Pitch Perfect 3

I loved Pitch Perfect and I liked Pitch Perfect 2.  I had so much fun watching both of them with my niece so I decided we should finish the trilogy together and see Pitch Perfect 3 despite the fact that the trailer looked terrible and the reviews were abysmal.  I love hanging out with my niece so it wasn't a wasted afternoon but, you guys, this movie is aca-awful!  The former Barden Bellas have not adjusted well to life in the real world and want another chance to sing together.  They get an opportunity to perform as part of a USO tour of Europe with other bands (not a cappella groups, by the way) who are each competing to be the opening act for DJ Khaled (playing himself).   What will happen to the group when DJ Khaled only wants to sign Becca (Anna Kendrick) without the other girls?  Do we even care?  All of the other girls (except for Fat Amy - more on her later) have been relegated to cameo roles so it hardly matters how they feel about this. Everything that was fun about the first movie feels so contrived in this one.  We have the inevitable riff-off with the other bands on tour, we have a few love interests (a soldier assigned to protect the girls played by Matt Lanter and DJ Khaled's producer played by Guy Burnet) which seem to go nowhere, and we even have John (John Michael Higgins) and Gail (Elizabeth Banks) following them around making a documentary about the Bellas.  Add to this an inexplicable plot involving a reunion between Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and her absentee father (John Lithgow) who kidnaps the Bellas to gain control of her heretofore unknown million dollar trust fund.  Fat Amy becomes an action hero saving the girls from an exploding yacht.  No!  Just no!  Lithgow is absolutely horrible in this role and, as far as I am concerned, Australia should lodge a formal complaint over his accent.  DJ Khaled isn't much better.  In fact, at one point Tashena leaned over and said, "You can tell he isn't an actor!"  All of this might be forgivable if the songs are fun but most of them use instruments which kind of defeats the whole point of the movie.  Ugh!  You know the movie is bad when your niece tells you that she had fun any way!  Give this a miss!

All the Money in the World

After watching Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with the kiddos I saw All the Money in the World later that evening.  This is another movie that pleasantly surprised me because, honestly, I didn't have a lot of interest in seeing it until the controversy with Kevin Spacey resulted in re-shoots with Christopher Plummer in the role Spacey was to have played.  This piqued my curiosity!  I would actually like to see the film with Spacey's interpretation of the role because I think Plummer is absolutely brilliant!  In fact, it is his performance, along with that of Michelle Williams, that elevates a pretty standard narrative about a kidnapping into a tense and compelling movie.  Based on true events, J. Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped from Rome in 1973 and the kidnappers demand $17 million in ransom.  His mother Gail (Williams) does not have the money (after eschewing a large divorce settlement in return for sole custody of her children) but his grandfather J. Paul Getty (Plummer) is the richest man in the world and that amount is basically pocket change.  Gail pleads with Getty to pay the ransom but he refuses, sending his henchman, former CIA agent Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg), in to negotiate instead.  There are some interesting twists and turns along the way leading to a resolution that is a bit far-fetched but thrilling, nonetheless.  I loved the 1970s verisimilitude and all of the wide shots in opulent locations.  Michelle Williams is excellent and I especially enjoyed her transformation from a young woman awed by the Getty wealth into a mother who won't back down from a bully who is more powerful than she is.  Getty is an incredibly unsympathetic character and Plummer plays him with such menace.  There is a particular scene where Getty, after refusing to pay his grandson's ransom, spends twice that amount on a painting of a Madonna and child.  It is a chilling portrait of greed that gave me goosebumps.  I highly recommend this movie!

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Last Wednesday I took Sean and Tashena to see Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and, to be honest, it was a pleasant surprise because I really enjoyed it.  Spencer (Alex Wolff), a bit of a nerd, gets detention for writing a research paper for a football player known as "Fridge" (Ser'Darius Blain), who also gets detention, Bethany (Madison Iseman), the selfie queen, gets detention for using her phone during a quiz, and Martha (Morgan Turner), a shy bookworm, gets detention for refusing to participate in PE.  While serving detention, they find an old video game called Jumanji and decide to play.  Spencer chooses Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), a daring archaeologist, as his avatar while "Fridge" chooses Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart), a short zoologist, Bethany chooses Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Osborn (Jack Black), an overweight cartographer, and Martha chooses Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), a martial arts expert.  They are transported into the game and must return a precious stone stolen by Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale), a big game hunter, to a giant statue of a jaguar.  It is an absolute hoot.  The action sequences are great but I found the story, which has a few twists, to be compelling.  What makes this movie so much fun is that the characters have the physical attributes of their avatars but they keep their own personalities.  This creates a lot of comedic moments, especially as the nerdy Sheldon adjusts to having muscles, the self-absorbed Bethany gets used to being a man (who has to pee), the jock Fridge realizes that he is intelligent, and Martha learns how to flirt (I laughed and laughed at that sequence).  Sean and Tashena loved it and laughed through the whole thing!  I laughed quite a bit, too, so this is a movie to take the kids to that you will also enjoy.  I highly recommend this for a really good time at the movies!

