'Jim Allison: Breakthrough' is a documentary

From Jim Allison:  Breakthrough

Maybe Ann Hornaday is a scientist on the side.  Or a frustrated wannabe scientist.  

Or she's married to one. 

Or majored in biology, or her mom and/or dad is a biologist. 

Maybe Ann Hornaday has a special relationship with a biologist or another scientist or immunologist. 

Maybe she knows the director, the producers, etc. etc.

Whatever (she's the chief movie reviewer for the Washington Post), I went to see Jim Allison: Breakthrough based on her recommendation to "'just see it'" and, "go twice," and "you won't regret it, and you'll never forget it."  And, another one:
"Just see the dang thing,"

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am here to tell you that you don't need to see it twice.  You don't need to even see it once (unless you're a scientist or a drug marketer or a pharmaceutical company).  

I've seen it for you. 

It's okay; it's a "feel good" story, describing Dr. Allison's life as he pursues his dream, his remarkable persistence and personal driving force to find a cancer cure to help assuage the death of his mother, his brother, his uncle, and now, he's got cancer, too. (And so will you, if you live long enough.)

Congratulations to Dr. Allison and his colleagues for winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2018. And (!), he plays the harmonica...with none other than Willie Nelson! 

This is a good documentary.  It's not a great documentary. 

I do not think it will any awards.  It will not be nominated.

A great story but certainly not a "must see."

I have recommended it to my daughter, a biologist.

It is an education in the long time it takes pharmaceutical companies to get new drugs to the marketplace.

Maybe a re-edited version will cut the many variations of the ocean scene with the Allison brothers which must have been screened at least five times. 

Written and directed by Bill Haney.  The excellent music by Mickey Raphael and Mark Orton exceeds expectations. 


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'Linda Ronstadt' is fantabulous

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is an excellent concert on film from beginning to end, and the music is more than mere snippets of her songs. Many music docs often tease and frustrate fans with vastly shortened versions of the hits we know so well. 

Not Linda.

Her big ones are all here: "You're No Good," "Different Drum," "Blue Bayou," among many, presented by archives and video.  

Hearing them anew made me want to rush out and buy a couple of her albums which number more than 30. She has won 10 Grammys and received 26 Grammy nominations. 

From Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice


In the film, members of Linda's music family (her agents, producers, publicists, band members, boyfriends -  wish Jerry Brown had consented to inclusion) are interviewed with the big stars who remain dear friends: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris (who tears up at the end), Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, to name a few. 

Their conversations, thankfully, last more than a few seconds. "Teasers," not.

The interviewees expound on the goodness of Linda, her singing ability, her personality (which never seems to waver in the show from her childhood to present day).

Chats with the star of the show bookend the film and show her charm, intact sense of humor, and great looks.

Deterred by disease?  Not.

Her last live concert was in 2009 before problems with her voice were diagnosed as Parkinson's disease in 2012, leaving her unable to sing. She is 73.

"When Will I Be Loved" contradicts the embrace her fans, friends, and family extend to the woman with the sparkling, distinctive voice like none other.

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman directed.

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Bravo! 'Pavarotti'!

It's one of the finest documentaries I've seen.

Pavarotti delivers his life from beginning to end with stills, videos, clips, and interviews with his ex-wife, his wife, his protege, his daughters, partners, critics, agents, other singers, lovers, and, of course, the star.

Many performances and the change in his focus from opera to rock star to charities (especially after his friendship with Princess Di develops) are included.

The editors leave in enough of his songs to avoid audience frustration when they are cut too short. 

Playing an important role in the film is a long interview (shown in segments) with Placido Domingo, 78, in the news this month charged with harassment by nine females. Domingo's planned performances in San Francisco and Philadelphia have been canceled, and investigations are underway in New York, where he's set to sing next month, and Los Angeles, where he serves as the opera's general director, but "no cancellations in Europe" say the headlines.

Had the charges surfaced earlier, I wondered if the producers would have left him in. Domingo's contributions are significant to the movie's success, adding depth and perspective, and, despite his supposed assaults, I am glad he's there. 

Bono is also interviewed extensively, especially about the humorous blossoming of his relationship with Pavarotti which led to Pavarotti's rock star concert appearances, stirring criticism from opera buffs.
 

