Tina's April 2018 Movies

With a week away on vacation and an especially busy month otherwise, I'm amazed that I managed to see 10 movies, only one of which was a repeat for me.  Movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 being the top.  Those marked with an asterisk (*) are movies I had not seen previously.  Numbering picks up from previous months.
38.  Girls Trip* (2017) – This girls-just-wanna-have-fun romp is nasty, raunchy and hilarious.  The dialog makes “Bridesmaids” seem like “The Remains of the Day” in comparison.  A group of college buddies have drifted apart but still maintain that bond of friendship that women cherish, so they gather in New Orleans to have some big fun despite their different lives and careers.  Since this movie isn’t exactly plot-driven, I will spare you the details and just tell you that I always love Queen Latifah and I want to hang out with the outrageous Tiffany Haddish.  Regina Hall and Jada Pinkett Smith complete the ensemble.  Full disclosure: if swearing and sexual references are NOT your thing, you will think this movie is embarrassingly offensive and you should avoid it at all costs.  In truth, it isn’t good beyond shock value, but I did have more than a few laughs.  In the beginning of the movie, Haddish’s character gets fired from her job, and she doesn’t even understand that she has been let go.  That part alone – not at all raunchy – cracked me up.  This is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.  2 cans.
39.  Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool* (2017) – Annette Bening plays real life movie star Gloria Grahame, who takes on a much younger lover/caretaker, Peter (Jamie Bell, years removed from the dancing kid in “Billy Elliott”), an aspiring actor who worships and adores her.  She is at the end of her career, frail and sick and refusing to treat her dying movie star condition.  Despite the age difference (she is easily old enough to be his mother), the two have a genuine connection, and she builds a relationship with both Peter and his supportive family.  Bening’s character reminded me of Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” all diaphanous and fragile and desperate for loving care despite wanting to dictate the terms of the relationship.  He feels obligated to protect her and genuinely cares for her.  3 cans.
40.  Novitiate* (2017) –If having an actual life and feelings for anyone in it other than God is NOT for you, stay away from the nunnery.  Here the strict Mother Superior (Melissa Leo) bristles against the loosening of regulations under the Vatican 2 rulings in the early 1960s.  She prefers her young nuns in training to maintain frequent silences, to walk on their knees around the chapel when they commit a transgression and to advance in their training so someday they can be worthy of being nuns.  This life is not for everyone, and although there are occasional glimpses of these young women displaying personalities, it is best for them to all look and act alike to carry on the traditions.  Mother Very Superior is determined to avoid any reformation of the church and anyone questioning her power.  This movie reminded me of the tough love training of “An Officer and a Gentleman,” except this was harder in many ways, and I’m not sure the MS loved the girls since here, only the love of God counts.  After the reforms on Vatican 2 were enacted, droves of women in training to be nuns left the church.  I can see why.  2 cans.
41.  Paterno* (2018) – This HBO docudrama is about the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual assault cases that took place in the area of Penn State over a period of several decades.  It covers just one week and how Penn State’s revered football coach, Joe Paterno (Al Pacino) slid from acclaimed coach to a man who protected a sexual predator in the eyes of the public.  All Paterno wants to do is coach, not deal with the walls closing in.  He underestimates the grand jury’s actions and the indictments that follow.  The story is uncovered by a young reporter, Sara Ganim (Riley Keough), whose dogged research of the cases eventually earned her a Pulitzer Prize.  This program focuses on the demise of the JoePa era, following a career that yielded 409 football victories.  What did Paterno know and when did he know it?  Was strictly following protocol and reporting the story of Sandusky in the shower that was told to him by PSU assistant coach Mike McQueary enough?  Did Paterno, a god-like figure at the university whose power at the university was vast and whose generosity in helping young men develop and get an education have a moral responsibility to the victims?  Of course he did, and no matter how befuddled he seems here (he doesn’t really understand the description of the shower incident reported to him), he glossed over it because Sandusky was known to have kids around him all the time.  Everyone knew of allegations about Sandusky, but no one alerted authorities.  When one of the victims did, the case was buried.  Pacino shows Paterno’s familiar shuffle, hunched shoulders and a good degree of confusion – though the coach is sharp enough to call football plays.  Moral obligations go unmet, and more victims of Sandusky result.  There is plenty of blame to go around here, and the exemplary life of an otherwise good man comes apart in a way he never could have imagined, losing his job as head coach after 46 years via a phone call from a member of the PSU Board even as the University President and other officials scramble to keep theirs.  If you see something, say something.  No question.  3½ cans.
42.  The Kennedy Dynasty* (2018) – CNN has broadcast some interesting documentaries in recent years, and this look at the dynastic Kennedys is one of the best.  We all know the story of Patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy and his wife Rose, his ill-fated sons (who include President John F. Kennedy and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, both assassinated) and more tragedy than you could possibly imagine.  There are deaths, botched operations, great success and huge challenges.  This multi-part documentary, benefitting from tons of available footage, shows the highs and lows of being a Kennedy or a Kennedy spouse, and it doesn’t gloss over the womanizing and health issues of JFK.  It is a fascinating study of generations of Kennedys, with real promise, hopes and disappointments.  4 cans, because I find this subject engrossing.
