Friday, November 1, 2019

"Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" as well as DVDs "The Dead Don't Die" and "Shaft."  The Book of the Week is Patti Smith's memoir "The Year of the Monkey."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "Avengers: Infinity War"]



Maleficent" Mistress of Evil


Aurora (Elle Fanning) is about to marry Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is not happy about it.

As you may recall from the first film five years ago (yes, this is one of those sequel thingies I hate), Maleficent was really, really pissed off because she was done wrong by her man, Stefan, King of the Moors, so when he married someone else, Maleficent cursed his baby girl, Aurora - the curse being that when she turned 16, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a permanent sleep only to awaken by a true love's kiss. To protect her from the curse, Stefan sent Aurora into the forest under the care of some incompetent pixies and Maleficent ended up watching over Aurora and becoming her fairy godmother.  It's basically the Sleeping Beauty story with a bit of a twist, and I liked it.

So now in this sequel we pick up the story and I'm not liking it so much.

It's been five years since King Stefan's death and Aurora (Fanning) is now Queen of the Moors. Prince Philip (Dickinson) lives in the neighboring kingdom of Ulsted with his parents King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer).  Philip has asked Aurora to marry him and she has accepted, hoping that their marriage will unite the two kingdoms which have been unhappily coexisting. The King and Queen don't really approve of Maleficent, but the King wants to unite the two kingdoms.  Queen Ingrith acts happy but has an evil plot in mind to not only get rid of Maleficent but of all of the fairies.

Oh, and did you know that Maleficent is actually a fairy, one of the last known Dark Faes (a fae is just a fancy word for a fairy) and the last descendant from the Phoenix, a powerful Dark Fae ancestor?  Well, she is, and she joins forces with an underground of Dark Faes who have been driven into hiding because of oppression by humans.

It all ends in a big showdown between Maleficent, the evil Queen and the Dark Faes.

So that's the gist of the film, but you know what?  I learned something about myself while watching this film.

No, it's not that I actually do like sequels.  I don't and this film just confirms that.  No, I learned that I have become too old to watch Disney fantasy films anymore, one, because I couldn't figure out what was going on most of the time and, two, the reason I was confused was that the plot WAS A MESS!!!

Not to mention the title.  Explain to me why the subtitle of this film is "Mistress of Evil," when it's the QUEEN who is evil, not Maleficent.

Anyway, the story, written by Linda Woolverton with the help of Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, is a mess of unlikely coincidences and happenings that are required for it all to turn out okay - the kinds of plot twists that make you shake your head and utter out loud, "What? How did that happen?"  or "What? How did she figure that out?" -  and though the film, directed by Joachim Ronning, is beautiful to look at, it's just a bore.  The best thing about the film is Angelina Jolie's cheek bones!

And speaking of Angelina, she does the best she can and Michelle Pfeiffer wears beautiful clothes and chews the scenery like mad as the evil queen, but poor Elle Fanning doesn't have much to do except look cute and react to everyone else.  Zzzzz

Rosy the Reviewer says...a disappointing snoozefest. Didnt like this one. 


***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD




The Dead Don't Die (2019)


The small town of Centerville must battle zombies who suddenly rise from their graves because of some sort of environmental disaster.

So, I guess director Jim Jarmusch wanted to make a zombie movie.  And I guess a bunch of actors wanted to help him because this film is star-studded, but sadly it's not one of my favorite Jarmusch films.

Bill Murray, the king of underplaying actors, plays police chief Cliff Robertson, who with his deputy, Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) and officer Mindy Morrison (Chloe Sevigny), keep the peace in a very small and seemingly safe town. But something has gone wrong with the earth's rotation caused by an environmental issue called "polar fracking," and that has caused the dead to rise up. The dead have come back and it seems that what they loved in life is what they seek now. 

"They gravitate toward things they did when they were alive."

