BOMBSHELL AND MARRIAGE STORY REVIEWS

                THIS IS AN ODD PAIR TO REVIEW  TOGETHER!




BOMBSHELL    

Riveting, relevant, remarkable.  This is the movie about the sexual harassment at Fox News and it pulls no punches. Charlize Theron IS Megyn Kelly. It's jaw-dropping. This is no "Judy" performance where you never forget it's Renee Zellweger "acting" as Judy. From the moment Charlize came on the screen, I truly thought I was watching  Megyn Kelly. This performance elevates the race for an Oscar. Nothing is a foregone conclusion now.

Nicole Kidman nails Gretchen Carlson...just nails it. It's a very nuanced performance that takes the plastic out of the real Gretchen to show the humanity behind the scenes.

And, we must not forget about Margot Robbie. Her performance is also phenomenal, particularly in two jaw dropping scenes. And, boy is she a luminescent star. Supporting Oscar nom coming.

John Lithgow as Rogers Ailes is also incredible. He shows us this detestable man, and, yet, we see shades of a sick, pitiable human.

I loved this movie.






MARRIAGE STORY    

Let me say that I have never been a fan of writer-director Noah Baumbach. I find his movies endless and depressing, and it's not a way I like to spend my time. I watched it because of the rave reviews for Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. It's about the unraveling of a marriage, and it does show the multi-layered sides of indecision and love that still remains. I do think it's the best movie he's ever done. That being said, I had to push myself to sit through it, because it just wasn't a trip I wanted to be on.

But, But, But--you should see the masterful performances of Scarlett and Adam. Here come two more Oscar nominations, and Scarlett will give Charlize and Renee a run for their money. Adam Driver, who is this year's "it boy," is extraordinary. His scene near the end in a nightclub will not be forgotten. That was a genius idea on Noah's part.

Azhy Robertson as the son is wonderful, and there are so many great performances from Alan Alda, Merritt Wever, Wallace Shawn, and Julie Haggerty.

It's interesting. The more I reflect back on this movie, the more I appreciate it.


                      

KNIVES OUT---THE IRISHMAN

KNIVES OUT looks like it's going to be really fun and witty. Some of the reviews mentioned THE LAST OF SHEILA or CLUE. Woe.....if only that were true. KNIVES OUT has a really wonderful. talented cast---Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas......but Daniel Craig as the pseudo-Poirot character really blows it. He uses this ludicrous and poorly-done southern accent. It ruins the film. Ana de Armas has four films coming out now. You'll see why.

The script and direction by Rian Johnson could  and should have been better. It cries out for the wit of LAST OF SHEILA. There are some moments of that spark, and the story is just interesting enough so you don't walk out 15 minutes in, as I and my friends, wanted to and decided to give it a few more minutes. We stuck with it, and it was a mild escape. Don't pay theatre prices. See this at home. What a shame--such great potential.

THE IRISHMAN is worth it whether you see it at home or in a theatre. All of the performances--De Niro, Pacino, Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale are great. This is Scorsese's GODFATHER, and it absolutely holds your attention for the three-and-a-half-hour length. I wanted it at home for food and bath room breaks--and pajamas. It's very well done, but it will not live in history the way THE GODFATHER HAS. Enjoy.

THE TROUBLE WITH "CHARLIE'S ANGELS"

CHARLIE'S ANGELS ISSUES..............

Were people looking forward to this or not? Apparently not. The problem is that no one cares anymore about this franchise. I'm sad about that because I loved it. All the series episodes worked, and so did the movies with Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz. They were hot when they made those movies. And, the business wasn't filled with so many action movies and Marvel movies, etc., that action/spy movies kind of fell to the wayside. It's interesting, because MISSION IMPOSSIBLE  doesn't and neither does JAMES BOND. Simply the world has changed.

The talented Elizabeth Banks wrote the script, directed it, and starred in it---primarily, all to the good. One of the biggest things about the franchise is that we knew the girls all adored each other and had each other's backs. When the prior movies opened, we knew the actresses, and they (the characters) knew each other, too. If you're going to introduce new actresses in new characters with a known title and you start the movie with them not knowing each other, we don't know TM either. They don't care about reach other and we don't care about them. The caring happens in the last 40 minutes....way too late.

The updates to current views of women were a really good thought, but, it just took some of the magic away. Titillation, and the fact that the audience knew it was tongue-in-cheek is needed by this franchise. Political correctness hurt this movie. there was almost zero humor. Kristen Stewart is dynamite in this movie. It will only help keep her career in motion. Naomi Scott is very appealing and cute.


The breakout star is Ella Belinska. She's from England, and is British, Caribbean, and Polish descent.

The camera loves her. She'll do very well.

