Laura Dern's brilliant performance in "Enlightened" says so much to those of us whose idealism has been strained. This is a wonderful film. I loved every second of it and was sorry when it came to an end.
Reviews
28 Reviews
It's a Sin
(2021)
WONDERFUL
23 June 2021
I have never seen a better film about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic than this one. It was superb from the first Episode to the last. Brilliant. If you get HBO Max I suggest seeing it or if you don't then perhaps you can pay for it. Not sure about that. It is surely well worth it. I am old enough that I remember the beginning of the AIDS epidemic when no one knew what it was and how it spread. It spread among a group that was vilified and subjected to an onslaught of ignorance of which this nation had an abundance and still does.
AIDS still has no vaccine but it does have treatment which brings the viral load to zero so it won't spread. I had a male friend then who was gay and even rational me succumbed to that ignorance in silence for a time but when science overcomes ignorance and stupidity as it has with AIDS and COVID then a nation can heal itself!
AIDS still has no vaccine but it does have treatment which brings the viral load to zero so it won't spread. I had a male friend then who was gay and even rational me succumbed to that ignorance in silence for a time but when science overcomes ignorance and stupidity as it has with AIDS and COVID then a nation can heal itself!
The Underground Railroad
(2021)
BRILAND BEYOND WORDS!!
18 May 2021
According to IMDB "The actual Underground Railroad was a secret network of people and safe houses. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center here in Cincinnati, where I live, simply referred to as the Freedom Center by us locals, is an outstanding museum dedicated to this topic. Of course Cincinnati was the first major city across the Dixie line and this region played a major historical role in this important movement."
This should be must viewing for all those in this nation who pause to want to view American history of slavery in this nation to get the feel of slavery in America. It is an eyeopening and , yes, wretched experience that gives credence to those in this nation who dedicate themselves to the transparency of as de Tocqueville described it "the peculiar institution." It is, I thought, riveting viewing and lends itself to binge watching.
Oh, America, you have sinned a great sin where your citizens of color are concerned. How much of a sin? You be the judge by watching this film and learn!
This should be must viewing for all those in this nation who pause to want to view American history of slavery in this nation to get the feel of slavery in America. It is an eyeopening and , yes, wretched experience that gives credence to those in this nation who dedicate themselves to the transparency of as de Tocqueville described it "the peculiar institution." It is, I thought, riveting viewing and lends itself to binge watching.
Oh, America, you have sinned a great sin where your citizens of color are concerned. How much of a sin? You be the judge by watching this film and learn!
Shtisel
(2013–2021)
I hated this series
2 May 2021
First, I am Jewish and have loved other films with a Jewish flare but this was insufferable. I hated every minute of it and could not for the life of me figure out what it was trying to say. The subtitles in many cases disappeared too fast so I was left reversing things to see if I missed anything. Alas, I think I did not. It was simply intolerable. I was waiting patiently for it to come to the point. It never did. Maybe it was a day in the lives of Hasidim in Israel and I saw enough to make me thank god I was not born into that sickening situation with zero freedom and absolutely no way to extricate oneself from a life with a fascist like authoritarian grip especially so if one is a woman which I am.
The men looked unwashed and unkempt with a face crying out to be at least shaved and cleaned. How a woman could be attracted to them is beyond my capability to understand. Needless to say I did not continue but exited after viewing it for over an hour. When I left the film I felt like I was out of Torquemada's grip. I saw enough to reinforce what I have always felt that I was thrilled I was raised by a mother who took religion tongue and cheek and we joined the Reform Jewish sect. I remain a passionate liberal who sees most extremist religion as being a necessary ingredient for the end times and worse a crushing fist controlling women's every breath. Save mankind from our fate. One final prayer: Thank God for not making me a Hassid!
The men looked unwashed and unkempt with a face crying out to be at least shaved and cleaned. How a woman could be attracted to them is beyond my capability to understand. Needless to say I did not continue but exited after viewing it for over an hour. When I left the film I felt like I was out of Torquemada's grip. I saw enough to reinforce what I have always felt that I was thrilled I was raised by a mother who took religion tongue and cheek and we joined the Reform Jewish sect. I remain a passionate liberal who sees most extremist religion as being a necessary ingredient for the end times and worse a crushing fist controlling women's every breath. Save mankind from our fate. One final prayer: Thank God for not making me a Hassid!
Exterminate All the Brutes
(2021)
A Documentary for All Seasons
18 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Exterminate all the Brutes" by Raoul Peck--HBO. This is the greatest documentary on the etiology of man's brutality including genocide that I have ever seen. I sat for 4 hours straight as I watched the four parts in their entirety. It rather makes me want to join an antiFascist group. It is so poignant, revelatory and true. It even includes my once online friend and BU professor Howard Zinn and his "A People's History of the United States." Peck loves the late Howard Zinn too. It gives a black eye literally to the notion of American exceptionalism and tells the truth of western civilization's contribution to early colonialism, the massacre of indigenous people all around the world and the violence of white supremacy. It kicks that swine president Trail of Tears initiator Andrew Jackson -- you know the picture that Donald DUMP had of him in the oval office -- into oblivion.
It left me mentally exhausted and sad but better informed as it goes into the not-so-glorious western civilization, the Holocaust and Auschwitz in detail I had never seen before and I thought I had seen them all. Make America Great again but he asks when was it ever great. And yet how did other civilizations that have accumulated wealth and power act over centuries? He goes into that too.
