Back to the Movies!

Didn't post the August list, so there's going to be a lot here. Spent a couple of weeks in Phoenix with my sister, who loves watching movies. At the theatre, at home, it doesn't matter. So, again, a lot.

MOVIES WATCHED IN AUGUST

Aug 4 - The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2008)
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a national hero, the brilliant scientist who during WWII led the scientific team that created the atomic bomb. But after the bomb brought the war to an end, in spite of his renown and his enormous achievement, America turned on him - humiliated and cast him aside. The question the film asks is, "Why?"
Director: David Grubin
Stars: Harold Agnew, Jeremy Bernstein, Robert Christy

Better than Oppenheimer, probably because it focuses more on the man’s accomplishments and his downfall in a way that the movie doesn’t.

Aug 5 - Citizen Hearst (2012)
Citizen Hearst, a new documentary on BIO., traces the 125-year history of the Hearst media empire from William Randolph Hearst to the global impact of the company's many successful media brands today.
Director: Leslie Iwerks
Stars: Frank A. Bennack Jr., George W. Bodenheimer, Mark Burnett

I knew a bit about the man (mainly his affair with Marion Davies,) but this documentary brings out so very much more. Recommended.

Aug 9-10 - The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (2022)
Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker, Ptolemy Grey is assigned to the care of orphaned teenager, Robyn. When they learn about a treatment that will restore Ptolemy's memories, it begins a journey towards shocking truths.
Creator: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

A surprising and excellent series. Some real twist and turns. Jackson truly shines.

Aug 10 - Somewhere in Queens (2022)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son 'Sticks' finds success on his high-school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Director: Ray Romano
Stars: Ray Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Jennifer Esposito

Not as good as I thought it would be, but not a bad movie. I suppose anything with Ray Romano is worth a look.


Aug 12-13 - Painkiller (2023)
The causes and consequences of America's opioid epidemic unfold in this drama following its perpetrators, victims and an investigator seeking the truth.
Creators: Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster
Stars: Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch

Broderick is amazing as the sociopath, Richard Sackler. Maybe because I’m so used to seeing him as the nice guy, I was blown away.

Aug 17-18 - Silo (2023)
Men and women live in a giant silo underground with several regulations which they believe are in place to protect them from the toxic and ruined world on the surface.
Creator: Graham Yost
Stars: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Tim Robbins

An excellent series that keeps you guessing. Looking forward to the second season, as well as reading the books.

Aug 23–26, 30-31 - Black Mirror (2011-2023)
An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.
Creator: Charlie Brooker
Stars: Wunmi Mosaku, Monica Dolan, Daniel Lapaine, Jodie Foster, John Crowley

It started out a little wonky, but got better and better as the seasons progressed. Highly recommended for those who like horror in their dystopian tales.


MOVIES WATCHED IN SEPTEMBER

Sept 2 - Music and Lyrics (2007)
A washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he's never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a flair for words.
Director: Marc Lawrence
Stars: Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Scott Porter

Absolutely no chemistry between Grant and Barrymore. The age difference didn’t help, either. I’d give this one a pass.

Sept 6-9 - Harrow (2018)
Harrow tells the story of Dr. Daniel Harrow, a forensic pathologist with a total disregard for authority.
Creators: Stephen M. Irwin, Leigh McGrath
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Darren Gilshenan, Damien Garvey, Ella Newton, Jolene Anderson, Hunter Page-Lochard

Not much of a parent, either, but it was fun watching Harrow get out of one mess after the other. They’re still not sure if there’s going to be a fourth season.

Sept 11 - Seven Days In May (1964)
United States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.
Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmund O’Brien, Martin Balsam, Andrew Duggan, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, Richard Anderson

Just as relavent today as it was when it first screened. Change the general for a ex-president grifter, and it all fits.

Sept 13 - Gettysburg (1993)
In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
Director: Ron Maxwell
Stars: Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, Sam Elliott, Stephen Lang, Richard Jordan, Andrew Prine, Richard Anderson

I thought it leaned a bit too much toward the Southern side. I bit too sympathetic toward the men who fought to keep the institution of slavery alive. I did like its portrayal of Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels.)

