Tina's January 2018 Movies

Welcome back, followers.  Every month you will find a list of the movies (and a few special TV series) that I watched along with my personal opinions of each.  Movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 being at the top of the scale.  Movies I had not seen previously are marked with an asterisk*.  I hope you find something good to watch.

1.  Coffee Shop* (2014) – Donovan Turner (Laura Vandervoort) is renowned for her ability to match the perfect blend of coffee for customers in her charming coffee shop, but she isn’t quite as good at finding a match for her own love life.  When her boyfriend moved to Chicago, she passed up the chance to leave her hometown and the shop she started at age 19 to stay home and serve the eclectic group of regulars.  She prepares for dates by studying her potential mate, but to no avail.  Then cute playwright Ben (Cory Grant) walks into her shop and orders a cup of tea.  They immediately clash, which is always a sign that a couple is destined for each other.  Donovan’s business isn’t much better than her love life, as the new banker in town is about to foreclose on her property.  Then the old boyfriend shows up and things get complicated.  This little trifle, which I watched on Netflix, is my idea of a Lifetime movie – attractive actors, pretty setting, no violence – and not much worth recommending.  My quality of movies can only go up from here!  2 cans.
2.  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* (2017) – This Amazon TV series is just as its title exclaims: Marvelous.  Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a young housewife and mother living on the upper West Side of NY with her businessman husband Joel (Michel Zegen), an aspiring stand-up comedian.  She is so supportive of his sideline venture that she makes briskets to bribe the Gaslight Club manager Susie (Alex Borstein) into giving him a better timeslot.  They live the good life, with a great apartment in a building with a doorman and an elevator operator, where her parents also reside, and there is nothing but bliss destined for their future.  Until, that is, when Joel – who steals Bob Newhart’s material and is nowhere near as good in delivering it – becomes the ultimate cliché, dumping Midge for his bland secretary.  Midge goes to the Gaslight and rants about him and a star is born.  This absolutely delightful series is a tour de force for Brosnahan, and, not surprisingly (based on the speed with which the dialog is delivered), is created by Amy Sherman Palladino of “Gilmore Girls” fame.  The action takes place in the late 50s and has an authentic look and feel, helped immeasurably by the sets, the pointy bras, and the wonderful casting (Tony Shaloub as Abe, Midge’s father, and Marin Hinckle as her very proper Jewish mother).  Was Miriam really destined to be content serving spectacular Yom Kippur dinners or is comedy her destiny?  I will definitely be sticking around to find out.  4½ cans.
3.  Castaway (2007) – I have to see this movie at least once a year, and what better time to watch than on a freezing cold day in January?  Tom Hanks is Chuck Nolan, loyal FedEx employee whose plane goes down somewhere in the Pacific, and he spends the next four years on an isolated island, learning to make fire, provide for all of his sustenance, and, remarkably, somehow wearing the tattered, last threads of his pants.  Hanks, with minimal dialog on the island beyond his conversations with Wilson, the volleyball he adopts as his BFF, gives a memorable performance.  What keeps him alive aside from his ability to capture fish and eat coconuts is his love for his girlfriend, Kelly (Helen Hunt).  Will he ever get off that island, and will love conquer all?  I love this movie, their relationship and Chuck’s sheer will to survive.  Great movie.  5 cans.
4.  The Post* (2017) – Today’s headline: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg support freedom of the press.  Katherine Graham (Streep), real-life publisher of The Washington Post, is in a bind in 1971.  Her newspaper, the family business passed from her father to her husband Philip and onto Katherine upon her husband’s suicide, is about to go public.  At the same time, editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) senses that his rival, The New York Times, is working on a major story and he refuses to get aced out.  The story is major, alright:  It is the Times’ publishing of “The Pentagon Papers,” a voluminous government-sponsored report on the history of US involvement in the Vietnam war, revealing secrets and lies by US government officials all the way back to Harry S Truman.  The government, now headed by President Richard Nixon, is furious when the report’s author, Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys), divulges the contents, and the feds sue the Times, potentially preventing all other newspapers from publishing the story without risking jail time.  When Bradlees’ reporters get a copy of the Pentagon Papers, they are ready and eager to publish, but it is up to Graham to pull the trigger.  Will she risk the government’s wrath, the unraveling of her deal to issue an initial public offering to recapitalize the paper, AND her close friendship with former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara by letting Bradlee’s bunch proceed?  This movie speaks to the often contentious relationship between the government and the media at a particularly appropriate time in our current history, when the media is decried and labeled fake by the president.  The media is portrayed here as heroic, and perhaps a little sanctimonious, but, as President John Kennedy said, “Even though we never like it, and even though we wish they didn't write it, and even though we disapprove, there isn't any doubt that we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press.”  4 cans.
