Category Archives: Not Feel Good

2008, Could Be Hard To Watch, Could Be Sad, Not Feel Good

Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

When drama queen Kym (Anne Hathaway, in her first Oscar-nominated role), a former model who’s been in and out of rehab for 10 years, returns to her parents’ home just before the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), long-standing family conflicts begin to resurface. Directed by Jonathan Demme, this touching and humorous drama co-stars Debra Winger and was nominated for a Best Feature Independent Spirit Award, among others.

Leon Tolstoy in “Anna Karenina” writes the familiar “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” If you like disfunctional family films, this film is a doozy. At first I thought this film was a chick flick featuring a spoiled, self-centered, drug addled bitch named Kym. By the end I was hoping for some kind of happiness for Kym. Stay with the film and I challenge you not to get really involved in this well-made film.

Without giving anything away, for me there was one defining moment which seemed to place some real blame on one of the characters. I would be interested in hearing if you found the same to be true.

As unusual and interesting as the actual wedding celebration was, for me it went on much too long. Granted that we were supposed to feel Kym’s pain in the midst of such happiness, but enough is enough!

2008, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, French, Not Feel Good, Redemption

I’ve Loved You So Long (2008)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

After more than a decade apart, estranged sisters Juliette (Kristin Scott
Thomas) and Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) try to rebuild their fractured relationship.
But the task is hardly easy, considering Juliette’s past. She’s been in jail
for 15 years — for killing someone. As she settles into small-town life with
Lea’s family, the locals can’t help but talk. Philippe Claudel’s feature film
debut garnered him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Do not miss this beautiful, sad, perfectly acted French film (with subtitles). Kristin Scott Thomas’ French is excellent. (She left England at the age of 19 to work as an au pair in Paris. She was married to François Oliviennes, a French obstetrician. They live in a 19th century country house with their children, Hannah, Joseph, and George.)

Part of the NetFlix description is misleading. Don’t worry about nosy neighbors except at one tense moment at a dinner party. Gossip has nothing to do with the film. Rather, the film is a warm testimony to the enduring and determined love of a wonderfully sweet younger sister (played to perfection by Elsa Zylberstein) for an older sister who has suffered an enormous amount. It is about the sister’s husband and children (and husband’s father) growing to trust and love Juliette. Above all it is about coming to terms with a sorrow that can never go away. You will probably guess early on what happened in the past, but that is nowhere near as important as some amount of redemption in the present.

2008, Biographical, Gay theme, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Milk (2008)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about
Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was
murdered along with mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city
employee Dan White (Josh Brolin, in an Oscar-nominated role) in 1978. Director
Gus Van Sant’s compelling biopic (nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award)
co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna.

Where to begin! That’s easy: First you could watch The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) which is an excellent documentary. More than that, ‘Milk’ often intersperses parts of the documentary into the film. Secondly, there is an excellent Wikipedia article on Harvey Milk which is long and very detailed.

I worry about a film which is an historical interpretation lest it become an historical distortion. For example, at one point Sean Penn says he thinks Dan White is really a closeted gay. Did the real Milk ever say such a thing? If not, I object to inserting such a gratuitous comment. However, the Wikipedia article together with the documentary lend much credibility to the Hollywood version. The article more than the film shows Harvey Milk as a complicated man who in fact did have many sexual affairs, who had a bit of an an attitude and could be very difficult to get along with, had several lovers involved with suicides (threatened and real), and who in his 40s was pushed into reacting and becoming involved politically by external forces. Granted any film has to focus on some aspect of the subject and there is too much to tell about Milk and his colorful era to put into one film.

Sean Penn captured Harvey Milk surprisingly close in looks but especially in manner as the documentary shows the ever smiling Milk. Josh Brolin looked like and captured Dan White to a remarkable degree. In fact, the very end of the film pairs photos of actors with their real-life counterparts, and the similarities are often striking.

The documentary (and, in all fairness, the film) made it clear that the double murder was meticulously planned. I wish the film had explained more what a joke the murder trial was (e.g. gays were excluded from the jury). The Wikipedia article explains how the “twinkie defense” motivated subsequent California laws which abolished “diminished capacity” as a defense to a charge.

1989, Detective, Not Feel Good, Redemption, Revenge, Violent

Johnny Handsome (1989)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

When a heist goes wrong, gangster John Sedley’s (Mickey Rourke) best friend is killed, leaving him alone to take the blame for the crime. But the disfigured crook gets a second chance at life after receiving a brand-new face from a prison surgeon. Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman co-star in this gritty action drama about one man’s hunger for revenge against those who wronged him.

“The Wrestler” has generated so much noise that I wanted to see a film with Mickey Rourke. First I tried “Rumble Fish (1983)” but did not even want to finish watching it. Rourke seemed to be one of those actors who act by not acting (i.e. he keeps his face still and you credit him, rightly or wrongly, with feeling certain emotions). But I tried again with “Johnny Handsome (1989)” and this 20-year old movie shows the actor in a better light. It’s one of those movies that you want to end in a certain way but you just have to ride it out to see what really happens. No more hints. So far for me Rourke is not a great actor.

Violent, not for children.

1981, Classic, Not Feel Good, TV Series

Brideshead Revisited (1981)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

This legendary TV miniseries, based on Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel of
romantic yearning and loss, is compiled in a special, digitally remastered
collection. Set between the wars in the glittering yet fading world of the
British aristocracy, the series stars the astonishing trio of Jeremy Irons,
Anthony Andrews and Diana Quick and features stunning performances by Sir
John Gielgud, Claire Bloom and Sir Laurence Olivier.

