May 2024 Movies & More

It was a major movie month for me, with 18 movies, series, etc. on the docket. Numbering picks up from previous months. Asterisks indicate programs I had not previously seen, and everything is rated on a scale of 1-5 tuna fish cans. 

51. Rather* (2024, Netflix) – Newsman Dan Rather has been a fixture on TV since he covered devastating floods in his native Texas in the 1960s. He became the go-to guy at CBS news when Walter Cronkite, the Dean of TV journalists, ran his live reports from Dallas as President Kennedy was shot and killed in 1963. From then on, he covered practically every major news story in America, first as a correspondent, then on 60 Minutes and finally as Cronkite’s successor as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Watching this documentary reminded me of all of these memorable moments in time that I personally will never forget. Dan was a relentless reporter, a solid anchor, and now, in retirement, a wise observer of our culture and government. 4 cans.
52. The Idea of You* (2024, Prime Video) – Anne Hathaway has graduated to the “older woman” parts now – if 40 can be considered older. In this movie, it can, especially when she begins dating a 24-year-old boy band star, Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), much to the chagrin of her 16-year-old daughter and prickly ex-husband. They meet cute, he is interested, she is cautious – until she isn’t – and with her daughter away at summer camp, this art dealer forsakes her adult life and jets to Europe to be with her new boyfriend while he and the band are touring. He is immensely well-known and popular and the paparazzi unmercifully stalk him, so their secret dating life is bound to get out. Will people care? Should they care?  Will YOU care? The movie is cute enough (and so is the male lead!) and Hathaway is good enough to hold the viewer’s interest. 3½ cans.
53. Selling the OC, Season 3* (2024, Netflix) – More beautiful real estate agents! More beautiful, spectacular homes! More high heels! And more infighting here on season 3 of the “reality” series about selling high-end real estate in Orange County, California. This time it’s not just the women of the office who are frenemies; the men get into it, too. The glamour looks and the incredible views from every terrace and every infinity pool start to blend together after a while. This kind of programming is my guilty pleasure, and unlike “Dateline,” at least no one dies. Or not yet, at least. 3½ cans.
54. Unfrosted* (Netflix, 2024) – No one needed to see this silly, superfluous movie about the advent of the Pop Tart. Will Kellogg be the king of cereal or will Post claim the throne? Such suspense! If you or I went to a meeting with a Hollywood studio pitching the idea of a lighthearted movie about a snack food/breakfast food, we would be promptly dismissed, but this movie was created by comedian Jerry Seinfeld so somebody gave it the green light. It is very well cast with some cameos so quick that you really have to watch carefully (Daniel Levy has the briefest of moments as Andy Warhol). Overall, the movie is clever but as light and nebulous as a cloud. Maybe my view is skewed by the fact that I have never eaten a Pop Tart in my life. I’ve never seen a movie like this one, either. I can live out my days without a sequel or a Pop Tart. 2 cans.
55. The Queen Mary: Greatest Ocean Liner* (2016, PBS Documentaries) – When the Queen Mary was commissioned as the world’s most luxurious ship, no one could have predicted it would end up transporting soldiers to fight WWII in Europe or help Jews escape from the Nazis. This documentary tells both sides of the story: A ship with imported wood, lavish design, outstanding food, and a ship going back and forth in the water to avoid being hit by air strikes. It made its last voyage from Great Britain in 1967, and then headed for Long Beach, California, where it was designated as a building instead of a ship. Now it is operated as a hotel that has been visited by more than 50 million people. 3 cans.
56. By Royal Appointment: Shops that Serve the Queen* (2019, Prime Video) – You’re unlikely to run into a member of the Royal Family at the London Target (if they have one). Only the best of the best stores in Great Britain are designated with the “Royal Warrant,” meaning that the store provides goods and services to the Royal Family. A special purse for the now-late Queen? A last-minute need for gloves? Done. It seems only Diana wanted to hang around Harrod’s all day, because most of the shops brought the merchandise to the Palace for more private shopping. OK, I’m done with my British Invasion for now. 3 cans.
