December 31st, 2018 (New Year’s Eve edition)

As I entered into the last week of 2018, I was fortunate enough to be able to see one of my favourite movies of all time on the big screen once again; Jaws! I had the added bonus of sharing the experience with my youngest son (14yo) who had only ever seen this film with me on the small screen at home. He was introduced to seeing this with a live audience and with huge sound and screen, the way it was originally intended. It was a late showing (9:45PM) but still an almost full theatre with people who collectively hadn’t all seen (or possibly remembered) the scary parts because there were audible gasps and jumps at some parts. How refreshing! This is a classic story for me, told in two parts. The first part is establishing our new police chief in small island town (Amity) Roy Scheider and his family (wife and two boys). This tourist town prepares for the summer high season and when a shark stakes a claim off its shores and injures some bathers and the town politics enters into it (the scene with Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) trying to talk about the shark tooth to the town mayor (Murray Hamilton) in front of the town billboard is priceless). The stronger half for me is the adventure on the ocean as three men go out to find and kill this great white shark. They are lead by Quint (Robert Shaw) who is a survivor of the USS Indianapolis, and has taken his life’s work to avenge the deaths of fellow sailors from that ill fated ship in WWII in the Pacific. Quint, Hooper and the Chief have a terrific chemistry. The music adds so very much to the tension and the story. John Williams is brilliant in adding to the sense of where the shark is (and isn’t) along with the chase scenes. In big sound, it takes on added importance.

Even after dozens of viewings, this movie still holds new things for me to see, or at least view them differently. For me this viewing showed me more of the deep seeded impact on Quint of his war years and the ship sinking. He takes it to a manic stage through his actions with the radio on the boat as well as driving the boat in such a way as to ensure that it is inoperable. All of this taking place with full protest by his captive ship mates, Brody and Hooper. He’s a colourful character and delivers the most memorable lines in the film from a Steven Spielberg perspective (USS Indianapolis speech, which Shaw himself helped to craft). I also had not remembered the very end scene with Chief saying out loud “show me the tank”. Finally, this was a very clear and bright print of the film, and the opening beach scenes have always been darker and hard to see more clearly. This print allowed the viewer to see Crissy and the young man more clearly as they ran the beach to go swimming. Adam liked seeing the two live shooting stars that are in the film too. This is a movie that ushered in the summer blockbuster age, and I left feeling charged and excited for both me and my young son. He finally saw one of my favourites as it was meant to be seen. Jaws is on the big screen at TIFF Lightbox Wed Jan 2.

On Netflix, I saw the new film from Sandra Bullock Bird Box. It has an impressive cast, adding in John Malkovich, Tom Hollander, Sarah Paulson, and Jacki Weaver. This is a suspense-thriller in the same genre as A Quiet Place. In fact, I feel as though without the success of A Quiet Place, that this project doesn’t get green lighted. The structure is basically the same, but this time people around the world are seeing something and then going crazy or having mass suicides. It begins in Russia and Europe and is reported in the US where Bullock plays an artistic woman who is pregnant. The father has absconded and she is not really very enthusiastic about having a child. She through flashbacks is seen before the incidents as the creatures (unseen in any meaningful way as opposed to A Quiet Place) enters and force people indoors and avoid seeing the outside world. Things happen, both expected and unexpected. Bullock goes on a perilous journey which is the opening scene in the film as she heads down a river in a metal rowboat, but without the ability to see where she is going. There is a level of disbelief that one has to have here, and some aspects just didn’t make much sense. If you want to see a suspense-thriller set with an invading species, the better movie to me remains A Quiet Place. Still there was some interesting scenes here with some good supporting roles.

A quick word while on the topic of horror about the Canadian A Christmas Horror Story from 2015. This stars William Shatner, as a radio personality who is broadcasting on Christmas Eve in this small town. Strange things are happening and there are scenes with a family going on a road trip, and another group of teens looking to explore a recent killing of fellow students at a school. Then there is the scenes of Santa Claus himself looking to deal with elves who have turned in a tragic way. This is not classic cinema, but it held my attention. I think that the genre of the Christmas themed horror movie could be explored much more deeply. The Krampus character is introducing something I have not ever heard about before. But once again it is interesting. If it pops up the small screen somewhere, it might be worth a little light-hearted fun.