The Greatest Showman

I actually saw The Greatest Showman twice over winter break.  I took my Mom and my nephew (who absolutely loves Zendaya) the day after Christmas and then, because my Mom asked to see it again, I went with her and my sister Marilyn a few days later.  I love this movie so much and, apparently, so do a lot of people.  During the first screening, the theater was totally full (we had to sit on the first row) and after the second screening, at 10:00 am mind you, the entire theater applauded at the end!  It is a big movie musical with actors who can actually sing and dance!  It tells a romanticized version of how P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) came to create the Greatest Show on Earth beginning with his impoverished childhood as the son of a tailor.  He meets Charity (Michelle Williams), the daughter of a wealthy client, and promises her he will give her the same life she gives up for him.  After losing his mundane job, he takes a gamble and recruits a group of misfits and unusual performers to create his circus.  After some financial success, he desires respectability and hires Philip Carlyle (Zac Efron), a playwright with a trust fund, to help with publicity.  Philip falls in love with a trapeze artist (Zendaya) to the chagrin of his wealthy parents.  Barnum eventually meets opera singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) and decides to promote her on tour which causes him to neglect both the circus and his family.  After losing everything, both Philip and Barnum must learn what is really important.  Many critics have complained that this movie sanitizes the truth about P.T. Barnum's reputed cruelty to his performers but that didn't really matter to me because I enjoy feel good stories where everyone breaks out into song.  The songs are fantastic and I especially love "A Million Dreams" and "Come Alive."  The choreography is spectacular, particularly the aerial sequence in "Rewrite the Stars."  Jackman, Efron, and Zendaya are well-known performers but I was quite impressed by Michelle Williams and I loved her song, "Tightrope."  As I mentioned, the message of this movie is so positive, especially about people who are different, and the number "This Is Me" by the bearded lady (Keala Settle) is an anthem for misfits everywhere!  I cannot recommend this movie enough!

Darkest Hour

Winter break is now over and I am back at school but, like last year, I happily spent much of it in a darkened theater.  In the next few weeks I will review all of the movies that I saw and I will start with Darkest Hour.  As Western Europe is collapsing under the onslaught of German tanks, the narrative begins with Winston Churchill's (Gary Oldman) appointment as Prime Minister of Great Britain and follows his first pivotal months in office as he faces opposition in his own party from politicians who want a negotiated peace with Germany and a King who does not support him culminating in the miraculous evacuation of Dunkirk.  I really liked the stirring speeches given to Parliament (the "We shall fight them on the beaches" speech is absolutely electrifying) and the public on the radio juxtaposed with moments of private doubt with his fiery wife Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his long-suffering secretary Elizabeth Layton (Lily James).  It is also interesting to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how the decisions that impacted the world were made in underground bunkers and I absolutely loved the scenes where Churchill talks to the ordinary citizens in the underground.  Even though this film involves a lot of back room discussions, it was surprisingly tense and my attention never wavered.  Oldman gives an absolutely brilliant performance in the title role which is worthy of all of the accolades he has won and will, undoubtedly, win.  Many might find the pace to be slow and it does require some intellectual engagement but I highly recommend this film to history aficionados everywhere.

Note:  I find it interesting that the evacuation of Dunkirk was the subject of three films this year (this as well as Dunkirk and Their Finest).

Favorite Movies of 2017

I actually saw over one hundred new releases in the theater this year so I thought I would compile my top ten favorites of 2017 (click on the link to go to my original review of each movie). 

10.  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

I loved this dark comedy because it allowed two incredibly compelling characters to not only express their rage over untenable situations but to also find some sort of forgiveness with each other.  It really struck a chord with me because I find narratives about tragically flawed people behaving badly but ultimately finding redemption to be incredibly cathartic (it is a theme in many of my all-time favorite movies).  Both Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell give tour de force performances and I thought about this movie long after I left the theater.

9.  The Shape of Water

What I loved most about this film is that, in an age of conformity, a group of misfits is able to triumph over a truly despicable authority figure and that, ultimately, love wins!  All of the characters mirror the otherness of the humanoid they are trying to protect and I think it is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be different and that the monsters are not who we think they are.  Sally Hawkins gives a remarkable physical performance that it is worthy of all of the accolades she is receiving.

