The Wife (2018)

Despite its predictability and cop-out ending, this film is brilliant.
Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) is one of the most beloved and praised authors in the country and now, he has won the Nobel Prize for literature, and travels to Stockholm to collect. Though he is not the only one being honored, he is the only one who has an entourage. Accompanying him is his long-suffering wife, Joan (the magnificent Glenn Close), whom he lavishes praises on though she insists on him not even wanting him to thank her during his acceptance speech.
Also coming is their son, David (Max Irons, great) who is a young writer who shows promise and rebuffs his mother's praise, wanting only his father to tell him that he's good. And he still smokes despite Joseph insisting that he stop. And there is also his wannabe biographer, Nathaniel (Christian Slater) who does his research.
The film also details the beginnings of Joe's and Joan's relationship, which began when Joan (now portrayed by Annie Starke) was one of Joe's (now Manhattan's Harry Lloyd's) students. For whatever reason, she falls in love with him, drawing him away from his current wife and young daughter and cultivating his extreme love of writing. The scene that sets the whole plot into motion is when Joe and Joan attend an oral reading from a female author of Elaine Mozell and she promptly puts an end to Joan's hopes and dreams, saying that she will never be taken seriously or become a famous author because she's not a man. And this is 1958, apparently Edna Ferber, Pearl Buck and Laura Ingalls Wilder meant nothing.
The truth comes out slowly as the relationship falls apart, in the present time of 1992, when the main plot occurs. She smokes when she shouldn't, he eats too much when he's had past heart attacks and they bicker but reunite when daughter, Susanna (Alix Wilton Regan) gives birth.
It isn't until Joe emphatically thanks Joan during his speech that she returns back to the fancy hotel and starts shoving clothes into her suitcase; she's finally going to leave him. Only she doesn't, he suffers a fatal heart attack.
On the flight home, just before the film ends, Joan warns Nathaniel that if he sullies her husband's name, she'll sue and promises David that she will sit both of them down and tell them the truth.
Despite the issues with it, like how and why does Joan fall in love with Joe? And the fact that Joe's a jerk and acts put upon when he was the one cooking dinner and caring for the children while Joan wrote away, is no catch but nevertheless, she sometimes worships the ground he walks on. And it was too predictable that the book and script simply kills off Joe at the end. But Joan remains ridiculously loyal past the grave. The truth could have come out. Nathaniel would have backed her up, but she chose to honor his memory and she scarified all her dreams for his. She loved him more than she loved herself.
Though Close plays a character who puts the suffering on herself, she is brilliant with her face a glass into her emotions. She better get another Oscar nomination for this as she is breathtaking. The performances make the film and each actor is excellent and none more so than Close. She is what makes this film memorable and superb. Grade: A-

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

It is 1993 and two girls are found making out in a car leads to one being forced into a religious, gay conversation camp.
Cameron (Chloe Grace Moretz) is the film's heroine, however, she isn't a particularly strong or even interesting character until the final act. At times, she states she wants to get 'better' while not trying to give in the experimental methods used.
Rick (John Gallagher, Jr.) is one of the founders and claims that he used to struggle with same-sex attraction but is now 'cured', and his sister, Dr. Lydia Marsh (a Nazi-like Jennifer Ehle) is the on-site therapist, but in reality neither have any idea what they are doing.
Some kids, like Erin (Emily Skeggs) who struggles with gender-identity really wants to get better and Mark (Owen Campbell) just wants his father's approval while Jane (Sasha Lane) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck) try to parrot back what they like to hear.
The camp includes high school classes, group therapy sessions, art therapy, individual sessions and still has plenty of time for hikes into the woods where Jane is growing pot, which actually is a concerning thought, though not as concerning as their methods to cure the children.
Things come to a head when Mark tries to sever his penis and is taken the hospital. An investigation is opened and finally, Cameron's spirit comes through, she states that this camp is full of emotional abuse as they are programming the kids to hate themselves. Her comments are duly noted. Given the emotions that this camp brings out, you would think this would not be the first time a suicide attempt had happened but they have literally know idea what they are doing and Rick more or less admits that to Cameron.
It is after this that Adam, Jane and Cameron decide that a life on the streets is better than this camp so they hike away and the film ends with them in the back up a random Democratic pick-up truck.
Overall, the film is upsetting and you need to wonder what others are thinking when they believe that people can change their sexual preferences but nevertheless, there is a real feel to the film, from the kids performing office tasks and peeling potatoes for dinner and even taking their bowls away before the hike.
But there are problems, while some of the minor characters are great, some need more explanation including Dane (Christopher Dylan White) who is deeply troubled and I suspect he may have been sexually abused but his outbursts are never explained which is needed. Some of the characters are far easier to figure out bu regardless, your heart aches for all of them and just hope that eventually they will embraced for their differences, not segregated because of them. Grade: B

Tag (2018)

Despite the concept, this film isn't the worst film of the year, far from it.
A group of now grown men, in cities all across the country, still play the childhood game of tag, thus the title of the film.
They go through such extreme lengths, including getting a new job just to bombard another during an interview. And this year, they are all determined to get Jerry (Jeremy Renner) who takes the game to a whole new level, spending way too much time and money to avoid getting caught.
That is the whole concept of the film, there's really not much more to it than that. They keep playing the game to avoid falling out of touch and getting old, though it isn't working. Chili (Jake Johnson) gets high all the time while Sable (Hannibal Burgess) believes his wife is cheating on him.
However, this year, they plan to get Jerry at his wedding to Susan (Leslie Bibb) and to do so, it involves bribery, near torture and careful planning, though Jerry is always one step ahead of the rest, including having his fiance fake a miscarriage (she actually faked the whole pregnancy), and that is unacceptable. You do not do that, ever, period, point blank, end of discussion. That was a low move and the guys absolutely agree with that, though Jerry and Susan aren't especially apologetic about the whole thing. But it turns out that Hogan (Ed Helms) is the one who is actually dying, of liver cancer so he needed this, to get the whole gang together again for one last time. And the film ends with the group playing the game they loved so much.
The craziest thing is that this whole film is based on a true story, and a reporter for the New York Times (Annabelle Wallis, in the film) really does write a story about the whole thing.
Despite the faking of the pregnancy and miscarriage, the film does have funny moments without even trying and the performances are solid, though they are not the most complicated roles. Still, the film could have been far worse and truly dreadful, instead you just wonder why this game means so much to them, when they could have spent the time together just enjoying each other's company. Grade: B