tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74467773278336662602024-03-05T01:50:12.105-08:00FilmNutReviews from a guy who likes moviesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-30337755147373363112022-06-21T05:45:00.005-07:002022-06-21T05:45:37.782-07:00<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Goofy movie, that's for sure - a mishmash of Indiana Jones with his fedora, and all those dinosaurs roaring the bellowing (in place of a plot), and everyone screaming, all the time. Was this a horror movie? Special effects were great, but they can't make for a movie. Fun to see everyone, but this was pretty much a bunch of moments in search of a story. I didn't really care about any of the characters; found myself mostly bored by it all. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-13845309525532197582021-11-18T09:08:00.003-08:002021-11-18T14:19:37.084-08:00"Belfast"<div>A fine piece of story telling - the pathos and pain of Belfast, the poverty, the conflicts, the power struggles and violence - Protestants and Catholics - background to the life of a young boy - a child full of hope and love, surrounded by a kindly neighborhood, and a family, caught up in its own struggles. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzksLTmSvbayFA_F6bYOtQHVdjw_Hl2IK2MVgz9KjolbSHpVU8mGZQDQk_o0VAxUD-AoOjovYPcte1ajeS0yz9stPNZJvLoAryXp4yfpQyF-1wO8Yecd3wU7KPOAiXX42V7-Dr3_x2Yg/s2048/MV5BOGQyNjk3NDgtMjMxNS00NTA4LWIxZDUtMTBhYTM4MzFkMmViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI4OTg4ODc0._V1_.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzksLTmSvbayFA_F6bYOtQHVdjw_Hl2IK2MVgz9KjolbSHpVU8mGZQDQk_o0VAxUD-AoOjovYPcte1ajeS0yz9stPNZJvLoAryXp4yfpQyF-1wO8Yecd3wU7KPOAiXX42V7-Dr3_x2Yg/s320/MV5BOGQyNjk3NDgtMjMxNS00NTA4LWIxZDUtMTBhYTM4MzFkMmViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI4OTg4ODc0._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Father, Grandfather, the Boy</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />The young boy is a cheerful bundle of energy; but sensitive to the times, and to the family undercurrents.<div><br /> Fascinating use of Van Morrison music and Country Western. <br /><br />Fine acting, great script - some really humorous lines, but it's not comedy. <br /><br />I was the only one in the auditorium, so I missed what might have been audience-reaction. <br /><br />The dedication at the end says it all - to those who left, to those who stayed, and all those who were lost. <br /><br />The showing I attended had captions; helpful for the music lyrics, and some of the Irish brogue. But if captions aren't your thing, the sound quality is such that everything was clear. I closed my eyes a time or two to listen rather than "watch." <br /><br />Yes, this a movie to see. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-26638750207885843922021-06-11T15:56:00.004-07:002021-06-11T17:48:31.139-07:00"In the Heights"<span style="font-size: large;">Incredible - story, music, dance; every human emotion: joy, delight, inspiration; sadness, sorrow, tears; hope, laughter, love, and then some ... and some surprising SFX ... music, dance, everything, superbly done. Yes, yes, yes ... and yes, again. Don't miss it.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And, and, and ... a post-credit trailer ... I mean, post-credit ... right at the very end ... a lovely little moment!<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLU6iZNSpETnUeThVN7WgG3DzS6Txm2ugFKLYkkflmUz6rg9_iOq_i_6iYzN3tAqr4Me4D4RiZs44qSq10mjZsA5vpis-iO1ZETtdfZ6iLVRFuvPUyVexStMouiKxZLLTrS0PjHwhZMQw/s2048/heights-anatomy2-videoSixteenByNine3000-v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLU6iZNSpETnUeThVN7WgG3DzS6Txm2ugFKLYkkflmUz6rg9_iOq_i_6iYzN3tAqr4Me4D4RiZs44qSq10mjZsA5vpis-iO1ZETtdfZ6iLVRFuvPUyVexStMouiKxZLLTrS0PjHwhZMQw/w576-h324/heights-anatomy2-videoSixteenByNine3000-v2.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-73065102270629194762021-02-20T08:26:00.003-08:002021-02-20T08:26:48.899-08:00"The Tribes of Europa"<span style="font-size: medium;"> Finished the series yesterday - wow ... so very good ... lots of commentary about the present state of affairs in Europe ... and some darn good story telling - it's all about power, what we do with it, how it affects us, how some go crazy with it, while others know how to limit its allure. In the midst of it all, family - it is, for better or for worse, our origin.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet, we have other origins, too - our tribe.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Special effects, superb. Cast, terrific. Violence? Of course - life is violent, but here in this series it's handled well. It's all part of the story, like it or not. It's the kind of world in which we have to live and work, and find our way.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">At the end, I was hooked on the three main characters, siblings, separated from another, striving to be a family again ... each with their own story ... I cared about them, wanting to know more, wanting to see how it works out.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There has to be another season.