Movie #2132 ........................."Barefoot" (t.v.)

 Movie #2132 "Barefoot" (t.v.)  This is a quirky film I came across and liked.  I was ready to turn it off when the lead guy was so despicable to people at the opening that I thought I would never like him.  He's on parole, he treats women badly, he owes everyone money, and he's a janitor in a mental hospital and seems to have little respect for authority.  But, then the viewer finds out that he befriends some of the patients (but it's like sneaking in alcohol because they want some).  All of a sudden, this new girl who is thought to be mentally ill (she lived under the thumb of her mom who is now dead) is being attacked by a worker at the institution, and he saves her.  As he leaves from work there, she sneaks out without shoes on and wants to leave the place and go with her, her knight in shining armor --- he doesn't 't know the anxiety and other mental quirks she has, but all he knows is that he told his family he would be at a wedding ( planned on going because he wants to get money from his dad) and he promised to bring a girl,;this girl is sweet and squeaky clean (unlike the strippers he usually dates) so in a quick decision, he decides to save her and take her with him to the wedding --- she, of course, is a fish out of water when she meets his folks, but as the story progresses, the two leads  fall for each other --- and complete each other in big ways --- she brings out his caring side, and he brings out her want for freedom side.  Evan Rachel Wood is always good, in my opinion, so  I expected no less from her, and the guy actually rose to the occasion.  I liked it and would give it a 4 out of 5.  It wasn't as predictable as I predicted when I first started watching it --- it took some chances, and it ended up to be a sweet love story.  

"BAREFOOT"                         PG-13      1 hour and 30 mins                         2014

The "black sheep" son of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient who's been raised in isolation her entire life. He then takes the naive young woman home for his brother's wedding.

Director:

 Andrew Fleming

Writer:

 Stephen Zotnowski

Stars:

 Evan Rachel Wood, Scott Speedman, J.K. Simmons

Movie #2131 ........................"The Father" (movie theatre)

 Movie #2131 "The Father" (movie theatre) Subtitle for this film should be:  Depressing as hell!  I had a grandmother and a mother that died from alzheimer's so I am not the demographic for this film --- but who is?  Well, only people who need to see it are those that think Alzheimer's is a walk in the park or those who think that parents suffering from alzheimer's or dementia should move in with their adult kids when they can no longer deal with life on their own --- the ones who think their folks would hate to be in any kind of nursing home and are trying to do what they think their folks would want --- this film shows how very very very difficult it is to caretake for a loved one --- one who can demean  you or fight with you  most of the time you share with him (instead of spending time with your  loved ones you have left at home), who repeats the same stories over and over again, is in such a fog that you yourself can't make heads or tales of reality, who only experiences maybe a few minutes a day of lucidity, who tells you that you aren't his favorite, and the next breath he can't remember who you are ---- Because this movie is nominated for  6 oscars, I trucked on over to the movie theatre to sit alone in the theatre and watch this dismal portrait of what IS reality for so many of us. I knew it was going to be sad, but what I was surprised about is the way it was filmed.  It not only showed how in a fog the father is, which in turn makes his daughter in a fog about how to care for him, but it leaves the audience in a fog, as well; that is, when he addresses someone by a name, in the next scene, that person he addresses with the name is played by a different actress or actor.... so we don't really know who is who through most of the film (until the end when we can better understand a bit better )--- this is difficult to explain, but once you see it, if you do, you will understand.  If you don't, don't worry about it --- just know there is some clarity by the end, but it is very little.  So maybe  let me explain it this way --- usually the scene is set in a film very early on as to what the facts are and who is who --- but the director of this film never does that , so it's a guessing game, much like what the father goes through on a daily basis --- Bottom line?  this is not  only a difficult film to watch emotionally, but it is mentally challenging, as well.  I wouldn't recommend it, unless you want to see the fog played out --- you certainly get a sense of what a person with alzheimers/dementia  goes through.  I give it 3.8.  It's Chadwick Boseman's year for best actor, I think, but second best could be Anthony Hopkins.  This may be the best he's done  in a very long career.  But then, he won an AA  for "Silence of the Lambs" --- so I'm sticking to my guess of Boseman.

