Thursday, November 30, 2017

Tina's November 2017 Movies

While I await the arrival of the new holiday releases, I managed to find 12 movies to keep me entertained in November, only one of which I had seen previously.  Numbering picks up from prior months and movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 getting the top rating.  You'll see an asterisk indicating which movies I had not previously watched.   

119.  The China Syndrome (1979) – Despite the presence of major stars like Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and Jack Lemmon, this movie about an accident at a nuclear power plant in California might have slipped by unnoticed, with so much of its screen time devoted to staring at gauges and talking about containment tanks.  But two weeks after it opened, the Three Mile Island plant in northeastern Pennsylvania experienced a similar situation that spread into a disaster.  Then people started paying attention to the risks associated with nuclear energy.  Even with fail-safe systems, these plants failed, and the movie makes a compelling drama of the problems while pointing fingers at corporate management for falsifying records and taking risks in the name of financial gain.  It still felt relevant to me today.  4 cans, and a top-notch performance by the great Jack Lemmon.
120.  The Shack* (2017) – I’m pretty good at figuring out whether or not I will like a movie in the first few minutes.  There is nothing wrong with this movie, but I should not have stuck with it because it just isn’t the kind of movie I like.  Mack (Sam Worthington) is a morose father, deeply depressed by a tragic loss in his family, when he gets a strange message that turns out to be from God (Octavia Spencer).  The movie drags on, trying to prove to Mack that he can go on, that Heaven is a place on earth, all while including as much cheesy spirituality as it can muster.  I can’t recommend it, but I can see how some people would find it affirming and uplifting.  I am not one of those people.  2 cans.
121.  The Doctor* (1991) – William Hurt plays highly competent but egotistical Dr. Jack McKee, a successful surgeon living the good life in San Francisco.  He works too hard but loves to “cut” people, and when he thinks about his patients, he often refers to them by their ailments instead of by their names.  In the OR, he rules, blasting his favorite tunes and leading a rollicking band of colleagues.  I guess when you are operating (literally) in life-and-death situations, where what you do and the decisions you make can either save lives or end them, it is appropriate to let off some steam.  The doctor changes his tune dramatically, however, when the persistent cough he has turns out to be something that requires him to be a patient and experience the hospital regulations and the attitude of his doctor in a whole new light.  Hurt is a consistent performer and his character here seems like others he has played.  His long-suffering wife is played by Christine Lahti, who is also a very dependable actress, who cannot understand why the long-married couple can no longer connect.  Not a great movie, but worth seeing for free on demand.  3 cans.
122.   Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold* (2017) – Now, THERE is an author.  Joan Didion is the chronicler of her generation through her magazine articles, books and movies.  Married to late author John Gregory Dunne, Didion formed half of what must be one of the most storied writing couple of our time.  Her social commentary, her articles on the counterculture of the 60s, on superstar entertainers such as The Doors and Janice Joplin, her political coverage here and internationally, were tempered by her intimate writing about coming to terms with her own grief following Dunne’s sudden death in “The Year of Magical Thinking.”  She was a private person but unafraid to share her own thoughts and experiences.  In this fond documentary by her nephew, actor/writer Griffin Dunne, she comes across as frank and frail but fierce, true to herself and not ashamed to point out her own failings.  And what a writer.  The film includes brief readings of some of her work, and it is stunningly composed, the way a musician might pen a work for an orchestra but more unflinching and spare.  This movie is available on Netflix and was enough to make me want to read more by Didion.  4 cans.
123.  Inherit the Wind* (1999) – The classic Spencer Tracy version of the movie about the Scopes Trial was updated in 1999, with Jack Lemmon playing the Clarence Darrow role (here called Henry Drummond) and George C. Scott assuming the part of Matthew Brady Harrison, the prosecutor on the case.  The story is simple – a young teacher is on trial in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution and not the Bible to explain creationism.  The main characters spar with considerable indignation, and Drummond is repeatedly put at a disadvantage by the prejudiced judge (John Cullem), who refuses to allow his expert scientific witnesses to testify.  Instead, the main event becomes the Bible itself, and how it is interpreted.  There are stellar performances by all in the cast, and though Tracy cannot be replaced, Lemmon is much more than acceptable as a substitute.  Preachy (as you would expect) but well played and played out.  4 cans.  The original would get 4½ here.
124.  Strange Weather* (2017) – There aren’t many actresses more feisty than Holly Hunter (I’d put Frances McDormand in that category).  Here Hunter is Darcy Baylor, a single woman who cannot get over the suicide of her adult son, Walker, seven years earlier.  She stumbles upon some information that reveals that the restaurant chain run by his friend, Mark Wright (Shane Jacobsen) was actually Walker’s idea.  She decides to head to New Orleans with her friend Byrd (Carrie Coon) to confront him) after first tracking down his other friends to learn more about the details of his death.  Even she is not sure what she will do when she meets up with Wright, but she needs some kind of closure to move on.  Hunter, as always, is strong in a role that shows her pain and despair.  3 cans.
