Belfast – A 9 out of 10 on the JWO scale

 

I finally watched Belfast tonight. It is such a sweet, sad and poignant movie. In an era of superhero movies, I was moved to tears by the story. I am glad I watched it at home on HBO so I could put on subtitles. Ironically in the movie one of the characters did not want to move from Ireland because they felt no one would be able to understand them. Somewhat true of the movie as well. Although I normally do not like movies without color, (because the world is in color and we have the technology now) but in this movie, it lent to the bleakness of the circumstances of their lives.

It is the story of a protestant family in Belfast during the troubles in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s.  I have read this is a semi-autobiography of the writer and directors Kenneth Branagh childhood. Although it was during the Troubles, the story did not elaborate on any of the causes or reasons for them.

The movie was about how one family dealt with being caught up in it, and the question of whether to stay in this tight knit community where their family and friends had lived, or to leave to get a fresh start and a better opportunity away from any support system. This is a story that is universal and relatable.

The story is told through the eyes of a young child trying to figure it all out. It really captured what it was like to be a child trying understand about life in general let alone the challenges his parents and community faced. The acting was superb all around.

During the credits at the end there is a message - “For the ones who stayed,” “For the ones who left,” “And for all the ones who were lost.” I sort of felt that way about leaving the Bronx. Although there are not many who stayed in The Bronx, there were too many who were lost.   I grew up in a neighborhood where I did know most of my neighbors and I knew I could always knock on a door for help or a parent would notify my parents if I did something wrong. I do not see that environment being replicated in America. It is why we find our communities in other ways. The movie really made me realize all the multitude of decisions I have made in my life and how very different my life would have been. (for better or worse).

Anyway, Belfast is a heart tugging, tear jerking movie about family and love and the hard choices we have to make in life. It is well worth spending time watching.  

Top Ten Movies and Honorable Mentions

 Top Ten Movies and Honorable Mentions

 Its hard to pick just 10 but here they are.

10/05/10 -  After a long car ride with Kyle which includied

listing every movie we could think of 

among other word games

I realized I left a few movies off the list (changes/additions in bold)

 

1                    The Razors Edge (Bill Murray version)

2                    Field of Dreams

3                    25th Hour

4                    Godfather 2

5                    Godfather

6                    Amores Perros

7                    Lion in Winter

8                    Casablanca

9                    City of God

10                As it is in Heaven

Honorable Mention

Instinct

Rainmaker

Barfly

Boyz in the Hood

ET

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Tender Mercies

Unforgiven

Deer Hunter

Dances with Wolves

Peaceful Warrior

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Phenomenon

The Last Samurai

The Magnificent Seven

Requiem for a Dream

Finding Forrester

Barton Fink

Encanto - an 8 out 10 - "Talk About It"

 I saw the movie Encanto last night. I had heard people raving about it and talking about the song “We don’t talk about Bruno.” I admit, I am a big Disney fan in general and am surprised I didn’t see this sooner. It was a really good movie. I found myself very emotional at the end of the movie.  

It is a story about a family that has magical powers, except for one child. (I did read one person question if the mother could cure people with food, why did the character have to wear glasses – legit if not a picuyane question)And those magical powers are fading. It is up to the person without the magical powers who is determined to save them. It is a great metaphor. We are often asked to choose to act in ways that others expect us to. Or even in line with what our skills are. Both of these often do not align with what our heart calls us to do. We each have to make such decisions in our lives. The message from this story is that magic comes into lives comes from doing what is meaningful to us not what is expected of us. We are not defined only by what our skills are or what our responsibilities are, but who we are, and the choices we make and we need to advocate for what and who we are.

Also the question about not feeling you do not fit in in a family as well is a common family dynamic that is addressed. Overcoming trauma as well and how it impacts us ongoing and how it impacts how we interact with others is also dealt with. Also how community support is reciprocal and renewing. The music was good enough and enjoyable although not many standouts (this might just be personal preference for me) except We dont talk about Bruno, no, no. But we should, we should talk about it. Talk about it all.

One other thing that I really liked about it was that there was no villain in the movie setting up the good vs. evil. It was just people dealing with their stuff. It was a fun (and extremely colorful) movie to watch, for both children and adults. I highly recommend it.   

Movie Review - Pixar's Soul

I have mixed feelings. I liked it, and there are challenging issues raised.

I will not give details of the movie, so as to spoil it for those who have not seen it. First I want to say even though this is animated it is not really a movie for little children. Whereas “Inside Out” dealt with the inner mind and thoughts of youth adults, and was funny and poignant,  this movie is about the deep existential human questions about death and how we live our life.

Overall it is a good message. The message is we should appreciate each moment of our lives. And we are fulfilled through building positive relationships with others. There were also some challenging thoughts. First it definitively suggests an afterlife where we go to the great beyond (go to the bright light – I’m ok with that) and a before life. This before life though has a very Calvinistic approach to it. It suggests that we are all born with certain dispositions and personalities (we are born good or evil). The image was a little too “predestination” for me. (probably for those who do not think theologically all the time, this brief idea might have not even been a blip on screen in your viewing the movie but it was for me).

