Little Women (2019)

If only men could like this in real life. Sure, not all of them are good but John Brook (James Norton, used too little) is a saint, an actual saint.
But this film is not about the men, it's all about the women and what wonderful, fully fleshed women they are, from the gentle Marmee (Laura Dern) to the nasty but brave Amy (Florence Pugh). Yes, Amy is still the worst, tossing Jo's (Saoirse Ronan) novel into the fire and this is before flashdrive back-up, but she comes into her own later on while painting in France, confronted by Laurie (Timothee Chalamet), telling him off, stating that of course she's going to marry for money and informing him of all the rights women don't have. That is the moment worth remembering in this film.
Sure, Jo is the main character and the heart of the film, as she loves her family dearly and also longs for her stories to be published without any edits or forced happy endings, but her happy ending isn't forced. I mean, it is. Her sisters, Meg (the great Emma Watson) and Amy insist that she follow Professor Friedrich Baer (Louis Garrel) as he wanders off to the train station, headed to California, no small journey. So she gets her romantic happy ending (must be nice), which also gives her novel the happy ending her editor, Dashwood (Tracy Letts) insists that it needed.
Now, this version of Little Women than all the ones that came before it, starting after the war and having constant flashbacks of the sisters during the Civil War, and the screenplay is just brilliant, all the kudos to Greta Gerwig. Personally, I'm glad that it focused more on them as young adults rather than teenagers so the characters are closer to the actual ages of the actors portraying them.
But the film hinges on the performances and they do not disappoint with chameleon-like performances from all so the film is absolutely worth watching. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Beth's (Eliza Scanlen's) death is still utterly heart-breaking.
-Meryl Streep is great as the rich but cool Aunt March while Chris Cooper shines as the elderly Mr. Lawrence.
-The production value of this film was incredibly high as you felt as though you were being transported to a different time.
-Scanlen does what she can to give the underwritten Beth a personality, including her feeding a doll some breakfast and talking to the horses before Meg takes a carriage ride.
-Silk for fifty dollars? That seems steep especially for that time.

Knives Out (2019)

This film was at least filled with quirky characters and a somewhat fresh plot.
Christopher Plummer is found dead the morning after his eighty-fifth birthday party. And his entire family is a suspect despite his death being ruled a suicide. Each one of his family members has reason for killing him, Richard (Don Johnson), his son-in-law, was discovered to have cheated on his wife, Walt (Michael Shannon), his son, and the manager of his publishing company was just told to find another job and his other daughter-in-law, Joni (Toni Colette) was found to have double-dipped for her daughter's tuition. Only wealthy daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) doesn't seem to have any motivation.
And then there is the nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas) who is found to have inherited everything, though she didn't know it. She believes that she accidentally mixed up Harlan's medications but that was not the case. Turns out Harlan, wasn't murdered at all, it was a suicide but grandson, the nasty jerkface Ransom (Chris Evans, playing against type) did in fact, end up murdering the housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson) so there are plenty of twists and turns throughout the film and everything ties up nicely in the end. It is nice having a fresh film other now and again and this one had a little bit of everything, suspense, thrill and most of all mystery, with great, nature performances sprinkled in throughout. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-While billed also as a comedy, this film was surprisingly unfunny, despite the stupid bit with the doughnut.
-Daniel Craig is top-billed as the private investigator hired by Ransom to find the murdered when it would have actually been him the whole time.
-Lakeith Stanfield is wasted as the head detective, which is just unfortunate.
-The dogs play a cool role in the film.
-And Christopher Plummer's mother (K Callan), no one knows how old she is, also plays a vital role in the film.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

This was a delightfully bizarre film.
It is 1944, Germany and while world war II might be waning down, you would never know it from how Germany continues to function, blindly moving forward. Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is an eager, young boy, thrilled to be a part of the Hitler youth, though he doesn't exactly fit in, despite agreeing with the sick philosophy behind everything. He can't kill or torture the rabbit. But he has an imaginary friend in Hitler himself (Taika Waititi) and a loving mother (a never-better Scarlett Johnasson) who is harboring secrets of her own.
The secret is in the form of a Jewish teenager, Elsa (Thomasin Mackenzie) who is living in a secret compartment of Jojo's house. And he isn't thrilled that she is also living there but he eventually grows accustom to her face.
While the film is a somewhat simple concept, it is nevertheless done brilliantly, with superb performances and snappy dialogue, it is not without problems, namely a too-small role for Rebel Wilson and the near fatal flaw of killing off Scarlett Johansson's mother (Spoiler Alert!). Now, while killing her off isn't the problem, its the fact that the kids are left to remain in the nice house all by themselves without paying any sort of bill. I needed some sort of explanation as to why. Jojo's father is off fighting the war, but it is unclear as to which side he is on, you never see him in the flesh.
That being said, it is a great film, to be enjoyed again and again. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to Sam Rockwell in a tricky role and Stephen Merchant, who is also wasted in his role as a Gestapo agent.
-As Yorkie (Archie Yates), Jojo's best and only friend sums it up best, "It's a bad time to be a Nazi."

Luce (2019)

This is an odd thriller, which leaves you wondering long after the end credits have rolled.
Luce (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) is a model student, saved from a war-torn African country and nurtured back to functional life by his caring parents, Peter and Amy Edgar (Tim Roth and Naomi Watts). Luce runs track and is on the debate team, smart as a whip. But his one teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer) gets him to write a paper which he inhabits a murderous dictator and she finds illegal fireworks in his locker. But she opts to protect him, turning the contraband over to his mother who refuses to believe that her picture-perfect son could do any wrong.
But there is more to Luce than what meets the surface. He protects his sons who gang raped a drunk, unconscious girl whom Luce used to date and he graffitis Ms. Wilson's house and somehow sneaks in to the school and does use those fireworks to destroy her desk all because everyone has to fit in to her perception of the social norms.
For the record, I think Luce is a sneakily dangerous person who should have never used those illegal fireworks and his parents were wrong not to turn him into the police. But that's just my opinion. Though the film leaves many things unresolved, the performances are chilling and brilliant and the plot is new and original, which is always refreshing. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Marsha Stephanie Blake shines in the smaller role of Harriet's mentally unstable sister who manages to escape from the mental hospital, an incident which should have been explained.
-Luce and Stephanie (Andrea Bang) have sex in a secret shack in the middle of the woods, that's just super weird.
-Harriet should have locked her front door behind her when Luce showed up with flowers.

Ophelia (2018)

Well, it was nice to see Daisy Ridley in another role, but this film was largely unnecessary and just a waste of talent and time.
Daisy does a good enough job as Ophelia, a misunderstood character in the classic Shakespeare's Hamlet, but the plot is a disaster. Sure, it attempts to follow the play but given that it's from her point of view, some things are distorted such as the tainted love between her and Hamlet (an unusually cold performance from George MacKay) and Clive Owen's Claudius is just a disaster without the opportunity to give the character any necessary pathos. Naomi Watts does what she can with the duel roles of Queen Gertrude and her healer sister, Mechtild but Tom Felton is wasted as Laertes.
So, I don't have too many positive things to say about the film, though the scenery and camera angles are good but the music is disjointed as it is modern music when classical would have been a more appropriate choose. Still, it was far better than I was expecting and managed to eck out a happy ending despite the morose material, but even that is tainted. Hamlet chooses to fight, something he's against, instead of running off with his true love so he is to blame for his own death. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-Based on a book, which I read, the film lets Ophelia live but here, the child appears to a girl while the book gave Ophelia a son and let her fall in love with Horatio who comes to rescue her.
-The fake death scene of Ophelia is just ridiculous.
-This is the second film where George MacKay dies before his child is born. The other one is the equally disastrous Where Hands Touch, but at least he was better in that film.
-Who was Claudius's first wife and what happened to her?
-Eyeliner has never looked worse on a man than on Hamlet.

Harriet (2019)

Harriet Tubman and Cynthia Erivo are the true forces to be reckoned with in this film.
Escaping to freedom in the most dangerous way possible, jumping into a lake, Harriet fled the clutches of slavery when her owner, Gideon (Joe Alwyn) refused to free her despite having some paperwork to prove otherwise.
Though Harriet is grateful for everything and her new friend, Marie Buchanan (Janelle Monae), she feels restless and risks her life to return and save them, only to discover that her freed husband, John (Zackary Momoh) has married another. But that doesn't deter her. She still gets her brothers to freedom and continues to sneak around, freeing slaves all around Maryland, costing the owners hundreds of dollars. While the odds may not be in her favor, she doesn't get caught, through her good luck, almost supernatural ability to communicate with God, and her wits, she gets  several dozen people to freedom, with the film climaxing with a confrontation between Gideon and Harriet, with Harriet winning.
Erivo is a revelation as Harriet and the screenplay gives her plenty to do and she rises to the occasion, though her visions are probably the downfall of the film. While potentially realistic, they zap you out of film into another world and no reason is provided for why Harriet had such visions, not even in the end credits, which is a total shame.
Still, this is finally the biopicture that Harriet Tubman deserved with an actress who got underneath her skin appropriately. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Many of the main actors in this film are also singers. Both Erivo and Leslie Odom, Jr (as abolitionist William Still) have won Tonys for their singing. Monae and Jennifer Nettles (as the matriarch of the family) are also singers and Joe Alwyn is dating Taylor Swift, the biggest  and most popular singer of them all.
-Joe Alwyn is number one on my villain for the past two years. In 2018, for Boy Erased and in 2019 for this film. He'd better take on nicer roles in the near future.

