OLD NEW AGAIN

Tags

action movie, AUSTEN, Emma, England, films, GeorgetteHeyer, history, humor, Mark Wahlberg, movies, regency, reviews, romance, Spenser Confidential

EMMA

Having seen numerous versions of Emma, the real draw to the newest was Bill Nighy. I must say right away that he is splendid. With a twitch of his hand or a barely-there shrug, he conveys everything needed to be expressed. He added the right touch of humor, and IMHO, with a subtly that would please Austen. Many of her characters were meant to be whimsically humorous.

Austen’s Miss Woodhouse is not my favorite, since she is pushy, self-serving and proud. In this rendition, my mild aversion to her has been mollified. Anya Taylor-Joy portrays our heroine in a more accessible manner. Paltrow’s take was somewhat whiny, often petulant, rather childish. Taylor-Joy has created an Emma with more depth, a snobbish, self-satisfied busybody, who learns the meaning of true civility. By the end of the film, she is worthy of the excellent Mr. Knightly, who in this film (Johnny Flynn) comes across as too emotional. He’s a joy to watch, certainly, but the character of Mr. Knightly is a gentleman of constraint and superior style. And I didn’t quite understand the purpose of showing his bare backside or having him lying on the floor in despair. Mr. Knightly prostrate with frustration? Surely not.

And the marvelous Brit actors do not disappoint. Oh, the ensemble acting! So many favorites! And every one of them understands Austen’s restrained humor and sly enjoyment of pointing out humanity’s character flaws. Josh O’Connor as Mr. Elton, who gave us an interesting and sympathetic portrayal of Prince Charles in The Crown, embodies hypocrisy in an almost over-the-top performance. Tanya Reynolds as Mrs. Elton is spot-on as the society witch utterly oblivious to her own crass behavior. Miss Bates, (Miranda Hart of Call the Midwife) is the tender-hearted gentle lady of limited means, but generous of soul, who provides the perfect contrast to Emma’s smallness of character and the catalyst for a much-needed learning experience.

The costumes are exquisite. Emma’s wardrobe is extensive. The hats glorious. The houses and locales are lushly represented. The production is of the highest quality. The Brits almost always do it up right, but this is a step above and beyond. There are many reasons to see this movie, but first and foremost, if you are an admirer of Austen, this one should not be missed.

Older DVD Gem:

THE LAST WORD (2009)

This totally character-driven story is about previously powerful, retired ad exec Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), who decides that she wants her obituary written before her death. Unfortunately for her, the person she chooses to write it, Ann Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) has a will as strong as Lauler’s and won’t back down and write flowery drivel. Ann forces Lauler to confront the fact that almost everybody hated, feared, and avoided her. She didn’t merely crack the glass ceiling; she smashed it, which means she stepped on many to get there. In order to get a proper obit that conveys a brilliant legacy, Lauler must start a new direction at the end of her life.

The beginning of the film dwells too long on Lauler’s control issues and depression. Hang in there. Once it gets moving, it’s fascinating and goes in unexpected directions. There is so much meat in this story, so much to encourage personal reflection and make us wonder about our own legacies—not for the sake of vanity—but for the sake of self-improvement and finding the best ways to enrich our lives and live each day to its fullest.

On Netflix:

If you don’t mind graphic everything, check out Spenser Confidential. Loads of action, smarty-pants humor, and a guy who just wants to do the right thing. But beware of the girlfriend.

 

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)

Follow on Twitter @RigdonML

Blog: https://historyfanforever.wordpress.com/

Website http://www.MLRigdon.com

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner

https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline

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TWO MOVIES IN THREE DAYS

Tags

Blanchett, blogging, books, Crudup, empowerment, film, humor, Icebergs, McCarthy, movies, reviews, Seattle, techie

No spoilers.

The Kitchen

Said it before, and just sayin’ again, anything with Melissa McCarthy and Margo Martindale, I will go see. On the other hand, I couldn’t help thinking as I watched that this is a movie seriously in want of a plot. OK, if you’re into crime flicks, this is a mild version compared to the over-the-top blood and gore in today’s films. It did have informative instructions on how to divest oneself of that pesky body recently made into a corpse.

