Two Fascinating Women, Two Fascinating Documentaries!

[I review "My Mom Jayne," Mariska Hargitay's film about her mother, Jayne Mansfield and "Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything")

 

My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (2025)

The life and legacy of movie icon, Jayne Mansfield, from the perspective of a daughter who lost her mom when she was only three.

If you watch TV and are a fan of "Law and Order" and its spin offs, then you know who Mariska Hargitay is.  But you may not know who Jayne Mansfield was or that she was Mariska Hargitay's mother.

Jayne Mansfield was an American actress, a Playboy Playmate, and "sex symbol" of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was probably better known for her numerous publicity stunts than her film career, but she had several box-office successes and won a Golden Globe. She gained popularity after starring on Broadway in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" and in the 1957 film adaptation.  She went on to star in "The Girl Can't Help It (1956)," "The Wayward Bus (1957)," and "Promises Promises (1963)," in which Mansfield was the first major American actress to perform a nude scene in a post-silent era film. She was blonde and buxom (her measurements were 40-21-35) and personified the "dumb blonde" character. It was thought that she was the Fox Studio's B-movie version of Marilyn Monroe, which led to the nickname the "Working Man's Monroe." 

But Mansfield was much more than her measurements. She claimed to have an IQ of 163 and few knew that she was a classically trained violinist and pianist and could speak four other languages besides English. So her other nickname was Hollywood's "smartest dumb blonde." Though she played up the ditsy blonde persona as a means to an end, she later complained that no one cared about her brain, just her measurements. 

She had five children, a pink mansion, a heart-shaped swimming pool, a grand piano decorated with cherubs, a turbulent love life, and sadly died in a car accident in 1967 at the age of 34. 

Hargitay, who wrote and directed this documentary (her directorial debut) was Mansfield's fifth and last child when Mansfield was married to Mickey Hargitay, a body-builder and past Mr. Universe.  She was only three when her mother died.  She doesn't remember her mother so this documentary is Hargitay's way to not only find her mother but to get some answers and also come to grips with a long held family secret.

Hargitay had longed to not be in the shadow of her mother, the blonde bombshell, but now wants to understand her.  She also wants to reveal the family secret that she kept to honor her mother and father but..."Reclaiming my own story...sometimes keeping a secret doesn't honor anyone."

Hargitay has woven in archival footage of Mansfield's career as well as home movies and interviews with her own siblings: Jayne Marie, Miklós, Zoltán, and Tony. They talk about their childhoods, and in a very touching scene, they all meet in a storage unit that no one had been in since 1969, and they go through the many artifacts and belongings of their mother. And there is an even more touching scene involving that piano.

This is not your run-of-the-mill, "just the facts, ma'am," kind of biopic documentary.  It's not just the story of a famous blonde bombshell. It's the story of her equally famous daughter getting to know a mother she never really had.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a touching family story that will remind you that no matter how famous someone is, they are not immune to the disappointments, sadness and tragedies that touch the rest of us. If you like documentaries, this one is highly recommended. (HBO and Max)

Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything (2025)

The life and career of pioneering broadcast journalist, Barbara Walters.

We see women news anchors on TV all of the time now, but that was not the case when Barbara Walters was making a career for herself in broadcast journalism. She joined the staff of the Today show in the early1960s as a writer and segment producer of women's-interest stories, and in 1974, she became co-host of the program, the first woman to hold such a position on an American news program.  And in 1976 she was the first American female co-anchor of a network evening news program, alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News. And let's just say that Harry wasn't happy. More on that later. And as we all know now, Barbara went on to be a correspondent, producer and co-host on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 (1979 to 2004) and created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View, where she also appeared from 1997 until 2014. She was also known for her annual specials where she interviewed the current "Fascinating People." 