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Don't miss it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdolusV7tNeRjmwR6VgcKxKdN2g9UHOJ-0rIXUd4l6QQkP1tIqTcfkzh2zgRSc8raRzlOSlyIsdLOy8FOGj-C-IXFCClYRjZdkjckVwhZ_d5H_tvEQ69SlfK_OTN4ToN59uFUx31GbMk/s1000/tribes-of-europa-netflix-review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdolusV7tNeRjmwR6VgcKxKdN2g9UHOJ-0rIXUd4l6QQkP1tIqTcfkzh2zgRSc8raRzlOSlyIsdLOy8FOGj-C-IXFCClYRjZdkjckVwhZ_d5H_tvEQ69SlfK_OTN4ToN59uFUx31GbMk/w400-h225/tribes-of-europa-netflix-review.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-45376110968651038632020-10-06T11:26:00.011-07:002020-10-06T11:29:48.302-07:00"The Last Word"<br />Finished first season of <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#">#TheLastWord</a>, a terrific German <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#">#Netflix</a> "comedy" that deals with death, grief, and just about anything else we can throw at the wall. Superb cast, scripting, acting. It's all here.<br /><br />Hope there's a Season 2.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0N7fyK81BY0pG-0SNXR81bDb0RRdcc4_KAOYsbcVWM7vqM6vSjPrzROw7JpWB2gML4v9HHkzJeI26G3_YhkAXd69RyAmOB5uIJwG1DKTXIGjvqb_9ebym17_njgKewnTpJ2knm5cc3M/s1153/FireShot-Capture-140-AAAABZdhrZWjiIxCEuXyaCuwDIsohKODL_ziEad7fFrQnJ2e4nHEJXJrfoOAGf_YN58ZB_-occ-0-1946-2186.1.nflxso.net_-1153x550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1153" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0N7fyK81BY0pG-0SNXR81bDb0RRdcc4_KAOYsbcVWM7vqM6vSjPrzROw7JpWB2gML4v9HHkzJeI26G3_YhkAXd69RyAmOB5uIJwG1DKTXIGjvqb_9ebym17_njgKewnTpJ2knm5cc3M/w571-h273/FireShot-Capture-140-AAAABZdhrZWjiIxCEuXyaCuwDIsohKODL_ziEad7fFrQnJ2e4nHEJXJrfoOAGf_YN58ZB_-occ-0-1946-2186.1.nflxso.net_-1153x550.jpg" width="571" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-38973747178293696182020-08-23T11:25:00.002-07:002020-08-23T11:28:14.680-07:00"Biohackers" - Netflix<p><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9849210/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Biohackers</a> ... </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmzeyfx5YsVd5TRk69mGDlcgDTEIdQl5EBtdJdQUFmmCbvfvRNJOZv2jsANFoqzkZb7a-pqrfAhgpxxVONgOaD4V1yp-IGf7yP01WAizPUeXbY63OhEaQSKm7eFqLxMHGwG2G9kUCu7U/s1777/MV5BMTFjOTRmYWEtNWRkYi00ZmE3LTkwZDAtMzQ5MjdiNDM5NzZkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDU5MDEyMA%2540%2540._V1_SX1777_CR0%252C0%252C1777%252C999_AL_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1777" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmzeyfx5YsVd5TRk69mGDlcgDTEIdQl5EBtdJdQUFmmCbvfvRNJOZv2jsANFoqzkZb7a-pqrfAhgpxxVONgOaD4V1yp-IGf7yP01WAizPUeXbY63OhEaQSKm7eFqLxMHGwG2G9kUCu7U/s640/MV5BMTFjOTRmYWEtNWRkYi00ZmE3LTkwZDAtMzQ5MjdiNDM5NzZkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDU5MDEyMA%2540%2540._V1_SX1777_CR0%252C0%252C1777%252C999_AL_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5);"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">All the elements of a thriller are here ... it caught me, and got inside of me, disturbed, unsettled me.</span></span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">A story well conceived and well done. </span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">A story of young lady putting her life together, to challenge the self-anointed righteousness of the powerful and the wealthy, convinced as they are of their own place in the sun, believing they alone know the truth and can break the law at will because they, and they alone, are entitled to govern, and when given their due, they will offer to humankind a perfect world, a world determined by the few and not the many. Democracy be damned. </span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The acting is superb; <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6953501/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1" target="_blank">Luna Wedler</a> is thoroughly convincing, innocent, yet never naive; her character is bright, and utterly devoted to justice - not revenge, but justice, because justice liberates. This young actor captures the heart of the story and brings it to life.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The rest of the cast, terrific. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0777594/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t15" target="_blank">Jessica Schwarz</a> is evil to the core - strong, intelligent, visionary, and completely dismissive of life, all in pursuit of her self-righteous dream to create life without disease.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">A great story, good music, excellent cinematography ... a story utterly relevant for our times: when Democracy strives against Oligarchy; when the voice of the people is threatened by the voice of the few.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The ending is dramatic, with an unexpected twist; left me breathless, and hoping for Season Two.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-11058764943271113532020-02-07T13:49:00.002-08:002020-02-07T13:49:58.455-08:00"Birds of Prey"<span style="font-size: large;">Perfect DC movie - darkly comedic, comedically dark ... it all worked - great acting, music, fight-scene choreography nothing less than fantastic, IMAX sound worth it. At the very end, after all the credits, a bit of joke ... not exactly a post-credit trailer, but fun.