Last Christmas (2019)

I finally watched this film and while many most have just been devastated by the plot twist, I can't say that I was as I predicted Tom (Henry Golding) wasn't real. I didn't exactly predict the truth, but at least I was close.
Kate (Emilia Clarke) has tossed in the towel when it comes to life. She drinks too much, has sex with near strangers and has a general disregard with other people's belongings. But because she was sick and had a heart transplant, people continue to give her a free pass.
And then she meets Tom and she finally genuinely likes someone, but Tom has some bizarre quirks, such as he doesn't carry a cell phone and he disappears at odd times. But because of him, she improves. She starts to volunteer, she starts to truly care about her job and family again, despite Tom assuring her that she can't count on him and breaking her heart.
She's on the path to improvement when we learn the truth. Tom was killed in a tragic bus accident the previous Christmas but he was an organ donor, so she got his heart. Thus, this film is sort of Seven Pounds in reverse.
Now, while it was nice for the two main characters to not end up together in a major Hollywood film, it is just weird that is the way they chose to do it, blurring the lines of reality and fiction. It is shame though that Tom, a relatively unknown and underdeveloped character, and Kate don't get their happy ending together. Tom has no ending at all, which is just a tragedy but Kate finally finds happiness again.
While it is refreshing to see that, the actors deserve better and I hope they have a second pairing which goes better than this one, but it is nice seeing a strong female lead and a diverse cast take center stage. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Tom really does say the sweetest line perhaps of all time. After Kate sees him again after learning the truth and tells him that she has his heart, he replies, "Take care of it. It was always going to be yours, one way or the other." That made my mom nearly cry while I just thought it was rank, though to be fair, I have a very low tolerance for love, perhaps I have been unlucky IRL.
-The more comical romance is between the Christmas shop owner (Michelle Yeoh) and her boyfriend whom she nicknames Boy (Peter Mygind).
-There are also some crazy ornaments in the Christmas shop.
-Emma Thompson tries to best as the Croatian mother who lives her daughter dearly but needs to find a hobby for herself.
-For the record, Kate should have ended up with that unnamed guy who worked at the homeless shelter (Calvin Demba?). But that's just what I would have done.

The Good Liar (2019)

This is a good, average sort of film until the final thrilling third act.
Roy (Ian McKellen) and Betty (Helen Mirren) have both lost their life partners and are looking for companionship and they find solace in each other.
But Roy has double life. He steals investment money from those who believed that he was their friend. Only Betty's grandson, Stephen (Russell Tovey) sees through him but even after it is revealed that Roy stole his identity from his dead British counterpart and is actually German, Betty still stands by him.
But after Betty transfers all her money into a joint account with Roy, he leaves never to return, but Betty bests him, stealing the transfer pad.
Roy risks everything to come back for it, but he finds Betty's quaint cottage stripped bare. Roy may have thought that he was a good liar but Betty was better. She also was German and Roy (when he was Hans) was her English tutor who was a troubled youth, raping when Betty, back when she was Lili. So, yeah, she played him all along and got revenge, which was oh so sweet.
While the plot did get boring in the middle, the twist ending was just so good, it made me almost forget about all the tedious parts despite the murder by subway. But it gave Mirren and McKellen a chance to shine and they were brilliant. And the woman wins. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Jim Carter is also solid as Roy's financial adviser, though he also turned on him in the end.
-I wonder when Hans changed from being a dick to being a human being that can pass as normal.
-At least Lili (Nell Williams) didn't become pregnant from the rape. Small mercies.

The Assistant (2020)

This film was incredibly simple, detailing the course of a day for the young assistant of a big unnamed asshole of a producer. Whether he produces films, TV shows or Broadway isn't outlined, but that isn't important.
Julia Garner shines as the main character with the worst pair of pants I've ever seen but a great work ethic, getting in early and staying late, with no time to grab a solid meal. Her co-workers can be helpful, but they are picky when it comes to an incorrect lunch order and have inside jokes. As Garner is new in this job, she slowly starts to learn that her boss is a giant asshole (that is the appropriate word). But when she reports him to HR, she doesn't present the needles she finds in his trash can and deposes of properly but rather that he blows off meetings to have sex with a random waitress he just met and it is a known fact that he's had sex in the office multiple times. She's smart, but also naive. She should have gathered evidence to bring him down because now that she knows the truth, and if she gathers actual evidence, no one will believe her. So yeah, while the HR director at least has a work ethic, he's another form of asshole nevertheless.
While the film is overwhelmingly simple, thanks to the genuine feel and great camera angles, it works and is worth watching. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-None of the characters get names, which for the most part, seems authentic.
-There's not much difference between chicken and turkey.
-Does Julia grab her cell phone at the diner at the end of the film?
-Astoria is in Queens, for the record.
-The credit cards being frozen did need more exploration.