As and interviewer, Walters was known for asking questions of famous people that other interviewers were afraid to ask, but the kinds of questions viewers wanted the answers to. I mean, she asked the Kardashians why they were famous since they didn't sing or dance or seem to have any talent.  She asked Putin if he ever ordered someone killed.  She asked Martha Stewart why everyone seemed to hate her and Boris Yeltsin if he drank too much.  She was disarming and fearless.  She did her homework, put her subjects at ease and then went in for the zinger! She was also known for making her subjects cry. Just ask Oprah.

Growing up in New York, Barbara's father, Lou Walters, owned The Latin Quarter, a popular New York City nightclub, so Barbara was used to hanging out with celebrities and later said, "I learned that celebrities were human beings so I was never in awe," which probably accounts for how she was able to ask those burning questions. When her father's nightclub closed and he lost everything, it fell to Barbara to support the family, which many say accounts for her burning ambition.

It is amazing to me that no woman was a TV news anchor until 1974 but I guess that's why we had the Women's Movement.  When I was in eighth grade, I also wanted to be a journalist.  I had to write a report on my desired career and I had to interview someone in that field.  So I interviewed a woman at our local newspaper, and though she was a journalist, she was only assigned articles of interest to women.  Even at 13, I could tell her assignments rankled her, that she wanted to be reporting on real news, not local weddings and what hat to wear on Easter.  

But such was the world that Barbara Walters found herself in as she began her career. 

This documentary directed by Jackie Jesko, explores Walters' career, the ambition that drove her and the sexism and challenges she faced as she made her way in broadcast journalism. When Frank McGee joined "The Today Show" as host in 1971, he refused to do joint interviews with Barbara unless she was silent until he had asked the first three questions.  Likewise, news anchor Harry Reasoner was not only not happy to have a co-anchor on the ABC Nightly News, he was particularly unhappy that it was a woman. He barely acknowledged her, and since the staff was made up entirely of men, none of them even talked to her.  She described that time as the "most painful period in my life." Peter Jennings bullied her too. Those men clearly did not want a woman in their midst.

But our Barbara had spunk and overcame the obstacles. She figured out a way around the sexism in the newsroom by doing interviews on her own, and ironically, that's what she became famous for.  She turned the TV interview into an art form and went on to interview every sitting U.S. president and first lady from the Nixons to the Obamas, Fidel Castro, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Saddam Hussein as well as celebrities and pop culture figures like the Menendez brothers. Her interview with Monica Lewinsky after the Clinton scandal was the highest rated news interview of all time with 70 million people watching.

Sadly Walters' personal life wasn't so successful. She was married four times and had problems with her adopted daughter, Jackie. Walters was also insecure about her looks and once said to Katie Couric, "We are so alike.  Neither of us is that attractive."

The documentary includes archival footage from many of Walters' interviews and Oprah, Katie Couric, Bette Midler, Connie Chung and others weigh in on the impact Walters had on them. When Walters retired from "The View" in 2014, all of the female journalists she had inspired paid tribute to her on her last show. As they all came on stage, one by one, it was very moving and poignant. Walters died in 2022 at the age of 93.

"Maybe I made a difference."

She sure did.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Barbara Walters herself was one of those "Fascinating People." A wonderful documentary about a trailblazing and fascinating woman (Hulu).

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

"A Complete Unknown" and Other Movies I Watched in February (2025): My Picks and Pans

[I review the movies "A Complete Unknown," "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, "Babygirl," and "Kinda Pregnant"]

A Complete Unknown (2024)

A biopic about the young Bob Dylan on the road to fame.

It's 1961 and a 19-year-old Bob Dylan, nee Robert Allen Zimmerman (Timothee Chalamet), has moved to New York City from Minnesota to seek fame and fortune.  But he has also gone there to meet his idol, folk singer, Woody Guthrie.  Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) is in the hospital suffering from Huntington's Disease.  While there Bob meets another folk icon, Woody's friend, Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton). Bob performs a song he just wrote, appropriately called "Song to Woody," and impresses the musicians so much that Pete invites Bob to stay with his family.  Pete also introduces Bob to others in the NYC folk scene.  Along the way, he meets Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), the two begin a relationship and he moves in with her. (Note: Sylvie is a fictional character based on Bob's real-life girlfriend and muse, Suze Rotolo.  Bob requested that director James Mangold change her name for the movie).

