Category Archives: Love Story

The Hour (2011)

From NetFlix:

This six-part political thriller focuses on the launch of a new BBC news program in June 1956, as the Suez Crisis is unfolding in the Middle East. The story follows the efforts of the show’s staff to reveal the tangled politics of the era.

Rather than being gritty, this easy-to-watch British TV series features several themes: The 1956 Suez Canal crisis; Producing a TV news hour that can tell the truth despite political efforts to stifle that news; Political intrigue involving murder; Freddy’s love for the beautiful young TV news producer Bel; Bel’s infatuation with the married Hector.

Made in 2011, this series reproduces faithfully the era of the 50’s. Hence the actors look as they do in 2011 rather than being young actors. Some of the more recognizable actors are:

  • Dominic West (plays Hector) is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series “The Wire”.
  • Anna Chancellor (plays Lix Storm) was Lucy Christie in “Waking the Dead”.
  • Juliet Stevenson (plays Lady Elms) has been in so many presentations that I arbitrarily remind you that she was “The Politician’s Wife”.

My wife Kathy thought the 6 episodes made the story too long although I did not mind the length. At least it is a nice escape from grim.

Down the Shore (2011)

From NetFlix:

After Susan (Maria Dizzia) dies from a terminal illness in Paris, her tour guide journeys to New Jersey to deliver Susan’s ashes and a letter to her brother, Bailey (James Gandolfini). The letter triggers revelations of dark secrets, murder and betrayal. The shocking news shakes up the lives of Bailey, his old friend, Wiley (Joe Pope), and Wiley’s wife — and Bailey’s ex-lover — Mary (Famke Janssen) in this gritty drama.

James Gandofini CAN act and this film gives him a chance to prove it. Four characters doing wonderful ensemble acting make for a very watchable film.
Moreover there are some good plot surprises.

Jacques is played by Edoardo Costa who is Italian. In this film he plays a Frenchman. You may have seen him as Emerson in “Live Free or Die Hard”. If there is a flaw in this small gem of a film, it is that Jacques is a bit too clever, almost omnipotent.

Here is a film with a small amount of human roughness (including wife abuse) but at least without serial killers, gritty scenes, or needless sex.

In the small gem category I would say DO NOT MISS!

Quartet (2012)

From NetFlix:

A trio of retired opera singers’ annual celebration of Verdi’s birthday sours when their estranged fourth member shows up but refuses to sing. Tensions rise and diva drama erupts — will personal problems prevent the show from going on?

Do not confuse this British film with the American film A Late Quartet.

Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”), Tom Courtenay (“The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”), Billy Connolly (Thomas Bell in “House M.D.”), and Pauline Collins (“Shirley Valentine”) form the quartet of retired opera singers. Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”) is a self-appointed impresario.

They and a large group of retired musicians reside in a beautiful palace-like home for retired musicians set in glorious British countryside. In fact, the other aged actors are real-life retired musicians. Stay for the final credits in which you see for many of these characters a double set of photos: one photo from the present paired with a photo of them in their performing prime.

If nothing else, the scenery is gorgeous and well worth seeing the film on a large screen as we did in a movie house. Additionally the music is wonderful. Although the story is a bit melodramatic, it is still worth the watch.

Enjoy!

Bottle Shock (2008)

From NetFlix:

France’s position as the world’s top wine producer went unchallenged until 1976, when the Montelena Winery put California wines on the map — a story delightfully told in this full-bodied tale about the heady early days of Napa Valley’s success.

In this comfortable, feel-good-for-everyone film Bill Pullman plays Jim Barrett and Chris Pine plays his so-far-nere-do-well son Bo. Montelena Winery is the struggling company run by the elder Barrett. When father and son disagree they enter their outdoor boxing ring and batter each other. Enter Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier, the Englishman who travels from Paris to California seeking American wines good enough to challenge the French wines. Freddy Rodríguez plays Gustavo Brambila, a Mexican employee of Montelena Winery who is a wine expert secretly making his own wine.

Five years (from 2008 to 2013) can change faces. At first I did not recognize the son Chris Pine whom I first saw in Unstoppable. Freddy Rodríguez was the mortician in “Six Feet Under” who had a remarkable talent for making dead bodies attractive. Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman have been around forever.

Despite any historical inaccuracies, just sit back and watch a relaxed family film.

