Drama
Mank
MANK You open the Netflix app, and most movies are not made for someone like me, a fully developed and functioning, cynical adult who watches films. Netflix caters to teenagers through thirty-somethings. Content contains loads of coming-of-age, young romance, teenage angst, and British films. I watch a lot of it, enjoy it, but it doesn’t…
Pieces of a Woman
PIECES OF A WOMAN Denial – Anger – Bargaining – Depression – Acceptance are the Stages of Grief developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and published in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. Through the 80s, one would hear references about these grief stages in popular literature; not so much lately. Pieces of a Woman is…
- 2020
- Drama
Martha Marcy May Marlene
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE Martha Marcy May Marlene is an unsatisfying and frustrating 2011 thriller by a first-time writer and director, Sean Durkin. The lead character is Elizabeth Olsen (MCU’s Scarlet Witch, WandaVision), and this film is her first starring role. The presence of Elizabeth Olsen is probably the only reason this film is still…
Herself
HERSELF Herself, an Irish drama, is a rollercoaster of emotions that does an excellent job examining domestic abuse—released on Prime Video January 8, 2021. Sandra (Clare Dunne), a wonderful Mother of two girls, finally leaves her abusive husband. She goes on public assistance, however it takes years to get into a house. So, Sandra decides to…
- 2020
- Drama
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM If you are unaware of the playwright August Wilson’s work, and you click on Netflix’s drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom thinking you will learn about Ma Rainy and hear a bunch of Blues’ music, you will probably be unsatisfied. You will hear some music and learn a little about Ma Rainy…
The Dark Divide
THE DARK DIVIDE At first, I was distracted by the amateur backpacking and the bad science, but after I got over that, the drama, The Dark Divide, is a relatively satisfying story of self-discovery and moving on in life. Sasquatch (Bigfoot) discussions and sightings add a little mysticism and wonder to the film. The Dark…
Hillbilly Elegy
HILLBILLY ELEGY I read the book Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance in 2016, the year it was released. The book examined the Rust Belt area in Ohio and the Appalachian region in Kentucky through J.D. Vance’s family history. Advertising for the book in 2016 said it would throw light on one of the reasons Hillary…
- 2020
- Drama
What the Constitution Means to Me
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME Do you need a theater fix after nine months in a theater free COVID world? What the Constitution Means to Me is a Tony-nominated semi-autobiographical play. What the Constitution Means to Me is a stinging political comedy and drama that points out deficiencies and wonders of the U.S. Constitution…
- 2020
- Drama
The Forty-Year-Old Version
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION The Forty-Year-Old Version is a significant semi-autobiographical comedy, drama about a woman approaching forty and struggling to find her voice. The comedy is mostly the subtle self-deprecating type. Radha Blank wrote, directed, and stars as herself in the film as the lead character Radha. I am always hesitant as a white guy…
Enola Holmes
ENOLA HOLMES If I were a 16-year old girl, Enola Holmes would be empowering and would become my favorite film. I am as far from being a 16-year old girl as one can get. However, Enola Holmes, this coming-of-age adventure film on Netflix, is still entertaining, beautifully filmed and acted, and is a surprisingly complex…
The Devil All the Time
THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME The Devil All the Time is a psychological thriller about a boy named Arvin. Let me start again. The Devil All the Time is a psychologically scary film that makes you uncomfortable and makes you even more concerned about the state of humanity. The film depicts the life of Arvin…
Freaks: You’re One of Us
Freaks: You’re One of Us Freaks: You’re One of Us is a German superhero movie released by Netflix on September 2, 2020. It seems like Freaks is Germany’s first step at creating a German superhero universe. At this point, Freaks: You’re One of Us is slightly entertaining, and a quick Netflix watch but do not…
Mulan
MULAN Mulan is a name known in China since the fourth century. Around that time the nomadic Rourans were fighting the Emperor of the Northern Wei dynasty, in power from 386-534. The Ballad of Mulan (Ode to Mulan) came about during this time. The Ballad of Mulan is a relatively easy to read six stanza…
Radioactive
RADIOACTIVE Radioactive is a biopic drama about Madame Skłodowska Curie. The film begins in 1895 when she meets her future husband, Pierre Curie, and ends in 1934. Radioactive takes a broad sweep at almost every significant event in Madame Curie’s adult life. It shows some of the science where she discovers two new elements (radium…
The Lost Husband
THE LOST HUSBAND One doesn’t usually see Leslie Bibb in a leading role. I do remember her in small roles in Tag or Trick r Treat, and also in some TV roles such as The League. Most recently, one sees her accompanying her partner Sam Rockwell when he is receiving another movie or TV award. …
The Rental
THE RENTAL My daughter just rented a large beautiful house on the water so their wedding party can spend a couple of nights. Jocelyn, Claire, and the entire wedding party, under no circumstance should you watch The Rental, a horror, thriller film set in a similar location. Charlie (Dan Stevens, The Call of the Wild)…
Greyhound
GREYHOUND Greyhound is a tactical war drama known as a dad’s movie. Why? To fully appreciate the impact of the Greyhound engaging U-Boats in the North Atlantic, you must be either elderly (there are less than 300,000 WWII veterans alive out of the sixteen million who served in the US), or have known someone who…
Blow the Man Down
BLOW THE MAN DOWN Blow the Man Down perfectly sets the Maine seaport small-town tone in this quirky drama of surviving in a town run for the last 30 years by now elderly women. Mary Margaret Connolly dies, leaving her two daughters, Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Priscilla Connolly (Sophie Lowe), to fend for themselves. …
The Night Clerk
THE NIGHT CLERK The Night Clerk ending will surprise you – or make you feel stupid as it did me – but it is a long slow plod to get to that ending. The Night Clerk is a crime thriller drama, released on Netflix, that almost borders on creepy, but remains just dull and only…
Da 5 Bloods
DA 5 BLOODS Da 5 Bloods is the superb Spike Lee follow-up to BlackkKlansman, the best film I’ve seen this year. Spike could have waited until theaters open to have an even more financially successful film. But he knew the Spring of 2020 is the right time to release this film. Da 5 Bloods is…