Here we go, movie buffs, with another edition Movies & More. Numbering picks up from the previous month, and movies not seen previously are marked with an asterisk. As always, everything is rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 being the top.
51. Sound of Metal* (2020, Prime Video) – Heavy metal/punk drummer Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed) is surrounded by sound – loud, unrelenting noise that suddenly, tragically, takes away most of his hearing. He is determined to get back into music, and he learns from a doctor about the possibility of having a cochlear transplant to enable him to hear again. He and his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Stone), the singer in their band, live a modest, nomadic life in his Airstream RV, and he doesn’t have the money for the surgery or the ability to adapt to his new, quiet world. Along comes a chance to join a group of former addicts like Ruben where he can peacefully adjust to the world of the deaf, surrounded by people who have recognized their limitations and have learned to lip read and take advantage of talk-to-text technology. But without his music, will Ruben relapse? Or will he accept his new life? Ahmed gives an intense, Oscar-nominated performance as a man desperate for control of his world. 3½ cans.
52. Hysterical* (2021, FX) – This documentary about female comedians isn’t all that hilarious, though its leads do some mighty funny stand-up performances. But the reality is that they have to fight the patriarchy, so to speak, to even get on the bill at a comedy club when the field is dominated by men. In addition, they have to put up with unwanted and derogatory comments, many sexual in nature, that they are supposed to accept as part of the hazards of their field. Throw in being gay, Black or a person or color, and the odds are really against their success. This harsh reality is tempered by the intelligence of today’s comics as they navigate their way through the odds and give back as much guff as they take. There are many short segments by female comedians going all the way back to the icons – Moms Mabley, Phyllis Diller, Totie Fields and of course, Joan Rivers – all of whom held their own. I salute these women as much for their intelligence and bravery as their humor. Trying to live their dreams in the face of so much going against them is traumatic as well as admirable. 3 cans.
53. Ted Lasso* (2020, Apple TV+) – Ted Lasso and I have one key thing in common: Neither of us knows much about soccer – called football in England – where the former American football coach is hired to take over a bad club. Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is hired by owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), who initially wants the team to fail to get back at her philandering former husband who relished the team. But Ted, armed with a ton of positive aphorisms, doesn’t need to know the off-side rule to manage a clubhouse of disgruntled players. It’s an odd bunch to be sure. The captain is over the hill and the star player is completely enamored with himself. Can Ted and his pal Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) bring this team together? Will Rebecca allow them to succeed? This is a 10-part series, but each episode runs only half an hour, so I binged it in a day. Sudeikis brings energy and wry humor to ever-enthusiastic Ted, and the story was much more moving than I expected. 4 soccer balls.
54. Hemingway* (2021, PBS) – Documentary maker extraordinaire Ken Burns puts his magic touch on this three-part (six-hour) comprehensive look at one of the lions of literature, Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was larger than life and his heart was always in the characters he wrote about. Burns traces his life from childhood to serving his country in WWI, from adventures in Africa to fishing in Havana. Hemingway lived many of the tales he told and his books were required reading for me in high school and later as an English major at Douglass College. Burns’ painstaking attention to the photos, films, letters and other media that depicted Hemingway made him come alive to the point that I started wondering whether I still have a copy of “The Old Man and the Sea” around here somewhere that I can reread. 4 cans.
55. Fully Committed* (2021, George Street Playhouse, streaming) – Maulik Pancholy is a whirling dervish in this one-man show about a struggling actor struggling with his day job – taking reservations at a snooty, would-be upscale restaurant. He is subjected to the demands of the obnoxious chef, the pompous people who consider themselves VIPs, demanding reservations at specific tables and outlandish special requests. He also has to contend with the agent who fails to get him acting jobs, his lonely and worried widowed father, the restaurant manager and other staff, and, well, I lost count. Pancholy plays EVERY character, voicing each one suitably for their station in life, and somehow never gets lost or confused. His performance is exhausting – both to the viewer and, I’m sure, to the deft and agile actor. But I have to say that it was nice to experience theater again, even if it was from the comfy confines of my couch. 4 cans.