The Laundromat (2019)

Despite its title, this film has no scenes that occur in a laundromat.
Despite its bizarre structure, the film mostly flows well. It starts out simple enough, Ellen and Joe Martin (Meryl Streep and James Cromwell) go on a riverboat cruise but somehow, for some odd reason, a wave comes along, forcing the tour boat to tip over, killing 21 souls.
But things get complicated quick. The tour boat company bought its insurance from a fake company, which means that the case settles for far less than what it was worth. And the film just expands from there, forcing us to scratch our heads at to how people are getting away with all these fake companies. And where does all the money come from? But at least there is some justice in the end, though the corrupt laws do not get changed, but at least several people in several different countries are arrested.
Still, there are good performances to spare, with Streep in a shocking duel role, thanks to the WTF ending, the narrators/lawyers Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas not to mention cameos from Melissa Rauch, Chris Parnell, Will Forte, Jeffrey Wright (who has a second family), Larry Wilmore, David Schwimmer, Cristela Alonzo and Robert Patrick. What a power cast.
Sure, the ending is completely weird and makes you second guess the whole film, but this film is needed to expose the businesses and to call them out for being corrupt and screwing with other people's money. Grade: B+
-Is Meryl Streep capable of a bad performance?
-Also, a lot of men cheat on their wives, two in this film at least.
-The sets are gorgeous and look like a million bucks, which they probably are.
-It is nice seeing a multicultural cast in a major Hollywood film, too bad most of the characters are criminals.

The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

First of all, you never see the white cliffs of Dover in the film, so that's not good. I'm displeased.
Now, to the film. The plot is oddly paced, focusing greatly on the chase between stubborn American Susan Dunn (the great Irene Dunne) and the Brit John Ashwood (Alan Marshal). They love each other and though Susan loves England and its culture and history, she also finds it bizarre and old-fashioned. But he loves her and wants her to be his wife so he won't let her board the ship to America, so she marries him. He tragically dies in the first world war, but not before knocking her up which leads to the next plot.
Naturally, Susan's little boy grows up, first portrayed as a young teenager by Roddy McDowell and then as a young man by the wooden Peter Lawford. The plot also picks up speed rather rapidly. Though a new war is brewing in Germany, young John can't leave the land of his father. The estate is similar to Downton Abbey but not nearly as grand looking in mere black and white. He learns how to work the land and when war returns, he enlists. Susan becomes a nurse and when John is injured in battle, he miraculously ends up at the hospital where Susan is working where he passes away.
So, while Dunne is simply marvelous, the film doesn't add up to much and the male performances aren't inspiring nor are the characters worthy of any interest and worst of all, this is a romance film without any sort of happy ending. Both Johns are dead. Susan is utterly alone in the world, in a land far from home. It's sad all around. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Keep an eye out for a young unbilled Elizabeth Taylor as the village girl, Betsy.
-Also nitpick. the only scene where John wears a wedding ring is when he's in a bunker, never in the scenes actually with his wife.
-There are good supporting turns by Gladys Cooper as Susan's mother-in-law and Dame May Whitty as the nanny. When Susan goes to visit John in France, Nanny says that John had better do his duty as her arms are empty. Yeah, that was a somewhat odd scene.
-Though I did want John and Susan to end up together, I can't get behind a relationship where the guy forces the woman to pick something against her wishes.
-Despite being set entirely in England (except for the boat scene), the film has a lot of American nationalism throughout as America is portrayed as the hero who helps Europe win the wars, which may or may not be true.

Judy (2019)

Let me set the record straight, I do not like Renee Zellweger. Bridget Jones's Diary is not a good film and I've never been terribly impressed with Renee's acting.
That being said, she is brilliant as the deeply troubled and fraying Judy Garland toward the end of her career, struggling to earn enough money to keep her children.
She has to leave them behind to do shows in London, where she is mostly beloved. However, on the inside, Judy's a huge mess thanks to the cruel ways of Louis B. Mayer (Richard Cordery) and MGM, forcing her to take pills to curb her appetite, then she needed more pills to counterattack the tiredness so now, she rarely sleeps. Judy is also needy and fails to understand how the real world works. When new husband, Mickey Deans's (Finn Wittrock's) plan fails. Instead of also blaming herself and reevaluating everything with him, she snaps and kicks him out. We don't see him again.
Still, when Judy is on, she is on. She wants so desperately to be loved, which is something that she never really had and those that she is with, don't understand her true needs.
While the plot is simple and doesn't have a happy ending, of Judy getting full custody of her children, she is thrilled that she ended London on a high note. But unfortunately, given everything, she didn't have much longer to live. She died just months after leaving London.
Fortunately, while the story is known, this film is worth watching. Zellweger is a revelation, in fact, she's so good you almost believe that you're watching Judy Garland on the screen, not Zellweger acting as Garland. The sets and costumes are also brilliant. This film is a must-watch. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Jessie Buckley is assigned as Judy's handler, Roslyn Wilder, who could have had the chance to truly get Judy help. Her character is, sad but true, largely wasted space.
-Darci Shaw shines as the young Judy Garland, who buys into Louis B. Mayer's complete and utter crap.
-Rufus Sewell is rather good as Judy's third husband, Sid Luft, who might care about his children, but he nevertheless gambled away plenty of her money at the racetracks.

The Clock (1945)

This is basically a two person drama with two troubled stars: Judy Garland and Robert Walker.
Robert is Joe Allen, a soldier who has two days leave in New York City, a huge place where he's never been before. Judy is Alice Maybery, another transplant who has lived there for three years.
While Joe is figuring out how to spend the day, Alice trips over him and breaks her shoe's heal, leading them to spend the rest of the day together and gradually fall in love as the night turns light again.
Then they get separated and that is a huge deal, considering they don't even know each other's last names but fortunately, they reunite and decide to get married right away and boy, is that a big deal, having to jump through many hoops just to get married later that day. And they do, in the most unromantic ceremony of all time.
Sure, Alice found the whole thing ugly, but words of God and a lovely evening and the realization that she's truly in love and fate will bring him back after his tour of duty, after all, fate brought them together.
Now, while the film is dated (aren't all pre-1970 films?), it does bring up some timeless issues, including how quickly can two people fall in love with each other and how much do you really need to know about a person before you should marry them? 
But it is lovely seeing Judy Garland in a non-singing role which shows off her acting chops, which are also brilliant. She and Walker are very nature in their parts and have great chemistry, which is the most important thing for this film as that is needed for this film to work and it truly works. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Ruth Brady also shines in the small role of Helen, Alice's roommate who has done so much for Alice since her arrival to New York and doesn't approve of Alice dating a soldier. She also doesn't let anyone else get a word in edgewise.
-When Alice's heel breaks and she needs to get done from the ledge, instead of just offering her a hand, Joe picks her up and sets her down. I don't know how I feel about that.
-If Joe returns (which I hope he does), they will have some issues to work out. Alice wants to live in the city for the rest of her life while Joe has a plot of land set aside in his hometown to build his dream house.
-The film has a slightly optimistic, open-ended ending which is rare, but you are rooting for those two to be together forever, though they are also painfully naive.
-

Downton Abbey: The Movie (2019)

Though this film was nice, the stakes were relatively low and while there were references of the changing times, Downton still seemed immune to those sort of things.
In this case, the King and Queen are coming to Downton as part of their tour of estates in southern England.
So, we have Tom Branson (Tom Leech) foil an assassination attempt, find a new love interest in Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton), Bertie (Henry Hadden-Paton) gets an opportunity he can't pass up, Edith (Laura Carmichael) is pretty sure she's in the family way, Anna (Joanne Froggatt) discovers a thief among the Queen's servants, Mary (Michelle Dockery) convinces Carson (Jim Carter) to come out retirement because she doesn't believe Barrow (Robert James-Collier) isn't up for the task, Barrow himself finds himself under arrest, Daisy (Sophie McShera) doesn't seem to be looking to forward to planning her wedding with Andy (Michael Fox) and poor Granny (Maggie Smith) has some terrible news.
First of all, since when were Daisy and Andy together? Also, Andy is a jerk and has a jealous streak when the plumber comes over and makes eyes at her. But when he admits that to Daisy, she doesn't get mad that he purposely damaged the water heater, that make her happy. So I disagree with that whole plot line.
Fortunately, Tom's made up for it. Also, Imelda Staunton's character was a welcome addition. Her younger years would make a great stand alone film themselves.
Now, this film does have way too many characters and plenty get lost in the shuffle, including Brendan Coyle's Bates. Not even Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) get the screen time they deserve.
That being said, this film reminded me of why I miss this series as you are invested in the characters and the set is impeccable and the costumes are to die for. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Lady Mary's (Kate Phillips's) husband (Andrew Havill) is a royal asshat, but instead of leaving him (she lacks her parents' support), she decides to work out her marriage and pull out the good qualities of this man, when I doubt any exist as he didn't want to bring his children to a parade as they would just a nuisance.
-Moseley (Kevin Doyle) is way too excited to see the King and Queen.
-Anna is full of machinations to sabotage the royal staff so Downton's staff can actually do their jobs.
-Mary's new child is a girl named Caroline.
-Also, why was Matthew Goode barely in this film, probably so they wouldn't need to find something for him to do until the ball.
-Edith isn't as happy as she appears. If they do another sequel, it should focus on her. 

Imitation of Life (1959)

While this film is now sixty years old, it still deals with some relevant issues, especially the scene where the hotshot agent tries to get Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) to have sex with him so he'll 'help' her career grab hold.
However, the film is not about the dated relationship of Lora with the men in her life, it is the film about two sets of mothers and daughters. There is Lora, who finally becomes an established, successful stage actress, able to get her daughter, Susie (Sandra Dee) everything material Lora never had growing up while only loving her from afar and the story of her housekeeper, friend and confidante, the African American Annie (Juanita Moore) and her light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane (Susan Kohrer). There is plenty of tension between both sets as Susie falls helplessly in the love with Steve (John Gavin) who only has eyes for Lora. But the troubles between Sarah Jane and Annie are more than the rich, superficial problems. Sarah Jane favors her light-skinned father who abandoned her, so light-skinned, she passes for white and wants to. She hates being treated as less than and no amount of reasoning from Annie or Lora can get her to change her mind. Annie does eventually accept that though it breaks her heart and does hurt Sarah Jane more than she will ever admit.
However, in the end, I don't think anyone wins. Annie dies, Sarah Jane feels guilty as hell, Susie moves away to college to avoid Steve and Lora together, and Lora happily gives up her successful career to be a professional wife, but I suppose it is on her terms.
While the film is dated, in parts, it nevertheless has some issues that bare discussing and shows that living the life you want can hurt others and that matters. Filled with good performances, the film is worth watching. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-The men in this film are the worst. There is the agent who is this close to sexual assault (Robert Alda), the controlling Steve (Gavin) who does it in the name of love and Frankie (Troy Donovan) who beats the crap out of Sarah Jane when he finds out that she's African American. The only acception is the playwright David Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy) who mostly listens to Lora's opinion and respects it but he also becomes controlling of her career as they have had so many successful plays together.
-Susan Kohrer is actually half-Hispanic, half Caucasian. Her casting would not pass today.
-Why in the world would Annie want to splurge on her funeral as she won't be around to enjoy it?
-The most remembered line is when Annie states it is difficult to explain to her daughter that she is set up for a world of hate.