</span><div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-36642170210720927032020-01-25T10:43:00.000-08:002020-01-25T10:43:35.853-08:00"Bad Boys for Life"<div style="background-color: white; color: #121318; font-family: ".SF NS Text"; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">the story was better than I anticipated ... more than just fast cars and mayhem ... a real story of family, loyalty, religion. Martin Lawrence was terrific.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-52615482384084219972020-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:002020-01-01T09:42:59.833-08:00"1917"A remarkable story - common soldiers, stuffy brass, and a whole lot of folks caught up in a story none of them wanted, but for which they suffered and died. As a war movie, it's an anti-war movie - and from the perspective of the trenches, with all of their blood, gore, filth and disease ... when killing the "enemy" is the only thing that counts. The cinematography is, of course, fantastic - long, long, shots without cutting ... some of the most elaborate sets ever, the trenches. And lighting - flames at night, flares ... and in it all, what soldiers seem always to say: they end up fighting, not for a cause, but for one another.<div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-55979959995191300182019-11-20T08:27:00.000-08:002019-11-20T08:27:18.962-08:00"Ford v. Ferrari"This is a very fine film ... perhaps the best when it comes to racing, and, oh yes, the sounds - I'm a racing buff, and if there's anything that thrills me to the core of my being, it's the sound of fine engine at high RPM ... or just sitting somewhere on the tarmac, rumbling away, waiting, waiting, for someone to get behind the wheel and make it perform.<br /><br />And, a story - it's a terrific story - superb acting, full of suspense and tension. Bale and Damon are terrific together, and display all the wonder and craziness of two guys who love one another, but see the world often in very different ways, and often caught up in the craziness of the industry - Bale the driver, Shelby the manager, but also a real car-man.<br /><br />Ford Motor Company is portrayed as I know it from 16 years in Detroit - all the companies were bogged down with layers of administration and engineering, with everyone looking out for their own well-being, never daring to step out of line with an idea. Mediocrity became the safest route to follow, and that's exactly what they did, and that really comes through in the story.<br /><br />There are so many wonderful, powerful, moments in this film, I'd be guilty of giving away too much if I were to note any of them. I laughed and I cried.<br /><br />As a long-time racing buff, it was pure pleasure for me hear the names of Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Lance Reventlow, Walt Hangsen ... as a kid, I saw them all race at famed Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. <br /><br />If you love racing, as I do, you'll love this one ... and if you love a good story, as I do, you'll love it for that reason, as well.<br /><br />Cinematography, music, sound, all terrific.<br /><br />This gets a 20 from me, the top of the heap - vroom vroom and zoom.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-9511594986460119832019-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:002019-11-16T18:38:09.743-08:00"Terminator: Dark Fate"Sure, of course, no academy awards, but as a movie, it did what it needed to do to review the franchise story, offer new elements, maybe even more movies. All-in-all, I was satisfied, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Linda Hamilton was awesome, so was Arnold, MacKenzie Davis, Natalie Reyes, and of course, the Terminator, Gabriel Luna. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-33370381745106026682019-11-12T09:14:00.000-08:002019-11-12T09:14:45.435-08:00"Jojo Rabbit"Ok, one of the best - an extraordinary to capture what Hitler must have seemed like to a ten-year old boy ... enthralled with the Nazi movement, and his ever-present "companion," and a hatred of Jews - all bundled up in little boy who wants to do what's right. His loving mother, his absent father, and someone hidden upstairs, a town, a nation, all caught up in life and death moments.<br /><br />Handled with delicate scripting, the story turns dark, and, sooner rather than later, the little boy comes face-to-face with the truth. All the children are incredible actors; a wonder to behold.<br /><br />The questions here are profound. The cast is superb and brings it all off with unparalleled skill - from ironic humor to the darkest moments; with lessons for all on the power of a demagogue who, in the minds of the vulnerable, appears as a savior.<br /><br />This is a movie not to miss.