• Home
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop
  • Articles of Interest

MillersTime

MillersTime

Search results for: jewish film festival

Report from the Washington Jewish Film Festival: Five Reviews

16 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"Heading Home The Tale of Team Israel", "Israel: Stories of Modern Days", "The Hero", "The Last Suit", 'Longing", Films, Movies, Reviews, the 28th Annual WJFF, The Washington Jewsh Film Festival

Reviews by Ellen Miller:

The Last Suit:

Ellen ***** Richard *****

If we used a 10 point scale on which to rate films, this one would get 15. It won the audience award at the Miami Film Festival (we missed it there), and it’s easy to see why.

This movie tells the story of an 88-year-old Polish Jewish man who escaped, barely alive, from a Nazi labor camp, and after being nurtured back to life by a childhood Christian friend, immigrates to Argentina where he marries, raises three daughters and lives to old age. As he is losing his health and his daughters are about to move him into a nursing home, he leaves his home — alone — to make his way back to Poland to try – improbable as it sounds – to reunite with the friend that he hasn’t seen in 70 years. The trip in an on-going saga and is full of lovely, caring people (including one estranged daughter) who help him make his way “home.” It’s a beautiful story.

This is a film of extraordinary exploration of character. The main character,
Abraham Bursztein, is exquisitely acted by Miguel Ángel Solá. He is a man of no
compromise, sternness, manners, practicality, and humor. Each of the characters (his daughters, the people he meets on his journey) are very well drawn and well acted. It is filled with flashbacks of both the good times of his youth and the indescribable horrors he experienced under Nazi occupation of Poland. Powered by wonderfully composed klezmer music, the film is moving and comes to a satisfying end.

The old adage ”first you laugh, then you cry” is apt. This is one of the most
enjoyable films we have seen in a long time. It’s a must-see.

(Ed. Note 5/17/18: The Last Suit just received the Audience Award for Best Narrative.)

Israel: Stories of Modern Days:

Ellen ***** Richard *****

The first thing I said  at the end of this documentary was “I wish had a transcript.”

This film consists of interviews of 10 prominent contemporary Israel authors,
including two I have read extensively over the years – Amos Oz and David
Grossman. It was produced in celebration of the celebration of Israel’s 70th
Anniversary and is brilliantly edited to discuss many topics, including the authors’
thoughts on contemporary Israeli politics, the power of literature, the connections between the historical and contemporary Hebrew language, and religion.

That makes it sound dull and dry but it was anything but.

I doubt this film will be widely shown, and that’s too bad. I would definitely
recommend finding a way to listen to the incredibly articulate and thoughtful voices of the literary giants interviewed.

Longing:

Ellen *** Richard ***

This film was billed as having been nominated for 13 Israeli Academy Awards,
including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay etc., and it played to nearly a sold out audience in one of the larger venues during the Jewish Film
Festival.

Described as tragicomedy in which a confirmed bachelor — Ariel — learns he long ago, had a son –a 19-year-old who recently had a fatal accident. He tries to connect to the world of this unknown son by visiting his school, meeting some of his friends, and developing a friendship with teacher that the son adored. It had some moments of laughter at the silliness of some of those efforts, and there was a tug at your heartstrings occasionally as he groped his way. But for me it was boring, disjointed, and ridiculous at times. (And besides the subtitles were very difficult to read.)

When I returned from the theater I checked to see if the film indeed had won any of the Oscar Awards for which it had been nominated. Not a one. Needless to say I was not surprised. One reviewer remarked that the multiple nominations was “… simply a case of an established director being rewarded by his cronies.” Sounds right to me.

Skip it.

The Hero:

Ellen **** Richard ****

A beautifully filmed (think of almost every scene as looking like a Vermeer painting — this is a Dutch film) post Holocaust mystery about the lies a father told his family about how he lived through the Holocaust. It’s a complex story, sometimes hard to follow, but in the end, most of the pieces fit together splendidly.

The film begins with the prodigal daughter returning to visit her ageing father and mother in Holland. As soon as she arrives, early memories of her childhood in the home begin to haunt her, followed soon by real attacks on her and her family by a person unknown. The film delves deeply into each character, and all are well-acted. While there are a few pieces of the puzzle that we had trouble figuring out, in the end the detective work is worth it. This is an engaging and thoughtful movie.

The Hero takes the viewer through on a complicated and tightly-woven story that comes together to a explosive ending.

We saw this film with friends, and we discussed whether it fits into the category of the morally ambiguous realm of whether the end was justified. That question makes the entire film even more interesting. I won’t spoil either the end of the story or our opinions about that in this review.

