Oldies But Goodies: Some Movies You Might Have Missed the First Time Around!

[I review "Fly Me To The Moon," "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,"  and the French foodie film, "The Taste of Things"]

 

Fly Me to the Moon (2024)

Remember that conspiracy theory about how the U.S. never really landed on the moon and what we saw was all faked?  Well, this rom-com has fun with that idea.

In late 1968, Manhattan advertising executive Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is offered a high-stakes job by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), a covert government operative working for President-elect Richard Nixon. The U.S. space program had been put on hold partly partly because of the Vietnam War and the costs of running a space program but also because of waning interest in the Space Race in general.  The program was in need of some PR, and Berkus tasks her with revitalizing NASA's bad public image. "Sell the moon!!"  Kelly has a bit of a bad image herself and Berkus threatens to uncover it if she doesn't agree to take the job, so off to Cocoa Beach, Florida Kelly goes with her loyal assistant, Ruby.

Almost upon arrival, Kelly "meets cute" with Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), the serious and principled launch director at the Kennedy Space Center before either knows who the other is, but when they eventually meet at work, a love-hate relationship begins. There was immediate attraction between the two, but Cole is uptight and serious and doesn't approve of Kelly's techniques.  She is a force of nature and not above doing what she needs to do to get her way.  For example, when Cole tells her that his men don't do interviews, she hires actors to, not only pretend to be the space scientists so they can do interviews, but hires an actor to also be Cole. They also clash over Kelly's move to get corporate sponsorships e.g. the astronauts wearing Omega watches up in space and drinking Tang.

As NASA prepares for the historic Apollo 11 mission, Kelly suggests broadcasting the moon landing using a television camera on the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), a proposal Cole dismisses as impractical. However, Moe secretly endorses the idea and reveals an additional, shadowy directive to Kelly: she must prepare a fake moon landing to be aired if the real mission fails, a project codenamed "Artemis," a name that is an eery forshadowing for today. Once again, Moe threatens to expose Kelly's past if she doesn't cooperate, and then it comes to light that Moe wants them to broadcast the fake transmission, no matter what, even if the launch is successful.

Kelly becomes increasingly uneasy with the deception, especially as she and Cole grow closer and their romantic relationship blossoms, though it still manifests some love/hate issues. This is an opposites attract kind of rom/com.

There are some twists and turns and bumps along the way, not only in the launch, but in Cole's and Kelly's relationship and a black cat figures prominently in the outcome.

Scarlett and Channing are two beautiful people playing in the usual "I love you, I hate you" rom-com. It's fun to see their relationship play out in this scenario, and it's especially fun to see all of the behind-the-scenes machinations that go into a space launch. It's also fun to be reminded of that old conspiracy theory that the moon landing never happened and was fake,which is especially appropos today two years after this movie was released with astronauts up in space right now, flying around the moon in a spaceship called "Artemis."

Scarlett is expecially good here playing a smooth saleswoman who will do anything to get what she wants.  And I couldn't help but wonder where she has been? She hasn't done many movies in the last few years. And Channing is more subdued but still a handsome guy to watch. Oh, and keep your eye out for a cameo by Scarlett's husband, Colin Jost.  If you blink, you will miss him.

With a screenplay by Rose Gilroy and directed by Greg Berlanti, this is one of those "what if?" scenarios, and though a bit overlong, it reminded me of those old feel-good rom-coms we don't see much anymore.  But it also unintentionally made me ask myself - with another war going on and so many domestic issues, does anyone really still care about space travel?

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you have missed seeing Scarlett Johansson or are a Channing fan and you are looking for an old-fashioned rom/com in an unusual setting, you might just love this to the moon and back. Or maybe not. (Apple+)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

A biopic about the life and career of Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic - well, kind of.

If you were expecting a straight forward and serious film about the life and career of Weird Al, you might be disappointed with this film, but if you can suspend disbelief and enter the world that is Weird Al's mind, you might find this very funny.

