September 7th, 2020 (Labour Day)

Friday night was a Disney + evening, catching up on some older movies. One I had seen and the other I had not. I also wanted to check out what was the investment to see the streaming of the Live Action Mulan, just been released. Turns out that Disney “Premier” is a $39.99 added on that I am simply not prepared to pay. This would be for a movie that I wouldn’t have paid to see in the movie theatre. Why pay more than that for home viewing?? I haven’t even seen the original animated film from Disney. So pass. Apparently it will be released for all Disney + viewers in December. So, I likely can wait for that long.

Pixar’s Up is the 2009 delightful animated film that won Best Animated Film deservedly. It was also nominated for Best Film. Quite an achievement. It is a non-traditional storyline, where a 78yo man is the protagonist, and he has a young asian scout along for the fun and some other characters. The early parts introduce us to the very quiet Carl, and his chance meeting with Ellie who are both young fans of the adventurer Charles Muntz. Shortly after the introduction there is about an 8 minute sequence of scenes with no spoken words but just music accompaniment that shows the relationship between Carl and his now Wife Ellie. It is touching. One of the best sequences of any film I can recall. It packs some emotional clout that cartoons aren’t supposed to convey, but Pixar seems to be able to harness with ease. Carl and the young Russell set on an adventure together and they meet up with some characters to challenge and define them. They learn a few things along the way, and move into new territory. This is of course worth seeking out. I cannot recommend this more highly. Hard to imagine this was released 11 years ago already. It adds another quality film to the Pixar library.

A year later in 2010, Disney released the live action version of Alice in Wonderland, helmed by Tim Burton and his usual cast of actors he likes to work with like Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, among others. Those who are Potter-ites will see many a familiar face with the rest of the mainly UK based cast. I have to admit not to ever having seen the original animated film. I had never heard very good things about it. Walt Disney’s early animation work was the best for him before he turned his attention to theme parks. Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia were all part of their heyday. This movie I found too long. I also found that there were too many Lord of the Rings like battles that were unnecessary. Not just unnecessary but distracting to an overall theme. Is there really this epic battle between chess pieces and playing cards in the battle between the White Queen and her sister the bulbous-headed Red Queen? I incidentally would bet on the chess pieces every time. But nevermind. Depp plays the Mad Hatter and I see similarities with his character and the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. At least that is what they seem to be getting at. Other elements like Game of Thrones (and I do recognize that GOT likely borrowed the sequences rather than the other way around) but the GOT did it better. It was overly long, it did not capture my interest and I didn’t really say that I cared about what happened to Alice. I do think that the source material likely contributes to this, but still. Yes it has the Burton touch of heavy make up on characters who are more like caricatures than human-like. I cannot recommend.

August 31, 2020

Tenet: FINALLY! For the first time since March, I was able to attend a movie in the theatre this past week. This is as much news as anything, and the surroundings were just as notable. I went to a theatre in the northern part of the city on Yonge street, and the theatre was virtually empty. See the picture below:

I wanted to see this Nolan movie in an IMAX theatre. The process to purchase was that the seats were all assigned, and mine was the last one for that showing. The theatre itself is a large one, but only about 20 people were inside. Cost of the ticket was $21.50 which is much higher than usual. I didn’t purchase any food or drinks but I expect that they are more expensive as well (this is the primary way that the theatre makes their money). Masks were mandatory. No one checked my actual ticket. Now onto the movie itself.

