Saturday, December 10, 2022

"Spoiler Alert" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Spoiler Alert" as well as the Brad Pitt action film "Bullet Train" and the romantic rom-com "Look Both Ways."  The Book of the Week is "Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of an Icon" by Kate Andersen Brower]


Spoiler Alert (2022)


The film version of Michael Ausiello's memoir "Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies."

We all know what a spoiler is, right?  It's when someone in an earlier time zone posts the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" before you've seen it or when you tell someone you are going to see a certain movie and she says "You know she dies at the end, right?" 

But spoiler alert?  Do you know what that is?  As someone who writes about the movies, I am acutely aware of that term because I sometimes get accused of telling too much.  And when I am aware that I am doing that, I am supposed to display "Spoiler Alert" prominently so my readers will know to stop reading in case I reveal a twist or ruin the ending of the film for them. 

That said, I think there are two different camps when it comes to spoilers.  There are those who will bite your head off if you give away too much about a film and then there are those who don't care, who just enjoy the journey.  I am part of that latter camp.  I don't really care if I know how it ends because I am much more into the journey that takes me to the end.

And speaking of the journey...the title of this film warns you about a spoiler and in and of itself is a spoiler.  First of all, Michael Ausiello's memoir upon which this film is based was titled "Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies" and if you didn't already figure out what was going to happen, the film begins with one of the main characters dying in the hospital and then the film proceeds in a series of flashbacks.  So I don't need to warn you with a "Spoiler Alert" at the beginning of this because it's already been spoiled...and not by me.  

But no worries.  Even though you know how it's going to end, like I said, it's all about the journey and there are many surprises along the way.

Jim Parsons ("Big Bang Theory") plays Michael, a young rather uptight gay man working as a journalist at TV Guide in New York City. He doesn't drink or do drugs and is timid emotionally since being traumatized by the loss of his parents at an early age.  His passions are Christmas and TV, so making a living writing about TV is a lifelong dream. Growing up watching soap operas with his mother, he imagined his life as a TV sitcom (a device which the movie recreates and it doesn't really work).  

Michael meets the handsome and outgoing Kit (Ben Aldridge), a sexually active fellow that Michael considers completely out of his league.  In fact, in an intimate moment, Michael reveals himself as a FFK - Former Fat Kid.  He's insecure about his looks and body, though he is no longer overweight, but the two connect and embark on a long term relationship despite Michael's obsession with Smurfs and diet Coke. But Kit has his issues, too.  He has not come out to his parents, Marilyn (Sally Field) and Bob (Bill Irwin), but eventually does in a very funny interlude. 

Michael and Kit have a witty and fun rapport and clearly love each other, but as happens in even the closest of relationships, after 13 years, Michael and Kit hit some bumpy patches and they separate, and then the film moves from a funny, witty rom-com to a drama as the film takes a tragic turn. Kit is diagnosed with cancer, something very difficult for Michael to deal with since he had lost his mother to cancer at a young age but despite their estrangement, and despite Michael's difficult past, Michael decides this is love and he is in it for the long haul, no matter what.

Naturally my friend and I were blubbering away at the end - that was the whole point, right? These kinds of movies bring up all kinds of feelings in us - fear of dying, remembrance of loved ones dying, remembering "Love Story," probably the first of the romantic movies with death-at-the-end genre.  There is homage here to "Love Story," when Michael gets up on Kit's hospital bed and lies next to him as he lay dying.  When Ryan O'Neal did that to comfort Ali McGraw in "Love Story," I completely lost it.  

But this time I also lost it as I remembered my Dad dying.  When he was dying, I was able to travel back home to help my mother and say goodbye to my Dad.  As he lay dying and gasping in the last stages and appeared to be out of it, one of the hospice nurses said that it would probably help him to go if I told him it was okay and that we would be fine.  So as I sat next to my Dad I told him that he had been a wonderful father, that it was okay to go and that I loved him. With that he was able to say "I love you too" and he left us. When that same sort of scene happened in this movie - Michael telling Kit what he had meant to him - it brought back that memory.  But it also reinforced in me of how important it is that we gather around our dying loved ones to say goodbye and tell them what they meant to us.  

Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge are engaging and believable as Michael and Kit, two men devoted to each other, and Bill Irwin and Sally Field provide some comic relief as Kit's parents. Speaking of Sally, she reminded me of what a good actress she is. Her Marilyn was so annoying that I could totally understand why Kit didn't want to tell his mother he was gay!  So Sally did a good job there! 

Watching the film, I was struck by the lack of films where the central theme is a gay love story.  Often when there is a gay love story, it is a tangential feature of a straight rom com.  Gay rom coms should be as mainstream as straight rom coms and every other romantic iteration out there. Hopefully this and the recent "Bros" are signs that more like this will get the green light.

A sweet Christmas movie. Despite the death part, it's all about love and family, and at this time of year, which is rife with emotion, there is nothing like a good cathartic cry and you will get that with this film.  Bring tissues.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a good movie will bring up memories and emotions and this movie written by David Marshall Grant and Dan Savage and directed by Michael Showalter ("The Big Sick") did just that because it is a good movie. (In theatres)




Bullet Train (2022)


A slew of assassins with different agendas all board a bullet train. Mayhem ensues.

Ooh, Brad Pitt.  I have never forgotten his first big splash in "Thelma and Louise" and he has just gotten better and more handsome as he ages. But like many really handsome actors, it seems like he does not want to rely on his looks and play romantic leads. Darn it, Brad. I want you to play romantic leads!  But it seems he wants to be taken more seriously, so he goes for the edgier stuff now and this film is edgy.  But, Brad.  What are you doing in this mess of a movie?

Here Brad plays a former assassin, code name, Ladybug, and he is in Tokyo for a job he doesn't really want. He has had a run of bad luck lately and has wearied of killing people but thinks that retrieving a briefcase should be a piece of cake. Not! Brothers Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry), who happen to be assassins, are also on the train to rescue the son of a Russian-born Yakuza boss called "The White Death." Sadly, the son is poisoned and another assassin, "The Wolf (Bad Bunny)," thinks it was our boy Brad, so attacks him.  Then "The Wolf" dies. A schoolgirl character strangely called "Prince" wanders around the train getting involved leaving destruction in her wake. Then Ladybug gets into it with Lemon and other assassins and the whole thing is a big confusing mess, though it turns out all of the assassins are somehow related. I like action films, and I don't mind some violence now and then, but by the time it was all revealed, I didn't care anymore.

Written by Zak Olkewitz (based on the book by Kotaro Isaka) and directed by David Leitch, the film is part Japanese video game, part cartoon and part Tarantino-esqe dark comedy with some slapstick thrown in, but the violence overshadows what humor there is and it just all became wearying after awhile. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...despite Brad's presence, a very weird and not very enjoyable film experience. Brad, can't you make this old girl happy and do a romantic movie once in awhile? (Netflix)


Look Both Ways (2022)


What if you had taken that other road in life?

In her last year at the University of Texas, Natalie (Lili Reinhart) has sex with her friend Gabe (Danny Ramirez).  It's not about love and the two agree it wasn't a big deal. Natalie has a five year plan for her life after graduation and she means to keep it.  She plans to move to Los Angeles with her friend Cara (Aisha Dee) to become an animator. But a few weeks later, on graduation night, Natalie takes a pregnancy test and her life diverges into two parallel realities.  

In Reality #1, she is pregnant.  Reality #2, she is not pregnant.

Pregnant, Natalie moves back home with her parents who were enjoying the empty nest so they are not that happy to have her back. They are not too happy about Gabe, either, who is an aspiring musician.  But he steps up and the two struggle to coparent their daughter, Rosie.  But Natalie wants Gabe to have his own life and encourages him to date.  When he does meet someone, Natalie is not sure she has made the right decision to discourage Gabe.  But she throws herself into her artwork.

In Reality #2, relieved that she is not pregnant, Natalie moves to Los Angeles with Cara and they start their careers.  Natalie gets her dream job and becomes an assistant animator and she meets Jake (David Corenswet), who aspires to be a movie producer. They embark on a relationship but Jake is sent to Nova Scotia for a job and they struggle with a long-distance relationship.

Which path taken will turn out to be the best one for Natalie?

Written by April Prosser and directed by Wanuri Kahiu, this is one of those "what if?" films reminiscent of "Sliding Doors," the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow film that explored what would happen if you miss your train.  Here we get to see what would have happened if the road not taken was taken. Will two different paths lead to the same destiny? The film goes back and forth between the two realities which you might think would be confusing but it's handled in a very stylish and understandable way.

