Category Archives: Movies

Birdman and The Walking Dead

Wow the movie “Birdman” is sure a clever, little black comedy of a film, which seems a shoe-in this award season. It’s about a washed-up superhero movie actor (played by Michael Keaton) who’s trying for a comeback by mounting a Broadway play based on a Raymond Carver story. Of course Michael Keaton starred as Batman twice way back when and hasn’t been in much notable of late, but this movie’s not his own true story. It’s just a great back story.

“Birdman” takes place almost all within the building of a New York City playhouse where Keaton’s character Riggan is trying to get his play up and running, but everything seems to be going wrong. He’s got family problems with his ex-wife and daughter (played by Emma Stone); staging problems with an egotistical, pretentious actor (played by Edward Norton); financial problems trying to fund it; problems with his possibly pregnant girlfriend who’s an actress in the play; and problems with a theater critic who says she’ll pan the production. The man’s in crisis. On top of all this, he keeps hearing the voice of his alter-ego, the Birdman, the superhero he once played, who keeps trying to lure him back to star in the action franchise again despite his advanced age.

The performances are all excellent, especially Edward Norton who seems to steal the movie at times as the jerk-of-a-guy actor. Emma Stone is terrific, too, as the depressed rehabbed daughter, and Naomi Watts who’s the ingenue in the play is top-notch as usual. And then there’s Keaton himself who brings a realness to the role that makes you almost believe it’s his own true story. Manhattan, too, is featured prominently and the film exudes a whole New York vibe, which people who like films set there will truly like.

I found the film darkly funny and clever. (It’s not for kiddies though there’s lots of bad language and inside jokes that they might not relate to.) Among other things, the movie spoofs fun at fame, acting, social media, and critics in dialogue you won’t want to miss. Much, too, has been talked about how the film appears to be done in one long take, the scenes flowing into each other as if there’s no edits. Apparently the filmmakers pulled this off digitally, but also the actors had to keep their scenes rolling for long periods. Visually it’s cool and adds to the realness of the play’s backstage shenanigans.

Whether the play will take off on opening night, you won’t know till the film’s end, which turns out to be quite a doozy. As for Keaton’s character, it’s left to one’s own interpretation what happens to him. Although I didn’t know what to expect going into see “Birdman,” I’ve liked it quite a bit more afterwards, with time and thought.

What about you— have you seen this movie or do you plan to? And what did you think?

In other news this week, I’ve continued reading Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book “Unbroken” and watched the midseason finale of Season Five of “The Walking Dead,” which ends with quite a showdown at the hospital in downtown Atlanta where Beth was being held. Of course, I knew one of the main characters would likely die, but I was rather bummed with who ended up getting killed off. It definitely will take a toll on the group as they move forward. But what is next for them? And where will they go in the second half of Season Five? And who will be the main focus? I guess we won’t know for sure till February when the TV series starts up again.

Have you been following the show? What do you think so far of Season Five? Continue reading

Posted in Movies, TV | 12 Comments

Interstellar

Yes, my husband and I saw Christopher Nolan’s space epic “Interstellar” this past weekend. I was a bit leery beforehand since Nolan’s prior movies “Inception” and “Memento” produced headaches over their fragmentation of time in the storylines, and I knew time would also be an element in “Interstellar” as well. But this film is much more inviting and engaging than either of those.

It’s about a group of space explorers sent by NASA who travel through a worm hole in outer space to expedite their passage to other planets that might be habitable. You see, life on Earth has become a living hell with food shortages and blights, so NASA has been working to find another home for the human race. Matthew McConaughey stars as Cooper the head pilot who will lead a crew of three other astronauts on their way to find a home for thousands of human embryos. But unfortunately, Cooper, a single dad, will have to leave his two kids behind on Earth, and his journey might take years if ever he’s to return.

