The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

 Pros: Great acting and a plot that has a million twists and turns not to mention intricate little details. Sure, it's chilling and disturbing and surprising at how a simple game of cards can so cruelly manipulate a person.

Cons: Laurence Harvey (Raymond Shaw) may have delivered a great performance but his accent was not acceptable for an All-American boy. There is also the slightly incestuous relationship between him and his mother (the Oscar-nominated Angela Lansbury) which is just disgusting and every once in a while the dialogue (especially between Janet Leigh and Frank Sinatra) is a bit clunky though it is supposedly lifted directly from the source novel. 

Recommend: Absolutely

Grade: A

Side Notes: 

-Though she is his mother. Lansbury is actually only three years older than Harvey.

-It is odd that the senator's wife (Lansbury) wants first Raymond to marry the enemy's daughter, Jocelyn Jordan (Leslie Parrish), and then has him kill his brand new father-in-law.

-Though there is a high body count, you never see the bullet directly enter the body given the restraints of the Hays code. 

-Beware of the milk carton. 

-Be even more wary of the Queen of Diamonds.

-Lansbury is a super sick character, married to a buffoon she can boss around. 

-It is bizarre that all the men in the unit are brainwashed but only one is trained to be a killer for Russia. Lansbury swears that she had no idea it would be her son, though I find that hard to believe.

-Though Ben (Sinatra) and Rosie (Leigh) are not yet married, they live together anyway. 

Bridgerton: Season Two Recap and Reaction

 Caution! There are spoilers ahead. Also, I apologize, but I'll be rambling quite a bit, there was just so much going on.

Well, Edwina (Charithra Chandran) must be blind, anyone with eyes can see that her betrothed, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is in love with her sister, Kate (Simone Ashley), even though they get along like oil and water (though the smolder is seriously off the charts) and even though Anthony is viewing his quest for a wife as though he's buying a prized horse, even reviewing her bloodline. And that's ironic considering his meet-cute with Kate happens to be when they are both on horses. Also, Anthony seems to be continuing his whoring ways, after all, he truly is a Capitol R Rake. 

But this season does focus on his past and they shape his backstory brilliantly, having him witness his father's (Rupert Evans's) tragic death from a sudden and unexpected bee sting and then nearly losing his mother to a difficult childbirth (thank goodness Anthony let her make her own decision with that delivery though the doctor was begging him to choose, if he'd decided, I would have killed him on the spot) and then watch her be swallowed up with grief, so he cuts off himself, burying himself in responsibility of being the viscount, not wanting to find what his parents had as he refuses to lose himself to grief. 

Though he and Kate have plenty of differences, they have plenty of similarities as they both feel they put family responsible before all else, constantly at their own expense, and she challenges him. He needs her. 

However, there is plenty more going on. Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is hot on the trail of Lady Whistledown despite her dearest friend, Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) tries, in vain to dissuade her from such attempts. This leads Eloise to the print shop and the sweet, tragically underdeveloped rebel and feminist Theo Sharpe (Calam Lynch), my favorite male character this season (though Bailey did manage to surprise me), only he's of a lower class and Eloise does end things, though she claims its in his best interest as falling in love with her would ruin him. Shouldn't that be his decision to make? 

But, as the queen is hot on Whistledown's trail, Penelope is forced to take desperate measures and in order to secure her future, with all that money she keeps hidden underneath her floorboards, she throws Eloise under the bus, as if the Bridgertons could endure anymore scandal after Anthony and Edwina abruptly calling off their wedding, an elaborate affair if there ever was one. But they must endure more, Eloise caught with feminist pamphlets. This leads Eloise to finally put the pieces together and a heart-breaking confession from Penelope and a wretched friendship break-up. 

And there are other Bridgertons, Benedict (Luke Thompson) seems to be thriving at the Royal Academy, though his brother paid them, and Colin (Luke Newton) thinks about investing in Jack Featherington's (Rupert Young's) empty gem mines in America. Even little Gregory (Will Tilston) has a great moment in the final episode. And Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) gets to dance with her brother. 

