When There Is Nothing Playing At The Movie Theatres That Makes You Want To Leave Home: Some Good Movies You Can Watch in Your PJ's!

[I review "Empire of Light," "The Good House" and "She Said," all films that you can stream at home.]

Yep.  Since the pandemic, the movie industry has been suffering and it shows.  I used to be an at least once-a-week movie goer, but, since the pandemic, when Netflix, Prime and all of those other streaming services stepped up to make our lockdown more enjoyable, it now takes a lot for me to get out of my jammies, eschew the wine and head out to the movie theatre.  It has to be something I really want to see and right now, nope (speaking of which, I did go out to see "Nope."  An exception.  I loved it.).

So if you are feeling like I am, you love movies but there is often nothing that makes you want to venture out, here are some options.  You can stay home in your jammies, drink some wine and enjoy some good movies!

Empire of Light (2022)

Lonely people connect in a 1980's English cinema - "The Empire."

Hilary (Olivia Colman) is the manager of the Empire Theatre, a movie theatre in the English seaside town of Margate. It's one of those plush, old-fashioned theatres we don't see much anymore - Big heavy velvet curtains over the screen and comfy, velvet-covered seats.  She lives alone and doesn't seem to have much going on except hanging out with the other theatre staff, and oh, maybe her occasional sexual dalliances with her pervy, married boss (Colin Firth). And strangely, Hilary may work in a movie theatre, but she never watches the movies. 

Then Hilary meets Stephen (Micheal Ward), a young black man who is hired to work in the theatre. It's Margaret Thatcher's England, a time of unemployment, turmoil and racism. Skinheads are rampant and Stephen is often the brunt of their violence. But he and Hilary share a relationship as they work together in the movie theatre, and Hilary eventually discovers that movies matter, that there are always chances for change and renewal and, though things don't go exactly as planned for Hilary, we have faith that she will make it.

There is a scene early in the film when Hilary is showing Stephen around the movie theatre. The two bond in the "pigeon room," an abandoned ballroom on the top floor that is prone to pigeons getting in and flying around.  They discover a pigeon with a broken wing and Stephen fixes a little "cast" for it out of his sock.  A pigeon with a broken wing that will eventually fly away is a rather blatant symbol for what will happen in Hilary's life but it's still a touching scene.

The movie theatre is a place where people gather to have shared experiences, to form a sort of community for a few hours. That's why movies matter.  But here the movie theatre is also a symbol of individual human connection as we meet lonely Hilary and understand her story. Writer/director Sam Mendes, who won a Best Director Oscar for "American Beauty" in 1999 and whose latest film "1917" was nominated for Best Picture last year, has created a nostalgic tribute to the movie theatres of his youth and reminds us that no matter who we are or our circumstances in life, we can all come together at the movies and have some of the same feelings and emotions, get some other perspectives on our lives and feel connected to the rest of humanity. We can also fly away to other worlds. 

Olivia Colman is just wonderful here, as she always is. It's refreshing to see an actress "of a certain age" starring in a film. I know it is not easy for older actresses to get work, but this is a case in point that older actresses don't have to resort to silly movies (that I won't name) that make fun of older women to get work. But then, this is a British film and the Brits don't seem to have the same problem with ageism as Hollywood does.

Rosy the Reviewer says...the film has strengths and weaknesses, but it is beautiful to look at thanks to Roger Deakins' cinematography, and if you are a fan of tour de force performances, Colman does not disappoint. (HBO Max)

The Good House (2021)

Hildy Good (Sigourney Weaver) is a realtor in Wendover, Massachusetts.  Everything seems to be good in her life, until it isn't.

Sigourney Weaver plays Hildy Good, a realtor and descendant of one of the Salem witches.  She was once a very successful realtor but things haven't been so good lately since her husband of 22 years left her for a man and her family staged an intervention that landed her in rehab.  And to make matters worse, while Hildy was in rehab, Wendy, her arch nemesis (Kathryn Erbe), stole her clients. To those around her, her stint in rehab seemed to work but she never really stopped drinking, she just hid it. Hildy also rekindles a fumbling but sweet romance with her old high school love, Frank (Kevin Kline), a local contractor/handyman. Kline is always pleasant to have around.

