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Reviews
Road House (2024)
Vastly entertaining
This, which premiered on Amazon last night, is so awesomely ludicrous that it was terrifically entertaining.
A remake of sorts of the 1989 cult movie, this has Jake Gyllenhaal going to the Florida Keys to save a bar from big bad corrupt real estate developers and their boogeymen.
Real-life fighter Conor MacGregor is an absolute hoot as the grinning thug; his first entrance has him striding nude into a public area.
Inadvertently and purposely hysterical, this is almost a non-animated version of a Looney Tunes cartoon. The fight and action sequences are dizzyingly over the top and rather exhilarating.
Even funnier is that a majority of IMDB reviewers took this escapist romp far too seriously.
All of Us Strangers (2023)
Exceptional, haunting film.
Oh my. This movie is something extraordinary.
I would describe it at length, as a metaphysical psychological-imagining drama. It's been described as a romance-fantasy, but that doesn't seem right.
It's a film like no other I have ever seen. It's a projection of alienation, disaffectedness, loneliness and parental loss.
Superlatively directed by Andrew Haigh, it tells of Andrew Scott as a writer, gay, in London who meets his apartment complex neighbor (Paul Mescal), who is also gay.
Scott's parents died in a horrific car crash when he was 12. The story has him visiting them as they were 30 years prior. They all talk and discuss many issues left hanging, including Scott's early realization of his orientation.
This is a haunting, surreal, and complex film that requires absolute attention and focus. There are some turns and twists that happen that need your rapt involvement.
It packs an emotional wallop without descending into contrived sentimentality. It is every bit an intense viewing experience as Brokeback Mountain, but in a different way. But the theme of loss is omnipresent, and beautifully poignant it is, heartbreaking at times. And oh, so touching, often moving in the extreme.
I related to this one one level. My Dad died in 1982. I have often projected imaginary time travels back where I talk with him. About me, about the paths life has taken. His embracing of my late realization of my orientation. Telling me he loved me (the moment where Scott's father tells him this is devastatingly powerful).
The entire cast is brilliant, and Mescal is an exceptional actor.
But it is Andrew Scott who turns in a bravura, magisterial performance, but not in the least descending into ostentatious hamminess.
It is a quietly sincere, commanding, yet economical portrayal. Scott has delved into the complex, internal emotions of the role, with an organic, instinctive sense.
I will be watching this cathartic, humane movie again. It is a rare, and magnificent achievement by all concerned.
What a great last year-plus in movies and TV. I don't remember any time in the past where so much outstanding content about gay men is flourishing as it does now.
American Fiction (2023)
Fabulous.
We watched this newish movie last night on Amazon Prime.
Just fabulous.
Jeffrey Wright stars as a professor whose books aren't bestsellers. He writes one under a false name as a joke that delves into black stereotypes, is entitled the F word, and it becomes a massive bestseller. Meantime he deals with the death of his sister, the dementia of his mother, and the coming-out as gay by his brother - as well as finding romance. Complications ensue when Wright's book takes off and gets optioned as a movie.
This dramedy is so deft and sharp in mixing all the elements of life and family.
Wright and Sterling K. Brown both won well-deserved awards for their performances, as well as Oscar nominations. They head an absolutely top-notch cast.
Wright plays a rather high-minded, tight-assed professor. His turns, reactions, and demeanor are all skillfully, I should say flawlessly performed. Brown is dazzling as the brother who revels in being gay and enjoying life.
One of the year's best for sure.
Reacher (2022)
Second season down a notch in story
We finished the second season of this last night.
It was fun, but not as consistently tense or as tight as the first season.
There was a lot of talky exposition this time interspersed with gripping action sequences.
Reacher lost some of his Lone Wolf mystique, and sharing duties with a team that didn't seem on his level. Some of the one-liners were amusing, but the story did not have the compelling, grim tension of the first season.
Alan Ritchson as Reacher couldn't be more right for the role. The look, the manner down pat (I happened to catch a bit of Tom Cruise in the role in his movie, and he's patently wrong, just his usual schtick persona).
