Next Goal Wins (2023)

 Pros: This film features a prominent transgender character: Jaiyah (Kaimana) who clashes with coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) from the very start. While somewhat square, this film is nonetheless worth watching as it tells a story that deserves to be told. Dubbed the bad boy of soccer and dealing with an unspeakable grief, Thomas is fired from his job in the US and forced to either face unemployment or journey to American Samoa to coach that team who rank as the worst team on Earth. But they have the support of the entire island country and while Thomas doesn't understand the customs of the island, including stopping daily to pray and attend church each Sunday but he does learn and also gets the team to utilize their skills and come together as a team and yes, they do eventually score a goal, two actually to win the game.

Cons: There's not really a true con, though the only plot twist is a tragic one and I just feel that the film wasn't suspenseful enough for the final game. And I honestly thought it could have benefitted from being a bit longer, to allow for more character development. And Sia's song Chandelier wasn't around until a few years after the film took place as the film was set in 2011. 

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Elisabeth Moss is Thomas's estranged wife but she's wasted in the film. Ditto for Will Arnett.

-The film was filmed in late 2019 and only just now was finally released. 

-This is also the second time Elisabeth Moss has had an onscreen daughter named Nicole, the first being in The Handmaid's Tale. 

-It is unclear if Michael Fassbender's character is supposed to be British as he does speak with an American accent. 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

 Pros: Honestly, it was hard to find a truly good aspect of this film though the acting was at least palatable, though the characters just seemed slightly disjointed and didn't mesh together as well as they needed. 

Cons: The film was pointless, Oskar (Thomas Horn) is sent on a journey only to have it end helping someone else instead, he's no closer to getting closure after his father's (Tom Hanks's) death and the twist of having the mute Renter (Max von Sydow) as his grandfather was predictable and even having Sandra Bullock's Linda uncover the truth rang hollow. 

Recommend: No

Grade: C+

Side Notes:

-Despite the supporting being solid, including Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright and John Goodman, there was no saving this film.

-The idea that a sixth borough existed in New York is not the worst idea but it is poorly addressed in this film.

-It is never explained why a jeweler had a meeting in the World Trade Center on a Tuesday morning. 

Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

 Pros: While trite, this film tells a story of young love and loss. Genevieve (Catherine Denueve) is young and deeply in love with Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) only to have him leave to fulfill his mandatory military service. Genevieve feels as though she's going to die and her mother (Anne Vernon) is not sympathetic, having her own struggles to worry as their umbrella shop is in financial straights, only to be saved, in more ways than one by jeweler Roland (Marc Michel) especially after Genevieve reveals that she's pregnant and Guy can't come back to make her an honest woman. I also give the film credit for actually showing Genevieve visibly pregnant something that was quite rare in Hollywood at the film, though this is a French film. The tearful reunion is also incredibly memorable. The acting is great along with the brightly colored set.

Cons: While not a traditional musical, all the dialogue is simplified slightly and sung which is rather annoying and I can't help but feel the subtitles simplified the dialogue even more.

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Guy ends up marrying his invalid aunt's caretaker, Madeleine (Ellen Farner) despite knowing the truth about him having a child with another woman.

-The third half focuses on Guy getting his shit together and marrying Madeleine while I feel given that Genevieve was so much of the focus for the first two parts, the film should have continued to focus on her and her marriage to the utterly devoted Roland, but maybe the film decided to focus on the guy's point of view though I feel it fails to truly show Guy's true emotions.

-Both Guy and Genevieve end up naming their firstborns the French version of Frankie, Genevieve's is a daughter while Guy and Madeleine have a son. 

-No wonder the store is in financial straights, it only sells umbrellas. 

Suncoast (2024)

 Pros: This film deals with a teen sick of caring for her dying brother and uses her freedom to her advantage, finally acting like a typical teenager only to have regrets at the eleventh hour. Though based on a true story, set against a story which made national headlines, the film has a lot going on and while it deals with it well, considering human euthanasia is a touchy subject, but Doris (Nico Parker) is just blinded by her own childhood being robbed, she doesn't seem to care about her brother. Still, this film is good, with solid performances and a great set, it just could have been a whole lot better.

 Cons: You don't know the sick brother's name (Max) or Mom's (Kristine's) name until the film is basically over, which bothers me constantly and Doris's friends sometimes seem genuine and other times don't, so I guess they are typical teenagers but I just feel the film could have been so much more.

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Laura Linney is great as a foul-mouthed, hell-bent determined mother to ease her son's passing, but she neglects her healthy, living child in the process. 

-Woody Harrelson is also great as one of the protestors.

-Though I remember this case, the film doesn't mention that Terry Schiavo does end up dying nor does it discuss the importance of a living will.

-For the record, while I'm terrified of dying, I do not wish to be a vegetable for decades on end.