However, one night alone in her basement Hildy drinks two bottles of wine and scares herself and swears off the booze. For a time, anyway.

Meanwhile, Hildy befriends Rebecca (Morena Baccarin) and is drawn into her life, discovering that she is having an affair with Peter (Rob Delaney), the local psychologist.  She promises she won't tell but later, when Peter goes to Wendy instead of Hildy to sell his house, Hildy threatens him.  She also starts drinking again and everything goes to hell. Will Hildy survive this?

Based on the book by Ann Leary with a screenplay by Thomas Bezucha, Maya Forbes, and Wallace Wolodarsky and directed by Forbes and Wolodarsky, this is a story about a functioning alcoholic, a woman who says she doesn't NEED alcohol, she just likes it. "I was born three drinks short of comfortable."  It's a story about women and drinking and how easy it is to tell ourselves we are okay when we aren't.  Also there is a bit of "House Hunters" in this (don't you just love to see other peoples' houses?), as Hildy shows houses to her clients and a bit of "Intervention," well, you know, because there is an intervention. This is also one of those movies where you want to yell at the screen - "HILDY, DON'T HAVE ANOTHER DRINK!"

Sigourney breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience, a device I haven't seen for awhile and not a huge fan of, so at first it's a bit disconcerting, but she is wonderful in this, and I have to say, it is refreshing to see an actress of a certain age playing a real woman in an adult story that doesn't make fun of old ladies. Okay, I'll say it. Do you hear me "80 for Brady?" 

Rosy the Reviewer says...we need more movies like this, movies for adults about adults dealing with adult issues. (On DVD and for rent on Apple+)

She Said (2022)

New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor broke the Harvey Weinstein story of sexual harassment in Hollywood igniting the #Metoo movement.  This is their story.

In 2016 Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) is investigating Trump's hanky panky for the New York Times.  Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan, granddaughter of director Elia Kazan) is working on immigration issues.  Twohey is pregnant; Kantor is a young working mother. As 2017 rolls on, Kantor gets a tip that actress Rose McGowan was sexually assaulted by Miramax producer Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.  Though initially reluctant to cooperate, McGowan eventually tells Kantor that Weinstein raped her when she was 23.  Then Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow also weigh in, though neither want to be named.  Frustrated, Jodi gets Megan Twohey to help her.

What the two discover as they weed through the miasma that is Miramax, for decades Weinstein has been sexually harassing actresses and staff and everyone knew it.  But they kept quiet as Weinstein paid the women off and made them sign nondisclosure agreements. No one said anything because no one wanted to lose their jobs. That is what Jodi and Megan had to deal with. They identified the women but the women were afraid to talk because of the NDA and out of shame.  But then Jodi and Megan get a tip to speak to Irwin Reiter, one of Weinstein's former accountants.  He shows Jodi an internal memo that circulated at Miramax in 2015 detailing abuse allegations. Full steam ahead!

Now despite threats from Weinstein, an article is in the works and Ashley Judd and a former employee decide to come forward and be named.  After the article is published on October 5, 2017, 82 more women came forward. Weinstein was arrested and is currently serving a 23 year sentence for sexual assault offenses in New York and has just recently been given an additional 16 years for offenses committed in Los Angeles.

Because of Twohey and Kantor, the #MeToo movement began and the sexual harassment of women in the work place was exposed, and though there is still much to do, reforms, both legal and in the workplace, happened.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to see this film because haven't we all heard enough about Harvey Weinstein?  But this movie does for sexual harassment what "Spotlight" did for child abuse in the priesthood and what "All The President's Men" did for Watergate. Those films honored investigative reporters who uncovered misconduct in areas where such misconduct was either ignored or swept under the rug and we would never have known if it wasn't for them.