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)

Brittany Forgler (Jillian Bell) is the sort of character we need to see. Her BMI is high, her self-esteem is low. She's overweight, her health isn't good for a person of her age and her career is going nowhere. Her love life is pathetic, men are just using her for sex but she always fines a way to sneak in a joke.
She starts running and though she is out of breath and sweaty, she slowly starts getting better and the pounds do (mostly) keep falling off. She also finds good support in her neighbor, Katherine (Michaela Watkins) who is a former drug addict (way former) and is going through a divorce and fellow out of shape young person, Seth (Micah Stock) who couldn't even do a simple potato sack race with his son.
Together, almost on a whim, Brittany decides to run the New York City marathon, which inspires her to clean up her life. She gets a second job, house sitting and forms an awkward relationship with the fellow housesitter, Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar), which is half brother-sister, half sexual. It isn't a traditional sort of rom-com relationship, but it oddly works.
But despite her efforts to rebuild her life, Brittany still doesn't like or understand when people are nice and kind and do sweet things for her and pushes even her new friends away. And then she gets hurt, and can't even run the marathon. She has to move back to Philadelphia and live with her sister and brother-in-law who helped raise her.
Eventually, after telling off another overweight person, Demetrius (Lil Rey Howery) inspires her that even more than losing weight, she needs an attitude change. Which is true.
After that, she moves back to New York, revitalizes her career in marketing, makes up with Seth and Katherine, even slowly prepares herself for a relationship with the odd-named Jern. She even makes it to the marathon the following year. When she nearly drops out, due to stomach cramps and cries, you cry with her.
But she finishes with the support of her friends and family both near and far. While it may not be as inspiring as they want it to be, I'm thrilled that Brittany got her life together and fully contributed to society as she has a lot to give. I'm glad she finally accepted that people are going to like her and look past her weight; I just wished she realized that sooner.
Bell does give an inspiring performance as Brittany could be my neighbor or former high school classmate. In fact, all the performances are good; the set is realistic and the film coheres very well together. My main problem is that the ending credits are boring. Still, that is a minor nitpick. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Brittany is finally able to get a dog by the end of the film as previously she couldn't even adopt a dog from a kill shelter, which is just sad.
-Brittany also creatively pads her resume. Apparently, she used to babysit for the Bidens.
-However, she has a low opinion of marriage and when Jern wants to stop having sex out of wedlock and plays the wedding march, she merely says that they'll stop having sex. I hope not, I like them together, once Jern gets his crap together.
-You do choose to be happy, regardless of what others think about you.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most underrated films.
Teresa Wright delivers a career-best performance as young Charlotte 'Charlie' Newton, bored with life after graduating high school and is thrilled when her namesake and world traveler, Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotton), comes to Santa Rosa to visit the family.
At first young Charlie is thrilled, but things quickly take an unexpected turn when two detectives show up. The detectives, Jack Graham (MacDonald Carey) and Fred Saunders (Wallace Ford) disguise themselves as men trying to get a glimpse of a typical American family, but they are actually investing Uncle Charlie, wanting for murdering three wealthy widows.
Young Charlie is shocked, but a newspaper clipping and heirloom ring given to her force her to link everything together. And her fear is still there even after he's in the clear. Charlie then turns his attention into killing his beloved niece, things coming to a head when uncle tries to throw niece off a train, but instead accidentally gets tossed off himself. The fool.
Now, while it is great in many ways, with the two other Newton children Ann (Edna May Wonacott) and Roger (Charles Bates) have real personalities and each character is real and authentic. However, Jack and young Charlie fall in love way too quickly, after just a three meetings and one date. Please, that's ridiculous and I don't care what time period this is. That being said, they are good people and deserve the happiness the other can provide.
Still, this is Hitchcock's domestic thriller that didn't get the credit it deserved and this is one of his best films. You won't be disappointed in watching it. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-I found it odd that young Charlie was alone with Jack or the other detective as much as she was.
-Ann made a vow to read two books a week.
-Charlie bounces back too quickly after being nearly murdered by carbon monoxide.

Trial by Fire (2019)

This is another film that highlights the injustice of the American justice system, putting an innocent man to death.
Cameron Todd Willingham (Jack O'Connell) is found guilty of murder, arson which caused his three young daughters to burn to death. Due to some commending witnesses and a public defender who failed to cross examine anyone or bring any witnesses in defense, Todd is found on death row, where slowly educates himself and somehow almost befriends his guard, Daniels (Chris Coy), and through some rather bizarre events, a playwright, Elizabeth Gilbert (Laura Dern) starts writing him letters and fights to exonerate him, and the evidence does come to light, his former cellmate has a change of heart, but his ex-wife, Stacy (Emily Meade), who is at first the only person to defend him, refuses to do so when it actually matters.
While this film has been done before (see: Brian Banks), it still needs to be made as the system is broken and needs to be fixed, when new evidence comes to light, it needs to be given the credit it deserves and everyone deserves a fair trial, even those who have a prior record and you should never assume that someone is guilty before reviewing all the evidence.
Though the material has been done before, the performances are solid, with everyone acting as those their lives depend on it, from the cameos of the others being hauled away to die to Elizabeth's children and Todd's fellow inmate (McKinley Belcher II) and the fellow guards, but O'Connell's performance is the strongest and without it, the film would fail. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Todd's fellow inmate is killed for killing another man while trying to rob a bank and was high. I thought that was only second-degree murder, but I'm not a lawyer so what do I know?
-Though Todd was far from an upstanding citizen, you don't get why everyone automatically assumed he killed his daughters?
-Though he moved his car, he did try to get back into his house to save them, though they were already long dead.
-It appeared that Stacy's grandmother had some money, why was none of it given to Stacy to help out with the kids?
-I do wish they hadn't shown Todd's death.
-Elizabeth is in a bad car accident which is why she can't say good-bye to Todd. I wonder who was at fault for that accident?

Rocketman (2019)

This is a bizarre film, but you sort of have to just go with it.
The framework is Elton John (Taron Egerton) telling his story after he finally checks himself into rehab.
It details his wretched childhood, with a father (Stephen Mackintosh) seemingly incapable of even hugging his young son, yet, he has no problem showing affection to his other two from his second marriage, and a mother (a good yet miscast Bryce Dallas Howard) who probably should have never married or have children.
At least his grandmother (Gemma Jones) supported his talent at playing the piano and he was certainly talented. He soon found success at the piano, playing as part of a band and then being joined with lyricist/poet Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell, probably the nicest character in the film). Together, the two are magic and despite his extreme shyness, Elton does well with his fame until he meets and foolishly falls in love with manager, John Reid (Richard Madden), who only wants to make a buck. And Elton's mother ruined him when she told him that he would never be loved.
After meeting John, Elton's spiral with drugs begins and he nearly dies several times. It isn't until he opts to change his life that something finally happens and he checks himself into rehab, where he forgives the demons of his past and faces his future with fresh eyes.
Now, the film has some deep flaws, including the incomplete scenes with Renate (Celine Schoenmaker), whom Elton marries and divorces just as quickly, likely because of his drug problems. She's only a flash on the screen.
Still, the film covers a lot of ground and manages to do seamlessly and gracefully, succeeding where many other films have failed, and the performances are brilliant, and the songs are great too. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to a good little cameo from Tate Donovan, who manages the club where Elton performs for the first time.
-Elton has the craziest glasses ever, and the costumes are pretty wild as well.

Little Woods (2019)

This movie was gritty and real.
Ollie (Tessa Thompson, a bit too pretty) is trying to finish her probation and find a better job to get her out of the border town she lives in with too many drug addicts.
But she's sort of roped back into that life so she can pay the outrageous mortgage on her mother's house. She doesn't want to, but with few options, she re-enters the world and even helps her sister, Deb (the also too pretty Lily James) across the border so Deb can obtain an abortion. Deb has no health insurance and can't afford to carry a baby to term as that will cost eight thousand dollars. Her ex, Ian (James Badge Dale) isn't much help. He may care for her and their son, but he can't find steady work so he can't help with the bills. He isn't thrilled with her choice but he also knows that he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
There are challenges for the two women, but they are strong and fearless and aren't afraid to take dangerous risks and the performances by Thompson and James carry the film as there aren't really many characters in this film. And it is sad that they live in a world where they are forced to resort to illegal activities just to afford the basic necessities in life. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-While I'm pleased that finally a major character has an abortion (rare for Hollywood films), I wish the other 'a' word (adoption) was at least mentioned. It's a shame she felt that was her best choice.
-I wonder what sort of job Ollie was applying for in Spokane where the person came all the way to North Dakota for the interview?