The film was written and directed by an Oscar nominated filmmaker Menno Meyjes who was the co-writer for The Color Purple, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.)

Heading Home – The Tale of Team Israel:

Ellen ***** Richard ***** (no claim of objectivity here)

Who knew that Israel had a baseball team…much less one that defied all odds to become one of the great underdog stories of the 2017 World Baseball Classic?

If you’re Jewish, and love baseball, this film is an absolute must-see. (Though I suspect it will be difficult to find in any local theater.)

This is a documentary about the process and the success of putting together of a team for Israel’s participation in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, the impact it had on its players, and the highs and lows of winning, and losing. There’s even a role for the “Mensch on the Bench”, the team mascot.

Since Israel did not have an indigenous team, they were able to select players who had a Jewish background (players whose mother or father or grandparents were Jewish) to play for the team. They discovered a number of former U.S. Major League players and recruited them, including Ike Davis, Ryan Lavanway, Josh Zeidi, and Cory Decker. The entire team was invited to Israel to learn more about their past, drum up support for their efforts with local people, and to practice for the Baseball Classic. As the story unfolds, this film becomes both a sports drama and an exploration of Jewish identity.

We took our nine year old grandson to this documentary, and he loved it too, telling us “That was amazing, I’ve never see anything like this.”

(Ed. Note 5/17/18: Heading Home just received the Audience Award for Best Documentary.)

Share

Washington Jewish Film Festival

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Film Festival, Films, Jewish Films, Washington Jewish Film Festival

WJFF_2013I came across a brochure for this Washington Jewish Film Festival which starts Jan. 3. It’s spread over eleven days and includes 55 films from 15 countries and takes place in 14 venues around DC.

Paris Manhatten is the opening night film and Hava Nagilia closes the festival.

To get the details of the films, the venues, etc., use this link.

Share

20 Movies in 8 Days: The Philadelphia Film Festival, October ’21

06 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

30th Philadelphia Film Festival, A Chiara, A Hero, Amira, Asghar Farhadi, Ballad of a White Cow, Belfast, Benedict Cumberbatch, Captain Volkonogov Escaped, Films, Hester Street, Luzzu, Mass, Memoria, Movies, Our American Family, Paper & Glue, The Braves, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, The French Dispatch, The Worst Person in the World, Three Minutes-A Lengthening, Wes Anderson

From Ellen & Richard Miller:

Following our third vaccine, we ventured to Philadelphia for one of our favorite pre-pandemic annual events – The Philadelphia Film Festival. A long-time and dear friend was involved in launching this film festival many years ago, and we’ve used the film event to continue and extend our friendship.

Over the years, we become friends with their friends, gotten to know a bit of Philadelphia beyond the movies, and decided that this is a festival for us.  The curating is superb, the logistics are easy and smooth, and the two major theaters where the films are shown are within a easy 20 minute walk of each other, giving us a chance to stretch our legs or get a bite to eat.

This year we stretched our usual four-day attendance to eight days, and  invited one of our friends to join us. Generally, we didn’t see more than three films a day…which was a pretty relaxed pace for us.

We saw a lot of very good films, as you’ll see below, and we’ve briefly noted what we liked about them.  We’re not writing overall reviews of each film — we have provided links to professional reviews — but we did have a few over all takeaways which we are happy to share:  not all movies have happy endings, in fact some movies seem to haves no endings at all. (At least one we saw was interminable.)  We saw a number of truly wonderful films produced in Iran, Palestine, Italy, featuring strong female roles; deeply acted dramas about families, and a number of really terrific films featuring nonprofessional actors. We saw films from “masters of cinema” and first time directors. The geography of the films spanned a good part of the world. It was an impressive experience.

And what a delight to be back in movie theaters– socially distanced and masked, and with vaccination and IDs required to attend.  It felt comfortable, familiar, and rejuvenating. 

(Note: A number of these films are already available in theaters or on one of the various streaming services. Click on the title of any film below to read a critic’s review.)

Best of the Best ( five stars from us both):

Belfast: Set in the city the title suggests, we see the impact of “the troubles” through the eyes of one family and particularly through the eyes and experiences of a nine-year old boy.  Shot in black and white, nearly everything about this film is perfect: acting, direction, story, and filming.

Amira:  This is a ‘small’ but moving film about a Palestinian girl coming of age who learns that her father is not a lauded terrorist who has been incarnated in prison for many years. It’s a story that shakes the entire culture of her family and how she moves forward in life.

Ballad of a White Cow: An Iranian drama about a woman whose husband was wrongly executed, having been blamed for a crime against the state which he did not commit. You’ll be riveted throughout the entire film.

