At Eternity’s Gate 2018

     Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh goes to Aries and Auvers-Sur-Oise, France for self-imposed exile.  While he is there, he develops his unique, colorful style of painting.  Also, he is working through his feelings about religion, mental illness and his chaotic friendship with French artist Paul Gauguin.  Vincent begins to focus on his relationship with eternity rather than thinking about the pain his art causes him at this time in his life.  Other people don’t seem to see nature the same way that he does?  They don’t seem to understand his paintings and his style?  Some think his work is ugly?   

     Van Gogh believes paintings should be done quickly with heavy strokes of paint.  Paul Gauguin believes just the opposite.  Paintings should be done slowly, with much thought and less paint.  Their relationship begins to sour and Gauguin announces that he will soon depart.  This news is crushing to Vincent and he feels an artistic allegiance to Gauguin.  Vincent spends time in hospitals and mental hospitals.  He is released from a mental hospital after a talk with a sympathetic supervising pastor.  He goes to Auvers-Sur-Oise near Paris to paint and draw local landscapes.  I thought this was good and very interesting.  This film really gives insights into this time period and way of life.  It also shows that Van Gogh’s work was not for the people at this date but for a later age.  Somehow, Van Gogh knew this and this knowledge kept him going despite his critics.  4* (I really liked this movie)     

           

111 min, Bio directed by Julian Schnabel with Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Niels Arestrup, Anne Consigny, Amirea Casar, Vincent Perez, Lolita Chammah, Stells Schnabel, Vladimir Consigny, Arthur Jacquin.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 80% critic 61% audience, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 34 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 61 user scores, Slant Magazine 2* out of 4* Greg Cwik, EmpireOnline 4* out of 5* Ian Freer, RollingStone 4* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Wendy Ide, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 118 reviews. 

Special Note:  Filmed in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone and Auvers-sure-Oise, Vad-d’Oizse, France.  The only Best Actor Oscar nominated performance of the year in a film not nominated for Best Picture.  Willem Dafoe is the second actor to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for playing Vincent Van Gogh.  Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh in Lust for Life 1956.  Dafoe was born William but changed his name to Willem.  This is the Dutch version of the name.  Van Gogh is Dutch.  Mads Mikkelsen and Mathieu Amalric have both played Bond villains in films with Daniel Craig as Bond.  Three actors in this film have also played Marvel Comics villains.  Dafoe as Green Goblin, Isaac as Apocalypse and Mikkelsen as Kaecilius.  Dafoe was 62 when this film was released, 25 years older than Van Gogh who died at age 37.  There is controversy over Van Gogh’s bullet in his stomach wound?  It was assumed that he shot himself but he could have been accidentally shot by a friend’s 16-year-old brother?

Alpha 2018

     The setting of this film is the Earth of about 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.  Keda is going with his father Tau on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group of men.  His mother Rho is worried that he will hurt or killed but Tau assures her he will be fine.  During a steppe bison hunt, an injured chief animal tosses Keda over the edge of the cliff where the bison have fallen below.  Tau believes Keda is dead and there is no way to bring his body up from below.  Amazingly, Keda is not dead, he was unconscious and he has a broken ankle.  A sudden heavy rainfall causes the ravine below to flood.  Keda jumps into the water.  He uses two rocks pushed together to straighten his ankle and he makes a split.  He then climbs to the top of the cliff.  He befriends a dire wolf and they work together on Keda’s journey back to this tribe.

     I thought this was interesting and good.  I knew that our current dogs came from ancient wolves.  The earliest known dog-like fossils come from Europe.  DNA studies have shown that dogs were also in early East Asia and the Middle East.  A large DNA study from fossils suggests dogs originated in Europe 19,000 to 32,000 years ago.  Dogs share a common ancestor with an extinct wolf lineage.  The wolves came into contact with European hunter-gatherers and some became domesticated.  The genes of dogs and wolves diverged so recently that many of their genes have not had time to separate into distinct lineages.  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

     