Poms (2019)

While square, this film was still a good way to spend a Saturday night.
Though Diane Keaton is top-billed, Jackie Weaver's Sheryl was the far more interesting character, as the most supportive and sweetness neighbor ever. Keaton's Martha is dying and she's lived a fairly unremarkable life (who hasn't) who grasps her last chance to make a difference and do something she's always wanted to do, be a cheerleader.
She faces opposition from many of the secondary, cookie-cutter characters (including Celia Weston's southern belle Vicki and morally loose security officer Carl {Bruce McGill}) and bringing in the young people felt odd, but thanks to some of Sheryl's zany one-liners, the film goes down a lot easier. After all, you're never too old to follow your dreams, and through some Hollywood magic, they are able to do. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-I needed more explanation about how Sheryl's grandson, Ben (Charlie Tatum) ended up living with her, not just that his parents weren't cut out for the job.
-This film did explore many important issues, but pushed them aside for the main, somewhat trivial plot.
-There is the fact that many seniors outlive their money and women outlive the men.
-Did Alice (Rhea Perlman) actually kill her controlling and perhaps abusive husband?
-Chloe's (Alisha Boe's) character needed more background and her development needs more explanation, but there is only so much to be done in a ninety minute movie.

The Innocents (2016)

Though the film is in several different languages, the story is terrifyingly universal.
Despite World War II being officially over, Poland is still feeling the effects of the devastating ordeal. Young doctor, Mathilde (Lou De Laage) is still working on the injured in Poland as part of the French Red Cross but she is recruited by young nun, Sister Maria (Agata Buzek) as a fellow nun is in labor. Several months earlier, the convent was revenged by the Soviets, leaving eight nuns pregnant and the Mother Superior (Agata Kulesza) with deadly syphilis. Though Matilde helps them without question, despite putting her own work in danger, she is nauseated by the whole thing. Each sister reacts differently to the birth, one young novice rejects her infant daughter while Sister Zofia (Anna Prochniak) bonds with her after her own young son was taken and abandoned as Mother Abbess thought she was doing them a favor.
This whole ordeal causes several of them to question their faith, but for the most part, their faith in God barely waivers, not even after Zofia flings herself out of a window to her death. And it has a happy as possible ending, with Mathilde bringing the street orphans to the convent so the sisters can keep their babies, which is what happens. The rest of the world seems none the wiser.
Thanks to the minimalistic set, stark cinematography and brilliant performances, the film shines and the ending was sadly satisfying. And you can feel both the cold and warmth radiate off the screen. This is to be watched by everyone, as it shows you that love (whether its love in God or your child) can pull you through the harshest of times. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-I have to say it, what did the nuns do for diapers?
-Also, Zofia seemed to recover rather quickly from her crude c-section.

Brian Banks (2019)

This film shows how the justice system can fail someone so easily.
Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge) might be out of prison, but his life is still pretty dreadful. He can't play football thanks to his shiny new ankle bracelet and because he's a registered sex offender, he can't be near schools or parks or fairs and as a result, finding jobs are impossible even Brian is actually a good guy (I suppose a few of those still exist). Now, usually rapists get off too easily (at least the cases that make the news), but in this case, Brian didn't actually rape the girl. The truth is devastating. Kennisha Rice (Xosha Roquemore) and Brian just went down there to make out, before it could turn into something more, a teacher comes into the staircase and Brian runs out before he can't get in trouble, leaving Kennisha pissed off. Her pride is probably sore but she turns her anger into lies and her mother doesn't help. So Brian is arrested and charged with plenty of crimes, including kidnapping. His lawyer urges him to accept a plea deal so he'll avoid prison time, but that is not the case. Brian spends six years in prison and then five years on probation.
The main plot of the time focuses not on his second chance at playing football, his ultimate dream, but rather getting his conviction overturned. He turns to the Innocence Project, where attorneys try to overturn convictions. And if this is not done before Brian's parole is up, he will remain a sex offender forever. Greg Kinnear is Justin Brooks, the main attorney and despite the abundance of evidence in Brian's favor, including the interviews of many other witnesses, it isn't enough. Even an illegally taped recant from Kennisha changes nothing. It takes meeting with the district attorney and getting some information out of Kennisha, without her mother present and the judge annoyed with the effort everyone put in to get his conviction overturned.
After that, it takes him a year but he finally gets his chance to play for the NFL.
This film shows how fickle the justice system is and how everything should be investigated as there was plenty of evidence which would have freed Brian and shame on his lawyer for giving him shitty advice. But the most shame rests with Kennisha. How dare you lie? How dare you gain sympathy for lying and ruining someone else's life in the process? You're despicable.
Now, given that Brian made his NFL debut in 2013, I'm surprised it took six years for this to appear on screen, but this film is excellent nevertheless with a brilliant performance from Hodge, playing against type. Sherri Shepherd and Melanie Liburd are great as the women in Brian's life and Morgan Freeman makes memorable little cameo. But the best part is seeing the old cell phones. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-While it was necessary for the film to work, I do not believe that Karina (Liburd) and Brian could have just walked onto that football field.
-For someone who was awarded a $1.5 million lawsuit against the school, you would think Kennisha and her mother would look better and let the bitter feelings die away. You'd be wrong.
-Why in the world would Kennisha ever think a friend request on facebook and apology would cure her guilt and get Brian to like her again?
-Brian's brother is mentioned only once and never shown on screen. I guess they didn't want to hire an actor to play him.
-I now think that Hollywood needs to make a film that shows the opposite, a victim spending years working on gathering evidence to convict her rapist.

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Though this film is a classic and wonderful, there isn't much to say about it. Given the times, it is far too sanitized to be truly brilliant but the plot and acting shine nevertheless.
Robert E. Lee Prewett (Montgomery Clift, great) transfers to a combat unit of the army after being passed up for a promotion in the bugle corp, a position in which he was more than qualified for. But this unit is commanded by the lazy and foolish Dana Holmes (Philip Obers) who pins too much hope on the boxing matches. Though Prewett is a fine boxer, he flat out refuses to step back into the ring given that in his last match, he accidentally blinded his opponent. Holmes doesn't understand this while the Sergeant, Milton Warden (a great Burt Lancaster) does. Warden is a man with a far better work ethic and moral compass, despite having an affair with the lovely and sweet Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr), whose husband treats her like crap.
Prew loves the army and honors its tradition even though he is forced to perform many menial tasks and hardly ever gets weekend privileges but still manages to fall in love with Lureen, real name Alma (Donna Reed) in town who is an escort, though her official position is never mentioned.
Things get sticky toward the end when Prew's friend, the alcoholic Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) somehow manages to escape the stock-holds and dies and then Prew gets revenge on James Judson (Ernest Borgnine) who guarded the stock-holds by stabbing him and nearly dying the process.
And then comes the excellent final scenes, as the attack on Pearl Harbor happens. By this time, Holmes was forced out of the army for being cruel to the AWOL Prew. This thrills Karen but Milt still won't marry her as he can't leave the army and doesn't want to be an officer so Milt stays and Karen and Alma sail away on a boat forever leaving Hawaii.
While the plot is good, I absolutely feel that there are too many plot holes (the sudden court martial of Holmes) and scenes that were forced to be oddly portrayed due to the Hayes Code (namely, the stabbing scene between Judson and Prew). But the performances shine and Sinatra and Reed fully deserved their Oscars they received. If it weren't for the lovely character portrayals, this film would not have held up as well as it did. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-If my husband fell down drunk and I lost my baby because of that, I would give a lot worse than how Karen treats him.
-We don't know why Alma lies about Prew's actions in the final scene, probably to make herself feel better for loving him and to give him the honor he never received in his lifetime.
-How does Angelo manage to escape the stock-holds?

The Farewell (2019)

Remember the name Lulu Wang, she is a director that will have a bright future. This film is a visionary.
Billie (Awkafina) is informed that her beloved grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen) is dying of cancer and no one in the family wants to tell, fearing that it will a death sentence for her to know.
Despite having no money (the major plot hole in this impeccable script), Billie flies back to China where the family is gathering for her poor cousin's (Chen Han's) wedding to his girlfriend of just three months, whom he may or may not love (and she's NOT pregnant). Nai Nai knows that something is wrong but thinks that her medicine just needs adjusting and she throws herself into the wedding preparations. wondering why Billie has such a long face.
While the plot is basic, it is a revelation nevertheless and though Billie's shoulders are hunched over, whether from her lackluster career, probably her favorite person on Earth dying or the weight of carrying this film, she delivers a remarkable performance.
In the end, despite Billie wanting to stay with her grandmother, she rather reluctantly returns to New York, with a new-found spirit. I hope things get better for her.
Despite the morose overtone of this film, it truly shows how supportive of a family can be for one another, however misguided their intentions are. Billie doesn't go against her family's wishes, even going as far as getting the test records changed (which would undoubtedly be illegal in America) so Nai Nai can be happy and enjoy the rest of the wedding and her life. The film also has a quiet, lyrical nature to it and is filled with great, nature performances, you almost forget you're watching a film, not a documentary. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Nai Nai is very wise, valuing independence over a relatively unhappy relationship and stating that it isn't what you do but how you do it that matters. Wiser words have never been said.
-That hospital must be pretty close to the banquet hall for Billie to run all that way.
-I might be in the minority but I was rooting for a relationship between Billie and the Britain-educated doctor. That being said, it is also great to see a film where there isn't a love line as one of the major plot lines.
-Pay attention to the bird motifs throughout.
-Another thing that needed more explanation is the sudden appearance of the pug, Ellen (yeah, not thrilled about that). She's only in one scene and it is never mentioned who her owner is.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

This film was one interesting ride.
Rick Dalton's (Leonardo DiCaprio's) career has seen better days and he's especially melancholy about it. Acting is basically all he has.
However, he does have a great bromance with his former stuntman and maybe wife murderer, Cliff Boone (Brad Pitt, who looks too good for his age). They have a great relationship and always have each other's backs. And it never waivers.
The film occurs over two days in February 1969 and then one day in August of 1969 and also involves the Mansion murders, with a twist. Cliff picks up a hitchhiker (Margaret Qualley) which leads him back to the old abandoned set of Rick's TV show where a bunch of hippies live.
Things come to a head on that hot night in August. While the film isn't particularily violent, the third act more than makes up for it. Despite being high and unarmed, Cliff still manages with the help of his ever loyal canine, Brandy, to kill two of them while Rick despite being drunk off his ass, takes care of the third and strikes a friendship with his neighbor Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) out of incident.
While the road is an interesting and well-written one, this film will not inspire you or anything of the sort, but with brilliant performances and impeccable acting, you believe that you have been transported to that time, fifty years ago. This film is without a doubt, one of the best films of this year and any year. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-As with a typical Quentin Tarantino film, there are cameos galore. Pay attention for Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Julia Butters, Emile Hirsch, Brenda Vaccaro, Kurt Russell, Rumor Willis, Lena Dunham, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Dreama Walker, Austin Butler, Luke Perry and Damian Lewis, probably the only miscast person in this film. He has a cameo as Steve McQueen.
-Brandy, the dog, is hands down my favorite character. She is brilliant, loyal, sweet, fierce, and deadly if her master is in danger, which is everything you want in a dog.
-Sharon Tate is utterly beautiful and sweet. I hate her.
-There is also good scene with Cliff and Bruce Lee (Mike Moh), where Cliff flings Bruce into a car.
-You have to wonder if Cliff did kill his wife or not. It is one of the mysteries that will never be solved.