But back to Anthony and Kate. Sure, Anthony was a complete fool proposing to Edwina even though several of his close family members, including the happily married Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and mother (Ruth Gemmell) and probably even Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), still as sharp-tongued as ever. However, Kate supports the match, though she knows it will break her heart but she's content to spend her life as an unmarried governess back in India. And then, after the dissolution of her sister and Anthony, they still can't get together because of the scandal it would cause, despite that hot kiss scene in the church (after Edwina broke up with him, rebound much?), but she denies it. Yet, she lets him go down on her in the garden pavilion. Oh the irony of that scene, she leaves before he wakes up when he normally would leave. Then she is thrown from her horse (if it was an attempt at suicide, the script loses that thread) and remains unconscious for some time, leaving Anthony to face his worst fear. Thank goodness she recovers and Anthony heeds his mother's advice, deciding to enjoy the moment and proposes and fortunately, she accepts, so at least the two leads get a happy ever after. 

So, despite my worries as Anthony is a true man-whore and society has that utter ridiculous double-standard, I still was utterly rooting for them to end up together, as he needed someone closer to his age and Kate is six and twenty. And the acting and writing remains completely impeccable, top-notch, so I couldn't look away. Fortunately, I blocked my weekend solely to watch this show and I'm glad I did. The sets and costumes are the best eye-candy Netflix has to offer and the score continues to blend pop songs with traditional classical music, so this series was another must see. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Francesca (Ruby Stokes) disappears halfway through the season without an explanation.

-So, Simon (Rege-Jean Page) doesn't appear at all, though I barely missed him, but yes, it was weird that he wasn't at the wedding, such what it was. 

-Daphne and Simon's son is name August and she mustn't be nursing him as she's able to make an appearance for her sister's debut to society. 

-In the flashback scene, Edmund Bridgerton was earing a wedding ring, and I cry bullshit, no other man wore one in the series and while I admire that he did (men that don't peeve me), I don't feel that it was historically accurate, unfortunately. 

-I also don't know how Anthony came to learn Kate's full name of Kathani, when it was never mentioned before.

-Kate is actually not related to Lady Mary (Shelly Conn). Lady Mary was disinherited from her family after marrying a simple Indian clerk. And while she might consider Kate her daughter, her parents only offer Kate the cold, ice cold shoulder. 

-Kate is literally the only woman Anthony doesn't ask how many children she wants. This means that he loves her for her, not as a walking uterus to bare little Bridgerton heirs. 

-Anthony might be searching for perfection though his search isn't going so well (in the beginning), and trust me, I know, my journey isn't going great either. 

-I would kill for a guy to look at me like Anthony looks at Kate. I can dream, can't I?

-That being said, I would rather not haunt his dreams, I would wish him pleasant dreams, preferably with me in them. 

-Notes from my sister: the unsung hero is the footman and Gregory was fully dressed so no wonder he was having issues sleeping. Thanks Sister!

-'Wrecking Ball' was very wisely used. 

-There are only two sex scenes this season. Both are effective. But I was expecting more. 

The Color Purple (1985)

 Pros: The acting in this film is just superb, stacked with great performances, from Whoopi Goldberg's star-making turn as Celie, the victimized wife who gains strength after meeting her abusive husband's mistress, Shug (Margaret Avery) to Oprah Winfrey as Celie's strong-willed daughter-in-law, Sofia to Danny Glover as Mister (Albert), the abusive husband. The screenplay was also solid along with the mechanics of a film, editing, cinematography, score and mise-en-scene. 

Cons: Well, it is always difficult when a film begins with a child having a child and having it stripped from her arms. Celie was raped by her SPOILER: stepfather twice and had two children taken away from her by the time she was fourteen and then she's sent away to marry the abusive Mister, so there really are no good men in this film. And then, I found that Mister's decision to help Celie's sister, Nettie (Akosua Busia) re-enter the country just seemed odd as he's belittled Celie for years on end though she did eventually stand up for herself and leaves him but he still tosses her a bone anyway and while I love a happy ending, I just can't believe that Mister was finally nice to Celie. 

Recommend: Yes though there is so much abusive throughout.

Grade: A

Side Notes:

-Goldberg, Avery and Winfrey were all Oscar-nominated for their roles here and they were each brilliant.

-Mister has three children but only his son, Harpo (Willard Pugh) gets a name, his daughters do not.

-Mister is a wretched father. After his first wife dies, he doesn't even brush his daughter's hair, leaving it in wretched tangles.

-Despite Celie never having children with Mister, there are always tons of children around. 

-Celie opens her own shop selling her own sewing creations and inherits her father's house. 

-This film was nominated for eleven Oscars but failed to win a single one, which is just shocking as it was an excellent film. 