So the wine drinking Mallory O'Brien (Carol Kane) needs her chardonnay and the coffee zombie (Iggie Pop) needs his coffee.  Zombie children hang around candy stores mumbling the names of their favorite candy and an ex-guitar player drags his guitar behind his shuffling feet.

Our victims include some kids in detention, some teens in a motel (one of whom is Selena Gomez), a crabby, racist farmer who wears a hat that says "Make America White Again (Steve Buscemi)," and who is fittingly devoured by a black zombie, waitresses and customers in a diner and the owner of a hardward store (Danny Glover).  And then there is Tilda Swinton.  Does she ever play a character that isn't strange? Here she plays a sword-wielding Samurai of an undertaker who comes to town to cut off some heads (you need to go for the head when trying to kill a zombie) and all of this is observed by Hermit Bob (Tom Waits).

Now I have been a huge Jim Jarmusch fan ever since his first major film "Stranger Than Paradise."  So I know his films are strange, strangely funny, and always slow to start and leisurely in execution.  You need to ease into them to get them so I gave this one a chance, but it just never went anywhere.  Yes, I got the point that we humans are addicted to commercialism, even in death, and that's kind of funny.  There are some allusions to our current Trumpian world, and the film was gory enough for even the most devoted horror fan, but this one was just a bit too out there for me.  I know that Jarmusch has his own vision and he puts things in his movies that are meaningful, funny and cool to him, and he probably doesn't really care if we get it or not, but this one had too many of those, though I will say Iggie Pop as a zombie is really cool and the whole idea about what to do when one of the zombies is a family member is enough to make you go "Mmmm?".

You may or may not know who Bertolt Brecht is, but I noted some Brechtian elements in the film. I know all about Brecht, because in my acting days, I was in two Bertolt Brecht plays.  Bertolt Brecht invented "Epic Theatre," plays that reminded the audience that they were watching a play. He didn't want the audience to get too involved or to identify emotionally with the characters thinking that too much emotion left the audience complacent.  He thought the theatre should provoke self-reflection and a critical response which in turn would engage the audience to get off their butts and leave the theatre to create change in the world. 

Jarmusch appears to use that technique a bit in the film when Murray and Driver actually start talking about Jarmusch and how, since they read the script, they know how the film is going to end, which is kind of funny because Ronnie keeps saying "This is definitely going to end badly."  But is this film a call to action?  And if so, what did he want us to go out and do?  Did he want to spur the audience to go out zombie hunting? Or are we the zombies, too tied to our superficial pursuits to really care about what is happening in the world now? Or does he want us to be sure to vote out Trump, otherwise it's going to end badly? Or are we all doomed no matter what we do?

But despite some interesting and yes, kind of cool elements, this film didn't really work for me.

Rosy the Reviewer says...I think Jarmusch had fun with this.  Sadly, I didn't.  But even when Jarmusch is not at his best, his films are better than most.



Shaft


Three generations of Shafts come together to solve a murder.

When the film begins it's 1989 and John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), his wife, Maya (Regina Hall), and their baby son, JJ, survive an assassination attempt by Pierro "Gordito" Carrera (Isaach De Bankole).  Maya says "No way," and takes the baby out of harm's way to raise him without Shaft.  

Fast forward 25 years and now JJ (Jessie T. Usher) is an FBI agent with a degree from MIT in cybersecurity.  When JJ's friend Karim (Avan Jogia) dies of a heroin overdose, JJ is suspicious, feeling he was murdered, so he goes to Harlem to talk to the local drug dealer who sold Karim the heroin.  When he is unceremoniously ejected from the premises, young JJ enlists his father's help and the two cultures collide - older Shaft's streetwise methods vs. young JJ's more white collar approach.  One is old school, the other PC.

