DOCUMENTARIES
The Comeback – 10
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Netflix. I’ve moved documentaries to the top of my blog this month because this is the best thing I saw in the last 2 months. Any baseball fan is going to love this.
I remember the incredible Red Sox / Yankee rivalry of 2003,
2004 like it was yesterday. ESPN
certainly wouldn’t let you forget it. By
some lucky, magic quirk of scheduling it
seems like they played each other every Sunday night, and ESPN was there to
bring it to us. This 3-parter covers it
all. From Pedro Martinez head hunting,
literally, to Roger Clemens retaliating.
The interviews are great. There’s
the boy genius Theo Epstein making controversial, but ultimately brilliant
moves. There’s Sox Manager Grady Little
and his selective memory, often in conflict with his own player’s
recollections. There’s Joe Torre, who
unfortunately is the only Yankee willing to go on camera. But, that’s ok. This is the Red Sox story and the
participants are forthcoming, and a little crazy, still. The Comeback is the story of the most
improbable one of all time, when the Red Sox came back from being down three
games to none in the National League Championship series, something that hadn’t
been done before.
If you are a baseball fan, this is absolutely must-see TV.
Road Diary – 9
Bruce Springsteen let his favorite videographer, Thom Zimny, shoot some behind
the scenes footage of his recent concert tour, and then they spliced it
together like one of Bruce’s famous playlists.
If you are a Springsteen fan, like I am, you’ll love it. If not a fan, you’ll probably like it. What’s fascinating is the amazing
reception the E Street Band gets in Europe.
The scenes of them rehearsing after a 7 year layoff, extended by covid,
are enlightening. When you’ve been together
for 50 years, I guess you have a shorthand, and it’s fun to watch. The way Bruce has led this band for this long
with no defections short of death, is a masterclass on how to do things. The candid interviews of the bandmates are
revealing, and their loyalty to The Boss is solid as a rock. Personally, I’ve seen hundreds of concerts
and only a few bands come close to Bruce and his band. I listen to his music now almost as much as
the Beatles. Almost.
Stopping the Steal – 9
I know how we got here, I just don’t know how we get past it all. After seeing this movie, I am not optimistic. With detailed footage of the insurrection of
January 6th, the movie goes to a depth most people just want to
ignore like it never happened. But, what’s most interesting are the interviews
with members of the Trump administration, and how he decided to fight the
election results. It’s revealing and
disturbing. He wasn’t sure about it,
then suddenly decided to go full denial.
His subordinates knew he would not turn back once he made the
decision.
Love, Charlie: The
Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter – 10
I once had a goal of eating at all the great restaurants in
the country, and Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago was at the top of the list. We never made it there. It was once considered the greatest
restaurant in the world. Then it began
to fade, Charlie Trotter got ill, closed it, and died at 54 of a stroke.
This documentary is an examination of an extremely competitive, volatile
perfectionist. Having owned a
restaurant, I recognized the intensity it takes, and Charlie Trotter was so
driven to be the best, that his relentlessness may have contributed to his poor
health. All of that is chronicled here,
and it’s a must watch for any foodie.
We try to stay low profile, although it’s tough when you’re “in the cone” as
often as we are. This is a nice PBS
documentary about our Gulf Coast and the bounties that keep us here. The history of the coast as a lumber center is most interesting.
MOVIES
Woman of the Hour – 9
Anna Kendrick spreads her wings with her Netflix directorial debut, an economical retelling of a serial killer who appeared on the Dating Game. You read that right. Back in the 1970’s, long before the Bachelorette/Bachelor obsession, there was a game show which if I recall, spit out 2 dates a week by having a young lady blindly decide between 3 men by asking them questions. Rodney Alcala appeared on the show and won a date with Cheryl Bradshaw, played by Kendrick. She was one of the lucky ones, as she picked up on his bad vibes before vibes were a thing and distanced herself from him.
He eventually went to jail and was convicted of 6 murders of young women. The estimate is that he may have killed as many as 130.
This movie is clean and short, the way movies used to be. Somehow Daniel Zovatto plays Alcala so convincingly that he will probably get type cast into these roles, which would be a shame. Without his commitment to being a creep, the movie would not be as tense. Interestingly, Kendrick has donated all her profits from the movie to victims of sexual violence, as she felt it would be “creepy” to make money off of this story. Good call.
Gifted – 8
Sometimes the best movies are just simple stories. This is a heart warmer that just seems to work. Chris Evans plays the uncle of a young math
genius, whom he’s trying to raise in a normal manner, despite her gifts. He’s at odds with his mother, who wants to
capitalize on her granddaughter’s gifts, as she had done with her daughter who
had committed suicide under the pressure of being a math genius.
There are no surprises here, just a nice, low-key story.
His 3 Daughters – 8
They are gathered for his final days, and I wouldn’t have watched this except for the presence of Carrie Coon, who so enthralled me in The Leftovers. She does great work her as the most overbearing of the three, but Natasha Lyon and Elizabeth Olsen hold their own as the movie unfolds exactly as you would expect. They have secrets! This is an excellent movie with snappy dialogue, but I couldn’t help but think what a great Broadway play it would be.