8.  The Florida Project

This film is another that stayed with me long after I left the theater.  I loved the juxtaposition of people living on the margins of society right next to Disney World, the Happiest Place on Earth.  In a nation of great abundance, what do we do for the people who fall through the cracks?  A young girl chooses to turn the tragic circumstances of her life into a daily adventure and I found myself rooting for her young mother, who despite some major character flaws and some questionable behavior, tries her best to do what she can for her daughter with limited resources.  Brooklynn Prince gives a truly affecting performance as does Willem Dafoe.

7.  Blade Runner 2049

This movie is a visual masterpiece that exceeded my expectations in every way (which is very rare).  I've always been a fan of the original Blade Runner and, in this latest installment, Denis Villeneuve continues Ridley Scott's world-building to its logical progression to tell a compelling story of what it means to be human.  There are some scenes that resonated very powerfully with me and I loved Ryan Gosling's performance.

6.  Dunkirk

This movie was a truly immersive experience for me that literally left me breathless with brilliant cinematography that put the audience in the middle of the action, whether in an aerial dogfight or on a sinking ship.  It is a powerful portrayal of one of the most defining moments in history and the subject is survival itself.  The action is unrelenting and the three different timelines kept me completely engaged with the story.  I loved the small acts of heroism with standout performances by Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh.

5.  Logan

I enjoyed this film much more than I anticipated.  I think it resonated so deeply with me because it is such a raw portrayal of a tortured man living with regrets who is ultimately redeemed by a young girl who faces the same demons.  The tone is much more somber than the other movies in the franchise, and much more violent, but the message is one of hope about people who are different and the final resolution left me with tears in my eyes.  Hugh Jackman gives a highly nuanced performance that, in my opinion, should generate some attention this awards season.

4.  Lady Bird

As a huge fan of Greta Gerwig's particular brand of humor I knew that I would really love this film.  It is a quirky coming of age story that perfectly captures the narcissism of youth as a teenager navigates her senior year and her combative relationship with her mother.  I had a deep emotional connection to the character of Lady Bird and Saoirse Ronan is brilliant in the role as is Laurie Metcalf as her mother.  It made me want to call my mother after I walked out of the theater.

3.  Wonder Woman

In my opinion Wonder Woman is the best superhero movie, ever.  I loved everything about it!  Diana is such a dynamic character and Gal Gadot brilliantly captures both her strength and naivete.  World War I has always been of particular interest to me and setting the narrative during the war to end all wars worked very well because her struggle is against war itself and man's inclination to evil.  I loved that her relationship with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and his capacity for love is what redeems mankind in her eyes.  I may or may not have had a tear in my eye during the No Man's Land scene!

2.  Personal Shopper

This film is a fascinating exploration of a young woman's search for identity.  The juxtaposition between the spiritual and the material is brilliantly portrayed as Maureen (Kristen Stewart), who is a medium and a personal shopper for a celebrity, is haunted by a ghost and a stalker.  I honestly don't know which scenes are more menacing: the ghost in an abandoned house or the stalker's texts to Maureen on the train!  Stewart gives one of the best performances of the year (I find her to be vastly underrated).  I saw this multiple times in the theater and I've watched my copy countless times because this is a film that makes me think!

1.  A Ghost Story

This film was easily my favorite at Sundance this year and that status was solidified after viewing it again in wide release.  To be sure, there are long sustained shots without much action but I found them to be strangely compelling.  The cinematography is beautiful and the score is one of the most evocative in recent memory.  The ghost, even completely shrouded in a sheet with eye holes, is an incredibly sympathetic character and I was emotionally invested in his journey.  I loved the theme that attachment to people, places, and things is what holds us back because this is something I think about a lot.  It is a masterpiece and I loved it so much!

Honorable Mentions:  Good Time, Brigsby Bear, Baby Driver, The Big Sick, and Ingrid Goes West.

