The Reel Dr. Bob

APRIL 20, 2023

DEAR FRIENDS:

QUICK LOOK AT MY FAVORITES OF THE WEEK-

1) THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY

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MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK-

1) THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “”The Lost Weekend: A Love Story” explores the 18-month relationship (1973-1975) that John Lennon spent with May Pang, his Chinese American assistant turned lover (on Yoko Ono’s insistence). With May’s help, Lennon reunited with his son Julian and had his most artistically and commercially productive period post-Beatles.”

4/15/23- This documentary received good reviews and I enjoyed it very much. Lots of archival material. TRDB.

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NEW MOVIES IN THEATERS AND/OR STREAMING-

1) PERSONALITY CRISIS- ONE NIGHT ONLY– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Continuing his vibrant and invaluable documentaries about iconic American artists and musicians such as George Harrison: Living in the Material World, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and the Fran Lebowitz portrait Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese turns his camera on another beloved New York institution: the singular David Johansen.”

4/16/23- Excellent reviews for this documentary. TRDB.

2) HILMA– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “The revolutionary Swedish artist and feminist pioneer Hilma af Klint.”

4/16/23- Fair reviews mostly- including several very good ones and several really poor ones. TRDB.

3) SUZUME– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “17-year-old Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob.”

4/16/23- Excellent reviews for this animated Japanese film. TRDB.

4) WILD LIFE– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “WILD LIFE follows conservationist Kris Tompkins on an epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. After falling in love in mid-life, Kris and the outdoorsman and entrepreneur Doug Tompkins left behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they’d helped pioneer — Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit — and turned their attention to a visionary effort to create National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina.”

4/16/23- Very good reviews for this documentary. TRDB. 

5) HONORABLE MEN– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Honorable Men tells the story of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s unexpected rise to power and his dramatic fall from grace, from the highest office in the land to Ward 10 at Maasiyahu Prison. Set as a political thriller, it follows the incredible events that elevated him to power and set the stage for his epic fall, creating a portrait of a multifaceted man and providing a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanisms and machinations that control politics, justice, war and peace.”

4/16/23- Just a few reviews so far and they are mixed. TRDB. Prime

6) HUMAN FLOWERS OF FLESH– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Ida lives on a ship with her crew of five men. In Marseille her attention is caught by the secretive male world of the French Foreign Legion and she decides to follow its traces across the Mediterranean. As Ida and her crew sail via Corsica to the historical headquarters of the Legion in Algeria, boundaries and certainties blur while life at sea produces a special kind of mutual understanding.”

4/16/23- Fair to good reviews. TRDB.

7) EVERYTHING WENT FINE– 2021. “When André (André Dussollier) contacts his adult daughter, Emmanuèle, (Sophie Marceau) with a devastating final wish, she is forced to reconcile her past with him, in François Ozon’s powerful family drama.”

4/17/23- Excellent reviews from the critics and fair ones from audiences. TRDB.

8) RARE OBJECTS– 2021. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “An adaptation of Kathleen Tessaro’s novel of the same name, Rare Objects is a story about friendship that centers around a young woman who reclaims her own sense of self through her journey of self discovery that involves a new job, new friends and healing.”

4/17/23- The critics did not like this movie one bit but audiences loved it. TRDB.

9) SICK OF MYSELF– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) and Thomas (Eirik Sæther) are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship that takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist. In response, Signe makes a desperate attempt to regain her status by creating a new persona hell-bent on attracting attention and sympathy.”

4/17/23- Excellent reviews for this drama/comedy from Norway. TRDB.

10) THE PLAINS– 2023. “Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Every evening a man in his late 50s commutes home at the end of the working day in the outer  suburbs of Melbourne. As the seasons pass in gentle rhythm we observe dramatic events of his life as well as mundane quotidian details, and learn more about the man, his inner conflicts and the relationships in his life — with his wife, his mother, deceased sister, and a younger co-worker whom he occasionally drives home.”

4/17/23- Excellent reviews for this drama/documentary. TRDB.

11) SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Leo Russo (Ray Romano) lives a simple life in Queens, New York with his wife Angela (Laurie Metcalf), their shy but talented son “Sticks” (Jacob Ward), and Leo’s close-knit network of Italian-American relatives and neighborhood friends. Happy enough working at the family construction business alongside his father (Tony Lo Bianco) and younger brother (Sebastian Maniscalco), Leo lives each week for Sticks’ high-school basketball games.”

4/17/23- Excellent reviews. TRDB.

SKIP THESE-

1) ONE TRUE LOVES-

2) TOMMY GUNS-

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MOVIES PLAYING AT THE JACOB BURNS FILM CENTER IN PLEASANTVILLE NY

1) BEAU IS AFRAID– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from writer/director Ari Aster.

4/19/23- Fair reviews from critics and audiences. TRDB.

2) JOYLAND– Very good reviews

3) CHEVALIER– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer.”

4/19/23- OK reviews. TRDB.

4) SHOWING UP– 2023. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A sculptor (Michelle Williams) preparing to open a new show must balance her creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends, in Kelly Reichardt’s vibrant and captivatingly funny portrait of art and craft.”

4/8/23- Very good reviews from the critics and fair ones from audiences. TRDB.

5) AIR– I liked it

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MOVIES PLAYING AT THE AMC THEATER IN DANBURY, CT-

1) BEAU IS AFRAID–

2) CHEVALIER–

3) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT–

4) SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS–

5) SUZUME-

6) HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE–

7) AIR-

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MOVIES PLAYING IN PALM BEACH Co. FL

1) THE MOVIES OF LAKE WORTH-

a) SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS–

b) CHEVALIER–

c) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT–

d) THE LOST WEEKEND

e) AIR-

2) THE MOVIES OF DELRAY-

a) SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS–

b) CHEVALIER–

c) THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY–

d) AIR-

e) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT–

3) THE STONZEK THEATER AT THE LAKE WORTH PLAYHOUSE IN DOWNTOWN LAKE WORTH-

1) SWISS ARMY MAN-( Fri–Sun)

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