With a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (based on Twohey's and Kantor's article) and directed by Maria Schrader, this isn't just a story about Weinstein, it is a story about a system that protected abusers.

And just as I had originally thought "Spotlight" was going to be a dry investigative "Dateline" sort of film, it turned out to be my favorite movie of the year and went on to win a Best Picture Oscar.  This one isn't going to win an Oscar but it wins as an inspiring story of two intrepid women who brought habitual sexual abuser, Harvey Weinstein, down.  And how appropriate that it was two women who did that. 

Though the film is a bit slow to get going, once it does, it's a fascinating look at how these kinds of investigative stories get published.  It's also a look into the lives of two dedicated women. They were not just New York Times investigative reporters, they were young mothers and the film does a good job of showing just how difficult it is to juggle a difficult job while keeping a family together, and yet they kept going, taking phone calls in the middle of the night, getting on planes, knocking on doors, all while trying to juggle their home lives.  Their husbands must have been saints. 

Mulligan and Kazan are believable, especially Kazan who is an actress to watch.  Mulligan seemed uncharacteristically understated here but that could be because her character was suffering from post-partum depression.  Here's something: I always get Mulligan mixed up with Michelle Williams. Do you?

The whole issue of "He said/she said" is one reason why so many sexual abuse victims don't come forward.  It's her word against his and the shame surrounding these incidents is also a barrier.  But as more women stand up and demand to be heard, hopefully there will be fewer of these incidents.  But the fight is not over. There are still more Harvey Weinsteins out there. But at least now more people will believe what "she said."  

Rosy the Reviewer says...an important film about two women who, against great odds, took on an important issue and made a difference for women.  (Available to rent on most streaming platforms)

So put on your jammies, grab a glass of wine, and watch some good movies in the comfort of home!  That's what I'm doing! More recommendations to come!

Cheers!

And you know what?  Here's another option.  When there is no movie you want to see, you can always read a book or share one with those you love?

And remember, books are available for free at your local library!

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

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)

For Your Consideration, Part II. Have You Seen These Oscar Nominated Films and Performances?

[I review another film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar - "All Quiet on the Western Front" - and the Best Actor nominated performance of Paul Mescal in "Aftersun" and the Best Actress nominated performance of Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie," hers being a controversial Oscar nomination]

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

"War is hell."

So said General William T. Sherman about the Civil War.  He was right but he had no idea just how hellish because WW I - The Great War - was yet to come, a war that killed 9.7 million military personnel and over 10 million civilians, all to secure mere inches of land fighting along a trench secured front. 

And many of those trenches were along the Western Front, the place where the German and French armies met and what eventually decided the war.

This is the story of 17-year-old Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer) and his school friends, Albert Kropp (Aaron Hilmer), Franz Muller (Moritz Klaus) and Ludwig Behm (Adrian Grunewald), who, in 1917, three years into WWI, are caught up in the patriotic fervor of the war and the glamour of possibly becoming war heroes, so they enlist in the Imperial German Army. Oh, how easy it is to get teenagers riled up about going to war. They are sent to Northern France, wearing recycled uniforms of dead soldiers (there are particularly upsetting scenes about how that all worked), where they meet "Kat" Katczinsky (Albrecht Schuch), an older soldier, but their romantic ideals of war are soon shattered as Ludwig is killed the first night and the realities of trench warfare set in. Add barbed wire, poison gas, tanks and aircraft and it's a hellish reality, indeed.

Based on the 1929 anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque, with a screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell, and directed by Berger, this film, a remake of the 1930 American film of the same name (there was also a 1979 TV version), is from the German soldier's point of view and evokes man's inhumanity to man, brutally capturing the hell of war.   

As you know, I am not a fan of remakes, especially remakes of perfectly good foreign films, but this is the flip side, a German remake of an American film, and I give it a pass because, for one thing, it's been over 90 years since the original, and modern filmmaking technology enables the filmmakers to really show just how brutal and grueling war is. And I think that needs to happen to stop war. But this is also a good, well-acted and engrossing story of young men swept up into something they could barely comprehend.