"THE FATHER"               2020     1 hr and 37 mins                PG-13               

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

Director:

 Florian Zeller

Writers:

 Christopher Hampton (screenplay by), Florian Zeller (play)  

Stars:

 Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss 

Movie #2130 ........................."Wolfwalkers" (Disney +)

Movie #2130 "Wolfwalkers" (Disney+) And here's one more animated feature that is nominated --- once again, I don't think it has much of a chance, but it is worth a second look, I think.  The story is quite involved, but it deals with being kind to nature, feminism, a strong bond of father/daughter and mother/daughter.  There's a HUGE fight at the end that I didn't much like (because I don't like to see a lot of violence, esp. in animation) and it seemed a tad long, but still worth watching for its message and it is a an action film;  it's just so different for an animated film.  Culturally diverse again, too.  It has a" frozen" type relationship between the two girls who learn if they work together they can save the one girl's mother --- that's nice to see in a film.  I'd give this 3.8 out of 5 and recommend it to those who read the synopsis below and think it looks like an interesting story to follow.

"WOLFWALKERS"    PG       1 hour and 43 mins           2020

A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.

In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as demonic and nature an evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter, ROBYN, comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack. But when Robyn saves a wild native girl, MEBH, their friendship leads her to discover the world of the WOLFWALKERS.

Directors:

 Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Writers:

 Will Collins (screenplay), Tomm Moore (story)  

Stars:

 Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean 

 

Movie #2129 ........................."Over the Moon" (netflix - streaming)

 Movie #2129 "Over the Moon" (netflix - streaming) this is another animated feature that is nominated for an oscar, and although it doesn't have a chance, I liked this one much better.  It's a musical (which would not be a selling feature I am guessing to all the little kiddies out there, but for me, there's a" Hamilton" connection (Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton) plays Chang, the goddess.  And Cathy Ang who plays the lead 13 year old girl has a golden voice --- hope to see her on broadway some day!  This story has a journey, too, and yes, it is unbelievable, but it reminded me of Wizard of Oz, and the place she lands reminded me of Emerald City and the goddess was very human and had faults like the Wizard (in Oz).  I liked the girl's age of 13, which is one of the most difficult ages to get through, going through grief for her mother --- and instead of dwelling on that in the film, she puts her attention on this love story that her mother told her about, and it was a shared belief that she holds on to.  And at the end of her journey, she has learned and is is more accepting of change.  The little boy who follows her in the rocket ship is adorable, as is Gobi (this little globule that accompanies, along with the two rabbits that get together by the end of the film.  I liked this warm, albeit very different story with cultural diversity galore.  I'd give it 4 out of 5.  

"OVER THE MOON"     1 hour and 35 mins                   2020

In this animated musical, a girl builds a rocket ship and blasts off, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess.

Having grown up hearing her mother's favourite legend about Chang'e, pale moon's goddess who lives alone on the silent celestial body pining for Hou Yi, her long-lost lover, the brilliant thirteen-year-old girl, Fei Fei, is in for an unpleasant surprise. Then, as if that weren't enough, her doting father catches her off-guard by making a life-altering announcement, and Fei Fei's whole world comes crashing down around her. Now, determined to prove him wrong, Fei Fei sets out to build a home-made rocket and blast off to the stars. Does true love last forever?

Directors:

 Glen Keane, John Kahrs (co-director) 

Writers:

 Audrey Wells, Jennifer Yee McDevitt (additional screenplay material by)  |1 more credit »

Stars:

 Glen Keane, Brycen Hall, Ruthie Ann Miles 

Movie #2128 ........................."Onward" (Disney +)

 Movie #2128 "Onward" (Disney+)  Now to Animated movies that have been nominated for Oscars --- I have seen "Soul" already, and blogged about that earlier, and then I moved to this one --- which, I have to admit, I never finished because I just didn't like this one at all.   I am not in the demographic group that would like this one --- elves?  magic spells?  dead dads that they can't talk to because he's only half there ?  You've got to be kidding....... and I know I will be hammered by people who liked this film, but hey, I'm not a fan of "Bored of the Rings" either, so shoot me!   And here's another disclaimer:  I never liked cartoons when I was little, so I have been working on enjoying animated feature films all of my life.  And I do now, but it has taken me a long time.........anyway, I usually watch to the  end  of a  film I am blogging, but I just disliked this one so much, I couldn't do it --- not even have it in the background while I am doing something else.  I didn't even like the voices.  All the fighting (older brother bullying younger one) --- the mother being proactive was an interesting sideline, but then the teaming up of her with some legendary winged-lion-scorpion former warrior --- that's where it lost me, never to return.  2 out of 5 for me.  ugh!

"ONWARD"     1 hour and 42 minutes                 2020

Two elven brothers embark on a quest to bring their father back for one day.  

In a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, go on a journey to discover if there is still a little magic left out there in order to spend one last day with their father, who died when they were too young to remember him. Like any good quest, their journey is filled with magic spells, cryptic maps, impossible obstacles and unimaginable discoveries. When the boys' fearless mom, Laurel, realizes that her sons are missing, she teams up with the legendary winged-lion-scorpion former warrior -- The Manticore -- and heads off to find them. Perilous curses aside, this one magical day could mean more than any of them ever dreamed.

