10
I believe I can make the case that the single greatest movie
ever made is Psycho. It changed the
cinema in so many ways. The innovations and structure can be a day long
discussion, or in this case, 91 minutes. In this shot by shot
dissection of the movie, particularly the 78 camera set ups and 52 separate edits that make up the
Janet Leigh shower murder scene, the movie is discussed with reverence by various
filmmakers. The symbols and many times
this scene has been referenced in movies that came after emphasize its influence. This documentary is for film fans and
Hitchcock fans. Psycho has been copied
but never matched. Maybe this
documentary makes the case better than I could ever make of this movie’s
revolutionary greatness. This is a 2017 documentary that I didn’t know existed
until I caught it on Hulu. Great stuff,
and as many times as I’ve seen Psycho, there were surprises I’d missed. Great stuff, particularly for the movie
buff.