96 min, Adventure directed by Albert Hughes with Kodi Smit-McPhee, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Marcin Kowalczyk, Jens Hulten, Natassia Malthe, Spencer Bogaert, Mercedes de la Zerda, Leonor Varela, Morgan Freeman.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 80% critic 71% audience, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Wendy Ide, RollingSteon 3 ½* out of 5* David Fear, EmpireOnline 3* out of 5* Olly Richards, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with 26 critics 6.6 out of 10 with 98 user score, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 853 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed near East Coulee and Dinosaur Provincial Park near Patricia Alberta, Canada.  Also, filmed in Iceland, Vancouver, British Columbia; Brooks, Alberta, Canada and Cougar Buttes, Lucerne Valley, California.  The wolves in the film are a mixture of real wolves, wolf-dog hybrids and CGI.  The hybrids are a breed of dog called a Czechoslovakian wolf-dog and the Alpha dog is named Chuck.  The dialogue spoken throughout the movie is a language invented for this film.  The word Ayah that Keda screams for his father means father in both Malaysian and Indonesian.    

The House with the Clock In Its Walls 2018

     This film is adapted from a novel by John Bellairs.  In 1955, the parents of ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt are killed in a car crash.  Lewis moves to live with his Uncle Jonathan.  The only items he has from his parents are a Magic 8-Ball they had given him and a family photo.  When Lewis arrives at the house, he meets Jonathan’s neighbor Florence Zimmerman.  She is also Jonathan’s friend but not romantically.  During his first night in the house, Lewis hears a ticking sound in the walls.  Lewis begins exploring the house and he sees Jonathan smashing a wall with an ax.  Jonathan tells Lewis that he is a warlock and Florence is a witch.  The previous owners were a sinister warlock and his wicked wife Selena.  They hid a clock within the walls of the house before they died.  Jonathan is trying to find the clock to discover its purpose.

     There is a LOT going on in this film.  Maybe what is happening is believable to some people but probably a specific age group?  Not too young and not too old, possibly pre-teen?  For others, it’s better to be doing something else at the same time as watching!!  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

105 min, Fantasy directed by Eli Roth with Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Colleen Camp, Sunny Suljic, Lorenza Izzo, Braxton Bjerken, Vanessa Anne Williams, Ricky Muse, Charles Green De’Jon Watts, Aaron Beelner, Joshua Phillips.

Note:  Imdb 6.0, Rotten Tomatoes 66% critic 45% audience, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, RollingStone 3* of 5* Peter Travers, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 1098 reviews, the book has 4.3* out of 5* with 293 reviews,  EmpireOnline 3* out of 5* Dan Jolin, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, WashingtonPost 2.5* out of 4* Jane Horwitz, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 38 critics 5.8 out of 100 with 162 reviews.

Special Note:  The fictional house was based on the real-life Cronin Mansion in author John Bellairs’ hometown of Marshall, Michigan.  This town was also the basis for the fictional town of New Zebedee used in his novels.  Filmed on Greenville Street, Newman; 1260 Briarcliff Rd NE; Atlanta Metro Studios, Union City; Champ’s Clock Shop, 3834 King Drive, Douglasville and Atlanta, Georgia.  The gross for this film was $68.5 million in the US and Canada and $62.9 million in other countries.  The total gross was $131.5 million and the budge was $42 million.

Little Women 2018

      This film is based upon the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  Four sisters have grown up living with purpose and supporting each other.  Things are changing now that the sisters are growing up.  Jo has left for New York and she is determined to publish a novel.  Beth becomes ill and Jo comes home to comfort Beth.  The only thing Beth asks for is a story from Jo.  Beth had been using a neighbor’s piano and practicing.  Mother Marmee intervenes when Jo and Amy have clashs.  Also, Marmee and the sisters gather in front of the computer to talk to Papa calling from Iraq. 

     There is so much going on at every minute that this is difficult to watch!!  Everyone seems to be going in different directions all the time?  It’s not at all soothing like the 1949 film with June Allyson, Janet Leigh, Margaret O’Brien, Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor.  Or the 1994 film with Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Samantha Mathias, Trini Alvarado, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon.   2 ½* (This movie was so-so)

112 min, Drama directed by Clare Niederpruem with Sarah Davenport, Lea Thompson, Allie Jennings, Melanie Stone, Ellis Jones, Lucas Grabeel, Taylor Murphy, Ian Bohen, Bart Johnson, Barta Heiner, Stuart Edge, Michael Flynn, Aimee Lynne Johnson, Claire Covey, Reese Oliveira.

