Midsommar (2019)

Christian is one of those guys who seems nice, but who is actually just too much of a coward to be honest. He wants to break up with his girlfriend Dani and has even planned a trip abroad with his friends without telling her. But, after she suffers the sudden loss of her family, he stays in the relationship and even invites her on the trip. The trip in question is to the Swedish hometown festival of one of the friends. The "town" is more of a commune and the festival seems to be a beautiful "one with nature"-type of thing. At first.

The genius in the film is in the building dread. That we are as in the dark as the group of non-Swedish friends really helps -- we're not sure if what we're seeing is simply different or if there's truly something alarming going on. I thought I'd probably just go along with things the way Dani did, until it got too late to do anything. I mean, who am I to judge other people's way of life, right? 

Though I see The Wicker Man as the clear inspiration of this film, Midsommar is a vast improvement.

B+

The Incident (2017)

Two brothers are running from a shooter in a stairwell when an explosion happens, which seems to trap them in an endless area loop. Though supplies regenerate with regularity, they continue to age. Similarly, a family sets off on a road trip -- hears an explosion -- and suddenly their area becomes the ONLY area.

There's some bullshit explanation at the end of the movie about this being an alternate timeline generating power from which the actual people in the actual timeline will benefit, but it's convoluted and tedious.

D

Wine Country (2019)

Six women who've been friends for decades get together for a trip to wine country to celebrate a birthday. The AirBnB comes with a wacky chauffer/chef and the owner stops by to supply some more forced wackiness... and this would've been an annoying chore if that's all this was. Luckily, it's more than that.

The camaraderie of this group of women just jumps off the screen. It has nothing to do with the story or even their characters as written but everything to do with these actresses. More than a few times, I got the feeling they were honestly cracking each other up so that I wondered just how much of the movie was improvised. In short: I enjoyed hanging out with them & the "story" was just an unnecessary layer.

B-

Trespass Against Us (2016)

The Cutler family lives on the outskirts of town in a makeshift trailer park. Colby is the patriarch and ringleader: he comes up with the clan's capers which, currently, is a string of burglaries of high-end homes. His eldest, Chad, has a family of his own now and would like to break away from the life, which is proving to be easier said than done.

It's a well-told story of the way in which family dysfunction gets passed down to the next generation unless that cycle is deliberately broken. And, even with the best of intentions, sometimes the dysfunction persists. Great performances here by Fassbender and Gleeson, but the story seemed a bit too slight.

B

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

In the aftermath of World War II, young author Juliet receives a letter from someone who has come into possession of a book that used to be her own. Soon she's traveling to attend a meeting of the "Society," of which he's a member.

Though there's nothing new or surprising here, it's brimming with kindheartedness and worked its magic on me.

B+

The Hate U Give (2018)

Starr lives a double existence. With her white school friends, she goes out of her way to speak and behave so properly that no one can accuse her of being "ghetto." But, when at home, she can relax and be herself. This is just what she's doing when a cop pulls her and a childhood friend over. The cop gets spooked and shoots, quickly ending her friend's life. Starr's double life also cannot be sustained in the wake of the tragedy.

Though this film felt like it was afraid to cross an invisible line of "appropriateness," making it feel simultaneously over-the-top and way too tame, there are some good observations here. I especially liked the fallout with one of her friends who just wasn't getting it. The problem wasn't the inability to understand -- it was the refusal to admit that she didn't and her unwillingness to learn. She was like a self-righteous teenage Meghan McCain.

B

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Marcus and Sasha grow up next door to each other, have a quick hook-up at the end of high school, and then quickly lose touch. Sasha becomes a celebrity chef while Marcus stays where he's always been: working with his father and performing with his high school band in his free time. What will happen when they meet up again?

So, there's no real mystery here, but once we're past the worryingly unfunny "kid years," it's pretty enjoyable anyway. The hilarity of Keanu playing a ridiculous version of Keanu kicks it up a letter grade all by itself.

B

Pain and Glory (2019)

Banderas is a semi-retired director suffering from chronic pain of all types, causing him to rarely leave his showpiece of a home. He finds himself nostalgic, thinking often of his childhood. Chunks of the film are lengthy flashbacks to his early years. He is inspired to reconnect with one of his actors with whom he'd had a falling out decades earlier. The actor, in turn, inspires him to try heroin for the first time.

Gary and I watched this together and he said aloud at one point, "I am over the moon about this movie." The performances were perfection and the storytelling just got into our bones. This is Almodovar and Banderas at their very best.

A

Bombshell (2019)

This had the vibe of "The Big Short" with up-front narration and visual aids to help tell the story. But, ultimately, this is old news that doesn't feel nearly as impactful as it might've before Trump became president. At this point -- with Kavanaugh and Epstein being more recent/sensational stories -- this feels dated almost to the point of quaintness. Yes, it's terrible. But we're at "terrible overload" by now.

The most impressive thing about this film was Theron's makeup. I kept forgetting it was Charlize under there.

C

The Two Popes (2019)

Based on the true story of Pope Benedict XVI resigning the papacy to allow someone fresh (Pope Francis) to be elected.

Though the film can feel heavy, especially when covering Bergoglio's (the future Francis) history in Argentina, it's also quite hopeful. I'm not a Catholic, but when I found out that the former pope resigned for the good of the church, it really warmed my heart -- I was unaware that that had happened. I also really enjoyed the popes' scenes together. Though Francis could've come off as a bit too much, having his "now" juxtaposed with his "then," made it easier to understand that he'd come by his optimism and generosity of spirit honestly. It was forged in him.

B+

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Writer-Director Waititi walks a tightrope of humor and stark reality and does it masterfully. For example, I giggled so much at the ridiculous descriptions of Jews,  but was never in danger of forgetting the very real ramifications of such propaganda.

The story is told from the point of view of a fervent little German, a 10-year-old whose imaginary friend just happens to be a very insecure Adolf Hitler. Though his best friend keeps him grounded in Aryan dogma, his home life starts to make him question his beliefs.

It's hilarious and terribly sad at the same time. A truly lovely film.

A

Parasite (2019)

A father, mother, and their two college-aged kids are living in a basement apartment, barely scraping by with odd jobs. The son is recommended for a tutoring job by a friend and, even though he needs to fake credentials to apply, it's the recommendation that lands him the gig. He has soon recommended his sister as an "art therapist" for his employer's young son. She, in turn, recommends her father as driver and he recommends his wife as housekeeper. So, the entire family (while hiding their relationship to each other) is now being fully supported by another family. But then the former housekeeper shows up to claim something she left in the basement and the employers, due to rain, come back in hours from what was supposed to be a weekend trip, and their sweet situation turns sour.

I was really enjoying the subterfuge because, really, these con artists simply conned themselves into employment that they were, to all appearances, performing well. The only ones who were cheated seemed to be the former employees who were pushed out unfairly. But, just as in that Dick Van Dyke Show episode where Rob & Laura accidentally hear their neighbors discussing them, the patriarch of the working family cannot get past what he overhears his employers say.

It's a surprising film.

B+

Harriet (2019)

Cynthia Erivo is a helluva a singer. Unfortunately, she's nominated for her acting -- not her singing -- in this mess of a movie. It's not even one of those "well, that was a great performance even if the movie is not that great" situations. It's a "this movie is bad and that actress is wooden" situation.

The story dragged and it looked cheap. I'm not sure how this ever got on Oscar's radar other than for its original song. Erivo is much more emotive when she sings than when she acts (watch below).

D