Friday, November 22, 2019

"The Good Liar" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "The Good Liar" as well as DVDs "Stuber" and "Pavarotti."  The Book of the Week is "Letters From Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "Deewaar."]



The Good Liar


Con man Ray Courtnay (Ian McKellen) and widow Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) meet online, a relationship develops, and secrets are revealed.

Ray Courtnay and Betty McLeish, both people of a certain age, meet online and hit it off on their first in person date. Ray seems to be a suave older gentleman, but he is not at all what he seems. He is actually a hard-working and ruthless con man. Betty seems to be a rather naive widow living in a rather bland London suburb under the watchful eye of her adult grandson (Russell Tovey), who is suspicious of Ray from the get go.  Much to Ray's delight, Betty is rolling in cash.  However, she is not what she seems either.

When Ray finds out what Betty is worth, he embarks on a plan to con her out of her money with the help of Vincent (Jim Carter), his partner in crime.  Their plan is to get Betty to set up a joint account with Ray, and once that is done, take all of the money.  Well, that's the plan, anyway.

This is one of those films that is very difficult to review because saying too much about it will give it away.  However, let's just say I knew what was going to happen from the first frame.  But I didn't know how it was going to happen and, as they say, it's the journey, right?  And I loved almost every minute of this journey, though the twist ending was a stretch.

Audiences can always count on Helen Mirren to put in a great performance and she does here too. But it seems to me that casting her in this part is a sort of giveaway of the movie.  I have this theory about figuring out "who dunnits."  If there is someone in the cast who is quite famous but seems to have a very small part, that's your killer. So even though I had not read the book upon which this film is based nor did I know exactly how it would end, I knew right away that Betty McLeish was not the sweet, naive soul she seemed, because we all know that our Helen doesn't play sweet and naive. 

And then there is Sir Ian McKellan.  He is just a marvel.  At age 80, he is still going strong and in this role he is a long way from Gandalf. Here he is very believable as a ruthless con-man posing as a doddering sweet old man.

Written by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novel by Nicholas Searle and directed by Bill Condon, this is a smart and fast-moving drama that will keep you guessing on how it's all going to end and a chance to see two consummate actors at the top of their game.  

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are sick of superheroes, comedies that aren't funny and Disney's live action remakes, then this is for you!




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


On DVD





Stuber (2019)


An unexpected night of adventure for an Uber driver.

Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) is a part-time Uber driver (his real job is in a sporting goods store working for a snotty rich kid whose Dad owns the store).  He drives an electric Prius and is after the ultimate prize - a five star rating.  However, it eludes him because he is socially awkward and says inappropriate things. But he doesn't plan to drive an Uber for the rest of his life. He is planning to start a fitness business with Becca (Betty Gilpin), the girl he is in love with, but who he is too afraid to tell. 

Vic Manning (Dave Bautista) is a cop whose partner was killed by gang villain, Oka Tedjo (Iko Uwais), and Vic wants revenge.  When Vic gets a tip where Tedjo is, he heads out to get him.  Unfortunately, Vic has just had lasik surgery and can't see for the next 24 hours while his eyes adjust.  However, that doesn't stop him.  Off he goes in an absurd attempt at driving, that results in his wrecking his car.  So, what does one do when one wrecks one's car?  Why one calls an Uber!  And that's right. Vic gets Stu and a reluctant Stu is forced into helping Vic. An odd couple buddy movie ensues.

That's the basic premise and the film has its funny moments, because Nanjiani is the king of deadpan, funny throwaway lines and bits such as calling Vic "Douche Lundgren" or saying to Vic "Thank you for that Ted Talk" when Vic was mansplaining something to him; and when asked where he was shot, his reply? "Where the blood is coming from."  I find that kind of dry humor funny.  He also does a "drop the mic" thing after a fight but instead of dropping a mic, he drops the frying pan that he had just hit a guy with. 

Some other scenes also made me chuckle, like when other people pile into the back seat of the Uber because Vic chose the pool option by mistake, and when Vic couldn't make Tedjo talk through brute force, he made him talk by grabbing his phone and telling him he was going to make it look like Tedjo had posted tweets saying he liked Ryan Gosling movies, especially "The Notebook."  Tedjo didn't mind getting beaten up but he couldn't stand the idea that his friends might think he liked Ryan Gosling movies!

