Carey Mulligan makes her bid for an Oscar by running up and down the scale of emotions as a woman seeking revenge for a sex crime in this “Death Wish” meets “step into my spider web” movie. This is director Emerald Fennell’s first feature and she takes the audience on Carey’s unpredictable roller coaster ride. Fennell was the showrunner of the second season of Killing Eve, which was my favorite as it made Jodie Comer into an Emmy winning star with the same kind of manic energy that is seen here. If Mulligan wins an Oscar, think how many women are going to be lined up trying to work with Fennell.
Cassie Thomas (Mulligan) sets traps. Every week she goes out and acts like she is wasted, until a nice man steps in and offers to assist. Invariably the men try to take advantage and Cassie makes them pay. It’s a lesson in the concept of “consent.” It also makes one reflect on the effect of alcohol in the world. When Cassie begins to fall for a guy she used to be in medical school with, she softens, but only temporarily. The ride gets crazier, and culminates with Cassie trying to bag her ultimate prize, the guy who committed the original crime. Fennell sticks the landing as the movie culminates with the most heart-wrenching turn of all.
Phantom Thread – 9 (Showtime)
Director Paul Thomas Anderson accomplishes the impossible in 2017’s Phantom Thread. He finds an actress that can go toe to toe with Daniel Day-Lewis. Her name is Vickie Krips and I had never heard of her. I may never see her again. But she stuns in this movie, and make no mistake, this movie is all about the acting.
Phantom Thread is the fictional story of a fashion icon named Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) who rules the London fashion scene in the 1950’s, dressing royalty and the famous with elaborate gowns. He is obsessive and set in his ways. Any slight disturbance, like scraping your toast loudly, is a distraction to be derided. He apparently has discarded many young ladies after short dalliances, with the help of his co-partner and sister Cyril, played smartly by Leslie Manville. Into Reynolds’ life comes a waitress named Alma (Krips.) She is more strong-willed and skilled than he is used to, and a three way tug of war ensues in the House of Woodcock. There are slick twists to the story as Alma tries to maintain her power. If you are a fan of incredible performances in a smart script, this is a movie not to miss. It took me awhile to get around to it, but glad I finally did.
Enemy – 8 (PPV)
Jake Gyllenhaal added to his resume with this strange movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve. I’d never heard about it, but I’ve become such a big fan of the director, I grabbed this 2013 film, when it came to my attention. Jake plays a mild mannered, rather boring professor, who sees an actor that looks like an identical twin in a movie that is recommended to him. He finds this unsettling and begins to explore the other person’s life. The twin is an actor and he’s as irrational about their existence as the professor is. What ensues is the most bizarre movie with the craziest ending I’ve seen in a long time. I was baffled. I actually had to go watch a video on You Tube explaining the movie and especially the ending. I am ashamed to admit, I caught none of this in watching the movie. Totally over my head, but certainly well done. Denis always has a trick up his sleeve.
A Most Violent Year – 8 (Showtime)
No flourishes, one ridiculous foot chase, and a very simple story is how I’d describe this one. Oscar Isaac, who I’m not a big fan of, owns a fuel oil company in New Jersey. He’s trying to stay honest in a dirty business. Will he stay true to his principles in the difficult times he’s going through? That's kind of the challenge of life, isn't it? Jessica Chastain plays his street wise wife, who apparently comes from a dirty family. I am a big fan of hers, and she’s the main reason I watched. She doesn’t disappoint, although the story is so simple, with no nuance, that it falls into boredom at some point. The ending is pretty good, and I was glad when it arrived.
Documentary Corner
Collective – 10 (Hulu)
Collective is a documentary based in Bulgaria. A horrible nightclub fire kills 27, but the tragedy inexplicably continues when 37 more die in local hospitals while being treated. How is this possible? Leave it to a daily sports journal to begin digging into the corruption that is the answer to that question. This is a great journalism story as the writers begin to peel back how corrupt the hospital system has become. This is a horror movie of epic proportions and it’s all true. This movie is up for a best foreign film Oscar and certainly deserves it.
Allen v Farrow – 10 (HBO)
As a a long-time fan of Woody Allen's movies, this was a hard pill to swallow, but much like “Leaving Neverland” left little doubt about Michael Jackson’s guilt, this 4 part HBO Documentary series left little doubt about Woody’s molestation of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. While this is all told from the Farrow company line, it sure is convincing. The fourth episode, which takes on the question of “what do we do when we hate the artist, but love the art,” citing people like Woody, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and others throughout history, elevates the documentary. It’s a great discussion and ties a bow on the whole series.