Ritchson has put on a lot more bulk and muscle, and there's a thickness to his face and neck area now that makes him a bit puffy-looking - a somewhat sluggish bear rather than a tautly-coiled lion.
Still, it held our interest, and looking forward to season 3.
Saltburn (2023)
Brilliant, twisted debauchery; Keoghan beyond brilliant
We watched this movie, new today on Amazon Prime.
It's a dark, truly offbeat black comedy-psychological thriller.
It tells of Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, students at Oxford. The latter invites the former to Saltburn, a huge estate. Elordi's wealthy parents are referred to as Sir and Lady.
A series of strange turns and twists begin happening. Keoghan's lies begin to be revealed. The whole family, with the exception of Elordi, are bizarre and weird. Some kinky stuff transpires, but it is so nonchalantly addled that you're giggling through your astonishment, while conversely having a sense of revulsion.
It's all pretty diabolical, and it sustains your morbid curiosity up to the shocking finale.
The entire cast has a high old time reveling in their pixilated, screwy debauchery, and they make the Addams family look like the Osmonds.
Top honors, though, goes to Barry Keoghan, the Irish actor playing Oliver.
I looked up his bio on Wikipedia, and he apparently is hailed as one of the finest actors of his or any generation.
Keoghan turns in a mind-boggling performance of such audacity and daring, the last actor I can recall who had this kinetic ability is none other than Marlon Brando.
He exposes himself literally and figuratively, without flinching, because it abets the character and characterization; it's in no way blatantly showing off or going strictly for shock value - it's all flawlessly integrated in his arresting portrayal. The last scene is just a dazzling wallop.
I expect Keoghan's stature will rise accordingly. He's that good.
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
One of the best RomComs ever.
We watched this new Rom-Com tonight on Amazon Prime, Red, White, and Royal Blue.
It is set in an imagined world where the female U. S. President's son is gay; and the British Monarchy has a gay prince.
They meet, and fall in love. The expected problems crop up in terms of their respective countries' political and royal reputations and images.
This is not only one of the best Rom-Coms I've ever seen, but one of the best gay Rom-Coms I've ever seen.
It's actually more of a dramedy. The dialogue is intelligent, logical, and sounding like reasonable exchanges real people might have. The laugh out-loud moments aren't cheap, unless the one or two lines are meant to be by way of illustration.
The situations are entirely plausible, and the hurdles and dilemmas presented realistically.
Apart from some ribald (and hilarious) reactions, there is a real sweetness and genuine emotional curves going on here. The serious and the (often cosmic) comedic elements are deftly blended.
This is so much more appealing than the atrocious Bros of last year. It just wasn't credible that Luke MacFarlane would want to wind up with the insulting, thoroughly loathsome Billy Eichner.
Too, this movie avoids the tiresome, clichéd stereotypes of the fey, flamboyant excesses.
Alex, the President's son, and Henry, the British Prince, are indeed both appealing young men who struggle through their problems. Their love is compelling and convincing. The intimate scenes are tastefully done, gentle, sweet. None of that rabbity gymnastics stuff.
Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex and Nicholas Galitzine as Henry are both immensely attractive of both personality and looks. They have dynamite chemistry, and most importantly, they touch the heart and cause you to root for them. They both have their moments in the story's proceedings, but it's so nice to see how genuinely *likeable* they both are.
The rest of the cast is from strength. Uma Thurman believable as the faintly hippiesh President, Stephen Fry as a marvelously droll King James, and the staff for both the cabinet and monarchy are exceptional - lots of pithy remarks and well-placed zingers and reactions.
This one's a winner. Undoubtedly the fastidious might find fault with it, but we both just really enjoyed it.
Wham! (2023)
Outstanding, and moving.
This new Netflix documentary on Wham! Is just outstanding.
I had entered my classical music/opera stage so they were at the fringes of my awareness at the time. I had no idea they were as big as they were.
It deals with the deep friendship of George and Andrew, and their mutual goal of creating their act. Their friendship endured, and with no strife or clashing egos. In fact both of them were sweet young men. Clean cut.