However, what wasn't funny was the whole concept of Vic not being able to see but carrying on anyway, and that became really annoying after awhile and just absurd.  What cop would go after his arch enemy when he can't see anything?  However, if you like violence, there is a lot of it in some stylized fight scenes all accompanied by a pop song. There is also a particularly jaw-dropping scene where Tedjo repels down the side of a high-rise atrium.

There are also a couple of side stories.  One involves Vic's daughter, Nicole (Natalie Morales), who is an artist having her first gallery showing and Vic not being a very considerate father. She doesn't have much faith in him when she says "Who goes and has laser surgery right before going to see his daughter's art show?" Vic is literally short-sighted: he can't see because of his lasik surgery, but he also can't see that he has ignored his family. And Stu is in love with Becca and wants to get away from Vic to get to Sara because she is drunk and wants to hook up. Both are trying to get this whole Tedjo thing done so they can get back to their real lives.

Bautista, best known for playing Drax the Destroyer in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, does a decent job of holding up his end in this buddy film, but his contribution is mostly slapstick as he bumbles around not being able to see.  That's not my kind of humor.  The laughs come from Nanjiani who wrote and starred in one of my favorite films of 2017, "The Big Sick."

Directed by Michael Douse with a script by Tripper Clancy, I will give this movie some props for originality: those fight scenes choreographed to "The Clapping Song" and Air Supply were good and the idea of a fussy Uber driver comandeered by a blind cop had potential.  The dialogue was funny at times, but the premise doesn't really live up to the dialogue and ultimately "Stuber" was kind of stupid.

Rosy the Reviewer says...faint praise.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  It was bad but not AS bad...




Pavarotti (2019)


A flattering documentary about the life and career of opera great, Luciano Pavarotti.

Narrated by several people who knew and loved Pavarotti, as well as interviews and narration from Pavarotti himself, this Ron Howard film shows Pavarotti as a happy, carefree person who was grateful for what he had.  When asked how he wished to be remembered in a hundred years, he replied, "...as a man who took opera to the people..."  And he did that, because he not only had a big talent, he had a big smile and a big personality and people loved him. Pavarotti became the rock star of opera. This film shows how and why.

Born in Modena, Italy, during WW II, Luciano's father was a baker, but also a tenor, so Pavarotti felt the pull to follow in his father's footsteps.  In 1955, Pavarotti won first prize in an opera contest in Wales and the prize was the opportunity to sing in a big opera production.  He sang the part of Rudolfo in "La Boheme," a role that became one of his signatures.  However, he did not hit it big until later.  He was a school teacher with a wife and they had three daughters in four years.  They were struggling and his first wife was the breadwinner while Luciano tried to get his career going.  He got his big break when he stood in for a sick Giuseppe Di Stefano, the reigning tenor. 

Pavarotti then hired Herbert Breslin, "the most hated man in opera" to be his manager and that is when Luciano started not only starring in opera productions but doing recitals and concerts.  In 1968, Pavarotti debuted at The Met and that became his artistic home and his star ascended.  One person who weighs in says that a tenor must have a high C and Pavarotti became The King of the High C's" when he sang the part of Tonio in "La Fille du Regiment," a role requiring the tenor to hit not one but EIGHT high C's. Later, he formed a partnership with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo and The Three Tenors was formed, becoming "The biggest band in the world."  Pavarotti even performed with Bono.  He truly became the rock star of opera.

The film skirts Pavarotti's private life, mentioning an illness that struck one of his daughters, but only briefly covering his first marriage and no mention of his indiscretions, other than to say that life on the road was lonely, a euphemism for why so many touring singers and musicians stray.  The film is clearly a love letter to Pavarotti, a fairly straight-forward linear narrative about Pavarotti's life and career, and if you are a Pavarotti fan, you will eat this up.  However, I found the narrative rather dry, and I hate to say it, rather boring at times, but the performances were wonderful. And yes, he sings "Nessun Dorma" at the end, a song that never ceases to make be tear up.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a positive portrait of arguably the greatest opera singer of all time who smile and personality made me smile.
 



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



53 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?



Deewaar (1975)


Two brothers, one a dockworker, who becomes a leading figure in the underworld, and the other, an educated and honest police officer, lock horns.