Civil War – 8
I thought this would be a documentary about what’s ahead of us after the next
election, but instead it’s a rather simple story of how a civil war could
unfold in the US with troops advance on the White House, not to hang Mike
Pence, but to execute the President. The
movie’s depiction of what could happen would appear to be designed to be a gut wrenching wake-up call. There’s not a ton of political background as
to how they got to the point of killing their countrymen, so it’s not as
political as you would think. It’s more
like a cautionary tall tale. Could it
happen? Would it happen?
Riders of Justice – 8
This is a surprisingly well done and complex tale of a Danish soldier who returns home to take care of his daughter after his wife dies. He soon suspects she was murdered, and he teams up with some conspiracy theorists who will have to decide their level of commitment to the hunt for justice. I usually don’t get surprised much by the twists and turns of plots anymore, but this one got me. It’s an action film with a point.
What You Wish For – 9
Disguise a horror movie concept in a seemingly normal setting and you have to be careful. A sous chef who has barely scraped by (played by Nick Stahl, a one-time John Connor) visits a friend who has become a very successful private chef. But the “how” of his success is too much for him, and he is more than happy to step in and reap the rewards, until he learns who he is cooking for, and more little tidbits. What starts off as a rather routine story gets better and better with some committed actors. Not for the faint of heart.
Conclave – 7
Apparently the Catholic Church is as divided as the rest of the world between
liberal and conservative factions, and this movie explores the way the Church
selects its leader. Turns out, they gather the next tier of
candidates (Cardinals?) and they have a meeting (conclave) and vote over and
over until they get a Pope, with the
groups jockeying behind the scenes. It would seem the candidates could stand up
and make speeches about what kind of Pope they would be, but no. The Dean of the Conclave (played perfectly by Ralph Fiennes who will certainly garner Oscar buzz) seems to be like a lead
prosecutor, investigating secrets and eliminating candidates. The movie alternates between reverential
treatment and exploitive especially with an ending that is made for
movies.
Some denominations of Christianity are more steeped in ritual than others are,
so I suspect your interest in this movie will mirror your place on that
scale. I figured out pretty quickly who
was going to be Pope, and that there would be a dramatic ending to his story,
but didn’t think it would be quite as out of the blue as they came up with.
Rebel Ridge – 7
A Jack Reacher type action flick focused on hand to hand combat
instead of bone crunching. A good movie,
but just too damn long.
The Substance – 6
Demi Moore would rather be Margaret Qualley, and I can’t say I blame her. Demi gets the role she’s been waiting for as Christine Sparkle, a a Jane Fonda-like workout guru who looks good to me, but not to her boss played by Dennis Quaid, who proves his acting is as bad as it ever was. Demi makes the devil’s bargain of injecting the Substance, which will make her young for every other week. The movie borrows snippets of music, and themes from classic movies, especially the very gory ending. I kept waiting for the movie to end, but it stubbornly hung on, driving home its point over and over.
This is one of those movies you either buy or you don’t and I didn’t, but I appreciate the effort. It wasn’t a waste., just not my cup of blood.
Wolfs – 5
So Clooney and Pitt are the Newman and Redford of today, without the writers, directors, or Raindrops. This Apple+ movie reminded me of Texans who are all Hat, no Cattle. This is all charm, no story. But I bet there’s a sequel, given the Sundance type ending. This one’s for the ladies.
STREAMING/BINGING and what’s left of Network Television
The Penguin - 9
HBO’s latest sensation is essentially The Soprano’s in Gotham. The Penguin, once played by Burgess Meredith 50 years ago, is now played underneath a ton
of makeup and metal by an unrecognizable Colin Farrell, who is amazing in the
role. Equally impressive is Cristin Milioti
as his female rival. I have to admit she is strange casting. I would have never dreamed she would be this
good. Dark and dismal, the fictional
Gotham has now housed so many of these stories I’m beginning to think it really
exists. Seven episodes in, and I'm fully hooked, at least for this season.
STAND-UP
Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking – 9
Seth Meyers, who in my opinion is the best late-night host right now, continues to spread his comedy wings with his second stand up special, this one on HBO MAX and it’s a worthy follow up to his “Lobby Baby” routine, which I’ve watched several times. Now he’s got 3 children and his adventures with them are hilarious.
Alex Edelman: Just For Us – 9
Never heard of this guy, but when this stand-up special won an Emmy, and I
didn’t even know they gave awards for stand up, I decided to check it out. This is a complex tall tale of him, a Jewish
man, attending a white nationalist meeting, under cover. It’s a long and winding, but brilliant story.
Red State Blue State – 10
I’ve never been a big fan of Colin Quinn, but he nails today’s world in this 45 minute special available on You Tube. Have you ever wondered why Abrham Lincoln went to war rather than allow succession. He must have seen the possibilities of a United America rather than a bunch of little countries. This one will make you think.
CLASSICS
Memories of Murder – 9
I was reading about a film expert who said there were 10 films he would teach in his introduction to film class, and I was pretty proud I’d seen 9 of them, but shocked that there was one, this one, that I had never even heard of, so I hunted it down and watched it. It’s pretty special, although I wouldn’t call it one of the greats. It’s a Korean mystery about a serial killer, and the cultural difference between the US and Korea are all present, like the fact that Korean Police get in fist fights with each other all the time. Amazing.
Ransom – 7
This is the 1956 original film that was remade in 1994 by Ron Howard starring Mel Gibson in the role originated by Glenn Ford in this one. It’s a fairly flat, uninspired film compared to the remake, which was considered sensational at the time. I guess there’s a reason they remake films.