THE HUMANS- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this affecting drama set at a shabby Manhattan duplex, Brigid Blake and her family gather for a Thanksgiving celebration. But as the evening progresses, grievances are aired, and tensions soon begin to rise.”
Rotten Tomatoes had this to say— “Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.”
11/27/21- Excellent reviews for this movie. TRDB.
11/28/21- I liked the movie but a bit less than the critics. TRDB.
DRIVE MY CAR- 2021. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke’s late wife.”
11/27/21- Excellent reviews for this Japanese drama. TRDB.
HOUSE OF GUCCI- 2021. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “House of Gucci is inspired by the shocking true story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire. When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately… murder.”
11/24/21- Fair reviews from the critics and good ones from audiences. TRDB.
I WAS A SIMPLE MAN- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “On Oahu’s north shore, widower Masao Matsuyoshi lives in a verdant landscape that thrives when he’s in good health. But it’s now withering as a terminal illness threatens to claim him, with ghosts from his past coming back to haunt and guide him.”
PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN- 2021. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Three young girls on the path to adolescence examine life in a town at war.”
11/19/21- Excellent reviews for this foreign drama. TRDB.
SHE PARADISE- 2020. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “17-year-old Sparkle discovers a free spirited group of Soca dancers at a car show in the bustling streets of downtown Trinidad. Enamored by the glimpse of sisterhood, she uses her wit to convince them to take her under their wing. The women bring Sparkle into a dizzying nightlife of partying, glamour, and money, but as things spiral out of control, Sparkle is forced to make some tough decisions.”
THE POWER OF THE DOG- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “In 1925 Montana, the relationship between brothers Phil and George — rich ranchers who are polar opposites — sours when George weds a young widow and Phil begins a relentless crusade to torment his sibling’s wife and her bookish teenage son.”
11/18/21- Very good reviews for this drama. TRDB.
12/1/21- Slow but I did like it. Great scenery and great music as well. TRDB.
RED NOTICE- 2021. Synopsis by Netflix. “FBI profiler John Hartley’s latest assignment — to catch the world’s most wanted art thief — puts him in the middle of a heist and in league with another top art thief in a chase that takes them around the globe.”
11/13/21- Awful reviews by the critics and excellent ones from audiences. TRDB.
LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE- 2021. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE is three stories that explore love, commitment, and loyalty between couples and friends. In the film’s first story TWO FOR DINNER, a married couple (Joanne Whalley and Chris Messina) find an unconventional way to transcend long distance through technology, but discover they were farther apart than they knew. In SAILING LESSON, a long-married couple (Kathy Baker and Marshall Bell) tries to reignite their honeymoon-phase heat through a spontaneous sailing trip… and unexpected events arise. And in LATE LUNCH, a young woman (Maya Kazan) who recently lost her mother gathers together a group of her mother’s friends (including Cybill Shepherd, Rosanna Arquette, and Rita Wilson) to share memories. Surprising revelations ensue.