I like Christopher Nolan films, and I entered this film with anticipation of what he would do now. I tried as best as I could to avoid trailers and other discussions about it. From one of his earliest efforts Memento, with Guy Peirce in a plot that goes backwards, to Interstellar and also Inception, with multiple levels of consciousness in dreams, Nolan likes to explore time and the impact on life as we know it if it isn’t fixed and linear. I consider myself to be a pretty savvy moviegoer and I can keep up with most plots, but I have to admit that Nolan had me stymied with this one. This is a very complex, complicated James Bond like plot. In short and not to spoil anything, an American agent is tasked with trying to prevent the end of humankind. The trailer makes a large point of the bullet returning to the gun, and the science involved in that but the plot is much bigger than that. To say more risks giving away some spoilers, although I am sympathetic in how those may assist a viewer. There is a scene near the end when a military-like mission is being explained when I have to admit that my head was swimming. I thought of how those soldiers about to enter that perilous mission would have felt, since they had seen all the earlier parts that I had!! I think I would have raised my hand a time or two for a little more explanation than which colour arm band I would be wearing. The cast is uniformly excellent. There are some familiar Nolan favourites like Michael Caine, Kenneth Branaugh and some new faces (including the new Princess Diana from The Crown, Elizabeth Debicki) who are very good. Robert Pattinson is a really pleasant surprise, and he is showing his acting chops in more serious roles these days like The Lighthouse. He’s very good. The main lead, the self proclaimed protagonist, John David Washington is compelling and has the requisite presence to make his role work well. Sadly the movie jumps from one busy action sequence to another all the while rarely catching its breath to allow the viewer to keep up. You must pay very careful attention because there are aspects are shown quickly which later on are impactful. You will be forgiven if you miss some of them. For me, this will require a second viewing. I find first views generally are keeping up with a plot, and this one especially requires another view. I am sure that the continuity is there, but I need to see more of the things going on in the periphery. I can’t suggest you don’t see this, but perhaps this is a “be prepared” review to set the expectations. Certainly don’t go see this if you are tired or had a long day. This will require your full attention and then some. I welcome discussion about it later.

From the big screen back to the small screen. I can provide a short review for the 2019 art dealer related film Velvet Buzzsaw with Renee Russo, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Malkovich. Quite an impressive cast for a less than impressive effort. This is a thrilled set in the art world, where Russo plays a successful art dealer in LA, Jake plays an art critic and writer and Malkovitch is an artist, who’s role isn’t very large as it goes on. An assistance to Russo finds an old man dead in the hallway at her apartment. She hears that he is a recluse and that the artist gave explicit instructions that all his art inside should be destroyed. She feels the need to snoop inside, and decides to remove the art to try and make a name for herself with it. She does. It becomes a sensation. Then bad things start happening to those who are involved. It goes downhill from there. In a word, this was stupid. Query whether it is more stupid than the time shifting going on in Tenet? I think it is, and I can’t recommend this.

Finally this weekend I saw the Netflix series Unorthodox, that I heard very much positive news about. In short this four-part series explores how one woman in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg flees from an arranged marriage and the oppressive religious environment to start a new life. For me this was insight into an interesting way of life. I think Shira Haas, the star Esty is excellent in it, showing her struggles and turmoil, along with the cultural aspects that she needs to lose like a cocoon. She had been married off at 18-19yo to a well intended young man with busy body parents. She was never able to pursue her passion for music. She departs with some help off to Berlin Germany. The film, incidentally was shot entirely in Berlin. So those scenes of NYC are really Berlin in disguise. Ironic that a young Jewish women seeks her freedom in Germany. I was cheering for her. I abhor when people are prevented from doing what pleases them with oppressive regimes on what they can and cannot do. In this instance I see no reason why she must be just “a good wife and mother” and aspire only to that. She sees over time that there are so many more possibilities for her. This is worth watching for the insight into these lives, but also the very good performances. It is based on a true story, and the woman who wrote it was involved in the production. Check it out.

August 24th, 2020

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation blah blah blah is a new installment in the Suicide Squad group of movies, that remarkably after this will be adding a third installment called Suicide Squad to be released next year.

Hard to describe this any more than just being a mess. Margot Robbie is a talent and can steal scenes but she is given so little to work with in this movie. The plot is that she has broken up with The Joker, once and for all, and she takes it hard. She does something silly in hindsight which makes her a target for many people who avoided her when she was under the protection of said Joker. There is police (Rosie Perez) and other villians, notably Ewan McGregor’s Roman Sionis. The title refers to Birds of Prey which becomes the end result of all of this. Three other women who come together in Gotham to seemingly act as vigilantes. Not sure that I would classify them as superheroes, although when the one does her version of extreme singing, you may look upon that as a unique skill (which it most definitely is). In the end, although Robbie can work well with the right material, and she has no lack of work these days, this string of projects isn’t the best place for her talents.

I re-watched The Imitation Game this weekend and will continue to contend that it is one of the best films of this decade. It should have won Best Picture. It is strange times indeed when a country and its justice system treats a war hero (Alan Turing) as a criminal, and resorts to hormone therapy against him. What a tragedy! Great performances by Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch. The whole cast was well suited and showed how they all pulled off the greatest victory in the war effort, with the end explaining that it saved two years of more war and lives. The Queen has recently pardoned Alan Turing, but it seems rather empty for a man who created the basis for modern day computing.

