"Hector and the Search for Happiness" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Hector and the Search for Happiness," the DVD's "A Summer's Tale and "Wish I Was Here" and Gail Sheehy's new book "Daring, My Personal Passages."  I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project,"  tell you about a great new Seattle restaurant (Hecho) and share this week's "A-Ha Moment."

Hector and the Search for Happiness

 

Hector (Simon Pegg) is a London psychiatrist.  He has a predictable, tidy life and predictable, tidy girlfriend, but when he no longer thinks he is helping his patients, and, in fact, thinks they are just whingeing (he staves off his boredom by doodling pictures on his notepad while they prattle on), he decides it is time to go on a journey to discover what happiness is.

 

Hector leaves his girlfriend, Clara (Rosamund Pike, who since "Gone Girl" seems to like to play strange) and hightails it off to China (why China was never explained).  Clara has given him a diary in which to chronicle his journey so after each experience he asks those he encounters, "What makes you happy?"

 

In China, he has a "happy" experience with a "student" and notes that "Freedom is loving two women at the same time," until he discovers the "student" is really a prostitute.  He makes friends with a monk in a monastery far up in the mountains (he helps the monk put up his satellite dish) and then continues on to Africa where a scary plane ride makes him write "Fear is an impediment to happiness."  In Africa, he befriends a drug lord (JeanReno, a recognizable Spanish actor) and gets himself kidnapped by some gun-toting bad guys, and on the plane to L.A. he helps a dying woman suffering the effects of brain surgery and she tells him "Listening is Loving."  In L.A. he meets up with an old love, Toni Collette, and her colleague who is a "expert" on happiness.

 

Let's just say that "The Wizard of Oz" had it right all along.

 

This is an adaptation of Francois LeLord's French novel "Le Voyage d'Hector ou la Recherche du Bonheur," directed by PeterChelsom.

 

This is very Walter Mitty-ish, but in the James Thurber way with little cartoons and drawings expressing Hector's journey and thoughts.

 

This film is a departure for Pegg who we have come to love in "Shaun of the Dead" and the rest of his "CornettoTrilogy," where his character is a smarmy nebbish.  Though here he is still a nebbish, he's a kind nebbish.

 

I was surprised to see this little gem playing at my local multiplex theatre at the mall amidst the Hollywood blockbusters.

 

Many critics have not been kind to this film saying it is too pat and glorifies rich people finding their happiness by dabbling in the lives of people who are poor, likening it to "Eat, Pray, Love," in a bad way.

 

I, however, disagree.

 

Despite how it may appear to some, I think the film's intent was in the right place.  I found it to be the story of a person learning to live in the present moment, and thus finding happiness and that is something that transcends being rich or poor.  That's something we all need to be reminded of.  And, hey, I liked "Eat, Pray, Love," too, so there.

 

Rosy the Reviewer say...if you want some relief from the holiday blockbusters, this charming little film could do the trick.

 

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

A Summer's Tale (Conte D'ete)  (1996)

A quiet math student visiting Dinard, France finds himself in a triad of relationships.

Gaspard is on vacation in a Breton seaside town right before starting a new job. He is also waiting to meet his girlfriend, Lena. In the meantime, he becomes friends with Margot, a local young woman who works at her aunt's creperie in town.  They do a lot of walking and talking where Gaspard shares that he isn't sure about this new job.  He really wants to be a musician. And he isn't really sure about Lena either.  Margot, who is also in a relationship, in turn introduces Gaspard to Solene.  When Lena finally does arrive, Gaspard must figure out who and what he wants.

Gaspard doesn't really know what he wants. There is some homage to "The Graduate" when a man tells Gaspard he should get into "plastics."

Gaspard and Margot do most of the walking and talking with gorgeous French seascapes as their backdrop, very reminisicent of Richard Linklater's "Before Trilogy" ("Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight") where Celine (Julie Delpey) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) explore their relationship as they walk around Vienna, Paris and a Greek peninsula respectively.

This film, directed by French auteur Eric Rohmer, is also part of a series, Rohmer's "Tales of the Four Seasons," which in addition to this one (Summer) includes "A Tale of Springtime (1990)," "A Tale of Winter (1992)," and "Autumn Tale (1998)."  Though  this film preceded "Autumn Tale," it was oddly never released in the United States until this year.

