TxMike Reviews

American Experience: The Boys of '36 (2016) Season 28, Episode 10

Washington University 9-man rowing team go to the Olympics in 1936.

[31 May 2024]

Last night my wife and I watched the recent movie "The Boys in the Boat", directed by George Clooney. It is a very nice and entertaining movie and most of it is an accurate depiction of the time and events leading up to the 1936 Olympic Games. However a few things were changed for the movie's running time, and to include some dramatic effects.

This documentary is much shorter, at 53 minutes, but is more historically accurate. For example, where the movie leads us to believe everything depicted occurred in 1936, in fact it was over the 3-year period 1933 to 1936.

This program uses actual film footage from the period, practicing and racing, the transatlantic ocean voyage, the final Olympic race. It also includes an interesting thing, when the crew went to New York to compete, the crew had an off day and decided to visit President Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park, north of Poughkeepsie. He wasn't home, of course, but his son, also a rower, invited them in and they talked rowing.

All in all a very interesting and well made documentary. At home, streaming on the PBS site.

The Boys in the Boat (2023)

Great story of underdogs during the depression and 1936 Olympic Games.

[31 May 2024]

This movie is based on real people and their true story. PBS has the actual 54-minute documentary and in it you will see some changes for movie-making purposes, but the changes do not hurt the story, the constraint is that they need to keep the running time near two hours. The basic true story is faithfully dramatized.

The Great Depression ran approximately from 1929 to 1939. While the movie makes it look like everything took place in the middle of that period, in 1936, the story actually begins in 1933. The University of Washington needed rowers and many of the young men of that time and location were very robust, strong, hard-working guys. But often didn't know where their next meal was coming from. Or where they would get money to live and money for tuition.

Most of the young men didn't have rowing experience. So the movie depicts the approximate three-year period where the team learned, worked hard, and became champions. The climax is the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany with a prominent Hitler as a spectator rooting for his "superior race" of athletes.

There is also a brief scene with Jesse Owens, the sprinter who won four track and field gold medals in those Olympics.

Good movie, my wife and I enjoyed it at home, streaming on Prime. The PBS documentary, using authentic old footage, is probably more interesting, but the movie in color is more entertaining.

Good Burger 2 (2023)

Not good enough to be a serious movie, not funny enough to be a parody.

[30 May 2024]

I am not the target audience for this type of movie. I only got it, on DVD, because my public library added it. So all it "cost" me was perhaps 90 minutes of my retiree time. I didn't watch the original "Good Burger" so all I had was to judge this one on its own merits.

I usually know if I am invested in a movie after 15 minutes. At 9 minutes into this one I was pretty sure I would not. It was confirmed after 15 minutes. Where to start?

It opens with Ed having a dream, it turns out he was asleep on the counter of Good Burger. Then when he starts talking he has what might be the most annoying voice ever in a move role. Then it degrades from there.

There is a story, of risking everything, even the money of friends and family, for a chemical that renders a home impossible to burn. In the inaugural demonstration, complete with audience in lawn chairs, including investor Mark Cuban, it fails badly.

The rest of the movie is to save face and reject a plan to have the Good Burger sold.

Frankly I don't know who the audience might be for this movie. The characters are overly silly, the story is overly silly, and the resolution is overly silly. For me, a big, big miss.

Poor Things (2023)

Fantastical, whimsical, and totally entertaining.

[29 May 2024]

This movie had so much advanced build-up that I figured I'd be disappointed. I also figured the long 2+ hour running time would be too long. Neither of my fears materialized. This is a really novel and entertaining approach to movie-making on several levels. Some in color, some in B&W, frequent use of fish-eye lenses to make spaces look larger, fantastic color and state-of-the-art digital technology for the backgrounds. Plus probably the most unusual, but satisfying, musical score which greatly enhanced the moods of the story.

There are several things going on but in simple terms it is Bella (Emma Stone) as a physically adult woman with the brain of a baby. So in the running time of the move we witness her evolution, to toddler, to teenager, to young impetuous adult, to wise adult, all in the same body as the mind learns and the wisdom develops.

During that process Bella gets herself into lots of different things and in the end it comes full circle. Emma Stone is great in the role of Bella, and the supporting actors are all good also, especially Dafoe and Ruffalo.

When was it set? They don't say but one scene in Paris depicts a half-finished Eiffel Tower so that would place it in 1888 when most city transportation was by horse and carriage.