Turning the page on 2018, I look forward to Awards season and there are more films I want to see in the theatre. It was a good year for film, although maybe not as strong as 2017. Wishing one and all a very prosperous and fun 2019 with plenty of good movies.

December 24th, 2018 (Christmas Eve edition)

I started Adrift and having completed it, here is my review. I was intrigued by the film and the premise given that it was a true story. Shailene Woodley has returned, and also produced this film. The story has been told before, notably recently with Robert Redford in All is Lost. The difference in this film is the love story that begins it. The film moves around in timeline starting with the opening of Shailene in the hull of the yacht that has been through a horrifying storm in the Pacific. Flashback then occurs to see Shailene arrive in Tahiti and make a Customs declaration that shows a woman just drifting through life as it comes to her. She meets Richard (Sam Claflin) an older more seasoned sailor who owns his own boat, and they have a whirlwind romance. Off they sail long distance from Tahiti towards San Diego (her hometown) at the behest of an English couple who owns a large boat and wants it taken back there. They have known Richard from before. He asks Shailene to join him in the crossing. The rest is fairly predictable and shows the beauty and perils of life on the ocean. It is a story of resilience and survival and using your wits and instincts to get through an unimaginable ordeal. This is Woodley’s film and she carries it well. I liked the performance, and see that much of it was filmed on the open ocean (and not in controlled sets and environments. This makes the challenge and continuity more difficult getting this film created. In the end, it is worth a viewing.

It’s Christmas Eve, and I have already reviewed the new Grinch film, but every year I watch my favourite Christmas film, and that’s A Christmas Story. This classic film is set in “Indiana” although the house is located in Cleveland.

The movie, which I may wrongfully assume everyone has seen, focuses on Ralphie Parker and his life with his family; Mom (Milinda Dillon – Close Encounters), Darren McGavin (Night Stalker) and little brother Randy. Ralphie is played by Peter Billingsley and he with the voiceover of the story’s author (Jean Shepard) capture the life and times of a young boy in the 40s. There is no TV, just radio. Ralphie’s greatest desire for Christmas is the official Red Rider multiple shot BB gun. His Mother and Teacher have put obstacles in his path to success by proclaiming “you’ll shoot your eye out!”. The story progresses from one scene to another of the family getting through until Christmas. From buying the tree, shopping, attending school and dressing for school to dealing with the school bullies. It has many memorable scenes and Darren McGavin is excellent as the Dad. From his battles with the furnace, to the neighbor’s dogs. He is priceless. Much like Shawshank Redemption, this movie gained momentum and viewers on the small screen. Released in 1983, it was not a great success, but later TBS made it a staple and people began to watch and appreciate. It remains a classic for me, and scenes make me laugh each and every time. It prepares me for the holidays and ushers in the Christmas season.

Finally I rented Rampage for laughs just to see what they have done, and the creatures that they have created. Well suffice it to say that I am glad that I didn’t spend money to go see this. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays an ex-military guy who eventually waged war on poachers and then became an expert with apes. He helped raise an albino gorilla that was not killed by poachers that he rescued. The ape is able to sign and communicate with Johnson. Cue the corporate bad guys who are working to use CRISPR to militarize DNA editing (splicing). They are creating super-animals that can be controlled and used for whatever reason. Only the experiment goes wrong and a wolf, alligator and the white gorilla ar all infected and grow and become more aggressive. They are very tough to kill, as they move towards Chicago for a reason that is muddled at best. But there is the storyline. There are some decent effects, but nothing ground-breaking. The animals themselves with the genetic modifications are scary – and do things like crawl up large skyscrapers vertically that are just too much to believe. So see this at your own discretion and peril. There are better ways to spend your hard-earned movie dollar!

Merry Christmas to one and all, with a day filled with friends, family, laughter and smiles. Hope those good feelings extend into the New Year for a marvelous 2019! Hopefully a trip to the movie theatre will bring you a movie to remember and talk about and reflect upon positively. TIFF Lightbox in Toronto is having a Steven Spielberg festival with many of his films, including Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Munich, Amistad and others. I hope to catch a few myself. On the big screen is where these movies belong. Cheers!!

