Aquaman

— Hmmm. This film is in its own superhero category and that’s not really a good thing. There’s more effect and less substance than even the fluffiest of superhero films, and that’s saying something. It’s kind of like “The Little Mermaid” on acid. Or maybe LSD. Certainly steroids. True, there’s something interesting about the seriousness with which the action unfolds underwater with all types of sea creatures, real and imagined, life-size and ultra-size, zipping to the tune of a royal drummer. It’s among the bottom rung of DC cinematic universe and probably not worth viewing. Poor Nicole Kidman; how did she end up in this mess?

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[2018. 143 min. Directed by James Wan. Starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and Willem Dafoe.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/aquaman-2018

The Farewell

— This is a thoughtful, delightful, and lovingly crafted tale of cultures stretched by geography and generations. Billi, a young New York writer whose family moved from China when she was six years old, has maintained a bond with her “Nai Nai” (grandmother). Her parents have learned Nai Nai has stage IV lung cancer but the family, following Chinese tradition, has decided not to let Nai Nai know she’s dying. Instead, they’ve pushed Billi’s cousin to announce his wedding as an excuse for the entire family to get together and see Nai Nai one last time. Billi’s parents don’t think she should join them in China, believing she’s been in the U.S. so long that she can’t mask her emotions and would be unable to keep Nai Nai’s prognosis secret. What follows is a bittersweet tragicomedy with layers in every scene, creating a textured look at culture, family, and our ability to reorient ourselves as we understand the importance of memories, heritage, and affection. Awkwafina is incredible as Billi, played somewhat low key, with just the right amount of introspection and confusion, and proving it may hard to go home again, but it may also add some clarity and substance to your life. This is a very good film. It’s also about the right length, something so many, longer films can’t say these days.

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[2019. 100 min. Written and directed by Lulu Wang. Starring Awkwafina, Tzi is aMa, Diana Lin, Aoi Mizuhara, and Gil Perez-Abraham.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-farewell-2019

The 15:17 to Paris

— I picked this on Netflix to pass the time but ended up paying some attention to it. It’s a recounting of a 2015 event when three Americans took down an AK47-brandishing man on a train headed to Paris. I was surprised that the film was pretty tight and nicely edited with decent cinematography—definitely a cut above many films capitalizing on a quasi-patriotic moment. It’s take away, that it was the result of God’s plan that the three men found themselves on the train and reacting to the situation as they did, was a little surprising but the action and story was interesting enough. Only afterwards did I realize the three men who were actually part of the event played themselves in the film and only afterwards did I remember that Clint Eastwood directed it, explaining its filmmaking polish. [Netflix Streaming]

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[2018. 94 min. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, and Spencer Stone.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-1517-to-paris-2018

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

— This is the Tarantino I love, the guy who weaves a clever story out of bits of fact and fiction, taking detours along the way, until you’re not quite certain where you’re headed. Leonardo DeCaprio and Brad Pitt are both so good in this film that it’s hard not to be sucked into and hypnotized by their 1969 tale. DeCaprio’s the fading star living in a house at the end of Cielo Drive and Pitt’s the stunt double who’s been with him since he was a star with top billing. It’s a story that seems, at least to me, to fare better if you have a sense of what Hollywood was like back then, of the environment and the changes the entertainment industry went through as it moved away from the classic westerns of the 1950s to a world inhabited more by hipsters and hippies. I hesitate to say much about the film since it’s meander is part of the fun, along with the nostalgia, the glitz, and the feeling of fuzzy history, as well as the ending itself. It is imaginative and graceful and flawlessly acted, with humor and some occasional absurdity. I liked it a lot.

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[2019. 161 min. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in--hollywood-2019

Chasing Happiness

— I’ve never been much of a fan of the Jonus Brothers, so almost everything in “Chasing Happiness” was a revelation to me. It’s partly a biographical look at the three brothers lives so far, but also a confessional with lots of soul searching. The brothers get together after not seeing each other for several years, intent on sharing their feelings, speaking their minds, and clearing the air before getting back together as a group. It paints a picture of them as likable, talented, and doing the best they could to self actualize and find happiness without losing their sibling closeness. It feels a little too much like a therapy session, but it kept my interest. It manages to be sensitive and portray each of the brothers’ own truths without becoming too melodramatic, presenting an intimate look at what transpired during their careers, both as a group and individually. Although they’re still young, I'm led to believe they've come through their challenges and remain mostly whole. [Amazon Prime.]