At home, on DVD from my public library. My wife started it with me, she lasted 30 minutes, the movie is too strange for her, but its strangeness is what drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I might watch it again.

A Man in Full (2024)

Jeff Daniels is right on key with his portrayal of Charlie Croker.

[28 May 2024]

I have always been a Jeff Daniels fan, but I also looked at him as a middle-of-the-road actor who could do lots of things well but nothing outstanding. The Purple Rose of Cairo, Fly Away Home, Pleasantville, Terms of Endearment, and of course Dumb and Dumber all are some of my favorite movies he was in.

But here in this six-part miniseries, set in Atlanta, he is the central character and the whole project depends on how well he channels Charlie Croker, and he does it admirably, and with both lots of menace and lots of humor.

Charlie, just turning 60, is a former Georgia Tech football star. He has developed himself into a big businessman who never shies away from debt. As this story starts he owes one bank $800 Million, and several smaller ones a few hundred million additional. Along the way he has made a few friends but also a few enemies and now some want to take him down, foreclose on his assets, see him bankrupt.

But if Charlie is nothing else, he is a fighter. The whole series is mostly about his enemies trying to get the best of him while Charlie fends off the attacks.

This is definitely an adult show, lots and lots of cursing and at least a couple of very graphic simulated sex scenes, but overlaid on all that is a very funny and entertaining presentation.

My wife and I watched it, streaming, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

BTW, if anyone still doesn't know, Jeff Daniels is a talented guitarist, song writer, and singer. For a good example do a web search on the four words "jeff daniels kelly clarkson", watch the video and you might be amazed.

With Love, Your Sweetly Salted (2023 TV Movie)

Chicago food critic and chef work to make things right.

[26 May 2024]

My wife and I enjoyed this Hallmark-like movie because the setting is Chicago, a city we love to visit, and much of the time is spent in various kitchens in food prep, something we both enjoy. However it was filmed in Canada with many beautiful location "establishing" shots of Chicago, many of them nighttime.

But I have a big complaint, the actress who plays the lead role as the Chicago food critic. She is Lanie McAuley as Alison. She has a very nice voice but most times delivers her lines with a lot of "vocal fry", or what I often refer to as "putting gravel into her voice." It quickly becomes very annoying and takes away from appreciating her character.

That aside, it is a nice story and a pleasant set of characters. Alison writes a food critic column as 'Sweetly Salted' and does not reveal her identity. When a publishing house in New York gets wind of her real identity they ask her to write a book, so she goes undercover as a sous chef for the restaurant she gave a bad review to.

Everything plays out just like most Hallmark movies, and there is a kiss about one minute before it ends. Easy entertainment after weekly steak and wine night, with chocolate cake of course for dessert.

The Addams Family (1991)

Entertaining silliness.

[25 May 2024]

I am old enough to have been a fan of the old Addams Family TV series back in the 1960s when I was in college. More recently, my wife and I enjoyed the 8-part 2022 mini-series "Wednesday" which included most of the Addams family characters but focused on a teenage Wednesday. That series also had Christina Ricci in it, playing a teacher at the special Nevermore school.

So all that motivated me to get this 1991 movie where a 10-yr-old Christina Ricci was in the role of Wednesday Addams. I found it on BluRay from our public library. As such it is nicely colorful and detailed with a really good soundtrack. At the end it includes a very rapid, very catchy song by MC Hammer, the chorus is:

"They do what they want to do, say what they want to say Live how they want to live, play how they want to play Dance how they want to dance, kick and they slap a friend The Addams family"

There is a thin story about an imposter (Christopher Lloyd) claiming to be Gomez's missing brother Fester, put up to it by his mother hoping to gain access to the money the Addams' had stashed away. But mostly it is just entertaining silliness with lots of sight gags.

I was entertained, my wife got up and left after about 15 or 20 minutes. She wasn't finding it entertaining.

Spectre (I) (2015)

The story isn't engrossing, but the action scenes are pretty exciting, if implausible.

[24 May 2024]

Count me as one who has been watching James Bond 007 movies since the 1960s. Of course my favorite 007 was Sean Connery, something about his style, his demeanor, and his particular delivery of lines. While each older Bond movie contained action, the greater emphasis was on a good story.

Daniel Craig is OK as James Bond, agent 007, but he is more of a brawler and a romancer in an aggressive manner. To me he just doesn't come off as believable as most of the prior actors who played Bond.