I also re-watched Silver Linings Playbook this weekend and think the performance of Jennifer Lawrence is spot on, and deserved the Best Actress award. It makes me pause however, knowing that BOTH The Imitation Game and Silver Linings were Harvey Weinstein projects. How does Jennifer Lawrence go from obscurity (Winter’s Bone in 2010) to a twice Oscar winner? In truth I don’t really want to think about it long, since I respect and admire her talents although her recent projects haven’t been as good as her earlier choices (Red Sparrow, Mother! and Passengers were all not very good). Yes this story is a bit schmaltzy and too perfect with the parlay and the dancing competition but it is good. Still they are a group of people that I wouldn’t want to share a dinner. A few too many challenges there. These days with very little content out, re-watching some quality past films is fun to pass the time.

August 17, 2020

(Note: this was revised somewhat and I apologize for poor prose in the original) The Aftermath: Keira Knightley, the British actress who came to my awareness from her 2002 soccer film Bend It Like Beckham, never seems to age. After doing Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom and its sequels, she did a number of period pieces. She seems to enjoy getting dressed up in the corsets and poofy dresses, under a repressed society for females. Pride & Prejudice, The Duchess, Collette all clearly showed her abilities well when being transported back in time. I think she is a very good actress, and I enjoy her performances. I was interested to see The Aftermath, which is set immediately after WWII in Germany. Keira’s character Rachel is heading to Hamburg to meet up with her husband during the reconstruction. He is in charge of many soldiers as well as the clean up effort. Husband is played by the versatile Jason Clarke who always seems to play the honest, hardworking but less romantic partner who has his spouse have a wandering eye (think of All I See is You, with Blake Lively and her choices once she gets her eyesight back). In this case, the couple takes over a chateau with a husband (played by Alexander Skarsgard, who any woman who watches films and knows Tarzan or True Blood, will tell you emphatically is no Jason Clarke), and his daughter. Seems both Skargard and Knightley have both suffered losses during the war, and those stories become more well developed over time.

As an aside, relationships are difficult. There is a balancing, compromise and mutual understanding that takes places, especially over time. Today, people may think we are in a complicated time, and we are with no doubt, but think how it would be during war time. Everyday stresses are compounded by an ongoing fear of tomorrow of immediate death, either on the homefront from a bombing (in the case of Britain) or in the field by enemy fire. The stresses would be immense. Bullets and bombs are more immediate than a virus that could impact you and perhaps take your life (roughly 5% of the time). It is no wonder that people speak of the WWII generation as the “greatest”. Having gone through what they did, in some instances twice if they were old enough for two World Wars, they managed to keep it together. Some managed better than others, but it was an enormously difficult time.

Back to the film, Clarke and Knightley have a distance between them, and it is explored slowly with glimpses into the impact the event has had on them both. Over time grievances are voiced and things move on from there. More things happen. Knightley’s character has what I can best describe as being a Bridges of Madison County moment. Those who know the film, will understand what I am talking about should they see this. It leaves the viewer with the question on whether they would make the same choice. This was worth watching. Knightley herself is very watchable and her interaction with the other two. It is a small story in a vast War time. But it is relatable and worth some time on Crave where it can be found.

August 10th, 2020

On Crave they have released some newer films that I need to review. The one I stumbled upon in passing. Endings, Beginnings is a 2019 film starring Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan (of Fifty Shades fame) and Sebastian Stan. Shailene Woodley burst on the scene for me playing the eldest daughter of George Clooney in the 2011 family drama set in Hawaii The Descendants. It is a role and a movie worth watching if you haven’t seen it. As her star was ascending from this she took on the role as Tris in the Divergent series. I read that she questioned whether to sign on to such a venture, but in a conversation with Jennifer Lawrence, who had just finished The Hunger Games, she had been encouraged to do it by JLaw. Woodley was concerned more about the pigeon-holing herself like had happened with Kristen Stewart and the Twilight series. In the end, she went forward but sadly not only did she seem to get pigeon-holed, but she also had the albatross on her neck of a failed franchise as Divergent never even finished the trilogy (and for good reason). As a result, this talented actress didn’t work as much. She did the movie Adift in 2018 which was a decent one-woman show about the true story of a woman surviving a hurricane on a yacht. She had also begun work on the series Big Little Lies that was well received drama surrounding women and families in the Monterey CA area starring as well Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and others. All this is background, but I pleased to see Woodley working once again. In this movie, she plays a 30s woman looking for some direction in her life after a failed relationship. She attends a party and meets two young men who both seem to intrigue her. She makes very human choices, and the viewer watches as the consequences unfold. The character Daphne has to make choices about stability and excitement in her primary relationship, and try and find what makes sense for her going forward in other areas. It isn’t easy to watch her at times and the choices she makes but they are very real. I think Woodley has always been genuine, and she is likeable even when she makes choices that aren’t so likeable. If you like her, and you like a relationship drama then this may be something to catch for you. I don’t think that this had much success in the theatres. But like Kristen Stewart I think Shailene is making choices and doing movies that aren’t so mainstream but that will expand on her skillset. Enjoy the summer weather and the NHL playoffs as they continue – it has been a busy sports calendar with NHL, MLB, NBA and then the PGA Championship in golf. So from having very little to watch from sports, we are now overwhelmed with choice.