The Shape of Water

Saturday night I took a break from my regularly scheduled viewings of The Last Jedi to see another film I have been anticipating for months.  The trailers for The Shape of Water were absolutely luminous and I couldn't wait to see it!   It is a fantasy set during the height of the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.  A humanoid fish captured in the Amazon is brought to a government research lab in Baltimore by Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) to be studied for application in space travel because it can breathe both air and water.  Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute janitor at the facility, sees the "asset" and befriends it with hard-boiled eggs and Jazz music.  Soon they become close and Elisa decides to help it escape after the government decides to dissect it for study, enlisting the help of her coworker Zelda (Octavia Spencer), her neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins), and a scientist at the facility who has misgivings about the project (Michael Stuhlbarg).  It is a beautiful love story and what I loved about it is that the misfits triumph over conformity.  Strikland is the quintessential soldier in mainstream America with a wife and two children in the suburbs and a Cadillac but he is a despicable character and I loved the symbolism of his decaying fingers.  All of the other characters mirror the otherness of the humanoid.  Giles is a closeted gay man who is also an out of work commercial artist struggling with alcoholism.  Zelda is an African-American woman, downtrodden by an abusive husband, who is too lowly even to merit being questioned by Strickland.  Dr. Hoffstetler is a Soviet spy, disillusioned when ordered by his superiors to kill the humanoid to stop the Americans from getting information.  Elisa is, perhaps, my favorite character because her muteness makes her so isolated and I love that she lives above an old movie theater and watches old movies (the sequence where she and the humanoid reenact an old Busby Berkeley type musical made me smile) to escape her tedious routine.  Sally Hawkins is absolutely brilliant in an entirely physical role.  She conveys so much emotion in just a gaze.  I loved that the entire film seems to be suffused in shades of blue-green and the score is beautiful (Alexandre Desplat can do no wrong in my opinion).  This movie may not be for everyone (nudity, sex, and violence) but I loved it and I highly recommend it!

The Last Jedi

After the beautiful Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir I went home and changed into some slightly less formal attire and went to my local Megaplex for a midnight screening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  The theater was absolutely packed!  Many were in costume and all were excited for the latest installment in the Star Wars Saga.  Cheers and applause greeted the iconic John Williams fanfare and the opening crawl and I have to admit that I was caught up in the excitement myself!  Despite a few flaws, I loved this movie so much!  The Resistance is on the run, being pursued by the First Order, while Rey (Daisy Ridley) tries to convince a reluctant Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to return.  Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) try to figure out a way to stop the First Order's pursuit and Rey begins learning the ways of the Force and must contend with an unsettling connection with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).  This movie is much darker in tone and is more complex than The Force Awakens and many of the characters are developed more fully.  I loved the character arc of Luke from the first trilogy to this movie, especially in terms of what it means to be a Jedi and what it means to possess the Force.  He has a wonderful scene near the end with Leia (Carrie Fisher) that will leave you gutted and I loved his scenes with Rey.  I loved the conflict within both Kylo Ren and Rey between the light and the dark and there is a truly epic lightsaber battle in Snoke's throne room.  My favorite character from The Force Awakens has always been Kylo Ren and I was happy to see more revelations about his backstory, especially his relationship with Luke (Driver gives a brilliant performance as a villain haunted by his own actions).  I also loved the new character Rose because her story arc brings up some questions that are incredibly thought-provoking, and, of course, the porgs are absolutely adorable in their interactions with Chewbacca.  Having said that, some of the characters don't really have a lot to do.  Chewbacca, C-3P0, General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and, to some extent, Leia (because of the creation of the Vice Admiral Holdo character, played by Laura Dern) seem to exist merely for other characters to play off of them (although many of General Hux's scenes are hilarious).  My biggest complaint, however, is with the portrayal of Supreme Leader Snoke.  I thought he was much more menacing when he was a hologram in The Force Awakens and I would have liked more backstory for him.  My complaints are very, very minor and, overall, I loved this movie!  I loved the experience of watching it because the visuals are stunning, especially the aerial dogfights between the Resistance and the First Order in the opening sequence and the awesome AT-AT Walkers in the final battle, and I loved the use of red throughout.  I think most fans of the franchise will be very happy with this installment.  Go see it on the biggest screen possible!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

I won tickets to see Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (thanks Classic Movie Hub!) and I had the chance to see it yesterday afternoon as part of TMC's Big Screen Classics.  Even though the film is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this month, the themes are still just as relevant today.  Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton) brings her fiance Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) home to meet her parents.  This causes problems because, even though her parents (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) are liberals who have taught her to reject racial inequality, the fact that John is black forces them to confront their beliefs up close.  Joanna also invites John's parents (Roy E. Glenn and Beah Richards) to dinner which makes for a pretty tense evening.  This film is extremely thought-provoking and I was especially intrigued by the response of the family maid (Isabel Sanford), who is black, because she accuses John of trying to get above himself by marrying a white woman.  There is a lot of discussion in this film (the titular dinner begins at the very end) and there were two speeches that really struck me.  John says that his father thinks of himself as a black man while he thinks of himself as a man.  Joanna's father tells them that they will face obstacles but the only thing that really matters is how they feel about each other and I have to admit that I had a tear in my eye after that scene.  I did laugh out loud when Joanna's father hangs up the phone in the middle of his secretary's long recitation of John's  accolades after he asks her to investigate him.  Katherine Hepburn (who won an Academy Award for the role) and Spencer Tracy (who received a posthumous Academy Award nomination) are outstanding and Sidney Poitier more than holds his own with those two screen legends.  I highly recommend this film about the power of love and you are in luck because there is another opportunity to see it on the big screen on December 13 (go here for details).