In this one he discovers an operation by Spectre, a multi-national organization. For charity? No, for crime. And the head guy is Christoph Waltz as Blofeld. This role of his came about six years after the role that acquainted most of us with Waltz, in 'Inglourious Basterds' where he was menacing as The Jew Hunter for the Nazis. His character here is played not too differently and he is a great counterpoint to Craig as Bond.

My wife and I had not seen this one back when it came out but now found it streaming on Amazon Prime. We were entertained, mostly, but some of the action sequences went a bit too far over the top. It is not a movie I would want to watch again.

Nova: Decoding the Universe: Cosmos (2024) Season 51, Episode 8

Exciting developments over the past 50 years in Cosmology.

[23 May 2024]

I viewed this program last night on my local PBS station, via antenna in the attic, of course!

While the discussion goes farther back than 50 years the focus is on the past 50 years and how much Scientists have learned, how much we have had to modify our view of the Cosmos. Much of it is due to the several instruments, including telescopes, put into space over the years. It discusses the "crisis in cosmology" which is a term used to identify the diverging measurements by different techniques to try to determine the age and expansion rate of the universe.

The second half of the program spends a lot of time on the issue of dark matter and dark energy. While no one knows what forms they take, and neither have been detected by various means, the theory of their existence was proposed to explain what is considered the strange behavior of stars in large galaxies. Namely, if Newtonian principles are applied then the stars farther away from the center of rotation should move much slower, similar to how planets in our Solar system behave.

Instead, stars are moving much faster in their orbits than predicted and that is why Cosmologists believe a mysterious substance and energy must be present to facilitate that. Plus perhaps a role in the apparent accelerating expansion of the universe.

I am a scientist, although not an Astrophysicist, and I really enjoy this sort of program. For what it is worth I don't believe dark matter and dark energy will ever be detected. My own guess is we don't fully understand the physics of galaxy rotation. Only time will tell.

The Last Detail (1973)

Two Navy NCOs escort a thief to the brig in what amounts to a buddy road trip.

[21 May 2024]

Jack Nicholson is the star here, he was in his mid-30s. Even though he had worked a lot during the 1960s, mostly in TV shows like Dr Kildare and the such, he had not yet hit his stride as one of the better actors. The rest, as some are prone to say, is movie history.

Here he is NCO Buddusky, he and another NCO, Otis Young as Mulhall, are assigned to take a young man to the brig several states away. He was convicted of theft of forty dollars, the money in the Polio donation box. He was also getting a dishonorable discharge, played by a 20-ish Randy Quaid as Meadows.

They travel by train and, instead of getting there promptly, take the full five days to make the delivery. Along the way they visit Washington, DC, Manhattan, Boston, and even find time to introduce young Meadows to the carnal pleasures of a house of "working women." Plus a bit of gambling.

I enjoyed the movie, mainly for seeing Nicholson and Quaid as young actors before they made it big, but overall I don't consider it to be a particularly good movie.

At home, streaming on Prime.

American Fiction (2023)

Don't give them what you think they need, give them what they want.

[21 May 2024]

This is a very thoughtful and entertaining movie. My wife seldom comments much but even a day later she commented on how good it is.

Jeffrey Wright is professor and novelist Thelonious Ellison. His family and close friends call him 'Monk' in honor of the famous jazz musician and composer Thelonious Monk, who died in 1982 at the age of 64.

This Monk takes his writing novels very seriously but is not achieving much success. Meanwhile he encounters another author, a well-educated and well-spoken black woman. However when she reads a portion of her latest popular book, it is all broken English and black slang. He is taken aback, what is going on here?

At some point he decides to spoof the industry, he writes a novel of black characters who use reprehensible language and ghetto slang. He writes it as a joke with a made-up pen name. To his surprise and shock the publishing company loves it, they offer a big sum to publish it, and another company is jockeying for the movie rights.

Reflecting on the story I am a bit loss on how to explain the last half hour of it, but it is overall a very well-made and entertaining movie. Jeffrey Wright is superb in the role.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Prime.

Wednesday (2022– )

Wednesday Addams in an 8-part series, enrolled at Nevermore.

[18 May 2024]

This eight episode series came out in 2022 on a streaming channel. Recently my public library added the three DVD set to its inventory and my wife and I watched it this week. Usually two episodes each evening. I had heard positive things about it and we were not disappointed.