The other challenging idea raised around the idea that a soul cannot go to earth until it finds its spark. That fits in with the predestination theme. What WAS interesting and challenging to me was the concept that our spark is not necessarily related to our purpose in life. In fact the movie raises the question that we may not have one singular purpose in life. I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to understand my purpose. I have learned mostly through my Buddhist practices and teachings to live in the present moment. Still I like to think of what I am doing as having some purpose even if it is unknown to me.

The movie focuses on people being in the flow when they are in touch with their spark. However it also indicates “The zone is enjoyable, but when that joy becomes an obsession, one becomes disconnected from life.” It reiterates the focus on being connected with life. It is an interesting question of balancing greatness (the whole practicing 10,000 hours) which sometimes requires some obsession. So it is an interesting question about finding balance between following your passion and finding joy. I don’t know the answer but I thought it was an interesting question.

The funniest part of the movie was when 22 (a particular soul before life) keeps messing with the flow of the New York Knicks players so they wont be any good.

I do not like the ongoing negative stereotypical view of accountants that is portrayed in the film.

I loved the music in the film

Lastly I think I must mention the issue of race. First  I am glad to see an animated movie that is full of African American characters which also provided jobs for African Americans. However this movie does continue a trend of sort in Disney animated movies that have non white lead characters becomes non human. It just happens too often to make it a coincidence.

The Princess and the Frog – Disney’s first African American Princess becomes a frog.

Spies in Disguise – African American Secret Agent becomes a pigeon.

Brother Bear – An Inuit boy becomes a bear

Emperor has his new groove – Incan Emperor becomes a Llama

Now Soul – the African American protagonist becomes an bluish amorphous ghost like creature and then a cat.

Perhaps I am being too obsessive about this. But perhaps that is why the movie included a negative about being obsessive about things. Very subtle if you ask me.

Despite this I enjoyed the movie because it was thought provoking and I love existential questions and I loved the music.

 

Two Reviews – “Fleabag” – Amazon Prime Video and “The Irishman” – Netflix

Fleabag – a 9 out of 10 on the jaywo scale

I first heard of this show after seeing its star Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Saturday Night Live as host. I thought it was one of the best openings I had seen in years, and so I decided to watch this show. I have had Amazon Prime but had never once watched its videos, mostly using it for free shipping of books. First I have to say this show has very raunchy language and talks explicitly about sex. If that does not turn you off, (or perhaps that turns you on) this is a funny poignant quirky series. Phoebe’s character uses the camera as a fourth wall very effectively. The show centers around the lives of two sisters. It has had two seasons. Season two comes to a neat conclusion as it is not guaranteed to return for a third season. The show deals with how the sisters and their father deal with (or don’t) with the death of their mother (wife).  Also it deals with the death of the lead characters friend. As I think about it, the lead character is never addressed by name in the series. That in and of itself is quirky about the show. I’ll have to think more about that. Clearly it was intentional.  The show deals with how humans deal with grief, love, loss, family relationships and our search for happiness. It shows our human frailties, and our ability to recover and rebound. At times particularly in season two, I found myself laughing out loud and cringing almost at the same time. The show often focus on Phoebe’s character’s romantic relationships and particularly in season 2 her attraction to and pursuit of a priest.  . I highly recommend it. I binge watched all of season two on vacation. It is really worth seeing.

“The Irishman” –A  6 out of 10

I just watched this on vacation. This movie has had a  lot of brouhaha due to its limited theatrical release (I guess to be eligible for the Oscars)  and then almost direct to Netflix. It was directed by Scorsese and it has a great cast of actors. Al Pacino overacts (as usual) as Jimmy Hoffa, and that works for the role as Hoffa was a larger then life character in real life. Robert Deniro underacts (as usual) as hitman for the mob whose life this movie is based on. Joe Pesci as well plays a great understated role as a mob boss.  The story is told from Deniro’s perspective, telling his life story in retrospect from some sort of retirement home. First I will have to say the movie is long… Almost three and 1/2 hours long. It seemed like a greatest hits of gangster films. It told in a very methodical fashion the rise and fall of this particular gangster and his long standing relationship with Hoffa and the union.  I guess my biggest complaint is that it was too methodical and not dramatic enough. I never get a sense of why he was the way he was or did the things he did. Its just the way he was, shaped by the violence of being in combat in war. But many people  went to war and did not end up living this kind of life. It did not romanticize the life, pointing out the violent deaths of many of the characters. In fact, there are no good characters here.  I liked the cinematography and period pieces of the film. Scorsese always is great at that.  The last half hour of the movie made up for more of its tedious moments. As he looks back on his life, he is talking to a young nurse who did not even know who Jimmy Hoffa was. It brought about a realization for the character (and thus for me) about how fleeting life can be. Things we think are important in the moment are trivialized and forgotten in history. Our motives and decisions which we believe may be good, really lead to much harm. It also talks about who we align ourselves with in life. Who we choose to protect and who we choose to sacrifice. In the end he is alone and he has spent little time building relationships with those who would love him. Perhaps that is the message. It is not what we do, but how we love in the world that matters. (I'm not saying that is the message of the movie, but the message I choose to take from it)  The movie gives answers to who killed Hoffa and hints at who killed JFK (Both of these are long held belief by those who follow these stories over the years) if you choose to believe it. It was worth seeing just to see Pacino and Deniro together in a movie and in general I enjoy gangster movies. But I do not think it is Oscar worthy.  

