MOVIES
Musica – 9
Gosh, I do love things that are original. In a rough month, this was the thing that enthralled me the most. Rudy Mancuso stars and directs, and it’s easy to see why. There was probably no one else who knew what he was talking about. It’s the story of a young man who hears music in everything, from plates rattling to spoons falling and yet he is tone-deaf in an unsatisfying relationship. He toils as, of all things, a puppeteer in the subway. No one else sees or hears what he does, and we’ve all probably been there at one time, when no one around us was on our wavelength.
Fortunately, he meets (and of course loses) his muse, then starts the chase for her and financial stability. We know he’ll make it, we’re just not sure how.
Unfrosted – 8
Somewhere between Idiocy and genius is the Jerry Seinfeld obsession with cereal. He was born 360 days after me and every morning we poured milk over our corn flakes. Or Cheerios, Or Frosted Flakes. He has launched a total domination of all media for the last few weeks to get you to watch his movie about pop tarts, and why they threatened the cereal industry. I’ve had quite an experience with this movie in that the first 4, yes 4 times trying to watch it, I fell dead asleep within minutes, which may have been circumstance, but is certainly strange.
There are some incredibly funny scenes in this movie. Your tolerance for the movie will probably be in direct proportion to your love of breakfast nostalgia. I can see some people turning off after 30 minutes, and some giggling all the way through. To each his own. I woke up this morning to see it has ascended to the top spot on Netflix, certainly a testament to Jerry’s all out promotion. Here’s the truth: because of his relentless promotion, a gazillion people will see it on Netflix. I can’t image one person paying at the box office to go see this movie. It is the perfect Netflix vehicle, and it gives him the ticket to do another one in about 5 years. Maybe about his lost socks. For now, he will go back to stand-up having left one key question unanswered. What ever happened to Rice Krinkles? They were the best.
Anna – 8
Saw this touted as a great spy thriller, and it’s not. It’s kind of the female version of Bourne or
Jackie Chan except she is even better at dispatching a large group of men patiently,
patently, politely waiting to take her on one at a time when the obvious play
is to shoot her from a distance. An
acceptable way to spend 2 hours if you like this kind of stuff.
Anyone But You – 8
BGG, BLG, BGGA, BLGA, finally BGGFG with two largely
unlikeable characters played by two likeable new stars, Sydney Sweeney and Glen
Powell. You’ll be seeing a lot of them. A cool, if totally implausible script which
is best ignored. Just watch the Gable and Colbert in the making. Well, that may be an exaggeration.
The Flash – 7
A not that bad Super Hero flop that is weighted down by at least 45 minutes of unnecessary special effects. Give me the scissors and let me recut this movie and I’d guarantee a hit, because there is some really nice stuff here, but the movie is more bloated than me leaving a Pizza Hut.
The Greatest Hits – 6
It has been said that Lucy Boynton, who is the star of this movie, is the most beautiful woman in the world. You will probably remember her playing Freddie Mercury’s one-time girlfriend in Bohemian Rhapsody. Here she is torn between a lover in her past, and one in her present, and what sinks this movie like a stone is that she has zero chemistry with either. She had way more with Freddie, and he was gay. The premise here is that when she hears a song she gets transported through time. Don’t we all? Isn’t that kind of the point of great music? Nice idea but executed about as well as a Derek Carr screen pass.
STREAMING/BINGING and what’s left of Network Television
Baby Reindeer -9
Ever heard of the phrase “car wreck you can’t take your eyes
off of?” Well, this is the plane crash
version. It’s the allegedly too-true
story of a floundering comedian and the pleasant, then unpleasant stalker who
drains his life blood. The truth appears
that neither are too stable and we get to watch as the plane goes into an
unpredictable tailspin. This is gross,
graphic, and definitely not for everyone.
I could have lived without it, but once on-board, I had to know where
it was going to not land.
Ripley – 8
You will never see black and white cinematography like this again. Mostly set in Italy, I could’ve just watched it with a musical background.
Unfortunately, there’s a story to be told, or re-told, and if you’ve seen the movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” you’ve seen this. I often watch media and think would this have been better as a movie, or better as a mini-series, and this is a tough call, because I’m not a big fan of either. In this 8-episode retelling, it is slow and so lowkey as to rival a good nap. Or a bad nap, if there is such a thing. I’ve read some high acclaim and some pans, and I’m not in either camp. The actor that plays Tom Ripley here, Andrew Scott, is properly creepy in his dead pan delivery, but I just never really bought it. On the other hand, I stayed for Dakota Fanning as Margo, as I didn’t remember the movie that well, and I was hoping she would avoid disposition by the evil Ripley. She directs a dubious stare at Tom that any married man will recognize. On the positive side, I loved the ending, but just not sure if it was worth the time.
Good Behavior – Season 2 – 9
I was expecting a drop-off that never came as we settled into
the second season. See last month’s right
up, but this series took a storyline turn that floored me in season one, and
season two couldn't possibly match it, but they sure tried. Worth the search.
DOCUMENTARIES
The Truth vs. Alex Jones – 10
The saddest “truth” of this movie is that those who most
need to watch it will refuse to. I’ve
always been very conscious of what I consider the two tenants of human
life. I won’t give them both away, but
one of them has been to always be aware of the difference between “belief” and
“knowledge.” As I’ve gained perspective with
age, I have realized that I KNOW very little and that as humans we have settled
on criteria for when we move something from the belief to the knowledge column,
and yet it’s not universally accepted.
There are some devastating scenes in this documentary by Dan
Reed. He had incredible access to the
subjects and the court room and it all illustrates that “belief” can be a
costly concept.
Image this unspeakable grief of losing a child. In this case at the hands of a gun man. And then, the compounding of that grief be taking an incredible amount of degradation at the hands of a for-profit media star that’s found his golden goose.
It’s unbelievable. And yet, here we are.
STAND-UP
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction – 9
David Letterman just couldn’t stay away, and I’m glad. Like Howard Stern, he has mellowed. The outrageousness may be gone, but not the
insightfulness. His interviews, more
portraits, are enjoyable.
This month he interviews John Mulaney, and Letterman is obviously a big fan of Mulaney’s work. This one is noteworthy in that they both spend time in, and crap on, Biloxi, without bothering to ask anybody how to pronounce it. When you live in the south you’re used to it, but as they both point out, Letterman had a talk show for 30 years and you’d think at some point he’d have to come across the correct pronunciation.
CLASSICS
Go – 8
Director Doug Liman is a big deal these days (the current Road House), but he was largely unknown when he piloted this movie to cult classic status in 1999. It was likened to Pulp Fiction, and I’ll give it that there’s a frantic vibe to it, but its main characteristic is that it tells the same story over and over from different characters’ perspectives. The story is about the buying, selling, and flushing of ecstasy pills, and you can see the Liman potential, if so inclined.