The first hour of the movie starts off a bit slowly as the plot and characters are being set up, and during this time Cooper ends up miraculously finding a secret bunker that happens to house the NASA center. Of course, given he’s an ex-test pilot, it turns out the bigwigs at NASA want him to lead their expedition, which he ultimately can not resist.

Once the spaceship takes off the film picks up and gets interesting. It’s best not to know too much beforehand about the astronauts’ journey, which includes going through worm holes, dark holes, and other dimensions. But soon the astronauts learn their journey’s going to take much longer than they expected and meanwhile Cooper’s kids are growing up with the hardships on Earth. It’s a race against time really and a time-travel story too because time on Earth and in deep space aren’t exactly linear. Scenes aboard the space craft are interspersed with scenes of what’s going on back at Earth, and you begin to wonder:

Will Cooper and the astronauts find a suitable planet? Will his kids connect with him again? The film offers surprises along the way and likely will test one’s sense of perception and timetables. For all its special effects, the film apparently sticks pretty close to established science and the speculation of what’s possible, says Kip Thorne, the physicist whose work inspired the film.

I enjoyed “Interstellar,” especially since it generates discussion long after it’s over. My husband and I talked about the film all the way home and more. I wanted to understand the ins and outs of it, which I did in general especially with the help of talking about it. I know there are various websites pointing out the film’s plot holes and incongruities, which in a science/time-travel story such as this there are bound to be. But overall the film is an intriguing exploration and a well-worthy journey. It’s thought-provoking, adventurous, and includes a few hokey parts about the transporting nature of love as well. This film scored for me whereas some of Nolan’s other films have not. My husband even thought the ending suggested a possible sequel. Could one be in the works?

How about you — have you seen this movie or do you plan to — and what did you think? Continue reading

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Before I Go to Sleep

If you like anxiety-inducing psychological thrillers, S.J. Watson’s debut bestseller “Before I Go to Sleep” hits the big screen this Friday, right in time for Halloween. It’s a spooky premise for sure, about a woman who suffers from amnesia from a traumatic accident in her past. Working with a doctor, she begins to write down what little she recalls of her life and what happened to her, but soon realizes she doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe.

The book reminded me a bit of “Shutter Island” mixed with “Fatal Attraction.” It’s a mind trip into what’s real in the woman’s life, but there’s also a dangerous person who’s leading her astray. I flew through “Before I Go to Sleep” as it’s a suspenseful page-turner, figuring out who the bad guy is and whether the woman will piece together her memories in time to save her life. A few of the characters leave or betray her in ways that keep you guessing.

I enjoyed the book, especially once I suspended my disbelief a bit about the premise and a few parts of the plot. It’s better if you just go with it. At times it gets a bit repetitive because the woman, Christine, forgets the memories of her life each night when she goes to sleep. So every morning she wakes up a confused mess not knowing who she is till her doctor calls reminding her to read the journal she’s been keeping.

It’s sad really, thinking that people exist in such states in mental facilities, where Christine in the book spends a great deal of her adult life before getting released. (Apparently the story was inspired by a real amnesiac case.) Upon release, Christine is quite the emotional wreck, as one might expect to be if you awake each day with little to no memory, so you have to work through a lot of her angst throughout the novel.

No wonder Nicole Kidman took on the role for the movie. She seems to be good in troubled, emotionally-wrought parts — a good cryer, which is necessary for the role of “Christine.” Colin Firth plays opposite Nicole in the movie, which is interesting since they recently starred together in “The Railway Man” movie. For sure, they make for a dynamic onscreen combo.

I can’t say too much more about the book’s plot in order not to give anything away, but I’m sure it’ll make for a high-octane movie. I hope to see it soon. It’ll be interesting to see if the movie stays true to the book or if it’ll change any plot lines or the ending, hmm … I’ll have to check it out to see.

If you like such thrillers, British author S.J. Watson has finished his next book “Second Life,” which will be out in the U.K. in February 2015 and will follow later in other countries. I’m sure like this one it’ll be quite an anxiety-induced ride.

