Tina's November 2019 Movies

I have hit the 150-movie mark for the year, and November had a few good ones and some old favorites. Movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, five being the highest.  Movies marked with an asterisk were ones I had not seen previously.

136.  Motherless Brooklyn* (2019) – I’m pretty sure I just saw an Oscar contender.  This film noir about a gumshoe, his loyal friend, a bunch of bad guys, political corruption, abuse of power and a very odd affliction was written and directed by Edward Norton.  He plays named Lionel, the detective with what appears to be Tourette’s syndrome.  Bruce Willis has a brief but key role as the guy who runs the detective agency.  This gripping drama has twists and turns and a topnotch cast to keep the viewer on edge.  It is quirky, with some deadpan humor amid the outbursts of violence.  The parallels to this story, set in the 1950s, reflect much of American life today.  Alec Baldwin plays Moses Randolph, a power broker modeled after Robert Moses, the man who controlled the bridges, roads and tunnels in New York City and who had more power than any mayor.  Randolph is so powerful and evil that Baldwin’s performance seemed modeled on his Saturday Night Live performance as President Trump.  Add the element of a Harlem Jazz Club and a community activist who thinks Lionel is a newspaper reporter and reveals to him valuable info on the mystery he is trying to solve.  You’re probably confused enough already, so rather than reading about this movie, just go and see it.  It is definitely worth your time.  4 cans.
137.  Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) – Ryan Gosling has never looked better than here, playing a “player” named Jacob, who is very successful picking up pretty young women.  But his friend, a married but separated man named Cal (Steve Carell) is so inept, that Jacob takes Cal under his wing and schools his much older protégé.  And then things get really complicated in this clever and entertaining plot.  Secret crushes abound, all amusing and entertaining.  Stellar cast (Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon and a bunch of great kid actors), laughs and those Gosling abs!  4½ cans.
138.  Lost in America (1985) ¬– When ad man David (Albert Brooks) fails to get the promotion to which he feels entitled, he convinces his wife Linda (Julie Hagerty) to quit her job, liquidate their assets and buy a Winnebago so they can travel the country and find themselves. First stop? Las Vegas, where Linda manages to gamble away their “nest egg” while David sleeps. Can two yuppies become two hippies and live off the land? This is a clever comedy, filled with hilarious Brooks rants (he wrote the script, much of which sounds and seems improvised). The understated Hagerty‘s performance balances Brooks’ over-the-top madness. The best scene in the movie is when the adman Brooks tries to sell casino boss Garry Marshall on the idea of returning their money as a sure-fire way to attract more gamblers, despite Marshall’s contention that then everyone will want their money back.  This movie is a winner. 4 cans.
139.  Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm* (2015) – If you have ever had someone squeeze exactly one inch of toothpaste onto your brush, or if someone has ironed your shoelaces, you have received the royal treatment.  This behind-the-scenes documentary on Amazon Prime showcases the tasks, menial and more, that the staff of 1200 people who serve the British Monarchy undertake – for small wages – to serve royalty.  This chatty film reveals secrets that should be covered by the signing of a non-disclosure agreement, but which the staff has shared anyway.  Paul Burrell, long-time butler to Prince Charles and Lady Diana, readily tells some of the requirements of the positions.  Walking the Queen’s Corgis is high on the list, as is the ironing of the sheets and most everything else and more that we all saw on “Downton Abbey.”  3 cans, because behind-the-scenes stuff always fascinates me.
