Get out your hankies. We loved this story of a five-year-old Indian boy who gets lost very far from home, is adopted by a Tasmanian couple, and, as an adult, searches for his birth family. It really happened and, wow, it's good.
Newcomer Sunny Pawar spoke no English before he was brought on set (4000 boys auditioned) and learned a few words shooting his later scenes as the young Saroo. Dev Patel (last blogged for the comedy The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) is terrific as the intense grown-up adoptee. He worked out and bulked up, perhaps to look a bit more like writer Saroo Brierley (here's a photo), on whose memoir A Long Way Home the movie is based, and learned an Australian accent with Tasmanian dialect. The actual adoptive mother Sue Brierley was granted her request for Nicole Kidman (most recently in The Family Fang) to play her, and both Kidman and Patel are racking up nominations, as is the movie as a whole (here's my running list). Apparently Rooney Mara (last blogged and acclaimed for Carol) was planning to take a break but decided she wanted to take the part of the girlfriend when she read the script. Many other supporting actors from both hemispheres are wonderful as well.
This is the feature film directing debut of artist and commercials director Garth Davis, who did helm four episodes of the excellent mini-series Top of the Lake (2013), which took place in New Zealand and has a second season coming next year. Luke Davies adapted Saroo Brierley's 2014 book. The title of the movie is explained at the end. The various locations--rural and urban India; suburban Hobart, Tasmania; Melbourne; and more--make beautiful pictures shot by Greig Fraser (most recently photographed Foxcatcher).
Serious product placement for Google Earth pushes along the plot and evidently saved the filmmakers serious money because the corporation provided actual imagery from the time of the search, avoiding the need to create such images in visual effects.
Dustin O'Halloran (profiled in Like Crazy, also scored 19 episodes of Transparent) gives us lovely music that can be streamed from this link.
Only 85% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes? Not enough. Their audiences average 91. Do see this. I suggest it for children, too, if they're able to read subtitles and won't get nightmares about getting lost themselves. And, if you stay in your seat, you'll be treated to a song by Sia (the first song on the youtube link above) and a tiny bonus at the end of the credits.
Warning: the movie may bring on mild MPMS or Motion Picture Motion Sickness (here's the list). Take your seat as far back as you can.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Fences (2016)
This powerful drama, adapted from the Pulitzer-winning play, about a frustrated 1950s African-American man and his family, won many Tonys in 1987 and more for its revival in 2010. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis reprise their 2010 roles of Troy and Rose (114 performances!) in this film version, with Washington now directing (his third time after Antwone Fisher (2002) and The Great Debaters (2007); for acting he was last blogged for his Oscar-nominated performance in Flight). After I cited Davis in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them we saw her in a small part in Get On Up and then 45 episodes of How to Get Away with Murder. Stephen Henderson (a recognizable character actor, he's been seen in, among others, Tower Heist, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, three episodes of The Newsroom, and Manchester by the Sea) also brings his Tony-nominated role of Jim Bono to the big screen.
Ably filling out the family are Jovan Adepo (18 episodes of The Leftovers, which we didn't watch, and some other things) as younger son Corey, Russell Hornsby (he's a regular--123 episodes--on Grimm which I've never seen) as elder son Lyons, and Mykelti Williamson (nine episodes of Hill Street Blues in the 80s, Miracle Mile (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Con Air (1997), more) as Troy's brother Gabe.
August Wilson adapted his own play, working on it off and on from the 1990s until his 2005 death (playwright Tony Kushner (wrote the screenplay for Lincoln) helped finish it but his credit is as co-producer). As a play might be, it's dialogue-heavy, with few sets, though more than on stage, which apparently took place entirely in the family's back yard. The production design on those few locations is great, with picture cars and many little touches that make it look authentic.
Marcelo Zarvos (last blogged for Rock the Kasbah) provides the score, which can be streamed from this link, though the Dinah Washington track has been scrubbed from that youtube playlist. Here it is on its own. And listen for the track Day by Day by "Little" Jimmy Scott, track 16 on the previous playlist.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are swooning, with an average of 94% and its audiences come in at 81. As we told Amy before choosing to see it on Christmas eve, it's an important movie that should be seen. Not the fastest paced movie you'll see, but you should go anyway.