How about you — have you read this book or do you plan to see the movie? Continue reading

Posted in Books, Movies | 8 Comments

Begin Again and a Silkworm update

Last week, my husband and I went to see the movie “Begin Again” with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. It’s by the same director who made the 2006 movie “Once” that’s about a pair in Dublin who collaborate on some songs and end up falling in love. Like “Once,” “Begin Again” is about an unlikely pair who end up working together to create a music album, although this time it’s set in New York City. Mark Ruffalo plays the down-and-out music producer who teams with a stage-shy songwriter (played by Keira Knightley) whom he happens to hear perform at a bar’s open mic night.

As it so happens, I almost skipped this movie because of rough reviews in various newspapers, but luckily I was steered back by the positive review on Nose in a Book’s blog and my husband’s apparent preference for films with Ms. Knightley. And come on, it’s a movie about the magic of music — listening, playing, creating music — with a few bankable actors set against a backdrop of the streets of the Big Apple by the same writer and director who did “Once.” Why wouldn’t I see it? Adam Levine is in it, too; the frontman for Maroon 5 plays Knightley’s rockstar boyfriend, so I was curious and thought it might be good.

Luckily it is. “Begin Again” turns out to be quite an enjoyable film, clearly better than the regular summer schlock out nowadays. Its message about how music can transform people’s lives comes across in an engaging, creative way, set against scenes in New York that bring the city vibrantly to life. I had trouble believing the singing was actually Knightley’s own voice in the movie, but impressively it is. Somehow she manages to pull it off, and it helps that Levine lends his considerable singing talents as well.

In the movie, both the music producer and the songwriter’s lives become transformed by the album they’re working on. Ruffalo’s character finds his purpose again and tries to win back his estranged wife and daughter, while Knightley’s character gains more confidence as a singer-songwriter and comes to realize her rockstar boyfriend and her are heading in different directions.

It’s a bittersweet story — one sparked by the music and performances. Although some critics say “Begin Again’s” music and songs are too weak and that it pales in comparison to the film “Once,” I didn’t get that feeling at all. Similar to “Once,” I thought the music had a transcendent effect. And while “Once” might be considered a more artful, off-the-cuff film, “Begin Again” felt more enjoyable and uplifting. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out for yourself.

And let me know what you think. Have you seen either “Once” or “Begin Again”?

Meanwhile in book news, I’m half way through the mystery “The Silkworm” by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) and like it quite a bit. Admittedly, I started “The Silkworm” before reading Galbraith’s first mystery with the same detective “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” but I plan to go back and read that one later. I can already imagine these books will make good movies, so I’m sure the bidding war is intense. I’m just trying to figure out which actor I would pick to be the private investigator Cormoran Strike from Cornwall. From the book, he’s very tall, a bit heavy and has slightly curly hair. He’s also a war vet who has a prosthetic right leg. For some reason, I want to say he’s in his mid-30s, but I’m not sure she really says. So who’s a tall British actor that could play him? Any guesses ??? I sort of want to say Benedict Cumberbatch from the show “Sherlock Holmes” but I’m sure he’s too typecast as Sherlock by now, so I’ll have to pick another. Continue reading

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The Academy Awards Night

Happy Sunday, or maybe not. We are under an extreme wind chill warning of -40F and here it is March now and the Academy Awards are on tonight. If Oscar were here, his privates would shrivel considerably. So I will make some cocoa, do some reading today and make my picks for the big night.

There’s been a strong field of movies this year on a wide variety of subject matter, from space to slavery, to pirates, AIDS, sting operations, war, lost babies, breakdowns and heartbreak. I’ve seen quite a few of the nominated ones. Here’s a list of the films I’ve seen so far:

The Great Gatsby
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Saving Mr. Banks
Blue Jasmine
All Is Lost
Gravity
Captain Phillips
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Philomena
Lone Survivor
Her
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Frances Ha

And here’s a list of films I haven’t seen but still hope to in the future:

Inside Llewyn Davis
Labor Day
The Wolf of Wall Street
August: Osage County
Nebraska
The Book Thief

I’m sorry to say I also haven’t seen any of the foreign film nominees this year, or the documentaries either, which is a bit surprising, but I hope at least they become more readily available after the awards.