While at an open mic night, Bob meets manager Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler) and Bob so impresses Grossman that he takes Bob on as a client on the spot and Bob records his first album, mostly folk covers. Though album sales were disappointing for that first album, Bob's career is on its way, especially when he finally starts performing his own songs, songs that reflect the political and social unrest of the day.  He also meets Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role) and the two embark on an on again, off again relationship, both sexually and artistically. 

Despite achieving stardom, Bob is not happy.  He does not want to be restricted to the demands of the folk community and begins to experiment with the electric guitar, heresy to folkies, but as he is recording his new album "Highway 61 Revisited," his new direction is clear and at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival he blows caution to the wind (ha-ha) and plays a rocking version of "Maggie's Farm" that blows the lid off of the festival and ends with him being booed off the stage.

The rest is musical history...and I was kind of a witness to that musical history.

I was in 8th grade when I discovered Bob Dylan.  My girlfriends and I were crazy about him and felt very grown up that our favorite song was "Baby Let Me Follow You Down." We knew that was his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, with him on the cover of the "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album. In 1965, my junior year in high school and just a few months after Bob went electric at the Newport Folk Festival and blew the berets off the folkies, my girlfriends and I traveled down from our town in Western Michigan to Chicago by bus to see him play.  He came out on stage and said "Hi, I'm Bob Dylan" and proceeded to play an acoustic set.  But after the intermission, he came out with his backup band, the Hawks (later to morph into The Band) and played the rest of the concert electric.  Naturally, everyone booed him.  But not us.  We were those sophisticated young ladies who had loved him since 1962 and we smugly knew that "our Bob" needed to move on.  By then, though, I was a huge Beatles fan and my love of Bob and folk music in general took a back seat, but I have always been proud that I was an early fan (so early, that when our local radio DJ introduced his music on air he called him Bobby Die-lyn - I guess he had never heard of Dylan Thomas).

But I have to say, in later years, Bob disappointed me.  

I believe his eccentricities got the better of him.  I attended a concert in Seattle where he played the entire concert with his back to the audience and when he sang "It Ain't Me, Babe," I didn't even recognize it because he had changed up the melody so much.  But there is no doubt that he had a huge impact on, not just me, but an entire generation and generations to come.  He was a defining character and talent of the 1960's and his music continued to inspire change. So I forgive him his eccentricities.  Heavy is the head...

This movie does a wonderful job of showing Dylan's talent and why he had such impact.  I had worried that it would be a puff piece considering that Bob is still alive and had read the screenplay beforehand, supposedly going over it line by line with director Mangold and making notes. He even supposedly acted some of it out before signing off on it, but all-in-all, characterizations were believable and Bob wasn't whitewashed. 

Timothee Chalamet channeled Dylan magically, showing his good and bad sides and musically he was right on. The full performances of Dylan's songs were highlight of the movie. Chalamet had heard of Dylan (his father had a black and white portrait of Dylan in his apartment), but he didn't know much about him or his music beyond the most famous ones, "Blowin' in the Wind," and "The Times They Are A-Changin."  But he had five years to study him as the film was put on hold because of Covid.  Both he and Edward Norton also had time to learn to play the guitar and banjo, respectively, amazing feats considering how well they played in the movie. 

As for Edward Norton.  What can't that guy do?  He can play anything and anyone, and here he transforms himself into the kind, go-with-the-flow, peace and love, Pete Seeger.  Both he and Chalamet deserved their Oscar nods. The other members of the cast were also first rate, especially Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro.

And props to Oscar-nominated director Mangold, the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Mangold and Jay Cocks (based on the book "Dylan Goes Electric" by Elijah Wald), the music that was so expertly woven into the story and the film's production values which all worked together to capture that special time in the 1960's. Watching the film, I was transported back to high school and those changin' times. The film very much deserved it's Best Picture Oscar nomination.

