Two for the Road 1967

     This story is told in flashbacks.  Joanna is touring Europe with a girl’s choir and some of the girls come down with chicken pox.  Joanna has already had chicken pox and she goes on a hiking trip with Mark Wallace.  He is a struggling architect when they first meet.  Later, they get married and they go through life together with courtship, infidelity and parenthood.

       This film seems dated??  The couple doesn't value their relationship enough to skip meaningless affairs??  They need to add spark to their own marriage and treat each other like they treat people they have just met and are attracted to.  There isn't any struggle together like in the beginning when they were poor.  Having everything doesn't always make a more rosy picture??  3* (This movie is OK)

111 min, Comedy directed by Stanley Donen with Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron, William Daniels, Gabrielle Middleton, Claude Dauphin, Nadia Gray, George Descrieres, Jacqueline Bisset, Judy Cornwell.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 81% critic 84% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 301 reviews, TCM 3.5* out of 5* user rating.

Special Note:  Filmed in Var, Oise, Alpes-Maritimes, Drome, Cap Valery, Paris, France.  Henry Mancini said the scoring of this film was the most difficult job in his career.  He always thought of this music as his favorite.  Originally, Director Stanley Donen wanted Paul Newman and Michael Caine for this film.  Hepburn was his first and only choice for Joanna.  She left the film for a time when she was pregnant.  She returned after she suffered a miscarriage.  Hepburn was afraid of water, in a scene with Mark throwing Joanna into water, divers were standing just outside camera range.  Stanley Donen owned the Mercedes 230 driven in the present day scenes.  Hepburn almost received an Oscar for this film.  She was up against her film Wait Until Dark of 1967. 

Suburbicon 2017

     This film is based on true events that occurred in the community of

Levittown.  News interviews in the film are the actual interviews with the real citizens.  The setting of this film is the summer of 1959.  Suburbicon is a family centered, all white subdivision with manicured lawns and local people.  It’s hot this summer and tension begins to rise when the first African-American family moves into one of the homes.  Soon afterwards,two men break into the Lodge family home.  They use chloroform to drug Gardner, Rose, Margaret and Nicky at the dining table.  They intentionally give Rose an overdose and she dies.  Nicky is very upset because Rose was his mother.  Margaret and Rose were identical twins and Rose was married to Gardner.   The police are on the lookout for the robbers/killers.  Mass protests begin at the home of the new family the Mayers.  Nicky doesn’t understand what’s going on because he likes them and he plays with the son Andy Mayers.

     I didn’t know anything about this film before viewing.  I can say right away that I didn’t like this film and I was surprised it was based on true events?  It seems like none of the incidents would really happen??  I thought it was an invented story by the Coen brothers?  It’s evident right away why this movie had a loss of $14.8 million!!   I liked the Mayers family and I didn’t like what the neighbors were doing.  I definitely didn’t like Gardner or Margaret, I thought Rose was okay.  

      

105 min, Crime directed by George Clooney with Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac, Landon Gordon, Karimah Westbrook, Noah Jupe, Glenn Fleshler, Megan Ferguson, Jack Conley, Gary Basaraba, Michael D. Cohen.  1* (I hated this movie)

Note:  Imdb 5.6 out of 10, 29% critic 25% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1 ½*, Amazon 2.5* out of 5* with 243 reviews, Metacritic 42 out of 100 with 49 critics 4.2 out of 10 with 85 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Fullerton, Carson, Burbank, Los Angeles, Encino, Van Nuys, Santa Claria, Canyon Country, Mystery Mesa, San Fernando, California.  Josh Brolin was filmed in the role of a baseball coach but his scenes were cut.  This film had the lowest opening weekend gross of any Paramount film released in over 2000 theaters.  This is the first time Clooney has directed a Coen Brothers script and he doesn’t have a role.  Rich Bokides was fired after 2 weeks because he clashed with Clooney.  The budget was $25 million and the worldwide gross was $10.2 million.

Red Dog: True Blue 2016

     This film is a prequel to the film Red Dog, a Red Cloud Kelpie of 2011.  Michael Carter comes home from work and his wife Diane reminds him that he promised to take their two boys to a movie.  He has a lot of office work to do and he wants to get a pizza and watch something on TV?  Diane says that isn’t going to happen!!  Theo and Nickolas are excited to see the movie Red Dog.  Michael is very surprised when he sees that the movie describes the dog he had as a boy, Blue.  He was a red colored dog but Michael called him Blue.  Michael was eleven years old in 1968 and he went to live with his Grandpa on a cattle station in the Pilbara region.  This area is located in a remote part of Western Australia.  Michael found Blue as a puppy when he landed in a tree after a storm.  His Grandpa gives Michael a motorbike and he begins to explore the desert with Blue. 