Note:  I have really enjoyed the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year and I am excited that they will be continuing it in 2018!  The films are The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,  The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo, Grease, Sunset Boulevard, The Producers, Big, The Big Lebowski, South Pacific, Rebel Without a Cause, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Die Hard, and White Christmas.  Doesn't that sound fabulous?

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Yesterday afternoon (I broke my rule about not seeing movies on a Saturday afternoon and I bitterly regret it) I saw the delightful and charming movie The Man Who Invented Christmas.  It tells the story of how Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) came to write the beloved classic A Christmas Carol.  As someone who has seen this play performed more times than I can count, I absolutely loved seeing how Dickens found inspiration for the story and I loved how the characters came to life as he was writing, especially Christopher Plummer as Ebeneezer Scrooge.  As Dickens struggles to finish the book, certain autobiographical details are revealed which suggest that the book is about the reclamation of his soul as much as it is Scrooge's and the scenes where he makes amends are just as affecting as those where Scrooge does it in the book.  Dan Stevens is so charming in the role and Christopher Plummer is fantastic, as ever.  The production design is very successful in bringing Dickensian London to life and I especially loved the lighting throughout.  This movie is just the thing to give you a boost of Christmas spirit!  I would have enjoyed it immensely were it not for the theater full of kids under five who had absolutely no interest in this movie.  This is not really a movie for young children because a little familiarity with the source material is required to understand what is going on.  I highly recommend it with that proviso.

Note:  Unruly and disruptive children are the bane of my existence (hence my rule about Saturday matinees).  The teacher in me wanted to quiet them!

Last Flag Flying

One of the things I really enjoy about Richard Linklater's films is that they are all very character-driven and his latest, Last Flag Flying, is no exception.  This time Linklater gives us a trio Vietnam veterans, each with an interesting and compelling backstory, who reunite after 30 years to escort the son of one of their own home after he is killed in Iraq.  Steve Carell plays Larry Shepherd, a man almost debilitated by grief who enlists the help of his old buddies to get him through his son's burial.  Carell gives a quiet and understated performance which is one of his best to date.  Bryan Cranston is Sal Nealon, a hard drinking and skirt chasing man who is as garrulous and boisterous as Shepherd is subdued.   Cranston gives an over the top performance which provides much of the levity in an otherwise somber narrative.  Rounding out the cast is Laurence Fishburne who plays Richard Mueller, a Baptist minister exasperated by Nealon's antics.  Fishburne gives an incredibly reserved performance as a man who regrets much of his past.  As is the case with most Linklater films, this one is at its best when the three men are sitting around reminiscing and ruminating on grief, friendship, and patriotism.  The action does plod along in the final act (I admit that I was nodding off) but the flag-folding ceremony at the funeral is absolutely beautiful and the ending is incredibly poignant and brought a tear to my eye.  I highly recommend this film for the strong central performances.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Last night I had the chance to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a film that is generating a lot of buzz and for good reason.  It is a dark comedy that is literally seething with unresolved anger, resentment, and bad behavior and I loved it.  Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is angry that her daughter's rape and murder hasn't been solved yet and, hoping to keep the case in the spotlight, she hires three billboards which highlight the incompetence of the police force, specifically targeting the revered chief of police Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson).  The entire police force takes exception to this, especially Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), and this ignites an all-out war in the small community which proves very difficult for Mildred's teenage son Robbie (Lucas Hedges).  All of the characters are deeply flawed and their antics are often completely over the top but I found them to be very compelling.  It was actually quite refreshing to see a character give vent to her emotions because I sometimes find it unrealistic when characters behave nobly in untenable situations.  However, the ambiguous ending is somewhat hopeful because two wounded people are able to find forgiveness and redemption with each other.  The script is outstanding!  I found myself laughing often (especially in the scene between Mildred and her priest) and then holding back tears just a few moments later.  Frances McDormand gives an incredible performance that is sure to be remembered come awards season but I was pretty much blown away by Sam Rockwell in an against type role and I found his character's arc to be incredibly affecting.  Lucas Hedges is accumulating quite the resume (Manchester by the Sea and Lady Bird) of solid performances and Woody Harrelson is great, as always.  I enjoyed this film very much and I would highly recommend it with the proviso that there is a lot of profanity.

