The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

 Pros: Meryl Streep delivers another utterly believable performance as Francesca Johnson, bored farmer's wife in Iowa who has a whirlwind relationship with nature photographer, Robert Kinkaid (Clint Eastwood) who just shows up at her door, asking for directions. Why does this crap not happen to me? Still, though Meryl is not at all Italian, she did well in this role and Eastwood was good enough as the well-traveled photographer and the two have a tender chemistry.

Cons: Despite the good performances and gentle story, and while there is a little bit of character development and growth, it is a largely pointless little story, though at the end, her story does help both her children, which as the whole point.

Recommend: Probably

Grade: B+

Side Notes: 

-Yeah, I'd be shocked speechless if I found out that my mother had an affair after her death.

-I don't blame Francesca for wanting to be cremated.

-Meryl's dresses were truly gorgeous. Her one dress meant more to her than her own wedding dress.

-It is never clear what the Johnsons grow on their farm though oats are mentioned.

Belfast (2021)

 This was a delightful little film.

Pros: Kenneth Branaugh's ode to his childhood, growing up in 1969 Belfast, the little Buddy (Jude Hill) grows up before our eyes. He goes from playing outside to seeing an angry mob growing, upset that Catholics live in the community. He has one of the few neutral families in the area, a stubborn father (Jamie Dornan) who refuses to pick sides, but rather wants to move the family due to his job in England. Filled with great acting, and a solid plot, this film was truly solid, with few flaws. The cinematography is also great, mixing in the color films little Buddy goes to see with the natural black and white of the film. 

Cons: Not really a con, I suppose, but Caitriona Balfe (as Ma) was robbed of an Oscar nomination as she gave the strongest performance, as a woman who both loves and hates her husband due to his tax evasion, deserving throwing plates at him. I was also thrown when the film started out in color, though it quickly dips to its black and white cinematography as the film goes back to 1969. We also don't know why the family choices to remain neutral, that would have been nice to know. And hopefully Billy got over his childhood crush on Catherine (Olive Tennant).

Recommend: Yes

Grade: A

Side Notes:

-Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench were solid as Buddy's grandparents and did receive Oscar nominations though Balfe was by far better than Dench.

-The pinnacle moment of this film is when a grocery store is looted and Ma forces Buddy back to the scene of the crime which almost leads to disaster.

-The family makes the right decision to leave at the end of the film.

-We also never learn why Pa dodged paying his taxes.

-Older brother, Will (Lewis McAskie) is unfortunately not given much of a personality, but he seems loyal to his family just as little Buddy is. 

-Ma suffers from such brutal anxiety that she vomits every morning (at least I assume its anxiety rather than morning sickness). 

-Ma and Pa never get real names, or least they are never mentioned in the film. 

The Father (2020)

 This was a rather bizarre film.

Pros: Anthony Hopkins shines as the elderly and aptly named Anthony, who is clearly losing his mind though the pieces don't come together until the end. He won his second and surprise Oscar for this role and he's great, and you can't help but feel sorry for him as he's utterly lonely. Olivia Colman is also great as his long suffering daughter, Anne. Rufus Sewell is such an asshole as Anne's boyfriend, Paul, who is downright cruel to Anthony. 

Cons: The plot is rather confusing and though it does sort of tie together at the end, I kept waiting for a truly crazy plot twist and that never happened. And the sets all look rather similar (by design) so the viewer is just as confused as Anthony. 

Recommend: I guess, I mean Hopkins won an Oscar, after all.

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-So the twist was that Anthony started imagining the staff workers were his relatives, that's how lonely he was.

-I wonder how many chickens Anthony ate during the dinner scene.

-Anthony was getting so forgetful he forgot that his youngest daughter, Lucy, had had a tragic accident.

-Laura (Imogene Potts) appears only briefly and might even be a character that only exists in Anthony's mind. 

CODA (2021)

 Go see this film, it was brilliant.

Sure, the concept is basic enough, teenage girl discovers a rare talent for singing and decides to try to get into an elite college to hone her skills, that's nothing new but this film offers a twist: her entire family is deaf, her father, Frank (Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur), mom Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and older brother, Leo (Daniel Durant). While they are a loving family, they are rather close, working on the fishing business as a family; however, they do rely heavily on Ruby (Emilia Jones) to translate for them, be their guiding hand with the hearing world, and she has far too much responsibility for a teenager. And her parents aren't really supportive of what she wants to do, needing her to help them. Eventually Leo gets to be on her side, mainly because he wants to be independent without having to get Ruby to hold his hand every step of the way. 

And while he wants to make it on his own, though still at the family business, it takes her parents a bit longer, in one of the most touching scenes I've ever seen, she sings just for her father and Kotsur was superb in that scene, the one that likely won him his Oscar and he changes his mind. So yes, this film has a happy ending, which are the best, but still had an open-ended ending, as who knows how Ruby really will do at college because though she rocked her audience, brilliantly combining sign language with a great Joni Mitchell song, her family managed to sneak into the theater, always there to support her once they finally understand. 

Now while this is not a perfect film, I mean, how were they able to find the money to keep their fishing boat afloat, and it was rather foolish of Fran and Leo to go out on sea without a hearing person and yes it was rude of Ruby to leave them high and dry, despite their complete reliance on her, but after seeing so many films, this film managed to move me and leave me shook, lingering with me long after I left the theater. I laughed and I cried, so this was a fabulous film. With brilliant acting and great screenplay (despite the minor plot holes that would only bother someone like me), realistic set and great songs, this film is truly the best film of the year and fully deserved the three Oscars it won, including Best Picture. Grade: A

Side Notes:

-Both Ruby and Leo have love interests, both are rather clique, but done to great effect.

-Ruby has Miles (Sing Street's Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), who has spent years working on his skills, but unlike some, he respects Ruby, until his horrible mistake. 