A Chiara: An Italian drama about a teenager whose father is deeply involved in the world of the drug trade. Great story telling and good acting, largely with nonprofessional actors. This one is full of ethical questions and dilemmas the family and the teenager must face.

Paper & Glue: This is a remarkable documentary – truly a must see — about the work of the street artist JR and the impact of his art and activism throughout the world.  Perhaps our favorite film of the Festival.

Mass: Another must see. This is an incredibly acted four-person drama. Two couples meet together to discuss the impacts on both families of a school shooting by the son of one couple which led to the death of the other couple’s son. This is, as you can perhaps imagine, a highly emotional drama.

Hester Street: This is a restoration of this classic film about life on the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century.  This version maybe hard to find, but it’s not only a delight; it’s also relevant to today’s world.

The Braves: This is an inspiring story about the friendship of two young women struggling to become actresses, a story of mutual support, dedication, and friendship.

Almost as Good (four stars):

The French Dispatch: If you’re a Wes Anderson fan, you’ll love this.  We found the story hard to follow, but that’s not the point here. It’s superb film making.

Captain Volkonogov Escaped: A good story, with good acting, and a look inside Russia’s authoritarian and dark underbelly. Very usual subject matter, superbly filmed, and filled with suspense.

Bernstein’s Wall:  Somewhat of a bio-pic (a portrait actually) of Leonard Bernstein as told through his own eyes and own voice via clips, photographs, his own writing, and letters. We found it engaging and learned much we did not know about Bernstein.

A Hero: This film –  with it sometimes confounding plot and multiplying  ethical choices — was disappointing. It does, however, give the viewer quite a bit to discuss to try to sort it all out, which we’re not sure we ever did! We had given Asghar Farhadi’s previous full-length features five stars, but this one didn’t match A Separation or The Salesman.

C’Mon C’Mon: A lovely, and already much praised film, superbly acted, about uncle and his nephew who form a bond with each other.

Luzzu: This is another ‘small’ film, with nonprofessional actors. The story involves a Maltese fisherman who struggles to hold on to his father and his ancestors’ old ways as they clash with modern life and his marriage.

The Worst Person in the World:  A strong female character searching for her way in life and love, beautifully filmed. But there might be only one likeable person in the entire film. The title of the film becomes very clear by the end of it.

Not on Our ‘Must See’ List (mostly three stars)

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain: Wonderful acting by Benedict Cumberbatch can’t save this tale of Louis Wain, a British artist known for his drawings of cats. At times it seemed like a Disney-produced children’s film.

Our American Family:  This documentary is about five members of a Philadelphia family and their struggles with generational addiction. This film ends well.

Three Minutes-A Lengthening: This was an effort to create a larger story from a recently recovered three-minute segment of a 16mm homemade movie about a Polish town just before World War II. It’s an attempt to piece together the lives of its 3,000 Jewish residents just prior to their deportation and deaths (which they do not know is coming.)

Brother’s Keeper: This boarding school drama takes place in Eastern Turkey and illustrates the uncaring administration and staff of the school, when a boy becomes critically ill and his friend tries to save him.

Don’t Bother:

Memoria: Critics and curators unanimously loved this. Audiences not at all.  Ellen walked out half way through it.

Share

Seven More Films to Consider

02 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"Bolshoi", "Borg vs McEnroe", "Lean on Pete", "Maze", "Playing God", "The Rider", 9/11, BP Oil Spill, Central States Pension plan, DC Cinema Club, DC Film Fest, Jewish Film Festival, Kenneth R. Feinberg, Miami Film Festival, No Date No Signature", Philadelphia Film Festival

from Ellen Miller:

Richard and I find that we are spending less time seeing “mainstream”(i.e., big production films from major studios) and more time focusing on independent films. While we appreciate some of those big films, with big stars and huge production values, there seems to be increasingly fewer of those types of films that we want to see. And besides, the independent film scene just seems to get richer and richer. There is more diversity in stories being told, new directors, young actors, and inventive production.

It is also possible that our increasing focus on independent films has to do with new viewing opportunities: low key film festivals in Philadelphia and Miami, the DC Film Fest, the Jewish Film Festival, and the DC Cinema Club. (This ‘club’ now operates in eight cities around the country – Atlanta, Boca Raton, Boston, Greater New Haven, Milwaukee, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, DC). The curators of the films shown in these venues know more than we will ever know about what makes a movie worth seeing. The twice monthly 10:30 AM (surprise) screenings on Sunday mornings make it novel too.

In the last month or so we’ve seen a number of diverse presentations, at least one of which is now out in the theaters. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on these films.