140.  Harriet* (2019) – This movie covers the legendary life of Harriet Tubman, a slave who runs away from Maryland to Philadelphia, where she becomes the best-known activist in the Underground Railroad, transporting slaves from the south to the north in search of freedom.  Tubman (a stoic and charismatic Cynthia Erivo) ultimately was responsible for liberating hundreds of slaves with a blend of heroism and her belief that God gave her the strength and wisdom to act.  The movie is an impressive accounting of Tubman’s ability to move stealthily back and forth, to disguise herself and to fear nothing.  My only criticism is that she seems a bit like Wonder Woman at times.  However, to me, the most important part of the movie was the realization that the majority of Southern white people saw themselves as the superior race and that owning slaves was their birthright.  How anyone could justify owning another person just rocked me.  It is remarkable that more than 100 years have passed and there persists this sense of superiority among some people that continues to manifest itself in everyday occurrences even in 2019.  Harriet may be a hero, but so many of the people in this movie are the scum of the earth.  4 cans.
141.  The Preppy Murder* (2019) – This multi-part series (aired on AMC and Sundance networks on TV) recounts the 1986 murder of Jennifer Levin by Robert Chambers, who killed the 18-year old in Central Park but claimed it was an accident that occurred during an episode of “rough sex.”  This might have been the start of the “blame the victim” defense, and it was certainly a clear example of what we now refer to as “white privilege.”  Chambers was tall, dark and handsome, living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and moved among a crowd of sons and daughters of the rich and famous.  He was quickly identified as the killer and offered up a story that Jennifer was the aggressor and he was the victim, which his attorneys enhanced through a PR campaign that made him seem like a choirboy.  The case was front-page news all over the city, and just getting a jury on the case was difficult because everyone in NYC knew about it from daily headlines. In case you don’t remember the conclusion of the case, I won’t discuss it here, but it is safe to say that being tall, dark and handsome doesn’t mean you are not a monster.  3½ cans.
142.  Love Actually (2003) – I cannot possibly review this movie again, because by now EVERYONE knows I love it.  The characters, the plot, the actors and even the songs make it a practically perfect romantic comedy, with Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson almost stealing the show.  Just watch it if you haven’t already and you will see what I mean.  The only flaw I can site is the irrelevant story about the porn actors who fall in love.  That arc can be excised, and you wouldn’t miss it.  5 cans.
143.  Very Ralph Lauren* (2019) – Ralph Lifschitz started as a boy in the Bronx and became an American icon, a fashion designer who had no training and couldn’t sketch but possessed the vision to develop clothing and create lifestyles for the past 50 years.  This documentary on HBO lionizes him and his incredible sense of taste and style.  From rich fabrics to layering, newly-named Lauren set new standards with his ubiquitous Polo brand that practically everyone recognizes.  His name and tastes helped define style in America.  3 cans.
144.  The Good Liar* (2019) – The title of this intriguing drama points to the main premise; there are plenty of lies and liars here, and good ones at that.  Helen Mirren plays a widow who meets Roy (Ian McKellan) on-line and the two start up a relationship.  Both are older people who have lost their spouses, and they seem very compatible, although she is not looking for a romantic relationship.  Turns out, neither is he.  Roy is a con man, interested in bilking the wealthy widow out of her money.  He’s done it before, and he relishes the chase in doing it again.  He’s not who he seems to be, a nice, gentle older man.  And Mirren isn’t exactly merely a genteel woman, for that matter.  It’s hard to say more without spilling the beans on the plot, but it is worth seeing this movie both for the performances of these mature actors as well as for a story with twists and turns.  Cleverly done.  3½ cans.
145.  It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood* (2019) – I really expected to LOVE this movie.  After all, it features the always-reliable actor Tom Hanks as children’s education and TV icon Mr. Rogers, and who can say or even think ill of either of these gentlemen?  But, to be honest, I found this film less than satisfying, bordering on boredom, as I sat through scenes where Mr. Rogers and a journalist named Lloyd (Mathew Rhys) sit across the table from each other in virtual silence.  No wonder my companion and I fell asleep!  Lloyd is assigned to write a magazine article about Mr. Rogers, and the cynical writer cannot find fault with the kindly Rogers.  Enduring an awkward relationship with his own father makes Lloyd doubt the genuineness of Mr. Rogers, who eventually influences the young writer to reconnect with his family.  There are no revelations here, no smoking guns or aspersions to cast.  If you are looking for action, explosions, weapons or fighting, you are in the wrong neighborhood.  3 cans, mostly for kindness.
