"Top Gun: Maverick" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the movie "Top Gun: Maverick," as well as the TV series "WeCrashed," and "The Andy Warhol Diaries." The Book of the Week is "Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders" by Kathryn Miles]

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Thirty-six years later, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is back and still pushing the envelope.

I have to confess at the outset that I have been a big Tom Cruise fan from the very beginning, ever since I saw him playing the bad guy, or kid, in "Taps." That was only his second movie, but I knew he had something special.  This was before he danced in his undies in "Risky Business," before "Mission Impossible," before "You complete me."  I knew he had that star quality early on, and he was a handsome devil too!  I have been a fan ever since, despite Scientology, despite his occasional irritability with reporters who ask him questions he doesn't like (don't ask about Nicole!), despite my disappointment when I found out he was short. 

I have seen every movie Tom has ever made (I get to call him Tom because I have been a fan for so long), so naturally I had to see this one.  Not to mention, I had heard it was really good.  

It's been 36 years since the first "Top Gun," so you might want to watch that one again before seeing this sequel.  But if, like me, you aren't going to, here is a bit of a synopsis: 

U.S. Naval Aviator Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Cruise) and LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), stationed in the Indian Ocean, fly the F-14A Tomcats.  They are sent to attend TOPGUN, the Naval Fighter Weapons School in San Diego, where Maverick turns out to be a bit of a, er, maverick, and flies recklessly, putting him at odds with the other pilots, especially his fellow pilot, the Iceman (Val Kilmer). Goose dies in an accident for which Maverick is blamed and later cleared but he feels guilty and considers quitting.  But we know he won't, because he's Tom Cruise, I mean, Maverick.  He eventually redeems himself during a tense international crisis where amazing aerial acrobatics occur and, at the end, when given a choice of assignments, Maverick chooses to become a TOPGUN instructor.  

So...now you are caught up.

What's next for our Maverick?

Over thirty years later, Pete has shown himself to be a top aviator.  He is now a test pilot but in true Maverick fashion he has pushed the envelope once again, and instead of being disciplined, he is sent back to TOPGUN, this time to help the new and young fighter pilots complete a very difficult mission.

One of the enemies of the U.S. (you can pick which one) is working on a uranium enrichment plant and that's a no-no so we have to take it out.  However, it's in a very difficult place, between two mountains with all kinds of rockets and faster jets protecting it, so the Iceman, who is now Maverick's friend and an Admiral, has called upon Maverick to train and decide which of the best of these best young pilots is up to the task.  However, there is a slight problem.  One of the pilots is Rooster (Miles Teller), who just happens to be Goose's son, and he has not forgiven Maverick for the death of his Dad.

I probably didn't really need to give you a synopsis of the first one. With a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie and direction by Joseph Kosinski, this is basically a 21st Century rehash of it: two brash, young pilots once again competing against each other, throwing smack around, just as Maverick and Iceman had done, but this time it's Rooster and Hangman (Glen Powell). There is also the requisite romance for Maverick and, once again, a beach volleyball game under the guise of team building, but we all know it's just a way to see those handsome, fit bodies running around on the beach. The "Danger Zone" theme music is even on hand. 

I have to admit that this is not necessarily my kind of movie.  

I am not particularly into military stuff or airplanes, and I definitely am not into macho posturing and overdramatic dialogue like "The end is inevitable, Maverick.  Your kind is headed for extinction." "Maybe so, sir. But not today." There is a lot of that. There is also the requisite romance with the beautiful Penny (Jennifer Connelly), because Tom has to have someone to flash those pearly whites at and there are also some far-fetched plot choices.  But I give the film props for its depiction of friendship and loyalty, and I have to say, despite my reservations during some of the film, the last thirty minutes, as the pilots tried to complete their mission, was heart pumping and exciting due to the aerial acrobatics, slick editing and "practical effects." That made up for any criticism I had before that. And it didn't hurt when Tom showed up in his Navy whites. That was spectacular too! 

When I use the term "practical effects," I am referring to the fact that most of those exciting aerial sequences were actually real planes flying around with the actors in the cockpits, though they were not flying the planes. It was not CGI. Tom is known for doing his own stunts and required the actors to have grueling training to take part and it certainly worked.  It's very much a "you are there" feeling during those scenes.