Rohmer's films are character studies where not much happens, well, not overtly, anyway.  What he captures is real life. You feel as if you are a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on the most personal conversations and human emotions, all beautifully photographed and eloquently paced.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Rohmer is a master filmmaker and if you liked the "Before Trilogy," you will like this.

 

Wish I Was Here (2014)

Aiden Bloom (Zach Braff) is 35, an unemployed actor with a wage-earning wife who hates her job (Kate Hudson) and a dying father.

Aiden doesn't have a job but is following his dream, his wife is being sexually harassed at work, his kids are more Orthodox than their parents and therein lies the comedy.

Or not. 

Aiden's Dad (Mandy Patinkin) would pay for private school for Aiden's kids as long it was Jewish Orthodox school.  Now Aiden's Dad is dying and Aiden has to pull his kids out of that school.  However, they are very entrenched, even to the point where his daughter is already fantasizing about shaving her head and wearing a wig once she is married, as Orthodox women do.  So because Aiden is an unemployed actor, he decides to homeschool the kids.  Aiden's brother (played by Josh Gad, who is a sort of indie Jack Black) is a hermit living in a trailer above Pacific Palisades (not a bad life) on money his mother left him and obsessed with Comic-con and his female neighbor, who has embraced the "furry" thing.

Zach Braff and his brother Adam wrote this film about their relationship with their Dad.  There is a reference to "Star Wars" as when Aiden is stressed, he imagines himself a superhero following a dark Darth Vader-like character ("Luke, I am your father.")

Though the film is earnest and well-meaning, it's all over the place.

The film raises issues of death and dying, raising kids in faith, family, following your dream, the meaning of life, how do you reconcile your faith with living your life.  This movie is all over the place and therein lies the rub.  It's well meaning, but not very good.  It's schmaltzy and earnest with a touch of Woody Allen.  I think Braff would like to be Woody.  But he's not there yet.

Zach Braff actually financed this film using Kickstarter.  He put it out there and within 48 hours had the money to fund this film, which shows how many fans he has from "Scrubs."

Rosy the Reviewer says...obviously a labor of love on Braff's part, but love does not a good film make.  Not a bad movie, but not a very good one either.

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

 

 

295 to go!

Enter the Dragon (1973)

 

 

Bruce Lee plays a martial artist who is asked to attend a tournament in order to spy on a suspected drug lord.

Why it's a Must See:  "...the action still delivers nonstop astonishment as, without the aid of the wires or effected used in the likes of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), Lee goes magnificently through the motions, twirling his signature nunchaku, flexing his oiled torso.  Influential on an entire genre of subsequent martial arts movies and a template for every beat-'em up computer game, Enter The Dragon wins its place in film history purely on the strength of Lee's charismatic presence and literally inimitable fighting moves."

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

Lee is not what I would call a great actor and the dubbing didn't help, but the fight scenes were indeed impressive.  Lee designed all of the fight scenes himself.

And I can see evidence of influence on Quentin Tarantino too and definitely the Chinese films to come as mentioned by "1001 Movies..". 

However, this film also bears some influences and appears to be borrowing heavily from the James Bond films, especially "Dr. No (the villain even has a white cat)" and the climactic scene in the hall of mirrors is reminiscent of Orson Welles' similar scene in "The Lady from Shanghai."   (1947)

This was Lee's last film before his untimely death.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Despite its ground breaking fight scenes, this film is very 70's - the music, the clothes, the dialogue - and doesn't hold up well by today's standards, despite Lee's martial arts prowess.  It reminded me of the "Mod Squad" and blaxsploitation films and is more of a reminder of Lee than a great movie.




Within Our Gates (1920)

 

Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer), a Southern black teacher travels north to raise money for her school in this silent film about prejudice in the early part of the 20th century. 

In flashbacks, we see Sylvia's story: her adoptive parents lynched and an attempted rape.

This film was banned in many theatres of the time.

