Left Behind America 2018

     This film is an episode of Frontline (Season 36: Episode 16) and it focuses on the economy and social forces of Dayton, Ohio.  This city was once booming but now it struggles to recover in the post-recession economy.  The city was formerly a center of innovation and manufacturing.  Over the past few decades many companies have deserted Dayton.   The beautiful buildings are still there but they are empty.  The once high wages have fallen to near the poverty level with replacement jobs.  Many neighborhoods don’t have a grocery story anymore.  There isn’t access to anything fresh.  There are only a few fast food places.  Entire neighborhoods have been abandoned and bought up at cents on the dollar by foreign investors.

     General Motors left Dayton In December 23 of 2008 and this was 2 days before Christmas.  There wages were about $35 an hour.  A cardboard box company has gone into the factory and the wages are about $13 an hour.  Other companies to leave are National Cash Register NCR, Mead Paper Company, Standard Register, Reynolds and Reynolds, Dayco and Phillips Industries.  Detroit has also suffered the same job losses and economic decline from the loss of the auto industry too.  The Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) began shifting their production of out central Detroit between 1945 and 1957. This is a TOUGH situation.  Families turn to food banks to be able to feed themselves.  Their wages are not enough to cover, housing, utilities and other necessities.  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

53 min, Doc directed by Shimon Dotan with Mark Bernstein, Priyanka Boghani, Joseph Bohbot, Rodney Brickey, Sarah Childress, Cherish Cronmiller, Christopher Vroom, Krys Davidson, Rana Foroohar, Jacob Hacker.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 1 review.

Special Note:  Filmed in Dayton, Ohio.  Amazon give the book written by Robert Wuthnow 3.4* out of 5* with 16 reviews.

Ask the Dust 2006

     This film is based on a book by John Fante with the introduction by Charles Bukowski.  The setting of this film is in LA of the early 1930’s during the depression era.  There is racism, poverty, and disease in the Bunker Hill neighborhood.  Arturo Bandini has arrived from Colorado to write his great Los Angeles novel.  It has been six months and he is now down to his last nickel.  He orders a coup of coffee served by Camilla Lopez.  She is beautiful, self-possessed and she is Mexican.  Camilla gives him advice, encouragement and sometimes a check from H.L. Mencken.  Arturo continues to write and he continues to see Camilla.  But, they begin to fight and the relationship sputters.

     Nearly everyone in the United States during the depression was having a difficult time providing shelter and food.  Jobs were scarce and the wages were very low.  Publishing a book might not make the author very much money?  People will take food over a book in desperate times.  Two hours in length is a stretch!!  3* (This movie is OK)

117 min Drama directed by Robert Towne with Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, Donald Sutherland, Eileen Atkins, Idina Menzel, Justin Kirk, Jeremy Crutchley, Ronald France, Dion Basco, Donna Mosely.

Note:  Imdb 5.8 out of 10, 35% critic 40% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 252 reviews, Metacritic 58 out of 100 with 33 critics 7.8 out of 10 with 38 reviews, Rolling Stone Peter Travers 2 ½* out of 4*.  Goodreads gives the book 4 .13 out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Cape Town, Western, Cape South Africa and Los Angeles, California.  Salma Hayek developed hypothermia while filing the ocean scenes.  Originally, Johnny Depp was interested in the project but Robert Towne couldn’t find financial backing.  Eva Mendes was set to take the role of Camilla before Salma signed on.  Colin Farrell was romantically attracted to Eileen Atkins but she turned him down.  There is a 42-year difference in their ages.  Danny Finn plays Willie the Dog and he’s not a professional actor.  Danny’s owner had to stand in for the film company’s dog-handler.  Danny would not pay attention!!

Atomic Blonde 2017

     The setting of this film is Berlin Germany before the fall of the wall.  This film is based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City written by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart.  Lorraine Broughton is sent to Berlin during the Cold War.  She is a most lethal assassin and an undercover MI6 agent.  She is to investigate the murder of another agent.  She is also to recover a missing list of double agents.  She partners with embedded station chief David Percival.