Soapdish (1991)

 I'm going to start with a different format, one that simpler and gets to the point, though there still might be some films that I will go more in depth with. 

Pros: Okay, the crazy plot line. It is was so ridiculous and as a result, this was truly hilarious and sure, there were cringy moments but you also couldn't look away. And the cast was just superb, packed with talent and they managed to give good performances despite each being stock characters and stereotypes. And this film gets metaphysical and has a heart. 

Cons: Once again, the bizarre, completely unrealistic plot. It is somewhat predictable and trite. And poor Whoopi Goldberg, as Rose Schwartz, Celeste's (Sally Field's) devoted friend and writer on the show is great in her scenes but she is also terribly underused. And Cathy Moriarty's over-the-top Montana Moorhead turning out to be a man, that might have worked then but now, it's in poor taste.

Recommend: Depending on the setting and your mood, yes.

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-I do not find it possible that Celeste would have been able to hide her pregnancy from Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline) but she did apparently.

-His dinner theater experience was truly wretched. 

-The cast also had a young Robert Downey, Jr, Elisabeth Shue, Teri Hatcher and Kathy Najimy not to mention Garry Marshall as the network executive. Carrie Fisher also has cameo. 

-Reading from a teleprompter on live TV, without your glasses is never a good idea.

-Soap operas really have some of craziest ideas I've ever heard. 

-There are tons of references to Shakespeare and the classic Greek tragedies, what most would consider real theater. 

-Having one actor play all the roles in Hamlet is not a good idea. 

 

House of Gucci (2021)

 Lady Gaga is a great actress but this truly was an ensemble piece, as far as I was concerned.

She shines as Patrizia Reggiani who meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) by chance at a party and they soon fall very much in love though their second meet-cute is orchestrated by her. However, while Maurizio's father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) believes that she's a gold digger. While that may be true, she does convince him to let his Uncle Aldo (Al Pacino) and his cousin, Paolo (an unrecognizable Jared Leto) back into his life and back into the family business and while Patrizia thinks she may be calling the shots (and probably is in the beginning), it is ultimately Maurizio who takes over, eventually cutting Patrizia out entirely so she arranges to have him murdered. She refuses to let him divorce her. There is a bit more to it than that, including undermining his uncle and getting him arrested for tax evasion and some bizarre business decisions on Maurizio's part, plus his affair with an old friend, Paula (Camille Cotton). 

While the true story certainly had plenty of fodder for several movies, I found everything jumbled and shiny, behind the perfect, glamourous costumes, pop soundtrack and heavy make-up, some things were just weird, like Patrizia befriending a TV physic, Pina (Salma Hayek), and I feel that the plot moved too swiftly, never understanding why the characters were making the decisions they did. It's such a shame that so much talent was largely wasted. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-The real victim in all of this is Patrizia and Maurizio's daughter, Alessandra, one parent died, the other jailed for murder for hire.

-I'm not a violent person (in fact, I'm basically a pacifist) but you can't just murder a person in board daylight, without gloves or a mask on. I mean, seriously. 

-I can't believe that Patrizia really was that much of a gold digger, after all, her father owned a trucking company, so she wasn't exactly a peasant. 

West Side Story (2021)

 I finally broke down and watched this film. Though the original was problematic (namely with the casting choices and dubbing of the major stars), I was very much against this remake from the beginning. And the casting of Ansel Elgort did not help. (As my co-worker so memorably said: "That's not a good choice.")

Now, having finally seen the film, I can say with certainly that while it was very good, the original still managed to be better. Sure, Rachel Zegler is a revelation as Maria and Ariana DuBose is still great as Anita, giving Maria a look that could kill (deserving of the Oscar award in itself), my biggest surprise was how good Ansel Elgort managed to be. First, he sang the songs (though Maria was slightly lacking but it's hard to live up to Aaron Tveit's version) but the movie needed him. His Tony had an actual past, spending time in prison, truly expressing remorse for his actions of nearly beating a kid to death and having changed, growing out of the juvenile squabbles the Jets enjoy. This creates hostility between him and his best friend, Riff (Mike Faist). Still, Tony shows up at the dance where he meets Maria, still on the dance floor but their first dance and kiss are behind the bleachers and Maria makes the first move, in probably the best scene of the film, with Tony showing genuine surprise afterward. 