December 18th, 2018 – One day delayed

This is being written today, a Tuesday, but I have a good excuse, and that was I hadn’t seen a movie to write about until last night on a flight. Now flights are not the best places to see films and mostly because most airlines are editing the films for content. Heaven knows if you will sit next to a 6yo and they don’t need to see breasts on the screen! So I give credit to American Airlines yesterday who make it plain that they do NOT edit the films, they are shown as shown in the theatres. Good on them. With that note, I was able to catch one and a half films.

Alison had sent to me the following blog list of Best Films as listed by Toronto critics.

https://www.blogto.com/film/2018/12/toronto-film-critics-best-movies-2018/

I noted on this list both The Favourite, reviewed here just recently but also First Reformed and Burning (also reviewed – https://wordpress.com/post/mondayswithrobbie.com/567). So with that background I decided to watch First Reformed.

A reverand (played by Ethan Hawke) is the head of a small church in upper New York State which has been in existence since 1700s. They are coming up to their 250th anniversary and there is a celebration being planned. His parish is small and dwindling. There is a corporate sponsored larger modern church nearby which watches over this smaller church. The father has had some challenges in his life. He is asked to counsel the husband of one of his more consistent parishioners. Questions are asked which don’t have simple answers like: “Can God forgive us to what we have done to his creation?” ‘Can we be forgiven?” There is further discussion about despair and hope. Ultimately this is what I consider to be the main theme of the film. Things unfold, and a degree of tension steadily grows. The performance by Hawke drives this film ever forward. He is very good. You can see the anguish on the face of Hawke, who steadily keeps his tumultuous emotions to himself. There are moments I will not spoil. I will say that when the credits rolled, I paused and thought back to what I viewed and then felt it was appropriate. I had (after seeing the trailer/preview) texted to Alison that I felt I knew what the good reverand was going to do. I think it is fair to say that I wasn’t entirely wrong. But then again, I wasn’t right either. I am glad to have seen this.

I started to watch Adift with Shailene Woodley, and Sam Claflin, but this is Woodley’s picture. I am glad to see her once again since it seemed she hasn’t worked in quite some time. Ever since the whole Divergent debacle, where someone sold her a bill of goods on it being The Hunger Games, she has laid low. But I like her, and think she is good here. I have not completed the film (I got halfway through) but I have it on rent and will complete in the next day or so. I look forward to finishing it and completing this review.

December 10th, 2018

In a recent conversation I had, I was told that women’s relationships are far more complex than those of men. Having seen the new film The Favourite about UK’s Queen Anne in the early 18th century, and her entourage I can believe this. The movie explores principally three female characters and their interactions. All three performances have been nominated for Golden Globes. Two supporting roles for Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, and one for Actress for the excellent Olivia Colman. Colman is the new Queen Elizabeth in The Crown for Season 3, she has also done plenty of TV and some smaller parts (The Lobster and Iron Lady). Here she plays Queen Anne who was as pictured an unpredictable and unstable leader. Her most trusted consort (Weisz) is the wife of a general, but manipulates and directs the sails of the Queen through her physical and emotional connection to her. Weisz enjoys a place of privilege and is the real power behind the Queen. Along comes Weisz’s cousin (Stone) who was disgraced when her husband was caught doing bad things and her station has been relegated to commoner. She has other ambitions for herself as she reconnects with her cousin and sees the position of power that she wields. The rest unfolds beautifully as the drama and the intrigue builds between the two ladies of court and they struggle and battle to keep their positions of power. All the while the Queen relishes all this newfound attention while she physically deteriorates. Colman is excellent in this regard. The film really shows and explores the dangers of having a rogue element at the top of a country directing where things will go. The real power lies unsteadily in the hands of various people with their own agendas. It further shows how corrupt and poor behaviour of the trusted servants can be rewarded as the leader can be swayed on a regular basis. The parallels to today’s political climate are not lost on the audience. This film was really good, and it has been nominated for Best Film as well. It has funny moments, it has disturbing moments and there are three fine performances.

