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Tim Conway

RIP 1933 - 2019 85 yrs old

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Call me by Your Name

Starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet

Set in the early 1980’s Italy, we are given a glimpse into what was a forbidden love story of the time.

This family we are introduced to often summers in Italy where the father is an archaeologist cataloguing data.  The character Elio, the 17 year old son, played by Timothee Chalamet, must give up his own room for the intern, Oliver, a 24 year old, played by Armie Hammer, who is hired by the father, and subsequently share close quarters for the summer.

The audience catches on early to the attraction between the two main characters, Elio and Oliver. Their playful friendship is kept at bay throughout most of the movie, as Oliver flirts with women and is clearly portraying himself as a “macho” type of man of the time. However, Elio is uncomfortable with this attraction between them, and the attention Oliver occasionally gives him. The apparent sexual tension is so great between these two characters, we are hopeful they do find each other in the end.

The romance between Oliver and Elio dominates the movie’s theme and is played by the actors with such indubitable feeling that we are drawn in to “root” for them. Armie Hammer plays the role of Oliver with such sincerity I believe he will win the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting role, Golden Globes 2017.

I loved this movie and was very surprised at the “romantic” quality and depth it went into the reality of the time and the not yet universal acceptance of the love between two men. It is a very sexy movie, without being pornographic, my opinion.

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Back to the movies!  

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Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961

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Darkest Hour- movie review

Gary Oldman’s performance was so stellar, he carries this movie all on his own.  Having said that, the rest of the movie is so good, I felt transformed into early WWII London.

The Darkest Hour takes place during WWII before the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, America was not yet in the fight, with a peace agreement which prevented Roosevelt from assisting Churchill!  England had no allies fighting in the war, worthy of the help they needed during this very dark hour.

Winston Churchill was one of the greatest Prime Ministers Great Britain has ever had. This was said by Queen Elizabeth herself, who has seen 12 come and go.

This movie captures a short time when Great Britain was truly in it’s Darkest Hour. We are lead as an audience into the workings of the top secret rooms in the dungeons of Parliament where all the maneuvers were decided and where Churchill made the decisions he needed to.  He was said to be so great because he had doubt and uncertainty, which made him press the question even more on what to do.  

A great peek into a short period during WWII.     - filmspun 

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The Post - movie review

The Post, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, lives up to all expectations when any one of these three Hollywood powerhouses are involved. The story is centered on Katherine “Kay” Graham (Streep) , who owned the Washington Post in 1971 and her editor, Ben Bradlee (Hanks).  

Kay Graham is forced to make the decision as to whether to publish The Pentagon Papers, which exposed the decades long deception of the US Government regarding our involvement in the Vietnam war. Graham inherited the Washington Post from her father whom along with her husband, ran the paper while Graham raised her children. After her husband died she became the owner. Struggling with the court order that kept her competitors, The New York Times, from publishing the papers, she is faced with a pivotal decision in the name of “Freedom of the Press” as to whether to print or not.

This movie couldn’t have come out during a more poignant time in US history.

Spielberg’s direction was spot on, capturing the News Rooms of the 20th century and particularly the 1970s, before cell phones, or computers, when information wasn’t just retrieved at the press of a button. The need for actual communication between people was necessary, and pay phones were used as “secured phone lines”.

Meryl Streep captured the stoic, yet feminine quality of Katherine Graham’s leadership. Graham had said in an interview once that she never felt completely accepted in the boardroom of her own company.

Tom Hanks, basically embodied Ben Bradlee. He had a certain swagger of men of that time, and played to Streep’s acting so convincingly, I got lost in the characters not the most famous actors that both Hanks and Steep are!

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Lucy

THIS-tv chan. 11-2 Friday, June 9th 11pm central

Original promo for the made for TV 2003 movie “Lucy” starring Rachel York as Lucille Ball, and Danny Pino as Desi Arnaz

Rachel York’s great performance playing Lucille Ball in “Lucy” makes this movie easy to watch. She manages to capture certain physical traits that bring the character into play.  Danny Pino is suburb as Desi, imitating his accent that we’ve all grown to love as Ricky Ricardo! 

I hope you enjoy watching the story of Lucille meets Desi. It starts off with Lucille in Jamestown, NY and follows her journey to Hollywood, where she meets the love of her life, Desi Arnaz. We see them through their tumultuous relationship. Then through their very successful #1 TV show I Love Lucy!

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“Easter Eggs” in the new live-action Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.

Easter Eggs are little surprises put in a movie as a “nod” or “homage” to an older movie or a reference to a related item such as an original book or play.

The rose in Beauty and the Beast (2017) is white which is an homage to the 1946 Jean Cocteau film La Belle et La Bete, where Maurice is punished by the Beast for picking a white rose. 

The white rose was also in the mid-18th century original story by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

The village in the 2017 movie is named Villeneuve as a nod to the original author. 

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The Dinner - movie review

Starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Steve Coogan,

The movie The Dinner, starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Steve Coogan is playing in select theaters.  The Dinner is based on a book by Herman Koch. The movie centers around two couples, a Senator and his wife, and his brother and his wife. Their evening together is focused on the discussion they have over this dinner.

We find out not long into the movie that the two couples’ children were involved in a horrific crime together. The story is not only about parents, children, and the discussions made, but is very much focused on how different personalities and character play into how we handle difficult situations.  Fear, power, money, family dysfunction all play a role in the escalated emotional dinner. The tagline for the movie is “how far would you go to protect your children?”

