Wine Country

— A trip to Sonoma Wine Country to celebrate one person’s 50th birthday offers a group of old friends a chance to reunite, unwind, reassess, and rebuild. Think “The Hangover” with women and by women. The cast is stellar but their material’s not quite up to their talents. Sometimes it seems like the characters made the film as an excuse to get together, but they don’t appear to have figured out how to have as much fun as the “Oceans" trilogy cast. What’s interesting are the topics they discuss. Evidently fictional women focus on about the same things as fictional men, and have moments where they can’t resist reverting to adolescent, off-color humor. If only it had the depth of “Sideways,” a far better wine country experience. Poehler bats a solid “meh” for her directorial debut, mostly because the cast members, with the exception of Tina Fey, are just on comedic autopilot. Maybe they needed less script and more time to ad lib. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2019. 103 min. Directed by Amy Poehler. Starring Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, and Tina Fey.]
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/may/06/wine-country-review-amy-poehler-netflix-comedy-is-a-drunken-riot

To Kill a Mockingbird

— More than 50 years later, this is still an incredible film.

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[1962. 129 min. Directed by Robert Mulligan. Starring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, John Megna, and Frank Overton.]
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/19/to-kill-a-mockingbird-film-review/

The Highwaymen

— [Netflix streaming.]

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[2019. 132 min. Directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, Kathy Bates, and John Carroll Lynch]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-highwaymen-2019

Inherit the Wind

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[1960. 128 min. Directed by Stanley Kramer. Starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, and Dick York.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-inherit-the-wind-1960

Annihilation

— I wasn’t really aware of what I was getting into when I stuck “Annihilation” in the DVD player but since it had Natalie Portman in it and she’s rarely in something that, at the least, isn’t a little off center, I gave it a try. Previews made it look like a creepy sci-fi flick where four women, all scientists, venture into an area called “The Shimmer,” where earlier groups had gone and never returned. In fact, one of the women, a biologist named Lena, lost her husband to The Shimmer and her professional interest in cell mutation ties in with the fact that The Shimmer is growing or mutating. I was impatient with the first half of the film and even came close to pulling the DVD out of the player and calling it quits but I’m glad I didn’t. Midway through, things jumped into something much less formulaic, and symbols and layers of meaning started hovering around some pretty tense action until a final scene where things blossom into a more spiritual realm of survival and our protagonist's core is forever altered by the experience. It’s certainly worth seeing if you’re a fan of old school, eerie sci-fi.

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[2018. 115min. Directed by Alex Garland. Starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuva Novotny, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/annihilation-2018

Witness for the Prosecution

— A wonderful adaptation of Agatha Christie’s story with an incredible script that has just the right amount of sarcasm and humor, along with some dark tones you don’t always think of when you think of Billy Wilder. Charles Laughton is fantastic. If you haven’t seen it or don’t really remember it, it’s worth watching again.

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[1957. 116 min. Directed by Billy Wilder. Starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton.]
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/movies-you-might-have-missed-billy-wilder-witness-for-the-prosecution-marlene-dietrich-charles-a8082031.html

Us

— After Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” two years ago, I understood his talent and penchant for terror with a message. “Us" pumps up the terror and the message, resulting in a satisfying addition to the horror genre. The plot sounds a little familiar—humans are attacked by beings who vaguely remind you of Morlocks or the walking dead. Saying more would give away too much, but there’s plenty of dread and fright and blood to have you clenching your jaw. Even better, there is also plenty of symbolism and ideas about taking for granted the riches we have, about providing opportunities so the marginalized can succeed, about inclusion and exclusion, and about the strength that comes when all cultures and backgrounds are embraced.

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[2019. 116 min. Written and directed by Jordan Peele. Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/us-2019

The Mustang

— For someone who really doesn’t have much interest in horse activities, I sure like stories about the bond between horse and man, about wounded or skittish spirits facing off, one trying to break or tame the other until they realize they may be healing each other instead. In this case, the man is Roman Coleman, a violent criminal in a rural Nevada prison. The horse is a wild Mustang, rounded up as part of a government rehabilitation program where wild horses are given to prison inmates to train and eventually sell at auction. The similarities between Coleman and the mustang he’s given to tame are easy to see as they size each other up, test each other's mettle, and recognize themselves in each other. The pace is perfect and, although the dialog is minimal, the story line works and is just enough out of the usual to keep us interested. The film is touching as the bond between man and horse intensifies but, of course, we know you can’t fully tame a wild spirit, nor would you want to.

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[2019. 96 min. Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Mitchell, and Bruce Dern.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-mustang-2019