August 3rd, 2020 (Civic Holiday)

On Crave I caught quite by accident the sci-fi, B-movie thriller (?) entitled Upgrade. It stars the male lead scientist from Prometheus, Logan Marshall-Green who in that better movie had the misfortune of slighting Michael Fassbender’s David. Funny I can’t remember the last time I actually said the term “B-movie” but it is appropriate here. This movie carries themes like other similar films like Ex Machina, where an uber-wealthy techno-geek is looking to have huge strides with tech and people, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Avatar and Alien, with a computer intelligence that is looking to expand its impact and ultimate influence. This takes the form, typically, of a machine with a hidden agenda. By the way, it flatters this movie greatly to be even mentioned alongside those better films. In this tale our married protagonist is driven by a self-driving car to a bad part of town where thugs kill his wife, and leave him for dead. He wakes up a quadriplegic, but is offered by the Wile E Coyote-like Super Genius use of his limbs once again if he only has a superchip implanted into his spine. The computer will take care of his limbs once again. The hero decides to move forward and wants to track down and take revenge on his attackers. He finds that the underlying plot is more complicated than first anticipated. The story unfolds. There are some laughable elements for example when the hero gives up primary responsibility for his actions and there is this disjointed walking and inhuman ability to fight in hand to hand combat. But overall it is tiresome and I cannot recommend it. There is a reason why some movies are straight-to-video/streaming. This is a good example of it.

I was realizing yesterday that another series of movies that I haven’t reviewed in this blog is the original 1968 Charlton Heston Planet of the Apes. It an original set of five films (Beneath POTA, Escape from POTA, Conquest for POTA, and Battle for POTA). Most of which starred Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter. Heston did the first two. It spawned a poorly conceived remake directed by Tim Burton, and then later still the very good trilogy with Andy Serkis as Caesar. What made the original so compelling was the make up (it was cutting edge at the time with the mouthpieces allowing the apes to talk. It had some political commentary as well with the ultimate trial of Heston’s Taylor by the powers that be, with the Minister of Science also having the title of Keeper of the Faith. Man in this world is at the bottom rung of the food chain. They are mute and kept in the jungles around the city. They are hunted for sport by the gorillas on horseback. Taylor was an astronaut who blasted off from earth with his colleages (two other men and a woman) but something goes wrong and they crash land on this planet. The woman didn’t survive the trip. They are captured by the apes and Taylor who was shot in the neck cannot speak, for the time being. With the help of chimpanzee couple Zira and Cornelius, he manages to escape his captors. The ending is legend. It came at a time with space exploration was ongoing, but there was an undercurrent of wariness with the Russians. The movies are based upon the book Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle. The original movies incidentally also spawned a TV series which was just not very good. Of the original series the first and second are the most compelling. Although the idea for Conquest where apes had been transformed from pets (the dogs and cats had mysteriously died and humans needing pets adopted apes) into slaves. They were shouted at constantly “No!!” Anyway, they rise up and conquer the planet (presumably one city at a time). For me it brings back good memories. I had the whole POTA action figure set going on (not ALL characters but a few). POTA was a start and then Jaws and then it just went from there. Movies have always been there to inform an entertain.