     The scenery of the Outback is very rugged and beautiful.  The story line of this film is based on an actual dog that was said to roam the wild country in this area.  He made strong friendships with the people he met on his travels and he brought people together with his personality.  Going to live with his Grandpa changed Michael’s life!!  His mother was having a rough patch with instability in her life and she couldn’t provide a home for him.  This was the only place left for him to live.  Michael was fortunate to land in a great place where he grew and matured in many ways.  4* (I really liked this movie)

88 min, Drama directed by Kriv Stenders with Jason Isaacs, Levi Miller, Bryan Brown, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Thomas Cocquerel, John Jarratt, Justine Clarke, Zen and Winta McGrath, Steve Le Marquand, Syd Brisbane.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 100% critic 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 6 reviews, The Guardian 4* out of 5* review by Luke Buckmaster, Hollywood Reporter 2 paws up.

Special Note:  This film grossed $5,218,716 at the Australian box office and the gross of the first film was 1/4 at 1,304,679.

Paddington 2 2017

    The Brown's are happy to have Paddington living with them in London.  His Aunt Lucy wanted to come to London but she suddenly she had a bear cub to raise.  Now it’s time for her 100^th birthday and Paddington wants to get her a very nice gift.  Mr. Gruber has a unique pop-up book that would be the perfect gift but Paddington will need jobs to raise enough money.  He starts with window washing in the neighborhood.

     This is funny from the beginning to the end!!  There were so many times I said, “This is so ridiculous!!”  Paddington has a LOT of experiences trying to earn money to buy the gift for Aunt Lucy.  Then, he has MORE experiences regarding the pop-up book.  He has such admiration and love for Aunt Lucy that the gift needed to be perfect and the pop-up book seems just right.  He feels a sadness that she didn’t get to come to London and now she’s in a retirement home for elderly bears!!  4 1/2* (I loved this movie)    

   

103 min, Animation directed by Paul King with Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Madeleine Harries, Samuel Joslin, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Marie-France Alvarez.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, 100% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 121 reviews, Metacritic 88 out of 100 with 38 critics 8.2 out of 10 with 157 reviews

Special Note:  Michael Bond was the creator of Paddington Bear and he passed away at the age of 91 just six months before the release of this film.  His last book was released in April 2017 and the books have sold more than 35 million copies.  The 2014 Paddington was the highest grossing independent family film and the highest grossing film in the UK of 2014.  The pop-up-book of London was released for a limited edition collectors item with six scenes taken from the film.

They Call Me Mister Tibbs 1970

     This film is the second film in a trilogy.  The first film was In the Heat of the Night of 1967 and the third was The Organization of 1971.  Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs works for the San Francisco Police Department.  A prostitute living in Nob Hill is murdered and a possible suspect is a liberal street preacher and political candidate Rev. Logan Sharpe.  A complication is that Rev. Sharpe is a close personal friend of Tibbs.  Tibbs has a very difficult job and he’s also going through domestic problems.  His wife is frustrated by his long hours at work and their rebellious adolescent son.  They also have a daughter but so far she doesn’t have the problems they face with their son. 

      There are a lot of twists and turns in the investigation and I wasn’t sure who committed the murder?  A lot of complicated characters are involved!!  I liked the attitudes, cars, the clothing, hairstyles and the scenes of San Francisco of this time period.  3* (This movie is OK)

108 min, Crime directed by Gordon Douglas with Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe, Edward Asner, Jeff Corey, Norma Crane, Juano Hernandez, David Sheiner, Beverly Todd, Ted Gehring.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 60% critic 38% audience, Roger Ebert 2*,  Amazon 4* out of 5* with 77 reviews, TCM average user rating 2.6* out of 5*, TV Guide 2* out of 4*, Letterboxd 2*, Blu-ray.com 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Stockton Street Tunnel, Portsmouth Square, Union Square, San Francisco and Los Angeles, California.  In this film, Ed Asner is young but it is one of the few movies where he wears a full toupee.  Also, this is one of a few movies with the title in upper case letters.  Quincy Jones wrote the score and the script and he also wrote for the other two films.  A soundtrack album was released on the United Artists label in 1970.

Breathe 2017

     This film is based on the true story of Robin and Diana Cavendish.  Robin and Diana have been married about two years and they’re having a baby.  Before the baby is born, Robin is struck down by polio at the age of 28.  He’s confined to a hospital bed and it’s thought he only has a few months to live.  Diana‘s twin brothers Bloggs and David Blacker install a breathing machine for Robin to live at home.  Robin had wanted to die but now he’s feeling hope. Teddy Hall designed and built the Cavendish wheelchair that contains a breathing machine.  Robin is able to get out into the world, they travel, raise their son Jonathan and devote their lives to helping other polio patients.