Movie Reviews - Black Panther, Deadpool 2 and Han Solo

Black Panther    An 8 out of 10 on the JWO Scale

I wanted to let this one sink in a little. It was in a way, as I observe the reactions to the movie,  a seminal moment in movies for African Americans and as I write that I should say, for all Americans.  This is a superhero movie focused on Africans, staring people of African descent and celebrating African culture. This in and of itself, makes it a movie worth seeing. One of the nice features, is that It showed powerful women, in strategic thinking, military planning,  and scientific leadership positions. It also showed that clearly different tribes with different cultures and custom, lived together within a certain covenant, and it appeared at least that resources were shared among all.  I think the most interesting plot point in the movie was the question of how a people in the diaspora are affected by their experiences in the diaspora, and how that affects their world view compared to people who live in their ancestral homeland. The movie showed a loyalty to nationalism and tribalism, but also dealt with the question of whether to and why we should help those beyond our own borders. It showed the need to honor our ancestors, but not to be bound by their experiences or wisdom. Lastly on the most basic level, it was an exciting superhero movie. If I had one quip with the movie, (and I would welcome feedback on this) it is why would a society that is clearly evolved continue to choose their leader by physical combat and which despite having promoted strong female characters, always seemed to be men. I imagine due to its success, we will see a Black Panther 2 and I for one am looking forward to it and similar movies.

 Deadpool 2. A 4 out of 10 on the JWO Scale

Really, one should know what they are getting into when they go to a Deadpool movie. The story line here was to be generous convoluted. If you have read previous reviews of mine, you know I hate time travel movies. And again Marvel writes defaulted to it in this one. At least the first Deadpool we had the origin story. This one like the first one included overwhelming gratuitous violence. There was of course witty repartee, a couple of new super heroes (domino was cool) and the clever mockery of creating a misfit superhero group x-force (which of course was ruined by time travel) that made the movie somewhat bearable. The mark of the Deadpool movie is the self absorption of the main character and his conversation with the audience. It was unique in the first movie, but by the end of the second movie, I just found it pedantic. The best part of the movie, and I would say the part that made it worth the price of admission, was the scene at the end of the credits (which Marvel is famous for which at this point is annoying that I have to wait, but I do) The ending scene was laugh out loud funny. I mean I literally started guffawing out loud. Plus the closing song was really cool too.

Han Solo – 7 out of 10 on the JWO scale

I liked this.  Not a great movie, but a really good movie that I think fills in the narrative of the Star Wars Universe of movies. We get some of the backstory of Han, as well as his relationship with Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian and the Millennium Falcon. We also find out what the Kessel Run is (if you have watched the Star Wars movies this will make sense.) This was not so much a big screen action adventure epic, as it was a suspenseful caper movie. Throughout the movie I found myself wondering who was allied with whom and who would betray who.   Also the general theme of rebellion against oppression, as well as how oppression co-opts and corrupts people,  was a constant theme throughout the movie. Lando’s robot L3-37 was a breath of fresh air. Without giving away any spoilers, the issue of how artificial intelligence robots and humans interact is also a small feature of the movie. I found the movie thoughtful and enjoyable and  finding out more about characters I have come to learn about over the years was very satisfying.

Movie Review - Marvel Avengers Infinity War – a 7 out of 10.

I will do my best not to give too many spoilers.  So it was a big picture epic extravaganza with many superheroes and super-villains.  There was witty banter, awesome action sequences, love and tragedy. This gives us all the trappings of a good movie if you like those things. I am just once more going to state my displeasure with time travel plots in movies. Its just always either too easy or too illogical. In general, this concept where Dr. Strange even with time travel cant change the present, leads to the age old theology that our fate is destined. I hate that theology.  The best part of the movie is to see the various characters we have come to see developed over the years come together and interact.  The movie also raised the question of how to live in a world that can not sustain its population with its known resources. It asks how power should be used.  It asks at what point and for what will you sacrifice your personal needs for the needs of the greater whole.  All good and deep questions. Lastly, and a negative consequence of this movie, is that every Marvel movie going forward will be somewhat tainted by what happened at the end of this movie.

The Last Jedi – 8 out of 10 on the JWO Scale

I saw the movie last weekend. Coming out of the movie I loved it. I wanted to wait a few days to let it sink in, and after thinking about it more, I loved it even more. I rank it as the third best Star Wars Movie. (Empire Strikes Back #1 because of a sentimentality for Yoda, and Rogue One #2 because it actually was the best of the movies)  The movie had it’s obligatory Star Wars moments. A bar scene (casino in this one) with many different alien species. Cute little creatures (porgs in this case) that will become big holiday gift sales. and instead of just a whiney Luke, we have an old whiny grumpy Luke. And although I found Luke’s new found humor funny, I sort of felt it was just put in to have funny lines in the movies. It didn’t seem to be in his character at all based on previous movies. I could rationalize that with the fact that through his suffering he now found life as absurd.

