Nyad (2023)

Jack and I really liked this biopic about the driven, narcissistic Diana Nyad attempting to swim from Havana to Key West in open water. Beginning in 2009 on Nyad's 60th birthday, the movie mixes new scripted material with archival footage, including in the credits. Don't leave the room! It was even more thrilling because we couldn't remember if she made it or not (see below*) but don't worry if you do remember––it'll still be good.

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster are terrific as Nyad (I'm not a mental health professional but it's possible she is on the spectrum) and her stalwart best friend Bonnie Stoll, as is Rhys Ifans as their navigator.

It is co-directed by the married couple Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi from the screenplay by Julia Cox, based on Nyad's 2015 memoir Find a Way. I would have liked Bonnie's back story to be a tiny bit more fleshed out but if you play close attention, you'll get some of it.

Alexandre Desplat's score can be streamed on Apple Music and elsewhere. And, because we enjoyed the vocals, I made a playlist on Spotify with eight of the ten popular songs from the movie.

Director of photography Claudio Miranda brings some glorious pictures. And kudos to the makeup department head Felicity Bowring for Benin's chapped, swollen face.

Bening was last blogged for Jerry & Marge Go Large, Foster for acting in Elysium, Ifans for Snowden, Chin and Vasarhelyi for Free Solo, and Desplat for Asteroid City. Miranda was Oscar nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and won for Life of Pi, and nominated by his peers in the American Society of Cinematographers for both plus Top Gun: Maverick. Bowring's illustrious career includes Greedy (1994), Along Came Polly (2004), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), The Social Network, The Front Runner, and the aforementioned Top Gun: Maverick.

*In case you do not know how her swim ended, I promise not to spoil it for you. Wikipedia does, giving quite a bit of history, and I loved this long New York Times profile of Bening, which also throws in the result of the Cuba-Florida swim.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are happily splashing with averages of 85 and 82%, respectively. We watched it November 14 on Netflix.

Quiz Lady (2023)

You can't go wrong with Awkwafina and Sandra Oh. In this comedy they play sisters of very different personalities who, suddenly needing money, capitalize on one sister's skill at a Jeopardy! type game show. Jack and I loved it. Awkwafina is proving to be capable of meaty roles as the OCD Anne, while Oh demonstrates excellent comedy chops as the vapid Jenny. 

Will Ferrell plays an Alex Trebek type, Holland Taylor a cranky neighbor, Jason Schwartzman a smarmy champion, and Paul Reubens has a cute cameo (photography wrapped eight days before he died in July 2023).

Jessica Yu directs from a script by Jen D'Angelo, and the music by Nick Urata is available for streaming on Apple Music. Here's a list of songs. Locations in British Columbia stand in for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Awkwafina was last blogged for Swan Song, Oh for Raya and the Last Dragon, Ferrell for Barbie, Schwartzman for Asteroid City, and Urata for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Taylor's long resume includes Legally Blonde (2001), 101 episodes of Two and a Half Men (the only one on this list I didn't watch), 37 of Bosom Buddies, 29 of The Practice, six episodes of The Chair (starring Oh), and ten of The Morning Show.

Reubens, best known for playing Pee-Wee Herman on screens big and small, also has many other credits, including Batman Returns (1992) and Life During Wartime. Yu, new to me, has directed a handful of features and dozens of TV episodes and short films, one of which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. D'Angelo has two other feature screenwriting credits to her name, one of which has been in some festivals this fall and not yet released wider.

What are 80 and 84%? Rotten Tomatoes' critics' and audiences' averages. We streamed it on Hulu with our subscription on November 7.

Jules (2023)

We loved this story about an elderly man caring for an alien whose spaceship has crashed into his small town back yard. Funny and touching, it features Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin, Zoe Winters as his daughter, and Jade Quon, in four hours a day of makeup and prosthetics, as the alien.

The amiable pace is thanks to director Marc Turtletaub and writer Gavin Steckler. And I'm streaming the original score by Volker Bertelmann on Apple Music as I type.

Every synopsis calls it Boonton, Pennsylvania, but indb says it was actually shot in Paterson and Boonton, New Jersey. Go figure.

