The Reel Dr. Bob

JUNE 18, 2020

DEAR FRIENDS:

QUICK LOOK AT MY FAVORITES OF THE WEEK-

1) DA 5 BLOODS– Netflix.

2) THE WAY BACK– Netflix

3) JUST MERCY– Netflix

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MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK-

1) DA 5 BLOODS– 2020. Synopsis by IMDB. “Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen Squad Leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.”

6/12/20- Reviews of this new Spike Lee movie were very good from the critics and OK from audiences. I enjoyed the movie despite its in-your-face style. TRDB.

2) THE WAY BACK– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “After losing his wife and family while in the throes of alcohol addiction, a former professional hoops star looking for redemption returns to his high school to begin life anew when its head basketball coach resigns.”

3/4/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.

6/16/20- Somewhat predictable but I enjoyed it anyway. TRDB. Netflix.

3) JUST MERCY– 2019. In this fact-based drama, newly minted attorney Bryan Stevenson moves to Alabama to begin a career defending the wrongly condemned, including Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of murder and sentenced to death despite evidence of his innocence.”

12/26/19- Good reviews by audiences and really good ones from the critics. TRDB.

6/17/20- I liked the movie- it could not have come at a better time than the present. TRDB. Netflix.

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COMING TO NETFLIX NEXT WEEK (DISC.)

1) PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE– 2019. Synopsis by Netflix. “When hesitant bride-to-be Héloïse refuses to sit for a portrait to entice a marriage proposal, commissioned artist Marianne must observe Héloïse during the day and paint her at night. In the process, Marianne begins to fall for her beautiful subject.”

12/6/19- Excellent reviews for this drama that takes place in 1760 France. TRDB.

3/2/20- I liked the movie although it was a bit slow at times. TRDB.

2) AND THEN WE DANCED– 2020- Synopsis by Netflix. “In the conservative domain of Georgian dance, gender roles are rigidly defined. So, when Merab — a dancer training at the National Georgian Ensemble — falls for self-assured newcomer Irakli, Merab finds his world thrown into turmoil.”

2/7/20- Very good reviews for this drama. TRDB.

3) CORPUS CHRISTI– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “As 20-year-old Daniel is serving time in a youth detention center, he finds God. But after being released on parole, Daniel is unable to enter seminary school because of his violent past — prompting him to pose as a parish priest.”

3/11/20- Very good reviews for this drama. TRDB.

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NEW STREAMABLE MOVIES-

1) THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “”Saturday Night Live” favorite Pete Davidson co-wrote and stars in this comic tale loosely based on his life, with a focus on his years as a directionless burnout in his mid-20s living with his mother (a 9/11 widow).

6/14/20- Fair to good reviews from the critics and very good ones from audiences. TRDB.

Rent or buy on Amazon. Buy on VUDU

2) HILL OF FREEDOM– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Kwon (Seo Younghwa) returns to Seoul from a restorative stay in the mountains.She is given a packet of letters left by Mori (Ryo Kase), who has come back from Japan to propose to her. As she walks down a flight of stairs, Kwon drops and scatters the letters, all of which are undated. When she reads them, she has to make sense of the chronology… and so must we.”

6/14/20- Very good reviews for this drama from Seoul. TRDB.

3) DA 5 BLOODS– 2020. Synopsis by IMDB. “Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen Squad Leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.”

6/12/20- Reviews were very good from the critics and OK from audiences. I enjoyed the movie despite its in-your-face Spike Lee style. TRDB. Netflix.

4) AVIVA– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this experimental drama, transatlantic lovers Aviva and Eden — each played by an actor and an actress — navigate their turbulent relationship while a battle between their male and female sides goes on within them both.”

6/12/20- Very good reviews. TRDB.

5) SEAHORSE: THE DAD WHO GAVE BIRTH– 2020. Synopsis by Netflix. “Transgender man Freddy McConnell has long dreamed of raising a family. So, when he and his partner are ready to be parents, Freddy elects to carry the baby, embarking on a course that brings confusion and discomfort to others.”

6/16/20- Excellent reviews for this documentary. TRDB. Rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

6) MY FATHER, THE SPY– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “As a young Soviet student in 1978, Ieva Lesinska-Geibere could not have predicted that a holiday visit to her father, Imants Lesinskis, then working in the Soviet mission at the United Nations in New York City, would irreversibly split her life in two. Entangled in a dark spy game, Leva is forced to leave her former life behind, never to see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. Pulling back the curtain on the shady behind-the-scenes world of the Cold War, this film tells a daughter’s dramatic story of her double-agent father, exploring their relationship against the backdrop of events which have their roots over four decades ago. In order to find herself and understand the game she was part of, Leva sets out on a journey to the past, confronting family secrets, lies and betrayal.”

6/16/20- Just 1 review noted (from NY Times) and it is very good. TRDB. Rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

7) THE POLLINATORS– 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Our complex food system rests on the wings of the honey bee and the commercial beekeepers that move them from farm to orchard pollinating the crops that produce the food we all eat.”

6/16/20- Very good early reviews for this documentary. TRDB. I’m not sure where you can see this.

OLDER MOVIES– NOW STREAMABLE

1) THE GUILTY– 2018. Synopsis by Netflix. ” Working a desk job as an emergency dispatcher after being relieved of his beat cop responsibilities, Asger Holm fields a panicked call from a kidnapped young mother — and must race against time as the situation gets worse with each passing minute.”

10/20/18- Great reviews. TRDB.

2/22/19- I enjoyed this thriller very much. See this movie! TRDB. Streamable on HULU. Also available on Netflix Disc.  

2) MR. KAPLAN– 2015. Synopsis by Netflix. “Depressed by his advancing age, Uruguayan transplant Jacob Kaplan is lamenting his irrelevance when he becomes convinced that a local bar owner is an ex-Nazi — and promptly embarks on a quest to expose the old German.”

3/8/15- A bit slow and sad but an interesting premise and excellent acting contribute to make this well worth seeing. TRDB. Amazon Prime.