21 Bridges (2019)

Though this film was better than expected, it was also oddly predictable and redundant.
Two thugs kill seven cops just so they can escape with some cocaine and the head detective (Chadwick Boseman) shuts down the city so they don't escape.
This plot has been done before and with the same twist, which I suspected halfway through the film, that the cops in the 8-5 were in on the whole drug dealing scene with Captain McKenna (J.K. Simmons) at the helm. One of the thugs (Stephan James) starts to piece the whole thing together and once he starts opening his mouth, Narcotics Frankie Bush (Sienna Miller) begs Andre (Boseman) to just shoot him and while Andre is usually trigger happy, he wants the whole story, which he finally gets, turning into a cop killer himself.
So, that's the plot. I feel that it is incredibly overdone, the cops being dirty and I'm sick of plots being reused like this constantly. Only Boseman and James were provided with characters that had multiple layers while everyone else was relatively one-dimensional which is also a shame as this cast had good actors. They deserved a better plot. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Both Boseman and James have also portrayed sports heroes Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens respectively.
-You should never run a red light, that's just stupid.
-300 pounds of cocaine is a lot more than 30 pounds of cocaine.
-The internal question of the real third killer of Andre's father is never revealed. I'm not buying that it was that crackhead who didn't remember anything. 

The Photograph (2020)

Parts of this film were really great while others fell short and just seemed trite.
Michael Block (Lakeith Stanfield) stumbles across a photograph taken by well-known African American photographer Christina Eames (Chante Adams) while reporting on working for the oil companies in Louisiana.
Needless to say, while investigating this photographer, Michael meets and falls in love with her daughter, Mae (Issa Rae), but both of them have baggage. And Mae is still struggling after her mother's sudden death.
Despite the typical romance cliches filled throughout this film, the flashback seems (which cover probably about a third of the film) are incredibly interesting as we follow Christina and the love of her life Isaac (Y'lan Noel), whom she leaves to pursue her dream and he doesn't follow her and lives to regret it.
That being said, the acting is spot on, with a brilliant score and great scenic design and it is about time that African American actors get there due. In fact, its far overdue. I just wish this film managed to break new ground in the incredibly tired genre. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-For the love of God, condoms. They were invented for a reason and should have been used.
-Isaac, you should have asked if the little girl was yours.
-Rob Morgan, Chelsea Peretti, Lil Rel Howery, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Kelvin Harrison, Jr and Teyonah Parris provide excellent support in the minor roles.

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Sure, this was an unnecessary sequel, but it was still enjoyable nevertheless and I could watch Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin interact with each other all day long.
Despite having a cushy lifestyle in the White House, Little Rock (Breslin) gets restless, sick of being treated like she's a little kid and Wichita feels oddly tied down by Columbus's love and desire to settle down, so they leave.
Little Rock then falls in love with hippie Berkeley (Avon Jogia) and leaves Wichita, forcing her to return. The rest of the film is them trying to find and not get killed.
There are many new characters along the way. Madison (Zoey Deutch) who is dumber than a bag of rocks (actually, that's an insult to the rocks) but manages to survive a severe nut allergy. Reno (Rosario Dawson), a love interest for Tallahassee (Harrelson) who also utterly adores the King (Elvis), along with bizarre doppelgangers Albuquerque and Flagstaff (Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch) who die far too soon, thanks to being bitten by some mutant zombies.
There is plenty of zombie killing and cursing along the way with a bit of tears and sex along the way.
While the film is trivial, despite the numerous ways to kill zombies, and some major plot holes (again, surviving the nut allergy), the film has good actors and they truly embody their characters so the film is completely watchable. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-It is a shame to see the leaning Tower of Pisa go like that, but it was completely worthy of Zombie Kill of the Week.
-Where does Tallahassee get the new car after blowing up the hated minivan?
-I wonder what everyone does for food?
-I'm glad that Wichita came to her senses and realized that she and Columbus belong together.
-Carrying around wet wipes is never a bad idea.
-The Oval Office is called that for a reason.
-It must be miserable spending years on end living in a freezer, but it's also impossible to feel sorry for Madison.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