To me it asks the question: is mankind doomed? Watching the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by American Fascists like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the Charlotte march of Nazis saying "Jews will not replace us" one can see that a Fascist state here and around the world in other nations is possible -- god forbid!
It left me mentally exhausted and sad but better informed as it goes into the not-so-glorious western civilization, the Holocaust and Auschwitz in detail I had never seen before and I thought I had seen them all. Make America Great again but he asks when was it ever great. And yet how did other civilizations that have accumulated wealth and power act over centuries? He goes into that too.
To me it asks the question: is mankind doomed? Watching the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by American Fascists like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the Charlotte march of Nazis saying "Jews will not replace us" one can see that a Fascist state here and around the world in other nations is possible -- god forbid!
Bean
(II) (2017)
Heartrendering
12 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Two young women meet on Tinder. One is white (Lori) and the other is a person of color (Alanna) who is on kidney dialysis because of her battle with Lupus. She is waiting for a kidney transplant from someone who is a suitable match. She finds her suitable match/donor in Lori.
This is a wonderful uplifting LGBT movie as the documentary features Lori's kidney donation to Alanna. It is not an easy journey as the surgery carries with it some peril but it is a film about the perseverance and love for one another the two women possess toward recovery.
We loved this film!
This is a wonderful uplifting LGBT movie as the documentary features Lori's kidney donation to Alanna. It is not an easy journey as the surgery carries with it some peril but it is a film about the perseverance and love for one another the two women possess toward recovery.
We loved this film!
Hillbilly Elegy
(2020)
Brilliant performances, fabulous insightful script
2 December 2020
I thought this was one of the best films I have seen. The performances by Glenn Close, Amy Adams were brilliant along with the performances of a superior supporting cast.
This is far from the Beverley Hillbillies sitcom mentality nor is it close to the dramatic series of The Waltons. This film gives insight into the often mercurial red state mentality especially the so called Hillbilly or Appalachian culture.
Since I come from a decidedly blue state I have often joked about people from that neck of the woods who are decidedly different from me but, truly, they are not just stereotypes and have important psychological rationales as to who they are and why they harbor the values that they do. Things are often not black or white but shades of grey.
If we can try to understand cultures different from ourselves perhaps we could gain some new understanding of and insight into our nation getting to that illusive United States of America. As President Obama once said -- We are not the red states of America we are not the blue states of America but we are the United States of America. A united nation can only be realized when one comes to terms with our differences by not judging human beings different from ourselves but rather understanding them leading to a more perfect union.
This is far from the Beverley Hillbillies sitcom mentality nor is it close to the dramatic series of The Waltons. This film gives insight into the often mercurial red state mentality especially the so called Hillbilly or Appalachian culture.
Since I come from a decidedly blue state I have often joked about people from that neck of the woods who are decidedly different from me but, truly, they are not just stereotypes and have important psychological rationales as to who they are and why they harbor the values that they do. Things are often not black or white but shades of grey.
If we can try to understand cultures different from ourselves perhaps we could gain some new understanding of and insight into our nation getting to that illusive United States of America. As President Obama once said -- We are not the red states of America we are not the blue states of America but we are the United States of America. A united nation can only be realized when one comes to terms with our differences by not judging human beings different from ourselves but rather understanding them leading to a more perfect union.
Kingdom
(2014–2017)
Stunning film and superb acting
23 August 2020
This was one of the most interesting films I have seen. That acting was beyond reproach. We binged watched some of it because we could not tear ourselves away. I was a little put off at first by the violence and anger of those who participate in mixed martial arts fight but the more I got into it the more I loved it and became very attached and in some ways identified with the characters even though I am not a fan of boxing nor mixed martial arts. It centers around a mixed martial arts gym and those who were central characters in it. This multi-part film has depth and is guaranteed to rivet. The characters become family who despite the violence of the sport have empathy for one another. I will not give away the plot but hope my review spurs others to watch it and that the film arts community give this piece the accolades it deserves.
Dead to Me
(2019–2022)
Riveting and Wonderful series
15 July 2020
We binged watched a lot of this unbelievably riveting series. It was a welcome viewing to ward off the isolation of COVID-19. We thought the acting was amazing and the dialogue brilliant. We also thought the writers who wrote the dialogue were especially talented and the actresses Christina Applegate and Linda Cardinelli were incredibly good. We loved the progression of each episode and watched the series Season One and Two to the end and we are waiting for season Three. What a wonderful piece of drama mixed with some comedy through the drama. All I can say is bring on Season 3. We cannot wait to watch it.
I Know This Much Is True
(2020)
Riveting
15 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This was one of the greatest works of art I have seen. The duel performances of Mark Ruffalo was genius. Rosie O'Donnell's performance was also wondrous. I loved the entire thing from beginning to end. Watch it guaranteed not to disappoint!
Imitation of Life
(1959)
One of my all time favorite films. Ahead of its Time
6 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This was one of the most poignant and great films for its time (1959). It is one of my all time favorites amid so many great films. I think everyone should see it and think how advanced it was for the era in which it was shown. The performances of all of the actors were magnificent. My all time favorite was Susan Kohner the passing-for- white daughter of a black woman. The relationship was heart rendering. The relationship of all of them and between all of them was riveting. Much could be discussed about it. It was also a film about sexism as Lana Turner in her quest for movie star fame is asked to pay the price that is sex is used against her to further her career. Shades of Harvey Weinstein but in an era that did not question the male power brokers who demanded beautiful actresses succumb to their demands.I give this film 10 stars!