"Men don't apologize." (Old Shaft)
"Real men admit when they are wrong." (Young Shaft)

Lots of that kind of banter but, of course, each learn from the other - old Shaft has a soft side, young JJ finds his darker side. Sam Jackson gets to be macho and swagger around using "F-M" in every other sentence and Usher gets to look bewildered and surprised until he finally gets sucked into his Dad's methods. But it's when "Grandpa" shows up - the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree - that we realize Sam was working really hard to channel Roundtree and he didn't quite make it.  And neither did the original soundtrack.  The film alluded to it, but never really embraced it.  I missed that the most.

Written by by Alex Barnow and Kenya Barris and directed by Tim Story, the film could have been done a bit more stylishly, but it has some fun moments and is often funny despite some cringeworthy non-PC moments. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...kind of silly but entertaining if you can get over the sexist, macho stuff.




***My 1001 Movie I Must See Before I Die Project***


56 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?



Avengers: Infinity War (2018)


The Avengers must stop the evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) before he destroys the Universe.

Nine, count 'em, nine different Marvel franchises come together to beat Thanos, a mad genocidal maniac, as he seeks to collect the six infinity stones that will give him ultimate power.


I thought I could avoid these Avenger movies, but wouldn't you know? This one turned up in the new edition of "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," so here I am.  And can I say that because I hadn't seen most of the EIGHTEEN films that came before, I didn't have the slightest idea what was going on in this one, the penultimate edition to the series.  I saw "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Black Panther," but as far as the "Avengers" films, that's about it. I am more of a DC girl, myself.


As far as I can tell, this film starts where the one before it left off. Evil Thanos (Brolin) has acquired the Power Stone and when this film begins he has overpowered Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and kills Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to extract the Space Stone.  The Hulk crash lands into New York City to warn Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) about Thanos' plan to take over the Universe and kill half of all life. Then Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Peter Parker/Spider Man (Tom Holland) get involved as well as Thor (Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and his Guardians of the Galaxy gang.
 There are a bunch of other side-kicks, too. Whew! Hope I didn't leave anybody out. The whole bloody bunch of the Marvel Universe seems to be in this thing and that's a lot for the uninitiated to take in. Oh, and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) gets a storyline that we didn't know about. 

The film, directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, and written by Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely, is full of bad dialogue, comic banter, CGI and other special effects and lots and lots of action.  It's a formula: high intensity action followed by comic relief followed by high intensity action, followed by comic relief, etc. etc. etc.  However, this film also has surprises, because a LOT of the superheroes and their sidekicks die at the end. But there is no real resolution, because this film is a set up for the final installment in the series, "Avengers: Endgame," which came out this year and wrapped everything up. (No doubt, that last film will also be in the next edition of the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," but hopefully, I will be done with this project by then.  But even if I'm not, I don't plan to buy the next edition anyway).


It's kind of fun to see all of these superhero stars together in one film and, for those who have been following these characters since the beginning, I can see how that is part of the excitement, but if, like me, you haven't seen many or any of the earlier films, you will probably be as confused as I was.

Why it's a Must See: "If the average Marvel movie offers a rollercoaster experience -- a bombastic, big-budget thrill-ride that leaves little time for the audience to catch its breath -- the nineteenth trip into the Marvel Cinematic Universe decides to throw a whole theme park at the audience...[and] the biggest success really lies in shoehorning so many lead characters into one narrative without every actually losing a grip on the story or its forward momentum."

---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...this is probably heresy, but all I can say is I find these movies to be silly.






***The Book of the Week***





Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith (2019)


A year in the life of writer, artist and Punk rocker Patti Smith.

It's 2016, The Year of the Monkey, and Smith has just finished some New Year's Eve concerts in San Francisco at the Fillmore.  She embarks on a year of wandering, first heading down to Santa Cruz, where she starts the New Year on the beach at The Dream Inn.  She is 69 and we follow her through the year as she mourns the illness of a friend and mentor, travels to San Diego and Seattle, to the Arizona desert, to her home in Rockaway beach and to a Kentucky farm to help a friend - writer Sam Shepherd who could no longer write - and then farther afield to Lisbon, all the while musing on everything from aging to politics to the environment and lamenting the state of the world. 