-Rub's best friend is Gertie (Amy Forsyth) and she hooks up with Leo, though Ruby is less than thrilled. They communicate via text message before a hot make-out session. 

-The funniest scene by far is when Miles and Ruby are rehearsing for their duet and her parents start having sex and then proceed to grill Miles on his intentions with Ruby.  Though Ruby is mortified by her parents' actions, Miles says she should be grateful that they still love each other. True, but you never want to think about your parents having sex. 

-Though the film was rather serious and demonstrated just how difficult it was for deaf people to get by in the real world, especially since the real world is not ready to accommodate deaf citizens, which is a shame, we need to do better, there are also plenty of hilarious moments, mixed in with tragic ones. 

-Ferdia Walsh-Peelo starred in 2016's great underrated film, Sing Street which would actually make a great companion film to this one where a band misfits form a band all to impress a girl. There are some great original songs in this film.

-While I've never heard of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, that song has some truly beautiful lyrics. 

-ASL classes should be more widely available and encouraged. 

-When Mr. V (Eugenio Derbez) asks Ruby what singing is like for her, she expresses herself in ASL. 

-I appreciate the use of subtitles throughout, it was great. 

-The use of sound editing was also overly effective. 

-I couldn't believe that this film wasn't based on a YA book, but rather a French film. 

-Frank informs the doctor that he's unable to abstain from sex for two weeks with Jackie despite it being detrimental to his health. 

Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

 I don't really know where to go with this film, as it was easily one of the most depressing films I've ever seen.

Pros: Diane Keaton's Theresa Dunn is great; she may not be a completely admirable character but she's realistic, both caring and incredibly foolish and her decisions prove tragic. I also adored the gritty, realistic nature of the film. And it shows a realistic portrayal of deaf students as well as the life of average folk. There is also a sex-scene involving a condom, something that is rarely shown on screen, so that was groundbreaking in itself. 

Cons: I don't like any of the male characters. Even good-natured social worker, James (William Atherton) is a bit of a creep and he creates a story to stir sympathy in Theresa, leading her to attempt to sleep with him. Even worse is Richard Gere's Tony, who is a local drug dealer and wants Theresa available whenever he needs to scratch an itch. Theresa's father (Richard Kiley) is a judgmental Catholic who deeply judges his daughter, and the worst one is the one at the end, who stabs Theresa when he fails to perform. Another issue I had was I thought Katherine (Tuesday Weld) was Theresa's sister, though her sister is actually someone else, so that was also confusing. Or at least I think that's the case, as the timeline is a bit wonky as there is mention of abortions but also of grandchildren. Maybe Theresa has two sisters, so that part should have been cleared.

Recommend: Honestly, probably not, it was a tough viewing. 

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Probably the best reference is when Diane Keaton is reading The Godfather, and Tony mentions that he's seen the film and Al Pacino is great and Diane would know, considering she was married to him after all. 

-LeVar Burton is great in his small role as the brother of one of Theresa's students. 

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

 Pros: Despite the mundane plot, the acting and dialogue are great and Quinn Cummings as little Lucy is truly great. A genius, droll child who wins Elliott's (Richard Dreyfuss's) heart first, long before he finally manages to charm the pants off of Paula (Marsha Mason). But I'm glad that there is really character growth though I didn't find Elliott's character that charming. 

Cons: While I may not be familiar with New York, I didn't find it possible that rent would be that cheap and yet they managed to redecorate the apartment on an actor's salary. Also, we don't know what happens with Paula's career after the car show, as she was having struggles breaking back into the business. 

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Paula has wretched luck with men. The film starts with her getting dumped by her hot actor boyfriend, and then he rents out the apartment to Elliott with no regard for Paula or Lucy.

-Elliott is very talented though I wouldn't consider Richard Dreyfuss to be attractive at all and he looks far older than his thirty years old.

-While it was well-acted, Dreyfuss didn't deserve an Oscar for his role. 

-The hamster is only shown once.

-Lucy is very cultured.

-It was a very, very weird version of Shakespeare's Richard III. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

 Another solid, brilliant film..

Pros: While simple, the plot is also truly intricate and comes full circle, all through the eyes of the little children: Scout (Mary Badham), Jem (Philip Alford) and Jem (John Megna). Gregory Peck gives a brilliant portrayal of Atticus Finch, a hero, defending a man who should have never been charged with a crime as the only crime that occurred was a man beating the crap out of his daughter. The screenplay is top-notch, the acting superb and the entire general feel of the film is just so realistic.

Cons: Not really too many, though of course how racist many of the characters were and how stupid the jury was for believing that Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) was actually guilty of his accused crime. I mean, it is fairly obvious that Mayella (Collin Wilcox) hadn't been raped (though as a doctor was never called, we will never know for sure), but rather was caught by her father for having feelings for a man who was actually kind to her. Her father is a bully but gets his just desserts.

Recommend: Absolutely

Grade: A

Side Notes:

-So Collin is apparently a girls' name.

-Robert Duvall would make his screen debut in the small but pivotal and vitally important role of Arthur 'Boo' Radley. He prepared mightily role and is nearly unrecognizable.

-Kim Stanley is unbilled as the narrator.

-It must be awkward dressing up as a ham.

-Brock Peters didn't get the credit he deserved for this role. 

-Peck won his much deserved Oscar for this role.

-Spitting on someone is the rankest thing you can do to them. It is beyond disgusting (especially now with the COVID). But Atticus handles it like a champ.

-I wonder what the jury discussed for nearly two hours.

-The trial moved along incredibly quickly.

-The trial was basically a he-said, she-said sort of case. And while I normally believe the woman, not in this case. 

-Maple syrup on pot roast is gross. And I love maple syrup.