Category: Film

Tidy Tidbits: Home Viewing

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RECENT VIEWING

Black Politics

One Night in Miami  (Amazon Prime) 

Cast of One Night in Miami (hindustantimes.com)

Set in February 1964, One Night in Miami brings together four Black men on the cusp of fame or notoriety. It’s the early days of the Civil Rights era.  Boxer Cassius Clay has just defeated Sonny Liston, and this gathering of friends is partly a celebration of that victory.  It’s also the day before Clay joins the Nation of Islam and changes his name.  Malcolm X, a leader in the Muslim brotherhood, is the dominant figure.  Present along with Clay and Malcolm X are football great Jim Brown and songwriter Sam Cooke.  These men debate, disagree, and spar over what each one should be doing in the cause of Black freedom.

Based on a play of the same name, the film is quite static with little action and lots of dialogue.  It’s an intense film and a powerful one that has new relevance in light of Black Lives Matter. Recommended. (~jWFarrington)

Archaeological Treasure

The Dig (Netflix)

Mrs. Pretty & Mr. Brown (express.co.uk)

In 1939 in Suffolk, England, the widowed Mrs. Pretty hires an excavator to dig up some mounds on her land.  She has a good feeling about one of them. She is certain there are buried artifacts to be discovered.  Basil Brown is not a professionally trained archaeologist; rather he learned his trade from his father and grandfather. But he has been recommended for his work on other digs.  

Based on a famous archaeological discovery, the film proceeds at a somewhat leisurely pace. There is pleasure in the budding friendship between the widow and the excavator and in the rapport between her son Robert and Mr. Brown.  And which of the two museums vying for the prize will be the winner? Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes are excellent in the lead roles!  (~JWFarrington)

A BIT OF FUN—DANCING NOSES

Given that we all spend much time these days with our noses covered by masks, I thought you’d enjoy this crazy dance from an opera.  Thanks to the Chief Penguin for sharing it with me.

NACHOS ANYONE?

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday.  The game will be played in Tampa at the Buccaneers’ home stadium.  With Tom Brady on their side, the Bucs have re-discovered their mojo.  Go team!

I won’t be glued to the set, but I will check the score regularly. And, in the spirit of the day, nosh on some nachos.  

Movies, Mystery & More

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WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEK!

The inauguration of Joe Biden as U.S. President and Kamala Harris as Vice-President was marvelous and memorable in so many ways. A reset in tone, a return to competence, a series of firsts, and the beginning of an administration more representative in gender, race, background, and experience than the previous one. Hooray!

ON THE SCREEN

SPACE EXPLORATION MEETS EARTH’S FRAGILITY

The Midnight Sky (Netflix)

Iris & Augustine (commonsensemedia.org)

George Clooney both directs and stars in this film about Augustine, a terminally ill scientist holed up at an Arctic Circle outpost. Simultaneously, a team in space is trying to return from an exoplanet, but there’s been a catastrophe on earth.   

There’s another story within the story about the young Augustine and a failed relationship that overlaps the present when a little girl is inadvertently left behind with him.  The visual effects are amazing, the space station elaborate, and the sense of hurtling through the universe quite real.

Given the risks faced by the astronauts, it’s surprisingly unsuspenseful and too slow moving.  Nonetheless, we watched it to the end and were rewarded with a slight twist which brings everything together.  Overall okay, not great.

HEAVY METAL VS. DISTORTED SOUND

Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime)

Riz Ahmed (apnews.com)

This film about a drummer in a heavy metal band who is losing his hearing can be painful, painful for the ears.  The entire film is captioned (for good reasons) and, the soundtrack sometimes is distorted and muffled as it conveys how Ruben experiences the world around him.  Initially refusing to accept his situation, but nudged by his girlfriend Lou, Ruben reluctantly agrees to become a resident of a deaf community.  I found this portion of the film with all of the sign language fascinating and an insightful look at how deaf culture can work.  Riz Ahmed, a British Pakistani actor, is superb taking on the challenging role of Ruben.  Recommended! 

