Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs is an animated film, with screenplay and direction by Wes Anderson. It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature Film, and Best Original Score by Alexandre Desplat. Isle of Dogs is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violent images.

I have been a fan of Wes Anderson’s films since Rushmore. Perhaps you too have watched some of his films. (My favorites are The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom.)

I was interested in how his unique sense of humor would translate to an animated film. Many of the actors he often uses in his films provided the voices for the characters (Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray among others; Bryan Cranston is the voice of the dog Chief).

In Megasaki, Japan, dogs have been banished to Trash Island at the behest of Mayor Kobayashi after an outbreak of dog flu endangers the citizens. One loyal dog owner, Atari, goes in search of his beloved pet Spots, and he encounters danger and intrigue at every turn. 

The story moved right along, and I loved watching Isle of Dogs. There’s a bit of social commentary in this tale as well as some subtle warnings about the environment. The music is beautiful and fitting to the action, and made the animation really come to life.

Did you see Isle of Dogs? What did you think stood out more: the animation itself, the story, or even how the music accented the storyline? What are your favorite Wes Anderson films?

Isle of Dogs - Official Trailer

Christopher Robin

I felt like the film Christopher Robin didn’t know whether it was made for children or for adults. I remember reading Winnie-the-Pooh in my childhood. I haven’t read it in decades, but I was curious about this film. Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin all grown up, with a job, a wife, a daughter, and all the adult responsibilities such a life involves.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. I was curious how the stuffed animals would be integrated into a live action film. Christopher Robin is rated PG for some action. That action is really the best part of the film and occurs mainly in the second half. The first part is quite slow moving, and I really had to have faith it would get better in order to continue watching it. 

Christopher returns to Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie-the-Pooh in search of all their old friends.This is where the Visual Effects really were stellar. These stuffed animals come to life, especially in the action sequences. I marveled at how it could have been done, the creatures interacting with live actors, situations and props. It really was quite wonderful.

Christopher’s young daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael) steals the show with her passion and faith in her preoccupied father. Some of the best quotes from the book are in this film, and should make you consider what is really important in life: doing nothing, eating honey, enjoying your friends and family. I recommend this film if you enjoyed and remember Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh, or if you want to see some truly special visual effects.

Did you read Winnie-the-Pooh? Did you see the film and did you like the twist it put on now adult Christopher Robin?

Christopher Robin - Official Trailer

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

I watched the Coen brothers film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, on streaming Netflix. It seems people either love or hate a Coen brothers film, and I cautiously tuned this one in. The movie is about the American West, and features six vignettes about very different situations. It was based on the book of short stories of the same name, and the screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen.

The film also received a nomination for Best Original Song, When a Cowboy Trades his Spurs for Wings, which I thought was very appropriate for the story it was featured in (which is the first tale). The film was also nominated for Best Costume Design.

I was captivated by this film and the stories it told. It is rated R for some strong violence. The film’s locations included New Mexico, Nebraska, and Colorado. 

The six stories are diverse. The first story, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, is the most offbeat. Tim Blake Nelson plays a singing cowboy with some fancy gun slinging skills.

Near Algodones features James Franco, who makes an appealing bank robber. (Algodones is an area north of Albuquerque.)

Liam Neeson is a cold hearted entrepreneur with a one-man freak show in Meal Ticket.

In All Gold Canyon, prospector Tom Waits finds what he’s looking for, but can he keep it?

On a wagon train to Oregon, the heartbreaking, sad tale of The Gal Who Got Rattled is told very well.

A couple of bounty hunters on a stage coach is taking their latest catch, The Mortal Remains, into a creepy hotel. It is visually quite stunning the way it is filmed, as are the other panoramic views of the west in other tales.

I recommend this film. And initially I didn’t think I would like it much, but the storytelling is really first rate. Did you see this anthology of short films, and what did you think of the way the Coen brothers presented the tales?

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Official Trailer

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

There were three Academy Award nominations this year for the sobering, yet entertaining film, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Best Actress playing writer Lee Israel, Richard E. Grant was nominated for Best Supporting Actor as her friend and partner in crime, Jack Hock, and a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay based on Lee’s memoir of the same name rounded out the accolades.