One further comment about the moviegoing experience. I will state that I prefer the theatre experience to that of seeing films on my own at home. Despite having a really good quality TV and sound system, the audience can add to the enjoyment as there can be collective laughs and shared enjoyment. Here the film was disrupted by a buffoon who sat in the row beside me, and managed to bring in a 6-pack of beer all the while laughing outrageously loud at times when things just weren’t that funny. It detracted from the film and robbed me of the quiet at times that was welcome. I do not understand those who somehow believe they are still in their living rooms and feel as though the theatre is an extension of it. Do what you want, and act as you will in the comfort of your own home, but when you are in a crowded theatre, then tone it down and be more appropriate and sympathetic to those around you. This was similar to the Crazy Rich Asians experience I had. Ugh!! “It’s really snowing outside!”

A comment too about the Golden Globes, for the nominations were made this past week. I was pleased by some nominations, surprised by others and disturbed by the snubs. My biggest issue was the snub of Widows and more importantly the lack of a nomination for Viola Davis. My post earlier this month explained my love for this performance and I am genuinely surprised how she was not nominated. This is a fine film, and I don’t understand the snub across the board. The other snub was for A Quiet Place, which also was a really good film and was a box office success story. No performances acknowledged. The only nomination for (blink) Best Original Score. Weird. On the other side I am not sure of the love for Bohemian Rhapsody. Rami Malek was the reason to see this film, but it doesn’t go beyond that for me. Others have disagreed with my interpretation, and that is what movie and art is for. So I am surprised. Clearly Vice with Christian Bale in his Musical or Comedic performance should be seen, and apparently so too should be Mary Poppins Returns. We will see about that, even though I am a big Emily Blunt fan. She should have been nominated for A Quiet Place, so maybe two nominations, but can two different Mary Poppins win awards? Julie Andrews won the Oscar for Mary Poppins. Green Book is on my list of films to see as it won People’s Choice Award at TIFF already. For me the classifications of films are surprising, as in A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody could easily be called Musicals, and The Favourite and The Vice should be considered Dramas. I am genuinely pleased for Lady Gaga, I am not impacted by Bradley Cooper and surprised at snub for Sam Elliott. So let the debating begin!!

Wednesday December 5th, 2018 – Burned

Well I realized when I posted today about First Reformed that I didn’t write about Burning, which I had seen at TIFF Lightbox on December 5th. I was caught up in writing about Intouchables (older film) than writing about what I saw in the theatre. Maybe that says a little something about Burning and how it may not have impacted me very much. I think, to the contrary, that I had written, or began writing, and thinking about Burning for so long long that I had thought I had already posted the review. Alas, I had not. So without further background, here is the review.

I had heard good things from Cannes and other film festivals about Burning. I went to see this, and I also have Shoplifters on my list to see which Won the Palme D’Or at Cannes this past year. Burning is the story of a young South Korean man who by happenstance meets up with a female childhood friend of his. He is smitten and looks to spend more time with her. She heads off and out of town and when she returns she is accompanied by another young South Korean, only this guy has more outward signs of visible wealth. He drives a Porsche. He has a fabulous house. He throws fancy parties and cooks fancy meals. The young protagonist feels a little suspect about this guy, as he keeps on showing up. Things happen and tension grows from there. Our young man has returned to the countryside to work on a family farm, such as it is. There his suspicions grow and he tries to piece together a puzzle that has been put before him, but for which he never would have wanted. The supporting actor who plays the rich acquaintance of his female friend does an excellent job of portraying his character. There is Teflon protective glass it seems around him and his struts around like royalty around various servants (not so unlike the Queen in The Favourite). See how he talks about what his plans are for a location not far from where our protagonist lives. How he seems infallible and unstoppable. Overall, there are some genuine scenes of suspense as the viewer wonders how all of this will unfold. I note that this film was reviewed positively in the blog from December 18. I would agree that this film was worth seeing and I was glad that I saw it.

December 3rd, 2018

This week I didn’t get to the theatre but I saw plenty of Netflix. Given that I will review in the level of quality of the films involved.

The first film is a re-watch of a film I have seen a number of years ago. Intouchables is a French film with subtitles, about a well-to-do middle aged man who is paralyzed, and his search for a caregiver and the bond that comes from an unlikely source. This is not to be confused with The Untouchables with Kevin Costner and Sean Connery. The new caregiver had no intention of ever accepting this job, but he brings a level of realism and street sense to his role. He treats the “patient” like a human being, and not a patient. There are no favours, and he argues with him and makes fun of him. He keeps him honest and they laugh together, along with pushing him further in his life. Both parties grow, learn something and are better for the experience with each other. I showed to youngest son, but also my Mom and step-father and they each enjoyed.