Why it's a Must See: Successful author, publisher, homesteader, and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux is widely considered the father of African American cinema; only his second effort, Within Our Gates is one of forty films Micheaux wrote, directed, and independently produced between 1919 and 1948.  Besides it's gripping narrative and artistic merits, [this film] has immense historical value as the earliest surviving feature by an African American director. Powerful, controversial, and still haunting in its depiction of the atrocities committed by white Americans against blacks during this era, the film remains, in the words of one critic, 'a powerful and enlightening cultural document {that} is no less relevant today than it was in 1920'"

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

Melodramatic and at times stereotypic, still, Micheaux was heroic in his film-making. He affirmed education and equality.

 

This film was lost for 70 years and rediscovered at the Filmoteca Espanola in Madrid in 1990 and restored.  Despite restoration, the film is still rough.  Silent films are not easy, either, these days. 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...I knew nothing of Micheaux and as a film lover, am glad to see this film and to get a glimpse of early African-American films.  But it was not an easy watch.



***Book of the Week***

 

Daring: My Passages by Gail Sheehy (2014)
 

 

Gail Sheehy made her mark with her landmark book "Passages" in 1976, named by the Library of Congress as one of the ten "most influential books of our times." This is a memoir about her personal "passages."

Before she hit it big with "Passages," she was an early contributor to "New York Magazine" and after a long and rocky courtship famously married its founder and much older, Clay Felker.  She chronicles his struggle with cancer, her caregiving and his eventual death.
Sheehy's style of journalism fell into what Tom Wolfe called "New Journalism," a style that was literary and unconventional for the time.  Think Joan Dideon and Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." Since "Passages," she followed up with several other books to help us understand how the years take their toll, a book on the "silent passage (menopause), "new" passages and passages in caregiving.

She was a trail-blazing journalist and was one of the women who paved the way for the rest of us feminists, though she didn't know it at the time.

Rosy the Reviewer says...If you have enjoyed the "Passages" books and stories of career women of the 1950's and 60's, you will enjoy this.

 

 

 

***Restaurant of the Week***

 

 

Hecho

 

 

Where Carmelita used to be in Phinney Ridge, we now have a Mexican restaurant featuring delicious street food.

Hubby was kvelling over the fried plantains with black bean sauce and his carne asada was cooked perfectly.  If you like soft tacos, there are many to choose from on fresh made tortillas. Speaking of which, the tortilla chips were to die for - deliciously homemade and fresh as was the salsa, though the salsa could have used a bit more spice and heat.  Staff is noticeably very friendly, always a welcome aspect.

Rosy the Reviewer says...there is always room in Seattle for a good Mexican restaurant (they are hard to come by) so welcome, Hecho!

 

 

***My A-HA Moment of the Week***

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship."  Brene Brown said that.

 Everyone needs to feel seen and heard.  I said that.

 

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

That's it for this week.

 

See you Tuesday for

"My Favorite Movies, DVDs, and Books of the Year
(And Some I Hated)" 

 

 

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email it to your friends and
LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer.

Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

Here is a quick link to get to many of them.  Choose the film you are interested in and then scroll down the list of reviewers to find "Rosy the Reviewer."
 

Or you can go directly to IMDB.  

Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Holiday Carol, An Update (With Apologies to Charles Dickens)

Ebenezer Scrooge was in a bad mood as he headed to his office. He was always in a bad mood.

He encountered his nephew Fred.

Fred: Happy Holidays, Uncle! I’m off to the library!

Scrooge: Bah, Humbug! What right do you have to be happy? You’re poor enough. And what do you want with the library? What good is it to you?

Fred (laughing): And what right have you to be dismal, Uncle? You’re rich enough.

Scrooge: (grumbling) What else can I be, when I live in such a world of fools as this? Happy Holidays. What are the holidays but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer?

Fred: All the more reason to go to the library, Uncle. When times are hard, the library is a good place to go. I am getting some DVDs, which I can borrow for not a pence and I can use their computers to print out my holiday greetings. I am going out of town, so I am also going to check out some audio books to listen to on the plane. But join us for our holiday dinner. We are going to watch the Dr. Who Holiday Special.  Good day, Uncle!

As Scrooge enters his business premises, two other people follow him in. They are portly gentlemen and stand with their hats off in Scrooge’s office.

Gentleman #1: Scrooge and Marley’s, I believe. Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge or Mr. Marley?