With that out of the way, I thought the movie raised some very interesting and theological and political questions. Do we learn wisdom from books or do we learn it from our direct experiences. This question has been asked throughout history going as far back to the Hebrew Scriptures Book of Job. It raises the issue of letting go of the past and moving forward. Much like the Buddhist saying “If you meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill the Buddha.” To me this statement means we must find enlightenment by ourselves, and not just take the word of the ancient religious leaders. Must we destroy the past to move forward? Or can we incorporate what we know from the past and  infuse it with current knowledge to create something new. Every Fundamentalist and Reformer religious leader deals with this question.  I think the movie also as has previous star wars movies raises the question of redemption. Is everyone redeemable? In previous movies Luke believed Darth Vadar was redeemable. In the end he was redeemed, but after countless, countless murders and only while he was dieing, in order to save his son. Is Kylo Ren redeemable? Even after killing his father? This series constantly asks that question.

I think the most poignant part of the movie is the question as to whether leaders and heroes are chosen/born, part of a priestly class,  or are they created by the circumstances of their life. Can anyone be a hero/leader? Are leaders supposed to come from one family line as if ordained, like so many religions, kings and rulers throughout history proclaimed.  I admit I never really liked the Midichlorian storyline that only a special few and their offspring were especially strong with the force. Previous star wars movies showed the diversity of the Jedi, so it is unclear as to how those two concepts (diversity and choosiness) go together  in episodes 1-3.  I tended to like Yoda’s teaching that the force is there for anyone to tap into if they become awake to its power and presence and practice using it. This movie’s story line focuses on this latter teaching.

This movie again shows us the folly of hubris, from both good and evil. It also speaks to the question of balance. If there is a Jedi there is an equal dark side and vice versa. I am not sure I agree with this. We have seen throughout history the unchecked power of evil and violence has not always led to the rise of the good. In fact one of the question that is still left open is why after Vadar and the emperor were killed did the republic not come back into existence. Where did Snope come from?

From a political (and maybe religious) front the movie asks the question we ask in our political lives. Is aggressiveness and/or sacrificing oneself, the best course of action, or is a calculated retreat necessary at times? I guess one other sticking point for me, is that the movie continues a line of thought that I hear a lot in the ether about our fetish and idealization of failure as a teacher. Failure is failure. Failure is only a teacher if you use the information you learned from failure to be successful in the future. Failure for failure’s sake is meaningless. Yes we should not fear failure, but we should takes steps to mitigate it. Jedi’s hubris led to them failing to recognize the Sith taking power. Clearly defeating the empire still led to failure and ongoing retreat for the resistance. Luke Skywalker hubris, being the strongest Jedi, and then his low self esteem, led him to failure and retreat from the world. I don’t know if the message is that Evil is stronger then good, or an overview about how Democrats struggle to be organized and don’t have staying power and about how the oppressed don’t join together to overthrow systemic injustice. Or perhaps the message of the movie was a view of our current society as encapsulated in the character of  the amoral codebreaker played by Benicio Del Toro, who had no allegiances and saw no difference between good and evil, and focused only self-preservation.

It was a fairly depressing movie in that sense, with a few hopeful notes thrown in here and there. However from seeing the negative, we can cull from it, what should be done. Perhaps if Luke had not given up, and instead of retreating had honed his powers and matured, perhaps he could have lifted up the resistance over the first order. It is a reminder for us to not give up and to be vigilant.  It is Rey, who is the great hero of this movie. Looking for the good in others and looking for meaning in her life as she says “I need someone to show me my place in all of this.” I think we all are looking to find purpose for our lives and meaning in the world. Rey epitomizes this, realizing her own power to change things for the better, and looking for the better in others and she constantly learns and grows. So not a simple or ra ra movie, but it gave me a lot to think about. I am curious where it will go from here. Lots of good questions and metaphors, and no easy answers. That is why I liked it so much. 

Rogue One – an 8 out of 10 on the JayWo movie rating scale.

Next to the “Empire Strikes Back” this is my second favorite Star Wars movie. Empire will always be number 1 because it introduced me to Yoda. Rogue One was a bit of a slower moving, and dark movie compared to the action oriented and feel good movies in the series. It was a well written movie. It gave us a chance to meet various characters of the rebellion not just see them fight.  It answered a long time stirring question (at least for me) about the original star wars movie and why the death star had a fatal flaw. (this doesn’t answer that same question for the Force Awakens)  The movie showed that anything worth doing requires risk and sacrifice.  That is a message that I think is important for our current world.  I also saw a similarity within the racial diversity of the rebellion leaders and fighters, and our own country. Possibly, it idealized how we could unify our fractured competing oppressions and join together to achieve a common goal of defeating the empires in our lives.  Lastly who doesn’t like a wisecracking droid.  “I am one with the force, and the force is with me” May the force be with you.