July 27th, 2020

As a follow up to the posting from last week where I noted I had started watching the 1940s era Manhattan which was a dramatization of the creation of the atom bomb by the US authorities. I finished the first season, and began season 2. I read however that the characters and stories about them are fiction, except for the names of Albert Einstein and J Robert Oppenheimer. Key characters in the story like Charlie Isaacs and his wife never existed. Others on the two teams as well. This was disappointing news but not altogether surprising. The drama among the characters just seemed too outlandish. I have little doubt that there was latent homosexuality and infidelity and other things happening given the number of people cooped up in a site for so long. Still much of it didn’t seem very plausible. The end of season 1 still doesn’t have a viable working bomb. This unending debate about whether or not implosion was even possible rages on. Interestingly as we know, two bombs were dropped and they were of each type worked on at the site. Both worked equally well. I won’t delve further into the merits of utilizing the atomic bombs, but suffice it to say that the desired effect of ending the war in the Pacific was accomplished. I will continue to watch season 2 (it was cancelled after this season) but I will be a little less enthused. Incidentally, Harry Lloyd who played spoiled Viserys Targaryen plays the same type of weasel-like character in this series as in Game of Thrones.

A new release on Netflix was the series called Indian Matchmaker, and it getting some buzz, not all of it is positive. The premise is pretty straightforward as we have an older East Indian woman who is assisting other East Indian people and their families to find a match/marriage partner. Arranged marriages are not uncommon in India, and the show brings forward many examples of long term married couples and their stories. The matchmaker in question has hundreds of families that she is working with, from all around the globe. We see young people in places like Houston, Colorado, New York, Mumbai, etc. She is quite the jetsetter to be seeing all of these various people. No where do they talk about her fees. She can’t be cheap. Still with a divorce rate in “love marriages” hovering around 50% one would think that arranged marriages can’t be any worse. In fact, they could be better. As a single person, I take solace that there are many around there like me. The struggles faced by meeting and finding the right person are real no matter where in the world you are, or your station. I was surprised at her use of biodata forms, astrologers and facial reading people. So much of all this for these people is fated, and in the stars/signs. I admit that the facial reading guy who sees a number of her clients was surprisingly good at seeing traits of these people just based on a phone picture. Now whether or not one can see someone having twins from just a picture is another story. You have all sorts of characters in this series, for me a couple that stuck out was the female lawyer in Houston, who has a pushy Mom and her own prickly, picky personality. She seems so set in her ways and not really willing to open herself up to almost anything new. The other was the young man with the overbearing Mom who dictates all that happens in her household. The young 25yo man has a younger brother who is engaged, and he is told that he MUST get engaged and be married within the year, to make Mom happy and allow the younger brother to get married himself. He rationally asks how these two events must be tied together, but all around him side with Mom. Such pressure on him. He sees hundreds of profiles and you wonder whether he is just being overly difficult or that he just isn’t ready. Maybe a little of both. Sadly, though there are other stories that the viewer doesn’t see finish. You would think you get to see what the results of the matches are and this dating, but it just isn’t so. Not even a follow up at the last episode with a review of who was met and what their latest status is (married, still dating or single). I was also somewhat surprised at the continuation of the separation of duties and attitudes about women. Our matchmaker can through herself or her colleagues put pressure on women to be subservient to their future husband; they must take a back seat to him and his desires. I was quite shocked at how bluntly this was put to these independent women, one in particular runs her own online clothing store and is quite successful. The cultural pressures are substantial, and add to that the pressures of thinking that one might want to have children and for women it is a daunting task. Never mind the later conversation if you are a single Mom in these communities! One very pleasant was told that her chances in the Sikh community would be very limited because of her status being divorced and with a child. There’s nothing quite like turning back the hands of time to the early 1960s for us in North America!! Everybody in the end has a story.

July 20th, 2020

I like Edward Norton, always have from the moment he burst onto the scene in his breakout performance in 1996 with Richard Gere in Primal Fear. It earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee. Now at 50yo, he has had some hits and misses. I wish he would work more. He has decided in 2019 to write, direct and star in Motherless Brooklyn. Set in the 50s, it begins with Bruce Willis portraying a private detective who is looking for backup in an upcoming business meeting. The backup are his two underlings in his detective agency, one played by Norton, who has an excellent memory for detail but also a version of Tourette Syndrome. Now Norton has played a character with a challenge before, notably in the excellent and underviewed The Score with Robert De Niro. Here Norton has this affliction, which he can’t control. It adds some humour every now and then (like with the waitress at a bar) but generally becomes a distraction as it pops up randomly. The plot deals with corruption at a municipal level with New York City. Alec Baldwin plays the head of the Bridge Authority who is head of Parks and Bridges, but also given a new appointment as the cleaner of “slums”. You must pay attention to the plot, but it is also predictable with some characters, like Willis’ wife. In the end, this is longer than it should be (about 20 minutes). Other characters like Willem Dafoe add some intrigue, as well as the presence of the female lead looking into the “relocation” aspects but there are various other tangents. Have we seen other stories about corruption in a city? Absolutely. Baldwin plays the bad guy well as he usually does. He has a group of cronies around him strong arming those who put up a battle against his plans. There is a speech late by Baldwin where you hear about the building of Central Park back in the day. He translates this into the activities that he is currently taking. I can’t recommend this, even though I like the cast (save Willis).

