Promising Young Woman

— What an odd film and my reaction to it flipped nearly 180 degrees from start to finish. At first I pegged it as another psychotic woman film or at least one of those films that wonders if vengeance is justifiable. Had Carey Mulligan not been the star, it might have lost me early on but it moved into something that was still sinister, but more on the “Gone Girl” side of the spectrum than the “Avenging Angel” side! It became more complicated and, as the backstory is revealed, it grows into something more than a revenge film, although it is about revenge, but a more clever revenge than one that only sends people to their deaths. Ultimately, although it’s about coping and reflection, about remorse and regret, and about penance and atonement, it is within the context of coming to terms with a friend’s assault and subsequent suicide, society’s attitude toward violence toward women, and one woman’s path toward healing. The audience is kept a little off-balance much of the time, and it's a dark and tense ride with some surprises along the way. It's a troubling film, but a very good one too and one that is well worth seeing. [HBO Max streaming.]

Let me also say I looked forward to seeing this film for nine months since I’m trying not to encourage the streaming model that releases titles to the streaming market for $19.95, a great price for families but a very steep price for singles. I would have considered it at $5.99 but, by the time it dropped in price it was also likely going to be available through a streaming service to which I’m already subscribed, so I waited more months—until now.

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[2020. 113 min. Written and directed by Emerald Fennell. Starring Carey Mulligan, Adam Brody, Bob Burham, Alison Brie.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/promising-young-woman-2020

Intrusion

— Another “scary” film with a stalker or a murderer or some such threat breaking into a lovely but isolated house owned by a couple who don’t seem to understand the value of flipping a light switch or running away instead of standing around to cry and tremble in the face of danger. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 92 min. Directed by Adam Salky. Starring Freida Pinto, Logan Marshall-Green, and Robert John Burke.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/intrusion-movie-review-2021

The Starling

— A story of loss and healing that occasionally shows a bit of a spark but ends up as a plodding, low-key disappointment. It does at least let Melissa McCarthy do more than pratfalls and juvenile comedy, but there’s not enough for her to come close to the power she has and showed in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” The film really needed a better director who understood the difference between buried and non-existent emotions, between depression and boredom. In the end, it just isn’t a very satisfying viewing experience. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 102 min. Directed by Theodore Melfi. Starring Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, and Kevin Kline.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-starling-film-review-2021

Scenes from a Marriage

— This is just a wonderful series! [HBO Plus streaming.]

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[2021. 5 Episodes, 50-55 minutes per episodes. Directed by Hagai Levi. Starring Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaacs, and Sophia Kopera.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/scenes-from-a-marriage-tv-review-2021

The Father Who Moves Mountains

— This Romanian film has some strengths, but overall it’s not very original and it doesn’t leave you with anything worth much consideration. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 108 min. Directed by David Sandu. Starring Adrian Titieni, Elena Purea, and Judith State.]
https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/408697/

Cry Macho

— This is a decent story—sort of a road trip involving a washed-up cowboy, a 13-year-old kid, and a rooster. The cowboy (Eastwood) was sent to Mexico by the kid’s father to bring the son back to Texas and the son comes with a fighting rooster named “Macho”. Eastwood at 91 is still captivating but the script is so poorly written that’s it hard to know if Dwight Yoakum is just a terrible actor or it takes a talent like Eastwood’s to deliver such poorly drafted lines. It isn't one of Eastwood’s best films, but it’s interesting since it deals with having been something but becoming nothing as you grow older, about the meaning and value of "macho," about what’s important, and about the journey toward redemption and forgiveness. It’s leisurely paced, but I liked it. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 104 min. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Clint Eastwood, Eduardo Minett, Natalia Traven, and Dwight Yoakam]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cry-macho-movie-review-2021

The Vault (a.k.a. Way Down)

— The set-up is all very familiar, probably because it’s a successful formula. In this thriller, a fresh but good cast manages their tasks well. The acting, combined with decent direction, pacing, and editing, make it a solid film. It may not change your life, but it's decent way to spend an afternoon. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 118 min. Directed by Jaume Balagueró. Starring Freddie Highmore, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, and Sam Riley.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-vault-movie-review-2021

The Voyeurs

— I’m pretty sure we didn’t need another film where someone becomes obsessed with watching what goes on in an apartment they can see from their window, but here it is anyway. There’s just enough titillation to assume it must be not just a “thriller” but an “erotic thriller.” I assume that helps bring in a larger audience who will find it appealing that the first half is mostly held together by glimpses of flesh and a growing obsession. Luckily, it did end with a few surprises and a twist or two that redeemed it, or at least made the first half seem a little less gratuitous. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2017. 120 min. Written and directed by Michael Mohan. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Justic Smith, Ben Hardy, and Natsha Liu Bordizzo.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-voyeurs-movie-review-2021

Cruella

— Much better than I had thought it would be, but then again with two Emmas—Stone and Thompson—of course it's fun. This is nothing like my memory of "101 Dalmatians" and is, instead, a nicely done backstory of one of Disney's beloved villains! [Disney+ streaming.]