I have to really give Andrew credit: he stuck by George after he told his best friend he was gay. Andrew propped George up, assuaged his insecurities and led the two firmly forward. And when it was obvious that George was the musical genius and would branch out solo, Andrew not only did not get in his way, he encouraged it; George was plainly headed for bigger things.
When the last concert took place in 1986, the duo finished in triumph. Their pledge of friendship and gratitude for each other is quite moving.
Akron (2015)
Heart-wrenching and genuine
We watched on Amazon Prime this 2015 movie, "Akron."
Winner of several awards, it tells of two freshmen attending college in Akron, Ohio, who meet and fall in love.
Christopher finds out that he and Benny have actually met before - but under tragic circumstances. When they were both 6, Christopher's mother with her car accidentally hit and killed Benny's brother in a supermarket parking lot.
As the details unravel, old wounds are re-opened, and new ones are created.
This is a heartwrenching, affecting, deeply poignant tale, beautifully written, acted, and directed.
The conflicts are not caused by the boys' orientation, and it is refreshing that their families accept and love them unconditionally.
Where this movie really excels is how it depicts the pain of everyone involved, for all their various reasons.
It shows honest, believable feelings and reactions, and you see all the characters behaving like real, fully-rounded human beings. They all take you inside their inner selves, and the hurt that disables them. You *relate* to their feelings deeply, what causes them distress, and even torment.
It's a rare movie of unusual intelligence and sensitivity, with people you can readily identify with. There aren't any wretched excesses or overly-trod clichés, and it scores mightily by staying on track in this vein.
The two young men are played by Matthew Frias and Edmund Donovan.
They're very appealing and fresh, and I marveled that their characters actually act more mature and intelligent than many gay men depicted in movies (far too much of them act like immature imbeciles, I'm sorry to say). How absolutely elating it is to see two sincere, unspoiled young men embodying not one tiresome and millionth-trod stereotype. I have complained in the past that there are very few gay characters I could relate to in film and literature; such is not the case here.
If this movie has one fault, it is not, at 88 minutes, long enough. It could have added another half hour to the trajectory and resolution of its complex situations; the ending felt a bit expedient.
No matter. This is an affecting, genuine, and deeply human movie. It moved me very much. It's about people who are real.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Splendid movie about creative types and creative passion
We watched the new Steven Spielberg autobiographical movie The Fabelmans.
The short of it: I could not have loved this movie too much.
It is the very definition of artistic passion, obsession with what you LOVE, what drives and emboldens creative juices, those elements in you that make you CRAZY DIFFERENT than anyone and everyone else.
Young Sammy Fabelman sees the movie The Greatest Show on Earth as a boy; the scene with the train crash impacts him, he gets a train set, makes a crash on it, and films it. He gets born as a filmmaker from that point on.
Mom, a creative, melodramatic type, is splintered and addled, too much so for a conventional life; dad is a science nerd, too conventional and un-crazy for his wife.
This situation creates complications and disruptions in the family, while Sammy utilizes all that to flesh out his discovery of the power of filmmaking. His mother encourages him, but his traditional square of a father vigorously tries to discourage him, telling his son it isn't viable or realistic.
The entire cast, superbly guided and directed by Spielberg, all give memorable, strikingly individual performances and portrayals.
There's some disturbing depictions of brutal anti-Semitism that I found very hard to watch; but it was completely necessary.
A note about Michelle Williams. While she was highly lauded by a majority of critics, I have seen some rumblings by those who think she's over-the-top and, even, campy. All I can say is that those who have never known a "nutty, artistic type" have never truly known a nutty, artistic type. They are wily, highly emotional and unpredictable. Take those traits and put them on women who were stifled by social conventions of the Fifties, and you have quite an explosive package.
The star-making portrayal here is Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman. He's positively magnetic a performer, nuanced, and skillful at conveying all of the character's drives, passions, and conflicts. Yet he has a great sense of the deeper cosmic humor of life, and LaBelle is absolutely endearing and captivating a screen presence. Not yet 20 when he made this movie, A-list stardom is in the cards for him. The scene with one of his tormentors is just electrifying, shattering almost. The very last scene, which I will not reveal, is just glorious, with a dazzling cameo by a famous someone.