Of the films I’ve seen, it’s hard to say which one I liked the very best. Quite a few of them had moments that blew me away. “Captain Phillips,” “Philomena,” “Saving Mr. Banks” and “Her,” particularly struck me, and I was haunted for a week after “Lone Survivor” and “12 Years a Slave.”

I actually liked all of the nominated films I saw and wouldn’t be surprised if “12 Years a Slave” won for Best Picture and “American Hustle” won for Best Director, or vice versa, and the rest of the awards were sprinkled about. “Her” seems a good pick for Best Original Screenplay as I enjoyed its creativity and explorations of the heart and feelings of alienation.

The performances by Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” and Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyer’s Club” are hard to argue, though it would’ve been nice if Emma Thompson in “Saving Mr. Banks” or Robert Redford in “All Is Lost” hadn’t been passed over for nominations. Still the categories are tight with some excellent performances. The winners for Best Supporting roles always wind up a bit interesting or surprising. And hopefully there will be some surprises tonight. If it’s the same winners as the previous awards’ shows, it’ll be quite dull, don’t you think?

What about you — which movie did you like best this year and which ones are your picks for tonight? Continue reading

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Audrey Hepburn & ‘American Hustle’

The Sunday Salon.com

Happy New Year everyone. It’s the first weekend of 2014 and a fresh layer of snow here has covered the ground, all pretty and white. It’s been a busy week since we arrived back after Christmas holidays spent in California (hooray was that nice!).

This past week, I whipped through my first book of 2014, which was a biography/memoir my father got me for Christmas of Audrey Hepburn written by her son. My dad also gave me some of her films on DVD, which I’d never seen. We watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” from 1961 and Audrey seemed to light up the screen.

Although the American Film Institute ranks Audrey as the third greatest screen legend in the history of cinema, I guess I didn’t know much about her. But the 2003 book her son wrote “Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit” is quite a moving remembrance of the actress. It takes readers through her childhood living under the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands, and the absence of her father, to her storied acting career, her hiatus from film to be a mother, and later her total devotion to helping children refugees as a UNICEF ambassador.

You get a sense from the book how remarkable a person she was, which translated onto the screen in the roles she took. She seemed unique, talented and glamorous in her own understated, beautiful style. Yet despite all her success and the respect of those in the film business, Audrey had a sadness within her, her son says, whether it was from her childhood or her miscarriages, or from what she saw happening in the world, it was there. It seems though in her later life she found her calling helping refugees all over the world. Unfortunately she had much more she wanted to do but her life was cut short in 1993 by cancer at the age of 63.

The book “Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit” is a personal and touching portrait by a son of his mother. It’s filled with captivating photos, too, that lured me into her story. She had an interesting life, and was at the top echelon of her field in film, but it was also a bit sad. The book was similar to the one I had just read before: “The End of Your Life Book Club.” Both were written by sons of their bright, successful mothers, and both mothers worked for refugees in later life, and both lives were cut short by cancer.

“Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit” made me wish I had known more of the actress and her films when she was alive. I’m glad though to have gotten to know her and her work through this book. She had a special magic about her, and was an inspiration to so many, even to me now reading this so many years later. The world lost a genuine star when she passed away. Next up, I’ll need to pick up a book that doesn’t have such a sad ending. Hmm.

Also this week the Hub and I saw the movie “American Hustle,” which mainly takes place in New Jersey. It’s loosely based on the massive 1978 FBI anti-corruption operation known as Abscam, where a bunch of politicians were ultimately put in jail for accepting bribes.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this, but the film is quite entertaining, particularly because of its stellar cast. Christian Bale and Amy Adams are different and terrific as con artists, and Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are amusing in their flitty roles. The film’s a dark comedy but dramatic at the same time, as you watch how the evolving sting operation will unfold.

