Little Boxes (2017)

Mixed-race "intellectual" Brooklyn family moves across the country to Washington where Mrs. is on the tenure track as an art professor and Mr. is working on his next novel. But Washington state has plenty of culture shock for all.

I was happy with the family -- especially the black husband's exhausted acceptance of the pattern of racism followed quickly by "meet my black friend" when they find out he's supposed to be in the neighborhood after all. The problem was the shoehorning in of "Money Pit" type issues with the house and the added fun of their movers being weeks (I think?) late with their belongings. With some focus, this could've been something. Instead it felt like in trying to say a lot, we only got half-formed ideas.

C

Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018)

Fiction about what Agatha Christie might have been doing when she was missing for more than a week in 1926. The story here is that she went undercover in an elaborate attempt to solve an actual murder committed six years prior by inviting the unwitting suspects to what they think will be a disbursement from the estate of an unknown relative.

It's enjoyable in a Masterpiece Mystery kind of way, but rather lightweight in the end.

B-

Little Evil (2017)

Newlywed is doing his best to bond with his stepson, but it isn't going well. Mainly because he's pretty sure the kid is the antichrist. This is a silly comedy, but it still could've been done a lot better: giving the kid's mother a bit more to do other than being hot and dumb would've been a decent start.  The best bits were with the members of the stepfather therapy group, who took the antichrist's behavior in stride since their own stepchildren's behaviors often seemed comparable.

But this boils down to nature vs. nurture -- even in the case of an actual spawn of satan -- and that's already been covered ably in Good Omens.

C-

7 Años (2016)

The four equal shareholders in a software company have been diverting funds and the feds have found out. But if they can agree on which of them will take the fall, only that one will face the 7 year prison sentence. To help them get there, they bring in a non-partisan mediator.

It's a brisk 75 minutes of accusations, defensiveness, frustration, fear, and exhaustion. I just loved the way the dynamics would shift -- reminded me a lot of mafia (the game) except in that game most of the people voting are innocents while, in this scenario, all of the people are deserving of punishment.

A-

The Silence of the Sky (2017)

Mario, a father of two, has just come back home after a lengthy separation from his girlfriend Diana. He's a fearful man, scared of so many things that she keeps a running list of his phobias. When Diana is attacked in their home, she decides to keep it a secret from him -- presumably because he'd be unable to handle it. What she doesn't know is that he witnessed the attack but stayed frozen in silence until it was too late to intervene.

The rest of the film is Mario willing himself to be someone different in order to step up and handle the attackers. Interesting, but also a bit too quietly told. It felt more like a character study than a thriller.

B

Late Night (2019)

Late night mainstay Katherine is in a ratings slump and has been given her notice that her contract will not be renewed, just as Molly is starting her first writing job on the show.

Without even realizing it, Katherine has hired a team of men who craft a show that could be run by a man. Instead of standing out by celebrating her unique female take, she's blended in and gotten lazy while also perpetuating the stereotype that women aren't funny by refusing to hire them. There's ageism, racism, objectification -- pretty much all of the hits for a woman in the world. I also loved that a young instagrammer takes Katherine to task for her dismissal of entertainment that doesn't appeal to her personally.

There's just so much going on here, and every bit is handled extremely well.

B+

Trash (2015)

Brazilian street kid finds a wallet at the dump  and shares his discovery with a couple of friends. There's some cash, but there is also a letter for a political prisoner and a code to be cracked. When the police show up, the boys can be sure that this wallet is more valuable than the cash inside. The boys' only allies are a priest and teacher, missionaries in their community.

Honestly, I didn't follow the exact story of what was going on with that wallet and the secrets it contained. But I was still entertained by the sheer life force of the kids and their will to thwart the powers that be in the name of "right."

B-

The Highwaymen (2019)

This film about the lawmen who finally took down Bonnie and Clyde was striking in its refusal to glorify the "bad guys." Bonnie and Clyde's faces were barely shown and Clyde got just one line -- they are not the focus here. Instead, we get into the minds of the former Rangers who are brought out of retirement and tasked with finding and stopping the violent duo. Their support is non-existent and they're fighting not only fellow lawmen, but the public who think of B&C as folk heroes.

