The Reel Dr. Bob

MARCH 19, 2020

DEAR FRIENDS:

AS YOU KNOW, MOST THEATERS HAVE BEEN CLOSED SO THIS WILL BE AN ABREVIATED ISSUE—

QUICK LOOK AT MY FAVORITES OF THE WEEK-

1) THE GOOD LIAR– Netflix Disc.

_____________________________________________________________________

MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK AT THE THEATER- THEATERS CLOSED

_____________________________________________________________________

MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK AT HOME-

1) THE GOOD LIAR– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “While looking for his next mark, professional con man Roy Courtnay meets wealthy widow Betty McLeish online. But reeling her in becomes complicated when Roy begins falling for her … and discovers she has secrets of her own.

11/13/19- Fair reviews for this drama starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. TRDB.

3/13/20- An interesting drama/mystery even though the ending was predictable. TRDB.

_____________________________________________________________________

OPENED LAST WEEK-

Recommended-

1) LOST GIRLS– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “When 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert mysteriously disappears one night, her mother Mari (Academy Award (R) nominee Amy Ryan) embarks on a dark journey that finds her face to face with hard truths about her daughter, herself, and police bias.”

3/14/20- Reviews from the critics were OK but audiences didn’t like it. There were enough very good reviews to make me want to see it. TRDB. Streaming on Netflix.

2) HUMAN NATURE– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Thanks to advances in biotechnology, we can literally rewrite our DNA — but should we? Scientists, journalists, incurable patients and bioethicists deliberate the issue, reflecting on the positive and negative implications of genetic tinkering.”

3/14/20- Excellent reviews for this documentary. TRDB.

3) NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “When teenage Autumn learns she’s pregnant, she must look beyond her rural Pennsylvania home to deal with the situation. With her cousin Skylar at her side, Autumn heads to New York City with only a small amount of cash and the address of a clinic.”

3/14/2020- Excellent reviews. TRDB.

4) THE DOG DOC– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Both dismissed and revered by his peers, veterinarian Marty Goldstein uses novel treatments, including homeopathic medicine and a carefully formulated diet, to restore health to a menagerie of gravely ill animals, as chronicled in this documentary.”

3/14/20- Very good reviews for this documentary. TRDB.

5) HEIMAT IS A SPACE IN TIME– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Heimat” is a German term broadly translated as “homeland,” a concept explored in depth in this compelling documentary that profiles several generations of director Thomas Heise’s family as he traces the effects of a changing German landscape.”

3/14/20- Good reviews but each review had something negative. TRDB.

6) INSIDE THE RAIN– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Threatened with expulsion from college because of a past misunderstanding, Benjamin Glass goes all out to clear his name, enlisting the aid of a woman he meets at a strip club to re-create the incident on video.”

3/14/20- Mixed reviews. TRDB.

Not Recommended–

1) THE HUNT– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this action-thriller inspired by the gulf between the left and right wings of the political spectrum, class warfare escalates beyond words to physical violence as a group of blue-collar individuals finds themselves being hunted down.”

3/14/20- Weak reviews for this violent horror movie. TRDB.

2) THE ROADS NOT TAKEN– 2020. “Though Molly loves her father unconditionally, his disordered mental state makes their relationship difficult. But over the course of a single day in New York City, she begins to understand why as she watches him flow through several parallel lives.”

3/14/20-Poor reviews for this drama but it does sound interesting as well as disturbing. TRDB.

3) BIG TIME ADOLESCENCE– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Smart high-schooler Mo has a promising future, but when he falls under the influence of his sister’s ex-boyfriend — a stoner and college dropout — the lure of drugs, girls and parties begins to redirect Mo’s journey through life.”

3/14/20- Good reviews- I can’t imagine why!! TRDB.

4) BLOODSHOT– Awful reviews for this violent movie–miss it.

_____________________________________________________________________

COMING TO NETFLIX NEXT WEEK-

1) I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “This dark satire follows ambitious theater director Mariana Marin as she attempts to stage an elaborate re-enactment of the tragic 1941 Odessa massacre. But she quickly encounters opposition from a municipal bureaucrat and a rebellious cast.”

12/11/19- Excellent reviews by the critics and fair ones by audiences. TRDB.

2) 1917– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “At the height of World War I, two British soldiers battle to survive a single day of ferocious combat, facing death at any moment in a landscape littered with the corpses of their comrades-in arms.”

12/26/19- Excellent reviews by critics and audiences alike. TRDB.

1/14/20- An excellent piece of film making but I have to say that I felt it was repetitive, sometimes Hollywoodish and I wondered if the lead character had 9 lives. TRDB.

3) SHOOTING THE MAFIA– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “Documentarian Kim Longinotto trains her lens on fearless Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia, who spent decades covering the ruthless Mafia’s long and bloody reach — at enormous risk to herself.”

11/22/19- Fair reviews for this documentary. TRDB.

4) JINPA- 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “On an isolated road passing through the vast barren plains of Tibet, a truck driver who has accidentally run over a sheep chances upon a young man who is hitching a ride. As they drive and chat, the truck driver notices that his new friend has a silver dagger strapped to his leg. He comes to understand that this man is out to kill someone who wronged him earlier in life. As he drops the hitchhiker off at a fork in the road, little does the truck driver realize that their short time together has changed everything, and that their destinies are inexorably intertwined.”

5) THE SONG OF NAMES– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “This sweeping drama charts the story of two Jewish friends: young Londoner Martin and Polish refugee Dovidl, a talented violinist. When Dovidl vanishes shortly before his first recital, it takes Martin more than three decades to unravel the mystery.”

12/28/19- Weak reviews but it does sound interesting. TRDB.

2/22/20- The critics really panned this movie but audiences liked it and so did I. TRDB.

6) CUNNINGHAM– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “Using previously unseen archival material, documentarian Alla Kovgan takes viewers inside Merce Cunningham’s world of dance, charting the legendary choreographer’s artistic evolution through three decades.”

12/13/19- Fair to good reviews including a few excellent ones. TRDB.

_____________________________________________________________________

BOB’S PICKS IN WESTCHESTER AND FAIRFIELD COUNTIES- THEATERS CLOSED

_____________________________________________________________________

BOB’S PICKS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY- MOST THEATERS CLOSED

A) THE MOVIES OF LAKE WORTH-

1) THE WAY BACK–

2) THE HOPE GAP–

3) BURDEN–

4) EMMA–

5) THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM–

B) THE MOVIES OF DELRAY- Same as Lake Worth above

C) THE STONZEK THEATER IN LAKE WORTH- Closed

D) THE LIVING ROOM THEATERS AT FAU IN BOCA RATON- Closed