Author: James Hathaway

Movie 1: Schindler’s List

This 1993 masterpiece is currently on Netflix. Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, moves to Poland at the start of WWII, opens a factory and saves over 1,100 Jews from concentration camps. This multiple-Oscar winning classic is near perfect on every level. If you haven’t seen this movie, or haven’t seen it since 1993, please do. Movies get no better than this.

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Movie 2: Wolf Man

This is not the typical, average wolf man movie. We found the acting, dialog and visuals very good, intelligent and believable. A family from the city goes to the country for a long weekend. And there’s more out there than just them. Julia Garner (from Ozark fame) is great as the mother.

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Movie 3: Hard Truths

This British drama/comedy from Mike Leigh is brutal, at times difficult to watch, but totally mesmerizing. A mother and housewife does not feel well, physically or mentally, and is having a difficult time dealing with life. The pain she feels is palpable. The acting, writing and directing are superb. Marianne Jean-Baptiste, as the afflicted mother, gives an enormously powerful performance.

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Movie 1: Porcelain War

This is a fascinating documentary about a defiant group of people still making beautiful porcelain amongst the horror and ruins of the war in Ukraine. The small figurines represent much more than art. Their continuing courage, love of country and steadfast belief in what they are doing is very inspiring. In Ukranian with English subtitles.

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Movie 2: The Room Next Door

This is acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s first English language film. And what a gem it is. Julianne Moore is an author who reconnects with a friend, Tilda Swinton, dying of cancer. This is a beautiful film centered around female friendship. The colors, buildings, cinematography are all gorgeous. The acting and directing are wonderful.

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Movie 3: One of Them Days

This female buddy comedy is a whole lotta fun. Two roommates rush around LA trying to find rent money before they become homeless. This movie could have become mundane and insulting. But instead, it is very funny, with good messages, and equally good acting. KeKe Palmer is a delight.

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Movie 1: The Last Showgirl

This is a very entertaining, emotional drama about an aging showgirl in a Las Vegas revue that is about to close. The acting is superb. Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis dazzle on screen and deserve all the accolades they are receiving. The costumes are perfect old Las Vegas. Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, does a very good job of directing. Currently only in theatres.

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Movie 2: Back in Action

It is really good to see Cameron Diaz back in a movie after a decade of not acting. This comedy/drama is about a couple of aging former CIA agents forced back into action to protect their family. It’s a very familiar and well-worn premise, lots of car chases and fight scenes. We’ve seen it all before, but somehow this is a lot of fun. On Netflix.

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Movie 3: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Seven years after the original Den of Thieves, Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. reprise their roles of thief and police officer. Very good visuals and action scenes, but overall just an OK heist movie. It would be helpful to revisit the first movie before seeing this one.

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Movie 1: Ad Vitam

This is a very good high energy French thriller with lots of twists and turns. A policeman attempts to rescue his pregnant wife from corrupt police kidnappers. This is a very well done action movie. On Netflix. In French, but we watched the dubbed English version.

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Movie 2: September 5

This is a tense journalism thriller that retells the story of the Israeli Olympic team held hostage during the 1972 Munich Games. Literally 900 million people watched the drama unfold. The acting is very good and is brilliantly intertwined with actual ABC footage.

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Movie 3: Number 24

This WWII drama is based on real life events. A young resistance fighter, code named Number 24, assists Norway in its fight against the Nazi invasion. At times tense, sometimes emotional, with very good acting. The Norwegian winter cinematography is perfect. On Netflix in Norwegian, but we watched the dubbed English version.

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Movie 1: Nickel Boys

This drama is adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The horrid racism of the deep south is seen through the eyes of Black teenage boys as they attend a Florida reform school. While the acting is very good, and this is an extremely important story to be told, we found the movie confusing and not particularly well told. And the cinematography style very off putting. Although most national film critics have given this important movie four globes.

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Movie 2: The Brutalist

This is a huge movie. An American saga that spans more than 33 years about a Hungarian Jew and Holocaust survivor who immigrates to Pennsylvania just after WWII. Adrien Brody’s portrayal of a visionary architect is stunning. The acting, direction, costumes and cinematography are all Oscar caliber. This movie has already won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Actor and Director. Three hours and thirty minutes, with a fifteen-minute break, in English and Hungarian with English subtitles.

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Movie 3: Better Man

Wow! What an absolutely mesmerizing biography. We knew nothing about English singer and songwriter Robbie Williams before seeing this movie. It follows his life as a young child in a working class Stoke-on-Kent neighborhood to his days as a member of the famed British boy band Take That. The dance scenes are dazzling, as is the music and writing. He is portrayed as a chimpanzee (we have no idea why) throughout the movie. Yet somehow it totally works. Sit back and enjoy.