Director:

 Dan Scanlon

Writers:

 Dan Scanlon (original story by), Keith Bunin (original story by)  | 4 more credits »

Stars:

 Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus 

Movie #2127 ........................."Love song for Latasha" (netflix - streaming)

 Movie #2127 "Love song for Latasha" (netflix - streaming)  Here's a short documentary that is nominated for an academy award that you might want to check out --- rarely does one get a chance to stream any short doc and watch it in the confines of your home --- they have been putting them in a program that you can see at a movie theatre the week before the academy awards show (this year April 25, 2021) but who knows what will happen this year?  Anyway, after viewing this film, I was left with two feelings:  one was of sadness, and the other confusion as to why this was nominated.  I have seen a lot better short documentaries on basically the same subject that were better done.  It is good, but not outstanding and worthy of the nomination.  But then, I haven't seen the others.  I am right now assuming they are better.  I'd give this one 3 out of 5 and only recommend it to people who want to see a short documentary that has been nominated.

"LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA"              19 mins                    2020

The injustice surrounding the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at a South Central Los Angeles store became a flashpoint for the city’s 1992 civil uprising.

A Love Song For Latasha is a dreamlike hybrid documentary in conversation with the past and the present to reimagine a more nuanced narrative of Latasha Harlins than standard archival practises have captured by excavating intimate and poetic memories shared by her cousin and best friend.

Director:

 Sophia Nahli Allison

Stars:

 Raigan Alex, Zoe Flint, Shinese Harlins 

Movie #2126 ........................."Time" (Amazon Prime - streaming)

 Movie #2126 "Time" (Amazon Prime - streaming)  And still another academy award nominated documentary that is again .....too long.  (no worries, only two more to go!)  I thought this one would be much better from just reading what it was about --- but it was all over the place --- very disjointed as far as time.  I guess the filmmaker thought it would keep our attention that way.  Yikes.  As a result, it confused this viewer.  And I felt I learned very little from this one in comparison to the others.  And I wasn't entertained by it, or even enlightened by it --- I just wanted it to get over after the first few minutes.  I had to google this one from the get go because I knew nothing about Fox Rich.  And all I got out of this is that her husband at one point was supposed to get 60 years in prison for a robbery they both committed --- but they never gave us any specifics about it, and told us why she was out and he wasn't --- and why a 15-20 year sentence was changed to 60 years, etc.  The film spent time showing us what a great speaker she is (I am guessing she made money doing that on the circuit to feed the several kids she had with Rob) and how much charism she has.  But there are long passages of calling her lawyer up and listening to music she listens to as she waits, and waits, and waits.  I get it --- she was yanked around, but it's just not good moviemaking to me.  He finally got out, and it ended up but viewer is left wondering ---- well, how did that happen?  I'd give this a 3, only because there was some nice black and white photography going on here, and some beautiful shots, once in a while, of the environment, etc.  But out of all the documentaries so far that I saw that have been nominated, this is not one I would recommend.  

"TIME"     PG-13                     1 hour and 21 minutes               2020

Fox Rich fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.

Director:

 Garrett Bradley

Stars:

 Rob Rich II, Fox Rich, Freedom Rich  |

Movie #2125 ........................."Collective" (netflix DVD)

 Movie #2125 "Collective" (netflix DVD) --- another academy award nominated documentary that is too long --- but this one kept me watching more intently because of the sharp focus --- it is one of those documetnaries that is occurring in "real time" --- it gives the impression that even the filmmaker doesn't know where it will end --- he just keeps shooting , and each shot becomes a piece of the puzzle --- I have always enjoyed this technique for documentaries ("Capturing the Friedmans" and the Syrian ones from the past couple of years) but this was challenging because of the subject matter:  health care in Romania.  I didn't always quite understand what was being covered, not knowing much about healthcare --- however, the huge fraud is easy to follow, and the journalist and his assistants are in awe (along with the viewer0 as the story unfolds.  It kind of fizzles out at the end --- I wanted to an update, so I googled and found out that the guy with some integrity who had taken the job of trying to striaghten everything out lost his job, but then got it back in the past year --- so I assume he is still working on the mess!  I just wish the filmmakers at the end updated us a bit --- and of course, I wish it was edited down to a shorter film.  No Narrator, no explaining to the viewer, as other documentaries usually do --- the viewer just watches the investigation as it unfolds in real time.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5 and would not be surprised if it takes the oscar this year --- it is also nominated for best international film. And that's a rarity.  But films are pretty weak this year, but this one seems a bit better than the others, so far.....and it is one of two international films we can actually see because it is out on DVD and available through netflix.  (Note:  but this is the only documentary nominated that can't be streamed yet --- it's only available on DVD so far, but that should change in the next couple of weeks, I hope). 