Ably filling out the family are Jovan Adepo (18 episodes of The Leftovers, which we didn't watch, and some other things) as younger son Corey, Russell Hornsby (he's a regular--123 episodes--on Grimm which I've never seen) as elder son Lyons, and Mykelti Williamson (nine episodes of Hill Street Blues in the 80s, Miracle Mile (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Con Air (1997), more) as Troy's brother Gabe.
August Wilson adapted his own play, working on it off and on from the 1990s until his 2005 death (playwright Tony Kushner (wrote the screenplay for Lincoln) helped finish it but his credit is as co-producer). As a play might be, it's dialogue-heavy, with few sets, though more than on stage, which apparently took place entirely in the family's back yard. The production design on those few locations is great, with picture cars and many little touches that make it look authentic.
Marcelo Zarvos (last blogged for Rock the Kasbah) provides the score, which can be streamed from this link, though the Dinah Washington track has been scrubbed from that youtube playlist. Here it is on its own. And listen for the track Day by Day by "Little" Jimmy Scott, track 16 on the previous playlist.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are swooning, with an average of 94% and its audiences come in at 81. As we told Amy before choosing to see it on Christmas eve, it's an important movie that should be seen. Not the fastest paced movie you'll see, but you should go anyway.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Lightweight but cute, this story of a female philanderer and a male womanizer becoming friends is enjoyable enough. Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis are charming in the lead roles (she was last blogged for the somewhat similar How To be Single, which came out after this one, and he for Race).
When I researched Other People, this title kept coming up and I realized we had seen it but I'd forgotten to write about it last year. My regular readers know how important to me it is that everything I've seen since beginning the blog in September 2008 is listed here and in the index.
This is the second feature for director/writer Leslye Headland, and she wrote the 2014 remake of About Last Night (I saw only the 1986 original).
A lot of good songs are in the soundtrack but I don't remember the original music.
Though a popular screening at Sundance almost two years ago, the Rotten Tomatoes averages are now only 63% from critics and 56 from audiences. If you're a fan of the stars you might want to watch this.
When I researched Other People, this title kept coming up and I realized we had seen it but I'd forgotten to write about it last year. My regular readers know how important to me it is that everything I've seen since beginning the blog in September 2008 is listed here and in the index.
This is the second feature for director/writer Leslye Headland, and she wrote the 2014 remake of About Last Night (I saw only the 1986 original).
A lot of good songs are in the soundtrack but I don't remember the original music.
Though a popular screening at Sundance almost two years ago, the Rotten Tomatoes averages are now only 63% from critics and 56 from audiences. If you're a fan of the stars you might want to watch this.
Other People (2016)
Jack and I agree that this is very good--the story of a gay comedy writer who has returned home to help care for his dying mother. It sounds maudlin but has quite a few laughs among the sadness. We chose it because of its five Independent Spirit nominations.
Jesse Plemons, nominated for Best Male Lead, was in, among others, 65 episodes of Friday Night Lights as Landry, 13 of Breaking Bad as Todd, two of Olive Kittredge as Jerry McCarthy, ten of Fargo as Ed Blumquist, two of Drunk History (one of Jack's faves) as Charles Ponzi and Edgar Allen Poe, and the movies The Master, The Homesman, and Bridge of Spies. Molly Shannon (last blogged for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) is nominated for Best Supporting Female. They are both completely deserving. There are also pivotal scenes with Bradley Whitford (after writing about him in I Saw the Light I thought he was terrific in ten episodes of Happyish and seven of Transparent). Further support is ably provided by June Squibb (most recently in I'll See You in My Dreams) and Paul Dooley (of his 194 credits I choose to mention A Wedding (1978), Breaking Away (1979), Popeye (1980), Sixteen Candles (1984), six episodes of Dream On (1992-94), Runaway Bride (1999), six episodes of Once and Again (2001-02), seven of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-05), and Sunshine Cleaning) as the grandparents. The sisters don't have a lot to do but the younger brunette one, Alex, is played by Maude Apatow (last blogged for This Is 40).
