Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

We enjoyed this powerful story about the acclaimed blues singer and a 1927 Chicago recording session. Viola Davis is terrific as the mercurial Rainey and Chadwick Boseman electrifying in his final performance as manic horn player Levee. The adaptation of August Wilson's 1984 play has some great music but there's plenty of meat, literally and figuratively, as Davis put on weight for the role and shows us a Black woman taking no guff from anyone. The rest of the band is Glynn Turman as Toledo, Colman Domingo as Cutler, and Michael Potts as Slow Drag; and Jeremy Shamos plays the nervous agent Mr. Irvin.

Boseman died in August 2020 at 43. He was in treatment for colorectal cancer during production the summer of 2019, which could explain how skinny he was.

George C. Wolfe directs from Ruben Santiago-Hudson's adaptation of Wilson's play. Denzel Washington, one of the producers, plans to produce all ten of Wilson's (1945-2005) "Century Cycle" plays. This is the second, after Fences, in which Washington starred with Davis. The original Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ran on Broadway for 276 performances and earned several Tony nominations. Whoopi Goldberg starred in 68 performances of a 2003 revival. 

Branford Marsalis provides the score and Maxayn Lewis supplies the vocals for Davis. The soundtrack is available with a subscription to Apple Music and for free on Spotify.

The exterior scenes, set in Chicago, were shot in Wilson's hometown of Pittsburgh by cinematographer Tobias Schliessler, who also has the creamy indoor lighting done to perfection. Ann Roth's costumes are worth a mention, too.

Davis was last blogged for Troop Zero (she won an Oscar for Fences), Boseman for Avengers: Infinity War, and Domingo for If Beale Street Could Talk. After I mentioned him in Race (which starred Boseman as Jesse Owens), Turman was in many things, including The Way Back and six episodes of season 4 of Fargo. His agent says he's having a Glynn-aissance. 

Shamos is an Obie-winning and Tony-nominated stage actor whose face is familiar for many TV roles. Wolfe is a Tony-winning director who also directed the TV-movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), back when there was a difference between a TV-movie and a feature film. This is the second script for Santiago-Hudson. Marsalis, who scored The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and has worked with Spike Lee on various projects, is a noted jazz saxophonist from an esteemed musical family and Lewis is a talented lead and backup singer with many credits. Schliessler's credits include Dreamgirls (2006), Hancock (2008), and Beauty and the Beast.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is a swinging 99%, while its audiences merely tap toes at 81. It's good and worth a watch on Netflix.

Let Them All Talk (2020)

Jack and I loved this story of a Pulitzer-winning author who brings her nephew and two of her college friends to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2. Meryl Streep plays the author, Lucas Hedges the nephew, Candice Bergen an angry Texan saleswoman, and Dianne Wiest an activist from Seattle (she has the best lines). Gemma Chan plays Streep's 30-something agent.

Steven Soderbergh directs from a sparkling script by Deborah Eisenberg, and he is the cinematographer and editor as well, using the pseudonyms Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard, respectively. 

The movie was primarily shot during an actual two-week QM2 voyage in August 2019 and the sets, i.e. the decor of the ship, are magnificent. Apparently Soderbergh used a wheelchair for the tracking shots. And the production did not have full control of the ship, but the other passengers apparently weren't very interested. I would've been!

As a fan of composer Thomas Newman, I'm streaming his jaunty score with a subscription to Apple Music. It can be had for free on Spotify

Streep was last blogged (today!) for The Prom, Hedges for Honey Boy, Bergen for Book Club, Wiest for Sisters, Soderbergh for The Laundromat, and Newman for 1917. Eisenberg is an award-winning short story writer and writing professor and Chan is set to reprise her role as Astrid in the upcoming sequel to Crazy Rich Asians.

We watched it on HBO December 18, three days after we saw The Prom, making a Streep mini-festival. 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in our lifeboat, averaging 89%, while its audiences are a sinking 49. We recommend it.

The Prom (2020)

Unlike the critics, Jack and I loved this glitzy musical comedy about narcissistic Broadway actors helping a midwestern girl take her girlfriend to her prom. Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Rannells ham it up and sing beautifully, along with, among others, Keegan-Michael Key, Kerry Washington, and Jo Ellen Pellman as the girl.

This was originally a Broadway musical that ran, including previews, from October 23, 2018 to August 11, 2019. We actually had tickets to see it the following week, but it closed early as they got ready to make the adaptation for Netflix and our New York trip couldn't be moved up. I miss Broadway so much!

Ryan Murphy directs from a screenplay by the Tony winning team of Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, with the musical book by them and Matthew Sklar, a multi-nominated Broadway veteran. The original score is credited to Sklar and David Klotz. 

One big change from the original production is that the roles were played by actors who were not big stars but, obviously, the decision was made to chuck that for the silver screen.

Here are links to the movie soundtrack on Apple Music and Spotify with the above stars, and to the Broadway original cast recording on Apple Music and Spotify.

It seemed to my ears that the songs were recorded in a controlled studio and I appreciated that––although some of the teenagers (not Pellman) sounded to me as if they were auto-tuned.

We in the heartland sometimes take issue with being satirized as hicks. Well, this show is rife with Indiana bashing. Here's an article about it from an Indianapolis newspaper. Indianapolis happens to be Murphy's birthplace.

The fun choreography is credited to Casey Nicholaw, and here's an article from Variety about it. Production designer Jamie Walker McCall does great work, too, including having built a replica of Manhattan's 44th Street (the middle of the theatre district).

There's plenty of fun trivia to be learned but my favorite is one that Jack looked up. Kidman's character is supposedly vying with Tina Louise for a part. Louise, who was part of the Gilligan's Island ensemble, is 86.

Streep was last blogged for Little Women, Corden for Into The Woods, Kidman for Bombshell, and Key for Dolemite Is My Name. Rannells was covered in A Simple Favor. After Washington was blogged for Django Unchained she starred in all 124 episodes of Scandal and all eight of the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere. After I wrote about Murphy for Eat Pray Love he produced most and directed some of the serieses The New Normal, Feud: Bette and Joan, Pose, The Politician, and Hollywood, to name a few. This column in Glamour has a nice profile of Pellman.

As noted, Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 58%, and its audiences at 68 aren't pinning corsages on this movie. But we had a great time two weeks ago streaming it on Netflix. And, in a normal year, it would have been a lovely choice for our annual Christmas afternoon movie.

Between the World and Me (2020)

This powerful piece combines readings from Ta-Nehisi Coates' 2015 non-fiction book of the same name, written as a letter to his teenage son, with documentary footage from the actors' pasts, archival film, and animation. Its account of deadly racism is sad but true.

Many notable actors and activists participate in the one hour 20 minute HBO special, which is based on a 2018 staging of the book at Harlem's Apollo Theater, directed by Kamilah Forbes, who helmed this production as well. In addition to her and Coates, the short list of producers includes Susan Kelechi Watson, best known for playing Beth Pearson on 78 episodes of This Is Us.

No composer is credited and no soundtrack seems to be available, but I found this playlist on Spotify. Fight the Power is definitely in the movie but I don't think the playlist, though a good one, is accurate.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics rise up to this, averaging 94%, but its audiences are less active at 67.

