FILM REVIEWS #568
November 12th, 2015
10/29/15- Very well done and very realistic as well. This movie from Germany is yet another example of Germany’s attempt to come to grips with its past. TRDB.
2) TRUTH- 2015. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “On the morning of September 9, 2004, veteran CBS News producer MARY MAPES (Cate Blanchett) believed she had every reason to feel proud of a broadcast journalism job well done. By the end of the day, Mapes, CBS News, and the venerable CBS News anchor DAN RATHER (Robert Redford) would be under harsh scrutiny.”
10/11/15- Fair reviews at best. Cate Blanchett is noted in particular. TRDB.
11/8/15- I found the movie a bit tedious at times but I enjoyed the discussion of the difficult issues involved. I’d definitely recommend it. TRDB.
3) THE WONDERS– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “At age 12, Gelsomina is being groomed to inherit a beekeeping kingdom in rural Italy. But despite her family’s efforts to preserve their pastoral existence, modern life intervenes by way of a TV contest and the arrival of a juvenile delinquent.”
10/23/15- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
11/9/15- It beats me as to what all of the critics saw in this movie. Aside from it being a slice of life if anyone can tell me what this was about— please do. Miss this movie. TRDB.
10/29/15- I can’t imagine what the critics were all thinking as they reviewed this movie. Slow to the point of being hypnotic, each character bothered me. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
2) HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT– Synopsis by Netflix. “Based on Arielle Holmes’ memoir of life in New York City’s drug underground, this harrowing drama follows a 19-year-old heroin addict and her mercurial, obsessive relationship with an abusive junkie boyfriend.”
5/30/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
11/2/15- I really disliked this “hyper” movie about drug life on the streets. I turned it off after about a half hour. TRDB. Netflix.
3) THAT SUGAR FILM– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Filmmaker Damon Gameau experiments on himself in this documentary look at the ubiquitous presence of sugar in the typical diet of Americans. Under medical supervision, Gameau begins a 60-day, high-sugar regimen that produces disturbing results.”
7/29/15- OK reviews- the naysayers said that there was too little new material in the documentary. TRDB.
11/8/15- I agree with the review just above. I found the movie gimmicky and really no better than the host of films on the same topic over the last few years. TRDB. Netflix.
4) THE GIFT– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “As Simon and his wife, Robyn, are trying to revitalize their relationship, a string of encounters with someone from Simon’s high school days and a shocking 20-year-old secret threaten to unravel the couple’s lives.”
8/7/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
11/9/150 An excellent psychological thriller. TRDB. Netflix.
5) MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Bringing the modern legacy of hostility toward gays into sharp and searing focus, the uniquely cruel murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 had a stunning effect on the American public. This poignant documentary recounts his brief life and grisly death.”
2/6/15- Great reviews from critics and audiences alike. TRDB.
11/10/15- What can I say? A great, overwhelmingly sad documentary. TRDB. Netflix.
6) TWINSTERS– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Alerted to a You Tube video featuring a woman who bears an eerie resemblance to her, adoptee Anaïs Bordier makes contact with her lookalike via social media — and the two discover they’re twins who were separated at birth.”
7/17/15- Three professional reviews and they are very good, including the NY Times. TRDB.
11/11/15- A remarkable story proving yet again that the truth is stranger than fiction. Very well done. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
1) JIMMY’S HALL– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “After being deported from Ireland to the United States, political firebrand Jimmy Gralton returns to his hometown a decade later and reopens the dance hall he once ran as a gathering place for youngsters — much to the dismay of community leaders.”
7/3/15- Fairly good reviews by the professionals and just OK ones from audiences. TRDB.
Not Recommended-
1) PAPER TOWNS– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “When Quentin Jacobsen’s longtime crush — fabulously cool high school senior Margo Roth Spiegelman — vanishes soon after drafting him for a revenge-fueled mission, he sets off on a cross-country road trip to find her.”
7/19/15- Poor reviews. TRDB.
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2) HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Spanning the years 1971-79, this absorbing documentary chronicles the birth of Greenpeace, which quickly became a media-savvy organization that used the power of images as a mechanism for environmental change.”
10/30/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
3) McCULLIN– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “The made-for-cinema documentary shows how Don McCullin created some of the latter twentieth-century’s most iconic images of man’s inhumanity to man. Working at a critical time in global photojournalism, he witnessed the change of ethos to publishing and editorial freedom for newspapers to print what they wanted”
10/30/15- Great reviews. TRDB.
4) THE PRICE WE PAY– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “As this disturbing documentary reveals, the use and abuse of international tax regulations in recent decades has enabled global corporations to avoid paying billions of dollars in corporate taxes by exploiting transnational financial havens.”
10/30/15- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
5) THE ROYAL ROAD– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “The oldest road in California — the more-than-600-mile-long El Camino Real — serves as the jumping-off point for this cinematic rumination on both the Spanish colonization of California and the filmmakers’ own odyssey through life and longing. ”
10/30/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
2) BURNT– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “In his ambitious attempt to open a world-class restaurant, cutting-edge chef Adam Jones encounters a platterful of obstacles — which includes assembling a staff capable of helping him win a coveted third star in the Michelin guidebook.”