Pavarotti was all glee and smiles, at least, that was his public persona. He was nervous before each performance and always thought he had room to improve.

Watching the film I sadly waited for the advent of the younger, lovely woman to displace Wife #1, Adua Veroni (married 39 years) which inevitably happens. More than once. 

As famous, wealthy men are wont to say and do as they leave their spouses and children: "Who cares?  It's all about me and my happiness." 

Pavarotti died in 2007 at age 71 of pancreatic cancer but given his weight and the burden his heart carried, he lived a long life and still brings us joy. At the end of the film I was glad to have Three Tenors on my shelf at home.

One minor film flaw I found was the repeated (though infrequent) omission of the names of the interviewees to refresh them for viewers like me who asked myself: "Is she the oldest daughter?" and "Which soprano is she?" 

Except for the first two rows in the theater where I went, every seat in the screening was taken.

A great, great doc!  Enjoy!

Ron Howard directs.

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Highly recommended, 'Mike Wallace' and 'Maiden' documentaries

 

 Mike Wallace is Here, a film by Avi Belkin/Photo by Magnolia Pictures

I don't know why I enjoy documentaries so much, but Mike Wallace is Here, Maiden, and Echo in the Canyon are the last three movies I've seen, and I've loved them all.

Mike Wallace is Here is the story of his news life beginning with acne (?) and his attempts to cover it up with radio broadcasting. From radio and advertising, his career soars, told in clips and interviews and separated by too many lines of color and flashbacks which are confusing at times.

I cannot imagine this film appealing to anyone under age 45 ("Who's Mike Wallace?") and certainly not to anyone who is not a news junkie since it's "hardcore," a glorification of his news life.  Omitted are his harassment of females at CBS and Mr. Wallace's racist remarks, but the content of the last half of the 20th century is valuable for American modern history and journalism classes.

It would have been better with subtitles of the names of all those he interviewed and the years of the interviews.  Most members of the audience likely can identify all, but in some cases, immediate identification would have helped and saved brain time. (Stick around at the end for the credits and IDs.)

Who knew Putin speaks English? Some of the other celebrities included in the film are Malcolm X, Richard Nixon, Johnny Carson, John Ehrlichman, Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis (looking wonderful), Arthur Miller, Frank Lloyd Wright, Donald Trump, Ayatollah Khomeini (whose interview may have led to the assassination of Anwar Sadat), Salvador Dali (!), Larry King, and Oriana Fallaci (who's she?). His son, Chris Wallace of Fox fame, occupies just a snippet in the film, and none of Mike Wallace's four wives are screened.  Two are briefly mentioned. Also welcome would have been a note about Mike Wallace's death, when, where, and why. (He died in 2012 of natural causes.) When his son, Peter, was 19 and missing in Greece, Mike Wallace took off and found Peter's body below a steep cliff, lying on rocks in the water. His death was always intolerable pain for Mr. Wallace as it is for any parent experiencing this tragedy. I found myself wishing, wishing, wishing to see the entirety of most of the interviews (where can I go to find them?) since they were far too short, most, lasting just a few seconds.

Maiden, a Sony Pictures Classics release

On a more positive note is Maiden, about the woman, Tracy Edwards, who skippered the ship and a crew of women in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race (now called the Ocean Race). Clips and chronology of her story to obtain a boat and secure financing (from King Hussein of Jordan, no less, thanks to a chance encounter) make this an invigorating true-sail (could not resist). (Attention: Never turn down an opportunity to meet the great and not-so-great. Who knows where it will lead?)