     Not much film time is given to what Robin is thinking?  There are the moments when he thinks Diana is wasting her time with him but what does he think about the life he’s living.  We know he’s glad to be out of the hospital and he wants other paralyzed people to also have this opportunity.  There is one incident where the breathing machine is accidentally unplugged.  Would this be a constant worry for him?  3* (This movie is OK)

118 min, Bio directed by Andy Serkis with Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Hugh Bonneville, Ed Speleers, Tom Hollander David Butler, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Miranda Raison, Camilla Rutherford, Andre Jacobs, Terry Norton, Charles Streeter, Penny Downie, Amit Shah, Johathan Hyde.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 66% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 24 reviews, Metacritic 29 out of 100 with 51 critics 6.6 out of 10 with 23 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed at Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK and Hluhluw, South Africa.  Teddy Hall used his own money to design three wheelchairs.  His grandfather discovered the largest lump of gold to be found at this time in Australia.  The debut film of Director Andy Serkis, his business partner and friend is Jonathan Cavendish the son of Robin and Diana.  At the age of 83 years old, Diana Cavendish was present during much of the filming.  Some scenes were filmed at Royal Air Force Benson.

The Killing of the Sacred Deer 2017

     Dr. Steven Murphy operated on the father of 16 year-old Martin.  His father didn’t survive and Martin and Dr. Murphy begin a friendship.  Dr. Murphy is a well-respected cardiothoracic surgeon, he’s married to Anna and they have two children, Kim and Bob.  Martin lives with his mother and she has not remarried. 

     I can really only review the beginning of this film up to the time when Martin comes to have dinner with the Murphy family.  Then Dr. Murphy goes to Martin’s home to have dinner with Martin and his mother.  I didn't have any hope that the film would get better!!  The acting seems like it’s done by stick figures without any feelings or emotions?  Everyone has no enthusiasm whatsoever and the dialog is also wooden!!  I read later how the plot moves along but I could not continue viewing to learn this information!!  I thought Dr. Murphy’s very thick and heavy beard shields him from real personal interactions with people and patients?  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)

121 min, Drama directed by Yorgos Lanthimos with Barry G. Bernson, Herb Caillouet, Bill Camp, Raffey Cassidy, Denise Dal Vera, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, Nicle Kidman, Drew Logan, Alicia Silverstone, Sunny Suljic.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 80% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 2.3* out of 5* with 520 reviews, Metacritic 73 out of 100 with 45 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 136 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Cincinnati, Bernard, Ohio; Covington, Kentucky.  The heart surgery scenes in the film are real.  Colin Farrell witnessed an operation on a patient undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.  In the film, Kim is two years younger but actually Raffey Cassidy in the role of Kim is ten years younger than Barry Keoghan as Martin.

The Sweet Hereafter 1997

     This film is based on a novel by Russell Banks.  The inspiration for the book was a 1989 school bus crash in Alton, Texas.  Mitchell Stevens is having problems with his daughter Zoe but since she is a drug addict and he always has problems with her?  She calls him many times and the operator asks if Mitchell will accept the charges?  Mitchell is a lawyer and he’s headed to a small community of Dent, British Columbia where a school bus accident has occurred.  He’s hoping to sign up many of the townspeople for a class-action lawsuit he’s planning.  He wants to sue the town and the bus company for damages.  He believes there was negligence in constructing the barrier or there was a problem with the bus.  Most of the town’s children have been killed in a school bus accident.  The driver said she hit a patch of black ice, the bus went through the barrier and careened down the hillside into the river.  There are two sides of the lawsuit, those who are in favor and those opposed.  There is a twist at the end?

     This is a real downer of a film!!!  I didn’t know anything about this film and I was surprised about the bus accident and that the deaths of 14 children was the focus??  I didn’t have a clue how this was going to end?  I also didn’t know if the town and the bus company had done anything wrong causing the need for the lawsuit?  Was this just going to boil down to getting money?  Did anyone in the town have any spark in their lives before the accident?  Is Mitchell Stevens just an ambulance chaser plus does he just want and need a third of the award from the suit?  As you can see, there are a LOT of questions?  2 ½* (This movie is just so-so) 

  

112 min, Drama directed by Atom Egoyan with Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks, Tom McCamus, Gabrielle Rose, Alberta Watson, Maury Chaykin, Stephanie Morgenstern, Kirsten Kieferle, Arsinee Khanjian, Earl Pastko.  

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 100% critic 86% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 165 reviews, TCM average user rating 5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Stouffville and Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Spences Bridge and Merritt, British Columbia, Canada.  During the depositions given by the townspeople, the stenographer is wearing a mask.  It's used to record the stenographer’s voice during the note taking process. Originally, Donald Sutherland was cast as Mitchell Stephens but he to back out.  Caerthan Banks is the daughter of author Russell Banks.  Included among the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die edited by Steven Schneider.  Listed by Roger Ebert as #2 of the Best Films of 1997.