It's absorbing, thought-provoking drama. Costner and Harrelson are perfect.

B+

Nowhere Boy (2010)

Teenage John Lennon is always in trouble at school and constantly trying the patience of his loving but stern guardian, Aunt Mimi. After the death of his uncle, he reconnects with his birth mother, who is thrilled to have him back in her life and teaches him to play the banjo. This leads directly to John heading up his first band.

Aside from the "oh hey! He's meeting Paul! And there's George!" moments, it's all pretty "meh." I think we're supposed to be moved by the hardships of poor John, but his life seems pretty good to me: he had a protective guardian and a free-spirited mother, both of whom loved him fiercely. That sounds like a pretty lucky boy to me.

C

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Big, simple Ralph and adventure-seeking Vanellope are now inseparable best friends. When her game breaks and is on the verge of being sold for parts, the pair enter the internet to secure the piece they need from ebay.

Though the sight gags are clever and the scenes with the other Disney princesses are absolute gold, the movie veers into near-horror, making it too scary for kids and too childish for anyone else -- see clip below for the giant Ralph monster made up of thousands of zombie Ralphs (shudder). Just doesn't work.



C-

Knock Down the House (2019)

Though this doc ostensibly follows four outsider women running against established democrats in the 2018 primaries, it felt like more than half its time was dedicated to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It pretty much was edited into a "how AOC came to be" documentary with a side of (literal) also-rans.

But I'm not complaining. Not only is she magnetic, she's also prepared. Despite her nerves and her inexperience, she never comes off as powerless. Though her opponent's compliment of AOC's "energy" was definitely a backhanded one, she has it in spades. It's an inspiring look at a little campaign that could. Hopefully there will be more to come.

B

The Butterfly's Dream (2014)

This is based on the true story of two young Turkish men in the early '40s. They're sick with tuberculosis due to forced labor in the mines, extremely poor, but maintain their good humor because of their friendship and their shared dream of being published poets. Soon they have another shared interest: Suzan, the new girl in town.

The story is amiable but rather aimless. They lived, brooded, died. Why is their story worth putting on film? Other than in the "every life is valuable" way?

C

Rocketman (2019)

This movie just worked for me. During the first musical number, I leaned over to Gary and said "this will win a production award" because, somehow, most of the neighborhood people looked black-and-white, though I could clearly see they were in color. Little Elton (née Reggie) was just so much more vivid than the others. It was a lovely trick. Most of the musical interludes felt heightened yet still organic & Egerton does a terrific job in the lead role. I really didn't know he had it in him.

My one complaint is all about the "tooth gap" makeup. It basically looked like a line had been drawn on one of his front teeth with a country-blue marker -- the effect was more of an unhealthy tooth than a gap. With so many closeups of his smile, they should've just CG'd that. I saw the PBS miniseries of Les Miserables just a month or so ago, and they convinced me that Lily Collins had gaping holes where her front teeth used to be. Since I'm pretty sure Rocketman's budget was more ample than PBS can afford, there's no excuse here.

B+

Cargo (2018)

Brings nothing new to the apocalyptic table. Just follows the same basic outline they all do: something wipes out a big chunk of humanity, we follow some survivors, at least one of "our" survivors dies, they run into somebody/some group that turns out to be evil, they run into somebody/some group that turns out to be decent, and -- finally -- there's hope.

I think I'd have been OK with the basic trajectory, if only Freeman were at all compelling or likable. Or maybe it's that the disease was so confusing... the afflicted want to eat the survivors, but also hibernate against walls in the dark, and bury their heads in the sand (literally), and have something that looks like orange marmalade stopping up all of their head holes, AND they're on a strict "48 hours before I'll be no longer human" countdown after getting bit. Just way too complicated/dumb.

D

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Young college professor is going home with her boyfriend for the first time. What she doesn't know is that he comes from an extremely well-connected and very rich family. She's immediately put into the spotlight and on the receiving end of nastiness from those who don't think she deserves such a catch.

Zero surprises here -- including the lazy comedic relief from Ken Jeong, Akwafina, and that guy from Silicon Valley. Worst of all, it's just so boring. Why the heck did everyone love this so much?

C-