Category: Movies Page 17 of 57

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL2lhM_kDPM

On June 17, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

We watched Emma Thompson’s tour de force performance in the just-released (on Hulu) story of a middle-aged woman who has never experienced an orgasm and hires a sex worker to meet with her and teach her about sex for pleasure, since her own 31-year marriage, while relatively happy, was not particularly satisfying in the bedroom. She has two children: a “boring” son and a bohemian daughter, both grown.

Much of the discussion of Thompson’s performance in “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” in the “New York Times” was about how she should be able to be nominated for an Oscar, but, because the film went straight to Hulu without a theatrical showing, she is not.

Emma has one scene at film’s end where she is completely starkers and acknowledged that it was the hardest scene she has ever had to play. In fact, the cast (which is mainly Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack as the young gigolo who opens new worlds to the somewhat repressed middle-aged ex-teacher) is great. The part was written especially for Thompson by writer Katy Brand and was directed by Sophie Hyde.

It is a bit slow-moving and looks like it could have been a play (most of the action takes place in a hotel room), but it is well-done.

And, while we’re on the subject of Hulu, be sure to take in Jeff Bridges’ new mini series, “The Old Man.”

Bridges plays a former CIA officer, who’s living off the grid, and finds himself on the run from people who want to kill him. There are two Doberman Pinschers in the cast and Amy Brenneman shows up playing a woman who(m) Bridges rents a home from and to whom he becomes close. There are also some flashback scenes involving the dead wife of the CIA officer and John Lithgow has a relationship with Bridges’ character of Dan Chase.

We’ve only seen two of the episodes, but the dark tone of the mini-series and the non-stop action from “the old man” marks it as one we will return to and enjoy.

“Jurassic Park Dominion” Ends the Series That Began in 1993

On June 11, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

We journeyed off to see “Jurassic Park Dominion.” First, I re-watched the 1993 original movie, to see if Spielberg’s original, based on Michael Crichton’s novel (and with Crichton assisting on the original script) held up. It did.

Then, we put in 2 hours and 20 minutes watching what I think is the sixth installment in the nearly 30-year-old franchise.

The first thing that surprised both of us was that the focus was not on Chris Pratt, but on Bryce Dallas Howard. That made sense, given the script’s emphasis on the young cloned girl whose mother, Charlotte Lockwood managed to give birth to the child (played by newcomer Isabella Sermon) on her own and also “fixed” the genetic defect in her child that had claimed Charlotte’s own life prematurely. She is now being parented and protected by Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. It’s all about reuniting mother and daughter after she is snatched because of the intellectual advances studying her would represent.

The second thing that surprised us was that genetically modified locusts are more pivotal to the movie’s plot than the dinosaurs. An evil corporation called BioSyn has bio-engineered the locusts to make them completely lethal to crops that are not planted from BioSyn seeds. The insects are devastating fields from Iowa to Texas. Soon BioSyn will control the world’s food supply. As the screenplay says, “We’re just three meals away from anarchy.”

The third thing that was a surprise: Black characters save everyone. There are 2 major “new” characters, DeWanda Wise as helicopter pilot Kayla Watts, and Mamoudou Athie as good guy Ramsey Cole, who becomes the John Dean of the BioSyn complex, refusing to go along with evil-doing by those in command. There is a line that references “complete system-wide corruption in the executive ranks.” I couldn’t help but feel that this reference had more to do with politics than BioSyn.

Here’s another comment: Campbell Scott, who plays the CEO of BioSyn, Lewis Dodgson, appears to be modeled on the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook. The white hair gives it away. The BioSyn executive denies being solely interested in making money, instead telling the visitors to BioSyn (Laura Dern, Sam Neill) how much good his company plans to do for the world. [Maybe. Maybe not.]

One of the best things about this series that began in 1993 with Steven Spielberg at the helm is that all three of the main characters from the original film are back. By that, I mean Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler, Sam Neill as Alan Grant, and Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm. Then, of course, we have Maisie’s adoptive parents, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing.

There are certain lines from the original film that have resonated throughout the past 29 years. One is “Life finds a way,” which, according to a recent late-night appearance by Jeff Goldblum, multiple fans have had tattooed on their bodies.

I decided not to reveal the plot to those who would severely criticize me if I did, but to give you some lines from the film that amused me or made an impression. Here they are:

“We are 3 meals away from anarchy.”

“We’re subordinate to nature. Unfortunate consequences occur in dealing with genetics and nature.”

We must transform human consciousness.”