Watching this film I was struck by how much I have missed good, old-fashioned linear movie-making. 

I have missed a good story that is easy to follow from beginning to end, with a point that is easily made and one that filled me with emotion. With the popularity of movies like "Everything Everywhere All At Once," superheroes and horror, I was getting nervous that I wasn't going to enjoy movies anymore, but this one renewed my hopes. It's a real life horror film that depicts the horrors of war.  It's difficult to watch, but this is a film everyone needs to see. If we don't understand what a horror war is, we will never stop the politicians who promote it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this one probably won't win Best Picture, but it won my heart. In German with English subtitles. (Netflix)

Aftersun (2022)

A young woman reflects back 20 years on a summer spent with her father.

Eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) is on a summer holiday at a budget resort in Turkey with her 30-year-old Scottish father, Calum (Paul Mescal). Sophie records the holiday on a video recorder and that footage is interspersed throughout the film. If you do the math, Calum was very young when Sophie was born, and he is still young. They are even mistaken for brother and sister. He is now amicably separated from Sophie's mother and is a loving father but he seems depressed and worried about money. Something is not right with Calum. His life perhaps hasn't turned out as he had hoped but he doesn't want to lay this on his child.

This is a leisurely venture into the mind of an eleven-year-old on vacation with her Dad with some flashbacks from the older Sophie's point of view as she reviews those videos.  Now as an adult, perhaps Sophie understands more clearly what her Dad was going through during that sunny summer vacation in Turkey.

Written and directed by Charlotte Wells, this is a British film about how we never really know our parents.  Sophie is a perceptive 11-year-old, but she is also an 11-year-old.  She is on vacation and, though she loves her Dad and senses some unease with him, she also wants to have fun. She likes to play arcade games with a newfound friend; she wants to watch the older kids flirt.

I read somewhere this question: Do children ever question whether or not their parents are happy? That stuck with me.  So true. I don't think as a young girl I ever wondered (or cared) if my parents were happy. However, I remember sitting on the edge of my parents' bed one day with my Dad and asking him, "Why is it that I know my friends better than I know you and Mom?"  He was probaby taken aback, but maybe not.  I was that kind of kid.  He replied, "Because we don't want to burden you with our problems."  Okay, and off I went. I was eleven. It never occurred to me to ask "What problems?"

The film takes forever to get going, at least 40 minutes before much happens, and even then it's just  a series of small vignettes that evoke the 1990's, though I never really understood the rave references that are interspersed throughout. But Mescal and Corio create a believable father/daighter relationship that pulls you in, and eventually we, and she, realize the pain he was going through.

As for Paul Mescal's Oscar nominated performance?

 I am hard pressed to see how this performance merits a Best Actor Oscar nomination.  It's not that Mescal isn't a great actor, he is. It's just that his role is very understated. I didn't get the Oscar performance vibe from it. There was perhaps five minutes of Oscar-worthy scenery chewing.  But maybe that's the draw. Subtlety. Mescal is being rewarded for believability and realness. But if I had seen this film before I knew he was nominated, I would not have said, that guy is going to get a Best Actor nomination for that performance.

But, oh geez, did I love him in "Normal People." He and and his co-star, Daisy Edgar-Jones (she went on to star in "Where the Crawdads Sing"), helped get me through the Pandemic.  It was one of the best series of the year (and if you missed it the first time around, you must see that series).

Rosy the Reviewer says...a wistful coming of age tale, all about trying to make sense of one's parent, and despite it's slow progression, the film eventually cast a spell.  Will Paul Mescal win the Best Actor Oscar?  No, but I see one in his future. (Amazon Prime)

To Leslie (2022)

Maybe winning the lottery isn't such a good thing, after all.

Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) is a West Texas single mom living with her teenaged son.  She wins $190,000 in the lottery and plans to buy her son a guitar and herself a house.  Six years later, she is broke, homeless, a drunk and a drug addict, estranged from her son (Owen Teague), friends and other family members. All she has to show for herself now is a pink suitcase filled with junk.