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-52736936318741572612019-10-23T10:17:00.001-07:002019-10-23T10:17:41.306-07:00"Judy"Brilliantly done, Zellwegger is beyond good in her portrayal of Garland - it's the last years of her life, so the movie is "hard" to watch - I cheer for Garland, but self-destruction seems inevitable, rooted in the evils of the studio system when she was introduced to drugs, to maintain her weight and then help her sleep while filming The Wizard of Oz. It's quite the story, and a movie worth seeing. And she does her own singing, too, and it's remarkable; she really embodies Judy Garland.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-44856290669616902732019-10-10T08:42:00.001-07:002019-10-10T08:42:22.207-07:00"Joker"The darkest and saddest movie I've ever seen ... yet utterly profound, telling a hard story, with so many mistakes, missteps, along the way ... the failure of a society, the failures of people ... the cruelty of so many ... Joaquin Phoenix delivers an incredible performance ... along with music and cinematography, and a stellar cast. <div>
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Certainly, one to see, but expect to come home drained and disturbed.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-37219218532736465942019-06-05T14:07:00.001-07:002019-06-05T14:07:44.766-07:00How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)Just finished the 6 episodes of season 1, Netflix - excellent cinematography, imposition of social media on the main screen, capturing the social media world and its constant interface with these teens ... and how youthful decisions, which make so much sense at the time, can lead to some might dark and deadly places.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-75473341142986816672018-05-26T07:49:00.000-07:002018-05-26T07:49:07.276-07:00"First Reformed"So very well done ... with minimal, but accurate and biting, commentary on the times in which we live, the state of religion, the influence of money, the loss of hope, the rise of despair. <br /><br />Ethan Hawke is amazing, and portrays a minister more realistically than I've seen previously. His character's story story is sad, his integrity deep, his sense of the faith, embracing, his struggles profound and agonizing.<br /><br />It's a dark story, for sure: St John of the Cross, "The Dark Night of the Soul," or Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of the Matter." <br /><br />I was pulled into the story, mind, body and soul ... yet without sentiment (thankfully). <br /><br /><div>
One profound moment of imagery, the cross (with Amanda Seyfried, whose portrait of a young mother-to-be is profoundly moving) and a quick ending, with "Leaning on the Everlasting <br />Arms" in the background. I'll not say more. <br /><br />But see this film - not for entertainment, but for sobriety, and a reminder of God's grace incarnate, and some hints and bits about the goodness of God (but no Hallmark here).<br /><br />Hats off to Paul Schrader for such a finely crafted <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6053438/">film</a>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-20656576562248137692018-05-08T04:58:00.000-07:002018-05-08T04:58:05.831-07:00"Train to Zakopane"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSaZb0_zpGYRG6GGYb-tz-dCyF2bo41M1WGS9csV1NpNwO3CoWZJeQowCYUpPMqfIF2HUcMaizeGz-Yd_Qo3PAxPJsJP0ptN2W7WpgcxMfLHhcdL9c6DfFJp8FvU6y5xqqKhwsBHeOt4/s1600/15256thumb.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSaZb0_zpGYRG6GGYb-tz-dCyF2bo41M1WGS9csV1NpNwO3CoWZJeQowCYUpPMqfIF2HUcMaizeGz-Yd_Qo3PAxPJsJP0ptN2W7WpgcxMfLHhcdL9c6DfFJp8FvU6y5xqqKhwsBHeOt4/s320/15256thumb.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Profound story, true (the filmmaker's father), with tragic twists and turns ... originally done as a play, the film was mostly the play filmed ... simple sets, some scenic footage inserted, some inaccurate "details" as a 1928 setting - a train whistle, costumes, cigarettes (I'll not say more; you'll have to catch these yourself) ... and all dialogue, as with a play, but sometimes tedious as a film.<br /><br />So, as a film, flawed ... <br /><br />As a story, enlightening and sad: 1928, a train, across Poland ... a chance meeting, a successful Russian businessman, a nurse in the Polish army, and then hate, love, and always ignorance ... <br /><br />Poland's "original" sin, if you will, anti-Semitism, and role of the Catholic Church in promoting and perpetuating anti-semitism ... and survival, but at what cost? <br /><br />In light of the history that unfolded with Herr Hitler, and our own present struggles, this is a story that needs to be told, and a film that needs to be seen. Excellent for groups.</span><div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-23279737858779981872018-05-06T08:29:00.001-07:002018-05-06T08:29:25.483-07:00"American Socialist: the Life and Times of Eugene Victor Debs"Thoughtfully done ... lots of information, good footage and stills ... informative and provocative ... Debs was a man of compassion, kindness, intelligence, determination, and faith. He understood history, and knew the heart of America, and cared for it, as few have done. He was willing, at all the turns of his time, to put himself on the line, and pay whatever price was demanded of him<br /><br />This was a chance for America, but big money went to work, as it has always done, sullied the word "socialist," hounded and jailed men like Debs, violently broke strikes, and did everything that big money can do to alter perceptions and change the course of history, and that was that.