The film is rated R for language, including some sexual references, and brief drug use. It is based on the true story of Lee Israel, an author who had some success in publishing, but later very much lost her way. I enjoyed watching this film. It was very well done, and didn’t minimize the troubles Lee found herself in due to drinking, depression and poor choices.

Melissa McCarthy has made her career shine as a comedic actress, yet in playing Lee, she fully embraces the serious side of her abilities. She plays Lee bravely and without making her seem like a pathetic person. Lee was fully aware of her choices, and came out in the end without paying too much of a price for her deceptions and the forgery she excelled at.

The film depicted the times of the early 1990’s true to the era, and the relationship between Lee and Jack is believable and complete. I highly recommend Can You Ever Forgive Me?

How would you feel if you were a writer and suddenly couldn’t get published anymore? Probably you wouldn’t go to the lengths Lee did, but where would you draw the line to make ends meet? Did you see the film, and what did you think of it?

Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Official Trailer

The Florida Project

The Florida Project resulted in an Oscar nomination of Best Supporting Actor in 2018 for Willem Dafoe. He played manager Bobby at a motel just on the outskirts of Disneyland in Florida. One where the clientele are the down and out and rooms are rented by the week or month. Not for the traveler actually going to see Disneyland, this motel is for those who have no other choices for housing.

The film is rated R for language throughout, disturbing behavior, sexual references and some drug material.

Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her six-year-old daughter Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) are residents at the motel, and although Halley tries her hardest to provide for Moonee, she has few skills in being a single Mom and sole breadwinner. Halley relies on scamming any way she can, on the generosity of others in her “community,” and ultimately on her body.

Bobby doesn’t put up with anyone not following the rules in his motel. He has superiors he has to report to, and rules to follow himself. He does have a heart for the children though, innocent victims of birth and circumstances. In one very compelling scene, he creatively and effectively deals with a would-be child molester, who surely won’t return to prey on the unsupervised children again.

I watched this film several months after its release with a friend of mine who is a social worker. Having been a child and family therapist myself years ago, I saw the reality of what these families were going through all too well. My friend and I agreed that Halley was trying her best, but unfortunately it simply was not enough. Why some people have kids is simply a tragedy for them and their children.

Did you see The Florida Project and did it change how you think about the disadvantaged in America?

The Florida Project - Official Trailer

Period. End of Sentence.

I was delighted to discover that the Academy Award winning film for Best Documentary Short is currently on streaming Netflix! Period. End of Sentence.

I had not seen the nominated films in this category, so eagerly watched this excellent short film that is just 26 minutes long. The film was made in India, and the Hindi language is dubbed in English, so the dialogue is easy to follow.

In a rural village just outside of Delhi, India, young girls found it difficult to stay in school due to no easy access to sanitary napkins to use during menstruation. Many would drop out of academics completely. With the help of The Pad Project the women in this village began manufacturing and selling safe, hygienic pads. As I was watching this inspiring film, I realized how privileged I’ve been to live in a country where feminine hygiene products are available virtually everywhere, in sharp contrast to the lives of females in underdeveloped countries who have to resort to old clothing and rags during that time of the month. The income made by manufacturing these pads makes a big difference in the female workers' lives, and the easier access to feminine hygiene products brings more choices for the young women who purchase them.

I encourage everyone to watch this film, especially if you are a woman. It is wonderful to see that there is such an initiative because we know that the education of women makes the difference between a life of few choices, and one where opportunity abounds. 

Period. End of Sentence. Watch the film and come back and tell me what you thought of it. Were you inspired to take any action?

Period. End of Sentence. Official Trailer

The Wife

Glenn Close was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her role in The Wife (regrettably she lost to Olivia Colman in a horrible movie, The Favourite), and so I was very interested to see her performance. I thought I knew what the film The Wife would be about after I saw the trailer. I did not guess the twist to the plot that is the big reveal near the end of the story which made it that much more satisfying to watch. The film is rated R for language and some sexual content.

Joan (Glenn Close) and Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) have been married for about 40 years. Joe is a well known writer who has been chosen to receive a Nobel prize for literature. Flying to Stockholm, they run into journalist Nathanial Bone (Christian Slater). Nathanial wants to write a biography about Joe, and stirs up their seemingly perfect life with some well founded claims about the real relationship between Joan and Joe.