Unorthodox
(2020)
I could not tear myself away
28 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen about a bazillion films in my life. The film "Unorthodox" is one of the best crafted, best acted and most interesting film I have seen. It is simply delightful, moving and so utterly well done. Kudos to the actors, the directors and all those who offered instruction on Yiddish, the Satmar Hassidic Jewish sect and the obstacles one faces born into that sect but questioning it, desiring, no craving, something more. It sang to me both being Jewish as well as my inability to translate my culture into practice.
It offers food for thought not only if one is Jewish but I think if one is born into other strict cultures where one leaves or questions it at one's peril. This is a great film!
It offers food for thought not only if one is Jewish but I think if one is born into other strict cultures where one leaves or questions it at one's peril. This is a great film!
Parasite
(2019)
Parasite arduous at times
23 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I found "Parasite" problematic to watch. The subtitles were often difficult to read and were put on too fast. Some were posted white on a light background. That was hard to read. Subtitles take away from the visual of the film and in this case the visuals of what was happening were paramount.
The good part, in my opinion, was the social commentary of the disparity between rich and poor. The difference is extreme. The poor were depicted there living in filth and squalor. The way the poor live in Korea not being able to get jobs is mind numbing. I have read that many in Korea live as the pictured in the film. The film showed effectively social class dichotomy.
What happens to the rich when the poor invade their home surreptitiously is ultimately extreme violence. It is nothing short of mayhem especially at the end. Not sure if it would be everyone's cup of tea. I don't think so. Reading the subtitles was difficult and I had to bury my head to avoid watching the violence.
I think it should not have gotten best pic? In my opinion the Irishman was gypped in spades.
The good part, in my opinion, was the social commentary of the disparity between rich and poor. The difference is extreme. The poor were depicted there living in filth and squalor. The way the poor live in Korea not being able to get jobs is mind numbing. I have read that many in Korea live as the pictured in the film. The film showed effectively social class dichotomy.
What happens to the rich when the poor invade their home surreptitiously is ultimately extreme violence. It is nothing short of mayhem especially at the end. Not sure if it would be everyone's cup of tea. I don't think so. Reading the subtitles was difficult and I had to bury my head to avoid watching the violence.
I think it should not have gotten best pic? In my opinion the Irishman was gypped in spades.
Joker
(I) (2019)
Stunning
6 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is an extraordinary performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It easily could win the best actor or picture Academy Award. It is an emotionally fixating film but a very tragic commentary on mental illness and our society's culpability in it. There is commentary on the social anarchy all around us and our lack of empathy and caring toward those who need it the most. It reminded me of Trump and his ugly minions, cutting off food to children, cutting benefits that help people, rolling back pollution regulations which will hurt millions and putting innocent brown children in cages. The First Lady donned a jacket when she visited the children in captivity that said: I Really Don't Care Do You? That said it all about Trump.
This film is extraordinary and Phoenix's acting as the Joker is extraordinary. It would make for a great treatise on cultural responsibility for those who are mentally ill and society's lack of caring or empathy toward those who need it the most. The violence comes back on those who are the most inured to suffering. Do they deserve it? Perhaps they do. Then there is the joker's makeup and mask he wears, the Turrets like symptom of his breaking out into incessant high pitched laughter that people find him simply weird. Some in the city don some joker's masks in a kind of empathy but it's a picture of anarchy as well since chaos reigns in the streets of Gotham. The film surrounds comedy but there is nothing comedic in the Joker's world. Robert De Niro is in it playing a kind of Johnny Carson late night comedian as a profound example of one who takes the money and runs headlong into the Joker's wrath. If you like a film of depth and the recognition of the darkness of the human condition then you will love this. I cannot stop thinking about it. It is brilliant but perhaps not for everyone. Is there violence? -- yes, Mary Poppins it's not!
This film is extraordinary and Phoenix's acting as the Joker is extraordinary. It would make for a great treatise on cultural responsibility for those who are mentally ill and society's lack of caring or empathy toward those who need it the most. The violence comes back on those who are the most inured to suffering. Do they deserve it? Perhaps they do. Then there is the joker's makeup and mask he wears, the Turrets like symptom of his breaking out into incessant high pitched laughter that people find him simply weird. Some in the city don some joker's masks in a kind of empathy but it's a picture of anarchy as well since chaos reigns in the streets of Gotham. The film surrounds comedy but there is nothing comedic in the Joker's world. Robert De Niro is in it playing a kind of Johnny Carson late night comedian as a profound example of one who takes the money and runs headlong into the Joker's wrath. If you like a film of depth and the recognition of the darkness of the human condition then you will love this. I cannot stop thinking about it. It is brilliant but perhaps not for everyone. Is there violence? -- yes, Mary Poppins it's not!
Boy Erased
(2018)
Excellent and credible
1 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
FABULOUS film, based on a true story, well acted about a religious conservative pastor's family in Arkansas whose son is gay whom they place in a school to undergo "conversion" therapy.
It is a credible film showing the corruptness of the attempt to undergo religious conversion therapy allegedly converting gay human beings to becoming straight with prayer accompanied with all its fanatical Bible belting (and I do mean belting) hocus pocus "therapy" for a mere $3,000 sadistic scam. It is damaging to one's psychological development and it is illegal in a number of states but, sadly, legal in others. It torments those who want to be straight but cannot. Of course they cannot because it is not a choice no matter how many Jesus Bible thumpers want it to be. It is psychologically destructive to those whom they try to change even prompting suicide as one's feeling persist.
