In the Heights (2021)

I really enjoyed 'In the Heights', I enjoyed it a great deal more then I anticipated. Subsequent to viewing I become aware of some controversy regarding casting, and the editing of certain plot lines (films a different beast then a stage musical, and I don't know how much beyond it's current 143 minute run time the thing could have born). Being unfamiliar with the source material this had no impact on my viewing experience.

This is a wonderful movie, you feel good. It's an ode to community. A saga of the immigrant experience. A pion to Washington Heights, a New York City neighborhood I don't think I was even aware of until I started seeing trailers. From the kenotic joy of the musical number at the public pool, to the pathos of an elderly Cuban woman's lament for her late mother. There were times when it unexpectedly made me think, and in the end I left feeling both full and hopeful. Best movie of the year so far. ****

The Thine Blue Line (1988)

 'The Thin Blue Line' Errol Morris's documentary on the 1976 murder of a Texas police officer and the fate of its two principal suspects, is kind of the granddaddy of our current True Crime era. However the troupes of the genera presentation are now so set and ubiquitous, that the arty slowness of Morris's movie got on my nerves. It's a fairly basic piece of true crime, and it's a film that I should probably re visit at some point because the critical consensus is that this is a great, pioneering movie, and much of its substance is in its subtext rather then the crime itself. This first viewing however I give just **1/2. 

Witnesses (2021)

 'Witnesses' tells the story of the famed 'three witnesses of the Book of Mormon', Oliver Cowdrey, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer, who each testified to having viewed the golden plates from which Joseph Smith was said to have translated the text of the Book of Mormon. More specifically these three alleged that they were shown the plates by an angle, as opposed to the eight additional men and one woman who reported to have seen them sans supernatural accompaniment (all these figures in addition to Joseph of course).

Containing a lite framing story of an elderly David Whitmer being interviewed by a reporter, the movie jumps around in time between 1827 and 1881 and might be a little hard to follow without a general grounding in the history of the Joseph Smith's restorationist movement. There is an awful lot of story and information conveyed here, each of the three central characters could have easily supported a biographical movie of their own. 

This is an ambitious project at 110 minutes and I'm afraid that the film makers weren't up to the task. Budget constraints, often weak and silly dialogue, and subpar acting made this film difficult to sit through, epically during the first half which goes over some well torn territory and is reminiscent of some old Church educational films, but not as charming (I kept waiting for Joseph to say "We did it Don Carlos!"). 

Perhaps casting is the films biggest problem, Paul Wuthrich who plays Joseph Smith looks like a teen idol and lacks the gravitas to make the part transcend cliché.  Lincoln Hopes' Martin Harris borders on goofy, and while Caleb J. Spivak's Oliver Cowdrey is fine if not exceptional, I couldn't quite get over Michael Zuccola's seeming channeling of Paul Giamatti as David Whitmer, a weird choice. 

I did like Joseph Carlson's few scenes as Sidney Rigdon, I think it really captured the mans early enthusiasm for the movement and his fire and brimstone preacherlyness, a side of the faith not much seen as it developed into a more staid aesthetic especially after the 19th Century. Scott Christopher, a nearly 30 year veteran of this kind of filmmaking anchors the only scene in this film that I thought came close to invoking the kind of awe of the project was presumably going for. 

The film deals at some length with seer stones and finical crises in Kirtland, as well as a brief mention of Joseph's relationship with Fanny Alger. As a result there has been some push back about the film being not sufficiently faith promoting. 

A real disappointment, and unusually bad as films geared toward a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint centric audience goes, a genera I usually have something of a soft spot for. *1/2 

The Meyerowtiz Stories: New and Expanded (2017)

Noah Baumbach's 'The Meyerowtiz Stories: New and Expanded' is a suitably Baumbachian story of family disfunction. Family disfunction is what Baumbach does on screen, the treat is always in the shades he brings the story and the performances. 'Meyerwotiz' works, it managers its tonal shifts, has wry humor, and is of course observant. The film focus on the three adult children of an aging New York sculptor and teacher played by Dustin Hoffman, in what may be his last great role. There are numerous capable supporting parts, including by the young Grace Van Patten, who feels quite at home here but whose performance is probably a good reason not to watch this with children. 

Speaking of which the three grown children of the piece are very much psychically still children, at least when it comes to their dealing with there aging dad. Elizabeth Marvel, Ben Stiller, and Adam Sandler give some of their best work, especially Sandler, this may just be his best performance. Not for all tastes, but for me it reminded just how great Baumbach is at doing what he does. ***1/2 

My Name is Nobody (1973)

 'My Name is Nobody' is a 1973 Spaghetti Western, though unusually filmed largely in the United States by Italians. The film stars genera icon Terence Hill, and another icon, Henry Fonda, respectively as an eccentric young gun slinger and an the older more traditional gun slinger he idolizes. Directed by Tonino Valerii form an idea by Sergio Leone, this is a reference full, satiric rumination on both the end of the old west and the Western genera. It's funny and off kilter and Hill's manic acting up contrasts with Fonda's largely playing things straight at times makes for a weird affect, but you should non the less be amused, some of the set pieces are quite strong. Memorable jaunty scroe by Ennio Morricone nicely runs against type. ***

Metropolitan (1990)

There is a scene in 'Metropolitan' where one of the films early 20's, Manhattan, WASP, elite characters discourses on his disappointment with what he views as the misleading title of the 1970's French comedy 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'. In deed 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' could work as an alternate title to this movie, and while Luis Bunuel meant it in jest, Whit Stillman means it in less jest. 

