Went the Day Well? (1942)

Yes, another oldie that concerns World War II already, but that's about where the similarity ends. This one's serious, British, produced during said war, and devoid of any names familiar to me except writer Graham Greene.

In the fictional backwater English village of Bramley End (which Netflix misnames Bramley Green), German paratroopers show up disguised as British soldiers. Locals are just beginning to suspect them when they drop the act and capture almost the entire population in the church on Whitsunday. They demand complete obedience to give the outside world no clues, lest they kill more than the resisting parties. For about 48 hours (incidentally the title of another adaptation of the Greene story), the villagers do what they can to stop the invasion from progressing.

White Christmas (1954)

Why did I wait this long to see an old holiday classic? Mainly because I assumed that it was a remake of Holiday Inn, which I had already seen and found, well, far from timeless. It did have the same lead actor and stand-out song, after all. But it'd be unusual for a non-international remake to come out only 12 years later, especially when censorship standards hadn't changed much. Further research assured me it was no sequel either.

Former Army comrades Bob (Bing Crosby) and Phil (Danny Kaye) are major stage musical producers but not content; Bob keeps working them harder than Phil deems comfortable. Phil's solution is to introduce Bob to prospective wives, even if Phil can't see himself with a wife of his own. When they attend a duo act, Phil is quickly smitten with Judy (Vera-Ellen) and thinks that Bob is into her protective elder sister, Betty (Rosemary Clooney), but the latter two face complications, thanks largely to Bob having developed a cynical attitude in show business. Regardless, between antics and Phil's manipulation, all four head to a Vermont town, hoping for, y'know, the title thing. The town is surprisingly warm and emptied out when they arrive, but genre savvy should tell you something.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

You may think I prioritized this new Netflix release because it's popular right now and/or because it has the final role of the late Chadwick Boseman. In truth, I hadn't known about the casting. No, the main reason is that I was familiar with the title among plays and have been rather missing live theater this year. It hardly matters that I saw another August Wilson adaptation produced by Denzel Washington half a year ago.

In summer 1927, real-life singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (Viola Davis) and four instrumentalists gradually assemble at a Chicago recording studio to make a blues album. This is not as uneventful as it sounds. Ma is in full diva mode, upstart trumpeter Levee (Boseman) is possibly even more annoying in his cockiness, the ceiling fan doesn't work, and they are all keenly aware that social conditions aren't great for Black people even up north. Studio owner Mel (Jonny Coyne) and manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) show no overt racism or rudeness, unlike the glaring bystanders outside, but you can bet they'd pay White performers better and put them in a more comfortable room.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

I don't recall when I heard about this movie or when I put it on my queue (probably the same time). All I knew when I moved it to the top was that it was a neo-noir and therefore unlike anything I'd watched in quite some time. Top billing to Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle didn't hurt either, tho Boyle's role isn't the second most prominent.

In the Boston area, Eddie (Mitchum) and Jackie Brown (Steven Keats, whose character name supplied the title of a Quentin Tarantino flick) are newly acquainted gun traffickers. Eddie enlists Jackie's help to outfit bank robbers. What Jackie doesn't know is that Eddie, having been caught hijacking, sees little choice but to serve as an informant to FBI Agent Dave Foley (Richard Jordan). What Eddie doesn't know is that Foley has an informant on him as well: mobster Dillon (Boyle), who had arranged the hijacking.

Dangal (2016)

I had a lot of time to kill last night, so I decided to watch a longer movie than usual. India's are quite reliable in that regard. This one runs 161 minutes, but the main reason I chose it over other options on my queue is its current placement on IMDb's top 100.

Retired wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan, who's also the producer) regrets his failure at an international championship and hopes to have a son finish what he started. After begetting four girls in a row, he becomes discouraged -- until the two oldest, Geeta (Zaira Wasim and later Fatima Sana Shaikh) and Babita (Suhani Bhatnagar and later Sanya Malhotra), beat up some offending boys. He then becomes their drill sergeant-like coach and forces them to pursue his dream, despite obstacles of poverty and any other dreams they had.

Cries and Whispers (1972)

Ingmar Bergman, why haven't I given up on you yet? Your works are prized in intellectual circles, but I've seen plenty by now and even my favorite feels hit and miss to me. I knew going into this that my chance of enjoying the viewing, or even feeling that I didn't waste my time, was less than 50%. Still, if I had to try it, immediately after two uplifting features was the right time.

Like in Autumn Sonata, the focus is on the interactions among mostly related women, with only occasional male input and very little plot progression. Basically everything happens inside the mansion where three sisters grew up, to which they have returned because one of them, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), has uterine cancer, in an era when not much could be done about it. Maid Anna (Kari Sylwan) can't be the only caretaker anymore. As they wait for the dying to end, Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin) also reminisce.

Chef (2014)

This week, I checked out The Great British Baking Show for the first time -- not bad, but I get tired of focusing on pastries after a while. So when I perused my list and found an entry about cooking, I thought it might be something of an antidote.

In L.A., amicably divorced head chef Carl (Jon Favreau, who's also the director) gets panned by a critic (Oliver Platt) for a culinary rut brought on by a restrictive restaurant owner (Dustin Hoffman). When his angry reaction goes viral, he loses his job. Unwilling to capitalize on his infamy with reality TV, he picks an option he'd long rejected: traveling the country in a food truck, accompanied by pal and ex-line cook Martin (John Leguizamo). Not only does Carl have his creative freedom back, but he makes more time than ever for his 10-year-old son, Percy (Emjay Anthony), who comes along for the summer and bonds with him in a big way.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Why didn't I see this sooner, perhaps in a theater? Probably because Won't You Be My Neighbor? came out not so long before. But now seems like a good time to explore promising stress relief.

In 1998, Lloyd (Matthew Rhys), an Esquire writer based loosely on Tom Junod, has such a reputation for scathing articles that almost nobody will agree to an interview with him anymore. His editor, Ellen (Christine Lahti), gives him a different kind of assignment: 400 words on Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), as part of a series on heroes. Lloyd is not happy about this; neither is his wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), partly because he'll have to fly from New York to Pittsburgh, leaving her alone with their baby for a while, and partly because she worries what he'll write about her childhood icon. But Rogers has a way of helping people deal with their emotions more healthily, which is especially important when Lloyd holds a serious grudge against his own father, Jerry (Chris Cooper).

Source Code (2011)

This is one of those titles that automatically turned me off: "I'm not enough of a computer geek to get into this." But such snap judgments lose their effectiveness with time, and the continuing popularity of SC was hard for me to ignore. Besides, I liked director Duncan Jones' work on Moon, and here was another sci-fi.

Twenty minutes into the future, if the already dated phone tech is any indication, a terrorist bombs a train in the Chicago area. An experimental government program under Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright) retrieves the last eight minutes of memory from one of the victims and sends the mind of biologically similar U.S. Army CPT Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) into it, enabling him to spend eight minutes finding the bomb and its planter however he can. He can retry any number of times, but the sooner he succeeds, the better their chances of preventing the bomber's next attack.

The Sapphires (2012)

My best guess for how I ever learned about this film is that it was advertised as I prepared to see another. Based on the subject, I'm not surprised it hasn't been talked about much in the U.S., despite financial success within its home country. Still, stories about singers tend to draw me in, so I chose it from my list.

Based on a play based very loosely on a true story, it takes place in 1968, starting at an Aboriginal Australian reserve. Three adult sisters -- in descending order of age, Gail (Deborah Mailman), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), and Julie (Jessica Mauboy) -- gain the attention of talent scout Dave (Chris O'Dowd), probably the first White person to recognize their merit as singers. He gets them on a tour -- along with their semi-estranged cousin, Kay (Shari Sebbens) -- performing soul classics for U.S. troops in Vietnam. Their most immediate concern, of course, is that the army can't fully guarantee safety.

Dreams (1990)

Wisely marketed by Netflix as "Akira Kurosawa's Dreams," this is my first anthology viewing since...well, another Kurosawa piece. It's also from later in his career than anything else I've seen. I figured I'd like it better than Dodes'ka-den, partly because dreams are bound to be at least close to fantasy.

There are eight stories, generally set in 20th-century Japan. In "Sunshine Through the Rain," a young boy ignores his mother's warning not to go into the woods on a day with the titular weather, because kitsune have weddings then and don't brook human witnesses. In "The Peach Orchard," another boy, missing the peach trees that his family clearcut, sees their strangely human-shaped spirits. In "The Blizzard," four mountain climbers are on the verge of succumbing, possibly to the yuki-onna, before reaching their camp. In "The Tunnel," a former WWII commander walks through a tunnel and meets the ghosts of men who died following his orders and don't know it yet. In "Crows," a budding artist imagines(?) himself meeting an anglophone Vincent van Gogh (Martin Scorsese!) in France and traversing the scenes of several paintings. In "Mount Fuji in Red," a nuclear meltdown rapidly depopulates the volcanic area, with most people deciding they'd rather drown than face cancer. In "The Weeping Demon," on another mountain, radioactivity has effectively turned humans into demons in a Buddhist hell. And in "Village of the Waterfalls," a traveler discovers a contented Luddite village.