Flatliners 2017

     Five medical students are interested in what happens immediately after death.  They have seen the brain scans of patients who died but it’s not enough information for them.  They discover there is a full hospital underneath the regular hospital and it’s for emergencies.  Courtney is first and the other four students stop her heart for a short period.  Then, they bring her back to life.  All of the other students except Ray go though this experiment.  Later, he’s the only one not seeing visions of something that happened in their earlier lives.  These are incidents that they have never recovered from and have never moved on from.

     There is another film from 1990 with the same subject.  The cast in the older film is Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt.  The names of the students are changed in this new film.  I think both movies are good but the new one is not somewhat dated like the earlier film.  Kiefer Sutherland is a student in the 1990 film but he is a doctor in the new film.  Three of the students brought back to life attempt to receive forgiveness or right the wrongs from their past.  They hope this will stop the visions.  2 1/2* (this movie is so-so)  

109 min, Drama directed by Niels Arden Oplev with Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Kiefer Sutherland, Madison Brydges, Jacob Soley, Anna Arden, Miguel Anthony, Jenny Raven.

Note:  Imdb 5.2 out of 10, 5% critic 34% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1 1/2*, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 32 reviews, Metacritic 27 out of 100 with 20 critics 3.5* out of 10* with 70 reviews, EmpireOnline 2* out of 5*.

Special Note:  The 1990 film has 6.6 on Imdb and the film of 2017 is not a sequel but it’s a remake.  Filmed in Toronto, Oakville, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.  At the end of both films there is a voice-over saying “Some lines should not be crossed.”  The song played on the piano by Courtney (Ellen Page) is Clair De Lune and it was also used at the end of Ocean’s Eleven.  There is a mistake with the defibrillation pads.  They are only effective when in direct contact with the skin.  Clothing can cause the electricity to flow across the chest and not through it as it is supposed to do.  The depicted defibrillation bears very little resemblance to real world scenarios.

Victoria & Abdul 2017

     This film is based on a book by Shrabani Basu.  Abdul Karim and Mohammed arrive in the United Kingdom of 1887 from India.  They have sailed across the ocean to honor Queen Victoria with a mohur.  It is a special coin minted for her golden jubilee and a token of appreciation from British-ruled India.  Victoria is in her 80’s and she has a feeling of being constricted by her role as the Queen.  She has had a reign of over 63 years and she mourns for her husband Albert and also for John Brown.  He was a Scottish personal attendant and a favorite of the Queen for many years.  Abdul is like a breath of fresh air to her soul.  He isn’t jockeying for position and stature in the household like all the other men and women including her son Bertie.  Victoria and Abdul form an alliance and a true friendship.  The members of the household become green with jealousy and envy.  They are constantly on the lookout for a way to find out shameful information about Abdul in order to smear his reputation or background with the Queen.  They are hoping this information or some other reason can be used to put Abdul back on any boat to India!!

     This is good and interesting.  I was surprised about the loneliness and lack of friendship suffered by Victoria.  The Queen may be the monarch of the United Kingdom but she is still thinking of how many years she may have left on earth.  She is not in the best of health with a variety of ailments due to old age.  She was also stout, dowdy, only about five feet tall but she projected a grand image and she could be very stern when challenged.  Victoria called Abdul “the Munshi” which means clerk or teacher and he was with her during the final fifteen years of her reign.  I thought it was wonderful that he became a bright spot in her days.  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

111 min, Bio directed by Stephen Frears with Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Tim Pigott-Smith, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon, Paul Higgins, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar, Julian Wadham, Robin Soans, Ruth McCabe, Simon Callow.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 66% critic 68% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 736 reviews, Metacritic 58 out of 100 with 34 critics 5.8 out of 10 with 53 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Highland, Scotland; Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Hertforshire, Surrey, North Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, London, England, UK; Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, India.  At the beginning of filming, Judi Dench was one month older than the age of Queen Victoria when she died in 1901.  Jane Spencer, the Baroness Churchill died one month prior to Queen Victoria.  She served as Lady of the Bedchamber from 1854 until her death and was the longest serving member of the queen’s personal household.

Something Wild 1961

     Mary Ann Robinson is an attractive young woman living in The Bronx, New York.  She’s attending City College and she lives with her parents.  Her mother is neurotic and overbearing.  Her stepfather goes to work and comes home.  Mary is walking home and she is attacked when a man drags her into the woods.  She stays there in the woods for a time and then she goes home.  She lets herself into the house very quietly and she takes a bath.  She uses scissors to cut every piece of clothing she was wearing into small bits and she flushes them down the toilet.  She doesn’t tell anyone what happened.  She takes the subway to college the next day but there are too many people pressing against her.  She faints and a police car takes her home.  Her mother finds this to be very embarrassing and mortifying!!

