Nobody – 9
This 2020 film with Bob Odenkirk is nothing but violence porn with a whole bunch of people finding new ways to kill and be killed. And yet…..and yet…..it all works pretty well. Most of the thanks for that belongs to Odenkirk, who plays a former Government bad-guy who made bad things go away. He has a particular set of skills (although they don’t use that line) and he has tried, really tried to stay on the straight and narrow. But, a home invasion changes all that and sends him down a John Wicky like road.
Great soundtrack, including a revelatory version of “Don’t
Let Me Be Misunderstood,” by Nina Simone. This is one of my favorite songs. I'm partial to the Santa Esmeraldo version, but Nina opened my eyes:
Don’t believe me? https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/dont-let-me-be-misunderstood.html
Queenpins – 8
I’ve become a huge fan of Paul Walter Hauser, who plays a neb in movies, because he is a neb. He’s got some hilarious scenes in this, the best of which is him sitting in a car with Vince Vaughn while trying to suppress the call of nature.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – 5
A kitchen sink of wisecracks and ridiculous action, there isn’t a believable minute in this movie, which doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its moments, like early in the movie when an American detective comments on what Europeans do with their time. That’s also the highlight. The rest is silliness, the height of which is Morgan Freeman’s casting as Ryan Reynold’s father – Stepfather! Stunt casting at its finest. Stupid, and too long, of course. It reminds me again of one of my top rules of movie watching. Avoid movies who have a double possessive in the title.
The critical consensus of this movie has been pretty low, other than a nice performance by Ben Affleck.
But I liked it more than I was supposed to. Affleck plays a wise uncle to the main character, a young author to be. The movie has two main locales: The young man’s college and his campus crush, and the infinitely more interesting Long Island Bar run by Affleck’s character and the house that the family lives in. This is directed by George Clooney, and I don’t know where he finds the time. His direction here is so low key that it’s frustrating at times, but this movie is better than its rep.
The Lost Daughter – 7
Olivia Coleman makes another bid for an Oscar as a troubled mother named Leda doing strange things as she vacations alone in a beach town. This is not a movie for everyone, as it’s like reading a think piece in some journal. It’s slow moving and makes nothing easy for the viewer. I can’t remember this ever happening before, but Jessie Buckley plays the young version of Leda, and she got a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Jessie Buckley brings the film to life in her scenes, and I’m sure that’s the way they intended it. Pay attention to her, if you decide to take on this movie, which I already told someone was not my cup of angst.
In my opinion, the two most exciting young actresses working in movies right now are Jesse Buckley and Jodie Comer. Jessie’s not going to win that Oscar (Ariana Debose is, and rightfully so) but this should launch Jessie into more great roles.
DOCUMENTARIES
Closed For Storm – 8
This is the story of Jazzland, otherwise known as Six Flags over New Orleans. It got devastated by Hurricane Katrina and has never reopened.
Now I’ve been to a lot of Six Flags Amusement parks and if there is a city that legitimately deserves one it’s New Orleans. I never made it to this park, and it really never caught on because the populace has such a loyalty to the long-gone Ponchartrain Beach which still echoes through the Bayou.
Nevertheless, this was a sad loss for the city, and the political travails following the storm have kept it on the back burner. As the property is now back in play, it seems the filmmakers had an agenda. You be the judge.
Shut Up and Dribble – 9 (SHO)
Kareem: Minority of
One – 9 (HBO)
These two documentaries (Dribble is 3 parts) delve into race and sports, but mostly the sport of basketball. There’s really nothing new here, but it’s a great reminder of where we’ve been and the ups and downs of our country’s struggle with race. The focus of Kareem is on his life’s struggle and as he is a frequent subject of Shut Up and Dribble, this is a great double feature.
BINGING
Dopesick – 10
This Hulu series is just as good as it gets. It tears apart the Sackler family and Purdue Pharmacy. The acting is uniformly superb, highlighted by Kaitlyn Dever as an injured mine worker, and Michael Keaton as her prescribing doctor. The Sackler Family, which saw their chance to get even more mega-richer than they already were by rolling out opiates and misrepresenting them, are bone-chilling in their greed.