Directed by Yash Chopra, this is the story of Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ravi (Shashi Kapoor), two brothers whose activist father has abandoned them and their mother, Sumitra (Nirupa Roy), under duress. Vijay, the older brother, is bitter about what happened to their father, but sacrifices his own education so his younger brother, Ravi, can go to school.  As time passes, the streetwise Vijay becomes a leader in the underworld and Ravi, a hardworking student, becomes a police officer.  Despite their differences, both are good sons who love and respect their mother.  When Ravi is assigned the task of arresting Bombay's criminals and smugglers, he discovers that his brother is one of them.  Now Ravi must decide between arresting his brother or quitting the police force. In the meantime, Vijay has problems of his own. 


It's a strange dichotomy - a movie about the criminal underworld of Bombay interrupted from time to time by Bollywood song and dance numbers, but that's the charm of Bollywood films, I guess. The film was also very over-dramatic, almost a parody of a soap opera - someone makes a statement, then the camera zooms in on each face to get a reaction and the music goes dun-dun-dun... It's almost three hours long and, sadly, with its 1970's hair and clothes (there is a lot of polyester) and overdramatic acting, music and camerawork, the film doesn't really hold up well today.  

Why it's a Must See: "...one of the best scripts in Hindi film history, written by the major screenwriters of the 1970s, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar...[starring] Indian's greatest-ever superstar, Amitabh Bachchan...[as] Vijay...[The film ends]...in one of the most celebrated and symbolic death scenes in the history of Hindi film."

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

Rosy the Reviewer says...even though this film doesn't hold up well today, it is still a fascinating escape into another world.

(In Hindi-Urdu with English subtitles)



***The Book of the Week***




Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking by Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall (2019)


A history of Hollywood through letter writing.

Rocky Lang, the son of Jennings Lang, a powerful Hollywood agent, producer, and studio executive for MCA/Universal, has teamed up with Hall, a film historian and archivist, to create this homage to Hollywood through the correspondence of many of its most famous denizens. After thousands of hours of research, they have reproduced letters, telegrams and memos written by more than 130 members of Hollywood's film community starting in 1921 with a letter to Adolph Zukor, the head of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation from Houdini, asking him to screen one of his films in hopes that Zukor will distribute it, and the book ends with a letter from Jane Fonda to director Fred Zinnemann in 1976 expressing her concerns about meeting with Lillian Hellman regarding the movie "Julia (which was about Hellman's life and which starred Fonda)."

In between there is a letter from Bette Davis to Jack L. Warner, the head of the Warner Brothers studio, about being overworked and unhappy with the terms of her contract, an issue which eventually went to court:

"Would appreciate your not communicating with me -- it upsets me very much.  I must be allowed to completely forget business...Also arguing with me is of no use -- nor do I want to come back until it is settled."

And a telegram from Greta Garbo to Marion Davies, who was the mistress of newspaper mogul, William Randolph Hearst:

"I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING OF THE WORLD TRYING TO DO SO NOW NEWSPAPERMEN MAKING MY LIFE UNBEARABLE WHEREVER I GO FEEL YOU CAN HELP ME KNOW YOU WILL UNDERSTAND I SHALL FOR EVER BLESS YOU."

I guess she really did want to be alone! 

There are also letters from Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Gloria Swanson, and more.  I feel sad to think that so many of these actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood are not remembered today, but these letters help shed light on not just movie making during the 20th century but the private lives of those who made them.  Each letter is accompanied by background information on the writers, the recipients, and the contents of the letters.  I am happy that this book has arrived to keep their memories alive and shed light on their golden days in Hollywood.

"There is nothing like reading a letter written seventy or ninety years ago to make you realize how much, and how little, the world has changed."

Rosy the Reviewer says...a movie lover's dream of a book!



Thanks for reading!


See you next Friday

for 


"It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"


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, November 15, 2019

"Last Christmas" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "Last Christmas" as well as DVDs "A Dog's Journey" and "Luce."  The Book of the Week is "City of Girls."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "The Reckless Moment."]



Last Christmas


Kate (Emilia Clarke) is a mess.  Her poor decisions have led her away from the singing career she had hoped for to a job as a Christmas elf. She also does the walk of shame most mornings.  But then she meets Tom (Henry Golding)...