125.  All the Way* (2017) – I’m old enough to remember the “All the Way with LBG” slogan for Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign.  Thrust into office following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Johnson was a long-time member of Congress and knew his way around politics.  Blustery, brusque and frank, LBG wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything.  The movie covers his fight to get the Civil Rights Amendment passed and to win the nomination in 1964.  Lots of compromises and back door deals had to be made with powerful members of Congress and with Reverend Martin Luther King himself.  At a time when we question the leadership of this country in Washington, I almost miss the likes of Johnson, who knew how to get things done.  Ultimately, he was responsible for the passage of the Voting Rights Act.  (Mind you, this was before the US became immersed in the Vietnam War, which persuaded Johnson not to seek reelection in 1968.)  The cast here is terrific, with Bradley Whitford as a simpering Hubert Humphrey, Frank Langella, Stephen Root as ruthless J. Edgar Hoover and Melissa Leo as Lady Bird.  But as LBG, Bryan Cranston outshines them all.  Crude, rude and tough as nails as LBG, he also manages to show the President’s frustration, impatience and vulnerability.  The sad part of this movie is that despite legislation guaranteeing Equal Rights, racism in this country remains firmly in place.  But without Johnson’s push on voting rights, conditions would not have changed at all. 4 cans.
126.  Wonder* (2017) – This is my third Jacob Tremblay movie and I can attest to the fact that this young actor is truly a wonder.  The 11-year old here stars as Augie Pullman, a bright, active boy with a penchant for “Star Wars” who just happens to have been born with a facial deformity that has required many surgeries to look acceptable to others.  Home-schooled by his mother (Julia Roberts), Augie is ready to enter middle school, a time when kids can be unrelentingly mean to each other.  Augie is such a smart, funny kid, that despite his outward appearance, some of his classmates accept him, particularly Jack Will (Noah Jupe).  But then those kids are ostracized.  Augie is surrounded by a loving family, with Dad Nate (Owen Wilson) and his patient and supportive older sister Via (Izabela Didovic).  Kids struggle to fit in at all ages, and even the lovely Via here, ditched by her former best friend, has to find her way.  Both young actors (Tremblay and Didovic) are engaging, vulnerable and, well, wonderful.  4 cans.
127.  And So It Goes* (2014) – Diane Keaton has made so many movies with similar titles (“Something’s Got to Give,” “Because I Said So”) and characters, that I feel it is my duty to provide you with a public service:  Don’t bother to see this one.  Here she is Leah, a widow who sings in a small local club and is about as melancholy as you can get on stage. But at home, where she is the neighbor of irascible realtor Oren (Michael Douglas, playing the part that I’m guessing Robert DeNiro turned down), she is sweet and loving.  When Oren’s heretofore unknown granddaughter is dumped on him by his about-to-be-incarcerated son, Leah steps in and serves as surrogate grandmother despite not having any child-rearing experience.  Young Sarah (Sterling Jerins) takes to her immediately, while Oren is determined to find the girl’s mother and return her.  Of course you know that romance is in the air between neighbors and of course you know that the young girl will win over her grumpy grandpa.  Sappy, predictable and annoying.  2 cans, but only because I love Diane Keaton.
128.  Murder on the Orient Express* (2017) – I’m a failure at who-done-it movies.  I follow every lead, convinced that this is the perpetrator, or, no, it must be him.  Or is it her?  This latest screen adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie tale is full of twists and turns, almost as many as the Orient Express itself takes.  Kenneth Branagh pulls double duty as the director and as ace detective Hercule Poirot, he of the scene-stealing mustache.  Lots of characters board the train, but one doesn’t make it out alive.  Luckily for me, it was Johnny Depp, an actor I could do without.  But who pulled off the crime? On board for the suspense are Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad, Willem DaFoe, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Leslie Odom Jr. and a host of other passengers with an axe to grind and a reason for revenge.  Branagh is a sharp and amusing detective whose Poirot misses no detail.  But will that help him solve the case?  Stay tuned.  And don’t book seats on this train if you are in a hurry.  3 cans.
129.  8 Days a Week* (2017) – This documentary is director Ron Howard’s salute to those loveable boys from Liverpool, the Beatles.  The PBS show highlights their brief but epic career, from their early days through the memorable debut on The Ed Sullivan Show to the concerts at Shea Stadium.  They were cute, cheeky, cheerful, and, oh, by the way, prolific and profound songwriters -- OK, maybe not on ditties like “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” but they had many more elegant compositions.  Eventually, the constant travel, the press’ hounding them with questions and the deafening roar of the fans persuaded them to stop touring and concentrate on recording in the studio, where they virtually created the concept album (remember “Sargent Pepper?”) and turned out their finest work.  For those of us who grew up with the Beatles, it was great to see them again, kidding around with each other and reporters, commenting on their hair and bringing fun and great music.  When they became more politically aware and outspoken, you can sense the joy dissipate.  But until then, and through the classic recordings, they enjoyed an ascendant career as a group that we will never see again (my review, my opinion).  Thanks, Ron Howard.  4 cans.
130.  Scott Peterson: An American Murder Mystery* (2017) – This case about a man who is tried and convicted of killing his young, pregnant wife, so dominated the headlines – first her disappearance, then finding her body, then the “other woman” and finally his murder trial – that you think you can’t forget it even 15 years after his conviction. But you do forget all of the lurid details about the handsome husband, the bubbly, pretty wife, who disappeared on Christmas Eve while 8 months pregnant.  Peterson’s story, airing on the ID Network on TV, here is told by the policemen, investigators and lawyers who worked on the case and through actual news and trial footage.  Peterson cheated on his wife with a woman he lied to, telling her first that he wasn’t married and then telling her he had lost his wife – days before she suddenly disappeared.  I had forgotten the details and could have lived my life happily ever after without ever thinking about this case again, but there is something about seeing it that got me hooked.  He’s guilty in my book.  3 cans.

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