"COLLECTIVE"                   1 hour and 49 mins                2019   (subtitles)

Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.

Director:

 Alexander Nanau

Writers:

 Alexander Nanau, Antoaneta Opris

Stars:

 Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag, Camelia Roiu

Movie #2124 ........................."Crip Camp" (netflix)

 Movie #2124 "Crip Camp" (stream - Netflix)Back to Academy Award nominations for 2021 --- this is in the documentary category --- and it's long.  But then I think most documentaries are long unless they are teaching me a lot of information and have a variety of ways to get the information across to the viewer.  This used mostly just hosing a camera around, or what is I think called, "cinema verity" --- and as a result it was very difficult to follow ------some of the members of the camp cannot speak clearly at all (for obvious reasons) and some not at all. As a result it is what I would consider a very raw film --- shots could be better, better editing would help the flow, better camera work --- but all those things that you might judge another documentary on, they aren't focused on --- it's the reality of how the kids are in this camp, and how they changed as a result of it --- and how they went on an did an unimaginable thing --- helped to pass the Disability Act in the 60's.  The film has a lot of heart --- it is emotion-filled --- the viewer learns a lot about ADA and Jenny Camp, where the movement started. I'd give this 3.5 out of 5

"CRIP CAMP"      rated R         1 hour and 46 mins                    2020

Down the road from Woodstock, a revolution blossomed at a ramshackle summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, transforming their lives and igniting a landmark movement.

Directors:

 James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham

Writers:

 James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham  

Stars:

 James Lebrecht, Lionel Je'Woodyard, Joseph O'Conor 

Movie #2123 ........................."Young Man with a Horn" (TCM)

 Movie #2123 "Young Man with a Horn" (TCM) Since it was Doris Day week, I saw this advertised on TCM and I had always wanted to see it, so I sat down to watch it a week ago.  Doris Day is not in this as much --- it's Kirk Douglas' movie all the way --- he plays the trumpet player from little kid to desperate adult.  He really encompasses all the passion a musician has --- he is consumed with playing the horn --- he studies under a great african american mentor (which in the 1950s is controversial since the mentor can't play in some places because he is black).  As the young man goes up the ladder of success, he even plays in one band for half the night and later in the evening goes across town and plays in another so that his mentor's band does well in that club.  He is friends along the way with Doris Day and clearly she loves him, but he is just so obsessed with playing, it seems like nothing can penetrate that wall of his he has built around him................that is until he meets Lauren Bacall.  And she turns on all the alluring tactics she uses in every movie she is in (mostly with her hubby Bogart) --- the smokey voice, those seeking eyes, that beautiful face and body --- and he falls for her hook, line and sinker, even when Doris tries to point out to him that she is no good for him because she's an opportunist and she will just use him.  Well, after she did, and drops him like a bad penny, he is depressed --- feels washed up, disillusioned, until Doris comes back in the picture (along with his mentor) and they help him through the bad times.  I liked this film because there aren't a lot of pictures that so adequately portray the passionate musician and consider the question:  Can that artist let anything else happen in his life ---- like family or  the outside world?      Doesn't he have to?  and how successful can that be?  and doesn't he/she have to find a partner that is willing to be second in his/her life?  The film covers these well, for the 1950s and I'm glad I got to see Doris play a different part here --- and Kirk Douglas is fantastic; this part fits him like a glove.  I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.  (the people and conflicts were complicated, but I felt the script could have explained more his angst.  You knew the script was lacking a bit when it had to bring in Hoagy Carmichael (who played his best friend) at the very end  to narrate to the audience what the young man learned through the movie.  Ugh)

"YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN"     1hr and 52 mins        1950

A young trumpet player is torn between an honest singer and a manipulative heiress.

