Godzilla vs. Kong

— Happily, this is not overly campy or seemingly created by someone more enamored with their computer toys than the story. Instead, it’s a decent bit of entertainment, solidly anchored by Millie Bobby Brown who once again shows us how talented she is, and Alexander Skarsgard, who is always believable. Kong is still the same sympathetic monster who protected Fay Wray in 1933 and Jessica Lange in 1976, and Godzilla is something of a good guy or at least morally ambiguous. What sets these monsters apart from the superheroes we've seen in the past twenty years in over 100 superhero films is that they are more primitive than humans while humans are more primitive than superheroes. In this film, humans cause the problem and, ultimately, overcome the problem. The story progresses at a pleasing pace, the action is spectacular and appropriate, and it ends up being a well-executed feat of storytelling; I liked the film and I liked the creatures. I confess I didn’t watch any of the three previous “Monsterverse” films (“Godzilla,” “Kong: Skull Island,” and “Godzilla; King of the Monsters”), but I’m thinking I may add them to my list to watch in the future. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 113 min. Directed by Adam Wingard. Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Brian Tyree Henry.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-movie-review-2021

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

— [Disney+ streaming.]

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[2021. One Season, 6 episodes; 45-55 minutes per episode. Directed by Kari Skogland. Starring Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and Wyatt Russell.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/disneys-the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-struggles-to-get-off-the-ground

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

— For those who aren’t DC Universe groopies, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is the extended cut of “Justice League,” a film from which he stepped down during post-production in 2017; Joss Whedon finished the film, including some reshoots, an infusion of humor, and quite a bit of editing based on the studio’s mandate. I thought Whedon’s version was a step up from "Batman v Superman," the “DC Extended Universe” film it followed, but still mediocre and juggling too many characters whose backstories weren’t quite fleshed out enough for a standalone film. The 2021 release is evidently the version Snyder envisioned. It includes enough CG action to leave anyone’s head reeling, but that’s not always a good thing. The first half is a great example of mood lighting gone amuck and it’s hard not to wish you could turn up the brightness. Luckily, the first couple of hours are mostly there to sort out the large number of characters that loosely join forces to save the world in the second half. And speaking of the second half, it borrows heavily from soap opera plotlines—no matter how dead anyone is, there’s always a way to bring ‘em back in the next episode. A few of the actors, normally talented, too often default to a brooding or constipated look to depict emotion. I’ll admit things move along in the second half and it's more interesting than the first half, redeeming it somewhat. Where the first film seemed to have been cut a little too ruthlessly, this one needs one more, harsh edit. It’s twice as long as most films and less than half as likely to stand the test of time. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 242 min. Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, and Diane Lane.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/zack-snyders-justice-league-movie-review-2021

Country Comfort

— [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. One season, 10 episodes, 20-27 minutes per episode. Created by Caryn Luca. Starring Katharine McPhee and Eddie Cibrian.]
https://variety.com/2021/tv/reviews/country-comfort-katharine-mcphee-1234920792/

The Way Back

— [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2020. 108 min. Directed by Gavin O’Connor. Starring Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Janina Gavankar, and Michaela Watkins.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-way-back-movie-review-2020

Hope Gap

— [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2019. 100 min. Written and directed by William Nicholson. Starring Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, and Josh O’Connor.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hope-gap-movie-review-2020

The Rhythm Section

— This has to have the slowest set-up in film history, opting for few words and long, slow-moving camerawork to introduce characters and to set the stage. Eventually the murkiness gives way to banal plot twists and dark, brooding, vengeful, action. In the end, it’s just not very original, exciting, nor very well written. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 109 min. Directed by Reed Morano. Starring Blake Lively, Jude Law, Richard Brake, Elly Curtis, and Sterling K Brown.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-rhythm-section-movie-review-2020

Allen v. Farrow

— A fairly well-produced but unabashedly one-sided documentary rehashing the public scandal surrounding Woody Allen and Mia Farrow in 1992. Includes many current-day interviews with Mia Farrow and some of her children, along with “intimate home movie footage, court documents, police evidence, revelatory videotapes, and never-before-heard audio tapes.” Then 7-year-old daughter Dylan, now a grown woman, speaks out in an effort to help others. It’s interesting enough, but mostly because you can't help but wonder about the motivations as you watch. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 4 Episodes, each 56-74 minutes. Featuring Mia Farrow, Fletcher Previn, Dylan O’Sullivan, and Ronan Farrow.]
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/mar/15/allen-v-farrow-review-sky-hbo-documentary

I Know This Much Is True

— [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2020. Five 60-minutes Episodes and one 88-minute Episode. Directed by Derek Cianfrance. Starring Mark Ruffalo, John Procaccino, Rob Huebel, Gabe Fazio, and Kathryn Hahn.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-know-this-much-is-true-movie-review-2020

Murder Among the Mormons

— I knew nothing about the “Salamander Letter” or how it may have sent a ripple the bedrock of the Church of the Latter Day Saints in the mid-1980’s, but this film focuses on the events which are somewhat interesting. Unfortunately, the story fits easily in the television true crime genre along with “Dateline NBC” and “Cold Case,” and that’s not a good thing in my opinion! It seems to stereotype Mormons. It also seems too narrowly focused on Mark Hofmann’s Mormon forgeries when, in fact, he was a master forger and his story is far more expansive. It also is a good example of a good 1- or 1½-hour story that bloats to nearly 3 hours for Netflix consumption. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2020. 3 Episodes, each 45-57 minutes. Featuring Dorie Hofmann Olds, Shannon Flynn, Brent Metcalfe, Richard Turley, and Rod Decker.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/murder-among-the-mormons-tv-review-2021

I Care a Lot

— [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 118 min. Directed by J. Blakeson. Starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, and Dianne Wiest.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-care-a-lot-movie-review-2021

Ginny & Georgia

— [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. One season, 10 episodes, 50-58 minutes/episode. Created by Sara Lampert. Starring Brianne Howey, Antonia Gentry, Diesel La Torraca, Jennifer /Robertson, and Felix Mallard.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/netflixs-ginny-and-georgia-never-finds-its-own-identity