Also on the trip is their son David (Max Irons) who bears some resentment towards his father. The interactions between the three family members and Nathanial really stir things up as they prepare and rehearse for Joe’s participation in the Nobel Prize ceremony. The fact that women give up their lives in support of their husbands is not news. What is interesting in this film is the lengths to which narcissistic Joe and long-suffering Joan go to keep up their charade and deceit.

Glenn Close gives a stellar performance, Jonathan Pryce is convincing as her self-centered husband, and Christian Slater is perfect in his role as the biographer researching the family secrets.

Did you see The Wife? What did you think of Joan’s decision at the end of the film?

The Wife - Official Trailer

By popular demand: Followup to the Academy Awards!

Elated that Green Book won Best Picture! along with Mahershala Ali as Best Supporting Actor, and for Best Original Screenplay. The Best Picture should always be something uplifting and inspiring I believe, and Green Book hits the mark.

Roma also won three awards: Best Director for Alfonson Cuarón, Best Cinematography, and Best Foreign Language Film. Roma is a good movie, I’m fascinated by Cuarón’s choices, and it will go down in history as a really groundbreaking film.

Sadly, Olivia Colman won Best Actress for The Favourite, nudging out Glenn Close for her stellar performance in The Wife. It’s not that Olivia’s acting wasn’t good; it’s just that it was such a waste of time to watch such drivel.

Black Panther won three awards: Costume Design, Original Score and Production Design. I was surprised about Best Original Score. I could pretty much agree with the other two.

Bohemian Rhapsody cleaned up with four awards: Best Actor for Rami Malek (I still say no one else could have played Freddie), Best Film Editing, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. 

BlacKkKlansman won only for Best Adapted Screenplay. Finally Spike Lee gets an Oscar. About time.

I didn’t see If Beale Street Could Talk. Regina King, a very fine actress, won Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Vice won only for Makeup and Hairstyling. Haven’t seen it and don’t care to.

The song Shallow from A Star is Born won for Best Original Song. The duet by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga during the show was really very sweet.

Free Solo won for Best Documentary Feature. I haven’t seen it yet, and I didn’t see the Live Action and Documentary Shorts. The winner for Documentary Short looks real interesting though. I will try to find it. It is called Period. End of Sentence. and is about women and girls in India.

Best Animated Feature was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

First Man won Best Visual Effects, and lastly, the delightful animated short film Bao won. Creative and touching it is.

So, that’s my wrap-up for this year. I’ll be posting reviews over the next few weeks of some of the films I saw that I didn’t get time to post prior to the show. What are you glad and sad about over this year’s Oscars?

Cold War

Poland’s entry into the Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category this year, Cold War is a black and white film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. He won the Best Foreign Film Academy Award in 2015 for Ida, a film I enjoyed that year. Cold War was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Director at this year’s Oscars (lost to Roma in all three categories). I really enjoyed this bittersweet film set in the 1950’s in Poland and France at the height of the cold war between communist countries and the “free” world. The film is rated R for some sexual content, nudity and language.

Zula (Joanna Kulig) and Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) meet when musical director Wiktor is helping find young singers and folk dancers to form a traveling Polish dance troupe. Zula is a talented singer and dancer, and a charismatic young woman, and the two fall in love. Wiktor has dreams of being a composer and musician beyond the folk music of Poland, and loves jazz music of the West. 

When the state wants the troupe to sing and glorify Stalin and the communist propaganda, Wiktor especially finds his involvement in the group more and more draining. The two lovers dream of defecting and making their escape to France and the jazz clubs of Paris.

To say their relationship is a long and winding road is not exaggerating. Especially what Zula does to help Wiktor over the years shows her selflessness and deep love for him. 

Did you see Cold War? Do you think it should have won in any of the nominated categories over Roma?

Cold War - Official UK Trailer

2019 Academy Awards Wish List (and predictions)

Today is the big day when the envelopes are opened and the winners declared. I watched 14 films whose titles appear in the list of nominations, as well as the Animated Short Films selected for competition. Here is my wish list/predictions:

Best Picture: Green Book. Wonderful film with a happy ending. I love happy endings.

