Joe Bell

— The (true) story of a father from Oregon who sets off to walk to New York City to speak out against bullying, His son, Jadin, committed suicide after a life of bullying for being gay. The film works well, mostly because of good intentions and decent enough directing and acting. It also knows how to tug at the heartstrings and, hopefully, help make people aware of the real consequences of bullying. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2020. 94 min. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Reid Miller, and Connie Britton.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/joe-bell-movie-review-2021

The Tourist

— A man travelling through the Australian outback wakes in a hospital with amnesia. Viewers have seen the accident in which the man was injured and what lead up to it. Once the man is released from the hospital, he realizes pretty quickly someone’s out to kill him, and we’re all on the same page again, having jumped from mystery to thriller, setting up a wonderful series. It’s addictive, binging material as episodes reveal more and more, driving the story forward but leaving plenty of uncertainty too. It might have been better told as a feature film than 6-episode series, but it’s well worth seeing as is. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2022. One season, 6 episodes. ~55 min./episode. Stars Jamie Dornan, Danielle Macdonald, and Shalom Brune-Franklin.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-tourist-tv-review-2022

 

Drive My Car (Doraibu mai kâ)

— I loved this beautiful and subtle, sometimes erotic, and sometimes mysterious Japanese film. A car becomes a confessional as stories are shared each day between rider and driver, where mysteries from the past are revealed, and the realities of grief and self-acceptance, of letting go and moving forward, are explored. It’s hard to describe the beauty of this story, but its not to be missed. [HBO Max streaming.]

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[2021. 179 min. Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Staring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, and Park Yu-rim.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/drive-my-car-movie-review-2021

What I watched in February 2022:

02/27/22 The King's Man (HBO Max)

02/27/22 1883 (Paramount Plus series)

02/26/22 The French Dispatch (HBO Max)

02/24/22 Free Guy (Disney+ and HBO Max)

02/20/22 Space Force (Netflix, season two)

02/19/22 Operation Finale (Netflix)

02/14/22 The Book of Love (Amazon Prime)

02/12/22 Can You Keep a Secret? (Netflix)

02/11/22 I Want You Back (Amazon Prime)

02/10/22 KIMI (HBO Max)

02/09/22 The Book of Bobo Fett (Disney+ series)

02/07/22 Reacher (Amazon Prime series)

02/06/22 In from the Cold (Netflix series)

02/06/22 And Just Like That (HBO Max series)

KIMI 

— 

[Netflix streaming.]

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[2022. 89 min. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring India de Beaufort, Derek DelGaudio, Sarai Koo, and Jaime Camil.] 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kimi-movie-review-2022

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

— A Facebook friend suggested this documentary and it proved to be a good tip. It focuses on the creation of Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 flop, “Merrily We Roll Along,” with more than a bit of admiration toward Sondheim and producer Hal Prince, and with bittersweet reverence toward the experience. About half the documentary looks at the the time leading up to the actual Broadway production, as Sondheim and Prince worked on the material and a group of young actors (all ages 16-25) had the thrill of being cast by the legendary songwriter and producer, at the family they cast and the devastation they felt when the play closed after only 16 performances. The rest of the film focuses mostly on the paths cast members lives have taken since the experience, and their reactions to the experience with 35 years distance from it. What emerges is a look at a comradery forged during a pivotal moment in their youth and a joyous memory that lingered on. I’ll be truthful, viewers who aren’t Sondheim fans and those who are only casual Broadway musical fans may think this could have been edited a little more, but in the end it's really the story of the first time you realize even heroes fail, that sometimes life is disappointing and dreams need to change, that few people know what path their lives will ultimately take, and that it’s okay to look back as long as you’re living in the present. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2016. 95 min. Directed by Lonny Price.]
https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/best-worst-thing-that-ever-happened-review-stephen-sondheim-1201921997/

Home Team

— Pretty predicable film based on the true story of Sean Payton’s suspension as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, during which he coached his son’s underdog team, healing old wounds, bonding with his son, and learning humility and compassion. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2022. 95 min. Directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane. Starring Kevin James, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Jackie Sandler.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/home-team-movie-review-2022

Nightmare Alley

— An incredible cast under the direction of an incredible director make for a pretty interesting remake of a film-noir drama. You know you’re in something different when, even before the titles roll, two visually-stunning scenes evoke masterpieces (Gustave Caillebotte’s “Floor Planers” and Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World”). From there we plummet into a grimy world of carnivals, magicians, freaks and geeks, violence, and even psychoanalysis. Along the way, we start to think everyone’s pasts and secrets have similarities and are a layer of human nature. The storyline may not be completely original, but the telling is just the right mix of visual elements, sleezy characters, fantasy, and crime. It may be a little “art housey” to have done well at the box office, but it’s nice to see it streaming. [HBO Max and Hulu streaming.]

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[2021. 150 min. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, and Mary Steenburgen.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nightmare-alley-movie-review-2021