Movie Reviews - "Inside Out" (8 of 10) and "Terminator Genisys" (6 of 10)

Movie Review – Inside Out – an 8 out of 10 on the JWO scale.

One the challenges of not having young children in my household anymore is that I feel awkward going to animated movies without children.  I usually have to wait until the movie comes out on Cable or Pay per View. So when I was spending some time with my 6 year old granddaughter this week, I asked if she wanted to see “inside out” and I was thrilled when she said yes.  I think much of the beauty in this movie is that it works for both adults and children. In fact I would say it is geared more for older children (over 10?) but really it is geared for adults who struggle with sharing their emotions.  Even through the eyes of my 6 year old granddaughter the movie has a strong message about the importance of sharing your feelings. I think most of the complexities of the movie were over her head and I don’t think she understood towards the end, why her grandpa started  choking up and crying.  I think the movie was extremely clever in showing how our mind and memories work.  Its characters were 5 key emotions of one young girl. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust are the five emotions that are highlighted.  It shows how all of them play a part in our development. It shows the danger when we are led by fear, Anger and/or disgust.  What was so important was the acknowledgment that sadness is an important part of what makes us whole.  If we ignore it, or subjugate it, we do so at our peril.  The movie shows how humans just try to soldier on with joy in the face of sadness and ultimately how fruitless that can be internally. It also shows the ying/yang of sadness and joy.  How we need to acknowledge the sadness in our lives to fully appreciate the joy in our lives.  At the end it shows the mingling of sadness and joy as part of our core memories that shape our lives. I think it raised an interesting question as to whether we need to let go of old memories/ideas in order to create new memories and ideas.  How old memories (Bing Bong) in this example sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the mind. I want to think about that one. If we had the power to eliminate traumatic events from our memory (in the movie the clown) should we?  With neuroscience advancing as far and as quick as it is, it is an ethical question we will have to address (A question the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” I thought addressed interestingly). But for now this is a complex, fun movie with a powerful message of acknowledging the sadness in our lives and sharing our emotions with those we are closest to.  A good message and a good cry.   

Terminator Genisys – a 6 out of 10 on the JWO Scale

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his catch phrase promised he would be back, and he is. I have forgotten how many terminator movies this has been. The movie pays homage to the original Terminator series. This one puts a clever twist on the old story, and I thought for its genre it was cleverly written.  I have stated before (I think in regard to XMen) I think movies that use time travel as part of their plot shows a weakness in the writing. In this movie, time travel was a major plot line of the whole original storyline.  However, I never understood the logic that machines and humans could only send one traveler each through the portal. That to me was a fatal flaw in the original logic.  Clearly they agreed with me as now there are people and machines travelling all through time multiple times. What I thought was clever was how other characters who did not travel in time lived their life either affected by it, or waiting for future events to happen. Because of changes to the world due to time travel we have alternate realties that are created.  This always makes things confusing and requires a lot of explaining.  Potential Armageddon,  Great Special Effects, Time Travel, Lots of things blowing up.  If you like that, this is a good date movie. If you are looking for something with depth, well maybe something else then. 

Two Movies - Two Visions of the Future

Mad Max Fury Road – a 4 out of 10 on the JWO scale
Mad Max is truly a dark vision of our dystopian future. It picks up after the Thunderdome, where it is clear Max failed to keep the children in his care safe which has sent him into madness and savagery. Maybe at this point I am just becoming jaded about movies like this, after seeing one too many. (which I think ties into the Tomorrowland theme). This movie just had an idiotic or no plot and script.  This movie seemed to be written with punk rockers and x games aficionados in mind.  I really just didn’t get the guitar player with fire coming out of guitar as something that would happen in a dystopian nightmare.  Would they really waste their energy on that.  I know, I know, its not real, only a movie, but if there is complete disregard for reality, then, this is not a real future possibility and whole premise of the movie falls apart. In fact there were times in the movie I actually laughed ouut  loud  due to seeming absurdity  in tthe movie  The movie’s violence and noise just didn’t appeal to me. I did  appreciate the feminist and ableist angle that the movie interjected.  It was novel for this type of  movie.  But it wasn’t enough to offset ongoing death and destruction with little or no plot line.  I like Tom Hardy and love  Charlize Theron as actors but they didn’t have much to work with here.

Tomorrowland a 6 out of 10 on the JWO scale
Tomorrowland has one strike against it immediately, because going in, I saw this cynically as a way for a  movie to promote the Disney Parks.  From a business perspective I like it, but from a movie perspective it takes a bit of the purity away from the movie.  Having said that, I enjoyed the movie. George Clooney puts in a typical George Clooney low key professional performance. Britt Roberston did a great job playing  the innocent energetic youthful imaginative budding engineer protagonist who wakens Clooney from his slumber.  The movie showed us two visions of the future, one idyllic, and another dystopic. I think you have to be physicist to understand the plot line regarding alternate universes and time shifting.   I gave up trying to figure that out after awhile. The movie’s message for me is what we spend our time on, what we focus on, will determine our future. If we dwell on the negative, the negative future will occur. If we dwell on the positive and act with wonder about what is possible we are more likely to create a world filled with wonder.  And by the way you can find wonder in Tomorrowland at Disney World. But I am sci-fi nerd and I appreciated the shots of the 64 worlds fair, and jet packs, and a multicultural, multiracial future and the questions about whether Artificial Intelligence can have emotion.  It was a fun movie with a good message.  Well worth watching.