By the time the movie was over, I had to wonder if all of these talented women signed on for this flick because it had a woman director, Andrea Berloff. And the directing was somewhat better than some of the stuff I’ve seen lately, but considering the female cast, what’s to direct? I liked Domhnall Gleeson’s Gabriel O’Malley, perhaps because Gabriel was the only guy character not a sexist jerk.

I’m all for empowerment themes but this one is forgettable. Unless you like the cast, I’d wait to see this when it comes out DVD.

Where’d You Go Bernadette

This has gotten some mixed reviews and I have to take a jab at one reviewer who complained that it was disappointing because the story couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a drama or a comedy. Duh! That’s why it’s called a dramedy.

I really enjoyed this version of Maria Semple’s book and she was a coproducer . A lot of care went into the production work, especially the house in various stages of renovation, the tangle of invasive bushes, both representative of Bernadette’s fractured state. I found that fragile, broken part of her—and nothing else about Bernadette is fragile—a fitting metaphor for her inner struggle, the horror of recovering from having one’s art savaged, a vision torn to shreds. Where The Kitchen was supposed to be about empowerment, Bernadette was born empowered with the “e” in caps. It is also a cautionary tale about how we can get bumped off the tracks and what a tragedy it is when we can’t figure out how to get back on then stay off too long.

Must give points to Blanchett, who knows how to deliver a throwaway line and her complete insight into Bernadette, showing it quite simply when Bernadette is at her best with the grease under her nails. This was revealed at the appropriate time, when her creativity is set free from a mentally frozen world by geographic one.

Caveat: I’m not a cold weather lover but the grandeur of the icebergs in the pristine arctic seas broke my heart. All I could think about was how that majestic beauty is being ravaged by greedy, amoral politicians and businesses destroying our beautiful world—the opposite of Bernadette, who did her best to build green.

Stay for the credits to see the fascinating outcome of what applied genius is all about.

 

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)

Follow on Twitter @RigdonML

Blog: https://historyfanforever.wordpress.com/

Website http://www.MLRigdon.com

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner

https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline

RUN THE GAMUT

Tags

acting, awards, films, Golden Globes, McDormand, movies, reviews, Rockwell

It was a happily eclectic year for filmmakers and goers. I only got to a fraction of them, but what I did choose turned out to be memorable and told me a lot about myself. I was ready for things different, controversial, funny and fun.

For me, 2017 started with Hidden Figures. I loved it, especially Teraji P. Henson’s vitality and the refreshing truth about the women who helped make NASA reach its goals.

Wind River was satisfying on many levels, its frank exposure of yet another abuse this country has dumped on Native Americans, the vivid cinematography that captured the bleakness of the theme with the brutal reality of a frozen winter, the viscerally controlled performances, solid writing, and seeing roles about Native Americans played by the same.

I’d heard that The Mountain Between Us was about an interracial romance thingie, but I didn’t get that at all. Watching it was more like viewing the unraveling or unfolding of the flower of inner selves, facing delusions, the acceptance and release of heartaches present and past, the power of trust in oneself and in friendship.

OK, so I’m not the biggest fan of CGI filmmaking, but the genre gets my praise if it’s well done. Wonder Woman was a delight until the overdone CGI confrontation extravaganza at its end. But I, like many women, admire guys who are secure enough to let Diana lead. They are my kind of manly men. Plus her wild theme music on electric cello ,introduced in Batman v Superman, gives me chills.

I enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok so much I went to see it twice, mainly because of the humor.

Then there was the fantastic Baby Driver, its mind-blowing editing that choreographed music with spectacular feats of car driving. Add to that excellent ensemble work, each actor’s performance a bit of perfection.

Not a great movie, but an important one, was Only the Brave about the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The recent devastation in California magnified what these men and women endure to save others and necessary forestlands.