Best Director: Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman. He deserves his due and this was one of his best films ever.

Best Foreign Language Film: It will probably go to Roma, but I’d like it go to Cold War. Interestingly, both are in black and white cinematography. Cold War is an eloquent look at post WWII Europe in the lives of two entertainers. Although not a happy ending, it is an excellent film.

Best Animated Feature Film: The only one I saw was Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. I love Wes Anderson films (The Grand Budapest Hotel; Moonrise Kingdom) and I loved Isle of Dogs.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Can You Ever Forgive Me? A true story about a writer, and the screenplay really worked.

Best Original Screenplay: First Reformed. Why not give it to seasoned screenwriter Paul Schrader, who deserves some recognition? It was a really thoughtful film, despite the rather strange ending.

Best Actress: Glenn Close in The Wife. She does a great job with this role, and the story had an ending I did not predict. Good movie.

Best Actor: Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody. No one else could have played Freddy Mercury. No one.

Best Supporting Actress: Marina de Tavira in Roma. Her portrayal of a middle class wife of a physician with four kids was convincing and real.

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali in Green Book. Sensitive, stellar performance. 

Best Original Song: When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The song fit what was happening onscreen so completely. That’s what this category should be, not just a song thrown in at the beginning or ending of a film.

Best Production Design: Give it to Roma.

Best Cinematography: A tie between Cold War and Roma. Roma will probably get this one.

Best Costume Design: Black Panther. Why not? I won’t give anything to The Favourite, the next contender.

Best Sound Editing: A Quiet Place. A good horror film, necessitating skill in the contrast between silence and chaos.

Best Sound Mixing: I don’t know much about this category. I think Bohemian Rhapsody should win given the amounts of music in the film.

Best Animated Short Film:  I loved the little film called Bao, about a dumpling. Perfect little animated story.

Best Original Score:  Isle of Dogs. The music was just so perfect for the action.

Best Visual Effects:  Often this award goes to sci-fi films. Let’s break out of that pattern and give it to Christopher Robin. About Winnie the Pooh and his friends, these little stuffed animals never looked so real! Great work!

Best Film Editing:  BlacKkKlansman. The choices made going from one integral part of the story to another were just brilliant.

I’m hoping for my favorites to win. Roma is predicted to win almost everything, and Glenn Close for Best Actress. The rest are up for grabs. 

I’ll be tuning in this evening. Who would you like to take home the Oscar?

The Favourite

The Favourite is not Academy Award material in any way, shape or form. I suspected this after watching the trailer, but then I thought I’d give it a try. How wrong can the Academy be? Plenty wrong.

It is a period piece in the time of Queen Anne of England. Several of the characters were indeed real people in her court, but they were given very different lives in this film. The Favourite is basically about very spoiled rich people doing nothing at all noble or worthwhile in their lives. Too much money and free time make for some very selfish, self-centered people.

Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) finds herself in a triangle with two of her subjects, Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail (Emma Stone). Sarah and Abigail are cousins, and Sarah gives down and out on her luck Abigail a job in the court. They soon are at each other’s throats, Abigail wanting to insert her way into a secure “good” life at the castle.

The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress Olivia Coleman, Best Supporting Actress for both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, Best Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, and Film Editing. Did they just want to nominate a British film to round things out at the Awards? There is really nothing of redeeming value in this film, although individual people may have done a good job with what they were asked to do.

Did you see The Favourite? What did you think of the film?

THE FAVOURITE - Official Trailer

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Seeking A Friend for the End of the World is a really nice romantic comedy that my husband and I watched for Valentine’s Day. The title might make it seem like it could be depressing, but it is far from that. I found it to be an uplifting, sweet story. It is rated R for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence. (My husband later told me he didn’t like the film as much as I did, and in fact found it rather depressing. So, I think you will either love or hate this film.)

The world is basically given three weeks to live after a last ditch effort to avert a giant 70-square mile meteorite from hitting the earth fails. Once the meteorite hits the planet that will be the end for life as we know it. Dodge (Steve Carell) hears this announcement with his wife Linda (Nancy Carrell), who promptly leaves him.