Rust and Bone (2012)

From NetFlix:

An extraordinary story of survival and salvation from the acclaimed, award-winning director of A Prophet. Starring Academy Award Winner Marion Cotillard as Stéphanie, who navigates a gritty relationship with Ali, a street fighter, in a world where love and courage appear in many forms.

When I first saw Matthias Schoenaerts in Bullhead I was very impressed. “Bullhead” is an excellent film but not for everyone because it is quite violent. In both “Bullhead” and “Rust and Bone” Schoenaerts plays a very physical role, that is to say a tough, strong, silent, possibly insensitive character. He can now take these roles because he is a very young looking and very much in good physical shape at the age of 35.

Of all the roles played by Marion Cotillard, probably her portrayal of Edit Piaf in La Vie en Rose. She is NOT an amputee. You can read about the film techniques in the Wikipedia article about the film.

Once again “Rust and Bone” might not be for everyone: there are brutal illegal fights between men for betting purposes (think dog fighting); there is much nudity and very explicit sexual intercourse; there is a harrowing scene on a semi-frozen pond; there are many frank scenes featuring Cotillard as an amputee.

However, the film is basically one about redemption, love, and the ability to mature and change.

If gritty appeals to you, then I heartily recommend both “Bullhead” and “Rust and Bone”.

The Sessions (2012)

From NetFlix:

After spending years in an iron lung, a man decides he wants to explore his sexuality for the first time, and hires a surrogate to aid the goal. Through their intensifying relationship, this indie drama illustrates the many forms love can take.

To quote from Wikipedia:

[This film] is based on an essay by Mark O’Brien, a poet paralyzed from the neck down due to polio, who hired a sex surrogate to lose his virginity.

To my way of thinking, Helen Hunt offered a daring and completely appropriate portrayal as a sex therapist. At times her performance (completely naked) seemed almost clinical, and indeed that is just what her performance should have been. For an actress aged 49, Helen Hunt physically is almost too perfect.

What adds emotion to the film is the fact that she actually fell in love with her client. In fact four women are in some way involved with Mark. More than that I will not say.

William H. Macy’s role as a Catholic priest annoyed me. At the very least he is in desperate need of a haircut. Although I might have objected to the intrusion of Catholicism into the plot, I can easily imagine what solace religion and a strong faith would bring to a mentally healthy man trapped in an iron lung. To do what his did (seek help from a sex therapist) took real guts.

While this film might not be for everyone (nudity? Tsk, tsk), I enjoyed the film and can honestly say it is unique in the annals of filmdom.

The Master (2012)

From NetFlix:

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new “religion” he forms after World War II.

Put Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman together in the same story (even better, in the same cult) and you get a really well acted film with an intriguing and always surprising plot. Hoffman plays the cult leader called “The Master” who goes by the name Lancaster Dodd. Scene after scene shows what a fraud Dodd really is. But what is cult-worthy is how the members of cult practically worship their fearless leader.

While Hoffman is doing a “masterful” job as charlatan, Phoenix plays to scary perfection Freddie the violent (WWII) PTSD drunk who has attached himself firmly to The Master who is indeed a master at using quasi-hypnosis to soften his victims’ self-hate. Freddie feels better under tutelage despite his many lapses into drunkenness, stealing, and physical violence. Even more insidious The Master tells Freddie that he, The Master, is the only person on the planet that loves Freddie. No wonder Freddie so blindly worships The Master even to the point of violence.

Looking at Joaquin Phoenix is uncomfortable. He is skinny, misshappen, hunched, almost limping rather than walking, sexually maladjusted, and often acts in a manner that is just plain weird. He has this way of putting his hands on his waist so that his body is twisted. When Phoenix puts his heart into a role he goes all the way, even if it is embarrassing to watch. His rages are so uncontrolled and overpowering (despite his diminutive size) that it takes three men to subdue him. In real life he is 38 years old but I think he looks older.

What eventually happens to Freddie? You will have to watch this strange film through to the end to find out.

Teddy Bear

From NetFlix:

Physically massive but shy and socially inept, a 38-year-old Danish bodybuilder longs to fall in love — but finds it impossible under the disapproving eye of his mother. Traveling to Thailand, he learns some unexpected lessons about life and love.

Imagine a 38-year-old giant bodybuilder who has yet to break away from his domineering and physically tiny white-haired shriveled old mother. She uses every trick in the book to keep him from becoming independent. Throughout this film I was rooting for this guy to escape and find a wife.