5.  God’s Pocket* (2014) – With a box office take of just $1 million, I think it is safe to say that virtually NO ONE saw this independent film.  The action takes place in a close knit section of Philadelphia called God’s Pocket, where the locals trust no one not born and raised in their very lower class neighborhood.  Philip Seymour Hoffman is Mick, a guy who earns a living collecting debts and scraping by.  The guy doesn’t have much luck to begin with, and things only get worse when the low-life nut job son of his wife Jeannie (Christina Hendricks) dies in an industrial accident – or at least that’s what the foreman tells the cops called to investigate.  But Jeannie isn’t buying it.  Mick has to come up with enough dough to pay for the funeral but he doesn’t help his own cause when he takes the money collected at the local watering hole and blows it on a horse that doesn’t finish in the money.  Meanwhile, a local reporter (Richard Jenkins), who is a good writer but too lazy to do any real work, finds out that the death may not have been an accident and starts his research by bedding the grieving mother.  Huh?  There are vague attempts at humor here, and the acting is quite good, but the misery is relentless for Mick and nobody in this neck of the woods is going to have a happy ending.  If this were really God’s pocket, He would be better off emptying it.  2 cans, mostly for Hoffman’s fine work.
6.  Phantom Thread* (2018) – Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day Lewis) is a fastidious man who presides over his house of dressmaking in a brooding and meticulous manner.  Anything that upsets his routine can set him off – an unexpected appointment request, buttering bread with excessive sound, someone else chewing.  Yet, when he sees awkward waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps) at work, he is smitten and he drafts her to be his muse.  He then alternately adores and ignores her, always giving priority to his work.  His business partner is his taciturn sister (Leslie Manville), who is accustomed to his eccentricities, even if she has the audacity to ask him for a schedule change as he eats his breakfast.  His business is a well-oiled machine, staffed by loyal and dedicated seamstresses who silently deliver on his creations to keep the rich and important people looking well turned out.  But Alma chafes at being overlooked. She wants to be Reynolds’ partner in life, and she devises a clever and dangerous way to avoid being ignored and achieve her ambitions.  Yes, he sews messages into the garments, but that  is just a way to demonstrate his attention to detail.  This is a sumptuous feast for the eyes and ears and provides a story unlike any other I have seen.  I can’t say I loved the clothes, but the movie rates 4 cans.  Just don’t eat the mushrooms. 
7.   Kinsey* (2002) – I don’t know what on earth I was thinking when I selected this movie about renowned sex researcher Albert Kinsey (Liam Neeson).  It was graphic enough to make me uncomfortable, but maybe that’s the point – that people would rather practice sex than talk about it.  Kinsey set about collecting detailed information about the sexual habits of man, asking for all kinds of data to support his research.  Just as I wouldn’t want to ride on a train with Neeson, I sure wouldn’t want to take his test.  1 can.
8.  Venus & Serena* (2012) – This documentary takes a look at the Williams sisters, certainly the most celebrated siblings in their – and maybe any other – sport.  Footage shows the competitive duo as kids up through 2012.  Venus, the older sister, comes across as less intense than Serena, who is done no favors by the inclusion of several incidents where she harshly berates officials.  Both women are 5-time Wimbledon champions, but this is not just about winning.  It is about what it takes to get there, with plenty of tough training, facing illnesses (Venus with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease, and Serena with blood clots on her lungs). To be the best you have to face challenges, and to stay on top is more difficult that you can imagine.  These two support each other, set records for doubles victories, and have won every major tennis tournament.  It is said that Serena is not only the best female tennis player in history, but certainly one of the best players period, and Venus is not far behind.  A fascinating study of two champions.  3½ cans.
