LITTLE WOMEN (2019) – My rating: 8/10

Little Women is a coming-of-age period drama written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.  This is a good version of Little Women but not the best version I’ve seen.

It’s 1868, Little Women introduces Josephine “Jo” March (Saoirse Ronan) who is a teacher and a writer living in New York. She meets with an editor, Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts) and gets her story published subject to considerable editing. Jo’s sister Amy (Florence Pugh), is in Paris with their Aunt March (Meryl Streep). While in transit Amy runs into her very good childhood friend, Theodore “Laurie” Laurence (Timothée Chalamet) and invites him to a party.  They catch-up right there in the street while Aunt March awaits in their horse-drawn carriage.  Later at the party, Amy grows angry at Laurie’s drunken behavior. Meanwhile back in New York, Jo meets with Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel), a professor who despite being infatuated with her, criticizes her work, which infuriates Jo. Shortly after, a letter arrives at the boarding house where Jo stays informing her that her younger sister Elizabeth “Beth”(Eliza Scanlen) has taken a turn for the worst, so Jo heads home to Massachusetts.

Flashing back to 1861 in Massachusetts, Jo and her older sister Meg (Emma Watson) go to a party where Jo first meets Laurie, the grandson of their neighbor Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper). On Christmas morning, their mother Marmee (Laura Dern) persuades the girls to give their breakfast to their poverty-stricken neighbor, Mrs. Hummel (Sasha Frolova), who has five children, which includes an infant. Upon returning home, the girls see their table full of food, provided by Mr. Laurence. In addition, a letter from their father (Bob Odenkirk) who is fighting in the Civil War has been delivered.

So the above two paragraphs give you a window into the life of Little Women.  Remaking Little Woman has proven to be a smart move if you want to be represented for a movie award.  Little Woman has been remade more than any other film I can think of.  It is an excellent story of family, love adventure, drama and sadness about a near-perfect family.  Their ups and downs are pretty exciting yet pretty normal.  I didn’t love the flashing back and forward as it interrupted the flow of the story for me.  I actually liked the 1994 version of Little Women better, as it really made me feel like part of the family.  The acting was brilliant and the costume design was fabulous.  Despite some minor issues, I did like Little Women (2019) and highly recommend the film, it’s a nice change of pace.  In the meanwhile, Little Women has grossed $75,008,520 domestically and $108,522,277 worldwide.  It received critical acclaim and was chosen by both the American Film Institute and Time magazine as one of the top ten films of 2019. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, it received two nominations, including Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Ronan, and it was also nominated for five British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actress (Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Pugh), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

[LITTLE WOMEN is Oscar-nominated for BEST: Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Original Score, and Adapted Screenplay —  TOTALING 6 OSCAR NOMINATIONS]

 

LONG SHOT (2019) – My rating: 7.5/10

Long Shot is a romantic comedy directed by Jonathan Levine and written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah. The plot follows a journalist who begins to spend time with his former babysitter who is now the United States Secretary of State.  While I’m not a fan of Charlize Theron or Seth Rogen, the plot of Long Shot was intriguing, so I decided to see the movie.

In 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is told by her boss, President Chambers (John Odenkirk), that he does not plan to run for a second term. Realizing an opportunity has now arisen, she convinces POTUS to endorse her as a potential presidential candidate.

At the same time,  New York City journalist Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogan) is being told that the newspaper he works for has been sold to Parker Wembly (Andy Serkis), a wealthy media mogul whose integrity, morality, principles and moral code is opposite to Fred’s. Disgusted, furious and disappointed, Fred promptly quits without any other job prospects. Adding depression to the list, he turns to his more successful best friend Lance (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who takes him to a charity fundraiser where Charlotte is also attending. She and Fred recognize each other, as she was his babysitter when they were teenagers.

Upon reading some of Fred’s columns, Charlotte decides to hire him to write her speeches despite her manager, Maggie Millikin’s (June Diane Raphael) disapproval. At a world leaders summit, Charlotte is forced to revise a speech involving a planned environmental revision to appease some of her constituents. When Fred objects and calls her out on abandoning her morals, she changes her mind and the speech is a success.  As the two continue to spend time together under the pretext of Fred learning more about Charlotte for his writing, they start to get close.

Long Shot continues from this point with many interesting sub plots.  This movie is deemed a romantic comedy but I deem it as a farce and a satire.  Because Seth Rogan does not ever play a lead male romantic role, and looks far from the part and Charlize is the epitome of beauty, the thought of the two of them together is a laugh.  This is how our society sees things. Once you adjust to them being a real thing, you don’t have to ask why he doesn’t play these kind of roles.  I do realize, this is his character in the film but he’s so good at acting a fool, he’s made a believer out of yours truly.  Long Shot is definitely funny but no where near believable.  Imagine a female POTUS married to a grimy, buffoonery acting husband who is far from being attractive.  The media would have a field day, so would comedians and supporters. The performance of Boyz II Men at the fund raiser was a real treat and since Long Shot made me laugh, I consider it a pretty good movie.  It’s not the best of either actor, but it can serve as a pick me up for someone who needs one.  It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the chemistry and performances of Rogen and Theron.  Check It Out!