“It is always darkest before eternal nothingness.” (Snidely, from Jeff Goldblum)

“We should take the time that we have left and, just like we always do, squander it.” (Jeff Goldblum)

“We don’t stop because a little side project went awry.” (Campbell Scott to his underling after the locusts have completely ruined things.)

“That girl is the most valuable intellectual property on the planet.” (Referencing the character Maisie).

“The way the world is headed, it’s hard to look away.”

“It isn’t enough to do nothing.”

“You’re racing towards the extinction of our species and you don’t care.”

“That’s bananas.” (from Jeff Goldblum, in response to the burning locusts scenes, which are spectacular)

“Jurassic World—not a fan.” (spoken sarcastically by Jeff Goldblum).

“We have an understanding, Ramsay, and you do not break that.” (Spoken by the Tim Cook clone, who is grabbing the Barbasol shaving cream can from the original film, which Wayne Knight was using to smuggle dinosaur DNA.)

“The system’s safety system is what is gonna’ kill us.”.

“Forget the hat.” (Laura Dern to Sam Neill at a key moment)

What matters is what we do now.”

“Nobody said there’d be bugs.” (locust scenes; seems like an homage to the snakes line from “Indiana Jones.”)

These lines were scripted by Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow, the film’s director. Trevorrow has been involved with 3 previous “Jurassic” films, in 2016, 2018 and 2021. He was also slated to direct a “Star Wars” movie until Kathleen Kennedy fired him.

The cinematographer for this film is John Schwartzman and Michael Giacchino did the music.

I liked the movie, but, at 2 hours and 20 minutes, it was overlong. There were many fights between dinosaurs (the bigger the better). I felt like I was watching Godzilla versus King Kong. The dinosaurs are amazing, but 2 such fights would have been enough for me.

During the repetitive fight scenes tympany drums were liberally used, the music swelled, and I checked my watch. There are so many dinosaur fights between dinosaurs with names that I would not be able to remember, even if I had tried, that this overview will simply say “many, many kinds of dinosaurs.”

It’s supposed to be the end of the “Jurassic Park” movie series. It’s loaded with messages and references that I think are meant to evoke our attitude toward global warming, Donald J. Trump, and many other topics of the moment, so listen carefully for all of them when you go.

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” Is Spectacular Showtime Series

On June 4, 2022

In Editorial, Local, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

It is Saturday, June 4th, and I am pondering what late-night viewing I will watch as my spouse slumbers beside me.

Usually, I scroll through the movies, but recently I have been watching “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on Showtime.

They premiered “The Man Who Fell to Earth” at SXSW in Austin and I signed up to go, but they were showing it within the Convention Center. I have learned (the hard way) that getting to and from the Convention Center during SXSW is no day at the beach. They barricade off the area, so a cab is not an option and the last few times I journeyed down there when SXSW was actually underway I had to hire a pedicab guy to make it from the panel I wanted to hear (horror movies from Bloomhouse Pictures) to the Paramount for the afternoon showing.

So, sadly, I missed the SXSW premiere of this new series, led by Jenny Lumet (daughter of Sidney) but I was impressed by her former series that originated with the “Silence of the Lambs” film and agent Clarice Starling. Here is what IMDB tells us about Jenny Lumet: Jenny Lumet was born on February 2, 1967 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Rachel Getting Married (2008), The Mummy (2017) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022). She has been married to Alexander Weinstein since May 2, 2007. They have one child. She was previously married to Bobby Cannavale.

IMDB also gives us this Jenny Lumet quote about writing, in general: “I suppose that there are writers that say, ‘I write what I write and if people get it, great, if they don’t, whatever.’ “But I don’t feel that way. I feel very passionate about making connections with people. I want very much to be heard.”

With “The Man Who Fell to Earth” the writers (Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman) have revamped a movie from 1976 that originally starred David Bowie. I still remember sitting in the darkened theater marveling at how well David Bowie fit the role of an alien.

Here are the actors involved in the series:

Chiwetel Ejiofor

as Faraday

Naomie Harris

as Justin Falls

Annelle Olaleye

as Molly Falls

Clarke Peters

as Josiah Falls

Bill Nighy

as Thomas Newton

Jimmi Simpson

as Spencer Clay

Sonya Cassidy

as Edie Flood

Joana Ribeiro

as Lisa Dominguez

Kate Mulgrew

as Drew Finch

Rob Delaney

as Hatch Flood

As you look over the pictures above, you may know that Chiwetel Ejiofor is better-known to U.S. audiences for his role in “Twelve Years A Slave” where he portrayed Solomon Northrup. He was Oscar-nominated for that role and he is astounding in this role. One of the chief aspects of this visitor from another planet is that he consumes voluminous amounts of water and has encased himself in what he calls “a skin suit” to better blend in and resemble humans.