The Fabelmans went to streaming almost immediately, it did poor business in the theaters. I've a feeling it will not resonate with straight-laced types, those who Jack Kerouac famously wrote of, "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."
This movie spoke to me.
The Atomic City (1952)
Top-notch Cold War thriller
Oh, MY.
This tense, Cold War thriller is uncommonly excellent - I'd say it is a "dark horse" classic.
The story and screenplay, by one Sidney Boehm, was (deservedly) nominated for an Academy Award; the script is literate, intelligent, and absolutely believable. There's not a line that has any falseness about it whatsoever.
Shot on location in Los Alamos, New Mexico, it tells of a nuclear physicist and his wife whose son is kidnapped by Russian agents. Ransom: the H-bomb formula documents.
Complications - big time - ensue.
It starts out in documentary style, with a strong police and Feds procedural element. We're told how the atomic factors were at the time, and of its dangers and risks.
The entire cast takes this assignment with the utmost seriousness and they're all remarkably skilled and again, entirely believable. There's not a trace of dated, campy aspects to be found anywhere. The only name I have familiarity with is Gene Barry, of which this is his first movie. Every single character is played out with unusual competence; no one seems out of place or anachronistic.
But it just goes to show, especially as demonstrated here, that there was a busy roster of fine actors doing stellar work in the low-budget film industry. The advantage to these sterling players is that they have no image-personas as the big stars did to interfere with the credibility of these dramas; Gable for example was always pretty much Gable, and vehicles were largely built around his star appeal. A big name in the kind of movie this is would have just glaringly bogged it down.
Besides the terrific suspense here, almost unbearable at times, is how effectively the script, direction, and acting makes you feel the plight of the parents. As compellingly I would say as in the 1956 movies The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Ransom. You feel their angst and desperation.
Special mention must be made of child actor Lee Aaker, who plays the young boy with astonishing naturalness, and is notably convincing in his dialogues and responses.
Nice surprise, this, and it deserves much wider recognition and attention.
The Watcher (2022)
Terrific suspense
We binged Netflix's new The Watcher limited series last night, all 7 episodes.
Based on a true story, it tells of a family who move into a big dream home in New Jersey.
They get into scrapes with their weird neighbors, and most disturbing, begin receiving anonymous letters in their mail.
Complications - and boy do they - ensue.
It received generally negative reviews by critics and IMDB posters, but we were really fascinated by it - and it hooked us completely.
All the characterizations are memorable: Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts as the couple, convincing in their terror and frustration; Margo Martindale and Mia Farrow as their off-kilter neighbors; Jennifer Coolidge as a daffy, foul-mouthed real-estate agent; and Noma Dumezweni as a cancer-stricken private detective.
Lots of strange happenings occur, with some terrific back-story sequences; you're never sure what is the truth and what is not, and you're thrown off-balance most enticingly the whole time. You get spooked, and you feel the queasy aspect of being stalked, the terror and frustration of being monitored, privacy invaded, and mounting fears.
Many complained it moved too slowly, but that I think stems from people being conditioned to expect bam bam bam expediency. No, this is deliberate storytelling, with characters and situations fleshed out with detail and nuance
Marvelous fun, this.
Interview with the Vampire (2022)
Sexy, insinuating adaptation of Rice's novel
This series gets off to a dynamite start. This takes the story where the 1994 movie never dared: into the same-sex lust between Lestat and Louis.
Filmed on location in Louisiana, the first episode sets the pace and hooks you. Smartly written, directed, and acted, it is fortunate in having two superb leads in Jacob Anderson as Louis, and especially Sam Reid as Lestat.
Reid is sexy, dangerous, and thoroughly engaging, with a silky, sensuous manner of speaking. He and Anderson have terrific chemistry, and they play off each other with relish.
In fact, it is one of the most stylish and ingratiating horror series I've seen in a good long while.
It's marvelous entertainment.
Monster (2022)
Well presented but one glaring credibility gap.
Last night we decided to give the new Netflix series Dahmer a chance.