So I was an unsuspecting viewer. I thought this was Weird Al's real story, but when the film began with Al as a child interacting with his Dad (Toby Huss), I was thinking, "Gee, this film is really overdramatic and the actors are way over the top." But as the film went on and Al was a teen at a polka party and it got raided, I thought "Teenagers at a polka party?" I then realized that Weird Al wasn't called Weird Al for nothing. I was watching yet another Weird Al parody, a parody of his own life. 

Young Al's (Richard Aaron Anderson) Dad wants Al to follow him into the factory where he works, but Al wants to write parody songs.  Al's Dad is not happy, but Al's mother secretly purchases an accordion for Al. Years later, an older Al is living with his roommates Steve (Spencer Treat Clark), Jim (Jack Lancaster) and Bermuda (Tommy O'Brien), and is constantly rejected in band auditions as an accordion player, but while listening to "My Sharona" on the radio and fixing a bologna sandwich, Al is inspired to write "My Bologna," which becomes a huge hit and Al becomes a huge star...and a huge ego. 

The story goes on to show how Al wrote "I Love Rocky Road" and "Another One Rides the Bus," meeting his idol Dr. Demento (played by Rainn Wilson), who becomes his manager, how he got the name "Weird Al," and his love affair with Madonna who is dying for him to parody one of her songs - at this point, if you haven't already figured it out, that you are being drawn into a Weird Al parody of his own life, you will stop going "Huh?" When Al gets involved with a drug lord, you will certainly realize Al is having fun with you (he can't help himself), and when he eventually reconciles with his father, who shares that he grew up in an Amish community where he wasn't allowed to play the accordion, you will be shaking your head. And there is more, but you get the idea. 

It's difficult to know what is true and what is Al's imagination or exaggeration in this parody of his life written by Al and director Eric Appel.  For example, Al did become a great accordion player after a door-to-door salesman selling accordions stopped by his house when he was a young boy; Madonna did want him to parody one of her songs, but as far as I can tell, Al never had a love affair with her; nor did he take drugs despite the scene where he goes off on an LSD trip.  I also don't think he had to save Madonna from a drug lord or was on the cover of People Magazine as "The Sexiest Man Alive (duh)," but that's not the point.  This is a comedy. Al is making fun of himself, and it's a lot of fun.

Let's just say it becomes apparent very soon that this is not a biopic of Weird Al, but yet another parody from the weird mind of Weird Al. Daniel Radcliffe does a good job of playing Al and is joined by a star-studded cast of comedians in cameos playing other famous people - I mean Conan O'Brien as Andy Warhol? Will Forte, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Jack Black and others make appearances.  It's fun to try to spot them.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an over-the-top biopic parody of Weird Al's life.  Can we expect anything different from Weird Al? (For rent on Amazon Prime)

The Taste of Things (2023)

Set in 1889, this film depicts the romance between Eugenie, a cook, and M. Dodin, the gourmet chef for whom she has been working for over 20 years.

Winner of several awards and chosen as the French entry for "Best International Feature Film" at the 2024 Academy Awards, the movie begins on a country estate in France in 1889. Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) works as a cook for Dodin (Benoit Magimel), a gourmet, who loves not only her cooking but it appears, he loves her too. Eugénie and Dodin, along with her assistant Violette (Galatea Bellugi) and Violette's young niece Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), who is visiting for the day, prepare an intricate meal for Dodin's friends.The group meets regularly to eat and enjoy food and praise Eugénie for her artistry.  And let me tell you, they eat a LOT! 

And let me also tell you.  We see every... single... bit... of the preparation. The first 30+ minutes of the film is, well, cooking. Every ingredient gets its close-up (thank you, Mr. DeMille)! This is a film for major foodies. If there is such a thing as food porn, this is it. 

Eugénie and Dodin, both middle-aged, are in a sort of long-term romantic relationship, but maintain separate bedrooms. He has asked her to marry him several times, but she has declined, preferring that they maintain their relationship as they are. Somehow being his cook rather than his wife allows her to lock her bedroom door from time to time. However, their real joy is in developing new recipes and preparations together. 