The young actors are engaging especially Reinhardt who is the reason this film is so affecting.  Most famous for the TV series "Riverdale," I will enjoy watching her movie career unfold.

How often have we wondered how our lives might have been different if we had taken that other road - if we had moved East, not West; if we had accepted that other marriage proposal or not gotten married at all; or we decided not to have children or given up a career? The film is a reminder that no matter which path we choose, there will always be bumps, regrets and what ifs but it's our path.  It's called life.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a sweet little story that will make you wonder about the path you chose but validate it. (Netflix)



***The Book of the Week***


"Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of an Icon" by Kate Andersen Brower (2022).



The definitive biography.

Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of the Hollywood movie star and one of the last to come out of the old Hollywood studio system. In her over 70 years in show business, she starred in 56 films, 10 TV movies and was the first actor to negotiate a million dollar contract (“Cleopatra”) and the first to use her fame for Aids activism.  However, her personal life often overshadowed her accomplishments - Eight marriages to seven different men, by 26 she had been divorced twice and widowed once and she struggled with addictions to pills and alcohol. 

Considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, she was kind, creative, empathetic and smart but she was also selfish, greedy, vulnerable, volatile and childlike and Brower uses Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries, off-the-record interview transcripts and interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family to capture those many sides of Taylor. Taylor never wrote a real memoir (she died in 2011 at the age of 79), but this well-researched biography gets as close to telling her story in her own words as we will ever get.

Rosy the Reviewer says...there have been countless biographies but this will stand as the definitive one about the legend that was Elizabeth Taylor.


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)

Thursday, November 24, 2022

"The Menu" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new Ralph Fiennes movie "The Menu" as well as the Netflix film "The Luckiest Girl Alive" and the latest season of "The Crown." The Book of the Week is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus]


The Menu (2022)


We foodies know that fine dining is not just about the food.  It's also about the experience and Chef Slowik wants you to have the experience of a lifetime!

Ralph Fiennes plays Chef Slowik, the famed chef who runs the finest of fine dining restaurants, Hawthorne.  It's one of those restaurants where you have to make a reservation a year in advance and it costs what would be a month's wages for many people.  It is so exclusive, it's on an island all by itself.  It's also one of those restaurants that serves an expensive prixe fix seven course menu where each course is teeny tiny but delicious. You are also likely to go away hungry.  As the mysterious and scary maitre de, Elsa (Hong Chau), whispers to one customer, "You will get less than you desire and more than you deserve."  Oh, yes.

Chef Slowik has gathered a disparate group of the very rich for a very special seven course menu, one served "cold," if you know what I mean.  Yes, this is all about revenge and is to be the culmination of Slowik's career.

They are mostly an entitled bunch. There is Lillian (Janet McTeer), the restaurant critic and her yes-man editor, Ted (Paul Adelstein). Her bad reviews are so powerful that they can close a restaurant.  Then, Richard (Reed Birney) and Anne (Judith Light), they are a rich, married couple who have been to the restaurant more times than they can count, but they can't name any of the dishes served despite the fact that Chef Slowik introduces each dish with a clap of his hands and a bit of oversharing and three tech bros, Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang) and Dave (Mark St. Cyr), who work with the restaurant's owner and are there just so they can say they have been to the restaurant. Also a once popular actor (John Leguizamo) on his way down and his assistant, Felicity (Aimee Carrero) are there. And finally, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), the slavishly devoted food snob who has brought Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) as his date, she being a last minute substitution who Slowik did not expect. And there is more to Margot than first meets the eye.

Slowik knows everything about everyone (except Margot), and he doesn't like them. They may pay over $1000 a person to eat his food but they don't respect him as the artist he is. He plans to change that tonight.

Slowik holds a grudge against the critic; he hates rich people like Richard and Anne who don't really know anything about good food; he hated the movie that the actor on his way down was in - it ruined his only day off; and he has a big surprise for the three men who work with the owner.  The owner is on his way down, too, literally.  And as for Tyler and Margot?  Slowik really, really hates pretentious foodies (Tyler), but Margot was a last minute date for Tyler so she was not on his hit list.  Slowik discovers that she is not one of the 1%, so he has a soft spot for her, and because she is not a sycophant, he respects her.  The two have some sharp one on ones that are highlights of the film.