Rather reluctantly at first; the subject matter is not exactly "nice" viewing. If it were going to be a bloodbath, it would have been a no-go.
But it is instead a dark, brooding psychological study. Well scripted, directed, and acted; it is a superior crime drama, all told.
Evan Peters in the title role is crazy good. He completely captures the strangeness and unease of Dahmer.
However. Peters is not believable in looks as someone who had the power to lure men to his place. His face is hard and rather homely. You see in the early 80s mug shots the real Dahmer who had borderline blond porn-star looks, a kind of facial prettiness that could plausibly be a "bait" snare.
It is a crucial point - believability.
Still, the series is enormously compelling, and the back story really provides much.
Sidney (2022)
Some kind of wonderful and extraordinary
This documentary on Sidney Poitier is an absolute must-watch.
He is near the top amongst my favorite actors and, for that matter, people; his book The Measure of a Man is required reading, because he reveals an extraordinary perspective on countless subjects gleaned from his life time of experiences.
This documentary is jam-packed with appearances and testimonials from Mr. Poitier inspired and associated with: his family, co-stars, friends, and various luminaries.
They all pour forth, with no small amount of affection, great love, and eloquence.
All of the accolades and encomiums fully deserving.
It is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest, most trail-blazing figures of our time.
American Gigolo (2022)
Off to a promising start
The new series, based off the 1980 movie, American Gigolo, premiered last night on Showtime.
It is off to a good start. It begins with Julian Kaye being released from prison for a murder he did not commit.
The intriguing aspect of this re-imagined telling is that we get Julian's back story, what led to his becoming a high-priced gigolo.
It is plausibly laid out, and the proceedings have a good deal of psychological underpinnings that hooks the viewer.
Jon Bernthal as the new Julian is outstanding, and he gives the character far more depth than Richard Gere was allowed to be in the iconic movie. Schrader's movie suffers from lack of character development, and it has a rather wan tone, lacking edge and tawdry excesses - which it needed.
Bernthal has the same dark profile as Gere did, but the former, craggier of face, is not as smoothly handsome as his predecessor. But Bernthal engages us in a way Gere somehow wasn't able to achieve.
Rosie O'Donnell has a memorable role as a foul-mouthed, butch prosecutor.
The one brilliant move the series makes was in duplicating the movie's opening graphics, with the slick road shots and rapid editing. Best of all: Blondie's mega-hit "Call Me," utilized for the movie, is again employed here. Produced by Giorgio Moroder, it was one of the most fitting ever as a movie's theme.
Elvis (2022)
An absolute triumph in all departments.
We watched last night the new Elvis movie.
We loved it.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it is a dazzling, kinetic depiction of the King's life, with imaginative visual effects, and cool montage-editing that condenses the whirlwind-like factor of the fast-tracking of the trajectory of the career and events. There's a lot of story to be told, and these card-shuffling effects successfully depict the dizzying pace of Elvis's wildly meteoric ascent. The early days sequences, referenced repeatedly throughout the timeline, give a definite sense of what influenced him, the Black-Baptist-Blues music environment in his midst.
Everything about this movie is from strength, including a peerless cast who all do their part.
There were a lot of critical brickbats directed at Tom Hanks in his portrayal of Elvis's wily manager Colonel Parker. I don't agree with them; Hanks, padded-up with prosthetics and all sorts of bric-a-brac, is totally unrecognizable and unlike himself - and he succeeds in his portrayal.
He got down pat the slick carny con, complete with folksy-assurance in his speech cadences, the studied guilelessness, and the calculatingly nonchalant, smooth delivery as he flim-flammed and preyed on everyone in his midst. Elvis and his family were poverty-ridden, low-educated people who had not an iota of worldly savvy, and it was convincingly put across how easily snookered they were. Hanks' performance in my view certainly creates an effectively antagonistic portrayal.
I look back on these critics' panning of Hanks with amusement; their cosmopolitan sophistication seemingly cannot fathom the notion of such an outrageously oily, seedy and venal figure being able to so cunningly hold all the cards and manipulate so brazenly. It's over-the-top to the max, but for a reason: Parker was nothing less. I depart with the critical consensus and call Hanks' performance a triumph.