I'm glad I chose to write about this now instead of putting it off, because you can watch it for free from this link until December 27. I imagine that, after that date, you'll need a subscription to HBO Max. Be sure to see it. Every American should.

Mank (2020)

This story of Herman Mankiewicz' writing the Citizen Kane (1941) screenplay is great fun, especially for movie buffs. The enormous cast is headed by Gary Oldman in the title role, Charles Dance as William Randolph Hearst, Amanda Seyfried as Hearst's girlfriend Marion Davies, and Tom Pelphrey as Herman's brother Joe.

Directed by David Fincher, from a screenplay by his father Jack Fincher, the movie jumps back and forth in time from the writing of the screenplay to the events that supposedly inspired it. There were times I got confused as to what was when, but Jack did not.

The wonderful music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is available by subscription on Apple Music and free on Spotify.

The sets and costumes are magnificent and I kept thinking I wanted to see it in color, but research proved that it was not converted from color, but originally shot in black and white in a special dynamic range. Here's an article if you, too, would like to know more about the cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt. I also found this article about Donald Graham Burt's production design which includes the massive fireplace in the final Citizen Kane movie. And, oh, the wardrobe by Trish Summerville! 

One fun bit of trivia for us movie buffs is that every now and then there was a cue mark–a dot in the upper right corner–on the screen. Back in the day, those marks were burned onto film so the projectionists would know when to change reels. It was a fun conceit added to this made-for-Netflix project.

Oldman was last blogged for The Laundromat, Seyfried for First Reformed, David Fincher for Gone Girl, and Reznor and Ross for Mid90s. Dance was profiled in The Imitation Game. Pelphrey looked familiar because he played brother Ben in the series Ozark. This was the only movie written by Jack Fincher (1930-2003) that made it to the screen. Messerschmidt, in his feature debut, has already won one festival award (so far) for this. Burt won an Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and won an Art Directors Guild Award for that and Gone Girl and nominated for The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (all David Fincher projects). Summerville was nominated by her peers for Costume Designers Guild Awards for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are rosy, averaging 84%, while its audiences are chillier at 61. We thoroughly enjoyed it on December 12. And we followed it with the Netflix mini-series Hollywood, which takes place just a few years later, mixing true historical filmmakers with fiction, wishful thinking, and full color sets and wardrobe.

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Though many have issues with the "poverty porn," Jack and I appreciated the high production values in this story of a lawyer's early life with his addict mother and forceful grandmother. Glenn Close is terrific as Mamaw, with a frizzy perm, jutting jaw, and oversized T-shirts. It's hard to like Gabriel Basso as the lawyer J.D. or Amy Adams as his mother Bev, because their characters are so unlikeable––brooding and shouting, respectively. Freida Pinto plays J.D.'s patient girlfriend in the city. The cast is huge.

Ron Howard directs from Vanessa Taylor's adaptation of J.D. Vance's 2016 best-selling memoir. The book and the movie infuriated many people, not just poor and/or Appalachian folk. And the critics have savaged the movie. See below.

The lovely folk music is by Hans Zimmer and David Fleming, which I'm streaming with my subscription to Apple Music. You can listen free on Spotify.

The makeup department took great pains to get Close and Adams to look like Vance's actual grandmother and mother, as shown at the end. 

Basso was last blogged for Super 8, Adams for Vice (Oscar-nomninated), Close for The Wife (Oscar-nominated), Pinto for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Howard for Solo: A Star Wars Story, Taylor for The Shape of Water (Oscar-nominated), and Zimmer for Widows.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics hated it, averaging 26%, but its audiences liked it just fine, at 86. We got what we expected from a Ron Hoard joint and didn't hate streaming it on Netflix December 5.

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

We liked a lot this retelling of the classic story from riches to rags to riches to rags etc. I call it Charles Dickens as interpreted by Lewis Carroll, with madness and humor scattered throughout the opulence and squalor. In "colourblind" casting, Ranveer Jaiswal and Dev Patel, who are of East Indian descent, play David as a boy and an adult, Benedict Wong (Chinese-English) plays Mr. Wickfield, and Rosalind Eleazar (English) and Nikki Amuka-Bird (Nigerian), who are Black, play daughter Agnes Wickfield and Mrs. Steerforth, the mother of one of David's white schoolmates, respectively. And the madcap performances of white people Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, and Peter Capaldi add much, as well as Ben Whishaw's  creepy Uriah Heep, just to name a few.

As big fans of the work of director/co-writer Armando Iannucci (I usually describe him as a Scotsman with an Italian name), we were looking forward to this movie since we started seeing trailers earlier this year. But it was released only in theatres in August and we did not risk attending. It can now be rented on iTunes and Prime, to name a few. Simon Blackwell co-wrote the script. Not having read the original 1850 novel, neither Jack nor I can comment on its accuracy, but, according to Wikipedia, it's pretty much there.

The colorful cinematography is credited to Zac Nicholson, the lavish production design to Cristina Casali, and the luxurious costumes to Suzie Harman and Robert Worley.

I'm streaming Christopher Willis' stirring music via my subscription to Apple Music and it can be heard for free on Spotify.

Patel was last blogged for Lion, Swinton for The Dead Don't Die, Laurie for Tomorrowland, Capaldi and Blackwell for In the Loop (my second favorite Iannucci project after the series Veep), Whishaw for Mary Poppins Returns, and Iannucci and Willis for The Death of Stalin, on which Nicholson, Casali, and Harman had the same jobs as they did here.

We're with Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 92%, on this one, and not its rotten audiences at 53, and watched it December 1, 2020.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

Jack and I loved this story of a young man trying to reclaim the house his grandfather built in a now gentrified San Francisco neighborhood. Based on the life of Jimmie Fails, who stars and co-wrote the story, in his screen debut, it's directed by Fails' childhood friend Joe Talbot, who co-wrote the story and the script in his feature film debut. In another debut, Rob Richert co-wrote the screenplay and the movie was developed at the Independent Feature Project, earning a bunch of festival wins and nominations.

We watched it on Amazon Prime in mid-January, picking it from Barack Obama's list of best movies of 2019. After all this time I don't remember everything, but I did like Jonathan Majors as Fails' best friend Montgomery, the SF location shots, and the music, both original score and songs. Danny Glover, a proud resident of the city by the bay, has a cameo, and you'll recognize several other faces.

As for the location shots, one error in geography is that the house is supposed to be located at Golden Gate and Fillmore, but street signs prove otherwise. The house shown in the movie is on South Van Ness between 20th and 21st Streets. Adam Newport-Berra is the cinematographer.

Emile Mosseri composed the score and I'm streaming it now on Apple Music. You can also find it on Spotify. Here's a list of songs, including some covers of San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).

A little fun trivia is that the filmmakers are fans of the cult black comedy Ghost World (2001), based on the comic by Daniel Clowes, starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, and Steve Buscemi (I liked it, too!). Birch has a cameo in this one as a bus passenger complaining about the city, and she has glasses in her pocket that look just like her character's in Ghost World.