Tis the season...Every Christmas I ask Santa for some really good holiday rom-coms to make my spirit bright, but this movie didn't make my spirit bright.  It made my spirit sad and not for the right reasons.  I mean, if I could have had a good cry that might have worked, but, no, it made me sad because I was all ready for a lovely holiday rom-com, but sadly this film was neither romantic nor a comedy, as in funny, which is a surprise since I have really liked other comedy films directed by Paul Feig.  I mean he directed "Bridesmaids," for gods sake, and it doesn't get much funnier than that film.

But don't get me wrong.  Written by Emma Thompson (who also stars) and Bryony Kimmings, I am sure this film was meant to be funny.  It's just that it's not. So I blame Thompson. I know she's a Brit and British humor is a special kind of humor, which I usually find funny, but somehow she doesn't quite connect here.  And she is old school, as in old, so perhaps she just doesn't realize what is funny now.  But I'm old too, so go figure.  As for the romantic part, it has it's moments but romance is not really what this film is about.

And that's the problem.  The film is about too many things.  It's about having a hard time finding yourself; it's about dysfunctional families; it's about surviving an illness; it's even about homeless people, immigration and Brexit!  It just tries to do too much.

Kate (Clarke) is a young woman whose family immigrated to the U.K. from Yugoslavia back when it was Yugoslavia.  She had promise as a singer there, but has not had success in London, despite many auditions.  Instead, she works as a Christmas elf in one of those year-round Christmas stores, and she and her boss, strangely named Santa (Michelle Yeoh), have an uneasy relationship, partly because Kate is a screw-up and partly because she is always using work time to try to find a place to live. You see, she keeps getting kicked out of apartments because she sets the place on fire, destroys some art work or kills her roommate's pet fish. Let's just say that she is not a very considerate roommate. She also is a bit of a slag - that's Brit talk for a woman who is, how shall I say this?  Easy? So she is often walking around London in her Christmas elf costume pulling a suitcase looking for a place to stay or doing the walk of shame.  She could go home, but that's the last place she wants to go because her mother, Petra (Thompson) is so overbearing.  Even Kate's Dad, Ivan (Boris Isakovic), who was a lawyer in Yugoslavia but for some reason can't practice in the U.K. so is forced to drive a minicab (a kind of Uber), stays out in the cab as long as he can, so he doesn't have to go home.  Kate doesn't get along with her sister, Marta (Lydia Leonard) either.

So like I said.  Kate's life is a mess.

But then she meets Tom (Golding).  He comes out of nowhere on a bicycle and he is one of those irritatingly positive types. He has this habit of dancing around and telling Kate to "Look up."  I guess we have all been missing a great deal in our lives because we don't look up enough.  So he is one of those kinds of pseudo-inspiring guys who wants to help Kate.  He tells her he works at a homeless shelter, but Tom is also a bit mysterious.  He doesn't carry a cell phone (he says he has one but it's in a cupboard) and disappears for long periods of time, only to turn up unexpectantly on his ever present bike with his ever-present positive attitude.

Love ensues...sort of.

But like I said, this film is really not a romance. It's really more of a fantasy.  There is a sort of a romance, but if you are hoping for a full-blown romance, you will be disappointed. This film is more about Kate getting her sh*t together.  However, I will give this film props in one area.  I did not see the ending coming at all, and I usually have fantastic "I know how this is going to end" antennae, but they weren't working here.  I kept wondering what all of the George Michael songs had to do with this movie, but then in the twist ending, it all became clear. But when the twist came, it also made me laugh derisively.  It was the only thing in this movie that did make me laugh, except I don't think I was supposed to.

However, I am going to give Clark and Golding some props.  They are both charming actors.  I liked them even though the two lacked romantic chemistry but, as charming as they both were, they just couldn't save this film. Yeoh's character and storyline seems like an afterthought and is over-the-top and meant to be funny but it isn't and she isn't.  She plays the same character she played in "Crazy Rich Asians," which doesn't really fit here.   As for Thompson, not only did she write a film I didn't like, she completely overdoes her character too, with a cringe-worthy accent and characterization.  And that's after I gave her such a great review for "Late Night."