So since this is about a restaurant, let's talk about The Menu.  The film is divided like a seven course menu with onscreen descriptions and each course is introduced by Chef Slowik with a clap of his hands that will make you jump - I did - and it's real food prepared for the film by celebrity chef Dominique Crenn, though much of it is tongue-in-cheek, like the "breadless bread plate

But as we foodies know, and as we discover during the film, fine dining is also about the experience, and some of the courses are real intense "experiences." Likewise, the ending is way over the top and absolutely hilarious.  Let's just say that Slowik hates s'mores and just wants to blow that whole concept up...literally.

Writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy had fun with some foodie references: Slowik calls someone a "Donkey," which Chef Gordon Ramsay loves to do, and when Slowik gets rid of one of his enemies, he says one of the reasons was that the guy had wanted substitutions on the menu.  So as his enemy is being dispatched, Slowik yells "NO SUBSTITUTIONS!" We all know that on many menus substitutions are a big no-no.  There are many more foodie references like that you will have fun noticing.

Despite some big names in this ensemble case and an excellent performance by Taylor-Joy, this is all about Ralph Fiennes, who is one of our great actors.  

No matter what Fiennes is asked to do, he really cares about giving a good performance.  How do I know this?  He was recently on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" show plugging this movie and, for a laugh, Andy had him read a Real Housewive's diatribe. If you are not a Housewives fan, you might not know what that is all about, but let's just say, most episodes have fights and someone going off the deep end emotionally. So Andy has Ralph reading a meltdown from a housewife, and he is really feeling it.  Afterwards, Andy put the script Ralph was reading from up to the camera to show that Ralph had actually made notes on it to help his performance and had written on the bottom "Coriolanus," reminding himself of his Shakespearean performance of that role and to play it like that. Now that's an actor who cares about every performance! Also a guy with a great sense of humor about himself. Whether he is doing Shakespeare or "The Real Housewives," Ralph gives it his all.  And this film is no exception. He is all in. 

Directed by Mark Mylod, this is a wonderful little dark comedy horror film that is in theatres now but I fear it won't be for long.  I was alone in the theatre.  Granted, it was 11 a.m. but even so, despite the star power, this is one of those small movies that doesn't last long in the theatres, which is a shame because this is why I go to the movies - to be entertained, yes, which I was, but to also be surprised, to enjoy a new take on a subject and to be challenged, to have to look at myself and wonder, "Am I like that?" This film needs to be seen, so if you can't get to the theatre this weekend, watch for it on your streaming platform.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an absolutely delicious but very, very dark satiric comedy that skewers pompous, pretentious foodies and those who slavishly follow what's in vogue.  You know who you are.  If you are one of those, you will probably not find this funny.  However, if you are a foodie with a sense of humor about yourself, you will find this hilarious.  And by the way, remember this. In the end, there really is nothing better than a good, old-fashioned cheeseburger! (In theatres)


The Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)


A woman who seems to have everything is haunted by her past.

I couldn't help but think this was more like an episode of "Dateline" than a movie.  But, hey.  I love "Dateline!"  But let's just say our girl, Ani (Mila Kunis), is not very nice. She is a high-powered New Yorker on the fast track in her career. She is headed to the New York Times from her current job at a woman's magazine, and she is also planning a wedding to her boyfriend, Luke (Finn Wittrock).  But she is also haunted by her past and hiding a secret.  Well, more than one.  She is bulimic, she was a survivor of a school shooting and experienced date rape.

Ani is approached by a documentary filmmaker who wants to make a short film about the school shooting she survived as a teenager, but initially Ani doesn't want anything to do with it. Later, she runs into her former teacher, Andrew Larson (Scott McNairy), who knew something else that had happened to Ani.  As a teen, she had revealed to him that she had been gang-raped at a party by three boys she knew while drunk.  Mr. Larson had told her to tell her mother (Connie Britton) but she refused.  You see, Ani's relationship with her mother was strained.

In flashbacks to 1999, we see young Ani (Chiara Aurelia) at the Brentley School, a private school for rich kids.  Ani is there on scholarship and just wants to fit in.  She quickly befriends a clique of popular students, including Dean (Carson MacCormac) and his friends Liam (Isaac Kragten) and Peyton (Gage Munroe). Turns out, those are the boys who would eventually gang-rape her. Then when the school shooting occurs and Ani is spared, Dean plants a seed that Ani was involved and she is shunned.