 

INCREDIBLES 2 (2018) – My rating 7.5/10

Incredibles 2 is categorized as a computer-animated superhero film, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Written and directed by Brad Bird and is a sequel to The Incredibles (2004) and the second full-length installment of the franchise. The story follows the Parr family as they try to restore public’s trust in superheroes while balancing their family life, only to combat a new foe who seeks to turn the populace against all superheroes. I don’t think this sequel measures up to it’s original but still a fun family movie.

The Incredibles, which consist of  Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), who is the father of the family and possesses super strength and limited invulnerability; Helen Parr / Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), who is the mother of the family and has the ability to stretch her body into many shapes and forms; Violet Parr, (Sarah Vowell) the family’s daughter and first child, who can become invisible and project force fields for limited lengths of time; Dashiell “Dash” Parr, (Huckleberry Milner) the family’s troublemaker first son, who has superhuman speed and Jack-Jack Parr, (Eli Fucile) their infant son who has a huge variety of powers; as well as Frozone / Lucius Best, (Samuel L Jackson) the best friend and close ally of the Parr family who has the ability to create ice and freeze surfaces by manipulating moisture.

In this sequel, The Incredibles and Frozone battle The Underminer,  (John Ratzenberger) a powerful supervillain, criminal, bank robber, and terrorist whose ambition is to destroy peace and joy and has just appeared to terrorize Metroville. Despite preventing the destruction of City Hall, The Incredibles are unable to stop The Underminer from robbing a bank and escaping. The collateral damage caused by the incident outrages the government and prompts them to shut down the Superhero Relocation Program, leaving the Parrs without financial assistance. Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird) a classmate and love interest, discovers Violet’s superhero identity, forcing government agent Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks) to erase his memory.

In the meanwhile, Lucius informs Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl of an offer from Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), a wealthy businessman who wants to bring back the public’s faith in superheros. He and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) a technical genus who has never encountered a problem she couldn’t solve,  propose sending the superheroes on secret missions that will be recorded and publicized as evidence of their importance.  Due to Mr. Incredible’s tendency to accidentally cause collateral damage, Winston chooses Elastigirl for the initial missions.  Accepting the challenge takes Elastigirl away from home, leaving Bob, who struggles with his new role as a stay-at-home parent.

Incredibles 2 continues with a story that is action packed and quite entertaining.  The film moves quickly, paralleling between Mr. Incredible’s new role as a stay at home dad vs his wife, Elastigirl’s action packed adventures as a solo action hero.  Mr. Incredible is dealing with domestic issues that are out of his comfort zone, with no help. Elastigirl is thoroughly enjoying her solo performance fighting and solving crime.  Incredibles 2 is well done and children everywhere will surly enjoy the movie.  You can see Incredibles 2 on Netflix. Check It Out!

[Incredibles 2 is Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature Film]

 

THE POST (2017) – My rating: 9/10

The Post is a political thriller directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer. Set in the early 1970s, The Post depicts the true story of the journalists from The Washington Post and their attempts to publish and expose the Pentagon Papers, classified documents regarding undisclosed information about the involvement of the United States government in the Vietnam War. It was a very long war with no real theme which cost us a great many men. We the people have always wanted to know why. Still unsure of the logic behind this senseless war, only one thing is certain…

In 1965 , State Dept. military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) accompanies U.S. troops in combat to document progress of U.S. military activities in the Vietnam region for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood). On the return flight, McNamara expresses to Ellsberg and President Lyndon Johnson his view that the war in Vietnam is hopeless. Years later, now working for a civilian military contractor, Ellsberg surreptitiously photocopies classified reports documenting the progress of the ongoing Vietnam War, dating back to the Truman administration. He leaks these documents, which detail more than 20 years of clandestine U.S. activities and frank admissions that the war has been going poorly, to reporters at The New York Times.

Heiress Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), who succeeded her father as owner of the Washington Post, and whose husband committed suicide, is conflicted over preparations for the newspaper’s IPO, a move she recognizes as important to strengthening the paper, but fears losing family control. She lacks confidence in her ability as a woman to lead the organization, frequently “overruled” by more assertive men who advise or work for her, such as editor in chief Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and board member Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford).

Bradlee notices Times’ investigative reporter Neil Sheehan’s lack of publication, as of late and concludes he’s on to something big. Bradlee tries to find out what it is but does not. Meanwhile, McNamara, who is Katherine’s long term friend, confides in her that he is about to be the subject of unflattering coverage by the New York Times that will include long term public deception. However, the series is halted by a count injunction.

Washington Post assistant editor Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) tracks down Ellsberg as the source for the leak, who provides Bagdikian with copies of the same material given to the Times. A small team of Post reporters sort through the disorganized papers, trying to piece together parts of the larger story. The Post’s lawyers become aware of the project and advise against publishing the material, lest the Nixon administration bring criminal charges against them.

Graham fields the input and advice of the men around her, including McNamara, Bradlee, and trusted Post chairman Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts), agonizing over the decision of whether to publish. If the legal fallout goes badly, she could destroy the newspaper she sees as a family legacy, but if they are successful, it could instead establish it as an important journalistic institution. She chooses to run the story.

The results of this story is well known but I decided not to post any more of the story for those who don’t know. At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, the film received six nominations: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actress – Drama for Streep, Best Actor – Drama for Hanks, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. The Post is an intense film and is well acted.

[THE POST received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Actress (Meryl Streep)]