34 producers are listed on imdb. Not enough to win, but it gets a place on the list for my Producers Plethora Prize.

Mosseri was last blogged for Kajillionaire, which actually came out later, but I'm just getting around to writing about this one now since I forgot to make a draft at the time.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics agree with the President, averaging 92% fresh, and its audiences aren't far behind at 84.

According to ReelGood, you can still stream it on Prime or rent it from iTunes. Do it!

House of D (2004)

Ignoring scathing reviews, we enjoyed much of this quirky dramedy about a man looking back on his high school days, his friendship with his school's mentally disabled janitor, his crush, his mother, and a compassionate stranger. David Duchovny and Anton Yelchin play Tom at different ages, Robin Williams is the janitor, his daughter Zelda is Tom's crush, Duchovny's then-wife Téa Leoni plays Tom's mother, and musician Erykah Badu is the stranger, a prisoner in the House of D, which is short for Women's House of Detention.

It's not only Duchovny's feature directing and writing debut, it's his only feature in those jobs, though he directed three and wrote eight of his 191 episodes of X-Files between 1993 and 2018 (I haven't seen a single one). I have, however, seen all 84 of his episodes of Californication from 2007-2014, of which he directed six.

The acting is flawless so I can only guess the critics took issue with some uneven timing.

Throughout November 2020 our internet kept going out, due to one broken receiver and an escalating series of errors by phone and chat technicians. So the day before Thanksgiving we were jonesing for a movie and dug up this DVD––remember those? We even watched the extras and learned that Leoni begged Duchovny to let her play the mother and that the vintage picture cars, i.e. the ones in the shots, were reused from scene to scene. And we learned that there was a women's prison in Manhattan back in the day, with windows high above the street, and family and friends and pimps of the prisoners used to congregate on the sidewalk.

The score by Geoff Zanelli isn't available online. Here's a list of the songs, including one that Badu sings in her cell.

Duchovny was last blogged for The Joneses, Yelchin for Thoroughbreds (he died in 2016), Williams for The Butler (gone in 2014), Leoni for Tower Heist (before her 120 episodes of Madam Secretary, all of which I watched), and Badu for What Men Want.

So how bad were the reviews? 10% critics' average on Rotten Tomatoes. Wow. But its audiences came in at 73. We liked it even better than that.

If you want to see for yourself, it can be found on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Starz, YouTube, and more.

The High Note (2020)

This lightweight story of a pop superstar and her assistant is a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Tracee Ellis Ross, daughter of Diana and co-star of Black-ish, and Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith, bring much to the screen as the singer and the assistant who aspires to producing records. Griffith makes a cameo as Johnson's mother Tess, the same name as Griffith's famous role in Working Girl (1988). Dozens of others round out the cast.

Nisha Ganatra directs from a script by Flora Greeson in the latter's debut. The subjects of sexism and racism in the music industry are part of the story.

The original music by Amie Doherty isn't available online but I suspect you'll notice only the many songs, listed here, which you can play on youtube or Apple Music. Ross is no slouch behind the microphone.

There's a little bonus at the end––some dialogue, so wait for the the credits to finish before turning it off.

Johnson was last blogged for The Peanut Butter Falcon and Ganatra for Late Night.

Rotten Tomatoes' critic and audiences averages are 70 and 72, which is respectable. It's a fun musical interlude.

We rented it in mid-July. According to ReelGood, you have several options to do so now.

Kajillionaire (2020)

We were drawn to this story of L.A. grifters by the formidable cast of Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, and Gina Rodriguez. Their performances are unimpeachable. Director/writer Miranda July is no stranger to peculiarity and her touch is evident here. The laughs are uneven but they're there, along with loads of cringing. If you don't use closed captions, let me help: Wood's character is named Old Dolio (DOE-lee-o), which is explained late in the movie.

The soundtrack by Emile Mosseri is available YouTube and I'm streaming it right now on Apple Music. I like it! Here's a list of the songs.

Wood was last blogged for The Ides of March, Jenkins for The Shape of Water which earned him an Oscar nomination, Winger for The Lovers, Rodriguez for Annihilation, and July for The Future, which we didn't like. Mosseri's last score was for The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), which we rented in January and I forgot to write about. I'll take care of that shortly.

This is July's first feature in which she didn't act. Maybe that has something to do with our liking it better than her other work?

Jack and I fit somewhere in between Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 89%, and its audiences at 47.

We rented it in late October from Amazon Prime. ReelGood has other options, too.

Frances Ferguson (2019)

I enjoyed this cringey story of an unlikeable young woman dealing with the scandals she has willfully caused. Kaley Wheless stars in the title role and she co-wrote the story with director Bob Byington. Scott King gets screenplay credit.

The dulcet tones of Nick Offerman provide narration and the cast includes Martin Starr and David Krumholtz. The movie earned a few festival wins and nominations.

There's no online streaming for the soundtrack by Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend and a band called Burgess Meredith. When I watched this, the same day as Mary Goes Round, I wrote down "Jenny Parrott song at end." I can't find that online either, though I learned that Jenny Parrott is a singer-songwriter now recovering from a severe bout of COVID.

Offerman was last blogged for Hearts Beat Loud and Starr for Spider-Man: Far from Home. This is the second feature for Wheless who, by the way, wears her own high school cheerleading uniform in one awkward scene. Byington has a handful of other credits and King has one. Krumholtz first came to my attention in The Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) and Liberty Heights (1999). My favorite line from Liberty Heights was when his character Yussel, a poor Jewish teenager, looks around the home of a wealthy WASP family. He sees the Persian rugs and says something like, "What? Area rugs? They couldn't afford wall-to-wall?" Krumholtz' TV credits include 119 episodes of Numb3rs, 22 of The Deuce, seven of The Good Wife and five of Mom.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics liked it less than I did, averaging 78% and its audiences less than that at 63.

As of this writing you can rent it on Amazon Prime for 99¢.

Mary Goes Round (2017)

Aya Cash plays a substance abuse counselor with substance abuse problems who returns to her estranged family in this interesting little independent movie. The movie earned a handful of festival wins and nominations.

This is the feature debut for director/writer Molly McGlynn. Afterwards she worked on various TV shows including writing 8 and producing 17 out of 26 episodes of Bless This Mess, which we liked. 

There are no links online to the score, composed by Dillon Baldassero and Casey Manierka-Quaile.

Cash was last blogged for Social Animals. Baldassero and Manierka-Quaile have each scored a number of projects separately with more in the pipeline.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are merry over this, averaging 89 and 95%, respectively.

I saw it, while my housemates were otherwise engaged, in May as part of benefits for members of Film Independent, which I joined in order to watch screeners of nominated movies not necessarily showing at a theatre near me.

As of this writing it's available on Amazon Prime and perhaps there are other platforms sown on ReelGood. 

An American Pickle (2020)

This lightweight comedy, with Seth Rogen playing both a man born in the 1880s and his great-great-grandson, has a fair number of jokes and isn't a total waste of time. Rogen's Herschel falls into a Brooklyn pickle vat in 1919 and is preserved for a hundred years, where he meets Ben and they try, with little success, to understand each other's ways of life. Sort of a buddy comedy with one actor playing both buddies. Among the dozens of credited and uncredited roles, Sarah Snook has a nice bit as Herschel's wife in Russia.