Black Narcissus (1947)

This is a film worth watching, despite its deep flaws.
Here, a group of five nuns (likely Anglican, not Catholic) are reassigned, journeying far in the remote Himalayan mountains to restart a school and hospital. Though young Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is in charge and the other nuns she has with her are characters, with flaws.
Though there are some initial problems with the main caretaker, Mr. Dean (David Farrar), and the fact that the locals are paid to come to them, they find success, until Sister Briony (Judith Furse) sends an ill baby home without any medication. He dies a short time later. The people refuse to come but there is no rebellion as there had been in the past. And then, Sister Ruth (Kathleen Bryon), always troubled, completely loses her mind and dies after nearly killing the pious Sister Clodagh. Yeah, it was actually a great death scene, though I knew Ruth would try to murder Clodagh and she did.
However, this ends the Sisters time at the palace, now known as St. Faith, living up to Mr. Dean's prediction that they would be gone by the time the rains came.
While the film is deeply flawed, with some big plot holes in the screenplay, the performances are nevertheless the great, though Bryon's is off the rails, and you don't know why. I thought she was struggling with her vows, not her mind. And the romance between the Young General (Sabu) and the misguided youth Kanchi (a good but grossly miscast Jean Simmons) is barely developed and showed almost completely off screen. Simmons's role needed to be larger. In fact, she never says a word in English in the whole film.
The editing, on the other hand, is very innovative. Despite my problems with the film, it is worth watching, with the fully fleshed out characters and strong women. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Instead of all the crops Sister Philippa (Flora Robson) was supposed to plant, she plants flowers. I wonder where the seeds came from.
-Also, when Sister Ruth loses her mind and flees the convent, where did she get her dress?
-There are some excellent flashback scenes with Sister Clodagh and her sweetheart, Con (Shaun Noble) who picks success over her even though she had shown him that she loved him (read: had sex with him). She escaped to the nunnery so she could leave first. It is a decision I don't think she regrets even though there is some smolder between her and the no first name Mr. Dean.

The Aftermath (2019)

At least this film kept my attention the whole time.
Based on a book (as there was no other reason for this to become a film), Rachael Morgan (the always great Keira Knightley) arrives in Hamburg, to join her army officer husband, Louis (Jason Clarke) in his post-war position, trying to regain control of a broken Germany.
Germany suffered greatly, as did every other country in Europe, and Rachael is not happy to be there, sharing a mansion with a former architect, Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgaard), a German. Stefan is also healing from a broken heart, as his wife was killed by a bomb. Rachael and Lewis also have a broken marriage, though not mentioned until more than an hour into the film, it is heavily implied earlier, Rachael and Lewis's young son was killed by a bomb also, in London. And Lewis went back to work right after the funeral.
Rachael goes from not talking to Stefan and being downright rude and pissed that she has to share a house with him and his daughter (Flora Li Thiemann), to having table sex with him which turns into a full on illicit affair.
That is not the problem with the film. The problem is Freda, Stefan's teenager daughter, who for whatever reason, starts skipping school and hangs out with a bunch of orphans who believe Hitler's propaganda and secretly plot to kill the British officers.
So everything comes to a head when Freda's new rebel boyfriend, Albert (Jannik Schumann) tries to assassinate Lewis but misses.
Despite her role as Freda likely helped with the conspiracy, nothing is done to punish her. Instead, the following day, as planned Stefan and Freda leave to go to Switzerland. Rachael nearly goes with them, but changes her mind at the last minute and goes back to her husband. Personally, I felt that she shouldn't have gone with either of them. Sure, Lewis was in deep pain and could barely look at his wife as she reminded him so much of their dead son, but he wasn't there when she needed him and didn't voice his feelings until the last moment.
Now, while this film did hold my attention and was well done, I didn't like the teenager romance subplot as it wasn't given the time and attention it deserved and surely Stefan would realize Freda wasn't attending school. That plot hole is just too big to ignore. And while all three lead performances are good, Stefan sometimes looks at Rachael as though she's a piece of meat, waiting to be devoured by him. Which is a shame. Keira Knightley deserves better than both of these men. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-That one scene takes coitus interruptus to a whole new level.
-Rachael certainly has a lot of clothes in that one little suitcase. She never wears an outfit twice.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Despite the all-star cast and solid performances, this film lacked the magic and pizzazz of the original.
MIchael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is all grown up and having struggles. His beloved wife died the year previously and he's deep in debt, dangerously close to losing his family home. Enter Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). She arrives just when she's needed though the Banks children are largely self-sufficient as they have been forced to grow up fast.
But they are determined to save the house and Mary is there to watch them. While Emily Blunt does well, her performance is nothing remarkable. Lin-Manual Miranda is great despite being extremely miscast as a lamplighter (apparently, they still had those in 1930s London) and his crush isn't Mary Poppins but Jane Banks (another Emily, Emily Mortimer), a unionizer. That being said, though he is good in a part that was written especially for him, his character is largely unnecessary and he deserves better.
And it is far too predictable that Colin Firth's character is actually a bad guy. He works at the bank and is determined to have the family house.
While the musical numbers are delightful and a highlight, the film itself is nothing special despite having a shiny exterior. And that is unacceptable. Everyone in this film deserves far better material. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some great cameos from Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and the indefatigable Angela Lansbury.
-Julie Walters is also solid in her role as the family maid, Ellen.
-We never find out how much the family bowl heirloom is worth, in fact, the children never retrieve it from Meryl Streep, so I guess that's a plot hole.
-Mixing animation with live action is never not astonishing.

I Remember Mama (1948)

This film tells a story of a different time, told through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes) and tells a variety of little vignettes of her immigrant family.
Irene Dunne shines as the title Mama, Martha Hanson, making sacrifices for her family. She acts a cleaning lady so she can sneak in to see her youngest, animal-loving Dagmar (June Hedin) after having surgery and when Katrin wants a dresser set, Mama sells her family heirloom, her mother's brooch, just so Katrin can get what she wants.
There are also some crazy parts, such as the scenes with Mama's extended family, including her boisterous Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka) and her crazy aunts (it is not truly specified if they are her sisters or aunts), including a stand-out performance from the youngest, Aunt Trina (Ellen Corby), who somehow falls in love with the funeral director.
At its heart, its just a simple story about a family with daily triumphs and struggles, such as being jilted by their beloved border, Mr. Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), who would read classic novels to them and inspired Katrin to become a writer. They scrim and save so the oldest, Nels (Steve Brown) can go on to high school.
Despite Irene Dunne being a huge star, she makes the role of Mama so utterly believable. Bel Geddes makes everyone that she was young teenager, not someone in her twenties, already married. And though the film is packed with characters, each, especially the children, have their own personalities, which is so lovely to see. While the plot is non-traditional, the film is truly great nevertheless. I also really liked it as it showed the working man compared to many Hollywood films of the day and demonstrates a great example of co-parenting. Philip Dorn deserves more credit for his understated performance as Lars, the Papa of the family. This film is not to be missed. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Uncle Chris secretly married his housekeeper, Jessie (Barbara O'Neil) and doesn't tell anyone mostly to piss them all off.
-Though he acts like a bully and curmudgeon, Uncle Chris truly had a large heart, donating money for the operations of young children.
-I couldn't believe the hospital policy of not allowing the parents to visit the child directly after surgery, its just barbaric.

Yesterday (2019)

This film is a high concept film, one where the Beatles and several other things don't exist, except to Jack Malik (Himesh Patel).
Jack is a struggling musician and most of his friends aren't truly supportive except for his tireless manager/BFF, Ellie (the great Lily James) and the epic loser and bumbling idiot Rocky (Joel Fry), though he means well.
But then, for whatever reason, the world's power goes out for a mere 12 seconds and he gets hit by a bus. As he wakes up in the hospital, determined to go back to teaching (a truly normal position), he soon discovers that no one else knows who the Beatles are, in addition to the band Oasis, the drink Coca-Cola and cigarettes. So Jack's music career takes off rapidly. But he knows he's a fraud and Ellie can't or doesn't want to come with him, refusing to leave her teaching position, though she seems to enjoy it. She wants him to become famous for both of them.
Despite Jack becoming an insta-star, with established stars such as Ed Sheeran (himself), giving him credit for being the best, he's deeply unhappy.
Where the film starts to slightly go off its rails is when Jack meets two others (one Russian, one British), who also remember the Beatles though an explanation is never given. They aren't pissed at him for doing what he's doing but glad that the rest of the world can know the Beatles. And they unearth John Lennon's (Robert Carlyle's) address. He wasn't assassinated and Jack goes to meet him. John may not have been successful, but he was happy and that in itself is success.
This inspires Jack to give up his music, releasing the songs for free and getting a mundane job teaching but he has Ellie, which is all that matters to him. He's happy, that's more important than money and fame.
While the film is good, with great performances, I just found parts just odd. Like the lack of explanation on how the two others also remembered the Beatles, where they also knocked unconscious during the power outage? I need to know these things. If John Lennon is still alive, wouldn't he know and recognize that these songs told his story?  How come someone hadn't invited the liquid Coke and cigarettes? It's just odd. How did the writers decide what to keep and what to take away?
Despite these glaring omissions, I still really liked the film, filled with natural performances and some witty lines tossed in. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some good cameos from Kate McKinnon (as the nasty, greedy manager), Poldark's Elise Chappell, and Lamorne Morris.
-Harry Potter also was never written. Seriously, J.K. Rowling, what happened?
-Though Jack is of Indian descent, his nationality is not a plot point or even mentioned, which is so refreshing to see in itself.
-Jack's father (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is super annoying and never realized Jack's talent and doesn't even recognize Ed Sheeran in his own house.
-Jack's true talent is memorizing all those songs, that is no small feat.
-I'm glad Ellie and Jack didn't have a one-night stand, as that is just so cliche.
-The studio where Jack records for the first time has the greatest name: Tracks on the Tracks.