Borg vs. McEnroe:

Ellen ***** Richard *****

You don’t have to be a sports fan, or a tennis fan, to enjoy this movie (but if you are either, it’s a must-see).

As you probably guessed, this film is about one of the all-time great rivalries in tennis – Bjorn Borg (the Swedish master of concentration and cool) versus John McEnroe (the unruly American).

The time is the summer of 1980 when these two tennis greats faced each other for the Wimbledon championship. And even though you (may) know the outcome of this particular match, this is a taut film, well (re)enacted, and well produced. It also offers in-depth psychological profiles of both players, focusing on what made them the competitors they were. The stories of their lives, their training, their discipline (or lack there of) is legendary.

Perhaps because it is a Swedish film, the emphasis is more on Borg than McEnroe. But you will come away from the film knowing them both, understanding their rivalry, and what drove each of them to the heights they attained. And you’ll probably be cheering the director of the film too.

The Rider:

Ellen **** Richard ****

This film takes place on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (the Oglala Lakota Native American reservation) in South Dakota where a young cowboy is a rising star on the rodeo circuit, until he is seriously injured.

After this accident, he struggles with who he is and how he relates to the world and to his friends without being able to participate in his life’s calling or his opportunity for gainful remuneration. He is despondent as a new reality unfolds around him — the only work he can find to do is to train others’ horses. His father struggles to keep their life together. A younger sister who is disabled becomes his most faithful companion.

Impressively, all of the actors are nonprofessional — Lakota Native Americans — whose own lives are not very different from the people they portray in the film. The setting of the film is their home — beautiful and haunting South Dakota and the reservation on which they live. Based on a true story, this is a touching and tender film, panoramic, slow-paced, and straightforward.

The director of this film is a Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao who is currently based in the US. She has received much attention for her earlier films.

Lean On Pete:

Ellen **** Richard ****

This is a bittersweet coming of age story of a boy and his horse (and his father) that offers a glimpse into the kind of lives we rarely see or know.The acting is superb, the production well done, and it tells a story of poverty, perseverance, and persistence.

The film is based on Willy Vlautin’s 2010 novel of the same title. Charley, a 15-year old, is being taken care of by his single father, but essentially he is left to fend for himself. He meets a horse trainer who begrudgingly hires him for odd jobs. Charley enjoys the work and “befriends” a quarter horse named Lean on Pete. The horse fast becomes the best friend of this lonely teen.

Things happen (no spoilers here), and the film becomes a saga of a boy and his horse, traveling alone together.

While a bit sentimental for my own taste, it is a fine film, exquisitely acted (the lead is played by the teen actor Charlie Pummer) and most definitely worth seeing.

Bolshoi:

Ellen ***** Richard *****

We saw four films in three days during the recent DC Film Festival. We  were going to skip this venue this year, but one of our film buddies emailed to say that we simply had to see this movie. So we fit it in last week — along with a few others — and were very glad we did.

This is a superb Russian-directed film about what it takes to become a ballerina, made only as the Russians could. It’s a precise, caring, heart-rending story. It has a grand scope and a big story to tell. It centers on two young girls who compete from their earliest pre-teen years in the ballet academy to become the prima ballerina of the world’s most famous ballet – the Bolshoi. Their backgrounds are very different and that’s key to the story.

No real surprises here, except in the impact of this narrative. While it is a coming of age story, there is so much depth to the characters (superbly acted by the two stars), that the film offers real insight, revealing what it takes to make two ballerinas who are the very “stuff’’ of legends.

This is a film of pure enjoyment. Really a must see.

Playing God:

Ellen ***** Richard ****

Also seen at the DC Film Festival (90 films from 60 d ifferent countries), where it was a perfect choice for the audience, this is a documentary about Kenneth R. Feinberg, the man brought in by the federal government and private companies to handle “disaster” relief funds in the wake of 9/11, the BP oil spill, Agent Orange, the Central States Pension plan battle, and other similar circumstances.

While an homage to the extraordinary work of Feinberg, and largely consisting of a series of interviews with him, it teaches you things you didn’t know about how these enormous funds are handled, who benefits and who loses, and how “justice” is often done only in the eyes of the beholder. It also contains very interesting interviews with a number of the victims of these tragedies that add real life complexity to the film.  These interviews raise questions about the fairness of the process itself (including an examination of current law), and to some extent, it makes you wonder how even handedly Feinberg has been in dispensing funds, particularly in the case of the BP oil spill. (He was hired by the company in that case to adjudicate distribution of the money the company provided to those who were injured.)

Both Feinberg and the film’s director were in the audience the night we saw it and responded to questions from the audience.