Talk of a documentary about the school shooting and seeing Mr. Larson again has unleashed bad memories in Ani, and it starts to affect her relationship with Luke, who is not, shall we say a very understanding boyfriend? However, Ani agrees to the documentary and Aaron tells Ani that Dean (Alex Barone), now all grown up, wants to meet with her to apologize on camera; she agrees, under the condition that Aaron keeps them separate until she is ready. But Dean is not a good guy and has no intention of apologizing.

Later, we finally find out the true story behind the school shooting and what happened to those other boys involved in the gang rape.  Was Ani involved in the school shooting?  Will those boys get what's coming to them for the rape? Will Ani finally find her voice?

Written by Jessica Knoll, based on her best-selling novel, and directed by Mike Barker, this film is not without its problems, but it at least tried to tackle some important issues, some with better results than others. Rich vs. poor, men vs. women, victims vs. survivors and the question of what is luck? Is the luckiest girl one who survives a school shooting or one who gets vindication? Or is the title sarcastic because our girl lived such an unlucky life of guilt and shame?  You will have to decide.

Rosy the Reviewer says...compelling performances by Kunis and Aurelia in a film that just missed the mark for being compelling.


 The Crown - Season 5 (2022)


The saga of the British Royal Family continues, this time concentrating on the marriage of Charles and Diana.

Ah, "The Crown." It's back but surrounded by controversy. It seems that there are grumblings that Netflix should do a disclaimer reminding viewers that this is a semi-fictionalized version of the Royal Family. But really? Are we viewers considered that dumb that Netflix needs to tell us we are watching a dramatization? Do we actually believe that this series is a documentary? Do we believe that Netflix is trying to tell us that what the actors are saying in private was what they actually said? No! We know this is a dramatization! And the flap about the series being disrespectful to the Queen, especially in light of her recent death, is much ado about nothing. If anything, the series is very respectful, especially to the Queen but also to Charles, Camilla and Diana.

And speaking of The Queen. This series has a new Queen Elizabeth and Imelda Staunton embodies the Queen like no other, and that's saying a lot because both Claire Foy, who played the young Queen Elizabeth and Olivia Colman, who played her in her middle years, both won Emmys for their performances, and yes, they were wonderful. But there is just something so right about Staunton. She doesn't have big dramatic scenes but as the story plays out you see everything on her face and in her eyes. Just an incredible performance.

The marriage of Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Charles (Dominic West) is at the centerpiece of this season, but that is not all it's about. It sheds light on many facets of the Royal Family that might not be generally known if you haven't been a royal watcher. And what is particularly well done this season is the historical perspective and how each episode stands on its own, centering around a specific subject.

  • One episode is all about Prince Phillip (Jonathan Pryce) and his obsession with carriage driving and his subsequent "spiritual" obsession with his godson's wife, a much younger woman who he shares his carriage driving with.
  • Another fascinating episode goes back in time to show the relationship between the Windsor and the Russian Romanov families. Queen Elizabeth's great-grandmother Queen Alexandra married King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and her sister Maria married Czar Alexander of Russia. The episode explores the role the Windsor's might have played during the Russian Revolution.
  • There is also an episode about Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw) and his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) and Mohamed's desire to be a British gentleman.
  • And yes, the relationship between Charles and Camilla is also center stage, but I have to say the portrayal of both of them is surprisingly quite sympathetic. However, if you were expecting Diana's death to be a big part of this season, it's not. The series ends with Diana heading off on a trip to meet Dodi, leaving us with a sense of foreboding, because we know what will happen after that fateful meeting. But as for the series, we will have to wait until next season for that, for which I am grateful. (Diana's death was one of the worst days of my life, so I am glad I don't have to write about it here, yet, anyway).

As for this season, I can't rave about it enough.

For me, this is by far the best season and it rankles me that there was such a fuss made over it from the media even before it aired, grumblings about how much of it was made up and how disrespectful it was to the Royal Family. I did not see anything disrespectful or depicted that I didn't already know from my royal watching and reading over the years. Yes, we can't possibly know what was actually said in private between Queen Elizabeth and Philip, for example, but, people, this is not a documentary. It's a fictionalized version of what might have been said. But so far as for actual events, it's spot on and just dramatically compelling and wonderful.