10/20/15- Mixed reviews– more negative than positive. TRDB.
3) CITY SLICKERS CAN’T STAY WITH ME: THE COACH BOB LARSEN STORY– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “One of the most respected and successful coaches in U.S. track-and-field history, Bob Larsen helped mold the careers of numerous Olympians, including Meb Keflezighi, who was also the first U.S. male in more than 30 years to win the Boston Marathon.”
10/30/15- Very few reviews, one OK and the other less OK. TRDB.
2) IN THE BASEMENT– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Behind their manicured yards and ordinary façades, all the houses in this documentary have basements, and it’s here that the occupants satisfy their obsessions — from belting out arias to collecting Nazi memorabilia to acting out sexual fantasies.”
11/6/15- Very good reviews by the critics but poor ones from audiences. Sounds like it could be interesting. TRDB.
3) MISS YOU ALREADY– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Best friends forever, Milly and Jess are confident they’ll weather all of life’s struggles together, no matter how different their worlds become. But their relationship is tested when Milly is diagnosed with cancer just as Jess finally gets pregnant.”
11/6/15- OK reviews from critics and very good ones from audiences. TRDB.
4) OF MEN AND WAR– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “They left home as boys and returned as men, unable to find their place in a once-familiar world. This documentary profiles a group of U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as they struggle to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder”
11/6/15- Excellent reviews from everybody. TRDB.
5) PALIO– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Focusing on two of the primary jockeys — a smug veteran and his former apprentice — this engrossing documentary pulls back the curtain on the world’s oldest horse race, the Palio, where bribery, intrigue and corruption are considered de rigueur.”
11/6/15- Great reviews from critics and audiences alike. TRDB.
6) PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “This engaging documentary recalls the remarkable and often-scandalous life of one of the 20th century’s greatest art collectors: Peggy Guggenheim, who helped establish the reputations of several landmark artists of her era, including Jackson Pollock.”
11/6/15- I’ve seen 4 reviews– 3 up and 1 down. Audiences have liked it very much. TRDB.
7) SAND DOLLARS– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “At a seaside Dominican resort, the long relationship between aging French lesbian Anne and her 21-year-old lover, Noelí — who’s paid for her services — begins to disintegrate when Noelí gets pregnant.”
11/6/15- Excellent reviews from critics but audiences have not cared for this one. TRDB.
8) SPOTLIGHT– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Revealing a string of cover-ups stretching back decades, a team of “Boston Globe” reporters exposes the Catholic Archdiocese’s history of keeping reports about child molestation and other priest-initiated abuse under wraps.”
10/28/15- Great reviews for this drama. TRDB.
9) THEEB– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this adventure tale set in the far corners of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, a Bedouin boy who comes from a family of pilgrim guides must use all of his acquired skills to survive a desert journey gone seriously awry.”
11/2/15- Terrific reviews. TRDB.
10) TRUMBO- 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Bryan Cranston stars as famed 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, whose refusal to testify before the congressional House Un-American Activities Committee resulted in a prison sentence and being blacklisted as a communist.”
11/6/15- Not to be confused by the movie from 2007 with the same name, this drama got fair to good reviews. TRDB.
11) WHAT OUR FATHERS DID: A NAZI LEGACY– 2015- Synopsis by Netflix. “Traveling together, two sons of high-ranking Nazi officials and a Jewish human-rights attorney whose family was decimated in the German death camps make a solemn journey to the grim landscapes of their fathers’ World War II experiences.”
11/6/15- Fair reviews by critics and terrible ones by audiences. A few very good reviews tossed in and I’d liked to see it. TRDB.
Not Recommended-
1) LOST IN THE SUN– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “After crossing paths with recently orphaned teen Louis, two-bit crook John forces the youngster to accompany him on a road trip that turns into a robbery spree. But as the two motor across the Texas desert, they begin to form an unlikely bond.”
11/6/15- Terrible review from critics but audiences have liked it very much. Even though I like road trip movies I think I’ll pass on this one. TRDB.
2) SPECTRE– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “James Bond continues his run of romance and foreign intrigue in this tense thriller that pits him against the global terrorist organization SPECTRE. Already battling political interference, MI6 and Bond must again take on their most implacable foe.”
11/6/15- Fair reviews at best! TRDB.
11/10/15- No professional reviews at this time but audiences have unanimously liked it. TRDB.
3) ENTERTAINMENT- 2016. Synopsis by Netflix. “While on his way to a birthday-party gig in Los Angeles — where he hopes to reconcile with his estranged daughter — an abysmal middle-aged comedian plays a succession of shows at dead-end dives across the Mojave Desert.”
11/11/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
4) INGRID BERGMAN IN HER OWN WORDS– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Although she was one of cinema’s most legendary stars, Ingrid Bergman managed to keep her private life invisible to the public. This intimate documentary explores the actress’s revealing and eloquent diaries, as well as her personal film collection.”
11/11/15- Just 2 reviews and they are both good. TRDB.