I liked the ’70s soundtrack of “American Hustle” right away and thought it added a lot to the movie along with the dippy fashion and clothes of the times. But the movie seemed a bit long and I was ready for it to end. Maybe it’s so overly well done, I wanted to get out of it. I liked it okay but I think my Hub liked it better than I did.

What about you – have you seen “American Hustle” and what did you think? Or do you know much about Audrey Hepburn, or have you seen or liked any of her films? Continue reading

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The End of Your Life Book Club and Mr. Banks

The Sunday Salon.com
We’ve had a very pleasant week in Southern California but are headed home on Monday, back to the snows of Alberta, Canada, Bah! With New Year’s coming up, I’ve been thinking of what my reading resolutions will be this year, and I think I would like to: (a) read more from my own shelves or the library instead of buying more books; (b) read more nonfiction in 2014; and (c) read more international fiction authors. So we will see how I do with this. I would also like to boost my reading output in 2014, keeping up a book a week would be fine but I don’t want to slack off in the middle of the year, or get bogged down and lose focus!

This week I finished Will Schwalbe’s 2012 nonfiction book “The End of Your Life Book Club.” It’s written by a son about his mother (Mary Anne Schwalbe) and the book discussions they have while she is undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. The book club is just the two of them and includes discussions about books mostly that I had read or knew of, which made it more enjoyable. It’s a book that should attract bibliophiles, being about a book club and all.

But it’s also about the mother’s life and her work, their family and her medical journey at the end. She was quite a remarkable woman as you learn while you read it. She worked on behalf of refugees all over the world with the Women’s Refugee Commission, and helped in the refugee camps in various places such as Afghanistan, Liberia, Sudan, and Thailand. Earlier she had been an educator and director of admissions at Harvard and Radcliffe.

His mother had quite admirable principles and really knew what was important in life. The book’s a moving tribute to her in the last two years of her life. I found her to be an inspiration and the book a valuable lesson on various aspects of life. It’s sad but not too dark, and uplifting in an inspirational way. For anyone who’s lost a loved one to cancer (as my husband and I did when his mother passed away earlier this year), you will recognize the heart strings pulled throughout these pages.

Another poignant story is the movie “Saving Mr. Banks,” which we saw yesterday. It’s excellent and based on a true story about P.L. Travers, the author of “Mary Poppins,” and the making of the film adaptation of her novel by Walt Disney in 1961.

Emma Thompson plays the fussy P.L. Travers, who doesnt want to cede control over her creation to the filmmakers, and Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney who tries to persuade her to let go of it. Interspersed with their meetings in Hollywood, Travers has flashbacks to her painful childhood in Australia, where it becomes obvious in time where her character of Mary Poppins comes from, and why Travers is like she is.

“Saving Mr. Banks” is an immensely entertaining film, at times a bit funny and sad, a look at old Hollywood, its creation of the musical “Mary Poppins” film that won five Academy Awards, and its two icons. Although Disney comes off a bit too unscathed in the movie, P.L. Travers appears quite disagreeable. Apparently she was even more prickly in real life than pictured in this and never really liked Disney’s film of her book. She was especially against his use of animation for it.

What about you — have you seen or read either of these? And do you have some reading resolutions for 2014? Continue reading

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12 Years a Slave

I finally worked up the nerve to see the film “12 Years a Slave,” which I knew would be brutal and intense. It’s the true story of a freed slave in New York who is kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery to work on plantations in Louisiana. I felt I should see it, slavery being such a big part of U.S. history — and the evil indelible toll that it took on a good portion of the population and its effects there ever after.