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Gee, I saw my previous western comedy only about six months ago. But this was made 30 years later, near the time of more offbeat westerns, so I expected it to feel pretty different.

Jason McCullough (James Garner), a drifter with plans to move to Australia, stops at the fictitious young town of Calendar, Colorado. As a gold rush town, it's very expensive for the time, so he opts for a temp job -- as sheriff. Why, especially in a brawl-happy town where sheriffs have never stuck around long enough to collect pay, thanks to the Danby clan? Well, for all his casual air, he'd hate for Joe Danby (Bruce Dern, the only surviving actor today) to get away with the murder McCullough witnessed. Besides, he has a quick and accurate draw, which he's kept under wraps to avoid the wrong kind of attention until now.

Scent of a Woman (1992)

Had I known that this story takes place on a Thanksgiving weekend, I would have waited a few more weeks. After all, I can't fill November with seasonally appropriate fare like I do October. As it is, I prioritized SoaW solely because it was one of the most esteemed '90s flicks I hadn't seen yet.

Prep schooler Charlie (Chris O'Donnell in his star-making role) is not in the same economic bracket as most of his peers, so he can't return to his Oregon home from New England for the holidays yet. For extra income, he agrees to look after completely blind, retired lieutenant colonel Frank (Al Pacino) for the weekend while Frank's niece, her husband, and their kids go on vacation. It soon becomes obvious why they're not taking him along and why nobody else applied for the job: Frank's a jerk. Immediately after the rest of the family leaves, he takes charge and flies off to New York City, with Charlie reluctantly in tow and unable to return when he wants. Frank's goals are to crash the Thanksgiving dinner of his brother's family, live it up like an alcoholic millionaire at the Waldorf-Astoria...and commit suicide.

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

As often happens, I felt obliged to watch a movie featuring someone who recently died, in this case Sean Connery. He's one of the actors I've watched most, so there weren't many promising titles left. This one's pretty popular but has a bunch of other big names and countless speaking roles, so I wasn't sure it would showcase him well.

Based on a book that's at least partly based on reality, it tells of Operation Market Garden: In 1944, British, American, and Polish forces plan to use paratroopers and tanks to capture numerous bridges in the occupied Netherlands. Many soldiers doubt the feasibility of the mission, as it involves considerable travel along narrow roads, there's fog to consider, and even if the Germans don't send their best, they won't be pushovers. If you know this chapter of history, you know the doubts are correct.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

A horror movie about making a horror movie? When I first heard about this, it sounded halfway comical, yet it clearly wasn't played for laughs. When I learned the focus more precisely much later, I became mildly intrigued.

In an assuredly alternate 1921, F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich again) is beginning to direct the classic Dracula knockoff Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. Many of the people involved had expected him to be highly controlling but are perplexed by his secrecy, followed by his unusual process for dealing with the vampire's actor, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe, in the role that got him into Spider-Man), whom they never heard of before. Schreck is creepily eccentric, but that just means he's an ahead-of-his-time method actor, right? ...Right?

Warm Bodies (2013)

See the pattern in my reviews of late? I've gone from a straightforward zombie movie to a semi-comedic one to an even less serious, if not more comedic, one. I'd been putting this off not simply because of the subgenre and some, eheh, lukewarm reviews but because the trailer seemed to give away everything. But maybe seven years after watching that trailer once, I could find it fresh enough.

The premises herein deviate from the norm to the point that "zombie" is almost misleading. Well into an outbreak, the protagonist (Nicholas Hoult) is a young adult shambler who can remember no more about his past life than his first initial, R, but still retains some semblance of personality for the nonce, as by collecting and playing vinyl records in a plane he inhabits alone. He feels bad about eating people, tho not so bad that he'd rather starve to a more complete death, and he dreads the day he'll embrace this identity in full. Also, eating brains both prevents the rise of a new zombie and allows him access to the memories contained therein. But apparently even before doing that to a certain Perry (Dave Franco), he takes a special interest in Perry's girlfriend, Julie (Teresa Palmer), and impulsively decides to help her survive. By and by, Julie can't help, y'know, warming up to him too.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

OK, I had another reason that I didn't previously specify for watching Dawn of the Dead: to prepare myself for this. On that score, however, I needn't have bothered. SotD makes no specific reference to DotD beyond the title. I'm not sure it directly parodies anything in particular.

From the beginning, thirty-something Shaun (Simon Pegg) has not led a good life. He has a dead-end job; acquaintances keep urging him to do something about his irresponsible best bud, Ed (Nick Frost); he can hardly bring himself to care for mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton), because it means interacting with harsh stepfather Philip (Bill Nighy); and his relationship with girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is on the rocks. Preoccupied with his own troubles, he pays little attention to the many signs that London in general has much bigger problems. (In fairness, the first bunch aren't exactly bloody messes.) When Shaun and Ed finally catch on, they plan to rescue everyone they care about and hole up in...a pub. Not much of a fortress, but nobody in the party has a better idea. Besides, the rifle on the wall might still be functional, and there aren't a whole lot of guns in modern England....

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

When I watched Night of the Living Dead as a teen, I thought it was the worst movie I'd ever seen. Since then, I've built up a bit more tolerance for the subject. It helped that [REC] proved to be a genuinely scary example of the subgenre. And hey, maybe better, more modern production values would go a long way. That's one reason I chose this remake over the '78 George A. Romero cult classic. That and I thought I ought to see at least one thing directed by Zack Snyder.

The story, set in the Milwaukee area, gets off to a quiet start, with Nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) having only the slightest clue that anything's wrong when a bite victim awaits a head scan. True to the title, only in the morning does she become aware that a lot of people in the neighborhood, well, just aren't themselves anymore. Her escapade leads her to fellow normals equally aware of the problem, starting with a cop (Ving Rhames). Together, they seek refuge in a recently mostly abandoned mall, but this is hardly a long-term solution, and the number of enemies right outside keeps growing....

Under the Shadow (2016)

Hmm, a purportedly feminist mid-2010s horror-drama in Farsi, with a director who's part Iranian and part British, faring moderately on IMDb and extremely well on Rotten Tomatoes. I saw one of those about five years ago. But this one has a plot less like that and more like The Babadook.

Life is scary enough for anyone in Tehran during the War of the Cities in the mid-'80s. Shideh (Narges Rashidi) may have it harder than most: She can't finish her medical education thanks to her prior political involvement, her husband (Bobby Naderi) is assigned to a doctoral post in a dangerous zone, and she's left alone to take care of their maybe five-year-old daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). But the real scares come only after the dust settles from an Iraqi missile hitting their apartment building. As things make less and less sense, Shideh finds it hard to continue denying the rumor, held by Dorsa and certain neighbors, that the missile brought one or more jinni.

Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

I had seen only two Charlie Chaplin movies that were not even partly silent: The Great Dictator and Limelight. They were about on par with his silents, so I wanted to see a hit that came out in between them. Well, sort of a hit. It bombed at the box office and got little U.S. appreciation when new, but it enjoys high marks across rating sites now. Chaplin himself had an extra high opinion of it.

In what I take to be 1930s France, albeit with 1940s fashions and only the star attempting a French accent, Henri Verdoux (Chaplin), a laid-off banker, cannot find similar work. His solution is to travel frequently, assume several aliases, court several women, and mooch off or steal from them -- and murder them one way or another when he thinks it'll help him get away with theft. He's not above offing anyone else who stands in his way, either. But he weaves a tangled web and can sustain only so much luck....

Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)

This is the first and more popular of only two productions by Studio Ponoc, a breakaway from Studio Ghibli. The company was not yet trying to distinguish itself from its predecessor; MatWF presents a lot of the same trope patterns (e.g., goo monsters) and even a similar logo, giving thanks to Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. I suppose if it weren't for the likenesses, I might not have checked this movie out.

It's not clear what decade the story takes place in; the only TV we see operates by dials, but it is in an old woman's (Lynda Baron) rural British house. Judging from the literary source material, Mary Stewart's The Little Broomstick, it might be around 1971. In any event, the woman's tween great-niece, Mary (Ruby Barnhill), has just moved in because her parents are too busy to take care of her. Between summer boredom and concern for a missing local cat, Mary ignores a rule against entering the misty forest and discovers both an old broom and a fly-by-night, a rare flower that blooms once every seven years. Unwittingly breaking a bulb, she gains a day of magical powers and the half-sentient broom flies her to Endor College, a secret school of magic. Headmistress Madam Mumblechook (Kate Winslet) and chemistry professor Dr. Dee (Jim Broadbent) congratulate her on being a prodigy, but when she tells them how she got her powers, they lose their friendly air and become determined to acquire the rest of the fly-by-night at any cost for their unethical pet experiment.

Dogville (2003)

Had I paid more attention, I would not have chased the weirdest David Lynch movie I've seen with a Lars von Trier piece. Still, this was one of those culturally significant pictures I'd been putting off for some time.