Speaking of Tom, he just doesn't seem to age, and it is mind bloggling that he is still doing his own stunts at 60.  Nor does Jennifer Connolly look any older than I remember her from her earlier films.  Sadly, she doesn't have much to do here except look beautiful and flirt with Tom, but she is still a welcome presence. I am always glad when 50-year-old actresses get work and actors like Tom romance age-appropriate women. Miles Teller and Glenn Powell do a good job of picking up the reins left by the young Cruise and Val Kilmer.  And speaking of Kilmer, so glad to see him here but bittersweet considering what has happened to him.  

Rosy the Reviewer says...I usually hate sequels but I'm going to give this one a break because, for one thing, it's been 36 years, and for another, the editing and aerial sequences lived up to the hype. I was on the edge of my seat. (in theatres)

***Now Streaming***

WeCrashed (2022)

The story of the rise and fall of WeWork.

I feel like I am the only one in the world who didn't know about WeWork but this eight-part miniseries created by Drew Crevello and Lee Eisenberg now streaming on Apple+ gave me an education in a most enjoyable way.

WeWork was a company that offered coworking space and under the leadership of Adam and Rebekah Neumann, was valued at $47 billion in 2019 before famously crashing.  Based on the podcast "WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork" by Wondery, the series stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as the Neumanns, two narcissists who through shear force of will made WeWork work...until it didn't.

Adam Neumann's gift was to talk so much and so fast that he would get his way.  He was one of those people so sure of himself that he was able to convince everyone else he knew what he was doing.  He thought big and went for it.  Rebekah was more of a whiney New Age girl who wanted to "elevate the world's consciousness." She also wanted to be an actress, so Adam bought her a theatre.  Then she wanted to have a more important role in the company so Adam gave her the title of Chief Branding Officer.  Then she wanted to start a school so... voila!  The two were madly in love but they were also madly mad and that was ultimately what brought them down.  That and some under the desk machinations.

Jared Leto as Adam Neumann is just astounding. He never ceases to amaze me. Is there nothing Jared Leto can't do when it comes to acting?  He was unrecognizable in "The House of Gucci" - in a good way - and here he embodies Adam Neumann in looks and accent.  But just saying that doesn't seem like enough.  Whatever Jared Leto does he goes all in and I go with him.  Hathaway is also wonderful here playing a rather unlikable character but making her real and vulnerable.  The acting alone is the reason to watch this miniseries but the story  is also fascinating.  It's an inside look into the world of startups and how quickly it can all go wrong.

Rosy the Reviewer says...at times this show was above my mental pay grade when it came to the ins and outs of the business financial world e.g. IPO's, S-1's, etc. but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.  I did.  The story is engrossing and the acting is phenomenal. (Apple+)

The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022)

Andy Warhol speaking from the grave.

Does anyone remember what happened to artist Andy Warhol after he was famously shot in 1968? I realized watching this six-part mini-series that I really didn't.  I didn't have the slightest idea what he was up to after that.  And he was up to a lot.

One of our most successful contemporary artists, Warhol was famous for his Campbell's soup cans and portraits of celebrities. He embraced silkscreening, film, photography and sculpture and commented on celebrity culture through his work. He said "In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes," a profound statement considering he said that before the rise of the Internet where that has actually happened.  But for all of his fame, Warhol remained a rather enigmatic figure, more of an observer than a participant, but after the shooting, Warhol was feeling vulnerable and less relevant, so he started to reinvent himself in some very odd and interesting ways.

This docuseries directed by Andrew Rossi does a brief overview of Andy's early life and then concentrates on his life after the shooting. Often thought to be asexual, the series explores Warhol's long-term relationship with Jed Johnson, which eventually failed, and then his obsession with Paramount executive Jon Gould.  Andy explored the club scene, modeling, drag, went on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Love Boat," forged a relationship with the young artist Basquiat and took on his last commission honoring The Last Supper, all in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic.  And then Andy died unexpectedly at the age of 58.  And no, he didn't die of AIDS.

Practically everything in this docuseries was news to me, and I was actually a Warhol fan. From executive producer Ryan Murphy and based on the 1989 book edited by Pat Hackett, Andy "narrates" his own diary entries as his personal life plays out on screen with additional insight provided by experts, associates and others who knew him. Andy's "voice" is actually produced through artificial intelligence (voiced by Bill Irwin) and the use of AI was approved by the Andy Warhol Foundation, something which the series is careful to remind us during each episode.

