MARRIAGE STORY (2019) – My rating: 7.5/10

Marriage Story is a drama written, directed and produced by Noah Baumbach. The film follows a married couple going through a coast-to-coast divorce. Marriage Story is probably an unlikely scenario for divorce but not impossible.  I was annoyed by their situation because I was hoping for better but didn’t get it.

Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) is a successful theater director in New York City. His theater company is currently producing a play that stars his wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), a former teen film actress. The film delves into happier days when the couple only had good analogies to define each other.  They have a son Henry Barber (Azhy Robertson)  that they both adore.  Suddenly things begin to go sour initiated by Nicole. The couple begins to experience marital troubles, which sends them to see a mediator, who suggests that they each write down what they like about one another. Charlie writes his feelings but Nicole refuses to read hers aloud so they decide to forgo the counseling.

Meanwhile, Nicole is offered a starring role in a television pilot in Los Angeles, and she decides to leave the theater company and temporarily live with her mother Sandra (Julie Hagerty) in West Hollywood, taking the couple’s young son, Henry with her. Charlie decides to stay in New York, as the play is in the process of moving to Broadway. Despite the couple agreeing to split amicably and forgo lawyers, Nicole hires the family lawyer Nora (Laura Dern).  Nicole tells Nora the full story of her relationship with Charlie and how she gradually felt neglected by him and how he rejects her ideas and desires.

Because I’m a happy ending kind of gal, I’m always looking for one.  I truly dislike endings that leave me in tears or unknowing what happened or “make it up yourself”, resulting in open-ended closures.  Marriage Story gave me semi-quasi closure but not the one I was hoping for.  Driver and Johanssen are two of the best actors around and played Nicole and Charlie excellently.  In some parts, the movie was a tad bit boring but was interesting for the most part.  I didn’t really care for their son’s attitude but I think it’s a cultural thing.  I’m not sure what message Marriage Story sends but it was well-acted.  An awful lot of people really liked it and that’s what counts.  Since Marriage Story is airing on Netflix, it’s easy to see it at your leisure, just remember the Oscars are presented on February 9th this year, so you don’t have that much time if you follow the award shows.  Check It Out!

[MARRIAGE STORY is Oscar-nominated for BEST: Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress,  Original Score and Original Screenplay — TOTALLING 6 OSCAR NOMINATIONS]

 

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]

 

COLD PURSUIT (2019) – My rating: 8/10

Cold Pursuit is a dark/black comedy action film directed by Hans Petter Moland (in his Hollywood debut), written by Frank Baldwin from a screenplay by Kim Fupz Aakeson and based on the 2014 original Norwegian vigilante film, “In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten)”, also directed by Moland. The story follows a snowplow driver who seeks revenge on a local drug cartel following the murder of his son.  While the concept of one man against a cartel is highly unbelievable and added to the racist remarks Liam Neeson spewed regarding the rape of a friend by a Black person, I decided to see Cold Pursuit anyway.  Oddly, I liked the movie despite all the negativity and critical bad mouthing. I believe people should say what’s in their heart, that way we know who they truly are.

Nelson “Nels” Coxman (Liam Neeson) lives a quiet life as a snowplow driver at the Colorado ski resort in Kehoe. Life was good as Nels was just honored with the “Citizen of the Year” award. His life takes a crooked turn when he gets news of his son, Kyle Coxman’s (Micheál Richardson) death, caused by a heroin overdose, even though his son never used drugs. Nels’ wife, Grace (Laura Derm) has a psychotic breakdown due to their son’s death and leaves Nels in grief.

Depressed, Nels is about to commit suicide when he learns from a buddy of Kyle’s that he suffered a brutal murder at the hands of Speedo (Michael Eklund), a member of the local drug cartel. This causes him to craft a custom sniper rifle, become a vigilante and kill three members of the cartel, sinking their bodies in a nearby river. He gets additional insight into the criminal network from his brother, Brock “Wingman” Coxman (William Forsythe), who was a former hitman for the cartel. The cartel’s leader, Trevor “Viking” Calcote (Tom Bateman), suspects these deaths are the work of the Native American drug lord and member of the Utes tribe, White Bull (Tom Jackson), with whom he has always avoided conflict. Viking abducts and murders White Bull’s only son, Little Hawk which sparks a war between the two gangs. When Viking contacts Brock about the recent hits, Brock takes responsibility to protect his brother, as he is dying of cancer anyway.

So far, Cold Pursuit has been pretty exciting and from this point on, it gets even more exciting as well as a lot more interesting. This crazy plot of twist and turns will have you on the edge of your seat. The idea of displaying the names of the dead with cross swords every time Nels successfully kills a cartel member was brilliant and funny.  On the negative side, I found that a lot of the Indian characters were not listed on IMDB or Wikipedia, so there is no credited name listed for Little Hawk, however Liam Neeson’s real life son, Micheál Richardson, who played Liam’s son in the movie, was the third name listed in the cast of characters on IMDB, even though he had a little less screen time than Little Hawk.  I’m just saying.  The film has grossed over $58 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences and the dark humour. Again, I think the movie is unbelievable but Check It Out anyway, it’s quite entertaining.

 

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI: (2017) – My rating: 9/10

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is an American epic space opera written and directed by Rian Johnson. It is the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the eighth main installment of the Star Wars franchise, following Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).  The Last Jedi is produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and includes an all star cast, including the late Carrie Fisher who past in December of 2016.  Star Wars never gets old.  I still find the series to be just as refreshed and interesting as the first.  The battle for the reign of the Empire is just as existing and just as much of a struggle as any two countries fighting for control of territory, Star Wars is just more modern and more futuristic.  May the Force be with them!