Rosy the Reviewer says...a major holiday disappointment.  Santa didn't give me what I wanted for Christmas!




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


On DVD




A Dog's Journey (2019)


Dogs wonder about the meaning of life too!

Okay, let me get this out of the way right away.  THE DOG DIES.  But that's not a spoiler and it's not sad.  That's what this whole movie is about.  According to this movie, our beloved dogs have all kinds of things going on that we don't know about, one of which is the many lives they live.  So, yes, the dog dies but he KEEPS COMING BACK!

We first met Bailey (voice of Josh Gad) in "A Dog's Purpose," which I reviewed back in 2017, so, yes, this is a sequel, and you know I generally dislike those, but I am giving this one a break because it's about dogs and who doesn't love movies about dogs?

If you remember from the first one, or even if you don't, Bailey is a dog who has been reincarnated many times, but his main focus has always been Ethan, who is his person, and as it turned out, Ethan is his purpose.  Ethan was reunited with Bailey in the last film and Bailey even managed to bring Ethan and Hannah together. Now, time has passed, Ethan is a middle-aged man (Dennis Quaid), married to Hannah (Marg Helgenberger), and Bailey is on his last legs, so to speak. Gloria (Betty Gilpin) is Ethan's and Hannah's daughter-in-law.  Her husband, their son, has died and she and her little girl, Charity June AKA CJ, live with Ethan and his wife, though Gloria is not particuarly happy about it. She is distrustful of Ethan and Hannah and she hates dogs. She is not a very nice lady nor is she a very good mother. All of this family interaction takes place under Bailey's watchful eyes and, as in the first film, we get to hear what he is thinking and observing.

But Bailey dies and the whole reincarnation - or "journey" - begins again, and Bailey becomes Molly, a girl Beagle, much to Bailey's consternation.

Now I have to say I would be more likely to believe in reincarnation if after every reincarnation I always knew that I was ME, but that hasn't happened yet, as in, I could remember past lives where I was a Moroccan princess or a prisoner sent to Australia for robbing a man in 18th century London (Mmm, I DO have an affinity for all things British) or some other past life.  If I had those remembrances, then I might believe in reincarnation, but if you can't remember any of your past lives, what's the point?  But this film clears that all up.  Bailey always remembers that he is Bailey.

Anyway, as Molly, he recognizes CJ (Abby Ryder Fortson), Gloria's little girl, and wouldn't you know? CJ adopts Molly.  She has to hide her from her mother, though, because remember?  Gloria hates dogs.  But Molly/Bailey is beside himself, because he is back with CJ and CJ becomes Molly's purpose, just as Ethan once was.  Gloria is not a good mother and leaves CJ alone a lot and when she finds out about Molly she is not happy, but CJ convinces her to let her keep Molly, partly guilt-tripping her about what a bad Mom she is. But then CJ gets into trouble and is assigned community service working with dogs who are trained to sniff out cancer in humans.  By osmosis, Molly becomes a cancer sniffing dog too.  Can you see where this is going?

Directed by Gail Mancuso with a screenplay by W. Bruce Cameron (who wrote the books upon which this film and the first film were based), Catherine Michon, Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky, yes, it's all very hokey, but sometimes you need a bit of hoke.  Add some cute talking dogs and I am there!

Anyway, enough about Molly. 

We will get back to the cancer sniffing dog stuff later. Life #3, Bailey is Big Dog for a short time, then Life #4, he's a terrior mix named Max, and through all of these incarnations, Bailey is still Bailey and looking for CJ so he can fulfill the promise he made to Ethan - to take care of CJ. 

And now, we find that the adult CJ (Kathryn Prescott) has been having a tough time of it, with bad boyfriends and trying unsuccessfully to get a singing career going despite her stage fright. Max finds CJ, and, naturally it all turns out the way it's supposed to, Rainbow Bridge and all, because this is one wholesome, inspiring film.

Looking at my own dogs, I can't help but wonder what they are thinking and if they have lived many lives, always trying to get back to me.  Am I their purpose?




Rosy the Reviewer says...the film is inspiring and I dare you to try to stay dry-eyed (Hubby cried through the whole thing). It's a reminder that "A person can't be happy without a dog." I agree.



Luce (2019)


Amy (Naomi Watts) and Peter Edgar (Tim Roth) adopted a child soldier from war-torn Eritrea and he has grown into a star student and perfect son.  But is he?

Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is an all-star school athlete, star debater and class valedictorian.  He is also a young black man adopted from war-torn Etritrea by a white couple.  He is a charming and successful young man and his parents are very proud of him.  Likewise, his history teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), is also very proud of him, holding him up as an example to the other students.

But when Ms. Wilson reads an essay by Luce that appears to espouse violence as a means of dealing with problems, she uses that as an excuse to search his locker and finds illegal fireworks.  She calls in Luce's mother (Watts) who doesn't want to believe Luce is capable of any of this, so despite the fact that Ms. Wilson asks her to speak with Luce, she doesn't.  Even after she tells Peter (Roth), they don't deal with it. How could their perfect son who they raised be capable of such a thing? So they let it drop, until Luce finds the essay and the fireworks hidden in the kitchen.

Eventually, the parents talk to Luce about it, and he denies that the fireworks are his.  And he also calls Ms. Wilson's character into question and implies that she is out to get him.  The parents believe Luce and feel Ms. Wilson has a vendetta against Luce. Things go from bad to worse as Ms. Wilson questions Luce's character and Luce points the finger at Ms. Wilson for trying to ruin his future.

Now I kind of get how the parents reacted, though I was never afraid to talk to my kids about issues. But it's the parents' dilemma.  We all think our kids are the best and would never do anything wrong. Our son was a high achieving student, involved in all of the sports and was ASB President. He also didn't do things he wasn't supposed to - we thought.  Turns out every time we went away, he threw big parties in our house!  But you know what?  If the neighbors had complained to us, I probably would not have believed them.  Not MY son.  Look at all he has accomplished.  And I know I am not alone in this.  Many parents have a very difficult time believing their little darlings are capable of doing anything wrong.

So some of how the parents reacted in this film was believable. And because Luce is black, it's even more important for everyone that he be this high achiever, this poster boy for a kid taken out of a bad place and who was able to succeed.  It's important for Amy and Edgar because they adopted him from a war zone rather than having their own children, and they raised him. They were on a mission to do good.  As for Ms. Wilson, she wants Luce to succeed because as a young black man, he is an example of black excellence.  However, it is not lost on Luce that his friend, DeShawn (Astro), also black, was kicked off of the team and lost his scholarship when Ms. Wilson found pot in his locker but nothing bad happened to Luce when she found those fireworks. Why the double standard? Because he had been raised by upper middle class white people? Because Luce is an example of black excellence?

Things go from bad to worse between Ms. Wilson and Luce and we wonder - is Luce as he appears?  Is he a good kid who is being unfairly blamed for something? Is Ms. Wilson out to get him? And if so, why? Or is Luce under too much pressure to be the perfect black kid in a white world? Is Luce being held to unrealistic standards? Or is Luce a bad seed hiding behind his charm and accomplishments?

Adapted for the screen by J.C. Lee and Julius Ohnah from Lee's play of the same name and directed by Ohnah, the film doesn't come up with easy answers. This is a taut and searing look at a young man dealing with his black identity, a kid who feels he isn't allowed to fail but doesn't want to be the token successful black man representing his whole race in a white world. The film has many layers: unrealistic expectations; the issue of The Great White Savior; one black person forced to be perfect to represent his race; and being forced to hide one's true self so as to not disappoint anyone.

Luce says, "I only get to be a saint or a monster."

Tim Roth, Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer are wonderful, their performances believable and nuanced. It's really good to see Roth again, who hasn't been on the big screen much of late. But it's Kelvin Harrison Jr. who is the revelation. He has created a character that is by turns charming and solicitous but leaving the feeling that he is hiding some darkness.

Rosy the Reviewer says...no easy answers here but a powerful and unsettling statement about class and race.




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


54 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




The Reckless Moment (1949)


An upper middle class housewife becomes embroiled in a cover-up when her daughter's seedy boyfriend is found dead.