56. We Work: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn* (2021, Hulu) – If you liked “The Smartest Guys in the Room” about the rise and fall of Enron, or you found yourself fascinated by Elizabeth Holmes’ audacity in “The Inventor” about the rise and fall of her blood testing start-up Theranos, this documentary is for you. We Work was a company based on the premise of building and leasing attractive office space to young entrepreneurs who would establish a work community where they could bolster each other’s dreams. Co-founder Adam Neuman had enough exuberance and magnetism that he made these people (mostly in their 20s and 30s, and almost exclusively white) believe in his vision of corporate community. In a few years, his company was leasing more space in New York City than any other company. But that wasn’t enough. We Work also wanted to build "We Live," extending the concept of community to tiny apartments with common spaces for occupants to congregate, and even "We Grow," which he and his wife expected to revolutionize education. The private company was initially funded by a giant and life-changing injection of money from Japan’s Soft Bank. But the company was hemorrhaging money even as its valuation grew, and its profits were hard to identify. The people whom Neuman charmed continued to buy in, attended his “We Work” camps where there were lots of games and liquor – what the Frye Festival might have been if it had not been so bungled. When you can’t understand the basics about a company – and its shortcomings were finally revealed in a filing prior to its intention to launch an IPO – you have to wonder what is really there. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 4 cans.
57. Minari* (2021, On Demand) – This movie is all about the American dream, as a Korean couple and their American born children move from California to Arkansas so the father, Jacob, can fulfill his dream of operating a farm, raising Korean vegetables. But it is a lonely existence for the family, where water is scarce, the ground is dry and they are rapidly running out of money. They are strangers in the area, which makes their lives lonely. Meanwhile, Jacob and his wife both work at a chicken harvesting plant, where they have the unenviable job of “sexing,” identifying and separating the males from the females (who are worth more). Her mother (Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn) comes from Korea to help care for the two children, Anna and David, a six-year-old with a bad heart. This is a quiet, thoughtful film, and not one for people who crave action in their movies. 3½ cans.
58. 7 Yards – The Chris Norton Story* (2020, Netflix) – The documentary features Chris Norton, who was a college freshman football player when he went down hard while attempting to make a tackle. When he wasn’t moving, everyone immediately knew he had suffered a serious injury. It was a spinal cord injury, and few people thought that he would ever be able to move any of his extremities, no less walk or be able to take care of himself again. But with the help of doctors, therapists, his devoted family and legions of teammates and friends, Chris was determined to return to school and walk on stage to receive his diploma. He was determined and willing to do more than called for in therapy. When he did return to school, his teammates and friends willingly took on caretaking duties, not only pushing his wheelchair to class but helping get him up in the morning and to bed at night. I don’t want to ruin this touching documentary, but Chris’ story is remarkable. I could not help but think of Rutgers’ own Eric LeGrand, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2010 on the football field. He has experienced amazing success as a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and is truly the spirit of Rutgers as he continues his journey to recovery. The depth of the human spirit is limitless in some special people. 3 cans.
59. Why Did You Kill Me?* (2021, Netflix) – This documentary is a cross between the many murder mysteries of the NBC series “Dateline” and the MTV show “Catfish.” A young woman is shot and killed and witnesses place a Ford Expedition at the scene. Was it a gang-related murder or something to do with drugs? The mother and younger sister devise a way to get information the police aren’t able to uncover when they set up a fake social media account for the murdered young woman and lure young men into online relationships with her until they get the clues that police need to solve the case. The title is a question these imposters pose to one of the young men they feel may be responsible for her death. Lesson learned: Don’t fall for what you see about people online. Not everyone is who they appear to be. 3½ cans.
60. Eye for an Eye* (1996, HBO on Demand) – When Karen McCann’s daughter is raped and murdered by an intruder whose case is dismissed on a technicality, Karen (Sally Field) is out for revenge. The cops can’t do anything about the murderer (Keifer Sutherland) because the evidence was not properly handled, so a frustrated Karen takes matters into her own hands. Through her grief group, she learns there is a way for her to get a gun, and she takes self-defense lessons and learns to shoot. And even though the murderer takes the life of another victim, she seems strangely unafraid that seeking revenge could cost her own life. This movie is suspenseful but very unrealistic to think tiny little Sally Field could take on a killer with nothing much to lose. Good cast (Ed Harris, Joe Mantegna), fair movie. 3 cans.