Directed by Brandon Trost from Simon Rich's screenplay, adapted from his own short story Sell Out.

Marc Maron interviewed Rogen on his WTF podcast last summer and that piqued our interest. Jack and I love Maron's work. Here's the link to the Rogen segment but be careful, the WTF free links expire and go behind a paywall after a while.

The klezmer-influenced soundtrack by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad is available on Apple Music and YouTube, among others.

Rogen was last blogged for Long Shot. I've enjoyed much of Snook's work, including The Dressmaker and The Glass Castle, but she may be best known to you for her Emmy-nominated 21 episodes of Succession. Trost has a long list of credits as cinematographer, including The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and he co-directed one feature. This is his solo feature debut as director. Rich, the son of New York Times editor Frank Rich, is a Saturday Night Live writer making his feature screenplay debut here.

Rotten Tomatoes' audiences, averaging 48%, are saltier than its critics at 73. We're more in line with the critics.

We saw it on HBO in mid-August. Check ReelGood for other streaming possibilities.

The King of Staten Island (2020)

Comedian Pete Davidson co-wrote and stars in a story of a slacker named Scott mourning the loss of his firefighter father on 9/11. I don't remember much so can't give a firm opinion. Plenty of star power joins Davidson: Marisa Tomei as his mother Margie, Steve Buscemi as his father, Bel Powley as Scott's girlfriend, and Bill Burr as Margie's boyfriend.

And, speaking of star power, comedy king Judd Apatow directs and co-produces from a script by him, Davidson, and Dave Sirius. Maude Apatow, daughter of Judd and Leslie Mann, plays Scott's sister.

Davidson was seven years old when his father Scott died rescuing people at the World Trade Center. And Buscemi was a firefighter until, at age 27, he quit to take up acting, although he briefly rejoined his Engine 55 station in Little Italy in 2001 to help search for survivors in the rubble. Davidson's grandfather Stephen Davidson plays Grandpa.

Twelve minutes of soundtrack by Michael Andrews can be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify, and there's a long list of songs, listed here, which you can play on Spotify if you like. I'm sure they'll be good but I don't listen to songs with lyrics while I write.

Powley was last blogged for The Diary of Teenage Girl (after which we liked her in all ten episodes of The Morning Show), Tomei for Spider-Man: Far from Home, Buscemi for The Dead Don't Die, Apatow for Trainwreck, and Andrews for The Big Sick. Davidson is a six year veteran of Saturday Night Live (132 episodes), and Sirius is an SNL writer with 23 episodes to his credit.

Rotten Tomatoes's audience give a slightly better royal reception, averaging 84%, than its critics at 74. As I said, I don't remember much because we streamed this in mid-June. According to ReelGood, you can rent it from several outlets.

Palm Springs (2020)

I may be the millionth person to cite Groundhog Day (1993) in writing about this stuck-in-time story of a jerk who is, well, stuck in time at a destination wedding. We enjoyed it and critics adored it. Andy Samberg, whom we love in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, makes the jerk appealing. Co-stars include Cristin Milioti as the prickly maid of honor and J.K. Simmons as a wedding guest.

Max Barbakow directs from a script by Andy Siara.

The original music by Matthew "Cornbread" Compton can be found on Apple Music and Spotify. Lots of songs, listed here, have their own playlist on Spotify.

Santa Clarita locations filled in as Palm Springs, and the more rugged locale was in Palmdale, California.

This movie broke a couple of records: biggest sale of a Sundance Film Festival movie ($17,500,000.69, beating the previous record holder by 69¢) and most viewed Hulu release in its first weekend.

Samberg was last blogged for Brigsby Bear and Simmons for The Front Runner. Milioti starred in the TV adaptation of the New York Times Modern Love column "When the Doorman Is Your Main Man," nine episodes of the 2015 season of Fargo, and much more. This is the feature directing debut for Barbakow and Siara was a writer and showrunner's assistant on ten episodes of Lodge 49, which also had some supernatural elements.

Yes, Rotten Tomatoes' critics are springing for it, averaging 94%, while its audiences aren't far behind at 88.

It's a Hulu original and we streamed it from there in mid-July.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

This well done, understated drama about teenage girls crossing state lines for a legal abortion has wins and nominations from Sundance and other film festivals. It stars Sidney Flanigan as Autumn––the pregnant one––and Talia Ryder as her cousin and best friend Skylar. Théodore Pellerin plays the guy they meet at the bus station and singer Sharon Van Etten has a cameo as Autumn's mother.

Director/writer Eliza Hittman has two features under her belt and Flanigan makes her film debut, while Ryder makes her feature film debut. Pellerin is best known to us for playing Cody in all ten episodes of On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

The dreamy soundtrack by Julia Holter is streaming from soundcloud as I type.

Cinematographer Hélène Louvart adds to the understatement with her muted tones. She was last blogged for Pina.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 99%, rating it "always," while its audiences come in at "rarely" or 20. Jack and I thought it was good.

Reelgood says you can stream this on HBO or HBO Max, as we did the end of July, or rent from a few other places.

Tenet (2020)

Jack and I did not enjoy this time travel drama. I can't even tell you what it's about. The most interesting part is that we saw it in a cinema during the pandemic––see below. Jack said, "It was like watching someone play a video game you don't understand." And I just space out when the space-time continuum is breached. It had good special effects, as I recall, but to what end?

Plenty of star power is in front of director/writer Christopher Nolan's camera: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, and many more.

The soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson is available on Apple Music and other outlets.

Nolan was last blogged for Dunkirk, Washington (son of Denzel) for BlacKkKlansman, Pattinson for The Lighthouse, Caine for Going in Style, Branagh for Murder on the Orient Express, and Göransson for Black Panther.

On September 20, 2020, with nine millennial friends, we booked a private screening at a local theatre. It came to about $11 per person. The room had 46 seats and they allowed 23 people. Eleven seemed just right. Spread out by household, we wore masks throughout, unless we were actively eating or drinking. We scheduled it for right after opening on a Sunday so as to have the room as sanitary as possible. Too bad we didn't like the movie very much. Oh, and it's two and a half hours long. 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences liked it better than we did, averaging 71 and 76%, respectively.

If I haven't put you off too much, Rotten Tomatoes says you can buy it from Fandango or Vudu, but it's not yet available to rent or stream elsewhere.

The last movie we saw live was Downhill on February 20. I would consider doing the private screening thing again if only something I want to see would be offered.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019 - Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)

I loved this languid, magnificently photographed story of an 18th century French woman hired to paint a recalcitrant bride. Director/writer Céline Sciamma won Best Screenplay and Queer Palm at Cannes and was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Parasite won), among many honors.

Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel give wonderful performances as the painter and her subject, and Sciamma wrote the role of the bride specifically for her ex-lover Haenel. Valeria Golino has a few scenes as the mother of the bride. Golino is best known for being the love interest in Rain Man (1988).