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[2021. 134 min. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, and Paul Walter Hauser.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cruella-movie-review-2021

Malignant

— This is just not very good, resorting to every overused contrivance to try to shock us, but the rain can only pound so hard against the window, the lights can only flicker so often, the blood can only splatter so far, the creepy music can only play so long, and the main character can only be stupid enough to keep heading alone into dark rooms so many times before you have to say enough is enough. Did I mention we can only be shocked by an evil twin or cringe at a shot of an asylum perched high on a hill so many times? [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 111 min. Directed by James Wan. Starring Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, and George Young.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/malignant-movie-review-2021

News of the World

— Sometimes a slow progression is exactly the way a story should unfold, and this is a great example. Tom Hanks, a civil war veteran who travels from town to town reading the world news to anyone who’s interested, finds a young girl on her own who has been orphaned, then taken in and orphaned again, this time by a Kiowa family who was raising her as their own. He decides to return her to the only remaining blood relatives she has. It’s a rough journey across the Texas landscape, made more difficult by barriers of language and trust but, slowly, a bond of sorts is formed as they stop in one town or another to read the news, or experience one hardship or another on the road. It’s beautifully filmed, well-acted, nicely detailed, and thoughtfully edited. There’s not much narration but Hanks fills the void. I liked the film, mostly for it’s look and feel and the caliber of acting, and would recommend it. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 118 min. Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/news-of-the-world-movie-review-2020

First Lady

— The idea could have sprung into something fun, but this just falls a little flat as either a romance or a comedy. Its easy to find a better film to watch. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2020. 101 min. Directed by Nina May. Starring Nancy Stafford, Corin Bernsen, Benjamin Dane, and Stacey Dash.]
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/first-lady

Crooked House

— Not the best Agatha Christie film around but it’s still a competent adaptation with some great cast members. It lacks much warmth and benefits greatly from an good cast, gorgeous sets and costuming, and an original plot that holds up even in the face of a somewhat limp treatment. I make it sound much worse than it is and I enjoyed watching it. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2017. 115 min. Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner. Starring Max Irons, Stefanie Martini, Glenn Close, Terence Stamp, Christina Hendricks and Gillian Anderson.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/crooked-house-2017

Worth

— “Worth” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the film questions issues about which I'm keenly interested. Besides, Michael Keaton continues to be an actor who’s worth watching. The aftermath of 9/11 is front and center, as everyone—politicians, attorneys, corporations, and victims’ families—try to figure out how much a victim’s life is worth. Obviously, there’s no easy answer if there’s an answer at all, but everyone comes at it from their own perspective, and it isn’t just a question of rational compromise since the potential recipients of any compensation are understandably emotional. Is there a way to make a rubric work? Is consistency ever fair? Is it possible to consider individual circumstances when dealing with a nearly 3,000 families who lost loved ones? Does every formula fairly or unfairly compensate the poorest victims? And what about those who were injured, or those whose injuries are yet to surface? How do you even define “loved ones” and “compensation”? There are so many variables that it's hard not to strive for impartiality with a set of hard and fast criteria, but if you allow yourself to listen to the individual affected, you're pulled toward the need for fuzzy and more personal evaluations of innocent people whose lives are shattered. To be fair, there’s more than a little melodrama, but it’s muted and may help with the Keaton’s character's shift over the course of the film, leading viewers not to the right answer, but at least to a solution that seems better than other solutions for these circumstances. It’s a decent film made better by the questions raised, and there is again good chemistry between Keaton and Stanely Tucci to elevate the experience. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2020. 118 min. Directed by Sara Colangelo. Starring Michael Keaton, Amy Ryan, and Stanley Tucci.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/worth-movie-review-2021

The Courier

— A decent enough spy movie and maybe even better if you were alive during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it is a little slower and not quite as complicated as spy movies of the John le Carré or Robert Ludlam variety. Luckily, Benedict Cumberbatch can easily carry it and Rachel Brosnahan, missing most of her irritating Mrs. Maisel mannerisms, works well as a CIA agent. I was happy with it and would recommend it as a good, solid film of it’s genre. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2021. 112 min. Directed by Dominic Cooke. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, and Rachel Brosnahan.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-courier-movie-review-2021

Clickbait

— Yes, this does pander to the social media crowd and those who are obsessed with misinformation, but you just need to look past it and there’s still a decent mystery with plenty of twists and turns to make you keep shifting your guess as to who is responsible. I liked it and I thought the social media plot device was more interesting here than in most stories. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 8 episodes in one Season. 45-55 min./episode. Created by Tony Ayres and Christian White. Starring Zoe Kazan, Betty Gabriel, Phoenix Rael, Adrian Grenier, Camaron Engels, and Jaylin Fletcher.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/clickbait-tv-review-2021

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed

— Kind of interesting and maybe more so if you knew who Bob Ross was before seeing this “documentary.” It’s hard to know how objective the film is, but it did feel like an effort was made to highlight conflict and drama. Maybe rightfully so. It gets me thinking about how one’s legacy is built, as well as the temperament of an artist as opposed to that of entrepreneurs and promoters with which an artist msut often interact. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2021. 92 min. Directed by Joshus Rofe. With Bob Ross, Steve Ross, and Vicky Ross.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bob-ross-happy-accidents-betrayal-and-greed-movie-review-2021