TRUE MOTHERS- 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Desperate to have a child, Tokyo couple Kiyokazu and Satoko are elated to be able to adopt a baby boy being given up by his teenage mom, Hikari. But when she returns six years later to claim the tyke, Satoko refuses to believe Hikari is his mother.”
1/29/21- Excellent reviews for this drama. TRDB.
Add comment January 29th, 2021
PENGUIN BLOOM- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In 2013, Samantha Bloom (two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), her husband Cameron (The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln) and their three sons left their home in Australia for a holiday in Thailand. While enjoying a view, Sam fell off of a rooftop due to what was later determined to be a rotted railing… breaking her vertebrae in two places. Paralyzed from the chest down, Sam — a lifelong outdoorswoman, surfer, and traveler — was unrecognizable to herself, and spent long months in a depression that made her question who she could be in the world and in her own family.
1/29/21- Fair reviews at best but all critics liked Naomi Watts. TRDB.
2/1/21- I liked the movie AND I liked Naomi Watts also. TRDB.
Add comment January 29th, 2021
1/22/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.
1/23/21- I liked this movie very much. It portrays well the rage of the caste system. TRDB. On Netflix Streaming
2) JUNGLELAND– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “In debt to a mob boss after a loss in the ring, bare-knuckles boxer Lion and his manager brother, Stanley, travel across the country for a tournament that may help them recoup their losses. But an unexpected traveling partner complicates their plans.”
11/6/20- Fair reviews but it sounds interesting to me and I’ll try to see it. TRDB.
1/28/21- I enjoyed this movie very much. TRDB. Netflix Disc
10/16/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.
1/22/20- Fair reviews by most critics although the NY Times liked it very much. TRDB. On Filmforum.org
2) IDENTIFYING FEATURES– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “When her son vanishes while traveling north in an attempt to cross the U.S. border, Magdalena sets off on a courageous journey to determine his fate. Along the way, she begins traveling with a young stranger who hopes to reunite with his mother.”
1/22/21- Excellent reviews for this foreign drama. TRDB. In Theaters and on KinoMarquee.com
3) THE HUMAN FACTOR– 2019. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “With unprecedented access to the foremost American negotiators, THE HUMAN FACTOR is the behind-the-scenes story from the last 25 years, of how the United States came within reach of pulling off the impossible — securing peace between Israel and its neighbors.”
1/22/19- Excellent reviews for this documentary. TRDB. In select theaters.
4) THE WHITE TIGER– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Hailing from a poor village, young Balram Halwai has been trained to serve — and serve he does as a driver for a wealthy couple. But when they betray him, ambitious Balram vows to rise above his caste and become an entrepreneur.”
1/22/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.
1/23/21- I liked this movie very much. It portrays the rage of the caste system. TRDB. Netflix Streaming
5) PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “A successful neurosurgeon, Márta abandons her career in America for a romantic tryst in Budapest with a doctor she met at a conference. But when he stands her up and later denies ever meeting her, she wonders whether she imagined their relationship.”
1/22/20- Excellent reviews for this foreign drama. TRDB. Begins streaming on April 2, 2021
6) NOTTURNO– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Filmed over three years on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, Notturno captures the everyday life that lies behind the continuing tragedy of civil wars, ferocious dictatorships, foreign invasions and the murderous apocalypse of ISIS.”
1/22/20- Very good reviews for this documentary. TRDB. Begins streaming on Jan. 29, 2021
7) SPOOR– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A retired woman gets mixed up in a mystery when avid hunters in her mountain village begin turning up dead, and there are deer tracks next to their bodies.”
1/22/21- Weak reviews in general but a few really excellent ones also. I’d give it a try. TRDB. On Amazon Prime and various platform
8) YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Winner of the Lion of the Future Award for best Debut Feature at the Venice Film Festival, YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY is visually sumptuous “coming-of-death” fable. During her son’s naming ceremony, a Sheikh predicts that Sakina’s child will die at the age of 20. Haunted by this prophecy, Sakina becomes overly protective of her son Muzamil, who grows up knowing about his fate.”
1/22/20- Excellent reviews. TRDB. On FlmMovement.com
9) ATLANTIS- 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “With the war against Russia finally over, Eastern Ukraine of 2025 is a barely habitable desert where ex-soldier Sergiy is eking out a living while battling post-traumatic stress disorder. But a ray of light emerges when he meets a young aid worker.”
1/22/21- Excellent reviews. TRDB. On Metrograph.com
10) DEREK DELGAUDIO’S IN & OF ITSELF- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “Writer and magician Derek DelGaudio brings his long-running off-Broadway show to the big screen, mixing card tricks, optical illusions and teleportation with autobiographical insights and his musings on identity.”
1/23/21- Excellent reviews. TRDB. On Hulu
SKIP–
1) NO MAN’S LAND– In theaters and on Amazon, and Vudu
2) OUR FRIEND-
1/11/21- Excellent reviews for this documentary. TRDB.
1/7/21- Great reviews for this documentary. TRDB.
Add comment January 28th, 2021
SUPERNOVA- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Sam (Academy Award winner Colin Firth) and Tusker (Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci), partners of twenty years, are traveling across England in their old camper van visiting friends, family and places from their past. Following a life-changing diagnosis, their time together has become more important than ever until secret plans test their love like never before.”
Add comment January 26th, 2021
DEREK DELGAUDIO’S IN & OF ITSELF- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “Writer and magician Derek DelGaudio brings his long-running off-Broadway show to the big screen, mixing card tricks, optical illusions and teleportation with autobiographical insights and his musings on identity.”
1/23/21- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
Add comment January 23rd, 2021
ATLANTIS- 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “With the war against Russia finally over, Eastern Ukraine of 2025 is a barely habitable desert where ex-soldier Sergiy is eking out a living while battling post-traumatic stress disorder. But a ray of light emerges when he meets a young aid worker.”
1/22/21- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
Add comment January 22nd, 2021
YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Winner of the Lion of the Future Award for best Debut Feature at the Venice Film Festival, YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY is visually sumptuous “coming-of-death” fable. During her son’s naming ceremony, a Sheikh predicts that Sakina’s child will die at the age of 20. Haunted by this prophecy, Sakina becomes overly protective of her son Muzamil, who grows up knowing about his fate.”
1/22/20- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
Add comment January 22nd, 2021
SPOOR- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A retired woman gets mixed up in a mystery when avid hunters in her mountain village begin turning up dead, and there are deer tracks next to their bodies.”
1/22/21- Weak reviews in general but a few really excellent ones also. I’d give it a try. TRDB.
Add comment January 22nd, 2021
NOTTURNO- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Filmed over three years on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, Notturno captures the everyday life that lies behind the continuing tragedy of civil wars, ferocious dictatorships, foreign invasions and the murderous apocalypse of ISIS.”
1/22/20- Very good reviews for this documentary. TRDB.
Add comment January 22nd, 2021
THE WHITE TIGER- 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Hailing from a poor village, young Balram Halwai has been trained to serve — and serve he does as a driver for a wealthy couple. But when they betray him, ambitious Balram vows to rise above his caste and become an entrepreneur.”
1/22/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.
1/23/21- I liked this movie very much. It portrays the rage of the caste system in a realistic drama. TRDB.
Add comment January 22nd, 2021