For the first hour of the film, it's a quiet worship of food, but then Eugénie begins to experience fainting spells, and Dodin grows worried about her health. His doctor friend, Rabaz (Emmanuel Salinger), is unable to determine the cause, and Eugénie persistently claims she is fine. After one such scary fainting episode, Dodin cooks an intricate meal for her and includes an engagement ring hidden in a dessert. Talk about a slow burn. It's taken him 20 years to get that together. But Eugenie finally accepts Dodin's proposal, and they plan to marry in the "autumn of their lives."

He should have asked sooner.  

The French are known for their passion for fine food and wine, and this film captures that passion. Written and directed by Anh Hung Tran, Dodin is based on Dodin-Bouffant, from the 1924 novel by Swiss author Marcel Rouff - "La Vie et la Passion de Dodian-Bouffant, gourmet" ("The Passionate Epicure"). It is one of those slow-moving French films meant to evoke emotion through sight and sound.  And if you have emotion about food, this is for you! It's all very elegant, gentile and sensual.  The cinematography is glorious.  There is one scene where a large party is taking place on the grounds of the chateau and everyone is seated at a long table, and it looks exactly like a Renoir painting.

I love my cooking shows, so this film feeds right into that (pardon the pun), and I also love Juliette Binoche and I love love...so food, Juliette, love...what more could I ask for?  Who wouldn't want to watch the beautiful Juliette Binoche prepare gourmet food? She is a charming actress no matter what she does. She has been charming us in films for years, and she may be in the "autumn" of her life, but she is still beautiful and luminous.  I could watch her prepare food for hours.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this film might not be for everyone, but like dining at a five-star Michelin restaurant, it is an experience. If you consider yourself a foodie, you will want to see this.  It is food porn at its finest! (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)!

If You Like Documentaries... (2026)

[I review the Academy Award winning "All The Empty Rooms" as well as the true crime documentary "Murder in Monaco" and "Naked Ambition," the story of pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager]

All the Empty Rooms (2025)

News essayist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp memorialize the untouched bedrooms of children lost to school shootings.

Steve Hartman is an American broadcast journalist best known for his coverage of human interest stories for CBS News.  He is often called in for a "feel good" moment to end the broadcast, especially after bad events so that viewers can feel positive about the world again. 

However, with the ever increasing number of school shootings and usually sensationalized news about the shooter, Hartman felt we were becoming numb to it all. Hartman decided his feel good optimism was no longer enough.  He came up with the idea to highlight the dead children instead of the shooter, so he and photographer Lou Bopp embarked upon a trip across the country memorializing the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings. He has been doing this for seven years and this film, directed and produced by Joshua Seftel, highlights the last four children and their bedrooms on this journey of his, and the film won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short at this year's Academy Awards. 

The children featured in the film are:

• Nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs, a victim of the 2023 Covenant school shooting in Nashville.

• Dominic Blackwell, 14, killed at the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita, California

• Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, also a victim at Saugus High School

• Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 9, died in the Uvalde school shooting in Uvalde, Texas 2022

The parents of these children had left the rooms exactly as they were when the children last left for school feeling that as long as the room exists, so do they in a way.  There is a tube of toothpaste with the cap left off; hair ties on the knob of the bedroom door; dirty clothes in a basket. Gracie Anne Muehlberger's parents shared that she put on shows for them in her room.  Her dad read a letter she wrote to her future self when she started high school. He could barely get through it.  I couldn't either. Videos and recordings of the children are shared as they lived their lives without a care in the world.

Hartman and Bopp are also featured with their own children.  Bopp photographs his daughter every year at the beginning of a new school year and the film ends with Hartman's daughter painting his nails.