Director:

 Michael Curtiz

Writers:

 Carl Foreman (screenplay), Edmund H. North (screenplay)  

Stars:

 Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day  |

Movie #2122 ........................."Love Me Or Leave Me" (TCM)

Movie #2122 "Love Me Or Leave Me" (TCM)  It was a Doris Day week on TCM (since she died in the past year) and I have always wanted to see this one (since Day and Cagney are the stars, and I am big fans of both) so I sat down to watch this.  It's melodramatic, for sure, but the conflict is interesting ----- a man with lots of money falls in love with a beautiful, talented woman, and wants to make her famous and gives her everything she needs to do that.  She is bowled over that he is so generous and she doesn't see his motives.  To add to the problem, his money is mobster money --- he is not a nice man.  However, Cagney is able to slap people around, be sure with them in speech, shouts orders, all the while being very tender, usually, with her.  When he feels he is losing her "adoration" and appreciation of him, he starts to get desperate and those scenes are hard to watch --- she feels she owes him everything, so the guilt just dominates her every move, including turning away from a guy she clearly loves and who loves her.  That's when Cagney really "chews up the scenery" which he can do --- when he does 150% acting --- (he's like Al pacino that way) Because she feels she owes him, and because he really down deep loves her, it offers an interesting conflict that was starting to get covered in the 1950s --- these two can handle the acting and over the top acting, so I didn't mind that much.  I would give it 3.5, though, and not really recommend it to many --- unless you are fans of either of these two actors, or the story sounds interesting to you.  There are quite a few over the top scenes that aren't really believable --- but like I said, I liked the conflict.  And it helps you understand how so many people, even today,  just venturing into a show business job  find they can get into a situation of "owing" somebody who has sinister motives, and how touch it is to get out from under that, for sure.

"LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME"     1955       2 hours and 2 mins      

A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.

Director:

 Charles Vidor

Writers:

 Daniel Fuchs (screenplay), Isobel Lennart (screenplay)  

Stars:

 Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell  

Movie #2121 ........................."Mank" (netflix)

 Movie #2121 "Mank" (netflix)  Looking for something different to watch?  This might be your cup of tea, but it is not for everybody at all.  If you have seen "Citizen Kane," and liked it, you probably will observe and appreciate  the homages to that film in almost every scene in "Mank.".  If you don't mind black and white, and even value it as a possible artistry of a film, then you might like this.  If you don't mind watching fast talking smarmy  writers vs. holier- than- thou,  power- hungry producers who force their values on their work force and "stable" of actors, then you might enjoy this.  Of course, this would be nominated for an academy award this year ---- it is a weak year in film; it is about Hollywood itself; the artistry is , do I dare say it?, almost as good as the film it is about.........."Citizen Kane."  If you have seen that film and think "no big deal," don't bother with this.  I think "Kane" is a masterpiece in every sense of the word -- I respect it greatly, so I wanted to like this film, but I had to start it a couple of times.  It is a challenging watch --- one needs to watch it intently, something I don't do a lot of these days.  I loved all the tech stuff --- the lighting, the edits a la Kane, props --- but there is something about the Kane script -- it is multilayered, like this one, but it is mapped out much better than this one, in my opinion.  Kane's script  has branches, but they are all aimed for that socko ending --- it never loses its way --- like this one does at times.  It's ironic that the script about writing one of the best scripts in Hollywood  isn't that good of a script.  In thinking about why Kane's script works well, I have to say that having the film center around a pretty plain idea ---- an interviewer searching for clues to the puzzle of what this Kane guy is like --- is probably what works best.  But all the tech stuff -- ie,  creativity in editing and camera angles and shots, using newsreels, putting in dancing girls, using montages, etc.  kick the plain documentary style frame up a notch --- but it is that frame that holds a multilayered/flashbackfull script in line ---- and because that  frame is missing here in "Mank," it's  all over the place to me. But it is about a rebel with a cause --- to dethrone those in power in Hollywood.  And that's the biggest reason that  Hollywood would like this film, and that's why it has the most nominations for the Academy Awards, but I don't think many of you would like it.  I give it 3.5 out of 5.  

"MANK"                               2 hours, 11 minutes                R                 2020

1930's Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).

Director:

 David Fincher

Writer:

 Jack Fincher (screen play by) 

Stars:

 Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins

Movie #2120 ........................."Allen vs. Farrow " (limited series - HBO)