Note:  Imdb 4.6 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 29% critic 76% audience, Roger Ebert 3*, IndieWire 2* out of 5* Kate Erbland, Metacritc 64 out of 100 with 18 critics,

Special Note:  This film is PG 13 because of teen drinking and violence (a sister falls from a horse).  The release of this film in 2018 coincided with the novel’s 150^th anniversary publishing date of Little Women.  The novel was set in the Civil War and Papa March is an Army Chaplain.  A Catholic Organization, Paulist Productions, produces this version and Papa’s job was changed to an Army Surgeon.  A picture of Louisa May Alcott on the cover of a biography appears on the bookshelf in the library where Jo and Freddy converse.  Filming was done in Salt Lake City, Utah.  There is another modern adaptation of Little Women 2019 in post-production with Director Greta Gerwig, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern.

The Old Man and the Gun 2018

     This film is based on the true story of Forrest Tucker.  The script is based on David Grann’s 2003 article in the New Yorker with the same title.  It was also added to Grann’s book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes.  Forrest liked to rob banks and he was very polite.  He accomplished an unprecedented string of robberies that confused authorities and enchanted the public.  Sometimes he worked alone and other times he worked with Teddy and Waller.  Detective John Hunt is working on the case and he’s trying to find any new angle.  Jewel meets Forrest when her truck is broken down at the side of a road.  He’s driving a getaway car but he switched from the car he used in the robbery and he stops to help her?  Surprisingly, Jewel begins to love Forrest despite his line of work?

     There is an interesting aspect to this film and that is the 20-year time span and the different period looks.  The cast and the backgrounds needed to match the time period and there was aging and de-aging with makeup.  I thought this film was interesting and good.  I wondered how much money did Forrest Tucker need?  He was getting a briefcase full every time he went into a bank?  He was also an escape artist and difficult to keep inside jails and prisons!!  He escaped from San Quentin at the age of 70 and this is a maximum-security correctional facility for men located near San Francisco, California.  It opened in 1852 and it’s the state’s oldest prison.  It is a facility that formerly conducted executions and the most well known prison in the United States.  Alcatraz is another prison and it’s located in the San Francisco Bay.  This facility is surrounded by ocean water below 60 degrees that often contains sharks.  They are mainly leopard sharks.  The currents are very strong and when the tide recedes, the current usually draws people and objects out toward the Pacific Ocean.  4 ½* (I really liked this movie)

93 min, Bio directed and written by David Lowery with Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, Ari Elizabeth Johnson, Teagan Johnson, Gene Jones, John David Washington, Barlow Jacobs, Augustine Frizzell, Jennifer Joplin, Lisa DeRoberts.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 92% critic 60% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Empire Online 4* out of 5* Nev Pierce, Metacritic 80 out of 10 with 49 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 70 reviews, RollingStone 4 1/2* out of 5* Peter Travers, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 243 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Bethel, Dayton, Cincinnati, Blue Ash, Hamilton, Batavia, Ohio; Jackson, Michigan; Bellmead and Fort Worth, Texas; Newport, Kentucky and Covington, Kentucky.  This is Robert Redford’s final role before retiring from acting.  He gave an interview during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and he talked about this comedic film being a good note to end his career.  He wanted his last acting job to be fun.  There are four Oscar winners in this film.  Casey Affleck, Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek and Keith Carradine.  Tom Waits was an Oscar nominee.

Miss Bala 2011

     Laura Guerro is 23 years old, she has entered the Miss Baja pageant with her friend Suzu.  Both of the women meet the qualification to be selected as the pageant winner.  Laura waits at a nightclub for Suzu so they can go shopping.  Heavily armed drug gang members murder drug enforcement officials at the nightclub?  Laura escapes but she can’t fin Suzu.  The cartel members notice her the next day as she looks for her friend.  They force Laura to assist them as they threaten her father and her younger brother.  Lino, the gang leader, decides Laura should finish the pageant but her only interest is escaping.  Every day she is dragged deeper into the activities of the gang.  She may only have two choices, death or prison for her actions?