Naomie Harris was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2017’s “Moonlight,” but has appeared in both “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” in 2021 and as Moneypenny in 2021’s “No Time to Die.”

Clarke Peters portrays Jusin Falls’ (Naomie Harris’) father and her daughter is portrayed by Annelle Olalaye. Both are good, but kudos to the leads: Ejiofor and Harris.

Another recognizable face was that of Jimmi Simpson as Spencer Clay. At first, I could not place where I knew him from, until I thought back to his many appearances on “West World” as William from 2016 to 2020.

Bill Nighy as Thomas Newton, the scientist who left behind plans that could save not only a foreign planet but our own planet was also a recognizable actor from his appearance in “Love, Actually.”

This is a thinking man’s series and it helps if you pay close attention to the discussions of theoretical physics and our own world’s chance of being destroyed by the year 2030 by the same sorts of crises that afflict that of our hero, who has journeyed to Earth to try to save his own planet and his own countrymen.

The special effects are, well, special—one could justifiably say “spectacular”—and the acting is great. I look forward to each new episode each night and recommend that you sample it, if you want to find a good new series.

Johnny Depp Wins in Court Trial

On June 1, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

The verdict is in from the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial.

I admit that I watched most of the testimony on You Tube and found it difficult to believe that someone who is physically raped with a glass bottle would not seek medical treatment, but simply go upstairs and take a sleeping pill and go to bed. That one was a stretch. The reports of broken noses with an appearance on the James Corden show the very next day showing no bruising, was also a stretch. If the woman documented every little thing, including Johnny’s rampage in their kitchen, why did she not take pictures of such major evidence of physical assault as she testified to?

I do also think that addicts who drink to excess or take illegal drugs to the point of blacking out may not remember everything they have done or said.While he may not have “laid a hand on her,” reports of shoving and pushing her down in an airplane aisle with the toe of his boot were not pretty and may well have happened.

As for the “who said what,” it was pretty clear that each of the participants had defamed the other and acted poorly. The e-mails from Depp to Paul Bettany concerning Amber Heard were way beyond uncomplimentary, but it is undeniable that Amber was similarly cruel towards Johnny Depp and probably pushed buttons from his childhood, since she knew enough to do so.

Then there was the film from the elevator to Amber’s penthouse apartment, showing her going up to the penthouse the very day before filing for a restraining order against Depp, accompanied by James Franco. Another such video shows her with Elon Musk.

The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in the suit against Heard. The “Aquaman” star received an award of $2 million in damages in her countersuit against Depp.

In other words, there were no angels in this mess and neither side is going to walk away without repercussions that, by and large, are going to be bad.

“Top Gun: Maverick” Is Big Winner on Memorial Day Weekend (2022)

On June 1, 2022

In Movies, Music, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

Most of us have heard the news that Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun” sequel, “Maverick” was his first movie to open making $100 million. Delayed for 2 years by the pandemic, the exploits of Captain Pete Mitchell (Cruise) 36 years after the original film debuted has been a welcome post-pandemic outing for many worldwide ($300 million worldwide).

The part that critics have applauded universally is the use of the seriously ill Val Kilmer, the original “Ice Man” in the movie, as a Naval Admiral who has been protecting Mitchell during his career. Once again, we get to see Kilmer and Cruise go head-to-head, bragging about who is the best pilot. It’s a touching scene, and there was a lot of buzz about how much Cruise wanted to work to utilize Kilmer in this sequel, despite the difficulties.
For any who have seen the Val Kilmer documentary about his throat cancer diagnosis, it is sad to see the young Kilmer in his prime, now reduced to being used via texted dialogue. His few “spoken” lines worked out with special help from a sound specialist. (Val uses a mechanical device to speak at all any more). It was a touching scene, indeed, and there was also the inevitable funeral scene, when the Admiral who has been protecting Cruise’s Maverick for all these years is laid to rest.