Scrooge: Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years. He died seven years ago this very night.

Gentleman #2: We are from the Friends of the Library and are asking for donations to fund our classes and programs. At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should have events and activities to benefit those in our community who are finding these economic times difficult and, who suffer greatly at the present time due to the bad economy. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries, hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts. Coming to the library is of great comfort to many.

Scrooge: Are there no prisons? And the workhouses? Are they still in operation?

Gentleman #1: (cautiously) Both very busy, sir.

Scrooge: Good. I was afraid from what you said that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course. I’m very glad to hear it.

Gentleman #2. But people would rather die than go there.

Scrooge: Then they should do it and decrease the surplus population.

Gentleman #1: (thinking Scrooge is joking): We choose this time of year because it is a time when Want is keenly felt. What shall we put you down for?”

Scrooge: Nothing.

Gentleman #2: (hopefully) You wish to remain anonymous?

Scrooge: I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry during the holidays and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned – they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there. Who cares about libraries? Now leave my premises.

That evening, Scrooge takes his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern and reads all the newspapers, and beguiles the rest of the evening with his banker’s book and then goes home to bed. He lives in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner, Jacob Marley. They are a gloomy suite of rooms that suit Scrooge’s personality.

As the candles flicker, Scrooge nods off to sleep --- only to be awakened by a clanking noise, as if some person were dragging a heavy chain. The door flies open and he beholds an apparition.

Scrooge: Who are you? What do you want with me?

Ghost: I am Marley’s ghost.

Scrooge: What? You’re not Jacob Marley.

Ghost: Jacob Marley? I thought they said Bob Marley.

Scrooge: Well my partner’s name was Jacob Marley.

Ghost: Whatever, mon. The message will be the same and here it is.

(reciting) It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen and travel far and wide and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. I wear the chain I forged in life. I never walked beyond our counting-house in life and never believed in the power of libraries. Seven years dead and travelling all the time. The whole time. No rest, no peace, incessant torture of remorse, because I spent all of that money on Netflix when I could have had DVDs for free or that I never learned how to use a computer because I didn’t know the library had free classes.

Scrooge: Huh?

Ghost: (shaking his head) Basically, mon, Marley didn’t live a very nice life, never helped anyone, lived only for himself and didn’t get it that libraries are life-changers and would have saved him all of that precious money he cared so much about. But you have a chance to change that. 

(getting back into character)

Scrooge, you will be haunted by Three Spirits. Without their visits you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first tomorrow when the bell tolls One.

And the spirit disappears. Scrooge feels a draft, shivers and closes the window. He examines the door by which the ghost had entered. It is double-locked and the bolts undisturbed.

Scrooge: Hum…

He stops after the first syllable, goes straight to bed and falls asleep upon the instant.
Suddenly, the curtains of his bed are drawn aside and Scrooge finds himself face to face with another ghost.

Scrooge: Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?

Ghost: I am.

Scrooge: What and who are you?

Ghost: I am the Ghost of Years Past.

Scrooge: Long Past?

Ghost: Your past. Rise and walk with me.

All of a sudden in the blink of an eye, Scrooge and the spirit are standing outside looking up at a large brick building.

Scrooge: This was my boyhood library!

Ghost: You recollect the way?

Scrooge: Remember it, I could walk it blindfold.

They walk around the library, Scrooge recognizing his favorite childhood books.

Scrooge: The library is deserted.

Ghost: The library is not quite deserted. A solitary child, neglected by his family, is left there still.

(The Spirit touches Scrooge on the arm and points to his younger self intent upon his reading.)

Suddenly they are surrounded by storybook characters: Curious George and The Wild Things from “Where the Wild Things Are."


Scrooge: I had forgotten what a lonely boy I was and how the library was a place I went to escape that loneliness and the misery of my family. All of those lovely books. Without the library, I would have been miserable indeed. The library saved me.

A beautiful and glamorous librarian appears.

Librarian: Happy Holidays, Young Scrooge. Here is the last book in the Divergent series. I saved it for you.