What happened?

The film doesn't really go into details or a flashback about what happened over those six years, but the story is not an unusual one when it comes to lottery winners. Believe it or not, it's a common outcome for many lottery winners.  They are more likely to go bankrupt than anyone else, a phenomenon that occurs when people are suddenly rich but have no idea how to handle money. And it is clear when Leslie wins with all of her "Woo hoos" and "I'm buying everyone a drink" reaction to her win, that she is a good old girl, ill-prepared for success.

So this is all about just how far down will Leslie go?  Can she redeem herself?

After several false starts (she really wants to be good), Leslie finally has an epiphany of sorts, meets Sweeney (Marc Maron who puts in a surprisingly poignant performance), a motel manager who gives her a job cleaning the rooms that includes room and board and he also helps her get clean. But will she make it?

So winning the lottery can be controversial.  And, believe it or not, so can an Oscar nomination.

There is Oscar controversy around this film.  Well, not the film itself but around the star, Andrea Riseborough and her Best Actress nomination. Her nomination was a big surprise, especially a performance in a film that only made $27,000.  And that's not for opening weekend, that was what it made for its entire run last year (it came out in March). Nobody saw it. 

So how can someone get an Oscar nomination when no one has seen the film?

Written by Ryan Binaco and directed by Michael Morris, this is your basic low-budget indie film, shaky camera and all, which might explain why no one saw it, even with an unrecognizable but excellent Allison Janney in the cast.  It's also grim and not a fun movie to watch, but Riseborough's performance makes the film so word must have gotten out about that.  The rest is Oscar controversy history. 

And here is the controversy.

Allegedly there was a grassroots campaign for Riseborough that included private screenings of the film by some of Riseborough's famous fans, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, and other celebrities advocating for her on their social media. However, the Academy has a rule against campaigning.  Film reps are only allowed to contact voters once a week per movie and supposedly there were more than that. Okay, I get that part, but not sure how word-of-mouth is really breaking any rules.  But there are those who are not happy about who Riseborough might have replaced in the nominations, such as Viola Davis, thus a flap has been stirred up.  As a result of this mini-scandale (I'm using French because I am a classy gal), the Academy conducted an investigation and Riseborough's nomination was upheld, but the Academy has also said it will conduct a review of campaign procedures for the future.

But, did she deserve the nomination?

Yes, she is as deserving as any of the other actresses. Hers is a raw, believable performance, especially considering Riseborough is a British actress playing a West Texan. It's a difficult role and she is all in.  I believed every minute of her performance.  And why shouldn't she be nominated?  She is not new to films. She has been in the biz since 2005, starred in many films but is one of those actresses where you recognize her face, but you don't know her name.  Among her many credits, she played Michael Keaton's love interest in "Birdman," Wallace Simpson in "W.E."  and most recently starred in "Amsterdam" and has four projects already in post-production. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...will she win the Best Actress Oscar?  No, but this nomination will certainly help her career.  We will now know her name and not just her face and she is certainly deserving of that. (Amazon Prime)

Final thoughts: Why was Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress nomination so controversial and Paul Mescal's was not?  No one really saw "Aftersun" either. They both took the place of other, more well-known, actors who might have been nominated. I remember thinking Brad Pitt deserved one for his role in "Babylon," but he was snubbed. So everyone needs to get over griping about Riseborough's nomination.  She deserved it.

 

Thanks for Reading!

See you at the Oscars March 12!

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)

For Your Consideration, Part I. Have You Seen These Oscar Nominated Films and Performances?

[I review two more of the 2023 Oscar nominated films for Best Picture: "The Fabelmans," and "The Banshees of Inisherin." I also review the Oscar nominated performance of Brendan Fraser in "The Whale."] 