In this blog there are two versions of “Brideshead Revisited”, a two-hour film from 2008 and this 4-CD TV miniseries from 1981. The TV series is the gold standard. When it first came out, it was aired each Sunday evening. The next day at the work lunch table, we could not wait to discuss it. I am ashamed to admit that I have not yet read Evelyn Waugh’s book. Both film versions are excellent and if you are really taken with this classic then why not see both ?

Kathy and I decided to re-watch the TV miniseries version in Feb 2009. We both agreed that the two-hour movie, while well-done, pales in comparison with the TV miniseries. Anthony Andrews as Sebastion is just too perfect. Of course, the pace in the TV series is leisurely. But the details are well worth the time spent. This version remains a treasure.

2008, Not Feel Good

Brideshead Revisited (2008)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Matthew Goode, alongside Michael Gambon and Oscar winner Emma Thompson,
stars as Capt. Charles Ryder, an officer stationed at England’s Brideshead
Castle during World War II, in this big-screen adaptation of the classic
novel by Evelyn Waugh. The suspenseful drama builds as Captain Ryder
becomes infatuated with the castle’s owners, the aristocratic Marchmain
family — particularly their grown son, Sebastian Flyte, and his elegant
sister, Julia.

This film version of “Brideshead Revisited” is excellent. However, the gold standard for “Brideshead” is the 4-CD version of the 1981 British TV miniseries. Matthew Goode rings true as Charles Rider. I finally got used to Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain. But Ben Whishaw as Sebastian Flyte is just too diminutive compared to Anthony Andrews in the TV series. Of course it takes less time to watch 2 hours than to dedicate yourself to 4 CDs. I guess you get what you pay for.

1996, Musical, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Unusual, Violent

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

The Montagues and Capulets have moved to the sweltering suburb of
Verona Beach in this contemporary take on William Shakespeare’s
classic play. Though the film is visually modern, the bard’s dialogue
is intact as the feuding families’ children fall desperately in love.
The families nix the union, so Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet
(Claire Danes) wed secretly. But just as it seems there’s hope of
uniting the warring clans, events turn tragic.

You would have no clue from the NetFlix description that this is a musical as well as a contemporary setting of “Romeo and Juliet”. Note the plus sign in the title. Yes, believe it or not, Leonard DiCaprio sings, which just adds to his list of accomplishments. John Leguizamo plays a great villain. And yes the film is faithful to Shakespeare, using the original text. But be warned: this is an unusual film that will NOT be to everyone’s liking.

1000NYTimes, 1001BeforeDie, 1948, Could Be Sad, Italian, Not Feel Good

The Bicycle Thief (1948)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Widely considered a landmark Italian film, Vittorio De Sica’s tale of Rome’s post-World War II depression earned a special Oscar for its devastating power. Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) relies on his bicycle to do his job. But the same day he gets the vehicle back from the pawnshop, someone steals it. Antonio and his young son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola), search the city in vain, as Antonio confronts a looming desperation.

You have to REALLY want to see this film in order to appreciate it because it is basically a very simple, somewhat old-fashioned, and at time weepy movie that would never pass muster in today’s world. I watched (and loved) the film only because I had never seen it and knew it was historical. It also helps that Italian is one of my hobbies.

Right now the U.S. is experiencing higher than usual unemployment. Imagine, then, post WWII Italy in which having a job was a rare privilege. Then you can understand the protagonist’s desperation. The end is heart-wrenching.

2006, Not Feel Good, Revenge

The Prestige (2006)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

At the dawn of the 20th century, rival magicians Robert Angier
(Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are desperate
to reveal each other’s secrets. Obsessed by the escalating
competition, the two illusionists begin to perform increasingly
risky tricks — which soon turn deadly. Michael Caine, Scarlett
Johansson and David Bowie also star in this taut psychological
thriller from director Christopher Nolan.

Pay close attention while watching this film. I guessed half the
surprises at the end and had to suspend belief for the other
surprise.

This film is not only about magic, but also about revenge. Of the
two dueling magicians, in my humble opinion, Hugh Jackman is
a better actor than Christian Bale.

David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla. You should look up Tesla in
Wikipedia. He invented alternating current and was recognized
by congress as the inventor of radio. He died poor because he
paid no attention to money. He was ostracized because of his
bizarre personality. I do not know if Thomas Edison really
hired thugs to harass his competitors. Thomas Edison championed
direct current and invented the electric chair to prove how more
humane DC was over AC.

Is Scarlett Johansson really a good actress ?

Please also see “The Illusionist” which has a completely different
intent.

1986, FilmReview, Not Feel Good

The Color of Money (1986)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

The hustler isn’t what he used to be: ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson
(Oscar-winner Paul Newman) has given up pool for life as a
liquor salesman. But then he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise), a
cocky natural who makes a cue ball crack like a lightning
bolt. Eddie takes Vincent under his wing and on the road,
but are teacher and student destined to become competitors?

Because of our devotion to the game of pool, Kate and Nigel and I watched a very young
Tom Cruise do a perfect job as an arrogant kid refusing to take directions from an older
and wiser Paul Newman. Our NetFlix CD was in terrible shape but we enjoyed the film
so much that we will next order the precursor “The Hustler”.

I would be interested to know if you find the film confusing. Also, there is a lot of pool
playing in the film which might not interest everyone.