Movie Review August: Osage County – a 7.5 on the JWO Movie Rating Scale

Perhaps because I just led a service on compassionate communications today that this movie struck a chord with me due to its lack of the same.  It is the story of a dysfunctional family after its patriarch has committed suicide (it happens in the first few minutes of the film, so I am not giving much away here). It is heavy on words and light on cinematography and action.  The acting is just spectacular, although occasionally over the top. There are just so many good performers in this, I almost didn’t recognize Abagail Breslin (from a great movie Little Miss Sunshine, which I now realize is 9 years old and it makes sense why I might not recognize her)  And although the matriarch of the family says she is truth telling, the movie is all about how the secrets we keep and the truth we hold within ourselves, ultimately poison us.  It is about how we really don’t understand others’ lives often, as one character states:

“Maybe its hard for you to believe, looking at me, knowing me the way you do, all these years. I mean, I know to you, Im just your old fat Aunt Mattie Fae. I’m more than that, sweetheart, there’s more to me than that.”

People don’t just fit into the nice little boxes we imagine them to be.  Life is more complex than that. The movie also shows how we are affected generationally by the suffering of our parents. It is clear how each one of the children is a reflection of and a reaction to their parents. And although the end of the movie didn’t tie everything up in a nice little bow, I think that is the point.  Our lives are never complete, and they are always unfolding.  The best we can do is to try to understand ourselves and bring the truth to light as difficult as it may be. 

Video Review of "Wolf of Wall Street" a 6 out of 10 on the JWO scale:

 I am not sure I get it.  Nominations for best actor and best movie?  I know everybody loves Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill (for different reasons I imagine).  And who doesn’t love Martin Scorsese.  This movie for over three hours tells about the real life exploits and excesses of Wall Street.  (I guess I didn’t see the cut version, which comes in slightly shorter). First DiCaprio.  I think he did a fine job acting.  Except I thought he playing Jack Nicholson.  Really, I kept imagining he was Jack Nicholson.  Maybe the character was like that. But as much as I love Jack, Leonardo should be acting, not imagining himself as Jack Nicholson. Ok, so that’s a little judgmental of me.  I admit it. (I like DiCapria, and appreciate his taking on a diversity of roles in other movies but this became a caricature).   Just too much over the top, no nuance.  Really I would say that is the problem with the whole movie…everything way over the top and no nuance.  I would have liked to have seen more about the FBI guy schlubbing his way through the case and what he was feeling about it.

For a much better movie on this topic of the penny stocks and abusive sales tactics….see the 2000 movie “Boiler Room” with Ben Affleck, Giovanni Riblisi and Vin Diesel (yes Vin Diesel) Much more depth to the characters and the stories. 

Three mini movie reviews of what I saw this past week - The Hobbit (part 23), Interstellar, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Hobbit Part 23 (ok, it just seems that way )  a 5 out of 10 on the JWO scale 

Possibly this should be titled, the many different ways to kill an orc. So the one thing the movie has going for it is its special effects, which were great.  Yes, it is a commentary on war and the need for good to stand in the face of evil.  Although after about an hour of ongoing slaughter, I started having fun thinking about the obnoxious elves and greedy dwarves as the 1% hoarding all the gold (unearned by the way and at the cost of the death of many innocent women and children in the nearby town) and healthcare (elves live long lives), and the orcs as the oppressed proletariat. Hmm..how would that change how we watched the movie.  I know its all a allegory of WWI but still as a movie, the heroes are not all admirable individuals.  Maybe that is the point.  Really, I am not sure there is a point other than to show off the wonderful scenery.

Interstellar a 7 out of 10 on the JWO scale

I enjoyed this movie.  I tend to like movies that deal with spaceflight, some sci-fi,  and dystopian futures,  so there is a bias here. It was a little slow at times, and the acting is not academy aware material, but still the movie was thoughtful, nostalgic and had meaning for me. Plus its always good to see Michael Caine.  I don’t know about the science underpinning the movie, but it gave me a couple of different perspectives of how our actions affect our future and our place in the Universe. I don’t want to say more without giving away the ending.  There was a point in the movie where the characters were faced with a tough decision.  One made a choice with pure utilitarian rationale. The other was guided by love. The character who makes their choice by love says 

“So listen to me when I say love isn't something that we invented. It's observable. Powerful. It has to mean something. Maybe it means something more - something we can't yet understand. Maybe it's some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we can't consciously perceive. Love is the one thing that we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can't understand it. “

Trust Love. I’ll take that message any day.