The other main problem was the lack of a campaign while it was shooting to make it a "must-see" movie. In today's marketplace, you ant just take adds and then blitz the girls on talk shows days before the opening. That's no time to build at all. Why didn't take each individual girl and do special things on all media. It was cool that Kristen Stewart guested on SNL, but sh e could have done that whenever she wanted. Wasted opportunity in increase your grosses, people!

Did I actually LIKE CHARLIE'S ANGELS? It was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

The other problem for the movie, is that I was the ONLY one present in the theatre!!!!!

GOD BLESS THOSE WHO SERVE

AND I NEVER FORGET TO REMEMBER JP BLECKSMITH ON THIS DAY. HE DIED ON VETERANS DAY AT 24 SERVING IN FALLUJAH. HE WAS A SPECTACULAR YOUNG MAN.

PAIN AND GLORY---PARASITE---OSCAR! OSCAR!

PAIN AND GLORY AND PARASITE ARE TWO MOVIES EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT FOR OSCARS.

I haven't seen JOJO RABBIT yet, but I will any second.



PAIN AND GLORY

 I love the director Pedro Almadovar. Every time I see one of this films and I'm transported, moved, surprised, and my life view is changed. He's simply remarkable at innermost journeys of the soul and psyche.  PAIN AND GLORY is his latest, and the same thrills happened to me. All of his movies are personal, and in this one, Antonio Banderas plays an Almodovar-like director-writer, and Penelope Cruz, plays his mother. I don't want to ruin it for you. Just know it is about aging and reflecting on one's life. I adored it. I haven't stopped thinking about it for days.


PARASITE

It won the Cannes Film Festival and I can certainly see why. This film is for real film buffs who love foreign films. It's a cross between Roman Polanski's REPULSION and MEET THE FOCKERS. I say that to get your attention. It's about class struggle. It starts with a portrait of a very poor family, moves into a brilliant comedy and subterfuge, and then explodes. I won't say anymore. But, I will add that many, many of the shots were cinematic genius. The frames should be individually hung in a museum. It was written and directed by  ‎Bong Joon-ho, an extraordinary filmmaker. The film is in Korean with English subtitles. Run to the theatre. It will be the highest-grossing foreign film of the year. This one is haunting my dreams.

SOME MOVIE THOUGHTS

WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE OSCAR ONSLAUGHT. HERE WE GO.



RENEE ZELLWEGER IN JUDY--Of course she'll get an Oscar nomination. I do think she did her best, and, in most cases, was remarkable and touching. I wish she'd lip synced to Judy's real voice.
She really had the movements and body language down pat. Most of the script is lies and there were so many scenes that never happened. It's a TV movie, but you should see it.
My biggest pet peeve---JUDY GARLAND NEVER PURSED HER LIPS--EVER. If Renee did that one more time I was going to set fire to the screen. Where was the director on this???

DOWNTOWN ABBEY--It was a live postcard of beauty---landscaping, clothes, place-settings, houses. Don't look for much more than that from it. It's an "episode," but I thoroughly enjoyed the escape.

THE JOKER-----RUN TO THE THEATRE TO SEE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

I put off seeing it as long as I could because I thought I'd be terrified. Friends told me I HAD to go. I prepared myself for the violence, but from the moment Joaquin Phoenix came on screen, I was mesmerized. He has pathos, rage, sweetness, innocence, terror, violence----it's one of the most extraordinary performances ever. He's right up there with De Niro in TAXI DRIVER, Tom Hanks in PHILADELPHIA, Jon Voight in COMING HOME, Peter O' Toole, Brando, Daniel-Day Lewis--to name a few. It's beyond startling. You will never forget it.



TO BE CONTINUED...............

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT IN LA WITH MARLO THOMAS,PACINO, DE NIRO

           AMERICAN ICONS AWARDS



I truly just went to LA to escape the horrible winds and allergies in Palm Springs. My friend, Marlo Thomas invited me to dinner. Sounded good to me.


I have known Marlo and her entire family for decades. They are yet another group of people who "adopted" me. Their love of family and their commitment to St. Jude remain constant inspirations. Turned out this dinner was the American Icon Awards where St. Jude was being given significant money.

Oh...yeah. DeNiro was presenting an award to Pacino. Stallone, Evander Holyfield, and Laila Ali were there, too, along with Robin Thicke who "sang a few songs." David Foster and Katherine McPhee were also there having just picked up their marriage license. It was just a simple night......

Marlo and Al

Rehearsing

Marlo and her brother, Tony

Marlo and Phil

Al was in rare form. After thanking everyone, he stayed on stage and randomly started doing monologues from Tennessee Williams, e.e. cummings, and Shakespeare which DeNiro laughed and then left the stage to Al.