I became teary almost immediately upon starting to watch this 34 minute film that attempts to capture the devastation of these childrens' parents. And it is devastating to see those untouched rooms just as those children left them before leaving for school the very last time, but it is important to see this film, to honor these children and their brief lives, so that we don't accept these shootings as a regular part of our lives. There is not preaching here. Not much needs to be said. The pictures tell it all. 

The film ends with the names of every child killed in school shootings since Columbine.  Too many names.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a reminder to hug and say "I love you" to your children, because "these could be your children." (Netflix).

Naked Ambition (2023)

Bunny Yeager might just be the most-famous photographer you have never heard of!  This documentary biopic attempts to change that.

Bunny Yeager had a stellar career - first as a model, then a photographer of models but not just any models - we are talking pin-ups, cheesecake, nudity.  Yeager shot the very first "Playboy" centerfold (January 1955) as well as that famous photo of Ursula Andress in her bikini for the James Bond movie, "Dr. No." She single-handedly popularized the bikini and was an early adopter of "selfies (she was a model herself after all)." Yeager also went on to discover Bettie Page as well as publishing 20 books. 

So why is it that someone so prolific and famous in the photographic industry is unheard of today?  

Well, I guess it's not a shock that a woman in a male dominated industry would be ignored. And Yeager was ambitious, something that was taboo for a woman back in the day.  But writer/director Dennis Scholl and fellow director, Kareem Tabsch, want to right that wrong with this documentary and make sure everyone remembers Bunny Yeager. 

Bunny Yeager began her career as a model, but as she became a wife and mother, she decided to step away from modeling and pursue photography instead as a way to earn money with a more flexible schedule. She was dubbed "The World's Most Beautiful Photographer."  She was noted for her high standards, her interesting choices of location and she could work fast.  She was able to highlight the personalities of her subjects, probably because she was working woman to woman. She had a successful career as a photographer, but it was her collaboration with Bettie Page and "Playboy" that brought both her and Page success and changed both of their lives. Page had just been considered a fetish model until Yeager elevated her. But then along came porn and feminism and pin-ups fell out of fashion and things went downhill for Yeager, forcing her to regroup.

At only 73 minutes, the film does a good job of covering Yeager's career and showcasing her work (hundreds of photos are displayed as well as home videos), but I wish the film had gone deeper into her motivations and what she had to go through as a woman photographer specializing in pinups and nudes, having to deal with the obscenity laws of the time, the ensuing popularity of porn and the negative view feminism had for pin-up photography.

But the conversations with Yeager's daughters, Lisa Irwin and Cherilu Duval, did yield some insight into Yeager's personal life. Daughter Cherilu was particularly embarrassed by her mother's photographic choices while Lisa felt her mother empowered other women. One can't help but wonder how her daughters' differing opinions of her affected her relationships with them.

"Talking heads," which included Dita Von Teese, Hugh Hefner, photographer Bruce Weber and Larry King and others weigh in, as well as Bettie Page herself via a recording, whose voice strangely did not match her photos, but probably that was the voice of a very old Bettie Page.

The film does a good job of highlighting Yeager's achievements as a pin-up girl photographer and as the first woman photographer for "Playboy." She captured the times.  I just wish it had gone deeper into what it must have been like for her to do this work in a "man's world" in the rather prudish time of the 1950's.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Yeager was ambitious and portrayed the power of female sexuality in her photographs, and this is a fitting tribute to a woman who was an ironic feminist. It was an amazing life that I am surprised has not been made into a dramatic biopic. Maybe now it will. (Netflix)

Murder in Monaco (2025)

An examination of the mysterious murder of billionaire Edmond Safra in Monaco in 1999.

Billionaire Edmond Safra died along with one of his nurses in 1999 in a fire in his Monaco penthouse.  Authorities were initially led to believe by his other nurse, Ted Maher, that the 67-year-old billionaire was the victim of a bungled burglary, but as this documentary plays out, the circumstances surrounding Safra's death and the aftermath just got "stranger and stranger."