     Mary changes everything about her life and her parents don’t know where she is or what she’s doing.  Mary is going through a lot of psychological changes without any support system.  Actually, she is suffering from post-traumatic shock disorder but no one knows anything about this problem in this time period.  She can’t tell her parents, they will never think of her in the same way again?  She can’t continue going to college like she had been doing either?  She wants to curl up into a ball and never have contact or be with people again if there is a way to do this?   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

113 min, Drama directed by Jack Garfein with Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker Mildred Dunnock, Jean Stapleton, Martin Kosleck, Charles Watts, Cliton James, George L. Smith, Doris Roberts, Ken Chapin, Anita Cooper, Ginny Baker.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 43% critic 45% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM average user rating 3.3* out of 5*, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 67 reviews, Slant Magazine 5* out of 5*, Blu-ray HighDef Digest 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in New York City, New York.  Carroll Baker was married to director Jack Garfein at the time of filming but they divorced in 1969.  Baker said that the production company wouldn’t pay Aaron Copland’s fee for the score.  Baker and Garfein paid him instead.  Baker appeared in How the West Was Won of 1962 and Station Six-Sahara of 1963 afterwards to make up the money they spent.  Copeland used re-arranged music from one of his concert performances as the score for this film.  Later, it was published in 1964 as Music for a Great City.  This is the first film for Doris Roberts and she and a long career.  There is another film with the same title from 1986. 

Anatahan 1953

     The setting of this film is June of 1944.  This story also inspired the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea.  Twelve Japanese seamen are stranded on an abandoned island called Anatahan.  There are already two inhabitants on the island, a man and an attractive young Japanese woman.  They didn’t leave with the island’s former inhabitants.  The man was the overseer of a now abandoned plantation and the seamen believe they are married.  A former warrant officer is keeping the men in line until he suffers a loss of face.   A power struggle occurs between the men and the one woman.  Later, a crashed airplane is found in the nearby area.  Two pistols and some ammunition are discovered in the wreckage.  Now, the balance of power between the men shifts to the two men with the pistols.  

     Also known as The Saga of Anatahan and this film is based on the true story of Japanese soldiers shipwrecked during WWII.  They refused to believe that the war ended and they also refuse to believe that Japan would surrender.  You can see how the clothing of everyone is becoming more and more worn out over time.  A parachute is found with the plane and many garments were made from this material.  Over time, this material becomes worn out too.  Some clothing and boots are made from palm tree fibers.  I would call this a ‘strange’ movie!!  Instead of having cabin fever, the men have island fever!!  An addition to the fever is the fact that there is only one woman among all the men on the island!!  The story would've been completely different with all men on the island.  3* (This movie is OK)    

92 min, Drama directed by Josef von Sternberg with Akemi Negishi, Tadashi, Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura, Shoji Nakayama, Jun Fujikawa, Hiroshi Kondo, Shozo Miyashita, Tsuruemon Bando, Kikuji Onoe, Rokuriro Kineya.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 100% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 6 reviews, Slant Magazine 3.5* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Kyoto, Japan.  Some of the footage in this film is from  newsreel scenes showing the return of the Japanese troops after Japan surrendered in 1945.  Von Sternberg made this film outside the studio system.  This gave him control of the film and he did the writing, photography and narration.  There was a modest opening in Japan but it did poorly in the United States.  Von Sternberg continued to edit the film for four more years.  Finally, he abandoned the project and started teaching film at UCLA.

Christine 2016

     This film is based on actual events that happened in 1974.  Christine Chubbuck is 29 years old and she is working for a local news station in Sarasota, Florida.  She lives with her mother and Christine pays the rent.  She is frequently butting heads with the station manager Michael.  She wants to focus on human-interest pieces and he wants to report on crime.  He feels crime ups the ratings.  Christine begins to experience pains in her stomach, she struggles with depression, professional and personal frustrations.  When Christine finds out that the owner of the station has come to poach some of the Sarasota team for the Baltimore news, she purchases as police scanner to report on grittier stories.

     I didn’t know anything about Christine or what happens in this film before viewing.  There is a lot of competition at the station and this is increased by the announcement that the station owner is coming for a visit.  It's possible that one or more of the reporters could be moved to a higher level station area.  Christine had previously worked in Cleveland for a year in 1966-1967.  She moved to Canton, Ohio in 1967 for three months and then moved to Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania and left in 1968.  She started working as a hospital computer operator in 1968 and she spent two years with a cable television station in Sarasota, Florida.  She worked in the traffic department in St. Petersburg, Florida and then she joined ABC affiliate WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida.  It seems highly possible that this added pressure on Christine could cause a breakdown and she had a breakdown once before at another station?  You can see that Christine is very tense and she's not very flexible.  3* (This movie is OK)

119 min, Bio directed by Antonio Campos with Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, Maria Dizzia J. Smith-Cameron, Timothy Simons, Kim Shaw, John Cullum, Morgan Spector, Jayson Warner Smith, Kimberly Drummond, Lindsay Ayliffe.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 87% critic 70% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 99 reviews, Metacritic 72 out of 100 with 34 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 35 reviews.