The scenes for this one were shot in San Diego using the U.S.S. Midway. The sub-text of Goose’s son (Miles Teller) pairing with Cruise in the movie’s climactic scenes plays well, adding conflict. With 95 cast members, there aren’t many of the original cast members invited back. Cruise has obviously led a charmed life when compared to Val Kilmer, and the female leads of the original (Kelley McGillis and Meg Ryan as Goose’s wife and the mother of the toddler who grows up to be Miles Teller’s “Rooster”) are not seen. There is one brief scene at the piano, with the young son of Goose astride the piano listening to his father (Goose was originally played by Anthony Edwards). There were a few old-timers (Skerritt, Tim Robbins, Anthony Edwards) who might have been utilized in the sequel, but the new plot involved Meg Ryan having passed away, but not before making Pete Mitchell promise to keep her son out of the air (which he obviously failed at accomplishing.)

The original film was directed by Tony Scott (“True Romance”) who died in 2012. This time out, the director is Joseph Kosinski, whose last IMDB credit is “Taco Bell: Web of Fries” in 2018. Let’s just say that directing a movie that opened with $127 million in the U.S. and $300 million, world-wide, is probably going to do a lot for his future career.

The original film garnered 4 Oscar nominations, and won for Best Original Song for “Take My Breath Away.” This time out, the song is courtesy of Lady Gaga and the big name on the score is Hans Zimmer (“Gladiator,” “Dune,” “Inception”). Other names on the musical credits include Harold Faltermeyer, who was involved with the original 1986 “Top Gun” and Lorne Balfe, who worked on the 2017 “Lego Batman” movie.

Cinematography for the fantastic aerial scenes was supervised by Claudio Miranda, who is associated with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The cinematographer for the 1986 film was Jeffrey L. Kimball, who did “Mission Impossible II.”

Jennifer Connolly turned in a nicely understated performance as Cruise’s love interest, Penny Benjamin. Jon Hamm of “Mad Men” has a turn as Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson. Bill Pullman’s son Lewis has a role as Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd, and you can’t help but come away feeling that “the torch has been passed” from Cruise as a matinee idol to the likes of Miles Teller, who was so good in “Whiplash” as the frustrated drummer tortured by J.K. Simmons.

As Tom Cruise himself said, “You just cannot duplicate 27 cameras shooting simultaneously” when critiquing the excellent flight sequences and the terrific cinematography. Yes, you do feel as though you are looking at numbers on dials and gauges a lot and squinting at Tom Cruise’s lined G-stressed face multiple times, but the aerial shots are phenomenal. The actors were put through 5 months of flight training and Miles Teller spent 7 weeks learning to play “Great Balls of Fire” for the piano scene, so the attention to detail showed.

I learned, while reading up on the original film and reviewing it, that the sex scenes between Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise were inserted later. And, because McGillis had blonde hair in the film but had already dyed it darker for another role, they put her in the elevator with Cruise, wearing a baseball cap with just a few tendrils of hair showing. Also, the actual sex scene was shot in silhouette in a darkened bedroom, again so that her change of hair color would not be noted. The sex scene in this one is mostly a ”they wake up in bed after the deed is done” type of low-key affair, but that doesn’t detract from the film’s overall jingoistic feel good flavor.

Another interesting factoid I read while re-upping my memory of “Top Gun” (1986) was that, after Cruise co-starred with Paul Newman in “The Color of Money,” one of Cruise’s personal heroes, he decided to make “Born on the Fourth of July” as sort of penance for the jingoistic nature of the first “Top Gun,” as Newman was quite the activist and campaigner for any number of progressive causes and this rubbed off on Tom Cruise, post film.

I admit that listening to grown men call themselves “Fanboy” and “Payback” and “Phoenix” was jarring. Of course, “Phoenix” was the call name for the sole female pilot, portrayed by Monica Barbaro as Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, an actress known formerly for “The Good Cop.” It was nice to see some female empowerment recognized onscreen, 36 years later.

All-in-all. The film is the feel good movie of the season, so far, and eve as new Covid-19 variants sweep the globe (according to the CDC) we all feel that we have been waiting a very long time for a feel good movie with top-notch production values (Paramount). The movie had a $152 million production budget. It shows onscreen.

Two Films at Your Local Cineplex Now

On May 22, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

In an ongoing effort to support our local cinemas, we have recently viewed two films that were (then) showing only at the theaters.

The first was Nicolas Cage in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” The second was the Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum vehicle, “The Lost City.”

Nic Cage proves that he has a sense of humor about being Nicolas Cage. Pedro Pascal co-stars and received reviews equivalent to Cage’s for his charming portrayal.

The synopsis reads: “Nicolas Cage stars as… Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous super-fan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.”

Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz were a pleasant addition to the cast, but the film lost its ebullient lightweight comic energy about halfway through and ended up dependent on the finale of an ordinary chase scene. It was enjoyable, but the promise of the first half of the film is not lived up to by the finale (despite a quick cameo by Demi Moore lasting about 20 seconds.)

“The Lost City” stars America’s Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock, banking on her likability to engage her fans in this story of a romance writer who is kidnapped by Harry Potter—err, Daniel Radcliffe.

Here is the synopsis for that film: “Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who hopes she can lead him to an ancient city’s lost treasure from her latest story. Determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan (Channing Tatum) sets off to rescue her.”

When Brad Pitt enters the plot, mid-story, as gun-for-hire Jack Trainer, he looks terrific and, a bonus, age-appropriate for Ms. Bullock at 58 to her 57. I couldn’t help but wonder if Bullock tried to get Brad to take the lead role of Alan, her cover model. She revealed that, actually, it was their mutual hairdresser who told Pitt he should take the small part adding, tongue in cheek, “Hairdressers really are the power of our country, if not the world.”

Channing Tatum does well as the hunky cover model who wants his female boss to take him seriously as a prospective love interest. Bullock says of him, “He’s a body wash commercial.” Or, later, she describes Channing as “a Ken doll on a motor bike.” But as the only individual trying to rescue her after she is kidnapped, the pair grow closer as their adventure continues.

Throughout, Sandra Bullock is clad in a purple glittery jumpsuit. She asks, “Do I need to be wearing a glittery onesie?” That is her primary outfit throughout the Oren Ugiel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee scripted series of implausible adventures. The film is directed by Aaron and Adam Nee, with cinematography by Jonathan Sela, with the visual effects departments of Factory VFX, Craft Apes, and Lone Coconut assisting and the Dominican Republican providing the jungle sets and waterfalls.

The scene that many will remember is Sandra Bullock plucking leeches off the bare buttocks of 42-year-old Channing Tatum. The couple also dances, demonstrating that they each know their way around a dance floor.

In the midst of the film there is a brief discussion of feminism and sexism, which seemed odd and out of place. But there are truly funny lines throughout, like the one aimed at an elderly Black woman, when her daughter says, “Let’s go in the other room and we can talk about whatever war you lived through.” There are also the throw-away lines like, “I have a rule about not going into super creepy caves,” which the pair does in search of the fabled Crown of Fire.

Like Cage’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” this is not an Oscar-worthy film, but it is fun.

It was nice, for a change, seeing the 15-year age gap be the older woman/younger man demographic. Seems about time after all the years of the pairings of couples like Bogie and Bacall.

We enjoyed both films for what they were: throw-away popcorn sit-coms, which Sandra Bullock has always excelled atl. Brad Pitt was a true gift, mid-movie, and Channing Tatum acquitted himself nobly, as he had done in “Dog” earlier this year. Not a bad way to spend the late afternoon.

Famous Faces I Have Photographed

On May 15, 2022

In Movies, Pop Culture

One question I am investigating is whether more people check my blog on weekends than on week days. [Or whether anyone ever checks it at all.]

I have no real “topic,” other than the Quora question asked of me tonight, which was: “Have you ever met any famous Hollywood actresses?”

Well, come on, now. I review film and attend Red Carpet events prepared to ask a question or two and take some shots with my trusty Nikon. How would I NOT occasionally meet a famous actor/actress?

So, the answer is, “Yes, I have met some famous actresses.”

Rather than list them, I’m going to show you a few of the pictures I’ve taken over the years, as I was meeting them. All of the pictures are mine and all rights are reserved.

Those that you see with “Texas Hall of Fame” behind them include Oscar-winner (for “Misery”) Kathy Bates, one of the co-stars of television’s “Grace & Frankie” sit-com (whose name escapes me), and Marc Maron with his then romantic partner. Director Lynn Shelton, who tragically died in May of 2020. This photo was taken not long before her death.

Then there is Carey Mulligan, clutching a microphone, before she was Oscar-nominated (for the 2nd time) for “Promising Young Woman.” This was taken in Chicago as she did promotion for Paul Dano’s directorial debut “Wildlife,” which had Jake Gyllenhaal, wildfires and a largely incomprehensible plot.

Kathleen Turner (“Peggy Sue Got Married,” “Romancing the Stone”) was taken at the retirement party for Michael Kutza, who founded the Chicago International Film Festival, upon his retirement.