Hostiles is a western set in the late 1800s with Christian Bale playing an army captain who has been long fighting on the plains in the west various Indian tribes. His very good friend was gutted by one Indian chief years before, and he gets ordered to escort this elderly and dying Chief to his native lands in Montana. He struggles mightily with the request, which quickly becomes an order. Along the way he meets up with Rosamund Pike who has also had her own challenges out in the wilderness. Together they, along with an escort party, have a journey with the Chief and a couple other of his family. They are chased by the local Indians with revenge on their minds. For me, this movie was a bit too slow. It had pieces of Dances with Wolves in it, along with Unforgiven and The Homesman (egad!!). Bale plays intense well and you can see him struggle, but also look to bring some humanity and balance into the situation. He is making the best about it, and he begrudgingly learns to better understand the perspective of his counterpart. I am glad I didn’t pay for this is a theatre, and it was okay but I can’t recommend it.

Finally I saw I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer. In almost every way, this film doesn’t work in the way that Trainwreck did. Trainwreck was a surprise hit and delightful romantic comedy with a complex family along with a fun romance between two people who had some good chemistry. Here the themes are muddled and the overall message of internal beauty versus outer beauty is confusing. I think it was better handled through Shallow Hal, where he sees the ugliness inside (while others see the real flesh on the outside). Here a bump on the head makes Schumer think she has her “dream come true” which was to be beautiful. The message of course is that attitude and friendliness makes up for a perceived lack of physical outer beauty. And of course that is the case. But the way it is presented here isn’t helpful and takes away from the message especially in the way the “beautiful” Schumer treats her close friends and pursues this receptionist job. I cannot recommend this in any way.

November 27th, 2018 – Supplement for Widows

I neglected to post my thoughts on the new movie Widows that is out in the theatres. This movie is getting a lot of buzz and I was anxious to see it. My first comment is that Viola Davis is quickly becoming one of the best actors in Hollywood. Full stop. She is putting together an impressive body of work, but she’s really just so damn good. She shows torment, emotion, strength, intelligence, sensitivity and all effortlessly with authenticity and being real. In Widows, she plays a married woman to Liam Neeson’s character who we see early is part of a crew of thieves. This crew runs into some trouble on their latest job, and as the title suggests, leaves the world with widowed women, each with their own backstory. There is a political aspect to this story with a Chicago District that has an upcoming election. Colin Farrell is the incumbent with a family legacy there (Daddy was the representative before, played by aging Robert Duvall). They are being challenged by a black candidate who is more grass roots and lives and knows the neighborhood. He is effectively played by Brian Tyree Henry, previously unknown to me but he has done plenty of TV and stage work. The story unfolds with the Henry character approaching Davis’ character and saying that her husband was stealing money that was his for his campaign, and she now owes him a large sum of money and has a few days to get it. Davis moves into action, not believing the predicament she has been put into, all the while grieving for her husband. She engages the other widows from the crew to see if they can work together. This female supporting cast with Michelle Rodriguez, notably Elizabeth Debicki add a great deal of depth to the story. Add in some other effective supporting cast members and this ensemble creates real tension with good performances. In essence this is a heist film at the core (as a job needs to be pulled off in order for bad things not to happen) and there are challenges along the way. But the story doesn’t stop there, as through some flashbacks we see more about the relationships involved, and notably the Davis and Neeson marriage. This movie had a very good plot, tension and all things that a heist movie should have. Kudos to Steve McQueen who wrote this (along with Gillian Flynn) and directed this. At nomination time, I expect that a few of the performances (and likely the movie itself) will be recognized and rewarded. Well worth seeing.

On Netflix, there was the film Disobedience with the two Rachels (McAdams and Weisz) set in London with an orthodox Jewish family whose patriarch has just passed away. Weisz is the daughter who is informed about the passing and decides to come back to London from New York City. She an obvious black sheep, estranged from the family returns, which causes endless surprises and raised eyebrows. We later find out that she and the other Rachel have had a history together, which seemingly lead to the forced separation. Ultimately it is a story about a culture set in its ways, and how this pressures and forces those within it to conform and not be their true selves. In many ways this films themes are those from Boy Erased. Instead of trying to re-educate the offensive outlier, the community shuns and banishes the offending party. In a time of divisiveness and labeling those around us, the alternative is inclusiveness and realizing that we are all the same underneath it all. That may sound a little too politically correct, but the stories just highlight the past practices, and we can reflect upon them. I think Boy Erased told this type of story more effectively, but this was still worth a viewing.