Many films before have sugar-coated or skirted the evils of slavery, such as “Gone With the Wind” in 1939. But director Steve McQueen’s film doesn’t pull any punches. It depicts the violence, brutality and inhumanity of slavery while following Solomon Northup’s life story. It’s harrowing and hard to watch at times: the family break-ups, beatings, rapes, and lynchings. You just keep hoping that Solomon will be able to put an end to his captivity. Chiwetel Ejiofor is terrific in the lead role, expressing so much pain with little dialogue, and Michael Fassbender is simply chilling as the Southern plantation owner. But as evil as he is, his character is seemingly typical of whites’ attitudes during those times and places, which the film so faithfully illustrates.

I can’t think of many films that so boldly face up to slavery such as this one. Granted, I did not see “Django Unchained” last year, which I should have, but it seems perhaps a different kind of film, more Tarantino-ish. I remember as a kid watching “Roots” on TV in the ’70s and being stunned that people were actually shackled like that and sold as property. You might read it in history books, but “Roots” really brought it home. There’s been other affecting slavery movies over the years such as “Glory” in 1989 and “Amistad” in 1997. I also liked Toni Morrison’s novel “Beloved” but never saw Jonathan Demme’s film based on it.

Despite its brutality, I wouldn’t skip over “12 Years a Slave.” It’s a shattering but courageous story, one that director Steve McQueen has compared in its importance to “The Diary of Anne Frank.” I still plan to read the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup that it’s based on, which is considered one of the best narratives about slavery in the U.S.

What about you: what did you think of the film? And what has been the most affecting movie that you’ve ever seen about slavery? Continue reading

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Happy U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. I have been in California enjoying the holiday with family so I’m just now posting some thoughts on “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” movie, which I saw last Monday after its opening weekend took in $158 million at the box office. It beat out the first Hunger Games movie in sales and is continuing to haul in more over Thanksgiving break.

I found it similarly as good as the first movie and it follows the novel quite closely. “Catching Fire” finds Katniss and Peeta on a Victory Tour of the 12 districts after their win in the 74th Hunger Games. But all is not well as rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol is in the air and Katniss turns into a symbol for the cause. President Snow retaliates by making many of the former victors return to the arena for the next Games. And soon, Katniss and Peeta are back there fighting for their lives once again.

The sets, costumes and special effects make it an eye-catching spectacle in a post-apocalyptic world. And the expanded cast is entertaining, too, seeing which actor will turn up as what character in the movie. It’s a large, diverse cast with everyone from Stanley Tucci to Amanda Plummer to Jeffrey Wright and Donald Sutherland to even Philip Seymour Hoffman this time around. They’re all fun to watch, as well as the returning cast, notably Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson who are the main protagonists.

“Catching Fire” takes some time positioning itself at the movie’s beginning. I think people who haven’t read Suzanne Collins’s trilogy might find the movie quite slow in parts especially at the start, or they might be confused about particular parts of the movie. It’s more enjoyable I think to have read the books before seeing either of the movies to get the full experience, though it’s not a complex story like “Game of Thrones” or anything. But it’s good to remember such things as who Seneca Crane was. You might recall he was the head gamemaker of the 74th Hunger Games who ultimately is put to death for allowing there to be two victors (Peeta and Katniss) from the same district. His circumstances come up again in this movie.

“Catching Fire” does get suspenseful as the Capitol starts cracking down on the districts and Katniss threatens to run away and especially once the next Hunger Games starts. You might flinch a few times when they’re making their way through the forest, and since you know the ending can’t be as fortunate to have two victors as in the original.

But one segment of the book I was sorry they left out in the movie is when Katniss comes across two runaways from District 8 in her woods at home in District 12. They tell her there’s reason to believe that District 13 was not wiped out as they were always lead to believe but is still populated, how so they don’t know. The mystery surrounding District 13 and its hoped for part in the underground rebellion, which is quite interesting in the book, is not much touched on till the very end of the movie, which is too bad. That’s one example of why books that are made into films are usually so much better. The movie misses a bit of the mystery, as well as the thoughts that are explored in the book’s first-person narrative.