Edmond Safra, one of the richest men in the world, was a Lebanese-Brazilian banker living in a 10,000 square foot penthouse in Monaco with panic buttons, bullet-proof windows and a safe room. He had Parkinson's Disease and was on medications that made him paranoid.  He had full-time nursing care and was surrounded by bodyguards.  His death caused a media storm giving way to various conspiracy theories about who was responsible.  Safra was found dead of affixiation in his safe room along with his nurse, Vivian Torrente.  His other nurse, Ted Maher, escaped with stab wounds and said the assassins got in and attacked them. But how did intruders get into an apartment that appeared inpenatrable?  

The suspicious circumstances surrounding Safra's death created an international media storm giving way to various conspiracy theories about who was really responsible.  Was it Russian mobsters?  Safra conducted business with Russian oligarchs until he informed the FBI that they were trying to launder money through American banks.  Or was it his wife, Lily, a woman with some rich dead husbands in her past who yearned to be a famous socialite and who stood to inherit billions? Or was it Maher himself, the nurse who was accused of starting the fire to set the stage to rescue Safra and become a hero? And did Safra die because the authorities took too long to put out the fire and was there a cover-up, using Maher as a scapegoat?  Monaco relies on its reputation as a safe and secure haven for the very rich, so when someone is murdered there, not good. So many questions in this crazy murder mystery.

And then things get really crazy.

Written by Sam Hobkinson and directed by Hodges Usry, this true-crime documentary explores the various conspiracies surrounding Safra's death.  It's a murder mystery with a trial and a prison escape and some judicial corruption and much more.  The film features interviews with reporters, Safra's banking associates, lawyers, cell mates and exclusive interviews with Maher, whose life was a whole crazy story on its own. He eventually went on trial for Safra's death and it was the O.J. Trial of Europe. But the story doesn't end there.

The moral of this story?  Sometimes it's not that much fun being a billionaire.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like true crime about the rich and famous with all kinds of real life twists and turns, this is for you. (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)!

Get Ready For The 2026 Golden Globes With These Golden Globe Nominated Performances, Part 1!

[I review these Golden Globe nominated performances: Jeremy Allen White in "Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," Rose Byrne in "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in "The Smashing Machine," and Eva Victor in "Sorry, Baby"]

Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025)

How Bruce Springsteen's album "Nebraska" came to be.

The film begins in 1957 in black and white.  A young Bruce Springsteen is sent into the bar by his mother to bring his dad (Stephen Graham) home. Back at home, his parents fight and Bruce defends his mother (Gaby Hoffmann) with a baseball bat. His dad also has a penchant for waking young Bruce up at night to box, again dad is drunk.

Then the film shifts to color and it's 1981. Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) has just finished his sold-out "River Tour."  Exhausted and wanting to lie low for awhile, his manager, Jon Landau (an always wonderful Jeremy Strong), rents Bruce a house in Colts Neck, New Jersey, near where he grew up in Freehold. Bruce buys his first new car, a Chevrolet Camaro, and plays with local bands at the Stone Pony bar where he meets Faye Romano (Odessa Young), an old classmate's younger sister, and a relationship of sorts ensues. 

With the full cooperation of The Boss himself, the film continues to use flashbacks in black and white to show Bruce's troubled relationship with his father, Douglas, an alcoholic battling mental health issues and Bruce's traumatic childhood which continued to haunt him.

On the heels of his first top-ten song "Hungry Heart," Bruce is battling depression and his record label is pressuring him for another hit album. Bruce suggests saving money by preparing the demo himself.  Influenced by his childhood memories and an increasing depression, Bruce writes a collection of stark, somber songs with a blue-collar perspective. He also sees the film "Badlands" about Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, two teens who went on a crime spree in Nebraska and Wyoming in the 1950's, killing 11 people, which plays into his state of mind and influences him. Recording his new tracks unaccompanied, he makes the risky choice to embrace a raw, acoustic quality.

Meanwhile, living in California Adele calls Bruce for help with Douglas.