Note:  I love this time of year!  I want to see everything currently playing at the Broadway!

Coco

I have been anticipating the movie Coco for a very long time because the trailers looked so magical.  I wanted to take my niece and nephew (we have a tradition of seeing a movie together over the Thanksgiving break) but Sean goes to a charter school and he had classes yesterday so, even though I extremely anxious to see it, we waited for him (which was really hard) and saw it in the evening.  I was really surprised that the theater was practically empty which is such a shame because this movie is an absolute treat!  All three of us loved it so much!  It is a heartwarming story about the importance of family as a twelve year old boy named Miguel travels to the Land of the Dead on Dia de Meurtos to uncover a mystery about his ancestors.  I found the story to be incredibly moving and I was reduced to a puddle of tears when Mama Coco sang "Remember Me" with Miguel near the end of the movie.  I really loved the way that death is portrayed and how the importance of remembering those who are gone is emphasized.  Such a great message!  Miguel is an endearing character and the ancestors he encounters in the Land of the Dead made me laugh out loud as did the border guards on the way in and out.  The animation is visually stunning with all of the vibrant colors in the Land of the Dead.  I loved all of the scenes involving marigold petals and it was interesting to learn that the petals are what guide the dead back to their family members.  The bridges of marigold petals took my breath away.  I also really loved the use of the beautiful papel picado as exposition at the beginning of the movie.  This movie is absolutely wonderful and both Sean and Tashena loved it just as much as I did!  This is the perfect movie to see with your family over the Thanksgiving holiday!

Note:  I had so much fun with Sean and Tashena!  I am glad that I get to spend so much time with them!

Lady Bird

Ever since the film Lady Bird got glowing reviews at TIFF I have been eagerly anticipating its release at my favorite art house theater and I finally had the chance to see it yesterday.  I thought that I would probably love it because I am a huge fan of Greta Gerwig's particular brand of humor (go here and here) and I have loved every one of Saoirse Ronan's performances since I saw her in Atonement but I was unprepared for the deep emotional connection that I had to the film.  It perfectly captures the narcissism of youth as it follows Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Ronan) throughout her senior year of high school as she struggles to assert her independence and yearns to leave her hometown and her critical mother behind.  What I loved most about this typical coming-of-age story is that two flawed people, who have an incredibly combative relationship, are finally able to realize how much they love each other.  Ronan is brilliant as is Laurie Metcalf (who plays the mother) and the scene where she drives away from the airport is completely shattering.  I also really enjoyed Lucas Hedges (who is outstanding in Manchester by the Sea) as Danny, her theatre geek boyfriend, Timothee Chalamet as Kyle, the bad boy she chases after, and Beanie Feldstein as Julie, her best friend, especially in the scene where Lady Bird and Julie listen to "Crash Into Me" by the Dave Matthews Band as they commiserate over their failed romances.  Everything about this film feels so authentic because the script is incredibly well-written and the ending, especially, made me emotional because it completely mirrored my own experience of going away to college.  I laughed and cried and, when I walked out of the theater, I wanted to call my Mom and thank her for everything she has done for me (even though she always criticized my hair).  I loved this movie so much and I highly recommend it!

Wonder

A few years ago my niece recommended the book Wonder by R.J. Palacios to me but I never had the chance to read it.  I decided to pick it up again in anticipation of the movie adaptation and I read it all week during free reading time in my classes (I noticed quite a few of my students reading it, too).  When I was over at my parents' house last week, I noticed that my Mom was reading it as well so I mentioned that we would have to see the movie when she finished with it!  My Mom is a lot like my nephew in that when I hypothetically mention doing something they both interpret it to mean that the plans are set in stone!  My Mom had planned in her mind that we were going to see it on Saturday and she talked about it all morning.  My sister gave me a head's up so I decided we better go see it!  When we got to the theater the only seats available were on the very front row because every other seat was taken.  There were lots of families with elementary school age children in the audience.  Now that is usually enough to make me run for the hills but in this instance I was actually glad to see so many kids because I think bullying is such a huge problem and I hope they got the message that kids who are different can be remarkable people.  When I picked my Mom up she made sure that I grabbed some Kleenex on the way out the door and I am actually glad that she did because I cried in about four places (my Mom cried through the whole thing and ended up sharing her Kleenex with the woman sitting next to her).  I loved this movie about a boy with a facial disfigurement who is going to school for the first time so much!  I was particularly struck by the scene where the bully's parents are called in to talk to the principal about his behavior.  Unfortunately the parents' reaction is an all too common occurrence that I see in education all of the time.  Parents want to blame the victim for being too sensitive, that their student was just playing a joke and that being picked on is just a part of living in the "real world."  I was so happy to see that the bully received a punishment despite the fact that the parents were influential members of the school board!  Bullying in never okay!  Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, and Owen Wilson all give great performances.  I especially loved Izabela Vidovic as Auggie's sister and she does a great job showing the impact of having a sibling with special needs and I loved seeing Daveed Diggs (the original Lafayette/Jefferson in Hamilton) as the teacher who helps the students choose kindness.  Definitely go see this movie!