ON THE PAGE

MYSTERY FUELED BY PODCAST

Conviction by Denise Mina

This was my first exposure to this author. I selected it for my book group because it was touted as one of the year’s best mysteries by the Washington Post, NYT Book Review, and Publishers Weekly.  It’s a quirky book and much of the way, I didn’t much like it.  But several in the group loved it.

Anna McDonald’s husband leaves her for her best friend.  Devastated, she becomes obsessed with a true crime podcast that concerns a man, Leon Parker, whom she once knew slightly. Leon died when a yacht he and his family were on exploded.  Convinced that not all is true or right with the podcast, Anna goes on a quest to find answers.  She is joined by her neighbor Fin, a failed musician and her friend’s husband.  

They fly hither and thither across Europe checking out stories and interviewing possible relatives and suspects. All the while Fin is creating podcasts in response to the original one.  Anna is not who she has claimed to be, and her multiple identities unravel as they get deeper into their research.  

IN THE PAN

RECIPE REVIEW

Saucy Chicken Puttanesca

A plate of food Description automatically generated with medium confidence

(bonappetit.com)

Since the start of the pandemic, the Chief Penguin and I have eaten many more meals at home.  That’s meant a reprise of favorite entrees from the past plus trotting out new dishes to try.  Most recently, I cooked this chicken puttanesca from the February 2021 issue of Bon Appetit.  

It’s fairly straightforward in that chicken legs or thighs (I used boneless thighs) are browned on the stove and then transferred in a skillet to the oven.  It combines some of my favorite ingredients: olives (black ones for us), capers, lemon zest, and tomato, with garlic and anchovies, to make a dish that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  The flavor is robustly bold and deeply satisfying.  I served it over egg noodles dressed with a bit of butter and some truffle oil.  A definite keeper, I will make it again.  Bon appetit!

Note: Header photo of Kamala Harris taking the oath of office from wionews.com

Screen & Page: More Viewing and Reading

JWF 1 Comment

This was another momentous week in U.S. history. For many of us, the fact that actions have consequences was gratifying. Now on to Joe Biden’s inauguration and the next step in dealing with the soon-to-be former president.

When not watching or reading the news, the Chief Penguin and I turned to other diversions, a feature film and compelling and engaging TV programs.

SWEET FILM

Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime)

Sylvie & Robert (npr.org)

This is a 1950’s love story about a young black couple.  Sylvie’s father owns a record store in New York and Robert, a talented saxophonist, works there one summer.  When his job ends, Sylvie and Robert part ways only to reconnect some years later.  How their relationship plays out will both tug at your heartstrings and make you smile.  The soundtrack is wonderful with jazz and many pop hits of the early rock ‘n roll era.  It brought back my own memories of that age.  

SOBER DISSECTION OF AN ASSAULT

Room 2806:  The Accusation (Netflix)

This is a 4-part documentary by a French director.  It peels back the layers of the 2011 sexual assault case brought by Nafissatour Diallo, a hotel maid, against Dominque Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund.  Against the backdrop of French politics and the expectation that Strauss-Kahn could be the next French president, DSK’s politics and personal life are carefully examined.  He’s a brilliant and successful economist with three wives and a reputation as a womanizer.

 Diallo, an immigrant single mother with one daughter, works hard at the Sofitel Hotel, and yet her life is scrutinized to an extreme.  New York City police brass and detectives are interviewed as are DSK’s lawyers, French and American journalists, and Diallo herself.  The series is comprehensive, probing, and ultimately damning.  It’s hard to view it and come away believing anything but that Strauss-Kahn was guilty of a sex crime.  (~JWFarrington)

PARIS CHIC

Emily in Paris  (Netflix)

This comedy about a young American woman in Paris is fun and frivolous.  Emily is a substitute marketer from Chicago sent to provide an American perspective to a French firm.  She doesn’t speak any French, is unsophisticated and overly direct, and sometimes just clueless.  I thought she might become tedious, but I’m enjoying her adventures.  Add in wonderful scenes of Paris landmarks plus a stunning wardrobe and you too might be hooked!