The first thing is that it is absent of all the foul language that often fills the script of these sorts of shows. While there are the occasional R-rated words they are scarce and the streams of F-words are totally absent. That is a nice bonus and shows that vulgarity isn't needed for entertainment. In fact, it is more entertaining without it.

Young and tiny Jenna Ortega, barely five feet tall and probably weighing 90 pounds, is Wednesday Addams. She has had some disciplinary issues in school, including a couple of bags of Piranhas in the boy's water polo practice, and now is being placed at Nevermore, with mandatory sessions with a therapist.

The big focus of the whole series turns to a monster that sometimes attacks people, sometimes appears in dreams. It eventually hints that someone at the school is transitioning into a "Hyde" form, named for the Jekyll/Hyde of the author Robert Louis Stevenson's story.

Part of the fun is the contrast between Wednesday, who is very tiny, and the school Principal played by a British actress who is 6' 3". Seeing the two standing or sitting next to each other is a quite comical contrast.

All in all a very entertaining series, Ortega is great as Wednesday. I see that they are set up for season #2 in 2025 but I have no idea how that is coming along, if at all.

Ferrari (2023)

Enzo Ferrari trying to save his company in the late 1950s.

[16 May 2024]

This movie focuses on Enzo Ferrari, the Italian racing driver and car maker born in 1898. With appropriate makeup he is played well as a 60-ish man by Adam Driver. He is portrayed as a hard-working and driven man who knew that the racing success of the Farrari team would influence the success of his car sales. How many cars? They spoke of increasing the yearly production from around 100 to around 400.

I suspect this happened in real life, but don't really know, but it serves to illustrate his "hands on" approach. He was watching a race remotely on TV when one of his drivers wasn't being aggressive enough. He got on the phone, spoke to the on-site crew manager, and told him to pull that driver and replace him with another.

Enzo Ferrari led a complicated life. He had a wife but during the war in the 1940s had an affair that resulted in another son for him. That was kept secret and he basically was leading a double life for many years, partly because divorce as illegal in Italy. That son, Piero, has become an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality.

The whole movie is very well made. There is a protracted racing scene, through public streets, and an incident serves to demonstrate how dangerous that can be. Adam Driver is just great as Enzo.

There is a 2019 movie "Ford V Ferrari" which is a good companion piece for those interested in this subject.

At home, on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, not a racing fan.

Unfrosted (2024)

Somewhat true parody of the invention and introduction in 1963 of Kellog's Pop Tarts.

[14 May 2024]

It was 1963 and I remember it well. No, not because of Pop Tarts but because I graduated from high school and started college in 1963. I do vividly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis where Russia was forced to turn back ships carrying weapons headed for Cuba.

So, is "Unfrosted" a good movie? Well, the answer depends on the viewers and what they are looking for. This is a Jerry Seinfeld creation and as such has humor reminiscent of the now defunct "Seinfeld" TV series. That is to say it is a dumb but witty movie with gags based on many real events.

Seinfeld plays Bob Cabana who in fact was NOT the actual force behind the creation of Pop Tarts, instead he was the Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The real inventor of Pop Tarts was Bill Post, not associated with the Post family of cereal fame.

Many things in 1963 were included in the humor but also something more modern. When it came time for the new Pop Tarts to be "certified" a group of Post supporters stormed the Kellog headquarters, the leader was a Shaman dressed in a head set with horns, a clear parody of the January 6th storming of the US Capitol to try to prevent certification of the 2020 Presidential election results.

So, is it a good movie? My wife abandoned it about half-way, to her it was just too dumb. I watched it all the way and was entertained. It isn't a particularly good movie but it is entertaining if you like that sort of thing. I have seen a bunch of worse movies.

At home, streaming.

Mother of the Bride (2024)

Brooke Shields produced and stars as the Mother of the Bride.

[13 May 2024]

My wife and I watched this last night at home, streaming. As I write this the IMDb rating is 5.0 and while that may seem low, after watching it that seems pretty fair. This is NOT a very good movie, by any stretch, but I must also say we were mostly entertained. The title is clearly inspired by the several "Father of the Bride" movies, and here the mother has an analogous relationship with her daughter. This movie even has the stereotypical wacky wedding planner role.

Brooke Shields (in her late 50s) is the mother, Lana. She is a doctor and leads a group of researchers. She is blindsided when her daughter, Miranda Cosgrove as Emma, returns from London and reveals that she is getting married. Next month. Lana is at a loss for what to do. Then is very upset that virtually all the wedding planning is being done without her input.