The news of the impending extinction of the species is met with various reactions amongst the hapless humans. Some veer into unbridled sex and partying, others become suicidal, and even go so far as to ask for help from a hit man to kill them. Dodge’s neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley) is distraught and wanting to see her family who is across the ocean in Britain, and having trouble with her on again/off again boyfriend Owen (Adam Brody). Dodge and Penny team up to survive, as some of the citizens are looting like crazy and destroying everything in sight.

Their journey together is sweet as they come to know each other better, despite a bit of an age difference (Dodge initially is put off by this, but I didn’t think it that strange that they’d be attracted to each other). What else do you do when you know death is imminent? Make amends and patch old grudges with family members and ex’s.

The action takes place on the East coast of the U. S. and as the people retreat to their homes, stillness sets in that is somehow calming. I recently read the apocalyptic novel, The Stand by Stephen King and I found myself thinking about his story as this film progressed. His story is of course a very dark drama, but a similar question is asked: if the worst were happening, what would people do? Rise to a higher moral and ethical ground, or regress to become just a bunch of live for today hedonists?

I liked this film, and Steve and Keira do a great job with their roles. Steve especially shows such subtle emotion on his face and with his actions; he is a really skilled actor. What would you do if you knew the world was ending in three weeks? You know it will end for you someday, probably not all at once like in this film, but someday. Live every moment present, wouldn’t you? That is what Seeking a Friend for the End of the World suggests to me.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Official Trailer

BlacKkKlansman

Spike Lee holds a mirror up to American society in his excellent film BlacKkKlansman. The film is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African-American police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director Spike Lee, Best Supporting Actor Adam Driver, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score by Terence Blanchard, and Best Film Editing. It is rated R for language throughout, including racial epithets, and for disturbing/violent material and some sexual references.

Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) and his fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) infiltrate the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. While Ron talks to clan members on the phone, including David Duke (Topher Grace), Flip attends the group’s meetings, target practice and pool games as Ron. He is suspected of being Jewish, which he is. Almost found out several times, it is a dangerous operation they’ve worked their way into. The local chapter of the KKK is suspected of planning a terrorist attack against the black student union at Colorado College. 

There is much tension and suspense in this film, as well as some really great moments between Ron and Patrice (Laura Harrier), president of the black student union. It is really disconcerting hearing the racial epithets and negative talk coming out of Ron’s mouth, a black man with his own trials living in the 1970’s.

I’ve always liked Spike Lee’s films and this one is another very finely crafted story. He deserves Best Director this year for this very timely film.

Did you see BlacKkKlansman? What did you think of the film? Do you think it should win Best Picture too?

BlacKkKlansman Official Trailer

Black Panther

Black Panther has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Original Song, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Original Score. It is rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action violence, and a brief rude gesture. I don’t follow Marvel films, rarely see them, and I’m not really interested in action, super-hero films.

But I watched it (on streaming Netflix) due to all the buzz about its nominations this award season. As expected, it is a super-hero movie, with all the high tech wizardry the film industry has perfected in order to make other worlds seem almost plausible.

Where this film is unique is in its characters, who live in Wakanda, an entirely black community deep in Africa, hidden from the rest of the world. The story briefly travels to LA where some of the Wakandans had lived. Some things I liked about the movie was how the warrior-king, the Black Panther, time travels with the aid of a medicinal drug to speak to his ancestors. These are some of the most moving scenes. I also enjoyed a bit of a nod to James Bond movies, where T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his companions run into a CIA agent (Martin Freeman) where the intrigue turns into spy kind of antics. 

I also really liked the ending where T’Challa is speaking to the United Nations with a message that taken a certain way could be important to our times. (Be sure to stay tuned for this, as it occurs after some ending credits.) The fighting was boring, as usual.

Did you see Black Panther? Do you like super-hero action films, and did you think this one broke out of the genre?

Marvel Studios' Black Panther - Official Trailer

Roma

Roma, by Alfonso Cuarón, has netted 10 Academy Award nominations, all very well deserved. A stunning film in black and white cinematography, it is one incredible look over a year in the life of a middle class family in Mexico City in the early 1970’s. The film is rated R for graphic nudity, some disturbing images and language.