61. Nobody’s Fool (1994, Prime Video) – Paul Newman is Sully, a no-nonsense, irascible 60-year-old living in a New England town (where snow perpetually crunches under his boots) where he knows everyone and gets away with more than he should. His bum knee – for which he is suing the construction company that occasionally employs him – keeps him from doing some of the things he is used to doing, but he still finds time to play poker with the guys and hang out at the local bar. His ex-wife is still in town, but he has no real relationship with his grown son and has never met his grandson. Everyone seems to want Sully to be more conventional, to stop stealing the brand-new snowblower that belongs to his boss (Bruce Willis, perfectly smirky in his role), to refrain from trying to run down the police officer (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and to stop flirting with the uber-attractive wife (Melanie Griffiths) of his boss. He has to reconcile with the fact that he has a grown son who has problems of his own and build a relationship with him. He has a soft side, taking care of the elderly landlady (Jessica Tandy) who used to be his teacher (no one ever seems to leave that town). Newman is a master of understatement and is totally believable as an outrageous but lovable scoundrel. His character here reminded me a bit of the more comic hockey coach he played in “Slap Shot.” I love a movie filled with quirky characters and warmth, and this one fits the bill. 4 cans.
62. Harry & Son (1984) – If you want to see Paul Newman in a movie about a father and a son, watch “Nobody’s Fool” instead of this one. Here Newman is Harry, father to Howard (Robby Benson), a sweet but unambitious 20ish year old who wants to be a writer and surf. Harry wears a hard hat and knocks down buildings for a living, so father and son, despite sharing a house alone since the matriarch of the family died a few years back, share little else. When Harry starts getting headaches and has vision troubles, he loses his job, so neither of them is working and that just ratchets up the tension between them. Howie, a car detailer when he works at all, gets other jobs and quits them in a day. The story here is overburdened by a preponderance of characters – Harry’s brother; his late wife’s best friend (real-life wife Joanne Woodward) who runs a plant shop and would like to get something growing with Harry; Howie’s former girlfriend (a very young Ellen Barkin), whose baby he delivers in a taxi (although it is not his – taxi or baby); a car repo guy; a nymphomaniac, etc. This movie would have benefitted from a smaller cast and a more focused story. But Newman’s face on the screen makes me smile, and Benson’s Howie is adorable, with big puppy dog eyes. 3 cans.
63. The United States Vs. Billie Holliday* (2021, Hulu) – Singer Andra Day makes an auspicious movie debut playing jazz singer Billie Holliday in this story of the Feds persecuting the songstress for her insistence on performing her controversial song “Strange Fruit.” The song is about the lynching of Black men in the South, men who could be found hanging from trees like some kind of strange fruit. Holliday was a brilliant artist and a determined woman, but she was also hooked on heroin, which gave Harry Anslinger (Garret Hedlund), the chief of the Bureau of Narcotics, an excuse to go after her. Clearly a White supremacist, he was offended by jazz music that he considered “from the jungle” and didn’t hesitate bending the rules by planting drugs on Holliday to drag her into custody. Andra Day portrays hard-drinking, sexually promiscuous Holliday as a strong woman with weaknesses who becomes a real victim of the government. This is not an easy movie to watch, but I was impressed by Day and want to see what else lies ahead for her movie career. She’s off to a good start with an Oscar nomination in her first film. 3½ cans and a warning about lots of drug use, nudity and violence.
64. Red Joan* (2018, Hulu) – It only took me three years to finish watching this movie. I started it at the movies – you know, those big places where you sit in the dark munching popcorn and view moving images on a large screen – but I fell asleep. I missed enough of the movie that, when it resumed, I had no idea what was going on. I think I left the theater at that point. So, three years later, I managed to stay awake to watch Judi Dench as an elderly English woman who is arrested at her home on charges of having provided classified information on the atomic bomb to Russia during WWII. The movie, based on an actual case, shows young Joan (well-played by Sophie Cookson) drawn into a group of committed young Communists while studying physics. She falls for the erstwhile leader, Leo (Tom Hughes), convinced that he really wants to save the world. Her work makes it easy for her to understand the science and her “friends” persuade her (coerce would be too strong a word) to help the cause by providing documents. In the present time, she is questioned by the authorities about her suspected treason and we follow as she peels back the onion, revealing her involvement that was previously unknown even to her grown son. This movie is intriguing but not compelling, but Dench, as always, makes you believe she IS the character, with a cross of espionage and innocence. 3½ cans.
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