Lucia Harper (Joan Bennett) has a problem.  Her daughter, Bea (a very young Geraldine Brooks), is dating a scumbag (Shepperd Strudwick) and, despite Lucia trying to warn him off, she can't get rid of him.  When he shows up at their swanky home on Balboa Island in Southern California, Bea has a fight with him in the boathouse (I said it was swanky!), and when Bea gives him a push, he falls over a railing and dies.  When Lucia discovers this the next morning, she realizes she now has the chance to get rid of him once and for all, so she takes it upon herself to dispose of the body into the ocean.  Unfortunately, it washes ashore and the murder is discovered. Fortunately, no one knows about Bea and her ex-beau...or, duh, duh, duh...so Lucia and she think.


Meanwhile, a Mr. Donnelly (James Mason) shows up.  Turns out Bea wrote her boyfriend some love letters and they have fallen into the hands of the mob.  Donnelly wants $5000 or he will turn the letters over to the police.  Unfortunately for Donnelly, he falls for Lucia in true film noir fashion and, sadly, he doesn't really know who he is dealing with - a mother who will do anything to protect her child.  He didn't have a chance and you know things aren't going to end well for him.


I love these old plot heavy melodramas.  Ah, 1949, a time when young boys called their Mom "Mother," and wives called their husbands and children "dear" and "darling," when people knew how to write in cursive, everyone smoked and the only people of color in movies were the hired help.  I like the first three, the last two, no.  But like I said, despite the negatives, I can't help it.  These old chestnuts capture a time long gone or perhaps never was, but they remind me of my childhood and especially sitting up late watching movies like this with my Dad.


And then there is James Mason. There has always been something about James Mason that has intrigued me.  Maybe it's that honey-toned voice of his, but he also exudes a vulnerability not seen much in men in movies back then, especially film noir.  And if you really want to see him at his most vulnerable best, see the Judy Garland-James Mason version of "A Star is Born," in my opinion the best version of all time. His Norman Maine is the most poignant. 


This film was remade as "The Deep End" in 2001 and starred Tilda Swinton and it's one of my favorite film experiences.  What, you ask?  You liked a remake?  I didn't know it was a remake so it doesn't count! Highly recommend both of these films.

Why it's a Must See: "Viennese director Max Ophuls is more interested in irony and emotion than crime and drama, which gives this a uniquely nerve-fraying feel, and he nudges the lead actors into revelatory, unusual performances."
---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...a true classic of the 40's.
(Available on YouTube)




***The Book of the Week***




City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert (2019)


Eighty-nine year old Vivian Morris looks back on her life starting in 1940 when she was 19 and lived with her Aunt Peg in New York City in a ramshackle theatre and how those years changed the course of her life.

In 1940, Vivian Morris, the daughter of affluent parents, was just 19 when she was kicked out of Vassar College due to her bad grades and lack of interest.  Frustrated, her parents sent her to live with her Aunt Peg, who owned a seedy, midtown theatre in New York City called the Lily Playhouse. Vivian had a way with the sewing machine, so found her niche making costumes.  Her once sheltered life was opened up by the wild showgirls and other characters she met and interacted with.  However, scandal ensued but ultimately she learned about herself and the kind of life she really wanted to live.

Vivian tells her story via a letter to someone named Angela, hoping Angela will understand.  She starts in 1940 when she was 19 and continues on through the 60's and into the present. We don't know who Angela is or why Vivian is writing to her until almost the end of the book. 

What woman among us didn't read Gilbert's "Eat Pray Love" and want to emulate her by traveling the world and finding ourselves?  But what we might not know is that before she wrote that iconic book of nonfiction, Gilbert was a novelist and short story writer.  So here she returns to fiction to tell a fascinating story of women fearlessly embracing their sexuality. She also sheds light on a time when unmarried women could not get a diaphragm nor could women purchase condoms at all. Since men made it so difficult for us to enjoy sex, it's amazing we ever wanted to have it! But our heroine does and often.  Gilbert gives her characters the ability to have sex and enjoy it without guilt.

Gilbert paints a vivid picture of the New York theatre scene of the 1940's. The characters are well-drawn and the dialogue is snappy.  This would make a great movie, and there is no doubt in my mind that this will become one! 

Rosy the Reviewer says...probably longer than it needed to be, this novel is still mostly a fun romp of a book that celebrates women and their sexuality, the theatre and fashion! 



Thanks for reading!


See you next Friday

for 


"The Good Liar"


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.