Even more triumphant is Austin Butler's portrayal of Elvis, by far, in my estimation, the most believably convincing and successful of them all. No wonder his family loves this enactment of the man and the legend.
Now, at first, Butler appears physically more slight than Elvis, who had a fuller neck, larger head, and wider face. But somehow, in short order, you begin to get absorbed into how unerringly Butler assumes the entire being and persona of Elvis, and the illusionary charisma he imparts is, so to speak, mind-blowing.
For once, the frenzied, orgiastic reactions of the audiences of young women is entirely believable. Butler brings such a scorching physicality, a veritable smoking-hot charge to the live performance sequences that actually *causes* you to realize the cataclysmic impact Elvis had at that time. Further, you also realize from Butler's performance that there is no one now who creates that level of sizzling, white-heat electricity in his musical, public persona. Who, now?? Maybe the aged Mick Jagger. For sure the late Scott Weiland when we saw him years ago in concert with Stone Temple Pilots. But now, absolutely no one.
Elsewhere, Butler is quietly effective in the purely dramatic moments. He makes you understand the multiple positions Elvis was in, as well as what caused his downfall, leading to his early death. He was gullible until it was too late, and susceptible to temptations. All the factors kept trying to prevent him from doing what he loved best - making *his* music.
The end portions, with the overweight Elvis still at the peak of his vocal and musical powers, singing "Unchained Melody," is powerful and moving.
As a result of this movie, I for the first time ever want to take in and learn more about Elvis. I will be reading Peter Guralnick's landmark series of biographies that my mom recommended to me aeons ago, and delving into his music more comprehensively. Now I have done some reading and listening here and there on Elvis over the years, but the effect of this terrific film has piqued my interest.
It's that good, and Austin Butler has given one of the most successful impersonations of Elvis, or any legendary musical figure I've ever seen. I've grown weary of so many actors winning awards of impersonations, but Butler transcends all that: he made me believe why Elvis was a one-of-a-kind.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Dazzling turns by it's two stars, and a vital movie for adults.
We saw this movie tonight on Hulu, "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande."
Set in London, it tells of a widowed, retired schoolteacher who hires a young, male sex worker. She had a dull, unfulfilling sex life with her late husband, and she's never had an orgasm.
This is an absolutely brilliant, intelligent, thoroughly adult movie. It has some of the frankest, detailed sex talk I've ever heard in a major, mainstream movie; and it is refreshingly invigorating. Only prudes will object.
Emma Thompson gives an audacious, intuitive portrayal of a woman who realizes she's never experienced sexual ecstasy, and with her desires to *feel* like a woman capable of sensual pleasures, she's also riddled with repressed hang-ups, her negative body image, and the feeling that her golden chances have passed her by.
Thompson confronts this woman's inner persona with a dazzling skill that reminds me of Bette Davis's turn as Margo Channing: Thompson captures the essence of the mental afflictions - undoubtedly a significant number - many repressed, older women face when they realize something vital in their being has been, and/or is missing from their lives.
But; there are likely just as many men who have the same inner afflictions. This is a story for all people.
Thompson's performance is multiple-award worthy, and I think her powerful turn will speak to many women. Most importantly, Thompson imbues her characterization with deft, keen humor; her gift of irony intermingled with sarcasm and pathos is just right. The last scene that closes the movie is shockingly perfect, a testament to Thompson's willingness to do what only great actors will do: taking *the* ultimate risk to achieve the effective means to completing the impact of the characterization. This portrayal will be talked about everywhere, and referentially, for years.
Just as good, though, is Daryl McCormack as the young man who helps his client find her way. He is deeply charming and appealing, and there's no element of sleaze or creepiness about his character. We find out that he, too is all too human.
These two actors play off each other with complete, fluid give-and-take, and the chemistry and nuances they coax out mutually, in pursuit of bringing these two very human characters to life, is a pleasure to behold. This is *reacting* of the highest order.
Absorbing, compelling, and compassionate, this tale about what it is to be human is a must-see.