November 26th, 2018

This week I had the pleasure to attend a movie in person with my daughter and her best friend. We decided to see Boy Erased. The story is pretty straightforward with a Baptist preacher and car dealership owner (Russell Crowe) and his Wife (Nicole Kidman) who have one son, Garrod (Lucas Hedges). The parents decide to send their son to conversion therapy to cure him of his homosexual thoughts and actions, which was sprung on them by surprise by another troubled young man at College. This is set in Arkansas back in 2004, so NOT ancient history. The son was at the time 19yo and was given the choice to be disowned by his parents and family or go to get “cured”. He decided for the latter with his shame and uncertainty surrounding his own feelings. He attends Love In Action which locks the subjects away for an assessment and then later makes decisions on what should happen to them longer term. The viewer sees in detail the teachings and methods used to break down the subjects and get them to re-learn themselves and identify the source of their problem (usually past family members or others). There is plenty of finger pointing and justifications. The circumstances surrounding Garrod’s outing were dramatic. Later scenes with other subjects at the therapy sessions are emotional and powerful. In the end we learn that 700,000 people have gone through this therapy in the US. It’s sad to think of all these souls struggling and being subjected to this type of manipulation. For the family, we have an emotional couple of scenes where Nicole Kidman shows her acting chops (and I confess I am NOT a Kidman fan – but here she was very good at delivering an important moment in the film). We also see a much heavier Russell Crowe being pressed to think through his own values and beliefs, as a father, a husband and a preacher. Hedges plays this role very well and is articulate in expressing his feelings. We (daughter and friend) had a debate amongst ourselves about whether homosexuality is born or bred (nature vs nurture) from the science of is there a gene for this (there isn’t) or whether it is learned behaviour? In the end it doesn’t matter, but the impact will be on the viewer’s attitude of whether this type of therapy (by people who may not even be doctors or psychiatrists/psychologists) makes any real difference at all. Worth a viewing, and likely gets Kidman another nomination and could be too for Hedges.

Last night, the MLB network was playing The Natural, with Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Glenn Close and others. This film from 1984 is a fictionalized, fable for baseball with the NY Knights, and the legend of Roy Hobbs. Hobbs is a talent and gifted smalltown boy with dreams of baseball in the early days of the game. His journey gets sidetracked by a troubled woman, and he disappears for 16 years. He shows up in a last place team looking for a spark with a manager fighting to keep the team (battling a co-owner) and also looking wins and spectators. Along comes the new rookie and he eventually is able to play, and make his mark on the game. The rest flows as you would expect. The score is iconic, written by Randy Newman, and adds to the overall joy in the film. I can watch and re-watch this film many times over. Along with Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out, these are some of the best baseball movies that there are. It was nominated for 4 Oscars including music and for Glenn Close. I note that there are these films that I haven’t reviewed in the water cooler conversations, nor over the years, but they are friends who I am happy to invite back into my home and make me re-experience the joy of watching them unfold. These are what films are all about.

November 19th, 2018

This week I saw two movies of note. First was the Netflix film, that was released at TIFF in September Outlaw King based upon the story about Robert the Bruce starring Chris Pine. The story is in many ways a follow up to the Braveheart story about William Wallace, which starred Mel Gibson and won Best Picture from 1995. The new film borrows a great deal from the Braveheart tale, but doesn’t carry with it the production value, nor the acting from the principals. Pine struggles with the Scottish accent, and the action sequences are nothing that we haven’t seen before. In fact, the charging horse scene with the English horses is very close to the Gibson version at Sterling with the long spears. In the end it felt forced and just not as good, and not really a story that needed to be told in this forum. I am pleased I avoided at TIFF, because once again the film simply wasn’t worth the money and I would have been disappointed. I like Chris Pine. But I think he has a particular niche where he fits where, and being a Scottish King, just simply isn’t it.