     This film realistically emphasizes how an innocent person can get in over their head.  How is Laura going to be able to extract herself from the gang members?  What about her father and brother, are they also in danger because of Laura?  Because of the narco-war in Mexico, many of the people feel hopeless.  There is corruption at all levels and you can’t be sure who are the good guys and the bad guys.  There is a lot of violence too.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

103 min, Action directed by Gerado Naranjo with Stephanie Sigman, Noe Hernandez, Irene Azuela, Javier Zaragoza, Lakshimi Picazo, Jose Yenque, James Russo, Leonor Victorica, Gabriel Heads, Hugo Marquez, Miguel Couturier, Eduardo Mendizabal.

Note:  Imdb 6.5, Rotten Tomatoes 87% critic 63% audience, Metacritic 79 out of 100 with 24 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 24 reviews, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, RollingStone 2 ½* out of 5* Bilge Ebiri, Amazon 3.4 out of 5 with 60 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Aguascalientes, Mexico.  Laura Guerrero is loosely based on Mexican model and beauty queen Laura Zuniga.  On December 22, 2008, she was arrested along with seven men for narcotic trafficking ties in Zapopan, Jalisco.   The gang featured in this film is called Estrellas, their logo is a lower-case e accompanied by a star.  Estgrella is the Spanish word for star.  Bala means bullet in Spanish and that means the title of this movie is Miss Bullet.  There is a remake of this film from 2019.  This film has 5.4 on Imdb.  The album cover of Janet Jackson’s 1993 self-titled album Janet inspires the film poster and Patrick Demarchelier took the photo.

Laura Zuniga:  On December 25, 2008 Zuniga was stripped of her title as Miss Mexico International 2009 and her successor Anagabriela Espinoza was given the title.  Zuniga was sentenced to 40 days after her arrest but was released from a detention center on January 30, 2009.  A judge found no evidence that tied her to any criminal activity.  She made a quiet comeback into the modeling industry in 2010. 

The Wife DVD 2017

     This film is an adaptation of a novel by Meg Wolitzer.  Joan and Joe Castleman are a married couple and they are traveling to Stockholm so Joe can be presented with the Nobel Prize for Literature.  They have been married for over three decades.  They have a son David and he would also like to be a writer but Joe is very tough with his criticism.  They also have a daughter Susannah and she is expecting a baby, they are very excited about their first grandchild.  Their trip to Stockholm is bringing out Joan’s feelings of repression, resentment and remembering Joe’s bouts of infidelity.  Joe wants to acknowledge Joan in his acceptance speech but she doesn’t want to be thought of as the long-suffering wife at his side.

      The award of the Nobel Prize should be the happiest time in the lives of Joan and Joe.  You can tell that some things are off in the beginning and there is a twist later on.  Why isn’t Joan over the moon at Joe getting the award?  Why can’t Joe give his son some slack with his writing?  There is also an author Nathanial Bone who wants to write a biography about Joe.  He's putting on the pressure but Joe doesn't want a biography about himself?  There is an interesting dynamic between Joan and Joe!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)    

    

99 min, Drama directed by Bjorn Runge with Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Max Irons, Christian Slater, Harry Lloyd, Annie Starke, El;Elizabeth McGovern, Johan Wilderberg, Karin Franz Korlof, Richard Cordery, Jan Mybrand, Anna Azcarate.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 86% critic 76% audience, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Mark Kermode, RollingStone 4* out of 5* Peter Travers, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 36 critics 7.3 out of 10 with 105 critics, Amazon 4.1 out of 5 with 655 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Glasgow, Dumfries and Strathclyde Scotland; Stockholm, Sweden.  This is the first English film that Bjorn Runge has directed.  Annie Starke plays the role of young Joan and she is the daughter of Glenn Close.  It is rumored that the release was held until 2018 to give Glenn Close a better shot at an Oscar nomination.  She was nominated for best actress for this film for the 2019 Oscars but the winner was Olivia Colman for The Favourite.  Close felt this film was relevant to her own life because her mother was in her 80’s and she used to say that she felt she had accomplished nothing in her life?