Current interviews with the sailors and flashbacks to their 1989 roles make this a strong show and impetus for girls (and women) everywhere!  A must for feminist history classes.  Ms. Edwards and her crew became the first all-female staff to finish the race, winning several legs of the 33,000 mile journey which takes nine months to sail around the world.   Depression suffered by Ms. Edwards and Mr. Wallace receives considerable attention in both films.   Maiden's story is much easier to follow than the Mike Wallace film since Maiden's early clips are presented mostly in chronological order, while in Wallace, we go back and forth from here to then and back again and then up and down. (His hairstyle, color, and thickness help to keep viewers afloat.) Original music by John Piscitello (Mike Wallace) and Rob Manning and Samuel Sim (Maiden) is electrifying, capturing the moods and tensions of both films. Take a happy hanky to Maiden for its enthusiastic ending with audience applause. patricialesli@gmail.com

 

Movie review; 'Gloria Bell' is one heckuva waste and terrible also

Oh, my!  She grasps at air, contemplates brushing her teeth, petting an ugly cat and/or smoking a joint. Julianne Moore in the awful Gloria Bell by FilmNation Entertainment


I swear this the last time I'll spend time and money on any movie which has a differential of 50 degrees awful(!) between the critics' and audience's ratings at Rotten Tomatoes.

The audience (44%, positive) is always right. The critics (94%, not a typo) are always wrong, but I am supposing the latter likes to reward their friends in high places.

It is practically inconceivable that a movie could be more zzzzz than The Favourite (British spelling, por favor) or that dreadful cat movie, but this one had made it to the Top Three list.

Delete from this pathetic re-run of bedsheets, Julianne Moore singing songs in her car (please! One or two scenes were okay, but 45?), the same dancing scenes (like we ain't never seen smoky dancing scenes?), and breasts (a new record for most!  A man wrote and directed Gloria Bell, surprise!), and you're left with nuthin' much, save men are cads. 

Who knew?

We need to spend 90 minutes of movie time to learn that?

Why, Miss Moore, age 58, would stoop to this level, I suppose, rests on the articles that appear several times yearly bemoaning the lack of acting parts for aging females. What else is she supposed to do? 

Maintain some class, that's what! 

Dear Readers, take my words for it and ignore the paid critics in this sad tale, one critic who compares Moore to  "wrap[ping] herself in the role like a soft shawl." Yup, a "soft shawl" all right, one that's been picked up in the nursing home and used for rags after it was mistakenly dragged through the mud when it was dropped in the unpaved parking lot when Aunt Fanny stumbled and fell out the car door as her belongings were gathered for her residency in the death house. That's how good this movie is.  And not a comedy!

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Movie winners, losers, and Oscar predictions

Tomasz Kot in Cold War. He won't win an Oscar (especially since he's not nominated), but he wins my heart.  Please read below.

 In alphabetical order: 

 At Eternity's Gate about Vincent van Gogh is a movie only for the hardcore.  It has too many scenes of the painter reaching for the sky, for wheat stalks, and thrusting his hands and arms to catch raindrops.  Too much rain and too much filler. Yawn.

Yes, Willem Dafoe's performance definitely warrants his nomination for Best Actor, and he may win. The visuals and scenics could win for Best Cinematography (not nominated). I read that the award for Best Makeup was being discontinued or relegated to commercial breaks, but the makeup department (22 artists) and their outstanding work fashioning the cast into keen likenesses of the people Van Gogh painted, especially at Arles like Madame Ginoux and Joseph Roulin, must be applauded. I would hire them in a New York minute for my next film.

The film is almost a documentary.  

Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant/IMDB

Melissa McCarthy's Can You Ever Forgive Me? is almost as boring as the title with the best part, the performance by Richard E. Grant who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. I hope he wins.  There is no chance she'll win Best Actress.


Cold War...uh, uh, uh, uh. I ain't never experienced love like this!  Wowee. This is passionate stuff, but a critics' fancy, which, understandably, lasted about two days in D.C. theatres, totally unappealing to Clint Eastwood, Tom Wilson types, but a chick flick for arty-farties.  I dig Tomasz Kot. He's the man.

The Favourite, oh please.  The "Most Boring" is the title I put on it.  Go here for a most unfavourable review. (British only spelling, please.)

It was easy to predict that Green Book would receive 2019 Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), Best Original Screenplay (Brian Hayes Currie,

Peter Farrelly, and Nick Vallelonga), and Best Picture, and I thought it would earn one for Best Director (Peter Farrelly), too.
I don't know if it will win Best Picture. I don't think it is a "Best Picture."  I haven't seen all the nominees, but this does not quite match par.

It was a Christmas "feel-good" movie of which we could always use more, especially given the national climate since Santa came to town. Without the bad words, Green Book would be good family fare.