This is the kind of movie I relish, about real people and real feelings.
Julia (2021)
Excellent, but missing a crucial component
This is a properly fitting film about Julia Child, and it captures her spirit and what she was all about faithfully and indelibly.
However, I was greatly disappointed that absolutely no mention was made of Julia's closest friend Avis DeVoto, who was largely responsible for the book Mastering the Art of French cooking into the right hands. And played a huge role as Julia's confidante during the whole cook book's process. In fact the negligence to include Avis is in the gross category. Therefore the film remains slightly incomplete, however wonderful it is.
The Wonder Years (2021)
Wonder-ful
Distinctive, humorous, and touching. Writing, direction, and cast deliver a thoughtful show that consistently come up with great stories.
It is really nice to have a series that presents a series free from sitcom clichés, and strives for authenticity; most shows feature kids no one would ever want to have. The parents are presented as caring, but smart, discriminating, instead of dumb and clueless like they are usually depicted, with the kids being made the hip ones.
This show is a real winner, and I hope it is here to stay for a long time. There aren't too many that are this good.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Wonderfully spooky, atmospheric
Watched this remake of a 1940s Film Noir classic starring Tyrone Power, and based on a novel.
About a guy, played by Bradley Cooper, who learns the secret scam methods to be a mentalist-psychic from a carny crowd. He gains considerable skill and gets involved with a sly femme fatale, played by Cate Blanchett. They prey on rich, wealthy people.
Complications ensue.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this movie is a sustained, atmospheric, compelling tale of disturbed mentalities with parent issues. It is intriguingly dark, seamy, and twisted without succumbing to the excessively grotesque. The tone of the proceedings has a bracing, unsettling, queasy tension, and ominous sense of incipient dread that keeps you hanging.
It is gorgeously filmed in saturated hues that effectively depicts the 1930s and early 40s. Some spiffy, deluxe Art Deco sets.
The standout performances among its excellent, all-star cast are Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, who have a dangerous, dynamite chemistry in their scenes together. Blanchett has a feline spikiness that is arresting and entrancing all at once; she's spectacular.
But it's Cooper here who gives a bravura performance as the wily, troubled con man. He once again proves his chameleonic abilities in his formidable gallery of portrayals; he's always completely different in every role he plays - and he consistently creates memorable characterizations. Cooper is proving to be a consummate screen actor.
This is an absorbing, fixating movie experience.
West Side Story (2021)
Just captivating
Finally, got to see West Side Story.
I'm a wreck. But in the way the reaction warrants.
This is a fabulous movie - absolutely heartrending, deeply moving, sad. But a humane, poignant experience.
Spielberg has created a musical masterpiece.
Despite some effective moments, the earlier movie was synthetic, Hollywoodized.
This one has believable grit and realism. Landscape, the people - all seem of the place and situations.
The cast is flawless. The two leads Maria and Tony so sweet, earnest, and their romantic newfound love so touching. Beautiful singing, perfectly characterized, and voices that sound like they belong to their characters.
The Anita and Bernardo - strong, vivid second leads, completely believable.
Rita Moreno's towering presence, conveying the wise voice of life.
The gangs all look and act like real street kids.
The rumble harrowing, gripping.
Marvelous dances, infectious.
The themes and morals relevant, sharply defined.
I understand why so many were captivated by this.
A lot of other people who appointed themselves experts on some matter they hunted for seemed to want to ruin it for others.
Don't listen to them.
It was far better than my high expectations.
This is one of the best musicals I've ever seen: it got all the elements - story, singing, actors, directing - all of it, really - just right.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Sharp, fascinating
Very well done. The infidelities of Desi, Lucy's getting pregnant, and her career being threatened by rumors of ties to the communist party, all depicted here.
Executive-produced by Lucie Arnaz and Desi Jr, and written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, this presentation is a fascinating look at behind the scenes of America's iconic sitcom.
The cast is faultless, but Nicole Kidman positively nails and embodies Lucille Ball, both as the real one, and in the enactments of moments from the sitcom.