Does this series shed light on the real Andy Warhol?  Maybe not.  But hearing his own words is probably as close as we will get.

Rosy the Reviewer says...whether you were a fan of Andy Warhol or not, this is a fascinating documentary focusing on a fascinating life played out during that fascinating time called The 80's. (Netflix)

***The Book of the Week***

Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles (2022)

The true crime story of the unsolved murders of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, who were both murdered in the Shenandoah National Park in 1996.

Lollie Winans and Julie Williams were two young women who met and fell in love over their mutual love of backpacking in the wilderness.  In May of 1996, the two went on a week-long backpacking trip to the Shenandoah National Park where they pitched their tent in a remote spot. When the pair did not return home as planned, park rangers discovered their campsite, their tent slashed and the women dead in their sleeping bags.

Miles, an award-winning journalist and outdoorsperson herself, became obsessed with the case, and during her research, uncovered conflicting evidence, a botched investigation and a suspect who was hounded his whole life as the person who murdered Lollie and Julie. Miles became convinced he didn't do it. Then who did?  Along with her one-woman investigation, Miles does a good job of presenting Lollie's and Julie's stories. You care about these women and you want to find out why they were murdered.

It's difficult to believe that as late as the 1990's there were still laws in the books in many states against homosexuality.  Was the murder of Lollie and Julie a hate crime?

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like true crime nonfiction, this is for you.  It's a page-turner.

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

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

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

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)

 

"Elvis" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new "Elvis" biopic as well as the movie "Stillwater" and the documentary series "Bad Vegan." The Book of the Week is "Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of an American Fortune"]

Elvis (2022)

Director Baz Luhrmann's two hour and 39 minute take on the life of Elvis Presley.

This movie could also have been called "Colonel Parker" or "Colonel Parker and Elvis," because it is as much, if not more, about Colonel Parker as Elvis.  He was Elvis's manager, almost a Svengali, and is the narrator of the film as he tries to prove that he wasn't a crook and didn't abuse Elvis.  

Or the film could have been called "The Baz Luhrmann Show" because Luhrmann throws everything he's got at this long, long film - split screens, animation, film footage, flashbacks, flash forwards, ominous music, and an epilogue of footage of the real Elvis from his early days to the end, in case you weren't paying attention during the first two and a half hours. It's frantic, over-the-top and A LOT! But there is a lot that's good.   

The film follows Elvis from his early days as a boy living in a mostly black neighborhood, attending black tent revivals and being filled with the holy spirit, which Luhrmann attributes to Elvis's wild, hip swinging movements when he performed. And it was Elvis's love of rhythm and blues that popularized him with white folks.  But it was that very same thing that got him in trouble in the segregated South.  The white girls loved Elvis but their white Daddy's did not. They didn't like Elvis the Pelvis singing that devil music. Supposedly Colonel Parker made him join the Army to clean up his image. Was that really true?  Who knows?  

After the army, Elvis's story is fairly well known.  He married Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), they had little Lisa Marie, he became a movie star and then when his star began to fade he had a famous comeback.  You know the one - the black leather Elvis period.  And then there was the residency in Las Vegas, that also according to Luhrmann, is what killed him because Colonel Parker just would not let him stop.  Elvis was Colonel Parker's meal ticket to cancel his debts and allow him to gamble at will.

And it's Parker's story that is probably unfamiliar to the general public.  He was always there with Elvis and guided his career (taking 50% of everything), but he was a shadowy figure.  Here we learn he was an ex-carny who was known as The Snowman because he could "snow" anyone and that's what he sold to Elvis. He was also not a colonel, nor was his name Tom Parker.  He was born Andreas Cornelis (Dries) van Kuijk, was from Holland and his American citizenship was dubious.  Hence the plot line where Elvis wanted to tour abroad but Parker did everything he could be prevent it, probably because he had no passport. Yes, he made Elvis a star, but according to this film he also contributed to Elvis's death. Luhrmann made sure we knew he was a bad guy because whenever Parker was around or made a trenchant statement, ominous music played. 

Tom Hanks chews the proverbial scenery as Parker.  He's all padded and pancaked up and if the make-up team that did what they did to make him look like Parker doesn't get an Oscar nod, I will be surprised. I enjoyed Hanks' performance and I will also be surprised if he doesn't get an Oscar nod as well.