It's an excellent story, crafted from a real one starring a black classical pianist who is on a Southern tour in the early 1960s, chauffeured by a white boxer. The old signs, cars, motels, apparel are fun to see.

Too much time (and repetition) is spent on aerials of the car driven on two-lane country roads.

Both subjects, the gentlemen in the movie, died in 2013.


Oh, dear, If Beale Street Could Talk was another big bore.  Loaded with too many pregnant pauses and needing a chopping block to cut about half of it.  Obligatory breasts, included, natch. 

The only good part was the families' fight scene which occurs early on, and it's downhill from there.  Try seeing this and reading American Prison by Shane Bauer at the same time to send you in a downward spiral.

Maria by Callas is a must for opera fans but even for this newbie faux fan, the first half includes too much music.  Huh?  It's about the diva Maria Callas, right?  I went hoping to learn more about her life.  

It does cause one to question anew: Why did Jacqueline Kennedy marry Aristotle Onassis? At the time, "everyone" said it was money. He didn't have the courtesy to give Maria the news, that he was marrying Jackie. Ms. Callas had to find out the worst way, via public notification. Onassis did return to her while he was married to Jackie, according to reports.

Maria Callas died at age 53, a victim of a heart attack. 

RBG is, without question, a slam dunk to win Best Documentary given its quality, the political climate and the absolute detest Hollywood feels for the occupant of the White House.  Highly recommended.

Shoplifters, oh, what a bore. What a merry-go-round of the same constant scenes.  Please! For earlier review, go here.

Stan and Ollie is a pleasant time, another good one for nursing homes. Without checking, I would wager that most of it is based on fact. A "sweet" film.

Tea With Dames is excellent documentary fare, again for the diehard film fan whose stars are the  quartet of bevies, the crème de la crème of actors: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkin, and Joan Plowright.

No script was necessary as they are of the age when they speak their minds.  What do they have to hide?

Widows, yes!  I loved it. For an earlier review, go here.

Mr. Rogers' movie, Won't You Be My Neighbor?  was nice and sweet like he was. It's not a surprise it was not nominated for Best Whatever given it is a bit of a bore, but I know most liked it and it hung around a while, a great sign for revenue. Zzzzzzzzz.  Good for nursing homes, if occupants can stay awake. It lacked much about his younger life.
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'Most Boring' Oscar goes to 'The Favourite'

If you waste your time and money on The Favourite, you'll be as sad as Olivia Colman who plays Queen Anne, center in the mobile chair. That's Rachel Weisz carrying a hot water bottle to soothe upset stomachs from engaging in this joyless, dull film by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Final 4 and Waypoint.


It's hard to believe that any movie can be more boring than the lame 2014 cat movie the critics loved, moviegoers hated and which dived at the box office, but The Favourite wins hands down.

Speaking of hands, Favourite wins the award for "Most Hand Jobs" in cinema.  I think it was during one of them that I dozed off for the sixth or seventh time, either then or during the 6,325 times the characters walked back and forth in the hallway which consumed about 45 minutes when all the marches are put together. (I searched for a photo of the march walk but, conveniently, the producers supplied none, probably because the actors made a culvert, and the set was destroyed.)

Speaking of, this has got to be the cheapest set in movie history since it varied none.  But, of course, the de rigueur bare breasts were present, and we almost got to see a naked man except no one would want to see that naked man whose body could be mistaken for a giant wrinkled can, not worth throwing a tomato at (AKA "blood orange").

Also, the F-bomb and (new!) the C-bomb (write and ask) play dominant roles.  

My former colleague, Ben, used to tell me that men love to watch lesbians go at it which explains why this yawning, fawning movie was nominated for Best Picture.  You gotta be kidding.  The only possible nominations should have come for costuming (Sandy Powell:  Why were the gowns so dull and repetitive?) and Best Supporting Actress (but she was nominated for Best Actress) Olivia Colman who plays Queen Anne.

You will thank me for saving you from wasting time and money on this monstrosity which infuriates me that I did. What does it matter that part of it is based on history? It's still horrible. 

Watch for movie takes on other films coming to this site, but none as bad as The Favourite (with British spelling included!). 

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