Rosy the Reviewer says...But is it the best picture of the year?  No, but it's an enjoyable film experience and that's enough. (in theatres and for purchase on various streaming platforms)

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)

In this fourth addition to the franchise, Bridget is now a widow and single mother but manages to navigate her new reality and even attract a much younger lover.

Did we really need another Bridget Jones movie?  You know how much this female curmudgeon hates sequels and keeping a film franchise going well past it's expiration date.  This is the fourth installment so you would think that I am going to rant about all of that...but I'm not.  I actually enjoyed it.

Renee Zellweger with her cute little British accent manages to bring Bridget to life once again, this time as a middle-aged, widowed single mother with two school-aged children, Billy (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic). Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth, who makes a brief appearance as a ghost and in flashback) was killed four years earlier while on a humanitarian mission in the Sudan. She now faces the challenges of parenthood, work and dating on her own. Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is still in the mix (it wouldn't be Bridget Jones without Hugh), but now he is just an old friend and even babysits the kids so a romance between those two is off the table.  However, as soon as Bridget throws her hat in the dating ring, she is pursued by Roxster (Leo Woodall), a much younger man while also forming a connection with her son's science teacher, Scott Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor). 

So many ups and downs in her relationship with Roxster and she is still grieving for Mark but will she end with up with Scott?

Directed by Michael Morris with a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Abi Morgan and Dan Mazer, this one isn't quite up there with the first two, but there is still some of that Bridget Jones charm we loved. There is something about Zellweger's face that just pulls at the heartstrings.  And that's what the Bridget Jones movies are so good at - those small moments when Bridget is bumbling and embarrassing herself in a cute way. This time around I also enjoyed the family side stories of Daniel reconnecting with his son and Billy and Mabel not wanting to forget their Dad. Mark would sing "I Would Do Anything"  to put Billy to sleep at night so when Billy sang that song at the school talent show, I lost it. 

The ending of the movie seemed to put a happy end to the Bridget Jones story, but who knows?  There might be a fifth one.  I wouldn't mind.

Rosy the Reviewer says...so I'm not such a grouch after all, right?  I liked a sequel.  I think I will always like Bridget Jones no matter what she does. (Peacock)

Babygirl (2024) 

A powerful CEO starts a torrid affair with her much younger intern.

Nicole Kidman not being nominated for an Oscar this year for this performance was considered a snub by the Academy.  And her performance was good (she has rather made a name for herself in the older woman-younger man genre).  However, I think what wrecked her chances for an Oscar nod was the movie itself.  It wasn't good. 

Romy Mathis (Kidman) is the CEO of an automation company in New York City.  She is a high-powered women who is dissatisfied with her sex life with her husband, Jacob (Antonio Banderas), a theater director. But then she meets Samuel (Harris Dickinson), who turns out to be an intern at her company and wouldn't you know, he chooses her to be his mentor through the company's mentorship program. And it's not long before the two embark on a sexual affair.  Romy expresses her fear that she is taking advantage of him because of the power difference but Samuel has moxie.  He says he is actually the one with the power because he could ruin her career with "one phone call."

Let the dominance/submission stuff begin.  So lots of humiliating sex.  In fact, the first hour and 15 minutes is nothing but Romy getting sexually satisfied.  I kept waiting for something to happen besides sex. It didn't.

Romy takes more and more risks as other staff members get wind of what is happening and Romy eventually confesses to Jacob that she is having an affair but not who or what.  She implies it was a one-night thing but strangely in confessing, there is now the possibility of their rekindling their sex life, if Jacob can figure out how to please Romy. Is this thing going to have a happy ending?

But you know what?  After awhile, I just didn't care.

Written and directed by Halina Reijn, the film's title only gets mentioned once when Samuel calls Romy "babygirl" in the heat of the moment.  I guess it's a metaphor for powerful people who like to be dominated but again I just didn't care.  The ick factor had kicked in. 