In what might be the '30s, a stranger named Grace (Nicole Kidman) comes to a remote Colorado town, planning to cross the nearby mountain until local would-be writer Tom (Paul Bettany) sees her and advises against it. Not knowing a better way to elude a gang looking for her, she begs sanctuary. Tom talks all his skeptical neighbors into keeping mum for a period and then deciding whether to send her away. Grace endears herself to them with chores, and for a while, she and the town brighten up each other. But when authorities under the gang's sway announce that she's wanted for crimes, although she couldn't possibly have committed them, the townsfolk become less content with lying to the law and subsequently make life increasingly hard for Grace.

Lost Highway (1997)

My previous familiarity with David Lynch was actually pretty diverse: The Elephant Man (very good), Blue Velvet (gruesome but admirable), The Straight Story (surprisingly tame and a bit dull), and Dune (bad enough to delay my reading of the book as well as further viewings of Lynch). Lost Highway sounded more bizarre than any of those, more along the lines of another David. Thus, I was both intimidated and intrigued to try it.

The plot is hard to summarize without spoilers, because it takes a while for things to get underway, but I'll go as far as the Netflix jacket: In L.A., night club saxophonist Fred (Bill Pullman) starts to receive strange messages by intercom, phone, or videotape, some of them quite creepy if not seemingly impossible. Then his likely adulterous wife, Renee (Patricia Arquette), gets brutally murdered. Fred doesn't see who did it, but all available evidence points to him, and he gets convicted. Then his story really takes a turn: He metamorphoses into young mechanic Pete (Balthazar Getty).

Reversal of Fortune (1990)

The case depicted herein was before my time. I wasn't even sure at first that the movie was based on a true story. Fortunately, I've since found no indication that it plays fast and loose with the truth, apart from one unimportant detail and one obvious factor I'll go into in a bit.

It starts in 1982, with former oil company consultant Claus von Bülow (Jeremy Irons in his Oscar-winning role) getting convicted of attempting to murder aristocratic wife Sunny (Glenn Close) with insulin shots that left her persistently comatose. Claus hires lawyer and law school professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him for an appeal. Alan persuades his students to aid in research. Neither he nor they really think Claus innocent, but Alan (1) understands the value of defense in the justice system and (2) could use the pay for a different case he's on the verge losing. That said, he knows it's an uphill battle; only the complete destruction of the prosecution's case, not a mere technicality, will allow victory.

The Horse Soldiers (1959)

It had been a while since my last John Wayne picture and longer since my last John Ford picture. As you may have guessed, this gets labeled a western in part, at least on IMDb and Wikipedia. That said, it's set in Mississippi. I'm not even sure that any characters are supposed to be from out west. It just...kinda has that feel to it.

Wayne plays Col. Marlowe of the Union Army, leading a raid deep enough into Confederate territory to worry his men. That does not provide as much internal conflict as his philosophical differences with appointed surgeon Maj. Kendall (William Holden) and would-be leader Col. Secord (William Bouchey). The plot thickens when the brigade seeks hospitality from plantation mistress Hannah (Constance Towers) and slave Lukey (Althea Gibson -- yes, that one), only to find that they would gladly spy on Yankees. Wanting as few kills as possible, Marlowe opts to take both women along.

Shanghai Express (1932)

I hadn't seen a '30s picture in more than half a year. Incidentally, that one also depicted East Asians in a way that wouldn't fly today. But this one was far more esteemed in the West back in the day, nominated for Academy Best Picture, awarded Best Cinematography, and remade twice, with neither remake as successful.

Most of the story does indeed take place on a Chinese train, where more than half the shown passengers are international. Captain Harvey (Clive Brook), British military surgeon, is on his way to operate on the governor-general of Shanghai when he discovers his old flame on board: Madeline (Marlene Dietrich), who's since made a name for herself as "Shanghai Lily." This being pre-Code Dietrich, you can guess her reputation. They're still sorting out how to feel about each other when things go wrong for the train as a whole, thanks to the Chinese Civil War....

Taken (2008)

I had no interest in this flick when it was new. Only after seeing repeated references to it more than a decade later did I think it might be worth my time. Even then, I wasn't exactly eager.

In modern California, Bryan (Liam Neeson) has retired from the CIA, not because he's past his prime but because his job got between him and his family: His wife (Famke Janssen) divorced him, and teen daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) lives with her and a rich stepdad (Xander Berkeley). Kim's love for Bryan is precarious enough that he reluctantly agrees to let her go to Paris with only peer Amanda (Katie Cassidy) for company. But his honed paranoid instinct was right: During Kim's call to him, strangers kidnap her and Amanda. Bryan gets the recorded portion of the call analyzed and learns that the kidnappers belong to a gang of human traffickers lately with a sexual focus, bound to sell their captives who knows where within four days. Obviously, he won't rely on the authorities for that turnaround time....

Onward (2020)

This was probably the only movie I had been planning to see in a theater until the shutdown. I have since consoled myself by recalling how family fare tends to draw noisy kids.

The setting is populated entirely with the folk and fauna of European myths and legends, but the diverse civilization's modern technology has supplanted traditional wizardry, and the thirst for quests has given way to more secure living. On his 16th birthday, suburban elf Ian (Tom Holland) receives a posthumous set of gifts from his father, who died of an unspecified illness before they could meet: a staff, a phoenix gem, and instructions to cast a spell to let Dad materialize for 24 hours. Ian does turn out to possess an innate magical aptitude that his college-age brother, Barley (Chris Pratt), lacks, but something goes wrong with the spell, and only Dad's clad lower half appears, showing signs of intelligence but sensing the world only by touch. Unsatisfied, the brothers drive off with their leashed half-dad to hunt for a second phoenix gem before the next sunset, Ian half-trusting Barley's knowledge from a history-inspired role-playing game to have sufficient basis in their reality.

Metropolitan (1990)

I had not heard of this film until its silver anniversary silver screen re-release. Evidently, I had mixed thoughts on whether to see it; not only did I wait another five years, but I had marked "Not Interested" on Netflix and still had it in my queue.

In Manhattan, an odd confusion leads a group of young adult aristocrats to invite undergraduate stranger Tom to their party. Tom is not rich; he's just rented a tuxedo for a debutante ball, and his feelings about the rich are as mixed as mine were about this viewing. Nevertheless, he goes for it and fits in quite well, making a new set of friends. They even turn out to have a few acquaintances in common already. But the socialites' interactions do have their hurdles (not always involving Tom), especially when it comes to relationships, and sometimes they want to get away from each other.

Hunger (2008)

I knew going in that this would be gloomy. Nevertheless, I was interested to see something directed by Steve McQueen (the British one) other than 12 Years a Slave. He really hasn't done many feature-length films, before or since.

The first spoken line gives a good idea of the plot: "I will not wear the uniform of a criminal." In the early '80s, prisoners in Northern Ireland identifying with the Irish Republican Army want to be officially recognized as political prisoners and given more humane conditions. When the "dirty" protest doesn't work, they resort to -- you guessed it -- a hunger strike.

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Not the 2010 remake. It would take nothing short of a long plane ride with a poor entertainment menu to get me to watch that. Instead, in my quest for a summer-type viewing, I decided not to let Jason and the Argonauts be my only taste of Ray Harryhausen.

Perseus (Harry Hamlin), as a favored mortal bastard son of Zeus (Laurence Olivier), has grown up in peace. But through no fault of his own, sea goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith) has a bone to pick with him. He suddenly finds himself teleported to a kingdom where anyone courting the princess, Andromeda (Judi Bowker), must answer a riddle or burn to death. Already smitten with her, Perseus uses divine material gifts and the help of friends, including poet Ammon (Burgess Meredith), to protect her -- first from her former fiance, Thetis's son Calibos (Neil McCarthy), who forces her to ask the riddles, and then from Thetis's wrath in the form of the Kraken.

Pollyanna (1960)

In the interest of coping with a dark time, I picked the most famously optimistic movie I could think of. OK, all I really knew about it was the reputation of the title character.

The movie deviates a little from the book's setting and doesn't indicate the state or year, but it appears to be New England in the early 1900s. Preteen Pollyanna Whittier (Hayley Mills in her Disney debut) is moderately fortunate for an orphan in that she gets to live in the mansion of her Aunt Polly Harrington (Jane Wyman), but lest you think it a dream come true, the aunt is bigger on making sure the niece acts like a lady than on loving or spoiling her. Furthermore, Polly is effectively the town matriarch, which may explain the local prevalence of bitterness and hostility. But Pollyanna has embraced her late father's insistence on looking on the bright side, and she shows it to everyone she meets.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Just because I can't go to a theater doesn't mean I'm going to spend the whole summer without a typical summer movie! This one may have been the most popular superhero flick I hadn't seen yet, which, at this point, isn't saying much.