5) JAMES WHITE– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “When his mother’s terminal illness forces party-loving James White to drastically refocus his life, the transformation doesn’t come easily. As time passes, however, the bond between mother and son grows ever stronger.”
11/11/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
6) KILO TWO BRAVO– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this tense military thriller based on real-life events, a British paratrooper unit on patrol in Afghanistan finds themselves facing invisible mortal danger after unwittingly venturing into a dry riverbed littered with landmines.”
11/11/15- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
7) MAN UP- 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “In a romantic turn of fate, perennially single Nancy is standing under a train station clock when a stranger named Jack arrives and mistakes her for his blind date. Sensing an opportunity, Nancy decides to go with the flow to see where things lead.”
11/11/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
8) STEVE McQUEEN: THE MAN & LE MANS- 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Hollywood icon Steve McQueen was already an accomplished road racer when he agreed to star in the racing drama Le Mans. But creative differences and a flood of personal issues nearly doomed the project, as recounted in this intriguing documentary.”
11/11/15- Reviews are weak in general but a few good ones thrown in and I would give it a try. TRDB.
Not Recommended–
1) BY THE SEA– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Hoping to save their crumbling marriage, Vanessa and Roland take a trip a French seaside resort. After forming friendships with some of the town’s residents, including a pair of newlyweds, Vanessa and Roland begin to confront their unresolved issues.”
11/10/15- Early reviews are really poor. TRDB.
2) HEIST– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Unable to afford his daughter’s medical treatment, a fired card dealer takes desperate measures, teaming with a former co-worker to pull off a casino robbery. When the heist goes awry, they hijack a bus and use the passengers as bargaining chips.”
11/11/15- Terrible reviews- even with Robert De Niro starring. TRDB.
3) SHELTER- 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Set on the mean streets of New York City, this moving drama follows two homeless souls — a heroin junkie and a Nigerian immigrant — who join forces for survival and soon fall in love. But secrets from the past threaten to derail the relationship.”
11/11/15- Weak reviews. TRDB.
DirecTV- www.directv.com/DTVAPP/listing/ppvMovies.jsp
Time Warner Link- www.twondemand.com
2) SPOTLIGHT– Jacob Burns. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Revealing a string of cover-ups stretching back decades, a team of “Boston Globe” reporters exposes the Catholic Archdiocese’s history of keeping reports about child molestation and other priest-initiated abuse under wraps.”
10/28/15- Great reviews for this drama. TRDB.
10/26/15- A splendid movie with wonderful acting and a great screenplay. The movie is fiction but there is ample precedent for this scenario. TRDB.
11/8/15- I found the movie a bit tedious at times but I enjoyed the discussion of the difficult issues involved. I’d definitely recommend it. TRDB.
11/6/15- OK reviews from critics and very good ones from audiences. TRDB.
6) LABYRINTH OF LIES– Bethel, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “In 1958, prosecutor Johann Radmann follows up on a reporter’s tip and uncovers a trail of evidence connecting a host of public-sector employees to atrocities perpetrated at the Auschwitz concentration camp during Germany’s murderous Nazi regime.”
10/13/15- Very good reviews. TRDB.
10/29/15- Very well done and very realistic as well. This movie from Germany is yet another example of Germany’s attempt to come to grips with its past. TRDB.
7) BRIDGE OF SPIES– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “At the height of the Cold War in 1960, the downing of an American spy plane and the pilot’s subsequent capture by the Soviets draws Brooklyn attorney James Donovan Tom Hanks) into the middle of an intense effort to secure the aviator’s release.”
10/11/15- Excellent reviews for this drama/mystery. TRDB.
10/17/15- I enjoyed this cold war spy thriller, even with the few touches of Hollywood thrown in by Steven Spielberg. Also, I read that the Tom Hanks character, portrayed as a novice, actually had been involved in the Nuremberg trials. TRDB.
8) GRANDMA- Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Urgently in need of $600 to pay for an abortion, 18-year-old Sage seeks help from her acerbic grandmother, Elle Reid — who has no extra money. Setting off to raise the cash from Elle’s erstwhile friends and exes, the two instead dredge up the past.”
8/18/15– Excellent reviews for this comedy. TRDB.
9) STEVE JOBS– Saw Mill Hawthorne. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Everyone knows about the products Steve Jobs designed, but few people really knew the man behind the technology. This revealing biopic focuses on a few key incidents and relationships to tell the story of a digital visionary who changed the world.”
10/8/15- Very good reviews from critics and audiences. TRDB.
10/21/15- I enjoyed this movie very much and I think I got a good picture of the creative genius of this man who to many was a real son-of-a-bitch. TRDB.
10) THE INTERN– Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury. 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Agreeing to participate in a community outreach program, e-commerce entrepreneur Jules Ostin hires a 70-year-old intern — who ends up bringing his special brand of business savvy to her fashion enterprise.”
10/6/15- Just barely more positives from critics than negatives but audiences, including many of my friends, really liked this movie. TRDB.
For Independent Films in Palm Beach County go to www.lakeworthplayhouse.org
For Films everywhere go to- www.fandango.com
ENJOY!!
THE REEL DR. BOB
Entry Filed under: Old Newsletters
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