Nicole is always a believable actress but I am starting to think she wants to take over the "older woman/younger man" genre. This is her fourth movie with that plotline (others - "A Family Affair," "The Paperboy," and "To Die For.")

Rosy the Reviewer says...cringey. (for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

Kinda Pregnant (2025)

When Lainy's plans to get married and settle down fall apart and her best friend gets pregnant, she fakes her own pregnancy.

Lainyhad always wanted to be a mom.  Even as a kid playing with her best friend, Kate, she would play the mom giving birth. They had a childhood pact to have their babies together.  But now the two are adults and teachers at the same school.  Kate (Jillian Bell) is married and pregnant.  Lainy (Amy Schumer), on the other hand, has a boyfriend who asks her to participate in a threesome. Not good. Looks like Lainy won't be fulfilling her part of the pact anytime soon.  And the final straw is when another teacher at the school announces her pregnancy, so when Lainy and Kate go to a maternity shop, Lainy discovers a pregnancy belly and for a lark decides to wear it to see what happens. And of course she gets the respect and special treatment often afforded to pregnant women so she decides to continue the ruse.  Then she meets Josh (Will Forte), who drives the Zamboni at the skating rink.  Meeting when she is wearing the fake pregnancy belly, now Lainy has to keep up the lie.

The usual crazy and very crude Amy Schumer stuff ensues.

Directed by Tyler Spindel and written by Schumer and Julie Paiva, this is one of those one-note plot device movies.  Will and when will the lie come to light and what will happen?  Some of the gags work, most don't. I have always mostly enjoyed Schumer's humor - something about that baby face saying those shocking things - but for some, her humor might fall flat.

Rosy the Reviewer says... if you are a big Amy fan, you might enjoy this.  If not, you probably won't.(Netflix)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

More December Movie Picks: "Carry-On," "The Apprentice," and "The Outrun"

[I review the thriller "Carry-On," as well as the Trump biopic "The Apprentice" and "The Outrun," a poetic story of the healing power of nature]

Carry-On (2024)

A mysterious man blackmails a TSA agent into letting a dubious carry-on bag onto a Christmas Eve flight.

Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) is a TSA officer at LAX and LAX is a good place for him to work because, let's just say he is lax.  He is not very ambitious, licking his wounds from failing at the police academy.  His pregnant girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), a supervisor at the airport, has encouraged him to reapply.  In an attempt to act like he cares, he asks his boss to let him do the baggage-scanning lane to have the opportunity to show him he has what it takes to deserve a promotion.  It's Christmas Eve and what Ethan doesn't know is that he is going to have an even bigger opportunity to show he has what it takes...but not in any way he expected. 

While at his post scanning carry-ons, a customer comes up to him with an earbud she said she had found. It has a note on it to listen to it at which point he is contacted by "The Traveler (Jason Bateman)," who orders him to let a specific carry-on case pass through the scanner --- or Nora will be killed.  Meanwhile, "The Travelers" accomplice, "The Watcher (Theo Rossi)," monitors Ethan through a surveillance system. Ethan tries to thwart them, but every time he tries to alert someone to what is happening, something bad happens.  And things go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, LAPD detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) has gotten wind of this and alerts the Department of Homeland Security and a sweep of the terminal is ordered.  There are many twists and turns and lots of running up and down the terminal as Ethan keeps trying to interfere with the bad guys' nefarious plot and getting foiled by the Traveler. And it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. And what the heck is in that carry-on?

At first I had a difficult time with Jason Bateman as a bad guy, but he pulled it off. Taryn is believable as a disaffected TSA agent who really wants to be a cop and the cinematography adds to the drama. Lots of close-ups. Yes, some of the stuff here is far-fetched. Written by T.J. Fixman and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film falls into "Snakes on a Plane" territory at times and there are some frustrating moments where Ethan could have gotten himself out of this. He also does a bit too much running around the terminal but, all in all, the pace and action makes for a satisfying thriller.