It was an interesting transition Oren Moverman (screenwriter) took taking the story from book to movie, a candidate to be Prime Minister in the Netherlands to a Senator in the U.S.  I suppose Hollywood pressure had a lot to do with it.  Having said that, some of the story was lost in translation. I think a significant part of the story was very poignantly about being in a country with a different demographic than the U.S. However, the ultimate difference was the psychological one. The family, the two brothers, come from an abusive family. The brothers are now grown and have families of their own.  One brother found his path in life as a political figure and seemingly stable, while the other is troubled by their family background of abuse and is not as well adjusted. This greatly affects the views they have on how to approach the crime their children committed.  The senator also has an adopted son, who is black and who has a very different disposition from his adoptive family.  This might leave the audience wondering if there is a genetic connection to being bad.  

I for one feel the U.S. audience is sophisticated enough to understand and enjoy the original setting on a “foreign” country. The movie fell flat in the setting.  Richard Gere was very good as the Senator and I think the strongest actor, leaving me believing his role. All the roles were highly emotional and psychological.

Overall, I would recommend the movie due to Gere’s performance and the theme of “hate crimes” being a societal topic of our times. I was lucky enough to see it at our local, historical 1924 Tivoli theater, but you can wait for the DVD or stream it, for it will probably be available fairly soon.

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Tom Hughes as Prince Albert

Tom Hughes plays Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. Although he plays a sometimes “creepy” Albert, the actors had real chemistry and portrayed their love as real.

They married when they were 20. They were married for 22 years when he died, Victoria went on to reign for another 40 years. They had nine children together. Their life together was a true love story. 

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Jenna Coleman as Victoria

Jenna Coleman plays Queen Victoria from age 18, the year she became Queen of England. In the first 2 hour episode she starts off as a young girl, the next in line to the throne of England after the death of her two uncles. Raised in complete protection from the world and  from harm..she ascends the throne with the confidence and insecurities of a teen.  With Lord Melbourne’s help and advice,  Victoria begins her at first rocky path as Queen.

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Sing Street - review

Sing Street is a movie about a high school age boy who starts a band to get a girl.  Isn’t this everyone’s high school fantasy!? The movie is very nostalgic for me since my high school years were in the early 80’s.  The casting was spot-on with great young actors in this realistic story set back to 1985 Dublin.   The original music written for the movie by John Carney is reason enough to like this movie, added to the songs plucked from that era from groups such as Duran Duran, The Cure, The Clash and Hall & Oats.  The characters and songs captured the video music generation of the time. This all provides a perfect backdrop for the story of a High School age boy who’s dysfunctional family is trying to make ends meet in Dublin where unemployment is high and opportunity only awaits across the sea in London, England.  

This movie should have gotten a Best Original Song nod....it deserves it!

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https://twitter.com/jayceefactory   - John Carney’s twitter (director and writer of Sing Street)

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2017 Golden Globe Predictions

Best Supporting Actress in any Motion Picture: Naomie Harris

Best Supporting Actor in any Motion Picture: Jeff Bridges

Best Actor in a Drama:

Best Actress in a Drama: Natalie Portman

Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical: Meryl Streep

Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical: Hugh Grant

Best Movie - Drama: Manchester by the Sea

Best Movie - Comedy/Musical: La La Land

Although it is always tough for me to choose a best picture or actress and actor, I do believe I have compiled a list of predictions based on my personal favorites and which nominees will win.  I will not succumb to the pressures of submitting two lists, one “will win” and the other “should win”, because I think that is a cop-out to commitment by many of the professional movie reviewers. I’m not a big fan of any reviewer who bashes a movie or critiques it so much that people won’t go to see it.  So instead I congratulate all the nominees and I truly believe in the phrase that “it is an honor just to be nominated”  Also acknowledging that is sucks to loose!

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Manchester by the Sea - review

Manchester by the Sea is the story of a man, Lee Chandler, who seems lost, but we later find out is grieving from an unimaginable loss.  He is then met with another loss to deal with.  In this process Lee is faced with a decision to either stand up to the challenge and make a positive impact or disappear and continue to wallow in despair.  Lee’s Irish-Catholic family provides a glimpse into the community set in this small town Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  This setting adds a beautiful backdrop with lovely footage of the north eastern town. Casey Affleck’s performance is reason enough to like this film.  Along with Michelle William’s portrayal of his wife, they supply the viewer with a convincing couple from the small north-eastern town.

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La La Land - review

The hype surrounding this movie is incredible.  La La Land is a modern day musical set in Los Angeles of course. It is about a couple, Mia and Sebastian, played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, who are destined to meet, yet start out on a rocky path.  Mia with her struggling acting career and Sebastian with his promising keyboarding talents as a jazz musician wind up with an unequal balance of success as a modern-day couple. They go their separate ways when we see another turn of events.   With many musical numbers, and a “dream sequence” to boot, the cast goes in and out of acting and singing which is very reminiscent of the old Hollywood musical greats, such as Singin’ in the Rain.  The two leads pulled it off even though they are not singers nor dancers, but it was enjoyable to watch. Justin Hurwitz’ original score is reason alone to like this movie.

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Florence Foster Jenkins - review

This was a very fun movie to watch.  The true story this was based on is reason alone to like this movie.  The charm and warmth Florence, played by Meryl Streep, had provoked a whole colony of people to lift her into a place of utter happiness, despite her actual lack of talent.  What a thing for people to do for you.  She was a lovely woman with wonderful people around her. This was a true “feel-good” movie. There was also a back story about Florence’s past that brings real life to the story. The costumes and scenery were just over the top enough to help give the film enough additional visuals to enjoy.

Hugh Grant was exceptional as Florence’s husband. I thought he outperformed his customary Rom-Com roles and was a cut-above his usual form.  Meryl Streep was in usual form and was again superb!  Simon Helberg plays the quirky accompanist to Florence and is a terrific addition to the cast. 

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http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-florence-foster-jenkins-20160809-snap-story.html    - The Real Florence Foster Jenkins