This film tells a story that history likes to forget, the massacre of one million African lives.
While this is not a traditional movie to watch on my least favorite day of the year, there is still a love story at its core.
Though the backdrop is 1994 Kigali, Rwanda in the immediate aftermath of the President's assassination when the Hutu (one ethnicity) begin to rebel against the Tutsi (the other ethnicity group), it is the love story of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (the great Don Cheadle) who is Hutu and his wife (the equally great Sophie Okonedo) who is Tutsi.
Now, that stuff doesn't matter for Paul who just tries to run the hotel, currying favors with both business and political leaders. He cares about protecting his family and the dignity of the hotel, and will do anything to save them, bringing the official and makeshift armies with vast amounts of money, booze and jewelry just for their safekeeping.
Thanks to Paul's brides, the hotel largely remains safe, becoming a safe haven to more than a thousand refugees of both ethnic groups, despite having been abandoned by the European troops and even the UN is spread very thin. But there are many harrowing moments, especially when Paul journeys out to get food and the roads are just filled with dead bodies.
While there are some tender moments, the film is filled with tension, knowing that each moment could be their last.
Despite the gloom and doom, the film ends with the difficult journey to the border, to a refugee camp where they will be safe to board buses to Tanzania. It is here where they reunite with Tatiana's two nieces (her brother and his wife were killed earlier) and bring several other orphans with them.
While it is impossible to understand the deep-seeded hatred between the two groups, this is nevertheless a genocide that cannot nor should not be forgotten and how dreadful it was that the rest of the world turned a blind eye, only worried about getting their citizens out of there, leaving the Rwandans to shoot each other until there are none left. There is no government, the military rules the streets. Certainly showing the relatively sheltered world of the fancy hotel is a cop-out but one that Hollywood needed because Hollywood needs its happy ending and we swallow it up, but the fear these people endured was so plainly etched on their faces in brilliant performances by all of the actors, none more so than Cheadle and Okonedo, both fully deserving of their Oscar nominations. Let this film stand as a part of history that we can learn from and never again repeat. Hopefully this film will teach us a lesson in humanity and Grade: A
Side Notes:
-Nick Notle and Joaquin Phoenix offer up their big names so this film can be a box office draw and they are quite good in their small roles. Phoenix is a news cameraman who journeys out to capture disturbing footage of machetes whipping people in the streets and Notle is the indefatigable UN soldier who eventually gets the people to safety.
-I guess they boil the pool water before drinking and cooking with it.
-I wonder where all the clothes came from as you don't really see anyone where the same outfit twice despite leaving with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
-I would not be pleased to learn that my husband had me transferred to be nearer to him for a brand-new Volkswagen as I am priceless.

Official Secrets (2019)

This is one of the best films of last year that no one's seen.
Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) works for the GCHQ where she works mostly as a translator, providing information to her supervisors that could be harmful if received by the wrong person. When she receives a memo urging them to spy on convince countries that a war in Iraq would be a good idea, to help out America. 
Katharine decides that this isn't right and prints out that memo, gives it to her friend who then gives it to someone else who gives it to journalist Martin Bright (Matt Smith) who starts investigating the authenticity of the email, before printing it to mixed results.
Naturally, interrogations commence and Katharine does eventually confess as she refused to accept that the government should lie to their people. She calls out the government. Naturally, this doesn't go over well, especially since the war starts anyway. She believes that she's failed and yes, technically she did, but she was brave and her former co-workers commend her for it.
Katharine does face charges but she is recommended some great lawyers so decide to take the defense that the war was illegal, which is ultimately determined to be correct so despite Katharine spending months in fear, with constant nausea, the charges are not dropped until she finally appears in court.
So, in short, this film is great at demonstrating how America's decision affected other countries and how desperate they were to convince other countries to do what they wanted. And the performances are great, the script is tight and you truly do wonder if Katharine will get away with doing the right thing. She had courage. I hope I have the guts to do what she did. Grade: A-
-Its sort of bizarre seeing Ralph Fiennes be nice to Keira Knightley after seeing them play husband and wife in another great underrated film, 2008's The Duchess.
-In addition to this being a great thriller, it's also a great journalism film, showing how Matt Smith, a shaved-head Matthew Goode and the 'nutter' Rhys Ifans help the whistle-blower (whom they've never met) just so they report the truth.
-Britain has a different spell check than America.
-It is also weird seeing Poldark's Jack Farthing in a normal role. He's Katharine's co-worker at GCHQ.
-As this film occurs in 2003, it is almost a modern film for Keira Knightley which is refreshing to see.

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

So, this is the film that beat Citizen Kane (best film ever made) at the Oscars, only one of the numerous times the Oscars got it wrong.
To be fair, this is a solid film until the flimsy ending, telling the story of young Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowell), the youngest son in a large Welsh coal mining family. He witnesses a strike, four of his brothers leaving for America, as they can no longer find work in the mine and the death of his oldest brother, not to mention his only sister, Angharad (the great Maureen O'Hara) marry the mine owner's son, a loveless marriage for she truly loves the poor pastor, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon). But he won't subject her to a penniless life, and rejects her advances, thus setting both of them for eternal unhappiness.
Young Huw also undergoes struggles in school for he is the son of miners and is picked on mercilessly because of that. Instead of using his education, he opts to work in the mines even after they kill both his eldest brother and then his father, leading to the disappointing ending of stating that men like his father (Donald Crisp) can never really die.
Now, while Donald Crisp won the Oscar and Walter Pidgeon got top billing, I found the star of the film to actually be Sara Allgood, as the mother, Beth Morgan. She speaks her mind, going to talk to the men out of picking on her anti-union husband during the strike and collecting the wages from her menfolk upon their return from payday. She delivers a completely natural performance.
While the film is great, providing you with a sanitized feeling of being in that little Welsh village, the ending leaves you wanting, which is unfortunate. This was a safe film, and when it comes to awards, you should pick the best choice, not the safe one. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Does Angharad actually divorce her wealthy husband? It is implied that she wants to, proving that money doesn't buy happiness.
-Father calls Mother old beauty and she retorts, "Go and scratch," which is an interesting way of phrasing what I'm interrupting it to mean.
-Maureen O'Hara is a great actress and was constantly underrated in Hollywood.
-The Welsh accents vary quite a bit throughout the film.