Special Note:  Craig Shilowich wrote the screenplay and he struggled with depression while attending New York University after 9/11.  He eventually dropped out and he withdrew from contact with people.  He would spend days walking in his room and peeking out the window.  This was to keep from dealing with people.  After about seven years, he started to get better and the depression went away.   His fascination with Christine’s story leads him to write about her struggles.

Viceroy's House 2017

     The setting of this film is in New Dehli of March 1947 and some later events take place from 1948 to 1950.  Lord Louis Mountbatten, his wife Edwina and his eighteen-year-old daughter Pamela will be coming to the huge and stately Viceroy’s Palace.  Five hundred employees are preparing for the arrival of the last British Viceroy in India.  It will be a difficult task for Mountbatten to transition British India to independence.  An added element is the possibility of creating Pakistan, a new state formed from India.  The Muslims and the Hindus want to separate themselves from each other both geographically and politically.  Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru want India to be a single nation of two faiths.  Muhammad Ali Jinnah prefers the option of Partition, the creation of the new Muslim nation of Pakistan.  There are riots erupting across India with intensifying violence between Muslims and Hindus.

     This is a very difficult time for Lord Mountbatten and his family plus all of the people living in India.  I know the romance between Mountbatten’s valet Jeet and Alia is included to humanize this film and feature a couple that audiences can relate to.  Mountbatten is very angry when he learns the boundaries of Pakistan have been created as a buffer state between the Indian subcontinent and the Soviet Union.  As a result, millions of people will be displaced.  The Mountbatten’s decide to stay on in India to assist with an overwhelming number of refugees in Delhi.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

106 min, Bio directed by Gurinder Chadha with Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, Michael Gambon, Om Puri, David Hayman, Simon Callow, Denzil Smith, Neeraj Kabi, Tanveer Ghani, Lily Travers.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 71% critic 66% audience on Rotten Tomatoes,

Special Note:  Filmed in Rajasthan and Delhi, India.  This is the first film to be released in English and Hindi in British cinemas.  Originally, Gillian Anderson was offered the role of Cora, Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey in 2010 but she turned it down.  The role was given to Elizabeth McGovern and there were six seasons.  This film is broadly based on actual historical events but personal and romantic dramatic elements are added. 

So B. It 2018

     This film is based on a children’s book written by Sarah Weeks.  It was the winner of the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award in 2007.  Heidi is a twelve-year-old girl, her mother has autism and they live in Reno, Nevada.  Bernadette lives in the apartment next door and she has taken care of Heidi and her mother since Heidi was born.  Heidi doesn’t know anything about her mother’s background and they go by the last name of It but this could be wrong?  Bernadette is happy to take care of Heidi and her mother because she has agoraphobia.  This means Bernadette can’t leave her apartment.  She discovered a way into Heidi’s apartment through the closet and that is how she was able to start caring for them.

     Heidi discovers a roll of undeveloped film and she sends it in the mail to be processed.  She learns that her mother once lived at a school in New York State to help her with learning before Heidi was born.  Heidi knows she must visit this school and find out more about her mother!!  I can see that it was cause a lot of uncertainty not to know what your mother's real name is and what your real last name is??  Heidi only knows what Bernadette can tell her and nothing about any of her relatives?  A lot of emotions!!  3* (This movie is OK)

98 min, Drama directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal with Cloris Leachman, Jacinda Barrett, Alfre Woodard, Talitha Eliana Bateman, John Heard, Dash Mihok, Jessica Collins, Luis Moncada, Michael Arden, Mataeo Mingo, Van Epperson, Sherry Mandujano.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 40% critic 96% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 62 reviews, Metacritic 46 out of 100 with 4 critics. 

Special Note:  Director Stephen Gyllenhaal is the father of actors Jake and Maggie.  He also directed A Dangerous Woman and Losing Isaiah.

Aple of My Eye 2017

     Bailey is 16 years old and she is training for the Nationals equestrian competition but she has a fall while riding.  She’s had falls before but this time it seems to be different for her?  She starts having blurry vision and her parents take her to have her eyes checked.  The doctor determines that it’s a problem with the optic nerve and Bailey will gradually loose all of her vision.  Her parents enroll Bailey in a program for seeing-eye dogs.  She tries out a lot of the dogs but they don’t seem to connect?  Charles is the head trainer of Southeastern Guide Dogs and he decides to go in a different direction for Bailey.  He obtains a miniature horse named Apple!!  He starts training Apple and Bailey knows that Apple is just right!!  She just needs to convince her parents to allow a small horse in the house!!