Hotel Mumbai (2019)

Despite the top-notch cast, this film had very few meaningful performances.
The film details a truly wretched day in Mumbai, when terrorists attack the city and the city is dreadfully unprepared, with no tactical squad in the city whatsoever.
Though Armie Hammer gets top billing, he's never been more annoying or foolish than here, insisting on a beef hamburger for dinner, and he's married to an Indian Muslim. He's truly a dumbass and his character is almost an insult. Yes, he absolutely just wants to protect his family but he makes careless decisions throughout and ends up dead, as he is held hostage.
Dev Patel, the far more noble of the characters, settles for second billing as Arjun, a waiter at the hotel, struggling in substitute shoes, far too small for his feet. Despite having a wife and young daughter at home, he stays at the hotel and selflessly helps to save the guests who are, just like the staff, sitting ducks.
While the film is long, it also focuses far too much on the inner workings of the terrorists and how they are all being controlled by a voice in their ears, which leaves too many characters without the chance for any of them to truly develop a real personality though Patel's Arjun comes the closest. His is a good acting performance along with Nazanin Boniadi as Zahra, Armie Hammer's wife, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey as their nanny Sally.
It is unfortunate that this film isn't better, as it has all the pieces of what makes a great movie, a real story, with tragedy to spare but the suspense isn't there. The film should have gotten rid of some of the excess characters and focused on a select few which would have elevated the film greatly. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Nitpick: you can't do this to me. In the one scene, filmed from two different angles, Armie Hammer is not wearing his wedding ring but then as the camera angle switches, he is. That is an unacceptable mistake and inconsistency, which disgusts me.
-Jason Isaacs's character is bizarre, a Russian businessman who develops a fatherly-crush on Zahra. He also dies.
-I knew when Arjun forgot his shoe, it was going to be bad.

The Act: Series React and Reaction

First of all, I cannot believe this is based on a true story. Then again, this crap is too bizarre to make up.
The title act occurs at the very end of the eight-part miniseries, when Gypsy Rose Blanchard (Joey King) hides in her bathroom, hands over her ears as her online boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn (an extremely creepy Calum Worthy) stabs her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette) to death. And then, after cleaning off the bloody knife, he flings her on the bed and sticks his penis up her vagina and declares to her "Welcome to rest of your life." As far as I'm concerned, prison is nearly an improvement. It's not exactly rape; she believes she loves him, but it wasn't exactly consensual, but when you've had the childhood Gypsy has had, she probably doesn't completely understand the actual rules of society.
Dee Dee has made some ridiculous and unacceptable life choices. First of all, what in the world are you doing sleeping with a seventeen-year-old when you're twenty-four and name your child Gypsy? And then she steals her grandfather's checkbook and writes bad checks and lands in jail. She gets pity after caring for her ill mother and decides to fake a variety of ailments so she can defraud numerous people from all over the world. She babies and smothers Gypsy, lying about her age, lying to Gypsy about her illnesses. Gypsy can walk just fine and eat sugar, just like everyone else. And if Gypsy was allowed to have a normal life, she wouldn't have thought that Nick was such a catch when he can barely string two words together. Sure, she did ask him to kill her mother, but instead of telling the police, he does it. Nick is currently a life sentence, while Gypsy is only serving ten years and she still wants to have kids when she gets out. Yikes.
While the story is bizarre, King and Arquette give brilliant performances and the set demonstrates all the little nuanced details that show how sick these people are truly are. The script is top-notch and though you will cringe almost the whole time, it is nevertheless worth watching. Grade: A-
-AnnaSophia Robb and Chloe Sevigny give excellent supporting performances as another mother-daughter duo Lacey and Mel neighbors of the Blanchards. Mel is shocked speechless when the truth finally comes out and she is pissed, as she should be. But she's also pissed that she didn't figure it out.
-I found it disturbingly hilarious that Nick was arrested for jerking off to porn at a McDonalds for nine hours.
-Also, Nick picked hot fried chicken over tossing the murder weapon, a choice I'm sure he'll regret for the rest of his life.
-Nick's mother, Juliette Lewis, does hint that Nick has a mental disorder and the mind of a teenage boy, but nothing is specifically named.
-Dee Dee should really have taught Gypsy that fairy tales aren't real.

Double Indemnity (1944)

This is a bizarre love story, if there ever was one.
Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is an insurance salesman and is great at his job. He's unstoppable, until he falls in love with the femme fatale, Phyllis Dietrickson (Barbara Stanwyck). Her husband's insurance policy has lapsed which is illegal, by the way.
He falls in love with her so quickly, after just three short meetings, they are already planning on murdering her husband, the stuffy and sometimes abusive unnamed Mr. Diedrickson (Tom Powers). Instead of just tossing him off the train, they kill him beforehand to make it look like an accident so they will collect a large sum.
Too bad Walter's experienced colleague Keyes (the great Edward G. Robinson) suspects something is up and investigates.
This murder drives the couple apart, not together. Sure, they don't get away with it and another murder is committed before the movie ends.
While the film is clearly dated, and the dialogue seems to staged and rehearsed, the film is still brilliant at getting into the heads of the three main characters and how both of them thought killing him would solve their unhappiness. But it makes everything worse.
Despite having said all of that, the film is a classic for a reason and is not to be missed. What with the brilliant performances and tight script, this film is nothing short of a masterpiece. Grade: A
Side Notes:
-Why on God's green Earth is Fred MacMurray wearing a wedding ring throughout the film, when his character is clearly a bachelor? A mistake like that is insulting.
-I do also hate that Walter usually calls Phyllis baby, again, that's insulting to her.
-Did Phyllis murder the first Mrs. Dietrickson?
-While it is sweet that Walter sends Lola Dietrickson's (Jean Heather's) crush back to her, he is a loser in his own right.
-How times have changed. You can longer smoke in buildings just like that. Smoking is also a motif throughout the film.

Since You Went Away (1944)

This timely film portrays an American family for a year just after their husband or father is called off to go to war.
Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) worries about the family budget as Tim (only seen in pictures) is earning less in the army than in advertising. She lets go the family's long term maid, Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel) but Fidelia is very loyal and continues to work for them on her days off. They also take in a border as there is a dreadful housing shortage. They add retired Colonel William Smolett (Monty Woolley) who is a softy underneath but has his curmudgeon like tendencies.
The two daughters also contribute in their own ways, Jane (Jennifer Jones) becomes a nurse after finishing high school while Bridget (Shirley Temple) starts a victory garden and runs scrap drives. Anne wonders if she can do more but at least she worries about that. Her one friend, Emily Hawkins (Agnes Moorhead) doesn't even do that.
Because a film needs main male character, Tony (Joseph Cotton), a long-time family friend pops up and Colonel Smolett's grandson, Bill (Robert Walker) also appears as Jane's love interest and fiance, but he won't let her marry him in case something happens to him while he's overseas.
As this is war, there are troubling times. Tim is missing in action and Bill is killed without ever repairing his bitter relationship with his grandfather.
At least the film ends on a happier note. Jane tells Emily off, which is a great scene. Anne becomes a Rosie the Riveter, training to be a welder and Tim is coming home, alive.
While the opening is contrived and forced, the film is actually pretty good despite being horribly dated. It is nice showing the home front, though I would rather have the family be an actual middle class family, without a showy house (that only had three bedrooms) and maid. But it showed a rehabilitation hospital containing men with crippling ailments or injuries from the war, but there were only glimpses of this. I could have done with far more. Still, the acting is good and it is brilliant having a film where women have purposes outside of the house. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-The minor character of Gladys (Jane Devlin) needed more explanation. She is Brig's friend but is terrified of adults despite being a teenage; it's just odd.
-It is hard to imagine Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker being married in real life with two young sons, though by the time this was being filmed, their marriage was eroding and the screenwriter and producer, David O. Selznick, was falling in love with Jennifer.
-There is another good minor character of Zofia Koslowska (Alla Nazimova) who immigrated from an unnamed European country, though that could have done with more explanation.
-The police officer pulls over Tony and Anne because he's lonely. 
-It is ridiculous that Jane and Bill can go out into the country and roll around in the hay (almost literally) without a care in the world. Where is the owner of this land?