An actual painter, Hélène Delmaire, created the paintings and her hands are shown in close up, even though she is left handed and Merlant is not. A touring exhibition was scheduled but I doubt it happened with the pandemic situation.

The glorious photography by Claire Mathon takes place in the west-northwest region of Brittany in France as well as a striking chateau near Paris, available (sometime, I hope) for tours and described here.

The score is credited to Para One and Arthur Simonini. I found only one track online.

I chose this to watch on my birthday in mid-September. Jack contentedly snoozed next to me on the couch as I reveled in it for 122 minutes. Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are in accord with me, averaging 98 and 92%, respectively.

I've been using reelgood.com to find where to stream movies, but I'll save you the trouble––it's on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

Emma. (2020)

We liked this adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, Johnny Flynn as Mr. Knightley, Mia Goth as Harriet, and Callum Turner as Frank, with a nice cameo by Bill Nighy as Emma's father.

Autumn de Wilde directs (her feature debut) from the screenplay adaptation by Eleanor Catton (ditto). De Wilde explained that the period at the end of the title is there because it's a period film.

As I write I'm streaming the soundtrack by Isobel Waller-Bridge (sister of Phoebe) and David Schweitzer on Apple Music and you can find it on YouTube if you wish.

Marvelous costumes are de rigeur for such a period piece and Alexandra Byrne takes credit here.

After I wrote about Taylor-Joy for Thoroughbreds she made a big impact starring in The Queen's Gambit. Nighy was last blogged for The Bookshop and Byrne for Mary Queen of Scots, in which I correctly predicted her forthcoming Oscar nomination.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are warmer, averaging 87%, than its audiences at 72. We enjoyed it in mid-July, 2020.

Check ReelGood for streaming opportunities.

Irresistible (2020)

As fans of Steve Carell and Jon Stewart, Jack and I liked this story of a small-town Wisconsin mayoral election thrust into the national spotlight by a Democratic strategist. Director/writer Stewart cast Carell along with Chris Cooper, Rose Byrne, and dozens more.

The story is partly inspired by the 2017 special election in Georgia's 6th congressional district. Avoid spoilers before seeing it!

Bryce Dessner of The National composed the original score, heard between curated songs, but I can't find any of it online for our listening pleasure.

Carell was last blogged for Welcome to Marwen, Stewart for Rosewater, Cooper for Little Women, Byrne for Juliet, Naked, and Dessner for The Two Popes.

We do not agree with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences, averaging 66%, and especially not with its critics at 40.

If you're not put off by those numbers, check ReelGood for rental opportunities. We streamed it in late June, 2020.

On the Rocks (2020)

We greatly enjoyed this comedy about Laura, played by Rashida Jones, teaming up with her charming divorced father Felix, played by Bill Murray, to try to catch her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) in an affair. Jenny Slate is very funny as a school mom who shares TMI, and Barbara Bain has a nice cameo as Murray's mother. The little girls who play Laura and Dean's daughters are adorable, too.

Directed and written by Sofia Coppola, its wry story is boosted by lush settings of wealthy New York City.

Jones was last blogged for Celeste and Jesse Forever, Murray for The Dead Don't Die, Slate for The Polka King, and Coppola for The Beguiled. Wayans was amazing in Requiem for a Dream (2000), but mostly has done slapstick schtick since then. Until now.

The band Phoenix is credited with the soundtrack, but I can find online only the song Identical (listen here).

We're with Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 86%, and not its audiences at a scant 50, who may have been put off by Coppola's languid style.

Jack and I streamed this on Apple TV+ on November 20.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Jack says this is bound to get Oscar nominations. A huge distinguished cast, mostly men, leads this excellent drama which centers on the actual 1968 trial but has plenty of background, both recreated and in archival footage. I wept at the riot scenes that took place before the Democratic National Convention that year.

Sacha Baron Cohen doesn't exactly go against type to play Abbie Hoffman, since Hoffman was a loud-mouthed iconoclast. Cohen's performance here is riveting. And the rest of the cast are no slouches either: Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin, Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, Mark Rylance as William Kunstler, John Carroll Lynch as David Dellinger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Richard Schultz, Frank Langella as Judge Julius Hoffman, and so many more.

Aaron Sorkin, no stranger to courtroom drama, directs and writes. I noticed that the dialogue is not the usual Sorkin rapid-fire, but, instead, is at a more normal pace. A number of instances of poetic license also differ from history.

As I write I'm listening to the soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton on Apple Music and it can also be found on Spotify and more.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner of the Producers Plethora Prize. Forty-three producers listed on imdb. Here's the running list. The plethora may have to do with the fact that the project had been in development for over thirteen years before this year's release, with Steven Spielberg attached to direct and many other actors attached to star.

Cohen was last blogged for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Redmayne for The Danish Girl (Oscar nominated), Rylance for Dunkirk, Lynch for Private Life, Gordon-Levitt for Knives Out, Langella for Captain Fantastic, Sorkin for Molly's Game, and Pemberton for Yesterday. Strong won an Emmy earlier this year for Succession, and was also good in Molly's Game, the series Masters of Sex, and The Big Short, among others.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences agree with us, averaging 90 and 91%, respectively.

We streamed this Netflix original on November 18 and were glued to the couch for the entire 129 minutes.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

More outrageous cringing as Borat, in new disguises, tricks politicians and others into saying and doing regrettable things. This is mostly just for fans of creator Sacha Baron Cohen's over-the-top, profane humor, and is a sequel to Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006). 24 year old Maria Bakalova is fully up to the task of committing to play Borat's crazed daughter. Tom Hanks, Mike Pence, and Rudy Giuliani are among the celebrities on screen.

Eight writers may be a new record for a screenplay, but, up to now, I haven't been counting. The director is Jason Woliner, making his feature debut after a number of shorts and TV episodes. His headshot on imdb is of a young boy. 

Fun fact: when Borat is supposedly speaking in the Kazakh language, it's actually Hebrew, according to this article. When his daughter speaks, it's her native Bulgarian, and the Kazakh premier speaks his native Romanian, proving that American audiences (present company included) don't know languages.

As usual, Sacha's brother Erran Baron Cohen provides the score, and here's his website, from which you can stream a number of his tracks.

Both Cohens were last blogged for The Brothers Grimsby. This is Bakalova's American film debut and she now has three projects in progress.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 86%, are not as put off as its audiences at 67.

We streamed this on Amazon Prime on November 10. 

Rule #24 for films and television

After a parent says good night to her/his kid in the kid's room, the parent will have one hand on the door when the kid will speak up about an important topic.

Here is the complete list of rules.

Shirley (2020)

Elisabeth Moss turns in a terrific performance as Shirley Jackson, portrayed here as an acerbic, agoraphobic, alcoholic writer of horror stories in 1964 Bennington, Vermont. Jackson was a real person and her family was not happy about the portrayal. Her most famous story, The Lottery, was originally published in The New Yorker in 1948 and the magazine reran it in August of this year, around the time of the movie's release. Read and/or listen to it here.

The supporting cast also shines, including Michael Stuhlbarg as Jackson's ebullient husband and Odessa Young and Logan Lerman as the young couple who stay with them.