But the real kudos go to Austin Butler who plays Elvis.  

He embodies Elvis at all stages of his career, from the hip-swiveling 50's to his stint in the army to his film roles to his TV specials to his Las Vegas residency to his last bloated appearance.  He is believable at every turn.  He supposedly studied Elvis for two years, read every book about him and watched every movie and special and it paid off.  I thought I was watching Elvis. This guy is going to go far and I see an Oscar in his future as well. 

But speaking of bloated. The unhealthy, aging, drug-addicted Elvis is given less than 30 minutes of this bloated film, and before I go on, let me rant a bit. No movie should be two hours and 39 minutes unless it's "Gone With the Wind," and I am even having second thoughts about that one.  Movies seem to be getting longer and longer and directors more and more long-winded.  They can't seem to edit themselves. Luhrmann could have pulled this film in at two hours and he would have still been able to say what he wanted to say.  And he had a lot to say about the influence of blues and gospel music on Elvis, about racism, segregation, capitalism, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, and more. Maybe he tried to say too much.  

Despite my wondering if everything in this film was true about Elvis (I think Luhrmann used some dramatic license here and there), the film, written by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce has the blessing of Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley and I see why.  Priscilla is shown in the best possible light and as the real love of Elvis's life. No marital fights and no mention that she was only 14 when they met. Elvis is shown in the best possible light too. There was no mention of Elvis's obsession with Nixon or his really bad eating habits which led to his weight gain and bad health, and his womanizing, shooting up TV screens and drugs are given short shrift. It's Parker who is not portrayed in a good light.  In fact, he is portrayed as the villain. 

Despite some of my reservations, if you loved Elvis and you don't mind really long films, Butler does him proud and the music and performances are wonderful.  The film is also beautiful to look at though at times frantic.

Rosy the Reviewer says...wait, let me catch my breath...I was kind of out of breath after seeing this film because it was A LOT.  It was stylish and beautiful to look at, the kind of epic experience that only Baz Luhrmann can deliver. If you like A LOT and you love Elvis, you will enjoy this. Just don't have too much to drink before you go! It's a loooong movie! (In theatres)

Stillwater (2021)

An Oklahoma father moves to France to try to help his imprisoned daughter.

Matt Damon is Everyman because he can play every man.  Here he plays Bill Baker, a sometime oil worker, a sometime construction worker, a sometime handyman from Stillwater, Oklahoma.  He has had a tough past with drinking and drugs and has been estranged from his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin), but now he's clean and he wants to help her.  She is in prison in France for murdering her girlfriend but claims she didn't do it.  She also says she has new evidence that will clear her if only her lawyer would reopen her case. Supposedly there is prison gossip that a guy named Akim did it, so Bill travels to Marseilles to talk to her lawyer. When her lawyer says she can't help, Bill takes the case into his own hands.

Bill is a religious good old boy who not only doesn't speak French, he doesn't have much concept of European culture. The first thing he does when he gets to Marseilles is get a Subway sandwich to eat in his Best Western hotel room. But he's a good guy who fortunately meets Virginie (Camille Cottin) and her precocious young daughter, Maya (Lilou Siauvaud), who help him navigate Marseille and the French legal system.  And let's just say, Marseille isn't a charming French village.  It has its rough edges and there are people who don't like nosy Americans asking about a guy named Akim.

And then there is the whole murky issue of Allison's guilt or innocence that hangs over the film.  Did she do it?

Written by Tom McCarthy, Marcus Hinchey, Noe Debre and Thomas Bidegain and directed by McCarthy (who also directed the Oscar winning "Spotlight"), one can't help but draw a comparison here to Amanda Knox, the American girl studying in Italy, who was convicted of killing her roommate, despite her protestations of innocence. 

But there is more to this film than the guilt or innocence of Bill's daughter.  This is also a story of family relationships, a clash of cultures including those within France itself, a fish out of water, and second chances with some vigilantism thrown in. Bill may be from Stillwater, Oklahoma, but "still waters run deep."  Get it?  With that said, perhaps this film tried to do too much, and as the film wrapped up, there were several unbelievable plot twists that left me saying "Huh?"