Justice League

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Justice League, one of my most anticipated films of the fall, and I loved it!  Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), feeling tremendous guilt over the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), begins investigating a threat known as Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), a mythological being released from his imprisonment by the loss of hope felt throughout the world.  Steppenwolf is trying to locate three Mother Boxes (one is entrusted to the Amazons, one to the Atlanteans, and one to humans) which, when united, will destroy the world.  He and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) begin recruiting other meta-humans to help:  Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), and Victor Stone (Ray Fisher).  After one attempt to stop Steppenwolf fails, Wayne decides to use one of the Mother Boxes to resurrect Superman stating that the team needs his leadership.  I loved so many things about this movie!  The character development is really fun for Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg and I look forward to their standalone movies.  Miller, especially, has a lot of fun with the role and Momoa is definitely easy on the eyes.  I also really liked the character arcs of both Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince as they grapple with their leadership roles.  The return of Superman was, perhaps, my favorite part of the movie.  I've always been a fan of the darker and grittier tone of the DCEU but I did like that this installment is much more hopeful and Superman's character is a big part of that.  The fun and rowdy crowd at my screening cheered when Superman joined the final battle.  The other aspect that I really enjoyed is that it took all of them, individuals who are loners and often viewed as misfits, to work together to defeat Steppenwolf.  Each of them, at one point in the final battle, is rescued by another.  Danny Elfman's score is a lot of fun and I loved when we got to hear some of the original Batman theme!  The only problem I had was that the visual effects, especially the scenes with Steppenwolf, looked too much like a video game.  I loved this movie despite that criticism and I think that most people will enjoy it, including die-hard DCEU fans because it is just dark and brooding enough as well as more mainstream fans because it is a lot of fun.  The crowd at my packed theater clapped and cheered well into the credits!

Note:  Stay for the mid-credits and end of credits scenes.  They are great!

Wonderstruck

Yesterday afternoon I went to see the film Wonderstruck and let me say at the outset that it is not for everyone.  I am quite sure that many people will find it tedious and boring but I, however, found it to be a lovely and often magical meditation on the need for human connection.  The story is about two children, both deaf, who travel to New York City fifty years apart looking for a lost loved one.  In 1927, Rose (Utah native Millicent Simmonds) takes the ferry from New Jersey looking for her mother (Julianne Moore) who abandoned her to be a silent film star.  In 1977, Ben (Oakes Fegley) travels by bus from Minnesota looking for the father he has never known.  After following a series of clues they both end up at the Museum of Natural History looking for an exhibit known as the Cabinet of Curiosities.  Scenes seem very episodic and there were many times when I wondered what the narrative was leading up to.  There is a connection but it is a little bit understated and, once I knew what it was, I realized that it really didn't matter.  It is more about the process of discovery, of finding out who you are and where you belong before you can find who you are looking for.  There are some achingly beautiful scenes of Rose wandering the city with such a sense of wonder on her face (Simmonds, who is actually deaf, is wonderful) at everything she is seeing and Ben has similar scenes exploring the museum.  The added dynamic of having deaf children as the protagonists made what they were seeing all the more poignant and there are long stretches of this film where there is no dialogue so the audience is forced to focus on the visual as well.  Speaking of which, the cinematography is enchanting.  The scenes in 1927 are in black and white and have the aesthetic of an old silent film while the scenes in 1977 are suffused with a soft golden hue, almost like a Polaroid photo from that era.  This film is like its own Cabinet of Curiosities:  some people are going to love it and marvel at everything there is to see and some people are going to be bored and want to find a more exciting exhibit.