I also watched Harriet, and this stars the ever-rising Cynthia Erivo (who excelled in The Outsider.) Harriet Tubman was one of the few women involved in the freedom of slaves from the South to the North, like she had freed herself earlier. With assistance, she managed to walk from her home in South Carolina. The fact that she decided to turn around and make run after run getting hundreds out. The true story is compelling and an extraordinary tale of someone committed to freedom. Her freedom, and the lives of others like her. This movie resonates more now than it did at the time of its initial release (2019). Everything really has changed (in truth to be determined), and the hope is that the country which regards itself as the home of freedom (even though it allowed slavery to continue in its Declaration of Independence in 1776, written by slave owner Thomas Jefferson) can find ways to make strides towards true “equal treatment under the law”. But disregarding the wider big picture for the moment in present day, the movie is a quality performance from an actress who garnered an Oscar nomination for this role. Sadly Renee Zellwegger won the award, but this is a worthy performance. Erivo is English, and that may have raised some eyebrows, but it shouldn’t. She provided an excellent performance of the woman who deserves to have more recognition and notoriety. People like her, I think, would applaud the efforts now 150 years later to find that freedom the founding fathers were seeking to begin with.

I have begun watching the Starz series Manhattan (2014) which dramatizes the race to build the atomic bomb. Manhattan refers to the Manhattan Project led by Dr Oppenheimer. The bombs created and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to end the war in the Pacific. The bombs themselves were nicknamed “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. I had not realized that these were two different types of bombs; one was an implosion bomb, the other was uranium gun-type bomb. The two types were created by different teams within the Manhattan campus. There is plenty of drama surrounding the people within this campus. Think of it like The Imitation Game with much personal drama and relationships along with the challenges of creating new under the veil of secrecy. Rachel Brosnahan stars (before her memorable time in House of Cards, and then The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) and she is really good in all the roles that I have seen her. Also starring a much older looking Daniel Stern (from Home Alone, and voiceover in Wonder Years). It is longer than it should be at times (I am on episode 11 of season 1) and there is more to come. They haven’t even made a bomb yet, as they are still trying to figure out how implosion works. Issues like being gay, lesbianism, espionage, Jewish etc are all covered. I will continue to watch. It’s not as good as The Imitation Game but then again not many things really are.

July 13th, 2020

Let’s start this week’s review chronologically as I watched them. I have to say that the week started off very slowly.

It was only recently that I managed to watch The Big Lebowski. I am glad that I saw it, as it had some funny moments with irreverent humour. Marble-mouthed Jeff Bridges was pretty understandable as Dude. John Turturro played a fairly minor role as Jesus Quintana, a tough talking bowler. Turturro decided to write and then direct a sequel (well, a loose sequel) called Jesus Rolls. In a word: terrible. I am still unsure what the premise is here. Jesus just gets out of jail and is picked by his friend. They apparently do everything together, share everything together. That is everything. Jesus apparently is comfortable with both men and women. A good cast joined into this project including Susan Sarandon, Audrey Tautou (from Amelie), Jonn Hamm and Christopher Walken. How they were convinced to join in this mess I am at a loss. I won’t delve into it further, since I am trying to forget it quickly. So I would suggest avoiding.

Next I watched Slumdog Millionaire (2008) which was a worthy Best Picture back in the day. The story was well done and well told, with quality acting. This is one of the older films I saw before my reviews seemingly got into full swing. In short this is worth your time. It tells the story of an Indian street rat, who ends up the game show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, and is being questioned as to how he can possibly know the answers to random questions given his station. The story moves from giving answers in the show to the backstory. It all makes sense. Dev Patel plays the young boy. He manages to stay alive in his slums with his brother and this other young girl, who then grow and find new places in life. The young actors are very good. It all ties very well together and is a feel good story. If you actually do the conversion, 20 million rupees is $360,000 CDN. This isn’t retirement for a teenager (at least not in this country) but is obviously more than this young man would have ever seen. If you haven’t watched before, there are worse places to spend your time, if only to see the living conditions in these cities far away from here.