The whole book is very much like a dream because it is difficult to tell truth from fiction.  Does Smith really try to get rides with strangers?  Does she really strike up conversations with old guys in cafes? Does she really pick up candy wrappers on the beach and save them to contemplate later?

It's all very poetic and surreal, which is not surprising because Smith has always been more of a poet than rock star.  Part travelogue, part memoir, but this is mostly the stream of consciousness musings of a woman moving into her seventieth year and wondering what it has all meant. She populates her book with her photographs documenting her year of wandering.

The book is like one long dream but as she says at the end of the book, "...the trouble with dreaming is that we eventually wake up."

Rosy the Reviewer says...not like Smith's award-winning book "Just Kids," but a mesmerizing foray into the mind of an artist.


Thanks for reading!



See you next Friday

for 


"Dolomite is My Name"


and


The Week in Reviews
(What To See and What To Avoid)


as well as


the latest on


"My 1001 Movies I Must See


Before I Die Project" 





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Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

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 down below the synopsis and the listings for the director, writer and main stars to where it says "Reviews" and click on "Critics" - If I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list.


Friday, October 25, 2019

"Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the documentaries "Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story" now streaming on Amazon Prime as well as the documentaries "Maiden" and "The Biggest Little Farm," now on DVD.  The Book of the Week is Demi Moore's memoir "Inside Out."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "The Bitter Tea of General Yen."]



Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story


The aftermath of comedian Kathy Griffin posting a picture of herself holding the bloody likeness of Donald Trump's severed head.

I wanted to review this film because of what happened to Kathy Griffin after that picture came out back in May of 2017.  You all have probably forgotten the picture right after it was posted, but Donald Trump didn't and he didn't like Kathy Griffin for posting it. And when Donald Trump doesn't like someone, he goes after that person with full force, and in this case, he had the full force of the United States Presidency. 

Whether or not you thought her putting out that picture was funny or in good taste or not, this is a free speech country and it's pretty shocking what happened to Kathy.

Almost immediately after Kathy posted the picture on May 30, 2017, her career was ruined. First, she lost her New Year's Eve gig on CNN, then all of her upcoming comedy shows were canceled and no one would take her calls, which is death to the career of a performer.  Even though she apologized for the picture, almost overnight, she basically could not make a living in the U.S. So she had to leave the country and tour overseas, which was also a problem, since she was put on the no-fly list and was hassled by Homeland Security going through customs in every country. She was also accused of being a member of ISIS and inciting people to kill the President. She endured death threats and was plagued by the Department of Justice. She even had a ketchup bottle thrown at her during a concert in New Zealand by a Trump supporter (there's a Trump supporter in New Zealand)?  

Her life turned into a version of hell and this film is her side of the story.

Since that so-called horrible picture was merely Kathy holding a mask of Donald Trump covered in ketchup, I thought what happened to her was very unfair and the reaction overdramatic, so I wanted to review the film.

Written by Griffin, directed by Troy Miller, and shot using a cell phone (because Griffin doesn't quite have the resouces she once had), the first part of the film is a rehash of what Griffin has been through since posting the picture followed by one of her comedy performances since then.

Now, I have to say that I have always been a Kathy Griffin fan.  I have seen her live in concert two times and she is funny and amazine.  She is the Bruce Springsteen of comedians.  I mean, she has the energy of a rock star and stands up there for three hours and riffs on everything and everyone from what's happening in the news to pop culture to politics.  She is especially fond of making fun of Kim Kardashian. Kathy has no boundaries (even her mother tells her that!), but I have always thought she was very, very funny.  But I also understand that she is not everyone's cup of tea.  Women comics have it rough, because to make it in show biz, especially the mostly male world of stand-up comedy, you have to be tough and tough women are not often popular with audiences.  

But popular or not, Kathy Griffin did not deserve what she got for posting that picture.