This won a Sundance Award as well as a few other nominations for director Josephine Decker. Sarah Gubbins adapted Susan Scarf Merrell's 2014 novel.

Since we watched this two months ago, I have little recollection of the set dressing and cinematography. I'm sure it was fabulous. I do sort of remember the mid-century wardrobe so I'll give a shout out to Amela Baksic.

The soundtrack by Tamar-Kali can be found on YouTube, Apple Music, and more.

Moss was last blogged for Her Smell, Stuhlbarg for Call Me by Your Name, Lerman for Indignation, and Tamar-Kali for The Assistant. Young isn't new to acting and this is Decker's fifth feature, but both are new to me. I've enjoyed all of Gubbins' previous work–writing and producing the serieses Better Things and I Love Dick. The former is a must-see.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in line with us, averaging 87% while its audiences, not so much at 56.

You can stream this on Hulu by subscription or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and more.

Lucky Grandma (2019)

We loved this story of a Chinese woman who wins big at a casino not far from her home in NYC's Chinatown. The script is clever and hilarious, mostly in Chinese dialect with subtitles, picturing the melding of traditional ways with the modern world. Note: there's a little tiny bit of violence.

Directed and co-written by Sasie Sealy and co-written by Angela Chen in their feature debut, it stars Tsai Chin in the title role. She will be 87 next month, is the daughter of an actor, was the first Chinese student to study at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has dozens of credits, including You Only Live Twice (1967), The Joy Luck Club (1993), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and Now You See Me 2.

The soundtrack by Andrew Orkin is available on Apple Music, Soundcloud, and more.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 94% (right) and its audiences' 67 (wrong).

The best way to watch this, as Jack and I did in early September, is by supporting your favorite independent cinema. Go to this link and find your favorite (sorted by state). The theatre will get a commission on your rental of the movie.

Bad Education (2019)

Jack, Amy, and I really liked this based-on-a-true story of fraud in a wealthy Long Island public school district in the early 2000s, adapted from the New York Magazine article The Bad Superintendent. We watched it on HBO in May (it's also available on Hulu and Amazon Prime). The stars include Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Annaleigh Ashford, and Ray Romano. Cory Finley directs from the screenplay by Mike Makowsky, who attended Roslyn High School in New York, which is in the district where the story is set.

At the time I made a note that I liked the classical music by Michael Abels.

Not to be confused with Almadóvar's searing Bad Education (2004 - La mala educación), this one is averaging 94% from Rotten Tomatoes' critics and 83 from its audiences.

Jackman was last blogged for The Front Runner, Janney for Tallulah, Viswanathan for Blockers, Romano for The Big Sick (I didn't mention him for The Irishman), Finley for Thoroughbreds, and Abels for See You Yesterday. Ashford is a Tony-winning and -nominated stage actress and singer (we saw her on Broadway in Kinky Boots)–my favorite of her screen roles is her 37 episodes of Masters of Sex.

13th (2016)

This powerful documentary comparing the US prison system to slavery, thereby negating the 13th Amendment to the constitution had been on my radar since it first came out but I didn't see it until Jack, Amy, and I watched it on Netflix in June. Directed and co-written by Ava DuVernay, it was Oscar-nominated and won a pile of other awards. 

Highly recommended. You don't have to take my word for it–Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 97% and its audiences' 91.

Pandemic productions: Coastal Elites (2020) and Father of the Bride 3 (2020)

Jack and I loved these, both shot zoom-style, with single cameras on single actors.

Coastal Elites is five fictional monologues, 87 minutes total, starring Bette Midler, Dan Levy, Issa Rae, Sarah Paulson, and Kaitlyn Dever. They all play NY or LA residents, talking one at a time about politics and COVID. It's an HBO original, directed by Jay Roach and written by Paul Rudnick.

The haters at Rotten Tomatoes rate this only 55%. There is no audience rating, possibly a casualty of the pandemic. See above. We loved it.

Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish). is the official title. I read director/writer Nancy Meyers' New York Times article first and then eagerly watched the 26 minute segment on YouTube (it was a benefit for World Central Kitchen–we made a donation–and now the short is on Netflix). She reassembled the original cast  playing their original parts and it's expertly edited together, with clips from the first two Father of the Bride Movies (1991 and '95). Happily it has none of the distracting sound problems such a big zoom call would normally have. Starring Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Kieran Culkin, George Newbern, Robert De Niro, Martin Short, and some surprises. I'm counting this as a movie, but apparently Rotten Tomatoes does not so I can't give you a rating.

Midler was last blogged for The Addams Family, Rae for Little, Paulson for The Post, Dever for Booksmart, Roach for Bombshell, Meyers for Home Again, Keaton for Book Club, Martin for The Jerk (which I watched in 2017), Culkin in Wiener-Dog (years before his Emmy nominated turn in Succession), De Niro for The Irishman, Short for Inherent Vice.

Levy is best known for creating and starring in Schitt's Creek; Rudnick wrote, among others, both Sister Act movies (1992 and '93), In & Out (1997), and The Stepford Wives (2004); Williams-Paisley, married to the country singer Brad Paisley, has plenty of credits since the original movies but I've seen none; and Newbern, busy as well, is best known to me as psychopathic hit man Charlie on 69 episodes of Scandal.

South by Southwest 2020 short films

The SXSW Film Festival went virtual for 2020 and all the shorts are, as of this writing, still available to stream from a Mail Chimp webpage. The four on this page were nominated for the SXSW Grand Jury Award and the last one won it. I didn't do a lot of research before randomly picking the first three out of over fifty available.

Basic (2020) is hilarious and only four minutes long. Director/writer/star Chelsea Devantez (her credits include executive story editor for the sitcom Bless The Mess) scrolls through Instagram trash-talking someone. On the official SXSW platform (now closed), there was a very funny intro by Devantez, in which she explains that she's wearing a ball cap because she cut her own bangs and strongly urges everyone not to do that. Amy and Jack saw this short and the intro with me and liked it a lot, too. I watched the others by myself. Side note: I looked for the intro video but found this tweet instead. Also funny!

Summer Hit (2019) is twenty minutes long, about some attractive foreign students in Berlin, focusing on a woman from Spain and man from Iceland coupling and uncoupling. It's pleasant enough. Directed and written by Berthold Wahjudi, who is German, it has subtitles.

Vert (2019) is a twelve minute drama about a happily married British couple in the future celebrating their anniversary with some virtual reality. Nick Frost (last blogged for The World's End) plays the husband for director/writer Kate Cox. I enjoyed it.

Symbiosis (2019), the winner, is thirteen minutes long and not very enjoyable. Hungarian director/co-writer Nádja Andrasev give us a wordless animated story of a woman tracking her husband's philandering. There's plenty of sex. When we watched the SXSW movies on May 6, I looked in vain for this one, and just watched it today. Meh.

Watch Basic and Vert for sure and then you can pick and choose from the long list on Mail Chimp.

Elephant (2020)

Amy, Jack, and I liked a lot this year's Disneynature documentary about a tribe of pachyderms. This one is narrated by Meghan Markle, credited as Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.