Here is a quote from IMDB about the actor Kim Kold:

Kim Kold is a former football (soccer) goalkeeper, who in 1993 at 27 years of age suffered a serious injury in his Achilles tendon. He was sent to the gym doing rehabilitation training. He took up an interest in bodybuilding and started competing in 1997. He won the Danish National Bodybuilding Championship in 2006.

In the film actors speak Danish and English. In fact their English is fluent and often without accent. They speak English when it is necessary to have a common language, for example in Thailand among [sex] tourists. But when Dennis (Kim Kold) speaks Danish it seems as if he is mumbling. In fact I could not even hear consonants. But there is a point here. Dennis is so shy and understated that he almost whispers throughout the film. Even when his clinging mother is her nastiest Dennis never raises his voice to her. More than that, he seems either afraid of her or is making a conscious effort to not offend her. Dennis is a kind, moral, gentle giant who has no idea how to break away and find a woman to love.

Enter a friend who has already found a wife in Thailand. He tells Dennis how to get to Thailand and whom to contact. Unfortunately, the contact is involved in sex tourism and introduces Dennis to several prostitutes. But Dennis is so decent and sincere that he walks away from that scene in disgust. Finally he finds a gym and fellow bodybuilders who recognize him and invite him to join them for a social evening. There he is introduced to the widow owner of the gym. And the rest is history once we get past certain difficulties, which means “mommy dearest”.

Kim Kold is certainly not an actor. But whoever directed him never missed a beat. Dennis behaves consistently and as you would expect him to behave throughout. He gives the impression that at 38 he is still a virgin. There is no sex in the film but there are scenes where we feel sorry and embarrassed for Dennis who flees from sexual advances on the part of several women.

Yes, Dennis is a good guy. And yet he tells lies to his mother from beginning to end. He speaks and looks at her sincerely and seems to be shamefully admonished by his mother and yet “lies like a rug”.

This quiet and slow film is not for everyone. Mostly it is about rooting for a well-meaning underdog.

Scandal (2012)

From NetFlix:

Olivia Pope leads a team of Washington, D.C., lawyers who specialize in making scandals disappear. As they secretly handle crises at the highest levels of government, the dysfunctional team must also cope with problems closer to home.

Another TV series that can be streamed with NetFlix, “Scandal” is a fast-paced, well-written, well-acted page-turner that reminds me of the excellent House of Cards but in my opinion is better. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright carried “House of Cards” just as Tony Goldwyn (President Fitz Grant) and Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope) carry “Scandal”. Both series involve the politics in Washington D.C.

Season one is a series of episodes all related to one another. In addition to individual clients there is an ongoing story line involving Olivia Pope and President Fitz Grant. Along the way there are many plot twists that keep the story fresh and insistent. As you finish one episode you will be sorely tempted to immediately watch the next episode.

Emphasis throughout is on the interaction of personalities rather than details such as police procedurals. In fact, the acting is good and there are some very tender moments between people who love each other.

Season one ends satisfactorily with justice meted out to almost all the bad guys, but the ending also is a cliff hanger just crying for season two.

If you enjoyed “House of Cards” you will like “Scandal” even more. DO NOT MISS!

Keep the LIghts On (2012)

From NetFlix:

The physical romance between a gay filmmaker and an attorney soon evolves into a more complex relationship, laced with conflicting desires. Over several turbulent years, both men struggle to build a true acceptance of the other’s strengths and flaws.

That the two protagonists happen to be two gay males is almost beside the point. Suppose they were a straight couple. Suppose they “hook-up” casually. Suppose they develop a friendship. Suppose A falls in love with B (and suppose B also loves A, but in this film that is questionable). Suppose B has a serious drug problem. Suppose the friends of B stage an intervention and B agrees to accept treatment. Suppose for awhile A and B are happy together. Suppose B falls off the wagon and disappears for awhile. If you were A, what would you do?

Forgive my hard heart, but if I were A I would run as fast as I could from the relationship. Now you have to watch the film to see what happens.

Perhaps this warning is unnecessary, but there is a lot of explicit male with male sexual activity. It might just as well have been male with female activity. And the sex is somewhat besides the point. Tough decisions is what this film is really about.

Some parts are boring or overly long. Some parts ring incredibly true to life. There is a lot of quiet conversation. Think of the plot as an ordinary story that is enacted over and over in much of the world and we are invisible spectators. Sometimes I yawned but for much of the time I was drawn to real people going through some really rough times.