57. The Miracle Club* (2023, Netflix) – I had high hopes for this one! Kathy Bates, Laura Linney, Dame Maggie Smith – a stellar cast -- but even these notable names could not make this boring little movie at all interesting. The plot is about the ladies taking a trip to Lourdes for a variety of reasons relating to healing. Linney had married Smith’s son and then fled to the US from England, becoming estranged from her mother, a dear friend to this group. Each lady has a reason to heal and each leaves behind a family that needs them (just a little too much). These actresses deserved a better story line. Lourdes here is on life support. 2 cans
58. Full Court Press* (2024, ESPN) – NCAA Basketball stars Caitlin Clark from the University of Iowa, Kamilla Cardoso of the University of South Carolina and Kiki Rice, sophomore guard from UCLA, are featured in this inside look at their respective college careers and future prospects. This 4-part documentary series focuses largely on Clark, one of the executive producers, but gives plenty of airtime for Cardoso, a 6’7” player who left her native Brazil as a teenager to come to the US to make a better life for her family. Rice, who has plenty of political and social connections, having played hoops with President Obama, is the niece of Susan Rice, a former advisor to President Obama. Kiki’s goal is to bring a first-time National Championship to UCLA. Clark’s last season was occupied with rewriting almost every scoring record in women’s and men’s collegiate basketball. We get to see the players deal with winning and losing, from frustrations and triumphs. Their respective coaches (Lisa Bluder at Iowa, Dawn Staley at South Carolina and Cori Close at UCLA) dole out praise and admonishments as needed. Clark in particular faced an enormous amount of pressure, playing before sellout crowds packed with young girls clamoring for her picture and autograph and whom she did not want to disappoint as she toppled record after record. You have to be a basketball fan to appreciate the intensity for all three players, but this series definitely packs a punch. 4 cans.
59. Bronx Zoo ‘90* (2024, Peacock) – I have been a Yankee fan since 1959 and I thought I knew pretty much everything about my team, from good times to bad. But this three-part documentary, based on sportswriter Joel Sherman’s book, was a revelation, uncovering the godawful 1990 team while also flashing back to the championships of the 1970s and previewing the Core Four and the Yankee Dynasty of the early 2000s. Here we have Deon Sanders deciding between baseball and football and bringing his Prime Time aura to the team. There’s manager Bucky Dent, oft-absent pitcher Pasqual Perez, contract issues with Donnie Baseball, a nasty feud between the Boss (owner George Steinbrenner) and outfielder Dave Winfield, and extortion of the Boss by Howie Spira, a losing gambler. There’s outfielder Mel Hall, who went to a high school girl’s prom because he was dating the 16-year-old (don’t get me started on her parents, either). And there’s the late-season phenom Kevin Maas hitting homeruns to help fans enjoy the team again. Everyone you remember and a few you don’t are along for this bumpy ride, and it is worth taking. 4 cans.
60. Fastball* (2015, Peacock) – Kevin Kostner narrates this in-depth documentary on baseball’s best-known pitch, the fastball. Who was the hardest thrower ever? Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson? Bob Feller? And factor in who was fearless on the mound and you have to include Bob Gibson, who says if he wanted to hit a batter, he would not miss. The interviews with Hank Aaron, Ryan, Johnny Bench, George Brett (who jumped out of the Royals’ dugout on that pine tar call), Derek Jeter and more are terrific. It is hard to measure the speed of a fastball, though many have tried, but the effect is unmistakable. If you are a baseball junkie, this one’s for you. 3½ cans.
61. Back to Black* (2024, Manville Cinema) – The short and mercurial career of Amy Winehouse is captured in this biopic of the British singer. Marisa Abela embodies the headstrong Winehouse, who is hooked on jazz music, booze and the love of her life, Blake (Jack O’Connell), who introduces her to the music of girls groups and the magic of hard drugs. Soon, her tattoos proliferate, her eyeliner grows thicker, her beehive hairdo taller and Amy herself diminishes in size from bulimia and drug use. It is well known that she died at age 27, but in her brief career she shared music from her heart, most notably in her album “Back to Black,” chronicling her fight to stay out of rehab. Abela, who sings most of the songs, was mesmerizing as angry yet loving Amy, living her life through her music. 4 cans.
62. The Asbestos City* (2024, Manville Cinema) – The town next door to where I live, Manville, New Jersey, is a blue-collar place best known for suffering through devastating floods and severe health issues from working at the company that employed many of its citizens, asbestos maker Johns Manville. I’m not sure which is worse. While Johns Manville is long gone, the health effects of working in their facilities have led to dire consequences for its employees and their families with asbestosis and mesothelioma, conditions that linger today. And with all of the construction of nearby houses and buildings, hurricanes like Ida and others have led to legendary flooding, turning the town into an inaccessible island. The surrounding towns have received government assistance with the installation of flood gates, which have saved nearby towns like Bound Brook but which cause the flooding in Manville to be worse. The people in the town were left to rescue each other, to provide food, water and shelter, to evacuate citizens and even their pets when houses flooded and then blew up from gas leaks that the firefighters could not reach to help. People cannot sell their houses in the most damaged section of town, Lost Valley, because the government and the Army Corps of Engineers determined that Manville isn’t eligible for assistance. This isn’t a happy movie, but it provides an earnest look at how things got so bad and how the neighbors responded. I read about it online and caught a special screening at the Manville Cinema, hosted by producer Joe DeVito III. I give the community credit for staying connected and involved, even when the circumstances seem hopeless. 4 cans.