Director Chris Kelly, nominated for both Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay has a great writing resumé, including staff writer for Saturday Night Live, The Onion News Network, UCB Comedy Originals, and Broad City (also producer). The movie was also nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize earlier this year. Actor Adam Scott and his wife Naomi are among the producers.
Composer Julian Wass (last scored The Overnight, which starred Adam Scott) provides the music. I can't find this score online, but his website has plenty of tunes to stream.
We streamed this on Amazon yesterday ($4.99 for a one-week rental) and are glad we did. Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 87% and its audiences' is 81.
Jesse Plemons, nominated for Best Male Lead, was in, among others, 65 episodes of Friday Night Lights as Landry, 13 of Breaking Bad as Todd, two of Olive Kittredge as Jerry McCarthy, ten of Fargo as Ed Blumquist, two of Drunk History (one of Jack's faves) as Charles Ponzi and Edgar Allen Poe, and the movies The Master, The Homesman, and Bridge of Spies. Molly Shannon (last blogged for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) is nominated for Best Supporting Female. They are both completely deserving. There are also pivotal scenes with Bradley Whitford (after writing about him in I Saw the Light I thought he was terrific in ten episodes of Happyish and seven of Transparent). Further support is ably provided by June Squibb (most recently in I'll See You in My Dreams) and Paul Dooley (of his 194 credits I choose to mention A Wedding (1978), Breaking Away (1979), Popeye (1980), Sixteen Candles (1984), six episodes of Dream On (1992-94), Runaway Bride (1999), six episodes of Once and Again (2001-02), seven of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-05), and Sunshine Cleaning) as the grandparents. The sisters don't have a lot to do but the younger brunette one, Alex, is played by Maude Apatow (last blogged for This Is 40).
Director Chris Kelly, nominated for both Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay has a great writing resumé, including staff writer for Saturday Night Live, The Onion News Network, UCB Comedy Originals, and Broad City (also producer). The movie was also nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize earlier this year. Actor Adam Scott and his wife Naomi are among the producers.
Cinematography nominee Brian Burgoyne also shot Hello, My Name Is Doris, though I failed to mention him.
We streamed this on Amazon yesterday ($4.99 for a one-week rental) and are glad we did. Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 87% and its audiences' is 81.
Doctor Strange (2016)
The latest Marvel-comic-movie is pretty good, about a talented and arrogant surgeon who teams with paranormal forces. Lots of stars power the cast with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead (he was last blogged for The Imitation Game), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) and Michael Stulhlbarg (Arrival) as hospital colleagues, and Tilda Swinton (A Bigger Splash) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Martian) as denizens of the other-world.
This is the fourth feature for director/co-writer Scott Derrickson, who worked on the script with Jon Spaihts (co-writer of Prometheus) and C. Robert Cargill (who co-wrote an earlier movie that Derrickson directed and co-wrote).
I picked the wrong battle, maybe an hour and a half into the movie, to miss for a bathroom break because, when I returned, Jack told me I missed the obligatory Stan Lee cameo (his last one was in Deadpool). Here's the Deadpool cameo and here's the Doctor Strange cameo. For those of you who watched the movie in the theatre, I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that the book he's reading is Powers of Perception.
The jangly music is by the busy composer Michael Giacchino (most recently in these pages for Inside Out) and you can stream the whole thing here.
A must for Marvel fans, this is averaging 90% from Rotten Tomatoes' critics and 89 from its audiences. We saw it ten days ago as a break from the moody little independent films. This is moody, too, as it turns out, but the special effects are fun.
This is the fourth feature for director/co-writer Scott Derrickson, who worked on the script with Jon Spaihts (co-writer of Prometheus) and C. Robert Cargill (who co-wrote an earlier movie that Derrickson directed and co-wrote).