Video Review of the week – “The Grand Budapest Hotel” directed by Wes Anderson a 7.5 on the JWO scale.

Similar to Terrance Mallick, either you love Wes Anderson movies or you hate them.  They are quirky, fun, cleverly written stories with meanings within meanings, some of which I will never get until I watch the movie for the third time (or maybe never).  They make you chuckle, not guffaw. They show the innocence and complexity of life, and they point to what has most meaning in the world for their characters. There are cameos galore by many stars as well which is fun. His 2012 movie Moonrise Kingdom is one of my favorite films.  Grand Budapest is worth seeing. Although not quite as nostalgic as Kingdom, it does broaden the scope of the characters lives to the larger world around them.  This story centers on the concierge of the Hotel Mr. Gustave and his protégé Zero.  Its pointless to give you the plot because well, its just a fun roller coaster ride. Zero grown up, speaking of Gustav said, “To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it - but, I will say: he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace!”  May we face the world as it is, with grace and humor and integrity. .  It tells how circumstances around us change, but we can maintain our integrity. Or perhaps it shows the choice we make when we don’t change, how it affects us.  So much fun, so much to think about.

"The Drop" an 8 out of 10 on the JWO Movie Rating Scale

For my choice of movies for my birthday  (no vetoes allowed on birthday weekend movie choices,) , I chose “The Drop” over other blockbuster movies to see.  If for no other reason, I wanted to see the late great James Gandolfini’s  last movie.   It’s a small, slow moving slice of life movie about a group of people in Brooklyn.  Gandolfini plays Marv, the former owner of a bar who still manages the bar for Chechnya Criminals. He is a former loan shark, way past his best days living with his sister with a mother in a nursing home that he cannot afford.  Tom Hardy plays Marv’s cousin Bob who tends bar and  used to be involved in Marv’s crew years before.  Hardy plays Bob completely low key, I think maybe too low key, but I guess that is the point.  At times you are not sure if he has aspersers, or if he is just a simple quiet guy, or a genius with deep but silent thoughts.  He might just be all three.  There are a number of intertwining storylines that work their way through the movie, including Tom’s relationship with a woman, rescuing a dog, and a robbery of the bar.  The one thing I didn’t like about the movie is that I figured out the ending fairly early on.  But those storylines are all contrivances for the movie’s deeper meanings.  The movie raises a number of deep questions for us to ponder. And God knows I live for deep questions to ponder.  Is it better to be alone or to be connected with others?  Is there redemption for the sins of our past?  How do we (can we ever) overcome the suffering in our life?  How do we deal with fear? Examining the danger of trying to live in the past or worse, recreating an illusionary version of our past?  Can we be both righteous and good and evil at the same time.  Why do we crave respect from others?  How people come into our lives for better and for worse when we are not ready and how to be open and deal with it. How do the circumstances of our life shape us and can we transcend that. What are we willing to sacrifice for what we want?  Good ideas to be raised and explore.  It is both a simple and complex movie wrapped into one. Just the kind of movie I like. 

X-Men Days of Future Past (or is it days of past future) – a 6 out of 10 on the JWO Movie Rating Scale

I admit, I am sentimental about the X Men because I grew up reading their comics. I was particularly fond of Wolverine because in the comic he was short (nothing against Hugh Jackman – I think he is a fine, but tall Wolverine) and at times Wolverine focused on a  Japanese Bushido theme.  But really, how many X Men movies has it been now? I lose count. I think with the Wolverine movies it is up to 7. I don’t know. At some point they all seem to blend together.  I think time travel is poor plot contrivance for a movie. Yes, I know, how is it I can easily accept the concept of mutants but not time travel.    There was a nice unexpected twist at the end, and I think it points out how even one action we take for better or worse can affect the/our future, but otherwise, saving everyone by changing the past is too simple a solution to a complex world. This seems to be a common plot theme in transition movies – Star Trek with Kirk and Picard, and then later with both old and young Spock. And now once again with younger and older X Men (and on that note, why do they call them X Men when the team includes women.) I don’t know, but I found myself bored after over two hours. And for God’s sake, do not make me sit through the entire credits to see a 20 second coming attraction for the next X Men Movie, which is now an annoying common practice for Marvel Movies.  

Oblivion – a 6 out of 10 on the JWO scale.

The message of this movie is you can never have enough Tom Cruises and drones are bad.  It was a slow moving but interesting sci-fy movie about a post alien invasion. It shows us  how the stories we are told are not necessarily true,  how the memories in our subconscious can lead the way to transformation, and how true love always wins out in the end.  Not bad messages, but I could have gotten there sooner. 

