Sound of Metal

— I was certainly intrigued by “Sound of Metal” and liked it in more than one way, but I'm not sure it’ll jive with the sensibilities of the average moviegoer. It’s the story of Ruben, a rock drummer who loses his hearing. He’s unable to accept himself as part the deaf community and, rather than adapt, he concentrates on getting enough money for cochlear implants which he sees as a way to regain his normal life. It raises lots of issues concerning perceptions about the hearing impaired, about acceptance and adaptation, about family and community, and about one's purpose and sense of purpose. It’s well done but odd since much of the soundtrack is what Ruben hears, not what we would hear as observers, so it’s not uncommon for something to sound shrill, or for words to be faint or muffled, or to be unable to focus on a single conversation in a group, etc. Much of the film is from Ruben’s perspective, and it helps that Riz Ahmed is so talented, making the confusion and fear and loneliness he feels, ours to feel as well. I’ll admit the story and technique all result in a pretty slow, linear pace, and I would have liked to see it move a little faster in some parts, but its still a very interesting film and well worth seeing. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2020. 101 min. Directed by Darius Marder. Starring Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, and Paul Raci.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sound-of-metal-movie-review-2020

Bridgerton

— Every time I venture into “Shondaland,” I can’t seem to get out, and “Bridgerton” is no exception. Heck, just hearing Julie Andrews as the gossipy narrator sucks you into this romantic comedy set in the early 1800s. It’s kind of a high-brow soap opera, centering on the 1813 debutant season in London, but with more sex that you’d expect in a period piece, and greater emphasis on the status of women in 19th Century British society than you’d expect from a soap opera. It comes with great costumes and sets too, and moves at a pace that makes it hard to resist “binge watching”. What can I say? I fell for it and enjoyed it, glad for the mindless entertainment while avoiding outside contact. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. Season 1: 8 episodes, each approx. 60 min. Starring Harriet Cains, Bessie Carter, Florence Hunt, Ben Miller, and Luke Thompson.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/bridgerton-is-a-scintillating-but-somewhat-shallow-regency-fantasy

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

— I was really taken by this film. Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman shine, and August Wilson's wonderful play is not diminished by a clumsy screenplay. In fact, there's no confusing this as anything but a play, something I appreciate in this case. It’s an emotional journey and the viewer sees what’s going on from the souls of the actors, not just as a sympathetic observer. It's an experience, a near first-hand glimpse of the hard realities of being Black in the 1920s but, mostly, it's just a good story and a good vantage point from which to see racism and its scars. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 94 min. Directed by George C. Wolfe. Starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, and Glynn Turman.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-movie-review-2020

The Midnight Sky

— Sometimes George Clooney’s films are very good, and sometimes they’re a little disappointing, but I tend to like even those that are less liked. This may be one of those less liked films because it can’t help but be compared to a variety of recent, sci-fi films that were excellent (“Gravity,” “The Martian,” “Intersteller,” and “Moon”). It quietly juggles more than one storyline on earth and another in space, sidestepping time just a little to make room for memory. It considers man’s place in the larger universe and his responsibility to safeguard earth, the importance of family, communication, and love, all in the midst of a cataclysm. I think the film is affected greatly by timing and, although made before most of knew about COVID-19, it is impossible not to look at the film more seriously when an “event” on earth is its basis. It is nicely made with good actors and worth seeing. I enjoyed it. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 118 min. Directed by George Clooney. Starring George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Caoilinn Springall, and Kyle Chandler.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-midnight-sky-movie-review-2020

The 2nd

— Oh my, but this is pretty bad. Even Ryan Phillippe, who isn’t exactly a top tier actor, is wasted. The idea’s not exactly new, but still a good action thriller if given a decently written script and directed by halfway competent director. A man who is ex-military and now secret agent arrives to pick up his son from college, only to stumble into a plot to kidnap his son’s classmate, the daughter of a Supreme Court justice, in an effort to sway justice’s opinion on one of the court’s cases. With a mediocre script and halting direction, it ends up being one fight scene after another and predictable enough to make you wish you'd watched any number of better, similar films. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 93 min. Directed by Brian Skiba. Starring Ryan Phillippe, Casper Van Dien, Jack Griffo, and Lexi Simonsen.]
https://rogersmovienation.com/2020/12/02/netflixable-ryan-phillipe-takes-the-2nd-amendment-seriously/

Ava

— Netflix has figured out how to get good people for their original movies, sometimes ending up with a very good film and sometimes not. This tends to be one of the “not great” ones although the cast is certainly pleasing (Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common, Geena Davis, and Colin Farrell). It’s the story of a black ops assassin who’s racked up over 40 hits but’s having some kind of crisis, perhaps of conscience. It has the look and initial feel of an action flick but shifts toward drama, probably trying to make some use of the acting talent, when our assassin returns to Boston with a hit on her own head, to reunite with her mother, sister, and former fiancé. The cast does its best, but there’s just not enough script, nuance, or direction to make it more than somewhat entertaining. Luckily, we’re all hunkered in our homes and there’s not much competition from the usual streaming options, so it's a tolerable way to spend 90 minutes. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 96 min. Directed by Tate Taylor. Starring Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common, Geena Davis, and Colin Farrell.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ava-movie-review-2020

The Prom

— This is lots of fun if you like a somewhat campy musical, with a slew of good actors, evidently signed on to have a little fun or to support inclusion, with plenty of theater references, and tidied up with that Ryan Murphy varnish. It fits nicely into the growing library of mainstream LBGT-themed films that have appeared in the past 2-3 years (“Boys in the Band,” “Uncle Frank,” “Booksmart,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” “Rocketman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Boy Erased,” “Papi Chulo”). The sections of the film that make fun of Broadway narcissism and insecurities, as well as life in the urban, East coast bubble are more appealing to me than the parts designed to encourage inclusion and acceptance in the Midwest, fly-over bubble. It is fun to see Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Rannells singing and dancing in both NYC and small-town Indiana, and the music is mostly good. When it ran over 2 hours, I wondered if something couldn’t have been cut, but part of its charm may be its excess. I enjoyed it but it really isn’t anything special. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 130 min. Directed by Ryan Murphy. Starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, and Keegan-Michael Key.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-prom-movie-review-2020

Mank

— This film has a lot going for it, with Gary Oldman and David Fincher topping the list. It’s also an interesting script, written by Fincher’s father, telling the tale through a series of flashbacks, à la “Citizen Kane,” an appropriate nod since the story is held together in the “present” with Herman Mankiewicz (“Mank”), recovering from a serious auto accident, in a remote cabin working on a deadline to write the script for “Citizen Kane.” It’s a complicated back-and-forth in black-and-white and it manages to keep your attention, at least if you’re interested in 1930’s and 1940’s Hollywood. What seems to be a film about the experiences that gave Mank the inspiration for the script, ends up as a beast with two personalities, and is as much about the intersection of Tinsel Town power and politics with national and statewide politics then, and, by extension, now. Well, it’s all very interesting but a little disappointing too. It doesn’t rise to the level of Fincher’s “The Social Network,” perhaps because the story remains less personal to draw out the parallels, or maybe Oldman’s Mank just isn’t as artfully written and acted as Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg. No matter what, although historical fiction, Mank feels much more speculative than historical. It’s a beautiful and wonderful film some of the time, and that’s enough to make it worth watching. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 131 minutes. Directed by David Fincher. Starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Arliss Howard.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mank-movie-review-2020