Kathleen Turner

Vera Farmiga, from 2009’s “Up in the Air” opposite George Clooney and television’s “Bates Motel.

Mandy Moore at SXSW with “This Is Us” when it premiered there.

Vanessa Redgrave, appearing in Chicago with her directorial debut, the documentary “Sea Sorrow.”

Geraldine Chaplin, a judge at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Viola Davis

Helen Hunt, when she appeared in Chicago promoting “The Sessions” with John Hawke.

Actress/Director Rebecca Hall in 2021, appearing on behalf of “Passing” in Chicago.

This is either Lana or Lilly Wachowski, one half of the brothers who are now sisters, who directed “Cloud Atlas,” among other films.

Random Topics, Streaming Offerings and Observations

On May 13, 2022

In Editorial, Health/Medicine, Local, Movies, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Science and Medicine

This will be a stream-of-consciousness entry that jumps from topic to topic.

In other words, it will be just like my entire blog. (lol)

We are watching the Andrew Garfield “Under the Banner of Heaven” thing and also just concluded “The Girl from Plainville,” which fictionalizes the case of the young girl who urged her boyfriend to carry through on his suicide threats. While I was not aware of the “Under the Banner of God” underlying factualism (factuality?), I do feel as though I had already seen the story of “The Girl from Plainville,” because we watched it on “Dateline NBC.” Another one that is hitting me with that same feeling of “I’ve already seen this” is “The Dropout.” It was better as a documentary, because, instead of Amanda Seyfriend, you had the real woman who foisted that fraud on the nation. There is a fascinating documentary out about the case, which I saw at SXSW. (It was better than Amanda’s more fictional version).

So, that brings me to some documentaries I have known and loved.

Tonight, on Hulu, we watched “Three Identical Strangers.” I really enjoyed it;l it raised some serious ethical issues. It also has a “surprise” ending that, had I written it, I would be accused of making stuff up, I’m sure. Here is the write-up for this documentary, (should you be a documentary fan, as I am): “Stories of sibling reunions don’t get any wilder than this one, a 2018 documentary that relates how three triplets who had been adopted by different families rejoiced in discovering one another at college age (19) before a disturbing truth emerged.”

We also watched the first installment of “Hacks,” should you be more in the mood for humor, and it was good. After that, we finished off “Candy” (Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake) which had a rather disappointing denouement.

Here’s another couple of documentaries that sound terrific, and I’ve reviewed a number of little-seen documentaries (“Krimes” was good) many times on my blog, if you scroll through. Here is a second documentary that I want to see: “Birth of a Family” ($3 on Amazon Prime), “The Wolfpack” (HBO Max) and “Tell Me Who I Am.” (Netflix) If you see “Misha and the Wolves” being advertised, that one I’ve seen; it is well worth watching.

I completed almost one entire week of radiation today—well, actually, 3 days and 1 simulation.

No, I am not radioactive, but I am hurting. Hearing that Iowa City wouldn’t make me do this and then ME making me do this out of concern about a recurrence may make me hurt more than if I had just cavalierly taken Iowa City’s advice and said, “Well, if it happens again I can just resign myself to another grueling six months of hell, with no good wishes from 90% of the social circle of women who were supposed to have been my friends for 40+ years.”

My way of saying “THANKS” to the long distance friends and Facebook friends and colleagues from other walks of life, who found it in their hearts to take a second or two to wish me well. What is it they say about your true friends revealing themselves in times of trouble?

Since some of my friends have moved from the area permanently, others have succumbed to Alzheimer’s, and a few have simply shuffled off this mortal coil permanently, I truly appreciate the casual “Good luck!” during what I hope is the home stretch of this ordeal. I was brought up to at least say, “Oh, I’m so sorry” (even to strangers.) I guess that has gone out of style, judging from Christmas Eve. I anticipated I’d hear that more than one time on Christmas Eve, (the first time I “went wide” with the news.) Besides thanking strangers or far-flung non-local folks (“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” – Vivian Leigh), I have to say that my spouse and kids have been great. I’m currently loaded with lovely flowers from Mother’s Day.

On a completely unrelated topic (my goal here tonight and every night) has anyone else been deluged with those completely ugly stink bugs in their house? Every single night this week one or more of those pesky critters has landed on my arm or wrist or body, causing me to jump up and scream. Sometimes, they crawl on the lighted TV screen. They might have been attracted by the reading light near my seat in the family room. I hope they are done, because I’ve had enough jumping up and screaming to last me for years.

Is the World Ready for A Political Fresh Prince?