Next, despite my own hesitation I decided to venture to Disney + and watch Captain Marvel. Brie Larson stars, as an Oscar Award winning actress from Room. There aren’t many superhero movies that capture my attention. The Nolan Batman trilogies do, because they were really good movies on their own merit. Wonder Woman was well done. Even Man of Steel had its moments (like its soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, who also did Batman). But Iron Man, the various Spider Mans etc are all just Meh for me. Eventually I may see them, on an airplane or streaming, but not in the theatre. I like Larson. I don’t understand why she signs up for this, other than the financial security that comes with being a character in the Marvel universe who will then become an Avenger (I think). It guarantees money, but won’t push her acting ability, like it hasn’t for Jennifer Lawrence or Scarlett Johannson or Jessica Chastain. Annette Bening, Jude Law and other quality actors join in here too. There is the “with great power comes great responsibility” mantra from Spiderman. But it is a disjointed as the Marvel figures out, like Jason Bourne who she is, and where and what time she came from. The green shape-shifting orc characters are very futuristic, and from a time that I can’t fully place. But then there is a flashback to what seems to be the 80s with F-15 fighter jets, nothing like the space craft and suits, with Samuel L Jackson trying very hard to look and act younger. In short she seems to be a Steve Austin-like pilot put back together for a reason with some powers. Okay. She needs to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad ones. The cat in this film is just silly. Full stop. So add this superhero movie the pile of other predecessors who didn’t capture my attention. I won’t out to see any Avengers movie. Can we see any vulnerability in this character at all? With Superman he at least had Kryptonite. Not sure how Brie gets hurt. But in the words of Arnold in Predator “if it bleeds, then it can be killed”. So maybe. I just don’t care enough to find out.

Finally I stayed with Disney + to catch the “live action”, extended version of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau who had much success re-imagining The Jungle Book. Extended because they took a 90 minute original animated film and made it 2 hours. I will admit that the added time doesn’t really add anything to the enjoyment of this version. There is a new song from Beyonce (ugh!! Have I mentioned that I don’t like Beyonce and her screaching. Well I don’t). The others are filler. They brought back some of the original voices, like James Earl Jones, which is a really good thing, but failed to bring back a voice like Jeremy Irons for Scar. Which was too bad. I also didn’t like that they changed the turning point scene with Simba in the watering hole with Rafiki where he sees his reflection and his dead father then appears. For me, it is crucial that he says in the original “Simba you have forgotten me”, to which the son denies it. The Lion King really is a re-telling of Hamlet, and Simba is that frustrating young person unable to take proper revenge for the death of his father. Nathan Lane and his voice was missed. Seth Rogan cannot sing. It sounds like a bunch of negatives, in a movie that has some remarkable, lifelike images of animals in Africa. For me, the live, real life safaris that I watch from Wild Earth in South Africa colour my viewing of this. Yes I see the realistic movement. I also know that hyenas are nowhere like they are portrayed and I miss a real lion roar (Disney decided to use a Tiger roar instead). I mean, really??!! The lion roar isn’t intimidating enough? Was this entire enterprise necessary? Not really. It very much mirrors the original, which is the attraction but also a distraction. In the back of my mind I was replaying the original, noticing the differences and realizing that I still preferred the original. So Disney puts out more retelling of classic stories and stays away from new and original content.

As an aside, I watched Disney + for an interview with the cast of Hamilton in HAMILTON: HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON YOU where Robin Roberts interviews much of the cast in recent days. Hamilton was filmed back in 2015, and much has changed in the world since that time. The pandemic and more importantly the racial issue becoming highlighted. Hamilton was a play created by a Puerto Rican man (Miranda) and a mostly person of colour cast, each of whom is excellent. It is a good discussion about how this plays out in these times. I think an excellent point made, as they had a Harvard History professor on, was to point out that this play wasn’t meant to be historically accurate, but it was meant to raise questions and allow the viewer to do more digging for answers by themselves. I didn’t know the Alexander Hamilton story at all. I am tempted to revisit some of his writings. If I among many people do that, then this art has succeeded. More still, if everyone who watches Hamilton on Disney + (likely more the first weekend than all those combined who saw the show on Broadway) finds a way to register and vote in November 2020, then it also will have accomplished its goal. I can’t imagine that anyone interested in American history and the Revolution wouldn’t want to better understand the man who was by George Washington’s side. Check it out.