This is an important reminder that we live in a free speech country and what happened to Kathy Griffin should not have happened.  That said, it pains me to say that this film would have been better off without the concert footage. She reads some of the death threats she received and rants about Donald Trump, Anderson Cooper (who turned his back on her), Andy Cohen (who was given her New Year's Eve gig and pretends to not know her), Sarah Huckabee Sanders (who is just generally a pain in the ass), and everyone else who played a role in her being outcast.  

She is really, really pissed off and she deserves to be, but I fear that Kathy has been cursed with the same curse that plagued Lenny Bruce at the end of his life, when he started ranting about the unfairness of his arrests for obscenity and stopped being funny.  Now Kathy is ranting about what happened to her in the guise of comedy, but sadly, it's just not that funny. I miss the old Kathy, but I know that what she has been through has wounded her and bitching about Kim Kardashian doesn't really seem very important or relevant anymore.  But I hope she doesn't go off the deep end like Bruce did, and I'm not talking about a drug overdose.  I'm talking about giving up on what she does best. I know she has to do this now, but I hope she eventually finds a balance between her more light-hearted stuff and her mission to protect the First Amendment.

But that said, this film is still important and needs to be seen.  

Griffin is now dedicating her life to protecting the First Amendment so I applaud her for that.  Making this film took courage, so I want you to see this film, because we need to support the fight for free speech in this country, especially in the political climate we are now in.  Kathy had every right to say and do what she wanted. She held up a mask with blood on it, for god's sake. Why was she targeted when so many other people, especially men, have said and done much worse things when it came to Donald Trump? Comics play a real role in free discussion and should not be gagged, pardon the pun.

Rosy the Reviewer says...what happened to Kathy Griffin was historic and unprecedented, and for that reason, whether you are a Kathy Griffin fan or not, you should see this film. It's also a reminder that this kind of hell should not happen to anyone in our free country. You could be next.



***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD



Maiden (2018)


The true tale of Australian Tracy Edwards and her 1989 bid to win the Whitbread Round the World Race with an all female crew.

I especially like the title of this film because it's so meaningful.  It was the name of the boat that entered the race, it was its maiden voyage and the crew was a bunch of maidens. Well, not exactly maidens.  They were young unmarried twenty-somethings, but they were all bad ass women too.  But here is my first question: Since one person said in the film, "The ocean is always trying to kill you," why would someone want to do this? Well, this film tells you why.

"It wasn't a choice, it was just the sort of thing I had to do."

The Whitbread Round the World Race (now known as The Ocean Race) is the longest race on earth - 33,000 nautical miles and nine months of sailing, not to mention the cost of fitting out a boat, hiring a crew and the danger involved.

Written, produced and directed by Alex Holmes, this documentary tells the story of Tracy Edwards, a twenty-something young woman who was compelled to enter this male dominated race.  Raised by parents who instilled a sense of determination and adventure in her, Edwards learned to be strong after the death of her father when she was 10.  She learned a lesson about male dominance from her mother who tried to run her father's business after his death but was forced out by the male contingent who didn't want to take orders from a woman.  She then remarried an abusive alcoholic and sailing became a way for Edwards to leave all of that behind.

When Edwards got herself a job as a cook on an all-male sailing vessel in the Whitbread, she witnessed again that male dominance when it was made clear to her that she was only there to cook and clean. No woman could be part of the crew for the Whitbread. She was treated like a servant, but that helped her make the decision to put an all female crew together for the race.  She mortgaged her house to buy an old boat that didn't look like it could make it across the English Channel let alone around the world, but when it came to getting a sponsor and the funding needed to enter the race, she met resistance at every turn, until eventually, after two years of frustration, an unlikely source appeared: King Hussein I of Jordan who Edwards had met some years before.

Edwards and other members of the crew narrate the film. 