 Movie #2120 "Allen vs. Farrow" (limited series - HBO) Most everyone who knows me knows that I have always been a huge Woody Allen fan --- even had a picture of him the size of Boston (well, okay, not that big) hanging on my wall at home for years and years.  Since I watched "Peyton Place" for the first time, I was a Mia Farrow fan, yes all through her Previn and Sinatra years, etc.  When she was Allen's partner, I didn't quite understand it, but I thought that wasn't unusual for a director to find his muse and fall in love with her.  Then, things started to change --- Allen always had an edge (sexually) about his writing, but he wrote so well for females, that I didn't acknowledge it--- but when he took a big leap in his life and in his work , it became more difficult to defend this artist.  (in life, he  dated (and ended up marrying)  Mia's daughter Sun yi; in work,  he fixated on older men falling in love with younger women in most, if not all, of his later works).  With him, it is so difficult to separate the man from his work, and after you watch maybe even 1/2 hour of this documentary, it will be even more difficult, I think.  I only saw 3 episodes, but really one (the second one) was enough for me.  The rest just filled in a bit more information.   Information I didn't need.  Really, I didn't need to see any of the dirty details, I guess, but like everything else,  you watch what you can't believe you are seeing, and fall down that rabbit hole.  I believe Dylan ---basically because I don't believe Mia, her mother,  would coach her into saying what she seems to say of her own free will on the tapes they had after the attic incident that tore their family apart.  But  Allen wants us to think Mia was so crazed about the whole ordeal that she would set him up and ruin his career.  That's the argument --- you probably knew that from the news ---- the documentary covers that, but the one thing it does that the news doesn't, is that it humanizes Dylan  and Ronan Farrow, her brother, who didn't believe her at first and when he finally sat down and heard the whole story from her, he changed his mind big time --- and now it has become his quest to put Weinstein (and people like him)  behind bars --- more power to him.  He's got the talent and the persistence to get the job done.  So what's the need for the documentary?   The documentary is way too detailed, but then I always feel like documentaries run way too long --- like I said, one episode was enough.  The rest becomes gratuitous --- what did the neighbor across the street think?  What dress did Dylan have on when...... the whole topic is just awful and I don't even want to write anything about it any more.  But if the documentary gets people to talk about some of the offshoots of the main tragedy, maybe something can be gained out of it like:  why don't we believe the females, (esp. when they are little kids like this case ) when they speak of sexual abuse/assault?  Do we realize  what PTSD an act like this causes to little kids?  to women?  to their family?   When it is blamed on an artist,  should we divorce the man from his artistry when judging him?  Should we ban all of his work because of this?  How can we put security guards around the victims of powerful people instead of around the powerful people?  As a society, we will be reckoning with these problems for years to come ---- and this documentary, if nothing else, proves that.  I'd give it a 3 out of 5.  I don't recommend it for everyone at all.

"ALLEN VS. FARROW" (limited series - HBO)     4 hours, 16 min (total: 4 episodes)   2021  -- R

A look behind the years of sensational headlines to reveal the private story of the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving his 7-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow.

Stars:

 Mia Farrow, Fletcher Previn, Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow

Movie #2119 ........................."Palmer" (apple)

 Movie #2119 "Palmer"  (apple) - the only thing I would add to the below description of the plot is that the boy the ex-convict befriends loves princesses and wears dresses --- that's the plot part that was most interesting to me because it causes  a lot of inner conflict on the main character's part.  He knows how rough the world will be on this kid --- the acting is adequate, except a quick shout out to Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) who is a marvel in all of her scenes (there aren't that many).  But JT is able to hold his own, and I really enjoyed this film.  Really liked the story ---- it has an easy about it.  I wasn't near as impressed with this little boy as the ones in "Life Ahead" or "Minari" but he does do okay --- doesn't steal any scenes from anyone else, for sure.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5 and recommend it.

"PALMER"     2021            R           1 hour and 50 minutes

An ex-convict strikes up a friendship with a boy from a troubled home.

Director:

 Fisher Stevens

Writer:

 Cheryl Guerriero

Stars:

 Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, Alisha Wainwright 

Movie #2118 ........................."The Life Ahead" (netflix)

 Movie #2118 "The Life Ahead" (netflix)  Here we go with the Academy Award nominations - this one is up for foreign language film.  It is directed by Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren's son Edoardo Ponti, and stars his mother.  Her presence should dominate the film, but the one you can't take your eyes off is the little boy --- wow, he was good!  He is far more interesting than she is --- which causes a problem because she is supposed to be the mystery.   The film is a bit sloppy and uneven.  It has a couple of good scenes in it (the last one comes to mind) but others just go by without leaving a visual memory for the viewer.  Another part of the unevenness is the portrayal of Sophia's character --- she is so mean for 3/4's of the film, and then we are expected to believe the turn she makes and becomes sooo loving by the end.  I'd give it 3.5 out of 5, and it has a song nomination --- hmmmm.  It wasn't memorable to me, but the songwriter is famous.

"THE LIFE AHEAD"      PG-13      1 hour, 34 mins    2020

In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her.