In the theatre I took youngest son to go see The Grinch. This is from the same company that did Minions and the Despicable Me films. I liked Despicable Me and felt it had a good heart. This film is another adaptation of the classic book and the 30 minute Warner Bros. cartoon with Boris Karloff voicing the Grinch. There were some memorable songs too in that original, a couple of which seemed to make it to this new version, which is a very good thing. The Who-ville Who’s song of rejoicing is there, and you have to be pretty Grinchian yourself not to feel the seasonal cheer from that. Anyway, the Grinch is now voiced by American sounding Benedict Cumberbatch. He has his sidekick Max, and they fret about the approaching Christmas season. There is a backstory made, which makes some sense that the Jim Carey/Ron Howard live version which simply never did it for me. Youngest son LOVED it, and watched it consecutively on a loop, but it was just not very good. This is better. Better than I expected. I liked the animation and the scenes of Who-ville. They took the idea from the book and built upon it. The homes are stacked and all flowing natural shapes. The look and feel of the film is pleasant and welcoming. From the storefronts to the interiors, it is creative and well imagined. We all know the story, and once again the Grinch is that flawed character who learns the true meaning of Christmas. That’s a message that everyone can hear again and have it reinforced. Do you need to see it in a big theatre? No. But it’s a holiday film that I think could be replayed on an annual basis and still create smiles.

November 13th, 2018

Last week I managed to get out to the theatre to catch Bohemian Rhapsody. This film has had some polarizing reviews, and I can see why. For me, this movie should have had more of an edge to it. Much like I think ANY David Bowie future film should try to capture the entire man, and his intricacies and eccentricities. Much can be claimed here. In some ways I feel like I watched Theory of Everything where it was based, in part, on the recollections of Stephen Hawking’s ex-wife. Well of course she’s going to made out to be better than it likely really was! Perspective is everything, and this is no different.

We start the film of Freddie Mercury, when he was nobody, Farrokh Bulsara of Parsi decent, working unloading baggage at the airport. He likes clubs and hanging out and meets upon a band who lost their singer who felt he had better options elsewhere. In comes Farrokh, and provides an impromptu audition and manages to impress the singerless group. We meet Freddy’s family (Mother, Father and sister) where there is nothing but some questioning of where the young man can ever end up. It’s more cliche really than anything else. How many times do we see a supportive family (especially a father for a young man looking to play music?). But nevermind.

For me, I wondered about the treatment of Freddy’s personal life, and how he chose to be. He was married early on and then later lived as a gay man. I didn’t expect, and don’t believe the Freddy Mercury would live the life shown in the film with the lights from separate rooms with his wife, with him by himself. Maybe I am jaded and conditioned to think that all rock stars are constantly in a party state with an entourage and party goers. Maybe he lived more solitary life. Maybe it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I don’t believe it. I think Mercury was a larger than life personality who did everything to extreme and excess!! He would be the centre of attention and have and take all that he wanted. This is briefly depicted but not convincingly nor enough.

I wish we had seen more creativity and the inspiration for these songs. It’s the real genius at work, with songs that will last forever. The creative process is fascinating, and understanding the influences and how they chose to make their sounds and put them together would be an amazing story unto itself. It isn’t there much. There is a silly Mike Myers cameo that added nothing for me. In the end, I felt that this was not a story or the true Freddy but a story that others wanted to tell on his behalf; a toned down PG rated version. Who gains from this? Perhaps the surviving members of the band. His Wife. Not sure. If there was ever a rock star life that deserved an R rating, it was Freddy Mercury. David Bowie too! Let’s hope that any David Bowie project looks better, and respects the artist fully – unlike what I anticipate that Rocketman (preview at this film) will be for Elton John which comes out next year. No thanks.

I also watched last week, Red Sparrow. Oh Jennifer Lawrence what is it about these projects that you are selection for yourself? Another turkey with this one. A young Russian ballerina cut down by an injury and sold out by her Uncle to this ultra-nasty group of spies/chaos inducers/special forces, who use their bodies to get what they need. The story is messy and convoluted. The agent/double agent mystery doesn’t unfold well, and the ending is contrived. I cannot recommend, and wish that JLaw, would find something more substantial and better for her talents (Passenger, Mother! and others are beneath her).