No one had any faith in the women and misogyny ruled, partly because the men couldn't stand to think they might be bested by women.  And the press was just as bad, treating the men as seasoned sailors but asking the women about fashion and makeup.  But after the women won the first leg of the race, the men started taking them seriously and the women knew they were contenders.  In the end, they knew they had done something very special, something they were all told they couldn't do.


This is a compelling story and moves with breathtaking speed and excitement.  You root for these women.  My only complaint is I wish there had been an epilogue so I could have found out what happened to each of the women after the race, but that's a minor complaint about an amazing film about some amazing women, most notably Edwards who became the first woman to be named Britain's Yachtsman of the Year.

Rosy the Reviewer says...who knew I would love this film?  I can't even swim let alone sail!  But I did!




The Biggest Little Farm (2018)


Filmmaker John Chester and his wife Molly struggle to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles.

"This all started with a promise he made to a dog."

John and Molly Chester lived in a tiny apartment in Santa Monica.  He was a wildlife cameraman and she was a healthy food blogger, but they had promised each other they would build a life of purpose together and they decided a farm was the answer, a farm where they would grow their own food in perfect harmony with nature.  Easier said than done.  This is the story about how they went from having no money and living in a small apartment in Santa Monica to a 200 acre sustainable farm.

But back to the dog.

John was shooting a film about an animal hoarder and he rescued one of the animals, a little border collie who he and Molly named Todd.

"Todd filled us with purpose."  

And they made a promise to him that his home with them would be his last.  However, the problem was he barked all day long when they were at work and they were eventually evicted from their apartment.  But they were not going to give up on him because they had made him that promise so they decided now was the time to get that farm.

But they had no money.

But several investors who believed in their vision came along and Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California, two hours from Los Angeles, was born.  But the soil was dead and there was a long road ahead to find that sustainability they were after. So they came up with the idea of opening up the farm to young people from all over the world to come and work and by year three there was a 500% improvement.

Chester's skills as a photographer are evident in this beautifully shot film that he also wrote (with Mark Malone) and directed.  You would think a film about a couple starting a farm would be boring, but it's not. It draws you in and is a relaxing, almost soothing experience.  It's almost like a "you are there" experience as they tackle daily life on the farm.  We see bees, a little lamb whose mother died finds a new mom, a pig gives birth (I may never eat bacon again), ducks, and we witness the symbiotic nature of life on a farm.  Everything that dies also brings life.  But a farm is also ripe for disaster.  There is wind, drought and fire to contend with.

I've always been a city girl but even I was drawn into this experience. This film made me realize that we are all part of something much bigger than our individual selves.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you ever dreamed of going back to the earth, this film will take you there.


***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***


(Author's note:  If you have been following my progress on this project, you will probably notice that the book cover for the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book has changed.  Yes, my peeps, this book comes out in a new edition every couple of years and each new edition adds titles and deletes titles. As of last week, I had wittled my project down to 57 movies to go but decided to update myself and compare the book I had been working on with this new edition. Since I have been using the 2015 edition for this project, I thought I needed to update.

BUT I WAS WRONG!  

Why?  Because all of the movies added are ones I have seen! And basically all of the movies up to the last few years remain and only some fairly recent movies were eliminated to make room for the newer films. So my list of what I still need to see remains.

However, I have to take issue with what was eliminated vs. what was added.  Eliminated from this new edition were Oscar-winning films like "The Theory of Everything," "Life of Pi," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Black Swan" and "Lincoln" with absolutely no explanation to make room for the newer films "Hereditary," "Sorry to Bother You," "The Favourite" and "Phantom Thread," mostly good films but lacking the pedigrees of those that were eliminated.  And to add insult to injury, they kept such horrors as the egregious "Salo," the incomprehensive "Wavelength" and the ridiculous "Blonde Cobra," to name just a few of the films I had to endure during this project. The mind boggles. Just goes to show that one man's "Wavelength" is another woman's "Black Swan."