Movie Review – Inside Llewellyn Davis – an 8.5 out of 10 on the JWO Scale

In the movie there is a scene with a back and forth with the lead male character and the lead female character where he says “There are two kinds of people in this world, those who divide the world into two kinds of people and (and then she interrupts him and says) and losers.  I feel that way about the Coen Brothers movies. Either you love them as deeply meaningful insights into life, or you think they are boring droll.  I admit I am in the former category, but I am open to there being nuance and I think that is the message the movie is trying to send. The balance of pure integrity and selling out and  how difficult it is to find a balance between the two. It is the story of  a folk musician in the Greenwich Village Scene in the 1960s who is struggling to make it and his downward spiral into bitterness.  There are so many layers to the movie, some subtle (John Goodman Character and his driver), some not so subtle, (like when his father defecates after Llewellyn plays him a song. ).  Davis is aghast that his friend wrote a song that Davis considered beneath him, but it becomes popular and Llewellyn misses out on the royalties. Its more complex than that but the irony is obvious and dripping.

For me, there were two scenes that were unbelievably powerful. One involves when he is leaving a car, and he has to decide whether to take his cat along with him.  Technically not his cat, but one he had adopted and taken on this road trip he was on.  In that instance, there was an eternity. Making the harder choice is, (it would be hard to audition at a club with a cat in tow), or making a necesarry choice to abandon one’s responsibility and leave others (the cat in this instance) to the hands of fate and the one’s fellow companions.  We often know when we are faced with that choice, when we have to leave someone or something behind, knowing it will be hurtful to them, but knowing we can not move forward with them. We try to rationalize, and it may be necessary, but it doesn’t make the choice easier or the ramifications less painful. And the choice we make determines the fate of both for better or worse.  

The second scene was on the return trip to New York, from the road trip, and he sees the exit for his ex-girlfriend and son’s town in Ohio.  Again in that moment he has to make a decision as to whether to get off, to possibly reconnect and become part of a family and trade in his dream to be a performer.  The choices we make, sometimes to continue on, to not settle, leads to our destruction. Sometimes complete abdication of our integrity leads to our destruction as well. Its scenes like this that make me still thinking about the movie and its depth.  The choices are stark in the movie, but in real life, it is not always that obvious. 

Side note - The Coen brothers are so good at creating caricatures. Their portrayal of the New York City upper west side intelligentsia who want their friends to meet their “folk singer friend” and are overly forgiving no matter how boorish and ungrateful Davis is,  was spot on.   The folk music was nice as well. 

A good movie to see, A good movie to dwell on. 

12 Years a Slave – an 8 out of 10 on the JayWo Scale

An unbelievably powerful movie.  It tells the story of a free African American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. I think the fact that he was a once a free man, is poignant as it reminds us how easily freedom can be eliminated. His freedom though is not the key to the power the movie has. The movie shows us a glimpse of life in slavery. It is something we need to constantly be reminded of.  We cannot understand the present and build toward a just future without understanding the past. And too often our school systems and politicians want to “whitewash” the past.  Through the movie, one could imagine the emotional pain of being separated from families, and having individual desires, knowledge and will subverted by others. Even upon being freed, there was a pain in leaving the other slaves behind.  My only two complaints about the movie were about the ending.  The movie seemed to end abruptly. Secondly, why Brad Pitt? I really admire Brad Pitt’s acting and he did a fine job in this bit part. But there were no other “stars” in this movie. It just seemed out of place to all of a sudden to have this big Hollywood star come out of no where and become the savior (ally).  It was jarring to me (which perhaps says something about me and stars). It took me out of the story towards the climax of the story. I think the climax showed the human ability to trust in the face of despair, and also the need for those with power to be allies to those without power.  I just think it would have been more effective if a character actor was used.  It was also an interesting style of movie making. I particularly liked the effect of having the music continue as it moved from one scene to another.  I am sure this will be an Oscar Winner. A well made movie about a significant topic.  

A couple of mini movie reviews - Zero Dark Thirty/Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Zero Dark Thirty a 5 out of 10 on the JWO scale –

I really just don’t understand the popularity of this movie. If people think this is Academy Award material, either we have sunk to a new low in movie making or I am really out of touch.   If you take out the context that this related to Bin Laden, this was just a slow, boring, poorly filmed assassination caper movie.  Of course you cannot ignore the context, it was a major part of our psyche for the last 12 years. But my point is that doesn’t make it a good movie. Perhaps the movie gives closure to some people who want a visual as to what happened. I didn’t need that. I like Jessica Chastain as an actress, but her range was limited here, with equal bouts of pouting and anger.  There was such a build up about the torture at the beginning of the movie.  I have seen harsher depictions of violence on Saturday morning cartoons.  So what redeeming qualities does the movie have.  It shows how morals are transient in our society.  It also shows how the single-mindedness and commitment to something can lead to success but also can leave you empty.  Sort of like how I felt after watching this movie  gave me 2 hours of emptiness in my life.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. – an 8 out of 10 on the JWO scale

Just a delightful movie (although slightly predictable). The story has adventure, dreams of a better life,  relationships and second chances.  Some older people choose to move to India to retire/visit and it explores their stories.  What I liked so much about this movie is the message that the most important thing in a relationship is honestly sharing your thoughts and feelings with another. We so often imagine what others are thinking, that we imagine the negative. Only by opening up to others will we experience growth and deepening relationships.  There are many layers to this movie that deal with class and love, but ultimately for me it is about honesty. And there was also some great scenery of India.