  • Did that risque and embarrassing phone call between Camilla and Prince Charles really happen? Yes. I hate to admit it, but I read the transcripts of the phone call myself.
  • Did Mohamed Al-Fayed really hire the Duke of Windsor's valet? Yes.
  • Did Diana wear that "revenge dress" on purpose the night Charles did his interview? Yes.
  • Did Princess Diana confide in Prince William during the marital turmoil? Yes. There were many reports that when she was crying behind closed doors, he would slip a note under the door to try to console her. Also, after the divorce when she was stripped of her royal status (HRH), William told her that when he became King he would give it back to her.
  • Did Camilla and Prince Charles hire a PR person to help with their image after Diana's death. Yes.

What's also great about this series is how it is structured. Each episode stands on its own and you needn't have seen Seasons 1-4 to enjoy this one but I recommend it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an absolute must see. This series created by Peter Morgan just gets better and better.



***The Book of the Week***


"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus (2022)




How does a brilliant chemist become the beloved star of a cooking show?

It's the early 1960's and chemist Elizabeth Zott faces discrimination.  What's a beautiful woman like her doing in a lab? She should be home making babies and dinner for her husband, right? According to Elizabeth, no!  This woman is no push-over but despite that, at the Hastings Research Institute where she works, Elizabeth has to deal with the all-male team and they don't know what to do with a woman in their midst, except Calvin Evans, the lonely, homely but brilliant Nobel prize winner who falls in love with Elizabeth's mind.  But sadly tragedy occurs and Elizabeth finds herself not only a single mother but the star of a beloved cooking show, "Supper at Six." How does that happen?  

Elizabeth not only combines her knowledge of chemistry to whip up a meal, she also uses her platform to whip women into revolt!

There is also Elizabeth's dog who knows almost 500 words and shares his thoughts with the reader and her daughter, Mad, who in kindergarten asks the librarian for Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead!"  You get the idea.  Quirky, funny, original and a reminder that, though the sixties was a time of revolution and change, women were yet to find equality...and we still haven't.

I don't usually read novels these days.  I am a nonfiction kind of girl but I was drawn to this because of my love of strong women characters and cooking shows! And Elizabeth is a strong female who doesn't suffer fools...at all!

Rosy the Reviewer says...this is a very special book with an independent, liberated heroine who takes no prisoners! A must read!


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)



Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Tár and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Tár" as well as the movie "Mack and Rita."  The Book of the Week is Matthew Perry's memoir "Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing"]


Tár(2022)


The story of Lydia Tár, a world reknowned female symphony conductor who has some issues.

'Tis the season.

No, I'm not talking about the holiday season.  I am talking about Oscar season!  This is the time of year when the studios release their big Oscar contenders, and there is no doubt that Cate Blanchett's performance in this movie will be recognized.  As for the movie itself, er...

Hubby said to me as I headed out the door to see this film, "I have a feeling you are going to love Blanchett's performance and hate the film." He was right.

I was already worried because the film was in at two hours and 38 minutes and I often hold that against a film at the outset. I dare it to hold my interest. Few movies need to be that long.  More and more directors seem to have a difficult time editing themselves. So sitting in the theatre, I was already worried but when the film began, I knew I was in big trouble.

You know how you usually get up and leave at the end of the film when the credits are rolling because you don't really care who the grip or the gaffer was on the film or who drove the stars around?  Well, writer/producer/director Todd Field must not have wanted you to do that, because he rolled all of the credits AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM with an irritating soundtrack playing in the background. And other than wanting to be sure we had to watch the credits, I have no idea what the purpose of that was except to irritate.

So there I was in the theatre, already twitching in my seat and the movie hadn't even really started yet.

Now don't get me wrong.  I didn't really have a problem with the film once it got started. It actually had an intriguing storyline with a message. The problem was that the story didn't really get started until about an hour in.  Before there was any story, we had to sit through an interview and what was basically an entire class on conducting so by the time all of that was over, I was squirming in my seat.