The real Lucy was blunt, forthright, and nobody's fool. She had an instinct for what was right, and true. You could easily imagine her heading and managing the production company Desilu.
Kidman gets the voice down just right, and though she is thinner and less full-bodied than the real Lucy, the makeup crew get her looking like the real one as much as possible. You admire this Lucy very much.
Javier Bardem is a bit craggier of face than the real Desi, but he too gets the voice and mannerisms down pat.
J. K. Simmons is an inspired piece of casting as William Frawley, and he has a few poignant moments. Nina Arianda brings a real dimension to Vivian Vance.
Definitely worth seeing, and it persuasively puts you into the lives of the sitcom legends.
Coming Out Colton (2021)
Surprisingly good, thoughtful, and absolutely relevant
Colton Underwood is doing a great public service here by speaking for and up for gay athletes.
This needs to be addressed, and this will help those in need.
Discard the cynicism opined by other reviewers.
Colton is an appealing, sincere guy. I would EXPECT someone in his position to do this; he is a public figure, after all, and there is nothing wrong with taking the opportunity.
I can only think of the hundreds of thousands of gay athletes who will cherish this series - and embolden them to free themselves from the loneliness and isolation of the closet. If this saves one kid from committing suicide, it has served its purpose.
Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
Sincere, deeply affecting.
I watched this musical movie last night, with both anticipation and wariness.
It won me over, though.
About a troubled young man, a senior in high-school, who gets jockeyed into the position of being made the "spokesperson" for the grief of a family, whose son committed suicide. Serious complications ensue.
The movie was panned by a high majority of critics, but audiences are giving it a high approval rating - it is receiving raves and multiple viewings by them.
I am with the audience.
Don't pay any attention to the cynics and cranks.
This an affecting, unconventional movie with sincere aims. It deals with teen alienation and depression very imaginatively.
It did not do well in theaters, but I think it will be a massive cable and streaming blockbuster.
The fastidious cosmopolitan elite of critics sneered at this; and they put forth a bunch of cynical views, even misleading claims.
The preceding controversy regarding Ben Platt, the movie's star, is completely unfounded. Platt, who originated the title role on Broadway, was 27 when the movie was filmed. The controversy? The blind dummies are claiming Platt looks too old.
What the ever living love of Mike??
I didn't see one millisecond where I thought Platt looked even remotely like an adult.
The skinny, angular awkwardness, the pale complexion, the big mop of curly hair, the rumpled, clumsy movements, hesitations - Platt *completely* embodied this teenaged high-schooler.
That description, by the way, could be exactly one of yours truly in high school.
Even though I was not remotely suicidal or on meds, I sure related to this young man's insecurities, feeling out of place and isolated. And at one point, being depressed - acutely. I went to see a psychiatrist twice. Dr. Hibbard told me I was experiencing massive fears of my future and place in the world. Being so young and non-analytical, this revelation made me comprehend.
The story resonated with such force. A lot of the clueless critics were horrified by the arc of the storyline, of Evan allowing an untruthful situation to propagate. But what these thunking numbskulls don't realize is what deep insecurities can do to a young person, how suicide affects families, the extreme vicissitudes of human emotions, and the resultant conflicting behaviors.
As I have been recently talking with my former schoolmates about our rough times then, this movie drew me in and hit me quite deeply, a few times bringing on the waterworks.
The entire cast is wonderful and committed as an ensemble, but Platt is to my view just about sublime. This role is completely within his being, and he acts and sings with unerring skill. Platt invests in his characterization with every nuance and expression to flesh out Evan Hansen.
I found it an unforgettable experience, and I think this will find a huge audience of teens who feel broken and useless, and adults who remember what it was like.
Ordinary Joe (2021)
Fantastic premise
This series is off to a great start, and the hook premise intriguing and thoughtful.
James Wolk effortlessly and convincingly portrays the 3 same but different career Joes, and he's very likeable, relatable.
I wish they'd put the show in a different time slot than opposite The Good Doctor, a major hit. I will DVR both, but Ordinary Joe deserves a good lead-in with a popular hit like Law and Order: SVU
I hope it succeeds. A good series about people doing their best, one we need more of.