Most of the action takes place in 1983, a decade after most of the action in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which came out only two years earlier. The world at large has only recently discovered superpowered mutants, but it turns out that they predate civilization; they just became more common in the last century. One (Oscar Isaac) who would eventually go by "Apocalypse" had reigned as a god-king many times over, destroying nations when he saw fit, but an uprising in ancient Egypt resulted in him being buried and comatose for more than 5,000 years. It's not entirely clear what wakes him -- maybe a cosmic phenomenon or the mysticism of an inexplicable present cult -- but soon after, he decides the whole world is long overdue for a cleansing. No, he doesn't have halfway-noble reasons; he believes that the strong should rule. It doesn't take long for telepathic Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) to notice something's off, but while his school's students and staff are powerful, they haven't been training in combat for some time. They can barely be called X-Men. And the ensuing struggle is nothing to phone in.

Stray Dog (1949)

For my first Akira Kurosawa film in more than a year, I chose one that Kurosawa himself didn't think much of but that has enjoyed plenty of popularity, as well as at least one remake. It also reputedly was a lot of fun for the makers, which I find surprising for such a serious work.

Murakami (young Toshirô Mifune), a novice police detective in the Tokyo homicide division, has just bombed at a shooting range when his day gets worse: A pickpocket on the trolley takes his fully loaded compact pistol. Fearing for his career among other things, he tries to trace the gun himself. When a bullet fired in a crime matches one retrieved from a memorable misfire at his target practice, he asks to team up with a more experienced detective, Satō (Takashi Shimura).

Animal Crackers (2017)

No, that year is not an error; despite U.S. production, this movie was first released in France three years ago, followed by China two years ago, before finally reaching American eyes via Netflix last week. I had heard about it while it was in production, because auteur Scott Christian Sava put his now-concluded webcomic, The Dreamland Chronicles, on hiatus for that purpose. (You can see TDC characters in the Blue Dream Studios logo sequence.) For the same reason, along with a recommendation from a friend, I took interest in AC, which has had probably the poorest overall reception of anything reviewed on this blog but is still getting a lot of Netflix views.

Owen (John Krasinski), nephew of circus owner Buffalo Bob (James Arnold Taylor), sees little choice but to take a lousy factory job in order to appease a CEO (Wallace Shawn) before marrying his daughter Zoe (Emily Blunt, still John's beloved on and off screen). When tragedy strikes the circus, Owen receives a box of what he first takes to be ordinary animal crackers, but eating one magically turns him into the depicted animal and, thankfully, generates his personal human-form cracker to change back. Now he is urged, not least by Zoe and their young daughter (Lydia Rose Taylor), to drum up business for the circus again by performing various animal acts himself. But his other uncle, Horatio (Ian McKellen), who left Bob on bad terms, will stop at nothing to reclaim that success for himself.

Arlington Road (1999)

Hmm, I probably shouldn't have picked two movies in a row in which the FBI doesn't look so good. And it's not like I couldn't tell as much from the Netflix description. Well, at least this time, the agents make honest mistakes, albeit without apology. Also, their role is small enough to omit from the first paragraph of my summary.

In a Virginia town near D.C., Michael (Jeff Bridges) finds fourth-grader Brady Lang (Mason Gamble) badly hurt from a firework mishap. After reaching a hospital in time, he realizes that he hardly knows the Langs despite living across the street and having a son about the same age as Brady, Grant (Spencer Treat Clark). The grateful Lang parents, Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack), seem eager to befriend Michael and his girlfriend, Brooke (Hope Davis). But before long, Michael notes something fishy, and further investigation indicates Oliver's dishonesty. Could he be, y'know, the sort of criminal who can easily inspire a son to experiment with explosives?

Richard Jewell (2019)

When the key events of this story happened, I was 14 and still only so attentive to news sources. I took a little more interest in the story when it came up at the Newseum as an example of controversial reporting. Incidentally, my parents had noticed the problem pretty much right away.

The title character (Paul Walter Hauser) is the 1996 Atlanta Olympics security guard who reports a terrorist's bomb in time to reduce the carnage to two dead and 111 injured. This makes him a celebrity overnight, but the FBI has an obligation to investigate him as a suspect. After Agent Tom Shaw (a composite character played by Jon Hamm) injudiciously leaks this to Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the story spins out of control, making Jewell out to be more and more certain to have planted the bomb for fake heroism. Apparently in response, the FBI regards the prospect all too seriously.

Crimson Tide (1995)

Hmm, my last submarine film viewing wasn't all that long ago. While this is certainly a time to be dwelling on spatial confinement, I really ought to space them a bit more. Nevertheless, these two are about as different as the subgenre allows.

During the Clinton Administration, just because the Cold War is over doesn't mean Russia poses no further military threat to the U.S., particularly when Chechnyan rebels get their hands on nuclear missiles. The crew of the USS Alabama is well aware of this when a Russian sub attacks them. They receive an outside order to preemptively launch ten missiles at the Russian nuclear installation, but a second message is cut short when a torpedo damages the communications equipment. Commanding Officer Ramsey (Gene Hackman) wants to ignore the incomplete transmission, but Executive Officer Hunter (Denzel Washington) insists on waiting as long as possible for clarity: It could be a retraction. Neither man is willing to compromise, and seeing as the wrong decision in either direction could lead to a nuclear holocaust, they vie desperately for control.

Knives Out (2019)

For the first time in about 11 months, I watched what my dad chose to rent. It just so happened to be the last item on my own Netflix queue, whether I had added it most recently or simply moved more recent additions higher up. I could not tell from advertising whether there was anything innovative about the plot or it was simply another facetious whodunit, but its popularity told me to try it.

The morning after his 85th birthday, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), multimillionaire crime novelist and publishing company owner, is found bled out next to a knife in his Massachusetts home. The police are inclined to call it an open-and-shut case of suicide, but at least a few of the many people who'd recently seen him doubt it very much. So does Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), if only because an anonymous source hired him to investigate. The motive for killing a rich old man would be obvious....

Johnny Got His Gun (1971)

I chose this film on the basis of its apparent popularity (mixed across sites) without looking at the subject matter. When I read the Netflix jacket, it sounded like it would become the most depressing movie I'd ever seen. Normally I take a while to give my overall opinion in a review, but this time I might as well tell you up front: I was right. What follows the jump cut is not for the faint of heart.

Watch on the Rhine (1943)

Having watched a movie about Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett, I might as well watch a movie based on a play by Hellman and adapted by Hammett. OK, that wasn't my thought process when I picked it out. More likely I just wanted a vintage Academy Award nominee that wasn't unpopular these days. From the title, I had guessed a war flick, but while it is set during a war, there are no soldiers or battle scenes.

Sara (Bette Davis), an American, is married to Kurt (Paul Lukas), a German. In 1940, they and their three kids take a roundabout trip from Europe to the U.S., paying a visit to the ritzy D.C. home of Sara's mother, Fanny (Lucile Watson), and brother, David (Donald Woods). They confide to their hosts that Kurt has not worked as an engineer lately, because he's been too busy helping resistance against Nazism. Now they hope to find sanctuary, at least for the less politically active family members. But one "friend" of the family, Teck (George Couloris), is liable to find out and tell the wrong people if not given a selfish reason to keep mum.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

I had heard of this movie only from automated suggestions after I watched others directed by Taika Waititi. Perhaps it wasn't shown in theaters in my area. It is from New Zealand, after all, and set there. Since it's rated highly and Waititi had yet to let me down, I gave it a whirl.

Ricky (Julian Dennison), ages 12 to 13 for the story, receives foster care from farmers Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hector (Sam Neill) despite his history of committing misdemeanors and running away. He warms up to Bella, but grumpy "Hec" wants as little to do with him as possible. Bella unexpectedly dies (we never learn how), and child welfare services, doubting Hec's adequacy, wants to take Ricky back to juvie. He runs off into the woods, and Hec tracks him down to ensure his survival. Some unfortunate events, particularly thanks to Ricky's cluelessness, give other people the impression that Hec kidnapped Ricky. A manhunt ensues, with not-so-friendly CWS officer Paula (Rachel House) in especially hot pursuit.

A Whisker Away (2020)

Even with the theaters closed, it'd be a shame for me not to see a 2020 flick until the year was half over. This Netflix suggestion jumped out at me. Its reception varies from strong to middling depending on the site, but a brief plot summary told me to expect cuteness if nothing else.

Japanese high school girl Miyo, nicknamed "Muge" for reasons that don't translate well, has an unsubtle crush on classmate Hinode, but he tends to find her exuberance annoying. Unsatisfied with her situation, she is easily persuaded by a mysterious man she knows only as "the Mask Seller" (despite not charging money) to try out a magic mask that lets her turn into a cat and back at will. In feline form, Muge finds the unsuspecting Hinode much more affectionate toward her, but living a double life is never easy. The Mask Seller, who alternates forms, hopes that she will give up on her human life for good. You can bet he has an ulterior motive.

Fences (2016)

Once again, I saved a Best Picture nominee for last because of familiarity. I read the August Wilson play...oof, at least 16 years ago. It occurred to me that while I remembered a lot of it, some good parts might have slipped my mind. Even if not, I liked it well enough that I wouldn't say no to an unsurprising adaptation.

Sometime in the '50s, Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington, also directing) is an illiterate former Negro League player turned Pittsburgh trash collector, who resents that baseball didn't get integrated until too late for him. His experience shapes his view of the present sports scene, and he insists that teen son Cory (Jovan Adepo) not bank on a career in football. Troy exhibits an overall pattern of acting like nobody struggles as much as he does. His egocentrism leads to family tensions, not least when he cheats on wife Rose (Viola Davis).

The Rose Tattoo (1955)

Well, what do you know: I didn't shy away from another adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play. Perhaps its Academy nomination for Best Picture told me to give it a try.

In small-town Mississippi, immigrant seamstress Serafina (Anna Magnani) copes especially poorly for three years following sudden widowhood and miscarriage. After hearing a rumor of late husband Rosario's infidelity, she has a public breakdown. Trucker Alvaro (Burt Lancaster) takes her home, and the two gradually fall in love. But Serafina still has enough pride to worry about people learning of them, especially her teen daughter, Rosa (Marisa Pavan), whose budding relationship with a sailor (Ben Cooper) has been met with strict maternal suspicion.

Little Women (2019)

I saved this for last among 2019 Academy Best Picture nominees because I had already seen the 1994 adaptation twice, albeit long ago. I was not very fond of that one, leaving me of two minds about seeing the reputedly best version.

For those who aren't up on the Louisa May Alcott classic literature, the title characters are four sisters in 1860s Massachusetts, traditionally supposed to spend much of the story as teens (and one briefly a tween) but herein played strictly by twenty-somethings. From oldest to youngest, they are Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlon), and Amy (Florence Pugh). Jo gets the most focus, being an aspiring author with little regard for contemporary gender expectations, including marriage. More broadly, the sisters struggle with poverty, what with their father (Bob Odenkirk) away at war and neither any of them nor their mother (Laura Dern) in a good position to make money. They also face scarlet fever, a harsh teacher, and jealousy, not least with regard to the generosity and affection of comely male neighbor Laurie (Timothée Chalamet).

The Money Pit (1986)

I am definitely watching more movies with mediocre receptions lately. Maybe I'm more open to the possibility of being among the few fans. Maybe just seeing titles again and again without knowing much about them wears on me. I'm sure the convenience of streaming has something to do with it.

How silly of me to think that this title implied a pit that provides money. Instead, it refers to a superficially beautiful mansion that Walter (Tom Hanks) and girlfriend Anna (Shelley Long) buy for "merely" $200K up front, only to find that they'll have to go still deeper in debt for much-needed repairs.

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

In the 1980 Sam Shepherd play True West, aspiring screenwriter Lee calls this the last great western, but his description makes it sound awkward if not ridiculous. When I noticed that the movie was popular anyway, I decided to find out whether he was accurate or just foolish as usual.

In modern New Mexico, cowhand Jack (Kirk Douglas) deliberately goes to jail in order to bust out a friend, Paul (Michael Kane), only to find that Paul would rather stay. Jack breaks loose within the day and flees to the mountains on horseback while authorities, most notably Sheriff Johnson (Walter Matthau), hunt him.

Operation Petticoat (1959)

A common problem for war movies is a shortage of female characters. Maybe that's a reason I thought to check out this one, where female presence is a key plot point. Of course, the year of release wasn't promising for a good depiction thereof.

When a World War II U.S. Navy submarine, the Sea Tiger, gets blown up in a Pacific harbor before it can ever participate in battle, LCDR Sherman (an arguably too old Cary Grant) badly wants it rebuilt. He gets a mixed blessing in new LT Holden (Tony Curtis), who is highly irregular and good at stealing, generally to the undersupplied crew's benefit. Things are already pretty comedic for the barely functional sub before the real awkwardness begins, when Holden rescues five stranded U.S. Army nurses. (We're told the Sea Tiger was their only hope, but we have to ignore ships in the background.) Never mind the old sailor superstition that women on ships spell bad luck; how can Sherman hope to maintain any discipline?

A Woman's Face (1941)

Once again, George Cukor directs an MGM feature with a feminine focus in the title and a nasty role for Joan Crawford. This one has a tighter plot and is set in Sweden, thanks to the play on which it's based. (OK, I'm having trouble finding good info on the play, but there was a Swedish adaptation in 1938.)

Blackmail ringleader Anna (Crawford) has spent most of her life with burn scars on the right half of her face, aversions to fire and mirrors, and misanthropy, especially toward beautiful people, tho she makes an exception for seductive Torsten (Conrad Veidt). When she unexpectedly meets a great and charitable plastic surgeon, Gustaf (Melvyn Douglas)...well, see how Crawford usually looked on screen in those days. Anna's a lot less bitter once people admire her appearance, but wickedness doesn't dry up overnight, especially if you've been keeping wicked company. In particular, Torsten hopes she still has what it takes to serve as a governess to his four-year-old nephew, Lars-Erik (Richard Nichols), only to bump him off to secure Torsten a bigger inheritance from Uncle Magnus (Albert Bassermann).

Barfi! (2012)

Can you tell this is a foreign title? It's one of the most off-putting I've read since the Barf detergent brand. But as the exclamation point suggests, this is partly a comedy, so the distaste may be deliberate.

The protagonist (Ranbir Kapoor) is officially named Murphy, but since he's always been deaf, he can't speak well, hence the nickname. Raised only by his impoverished father, Jung (Akash Khurana), he has had little discipline and keeps getting in trouble with the police, particularly Inspector Dutta (Saurabh Shukla). He and the beautiful Shruti (Ileana D'Cruz) fall for each other, but her parents disapprove and she sticks with a preexisting engagement, only to find him popping up in her life again and again. When Jung needs expensive medical care, he hopes to collect a ransom on his wealthy childhood friend, Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra), who has autism and a crush on him.

DragonHeart (1996)

I half-surprised myself with this choice. The movie didn't tempt me even when new (and I was more in the target age range), and it's not particularly esteemed or widely discussed. Nevertheless, it won some lesser-known awards, it's had enough of a cult following for multiple sequels, and a late online acquaintance of mine used the dragon's face as an icon. Besides, I felt like watching a dragon.

In an alternate medieval England, an English-speaking dragon with a name unpronounceable to humans (the only voice role I've known for Sean Connery), who later answers to Draco, donates half his heart to save newly crowned young King Einon (David Thewlis) from a lethal wound, on the condition that Einon stick to the old code of honor in contrast to his despotic dad. Alas, all he took to, eheh, heart from mentor Sir Bowen (Dennis Quaid) was sword fighting, so he becomes no kinder a king. Since Bowen hadn't noticed this side of his charge before, he mistakenly assumes that Draco corrupted Einon and swears to kill every dragon he can.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

I took this long to get to this Academy Best Picture nominee because, apart from the DVD wait time, it sounded predictable. Another auto race flick, and judging from respective reputations, I could guess who won by virtue of underdog status. Still, it is nonfiction, however loaded with anachronisms and other errors, and has two highly watchable leads.

In the 1960s, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) is furious that his company has become something of a laughingstock. Who should answer his demand for a good idea but Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal), who taps former champion racer turned auto company founder Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to design a car that might break Enzo Ferrari's (Remo Girone) winning streak at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Shelby makes controversial, job-threatening decisions in this effort, not least in insisting that the main tester and racer be broke mechanic Ken Miles (Christian Bale, in one of the few times I've heard him act with a British accent), who is excellent on both counts but hard to work with.

Death on the Nile (1978)

Only after watching did I become aware that another adaptation of the Agatha Christie book is coming out this year. This information does not make me regret my choice; if anything, it makes me gladder. If the remake is reputedly good, I'll be in a fine position to compare both versions.

I was particularly interested in seeing how, besides the exact setting and vehicle, the story differs from Murder on the Orient Express, which I both read and saw the 1974 movie of. Once again, famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov herein) must figure out which of many passengers committed murder in transit. The first obvious difference is that DotN, at least in this version, doesn't have any death until about halfway in. Before that, we get pretty well acquainted with the guests, whose actors include Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, David Niven, Maggie Smith, and Angela Lansbury. Poirot does, too, observing them slyly as if he fully expects a murder. Hey, detectives should pick up on patterns in their own lives.

Parasite (2019)

I don't normally put off Best Picture Oscar winners. My main reason for doing so this time was that it sounded thrilling enough for me to reserve for October. On further reflection, it hardly seemed a horror. By then, I had to wait out the Netflix disc availability lag.

In modern South Korea, the impoverished Kim family discovers a golden opportunity to become servants -- the father a chauffeur, the mother a housekeeper, the son a tutor, and the daughter an art therapist -- for the affluent Park family. Since the Parks would be unlikely to hire four people they knew to be related, the Kims pose as strangers to each other, in addition to faking their expertise. The charade works masterfully. But when the Parks go on vacation, the Kims discover they're not the only, well, parasitic presence in the mansion. There comes a conflict of interest, and the only perceived way to avoid prosecution involves potentially lethal force.

Frozen II (2019)

I had planned to see this in a theater but put it off too long. Maybe I was too afraid it would be...not bad, but far below its predecessor, which I loved. It did get pretty mixed reviews. Still, I doubted that Missing Link deserved a Best Animated Feature nomination more. Maybe one piece set in 19th-century snowy Scandinavia was the Academy's limit.

A few years after the last events of Frozen, things have cooled down, as it were, in the pseudo-Norwegian kingdom of Arendelle. Not much has been happening for our heroes, except that Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) has had trouble proposing to Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), while her older sister, Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), despite getting to be sociable again, retains a life dissatisfaction apparently connected to her growing ice powers -- which helps explain why, when only she can hear a mysterious distant singing voice, she warms up to the idea of following it. Her pursuit leads to something out of an account she heard from her dad (Alfred Molina) in childhood, involving agitated spirits of the classical elements who threaten both Arendelle and the pseudo-Norwegian Northuldra tribe. At the advice of a troll elder (Ciarán Hinds), she sets out for an enchanted forest for a solution, accompanied by Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf the living snowman (Josh Gad).

Legends of the Fall (1994)

No, it has nothing to do with The Fall. Reportedly, the title refers to the biblical Fall, but I'd hardly know from the movie itself: The characters aren't particularly religious and never say anything about the events of Genesis. Maybe the relevance is clearer in the Jim Harrison novella from which this is adapted.

The Netflix description makes it sound primarily like a war movie, but that's only for the first act. In 1914, Montana rancher William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), despite having served as a colonel, is disillusioned with the government and doesn't want his three sons to fight in World War I, but Samuel (Henry Thomas) and Alfred (Aidan Quinn) insist. Tristan (Brad Pitt) feels obliged to come along to protect Samuel, not least for the sake of Samuel's intended, Susannah (Julia Ormond). Since Netflix hinted as much, I might as well tell you he fails. The rest of the story is shaped by this failure.

The In-Laws (1979)

For a picture I'd barely heard of, this was apparently pretty influential. It got a remake, it inspired Marlon Brando to work with writer Andrew Bergman, it appeared among Premiere's 50 favorite comedies, and someone on a forum I attend linked to a clip of the "serpentine" scene. That scene alone didn't make me want to watch, but there was enough popularity to give it a try.

Oddly enough, the main characters, who are not in-laws until the end, become a type you can't easily designate with one hyphenated term: fathers of the spouses. The bride's dad, Sheldon (Alan Arkin), is a New York dentist. The groom's dad, Vince (Peter Falk), does secretive work that requires frequent travel. They've barely met before Vince desperately requests Sheldon's naive help in picking up a hidden package. Soon the truth emerges: Vince works for the CIA, but what he's doing right now isn't exactly government sanctioned. Or safe even for an unwitting aid.

The Stranger (1946)

Finally, another true oldie! Not to mention my first Orson Welles movie in more than two years. He wasn't completely persona non grata in Hollywood yet, so he's not the only star of note here. More importantly from a historical perspective, this was his one immediate box office hit, tho Welles himself liked it least.

Franz Kindler (Welles) may have been the Nazi Party's best-kept secret, a Holocaust architect who always avoided the limelight, so the UN War Crimes Commission has little idea what to look for. Commission member Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) makes the irregular move of setting loose condemned "smaller fish" Konrad Meinike (Konstantin Shayne) and tailing him. Meinike flees to a small Connecticut town, discovers Wilson, and knocks him out before meeting Kindler, who now masquerades as seemingly American teacher Charles Rankin and will soon wed a Mary Longstreet (Loretta Young). To stop the trail cold, Kindler kills Meinike in the woods and buries him, however shallowly. When Wilson comes to, he finds his mission a little harder than he'd hoped.

Pain and Glory (2019)

Ah, my first Pedro Almodóvar viewing in five years. It's also easily his most recent film that I've seen, with 2006's Volver a distant second. Given that P&G draws inspiration from the writer-director's own life, according to an interview on the DVD, I can guess why he hasn't directed much of note in between.

Scenes jump around among the '60s, the '80s, and what I take to be roughly the present, but always in Spain. As a kid (Asier Flores), Salvador "Salva" Mallo is quite the achiever, but he lives in a backwater village of caves, and his mother (Penélope Cruz) and father (Raúl Arévalo) see the seminary as his only affordable means of education, much to his chagrin. As an adult (Antonio Banderas), he becomes a film director, but I wouldn't say he's any happier. Certainly not by the time he has a ton of illnesses at once, the rarest and most serious of which makes it hard for him to swallow even liquids.

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)

After my rave about the 2015 outing, I pretty much had to see this soon. Even if it meant reviewing three British movies in a row, each made in a successive year ending with 9.

A flying saucer descends pretty close to Mossy Bottom Farm, with one frightened human witness to its landing site and the solo pilot's emergence. As luck would have it, the alien, Lu-La, comes to the farm and is discovered by Shaun, who lets the other sheep in on her(?) but hides her from the farmer and his dog, Bitzer. The farmer does notice rumors of a UFO and decides to cash in by directing his animals to construct a crude theme park. The sheep cover for Shaun as he and Lu-La sneak out, trying to get her home before the Ministry of Alien Detection, led by a grimly determined Agent Red and a beleaguered WALL-E-like robot, stops her.

Pirate Radio (2009)

This is one of the few movies I saw because of a poster. It's not an especially well-done image, but it did get me curious. Even when I'd learned little more than the very different original homeland title, The Boat That Rocked, I wanted to give it a try. The facts that I didn't notice anyone talking about it and that it fared poorly at the box office made little difference to me.

In the late '60s, BBC Radio won't meet the demand for rock music, so a broad swath of the public turns to unlicensed stations playing from ships at sea. (So that's how both titles work!) The story follows the people at one station in particular, uncreatively dubbed "Radio Rock." They have their various episodes, but the main conflict concerns ongoing government efforts to shut them down.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Once again, nobody had recommended this flick to me, broadly or personally. Nor was I interested back when it came out, if only because I hadn't really "discovered" James Bond yet. But after some pretty depressing viewings in a depressing period, I wanted to return to a franchise that usually avoided such a feeling -- pre-reboot, anyway. Disappointment was still possible, of course.

In the off chance that you're interested in the plot, it begins with James (Pierce Brosnan) stealing back the cash of old millionaire Sire Robert King (David Calder), only to realize too late that the thieves wanted him to take it back in order to trigger a subtle death trap. King was funding an extensive Southwest Asian oil pipeline that rivals would want to sabotage, so M (Dame Judi Dench) assigns James to stay close to King's daughter, Elektra (Sophie Marceau). We all know how close James likes to get to a beautiful woman, but he may get more than he bargained for....

Joker (2019)

I put this off for a bit in part because a fellow cinephile made it sound extra depressing. Then again, he had also said that No Country for Old Men was the most depressing film he'd seen, and I largely shrugged it off. Perhaps it was best to go in expecting the worst. And having seen several episodes of Gotham.

In early '80s Gotham City, when Bruce Wayne still has his parents but already seems sullen, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a professional clown of no repute, hopes in vain to move on to stand-up. Life has not been good to him or his mother (Frances Conroy) lately. Or ever, reportedly. As he deals with one hostile jerk after another (was Gotham ever not a hellhole?) -- including Bruce's father (Brett Cullen), to whom Arthur has a connection I never dreamed of -- he comes to see lethal violence and an extremely unorthodox sense of humor as coping mechanisms.

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

I think I had two main reasons to put this on my queue: The Academy nominated it for Best Picture, and the early '70s were a good time for dramas. Of course, it wasn't so good if you wanted a happy ending. And once I realized who the title characters were, an unhappy ending was a foregone conclusion.

You don't need to be well versed in history to recall that Nicholas II (Michael Jayston) was the last tsar of Russia. This movie begins in 1904 with him and his wife (Janet Suzman) welcoming a son after four daughters. That may be the last time we see them both happy, and it's not for long, as they learn of little Alexei's hemophilia -- terrible news for anyone and all the worse for an heir apparent to the throne, whom the public should not see as fragile. Little do they know how moot that point is, thanks to growing unrest in the empire. For the next nine years, Alexandra entrusts her son's health to the mysticism of Grigori Rasputin (Tom Baker of Doctor Who fame), without her husband's approval.

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Just as I thought, this is the earliest western I've reviewed on this blog. I thought wrong about it being a sequel, tho.

In an unspecified state and decade, the fictitious town of Bottleneck is a regular Dodge City, where men frequently fire guns in the air when celebrating -- and at each other when slightly provoked. It's an open secret that Mayor Slade (Samuel S. Hinds) is in the pocket of Kent (Brian Donlevy), who's been gathering land thru swindles and force; and Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich), whose wiles help beau Kent with crimes. When Bottleneck abruptly needs a new sheriff, Slade appoints former deputy turned town drunkard Washington Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). But Dimsdale, nostalgic for the late Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Destry, summons Tom Destry Jr. (James Stewart, playing a Jefferson twice in the same year) to be his deputy, hoping to turn things around.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

All I recalled learning of this one was that my mom had seen it and reported that people in India apparently know how to put on lavish parties. I didn't need her to tell me that India favors spectacle. Still, it sounded potentially interesting.

Don't read too much into the title: While rain eventually falls, it doesn't affect the plot. Or rather the four or five plots, which might constitute a metaphorical monsoon. The overarching theme is preparation for the New Delhi wedding of Aditi (Vasundhara Das) and Hemant (Parvin Dabas), neither of whom seems to mind that it's an arranged marriage, tho Aditi needs to remind herself why she didn't go another route. That lack of concern may be just as well, because there are enough other concerns flying around, starting with the price of the celebration, which mainly worries Aditi's dad, Lalit (Naseeruddin Shah).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

I realize this is neither modern nor widely regarded as a classic, but I've encountered just enough references to it that I thought to educate myself. Besides, after some of the rather ugly films I'd seen recently, a G movie seemed up my alley.

In 1920s England, eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke, no longer even attempting a British accent) has trouble looking after his eight-year-old twins, Jeremy (Adrian Hall) and Jemima (Heather Ripley), as candy magnate heiress Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes) discovers upon almost running them over. Despite her and the Pottses getting off on the wrong foot, Truly soon finds the kids endearing and encourages Caractacus to pursue his more promising ideas. Once he get enough money, he buys the kids' beloved scrapyard car, which had won races in the aughts, and refurbishes it into a surprisingly nifty vehicle, named for its distinctive sound. As he gives the kids and Truly a ride, Truly feels more like a member of the family....

I Lost My Body (2019)

The announcement of Academy Award nominations was the first I'd heard of this Netflix-adopted feature. I didn't bother to learn much about it in advance. The title told me to expect drama, and I knew it was foreign if not French.

Oddly enough, the "I" of the title refers to an entity incapable of verbal communication: a severed right hand that has mysteriously taken on a life of its own. (This isn't a backstory for the Addams Family's Thing; the skin's too dark.) Retaining more than just muscle memory, it sneaks out of a lab fridge in search of the rest of its body, a young man named Naoufel (Dev Patel in the English dubbing). Scattered throughout the movie are flashbacks in the life of Naoufel, the early ones appearing in black and white, often with a camera focus on his hand.

Swimming to Cambodia (1987)

Yes, already another movie that's partly about war in southeast Asia, but that's about where the similarity ends. I previously mentioned this one as a predecessor to Monster in a Box, so I knew it would be nearly all monologue, with comic elements, and therefore not half as disturbing.

The overarching theme of Spalding Gray's anecdotes herein concerns the making of The Killing Fields, in which he got sixth billing as the unnamed U.S. consul. But once again, the unity is rather loose. He talks about what he did in Thailand between shots, what he did back in Manhattan, and the history of the Cambodian War.

Fires on the Plain (1959)

The only movie I'd previously seen directed (not associate-directed) by Kon Ichikawa was The Burmese Harp. As war flicks go, it's pretty gentle. This one notoriously isn't.

We can tell from the very first scene that there won't be a happy ending: The protagonist, WWII Private Tamura (Eiji Funakoshi), has TB, but the only accessible hospital on the Philippine island of Leyte is too full to take anyone who can still walk. Nor is he welcome back at his company in this condition. An officer orders him to grenade himself if he can't get treatment, but when he comes to that bridge, he decides to wander instead. Alas, by the end, he may wish he'd followed the order.

For Sama (2019)

It's not often that I watch inherently tragic documentaries, no matter how honored they are. In this case, I accepted a Meetup invitation to see it in a theater. That meant more immersion, but at least I wouldn't feel alone in bearing it.

Made with a home movie camera and a few clips apparently from surveillance cameras, FS begins its story in 2011, when the then-18-year-old videographer, going by Waad Al-Kateab (her real name is not public information), attended the University of Aleppo. If that city name rings a bell, you should have a good idea what the focal conflict is. Waad's narration partly addresses her toddler daughter, Sama, to whom she wants to explain why their family didn't escape sooner and why they had a baby at all in a setting like that.

City for Conquest (1940)

Already another mid-20th-century drama with an alliterative title in the "X for Y" format, based on a book, with Anthony Quinn in a supporting role. But that's about where the similarity ends.

Truck driver Danny (James Cagney), from a New York slum, resumes boxing to pay for the musical education of his ambitious brother, Eddie (Arthur Kennedy in his debut). He does a great job of it, but sometimes he has trouble keeping his emotions in check, especially when girlfriend Peggy (Ann Sheridan) has less time for him while advancing her dance career under wannabe boyfriend Murray (Quinn). And when people are betting good money on fights, you can bet that criminal elements will come into play....

Lust for Life (1956)

To honor the late Kirk Douglas (again), I selected one of his most popular movies that I hadn't seen yet. Only after it arrived did I realize that it was about Vincent Van Gogh, a notoriously unhappy soul who died of violence, making this my most questionable postmortem viewing since The Fisher King in the wake of Robin Williams. Then again, Douglas did tend to play unhappy souls, many of whom died of violence, so maybe this was appropriate.

The story begins with Vincent's attempt to follow in his father's Dutch Reformed ministerial footsteps. In tending poor miner families at considerable cost to himself, he garners the ironic scorn of clerical elders. Alas, he decides it's not the life for him, and after discovering Impressionism, he decides to jump on the Post-Impressionist bandwagon. Drawing and later painting seem to him the only fulfilling experiences, but not consistently. As a then-little-known novice, he needs the support of brother Theo (James Donald), cousin-in-law Anton Mauve (Noel Purcell), and postman Joseph Roulin (Niall MacGinnis) to make ends meet.

Marriage Story (2019)

Seeing fewer than half the Best Picture nominees has not prevented me from appreciating certain Academy Awards ceremonies, but I still got the urge to squeeze in a fifth out of nine this year. Since there's a wait on the DVDs and I didn't find showtimes convenient, it had to be the only Netflix original other than The Irishman. While MS is popular overall, I had been warned that some dislike it, and there seemed a likely reason it was the only nominee I hadn't heard of before the nominations were announced.

Don't let the title and poster fool you: It should be called Divorce Story. It begins with theater director Charlie (Adam Driver) and actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson again) listing what they love about each other -- to a counselor as they prepare to separate gradually. At first their split is pretty much amicable, but Nicole backs down from a decision not to get lawyers involved. Soon there's a battle for custody of their circa six-year-old son, Henry (Azhy Robertson), made more difficult because Nicole intends to stay in Los Angeles instead of their old haunt, New York City.

Somewhere in Time (1980)

I had never seen Christopher Reeve in any non-Superman movie except The Remains of the Day, where his role was too minor for my synopsis. Indeed, no other titles in his filmography rang a bell for me, not counting TV shows and lesser remakes. So I opted to check out a cult classic from early in his career.

Chicago playwright Richard Collier (Reeve) is approached by an unfamiliar old woman (Susan French) who hands him an antique watch, implores, "Come back to me," and leaves without explanation. Years later, on a whim, he checks into a Michigan hotel and sees a photo of her as a young adult (Jane Seymour). Obsessed with her beauty, he does research and learns that she, now dead, was Elise McKenna, an actress once quite famous but with little known of her private life. Richard recalls a theory of time travel and implements it in order to court Elise in 1912, when she was a guest at the hotel.

Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)

If not for the Looney Tunes short "Porky's Movie Mystery," I probably would have overlooked the Mr. Moto series while perusing the filmography of Peter Lorre. It certainly hasn't stood the test of time; even Charlie Chan has enjoyed more recent references. Nevertheless, I rather like Lorre and was curious to see how he'd do. MMM appeared to be the most popular entry available.

The opening, in which secret agent Kentaro Moto and one Paul Brissac (Leon Ames) escape Devil's Island, is pretty exciting but must affect viewers differently depending how well they know the former. Sure enough, Moto is not an actual convict; he merely poses as one with cooperation from some authorities so that he can learn the identities of an entire ring of hit men. Brissac goes to London and takes Moto in as a houseboy, but not everyone in the ring is so trusting.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

In my rush to see more Academy nominees, I once again chose what was playing at a good time and was not a remake. I went in thinking, "Well, the title suggests a lighthearted comedy...but it's about Nazism? This isn't the Mel Brooks era." When I saw the name Taika Waititi, I understood. Turns out he wrote the screenplay back before What We Do in the Shadows.

In 1945 Germany, ten-year-old Johannes (Roman Griffin Davis) avidly joins the Hitler Youth, but his refusal to kill a rabbit at boot camp earns him the titular mocking nickname. In his attempt to make up for it with awesomeness, he wounds himself enough to be relegated to non-combat work near his urban home. One day, he discovers Jewish late teen Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding in a secret passage within his house, but he doesn't dare tell anyone, partly because his abetting mother, Rosie (Scarlet Johansson), would get in serious trouble. (I'm not sure why Elsa persuades him not to tell even Rosie.) For the sake of knowing the enemy better, "Jojo" demands that Elsa share information on Jews in general, to be put into an illustrated book. You can guess how his mind changes during research.

Winter Sleep (2014)

Oof, already another movie longer than three hours—196 minutes, to be exact. I hadn't paid attention to that when I arranged the order; I just saw the word "winter" and gave the title priority. At least this time I wised up and split the viewing over two days.

This must be the first Turkish film I've ever seen. Set in modern Anatolia, it follows a handful of people, primarily Aydin, a onetime actor turned columnist, hotelier, and landlord. In the course of one winter in the mountain region, he discovers just how much of a pain he is to certain tenants; his sister under the same roof, Necla; and his much younger fundraising wife, Nihal. Apparently, it all comes down to him being hard to please.

The Irishman (2019)

I knew I wasn't going to love this. Martin Scorsese fare is rarely even moderately enjoyable to me. But it is one of the most championed contenders for Academy Best Picture this year, and as a Netflix original, it's already available for streaming. I started early in the evening, because at 209 minutes, it's the longest mainstream feature in decades.

Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a Philadelphia trucker, gets into '50s organized crime, including "painting houses" with the blood of the homeowners, despite quiet disapproval by his wife and daughter (played in adulthood by Anna Paquin). After helping him escape a charge, his defense attorney (Ray Romano) introduces him to crime lord Russell Buffalino (an oddly placid Joe Pesci), who in turn connects him with Teamsters Union pres Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Sheeran and Hoffa stay close for about 20 years, which is not a particularly good thing when the latter is infamous....

Aquaman (2018)

Mixed reviews kept me uncertain whether I would watch this—until I read a circa-New Year's column about the most important silver-screen superheroes of the last decade. Aquaman was the only one I hadn't seen in any movie. Anyway, this season isn't big on new superhero pics, so now seemed like the best time to catch up.

In this version, the title character (Jason Momoa), a.k.a. Arthur Curry, is the son of Maine lighthouse keeper Tom (Temuera Morrison) and Queen Atlanna of Atlantis (Nicole Kidman), Tom having rescued her when she fled an arranged betrothal. Arthur may be the world's only such cross, since most people have no idea that those who sank with the ancient city survived via advanced technology and have descendants to this day. His hybrid nature and mostly unsubmerged upbringing do nothing to hinder his Atlantean powers, which he studied under vizier Vulko (Willem Dafoe) and uses primarily to be humanity's high-seas hero of legend, but many Atlanteans think less of him for those reasons as well as his unlawful origin. He doesn't want the throne of Atlantis anyway, until the sympathetic Princess Mera (Amber Heard) urges him to try to take it because his half-brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), is about to launch a war against the "surface dwellers."

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019)

Ah, Quentin Tarantino, one of the directors I have the most mixed feelings about. As a rule, I take his name as a warning yet find his movies pretty good, if typically overrated. Why make this the second Best Picture nominee I see for the year? Well, it happened to be showing at a convenient time for me, I didn't trust either parent to want to watch with me, and I'd already watched the 1994 adaptation of Little Women twice.

Set chiefly in 1969, OUaTiH follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series; and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his buddy and former stunt double. The biggest contrast between them is in how they handle the decline of their careers: Rick cries at the realization of it and then struggles to recover, but Cliff is content to have become something of a butler to him. Also, Rick hates hippies while Cliff takes an interest in one of them—until he discovers just how unruly she and her friends are. They are the Manson Family....

1917 (2019)

It was high time I saw one of the latest nominees for Best Picture. OK, I saw this the day before they were announced, but the hype suggested it would make the cut. I didn't let the name Sam Mendes put me off, partly because war movies tend to bring out another side of directors. And usually do well.

The plot is almost deceptively easy to summarize: In France, English lance corporals Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Will Schofield (George MacKay) are assigned to deliver orders from General Erinmore (Colin Firth) to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) to call off a scheduled attack, because new intel indicates a trap. Unfortunately, thanks to severed phone lines, this delivery requires trekking through land that the Germans haven't entirely abandoned -- or left hospitable.

John Carter (2012)

I saw half of this on a plane and forgot most of it. You'd think that would be the end of my experience, but an acquaintance has insisted that the flick was underrated, thanks chiefly to a poor marketing campaign. Granted, dropping "of Mars" from the title was a big mistake: You should never try to hide your genre to draw in unsuspecting viewers, especially with something as bland as a common name. So when I had time to kill, I decided to stream the whole thing and judge whether I had been simply too jet-lagged to appreciate it before.

Most of the story is told in flashback as A Princess of Mars author Edgar Rice Burroughs himself (Daryl Sabara) reads the account of his uncle, former Confederate captain John Carter of Virginia (Taylor Kitsch). In 1868, Carter's search for gold leads him to alien technology, with which he unwittingly sends himself to Mars or, as the inhabitants call it, Barsoom. Being built for stronger gravity, he can leap farther and punch harder than either the green Martians, called Tharks, or the more human red Martians. Thark leader Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), tho relatively friendly, wants to coerce him into being a personal champion, against the wishes of ambitious Tal Hajus (Thomas Haden Church). Red Martian princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) can think of a more pressing need for Carter's services: stopping Sab Than (Dominic West), another Red Martian leader, from conquering her city.

Underworld (1927)

Since my last silent viewing was a year and a half ago, I decided to give this priority. It would also help me get a better sense of director Josef von Sternberg, having seen four of his movies before. This was the surprise hit that formed his comeback and advanced a bunch of other careers, and Luis Buñuel named it his favorite flick overall.

An erudite yet drunken ex-lawyer (Clive Brook) expresses recognition of "Bull" Weed (George Bancroft) as the latter leaves a nighttime bank robbery. Bull threatens him, but the drunk declares himself "a Rolls Royce of silence," thereafter going by "Rolls Royce." Intrigued, Bull gives him a custodial job at a seedy bar and becomes fonder of him when he stands up to bully and Bull rival "Buck" Mulligan (Fred Kohler). After that, Rolls becomes an urbane butler of sorts for Bull, keeping his own hands clean while helping with the criminal ideas, at least when it stands to spell bad news for Buck. But Bull comes to realize that he shouldn't leave his moll "Feathers" (Evelyn Brent) alone with Rolls for long. And he's not at all sure that Feathers or Rolls will be there for him if he gets caught....

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

As I predicted, I got around to seeing a second adaptation of the same Patricia Highsmith novel. I'm glad I waited, because I could no longer remember much of what happened before. Nevertheless, looking back over my review of Purple Noon, I noticed a number of differences, some of which reportedly hew closer to the source material.

In the '50s, a New York shipping magnate (James Rebhorn) mistakes master of fakery Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) for a former classmate of rebellious son Dickie (Jude Law) and hires him to fetch Dickie from a prodigal life in Italy. Tom becomes a friendly third wheel to Dickie and girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow) but soon reveals his mission, which he utterly fails. This does not end Tom's welcome in Dickie's eyes, but when that does run out, the two have a physical fight and Tom kills him. Tom begins telling earlier acquaintances that Dickie is away somewhere and telling later acquaintances that he is Dickie. Offhand, I'd say it's his hardest con job yet. It could be funny if it weren't deadly serious.

The Secret Life of Words (2005)

I had an unusual reason for moving this to the top of my queue: At some point, I had rated it accidentally, never having seen it. Netflix, alas, doesn't allow removal of ratings, only re-rating. Well, worse things have come of accidents. Besides, Pedro Almodóvar produced it, and I hadn't seen any of his work in five years.

In Northern Ireland, unsociable nurse Hanna (Sarah Polley) never has a day off until her employer, under union pressure, orders her to take a month's paid vacation. Instead of heading to a tropical island as suggested, when she overhears in public about trouble finding a nurse for an emergency at an offshore oil rig, she offers her services. The patient, Josef (Tim Robbins), got badly burned and temporarily blinded. In the face of his persistent attempts to break the ice, she gradually opens up to him like she has to no one this side of therapist Inge (Julie Christie).

PK (2014)

Gosh, more than year has passed since my last Bollywood viewing. I attribute this mainly to my reluctance to watch longer movies. Indeed, I chose PK in part because it's "only" 153 minutes.

A space alien (A-lister Aamir Khan) who looks fully human, albeit with protruding ears and almost constantly wide eyes, takes a solo trip to India for peaceful research purposes. Before long, someone snatches his fancy necklace, which is really the remote to summon his spaceship. It's not clear how long he had planned to be away from the ship, but he soon grows desperate, partly because he has almost nothing else. He adopts the nickname "PK," because it sounds like the Hindi word for "tipsy," which he is frequently accused of being. The second main character, fledgling anchorwoman Jaggu (Anushka Sharma), notices PK when he passes out fliers saying, "Missing: God." Her boss is leery about covering stories that could provoke religious anger, but she's simply too interested in his unique perspective on the subject.