Tina's May 2018 Movies

I offer a baker's dozen this month, one of which, despite the short stature of the main character, stands head and shoulders above the rest.  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.
48.  Tully* (2018) – Charlize Theron is Marlo, an overwhelmed mother of three in this comedy-drama (emphasis on the latter) who is “gifted” a night nanny to care for her infant son so she can sleep through the night.  Enter 20-something Tully (Mackenzie Davis), who fits in immediately.  She is likable, engaging, a good caretaker and a friend to Marlo.  But as is usually the case, mothers get the brunt of the care responsibilities.  Marlo’s loving husband Craig (Mark Duplass) means well, but as she settles down for a night bound to be interrupted by the need to breastfeed or pump (even with Tully handling the kids), he puts on his headset and plays video games.  She feels bad, looks worse and is desperately combatting lack of sleep with post-partum depression or worse.  To the credit of the stunning Theron, she looks awful but real (she gained 50 pounds for the part) and desperate, unable to articulate her needs or frustrations.  This is surely not the feel-good movie of the year, and the trailer is much funnier than the actual movie, but it is a brave depiction of a woman on or over the verge of a breakdown, trying to cope and be a good mother while sublimating all of her needs and succumbing to what seems like post-traumatic stress syndrome.  I’m certain many women will relate to this movie in ways they would like to forget.  3½ cans.
49.  A League of Their Own (1992) – Women have always had to fight to be recognized in their fields, whether it is in a corporation, politics or on a baseball diamond.  This ode to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is based on a true story.  With American men off fighting World War II, some promoters thought it would be a good idea to start a league for women, and teams such as the Rockford Peaches turned out to have some pretty good players and a strong cadre of fans.  The heart of the story is the relationship between sisters Dottie (Gena Davis) and Kit (Lorie Petty).  Dottie has the baseball acumen and good sense, while Kit is a volatile, emotional gamer.  The team is a collection of women (among them are Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell) who bond as a team and as friends.  Tom Hanks is their initially disinterested manager, a boozy former player now relegated to women’s baseball and resentful about it until he sees the talent on his roster.  His main contribution to this film is to utter the classic line, “There’s no crying in baseball!”  One thing that always bugged me about this movie is the lack of athletes in key roles; none of these ladies look like they could throw the ball nearly well enough to be a pro player.  This one will never make it to the Big Leagues, but it is a pleasant, if corny tale.  3 cans.
50.  Finding Your Feet* (2018) – When wealthy, upper-crust Lady Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) suddenly finds that her husband of 40 years is having an affair with her now former best friend, she immediately leaves and heads for the funky apartment of her estranged sister, Bif (Cecilia Imrie), a free-spirited woman who is nothing like her straitlaced older sibling.  Bif loves to ride her bike, hoist a few at the local pub or smoke weed with her posse of likeminded friends, among them Charlie (Timothy Spall).  She especially loves to dance with a group of people in her older age bracket.  There’s nothing here that you cannot see coming, but it is joyful to watch as Sandra comes out of her shell and finds her footing after such a disheartening incident.  I hope that when my friends and I are their age, we will enjoy life as much as Sandra and Bif.  3½ cans.
51.  RBG* (2018) – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is notorious for her liberal opinions as a Justice of the Supreme Court, her work on equality and women’s rights as a lawyer who argued cases before the high court, and for her feminine collars that decorate her jurist’s robes.  Supremely intelligent, a dogged worker who barely sleeps, the octogenarian does a workout with her trainer that I couldn’t do.  She entered Harvard Law as one of nine women in a class of more than 600 and made the Law Review her second year.  She married the love of her life, nursed him back to health and through law school when he was deathly ill, had two children, became an icon for women’s rights and handled some of the landmark decisions that have guided this country for decades.  It is only May, but I am sure this movie will be the best documentary – and one of the best movies – of the year.  In a movie world full of superheroes, Ruth Bader Ginsburg towers above the rest.  4½ cans.