146.  October Sky (1999) – A teenaged Jake Gyllenhaal plays high school student Homer Hickman, who, with his buddies, tries to create and launch rockets.  Inspired by Soviet success with Sputnik, Homer eschews working in the coal mines of his West Virginia town, where his father and so many other residents work.  His hero is Werner Von Braun, but in his tiny town, no one has resources or expertise outside the mine, so he and his friends, who became known as the “rocket boys,” had to be resourceful to get what they needed to create a rocket and compete in a contest for college scholarships.  The one person who encourages him is a high school teacher (Laura Dern), who believes he can achieve his dreams.  A bit melodramatic for my taste, but the movie is based on a true story, so I cannot scoff at it.  3 cans.
147.  Strictly Background* (2007) – Imagine a funeral scene in a movie without people crying in the background, or a scene in a restaurant where only the stars of the movie are dining.  That’s where “extras” come in, those people who have no lines but often stand in lines, hoping to be cast and hoping to see more than just their feet or the top of their heads in the film.  They look like all of the rest of us, though sometimes looking like a specific “type” helps them get the job.  This documentary focuses on 10 extras who constantly reach out to casting agencies and try to make an impression strong enough to land a part.  And if they do, the pay scale is not even enough to live on.  I thought this was a sad movie about people with very limited aspirations who relish every bone thrown their way and proudly point out the millisecond many of them appear – strictly in the background.  Nonetheless, their roles help make a scene come to life.  3 cans.
148.  The Object of My Affection (1998) – The ageless Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd play good friends Nina and George.  They live together, enjoy watching movies and taking ballroom dancing lessons.  They have so much in common – including the fact that they both like men.  When Nina finds herself pregnant by her erstwhile boyfriend Vince, whom she tolerates but will never want to marry, she asks George, the loving friend who has no one special in his life (at least right now), to help her raise the baby.  And then it gets complicated, as Nina’s growing affection for George cannot be returned in kind.  This is a touching story about whom we love and how we love, with a large cast of characters (Alan Alda, Allison Janney, Ira Pankow) and new and old relationships.  Plenty of charm makes it worth 3½ cans.
149.  American Son* (2019) – It is a rainy night in Florida, and an anguished woman (Kerry Washington) paces around a police station waiting for news about her missing son, Jamal.  She is worried, bitter, angry and mystified by the lone police officer who cannot seem to give her an update on why she was contacted, what “incident” her son was involved in, and where he is.  The arrival of her white husband (Steven Pasquale) only serves to exacerbate the tension between the black woman and the young, white cop and the black officer who arrives at the station to handle the case.  I saw a stage production of this story last year at the George Street Playhouse, so I knew what to expect, but seeing it on the small screen was nearly as intense as seeing it live.  Don’t watch this movie unless you can devote your full attention to it.  Washington, especially, commands it.  This powerful drama is airing on Netflix. 4 cans. 
150.  Moonlight Mile* (2002) – It must be Jake Gyllenhaal Month here since this is my 2nd Jake movie.  Here he plays Joe, a young man mourning the loss of his fiancé, who was killed randomly while sitting in a local restaurant.  Her parents, Ben and JoJo (Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon), cling to him for comfort, taking him into their home, their hearts and Ben’s business.  No one asks him what HE wants, and he’s too quiet and shy to confess to them that he and their daughter actually had broken up three weeks before her death.  Their palpable grief seems somewhat better with Joe around, since his presence and the pending court case against the shooter give them something to rail against instead of each other.  But Joe is not facing reality, and when he meets a local waitress/postmaster, he faces the fact that he is living a lie.  I don’t get the significance of the title, and I would have appreciated a bit more dialog from Joe, whose inner thoughts were not always obvious to me.  And he has a horrible haircut.  3 cans.