(As an aside, I like Shields in general but I had a really hard time liking her character here. Maybe it was because she was playing the character too broadly, overacting, with too many mishaps, and she reminded me of the type of lady that I'd never want to be around for any reason.)

As the wedding planning got underway she finds out her very old college boyfriend, Benjamin Bratt (late 50s also) as Will, is actually the father of the groom. Their re-connecting is not pleasant, seems there are some deep wounds from unresolved issues all those decades ago.

In many respects the story arc is similar to the formula Hallmark movies use, but lots more silliness.

Little Women (1949)

The 1949 version of the story that never gets old.

[13 May 2024]

First I want to admonish all the reviewers who might say things like "this version wasn't as faithful to the book as..." or to those who might say "the movie leaves out too much from the book." Thise kinds of comments are inappropriate and not useful. Books are books and movies are movies, enjoy each if you will for what they are.

I have watched several versions of the "Little Women" features and while each is different, I enjoyed them all. My main reason for enjoying this one is to see a number of famous actors and actresses when they were much younger. I grew up watching them mostly in the later parts of their careers.

June Allyson is Jo and I think she is very appropriate and believable in that role. Some complain that she was too old but that is silly, we aren't looking at actors, we are looking at characters and they can be any age we want them to be, or the script dictates them to be.

Peter Lawford is Laurie, Margaret O'Brien is Beth, Elizabeth Taylor is Amy, Janet Leigh is Meg, Rossano Brazzi is Professor Bhaer, and Mary Astor is Marmee. What a great cast in total.

While our ISP was down today I was able to watch it on the local Movies! Network station via TV antenna.

Pearl (2022)

The prequel to "X", set in 1918 influenza pandemic and war.

[13 May 2024]

This is a curious movie, even though it was made after the movie "X", it is actually the prequel, of sorts. "X" is set in 1979 Texas, one character is Pearl. The movie "Pearl" is set in 1918 and it revolves around the young Pearl, married to a young man who is off to war in Europe. And Pearl is stuck on the farm.

Mia Goth, who also produced and co-wrote, is Pearl. Her parents are German immigrants, her mother still speaks mostly German at home. Her dad is ill, spends his time in a wheelchair, has to be fed and cleaned, and never speaks.

Mom is very strict, she treats Pearl like a little girl, quickly disapproves of most of Pearl's behavior. But Pearl is mostly dutiful, she feeds the barn animals and milks the cow. But her best animal friend seems to be the large alligator that resides in the pond on their property. There are a number of ways it can come in handy.

Through all of this Pearl is unhappy, she resents her young husband going away, she doesn't like the absence of love, and doesn't want to grow old on the Texas farm. On the surface Pearl seems nice and accommodating to others but there is very disturbing streak in her.

Not more needs to be said of the story and how it plays out. Suffice to say Mia Goth is superb in the role of Pearl. In my mind it is an award-worthy performance. It is chilling at times, very disturbing at others, there is some very graphic gore.

I don't usually like this kind of movie, in fact I thought I might watch 15 minutes of it and abandon it, but I didn't. The whole movie is fascinating, the story and flow are unusually good.

At home on BluRay from my public library. My wife chose to skip, not her type of movie.

NB - I didn't like the movie "X" at all.

Anyone But You (2023)

Sydney in Sydney.

[11 May 2024]

This is a rom-com that takes advantage of the cuteness of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. There is a comment in the middle of the movie about him being too old for her and in fact Powell is about 9 years older than Sweeney.

It starts in Boston, at a coffee shop. She goes in asking for the rest room but is told that it is only for customers actually making a purchase. He is in line, the next to be waited on, pretends they are a couple and thus she is a "customer" and can use the facility. This event serves to have them meet. Briefly.

Then later her sister, a lesbian, is going to Australia, for a wedding to her girlfriend. The whole wedding party, including families, end up on the same long flight to Sydney. He and she end up on the same flight and things develop from there.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming. We enjoyed the quirkiness of it and the funny situations. Sweeney and Powell play well off each other. The scene, where they were on a cliff facing the ocean, with their hands down each other's pants to try to convince the others that they were really a couple, is very funny.

However there is one big distraction. The script has all the characters over-use the F-word in situations where there is no cause for it. It seems just to have characters use salty language. It quickly became a distraction, families and friends in real life do not speak that way at congenial gatherings. My wife and I both say it takes the movie down a notch.