This is a long, heart-burning watch, but it’s a series that
you will never forget.
I had no idea. The last network drama I liked at all was The Good Wife, but a friend of mine was always rapturous about The Blacklist. I don’t know why I decided to watch the first episode, and now I’ve watched exactly 52 of the 183 that have been aired. I’ve reached a natural stopping point and I need to take a break. But first, I’ve got something to tell you. So far…fantastic. It is story telling at its best. Yes, of course its far-fetched and ridiculous at times, but it never falls apart.
James Spader infuses his character Red Reddington with great verve and personality. Red is a fugitive who turns himself into the FBI and tells them he intends to walk them through his Blacklist of worldwide criminals to be captured. The caveat is that he will only deal with one FBI agent, a new profiler named Elizabeth Keen, to whom he has some link. Keen is spectacularly inhabited by an actress named Megan Boone, whom I had never heard of, presumably because at 22 episodes a year for 9 years, she’s had no time for anything else.
These stories of various criminals are bizarre and crazy, and tied together with silly evidence and assumptions, and….I believe it all. I’m hooked.
Reacher – 8
We breezed through the 8 episodes of this Amazon series in two nights. I’m not one of those guys who obsesses over how big the actor is playing Jack Reacher. In two movies the part of Jack Reacher was played by Tom Cruise. The first movie was excellent, the second movie not very good, and that probably killed a potential 2nd franchise for Tom. I liked him as Jack Reacher. It has been explained to me by a zealot or two why I was wrong.
Loyalists to the Jack Reacher series of books by Lee Childs were mortified by Tom’s take because as Childs wrote him Reacher is a Goliath of a man. This series goes about correcting that with the casting of unknown, at least to me, Alan Ritchson. He does a great job at a few things: 1. Delivering his lines in a dead-pan manner that is often hysterical. 2. Head butting bad guys, and 3. Taking off his shirt (a skill he shares with Cruise.) He’s a brilliant ex-army investigator and a brutal fighter who thinks nothing of taking on several baddies at once and maiming and otherwise killing them. As the body count mounts, any hint of law enforcement holding Reacher accountable evaporates and that’s rather amusing.
The story is based on the first book in the series, and since this series is entertaining in its patter and violence, let’s face it. This could go on forever. Amazon can afford it, and I suspect this will be a big hit. Mostly because Ritchson is a hunk that fits the job description. I see this going for 25 years.
CLASSICS
Sweet Smell of Success – 7
I watched this alleged classic only because it plays a pivotal part in The Newsroom episode where Don Keefer and Sloan Sabbith realize what they need to realize, if you know what I mean and I think you do. Don and Sloan are two of my favorite TV characters of all-time so I thought I owed it to them.
Now the Sweet Smell has a classic script wherein Publicist Sidney Falco. played by Tony Curtis is trying to stay in the good graces of columnist JJ Hunsecker, played by Burt Lancaster. The sleaziness of all the characters doesn’t age well, so it’s such an unappetizing story that I have to wonder what Don Keefer saw in it, and if I ever run into Aaron Sorkin (the writer of The Newsroom) remind me to ask him.
Master and Commander:
Far Side of the World – 10
Somehow I missed this Russell Crowe vehicle. Crowe plays Captain Jack Aubrey who is piloting the British HMS Surprise. It is near South America in conflict with Napoleon’s heavy frigate Acheron, against which it should have no chance. But with Aubrey’s experience and persistence it’s going to be a fair and thrilling fight.
Director Peter Weir doesn’t waste a dollar of the prodigious budget. It’s captivating, and different from what hits the screen these days. Really sorry it took me so long.
Little Shop Around the Corner – 9
Famed film critic Paulene Kael said this film was “Close to perfection--one of the most beautifully acted and paced romantic comedies ever made in this country.” Who I am I to argue? I stumbled on this, and my love of Jimmy Stewart kept me hanging in, and sure enough it turned into one of those gentle romantic comedies they just don’t make anymore.
Thunder Road – 8
Robert Mitchum plays a moonshine runner evading the law in a pretty standard pot-boiler that makes the “favorite film” list of many celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen who penned a song by the same name that is much better than this movie. But, it is worth watching for that Mitchum charisma.