Co-directed by Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz, it lives up to the brand, which you can explore on their website. Each entry in the series boasts breathtaking closeup photography that always has me trying to figure out how they could get the shots, as well as interactions between the young animals and their elders. It's perhaps not for the youngest viewers, because some animals usually don't make it, either due to age or predators.

The lovely African-tinged music by Ramin Djawadi can be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify, among others.

Linfield was last blogged for Chimpanzee (another Disneynature doc) and Djawadi for A Wrinkle in Time. The last Disneynature movie we saw was Penguins.

We watched Elephant a month ago on Earth Day as intended. With a few new Apple devices in the house we have a trial subscription to Disney+, and you know how those Mouse folks roll--there aren't any workarounds to see it legally another way, at least this year.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are averaging 77 and 74%, respectively. We look forward to the series each year and were not disappointed.

See You Yesterday (2019)

Amy, Jack, and I loved this sci-fi drama about teenage black Brooklyn science geeks who travel back in time to stop a murder. Winner of the Best First Screenplay Spirit Award for director/co-writer Stefon Bristol and co-writer Frederica Bailey, it's terribly clever, playing on Netflix, and clocks in at just under an hour and a half, including lots and lots of credits. My regular readers know I always sit through all the credits, to read and acknowledge all the work that goes into moviemaking as well as to continue the vibe by hearing every bit of the music.

Eden Duncan-Smith is terrific as the hair-trigger tempered C.J. as is Dante Crichlow as her best friend Sebastian. They played the same roles in a short film (15 minutes, 2017) of the same name. Michael J. Fox has a wonderful cameo as a teacher. And, before he speaks, we see him reading Kindred, Octavia Butler's 1979 novel about an African-American woman who travels back in time to pre-Civil War America and has to deal with the injustice and oppression of slavery.

Spike Lee is one of the producers and this has his fingerprints all over it, from the Brooklyn locations to the police brutality, to the real connections between the characters. The movie was also nominated for the Best First Feature Spirit Award.

From composer Michael Abels' website you can stream a few minutes of the compelling score and from this one you can find links to all five songs listed in the end credits.

Lee was last blogged for BlackKklansman and Abels for Get Out (I was afraid to see Us (2019), Jordan Peele's next horror movie, which Abels also scored to much acclaim). Duncan-Smith has ten other credits, including the short, and this is Crichlow's third, including the short. Bristol and Bailey make their feature debuts with this project.

We are solidly with Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 95%, on this one, not with its audiences at a hateful 34.

Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins (2019)

Jack and I loved this documentary about the outspoken, hilarious columnist (1944-2007). Director/co-writer Janice Engel and co-writer Monique Zavistovski's work kept us captivated throughout the story of "six feet of Texas trouble" who took no prisoners, including calling George W. Bush "Shrub." One reviewer called it "a wistful reminder of the pleasures of free speech."

Her 1991 essay collection, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, resides on my humor bookshelf.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are averaging 94 and 100%, so you don't need to take our word for it.

We streamed it on April 9, included with our Hulu subscription. You can also get it for a small fee on other platforms.

TV in the Time of Corona (musical edition)

This is a short list of musical TV series that I've enjoyed, in alphabetical order.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019) is the creation of Rachel Bloom in the title role, a mentally ill woman who thinks relationships with men will solve all her problems. It's a comedy and Bloom sings and dances to original songs along with a talented cast. Some of my favorites are Settle for Me and Sex with a Stranger-Please Don't Be a Murderer. Season 1 is the best but I did eagerly watch all 62 episodes in four seasons, which are now on Netflix.

Glee (2009-2015) is about a high school glee club in northern Ohio. Lots of great musical numbers. I didn't get through all six seasons (115 episodes!) but they're all on Netflix.

Fosse/Verdon (2019) explores the relationship between choreographer/actor/director/writer Bob Fosse and actress/dancer/singer Gwen Verdon. Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams are terrific in the title roles, and Williams won the Emmy and Golden Globe. Its one season of eight episodes is on Hulu.

Mozart in the Jungle (2014-2018) isn't totally in this category (there weren't a lot of musical numbers played), though it was about a New York Symphony, its musicians, conductors, and board chair, with Lola Kirke (sister of Jemima Kirke from Girls), Gael Garcia Bernal, Malcolm McDowell, Bernadette Peters, and more. I loved all 40 episodes over four seasons and one of my favorite moments was season 1 episode 6, when the symphony played outdoors between two buildings in New York. An Amazon Prime original, it's still available on that platform.

Rise (2018) is another high school club show, this time the drama department, with Josh Radnor and Rosie Perez as two of the teachers. The students include Auli'i Cravalho (voice of Moana). Its ten episodes in one season can't be watched free anywhere--Amazon Prime Video is charging its subscribers and NBC is charging everyone.

Smash (2012-2013) is about the creation of a Broadway musical and I loved all 32 episodes in two seasons. Starring Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, Megan Hilty, and more. I thought of it as Glee for grownups and was sad when it was canceled. Watch free at https://www.nbc.com/smash.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (2020) is now in its first season and episode 10 will be aired this Sunday, April 19. Jane Levy in the title role doesn't sing but nearly everyone else, including Lauren Graham, Alex Newell (a Glee alum), Skylar Astin (a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend alum who is not related to Patty Duke--his birth name is different), and Mary Steenburgen, participates in huge production numbers. It's available on Hulu and https://www.nbc.com/zoeys-extraordinary-playlist.

There are a few more that I did not see listed in this article. Because we subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix, those are the platforms I've covered here. Some of the above may be available on other services.

The Best of Enemies (2019)

I think we liked this story of the clash and eventual friendship between a black woman and a Klansman in 1971 Durham NC with Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell heading up the big cast.

The ticket stub, dated 4/9/2019, turned up in my jacket pocket about a week ago.

Robin Bissell makes his directing and writing debut in an adaptation of the 1996 book The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South by Osha Gray Davidson, which chronicles the two real people, Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis.

Marcelo Zarvos's soundtrack can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music and I probably liked the songs, fifteen of which are listed here. Someone went to the trouble to make a 56 song playlist on Spotify.

Henson was last blogged for What Men Want, Rockwell for Richard Jewell, and Zarvos for The Land of Steady Habits.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics aren't too friendly towards this, averaging 53%, but its audiences come in at 76. As of this writing the movie is available by subscription on Hulu and Showtime and for a fee on Amazon Prime.

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band (2019)

Jack and I loved this documentary about the seminal musician and his troupe. Narrated by Robertson himself, often speaking in the present tense to an unseen interviewer, it features historical footage and photographs and oh, so many songs. The recurring theme is, "No one had ever done that before."

Directed and written by Daniel Roher (he's new to me), it has nary a dull moment for music lovers.

Martin Scorsese is one of the producers and also one of the interviewees. In his varied filmography Scorsese has made documentaries about George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and, of course, The Band in his coverage of their 1976 final performance in The Last Waltz (1978). Footage from The Last Waltz is included at the end of Once Were Brothers. The excellent sound quality is a departure from the rest of the concert recordings. I recommend this 2012 Rolling Stone article about some of Scorsese's best musical moments.