Of course, we all know how their young romance affects those around them, bringing out the worst in everyone else, and the gangs finally drawing blood, leaving two dead bodies in their wake, Anita to identify a dead body at the morgue and Maria yell at Tony before gently forgiving him. 

But there is no happy ending here. Anita is brutally assaulted, though here, the fellow women tell the men not to touch her, but they do anyway. Enter Rita Moreno with her best scene, where she tells them that they've disgraced themselves. Anita lies about Maria, and Tony changes from having a bright future, on the run from the law, to being so depressed that he begs Chino (Josh Andres Rivera) to kill him as well, which happens, in Maria's arms, leaving her to get mad (as though her brother's death hadn't done it), though her anger finally brings the two sides finally together, though instead of the haunting ending shot of Maria lingering in the spot where Tony's body was, walking away with a determined look on her face, this one pans out, making the people small, though their problems are anything but. 

My problems with this film are actually Rita Moreno (whom I utterly adore) as Valentina, the owner of the drug store and Doc's widow. Despite his past actions, she has a soft spot for Tony, but I found her character (or at least how it was done) well, not believable which is just the biggest shame, as both she and the film deserved far better. Anybodys (iris menas) still exists which I was surprised to see, though her character remained underdeveloped, but here at least Tony doesn't yell at her to "be a girl" as in the original, but after finally receiving some praise from one of the Jets, a look of adoration still appears on her face, leaving more questions than answers in its wake. 

That all being said, it was nice to get a bit more development and background for these characters, such as learning that Bernardo (David Alvarez) is a boxer and Chino's in night school and nothing like Bernardo, at least of the beginning, and we learn bits more about Maria, she's a cleaning lady for a department store and took care of her father for years. Anita remains strong, arguing that the apartment is just as much hers and Maria's as it is Bernardo's as they each pay one third of the rent (leaving Maria as the poor third wheel). 

Thanks to the strong performances and great music, this film was worth watching and though I never thought I would say this, but I would gladly watch the film again. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-I was ultimately pleased the song order, still having 'Geez, Officer Krupke' before the rumble but adding 'Cool' to before also, and having 'I Feel Pretty' after, leaving Maria naïve in the belief that Tony would be able to cure all the hate which exists between the two groups. 

-Though I found it more authentic to have tons of dialogue in Spanish, there were no subtitles, some stuff to be unnecessarily repeated. There really should have been subtitles. 

-We only learn that Maria is 18, the ages of the others remain unknown.

-We also are shown how the Jets obtain the illegal firearm. 

-There is the underdeveloped plotline of the mass evictions, given the poor state of the infrastructure occurring through out the city at the time the film events were happening. 

-It would have been nice to know why Valentina took pity on Tony and gave him a job and place to live. 

-Also, the scene where Maria rolls around in her bed, are we supposed to assume that she went off somewhere with Tony? 

-The seven Oscar nominations are richly deserved.

-Maria points out the obvious: that Tony is tall. Which he is.

-The costume colors are important. The Puerto Ricans largely wear warm colors while the whites have cooler colors. Maria notably wears a blue dress toward the end, so it would appear that she's switched sides. 

Spencer (2021)

 A visceral, haunting film, Kristen Stewart is a newly-minted Oscar nominee and does her career best work as Diana Spencer, a woman trapped in a suffocating marriage to a man whose heart longs for another, upset and stifled by the rigorous scheduling and proper procedure.

Diana's a creative spirit and here, not only does she continue to purge herself but also wears her assigned dresses out of order. And yet, the latter seems to be a greater offense. She's criticized by her husband (Jack Farthing) for meeting 'someone' while he is clearly doing the same thing. It is obvious that Diana remains in her marriage because of her sons, whom she so clearly adores and her trusted dresser, Maggie (Sally Hawkins, stellar in her small role) who feels that Diana needs actual love, which isn't completely incorrect as she keeps having flashbacks to her apparently happy childhood (though in reality, it wasn't as blissful as it appears her) and Anne Boleyn, beheaded for merely being accused of having an affair and the similarities between the women are blatantly obvious. 

Still, the film is thin on plot, designed as a character study of Diana, trying to show her in a different light, which it doesn't quite accomplish (thanks The Crown!), but it is still interesting, mainly because it is a visual masterpiece and the score matches Diana's emotion, and sometimes even physical motions beat for beat. And this film dares let us believe that the story could have had a different ending, if Diana decided to leave Charles and regain her former identity, never looking back. You will enjoy the destination just as much as the ending. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Jack Farthing was married to two Oscar nominees in 2021, Stewart in this film and Jessie Buckley in The Lost Daughter. His role is unremarkable in both films, unfortunately for him. 