<br /><br />Dazzled by the glitter, America chose another path, and what a price the American People have paid. <br /><br />A very discouraging docu for me ... just how stupid we are, with our silly self-reliance delusions, and our willingness to throw one another under the bus, along with our environment.<br /><br />Believing that Big Money really cares about us.<br /><br />While Big Money laughs all the way to the bank, because the wealthy will never allow anyone or anything to diminish their wealth.<br /><br />If you want to be disturbed, in the best kind of way, check out this terrific <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7088344/">documentary</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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That God would grant us leaders like Debs.</div>
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Oh, LORD, I pray.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-89893233035239505262018-02-23T09:09:00.002-08:002018-02-23T09:10:32.860-08:00"Black Panther" & "Call Me by Your Name"Two movies this week ... "Black Panther" last night and "Call Me by Your Name" on Wednesday. Each, in their own way, offering a perspective not ordinarily given in mainstream film.<br />
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"Call Me by Your Name" - a gay coming of age film, reminding me of "Summer of '42" (1971, a boy and an older woman).<br />
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"Black Panther" - a story, a hero (not always super, but full of integrity and struggle), a nation, technology, hope - from the heart of Africa ... not the "heart of darkness," but the heart of light and promise. <br />
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"Call Me" dragged a bit ... a 30-minute film stuffed into a two-hour bag, or so I thought ... but perhaps the time is needed to represent the slow and uncertain movements of love and discovery, in that fine summer time in Italy. <br />
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"BP" was a bit disjointed at times, but it's a gigantic story well told, with so much promise for future Marvel tales ... and, of course, always fun to see Stan Lee's cameo. Be sure to stay for the mid- and post-credits scenes.<br />
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Both films open new doors to the audience ... doors much needed, because on the other side, a whole world awaits.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-51748858519774614392018-02-07T09:11:00.000-08:002018-02-07T09:12:26.059-08:00"Hostiles"<br />
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</span>One of the finest films I've ever seen ...<br />
mature, candid ... <br />
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the frontier cruel to the bone, for everyone ... <br />
death everywhere ... no one was free from it's chilled hand ...<br />
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scoundrels survive until their end; soldiers do their job ... <br />
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souls harden; spirits collapse ... <br />
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can there be any form of goodness in such a setting? No angels here, no clean hands ... but can there yet be some hope? <br />
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Can D.H. Lawrence's quote that sets the stage for the film yet be undone by better angels?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted."</span></h2>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-6443153648909639662017-11-11T09:15:00.000-08:002017-11-11T09:15:51.345-08:00"Suburbicon"I "loved" it ... but it's no joy ride; more like going through Dante's hell ... the evil we do unto one another ... all cleverly hidden beneath the surface of our "nice" lives - the image of a 50s suburb.<div>
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It's a study in evil, corporate and individual ... lust and hate ... racism and desire ... acting is superb, music, cinematography ... and the little boy, omg, what a fine actor. </div>
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And in spite of a tour through hell, it ends on a hopeful note ... I'll not say more, but this gets my highest rating. </div>
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A bit surreal, as it should be ... sometime metaphorical, and deeply ironic - those who would do evil unto others must pay a price. </div>
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Definitely see in a theater ... and if anyone is part of a discussion group, have at it on this one.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-40084345330765218632017-01-29T07:01:00.000-08:002017-01-29T07:01:00.982-08:00"Gold"A riveting story ...<br />
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Gold-fever.<br />