I had to ask myself whether this would fall into the Christmas thriller debate. You know, that debate about whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie?  This one also has a Christmas theme, and I think that is a popular thriller theme, because taking something homespun like Christmas and adding terror to it is especially scary...and thrilling. Whether this will make Christmas movie debate status like "Die Hard" is debatable!

Rosy the Reviewer says...this was the #1 most watched movie on Netflix for several weeks and is still in the Top Ten, so if you like thrillers and can suspend your disbelief at times, there are some thrills to be had here. I am now suspicious of everyone's carry-on! (Netflix)

 

The Apprentice (2024)

The story of how Donald Trump started his real estate business in New York City and his friendship with Roy Cohn.

Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump as a young man trying to please his unpleasable rich father and figure out what to do with his life. It's 1973 when he fortuitously meets Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong), a lawyer and prosecutor who made sure Julius and Ethel Rosenberg went to the electric chair. He was also Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954.  He later became a "fixer" in New York City and was not above shady antics to do his fixing. Trump's father, Fred Trump, was being investigated by the federal government for discrimination and Donald asked Cohn for his help. Cohn blackmailed the lead prosecutor and the case was settled.  Thus Cohn became Trump's mentor, teaching him how to dress, how to manipulate media relationships and his three rules for success: Attack, attack, attack; never admit wrongdoing; and always claim victory, even if defeated. Sound familiar?  Trump learned Cohn's lessons well.

When Trump wants to develop the Commodore Hotel near Grand Central Station, Cohn again uses blackmail to help Trump get a $150 million tax abatement for the project. Thus began Trump's career as a real estate mogul, though not all of his projects went well. The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City comes to mind. Hard to believe someone can run a casino into the ground.

Trump's personal life also wasn't going that well. Dazzled by Czech model Ivana Zelnickova (Maria Bakalova), he had to have her but that marriage eventually sours. Let's just say he got tired of her. His older brother, Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick) spirals into alcoholism and when his father, Fred Sr. (Martin Donovan) was suffering from dementia, Donald tries to gain control of his siblings' inheritance to pay off his debts.

Meanwhile, Trump and Cohn continue their successful but dark partnership until that also sours. Basically, Trump gets tired of him too. When Cohn suffers from AIDS and needs him, Donald is not there.

Stan is amazing as Trump.  He has the walk and the lips down.  And Jeremy Strong is wonderful as Roy Cohn. He managed to make me feel sorry for a very bad guy...well, almost.  I see Academy Award nominations in their future.

Whether or not you are a Trump fan, this film, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi, is a well-done, addictive film experience, that like a train wreck, you will not be able to take your eyes off it, in a good way.  The film really drives home a premise of why Trump is the way he is and how he got that way.  Even if only half of what is on display here is true, it's a scary portrait. 

If you are a Trump fan and know he hates this movie because he thinks it's a hatchet job or if you don't like Trump and are sick of seeing and hearing him, think of this as an adaptation of a Dickens novel and Trump's character is Uriah Heep or he is Mr. Burns on "The Simpsons." Something like that. Pretend it's not really him because this movie all by itself, fiction or reality, is very, very good.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a riveting examination of the early life of our soon-to-be second-time-around, President. (For rent on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

The Outrun (2024)

A young woman living in London and struggling with alcoholism, returns to the Orkney Islands, where she grew up, to heal.

Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is recently out of rehab and has returned home to Scotland's Orkney Islands. Her parents are still there but are separated so Rona spends time with them separately, sometimes with her bipolar father (Stephen Dillane) on his farm, sometimes with her very religious mother (Saskia Reeves). 

In flashbacks, we see how and why Rona ended up back in the Orkneys. She started out as a biology graduate student in London where she met her boyfriend, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu) and succumbed to some serious clubbing. When her drinking gets really bad and it leads to her losing Daynin and getting attacked she enters a rehab program and then returns home to Orkney to heal.

