Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

— As a documentary, this is interesting enough but, were it not for Ronstadt's aura, it would be a little routine and its picking and choosing of facts occasionally bothersome, so go to it to be reminded of the music and of a great singer. Back in the ‘70s, I loved Ronstadt and her music gave me a boost and helped me escape. At the time I didn’t fully understand how talented she was and I was clueless of the path she was blazing for women and of the camaraderie she had with some of her contemporaries; I didn’t really know who was playing guitar or keyboard or drums for her (Glenn Frey and Don Henley for example), or who was producing her records (Peter Asher as an example). I did know she was all over the place musically, dabbling successfully in one genre after another, but to me, she was just wonderful to have belting tunes from the car speakers of a friend's Trans Am. The film brought her music wafting back as I sat in the theater, enjoying it again and feeling its energy and emotion, reminding me of those times and just how good she was, while occasional anecdotes from other greats separated songs and other narration. When the film was done, I couldn’t help but be amazed by her legacy and wonder why I hadn’t already had her among a select group of musical luminaries—there’s no denying her place in rock, pop, country, blues, jazz, and traditional Mexican musical history. I also left the theater with an admiration for Ronstadt today, for how she acknowledges that dealing with death is the easy part of Parkinson's, but adjusting to an altered life, to finding ways to have meaning and joy before death is the challenge. If the film paints anything of a true picture, Ronstadt’s finding new ways. She still has joy in her eyes and her music still brings joy to those who hear it. I’m not sure if it’s a great documentary, but it plays so well into my life story so I loved it.

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[2019. 95 min. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Featuring Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Maria Muldaur, Don Henley, David Geffen, Cameron Crowe, and Aaron Neville.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/linda-ronstadt-the-sound-of-my-voice-movie-review-2019

Ad Astra

— It’s too bad we started thinking of Brad Pitt as a pretty boy since he’s been far more than an adequate actor since about 2006. “Ad Astra” is almost entirely Pitt’s film and he carries it easily. The story takes place in the near future and Pitt’s character, Roy, is the son of a space-pioneering father who, years earlier, traveled farther in space than anyone else, looking for other intelligent life until the earth suddenly lost contact with him and he became the stuff of legend. Roy has followed in his famous father’s footsteps and is a poster boy for the space program, having buried his feelings and compartmentalized his life to the point that he calmly faces any crisis and his pulse never exceeds 80 bpm. He seems immune to emotion and ready for any challenge so, when he’s sent to find his father’s ship, thinking it’s the secret behind a mysterious pulsing that threatens the Earth’s existence, he calmly dons his spacesuit and heads to Neptune in search of his father. The parallels between Roy’s journey and Kurtz’s in Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now are hard to ignore, as are nods to other films that look at our place in the universe. Roy’s journey is one of resolution, of coming to terms with the past, and of realizing you can miss what’s right in front of you if you spend too much time concentrating on the future. The film is gorgeous, like the best of the space exploration genre, and Roy’s evolution is thoughtfully presented. There are minor issues, particularly with the ending which I would have preferred to be a little less tidy, but it’s still one of the best films I’ve seen in a while.

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[2019. 123 min. Directed by James Gray. Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, and Ruth Negga.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ad-astra-movie-review-2019

Downton Abbey

— There’s something comfortable about this film and fans of the television show won’t be disappointed by the familiar cast, suddenly in overdrive when it’s announced that King George and Queen Mary will be spending a night at Downton during their trip through Yorkshire. It’s a life from a different time, and the upstairs aristocrats, well-meaning and kindly, seem forever dressed in linens and velvets, planning parties and fretting over inheritances. Downstairs even the furnace repairman wears a jacket and tie, and the staff struggles with menus and etiquette, keeping a stiff back and a sense of pride in their lives. Witnessing the goings-on, both upstairs and down, is all great fun—watching their romances, mysteries, secrets, and struggles is something of a guilty pleasure. The film is nicely self-contained and the cast glides easily through the story with dignity and wit. If this is your kind of thing, you’ll enjoy it. I did.

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[2019. 122 min. Directed by Michael Engler. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Tuppence Middleton, Maggie Smith, Matthew Goode, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Phyllis Logan, Lesley Nicol, and Sophie McShera.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/downton-abbey-movie-review-2019

Angel Has Fallen

— By the third installment in what’s not so much a trilogy as a three-time retelling, there’s not much surprise in the story. In a way, it’s a Hallmark film for “bros.” The protagonist is macho and stoic, estranged from the father who left when he was young, skilled in all forms of combat, double-crossed by his friend, and chased by every law agency there is while his attractive wife stands by him. Let's face it, this guy needs some serious counseling if he survives! There’s plenty of action and combat, made a little odd since there’s a bit of an anti-war message in the film along with many nods to current events. In the end, it does manage to tug at your patriotic heartstrings, in spite of the fact that you feel manipulated for going along with something so distasteful.