Scrooge: (his face lighting up) She was always so welcoming and wonderful to me. She smashed the librarian stereotype. She never wore a bun or practical shoes and never shushed me. And she had tattoos! All of the library staff were welcoming and friendly people. And the place was so alive, full of people using the computers, attending the classes and events, gathering with their neighbors…

Ghost: A small matter, to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.

Scrooge: Small?

Ghost: (Looking at Scrooge sincerely) People spend but a few pounds of mortal money for library service. Is that so much that they deserve this praise?

Scrooge: It isn’t that…The happiness and help they give is quite as great as if it cost a fortune. Books and the teen programs at the library helped me through some sad and lonely times. And where else can you go to find information on all sides of a subject and not be judged? The library protects our rights to information and is the backbone of what makes this country great.
But somehow I lost my way. Spirit…show me no more. Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me?

The spirit disappears under the door in a burst of light. Scrooge is overcome by drowsiness and barely has time to reel to bed before he sinks into a heavy sleep. Scrooge jolts awake from a prodigious snore. A strange voice calls him by name. A light shines from an adjoining room. A woman who bids him enter. 


Ghost:

I am the Ghost of the Present.

She is clothed in a green robe and jewels, but her nametag clearly indicates she is a librarian.

Ghost: You have never seen the like of me before.

Scrooge: No, actually I recognized you as a librarian right away. I am used to glamorous librarians.

Ghost: Touch my robe.

As Scrooge does so the room disappears and they stand in the threshold of Bob Cratchit’s dwelling. Bob Cratchit is Scrooge’s employee. Mrs. Cratchit is there dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown but brave in ribbons. 
  

She is laying the table with her daughter and two smaller Cratchits are also there. Bob Cratchit appears with Little Tiny Tarquin on his shoulder. Bob is sad and Little Tiny Tarquin is crying.

Scrooge: Spirit, tell me what is wrong with Little Tiny Tarquin?

Ghost: You cut Bob Crachit’s hours and he was no longer able to keep up his car payments. They no longer have a car to get to the library and they can’t afford bus fare either because of the meager wages Bob receives. Little Tiny Tarquin worries that he will not do well in school if he doesn’t get to attend the Ready Reader story times at the library. He doesn’t want to start kindergarten without the same skills that other children will have. I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney corner. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will not succeed in kindergarten or in life.

Scrooge: No, no. Oh, no, Spirit, say he will be spared.

Ghost: Let him go to the prisons and the workhouses and decrease the surplus population.

Scrooge hangs his head when hearing his own words quoted by the Spirit. Suddenly the bells toll and as the last stroke ceases to vibrate, Scrooge remembers the prediction of Bob Marley and lifting up his eyes, beholds a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming like a mist along the ground towards him. It is shrouded in a dark garment, which conceals its head, its form and leaves nothing of it visible save its nose and one outstretched paw…er, hand.

Scrooge: Am I in the presence of the Ghost of What is Yet To Come? You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us. Is that so, Spirit? Ghost of the Future, I fear you more than any specter I have seen. Will you not speak to me?

The Ghost remains silent and leads Scrooge through the darkened town. The Spirit stops beside one little knot of business men.

Man: No, I don’t know much about it, either way. I only know all of the libraries have been closed.

Man 2: When did they close? What happened? I thought they would be there forever.

Man: So did I. But no one supported them and they disappeared.

The spirit leads Scrooge to a dark building. The Phantom’s claw points to a sign.

Scrooge: Before I draw nearer to that sign to which you point, answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that WILL be or are they shadows of things that MAY be?

Scrooge creeps towards the sign, trembling as he goes; and following the pointing claw reads upon the sign

LIBRARY CLOSED.

Scrooge: Oh, no, Spirit, no. Spirit, hear me. I am not the man I was. Why show me this, if I am past all hope? I will honor libraries in my heart and support them all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on that sign.

Holding up his hands, Scrooge sees an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrinks, collapses and dwindles down into his bedpost.

Scrooge: They are not closed. They are here—I am here—the shadows of the things that would have been may be dispelled. They will be, I know they will.

Scrooge dresses and sets out to town. He has not gone far when coming on towards him he beholds the portly gentlemen from the Friends of the Library who had walked into his counting house the day before.

Scrooge: My dear sirs. How do you do? I hope you succeeded yesterday. If you please, accept this donation to the Friends of the Library. And I would love to support my library in any way possible.

