Winter Movieland 2020 Oscar Edition

OSCAR WINNER: BEST PICTURE

PARASITE-2019

DRAMA

PLOT:    Poor Korean family scheme their way into a rich family.

                There are so many genres mixed in this film -comedy, drama, suspense, horror you don’t know where to begin. A lazy, loud unemployed family cons their way to work for a rich family and eventually take over.  It all goes well in the beginning then really bad things happen.  It is subtitled but it is worth watching but at times it is hard to watch.

BOMBSHELL

DRAMA

OSCAR NOMINATION: BEST ACTRESS: MARGOT ROBBIE

PLOT:    The true story of an anchor woman to bring down the founder of Fox News.

                Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) works at the most highest rated news network but there is a secret many women don’t share with each other.  They are sexually harassed by their boss Roger Ailes.  Gretchen when fired she decides to do something about it that starts a vicious domino effect.  The cast is excellent especially Charlize Theron who looks uncanny like Megyn Kelly and Margot Robbie as Kayla, an ambitious woman ready to do anything to movie up in the news world.  It  bombed for many reasons-mainly many people watch Fox news and do not believe it and the rest don’t want to pay money to see men in power destroy women-we have Lifetime movies for that.

THE IRISHMAN

CRIME DRAMA

OSCAR NOMINATION:  BEST PICTURE

OSCAR NOMINATION:  BEST DIRECTOR: MARTIN SCORESE

OSCAR NOMATION BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS: AL PACNIO AND JOE PESCI

PLOT: The story of a soldier who got involved with the mob.

                Frank (The Irishman) Sheeran (Robert DeNiro) was a solider then became a driver and moved up the in the crime syndicate to become a hitman and knows the whereabouts about Jimmy Hoffa.  These people are monsters and yet we sympathize with them.  Jimmy Hoffa( Al Pacino) is great. When we first see Frank he is in a senior home and he tells us his story.  Out of the entire mob he is the only one left.  You have seen Scoresse’s movies you know it will be epic, long and good acting.  You will also see swearing and horrible violence. 

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT:    Mike and Marcus try to go their separate ways but they are forced back together.

                Mike (Will Smith) is now police inspector and Marcus (Martin Lawrence) is grandfather and wants to quit being a cop but situations and tragedy brings them together again.  The film is funny and sad too.  Both are going in a mid-life crisis but Mike wants to be cool but Marcus wants a calm life.  The action is great and find out a back story about Mike.  It is what you want from this kind of film.

MARRIAGE STORY 2019

DRAMA

NETFLIX

OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ACTOR: Adam Driver

OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ACTRESS: Scarlett Johnansson

OSCAR WINNER: Laura Dern

PLOT:    A couple is getting a divorce but wants to be in their son’s life.

                Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johnansson) are divorcing but each wants to care for their young son.  The ugliness comes out as they find lawyers who seem all they want to do is win the case.  It is well done for the couple who want to remain civil and do what is best for their son but they secretly want to win as well.  Driver and Johnansson are amazing as parents; they are lashing out and want to love each other too.  The rest of the cast is incredible too Alan Alda, Laura Dern and Ray Liotta.

1917 (2019)

WAR DRAMA

OSCAR NOMINATION FOR: BEST PICTURE

PLOT:    The true story of two English soldiers to deliver a letter across enemy reign to save a platoon of army men against the Germans.

                Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Schofiled (George McKay) are two service men who must go across enemy lines to give a general a letter not to attack for it is an ambush.  This film gives proof that war is hell!  It is frightening what these two solders went through. The military can train you to kill but how do you train for fear and uncertainty. It is like a horror movie!  The cinematography is fantastic but it shouldn’t be for war is grainy and dark. Movie making at its finest.

SPIES IN DISGUISE

ANIMATED-2019

PLOT:    Top spy needs help from a young wacky inventor.

                Lance Sterling (Will Smith) is the best agent in the business but when he is framed he needs the help of Walter (Tom Holland), a funny but nerdy high-tech creator.  This film is hilarious and action packed!  Will Smith is the animated black James Bond with charm and confidence.  The villain is Killian (Ben Mendelsohn) and he is over the top and there is a back story why he wants to frame Lance.  The movie is very good and should be seen.

JUST MERCY 2020

DRAMA

PLOT:    Young, black, idealist lawyer defends a black man on death row.

                Based on a true story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) is black lawyer who defends many blacks on death row in the south but draws his attention to Walter D. McMillan (Jamie Fox) for the evidence is at best flimsy.  It sounds like a fiction with all the clichéd elements, good black people, and bad white people in the DEEP SOUTH.  What it does have going for it as the excellent cast that includes Brie Larsen and Tim Black Nelson.  The acting is nothing short of brilliant.  If you enjoy courtroom drama you should see this.

JUDY

BIOGRAPHY DRAMA

OSCAR WINNER:  RENEE ZELLWEGER

PLOT:    Another movie about the late, great Judy Garland.

