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.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Sunday, December 29, 2019
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.
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.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
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."
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."
Saturday, December 7, 2019
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.
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.
Friday, December 6, 2019
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.
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.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
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.
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.
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