Gentleman: I don’t know what to say about such munificence.

Scrooge: Don’t say anything please. Come and see me. I would like to be active in your group.

Scrooge then heads to his nephew, Fred's, home.

Scrooge: (knocking on Fred's door) Fred, Fred, let me in. I've come to watch the Dr. Who Holiday Special with you!

The next day, Scrooge is early to his office. If he could only be here first and catch Bob Cratchit coming late. That was the thing he had set his heart upon. And Bob was late.

Scrooge: (growling but hiding a grin) What do you mean by coming here at this time of day?

Bob: I am very sorry, sir. I am behind my time. It’s only once a year, sir. It shall not be repeated. I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.

Scrooge: Now, I’ll tell you what, my friend. I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer…and therefore I am about to raise your salary! I will raise your salary and endeavor to assist your struggling family. I want to take Little Tiny Tarquin to the library. They have family story times that would be fun for all of us to go to. And we can take him to the Ready Reader story times so he can get ready for kindergarten. We want him to succeed, don’t we, Bob. And I want you to improve your computer skills. They have free classes.

Scrooge couldn’t stop talking about the library and he was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more.

He became a library champion!

He shared his enthusiasm with everyone he encountered. And he became a donor to the Library Foundation which supports library programs and services. 

And to Little Tiny Tarquin he was a second father. He enjoyed attending the Ready Reader story times with him. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh and little heeded them: for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset. His own heart laughed; and that was quite enough for him.

Scrooge had no further visits from Spirits but lived upon the principle that libraries mattered ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep the holidays well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. 

And so, as Little Tiny Tarquin observed,

“Arf, Arf, Arf, Arf, Arf Arf!”

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Why not make a New Year's Resolution to support your local libraries?

Thanks for  reading!

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"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part I" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part I," the DVDs "Ida" and "Tammy" and the book "The Portlandia Cookbook." I will also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" - and there is one this week you will NOT want to miss!  I also have an "A-HA Moment" to share]



The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I

 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is back in Part III of "The Hunger Games" series.  After being rescued from the destroyed arena from Part II, she is now in an underground community with the District 13 rebels.  They need someone to be a symbol of the rebellion - the Mockingjay - so that the other districts will be inspired to join them in taking over the Capitol.

 

However, Katnis does not want to help the District 13 rebellion, because they did not save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the arena, but when she sees the destruction done to District 12 and later, the capitol's merciless bombing of a hospital housing innocent women and children, Katniss relents.  And when she discovered that Peeta has been brainwashed and is being used as propaganda for the bad guys, saving Peeta is one of her conditions for becoming the "Mockingjay."

 

Anyway, I think that's what this third installment of the franchise is about.

 

Whether it's "Star Wars" or "The Hunger Games," I have a problem with these movie series that have several sequels in order to continue the story, especially when you have to remember what happened in the last movie to get up to speed for the present one.  By the time Part II of this one comes out, I will have forgotten Part I.  I am not a fan of having to do my homework before I see a film so that I will know what is going on.  It's like going to see an opera where reading the libretto is usually a good idea.  Likewise here, unless you have read the books, you should probably remind yourself of what happened in the first two films.  And if you didn't see the first two films, you won't know what's going on either.

 

So you should probably bone up.

 

Hunger Games Part I and Hunger Games Part II.

 

You are very welcome.

 

But since the first hour of this latest installment is quite boring and drab, it really wasn't a problem for me to spend some of that time trying to remember where the last installment left off.  Things pick up during the last half and the theme that permeates this series - the power of the media as propaganda - is till a major focus of the film.  It ends, however, leaving us hanging once again as movies with sequels are wont to do.  So that means when Part II comes out, I will have to try to remember what happened in Part I.  Sigh.

 

Julianne Moore plays the President of District 13 and Philip Seymour Hoffman, looking much better than he did in "A Most Wanted Man, (which I reviewed last week) returns as Plutarch Heavensbee, sadly in his last role before his death.  Liam Hemsworth handsomely returns as the lovelorn Gale and Donald Sutherland as President Snow.  Elizabeth Banks (Effie) and Woody Harrelson (Haymitch) also return, but don't have much more to do than stand around.