You see, Lydia Tár (Blanchett) is a world famous conductor, the first female conductor to direct the Berlin Philharmonic.  So to be sure we know just how famous Lydia is, the film begins with an interview where the interviewer (real life New Yorker writer, Adam Gopnik) reads a lengthy introduction (she's an EGOT, an ethnomusicologist, a piano virtuoso and more) and Lydia talks about her musical philosophy. It's all very intellectual. That is followed by Lydia teaching a class to conducting students where she once again shares her philosophy, but this time she humiliates one of the young students who doesn't agree with her.  At this point, we start to learn that Lydia is not very nice. She also has a huge ego.  

As the film progresses, we discover just how self-serving, egotistical and cold she is. She upbraids her wife, Sharon (Nina Hoss), when she returns home to find too many lights on and she orders her assistant, Francesca (Noemie Merlant), around.  Later, we learn that Lydia is also, in fact, a predator. 

When I say it's all very intellectual, I mean that I can't imagine anyone other than a classical music aficionado understanding half of what Lydia talks about in her interview, in the classroom or when she is talking to her mentor. I am totally okay with exposition to get the audience oriented but almost an hour of musical tutelage to do that was too much. I was totally lost before anything really began, and it's not that I know nothing about classical music.  I am familiar with Mahler and his music, I was a fan of Leonard Bernstein, and I have even heard of Elgar, but when Lydia got into naming specific movements of orchestral pieces, using conducting jargon and throwing around the names of other female conductors, I got lost and, dare I say, bored?  And there is a LOT of that in this film, not to mention times when Lydia was speaking German and there were no subtitles. 

As for Lydia's issues, she has acute hearing and keeps hearing noises that keep her awake. She also has a neighbor knocking, she washes her hands a lot, and finds herself running down a dark tunnel.  Guilt perhaps but all devices that are never explained.

Which leads me to question some of Field's directorial choices. That strange opening of the full credits notwithstanding, there were people speaking German, sometimes with subtitles, sometimes not. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to that. There was a mysterious person, never identified, sending text messages.  An unexplained package arrives.  It goes on and on like that, scenes and ocurrences that seemed to be unrelated and never explained. And I won't even rant, like I usually do, about this being almost three hours long.  Well, I will rant a little.  I think it could have been cut by an entire hour.

But despite the fact that I didn't like this film, I can't fault Cate Blanchett's performance.  

She is a wonder. She is right up there in the Meryl Streep echelon.  When she performs I am a believer.  I forget she is acting.  She mastered the conducting and the German so I give her props for that as well. She will no doubt be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. But since I noticed, while watching those interminable opening credits, that she was one of the producers, I do have to also give her some of the blame for this film.

Overall, the production values are beautiful, the film has a message - the exploitation that can occur when someone attains a high level of fame - and it's all very arty, and that, in my estimation, is its downfall. It's as pretentious as that accent over the "a" in Lydia Tár's name, and I can't imagine the average moviegoer enjoying this film. In fact, I really can't believe that anyone other than someone heavily immersed in the music world would enjoy it. And if they say they did, well, the word pretentious again comes to mind.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a huge Cate Blanchett fan and want to watch her performance for 158 minutes, you might like this but as for the film itself, I often say, "I see the bad ones so you don't have to."  And you are welcome.



Mack and Rita (2022)


A 30-year-old wakes up to find that she has turned into her 70-year-old self.

Written by Madeline Walter and Paul Welsh and directed by Katie Aselton, this is one of those "body-swap films," like "Freaky Friday" and "Big," where the main character is transformed into a different person and inhabits a new body.  In this case, it's Mack (Elizabeth Lail), a 30-year-old writer, who doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin.  She thinks of herself as an old lady trapped in the body of a young woman. On a whim she goes into a "regression" tent at a fair, which is really an old tanning bed overseen by a seedy hippie and wishes herself to be her 70-year-old Grammy Martin, who she had always admired and had fun with. Not sure how regression makes you older, but, okay, I will go with it.  Mack thought she was doing this for fun, but when she wakes up, she has literally turned into a 70-year-old, her future old self.  

Enter Diane Keaton and all of her recent comic schtick and it's not pretty.  

Now we have ourselves a "fish out of water" story as Mack/Rita (Keaton) tries to navigate a 30-year-old's life in a 70-year-old's body while at the same time trying to find that regression guy again so she can get back into that tanning bed and return to her old, I mean, young self. 