-I wonder if the character of Maggie was real.

-I can't believe that they just let Diana wander off to her childhood home, in her evening gown, no less.

-The amount of food prepared for the royal family is obscene. 

Stand and Deliver (1988)

 This was tonight's viewing pleasure. 

Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) believes that he's supposed to be teaching computer science but instead, he finds himself teaching math to a bunch of inner city kids, some of whom don't appear to even speak much English, but they've been passed along. 

The first hour moves along quickly, with him somehow gaining the respect, even though some of them are in a gang, while others have parents who don't value education. He doesn't take it easy on them, doesn't cut them any slack, and yes, he probably is a bit mean from time to time, but they learn and want to please him. They even sit for the AP calc test, and all pass, something which just blows my mind as math was never my strong suit.

Then the twist comes. Due to everyone making the same mistake (probably because they weren't taught that problem), they are accused of cheating, which just makes my blood boil. And it makes Mr. Escalante's blood boil as well, and after arguing, somehow all the students decide to retake the test, and still all pass, with different scores so no one can accuse them of cheating again. Mr. Escalante is thrilled, though he wants the original scores re-instated. But the epilogue tells us that he continued teaching and more and more students passed the AP calc test yearly, proving that his teaching methods were successful. 

While the film is solid and based on a true story, I was bothered by the pace, I did like the realistic style and the acting (Olmos deserved his Oscar nomination) was also great though there were many characters and we only caught glimpses of their lives outside of the classroom. And the title of the film only comes into play with Mr. Mister's song played over the end credits, which is a great song, by the way, though it wasn't written for the film, the film was named after the song. Still, this film had the potential to be great and it fell just short of that. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Escalante doesn't wear a wedding ring though he is married with a saint of a wife and two sons.

-The students steal his car and detail it for him as a reward. 

-He suffers a heart attack but leaves the hospital without permission just to back to his students. 

Big (1988)

 So, this was 13 Going on 30's predecessor, and while it wasn't bad, I still prefer the former.

Young Josh Baskin (David Moscow) might appear to live a happy life, but after an embarrassing incident at a fair, he wishes to be grown up and shock of all shocks, it happens. He wakes up the next day (in the top bunk, one of the few errors in the film) as Tom Hanks, a grown man. 

His mother (Mercedes Ruehl) doesn't believe him but fortunately, his best friend, Billy (Jared Rushton) does and aids him with getting a job (data entry) and a room in a seedy hotel. But luck shines on Josh as he catches the eye of the big boss (Robert Loggia) and soon gets a promotion along with a raise and his own giant office and tests toys, giving them his genuine opinion, which isn't difficult and he eventually catches the eye of executive assistant, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) who may be talented and intelligent but is nevertheless sleeping her way to the top. 

At first, it is all fun and games but then Josh is tasked with developing a new product and while his idea is brilliant, the joy zaps out of him, with deadlines looming overhead. So, Josh inevitably returns to his childhood, successfully reversing his wish, hopefully leaving Susan better than she was before she met him and he gets to finish experiencing childhood before settling into the mundane lifestyle of adults. 

Sure, the film is solid and I'm glad that Billy and Josh had closure at the end but I couldn't believe the timeline. There is just no way Josh earned enough money in under two months to afford such a lavish apartment filled with everything a teenage boy could ever wish for, and he also made his way onto a milk carton quickly as well. And the police never question Billy as to Josh's whereabouts or to figure out more about him? I can suspend my disbelief but only so much. That all being said, I'm surprised that Elizabeth Perkins didn't have a bigger career after this film as Hanks went from success to success, this film earning him his first Oscar nomination. This film was a delightful but flawed flick. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-There were some truly funny moments, including when Josh asks for his check to be cashed with a one hundred dollar bill and eighty-seven singles. 

-I want to know if Josh's Chose Your Own Adventure comic books was ever developed (in the film, of course). 

-There is a giant age gap between Josh and his younger sister, Rachel. She's only a baby.

-Once Susan gets together with Josh, she barely picks up a cigarette. 

-I think the shift in Josh turning into more of an adult is after he and Susan have sex.