BOOKS IN MY STACK

For me, Christmas always means lots of new books and this one was no exception.  Here are a few of the titles I will be reading in the weeks ahead.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (novel)

Divorcing by Susan Taubes  (novel, 1969)

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (historical novel)

Inheritance by Dani Shapiro (memoir and book club title for February)

Mill Town by Kerri Aresenault (nonfiction about the paper industry in a Maine village)

Bingeing on Films & TV

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To celebrate the departure of 2020 and to break the usual routine, the Chief Penguin and I indulged in several films. Then we continued our practice of watching one of several series in the evening. We began Thursday, Friday and Saturday with what we called Morning Movie Madness—a feature length film viewed after breakfast and after our sometimes morning walk.

FILMS

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)

Set in Chicago in 1927 during a studio recording session, this play by August Wilson focuses on Ma Rainey’s band members, and the anger, disappointment, and rage they experience as Black men in a white world.  One man is philosophical and still dreams, while another seethes.   Young Levee, a talented and conceited trumpeter, has ambition, but depths of resentment that erupt abruptly.  

Levee (nypost.com)

Chadwick Boseman is brilliant as Levee in his last performance, while Viola Davis is superb as Ma Rainey.  Although the setting is a recording session, there is little music and lots of conversation.  A serious play with relevance for today.

Mank (Netflix)

This is a dense film full of flashbacks. It’s based on screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s labored writing of the script for what became Citizen Kane, released in 1941. Orson Welles produced, starred in and directed that film and also received partial credit for its writing.  Kane, the character, is a composite of several moguls including William Randolph Hearst.  

Hearst, Louis Mayer, and Irving Thalberg are all characters in Mank, and this film lays bare the nasty politics and smear tactics employed by movie studios in the 1930’s.   I didn’t love this film, but appreciated the cinematography (shot in black and white) and afterwards, sorted out the sequence of events.  The Chief Penguin thought it was superb and considers it a strong Oscar contender.

On the Rocks (Apple +)

A full-page ad in the newspaper led me to this film by Sofia Coppola.  Laura, a young mother and writer, is stuck and feels unappreciated and ignored by her busy husband.  Her playboy father, played by Bill Murray, is lonely and wants attention. He encourages Laura’s worries and, wondering if his son-in-law is having an affair, involves his daughter in all sorts of tracking adventures.  It’s light fare and lightweight.  I’d call it just fair overall.

SERIES OFFERINGS 

Murder in Manhattan

The Undoing (HBO) 6 episodes

Jonathan, Elena, and Grace (express.co.uk)

Thanks to Cynthia for recommending this crime thriller.  It’s on HBO, but you can purchase it without becoming an HBO subscriber.

When Elena, the mother of an elementary student at a posh private school is murdered, suspicion falls upon oncologist Jonathan Fraser and his therapist wife Grace.  Their son Henry is a classmate of Elena’s son.  The series focuses on the Fraser family including Grace’s wealthy father (Donald Sutherland).  Did Jonathan commit the murder?  Can his brilliant lawyer save him?  Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman play the lead roles.  I found it suspenseful and enjoyed the acting along with street scenes I recognized. 

Marriage Mart in Regency England

Bridgerton (Netflix) 6 episodes

Simon & Daphne (hellomagazine.com)

Using the romance novels of Julia Quinn as a jumping off point, Shonda Rhimes has created a series that is fun, frothy at times, bold, and always sexy with plenty of skin.  She has updated the hunt for an eligible male with a racially diverse cast (the real Queen Charlotte may have been mixed race!) and incorporated contemporary songs played in a classical style.  Randy men (rakes, some) indulge in the pleasures of the flesh while young women are expected to remain untouched and virginal until their wedding nights.  

The focus is on Daphne Bridgerton of a prominent family and Simon Basset, the enigmatic Duke of Hastings, who has just returned to London.  Simon has vowed to never marry, and Daphne wants only to marry for love. Together, they pretend to be attracted to one another to ward off suitors and ambitious mothers.  Daphne and her nerdy sister Eloise push back against society’s expectations. Eloise and another Bridgerton sibling even share a cigarette in the garden! 

The costumes are gorgeous and the ballrooms elegant, while Lady Whistledown’s scandal sheet is brought to life and wit with voiceover by Julie Andrews.  Overall, it is a definite change of pace from more staid historical dramas!  

Header image is Viola Davis as Ma Rainey (okayplayer.com)