I’d highly recommend the film if it comes to a theater, or festival, near you. It both teaches and makes you think..

No Date, No Signature:

Ellen ***** Richard *****

What’s up with Iranian films these days? They are definitely coming of age! {See this NY Times commentary.) This film is a contemporary one — a story of a doctor who sideswipes a motorcycle late at night. He stops to investigate and examines the entire family that was riding on it (mother, father, a small girl, and a boy of eight) to make sure that no one was hurt. He offers them financial restitution to repair the modest damage to the bike. He is a responsible man and believes that he has taken the right steps following the incident.

Days later the eight-year old boy dies in the hospital where the doctor works. The mystery begins: did he die of accident-related trauma or did something else cause his death?  If the latter, who was responsible? If the former, then clearly the doctor was responsible, and the doctor becomes tortured by this possibility. As the mystery and investigation unfolds, this becomes a film about who takes responsibility for what, the moral and ethical choices that are faced every day, who tells the truth and why.

The acting in this film is brilliant, particularly the portrayal of the lead doctor by Navid Mohammadzaden, a multiple award winner.)

Maze:

Ellen **** Richard ***

We ended our DC Flim Festival viewing with this political thriller from Ireland. This is a prison break film, and it takes place entirely within the walls of what has been generally regarded as the world’s most secure prison. The time period is of the “troubles” –the nearly three-decade conflict in Northern Ireland.

Based on a true story, the film charts how one inmate, an IRA compatriot, orchestrated the world’s largest prison break since World War II. The character development of all the major actors was terrific, and the film offers a unique insight into the human character.

Prepare yourself to be challenged by the accents, but that’s less off-putting than it may seem as the films grainy visuals and strong acting counterbalance the spoken words.

Share

A Chance to See More Good Films

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"Past Life", "The History of Love", "The Women's Balcony", 27th Annual Washington Jewish Film Festival, Film Festival, Good Movies

    “The Women’s Balcony” Opening Night Film

One more film festival for those of you living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area – The 27th Annual Washington Jewish Film Festival, May 17-28th.

Lots of good films, including one we saw in our Sunday Cinema Club that we highly recommend – Past Life (see my review, Sneak Previews, from an earlier MillersTime post). Also scheduled is The History of Love, which friends saw at the Miami Film Festival and recommend.  I suspect that neither of these will make it to the major theaters; so here’s a chance to see one or both.

Ordering on the phone was very quick and efficient: 202-777-3250, or you can also do so on line. Most films are showing twice, which gives you some options of when and also where to see them.

Link to the Festival for descriptions of the films and where you can see them: https://www.wjff.org/

Share

Three Foreign Films Worth Your Time

29 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"45 Years", "A War", "Anomalisa", "Brooklyn", "Carol", "Embrace of the Serpent", "Mustang", "Only Yesterday", "RAMS", "Room", "Son of Saul", "Spotight", "The Big Short", "The Bridge of Spies", "The Club", "Trumbo", "Where to Invade Next", Best Foreign Film, Films, Movies, Oscars

So it’s the morning after the Oscars, and most of the expected results indeed occurred. I see no need to add my two cents, particularly as I have already had my say about many of these films.

However, I was pleased to note that we had seen four of the five Best Foreign Film nominees (Son of Saul, the winner, A War, Embrace of the Serpent, and Mustang), only missing Theeb, which I had tried to see but somehow missed. I’ve found that over the years we tend to see more foreign, documentary  and small budget films than mainstream, big studio films, and thus I’ve focused, so to speak, MillersTime film reviews on these.

Anyway, I’ve had this post in the works for a number of days but was delightfully delayed in completing it by the early arrival of a lovely granddaughter (postings on that, no doubt, will be coming).

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of these very different films .

Embrace of the Serpent****1/2

Embrace2

A wonderful and unusual film about the Colombian Amazon, inspired by the journals of two early 20th century explorers. The story focuses on an Amazonian shaman, who may be the last survivor of his people.

The first part is the story of the young shaman (Karakate) and a very sick German scientist who needs a particular healing plant to stay alive. The second half of the film takes place 40 years later when Karakate (then an old man who is losing his memory) meets a second scientist who is looking for the same plant.

In what almost seems like a documentary (it is not), we see the Amazon largely through the eyes, mind, and life of Karakate. One of the beauties of this film is that it is colonialism as seen through the eyes of the indigenous population.

But it is the filming of Embrace of the Serpent, done largely in black and white, that leads to my high rating above. It felt as if we were in the Amazon a hundred years ago.

(About three-quarters of our film club thought the film was good or excellent and 80% would recommend it to a friend.)

