Category: Film

Posted on

Off-Piste

Literally off the trail. What Biden & Harris usually are. And. Why does Kamala laugh at every question? It’s silly.

Ruth Ware’s new thriller One by One is set in a chalet in the French Alps. A small UK startup getaway turns into murder and mayhem. Lots of harrowing off-piste ski drama and salopettes.

David E. Kelley’s HBO The Undoing premiere entices. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. Set in NYC before Covid. However, in every exterior shot there’s scaffolding. No matter where in the City.

Speaking of Hugh Grant, his lover in A Very English Scandal, Ben Whishaw is the star of Fargo as the Irish Rabbi.

Totally off the trek. Tom Brady still throws a football better than most.

Posted on

Rocky Week

Covid clusters continue to grow and more government anti-masked succumb. Could delay if not derail SCOTUS play.

Meanwhile. Chris Rock is everywhere. The first episode of Coen Brothers’ Fargo was gorgeously choreographed theater. Almost felt like we were in our orchestra seats. So far. Great.

SNL returned as irreverent as ever despite the Prez in hospital. Jim Carrey nailed Biden without gushing to debate Baldwin’s less sharp Trump. Mostly funny nonetheless. Chris Rock hosted and was a little nasty but got enough laughs. Megan Thee Stallion. Talent-less.

Posted on

Storylines

Schwab PGA Tournament storyline coincidentally apt. Harold Varner III in contention. One of few ever Black golfers to win or even play. Without galleries, it’s up to Nick Faldo to give us some good gossip. Like Bryson deChambeau drinking crazy amounts of protein shakes. Thus, the gut. Hasn’t improved his annoying slow rudeness.

Knives Out. Don’t see many movies. But. This got major nominations and awards? For ensemble. Okay, good cast, mostly bad acting. Daniel Craig’s accent was distractingly awful. Original Screenplay. Really? Pretty flimsy. Campy at best. Must have been a bad year for film.

Posted on

Re-Writing Hollywood

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino’s re-writing of the Manson Family murder spree. Brad Pitt a happy-go-lucky hero.

Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood. Period piece with anachronistic wish-list of political correctness. Rock Hudson as his true Roy Fitzgerald. Pedantic message-laden editing that re-casts racial, social & Oscar history.

But. Happy endings are necessary now more than ever.

Posted on

Love in the Time of Corona

Rodrigo Márquez is the son of Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.

Rodrigo writes a letter to his late father in today’s NYTimes. He wonders what Gabriel would think about the current coronavirus given his plots around an insomnia pandemic and cholera. Perhaps that luck and fate determine whether one suffers and dies alone or surrounded by love.

Ironically, Rodrigo’s film Four Good Days about addiction was screened at Sundance this past January where it is said the coronavirus may have had the earliest detected spread in the U.S.

Posted on

Not Sun Day

Blustery Sunday. So. What’s new? Looking forward to Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson. Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Charity Golf Match on TNT.

Rolling Stones new original song, Living in a Ghost Town. No Filter tour canceled. No Filter Instagram exposé by Sarah Frier on the way.

HBO’s Bad Education with Allison Janney & Hugh Jackman was good. On SNL. Brad Pitt as Dr. Fauci great. Miley Cyrus, too. Someone needs to do a wellness check on Bill Maher. Very depressed. Speaking of which. Last episode of Homeland series tonight.

Posted on

Grumpo a Grumpo

Still having a debate tonight. It seems. Two grumpy really old white guys filling 2+ hours? I don’t think so. It’ll be something to watch with held breath. Will Joe reassure or scare the heck out of us? Will he know what day it is and where he is? Bernie already gave him the questions. Anyway. It’s the only thing on TV that hasn’t been suspended. Yet.

Speaking of cranky. Bought Bombshell. Charlize Theron was okay as Megyn Kelly, got her voice down. Lithgow as Roger Ailes good. Other acting  bad,  because of the terrible writing. Funny cameos. Paid $3.99 so had to stick it out ’til the end. At least it was on sale.

Posted on

O! The Inanity

Oh. The Oscars. Inane Red Carpet Questions. It’d be great if interviewers actually knew the people and their movie. Basic homework. Ryan does his. Even if his dinner jacket is ill-fitted. Seems to be black & white fashion night. All the stars look AMAZING! Thesaurus anyone?

Haven’t seen the films, with a couple of exceptions. They weren’t so hot. So. It’s off to Homeland. Later return to the inanity on fast-forward.

Posted on

Golden Globes Pre-Game

Joe Pesci best in The Irishman. Van Zandt nailed Jerry Vale and Bo Dietl was well himself. It was an intimate slice of the big bad Giancana mobster world which took out Jimmy Hoffa and a President. Reminded me of the old days with my father’s cousins.

Worth mention. Kirsten Dunst as a working class cult survivor in Central Florida. And. The noms for Unbelievable. An outstanding riveting series with Dever & Wever & Collette all winners for their great performances.

Streep brought a compellingly complicated new character to Big Little Lies. Brian Cox & Kieran Culkin faves for Succession. Jeremy Strong robbed. Adam Driver is good in anything. Waller-Bridge of course.

Two on my Worst of the Year List have nominations. Season 3 of Mrs. Maisel and Mirren as Catherine the Great. Bad writing and editing the former and ditto plus creepy the latter. So. Nope.

Pats will top the Titans.

Posted on

New Flix

The Two Popes. Light fare. Tour-de-force from two legendary actors. Anthony Hopkins as the self-deposed Benedict and Jonathan Pryce who transforms into Francis. Sweet if mostly fiction.

The Report. Pedantic look back at the failed Brennan CIA-Cheney terrorist torture doctrine. And its coverup. Adam Driver good as the stalwart investigator. Annette Bening captures the stolid Senator Feinstein. However, more preachy critique than entertainment.

Marriage Story. A completely different Adam Driver shows up in this film. His multi-layered depth of performance as the husband in this bleak study of a marriage coming undone is worthy of its accolades. Scarlett Johansson is raw in her vulnerability.

None of the three outstanding. Each more about the acting than the stories. Barry’s girlfriend and Sheldon’s math teacher keep popping up.