Sept 15 - A Haunting in Venice (2023)
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey

An enjoyable take on yet another Poirot mystery. Not my normal cup of tea, but when in Phoenix one does as the Phoenicians do. In this case, my sister.

Sept 16 - Hallowe’en Party
During a village's Hallowe'en party, a young girl boasts of having witnessed a murder from years before. No one believes her tale until her body is found later on in the evening, drowned in the apple-bobbing bucket.
Not a movie, rather Season 12, Episode 2 of the series, Poirot
Director: Charlie Palmer
Stars: David Suchet, Amelia Bullmore, Zoë Wanamaker

The story from which A Haunting in Venice was adapted, but they’re absolutely nothing alike. Still, both were enjoyable.

Sept 17 - Door to Door (2002)
"DOOR TO DOOR" is a factual-based story about the adventures experienced by Bill Porter as a door-to-door salesman, a man filled with so much admiration, persistence and charm, William H. Macy nails down the role with absolute brilliance.
Director: Steven Schachter
Stars: William H. Macy, Kyra Sedgwick, Kathy Baker, Helen Mirren

A real gem of a movie. Based on a true story, it shows that almost anything is possible if you want it badly enough. Macy is wonderful as Porter.

Sept 17 - Demolition (2015)
A successful investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. With the help of a customer service rep and her young son, he starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper

Wasn’t sure where this was going, but it turned out to be quite well done.

Sept 18 - Sully (2016)
When pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger lands his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew, some consider him a hero while others think he was reckless.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

A movie I can watch over and over.

Sept 18 - Ambulance (2022)
Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Keir O’Donnell

Basically a 2 hour and 16 minute car chase. I almost fell asleep, it was so boring. A definite pass.

Sept 18 - The Covenant (2023)
During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Sean Sagar

Do men at war really give themselves stupid nicknames like “Jizzy” “Jack Jack,” “ Chow Chow,” and “Tom Cat?” Or is that the way Hollywood writers think they talk? The movie had its high points, but too much of it was sort of grade-school.

Sept 19 - Oppenheimer (2023)
The story of American scientist, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, Jason Clarke

I liked the movie, and considering its length, it never dragged. But I thought The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a PBS American Experience episode, much better.

Sept 20 - Superman (1978)
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Director: Richard Donner
Stars: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Marlon Brando, Susannah York, Mark McClure

This is my Superman. No one has caught the innocence and disconnection of a man literally from another planet like Chris Reeve. He was wonderful. So is the movie.

Sept 20 - The Descendants (2011)
A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.
Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges

Another of those movies I can watch over and over again.

Sept 22 - Burn After Reading (2008)
A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Stars: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons

A wonderfully crazy movie (but what else would you expect from the Coen Brothers?) Pitt is outstanding as a really dumb guy.

Sept 23 - The Gathering Storm (2002)
Winston Churchill's wilderness years prior to World War II, when only he could see the threat that Adolf Hitler and a rearmed Germany posed to Europe.
Director: Richard Loncraine
Stars: Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Derek Jacobi, Tom Wilkins, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hiddleston

Amazing how much Churchill had to fight to get people to see the threat that Hitler was. We tend to think of it as obvious, but apparently it wasn’t to everyone.

Sept 24 - Dumb Money (2023)
Dumb Money is the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video game store) into the world's hottest company.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen

It’s too bad this scenario has’t played out more often. The idea of betting on a company to fail, and then purposely causing it, is obscene.

Sept 25 - Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
The story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
Director: Bryan Singer
StarsRami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Mike Myers

Malek shines as Mercury. I’m not a huge Queen fan; I’ve liked some of their music but not everything they’ve done. But I really liked the movie.

Sept 28 - London River (2009)
Two strangers come to discover the fate of their respective children in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Sotigui Kouyaté, Sami Bouajila

A sometimes hopeful, sometimes tragic story of those lost in the attacks.