But Matt Damon's performance saves the day.  He is one of those actors who is believable no matter what he plays.  He can play an astronaut marooned on Mars ("The Martian"), a zookeeper ("We Bought a Zoo") or an ex-CIA assassin on the run (the Bourne series) and you believe him.  French Actress Cottin is also believable.  You may recognize her from "Killing Eve" and "House of Gucci." And Abigail Breslin is all grown up.  I didn't recognize her at first but she has matured into a fine actress, though she doesn't have very much to do here.

Rosy the Reviewer says...though there are a few "Huh?" moments, all-in-all this is a satisfying, though perhaps overlong, film experience thanks to the wonderful performance by Damon.

(On DVD, Showtime, and for rent on most platforms)

 

Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives (2022)

A successful NYC vegan restauranteur meets a guy who says he can make her dog immortal and then everything goes to hell.

Sarma Melngailis seemingly had it all.  She was beautiful, smart and had a popular New York City vegan restaurant called "Pure Food and Wine."  Celebrities like Alec Baldwin were regulars and he actually met his wife, Hilaria, there (after actually flirting a bit with Sarma). Both Forbes and New York Magazine named it one of the top restaurants in New York City.  Everything was going along smoothly until Anthony Strangis AKA Shane Fox slid into Sarma's DM's.  

Anthony or Shane was a con man and gambler who used elaborate mind games on Sarma and convinced her that he could make them both immortal, including her beloved dog, Leon. She just had to believe him. So she married the guy, they stole money from her own restaurant and went on the run. You can't make this stuff up, people.  

As crazy as all of this sounds, director Chris Smith (who also brought us "Tiger King") does a good job of telling this story, how someone as smart as Sarma could be lured into the nutty world Anthony created. This four-part docuseries follows Sarma through her meeting Anthony or Shane or whomever he was, marrying him, embezzling money from her own restaurant, ($1.6 million) and going on the run, leaving the restaurant and her employees high and dry.  The story is told through a series of interviews with past employees, investors and celebrities. 

Sarma herself cooperated with this docuseries and tells her story without the help of Anthony, who wasn't happy about it. She claims it was all him, he brainwashed her and just wore her out so much she couldn't think. Turns out, in the end, Sarma wasn't happy with the docuseries either.  Check out how it ends. You will have to decide just how culpable she was.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this series shows that reality really is so much stranger than fiction and why it's so much fun. And here's the most fun part. The two were eventually caught after using a credit card to buy a pizza from Dominoes! I wonder if it was vegan!

(Netflix)

***The Book of the Week***

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of an American Fortune by Bill Dedman

Who was Huguette Clark and why did she have so many empty mansions?

F. Scott Fitzgerald said "...the very rich...are different from you and me."  You got that right, F. Scott.  They have more money.  Though actually, I don't think they are that different. They just have enough money to allow themselves to give into their personal craziness.

And here is just such a story.

This is the fascinating story of Huguette Clark, a woman who inherited millions of dollars when her father W.A. Clark died.  It's strange that W.A. Clark is unknown today because in his day he was probably richer than Rockefeller.  During the late 1800s, he was one of the "Copper Kings."  He was also a politician, was involved in banking and railroads and was one of the founders of Las Vegas.  He built a "palace" in New York City, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventy-Seventh, right in the middle of Millionaire's Row, "up the avenue from Vanderbilt and Astor, down from Carnegie. By the time it was finished in 1911,...it was 'without doubt the most costly and, perhaps, the most beautiful private residence in America" and was estimated to have cost the equivalent of $250 million in today's dollars. It was nine stories high and consisted of 121 rooms - 26 bedrooms, 31 bathrooms, five art galleries, a Turkish bath, swimming pool, a storage room for furs and more, with 17 servants in attendance and that is where Huguette lived from the age of five to eighteen. Yes, the very rich are different from you and me.

Huguette was one of two daughters that Clark had later in life when he married his second wife, Anna Eugenia La Chapelle.  He was 62 and she was 23. The first daughter, Andree, died at 17 of meningitis, leaving Huguette as the only child of that marriage. 

  

Huguette spent her early years in France but eventually moved to New York and after a marriage and divorce and inheriting millions when her father died, became a recluse, collecting dolls, watching "The Smurfs," and spending the most of her later years in a hospital, even though she wasn't sick. Why?