Based on a true story it is a wonderful film of depth, compassion and horror as again human beings try to explain simplistically the origin of sexuality. In truth as new studies indicate it is not simple and is about genes -- not one gene but perhaps hundreds as well as environmental factors. In other words it is a biological imperative. Don't try to change it. Accept it as another one of nature's dictates.
It is a credible film showing the corruptness of the attempt to undergo religious conversion therapy allegedly converting gay human beings to becoming straight with prayer accompanied with all its fanatical Bible belting (and I do mean belting) hocus pocus "therapy" for a mere $3,000 sadistic scam. It is damaging to one's psychological development and it is illegal in a number of states but, sadly, legal in others. It torments those who want to be straight but cannot. Of course they cannot because it is not a choice no matter how many Jesus Bible thumpers want it to be. It is psychologically destructive to those whom they try to change even prompting suicide as one's feeling persist.
Based on a true story it is a wonderful film of depth, compassion and horror as again human beings try to explain simplistically the origin of sexuality. In truth as new studies indicate it is not simple and is about genes -- not one gene but perhaps hundreds as well as environmental factors. In other words it is a biological imperative. Don't try to change it. Accept it as another one of nature's dictates.
Succession
(2018–2023)
Riveting
12 August 2019
I cannot stop watching this. Binged watched the first season and now onto the 2nd. I watched it at night, was so tired I forced myself to stay awake until I could not anymore. So onto the finish the first episode of Season 2. I simply LOVE this
show. It's not about business it's about the interactions and substance of the family. Fabulously acted and riveting script. Kudos to all involved!!
Gentleman Jack
(2019–2022)
Brilliant script and more than great acting
5 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I am hooked on this series. Not only is it brilliantly acted by Suranne Jones as well as the other actors in the ensemble, it brings a truth about being homosexual in 1832 which speaks to a truth our time. It is a riveting story played with intensity as well as sensitivity by the main character, Anne Lister. The character played by Suranne Jones was breathtaking in its forceful exuberance.
Many of the obstacles Ann Lister and her lovers felt about who they were lesbians experience today -- the pull of society for women to marry men, have children while knowing their place at the side of men they choose. Ann's character was as exuberant as she was soft and gentle. No wonder women loved her! The women who loved her felt the same push and pull of society's mores but had emotional and sexual feelings for members of their own sex they did not understand. Some chose to marry men, playing it straight and having children keeping their desires secret and under the covers. Others flee to insanity embracing extreme religious penitence courting suicide for whom they love.
If one wants to know what it means to be a lesbian in our time watch "Gentleman Jack" and see some of similarities in 1832 but also thank God for much of the advancement and understanding of human sexuality in our time!
Many of the obstacles Ann Lister and her lovers felt about who they were lesbians experience today -- the pull of society for women to marry men, have children while knowing their place at the side of men they choose. Ann's character was as exuberant as she was soft and gentle. No wonder women loved her! The women who loved her felt the same push and pull of society's mores but had emotional and sexual feelings for members of their own sex they did not understand. Some chose to marry men, playing it straight and having children keeping their desires secret and under the covers. Others flee to insanity embracing extreme religious penitence courting suicide for whom they love.
If one wants to know what it means to be a lesbian in our time watch "Gentleman Jack" and see some of similarities in 1832 but also thank God for much of the advancement and understanding of human sexuality in our time!
When They See Us
(2019)
Wonderful
5 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Ava DuVernay has constructed a masterpiece. This is one of the most wonderful docudramas based on a true incident I have seen. I remember well the chilling story. Those of us removed from it had no knowledge that the police, the prosecutors and the press did such a horrendous job covering it. The horrific impact on those five innocent young boys because of the guilty verdict is something no amount of settlement can erase.
As a white person in the suburbs of another state I swallowed the verdict hook, line and sinker. Now I am ashamed that I along with probably the majority of the nation did so.
When they are found innocent years later because of sheer luck that the real perpetrator shared the same prison milieu as one of the boys. DNA does it again as it has many times before. It finds the real perpetrator and frees five boys who have been in prison hell for years.
In the end I cried and could not stop crying. I am still crying for the miscarriage of justice, the the immense suffering of the five boys and for those of us who believed the press at the time and who did not have a brain to always question power. Power will do anything to keep that power even if it means ruining the lives of young innocent boys.
Shame on the prosecutor who because of the docudrama has resigned, shame on the NYC police of that time and shame on us who think we were in post racial times as our erroneous Supreme Court has proclaimed only to deny justice yet again and again and again. When will it stop? This taught me again, as if I did not know before, as Howard Zinn said to me years before always always question the decisions of those in power. Who do those decisions benefit and why?
Deep apologies to those boys, and deep apologies for a Donald Trump who knows no justice nor humanity and who wished death on those innocent boys . May the Trump crime family of massive hypocrisy see the inside of those cells those boys had to endure and may our nation understand the racism that still exists here en mass. May we always know black lives matter!!
As a white person in the suburbs of another state I swallowed the verdict hook, line and sinker. Now I am ashamed that I along with probably the majority of the nation did so.
When they are found innocent years later because of sheer luck that the real perpetrator shared the same prison milieu as one of the boys. DNA does it again as it has many times before. It finds the real perpetrator and frees five boys who have been in prison hell for years.