So the bottom line is this:  if you see a lot of films and have an edition of this book, you probably don't need to update your copy for another ten years. I am still stuck with the same number of movies I need to see and didn't get any off my list that I do still need to see, so I paid $35 for nothing!)



57 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)


A chinese general and a Christian missionary come together during the Chinese Civil War and an unlikely love affair ensues.

Megan Davis (Barbara Stanwyck) has just arrived in China to marry her sweetheart, Robert Strike (Gavin Gordon).  Both are missionaries and their wedding has been planned for that day.  But as soon as Megan arrives, Robert is called upon to save some orphans who are in the midst of the fighting so the wedding is postponed and both head out on their mission of mercy.  You see, our Megan is one of those plucky heroines we loved so much in those old movies.  But the two become separated in the melee and Megan is rescued and taken to the home of General Yen (Nils Asther), a Chinese warlord, where the two become close. 

Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, who was more famous later in his career for his light comedies, this was a melodrama with some mystical elements.  It was also one of Stanwyck's early films and the story had a kind of "The King and I" vibe - the proud General learning a thing or two from the plucky heroine.

An uncharacteristic bathing scene and even the idea of a white woman and a Chinese man falling in love was pretty heady stuff for 1932.  However, characteristically, Yen was not played by a Chinese man but rather a Danish man made to look Chinese in some very overdone makeup, though thankfully he played it straight and avoided cringeworthy stereotyping.  And to the film's credit, the rest of the cast playing Chinese people appeared to be Asian.

Why It's a Must See: "The unlikely love story that ensues is not only Capra's unsung masterpiece but also one of the great Hollywood loves stories of the 1930's: subtle, delicate, moody, mystical and passionate."
---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like the old Hollywood movies from the 30's, you will enjoy this.



***The Book of the Week***



Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore (2019)



Actress Demi Moore shares her story.

I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is celebrity memoirs, the juicier the better and Moore does not disappoint.  Like celebrity gossip, these books are safe.  We can indulge in our darker impulses without hurting anyone.  I mean, I will never meet these folks so it's OK for me to gossip about them, unlike when friends gossip about each other which hurts in real life.

Anyway, Demi, once the highest paid actress in Hollywood, finds herself older, divorced, and convulsing on the floor after puffing on some synthetic pot:

"...How did I get here?  After all the luck and success I'd had as an adult.  After all the running I had to do to survive my childhood.  After a marriage that started out feeling like magic, to the first person I ever really tried to show my whole self to...And, most importantly, after I'd raised three daughters and done everything I could think of to make myself the mother I never had.  Did all of that struggle really add up to nothing?...How did I get here?  This is my story."

Moore puts it all out there: her difficult childhood, her marriage to Bruce Willis, with whom she had three daughters, and her marriage to the much younger Aston Kutcher, who broke her heart and who is now happily married to Mila Kunis and father to their kids. He is supposedly not happy at all about this memoir, especially Demi talking about their threesomes and other personal details. Along with her celebrity, Moore struggled with childhood trauma and her parents' disfunctional marriage, drugs, body image issues, her insecurity about motherhood and the feeling that she really didn't belong in Hollywood.  She talks candidly about all of that and other intimate details, but more importantly, she is now able to reflect on her life and have some peace.

"Everyone scattered for New Year's Eve, and I stayed there at the house by myself.  There was a full moon in the sky that night, and I felt like a full person looking up at it.  I didn't need to jet off to a party.  I didn't need a date.  I felt I had everything I needed.  I belong here.  Here, in myself, in this house, on this planet."

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like juicy celebrity memoirs, this one will not disappoint.  She spills the juice!



Thanks for reading!



See you next Friday

for 


"Maleficent: Mistress of Evil"


and


The Week in Reviews
(What To See and What To Avoid)


as well as


the latest on


"My 1001 Movies I Must See


Before I Die Project" 





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Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll down below the synopsis and the listings for the director, writer and main stars to where it says "Reviews" and click on "Critics" - If I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list.