After visiting his father, Bruce arrives in New York City to record the new album, reuniting with the E Street Band. They lay down several successful tracks, but Bruce is unhappy with the overall full-band studio sound of the record, so Jon agrees to use Bruce's raw demo as the new record. Using older equipment to re-create the demo tape as a vinyl master recording, the new album "Nebraska" is born.

However, Al Teller (David Krumholtz), the record exec, is not happy with this artistic departure.  What?  No singles? No tours?  No press?  Why, Bruce's face isn't even on the cover! 

And then Bruce suffers a mental breakdown and contemplates suicide. 

Such was the environment where the album "Nebraska" was born."

The price of fame can be high, especially if you have traumas from your youth and issues with depression. This film shares a small, but pivotal time in Springsteen's life, a  time when he needed to express himself and his depression, and it shows how pain can turn into art. White as Springsteen does a good job of not only playing Springsteen in this difficult time of his life but showing his love for Faye  and Springsteen's love/hate relationship with fame. I mean, think about it.  White had never played a guitar or harmonica before and didn't know if he could sing! And the film has lots of music. What he did with this role was an amazing accomplishment.  

However, the movie itself is kind of niche. The first half drew me in, but then it started to drag. I mean, a movie about depression can be...well, depressing. This film covers a very small period of Springsteen's life and the making of one album. "Nebraska," which by the way, made it to #3 on the charts and, then, Bruce's next album, "Born in the U.S.A" made him a global superstar. He has produced over 20 studio albums and numerous live albums since then. We are glad he made it through that dark time.

The film, written and directed by Scott Cooper (based on the book by Warren Zanes) has one Golden Globe nomination and that is for White's performance.

So will Jeremy Allen White win the Golden Globe for "Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama?"

Prediction:  I say no.  Despite a wonderful performance, I think he has too much competition from the other nominees.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a big Springsteen fan, you might love this, but as a movie fan, it didn't do it for me. But see it for Jeremy Allen White's performance. (available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime)

If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You (2025) 

Sometimes a psychotherapist needs a psychotherapist!

Linda (Rose Byrne) is a psychotherapist stretched to her limits while caring for her daughter, who is suffering from a feeding disorder.  Her daughter is also enrolled in a day hospital program, which Linda must attend with her. The family's situation takes a turn for the worse when the ceiling in their apartment collapses, flooding the house. The sky is literally falling in Linda's life! 

With her husband, Charles (Christian Slater, heard mostly over the phone), a ship's captain, away on an eight-week work trip, Linda is forced to move with her daughter into a shabby motel. When they talk on the phone, he is not supportive. Sharing a motel room with her daughter and her daughter's feeding tube, Linda can't sleep. Sleep-deprived, she spends nights outside the motel, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, listening to music, and eating junk food. She is befriended by James (ASAP Rocky), her next-door neighbor at the motel and the two try to buy drugs on the dark web.  This begs the question - what is your therapist doing when you are not around?

At the same time, Linda has to work and ironically is surrounded by clients in crisis, including Linda who seeks therapy from her own colleague (played by Conan O'Brien as you have never seen him - he can act)! However, he is also not very supportive and becoming increasingly exasperated by her behavior, he eventually declines her as a patient after she repeatedly crosses professional boundaries.

Things don't look good for Linda in this story of an overwhelmed mother.

This film has one Golden Globe nomination, and it is for Rose Byrne's performance which is a tour de force. She is just remarkable.  I have become increasingly impressed with her over the years. I think I first noticed her in "Neighbors," though she had done many roles before that. But I never really thought about her much, and when I did, I remembered her as a sort of "second banana," playing the wife or the friend.  Then along came the TV series "Physical" in 2021. She carried that series and was great, but she played a kind of nervous, ditsy woman and it was a bit of a comedy.  But in "Platonic" in 2023 I realized what a good actress she is.  She exuded a warmth and reality even though, again, the series was a bit of a comedy. I also liked that she actually used her real Aussie accent (in almost all of the roles I remember her for, she had to use an American accent).  This is the story of a woman struggling with her life and you would think it would be a slog, but it's mesmerizing and that's because Byrne has the ability to make us care about her.