There she takes a job with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds which involves a systematic search for the now-rare corn crake, listening for its distinctive frog-like call. Only 30% of corn crakes survive the migration to return to their breeding grounds each year. When Rona has a near relapse, she moves to the remote Papa Westray island, home to a tiny community, where she lives by herself.  Like the corn crake, will she survive her migration away from drinking? 

This film is all about Saoirse. It makes or breaks because of her, and she makes it work with her incredibly poignant face and an ability to make you feel her pain. You will be pulled in, rooting for her to make it. I am rooting for her to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this.

Based on the memoir by Amy Liptrot, this is a slow-moving, poetic film that jumps around in time but in a good way. (Keep an eye on Rona's hair color as it changes during various aspects of her life). Having read the book, I wondered how it would work as a film because not a lot happens, but thanks to Ronan's tour de force performance, director Nora Fingscheidt at the helm, and a screenplay adaptation by Fingscheidt and Liptrot, it is a mesmerizing experience and possibly inspirational for those wanting to stay sober. Rona learns that life always gives you a reason to drink but living one day at a time can work. It never gets easy, but it gets less hard. And living quietly in nature, appreciating being alive, can be healing.

Oh, and in case you are wondering - what is an outrun? In Scottish English, it is a piece of grazing land on a farm or outskirts which is where Rona takes herself to heal.  But the word also means to out distance, beat or escape which also applies as Rona tries to out distance, beat and escape her drinking.  

Rosy the Reviewer says...part nature film, part science lesson but mostly a meditation on addiction and the power of nature to heal. Beautiful and inspiring. (For rent on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

Musical Biopics!

[I review "Back to Black," the new biopic about Amy Winehouse, as well as "Bob Marley: One Love" and "Beautiful Rebel," the story of Gianna Nannini, a rock star you have probably never heard of]

 Back to Black (2024)

The life and career of singer, Amy Winehouse.

Sadly, the life of Amy Winehouse was short.  She is a member of the 27 Club, dying too soon from alcohol poisoning.

This biopic follows Amy (Marisa Abela) from her adolescence, growing up in a Jewish family, with her father Mitch (Eddie Marsan) and her grandmother, Cynthia (Lesley Manville) aka Nan who herself had been a singer - to Amy's untimely death at 27. Though she had some early critical and commercial success in the U.K. with her expressive jazz, soul, blues and reggae vocals, it was when she wrote her album "Back to Black" that she found international acclaim.  In the meantime, she met the love of her life (more like an obsession), Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O'Connell), and it was a volatile love affair.  Blake was into cocaine and Amy disapproved but she had her own issues with alcohol and bulimia and possibly mental illness. It was when he left her and her beloved grandmother died, that Amy was inspired to write that second album, "Back to Black." It was a black time. That album was one of the best-selling albums in UK history and in 2008 she won five Grammys, tying the then record for most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys.  She and Blake reconciled and got married but after he went to jail and then wanted a divorce, Amy fell further into alcoholism and drug addiction, and despite a stint in rehab, she relapsed and died of alcohol poisoning at 27.

Though the film, written by Matt Greenhalgh and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, covers all of that, there are no real earth-shattering revelations here. Interestingly, Amy's father, Mitch, who was a controversial figure in her life comes off as benign and seems to get a pass, and the film doesn't really offer much in the way of why Amy abused alcohol and drugs and died young, though there is an implication that her husband, Blake, wasn't much help to her (he was kind of a bad guy - he introduced her to crack). The film also implies that Amy relapsed when she found out Blake's girlfriend had a baby because, despite her success, Amy just wanted to be a wife and mother.  

We will never know whether that is true or not or what led Amy to drink herself to death, but what makes this film worth seeing is the Oscar-worthy performance by Abela. From the moment the camera sees her, she lights up the screen and you believe she is Amy.  She channels Amy from her beehive hairdo and tattoos to her singing, and believe it or not, Abela has said she didn't really think she could sing.  And the music throughout is wonderful.