Director:

 Edoardo Ponti

Writers:

 Ugo Chiti, Romain Gary (based on the book by)  | 2 more credits »

Stars:

 Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri 

Movie # 2117 ........................."Land" (in theatre - first time in a year)

 Movie #2117 "Land" (in theatre - first time in a year)  Nice scenery, Demian Bichir was wonderful, but I was never emotionally drawn in to this film and its stark story --- the first 30 minutes there might be a couple of lines of dialogue and that's it.  I kept wondering why anyone would do this, and even when I found  out, it was tough to believe, for me.  From the first scene, we know  she is suffering from PTSD and how she reacts seems to be "out there," and so the movie sets up a difficult storyline to believe.  The film needed more editing in my opinion --- way too many "establishing shots" of the surroundings, and many times just the same shot.  I know that the film was trying to show us the passage of time, but it was more than enough.  And film suffered from pacing.  Also, I should point out that at first it showed a woman way out of her element, and then the "knight in shining armor" comes to bale her out --- so it wasn't winning any up with feminism votes with me; however, I did like the switch that is done here --- it becomes quite clear that he respects her boundaries (as she does his) and he is intent on "showing" her how to survive on her own and not "doing" it for her.  That I respected in this film, and give it a 3 out of 5.

"LAND"

A bereaved woman seeks out a new life, off the grid in Wyoming.

Director:

 Robin Wright

Writers:

 Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam

Stars:

 Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge

Movie #2116 ........................."Never Rarely Sometimes Always" (On Demand)

 Movie #2116 "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" (On Demand) -- I had to watch the opening a couple of times because I thought it was so slow at first, that I wasn't sure if it was worth my time --- by the end, I found it okay, but I'm not sure how many people will get through the whole film with very little going on, except for the viewers following a young girl as she:  1) finds out she is pregnant, 2) makes a decision to leave her home and get an abortion, 3) gets a friend to come with her, 4) their traveling from pennsylvania to New York, 5) the first clinic she goes to where she finds out she is farther pregnant than she was told , so then she  has to stay over night and go to a second clinic, where the procedure is much more involved, 6) the questions that she has to answer that becomes the most moving scene in the whole movie (see title), and 7) the ending - going home...... experiencing big changes in her and her friend.  That's the plot ---- it is done very plainly and starkly.  I bet the script housing the dialogue is about 25 pages ---- very little said.  But it shows great  frankness on what one young 17 year old girl goes through to get an abortion.  I'd give it 3.8 out of 5 ,and I don't recommend it to a lot of people.  But it has a niche of people who might get a lot out of it by viewing it.

"NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS"  PG-13,  1 hour and 41 mins      2020

A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.

Director:

 Eliza Hittman

Writer:

 Eliza Hittman

Stars:

 Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin 

Movie #2115 ........................."Your Honor" (On Demand)

 Movie #2115 "Your Honor" -- ugh!  this was long, and the story had a lot of branches that seemed dragged out after a while.....  In fact, in  the middle episodes I felt oftentimes that I was wasting my time. When it gets to the courtroom in episodes 7-10, it gets better because then you can see how much a judge can manipulate a jury;  And there's a point in episode 10 where it was riveting due to so much going on in one scene pulling at the judge/or son.  But the ending?  ugh! If someone had told me how this ended, I probably wouldn't have finished it.  I don't want to say much more than that about the ending except that I understand why it ended that way because it supported the many themes -- one big one is that one mistake can bring about such consequences --- but it is tough to watch.  I was upset by it, and I thought viewers would like to be prepared for it.  There's not  a lot of mystery in this story because you know from the trailer who does the crime, but it is like Columbo in that while you watch, you are witnessing the dad coming undone. The fact that he's a judge makes it that much more of a tragedy.  The story is tragic and hard to watch.  I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.   The acting was good, the production values well done, too.

"YOUR HONOR"     9 hours, 33 minutes        10 episodes          2020'2021   (I would rate it R)

.A judge confronts his convictions when his son is involved in a hit and run that embroils an organized crime family. Facing impossible choices, he discovers how far a father will go to save his son's life.

Creator:

 Peter Moffat

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Hunter Doohan, Hope Davis 

Movie #2114 ........................."Sound of Metal" (Amazon Prime)