52.  Breathe* (2017) – Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield) and his wife Diana (Claire Foy) are active, fun, healthy and happy when he suddenly contracts polio at age 28, just as they are expecting their first child.  Paralyzed, Robin doesn’t want to live, but Diana is not about to let him give up.  Instead, Diana, her brothers and inventor Teddy Hall help him survive and even thrive thanks to a series of breakthrough inventions that allow him to be transported practically anywhere, with his special wheelchair/respirator breathing for him.  He devotes his life to showing the world what innovation can do to inspire and assist the disabled.  Based on a true story from his son, this movie is a salute to hope, love and technology.  3 cans.
53.  Ladies in Lavender* (2004) – Aging siblings Janet (Maggie Smith) and Ursula (Judi Dench) live a quiet existence in an English coastal fishing village, content to garden, sip tea and listen to the radio.  One morning after a big storm, they find the still-breathing body of a young man (Daniel Bruehl) washed up on shore.  They summon the doctor and get him into their house, where they precede to care for him.  He lies in bed, sleeping and recovering, while they spend a lot of time – particularly the never-married Ursula – staring at him.  The young man does not speak English but the widowed Janet converses with him in her halting German, determining that he is from Poland.  They are curiously not curious about how he came to wash up on their beach.  Ursula becomes enraptured with him and, as he recovers and ventures out of the house, she goes through moments of jealously and anguish, knowing that eventually he will leave.  He is a talented violinist, and he was on his way to the US to make a better life for himself than he would have in pre-World War II Poland.  Will he take up with the attractive young painter in town?  He’s NOT going to fall for Ursula, right?  This is a gentle film about longing and loneliness.  3 cans.
54.  If These Knishes Could Talk* (2014) – If knishes could talk, they would undoubtedly do so with a “New York” accent.  The melting pot of Italian, Irish and Jewish people who immigrated to the US more than 100 years ago developed their own way of speaking, and this documentary looked – and listened – to all of them in concluding that New York is, shall we say, different.  The common things the region shares is the inability for people to speak without using their hands, as conveyed by native New Yorker and noted attorney Alan Dershowitz.  New Yorkers are a ribald group of people who swear profusely (even in sign language), who are tough-minded, quick to interrupt and quick to poke fun.  The people here include everyone from a Korean man who sounds like the prototypical New “Yawker” and whose Asian background is sublimated to his accent; to Bronx native Penny Marshall, the actress and director who was told that with her accent she would have no career in Hollywood; to guys who sound like they are right out of “Goodfellas.”  In fact, one protests that he and his friends already spoke that way and “Marty” (Scorsese, we assume) took the accent from him, not the other way around.  There is no great meaning here, but it is fun to hear people who swear they have no accent display when everyone NOT from New York swears they certainly do.  3½ cans.  PS – If you don’t have Amazon Prime Video, you can fuhgetabout seeing this movie.
55.  Twice in a Lifetime (1984) – I have now seen this movie twice in my lifetime and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.  As Harry (Gene Hackman) celebrates his 50th birthday with his buddies in a bar, his wife Kate (Ellyn Burstyn, who used to star in practically every movie of that era) stays home.  Harry works the night shift in the local factory in Seattle, cheers for the Seahawks and generally has a very predictable life.  It is fairly safe to assume that his birthday night flirting with Audrey, the attractive new barmaid at the Shamrock (Ann-Margret), is a new thing for him, but before you know it, Harry is cheating on Kate and taking up with Audrey.  But the story is less about a marriage falling apart than the effect of the dissolution on his family, especially on hot-tempered daughter Sonny (Amy Madigan, at her best), a woman with marital and financial woes of her own.  What always bothered me about this movie is how Harry moves so easily from his loyal, caring wife into a routine but more exciting relationship with this new woman.  He doesn’t have enough guilt or regret, and he still loves wife #1.  Then again, isn’t everyone entitled to their share of happiness?  3½ cans.