In spite of that we were entertained. Sydney Sweeney and Irish busker Allie Sherlock resemble each other so much it makes me wonder if that are related. After all Sweeney is of Irish ancestry.

The Iron Claw (2023)

The triumphs and the tragedies of a wrestling family.

[10 May 2024]

I am not a fan of wrestling, especially the "entertainment" type of wrestling depicted here. However I do enjoy a good story based on real events or real people. This one is of the Texas Von Erich clan of wrestlers (shot in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas).

After I watched the movie I did a bit of web search and found that, while the overall story is based on a real family and mostly true, a number of things were either changed or fabricated for the movie. This is not unusual. It is not a documentary.

I almost didn't recognize Zac Efron who plays the featured role as the second brother, Kevin Von Erich. Efron really bulked up for the role and in it he looks like a bodybuilder.

Their father was a successful wrestler but he never was able to bring a world championship back home so that was his often stated goal for his many sons, to wrestle and become world champion. The time depicted is mostly the 1970s and 1980s, although it extends into the 1990s when Kevin was about 40.

There is quite a bit of simulated action in the ring but not so much that it spoils the good dramatic story of the clan.

At home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, wrestling movies are not her thing.

Good Posture (2019)

The lazy, entitled oaf.

[10 May 2024]

Lilian is a young adult in New York city. Her mother is simply missing, her dad has a girlfriend in Paris, he doesn't seem very dedicated to keep up communications with Lilian. But he does provide financial support, when she needs money. She is currently sharing a place with a boyfriend. She seems very bright but totally unmotivated.

When the boyfriend situation turns sour her dad arranges that she can go down the street to stay at the home of a well-known lady author. Her most recent book was "good Posture", thus the title of this movie. The lady is reclusive, spending most of her time in her room upstairs, writing. Or so it appears. Maybe she just has writer's block? She sees what is happening with Lilian, calls her an "entitled oaf."

I don't rate this movie highly, but I enjoyed it for what it is. Sort of a "coming of age" for Lilian, figuring out that you can't just expect that others will care for you, you have to get some enthusiasm for something then work hard at it. That's just the way life is.

Streaming on Peacock.

Nature: Grizzly 399: Queen of the Tetons (2024) Season 42, Episode 15

Grizzly 399, one special bear.

[9 May 2024]

This episode of Nature focuses broadly on the challenge of properly managing wildlife, with a focus on Grizzly Bears in the Grand Teton wildlife area. Back as recently as the 1970s the Grizzly Bear population was in dangerous decline, as a result they were listed as a protected species. Now that their numbers are thriving some want to delist them, which means they could be hunted and killed. That would result in bears accustomed to and unafraid of tourists being killed first. A conundrum.

This program focuses on one bear, named simply 399. It covers the springtimes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. A female that typically has one or two cubs emerge with her out of hibernation. In 2020 she emerges with four healthy cubs. The program follows her until the cubs are 2 1/2 years of age, at which time she chases them away, that is the method of the Grizzly. The following springtime she emerges with one cub, although at the age of 27 experts are amazed.

The program also follows one wildlife photographer who has made 399 his passion for years, by his own estimate he spends almost half of the year looking for 399 and he sees her maybe 15 times. In the springtime he might be at roadside watching every day for two weeks before 399 is sighted. But through his sticktuitiveness has made some wonderful photos of the Grizzly.

Good, worthwhile Nature program, it was broadcast tonight on my PBS station.

Rifkin's Festival (2020)

The San Sebastian International Film Festival is the setting, the rest is typical Woody Allen.

[8 May 2024]

To me the genesis of this movie is as interesting as the story itself. The backers of this Woody Allen movie wanted it set and shot in Spain. As Allen reflected on several of his other Spanish movies he realized San Sebastian as a good fit, and further wrap the SSIFF (film festival) into the story.

The character channeling Woody Allen in this movie is Wallace Shawn as Mort Rifkin. He is a New Yorker, has been a teacher of film history, now he is attempting to write his own version of the great novel. His wife has a role in the SSIFF so he makes the trip with her, as he confides to his shrink, to keep and eye on her, he suspects her of straying.

So basically the whole movie is when they are all in San Sebastian. Mort gets chest pains, he is referred to this doctor who turns out to be a delightful lady who, coincidentally, is also having difficulties in her marriage. Mort starts to fantasize.