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Wealth, power and foolishness.<br />
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Lies and more lies ...<br />
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The foolers and fools.<br />
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Drunk on dreams, and drunk on booze.<br />
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In the end, was he or was he not?<br />
Did he know, or did he not?<br />
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Hee hee ... enjoy.<br />
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Men and women who would destroy everything for their own gain. Who have fallen down at the feet of Mammon, thrown away their humanity, willing to eat one another for breakfast, wiping their mouth and their hands, on to the next feast.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-51027862890935318452017-01-20T05:56:00.000-08:002017-01-20T05:56:04.427-08:00"The Founder"<span style="font-size: large;">This was a fine peace of work, and Michael Keaton, wide-eyed and determined, reveals the ligaments of dreams and power - it's all a mixed bag - wreckage left in his wake, an empire built, families disrupted, and in the end, money - money given to the Salvation Army and NPR (go figure). </span><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The entire cast is superb - the costumes and settings capture the feel of the times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I learned that Grand Rapids, MI was one of the very first in the new chain, and it was in GR, when I moved there in the fall of 1959, I remember my first trip there - going up to the window, the 15-cent burgers and 10-cent fries - I remember standing there and eating. Wow. I was 15 and in 10th grade.</span><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoying the story, feeling some of Kroc's enormous frustration in trying to find himself, and the constant anxiety of going on a limb, I found myself encouraged - persistence is the key, always. And clear-headed thinking and goals, too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, in a sense, woe to those who achieve their dreams. The feel of the movie is morally ambiguous, which is pretty much the whole of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A movie for the times ... live and learn.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-78975550051424815692017-01-10T09:22:00.000-08:002017-01-10T09:22:07.678-08:00"Hidden Figures"A must-see film. <br /><br />The story opens a curtain on America and its standard operating procedure on race. Here we have three women (bad enough), and "colored (worst) - everything against them, but with loving families standing with them, and taking advantage of what they can, and always pushing the limits. <br /><br />The acting is superb ... and the overall theme is painfully clear, as the husband of one of the women says: "Freedom is never given to the oppressed; it has to be taken" ... <br /><br />These women walk a tight rope - their own ambition and ability constantly checked and challenged by racism - not always the violent kind, but the endemic kind, like air and water, just the way it is.<br /><br />The setting is the early 60s ... the civil rights movement is on, and as one of the men says, "civil right isn't always very civil."<br /><br />The women find ways and means to hang on, to stand up, to push ahead. They are brilliant in all respects, working a team of African American women segregated to the West Campus, doing their work, shunned and mistreated ... <br /><br />There are a few white folk around who catch a glimmer of a different world ... and make it happen, even when it's not enough, but something is better than nothing. There are no "white heroes" here (which is too often case in movies); whatever freedom is won, is hard-won, and the whites, if they move, are moved by mostly by pressure, and not by compassion.<br /><br />I found myself sickened at times - oh, how could we be like this, to look upon other human beings and simply categorize them as "less than us" and constantly deny to them a place in life - the colored bathrooms, the colored coffee maker, the colored section of the library - every goddamn thing marked off with boundaries drawn by whites - it's ugly, hateful, disgusting ... and almost always polite.<br /><br />The three women swallow a lot ... they find surcease in family and faith ... they love and fall in love and are loved - the irony of it all: as Kevin Costner, the director, says, "our pee is all the same color" when he smashes off the wall a "colored bathroom" sign and walks away with everyone standing around in amazement. <br /><br />Is there hope?<br /><br />Sure.<br /><br />But neither the story nor reality allow us to be naive ... we've come a long way, but the way ahead remains challenging ... the work of freedom, the work of civil rights, is far from complete.<br /><br />Woven into the story is the character and crust of these three remarkable women. There's humor in the pain, and I found myself, with the audience, laughing with delight at the victories and humor in the face of sorrow, and cheering when a victory is won - like being able to take a night-course in all white high school, a decision made by a judge, so one of the women could continue her education.