The Academy Award nominations include Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actress Yalitza Aparicio, Best Supporting Actress Marina de Tavira, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.

Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is a dedicated nanny/maid, and serves the family she works for in any way she can. The family’s father is a physician who is not often at home, and his four children and wife Sofia (Marina de Tavira) are mostly left to fend for themselves with the assistance of their “servants.” I found Cleo to be a self-aware young woman with strengths perhaps she didn’t even know she had at the beginning of the year in Roma.

I recall watching two other of Cuarón’s films, Y Tu Mamá También, and Gravity (for which he won Best Director). Very different films, and both wonderfully innovative. In Roma, I found myself wondering about his choices. There is nothing in a screenplay that is unintentional, and there are surprising situations and relationships that the film depicts. Not once did I feel anything was less than the truth about a fictional family. What women endure.

Have you watched Roma? It is easy to see as it is on streaming Netflix. How did you feel after watching it?

Roma Official Trailer

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

A Netflix original, I thought The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society might make a good romantic film to watch. It was. The film is rated TV-14.

It is 1946, and London is struggling in the aftermath of the bombings they endured during World War II. Juliet Ashton (Lily James) is an ambitious writer and author. She has a handsome American boyfriend, Mark Reynolds (Glen Powell), and a somewhat demanding publisher, Sidney Stark (Matthew Goode). She receives a letter from Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman), a man living on Guernsey, a British island in the English Channel that was occupied by Nazi Germany during the war.

She begins a correspondence with Dawsey, and crosses the English Channel to see Guernsey and this literary society for herself, hoping to get a really great story out of it.

Although we see courage and even heroism in the flashbacks to the occupation, war is not a glamorous time. The children on Guernsey were sent away for their protection just as the children of London were sent to the country to protect them from the barrage of Nazi bombings.

What made the story that much more interesting was the historical background of World War II. Although a fictional tale, it is historical fiction with certain details true to the times. I recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society if you like a story from this era. Be sure to have some tissue handy!

Have you seen this film? Do you think it recreated the times convincingly?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Official Trailer

First Reformed

Not everyone will want to watch this serious drama. It was written by Paul Schrader, screenwriter of several Martin Scorsese films, including Taxi Driver. First Reformed was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards, Schrader’s first nomination. It is rated R for some disturbing violent images.

Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is the minister at the historical First Reformed Church in upstate New York. Unlike the nearby mega church, shepherded by Reverend Jeffers (Cedric Kyles), Toller’s services are sparsely attended and the building itself, as a historic landmark, mainly attracts sightseers.

Mary (Amanda Seyfried), a young parishioner, asks Toller to speak with her husband Michael (Philip Ettinger). He is a depressed young man, and a committed environmental activist. Once Toller meets Mary and Michael, his life changes in unforeseen ways.

I read that Paul Schrader considers First Reformed his masterpiece. It grapples with questions of faith, forgiveness, and morality, especially in the area of environmental care versus degradation. Do we choose despair or hope in these times? The story contrasts the two congregations and how different they are quite effectively; the one outdated and traditional, the other hip and trendy. The mega church seems overly fixated on expansion with wealthy donors of questionable financial dealings funding the bill. Reverend Toller on the other extreme, is a thoughtful religious man, with his own personal pain, and physical concerns that worsen over time.

I thought the actors all did a good job with their roles. The screenplay was thoughtful, up until the ending that was confusing and very strange. Did you see First Reformed? What did you make of that ending?

First Reformed - Official Trailer

Bohemian Rhapsody

I’ve been a fan of Queen ever since I first heard the opening voices of Bohemian Rhapsody. In 2005, I was fortunate to spend a week in Las Vegas, and attended the musical We Will Rock You. Entirely based on the music of Queen, it was a stage extravaganza complete with stomping to the iconic title song. I loved it.

As I did the film Bohemian Rhapsody, chronicling the genesis of the British band Queen, and most notably, the life and times of their lead singer, Freddie Mercury. It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language.

The film won Best Motion Picture - Drama (why not best musical, go figure?), and Best Actor (Drama) for Rami Malek at the Golden Globes. As Freddie Mercury, Rami’s performance was outstanding, and I felt myself being pulled into the story so deeply, I forgot I was watching an actor play the charismatic and self-destructive star.