     Apple is very cute and she sleeps in Bailey’s bed.  I think she may snore slightly too!!  She’s very clean because Bailey shampoos her fur and her mane.  She gets a blow dry and then her hooves painted with nail polish!!  Bailey meets Jason at the Guide Dog center and they talk about their differences.  Bailey was able to see but Jason has always been blind.  Bailey knows what everything looks like and Jason can only imagine.  Burt Reynolds was almost 80 at the time of filming.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

84 min, Family directed by Castille Landon with Amy Smart, Burt Reynolds, AJ Michalka, Liam McIntyre, Jack Griffo, Nick Bateman, Charlie Barnett, Castille Landon, Avery Arendes, Lindsay Lamb, Thaddeus Ygnacio.

Note:  Imdb 5.6 out of 10, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 67 reviews, Common Sense Media 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  This film is a Direct-to-DVD film.  Filmed in Bradenton Area and Manatee County, Florida.  I wanted a pony of my own!!  But, I do know that I would not like to clean up after a pony!!

Impact 1949

     This film is based on a story by film noir writer Jay Dratler.  Walter Williams lives with his wife Irene in San Francisco, California.  He is a successful businessman and he has just purchased three factories in Denver, Colorado.  Walter is very much in love with his wife and he’s hoping she will go with him to Lake Tahoe.  Irene says she is having trouble with her tooth and she doesn’t feel well enough to travel.  She asks Walter if he will take her cousin Jim Torrance to Denver, Colorado.  Actually, Jim is not her cousin, he’s her lover and they have planned to kill Walter on the road to Denver.  Torrance makes a small puncture in the car tire and they stop to change the tire.  Torrance hits Walter with the tire iron and pushes him down an embankment.  Torrance drives away in the car since the tire has been fixed.   

     I was very surprised that Irene wanted to kill Walter?  He treats her very well, he loves her, he gives her jewelry and they have a nice life together.  Irene is younger than Walter and this may be the reason she wants to be free?  Jim Torrance is certainly no catch and if she does leave Walter for him, how long will she stay.  There are a LOT of unexpected twists and turns in this film!!  I liked the cars, the clothing styles, attitudes and the scenes of California during this time period.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

111 min, Crime directed by Arthur Lubin with Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker, Anna May Wong, Robert Warwick, Clarence Kolb, Art Baker, William Wright, Mae Marsh, Sheilah Graham.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 56% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* average user rating 3.15 out of 5*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 142 reviews, Letterboxed 3.2* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Larkspur, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Sausalito, Simi Valley, Angeles National Forest, California.  Walter and Irene live in the Brocklebank Apartment building.  This is famous for its appearance in Vertigo of 1958.  The car driven by Walter Williams is a yellow 1948 Packard Victoria 8.  It was the most luxurious and expensive convertible of this time period.  Also, Packard was America's leading luxury car for several years.  The copyright for this film was not renewed resulting in many poor quality duplicates for sale.

Rememory 2017

     Sam Bloom is driving home one night with his brother Dash.  They are singing together in the car and they get into a terrible car crash that kills Dash.  Sam is overcome and consumed with grief!!  His every thought is that he was the one driving and he killed his brother.  He meets Gordon Dunn at a hotel and they begin talking about Gordon’s project to create a device that will extract, record and play unfiltered memories.  Gordon is mysteriously found dead a year later in his office after a news conference to unveil his newest work.  Sam makes it his mission to find out who killed Gordon.  He meets with Carolyn, Gordon’s widow.  At this time she is overwhelmed with her own grief because of the loss of her husband Gordon.  Also, she has not recovered from the loss of their young daughter.

     This film has a different type of story line.  I thought it was interesting and intriguing.  The rememory device uses glass or metal inserts that store the memories of each person using the device.   It also has a technical fault that causes side effects leading to recurring hallucinations by the users.  Many of the users were upset with Gordon and blamed him for their mental deterioration.  They were also upset because the machine could cause pain, misery and suffering for the users when they revisited the memories.  Supposedly, the memories play back without personal bias or natural forgetfulness.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)   

       

111 min, Drama directed by Mark Palansky with Peter Dinklage, Matt Ellis, Jordana Largy, Martin Donovan, Evelyne Brochu, Henry Ian Cusick, Anton Yelchin, Julia Ormond, Gracyn Shinyei, Colin Lawrence, Chad Krowchuk, Kate Bateman, Courtney Richter, Stefania Indelicato, Andrew Herr.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 22% critic 41% audience in Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 67 reviews, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4*, Metacritic 48 out of 100 with 10 critics 5.5 out of 10 with 4 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Many of the scenes filmed with Peter Dinklage were very emotional and intense.  Peter watched the comedy Step Brothers from 2008 every night with Director Mark Palansky and the crew.  The cast and crew wrote their own favorite memories on a “rememory board” displayed in the production office.  Catherine O’Hara was originally cast as Carolyn but Julia Ormond replaced her.  Dinklage previously worked with Palansky on Penelope of 2006.  This film was the feature film directorial debut of Pelansky.  This was one of the last films with actor Anton Yelchin.  He was killed when his car back over him.  The modern house used as the home of the Dunns was discovered through the girlfriend of a production crew member.  Palansky thought they wouldn’t be able to afford to use the house for filming?  The owner was a Game of Thrones fan and they used the house for as long as they needed on the condition that the family could meet Peter Dinklage.