But first, here is a list of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture 2023 (click on the links for my original reviews):

"Top Gun: Maverick," "Elvis," "Tar" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once." Stay tuned for my reviews of "All Quiet on the Western Front, "Women Talking" and "Triangle of Sadness" (and I probably won't get to "Avatar: The Way of Water," because not my kind of movie and at a whopping three hours and 12 minutes, it appears to be another one of those bloated, overlong films I am against, so I already know I won't like it.). 

That makes a total of ten nominees for Best Picture to be decided at the Oscars March 12 (and don't get me started on what I think about there being up to ten nominees.  Okay, you twisted my arm. I will start.  I don't like it!)

The Fabelmans (2022)

Director Stephen Spielberg's love letter to his family and his youth.

Young Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryan) gets the movie bug after seeing the big train crash scene in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 epic "The Greatest Show on Earth."  He is five and living in New Jersey with his mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and Dad, Burt (Paul Dano).  The family is later joined by three daughters, and as time goes by, Sammy starts making movies using his younger sisters as his actresses.  Burt is a hard working scientist already involved in computers and Mitzi is more of a free spirit who was once a concert pianist but gave it up to be a homemaker and piano teacher. Burt is the steady, financially supportive one, Mitzi the fun emotionally supportive one. Burt thinks Sammy's interest in movie-making is fine as a hobby, but he will need to eventually get a "real" job.  Mitzi, on the other hand, thinks her son has something special and encourages him to make movies. 

In 1957, Burt is offered a job in Phoenx.  The family moves there along with Burt's best friend, Bennie (Seth Rogan), who by the way, unlike the kind but unexciting Burt, is charismatic and fun.  Mitzi had insisted that Burt get Bennie a job there too.  Mmmm.  The plot thickens.

When Mitzi's mother dies, Sammy's eccentric Uncle Boris arrives (played by a very funny Judd Hirsch).  Boris was a lion tamer and also worked in films.  He gives Sammy a speech about the conflict between family and art. If you have talent, you must cultivate it, but the dark side is the sacrifice one must make for art and the guilt associated with neglecting one's loved ones for it.  

And for that speech and short appearance in the film, Hirsch earned himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

Hirsch is on screen for only a few minutes, and if he wins, he will join the ranks of Oscar winners who were on screen for less than 20 minutes.  Fun Fact: So far the acting Oscar for the least amount of screen time goes to Beatrice Straight for "Network."  She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for only five minutes and forty seconds of screen time!

Anyway, Sammy discovers a family secret that leads to his estrangement from his mother, and the family eventually moves to Saratoga, California for a good paying job for Burt, this time leaving Bennie behind.  Sammy also discovers that he and his sisters appear to be the only Jewish kids in a school full of WASPS, kids who don't seem to like Jewish kids.  Sammy - he wants to be called Sam now - is mercilessly bullied by the school jocks until he reveals his talent for movie-making by successfully filming the annual Senior Ditch Day.

And as this is a movie memoir about Spielberg's own life, the rest is history.

This is a departure from the kinds of films we are used to seeing from Spielberg.  It is clearly a labor of love, a bit of nostalgia about Spielberg's early life that beautifully captures the 1950's and 60's (and I should know, I was there!), all about people trying to figure out who they really are and what course to take in life.

But fact or fiction, the story, written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner, is compelling, and there are moments of brilliance, like the young Spielberg, er, Sammy recreating the train wreck scene from "The Greatest Show on Earth" with his newly acquired Lionel train set and Sam's meeting at the beginning of his film career with famed director John Ford (humorously played by director David Lynch), where Ford tells him that horizons on the top or bottom of the screen are interesting, a horizon in the middle is dull and then tells him to get the hell out of his office. You will love the little homage to that at the end.

There are many such special brilliant moments, and while watching, one can't help but wonder how many of those moments are true, the actual facts of Spielberg's life?  