9.  Mudbound* (2018) – Of all the movies I have seen recently, this film ranks as one of the best.  The characters here are quite literally stuck in the mud, farming in Mississippi, where the rain can wash out the crops, roads and bridges.  Laura McAllan (Carey Mulligan) is stuck in a marriage to Henry (Jason Clarke), an unappealing guy who isn’t smart enough to make a good living as a farmer.  He relies on Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan), a proud black pastor, and his stoic wife Florence (Mary G. Blige, who has been nominated for an Oscar) to sharecrop the fields.  Henry’s brother Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) goes off to fight in WWII, as does Ronsel (Jason Mitchell), son of Hap and Florence.  Ronsel is a pilot, a decorated hero, who becomes fast friends with Jamie when the vets return to their families.  But this is still the era of Jim Crow, and when some low-life white person demands that Ronsel exit a store through the back door, the young war hero isn’t about to exchange pleasantries.  Ronsel is hunted by McAllan patriarch Pappy (Jonathan Banks) and his sheet-wearing friends just because of the color of his skin.  This is not an easy movie to watch, and, while it is not quite up to the level of last year’s Oscar-winner, “Moonlight,” it evoked similar themes about society, discrimination and class.  There is terror and there is kindness; there is empathy and hatred.  This film is primarily available on Netflix, and only in a few theaters, so grab a seat on the couch and be prepared for its ugliness and its beauty.  4 cans.
10.  A United Kingdom* (2017) – This movie is about a kingdom that is not at all united.  Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) is the nephew of the current ruler of Botswana and has been preparing for his ascension to the throne by continuing his education in Great Britain.  There he meets the lovely Ruth (Rosamund Pike), and the two fall in love and marry, much to the consternation of her white family and his black, African family, as well as the British authorities who rule over the country.  And the people of his country will have to accept a white, British woman as their queen.  They move to his native country, but the Brits set him up to return to England and to be banished from his homeland.  His wife is accepted by the people and declares that she plans to stay in Botswana, while Seretse pursues diplomatic means to return and become the ruler.  The Brits in authority are smug and uncooperative, until Seretse discovers that his native land may be a rich repository for diamonds.  Can he get back to his homeland and succeed his uncle as the ruler? This movie, based on a true story, shows the issues with apartheid, problems with developing countries and foreign rule.  3 cans.
11.  The Young Victoria (2009) – Since I am currently watching season 2 of the PBS series “Victoria,” I thought I’d stay immersed in 19th century British Royalty with this drama about the ascension of the teenaged Victoria (Emily Blunt, looking strikingly regal) to the throne.  Her biggest obstacle is her age as she prepares to succeed her childless uncle, the King.  Her domineering mother and her advisor treat her like a child, even forbidding her from walking down a staircase without taking the hand of her mother or governess.  When Victoria’s “promotion” comes through, she relies heavily on the advice of the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany) to guide her.  She grows into the role, defying the wishes of her family by falling for her German cousin Albert (Rupert Friend) instead of marrying her cousin George (and what’s with all these kissing cousins?).  The PBS series as more detail and depth, but this film more than adequately covers an interesting period in the monarchy.  4 cans.
12.  Private Benjamin (1980) – Can it be 38 years since Goldie Hawn burst onto the scene as spoiled Judy Benjamin?  The film opens with the lavish wedding of 28-year old Judy and her lawyer husband Yale (Albert Brooks), followed almost immediately by his funeral following a lethal heart attack suffered on their wedding night.  Distraught and snookered by a clever Army recruiter, Judy signs up for active duty, but her perception of the Army is not quite the reality.  This movie needs no plot summary.  Suffice to say that Hawn is engaging and adorable, there are hilarious lines my friends and I still quote to this day, and the scene of Private Benjamin and her squad dancing in the barracks to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” is reason enough to watch it.  Kudos to Eileen Brennan for her role as the tough drill sergeant who tries to get Benjamin to go home to Mom and Dad.  4 cans.