Kingsley was last blogged for The Jungle Book, Curtin for Queen Bees, Turtletaub for directing Puzzle (but I have yet to mention his distinguished producing credits, including indie darlings Everything Is Illuminated (2005), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Sunshine Cleaning, Away We Go, Jack Goes Boating, Safety Not Guaranteed, Loving, The Farewell, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), and Bertelmann for Downhill. Harris looked familiar to me, perhaps because her many credits include Nurse Betty (2000), 28 episodes of Desperate Housewives, and eleven of Frasier. Fans of the series Succession will recognize Winters with her signature brunette long hair and bangs. Quon has done some acting and over a hundred stunt and stunt double jobs. This is Steckler's feature screenwriting debut.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are phoning home with good reviews, averaging 84 and 90%. Jack and I rented it on November 2.

Love at First Sight (2023)

We didn't hate this light, fluffy, dare I say cliche, rom-com with snappy dialog about travelers meeting on a plane and almost not keeping in touch. We're fans of Haley Lu Richardson so Jack and I gave it a try for some light entertainment. Ben Hardy is the love interest, Jameela Jamil the narrator, and Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips, and Dexter Fletcher the next generation.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill from a screenplay by Katie Lovejoy, it is based on Jennifer E. Smith's 2011 novel The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

Paul Saunderson's pleasant original score by can be streamed on Apple Music, as well as this album of songs.

Richardson was last blogged for After Yang, Hardy for Pixie, Delaney for Deadpool 2, and Saunderson for Three Identical Strangers. Former model Jamil is best known for 30 episodes of The Good Place. Phillips' long resume includes the Bridget Jones movies (I missed the third in 2016) and five episodes of Veep as the Finnish Prime Minister. I've apparently seen Fletcher in some of his dozens of roles but his only mention in these pages is as director of Rocketman. This is Caswill's feature debut and Lovejoy's second time around.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are waiting for a few dates to proclaim their adoration, averaging 72 and 81%, respectively. We watched it on October 25 on Netflix.

A Rainy Day in New York (2019)

Yes, we know: Woody Allen has been canceled (see below*). But we can still appreciate the art despite how we feel about the artist. And we enjoyed this rom-com in which Timothée Chalamet plays the Woody role of an eccentric, pessimistic, yet romantic New Yorker with bad posture, Elle Fanning a naive, cornfed blonde, and Selena Gomez a beautiful, snarky sidekick. The star-studded cast boasts Liev Schreiber, Annaleigh Ashford, Jude Law (with a terrific New York accent), Cherry Jones, Diego Luna, and more.

Perhaps liking a Woody Allen directed and written movie is one of my guilty pleasures. They're sort of old-shoe comfortable, going back to my youth. I expect snappy dialogue, beautiful photography, classic jazz tunes whose titles reflect the scenes into which they are placed, and gorgeous sets and wardrobe representing the upper crust of Manhattan, and I get them nearly every time. Speaking of upper crust, Chalamet's character's name is Gatsby, for goodness' sake.

As noted, there are many delightful tunes to hear during the movie. Here's a list of the songs. Though not credited, Chalamet sings Everything Happens to Me, with Conal Fowkes sitting in on the piano. No original score, as usual. Vittorio Storaro is behind the camera and Santo Loquasto heads the production design team.

Allen and Storaro were last blogged for Wonder Wheel, Chalamet for Dune, Fanning for Teen Spirit (in between we loved her in 30 episodes of The Great), Gomez for Spring Breakers (she's worked a lot since then, notably in 30 episodes of Only Murders in the Building), Schreiber for Isle of Dogs, Ashford for Bad Education, Law for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Jones for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Luna for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Loquasto for Allen's Café Society.

*In 2017 in my post on Wonder Wheel I wrote a long paragraph about Allen's literal trials and tribulations. This movie began shooting that year but Amazon, which was financing it, halted the production because of the accusations against him. He sued, settled, and completed the movie, and it was distributed in other countries to much success. It was released here in late 2020.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, at 47% and its audiences at 56, have dampened enthusiasm. Sure, it's not his best work. But we're not sorry we saw it with our subscription to Amazon Prime (also available with a subscription to Peacock) in late October.

Joy Ride (2023)

Jack and I had some laughs at this raunchy comedy about four Asian-American women on a business trip (funny business) to China and making some life changes. Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu, the enormous cast includes appearances by Annie Mumolo, David Denman, Timothy Simons, Ronny Chieng, pro basketball player Baron Davis, Lori Tan Chinn, and Daniel Dae Kim.

Adele Lim directs from a screenplay co-written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsaio (story credited to all three).

Nathan Matthew David is credited with the score, but the R-rated (for language) soundtrack on Apple Music has fifteen tracks by various artists and five by David. I remember liking the music of many genres. I also remember liking the gorgeous production values––sets and locations––shot by Paul Yee.