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[2019. 121 min. Directed by Ric Roma Waugh. Starring Gerard Butler, Frederick Schmidt, Danny Huston, Morgan Freeman, and Nick Nolte.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angel-has-fallen-movie-review-2019

Falling Inn Love

— There are some romcoms you know you’ve seen before thanks to the Hallmark Channel's endless stream of new versions of four or five basic stories. Netflix’s “Falling Inn Love” is one of those films. A woman with a demanding professional life ends up owning a small town inn so she leaves the big city to start a new life. Absent construction skills and rural coping skills, she ends up having no choice but to enlist the help of a hunky but irritating man. Hilarity and eventually love ensue, resulting in happiness every after. The myth is perpetuated. A woman finds her man and everyone realizes the big city can’t compare with small town values. "Been there, done that"...and I still watched. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2019. 98 min. Directed by Rober Kumble. Starring Christina Milian, Adam Demos, and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/falling-inn-love-2019

The Peanut Butter Falcon

— Not every big film needs to feel big and this one lures you in with its soft edges and bayou sway until it’s compelling characters help you remember who you can be. There’s a bit of Mark Twain and some of Eudora Welty in the feel of the story that focuses on two people, a small-time crook named Tyler, and Zak, a person with Down Syndrome who has been placed by the state in a home for seniors. Both have fallen on hard times, are nearly out of options, and are being chased by different factions. Both are flawed and unlikely heroes. Both have different goals but bond on a shared journey toward a defunct wrestling camp run by Zak’s idol. Along the way they bring a third person into their fold, a woman who’s been sent to bring Zak back to the nursing home from which he’d escaped. As their friendships solidify, they begin to appreciate their own worth, their need for love and support, and the possibilities the future holds. I’m glad I got to witness their journey.

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[2019. 97 min. Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, and Zack Gottsagen.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-peanut-butter-falcon-2019

Maiden

— I suppose if you’re in your 20s, 1989 seems like ancient history but to those of us who grew up in the '50s and ‘60s, it's still a vivid memory. That's why it’s so hard to believe, as recently as 1989, no one thought women could handle the travail of crewing a yacht. This documentary tells the story of the first all-female team to enter the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race, focusing on Tracy Edwards, the captain who had the dream, got the financing, and pulled the crew together. Interviews with Edwards and some of her former crew members set the stage for the grueling race and how the crew members were perceived, both by the media and their male counterparts. No one gave them a chance at finishing the 32,000 nautical mile sailing race, so it’s no wonder they didn’t understand these women were about to open the doors for all women who followed to be taken seriously. It’s a well-done film that’ll make you feel good—at the credits, half the audience applauded and many had tears in their eyes.

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[2018. 97 min. Directed by Alex Holmes. Featuring Tracy Edwards, Frank Bough, John Chittenden, and Bruno De Bois.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maiden-2019

Luce

— “Luce” is a psychological thriller that’s not as tautly held as the best of its genre, but it manages to raise questions that stick in your mind after you’ve left the theater. Luce is a model student who was adopted at age 7 by parents who helped him deal with the trauma of early life in Eritrea. When he’s asked in one class to write a paper in the voice of an historical figure, he turns in an essay from Frantz Fanon’s perspective, saying violence is sometimes necessary in a struggle for catharsis. Something about the tone alarms his teacher and, at that point, the stage is set for a tale where the audience is never quite sure where Luce falls on the psychopathy spectrum if, indeed, he’s on it at all. His teacher tries to figure it out but, thanks to a series of events, comes off as increasingly unhinged and aggressive herself. Even Luce’s liberal parents find themselves uncertain of his true psyche. In the end, his mother faces an ethical and moral dilemma with no “right” course of action to take. Questions of motives aren’t adequately answered and the issue of whether our backgrounds should affect the leeway given us for transgressions is raised but inadequately explored. It’s an interesting film but somehow missing something to keep it from seeming a bit too contrived.

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[2019. 109 min. Directed by Julius Onah. Starring Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth, and Kelvin Harrison, Jr.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/luce-2019