     There are a lot of agents in this film that can be working for either side.  It’s unknown to Lorraine exactly who the good and bad guys are.  Theron did 98% of her stunts but not those falling down stairs or swinging from heights.  There are many scenes with Lorraine being interrogated about the outcome of her completed mission. I think this film had a LOT of potential but it doesn’t fully live up to it.  3* (This movie is OK)  

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 78% critic 64% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Empire Online 3*, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with 50 critic 6.6 out of 10 362 reviews, The Telegraph 3* out of 5*, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 1672 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Budapest, Hungary; Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany; London, England, UK.  Charlize Theron had eight personal trainers to help her master her fighting skills.  She also trained with Keanu Reeves and he was preparing for John Wick: Chapter 2 of 2017.  James McAvoy broke his hand on the set of Split of 2016 and he had to use his injured hand in the action scenes.  A Carl F. Bucherer watch is featured prominently and director David Leitch is a brand ambassador.  Leitch is also the director of the John Wick franchise. 

A Question of Faith 2017

     Pastor David Newman has been asked by his father to take over for him at their Church.  He has agreed to this and he’s a loving husband and father.  David becomes very busy with this new position and he’s the promises he’s made to his 12-year-old son Eric slide.  Kate Hernandez is the owner of a local restaurant.  She a driven single parent too.  Her daughter Maria is a teenager and she hopes to be the first in her family to go to college.  John Danielson owns a failing construction company.  His daughter Michelle has the possibility of a singing career.  This could be his way out of financial trouble.  The lives of Eric, Maria and Michelle remarkably change in a short amount of time.  Of course, the changes impact David, Kate and John.   

     This film has very good messages.  Don’t text and drive and think about becoming an organ donor.  A donation can save the life of another person!!  A LOT of viewers have determined that this movie is full of propaganda, indoctrination and religious fanaticism??  They must have seen a different movie?  It’s about love, forgiveness and even anger at times.  All of the above are common human emotions!!   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

104 min, Drama directed by Kevan Otto with Richard T. Jones, Kim Fields, C. Thomas Howell, T.C. Stallings, Jaci Velasquez, Gregory Alan Williams, Renee O’Connor, Donna Biscoe, Amber Thompson, Karen Valero, James Hooper, Caleb T. Thomas, Marliss Amiea, Tom Scott II.

Note:  Imdb 5.5 out of 10, 40% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Plugged In 4.5* out of 5*, Metacritic 4.3 out of 10 with 7 reviews, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 233 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia.  Renee O’Connor’s in the role of Mary Danielson had her breakthrough role in Gabrielle in Xena, Warrior Princess.  Kim Fields as Theresa Newman has been in many television programs from 1977 to 2018.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress 2002

     The setting of this film is China of 1971 and it is based on a novel by Dai Siji and Ina Rike.  The Cultural Revolution is still holding a strong grip on China.  Luo and Ma are two university students.  They are sent to a mountain mining village as part of their reeducation duty.  They are required to purge themselves of their classical western oriented education.  Their work in the village is backbreaking and they are very surprised by the ignorance of the villagers?  The two young men find that music and the beautiful young local women are the only pleasant things in their lives.  Otherwise, they consider their existence to be a miserable life.  They steal a secret cache of forbidden classic western literature from a departing student.  They determine to woo one of the young women and teach her from the books. 

     This film has a noble purpose but it fails to fulfill its promise?  The film moves 20 years into the future for the epilogue.  The biggest gift they bestow on the little seamstress is teaching her to read!!  The Cultural Revolution was launched in 1966 by Chairman Mao.  This Revolution had no lightness to its movement but all Chinese people are not unschooled rubes.  Chairman Mao dispenced wisdom through his Little Red Book.  The Red Guards killed many people, others were imprisoned and much of Chinese cultural heritage was destroyed. 3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

110 min, Bio directed by Sijie Dai with Xun Zhou, Kun Chen, Ye Liu, Shuangbao Wang, Zhijun Cong, Hongwei Wang, Xiong Xiao, Zuohui Tang, Wei Ghen, Tianlu Chen, Qing-yun Fan, Jie Min, He Zhang, Yukun Xu.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 77% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Metacritic 65 out of 100 with 22 critics 6.6 out of 10 with 12 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 51 reviews.  The book has a rating of 3.64* out of 5* with 47,896 rations on goodreads.com.