In the end I cried and could not stop crying. I am still crying for the miscarriage of justice, the the immense suffering of the five boys and for those of us who believed the press at the time and who did not have a brain to always question power. Power will do anything to keep that power even if it means ruining the lives of young innocent boys.
Shame on the prosecutor who because of the docudrama has resigned, shame on the NYC police of that time and shame on us who think we were in post racial times as our erroneous Supreme Court has proclaimed only to deny justice yet again and again and again. When will it stop? This taught me again, as if I did not know before, as Howard Zinn said to me years before always always question the decisions of those in power. Who do those decisions benefit and why?
Deep apologies to those boys, and deep apologies for a Donald Trump who knows no justice nor humanity and who wished death on those innocent boys . May the Trump crime family of massive hypocrisy see the inside of those cells those boys had to endure and may our nation understand the racism that still exists here en mass. May we always know black lives matter!!
Chernobyl
(2019)
THE TRUTH
4 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I finished the last episode of the docudrama "Chernobyl." This is a masterpiece of docudrama excellence. I urge everyone to see it not for its indictment of nuclear power but most especially its indictment of lies told by the state to assuage the guilt of a powerful few. Lies, in the final analysis, were responsible for the massive death count of Chernobyl.
I emphatically recommend it to Donald Trump who knows how to tell a lie. This will tell him the cost of lies. The cost is enormous. The truth no matter how difficult must be told not only because it is ethical and right but because the truth saves lives!
I emphatically recommend it to Donald Trump who knows how to tell a lie. This will tell him the cost of lies. The cost is enormous. The truth no matter how difficult must be told not only because it is ethical and right but because the truth saves lives!
Mr. Church
(2016)
Wonderful film
1 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Eddie Murphy gives a possible Academy Award performance. IMDB quote: "Mr. Church" tells the story of a unique friendship that develops when a little girl and her dying mother retain the services of a talented cook - Henry Joseph Church. What begins as a six month arrangement instead spans into fifteen years and creates a family bond that lasts forever."
Beautiful film, sometimes heart wrenching but uplifting film on so many levels and worthy of viewing.
Beautiful film, sometimes heart wrenching but uplifting film on so many levels and worthy of viewing.
Jane Fonda in Five Acts
(2018)
Life on her own terms
1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This is a documentary about the life of Jane Fonda, daughter of film star, Henry Fonda, whom I knew well from his movies of previous eras. I grew up knowing both of them in their professional roles. This is an excellent documentary of Jane, who grew up a shy lonely child enduring her mother's suicide and her father's coldness morphing into a fulfilled woman becoming an activist for humanitarian causes. It spoke to me. Later in life she sees herself not defined by the men she was with or to whom she was married but by her own personal measure and by her own deeds.
We see and listen to this documentary told by Jane as she progresses into the various phases of her life looking at her life through the lens of not only the three different men she wed and but also in her early years through the strained almost sterile relationship she experienced with a father who could act in film but was unemotional and uncommunicative in life. This documentary is the opposite of that.
It is a highly emotive documentary reflecting the pain in her early years because of a father she thought did not love her and the suicide of a broken mentally ill mother whom she never got to know. Through a child's immature eyes one could see why she thought herself deficient in some way even physically unattractive as her father kept chastising her for being overweight. She was in reality thin and later bulimically very thin but still incapable of not only receiving love from either parent but loving herself. Later, finally, on her own in the final scenes she escapes being defined by the men she wed or her sad relationship with her father but defines herself in her own right. She visits her mother's grave for the first time one snowy winter day to apologize for not trying to understand her mother if only to embrace her and tell her she understands her mother's own tormented background and loves her unconditionally.
The documentary takes us on her life's journey through the men she married, the films she starred in and the political life she embraced. Her first marriage to French film director Roger Vadim with whom she had a child, to political left wing activist Tom Hayden with whom she had one child and finally to billionaire and media mogul Ted Turner. Jane was a subsidiary of all of her marriages taking second place to the whims of what she thought the men in her life wanted her to be.
Vadim emphasized her body cajoling her to act in mindless goddess films such as Barbarella. Her leftward political turn and her own growth came as mine did during the Vietnam turbulent years of the Sixties. Though combative I loved that era. It infused her life and my own life with cerebral meaning. Her films were many. I am not able to list them all here but her notable films and ones which impacted my own life and hers were ones filled with social commentary. They were "They Shoot Horses Don't They," a dance marathon film about the torturous Great 1929 Depression and the average people it crushed, "Coming Home," an anti Vietnam war film of the Sixties, "Julia," a profound look at the evils of fascism and Nazi Germany, "China Syndrome," a statement on the dangers of nuclear power and "On Golden Pond," coming full circle acting with her elderly father, Henry Fonda, reflecting the great depth of their own tortured relationship, Henry Fonda's explicit iciness to her and Jane's plea for love from him.
This is a biographical documentary film for our time as the social split occurring in the late sixties between the left and the right has gotten argumentatively worse in this toxic Trumpian era. Trump is a reflection of our broken nation and is a man who capitalizes on that brokenness. I loved this documentary because it takes me back to my own metamorphosis during the late Sixties at a university known for its Berkley-like leftist political slant at that time. I went from a high school girl who questioned nothing to a woman decades later who questions everything as Jane Fonda's later films encourage one to do.