Mack/Rita confides in her best friend, Carla (Taylour Page), who unbelievably believes her about her predicament but Mack passes herself off to the rest of her young friends as her Aunt Rita. Rita gets entangled in a pilates machine; she tries cryotherapy; she even gets to kiss her cute young neighbor, Jack (Dustin Milligan), who for some reason likes to hang around her. Diane Keaton is a nice looking older woman but it's a stretch that she would pull a cute young guy like him. Rita tries to do stuff that a 30-year-old might do and it's supposed to be funny as she falls down and gets flustered (making fun of old people is always good for a laugh, right?), but as a 70+ year old myself, I was offended. But Rita finds a posse of old ladies to hang out with, has that cute young guy and starts having such a good time as an old lady, Rita isn't sure she wants to go back to being Mack. Naturally as these movies are prone to do, Mack learns to value herself. I just wish the writers and director had valued something called character development and originality. Worst of all?  It was a comedy that wasn't funny.

Will Mack be able to get back to her 30-year-old self? I eventually thought, who cares?

Ordinarily, I would like a story like this, but in addition to the lack of character development, my big problem was and is Diane Keaton.  I used to be a huge fan.  I mean she was in "The Godfather" and "Reds" and "Annie Hall," for god's sake, "Annie Hall" being one of the funniest films of all time.  But the problem is, Diane has seemed to turn herself into a real-life version of Annie Hall and that is not funny, especially in a 76-year-old woman.  She has la-ti-da-ed herself into a character that gets on my nerves with her big hats and eccentric outfits. She now plays flibberdigibbets and whenever she appears on a talk show, she acts so dippy that I can't watch.  And I guess she is not embarrassed by that behavior because in this movie she even references her stints on "Ellen" by ordering red wine with ice cubes (when she would show up on "Ellen," that was a thing).  So obviously Diane thinks we like the persona she now gives us. And her movies are just more of the same.  I didn't like "Poms" and I didn't like this one. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a big Diane Keaton fan, you might like this but just remember you will never have this 90 minutes back again.


***The Book of the Week***


Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (2022)



Matthew Perry, star of the TV show "Friends" shares his story of addiction and redemption.

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.” So begins Matthew Perry's harrowing story of addiction.

If you haven't heard about this memoir, you must have been under a rock or not have a TV.  Perry has been on every talk show and newsfeed running up to publication of this memoir.  He really wants to tell his story and it is a fascinating one. 

Best known as Chandler on the TV show “Friends,” Perry grew up in Canada but his parents divorced when he was very young. His mother was Pierre Trudeau's press secretary and his father was an actor who moved to L.A. and eventually became famous as the original Old Spice Guy.  Perry's mother remarried Keith Morrison of "Dateline" fame. You know, the guy who always purrs "Was it murrrrder?" 

With his mother in Canada and his Dad in L.A. Matty was shuttled back and forth alone on a plane, an "unaccompanied minor" and that fueled his lifelong feelings of insecurity and abandonment, a hole difficult to fill. But he tried. First, by being the funny guy, then with alcohol. That first drink at 14 was a revelation. While his teenaged friends were throwing up after their first big binge, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. That empty hole was starting to be filled.  What he didn't know was that he would almost die and he was already on his way to hell.

Then Perry moved to L.A. to live with his Dad, and he thought fame would solve all of this problems.  He already had a big alcohol habit but toiled in supporting TV roles and eventually landed the role of Chandler in “Friends," and he thought, finally, everything was going to be okay. But then he discovered opioids and his life-long battle with “The Big Terrible Thing,” his addiction, really began. He says in the book that if you watch "Friends," you can tell when he was drinking heavily and when he was mostly on pills. When he was drinking he was heavy; when he was using pills, he was skinny.  During one hiatus, he lost 50 pounds and they had to dress him in baggy clothes to cover that up when the season started up again.  At one point, he was taking 55 opioids a day.  He has been through 65 detoxes.

But it’s not all tragedy. Now sober and self-aware, Perry is grateful for his life and uses his self-deprecating humor to candidly talk about “Friends”, lovers, and yes, The Big Terrible Thing in hopes that he can help others.  Helping others has finally filled that big terrible hole.

Rosy the Reviewer says...celebrity watchers and fans of "Friends" will enjoy the behind the scenes anecdotes and Perry's encounters with other celebrities but this is also a tale of hope for those struggling with addiction.


Thanks for reading!


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