The Keeping Room – 8 (Pluto TV)
Sherman’s path through Georgia is the back drop for this melancholy 2017 film of sisters Augusta and Louis and their remaining slave, (Muna Otaru) trying to hold onto the family homestead during the Civil War. Brit Marley and Hailee Seinfeld are both riveting as the sisters as they are threatened by two advance scouts of Sherman who are drinking, killing, and raping their way through Georgia. I’d never even heard of this movie, but I find Marling riveting. I think I’ve seen all her work now and I’m hoping she gets that breakout role soon. This is far from a great movie, but it’s gritty and It’s haunting and a reminder that war is hell, and war is hell in many different ways.
Tina – 10 (HBO)
Wow, what a life Tina Turner has lived. Abandoned by her mother, and abused by her husband Ike Turner, she has tasted success just enough to overcome obstacles and to reclaim fame and fortune. I thought her biography, “What’s Love Got to Do with it” had adequately covered her life, but I was dead wrong. This is enthralling, devastating and tremendously entertaining. She’s easy to root for and this is another great HBO documentary.
Binge Report
Ted Lasso – 10 (Apple+)
one I wouldn’t watch a 5-hour movie except under the most extreme circumstances, but we watched all 5 hours/10 episodes straight through in one night of this little sports gem. Jason Sudekis won a well-deserved Emmy for his portrayal of Ted Lasso, a transplanted football coach from the US who goes across the pond to coach a professional soccer team. The plot is a copy of “Major League” in that everyone expects Ted to fail, including the owner of the team. But Ted is positive to the point of corniness, and he begins to get into the heads of his team and they start to “believe.” This series is not just a throwback to the soft-hearted series of the past, but it is one of the best sports series this century I can’t imagine anyone not liking this.
Broadchurch: 3rd season – 10 (Netflix)
I must confess I strolled through the den picking up bits and pieces of the first 2 seasons of this before I just gave in and watched the last season. This is a dynamite British Series whose 24 episodes that aired from 2013 - 2017 featured future Oscar winner Olivia Coleman and David Tennant as detectives trying to solve first a murder, then a rape. While I can’t imagine any police force investigating and pursuing crimes with the singular focus of these two, their intensity sure is entertaining. I hated the film that Coleman won her Oscar for, but her performance was phenomenal, and you can see her brilliance in develpment in this series. Broadchurch is a community with more secrets than Peyton Place and they have to unravel all of them. Among a lot of great British series, this is one of the best.
Classics Corner
The General – 10 (HBO Max)
#34 on the Sight and Sound Poll of the 250 Greates Movies
A truly wonderful silent comedy starring Buster Keaton. I could easily see this story of railroad intrigue during the civil war being remade with Brad Pitt as the Confederate train engineer played by Keaton here, and maybe Anne Hathaway as the damsel in distress. Probably still wouldn’t compare to this slapstick masterpiece.
Sherlock, Jr. – 8 (HBO Max)
#59 on the Sight and Sound Poll
Buster Keaton in a 1924 film that only goes 60 minutes. It’s good, but not up to The General standards. Its plot is obviously the inspiration for Woody Allen’s 1985 movie The Purple Rose of Cairo in which Jeff Daniels jumps off the movie screen. In Sherlock, Jr Keaton is a movie projectionist and amateur detective who jumps on the screen. Funny with some nice sight gags, it’s a nice portrait of where the movies were in the silent era.
Rio Bravo – 9
#68 on the Sight and Sound Poll
Director Howard Hawks tries his hand at the John Wayne western. This one has Wayne as John T Chance, who has arrested a murderer and now must wait a week for the Federal Marshall to show up and take the prisoner off his hands before the brother and his gang extricate him from the jail cell. On hand to assist and sing are Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, as well as Walter Brennan. A young and magnetic Angie Dickenson provides a great distraction. May have been the last great western before Tombstone. Straightforward, predictable, and utterly compelling.
Brief Encounter – 7 (HBO Max)
#161 on the Sight and Sound poll
Two married strangers meet once a week in a train station and a flirtation turns into a passionate affair. Overly dramatic for my tastes, but many movies from the forties are.
Late Spring – 8 (PPV)
#15 on the Sight and Sound poll
This is another Japanese film by the revered director Yasujiro Ozu, who would later do the famed Tokyo Story. Late Spring is the story of young adult daughter of a widower who does not want to leave her father. Everyone is trying to get her to marry including her father. She is not sure that her father can survive without her. It is modestly interesting, but I don’t see why it is ranked so highly.
The Seven Samurai - 10 (HBO Max)
#17 on the Sight and Sound poll
The Seven Samurai, running 3 ½ hours, has to be in the running for greatest epic of all time. A small farmer’s village is threatened by a group of bandits who promise to return at harvest and clean them out of their crop and destroy the village. The Villagers go to recruit samurai to protect them. The Samurai know they can’t defeat 40 bandits so they train the villagers to fight and begin preparing the village for the invasion. Later remade in English as The Magnificent Seven, this is terrific story telling and not only is the action beautifully photographed, but every frame of the film is gorgeous, as if it were painted on a black and white canvas. This one is well worth its stellar reputation.
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