56.  Words & Pictures* (2013) – Alcoholic English teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) knows plenty about words, but although he is a published author, he is more sanctimonious than scholarly, and he hasn’t published anything lately.  Artist and art teacher Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche) is convinced that pictures matter more than words, although her rheumatoid arthritis has greatly affected her ability to paint.  The two teachers disagree with each other and set up a competition at the school to see what matters most, words or pictures.  Their sparring can only lead to romance, as we know from the million movies before this feeble attempt to give us a loving couple.  The school is filled with the usual clichéd students, there is a threat that Jack could lose his job, and will either Jack or Dina ever be able to again demonstrate real talent in their chosen fields?  By the end, I really didn’t care.  Neither evoked any sympathy or admiration from me, despite my relish for good words, well-written literature and my penchant for a punchy phrase.  2 cans.
57.  Book Club* (2018) – There are perfect date movies, action movies and movies for women of a certain age, as evidenced by the groups of women who sauntered into the theater for this one.  The remarkably restored Jane Fonda, the wry Candice Bergen, the quirky Diane Keaton and the youngest of the bunch, Mary Steenbergen, relish their time together, discussing books, drinking lots of wine, enjoying snacks and bonding as friends.  When they decide to read the trilogy “Fifty Shades of Grey,” they all realize that their personal lives could use a little spicing up.  Immediately, Keaton meets a pilot (Andy Garcia) on a flight to see her overprotective daughters, Fonda is reunited with an old flame (Don Johnson), Bergen goes online and meets a charming date (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steenbergen really, really works at bringing back the magic with her husband (Craig T. Nelson).  The movie is much less silly than I anticipated and laced with humor, warmth and heart.  Go read a book and see this movie.  3½ cans.
58.  The Family Stone (2005) – Sarah Jessica Parker is Meredith, a buttoned-up, humorless, self-centered woman who is dragged to the home of her soon to be fiancé, Everett (Dermot Mulrooney) to meet the family at Christmas, and the tension is as tight as the hair pulled back on her head.  The family is a big, laid-back group, headed by mother Sybil (Diane Keaton) and father Kelly (Craig T. Nelson).  Everett’s sister Amy (Rachel McAdams) takes a quick dislike to Meredith, who is clearly the square peg here (extra points to any of you who get THAT reference), but brother Ben (Luke Wilson) wants to help her out.  Complicating matters is the arrival of Meredith’s sister Julie (Clare Danes), the friendly and fun sister of the two, who hits it off bigtime with Everett.  The plot doesn’t thicken as much as it slides toward the inevitable, but it is worth the ride.  Parker is particularly good as the uptight guest.  4 cans.
59.  Growing Up Smith* (2015) – He may be of Indian descent, but 10-year old Smith (Roni Akurati) is the all-American boy.  He likes “Star Wars,” “Happy Days,” “Saturday Night Fever” and has a mad crush on his classmate and neighbor Amy (Brighton Sharbino).  But his pushy papa insists on his carrying on the traditions of HIS native country.  Although his son is just 10, the father has already picked out his Indian bride.  Smith’s biggest problem is trying to be a good son while also trying to be an average kid.  Helping him out is neighbor Bucky (Jason Lee), a motorcycle-riding guy fighting with his wife (Hilarie Burton).  I was reminded of one of my favorite TV shows, “The Wonder Years,” by the theme of kids with crushes just trying to survive overbearing parents and be “normal.”  And the kid who plays Smith with a wide-eyed innocence loos much like Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano) on TWY.  3½ cans.
60.  Hollywoodland* (2006) – The 1959 death of actor George Reeves – famous for playing Superman on TV – was ruled a suicide, but private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) doesn’t agree.  He connects with the actor’s doubting mother and tries to unravel the mystery, told in flashbacks, about Reeves’ relationships with Hollywood movers and shakers as the handsome actor tries to land movie roles before being cast – and typecast – as the Man of Steel.  Ben Affleck is convincing as Reeves, who is appalled with his cartoonish role, and Diane Lane – one of my favorite actresses – plays a woman having an affair with Reeves while married to a top studio exec.  There’s plenty of suspense here.  3½ cans.