63. One Life* (2024, Montgomery Cinema) – This moving film is based on the story of Nicholas Winton, a British man who made it his mission to evacuate Jewish children from Czechoslovakia to England as the Nazis prepared to invade Prague in 1939. Anthony Hopkins is superb as the older Winton, whose scrap book with pictures of the refugees he assisted still haunts him. 4 cans.
64. The Fall Guy* (2024, Manville Cinema) – Ryan Gosling, tongue still firmly planted in cheek, moves on from his portrayal of Ken in last year’s “Barbie” movie to take on the role of movie stuntman Colt Seavers in this explosive action/comedy/romance. The seemingly indestructible stuntman has a serious accident and disappears for a while, until movie producer Gail (Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddington) persuades him to jump back into the fray in a movie being directed by Jody, his girl crush, played by Emily Blunt. But Gail actually has a more sinister reason. All of this far-fetched plot leads to Ryan being beat up in a car, a truck, a boat and a high-end apartment – and I might have left out a few. The action is nonstop, and Gosling plays it to the hilt. There is plenty of humor here, cultural references, and even a cameo from another era. Gosling and Blunt are very appealing and have an amusing rapport. I’m not an action movie fan, but I fell for this one. 4 cans.
65. Stax: Soulsville USA* (2024, HBO and Max) – You know all about Motown and Muscle Shoals, right? But did you know that Stax, the relatively small Memphis studio cranked out stars like Otis Redding, Issac Hayes, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, was a huge influence on the growth of soul music in the 1960s? This 4-part documentary traces the start of the studio by musician-producer Jim Stewart and its growing stable of stars and hits. There’s plenty of music here, and the story is told amidst the racial tension of that time, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King at the motel where the Stax musicians hung out and the tragic death of Otis Redding in a plane crash at age 27. Great music and memories! 4 cans.
66. Hacks, Season 3* (2024, Max) – The only problem with loving series like this comedy is that its 9 episodes only last about a month and then I have to wait about a year to see Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder hit the screen again. Smart smartly plays Debra Vance, a legendary comic who is always looking for her next gig, in between pushing merchandise on QVC and arguing with her younger writer, Ava. Debra is a tough boss, a haughty and self-centered semi-diva, with no time or patience for the next generation – until she lets down her hair (and holds on to her wig) to fraternize at a frat party. Her mission this season is to land the host gig on a big late night show, and Ava, who she let go last year, agrees to partner up with her again. The witty dialog and the way in which Smart delivers her lines make this show sparkle. Please don’t make me wait so long again! 4 cans.
67. In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon* (2023, Prime Video) – I was always a big Simon & Garfunkel fan. The soundtrack of my all-time favorite movie, The Graduate, contains some of their classics, like “Sounds of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson.” I already knew that Paul Simon was the creative force here, writing all of their songs with Art Garfunkel contributing his glorious voice to the harmonies. This two-part documentary focuses on how they met as school kids, broke through with their first hit, ultimately broke up when Garfunkel decided to pursue a career in acting, and then reunited for that classic Concert in Central Park. Their reunion didn’t last long. Meanwhile, Simon kept writing songs, experimenting with the music of South Africa, and with more meditative music and he continues to create to this day. I thought the second part dragged a bit, and watching Simon create his new music was a bit painful since his hearing and his voice have declined. Still, the music is classic and produced musical moments that still bring tears to my eyes (“Old Friends/Bookends” and “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”). 3½ cans.
68. The Blue Angels* (2024, Prime Video) – This documentary is an exhilarating look at the precision flying of the elite aviators of the Marines and Navy, the Blue Angels. The men and women pilots, the ground crew, communications officers, safety personnel and everyone associated with this special group are highly trained and extremely motivated. Some of their dazzling formations require that the jets fly as close as 12 inches from each other. The fantastic video of this film will almost make you feel like you are part of the action. For something completely different, give this one a fly! 4 cans.