Many folks are still a little fuzzy about Rough One.  Some questioning why it even existed.  It almost seemed as if it was an after though or a fill in because of the disconnection from the rest of the Star Wars story and crew.  Questions like where did Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) come from and where are all the other familiar characters we have all grown to know and love?  When all was said and done, we were no closer to the answers than we were before Rough One began.  Finally, Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrived.  But as we take a long hard look, all the old characters have died, except one.  I’m not so sure this was the way to go but this is the way it went so now we are faced with a whole new era of Star War characters leaving the likes of  Mr. Yoda (Frank Oz), Luke Ski Walker and Darth Vader only briefly able to appear when needed.  There’s now only 1 hint of a female Jedi and a limited amount of the Resistance left with nowhere to live. In the Last Jedi, the Resistance fighters are led by General Leia Organa, who I figure will take her leave as well or be replaced by someone new to play her part since the beloved actress is no longer with us.  The characters from Star Wars: Rogue One are not a part of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and it’s still not clear why that whole story was presented or why they were brought into the fold.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi focuses on Rey (Daisy Ridley) traveling to the Planet Ahch0-To in order to confront Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and convince him to return to the Resistance, which is in dire need of help to survive and fight the First Order.  Rey must also complete her Jedi training to help the Resistance.  Of course Luke is resistant, stubborn and uncooperative, refusing to even talk to Rey who is equally as stubborn, camping out at his door everyday.  Eventually, after several incidents, the two come to an understanding.  Rey receives Jedi training from Luke Skywalker in hopes of turning the tide for the Resistance in the fight against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. Kylo is also the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke’s (Andy Serkis) disciple, who is strong with the dark side of the Force and leader to the Knights of Ren.  Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and Rey have a telepathic meeting of the minds where Kylo tries to sway Rey over to the dark side while capturing her mind even though they are in separate locations.

Later, in a memorable battle, the Resistance fighters are forced to evacuate their base upon arrival of a First Order fleet. Following an effective but costly counterattack led by Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a high-ranking X-wing Resistance fighter pilot introduced in The Force Awakens. Resistance fighters manage to destroy a First Order dreadnought, before the Resistance vessels jump into hyperspace to escape, but the First Order pursues them using a tracking device. Kylo Ren who has already killed his father, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and is also General Leia Organa’s (Carrie Fisher) son, destroys the Resistance support fighters, but hesitates to fire at the lead Resistance ship, after sensing his mother’s presence on board. However, TIE fighters destroy the bridge of the ship, killing several Resistance leaders and incapacitating Leia, who only survives by using the Force. Command falls to Vice Admiral  Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern. Disapproving of Holdo’s passive strategy, Poe, Finn (John Boyega), the former Stormtrooper of the First Order who defected to the Resistance, BB-8 (controlled by puppeteers, Dave Chapman and Brian Herring), and mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), works in maintenance but ends up becoming much more, saving many lives and appears as a possible love interest for Finn — embark on a secret plan to disable the tracking device. In the meanwhile, Kylo invites Rey to rule the galaxy with him, but Rey refuses. Using the Force, they struggle for possession of Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, which splits in two.

As you can see, The Last Jedi is long and complex.  I’ve told much of the story but not nearly a quarter of what makes up this great story.  I suggest you check it out as soon as you can.

[Star Wars: The Last Jedi is Oscar nominated for Best Visual Effects]

 

WILD (2014) – My rating: 8/10

It took a lot of focus to get into Wild, as I found it pretty boring at first.  Reese Witherspoon is playing Cheryl Strayed a young wife, sister, daughter and substance abuser who is trying to get hold of her life by hiking, on her own volition, through the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  Wild is based on the memoirs of Cheryl Strayed who’s life spiraled out of control when her mother died of Cancer and her marriage failed, causing Cheryl to lose all hope.  The hike starts from the Mexican border through the Mojave Desert to the Canadian border, which she later changed to Oregon’s Bridge of the Gods.  We see Cheryl wearing a monstrous nap sack on her back, heavier than Reese herself.  The hike will take 3 months and cover more than 1,000 miles.  There’s a lot of flash backs depicting Cheryl’s life with her family, including her mother, who was a teacher named Bobbi, played by Laura Dern.  Day 1 of her journey, in an apprehensive state of mind, Cheryl is wondering what she’s done by starting this endeavor.  She reminds herself that she can quit anytime.  After setting up in the wilderness, tent and all, she writes in her journal, reads a book and reflects on her past, showing us where she came from.  Things really become challenging when night falls, as the only light comes from her small flash light.  As if things are not bad enough, she drops a boot down a rocky path, then throws the other boot down the same path while screaming at the top of her lungs.  Her toe nails keep falling off and she’s in plenty of pain because her boots are too small. She meets up with other PCT hikers who offer help from time to time.    Cheryl’s journey includes hitchhiking, personal hygiene issues and reflection on her failed 7 year marriage to Paul played by Thomas Sadoski.  Cheryl also has a brother named Leaf played by Keene McRae who is an intricate part of her life.  Wild is 1 hour and 55 minutes of pure Reese Witherspoon at her very best, to date.  In the end, producer, Jean-Marc Vallée wraps it all up while revealing Bobbi’s horse having to be put down and the meeting of a child with his grandmother that brought me to tears.  Very enlightening film — kudos to Reese Witherspoon for a job well done!

[Wild is nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress]