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.