And the movie, written and directed by Mary Bronstein, is riveting and raw examination of a woman on the edge, mostly because of Byrne but Bronstein's directorial choices are also interesting.  The child (Delaney Quinn) is not seen through the course of the film, which I think was a good choice - we just hear her voice - and that helps the viewer focus on the challenges of the mother and not the child (even though I also thought the child's voice was annoying - with that kid I would be freaking out too)! 

I only have two complaints.  

First of all, I don't get the title at all. I would be interested to know how this film got a green light with that title.  But second, and my biggest complaint, which has nothing to do with the movie, really, but is the fact that Byrne is nominated for "Best  Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - COMEDY OR MUSICAL." What? Did I miss something?  This film is NOT a comedy and certainly NOT a musical.  What's the deal? Did they want to make sure she won a Golden Globe because there was too much competition in the Drama category?

But that said, will Byrne win Best Performance in her category?

Prediction: She should.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an amazing performance by Byrne (for rent or purchase from Amazon Prime and Apple+)

The Smashing Machine (2025)

A biopic about American former wrestler and mixed martial artist, Mark Kerr.

Mixed martial artists, Mark Kerr, might not be a well-known name today but back in the 1990's and early 2000's, he was a pioneer in the Mixed Martial Arts world. He was a two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship winner, World Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a PRIDE FC competitor. He also had a drug habit and a difficult relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn (who he eventually marries).  This film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Kerr and Emily Blunt as Dawn, covers the ups and downs of Kerr's career and relationships from 1997-2000. 

Johnson is nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in this film and he is barely recognizable, in a good way.   I guess I am not used to seeing him with hair. The make-up is first-rate. Though this movie felt like a soap opera at times and didn't really do much for me, I am glad Johnson had a chance to show his dramatic acting chops.  But Emily Blunt, who is also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, is quite amazing. I would not have known it was she if I hadn't seen her name in the credits.  I have seen her play Americans before but never a dippy one!  She shows her range by playing a character unlike any she has done before.

Written and directed by Benny Safdie, there is lots of wrestling and punching and kicking with some modern day fighters making their acting debuts, but I couldn't help but wonder what it is about men fighting each other that people enjoy watching.  I don't.

So will Johnson win a Golden Globe for "Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama?"  Will Blunt win a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture?"

Prediction: Johnson - probably not.  Blunt - I am rooting for her. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a fan of "The Rock" or enjoy mixed martial arts, you might enjoy this, but I didn't, though I give props to Johnson and Blunt. (For rent or purchase on Amazon Prime)

Sorry, Baby (2025)

The aftermath of a sexual assault.

Agnes (Eva Victor) is a literature professor at Fairpoint, a liberal arts college in rural New England.  The film flashes back to Agnes in graduate school with her friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie).  Agnes is a favorite of her literature professor, Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi).  Perhaps, too much of a favorite because when Agnes goes to his house to meet with him about her thesis, a Bad Thing happens, a sexual assault that is not seen but later described in detail by Agnes.  The film, also written and directed by Victor, explores the emotional ramifications of such an event, and the insensitivity many women experience from others. When a "Bad Thing" happens and life is moving on, how does one move on?

This personifies the "indie film."  Independent films are known for artistry, unique stories and niche subjects.  They are often passion projects and showcase talent.  Check, check, check, check and check.  However, they can also be indulgent and, sadly, I felt that with this movie.  It covers an important subject - how little support women often get after an assault - but it was a one-note story that played out very slowly with long lingering camera shots that lingered and lingered and lingered.

Victor is nominated for a Golden Globe in the  "Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama" category.  Will she win?

Prediction: No.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Victor's performance was believable and the topic important, but, sorry, I found the character annoying and the film too slow moving. (Hulu and HBO Max)

See You Next Time!

And Happy New Year!

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)!

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)!