                So many films about Judy Garland but this one is about her a part of her life singing in London.  This Judy (Renee Zellweger) is perfect for she is frail in singing and in looks.  There are many flashbacks of how she became addicted to pills and alcohol with bad decisions with men.  She wants it all be a good mom, good singer but sadly she really can’t. In the TV mini-series Life with Judy Garland:  Me and My Shadows 2001 Judy Davis played Judy with the best line in the movie “Do you know how hard it is to be Judy Garland?”  Every celebrity probably tells someone that at some point in their life.  Zellweger shows she is funny and tragic at the same time.  She is excellent.

Mr. Rogers Meets Dolemite

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

DRAMA

PLOT:    A reporter finds healing while doing an article of Mister Fred Rogers.

                Lloyd (Matthew Reyes) is a reporter for Esquire magazine and his boss wants him to a story of the popular PBS kid show host, Mister Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks).  He is going through his own problems and he is skeptical of Rogers how quite, thoughtful and compassionate he is.  He comes around and truly enjoys how kindness and patience can help someone.  This is a great movie but it isn’t the typical biography of Fred Rogers.  This is a true story about the real writer Tom Junrod relationship with the real Mister Rogers.  Hanks is GREAT as Rogers for you can’t believe he is a real good person but has flaws.  The cast is equally impressive.  If you enjoyed Mister Rogers as a child you will enjoy this movie.

KNIVES OUT

MYSTERY

PLOT:    Patriarch dies but was he killed.

                Halan Thrombay (Christopher Plummer) is rich and odd. He is found dead and the suspect is Marta Cabrera (Ariade Armas).  The detective is Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig James Bond) finds out it is not as simple as that.  There are twist and turns until you find out who done it.  It is quite good but long.  Craig with a southern accent is fun and the family of cutthroats are Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Johnson.  If you like mysteries you will enjoy this.

             

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME

BIOGRAPHY/COMEDY

PLOT:    The story about Rudy Ray Moore, rap pioneer and stand-up comedian.

                Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) is poor and wants to be famous.  He does everything then he listens to stories by a homeless man and uses it to change his imagine into Dolemite.  He is a hit now he wants to be an action star in blaxploitation movies which he is turned down because of his size so he produces his own film.  Murphy is fantastic in the role.  He is driven to make it at all cost- most of it is hilarious and sometimes sad but very good. Everyone actor is good especially Wesley Snipes as  D’Urville Martin.  It was in theaters for a week but seen on Netflix but it is worth seeming.

Year End, New Decade Movie Dump

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

ACTION/FANTASY

  

PLOT:    The sequel to the first movie.

                Spencer (Alex Wolff) is now in college in New York. He feels alone, lost his girlfriend and his self worth is down so he goes a small remaining chip from the game Jumanji and goes back in.  His friends worry about him and reluctantly they go back in the game as well but the game has changed as well their original characters they were in the last time.  It is very good.  It has action, comedy; adventure even a little tragedy too.  It is well done.

STAR WARS:  EPISODE IX: RISE OF SKYWALKER

ACTION/FANTASY

PLOT:    The Resistance and the First Order collide in the final chapter of the new trilogy.

                Rey, (Daisy Reilly),Poe(Oscar Issac) and Finn (John Boyega) are the resistance and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is with the First Order along with an old enemy.  If you like action and not a Star Wars fan you will enjoy this movie for it has excellent special effects but if you are a fan-not so much.  They pack a lot of things that are not important and there are many cameos.  There is a character that is interesting and her name is Zorii Bliss (Kerri Russell).  She knows Poe before he became part of the Resistance.  She is tough but has heart.

QUEEN AND SLIM

DRAMA

PLOT:    A first date becomes a frightening chase.

                Earnest “Slim” Hines (Daniel Katuuya) and Angela “Queen” Johnson (Jodie Turner-Smith) go on their first date, small talk and he drives her home.  The problem begins when a cop stops him for he drives a little erratic.  It is cold outside and when Earnest tells him to hurry up the expecting the cop gets mad and so does Angela for she is a criminal attorney.  The cop shoots her in the leg and the two men fight and Earnest shoots the cop.  Angela tells him they must leave and they are on the run for six days.  

             To some they are heroes for many think that cops kill black people and no justice, others are angry at them for they continue the stereotype of blacks being criminals.  The movie is interesting but the couple does dumb things while on the run.  They are not called Queen and Slim except on the news and newspapers. Draw your own conclusion to that.  They are not the black Bonnie and Clyde for they don’t rob banks or kill anyone.  It is realistic and sober.

HARRIET

BIOGRAPHY/DRAMA

PLOT:    The story of the legend Harriet Tubman.

                Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo) was a slave who escaped and freed other slaves by the Underground Railroad.  This is a good movie but I don’t really know how accurate it is.  The performances are fabulous-especially by Erivo.  I hope many people see it to read more about this amazing African-American female who defy all odds and still wanted to help others.

CATS

MUSICAL/FANTASY

PLOT:    The Broadway play comes to the big screen.

                Victoria (Francesca Hayward) is abandon white kitten in a junkyard and is greeted with a tribe of Jellicle cats who wants to be chosen to be reborn by Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench).  WTF!  I hope the play is better than this!  They have talented actors in the film-most can’t sing. Jennifer Hudson sang the famous Memory but that didn’t sound very good. The strange hybrid of CGI of human and cats is at best SCARY.  Some dance numbers are okay but there is hardly any talking mostly singing.  You shouldn’t always rely on a trailer but if you hated the trailer the film is much worst.  Can Hollywood make a movie musical anymore?

LAST CHRISTMAS

ROMANTIC COMEDY

PLOT:    Kate at Christmas finds love.

                Kate (Emilia Clarke Game of Thrones, Terminator: Genisys) is a singer who makes bad choices on everything.  She gets a job as an elf but is not very jolly until she meets Tom (Henry Golding Crazy, Rich Asians) who makes her feel alive and in love.  It is a cute movie and with the late George Michael’s songs that does help it but there is a plot twist I didn’t see coming which makes it a little sad.  Clarke is bubbly even when she feels nothing is going her way and Golding is handsome and charming.  It is adorable if you like cut love stories at Christmas time.

Retakes and Bring Backs to End 2019

MIDWAY

HISTORICAL/ACTION

PLOT:    A remake of 1976 of the true story of Midway.

                After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, American soldiers attacked the Japanese.  It was made in 1976 with Charleston Heston Glenn Ford and countless other older stars and now director Roland Emmerich of Independence Day and Godzilla 1998.  Special effects are amazing and he uses it well for dramatic effect but it is the cast that shows tragedy and triumph of the fighters and pilots who risked their lives.  What stood out is Nick Jonas as Bruno Gaido who was a fearless pilot.  Good supporting cast such as Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans and Woody Harrleson.            

              

BLACK CHRISTMAS

HORROR/THRILLER

PLOT:    The 3^rd remake of the 1974 slasher classic with a twist.

                The story is the same, sorority sisters at winter break are stalked by a killer one by one.  The “twist” is this version is feminism.  The college women fight back! WTF! There are some things in the film that is weird.  Many fans are upset because the film is PG13-not rated R like many slasher films.  It is trying to get more of an audience especially young girls.  In the PG13 you don’t see the kills that make slasher movies-they cut away.  The female director Sophia Takal wants to create suspense but people who love these kinds of films want to see violent kills!  One murder happens in the beginning then for an hour nothing happens but tells a clichéd story.  Near the end things do pick up.  This movie should have been straight-to-video. 

FROZEN 2

ANIMATED

PLOT:    Elsa finds out how she got her powers in the sequel.

                Elsa hears a siren in her head and she must go to find out what is calling to her. Her loving sister Anna and her devoted friends will go to the enchanted forest to help Elsa.   The film is a visual delight.  The music is okay but the funny and cute Olaf is a wonderful.  The film is for all ages who like adventure, comedy and music.  It is a MUST see.

SmokerJumpers, Car Racers and RedRummers

PLAYING WITH FIRE

COMEDY

PLOT:    Smokejumpers save three mischievous kids and has to take care of them.

                Jake (John Cena) and his crew save three children.  Jake is by the book fireman but he has to let the kids stay with them until the parents come.  It has much slapstick and toilet humor but the movie is about taking care of what is really important: family.  It is cute if you like former wrestler John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo and Tyler Mane as his partners at work.

FORD VS. FERRARI

DRAMA

PLOT:    Two men changed the LeMans, France in 1966 car racing forever.

                Carroll Shelby (Mark Damon) is a car designer who is charismatic, idealistic and has to deal with the egos of the big bosses and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) is the mechanic, driver and crash dummy to reinvent racing cars.  Damon and Bale two Oscar winners also help bring the characters to life.  Even if you don’t know anything about cars you will enjoy this movie for you care about the characters and the problems they must overcome to bring their vision to life.

DOCTOR SLEEP

HORROR

PLOT:    The sequel to The Shining.

                Dan Torrance(Ewan McGregor) is now an adult still frightened by the events when he was child but confront his demons when he helps  a teen named Abra Stone(Kyliegh Curran) who has the “shining” to stop a supernatural cult led by Rose The Hat(Rebecca Ferguson) to kidnap children to inhale their “shining essence” to remain immortal.  OMG this film is slow and strange.  The movie takes it time and it does become interesting.  It is based on the book by the same name by Stephen King.  I did not read the book so as you know Hollywood changes many things.  If you like the The Shining you will enjoy this and the performances by McGregor, Curran and Ferguson are not bad.