Special Note:  Nonore de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright.  He lived between 20 May 1799 to 18 August 1850 in France.  Filmed in Fenghuan, Zhaniajie Mountains, Hunan and Shanghai, China plus Paris, France.  Filming was allowed in China after seven months of negotiations with the authorities.  Any projection on Chinese territory was banned. 

Mile 22 2018

     James Silva is an operative of the CIA’s most highly prized and least understood unit.  He is the head of Mile 22.  This is the code name of a top-secret tactical command team.  The current job of the team is to retrieve and transport an asset.  Li Noor holds life-threatening information.  It concerns Mile 22 and he needs extraction before his enemies close in on him.

     There is a LOT going on in this film and a LOT of action.  But, the personal ticks presented by the character James Silvas played by Mark Wahlberg are tiring after a few scenes?  We get the message right away and it doesn’t take a head pounding to get it??  There are some circumstances about their mission and the outcome that are not clear?  If you have a lot of gunfights, fist fights, kicking fights, why have information??  This film could have been a LOT better!!  2 ½* (this movie was just so-so)

94 min, Action directed by Peter Berg with Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, John Malkovich, Rhonda Rousey, Carlo Alban, Natasha Goubskaya, Chae-rin-Lee, Sam Medina, Keith Arthur Bolden, Billy Smith.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 23% critic 45% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Metacritic 38 out of 100 with 36 critics 5 of 10 with 73 reviews, Indie Wire D-, Amazon Video 3.4* of 5* with 673 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Bogota, Colombia and Atlanta Georgia.  The house featured in the opening scene had a break-in shortly after production.  The intruders didn’t take anything because the owner was home.  Authorities and the owner believe it was the Hollywood lights that attracted them to the house?  The setting of the story develops in Asia but filming was done in Colombia.  This was because of concerns about the security of the crew.  Usually, most films depicting Colombia have been shot in Mexico or another location.  This is because of safety concerns because of the drug wars.

An Inspector Calls 2015

     The setting of this film is in the UK of 1912.  Arthur Birling is an industrialist and he is hoping to receive a knighthood.  His wife Sybil has arranged an engagement celebration for their daughter Sheila.  She is to marry Gerald Croft.  Sheila has a younger brother Eric and he’s also at the celebration.  Just after they have finished dining, Inspector Goole and comes to call on them.  He talks to them about the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith.  They all claim to not have known the woman he is talking about?  He begins to show her picture to each of them and they start to remember how she came into their lives.

      Each of the Birling family members and Sheila's fiancé were involved in the life of Eva Smith.  Arthur terminated her employment at his factory for leading the other female workers to strike.  Eva found other employment at a dress shop but Sheila caused a scene and Eva was fired.  Gerald thought he was helping Eva by letting her stay at a friend’s apartment while it was empty.  This him included visiting her in the evenings as part of the bargain.  Sybil works with two other women to interview young women needing financial assistance.  Sybil refused to help Eva because she didn't believe Eva's story.  Eric was very much attracted to Eva and they were having a relationship.  He was giving her money but stealing the money from his father Arthur.  Eva's story is very sad and all of the Birling family plus Gerald could have really helped her and acted differently.  During this time period there was a large chasm between the wealthy and the poor.  The wealthy were overindulging and the poor were dying.  There are many twists in the plot and it's complex.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)            

87 min, Crime directed by Aisling Walsh with Sophie Rundle, Lucy Chappell, Miranda Richardson, Ken Stott, Finn Cole, Chloe Pirrie, Kyle Soller, Davidl Thewlis, Flora Nicholson, Gary Davis, Wanda Opalinska.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, The Telegraph 3* out of 5*,The Hollywood News 5* out of 5*, The Telegraph 3* out of 5*, Empire Online 3* out of 5*, CultBox.co.uk 5* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 747 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England, UK.  This film is based on a play by J.B. Priestly.  There are also other versions of this film from 1954 and another from 2015.  There are also books released about the play and a Graphic Novel.