The Front Runner (2018)

This film details how just one question can derail an entire Presidential campaign.
It is 1988 and Colorado Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) is going to be the next President of the United States, focused on the issues and the future of the country, with youth on his side, he seems prefect, too bad he can't stay faithful to his wife.
With some murky methods, some Miami Herald reports discover that Gary had a pretty blonde woman (Sara Paxton) in his Washington DC townhouse for several hours on a Saturday afternoon.
Did he sleep with her? He doesn't say much on the topic because he feels that who he's having coitus with isn't going to affect what he can do for this country and it's beneath him. But while most of country believes the Herald went too far (questionable), they no longer trust Hart and the press hounds him, his wife, Lee (Vera Farmiga, appropriately livid) and daughter, Andrea (the always good Kaitlyn Dever) so much, he drops out of race. It is probably a wise decision as the Washington Post also received some pictures of Hart with another woman who isn't his wife.
This film brings up some serious points. But while it mattered who a Presidential candidate was sleeping with in 1988, it once again no longer mattered in 2016. Also, should the Herald have gone through such lengths to get the story or should they have waited to get all of their facts correct first? Personally, I'd side with the latter.
My main problem with the film is the absence of Gary's son, who appears in one brief scene, where is he for the rest of the film? Still, the performances are solid and the screenplay is tight and relevant and the film creates the appropriate atmosphere of 1988 America, which is no small feat. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to some good supporting performances from J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina and Mike Judge in solid roles.
-You can't help but wonder what would have happened to the US had Gary been elected President.
-Men with power need to be held to a higher standard simply because they have that power.
-Though Lee threatens to leave Gary, she doesn't.
-Hotel rooms are expensive, especially for two teenagers.

At Eternity's Gate (2018)

I don't have much to say about this film. It was in most ways a work of art, with a great performance by Willem Dafoe who portrays Vincent, even if he is at least two decades too old for the role. He sinks underneath Vincent's skin as the film covers the last several years of his life, as his mind becomes more and more unstable. But he thrives on painting and needs to do that to survive, despite living a penniless existence dependent on his brother's financial support.
While brilliant, I found it plodding and boring without much of anything driving it forward, there is some conflict between Paul Gaughin (Oscar Isaac) and Vincent and the other more famous artists.
While the performances are good, the plot is odd, with some strings of dialogue being repeated over again. Grade: B

Late Night (2019)

A brilliant Emma Thompson shines as the prickly Katherine Newbury, always striving for excellence. But she's dated, her show, beyond stale and she's downright nasty at times, firing one of her writers because he asks for a raise as he and his wife just had a second baby but Katherine believes that this is a double standard. Why should he get a raise over his single co-workers?
Fortunately, Brad (Denis O'Hare) suggests that she hire a woman writer. Enter Molly (Mindy Kaling) who used to oversee production at a chemical plant. She is not greeted warmly, not even by Katherine who will soon be out of a job.
Molly eventually proves her worth, but Katherine is terrified of change and isn't extremely accepting of her new ideas. But Molly persists and even starts working on the monologue with one of the writers, Tom (Reid Scott) and starts a relationship with another writer and wannabe comedian, Charlie (Hugh Dancy), who proves to be a giant jackass. There is a brief scene between Charlie and Katherine at her dinner party that you must tuck away and remember it as it comes back later on.
So, there are several twists and turns along the way. Katherine refuses to give up her show to new age frat boy comedian, Danny Tennant (Ike Barinholtz) but that pisses off his agent so much he relieves that Katherine cheated on her sick husband (John Lithgow).
Despite being fired twice, Katherine can't live without Molly as Molly adores Katherine, underneath all the hatred. The film ends happily (I wonder if Charlie got canned, he sure should have) but Katherine is back on top of the ratings and there is plenty of diversity in the office and Molly is finally dating someone better, Tom, who may have been resentful of her at first (and boy, was he ever) but at least he doesn't just use women for sex, so that's something.
My main problem with the film is that Molly is mc'ing an event for lung cancer as that is the disease that killed her father but when she mentions that to Charlie, he literally has a cigarette in his fingers and Katherine also smokes when she gets super depressed. I feel that should have been treated with more sensitivity than it was, which is a shame as it was the biggest more glaring flaw in this otherwise completely solid film with great performances and good jokes. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-How does Hugh Dancy get better looking with age?
-Amy Ryan is great in her small role as network executive.
-Social media is overrated but you need to do it to stay relevant.
-The scene where Tom visits Molly at her aunt and uncle's house in Queens could have been a lot funnier.
-I hope Molly finds an apartment with an elevator next time.
-Who would have thought a shoulder kiss could be so romantic?
-Also, we should have a woman with her own late night show, currently there aren't any.

Mary, Queen of Scots (2018)

This was actually a very good period piece, though it was somewhat difficult to keep tract of the characters, as they changed allegiances quicker than underwear.
Mary (Saoirse Ronan) has just lost her first husband (a widow at just eighteen) and has returned to her homeland, Scotland, though she left for France when she was a mere toddler. But she's been Queen since she was nine months old.
However, she is Catholic, which the Protestant country doesn't appreciate. But Mary is kind and doesn't care about religion. She mostly cares about being named successor to the throne of England, ruled by her cousin, Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) who shows little interest in sex or children. Mary is different and Elizabeth knows this and tries to manipulate her next marriage, but Mary still manages to defy them all and marries for love, or so she thinks, imagine the shock on her wedding night when her newly minted husband, Lord Henry Darnley (Jack Lowden) sleeps with her friend and confidante, David Rizzio (Ismael Cruz Cordova) instead. But she forces Henry to impregnate her and its as though she knows her son (when he's finally born) will be heir to both thrones.
But before that, Henry tries to get the throne away from her and is murdered but then Mary is forced to marry again. Unfortunately for her, this only turns the country more against her and she must leave, for her own well-being, leaving toddler James behind, which pretty much breaks her heart. Which means she finally meets Elizabeth and while the two have their differences, Elizabeth does 'protect' her until she orders her death. It isn't until Elizabeth's death that the two countries are united.
Elizabeth was smarter than Mary in many ways. She knew by marrying someone, they would only try to take her throne and that's exactly what happened to Mary. And there is also plenty of betrayal among the men. Mary is probably the only true, kind, loyal person in the entire film.
The film, as a whole, is solid, though I would have liked some subtitles as to the roles of each character as there are so many of them. But they acting is superb and everything feels authentic, down the speech and word choices. If you're in the mood for a good period piece, this one certainly fits the bill. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Joe Alwyn is in basically in every movie in 2018 (Boy Erased, Operation Finale and The Favourite are the others.)
-The throne is sort of like the Mafia, if you piss them off, they can and will kill you.
-Mary's first marriage was never consummated, though apparently, they did try. Then again, they were both teenagers at the time.
-Pay attention to a long-bearded David Tennett as the leader of Scotland's Protestant church and Brendan Coyle as Henry's father, who is filled with machinations of his own.

Now, Voyager (1942)

Well, this film is horribly dated.
Charlotte Vale's (Bette Davis's) life is controlled by her domineering, vile mother (Gladys Cooper). Gladys believes that she knows what is best for Charlotte but that couldn't be further from the truth. Charlotte is miserable, frittering away her time carving soaps in her attic bedroom, getting picked on by her teenage niece, June (Bonita Granville). Fortunately, her sister-in-law and only ally, Lisa (Ilka Chase) gets Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains) to send her to a rehabilitation center for her mental breakdown.
Naturally, she recovers away from her mother and is able to shed the glasses, gets her eyebrows plucked and turns beautiful. Not ready to return to her mother's house, she goes on a South American cruise where she meets and falls in love with the unhappily married Jerry Durrance (Casablanca's Paul Henreid). His wife actually sounds worse than Charlotte's mother, if that is possible.
The relationship ends (as it must due to the film codes of the 1940s) and Charlotte returns home, nearly marries a wonderful doctor (John Loder) before causing her mother so much stress, Gladys keels over and suffers a fatal heart attack. Believing she will have another breakdown, she goes back to the rehab center but instead meets Tina (Janis Wilson), Jerry's unwanted second daughter, who is deeply depressed and suicidal, though these issues are only brushed on.
Charlotte gets what she wanted, to have Jerry's child. It's a sick fantasy, but she knows that this is the closest she can get to having her dream. And she has other dreams too, helping Dr. Jaquith reconfigure the rehab center, so her life is truly filled with purpose, and it was a long time coming.
Now, as I've mentioned to open, the film is quite dated and filled with largely rich people, as per most Bette Davis films. And her fantasy of having Jerry's child by forcing herself into Tina's life is sick, why not persuade Jerry to divorce his wife so he can also have happiness?
And, for the record, she should have ended up with Dr. Jaquith who probably respected her the most of the three main male characters in this film. But that's just my opinion.
Fortunately, the screen play was good and crammed tons of plot into a two hour film and Cooper and Davis were brilliant and completely worthy of their Oscar nominations. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Another notable problem, for a romance film to have their first kiss done while Charlotte was sleeping (a rape kiss, in other words) is just wrong, on so many levels.
-Clearly, there is no way this film occurred in modern times, but probably a few years earlier as there is so much boat traveling to South America.
-Do Charlotte and Jerry have sex, my guess would be yes.
-Bette Davis looks too good to go camping and continues to look good even after leaving running water.
-Why was Charlotte wearing glasses in the first place if she didn't need them?

Booksmart (2019)

Despite some odd plot holes, this film was a delight.
Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are feminists and Molly especially has a stick up her ass (to be fair, I probably do too). Molly is class president and valedictorian. And the two have a deep friendship, which cannot be broken.
As the two prepare to graduate high school and attend prestige schools (without any bribery), Molly suddenly realizes that all those around her are also headed to bright futures, despite partying hearty throughout the four years.
So Molly especially decides to cram four years of partying into one night and it is an epic night. Also, there are some weird kids in L.A. They attend an empty yacht party where they accidentally consume drugs, a bizarre murder mystery party before going to the rager where their respective crushes are. Nick (Mason Gooding) is the VP of the class and isn't as lame as you would think and Molly is crushing on him hard while Amy prefers skatergirl Ryan (Victoria Ruesga), only the two are dating (aka making out) each other.
Despite getting into a nasty fight, the next morning, Molly is still the one to get Amy out of jail and they rush to their graduation and they graduate the hell out of it, including Molly's first kiss in front of everyone, and it was with rich kid, Jared (Skylar Gisondo) who isn't a player like everyone believed him to be.
Sure, this film has numerous problems including the just plain weird scene when Molly and Amy are out of it from the drug hitting them and they have a Barbie fueled fantasy. And how did they fit into their teacher's clothes so well? Also, why does Ms. Fine (Jessica Williams) have so many clothes in her car?
But the acting and chemistry the two leads have is ridiculous and you forget they are portraying someone that is not themselves. They are brilliant and should be in more films, preferably together. The kids are fairly realistic and for the most part, not bad people. I think our future is in good hands. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Molly is half-Slytherin, half-Ravenclaw, for the record.
-Pay attention to Billie Lourd's bizarre character, Gigi, who just seems to be everywhere, which is great and laughable but also one of the plot holes.
-The funniest scene by far is when the girls called a Lyft and their principal, Jordan (Jason Sudekis) picks them up in his car filled with mini chili lights and then he listens to them watch porn. I nearly keeled over in my seat.
-It must be the most awkward thing ever to puke all over the girl who just almost lost your virginity to.
-Also, Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte have great cameos as Amy's parents. Unfortunately, Molly's mom never shows up, which is a shame.
-I haven't decided about the serial killer as the pizza delivery guy.
-What sort of library would be open that late at night for the girls to research Nick's aunt's address?
-This is also one of the few films (though second in a row for me) that mentions feminine hygiene products, for which I'm grateful.