<br /><br />At the end, narrative on screen telling us about the three women, and showing their pictures - suddenly, it's all-too clear: this is real story about real people and and a real time in our nation's history.<br /><br />Powerful, important, entertaining, enlightening.<br /><br />I came home and said, "What a fine, fine, movie."<br /><br />Yes, a must-see movie.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446777327833666260.post-27221343838460925952015-01-31T18:22:00.001-08:002015-01-31T18:22:40.971-08:00"American Sniper"American Sniper is an excellent piece of work, a subtle anti-war film if I've ever seen one ... "war is hell," and that's made abundantly clear here. I was worried, from some of what I've read, that it glorified war; it doesn't.<br />
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Throughout the film, bits and pieces lift up the futility, the aimless of war. I was particularly moved by the opening scene of the young Chris Kyle being raised in a "Southern Warrior" home ... a belt-loving father, a hunter, a quiet, if not silenced, mother, going to church - the toxic mix of religion and violence throughout the South.<br />
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Kyle had four tours of duty ... a profound dislocation for him, for his wife and his children. Where was home? Was it with his family, or with his "family" over there? The horror of war is clear ... this is not glory, this is pain and fear and sorrow and stress of the worst kind.<br />
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Kyle does his job. He's a Southern Warrior - not an evil man, but an innocent man, a good man, devoted to his country, his god and his buddies. Like Graham Greene says in one of his novels, "Dear God, save us from the innocent and the good." With that said, it's clear that Kyle was neither a mean man nor one who lusted for blood. He was a Southern Warrior, a class in America, if not a caste, like those found throughout history and cultures - a class of people who, by instinct and tradition, are warriors, willing to put their lives on the line for the cause of god, nation and the good, as they see it.<br />
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At the end, news footage of his funeral procession, and thousands lining the highway with flags a-waving. The hurt and pain of a soldier's life all covered up and glorified with the Stars and Stripes.<br />
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I don't think anyone seeing this movie would come out cheering ... I think it provokes lots of questions about what America is doing to its soldiers, and to the world.<br />
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I thought the "enemy" was decently portrayed - mostly, I think. The enemy sniper was no different than Kyle - a soldier doing his job. One character, "the butcher" was portrayed as a man of great evil ... but the enemy was simply that.<br />
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Blood and gore ... sudden death ... who's the enemy? women and children ... as is done in all wars by occupied peoples; sadly, women and children are called upon to defend their homes, their land, their families, too.<br />
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Acting is superb - Bradley Cooper is astonishing, and so is everyone else. My son noticed the evolution of equipment from Kyle's first tour to the fourth.<br />
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Kyle's belief rarely wavered, though at the end, he was ready to come home ... not just be stateside, but to come home, not only in body, but with soul, too, to his family.<br />
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That he was murdered by another vet whom he was trying to help is full of profound irony. Who knows how life would have gone on for him - it seems that he was making the transition to civilian life.<br />
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That Greg Abbot should declare a Chris Kyle Day is also ironic, and sad - for a man who only did his duty, who was not interested in his "legend," who only wanted to serve his country, not be used by a political hack to further the culture of violence and American pride.<br />
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Worth seeing? For sure ... you'll come out as I did - appreciative of this strange Warrior Class, and one member of it: Chris Kyle, and all the more determined that we end our nation's warring madness ... as Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote:<br />
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Cure Thy children’s warring madness,<br />
Bend our pride to Thy control.<br />
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,<br />
Rich in things and poor in soul.<br />
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,<br />
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,<br />
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1