There is a Bohemian Rhapsody Sing-A-Long at a local theater, which I assume means no one in the theater should care if you choose to sing along to the stellar lyrics of the songs being belted out as background, or during the Live Aid concert. Personally, I liked the quiet in the theater, other than the occasional laughter at a funny moment, or the sniffling with tissues during the deeper scenes. The film shows the creative spirit in all four of the band members, and paints a compassionate portrait of the gifted Freddie Mercury.

Academy Award nominations for the film include Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Film Editing, Best Actor Rami Malek, and Best Picture. Don't let this film pass you by without seeing it in the theater.

Have you seen Bohemian Rhapsody? How did you like it?

Bohemian Rhapsody - Official Trailer

Green Book

The film Green Book won three Golden Globe awards this year in the Motion Picture category: Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali, and Best Musical or Comedy. That last category is a strange one. Although this film had comedic elements, it is first and foremost a truthful look at race relations in America in 1962. It is rated PG-13 for thematic content, language including racial epithets, smoking, some violence and suggestive material.

Based on a true story, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American from the Bronx, accepts a position as a driver for Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) an African-American pianist who heads a musical trio that will be touring in the Deep South. What Dr. Shirley really needs is a bodyguard, as there remains a great deal of prejudice and danger in the South for him. Tony turns out to be the right person to see that he is safe. As they drive across the U. S. in a beautiful new Cadillac and get to know each other, their developing relationship shows how even people of widely different upbringings and social environments can find commonalities in just being human, each deserving of respect and compassion.

I never give a spoiler, and to tell you what the Green Book is would give away something. So you go see it and discover it for yourself. The performances are spot on, and the settings of the early 1960’s brilliantly staged and filmed.

Green Book is likely to be nominated for several Academy Awards, and it is still in theaters. This is one film you shouldn’t miss. Octavia Spencer, Academy Award winning actress, produced the film, and I’m glad she saw fit to help bring this important story to life for us.

Have you seen Green Book yet? Please comment below on how you liked it.

Green Book - Official Trailer

A Christmas Carol

My husband really appreciates the talent of Jim Carrey, so when I discovered Jim had starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in a 2009 animated version of A Christmas Carol I rented it. The stylization of the animation reminded me of The Polar Express, a film that came out in 2004. They clearly used the same computer process to create their films. This is not a cutesy version of the classic Victorian era Christmas ghost story. It is rated PG for scary sequences and images.

The tale is one that should be familiar to all of you as it is based on the classic tale A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. The miser Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who foretells that he will be visited by three otherworldly spirits throughout the night. Because this is animation, the ghosts and the experiences they take Scrooge on are magical, delightful to watch, and sometimes downright scary.

Jim Carrey provided the voice of Scrooge at all the ages he is depicted (young boy, teenage boy, young man, middle aged man), and all three ghosts (Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come). It may not be the best film version of A Christmas Carol, but it was entertaining and will appeal to a younger audience that is used to animated features. Not too young though, as some of these situations the ghosts take Scrooge on are really very frightening.

Colin Firth is the voice for Fred, Scrooge’s very kind and forgiving nephew, and Gary Oldman provides the voices for Bob Cratchit, Marley and Tiny Tim. Robin Wright is Belle. All the actors’ voices fit the characters well.

Written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, whose credits include Back to the Future among others, you can be sure if you watch this version of the classic tale of hope and redemption that it will be a wild ride.

Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas in 1843, and the story of how this classic was created was the subject of a beautifully written and directed film from 2017, The Man Who Invented Christmas. I wrote a review of it last year (my review of The Man Who Invented Christmas). I enjoyed how it got into Charles Dickens psyche as the characters and action are brought to life. I think the reason this particular story is still so popular today and has had so many versions of it filmed is because we need to believe that even a lifelong stingy and hateful person can have an awakening and work for the good of all society. Dickens certainly had that hope and wrote about that theme often.

Which is your favorite film version of A Christmas Carol? Have you seen it performed in live theater? What are your favorite holiday movies? I hope you enjoy your favorites again this year.

A Christmas Carol Trailer