Robertson didn't stop working after The Band's last waltz, but that's where this movie ends. He was last blogged as a composer for The Irishman, which Scorsese directed.

The official soundtrack (at 3 hours 22 minutes, it's about twice as long as the documentary) is available only on Apple Music.

With 25 producers, this movie is another entry in the Producers Plethora Prize (here's my running list).

Singing its praises, we're in line with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences at 92% rather than its critics at 79.

The movie is available as pay per view on many streaming platforms. However, we chose to support our city's oldest independent cinema and you can, too, by going to the movie's home page and choosing SUPPORT THEATERS. Then the one you choose will get a commission on the rental. You'll get an email with a link for streaming and an address to write if you have any problems. Problems were had, in our case, but our email was answered promptly, even outside of bankers' hours, and we streamed it April 4.

Tallulah (2016)

Jack and I really liked this story of a young drifter who impulsively steals a baby from a neglectful mother. Ellen Page is wonderful in the title role, as are Allison Janney and Tammy Blanchard as Talullah's boyfriend's mom and the neglectful mother, respectively. Uzo Aduba has a nice cameo as a calm, pregnant social worker, diametrically opposed to her Orange is the New Black character Crazy Eyes.

Director/writer Sian Heder fleshed out her 2006 short film Mother, which won a few festival awards, into this Cannes and Sundance nominee, her feature debut.

I'm now listening to the lovely score by Michael Brook, which can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music.

I've been meaning to see this since it was released on Netflix four years ago. Another failed streaming attempt on April 1 steered us down the Netflix saved list, and I'm glad it did.

Page was last blogged for Freeheld, Janney for Troop Zero, and Brook for Brooklyn. Heder was a story editor and writer on Orange is the New Black.

Rotten Tomatoes' critic's average is 85% and its audiences 69. We'd adopt it.

The Way Back (2020)

Ben Affleck's performance is a wonder as an alcoholic former high school basketball star whose slide to hit bottom is slowed by coaching the team at his alma mater. Supporting cast includes Al Madrigal, Janina Gavankar, and Michaela Watkins as his assistant coach, ex-wife, and sister. The boys on the team are good, too.

Gavin O'Connor directs from a script by Brad Inglesby. I didn't really mind the slow pace.

The score by Rob Simonsen is available to stream on Spotify and for subscribers of Apple Music, among others.

Affleck and O'Connor were last blogged for The Accountant, Gavankar for Blindspotting, Watkins for Sword of Trust, and Simonsen for The Upside. Madrigal was a Daily Show correspondent and series regular on About a Boy, and Inglesby is new to me.

Rotten Tomatoes's critics and audiences are in the same court, averaging 83 and 84%.

Before the theatres went dark we saw the trailer for this movie many times and were looking forward to seeing it. On March 29, frustrated with failed efforts to stream something else, we went ahead and bought this one from iTunes (it will be available to rent in May). Buying it gave us access to two five minute shorts. In one, Affleck says that, as a recovering alcoholic, the story was particularly meaningful to him.

If you choose to stream this, be sure you get the right one called The Way Back. There are three features, 2010, 2003, and 1915, with that exact title, three other features also known as The Way Back, and a whole lot of shorts.

Blow the Man Down (2019)

This excellent thriller about sisters in a Maine fishing village and the matriarchs who really run the place has brief flashes of humor. Be forewarned--there's a gruesome murder in the first act.

Sophie Lowe and Morgan Saylor play the Connollys and the "old ladies" are June Squibb, Marceline Hugot, Annette O'Toole, and Margo Martindale. Gayle Rankin has a fine part as a hooker.

The movie was directed and written by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy and their script was nominated for the Best First Screenplay Spirit Award, among others. Yes, there are flashes of humor, but this is another movie that someone shouldn't have put on a list of comedies. Although we might not have seen it if it hadn't been on one of those lists.

Cinematographer Todd Benhazi provides the beautiful shots of Massachusetts standing in for north coastal Maine.

The most striking part of the soundtrack is the male quartet, led by David Coffin in his film debut, singing the title track and other songs but I can't find any online links to the soundtrack other than this list. Jordan Dykstra and Brian McOmber are credited as composers.

Saylor was last blogged for McFarland, USA, Squibb for Other People, and Martindale for Wilson. Hugot and O'Toole have been in lots of things and fans of the Netflix series GLOW will recognize Rankin as Sheila the She-Wolf.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics give it a near perfect score, averaging 99% and its audiences are a little cooler at 78. We streamed it on Amazon Prime Video on March 26, 2020.

The Land of Steady Habits (2018)

We enjoyed this cringe-inducing story of a suburban man searching for meaning in life after having left his wife, son, and job. Ben Mendelsohn is very good in the troubled lead, with terrific supporting work by Edie Falco and Thomas Mann as the angry wife and troubled son, and Charlie Tahan as another troubled teen.

We're fans of the cringy work of director/writer Nicole Holofcener, who wrote the screenplay adaptation of Ted Thompson's 2014 book of the same name. This is her first feature with a man as protagonist, though the women have plenty to do.

We streamed this on Netflix on March 16, 2020, spurred by some website's recommending it in a list of comedies. It's good, but it's not a comedy.

I can't find any of the soundtrack by Marcelo Zarvos to stream.

Mendelsohn was last blogged for Darkest Hour, Falco for Landline, Mann for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Holofcener for directing Enough Said after which she wrote Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and Zarvos for Fences. Tahan also played a troubled teen in the Netflix series Ozark.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are widely split, averaging 85 and 47%, respectively.  We're in the former camp, but then, we like the awkward cringing.

Wine Country (2019)

This lightweight comedy about women friends vacationing in Napa is just the thing to entertain you in isolation. There's a stellar cast of comediennes: Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Emily Spivey, and Paula Pell, with Tina Fey in a featured role. The first four were all on Saturday Night Live, the latter three both wrote and performed in the show.

This is Poehler's directing debut, working from a script co-written by Spivey and another SNL writing alum, Liz Cackowski (the latter has a cameo as a sommelier). It was inspired by an actual wine country birthday trip to Sonoma taken by SNL members.

The gorgeous cinematography by Tom Magill is from various California locations, including the beautiful Artesa Winery in Los Carneros.

Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin, usually known as Wendy & Lisa, are credited as composers. They were once protegés of Prince, and Rudolph performs in a Prince cover band from time to time. So it's no surprise that the Purple One's I Would Die 4 U is featured among the many kick-ass songs in the movie, some of which are listed here and can be streamed on Spotify. I can't find any links to the original score, though the duo is prolific.

Poehler was last blogged for The House, Dratch for acting and Pell for writing Sisters, Rudolph for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part after a brief mention in Booksmart, and Fey for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

This movie was on a list of comedies to stream now that theatres are dark, and we watched it on Netflix March 12, 2020. Rotten Tomatoes' critics do not agree, averaging 66% and its audiences hated it, coming in at 30. I thought it was pretty fun, and Jack didn't think it was too much of a chick flick for him to enjoy. He's so enlightened!