Stillman, whose 1994 film 'Barcelona' I recently saw and inspired me to view the directors small cannon, comes from this elite world, his father John Sterling Stillman was an assistant secretary of commerce under the Kennedy administration. The directors first film, which would employ a numbers of actors that would appear in his later work, casts an eye that is both affectionate and bemused. His characters are generally good people, but they are also kind of ridicules and self involved, and that is largely a result of the world they were born into.

A lot of the humor in this film is extremely specific, but the average viewer should be able to catch on. From residents of the east side of Manhattan looking down on residents of the west, to the general lack of drivers licenses among the small group of friends who make up our main cast, "I can't believe you don't have a drivers licensee?" "I'm no jock.". 

The film takes place over the Christmas break and a bi-annual tradition around this time is 'The International' a premier debutant ball that seems designed chiefly around non Manhattenites making their Manhattan social debuts. Characters unable to get tickets for this even instead watch it, as spectator sport on TV, the way their lower class contemporaries would watch football games or the Oscars. 

Dry and surprisingly winning you like these characters, who generally you might expect to resent. As the character Nick Smith says 'The titled aristocracy is the scum of Earth. Though I can't very well hate the untitled aristocracy because that would be self hatred'. ***1/2

A Quite Place II (2021)

With a delayed release because of Covid 'A Quite Place II', the squeal to the 2018 surprise hit 'A Quite Place' is the perfect type of movie to go back to the theater for. This film comes in with a lot of good will, there are jump scares, yet this horror/suspense film is pretty family friendly, you can liken it to it's predecessor or even 'Jurassic Park'. John Krasinski returns to the directors chair, and is even briefly on screen curtesy of the flash back sequence that opens up the film and depicts the arrive of vicious, blind, alien monsters. 

Then picking up were the last film left off the main narrative concerns Emily Blunt, the kids, and a new character played by Cillian Murphy. Structurally the film is very interested in parallel sequences, and succeeds at opening up it's world in a satisfying way. Not an astounding movie by any means, nor as innovative as the first one, but consistently engaging. ***

Knowing (2009)

 'Knowing' quite surprised me, I really enjoyed it, it was a "big grin movie" by the end. A time capsule buried at an Massachusetts elementary school in 1959 is opened in October 2009, amongst its contents is a list of numbers that accurately predict the dates, corrodents, and casualty totals of major disasters, including 9/11. Or so determines an MIT astrophysicist played by Nicolas Cage into whose possession the paper comes, by accident or design, that is the question. 

We now enter, in a vague way, spoiler territory, but I was really impressed how this piece stuck to it's guns. It's a dark, pessimistic mode piece, that reminded me of early Shyamalan, though there is much of both the Bible and early 50's "message" sci-fi here like 'When Worlds Collide' and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. Heck even the name of the elementary school 'William Dawes' is a clue. There is arguably some triteness to the very end, and there are things that worked for me here of a similar nature to things that absolutely did not work for me in Aronofsky's 'The Fountain'.  Kudos to Egyptian born filmmaker Alex Proyas for his powers of subversion. ***1/2

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)

'The Secret Life of Pets 2' is even more chill and low stakes then its 2016 predecessor. Many of the characters here were set up in the first film and this very casual feature has the air of one of those Disney direct to video sequels form the 90's or early 2000's. Only this thing is better done then any of those were, I quite enjoyed it actually. There are three largely unrelated narratives going on that converge nicely at the end, and all teach the basic kid friendly message that sometimes you've got to learn to be brave. Patten Oswalt ably takes over voicing duties for Max from Louis C. K., whose not going to be doing children's films again for at least a good while. **1/2 

Hondo (1953)

 'Hondo' is a movie that I thought improved greatly over the course of the picture. A true 'Cowboys and Indians' flick, John Wayne plays a Calvary scout who falls in love with frontier woman Geraldine Page. At first I thought Page was doing a pretty poor bit of acting, how could she be an 8 time Oscar nominee? Well it gets clearer as the film goes on that Page is doing a great job of playing a woman trying and largely failing to put up a 'front' that is well beyond her. In fact this is one of the deeper and more credible of Wayne's on screen romances. I also liked the respectful portrayal of the Indian leader Vittoro (played by white Australian actor Michael Pate, still he does a good job). Featuring future 'Western' legend James Arness in a supporting role. Based on a short story by Louis L'Amour. ***