Movie review catch-up just in time to answer everyone asking for recommendations for something to watch during global pandemic shutdown

The Platform - you may have seen this get promoted onto your Netflix feed - it was extremely good, but definitely not for everyone.  It has a premise similar to Snowpiercer with a simple graphic puzzle like Cube, with the deeply disturbing psychology of The Stanford Prison Experiment.  I was a little worried about how I'd sleep, but I survived.  Brilliant concept and execution.  Brutal violence but rationed out carefully.  A lot to think about and you could spend a lot of time reading the deeper hypotheses on IMDB.  But first, tighten your seatbelt for quite the mind ride. It is a Spanish language film, but that shouldn't stop true movie fans from having a taste. 8/10

The Irishman - So good.  Maybe the opposite of 1917.  Sure, I little gun violence but such deep storytelling and character exploration.  So much that isn’t just communicated like one of those brilliant restaurant scenes (some in Italian too).  Loyalty personified.  The characters came first, the actors (for the most part) were secondary.  Brilliant acting and direction.  The dialogue was almost poetic.  It was very long and I did glance at the clock a few times (now 12:51 on a Thursday morning), but the pacing was spot on - I guess there was just a lot to tell.   Very little humour, but so much Scorsese potion to soak in.  The makeup was a little off-putting at times but once you’re on-board there’s no real turning back.   Hard to choose which of three super stars are worthy of an award but I really liked Pesci.  9/10

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Well the story was pretty much a straightaway with a nasty cruel element that I thought was too severe.  The acting wasn’t a big stretch, but most characters were likeable.  I was going to give it a 6, but for a lover of dogs and motor racing, I’ll give an extra star for a decent 7/10.  Good soundtrack, nice track scenes and historical F1 moments.

Taylor Swift: Miss Americana - Really well done.  Maybe not for misogynists or Trump supporters, but I felt it was heartfelt and real.  The challenges of stardom and being a successful female in any industry,  Then you add the genius of her creative process and the unusual life she lives - fascinating stuff.  Behind the curtain wonder, human tension and the mystery of stardom, well worth watching.  7/10

Motherless Brooklyn - Really liked this classic gumshoe mystery with a twist or should I say twitch.  Super portrayal by Norton Jr, but I couldn’t see past Baldwin.  Great moods, especially with the jazz soundtrack.   Funny and touching at times.  7/10

Wonder - Wonder  = wonderful.  As per the book(s) structure, I really liked the multi-POV sub plots.  Although there was massive star talent, the young actors stole the show.   From the lead Jacob Tremblay to the complexity of school stereotypes and on to collateral damage, the characters were so vivid. 8/10

Dolemite in My Name - A very unusual hero movie.  I suspected it was true but still came as a welcome surprise during the credits (I hope that's not too much of a spoiler) with comparisons to the real Rudy.  Sure, Murphy was in familiar territory but it took some deeper acting to balance the comical with the storytelling.  7/10  

From further back

Woodstock (2019 version with tag Three Days that Defined a Generation, available on Netflix) - this documentary of the famous event paid less attention to the music and more to the people.  The guys that made it happen, the people who attended and all that happened in between.  What were they thinking?  Loved the storytelling and what the event became. 7/10

The Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole!: A Trip Across Latin America - (from Twitter) Wow. Found The Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole: A Trip Across Latin America doc on the PVR (Feb 2019 CTV) - sums up the passion & joy of live music & The Stones beautifully; watch it if you can find it & if you’re on the same team #ItsOnlyRocknRollButILikeIt 9/10 Since posting that on Twitter, the movie is now available on Netflix.

and Parasite - watched it again.  Wow.  Again.

The Aeronauts

My daughter and I started watching this historical drama a while ago and found its beginning quite odd.  For whatever reason we didn’t continue to watch it on that day.  

Forward wind a few months perhaps and I resume the film.  

The movie approximates real life events of early hot air balloon expeditions but the film had a lot of fun with many dangerous adventure action scenes.  The film took many artistic liberties, but it didn’t take away from an interesting time of exploration and science discovery.  

I found the action scenes rather stressful and wasn’t certain of the future of the protagonists.  The chemistry between Jones and Redmayne worked nicely and the stunt work demonstrated the perils of high altitude balloon flight very effectively.  

I really enjoyed the mix of history, science, aeronautics, adventure and heroic pursuits.  Throughly entertaining for an inquisitive, adventurous type.  

Watched a few YouTube bits afterwards - Redmayne’s interview on Colbert was delectable and provided some juicy insight into the making of the movie.  

7/10

I was planning on using a beautiful still from the movie in this post, but I couldn't find a image that appears clear from copyright.  Instead I chose an image from The Smithsonian.

I'm Going to Break Your Heart

This one may be a little difficult to find - I watched it on an Air Canada fight under the Canadian Content section.

This is a documentary about the emotional and creative relationship of Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida.  You may recognize her name from Canadian music fame and perhaps his because he is the lead singer of the band Our Lady Peace.  My wife is a big fan of their new music duo MOON VS SUN and we saw them play live a while ago here in Toronto.


 

The movie is difficult to watch at times - I definitely felt he was real and she was a little theatrical.  But maybe that’s just how they are.

Uneasy because of similarities to my relationship with my wife.  Or dare I say many husbands and their wives.  Sure he’s a dope at times, but she’s also appears difficult.  Maybe extremes of us?

Interesting to see what went into the songs.  We saw them perform many songs from the album a few months ago.

Their therapist was too weird for me and I felt created some disingenuous interaction.

I’m not certain I believe it and I’m worried for them.

It feels wrong to even comment about these real people.

Maybe their expectations for writing in Saint Pierre et Miquelon were too high.   Sunny California had far less friction and seemed to warm their hearts.  Saint Pierre et Miquelon was just too damn cold.

But the tension and times of tenderness and love makes for some good music.  And that’s how they deal with their challenges by singing about it out loud.

7/10 for putting it all out there.

Ford v Ferrari

First off, yes, I'm a fan of motor racing (but not auto racing - that sounds too American).

My father is a big fan and many friends and members of my family share the love of the sport, albeit for perhaps different reasons.  For me, I love witnessing the pinnacle of engineering, seeing highly talented drivers pushing the limits of a machine to the breaking point, buying into the drama and controversy year after year and all of that wrapped up into a beautiful adrenaline rush.  I do enjoy go-kart racing on occasion, but that's as far as I've gone past the point of driving a family car over the speed limit.  So when a big movie like Ford v Ferrari comes out with top-draw acting talent wrapped around motor racing and real life sporting events, that's hard to resist.

You can read all the history and background yourselves and there's lot of it and there's some great YouTube bits about what they got right and wrong in the movie and there's a full length documentary about the event's 50 year reunion and the associated new technical challenges of repeating Le Mans 1966.  Superb stuff.

I really enjoyed this historical drama, it followed a true-to-life plot, but made some creative turns along the way.  The race sequences were perhaps a little overdone, so there was no lack of noise, power and track drama to get the heart racing.  I thought Bale and Damon were spot on and seemed to really love their characters.  I know a little history of Ford and Le Mans, but the movie filled in lots of interesting historic notes.  Probably not for everyone, but someone who is drawn to stories about the competitive drive for victory, historical innovation and technology and getting to know a little about some very interesting real people, you'll will be very entertained.  

8/10 

The photo above is the revamped version of the GT-40 that I saw at last year's Detroit Auto Show.  The one below is an older model in the neighbourhood back in 2008.