Is this the defining story of Amy Winehouse?  Probably not, but it's an old-fashioned linear biopic, a small film with huge impact, a good story with great performances.  It's my kind of film and thank you to the British film industry for continuing to make these kinds of films and not completely pandering to fans of superheroes, horror and epics.  They keep putting out serious films for serious fans like me.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a tour de force performance by Marisa Abela that is not to be missed.  We will be seeing more of her. (In theatres)

Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

An homage to Bob Marley.

Watching this movie, I realized that as much as I enjoyed Bob Marley's music, I didn't really know that much about his life except that he died young.  Sadly, this movie doesn't really reveal that much about the man or his life.  I don't want to say it's a puff piece, but it is clearly an homage.  

The film itself is also confusing at times, telling his story in short flashbacks that are actually distracting and don't do much to enlighten about how Bob became famous and, if you don't know much about Rastafari or Jamaican history, it can be confusing.  

But this is what I got - In 1976 Bob, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, is already a star in Jamaica and wants to put on a concert called Smile Jamaica to promote peace because various factions are at war.  But as he prepares for the concert, he and his wife, Rita (Lashana Lynch), and Bob's manager are shot.  Though they recover and the concert goes on, Bob sends Rita and the children to the U.S. to stay with his Mom (never explained why that happened), while he goes to London to record an album, which turns out to be "Exodus," inspired by the film of the same name.  The album is a hit and popularizes reggae and brings the Rastafari movement to the forefront. Bob goes on tour, enjoys his fame but it is short-lived.  He develops skin cancer and dies in 1981 at the age of 36.

Written by Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, Zac Baylin, and Reinaldo Marcus Green and directed by Green, the film feels more like a moment in time  than a biopic. The story would have benefited from a more old-fashioned linear treatment.  It all just never really went anywhere nor managed much drama or had a point of view. Though the performance by Ben-Adir was believable, I didn't feel the film enlightened us much about the man.  Though there are hints about his peccadillos, as in philandering, nothing much is made of that or anything else, other than the guy was a good guy, and so good, he even forgave the guys who shot him! Lynch as Marley's wife, Rita, had little to do. Let's just say that the highlight of this film was the music.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a Marley fan and like reggae music, you might enjoy this, but in general, the film was a disappointment. I came away from the film still not knowing much more about him than I already knew. (For rent on Amazon Prime. If you still want to watch it, wait until it streams somewhere for free). 

Beautiful Rebel (2024)

Meet Gianna Nannini, the most famous rock star you have never heard of!

Well, she is famous in Europe, anyway.

Directed by Cinzia TH Torrini, this is the story of what Gianna Nannini (Letizia Toni) went through to make it as a rock star in Italy. It's the typical story of a father who thought it was more appropriate for his daughter to play tennis than write and sing, but isn't that how many of our greats get going? They rebel. It's the old "I'll show you" thing.

Nannini went off on her own with no family support and endured setbacks and humiliations until she found her voice and industry support. She was a provocateur with such songs as "Death by Self-Inflicted Abortion." 

Nannini scored her first domestic hit in 1979 with the single "America" and the album "California," which became a success in several European countries. Her international breakthrough happened in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, "Puzzle," which peaked in the top 10 in the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss charts.  

She was also sexually fluid, something not supported in the Italy of the 1980's, but when she had a mental breakdown, her family rallied round, she overcame that, too, and came back even stronger, later performing with Sting, Bocelli and others.  The film ends with actual performance footage of Nannini.

Brando is effective as Nannini and the story is dramatic and engaging, though it moves fast through her life and career and you might have some "Huh?" moments. It's an old-fashioned linear biopic, and you know by now, I like those, and, though it tries to cover too much ground without going too deep, it's an introduction to Nannini who deserves to be introduced.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a sometimes poignant story of living life on one's own terms and making it. If you love music, expand your horizons into this world of European rock and meet Gianna Nannini. (In Italian with English subtitles - Netflix)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!