Still “Catching Fire” is an entertaining adaptation of the book to the big screen. It’s dark, it’s brutal and still there’s the love triangle between Katniss and Gale and Katniss and Peeta that’s not all figured out. At the end you’ll want to know more about what will happen to all of them, but you’ll need to hang on till November 2014 when “Mockingjay Part 1” comes out. So till then Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Now what did you think of the movie? Continue reading

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All Is Lost and Blue Jasmine

I know, I know, I know: it’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” week but I saw two notable films recently that are still on my mind. First, the Robert Redford film “All Is Lost” about a 70-ish year-old man sailing solo in the Indian Ocean whose boat collides with a shipping container. He’s left struggling to survive for eight days adrift at sea, with seemingly no one else around for hundreds of miles.

It’s a different kind of film because it’s so quiet and just one person is in it, with no dialogue. It has a documentary feel to it as you watch the sailor (played by Redford) try to repair the damaged boat and overcome the elements. He moves methodically about his work and remains calm in the face of a very scary situation. At points you want him to hurry up (!) as the water swells in the boat, but he moves slowly as an older person and must be a seasoned sailor because he doesn’t panic like I would be doing.

You might wonder after his boat radio goes out why he doesn’t have a GPS device to locate his position or the internet or an emergency beacon to alert others to rescue him, but alas no. He’s way out there, alone with none of these things, which perhaps might speak to what kind of person he is or what he’s doing out there in first place. You might also second-guess a couple other decisions of him as a sailor, such as leaving the boat to jump onto the drifting container, or going on deck during a tropical cyclone, or not wearing a life jacket at certain times, but despite such recklessness, you’ll be taken in, too, by his utter resourcefulness and courage as he’s adrift at sea. He’s no quitter.

Redford is terrific in the role as a man facing his own mortality. Perhaps not since 1972’s “Jeremiah Johnson” has he shone as a survivor like this. Apparently the 77-year-old Redford insisted on doing all his own stunts in the film, which makes it feel quite real. “All Is Lost” is a quiet, yet compelling meditation at sea.

“Blue Jasmine,” on the other hand, is a film completely different from that but also includes a strong performance of the lead character played this time by Cate Blanchett. I do hope Ms. Blanchett receives some award nominations because she is superb as the New York socialite Jasmine who comes to stay with her sister in San Francisco after her life falls apart.

The story of what goes wrong in New York for Jasmine and her very rich financier husband (played by Alec Baldwin) unfolds in flashbacks while Jasmine is trying to get back on her feet in California.

In San Fran, the dynamic between the sisters is awkward at best, whereas Jasmine’s been wealthy, and is a bit haughty, her sister is divorced with two boys, doesn’t have much money, and is dating a low-life mechanic. Jasmine influences her sister to see someone better, while she eventually meets a well-to-do man who plans to run for Congress. But eventually all begins to unravel once the veneer Jasmine’s created gets pulled away.

It’s typical Woody Allen: a film full of relationships, deceits and their sticky consequences. It’s a bit depressing, watching the impending outcome. I didn’t think of a modern-day version of Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” when I was watching it, but have read since that some critics have compared it to that. And I guess the plot of “Blue Jasmine” is quite like that: A troubled woman comes to stay with her sister and affects her sister’s relationship with her guy and things end badly for her. It differs a bit in this modern telling with more characters etc., but there are some similarities.

The best part of “Blue Jasmine” is the cast and acting. Blanchett, of course is excellent as Jasmine, but so is Sally Hawkins as her sister who plays off Jasmine so well. Then there’s Andrew Dice Clay (remember the crude, stand-up comedian?) who is surprisingly good as the sister’s ex-husband, as well as Bobby Cannavale who plays the sister’s mechanic boyfriend, Chili. I was delighted, too, to see comedian C.K. Louis play the guy the sister has a fling with. He’s terrific! How can anyone not like C.K., even though his role here is pretty slimy.

Despite its dark overtones, “Blue Jasmine” makes for an entertaining romp, thanks to its cast that gives the script just the right touch. Continue reading

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