Red Joan (2019)

This was a good, little film.
It tells the story of Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) who is arrested after the death of former foreign secretary William Mitchell (Freddie Gaminara) and revealed to be a former spy for the KGB. Her adult son, Nick (Ben Miles) is shocked speechless.
The majority film is told through the flashbacks of young Joan Smith (Sophie Cookson) as she navigates Cambridge in the late 1930s, studying physics. She does befriend some communists and falls madly and foolishly in love with one of the leaders, Leon (Tom Hughes) and their affair continues for years. But it isn't until the world is at war that she starts giving state secrets to the Russians. Keep in the mind that though Stalin was in charge of Russia and he was a dreadfully nasty man, Russia was on the same side as Britain but there were many secrets between the two countries. Joan is now working at a government lab which is working on developing a nuclear weapon and though she is vital in helping it be created, she feels that it is too powerful for only a select few countries to have. She knows how deadly it can be and never wants it to be used. So she slips secrets to the Soviets and holds on to everything until her boss, Max (Stephen Campbell Moore) whom she is now sleeping with, is arrested. She blackmails William into escape and the two go to Australia but does return to England, eventually.
Sure, her motives might have been in the right place (personally, I don't trust anyone to have access to nuclear weapons), but she nevertheless betrayed her country. In the end, her age saved her. Charges were not brought against her because she was so old.
The film was good. Not as good as The Imitation Game or anything, but worthwhile and important after all. The performances were solid though Dench should not have received top billing as her role was small but Cookson was brilliant. And the story is solid. The only problem is Nick's change of heart, but I am glad he stood with his mother, she risked her life for what she believed in and not many people do that. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Once again, sleeping with your cousin is disgusting. Here Leon and his cousin, Sonia (Tereza Srbova) not only have sex but also reproduce. However, I'm not entirely if they actually were cousins or if that was part of their cover.
-This film is one of the few who mentions feminine products and for that, I give it a lot of credit.
-Why does Sonia take Joan's mink coat?
-William marries his secretary as a cover for his homosexuality.
-Just as Sonia says, no one suspects Joan could have done anything as she is only a woman.

How I Live Now (2013)

I don't really know where to start with this film.
Daisy (she refuses to answer to her given name Elizabeth) portrayed by Saoirse Ronan is an American teenager who is sent to England to live with her aunt (Anna Chancellor, who has no more than two minutes of screen time) and her crazy cousins who sort of live off the grid.
Naturally, she is angry at first and miserable but comes around rather quickly, thanks largely to her attraction to the eldest cousin, Eddie (George Mackay). Despite a nasty bombing in London, they are very happy and fall in love only to have everything destroyed when the soldiers come. The girls are taken to a house with militia guarding everything and work on the farm dealing with vegetables all the time while the boys are taken elsewhere.
The rest of the film is Daisy and little Piper (Harley Bird) walking back home. They manage to escape fairly easily and walk through the woods. Sure, they do run into trouble and Daisy kills two men who try to kidnap Piper and she finds Isaac's (Tom Holland's) dead body but not Eddie's. However, my main problem with this is that she forgets the water tablets (terrorists have poisoned the water sources) so they walk for days without a source of reliable, safe drinking water. So that's a problem.
But they get home and even find a battered and bruised Eddie, dealing with shell-shock. His burns and bruises heal but he doesn't utter another word for the rest of the film. But Daisy still loves him and swears (via a long-awaited voice over) that she will wait for him forever. Oh yeah, the war is also over, just as suddenly as it began.
So, yeah, some big problems with this film. The acting is mostly solid though the scene is where Daisy foolishly burns her ticket out, Eddie needed a better reaction. However, that was only a minor problem. There were two big gaps. First of all, why is the world so troubled, we don't really know and it is never explained. And why does Daisy hear bizarre voices in her head? Does she have a mental disorder or has the government planted something inside her head?
It is a shame. Sure, this was based on a book, but the film should stand by itself and this one doesn't. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-Kissing and having sex with your cousin is beyond disgusting. I've said it before and I'll say it every time it happens.
-They do a good job of making Ronan look more grown up by the end of film by simply growing her bangs out.
-Why does the host mother serve the same food each night?
-Can Eddie talk to animals? If so, that's another major plot hole.

Amistad (1997)

This film tells a story that should be taught in history classes but isn't. In fact, despite my history minor (though I did take more European history classes), I hadn't even heard or remembered mention of this trial until watching this film.
A small ship of African slaves upraises and kills the Spanish sailors, save the captain and one other. They intend to return to their native Africa, but somehow manage to end up in Connecticut, where they are instantly arrested and put on trial. However, the question is not whether they are guilty of murder, but whether they are property of Spain, America, lost treasure (aka finder's keepers) or Africa.
They are literally on trial for their lives and none even understand the English language. But young lawyer, Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaghey) is determined to win, though he isn't a criminal attorney.
Just when you think the film is over, an appeal is presented so the film continues for another half an hour and gives Anthony Hopkins (as forgotten former President John Quincy Adams) enough screen time to earn his supporting Oscar nomination. Though it is 1840, the Supreme Court (despite being majority slave owners), they side with Roger and believe that they have enough evidence to prove the men were African natives and thus should be free. And yet, the Civil War would not start for another two decades.
The film belongs to Djimon Hounson as the main African slave who is brilliant and commands the screen and forces you to pay attention though he says only three words in English. Also pay attention to a young Chiwetel Ejiofor who serves as the ever important translator, someone finally able to understand and speak both languages, which proves to be ever vital for the case.
Now, the film is pretty good, though not as good as some of Spielberg's other works, and some scenes are beyond excellent, it still falls just short of being a truly great film, perhaps the somewhat odd scenes with teenage Queen Isabella II of Spain (a wasted Anna Pacquin) and Morgan Freeman's largely unnecessary role are what drag the film down. And it is a shame that Freeman's role is extra, when it should have been something more. Nevertheless, this film is necessary for all to watch. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-The political system was certainly rigged in 1839.
-Both American Presidents are portrayed by British actors. New Yorker Martin van Buren is Nigel Hawthorne, who doesn't win re-election.
-John Quincy Adams loves his flowers.
-Apparently, being Catholic was a bad thing back then as well.

The Sun is Also a Star (2019): The Film

They ruined the film!
I shouldn't say that, the film was lovely, exquisitely filmed and well-acted, but as far as I'm concerned, one of the two main points of the film was completely removed.
Based on Nicola Yoon's 2016 young adult novel, this film follows Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) and Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) on a very important day in their young lives, Daniel convinces Natasha that he can make her fall in love with him in just one day.
Spoiler Alert: It works. She's skeptical, as her science-based mind just refuses to believe that true love and fate exists, but she's getting deported, so true love doesn't last. For the record, if they truly loved each other, they would not have fallen out of touch. But I'm twenty-eight, not seventeen.
Now, the book also had another point, completely removed from the screenplay (Yoon, you should be very disappointed). Here, as Natasha enters through the security gate to go see an immigration lawyer, she thanks the security guard after her bag is returned to her. This is such a simple action, you might have glazed over it in the book, but it comes full circle. Turns out, this security guard, sick and depressed of her dead end job, was going to commit suicide that night but Natasha's simple, almost insignificant action caused this woman (I forget the character's name, shame on me) to quit her job and become a flight attendant, never getting Natasha's simple action.
To me, this just proves that every single action you do in a day matters. You may not think it will but it could. While the film had that point as well, it was more self-serving than in the book, which is a crying shame. I haven't been that angry at a film in a long time.
And that is not to under mind the film, it was still good, with some great performances and deals with an important issue, illegal immigration. And if you've never read the book, you will probably love the film. So I'm torn, the film itself was very good but if you think about how the book was adapted to the big screen, then you will likely be disappointed. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to Jake Choi (from ABC's Single Parents) as Daniel's big brother, Charlie, the film's main asshole, who also plays a pivotal role in keeping Natasha and Daniel together. You learn more about his background in the book.
-In the book, the reason Natasha's family is deported is that lawyer doesn't end up meeting with the judge because he's in love with his secretary and bangs her in the closet. In the film, the lawyer (John Leguizamo) is nearly run over by a bike and falls in love with the ER doctor, and marries her, though he wears a wedding throughout the whole film, not just the epilogue.
-I wish I could look that good after spending a night sleeping with a stranger in a random park.
-It's true, people never look up enough.
-In the film, Natasha and Daniel get back together as he starts to read a poem in a coffee shop. In the book, the former security guard is a flight attendant, recognizes Natasha and thanks her for being the inspiration to change her life. Daniel is on the same flight.
-Once again, just as in Yoon's other book to film adaptation, the male protagonist's hair has changed from the book to the film.
-Daniel did truly get all the looks in the family.
-Shahidi is brilliant and manages to look younger in parts and older, which cannot be easy. She's marvelous.
-For the record, I do not believe in true love or fate as I have had two meet cutes with the same guy but am still single nevertheless.