Son of Saul****1/2

son

Another Holocaust film?

Yes.

Someone said there are at least six million Holocaust stories.

What makes this one different from many of the others is that it is told through the perspective of one concentration camp prisoner. The camera rarely leaves the face or presence of this man Saul, a Sonderkommando, a Hungarian Jewish prisoner whose job it is to assist in the herding of prisoners into the gas chambers and disposing of their remains.

Saul seeks to find a rabbi to give a young boy, who may or may not be his son, a proper burial. This is an almost impossible task but one that Saul undertakes with a fierceness that is unrelenting. At the same time, other prisoners are trying to convince him to join a fruitless rebellion against their captors. He largely ignores their efforts to engage him in actions.

The usual scenes of the horrors of camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau (where this film takes place) are only barely visible in the background. But that somehow only seems to increase the horror. The film is shot in a square picture format and not in the usual wide screen format, and that too adds to the uniqueness of this film.

Directed by Laszlo Nemes, his first film, co-written with Clara Royes, and starring Geza Rohrig, the film is different from most other Holocaust films, and it is riveting.

Last night, it won the the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

A War****

awar

The particular war in this film is one that takes place in Afghanistan, tho the title A War suggests a universal theme.

The particular story focuses on a Danish company commander, Claus Pederson, and his struggles to lead his men on a particularly difficult peace keeping mission. Meanwhile, his wife struggles to keep their family together at home as their three kids miss their father. The film flips back and forth between these two struggles.

When Claus makes a decision in the midst of battle that leads to the death of 11 civilians (eight of whom are children), their stories come together as Claus is sent home to face a courtroom trial.

Enough said.

This film is one that begs for discussion. And I’d love to talk about it with any of you who may have seen it or do see it.

(Our Sunday cinema club gave A War an excellent/good rating of 89.41% and the recommend rate was above 90%.)

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

In addition to the three films above, I’ve noticed that many of the films we saw in our movie club, in the Philly Film Festival, and a few others we saw and rated last year are now out and in the theaters. (Those below in red italics are linked to mini-reviews I wrote in earlier posts.)

Anomalisa ***

The Big Short ****

Bridge of Spies ****1/2 

Brooklyn ****1/2

Carol ***1/2

The Club****

45 Years***1/2

Mustang****

RAMS ****1/2

Room****

Spotlight*****

Trumbo***1/2

Where to Invade Next***

Share

An Unusual Film: “Fill the Void”

30 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"A Separation", "Fill the Void", Hada Yaron, Rama Burshtein

8_wide-19b331f232c3d633fbca61d52fd691cb326a47d1-s40

Fill the Void  ****1/2

The story told in this film is not particularly unusual.

After her older sister dies in childbirth, an 18 year old girl (Shira) is faced with a dilemma: does she accede to her family’s wish for her to marry her brother-in-law and become the mother to her sister’s baby, or does she resist and follow an inner voice that tells her not to do so?

There are other details and aspects to this story, which is a family drama as well as an individual one, that make Shira’s decision a difficult one, but this coming of age story about a young woman being thrust into a dilemma not of her own making seems familiar.

What makes this film unusual is the setting and the skill with which the director lets the story slowly unfold (too slowly?). It takes place within a modern day Hassidic family and community living in Tel Aviv. There are no heroes and no real villains, and there is no attempt to portray this ultra-Orthodox family and its community in a particular light.

101253_gal

The audience is given a window into a way of life that is foreign to most of us yet has elements that are not foreign at all.

MV5BOTQ3MjQ4NzQ5N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODc2MDM5OA@@._V1_SY105_CR26,0,105,105_

The acting is superb, particularly that of Hada Yaron (Shira) who won the Best Actress Award at the 2012 Venice Film Festival for her wonderful portrayal of a girl torn between family and self.  The entire cast is also quite good.

Fill the Void was written and directed by Rama Burshtein, a woman who knows the Hassidic world. She lives within that community and has given us a window into it without prejudice. She has also given us a film that is beautifully filmed and constructed.

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this film. You just have to like a good story, good acting, and good directing.

For me, the insight(s) Fill the Void gave me into a way of life about which I know very little and about a world rarely seen from the inside added to and made the film memorable. It reminded me of the Iranian film, A Separation, one of my favorite films from last year.

(For those of you living in the DC area, Fill the Void is currently being shown at the Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema and at AMC Lowes Shirlington 7.)

Share

Film: “Five Broken Cameras”

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Documentaries, Films, Five Broken Cameras

Bill Plitt, a long time friend, told me about this film, but I was leaving DC before I had a chance to see it. I hope it is still showing when I return next week.