The Immortal Story 1968

     This film is based on a novel by Karen Blixen.  It takes place in the Portuguese colony of Macao in the 19^th century.  A subject of town gossip is Mr. Clay, he’s a very rich merchant.  Clay has spent many years in China and he's very old.  His clerk Levinsky reads the company’s counts to him at night for relaxation.  He finds the numbers calming.  On this night, Mr. Clay tells Levinsky a true story he heard years ago.  It's about a rich man who paid poor sailor 5 guineas to father a child with his beautiful young wife.  Levensky tells Clay that this is a popular old sailor’s legend and is not true.  Mr. Clay has no heir for his fortune and he has no wife.  He decides to make this story come true.

     I could not get interested in this film??  Orson Welles is made to look very heavy and very elderly to fit his role.  Actually, his character is full of greed and evil!!  The story is difficult to follow, everyone speaks in a monotone and it seems to be a relief to reach the conclusion!!  There is great emotion, delight and sorrow but all without feeling!!  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)

58 min, Drama directed by Orson Welles with Jeanne Moreau, Roger Coggio, Norman Eshley.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 92% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 12 reviews, TCM average user review 4* out of 5*, Slant Magazine 4.5* out of 5*, DvdTalk average rating 3.7* of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Hauts-de-Seine, France and Chinchon, Aravaca, Castilla-La Mancha, Catilla y Leon, Spain.  Orson Welles had planned for this film to be made as part of an anthology of adaptations of stories by Karen Blixen.  Originally released on French TV and later released in theaters.  Karen Blixen is also known as Isak Dinesen and she is the writer of Out of Africa.  This is one of my favorite books and films. 

Madame Curie 1943

     This film is based on a memoir written by Eve Curie, Marie and Pierre’s daughter.  In 1895, Marie Salomea Sklodowska was a 24 year-old student at the Sorbonne studying for her Master’s degree in Physics.  She plans to return to her home country of Poland and teach.  She has written her father when she will be traveling.  Marie received permission to use space in Professor Pierre Curie’s laboratory.  She needs a lab to finish her studies for her degree.  Curie didn’t know a woman was coming to use the lab?  He is disappointed and he expects someone who will do a lot of talking and disrupt his concentration?  Nothing like this happens, she is not a disruption, they fall in love, she doesn’t return to Poland and they get married.  They work together to isolate a radioactive substance Marie has identified as radium.  They work on this project four long years in a lab that’s cold in the winter and hot in the summers.  They were married from 1895 to 1906 and they had two daughters, Irene Joliot and Eve. 

     I thought this film was excellent!!  A LOT of information I didn’t know before viewing!!  Unfortunately for the Curie’s, at this time the damaging effects of ionizing radiation were not known.  None of the safety measures that would be mandatory later were used in their experiments.  Marie was also exposed to X-rays from unshielded equipment while serving as a radiologist between 1914 and 1919 in field hospitals during WWI.  Because of her many decades of exposure, she had chronic illnesses.  She had near-blindness due to cataracts and she died from aplastic anemia in July of 1934.  This type of anemia is caused by damage to the bone marrow.  Also, some of the radiation was passed onto their daughters.  Irene Joliot-Curie was born in September of 1897 and she died in March of 1956 because of leukemia at the age of 59.  Eve was born in December of 1904 and she must have received less radiation from her family because she died in October 2007 at the age of 103. 

124 min, Bio directed by Mervyn LeRoy and Albert Lewin with Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert and Elsa Bassermann, Robert Walker, C. Aubrey Smith, May Whitty, Victor Francen, Reginald Owen, Van Johnson, Margaret O’Brien.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 83% critic 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 84 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4*, average user rating 5* out of 5*, DvdTalk average review 3* of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Culver City, California.  I didn’t realize this film was not filmed on location?  Only one scene, a long shot of the Curies on their honeymoon was filmed outside the studio. Joan Crawford was given weak scripts because MGM was hoping she would break her contract?  She wanted to appear in Random Harvest of 1942 and Madame Curie of 1943.  Both films were given to Greer Garson because she was a “bright new star.”  Crawford did leave MGM soon afterwards.  Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon made eight movies together.  Originally, this film was to star Greta Garbo and Spencer Tracy.  Eve Curie felt Garbo was too glamorous and her contract gave her star approval.  Eve insisted that Greer Garson be cast as her mother.  Garson was nominated for five consecutive Oscars for Best Actress.  These films were Blossoms in the Dust 1941, a win for Mrs. Miniver of 1942, Madame Curie of 1943, Mrs. Parkington 1944 and The Valley of Decision of 1945.