 

Jennifer Lawrence is always good and she has some chances to show off her acting chops, but I think this franchise has run out of steam especially with the "Divergent" series nipping at its heels.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...the hardcore "Hunger Games" fans will probably eat this up, but for me none of the sequels have been a good as the first installment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

Ida (2013)

Right before taking her vows, a young Polish novitiate nun discovers a dark secret about her past.

Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) was abandoned as a baby and has been raised in a convent.  She is now 18 and ready to take her vows, but the Mother Superior sends her to see an Aunt she never knew she had.  Her aunt, Wanda  (Agata Kulesca) was a hard-bitten judge and now is a hard-drinking, bitter, promiscuous woman who sneers at Anna when she tells her that her real name is Ida, she is Jewish and her parents were killed in WW II.  But the two set out on a road trip through a bleak, black and white 1960's Poland to discover what happened to Ida's parents.
  
This is a strange little road trip cum buddy film with the innocent Ida and the world weary Wanda traveling back into the sad Jewish history of WW II Poland.  Filmed in black and white and with minimal dialog and a lingering camera, Director Pawel Pawlikowski (his first film in his native Poland) captures the sadness and hardness of post-WW II experienced by so many.

Trzebuchowska is a newcomer reminiscent of Jessica Chastain and beautifully captures the innocence of someone who has only known convent life.  Kulesca likewise is beautiful in her role but as an opposite - someone who was a judge for Stalin and now a lonely woman of a certain age, has known the dark side of life.

This film reminded me of the neo-realist films of Roberto Rossellini and the early French New Wave.

There is buzz around this film being nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Haunting.
(b & w with subtitles)


 
Tammy (2014)

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is kind of a loser.  Well, not kind of.  She is, and after losing her job and catching her husband cheating, she hits the road with her booze swilling grandma (Susan Sarandon).

 

Tammy is having a really bad day.  She hits a deer on the way to work, gets fired for being late and mouthing off to her boss (Ben Falcone) and when she gets home, finding her husband having a romantic dinner with another woman - and he prepared the meal.  Something he never did for Tammy.  Tammy leaves him to go to her mother's (two doors down) - her grandma also lives there - and Tammy and her grandma decide to get the hell out of Dodge, well, Illinois actually, and go to Niagara Falls, something Grandma has always wanted to see.

 

This is a sort of buddy film cum road movie and with Sarandon in it, one can't help but think there is a little nod and a wink to "Thelma and Louise."  But if so, this movie doesn't even come close.

 

Grandma likes the booze and they start out drinking beer and doing wheelies in a field - a filmic bit to show their newfound freedom, I guess.  However, I think I said out loud, "Who does that?"  And it was all down hill from there.

 

McCarthy made a name for herself in "Bridesmaids" and has perfected the role of the smart-talking, foul-mouthed agile fat girl ever since.  As funny as McCarthy can be, she can't save this mess. Obviously it was written and directed as a showcase for McCarthy (she and her husband Falcone wrote the screenplay).  Every scene is a set up for her to do a gag.  But unfortunately, the gags are not funny and some of them are darn right semi-offensive, as when she grabs her crotch on the way to rob a fast food place.

 

Falcone directed this star-studded cast:  In addition to Sarandon, Allison Janney, Toni Colette (who has gotten way to skinny - she looks like a skeleton), Kathy Bates, Dan Ackroyd and Sandra Oh in what can only be called "cameos."  What they are doing in this thing is anybody's guess.  Someone must have called in some favors.

 

The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...really terrible.  Avoid.

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

 

295 to go!

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

An orphaned young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in WW II Japan.

Seita and his little sister, Setsuko, are forced from their village after a firestorm of bombs rains down and destroys it.  With their father serving in the military and their mother killed by a bomb, the two must make their way alone.  An aunt takes them in but she is cruel to them, so Seita decides they will live on their own in a nearby cave.

If "Hello Kitty" is any indication, the Japanese seem to love really cute little characters and the little girl in this film, Setsuko, is about as adorable as any character can get.  You will not be able to resist her.