Into the chaos of smash’em up of holiday action movie fare came an eerily charming love story. I constantly long for the romance of the golden days of filmmaking. The Shape of Water supplied it without the layers of schmaltz or the grimness of noir. I especially admired the color conscious production design—the hideous sterility of the government facility in contrast to the warmth of the artist’s cluttered apartment and Sally’s neat, bleak environment, a reverse mirror to the lush richness of her inner life. And what’s not to like about a girl who loves shoes? Lovely way to end the year. But never let us overlook Octavia Spencer’s beautiful black eyes that can snap out reams, her ability to project silent screams of internal struggle. Instead of running Dorothy Parker’s gamut of emotions from A to B, Spencer can cram pages of narrative into a glance.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri had me gasping and laughing at the same time. I can’t recall anything in which Frances McDormand was not brilliant. Martin McDonagh’s shocking and brutally acerbic writing needed McDormand’s intelligence to be carried off in the way it is meant to be portrayed. Woody Harrelson and Peter Dinklage were wonderful, but McDormand and Rockwell are the standouts, because they inhabited their characters.

It’s very rare in films to see an actor totally become the personality they portray. What we usually get is the superficial star “doing” the character. This total immersion, “method” technique is more often seen on stage. Perhaps it has something to do with the inclusiveness of performing behind the imaginary fourth wall. In movies, the camera is literally right in your face. But between the embittered Mildred (McDormand) and the vulgar Dixon (Rockwell), Sam Rockwell had the more difficult task. He must somehow make a disgusting, and all too familiar personality, an enthusiastic and violent racist, accessible to himself and the viewers. Rockwell embraced the swine Dixon so completely that there is no sign of Sam Rockwell. Even more admirable, he made us understand and forgive Dixon, bringing the story arc to its fulfillment and conclusion. How delicious that he won the Golden Globe. He deserves to win across the board.

And yet…my sister mentioned that there were complaints that a thoroughly unlikeable character like Dixon shouldn’t get an award. I’ve heard stupid opinions but that has to go into my book of the stupidity typified. It’s so vastly idiotic that it warrants no discussion.

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)
Follow on Twitter @RigdonML
Website http://www.MLRigdon.com
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner
https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline

 

Farewell My Love

Tags

cars, movies, Music, Mustang, nostalgia, reviews

I saw Bullitt so long ago it was at a Southern California drive-in. I distinctly remember jamming my foot on imaginary brakes on the car’s floorboard throughout the car chase sequences. Baby Driver may put Bullitt to rest when it comes to breakneck driving but will never (be still my beating heart) remove my adoration for a Mustang GT. Alas, the stunt driving in in Baby Driver may have nudged Bullitt from its top spot.

Time to gladly eat my words. I’ve complained about films with distracting loud soundtracks, but Baby Driver makes it work in overdrive and—dare I say it—with synchronized perfection. Magnificent sound editing. Can’t see how any film could beat it come awards time. The only issue I had happened at the opening, the first bank robbery, when the robbers didn’t put masks on until they got to the bank door. That didn’t make sense with security cameras everywhere nowadays. The other issue I had was driving stolen cars to the meeting site after the robbery. That didn’t fit the slickness of these operators. Maybe it was some sort of statement about their arrogance and confidence, but it seemed sloppy to me.

I know other reviewers are raving about this flick as a “car chase action” film, but I have to take issue with that. I watched the entire movie seeing it as a beautifully written, exquisitely realized character-driven story enhanced by excellent direction. I decided to see it because of the marvelous cast and was not disappointed. The music, pacing and controlled violence will hopefully not distract from the cast’s superb ensemble work. The characters are clear-cut and diverse, ranging from the sweetness of youthful romance to the bizarrely sociopathic. The final topping on this delicious flick was the credits rolling to a fabulous rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s Baby Driver.

The driving scenes brought back memories, things done that I’d never tell my mom about, (like burying the needle on the Hollywood Freeway in the middle of the night in a Mustang, of course), and made me long for the days of the gearshift on the floor. So, if you have one, slide it into fourth and go see this film.