Despite owning estates in New Canaan, Connecticut ("Le Beau Chateau") and Santa Barbara ("Bellosguardo" which will soon be open to the public) and several floors in an apartment building on Fifth Avenue in New York, in later life, Huguette never lived in any of them, though she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain those residences as if she would return at any moment. But she never did. They remained empty. Why?

Huguette lived to be 105 and left $300 million and two wills, one that shared her fortune among relatives, the second left most of it to charity, but $30 million to her nurse and $12 million to her goddaughter.  Mmmm.  Needless to say, the second will was contested. Was she coerced by those closest to her at the end to change her will?

With the help of one of Huguette's cousins, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few people to be in contact with Huguette through the years, Dedman attempts to answer those questions and shed light on this very rich and eccentric but practically unknown heiress. But this is not just the story of Huguette. It's also the stories of her father, W.A. Clark, her mother, those who surrounded her...and those empty mansions.  It's a piece of little known history.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are interested in The Gilded Age, enjoy historical biographies about eccentric people with architecture as a theme or you just like a fascinating story, this is for you.  And it's not surprising that the film version of this book has been optioned by Ryan Murphy!

(Check it out from your local library)

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

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

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

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)

"Good Luck To You, Leo Grande" and the Week in Reviews

[I review the new Hulu film, "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande" as well as  "Blacklight" and an anime classic that somehow I missed, "Spirited Away."  The Book of the Week is “Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and the Romance of the Century” by Stephen Galloway]

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (2022)

Widow and ex-school teacher Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) hires a young sex worker so she can experience some good sex!

I never thought I would ever say a movie that is all about sex was sweet but I am going to say it. This film was sweet.  But it was also charming and wonderful.

Widow Nancy was married for 31 years and the sex was the slam-bam-thank-you- ma'am variety and she had never experienced an orgasm.  Her husband was also the only man she had ever been with. Oh, she has had opportunities to be with other men since her husband's death but they were all old.  She doesn't want old, she wants to be with a young man and to experience some good sex.  So she hires a young handsome (and I DO mean handsome) sex worker named Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) to learn about the joys of sex. So she books a lovely London hotel room, meets Leo and is then utterly terrified and wondering what she has done.  Over the course of four meetings, Leo is patient, non-judgmental and amazingly understanding as Nancy works through her fears and old beliefs and patterns.

This film, written by Katy Brand and directed by Sophie Hyde, is what the Brits call a two-hander. It's just two people, Nancy and Leo, meeting over the course of a few weeks and Nancy trying to get up the courage to try all of the sex situations she has on her list.  So they talk...and talk...and talk.  But don't get me wrong. It is not boring.  In fact, it's quite wonderful.

Emma as Nancy displays the whole range of emotions that a woman of a certain age might feel meeting a gorgeous and very young kind man, a woman trying to spread her wings and, uh, have an orgasm.  Thompson is a wonder of an actress and is at the top of her game. But McCormack holds his own.  As I said, he is gorgeous so just watching him gave me a bit of a flutter.  But he is also a good actor who shows vulnerability and kindness.

Yes, it's all about sex, but there is much more.  The film also deals with aging, body image, self-empowerment, not to mention a plug for legalizing sex work but all-in-all, it's a lovely, er, satisfying film experience that is not to be missed.  And I predict a long successful career for McCormack...as an actor!

Rosy the Reviewer says...no matter how you feel about a movie about sex, this one will make you smile.(Hulu)

Blacklight (2022)

Liam Neeson is a deep cover FBI operative with a shadowy past and when his past catches up with him, he has to save his family.

Okay, I know, I know. How many iterations of “Taken” is Liam going to star in? But you know what? I don’t care. He has “a very particular set of skills” that I like, so they could film him putting on his shoes and I would watch. Yes, you might think he is getting a bit long in the tooth for this stuff but, c’mon, look at that movie poster. He’s still got it. He is such a nice big tall man and with that Irish lilt in his voice…sigh. What woman wouldn’t want to…well, you know…ahem…be rescued by him? Yes, you will chuckle at some of the really serious lines he delivers but I believe everything he says and does.