You expect brilliance from a filmmaker like Spielberg, who is at the top of his game, but, like so many movies these days, it's just too long. It definitely dragged in places, and that is not surprising for a family drama where not that much happens in a two and a half hour long film.  Spielberg could have definitely shaved off at least 30 minutes and made this film even more compelling.  But all of the actors put in great performances, especially Michelle Williams, who is  nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and Gabriel LaBelle, who plays the teen-aged Sammy.  He reminded me of a young Tom Cruise and, I predict he has a wonderful acting career to look forward to.

Rosy the Reviewer says...though too long, an enjoyable movie experience, and I am hoping this one will win the Best Picture Oscar and beat "Everything Everywhere All At Once," which currently looks to be the front-runner and which I hated.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

What do you do when your best friend suddenly says "I just don't like you anymore?"

Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) have been best friends for years.  They have been meeting at the local pub every day at two o'clock for years, but one day Colm tells Padraic he doesn't want to be friends anymore, and in fact, he no longer likes Padraic.  Colm feels his life slipping away and he wants to concentrate on his music, not the dull chatter he accuses Padraic of inflicting upon him. Padraic is too nice and for Colm that's dull. So Colm tells Padraic to stay away from him and if he talks to him again he will start cutting off his fingers one by one, quite a threat coming from a fiddle player!

Well, easier said than done.  It's 1923 and the two live on a small isolated (fictional) Irish island with one pub.  The Irish Civil War is booming from across the water, and it seems that Colm has started his own personal war with Padraic, one that Padraic just can't accept.  He can't believe that they are no longer friends, and, because of that, he just can't seem to stay away from Colm. He needs to understand what happened, so he keeps pestering Colm. So Colm delivers finger #1. How far is this thing going to go?

The revelation here is Farrell.

I always thought of Farrell as a sort of wise guy, a hard man and super intense, but here he is vulnerable, and yes, kind of dull as the emotionally injured Padraic.  Not dull as an actor, mind you, but he plays the not-very-smart but very, very kind Padraic, beautifully.  Gleeson is no sloutch, either, but this is Farrell's movie.

Speaking of Gleeson, he and Farrell are besties in real life too.  They met on the film "In Bruges," and have been pals ever since.  In a recent interview with the two, Farrell tells the story of meeting Gleeson in his hotel room.  He had "set down the jar" a year or so before, so was feeling nervous when Gleeson asked him if he wanted a drink.  Gleeson proceeded to head over to the mini-bar and pulled out two bottles of water.  Farrell was touched that Gleeson knew he was sober and would do that.  Gleeson, likewise, gushed over his friend by saying that he knew right away that Farrell was a kind man.  Gleeson went on to say that his Dad had been kind and he was drawn to kindness.

So it's ironic that the two would play friends with a troubled relationship. 

Colm is getting older and sees his own mortality.  He is trying to find meaning in his life while he still has time and blaming that lack of meaning on others.  He no longer wants to be "aimlessly chatting," which he blames on Padraic. So he feels he needs to give up old friends and being nice.  He wants to concentrate on "meaningful stuff" like music and art. 

Can you be too nice? 

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh (who is probably best known for his Oscar nominated "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and this year has nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay), this is a tragicomedy, a treatise on friendship and a character study about what happens when one of your good friends moves on. And it asks the questions: Can you be too nice?  Is being nice the equivalent of being dull? And should we move away from friends who no longer seem to fit into our lives? These are the kinds of questions that could keep you up at night but don't get me wrong.  This is not all serious stuff.  It's quite funny at times and Farrell and Gleeson are an amazing couple!

Both actors are nominated for Oscars for their performances - Farrell for Best Actor and Gleeson for Best Supporting Actor.  

Who will win?  Both are deserving but I think the Best Actor trophy will go to either Brendan Fraser for "The Whale (see below)" or Austin Butler for "Elvis."  Both have already picked up Golden Globes and other awards for their performances (though Farrell also won a Golden Globe). Best Supporting Actor will probably go to Ke Hue Quan for "Everything Everywhere All At Once," as he has the comeback story of the year.

Rosy the Reviewer says...will "The Banshees of Inisherin" win the Best Picture Oscar?  Probably not.  Is it worth seeing?  A resounding yes!