I urge you to see this biography and think about your own human development and what it means to take a political stand even if the ridicule one faces is smothering. I was not a radical at that time but I did love the anti-war radical leftists and black rights advocates including MLK and Malcolm X who had the fortitude to put their lives on the line for humane moral causes and a fierce desire to save their people and humanity from the death that those of privilege and power often deliver!
Now in her 80's Jane Fonda has found a new zest for life as she plays her last act going through it on her own terms.
We see and listen to this documentary told by Jane as she progresses into the various phases of her life looking at her life through the lens of not only the three different men she wed and but also in her early years through the strained almost sterile relationship she experienced with a father who could act in film but was unemotional and uncommunicative in life. This documentary is the opposite of that.
It is a highly emotive documentary reflecting the pain in her early years because of a father she thought did not love her and the suicide of a broken mentally ill mother whom she never got to know. Through a child's immature eyes one could see why she thought herself deficient in some way even physically unattractive as her father kept chastising her for being overweight. She was in reality thin and later bulimically very thin but still incapable of not only receiving love from either parent but loving herself. Later, finally, on her own in the final scenes she escapes being defined by the men she wed or her sad relationship with her father but defines herself in her own right. She visits her mother's grave for the first time one snowy winter day to apologize for not trying to understand her mother if only to embrace her and tell her she understands her mother's own tormented background and loves her unconditionally.
The documentary takes us on her life's journey through the men she married, the films she starred in and the political life she embraced. Her first marriage to French film director Roger Vadim with whom she had a child, to political left wing activist Tom Hayden with whom she had one child and finally to billionaire and media mogul Ted Turner. Jane was a subsidiary of all of her marriages taking second place to the whims of what she thought the men in her life wanted her to be.
Vadim emphasized her body cajoling her to act in mindless goddess films such as Barbarella. Her leftward political turn and her own growth came as mine did during the Vietnam turbulent years of the Sixties. Though combative I loved that era. It infused her life and my own life with cerebral meaning. Her films were many. I am not able to list them all here but her notable films and ones which impacted my own life and hers were ones filled with social commentary. They were "They Shoot Horses Don't They," a dance marathon film about the torturous Great 1929 Depression and the average people it crushed, "Coming Home," an anti Vietnam war film of the Sixties, "Julia," a profound look at the evils of fascism and Nazi Germany, "China Syndrome," a statement on the dangers of nuclear power and "On Golden Pond," coming full circle acting with her elderly father, Henry Fonda, reflecting the great depth of their own tortured relationship, Henry Fonda's explicit iciness to her and Jane's plea for love from him.
This is a biographical documentary film for our time as the social split occurring in the late sixties between the left and the right has gotten argumentatively worse in this toxic Trumpian era. Trump is a reflection of our broken nation and is a man who capitalizes on that brokenness. I loved this documentary because it takes me back to my own metamorphosis during the late Sixties at a university known for its Berkley-like leftist political slant at that time. I went from a high school girl who questioned nothing to a woman decades later who questions everything as Jane Fonda's later films encourage one to do.
I urge you to see this biography and think about your own human development and what it means to take a political stand even if the ridicule one faces is smothering. I was not a radical at that time but I did love the anti-war radical leftists and black rights advocates including MLK and Malcolm X who had the fortitude to put their lives on the line for humane moral causes and a fierce desire to save their people and humanity from the death that those of privilege and power often deliver!
Now in her 80's Jane Fonda has found a new zest for life as she plays her last act going through it on her own terms.
Disobedience
(2017)
Completely relatable
16 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The film was about two women born into a Hassidic (Jewish ultra orthodox) community with stringent laws dictating the rigid behavior of men and women. Born into that milieu it is, indeed, torturous to have to choose one's fate as these two women Ronit and Esty who were in love with each other did. We thought the film absolutely wonderful. The acting was superb and writing of the film equally as great.
Being Jewish I could relate to all of it . It did not end in any predictable way. It reminded both my partner and me of a gay women's film "Desert Hearts" in the mid 1980's where two women of different backgrounds fell in love and in the end had to make a choice either for one to live a straight life or live together as one. One did not know either in that film if they would end up together or separately alone but it seemed to suggest they would ultimately be together. Emphasis on "seemed."
In "Disobedience" their taboo relationship probably going back many years was compounded by the married woman Esty's pregnancy. Truly, what could she do? In the end David seems accepting of Ronit but Ronit leaves for her home in NYC and Esty seems to stay with David but does she as she runs after the cab that Ronit is in on her way back to NYC and says she promises to keep Ronit appraised as to where she is. Thus, it seems it is not completely clear either what Esty will do -- remain with David the father of her soon to be child or go with Ronit the one with whom she is really in love and to whom she is attracted to live in NY.
We were riveted on the subject matter, thought it profound and realistic. I could identify with much of it even if I was not raised in such a restrictive community. Being Jewish no matter what was restrictive enough and gave me many many upsetting moments when I knew a choice had to be made. Whether orthodox, conservative or reform the Jew that runs through my veins is as compelling as it was for both of these Hassidic women although admittedly it was not as difficult breaking away from the religiosity of the faith and questioning all of its ritualistic beliefs.
Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weitz did a superb job in both reflecting the pull of the faith at war with the equally powerful freedom to choose one's life and whom one loves. It was a wonderful film and if one is gay or knows someone who is one I think can see the feelings behind it were so well done! We recommend it highly!