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Movie 1: Babygirl

A high powered female executive has an affair with a young male intern. That’s the simple narrative of the story. But there is a whole lot more going on here. Lust, ambition, inter-office relationships, power, complex desires. The acting is superb. Nicole Kidman gives an outstandingly bold, brave, Oscar worthy performance. This movie is fortunate to have been directed by a women, Dutch director Halina Reijin. If directed by a man it would have been an entirely different kind of movie.

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Movie 2: Mufasa: The Lion King

Here is another well done, animated Lion King musical for all ages. It’s a prequel with beautiful visuals, fun songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the usual cast of colorful characters. Not one of Disney’s best, but still very entertaining.

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Movie 3: Carry-On

This is a very well done, suspenseful action thriller about a terrorist organization trying to sneak a deadly bomb on an airplane Christmas Eve at LAX. The twists and turns keep this drama very entertaining. Taron Egerton (movie Rocketman) and Jason Bateman have excellent chemistry together and give very convincing performances. On Netflix.

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Movie 1: A Complete Unknown

This biographical film about the early years of Bob Dylan is a fascinating look at a folk legend. It beautifully captures a very complicated life during very complicated times for the country. Timothee Chalamet’s performance is near miraculous and sure to win the Oscar. Our only mild criticism of this excellently acted movie is at two hours and twenty minutes it can feel a bit long.

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Movie 2: Nosferatu

This is a remake from the 1922 classic of the same name. Back then it was seen as totally extraordinary. We found it a dark, poorly conceived vampire tale that was nearly impossible to follow. We should have walked out but didn’t. To be fair, many critics found this movie very good.

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Movie 3: The Six Triple Eight

This is a fascinating and true story about the 688th Battalion, the only all black women’s Army unit that went to Europe during WWII. Produced by Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, this movie ensures that the bravery and heroism of these many hundreds of women will live on. Very good acting, especially by Kerry Washington. On Netflix.

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Movie 1: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin

This is a very good and insightful movie about the life of the celebrated German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It’s a period drama that spans the Nazi Third Reich in Germany, from Hitler’s rise to power, him creating his own Bible, to wars end. Based on actual events and Bonhoffer’s own writings. In theatres now and soon on Amazon Prime.

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Movie 2: Wicked

This is an absolutely dazzling movie. A prequel to the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, we meet all the witches and characters pre-Dorothy. Spectacular costumes, sets, cinematography. This is an emotionally rich blockbuster, to be seen more than once.

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Movie 3: Gladiator II

This is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2000 Oscar winning Best Picture. It does not disappoint. The cinematography is stunning, especially the aerial scenes of ancient Rome. The story has more action and violence than the first Gladiator, as this film depicts Rome near its collapse as an empire. Denzel Washington is excellent as a bisexual slave trader. Sure to get numerous Oscar nominations.

Special Note:  We are off on an adventure to Austria, Germany, Italy and Croatia.  Movie reviews will resume first of the year.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all and a peaceful and joyous Holiday Season.

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Movie 1: Red One

This is a Christmas action movie fantasy where Santa Claus is kidnapped, and his security team (Dwayne Johnson) hooks up with an infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to rescue him. Yes, this makes little sense and yes, this is not great film making. But that’s totally ok. Just sit back and enjoy this fun ride. One of the most entertaining Christmas movies in a long time.

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Movie 2: Small Things Like These

This Irish drama is deliberately slow and very thought provoking. It shows how young pregnant women were treated by Catholic nuns when they were forced/sent to convents for the remainder of their pregnancies. Based on historical facts, these were very sobering events that didn’t end until 1998. Both film critics and friends liked this historical drama better than we did.

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Movie 3: Terrifier 3

This is a low budget Christmas horror film. Critics, though, seem to like this movie franchise; we found it dumb and a waste of time, and not exactly sure what it’s about.

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Movie 1: Blitz

Director Steve McQueen (Oscar winner for 12 Years a Slave) creates a WWII drama about the German nighttime bombings of London. He does a good job of depicting the despair of London residents as fires blaze out of control. The movie unfolds slowly, and the cinematography adds to the tension. While an interesting movie, this film falls just short of being really good.

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Movie 2: Weekend In Taipei

This is a fun, action-packed movie. A former DEA agent reconnects with a former love interest in Taipei, setting off a lot more than just sparks. Filmed in Taipei with all the requisite chase scenes, this movie is very entertaining.

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Movie 3: Memoir of a Snail

This Australian animated film is heartfelt and beautifully made. There is so much more going on here than just the narration of a young women following the daily lives of a family of snails. Friendship, mental health, sadness, anger and hope. Not for younger children. Should receive an Oscar nomination.

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