 Movie #2114 "Sound of Metal" (Amazon Prime)  Boy, if I judged this from the first scene, I would never have continued watching it.  The first scene was some footage of Riz Ahmed playing the drums so loudly while  his girlfriend Olivia Cooke screamed over the top of the music, with lights flashing all over; it was  just not my kind of idea of entertainment and it hurt my ears --- so annoying.  Little did I know the rest of the movie is so so so quiet because in the next scene he loses his sense of hearing.  Wow! Imagine someone who depends on sound for a livelihood being stripped of that for the rest of his life!  Well, you don't have to imagine it, because this film covers the subject quite well --- shows what the medical world offers to do for him, and it also shows what an organization that watches out for addicts who fall into this problem do for him.  Because he is a recovering addict.  The film is quiet ----- doesn't do a lot of telling ---- he has just a couple of scenes where he actually says how he is feeling, and the rest is inferred by the viewer, conveyed by the actor.    It was a wonderful film, and it is deserving of the recognition it has been getting.  It really makes you conscious of all the sounds in the world and how we depend on them and what happens if they are suddenly taken away.  I give this a 4 out of 5, and once again another fine acting job from Mr. Ahmed.  ("Night Of --- "  was the other show I recommend seeing him in --- outstanding) 

"SOUND OF METAL"               2 hours         2019       R-rated

A heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.

Director:

 Darius Marder

Writers:

 Darius Marder (screenplay by), Abraham Marder (screenplay by)  | 2 more credits »

Stars:

 Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci 

Movie #2113 ........................."Never Look Away" (Netflix DVD)

 Movie #2113 "Never Look Away" (Netflix DVD) this movie was nominated for best foreign language film a couple of years ago,  and when I read about the story, I was motivated to rent it and watch it. It is based on a real artist who was close to his aunt when he was a little boy and saw her taken away and put into an institution by the Nazis.  He has never forgotten it or her message to him to never look away.  His love story is the lynchpin that ties the film together, and I really enjoyed seeing the visuals in the movie --- so well done.  And I esp. liked the time period when he finally had freedom to do artistically whatever he wanted to do, but given all that freedom, he had such a hard time finding the path he wanted to take --- to see all his attempts and then the final product made the ending so worthwhile.  However it is a long film, and at times was a bit difficult to stay awake through.  And not all the connections came together by the end of the film, I didn't think ---  ---- for example, his lover's father who is a doctor convinces Kurt that his wife should have an abortion to save her medically, but in the film we don't ever find out if that was true or not because he was quite manipulative and a Nazi doctor who had a hand in Kurt's aunt's demise --- did that ever come out?  there were unanswered questions, but otherwise, it was a good story, just a bit too long.  3.8 out of 5.   I would recommend it to people interested in the artist at work because this film shows that very well.

"NEVER LOOK AWAY"       3 hours and 9 mins              R rated               2018

German artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.

Director:

 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Writer:

 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Stars:

 Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer

Movie #2113 ........................."The United States vs. Billie Holliday" (Hulu)

 Movie #2113 "The United States vs. Billie Holliday" (Hulu) -- she's terrific, esp. when you find out she is singing all the songs like Billie Holliday --- I wouldn't be surprised if she wins best actress because this rivals the Judy Garland one with Rene Zellweger last year (and she won, hands down), but in comparison to "Judy"  this movie is even MORE of  a downer......i mean, for me to say it's a downer, it IS, indeed, a downer.  (A lot of movies I see are Holocaust ones, so....)  In fact, I think she smiles for just a couple of minutes in the entire film.  The only thing that might prevent her from getting the award is that she does a lot of the same things with her face and emotions over and over ---- that could be because  there's a pattern of her being abused and victimized by her husbands and boyfriends...... all except Jimmy Fletcher, but he's the undercover (literally and figuratively) fed working her case.  This is a story I didn't realize about Billie Holliday --- that the feds  (actually one in particular) doggedly stalk her because of a song she sang ("Strange Fruit") about public lynchings of the blacks --- and each time she'd sing it, she'd get arrested.  When that didn't work to end her career, they started arresting her for drug usage --- and even when she stopped using, they would plant stuff on her and then arrest her..... and I didn't know she was handcuffed to the bed frame on her DEATHbed. The way she is treated  is similar to Fred Hampton's treatment  in another current film available to watch this year:   "Judas and the Black Messiah"  --- both were doggedly pursued by the justice department to their death --- and both were misunderstood and misrepresented by others.  This story was just soooo hard to watch that I wouldn't recommend it.  There are so many raw scenes (some sexual) that it almost crosses the line to be accused of being too gratuitous --- maybe that's just me, but this is one I only watched until the very end to watch how the story was going to end and to watch her acting, both very raw.  I'd give it 3 out of 5.

PS:  Chris in  "Everybody Loves Chris" is in this and plays Prez, a big part in the film and BH's life.  And he's all grown up!  

"THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLLIDAY"     2 hours, 10 minutes    very R-rated   2021

Follows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she had a tumultuous affair.

Director:

 Lee Daniels

Writers:

 Suzan-Lori Parks (screenplay by), Johann Hari (based on the book "Chasing the Scream" by) 

Stars:

 Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund