From Alison:
Odds and ends from 2019
I have no idea how many movies I watched in 2019 but assuming a minimum of three per week, a ballpark estimation is likely somewhere around a hundred and fifty. One stands out for me as the worse thing I willingly sat through; Gemini Man. There was a close runner up in Rambo: Last Blood but I’m giving this to Big Willy. I didn’t watch this movie looking for him say very much, the plot was obvious. I watched so I could see things get blown up real good and handsome young men get punched in the throat. Stallone had the good sense to just get down to business but Will just kept talking, then his clone kept talking and then the bad guy and the sidekicks all had too much to say. Only one stunt scene (the one in the commercial) delivered and the rest were meh. I know I don’t have to tell you not to waste your time watching this but like the warning on a pack of cigarettes, I’ll just remind you.
Won’t You Be My Neighbour? was more than even the great Tom Hanks could salvage. The movie was not about Mr. Rogers per se as much as it was about the reporter hired to write a piece on him for Esquire (this part is true). I acknowledge that Fred was about positivity and stillness but outside of a documentary it just plays wrong. Mr. Rogers was a guy I watched as a kid, made fun of as a teenager and mostly forgot about as an adult. His passing was sad but this was a tribute to him that wasn’t particularly sentimental and at times was uncomfortably bad. Hanks did his level best but I can’t recommend it. They chose to end the movie with a scene where Mr. Rogers was alone on the set and began playing the piano. Quite unexpectedly he slams his fists down on the keys in what appeared to be anger. It was just odd and failed at helping the viewer understand this special man or perhaps it was to show that he struggles just like everyone. Skip this mess and watch the documentary instead.
A few thoughts on Apple’s new streaming service…
Apple launched its new streaming service with only a handful of original offerings. In true Apple style they threw a lot of money into this project, bagged some of Hollywood’s top actors to join in the fun and sunk mucho dinero into the production of its shows. I managed to finish See with Jason Mamoa and Alfre Woodard in 4K and Atmos and enjoyed the ear candy a show about blind people in the wilderness had to offer. The series is slow until episode six before I became interested in the outcome. Servant is a medium given of and to the mind of M. Knight Shyamalan and so far is the best offering IMO. A family hires an odd nanny to care for their child which turns out to be a doll. The actual child died sometime earlier and the mom has had trouble adjusting, hence the dolly. But something else just isn’t right… Saying much more might ruin some of the fun but given the origins of the show you can expect to be perplexed and mildly creeped out. I was just about to turn off Dickinson when Wiz Khalifa showed up with a spliff. This is a modern not modern take on Emily Dickinson as a petulant teenager coming into her talent. I’m three episodes in and will likely finish it. Lastly, The Morning Show and For All Mankind started out as novel and with a small b bang. Both have fizzled for me and I’ve yet to complete either. I will at some point but its not high on my priority viewing list. Hopefully they’ll surprise later. Hopefully Apple has a few more tricks up their sleeves (or in their pockets) to encourage someone, anyone to subscribe.
Mondays With Robbie 