The Whale (2022)

A housebound morbidly obese man tries to reconnect with his angry young daughter.

Brendan Fraser gained some weight, donned a fat suit, and with the help of some CGI, plays Charlie, a man so morbidly obese he is not only housebound, but barely able to get around his apartment. He earns money by conducting an online college course on writing essays. He is so ashamed of his appearance, he has told the class that his camera doesn't work and that is why they can't see him. 

Based on a play by Samuel D. Hunter (he also wrote the screenplay), the film does feel very much like a stage play as it takes place solely in Charlie's apartment and people come and go.  

First we meet Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a young missionary going door-to-door who happens to encounter Charlie having an attack while watching gay porn.  Thomas not only saves Charlie but he wants to also save Charlie's soul.  Then Liz, Charlie's friend and nurse (the wonderful Hong Chau), arrives. She doesn't want anything to do with religion.  She is not trying to save Charlie's soul, she is trying to save Charlie's life.  

Then, Ellie (Sadie Sink), Charlie's 17-year-old daughter arrives - sigh.  She is one piece of work if ever there was one.  She is angry, hates everyone, especially Charlie, and is just plain mean.  She has never forgiven Charlie for leaving her and her mother when she was eight.  You see, Charlie fell in love with a man and left his wife and daughter. His wife kept him from seeing Ellie, so Ellie and Charlie have had no relationship over the last eight years.  Sadly, Charlie's lover died and that is when Charlie started to stuff his sorrow with food and his grief and depression has led him to not want to live. He is very unwell and refuses to go to the hospital.

But despite Ellie's mistreatment of him, Charlie desperately wants to reconnect with his daughter before he dies. He offers to pay her to visit him, to give her the $100,000+ money he has saved and to write her school essays for her.  She reluctantly visits him but does everything she can to make his life miserable while she's doing it. I wanted to slap her. But Charlie wants to feel he has done something right in his life and his daughter is it. Poor Charlie.  If I had a daughter like her, I certainly wouldn't think I had done anything right. 

To get this movie, I think we are supposed to understand the themes in "Moby-Dick."

But I kind of didn't. I'm not even sure I read "Moby-Dick," or if I did, that I understood it at the time.  Not big into whaling ships and trying to kill a whale. But this is what I think I figured out. The "Moby-Dick" reference in the film is literal and figurative.  Literally, six-hundred-pound Charlie is a whale (duh), because he weighs about as much as a whale, and at least twice during the film, Charlie rises up off of the couch and appears huge, as if he is a breaching whale. And like Ahab in "Moby-Dick," Ellie hates Charlie for "swimming off," and leaving her and her mother, so she wants to make him pay. Is Ellie Ahab, wanting him dead for leaving her and her mother?  Not sure, but she is certainly mean enough to be Ahab.

There are also many religious references in the film. Though the whale in "Moby- Dick" has often been thought to be a metaphor for God or the force of nature, and most of the characters in the film have been affected by religion, the role of religion in the film is murky, and I didn't really understand why Thomas, the young missionary, was even in it. Seemed like a superfluous character with not much to do.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, this film is dark and even excruciating at times. If you remember "Black Swan," or "mother!" you know that Aronofsky definitely has a dark side and his movies can be difficult to watch. This one is no exception, but I did chuckle once when Brendan/Charlie says that he wasn't that bad looking back when he wasn't so fat.  Right, Brendan. You were one handsome kid! 

And speaking of which, this is one of those performances that the Academy loves to recognize, when a handsome actor is willing to make himself look unattractive in pursuit of his art.  But this performance is not all fat suit.  Fraser puts in a poignant, touching and sometimes scary performance and he is deserving of this nomination. It shows how far he has come since "George of the Jungle!" 

Rosy the Reviewer says...not a pleasant movie to watch, so I am not going to give it a big recommendation, but Fraser is the front-runner for the Best Actor Oscar and Hong Chau has a Best Supporting Actress nomination so you might want to see it for the performances.

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

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