Why it's a Must See:  "With an attention to craft and design absent from so much mainstream Western animation, several Japanese animators have subverted the traditionally child-oriented nature of cartoons...into grand achievements equal to any big budget, live-action film...as [this] readily attests, sometimes these animated films actually surpass their live-action equivalents, finding narrative freedom, emotional honesty, and a greater sense of artistic control on the plane of a two-dimensional set."
---"1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die"

If you cried when Bambi's mother was killed or when Dumbo was reunited with his caged mother, you will definitely blubber through this one. This is no kiddie cartoon. This is the story of the innocent victims of war with gorgeous visuals and a haunting soundtrack.  I never thought I would like anime, let alone feel so strongly about it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a masterpiece, not just of anime, but a masterpiece.  I'm so glad I saw this one before I died.  You will be too.


Gomorrah (2008)

An inside look at the little known Camorra.

 

The Camorra is the Neapolitan Mafia and this is a grim account of that world.  This is not the romanticized version of mob life that we have seen in "The Godfather."  This is no Hollywood version of the mob.  This is grittier, dirtier and much more violent in its lack of respect for human life.

The main story follows two teenagers who know "Scarface" by heart and see this life as a way to have women and money, but there are other characters and stories interwoven, so much so that it's difficult at times to know who is doing what to whom.  There are no big stars and the film is so matter-of-fact, it feels like a documentary, a very scary documentary where human life is cheap and violence is just a day in the life.

 

Why it's a Must See: "The film opens with a Mob hit and then drops us into the [little known] physical world of the Camorra -- the actual Neapolitan Mafia...[Director] Garrone builds...to a bloody finale that while expected is nonetheless shocking. [The film explores] the Camorrista fascination with Hollywood gangsters, especially Brian De Palma's Scarface (1983)...This underworld mirror of mainstream civilization -- determined by mass media images, legal transgressions, and violence -- has a biting sense of humor that lingers long after Gomorra's conclusion."

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

 

This film won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2008 and was a blockbuster hit in Europe, but was snubbed for an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.  I am not surprised.  This film is not for everyone.  It's all about bad guys, bad guys and more bad guys.

 

Based on a book by Roberto Saviano, it exposes this little known group and since publication Saviano has needed round the clock police protection.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Unsentimental, depressing and bleak.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

***Book of the Week***

 
The Portlandia Cookbook by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (2014)

A companion cookbook to the TV show "Portlandia" starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein who make loving fun of Portland.

You will find such recipes as "Wild Mushroom and Artichoke Tartines," and "Claire's Co-Worker's Sichuan Chicken Wings (which are delicious, by the way)," Claire being one of many of Brownstein's characters on the show (Claire and Doug binge watch TV series - Don't tell them how it ends!), and a "contributor" along with all of the other characters who will be recognizable by fans of the show such as:  Peter and Nance, our politically correct couple who only eat locally sourced food, Spyke, the intense bicycle rights advocate, and the role reversal couple, Nina & Lance (Armisen is Nina and Brownstein is Lance).

Recipes are accompanied by "Portlandia tips," such as how to eat at a communal table ("No matter how nice they seem, please do not request to try a bite of your neighbor's food"), how to throw a locavore dinner party and a guide to picking a table at a restaurant ("When you go to a restaurant, you have a right...to move from table to table. Do not be afraid to constantly move around [if things like a vent blowing on you bothers you or the sun is in your eyes]. In case you are seated at an uneven, rocking table, we recommend bringing a wedge of wood with you to the restaurant.")

Rosy the Reviewer says...Fans of the show and of Portland will get the quirky humor, others may not, but the recipes are surprisingly good.

***My A-HA Moment of the Week***

Remember my post right after my birthday last year where I said I was going to make one change per month to make a BIG change in my life?

(Read about it right here)

Well, so far, I managed to make it through one month where I didn't drink the same coffee drink but that's about it.  Last month I was supposed to walk Tarquin, my little wine-guzzling poodle, every day and I think I took him out twice.

So what's the "A-HA Moment?"

I am crap at making changes to my life.  Poor Tarquin.

Thanks for Reading!

 

That's it for this week.

 

See you Tuesday for

"My Favorite Movies, DVDs, TV Shows and Books of 2014 (and some I hated).

 

 

 

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