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[2018. 96 min. Directed by John Taylor. With Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Kevin Jonas.]
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/01/jonas-brothers-chasing-happiness

Echo in the Canyon

— “Echo in the Canyon” may not be perfect but I still hung on every word spoken by those who were part of a group of folk/rock luminaries that ended up living in Laurel Canyon in 1964-67, roughly from the advent of the Bryds until David Crosby was fired from them and Neil Young left Buffalo Springfield. Depicted is a time of easy collaboration, when talented people bounced both tunes and ideas off each other as they roamed freely from house to house, and sometimes bed to bed. It’s structured as Jakob Dylan’s homage to the time, coming out of his era-tribute album of the same name and a 2015 concert, and using footage from the concert to amplify interviews with the luminaries themselves, as well as staged conversations among Dylan, Regina Spektor, Beck, and Cat Power, purportedly trying to get a handle on how it all happened and how it continues to influence them 50 years later. That’s all well and good, but the wonderful part of the film is the interviews with Jackson Brown, Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Graham Nash, Tom Petty, Michelle Phillips, John Sebastian, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, and Brian Wilson—those who were part of the folk-rock revolution in one way or another, in addition to historic footage of the Mamas and the Papas, Buffalo Springfield, and the Byrds. Interestingly, there was a lot of Beach Boys and Beatles footage, even though they didn’t really live there, while Joni Mitchell is missing, as are the Doors and Love. It’s a wonderful film for someone exactly my age, since this shift to more complicated rock with more meaningful lyrics so greatly affected the soundtrack of my life. It’s not a perfect film, but I certainly enjoyed it.

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[2018. 82 min. Directed by Andrew Slater. Featuring Jakob Dylan.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/echo-in-the-canyon-2019

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

— This is a gorgeous film with exquisitely composed and richly layered images. Instead of an in-your-face approach, this is almost a luxurious homage to a city that's constantly evolving, sometimes renewing and rebuilding and other times deteriorating. On the surface, it’s the story of best friends Jimmie and Mont. Jimmie is forever painting windows and taking care of exterior maintenance on a grand Victorian home in the Fillmore District that his grandfather was said to have built in 1946, even though his family lost the house at least twenty years earlier and an elderly couple lives there now and keeps trying to shoo him away. When the couple gets evicted, Jimmie sees it as an opportunity to reclaim his family home and he and Mont move in. Even as they’re moving in, viewers know it can’t last, but it's worth it for the warmth and complexity of Jimmie and Mort’s friendship, the contrasts inherent in the city, and the ever-present question of how our past defines us and if the past we thought was ours ends up to be something different, are we different? Despite an ending that was a little awkward, the film is well worth seeing and a good look at friendship and belonging, as well as urban evolution. The camerawork and sound are also deserving of praise.

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[2019. 121 min. Directed by Joe Talbot. Starring Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, and Danny Glover.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-last-black-man-in-san-francisco-2019

Midsommar

— After the creepiness and horror of last year’s “Hereditary,” I was expecting something great from this year’s “Midsommar.” It is creepy and bloody, but somehow it doesn’t pack quite as much wallop. There’s a different feeling about it since it takes place mostly in daylight, during the time of the midnight sun. The real horror still reveals itself slowly, but at some point the paganism, symbolism, and blood-letting become too much. Anthropological customs and rituals that are terrifying because they seem to be comprehensible, start to become more plot device than cultural possibility. It’s still a very good horror film, but without the punch of “Hereditary.” If you like creepy and aren’t adverse to blood, this is a good film for you!

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[2019. 147 min. Written and directed by Ari Aster. Starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Will Poulter.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midsommar-2019