Cola, Hsu, and Chieng were last blogged for Shortcomings, Mumolo for Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar, Denman for Puzzle, Simons for Inherent Vice, and David for The Last Word.

I've enjoyed Park's work in nine episodes of Girls5eva, 30 of Emily in Paris (she's a good singer!), seven of Beef, and six of Only Murders in the Building (she sings in that one, too). Wu and Davis make their feature debuts here. Chinn is known for some stand-out scenes in She-Devil (1989), What About Bob? (1991), one of my all-time favorites Living in Oblivion (1995), and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), as well as 27 episodes of Orange Is the New Black and 27 of Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens. Kim has a massive resume on imdb, but will always be best known to me for 119 episodes of Lost.

Lim was last blogged for co-writing Raya and the Last Dragon and this is her feature directing debut. Chevapravatdumrong and Hsaio have some TV writing credits, including the aforementioned Awkwafina show, and this is their first screenplay as well. Yee has shot six other features and a bunch of TV episodes and shorts.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are riding joyfully along with an average of 91%, while its audiences are somewhat less engaged at 82. We rented it on September 21 from iTunes/Apple TV and, because I forgot to start a blog draft that day, didn't remember to write about it until I was reading up on Shortcomings a few days ago.

Shortcomings (2023)

Jack and I liked a lot this biting comedy about three Bay Area people managing their love lives and careers. Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, and Ally Maki lead the large cast that includes Tavi Gevinson and Debby Ryan and cameos by Ronny Chieng, Stephanie Hsu, and Randall Park. 

Park makes his feature directorial debut, working from a tight script by Adrian Tomine, based on his graphic novel. It's notable that the main protagonist Ben (played by Min) is amusingly snarky and unlikeable. This just in: Tomine drew a New Yorker cover that I particularly loved, depicting lockdown dating. Enjoy it at this link.

Gene Back provides the soundtrack, streamable on Apple Music and probably elsewhere.

I think I recall fun location shots of San Francisco and New York.

Min was last blogged for After Yang, Hsu for Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she was Oscar-nominated, Park for acting in Straight Up, and Back for Holler. After Cola's seven episodes of I Love Dick and much more, she starred in Joy Ride, which we saw in September but I forgot to write about it––I'll get to it soon. Maki's 20 year resume includes three episodes of Hacks and Gevinson's includes Enough Said and one episode of The Other Two as herself. Ryan looked familiar to me but I can't say why.

Chieng is a hilarious Daily Show correspondent and has made appearances in Joy Ride, Crazy Rich Asians, and one episode of Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens. This is Tomine's second screenplay

Rotten Tomatoes's critics and audiences, averaging 84 and 85%, respectively, find few shortcomings with this picture. I was eager to see it and we rented it on iTunes/Apple TV at our first opportunity, October 19.

Theater Camp (2023)

Camp is right! Jack and I laughed a lot at this slapstick mockumentary of AdirondACTS, a summer camp with eccentric staff and kids. Already starting to win awards, it features Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Amy Sedaris, Patti Harrison, and so many more, including some very talented children, one of whom, Alan Kim, earned dozens of nominations and wins for his role in the drama Minari.

Galvin, Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Platt co-wrote the script for a 2020 18 minute film of the same name, co-directed by Gordon and Lieberman. All six are making their feature directing and/or writing debuts by working the same jobs in this fleshed out version.

The soundtrack album, available on Apple Music, is all vocals (the camp makes musicals!), and worth hearing. The only instrumental from the movie I could find was this three+ minute suite by composers James McAlister & Mark Sonnenblick.

Platt and Gordon met as kids at a Los Angeles theater after-school and summer program, and Galvin, who played the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway after Platt won the Tony for it, is now Platt's fiancé. 

Platt was last blogged for acting in The People We Hate at the Wedding, Gordon for Shiva Baby, Harrison for Together Together, and Kim for Minari. Galvin has a number of acting credits, mostly TV. Tatro has worked a lot, including Stuber, nine episodes of The Guest Book, six of Modern Family, and 42 of Home Economics. Sedaris, briefly mentioned in Romance & Cigarettes, has a long resume, most of which I haven't seen, although she is quite familiar to me for her social media humor and for being the sister of David Sedaris. Lieberman directed eight of Platt's ten music videos. This is the first feature composing gig for McAlister and Sonnenblick.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are applauding with an 85% average, while its audiences are slightly less enthusiastic at 79. We streamed it on Hulu on October 13.