I picked the wrong battle, maybe an hour and a half into the movie, to miss for a bathroom break because, when I returned, Jack told me I missed the obligatory Stan Lee cameo (his last one was in Deadpool). Here's the Deadpool cameo and here's the Doctor Strange cameo. For those of you who watched the movie in the theatre, I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that the book he's reading is Powers of Perception.
The jangly music is by the busy composer Michael Giacchino (most recently in these pages for Inside Out) and you can stream the whole thing here.
A must for Marvel fans, this is averaging 90% from Rotten Tomatoes' critics and 89 from its audiences. We saw it ten days ago as a break from the moody little independent films. This is moody, too, as it turns out, but the special effects are fun.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Wow! Jack and I loved this story of an angry, repressed, single man who has to cope with guardianship of his teen nephew (and much more). It's skillfully written, perfectly acted, beautifully shot, and realistically paced. The movie and its makers are on short lists for Oscar nominations (nominations January 24, awards February 26) and are racking up others quickly (here's my running tally).
Heading the large cast, Casey Affleck (last blogged for Ain't Them Bodies Saints) gives us the all the depth required for Lee, without that many words. Lucas Hedges (played one of the scouts in Moonrise Kingdom and a few other things) is a talented young man who can portray the sadness and snark of the suddenly bereft sixteen-year-old Patrick, melding it in with typical high school behavior. Michelle Williams (most recently in Certain Women) isn't in a lot of scenes as Lee's wife, but makes a profound effect in all her work here. Jack commented that they were all so good we forgot they were acting.
Director/writer Kenneth Lonergan (co-wrote Analyze This (1999) and Gangs of New York (2002), solo wrote The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), and then wrote and directed You Can Count on Me (2000) and Margaret (2011)) is profiled beautifully in a New Yorker article which, I'm pleasantly surprised to report, has no spoilers about this movie. The article tells the origins of this movie and Lonergan's other work and details, among other things, Lonergan's close friendships with Matt Damon and Matthew Broderick (the former is among the producers and the latter has a short cameo). I highly recommend you read it. The script actually has some laughs here and there but this is definitely a drama.
The lovely images are thanks to cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes (after I blogged about him in Martha Marcy May Marlene he shot Trainwreck) and the glorious New England seaside locations.
I can't remember why, but composer Lesley Barber (scored You Can Count on Me for Lonergan and several others) will not eligible for an Oscar nomination this year. Her tracks are available for streaming on YouTube at this link. Then there are fifteen or so songs, some classical, some not, including a wonderful 1945 rendition of I'm Beginning To See the Light sung by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald. Imdb has published an abridged list of the songs.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 97%, and its audiences at 98, are among the many swooning over this picture. Don't be left out. Go see it as soon as you can. Rated R for language and sexuality.
Heading the large cast, Casey Affleck (last blogged for Ain't Them Bodies Saints) gives us the all the depth required for Lee, without that many words. Lucas Hedges (played one of the scouts in Moonrise Kingdom and a few other things) is a talented young man who can portray the sadness and snark of the suddenly bereft sixteen-year-old Patrick, melding it in with typical high school behavior. Michelle Williams (most recently in Certain Women) isn't in a lot of scenes as Lee's wife, but makes a profound effect in all her work here. Jack commented that they were all so good we forgot they were acting.
Director/writer Kenneth Lonergan (co-wrote Analyze This (1999) and Gangs of New York (2002), solo wrote The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), and then wrote and directed You Can Count on Me (2000) and Margaret (2011)) is profiled beautifully in a New Yorker article which, I'm pleasantly surprised to report, has no spoilers about this movie. The article tells the origins of this movie and Lonergan's other work and details, among other things, Lonergan's close friendships with Matt Damon and Matthew Broderick (the former is among the producers and the latter has a short cameo). I highly recommend you read it. The script actually has some laughs here and there but this is definitely a drama.