Being Jewish I could relate to all of it . It did not end in any predictable way. It reminded both my partner and me of a gay women's film "Desert Hearts" in the mid 1980's where two women of different backgrounds fell in love and in the end had to make a choice either for one to live a straight life or live together as one. One did not know either in that film if they would end up together or separately alone but it seemed to suggest they would ultimately be together. Emphasis on "seemed."
In "Disobedience" their taboo relationship probably going back many years was compounded by the married woman Esty's pregnancy. Truly, what could she do? In the end David seems accepting of Ronit but Ronit leaves for her home in NYC and Esty seems to stay with David but does she as she runs after the cab that Ronit is in on her way back to NYC and says she promises to keep Ronit appraised as to where she is. Thus, it seems it is not completely clear either what Esty will do -- remain with David the father of her soon to be child or go with Ronit the one with whom she is really in love and to whom she is attracted to live in NY.
We were riveted on the subject matter, thought it profound and realistic. I could identify with much of it even if I was not raised in such a restrictive community. Being Jewish no matter what was restrictive enough and gave me many many upsetting moments when I knew a choice had to be made. Whether orthodox, conservative or reform the Jew that runs through my veins is as compelling as it was for both of these Hassidic women although admittedly it was not as difficult breaking away from the religiosity of the faith and questioning all of its ritualistic beliefs.
Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weitz did a superb job in both reflecting the pull of the faith at war with the equally powerful freedom to choose one's life and whom one loves. It was a wonderful film and if one is gay or knows someone who is one I think can see the feelings behind it were so well done! We recommend it highly!
Darkest Hour
(2017)
Brilliant performance
16 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill so well that I forgot about the actor and thought I was watching Churchill himself resurrected from the dead. This film is that good.
I have not finished it yet but the 3/4 I did see concentrated on the miserable circumstances of the battle of Dunkirk in 1940 and Churchill's heart wrenching decision whether to seek a diplomatic solution with a psychologically sick unreliable (to say the least) Hitler or press on refusing to surrender. The losses of the Brits and French at Dunkirk were many and the German military the most superior on earth in the 1940's. Brits were stuck in this French town and surrounded by superior German forces in land, sea and air honed through their many victories in Europe. One by one western Europe was falling as Belgium fell, eastern Europe was in Nazi hands and Nazi victory seemed inevitable. Nothing less than Western civilization was at stake. Churchill desperately needed American strength but Roosevelt while empathetic to their plight in 1940 could do nothing as there was no legislature support nor popular appetite to get stuck in another war in Europe.
From the history I have read the evacuation by boat of the 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops was miraculous. They were saved from an untenable situation and total decimation of their army at Dunkirk. They were miraculously helped by the Halt Order of Hitler the rationale of that Order still debated today. It was a spiritual victory for the Allies and set the table for Allied victory with American much needed help finally culminating in the 1944 D-Day Allied invasion by sea of Europe.
The film shows perfectly the resolve by Churchill, his strong and quirky personality with a monumental task laid in his hands and no prediction of victory. He was a force of nature.
If one is interested in WWII history shaping our own history to present day this film is highly recommended.
I have not finished it yet but the 3/4 I did see concentrated on the miserable circumstances of the battle of Dunkirk in 1940 and Churchill's heart wrenching decision whether to seek a diplomatic solution with a psychologically sick unreliable (to say the least) Hitler or press on refusing to surrender. The losses of the Brits and French at Dunkirk were many and the German military the most superior on earth in the 1940's. Brits were stuck in this French town and surrounded by superior German forces in land, sea and air honed through their many victories in Europe. One by one western Europe was falling as Belgium fell, eastern Europe was in Nazi hands and Nazi victory seemed inevitable. Nothing less than Western civilization was at stake. Churchill desperately needed American strength but Roosevelt while empathetic to their plight in 1940 could do nothing as there was no legislature support nor popular appetite to get stuck in another war in Europe.
From the history I have read the evacuation by boat of the 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops was miraculous. They were saved from an untenable situation and total decimation of their army at Dunkirk. They were miraculously helped by the Halt Order of Hitler the rationale of that Order still debated today. It was a spiritual victory for the Allies and set the table for Allied victory with American much needed help finally culminating in the 1944 D-Day Allied invasion by sea of Europe.
The film shows perfectly the resolve by Churchill, his strong and quirky personality with a monumental task laid in his hands and no prediction of victory. He was a force of nature.
If one is interested in WWII history shaping our own history to present day this film is highly recommended.
Not a who done it film
10 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Most probably know, generally, this film involves a mother (Frances McDormand) whose daughter was killed and raped, in that order, in Ebbing, Missouri and its police inability to solve the heinous crime. It is about a woman's justifiably insatiable anger, played brilliantly by Frances McDormand, and her indefatigable attempt to force the police to keep looking for the murderer of her daughter by putting up three billboards (at considerable cost) asking essentially why the Ebbing Police have not solved the murder yet.
If one was expecting a "who done it" film that leaves the viewer satisfied at the end by the murder's capture then one should not see this movie. It is substantively, I think, about much more than that.
I believe the film is about anger and a human being's inability to satiate its imprisoning grip. I believe this film is omni applicable not only to those who have lost loved ones through the violent acts of another but also to nation states whose occupants carry insatiable anger that compels them to commit the most heinous and illegal acts against another without guilt. One need only look at the recent horrific poisoning of children in Syria by nerve gassing them to death. What could possibly justify this act that compels men to commit this crime against humanity?
In "Billboards" it is said by one that "anger begets anger" and so it does. Its cousin revenge is man's attempt to quell the rage within by lashing out at another perceived to be the perpetrator. Seldom through the ages, does ferocious anger get resolved.