Anyway, this time Liam plays Travis Block, a deep cover FBI agent with some OCD, a penchant for Bud Lights and the desire to retire and become a good grandpa. His job is rescuing other deep cover agents who have lost it or gone rogue. But when Sofia Flores, a progressive politician who is running for Congress and who looks just like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, is mowed down in a hit and run and one of Block’s operatives contacts a reporter with information about it that implicates the FBI, Block discovers corruption at the FBI (I guess the FBI didn't like progressives). He confronts his boss, who he thought was his friend and mentor, but it doesn’t go well and then his daughter and granddaughter disappear – IT’S GAME ON!

Written by Nick May and Mark Williams (from a story by Brandon Reevis) and directed by Williams, this has all of the usual Liam Neeson thriller tropes: ominous music, rather unbelievable fist fights, guns, car chases - though I had never seen a Dodge Charger chasing a garbage truck before - and Liam using his “particular skills” to nail the bad guys – all the usual stuff you have come to expect in these Liam Neeson thrillers, though in light of recent events, the gun fight was rather stomach churning.

Rosy the Reviewer says...is it a good movie? Not really but if you enjoy Liam in his predictable troubled hero role and want to see the bad guys get what's coming to them, you will probably like this. (On DVD, Apple+ and for rent on most platforms)

Spirited Away (2001)

A ten-year-old girl finds herself in a strange fantasy world.

I have to confess a little crack in Rosy the Reviewer’s movie cred. I just don’t understand how I missed this one. I mean, I worked my way through all of “The 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” book, and I guess I thought I had seen this one, but when it came to my attention recently as the most celebrated animated film of all time, I had to ask myself, “Had I?”

I had not.

When I say the most celebrated animated film ever, I’m not kidding. It was not only Japan’s highest grossing film of all time, it is considered by some the greatest animated film ever. It is #6 on IMDB’s “1001 Greatest Films of All Time” and won the Oscar for Best Animated feature film in 2001, the only non-English animated film to have done so and it was hand-drawn as opposed to all of the computer generated films we now have.

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and dubbed in English, it tells the story of 10-year-old Chihiro (voice of Daveigh Chase) who is on her way to her new home in the suburbs with her parents when they take a wrong turn and discover a mysterious tunnel. They explore the tunnel and find themselves in what looks like an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro’s parents discover a food shop that is open, the counter filled with food. Her parents stuff themselves with the food (Chihiro isn’t hungry) and are turned into pigs, and it’s all one crazy adventure after another for Chihiro as she makes her way around this strange fantasy world, “Alice in Wonderland” style.

This is one of those animated films that will appeal to all ages. Kids will enjoy it because there are all kinds of wild shape-shifting creatures and a lesson about friendship. Adults can get into the deeper messages of western consumerism and the environment as well as the beauty of the animation itself and be blown away by the fact that it was so meticulously hand drawn frame by frame.

Rosy the Reviewer says…I am not usually a huge animation fan but this is a very special film that everyone should see. Am I glad I finally saw this? Yes! You will be too!

(Available on DVD, on HBO Max and for rent on most platforms)

***The Book of the Week***

Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway (2022)

American audiences probably know Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind” and possibly also as Blanche Du Bois in “A Streetcar Named Desire (she won Oscars for both performances)” and Laurence Olivier gained widespread acclaim as a movie actor as Maxim de Winter in “Rebecca” and as Heathcliff in “Wuthering Heights,” but what Americans might not know is before that, they were both British stage actors, most notably Olivier, who brought Shakespeare to the masses.

But perhaps what made them even more famous was their epic love affair and the aftermath.

When the two met, they fell “truly, madly” in love. Unfortunately, they were both married to other people, and in those days, a woman, unless she could prove abuse or abandonment, could not get a divorce without her husband’s permission. Yes, you heard me. And Vivien’s husband was not about to give her a divorce. But Olivier and Leigh couldn’t live without each other and eventually did marry. They lived and worked together for 20 years hoping to become the British version of Lunt and Fontaine until Vivien’s mental illness drove them apart.

Though Galloway’s prose is at times a bit overly dramatic, the Olivier and Leigh love story was a dramatic one and he includes new research, unpublished correspondence and interviews with family and friends and lots of behind the scenes anecdotes. It’s juicy.

Rosy the Reviewer says…if you are fans of Leigh and Olivier or want to know more about them or you miss The Golden Age of Hollywood, this is for you! And here’s a fun fact. My little beloved poodle, Tarquin, was named after Olivier’s son!

(Check it out at your local library)!

(Tarquin as Romeo)

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

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

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)