July 6th, 2020

On Friday with much hype and fanfare Disney+ has released a 2016 performance from the original cast of the stage performance of Hamilton. Hamilton was a sensation. Tickets were virtually impossible to get, and when they were announced for Toronto they sold out in record numbers. Sadly the shows were all cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The show was nominated for 16 Tony Awards and won 11, including Best Musical. So Disney+ offers up the Broadway cast, including creator Lin Manuel-Miranda playing the main role of American founding father during the 1700s and beyond. Alexander Hamilton, the man on the $10 US bill. He was a right hand man to George Washington. He was the original person responsible for setting up the federal Treasury, centralizing banking and the credit for America as a nation.

In terms of the performance, it is excellent and worthy of your time. The cast is uniformly excellent was tremendous voices. I can’t point to any one particular song (you don’t finish thinking that you need to buy the soundtrack) but they move the story along well. It is a story that I don’t know, but I am glad that I had some context of the time by watching a series like John Adams (on Crave and HBO). The founding fathers and their stories are intertwined with Washington, Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton all living during tumultuous political times as America violently rebelled from the British Empire. Jonathan Groff, who plays the King, and is well known now for his role in Mindhunter is excellent. He is funny, he is over the top, and he drools like a doberman as he sings. The man who played Washington has an excellent voice. They all have excellent voices. Each contributes to a memorable play experience. The mostly unknown story of Hamilton is mostly forgotten in US lore (President Obama actually was pushing to replace his image from the $10 bill – but pulled back when the play was such a colossal hit. Miranda has done something quite remarkable in putting forth an historical musical which teaches while at the same time entertains and informs. I am glad that I was able for the price of Disney+ to watch this play, and obtain my refund for the play in Toronto. Do I need to see this again live? I am not sure. I would be glad to do so, as I think I could catch more a second time. The music for older viewers, as I watched with Mom and step-father, was more difficult for them to follow. The music can be more rapid style rap than they are used to. It is not your traditional showy Broadway tunes. They both enjoyed the second half more than the first.

On Netflix the new popular film is the Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell comedy entitled Eurovision: Story of Fire Saga. This is a lightweight comedy focused on a fictional musical duo from Iceland looking to win the popular Eurovision contest. It has a number of cheesey performances and really bad Icelandic accents (notably Pierce Brosnan as the father of Will Ferrell). In Alison’s words she said “I didn’t hate it” which I don’t take to be tremendous praise. It is mind candy and filler for a couple of hours. Not having been familiar with the actual contest itself, I don’t get the references to performers from the past that are as unique as they come. From the silly to the outrageous. Do I actually believe that Rachel McAdams did the singing? No. Does it really matter? Not really. There were a couple of laughs in this in the slapstick variety, but overall I can echo the sentiments that “I didn’t hate it”.

I realize that I have never reviewed the 1999 sci-fi classic The Matrix. It was on Crave again Sunday night and I find that this is easily watchable time and time again. It was a innovative for its time by the wire work that was done on the stunts. This was part one in what turned out to be a three part series. This, by far, is the best of the series. In short, a computer hacker, played by Keanu Reeves, is intrigued by some outsider computer felons making his online news feeds. He leads a double life as a hacker himself, but also works as a worker bee in a software company. In dramatic fashion he learns that his life in the world as he knows it isn’t what he imagines. In fact, he learns that the humans have become slaves and live in a virtual world to keep them mentally occupied. A virtual prison for their entire lives, to serve the machines, a product of Artificial Intelligence. The story traces the battle between the machines and their agents and the people trying to survive in the real world. There is an excellent supporting cast with Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Ann Moss, Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving. Together they tell an exciting, compelling, unique sci fi story in search of The One who live save humanity and end the destructive war with the machines. There is a scene fairly early on where Neo (Reeves) is interviewed by an agent and it turns in an unexpected direction. I was hooked from that point onward. This is a good time to point out that a new Matrix movie has been announced for 2022. The story is unknown. Given the scope of the original three episodes, and the ultimate conclusion I am uncertain where this new episode can continue, but I guess we will all find out. Reeves is back as Neo. Carrie Ann Moss is back as well. Reeves was 35yo in 1999. Twenty two years later it will be interesting to see how the new Neo will look. They are apparently filming this now.