Bill is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and has spent much of his life working with children and families in education. Most recently, among other activities, he has been director of community outreach for Friends of Tent of Nations North America, which supports cross-cultural understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

 

Movie: Five Broken Cameras, Review by Bill Plitt

Last Friday, my wife and I, along with some friends went to see the documentary, Five Broken Cameras at “E” Street Theatre in Washington D.C where it was showing in a limited engagement of two weeks- pity.   We read the review in The Post, nudged by our friends of Jewish Voices for Peace, and went to see it for ourselves.  We knew it had won the Sundance Film Festival Award in January for World Cinema Documentary Director Award.  It was worth the venture we thought.  So we went.

Continue reading »

Share

Ten Movies to Keep in Mind

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"A Quiet Passion", "Cloudy Sunday", "Menashe", "The History of Love", "The Lost City of Z", "The Women's Balcony", @7th Washington Jewish Film Festival, Murder in Polna"

More films to keep in mind.

Most of these we saw at an excellent Jewish Film Festival (our first) in Washington several weeks ago.

Since I didn’t keep notes or write mini-reviews shortly after the seeing these films, there are only ratings (one to five stars) and a sentence or two from both Ellen and myself on each one of the ten films in this post. f

The first two below are in theaters in DC now. The following eight are all from the 27th Jewish Film Festival. Hopefully, some will make it to theaters over the next year.

Definitely consider:

Continue reading »

Share

Sneak Previews

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"Death in Sarajevo", "Goldstone", "Past Life", "Searchers", "Solitaire", "The African Doctor", biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Films, Movie, Sunday Cinema Club, Thriller

Past Life: ***** (Ellen *****)

So it happened again, this time at Sunday’s DC Cinema Club film: I knew nothing about the film — Past Life — we were going to see, and then I was totally captivated by it. (As I’ve written before, often my expectations overwhelm the reality of a play, a book, or a film, and I am left disappointed.) As the lights were dimmed, we read a synopsis:

Inspired by true events, Past Life tracks the daring 1977 trans-European odyssey of two sisters — one an introverted ambitious classical music composer, and the other a combative liberal magazine editor. As they try to unravel a disturbing wartime mystery that has cast a foreboding shadow on their entire lives, they realized that freedom from the shackles of the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s unique voice.

What followed was 109 minutes of being transfixed. The story largely focuses on three characters, a father and his two daughters and is about the Holocaust and its after-effects. Set in 1977 and based on true events, it’s told almost as a suspense story and through the eyes of each of the three main characters and several minor ones too. (I am curious to know just how closely and how accurately the writer-director Avi Nesher depicts the actual events, and I’ve ordered the diary upon which it is based.)

All three of the main characters are intriguing individuals, and each of their stories, as well as the interrelationships of these characters, is engrossing. The performances of all three (Joy Rieger as Sephi Milch, Nell Tagar as Nana Milch-Kotler, and Doron Tavory as Baruch Milch) are convincing and compelling. The story moves along so quickly that you barely have time to catch your breath and understand what just happened before you’re confronted with new information.

Had I been told before hand that this was “Holocaust film,’ I might have avoided it, or at least ‘approached’ it differently. But knowing nothing in advance, I simply absorbed what director Nesher presented. Once again I learned there is always one more heart-breaking story about that horrific time and that it continues to affect long after the actual events occurred.

Add this well-told Israel-Polish film to your ‘to see’ list, though I’m not sure it will make it to the major theaters. Maybe you can catch it at one of the Jewish film festivals that now take place in many cities throughout the country.

*****************************************************************

We’ve seen a number of films over the past couple of months which I have not mentioned on MillersTime. Too much else going on, perhaps. Nothing stands out as must sees, but here are five that we saw last week at the D.C. International Film Fest. (Yes. We have film festival here) We rate the films independently, using a scale of one to five stars.

The African Doctor **** (Ellen ****) This is a “feel good” movie, also based upon a true story, about a Congolese doctor who moves his family to a small village outside of Paris and about their struggles to earn the villagers’ trust. Biography. Comedy. Drama.

Death in Sarajevo *** (Ellen****) This is an award winning film, full of clever, fast dialogue and good acting, that looks at life in Sarajevo in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Drama.

Goldstone *** (Ellen**** ) This is also an award winning film (Australian) and is about an Aboriginal federal cop who comes to a frontier town in Queensland searching for a lost girl. There are two interrelated stories. Ellen found the film and the production first rate. Myself, not so much. Crime. Thriller.