Where and when does the anger end? Where is its peaceful resolution? In Ebbing, Missouri Mildred's anger is diffused .... a bit .... through the kindness, empathy and forgiveness of others. Luke 6:29: "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other to him." How many of us are able to do that? I think "Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri" was a film and a great one about anger and its resolution through the help of others from whom one might be least likely to expect help.
We should learn how to resolve our anger both singularly and as a nation as it is three minutes to midnight. We have a president who has never resolved his anger perhaps at his father although who knows. Worrisome is this sadistic narcissist seems itching to press the button that would end all of man's problems while ending all life on earth itself.
If one was expecting a "who done it" film that leaves the viewer satisfied at the end by the murder's capture then one should not see this movie. It is substantively, I think, about much more than that.
I believe the film is about anger and a human being's inability to satiate its imprisoning grip. I believe this film is omni applicable not only to those who have lost loved ones through the violent acts of another but also to nation states whose occupants carry insatiable anger that compels them to commit the most heinous and illegal acts against another without guilt. One need only look at the recent horrific poisoning of children in Syria by nerve gassing them to death. What could possibly justify this act that compels men to commit this crime against humanity?
In "Billboards" it is said by one that "anger begets anger" and so it does. Its cousin revenge is man's attempt to quell the rage within by lashing out at another perceived to be the perpetrator. Seldom through the ages, does ferocious anger get resolved.
Where and when does the anger end? Where is its peaceful resolution? In Ebbing, Missouri Mildred's anger is diffused .... a bit .... through the kindness, empathy and forgiveness of others. Luke 6:29: "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other to him." How many of us are able to do that? I think "Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri" was a film and a great one about anger and its resolution through the help of others from whom one might be least likely to expect help.
We should learn how to resolve our anger both singularly and as a nation as it is three minutes to midnight. We have a president who has never resolved his anger perhaps at his father although who knows. Worrisome is this sadistic narcissist seems itching to press the button that would end all of man's problems while ending all life on earth itself.
The Keepers
(II) (2017)
If you ask how Larry Nasser got away with this abuse watch this Netflix documentary
27 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I clicked on the ugly story of the 150 young gymnastic girls who were so depravedly abused by so called "Dr." Larry Nasser. Bloggers were asking in the comment section how parents could have known what Nasser had done, how people in the hierarchy of the US gymnastic team and the Olympic organization could have known, how so many others over such a long period of time could have known including even mothers who took their young girls to "doctor" Nasser for examination while he perpetrated such abusive, ugly, ruinous and vile sexual acts on their own children and the mothers did nothing.
Another blogger wrote about the same story that if one wants to know how these things happen go to Netflix and watch a documentary called "The Keepers." It is in several episodes and like the film "Spotlight" it will rivet you. If you want to know how the Larry Nassers, the Harvey Weinsteins, the Donald Trumps and the Father Gagens adding to that thousands of other deviants' names, could have done what they did this documentary will tell you how as it investigates the killing of two beloved nuns of Baltimore in the late sixties.
These soulless murderers of souls operate by fear, they operate by power, they operate by money and they operate because for so long those who knew what was happening and said nothing did so because they could not buck an entrenched system of very powerful institutions run by very powerful men. Fear of reprisal from these men through the institutions they controlled, through institutional dogma they spread, through fear of ruination of their loved ones' lives and fear of even losing their own life dictated that silence was the Golden Rule.
The genie, now, however, is out of the bottle, time cannot erase the public humiliation, criminal and social ostracism that has and will befall these men as the Times Up/Me Too movements gain steam. If these young women (and some men) tell the truth, they must be believed and appropriate legal sanctions should ensue. Millions of women are marching to make these changes happen. I urge you if you can to watch this bone chilling documentary "The Keepers" of a true story out of Baltimore in the sixties to answer the questions of how these sick things can happen here. The story transcends class, it transcends religion, it transcends political belief and it transcends ethnic heritage. These things can happen here, they do happen here and they must stop.
Another blogger wrote about the same story that if one wants to know how these things happen go to Netflix and watch a documentary called "The Keepers." It is in several episodes and like the film "Spotlight" it will rivet you. If you want to know how the Larry Nassers, the Harvey Weinsteins, the Donald Trumps and the Father Gagens adding to that thousands of other deviants' names, could have done what they did this documentary will tell you how as it investigates the killing of two beloved nuns of Baltimore in the late sixties.
These soulless murderers of souls operate by fear, they operate by power, they operate by money and they operate because for so long those who knew what was happening and said nothing did so because they could not buck an entrenched system of very powerful institutions run by very powerful men. Fear of reprisal from these men through the institutions they controlled, through institutional dogma they spread, through fear of ruination of their loved ones' lives and fear of even losing their own life dictated that silence was the Golden Rule.
The genie, now, however, is out of the bottle, time cannot erase the public humiliation, criminal and social ostracism that has and will befall these men as the Times Up/Me Too movements gain steam. If these young women (and some men) tell the truth, they must be believed and appropriate legal sanctions should ensue. Millions of women are marching to make these changes happen. I urge you if you can to watch this bone chilling documentary "The Keepers" of a true story out of Baltimore in the sixties to answer the questions of how these sick things can happen here. The story transcends class, it transcends religion, it transcends political belief and it transcends ethnic heritage. These things can happen here, they do happen here and they must stop.
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