43.  My Cousin Rachel* (2017) – Philip Ashley (Sam Claflin) is the heir to the estate of his late cousin, who took him in when he was orphaned as a child.  Cousin Ambrose had married a captivating young woman, Rachel (Rachel Weisz), and shortly thereafter began suffering from various ailments.  When Philip goes to his cousin’s estate to sort things out, he meets the beautiful and mysterious widow – who has no legitimate claim on the wealthy man’s estate – and it is his turn to fall for her.  Does she feel the same way, or is she in it for the money, which Philip is about to inherit as he turns 25?  Soon strapping young Philip is also falling ill, too.  Coincidence?  Scheme?  Scandal?  This is no “My Cousin Vinny,” but there are plenty of legal issues and a love story to keep the tension high.  3½ cans.
44.  At All Costs* (2017) – The world of “amateur” basketball has long been criticized for taking advantage of the young (high school and younger) athletes.  This movie reveals the extreme pressure placed on high school students by the system and by the parents to secure a high rating and a college scholarships.  High school basketball has been supplanted in many cases by elite AAU teams who compete for players and the prestige of appearing in showcases run around the country by the shoe companies (Nike, Adidas and Under Armour).  The men who run those teams are competing for lucrative contracts from the shoe companies, courting young kids and their parents and pushing them to the limit.  This documentary follows Parker Jackson-Cartwright and his LaVarr Ball-like father, who pushes his son, determined to make the 5’8” high school junior into a superstar point guard.  He is obnoxious, overbearing and foul-mouthed.  It doesn’t matter that at age 16 Parker already is tired of the travel required (AAU concentrates on summer tournaments, but there are elite camps to attend and special training sessions and plenty of year-round basketball for the highly-rated prospects), practice sessions and injuries.  This is a JOB, folks, not just a game played in the driveway.  And other than acknowledging that the kid attends high school, there is never a mention of scholastic requirements.  A special committee chaired by Condoleezza Rice just last month released a report on the current state of men’s college basketball in the wake of reports of illegal payments, unfair recruiting and other issues with coaches, players, agents and shoe companies.  I know this system affords some kids a chance to attend college and get support from their AAU coaches that would otherwise be impossible, but at what cost?  3 basketballs.
45.  The Beach House* (2018) – In general, I avoid all of those treacly, clichéd Hallmark movies, but since this one was a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, I thought I would give it a try.  It was far from the kind of high quality that used to be associated with the Hall of Fame imprimatur, but, with an enormously attractive cast (Andie McDowell, Minka Kelly and Chad Michael Murray), it was easy on the eyes and no mental challenge was required.  Kelly’s Cara has moved away from her South Carolina roots to Chicago, barely staying in touch with her mother Lovie (McDowell) and staying away from former boyfriend Brett (Murray, who is too cute and NICE to ever dump).  She loses her bigshot advertising job and returns home without revealing the reason for her sudden visit.  Lovie has a secret of her own.  There is resentment between nearly every twosome, including Cara’s brother Parker and Cara, and secrets are not making things better.  And then there are turtles hatching on the beach, much to Lovie’s delight.  The scenes along the coast are beautiful, the cast is competent and at least it didn’t “star” some of the routine performers generally found in these Hallmark productions.  It was a soft, gentle change of pace for me, though I in no way consider it a cinematic triumph.  2½ cans.
46.  Kodachrome* (2018) – Ben (Ed Harris) is an irascible, annoying man who is dying.  He is a professional photographer whose last wish – a demand, really – is that his son Matt (Jason Sudekis) drive him to Kansas so he can have some long-held Kodachrome slide film developed in the last remaining Kodachrome-processing lab, one that is closing forever.  His nurse Zooey (Elizabeth Olson) is along for the ride as Matt, a failing music promoter, reluctantly agrees to drive the father he rarely sees.  It is a race against the clock: They need to get to the photo lab in Kansas before it closes or Ben succumbs to his cancer. This is not your typical road/buddy movie.  You can find it only on Netflix.  3½ cans.
47.  The Terminal (2004) – This movie offers further evidence about why you should never travel with Tom Hanks.  Here he plays Viktor Navorski, a man from a country in Eastern Europe who is stranded at a New York airport when his country revolts and he becomes a man without a country.  No valid passport = no entry into the US.  The airport security manager, played by Stanley Tucci, confines him to the International terminal, where Viktor, who speaks practically no English, is left to fend for himself among the kiosks, stores and food court.  He is stranded for months, dealing with US bureaucracy, making friends among the staff there, learning English by looking at books at Borders, getting a construction job at the airport and falling in love with a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones).  Hanks is resourceful and persistent in an engaging performance.   4 cans.