I can't remember why, but composer Lesley Barber (scored You Can Count on Me for Lonergan and several others) will not eligible for an Oscar nomination this year. Her tracks are available for streaming on YouTube at this link. Then there are fifteen or so songs, some classical, some not, including a wonderful 1945 rendition of I'm Beginning To See the Light sung by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald. Imdb has published an abridged list of the songs.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 97%, and its audiences at 98, are among the many swooning over this picture. Don't be left out. Go see it as soon as you can. Rated R for language and sexuality.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
The Eagle Huntress (2016)
Judy and I loved this magnificent documentary about 13-year-old Aisholpan (ASH-ol-pan), the first female Kazakh eagle hunter in her remote region of Mongolia. Eagle hunting--domesticating the birds and training them to kill smaller animals and lead their masters to their vanquished prey so that families may be fed and clothed--is a tradition there that for thousands of years has been passed down from fathers to sons. But Aisholpan, a girly girl who likes wardrobe and wears ribbons in her hair, also loves animals and is a natural at the craft. Her beaming smile and grunt of pleasure when she succeeds are but two of her endearing qualities. And her father Agalai has supported her throughout, even though she has an eight-year-old brother and, according to one article, an elder brother (not seen in the movie). Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens) provides the English voice over narration.
Director Otto Bell, a commercial documentarian, read about Aisholpan on the BBC website, and decided he wanted to make this movie. He got in touch with Agalai and began shooting the pair almost immediately (with a cameraman named Chris Raymond--I don't know who he is because there are several by that name on imdb--uncredited in any case). Morgan Spurlock (POM Wonderful Presents: the Greatest Movie Ever Sold) got involved as a producer and they were on their way. If you want to read more, I gathered info from this article and this video.
Not only is there lots of plot (I could imagine someone remaking it into a drama) during the two or so years that elapse, but the cinematography is breathtaking--every bit as good as the spectacular Disneynature series (last year's was Monkey Kingdom), and that's saying a lot. Director of photography Simon Niblett has quite a few credits shooting documentaries of the natural world and it shows. Here's a featurette about the cinematography. However, Bell said that in key scenes they got only one take, so "everybody who could hold a camera was holding a camera," including go-pros, DSLRs, etc., so kudos to editor Pierre Takal, too.
I also loved the music by Jeff Peters (new to me) but can't find it online. I could find, however, the original song Angel by the Wings, performed by Sia and written by her and Greg Kurstin, which plays over the end credits, along with still photos from the movie.
On many short lists for an Oscar (and beginning to get nominations and wins, including some on my list), this has earned an average rating of 84% from critics and 93% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Strongly recommended for anyone of any age who can read some subtitles and won't freak out at seeing animals killed, skinned, and eaten.
Director Otto Bell, a commercial documentarian, read about Aisholpan on the BBC website, and decided he wanted to make this movie. He got in touch with Agalai and began shooting the pair almost immediately (with a cameraman named Chris Raymond--I don't know who he is because there are several by that name on imdb--uncredited in any case). Morgan Spurlock (POM Wonderful Presents: the Greatest Movie Ever Sold) got involved as a producer and they were on their way. If you want to read more, I gathered info from this article and this video.
Not only is there lots of plot (I could imagine someone remaking it into a drama) during the two or so years that elapse, but the cinematography is breathtaking--every bit as good as the spectacular Disneynature series (last year's was Monkey Kingdom), and that's saying a lot. Director of photography Simon Niblett has quite a few credits shooting documentaries of the natural world and it shows. Here's a featurette about the cinematography. However, Bell said that in key scenes they got only one take, so "everybody who could hold a camera was holding a camera," including go-pros, DSLRs, etc., so kudos to editor Pierre Takal, too.
I also loved the music by Jeff Peters (new to me) but can't find it online. I could find, however, the original song Angel by the Wings, performed by Sia and written by her and Greg Kurstin, which plays over the end credits, along with still photos from the movie.
On many short lists for an Oscar (and beginning to get nominations and wins, including some on my list), this has earned an average rating of 84% from critics and 93% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Strongly recommended for anyone of any age who can read some subtitles and won't freak out at seeing animals killed, skinned, and eaten.
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