I really enjoyed this movie, it is typical Woody Allen and I have always enjoyed his movies where he is not also playing the lead character.

At home on DVD from my public library. My wife skipped, she is not a Woody Allen fan.

The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)

Inventive satire that is both funny and serious at the same time.

[7 May 2024]

I almost didn't take the time to watch this movie streaming on Peacock. The title sure is attention-getting but so many negative reviews and low votes made me hesitant. But I decided to give it 10 minutes, then became invested, and am happy to say the movie is very good, unique, inventive, witty and entertaining. Plus it makes you think.

So why all the bad reviews and low votes? I can only speculate but I believe it is because it hits too close to home and many people feel uncomfortable with the message, that for their own safety black people must keep white people feeling comfortable. But keep in mind it is satire. With a message.

It immediately reminded me of older movies like Will Smith in "Bagger Vance" and Morgan Freeman in "Driving Miss Daisy", plus several others, which represented these sorts of characters.

In this movie Justice Smith plays Aren, a black man, an artist, who often feel invisible. He isn't mistreated, he is just ignored. He gets recruited into this magical society, he is assigned a client, a white man, he must help him feel good about himself and not interfere with anything. That gets hard when both of them get romantic feelings towards their same coworker. Aren has to make a decision, will he remain faithful to his magical assignment, or will he decide to be true to himself?

I was afraid that the last half hour or so would be a disappointment but it wasn't. It concluded with progress on Aren's part, plus additional whimsy and additional magic.

I know it isn't for everyone but the 2/3 of "1" votes are bogus. Strip all those away and what you have left are mostly ratings of "6" or "7."

The Wedding Cottage (2023 TV Movie)

Wedding planner and sculptor, is it a match made in Vermont?

[7 May 2024]

My wife and I regularly watch Hallmark movies, they are straightforward and clean with attractive characters. As I always do, I ask my wife when the movie is over, "Of all the Hallmark movies we have seen is this one in the bottom third, the middle third, or the upper third?" For this one she said, "I suppose in the upper third, the characters are good people."

Vanessa lives and works in Manhattan, she has done by her count about 235 weddings, and has written a guide for weddings. She holds a contest and the young couple who won will get an all-expense paid wedding at the venue of their choice. They choose a wedding cottage in Vermont.

The problem is the venue's website has not been updated in years and the listed phone number is out of service. So she does what any ambitious planner would do, she drives to Vermont to see what it up.

Evan is the owner of the venue, it became his when his grandparents died. He is a somewhat well-known sculptor and has let the wedding cottage become dilapidated. He has no interest in re-starting the wedding cottage, he just wants to live in the back and work on his sculptures.

So this whole movie is about Vanessa's persistence and Evan's resistance trying to meet somewhere in the middle. It is a cute story and the characters are entertaining.

At home on DVD from our public library.

Acidman (2022)

And then there was "Slam Dunk Tuesday."

[6 May 2024]

I have liked both main actors for a number of years, Dianna Agron when she had a regular role on the TV series "Glee". She always seemed to be a realistic, authentic actor and she is here. And Church since I saw him in "Sideways", wreaking havoc in the California wine country. Incidentally, each of them is listed among the producers for this movie.

It begins with Agron as Maggie showing up, after a very long trip, to a dilapidated home in a heavily wooded area (filmed in Oregon), driving down a narrow, dirt road. After a few attempts at the front door and getting no response she starts to back up her car. Looking down at her phone for signal she bumps something, looking back it is a man and a shopping cart of his items. She greets him with "Hi, Dad."

Thomas Haden Church is her dad, Loyd. They are very familiar with each other, mutual respect but no warmth, no hugs. We immediately wonder what the story is. This small movie is about their stories.

Loyd is an engineer living a secluded live, we get no hint of how his career went. He is now obsessed with what he thinks are his signal contacts with alien spacecraft. Maggie has arrived unannounced, mainly because Loyd has made it hard for anyone to find him or contact him. But in flashbacks we see the two of them had a very happy and engaging life together as she grew up. And he still had her hand-drawn and colored "Slam Dunk Tuesday" book from her childhood.

I really like this movie, it is all about relationships and how we deal with our inner conflicts. Agron and Church are both at the top of their acting games in this movie. I enjoyed it as a good story, but enjoyed it even more for the two actors.

It was also nice seeing scenes of the gorgeous, rocky Oregon coast. At home, streaming on Amazon Prime.