Casablanca

The first time I saw Casablanca was when I was living with my Aunt June in Canada.  She loved classic movies and was appalled when she learned that I had reached the ripe old age of eighteen without having seen what she considered to be the greatest movie of all time.  She made me watch it forthwith (I watched a lot of classic movies with her that summer) and, of course, I loved it because it is all about sacrificing love for a higher purpose and that really appealed to my idealistic younger self.  It was interesting to have the opportunity to see it on the big screen yesterday as someone older and a little more cynical (this time I think Rick should have chosen love but I understand that his choice made him a more noble character).  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-drinking club owner who is only out for himself in Casablanca, a haven for European refugees desperate for exit visas to escape the Nazis during World War II.  He ably navigates the world of black marketeers, corrupt officials, and German officers until Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a hero of the resistance who is in need of safe passage.  Ilsa was once Rick's lover in Paris but she abandoned him and, even though he has documents that will ensure safe passage for them, he is bitter and refuses to help.  Ilsa loves Rick but admires and respects Victor and will do anything to help him continue his work with the resistance.  Even though I knew the outcome, I still found the final scene to be filled with intrigue and suspense.  In fact, I found some of the scenes to be even more poignant the second time around.  When Ilsa sees Rick for the first time in his club, the expression on her face was even more heartbreaking to me because I knew her past with Rick and I knew the outcome.  My favorite scene is when Victor has the crowd sing the "Marseillaise" to drown out the German officers singing a drinking song.  It is so incredibly powerful and it made me understand Victor's appeal for Ilsa despite her love for Rick.  I really loved anticipating all of those famous lines, and there are a lot of them, but I think my favorite one is said by the corrupt prefect of police (Claude Rains):  "I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here."  I laughed out loud!  Seeing this movie reminded me that today's actors don't have anything on the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains.  Bogart is so handsome and debonair in a dinner jacket and I was captivated by the way Rains smoked a cigarette.  Definitely try to see this brilliant movie on the big screen on Nov. 15 (go here for tickets).

Murder on the Orient Express

It seems like I have been waiting forever for Murder on the Orient Express to be released!  The wait was finally over last night because I went to an early Thursday preview with my family and boy did I love it!  I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie.  I have read every one of her mysteries multiple times and Murder on the Orient Express is a particular favorite because of the clever plot twist.  Kenneth Branagh's version is stylish and entertaining but it also adds a bit of poignancy that the other versions lack.  Hercule Poirot (Branagh) boards the Orient Express in Istanbul hoping for a few days of rest and relaxation.  However, one of the passengers, Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is stabbed to death just as the train is derailed during an avalanche.  Poirot is enlisted to solve the crime by his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) before the murderer can strike again while the train is stranded.  Everyone, it seems, is a suspect:  Ratchett's assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her companion Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), an American named Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), the missionary Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), a governess named Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley),  Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), Ratchett's valet Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi), Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and the Count and Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton and Sergei Polunin).  I really enjoyed the all-star cast, especially Pfeiffer who has an incredibly affecting scene and I can think of no one better to play an imperious princess than Dame Judi Dench.  They all have their moment to shine as they are interrogated one by one.  Branagh's iteration of the famous Belgian sleuth is a bit more emotional and tormented than the ones I've seen before and I actually really liked his portrayal (although his accent was a bit affected).  I also liked the claustrophobia of the sumptuous train cars juxtaposed with wide sweeping shots of the train traveling through the snow covered mountains.  Since I've read the book countless times and seen several versions, my enjoyment was not derived from trying to figure out "whodunnit" but from seeing a classic tale told in a new and surprising way.  I loved this movie and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  The ending implied that Poirot's next case would be in Egypt.  Dare we hope that Death on the Nile will be next?

LBJ

Last night I went to the Broadway once again to see LBJ and I hate to admit it but I was a bit disappointed.   The film begins on that fateful day in November when President Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) is assassinated and Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) assumes the presidency.  Then the film flashes back to when Johnson was the most powerful member of the Democratic Party as Senate Majority Leader only to lose all of his power once he becomes the Vice President.  Despite a fantastic performance by Harrelson, as well as one from Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird, my biggest problem with the film is that it really isn't about Johnson.  Rather, it is about the Kennedys.  The script takes great pains to point out that Johnson was thwarted at every turn by the Kennedys, starting with losing the 1960 presidential nomination to John Kennedy then being relegated to a bit player at the White House by Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) and finally having the first days of his presidency overshadowed by the nation's grief over President Kennedy's death.  The film ends with President Johnson giving a speech to a joint session of Congress advocating for President Kennedy's Civil Rights Act.  His one shining moment in the film is fighting for President Kennedy's legacy.  Then we see a few seconds of text on the screen outlining everything Johnson was able to accomplish during his presidency such as his Great Society legislation, Head Start, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well is his disastrous escalation of the Vietnam War.  I wish the filmmakers had focused on that.  I also felt that for being a biopic about such a bombastic character it was rather dull.  There is a lot of talking and many of the characters are difficult to distinguish from each other.  My mind definitely wandered.  The most stirring moment came during Johnson's speech when the film was practically over.   I would recommend giving this one a miss.