Searchers (Maliglutit) **** (Ellen**** ) This is a Canadian film about an Inuk man seeking revenge for the kidnapping of his wife and daughter in the Arctic. Mesmerizing photography and story, with subtitles. Drama.

Solitaire *** (Ellen ****) This is a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” story of a Lebanese girl and her Syrian boyfriend and what happens when their two families meet. Again, Ellen liked it more than I. Comedy. Drama.

Share

Our Movie Reviews Are Back

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

"By the Grace of God, 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival, American Factory, Before Sunrise, Dark Waters, Ford vs Ferrari, Knives Out, Marcel Marceau, Movie Reviews, Movies, Resistance, Streaming Movies, The Good Liar, The Irishman, Uncorked

by Ellen Miller

The last movie reviews we offered you via Millerstime.net were the dozen we saw at the Philadelphia Film Festival in October of last year. (See Philadelphia City of Brotherly Love and Good Movies if you missed that post or are looking for movie suggestions.)

It wasn’t that we haven’t seen some good films since our last posting, but it’s a bit late to go back and review them. Some that come to mind now you have probably found for yourself. But if you haven’t seen these six — By the Grace of God, Dark Waters. Knives Out, Ford Vs Ferrari, The Irishman, Saint Frances – we highly recommend them. They are all quite different from each other, but they all meet MillersTime rating of a four or five stars.

Between these and our post from the Philadelphia Film Festival, many of these are available in the “streaming” world now. But given the times we now live in, your MillersTime reviewers have to get over their “Big Screen” fascination and focus on television for movie watching. (Our TV is
currently regarded as under-sized by our daughters and probably yours would be too, but it will have to do for the moment.)

So, we are renewing our commitment to bring you movie reviews — recommendations on “screened” films. We’re not sure if seeing these at home makes them different from seeing them in a theater, but we’ll return to that thought as we continue to watch from home.

So settling down in the chairs in our study a couple of evenings a week, so far we’ve enjoyed:

Uncorked:

This is the story of an African-American family whose eldest son dreams of becoming a sommelier, despite his father’s wishes that he go into the family’s very successful BBQ business. The plot is somewhat predictable – family dynamics – but the acting and direction of the film creates something unique. It’s set in Memphis where we’ve always want to spend some time, and the vibe of that city lends a lively backdrop to the story behind a quite reserved film.  All and all, it’s very enjoyable. Writer and Director:  Prentice Penny, NETFLIX

Ellen ****  Richard **** 1/2

The Good Liar:

We missed this film when it was out in the theaters and were delighted by it when we saw it at home. The film is about a consummate con man Roy, played by Ian McKellan, who sets his sights not only on Russian mobsters and the like, but also on a lonely woman, played by Helen Mirren. Without giving away the plot (it’s intricate and clever), let’s just say that was a bad mistake on his part. Cleverly written, and of course superbly acted, you’re not going to be distracted by other things around you house that need doing. Director: Bill Condon  AMAZON PRIME+

Ellen *****  Richard *****

American Factory:

This film won the Best Documentary Feature at 2020 Academy Awards. With its pedigree – the producer is Participant Media with support from the Obamas’ new film enterprise and two expert directors by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert – you’d expect nothing less than near perfect in the telling of the story. And that’s what you get.

The documentary focuses on the story of an abandoned GM car plant in Ohio, purchased and repurposed by a Chinese billionaire. It is a tale of clashing cultures, of ideas, goals, and commitments of American enterprise vs the Chinese one. The strength of this movie (told artfully through personal interviews and great documentary photography) are the interviews of both the Chinese and Americans involved in this enterprise, allowing them to tell their story. The film’s approach is even handed. The issues of the future of modern day manufacturing are laid bare for all to see. It offers no answers, but it does raise questions for the future of American industry that are profound.  Directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert.  NETFLIX

Ellen *****  Richard *****

Before Sunrise: 

This is an older film (1995), a romance, and it was recommended on a list we found for people who enjoy travel. It tells the story of the two beautiful young people (Ethan Hawke as Jesse and Julie Delpy as Celine) who meet by happenstance on a train. Jesse is on his way back to the States, and he convinces Celine to spend 24 hours in Vienna with him. As they explore that classic city, they fall for each other. We’re not going to spoil the development of their relationship or the ending, which is predictably dramatic. Their conversations about love, marriage/partnership, and the meaning of life are thoughtful and ring true. This is not the type of movie usually in our wheelhouse, but we enjoyed it. Above all, it is a movie about taking a random chance that might just change your life. Director Richard Linklater.  AMAZON PRIME VIDEO.

Ellen **** Richard ****

Resistance:

This very recently released film (AMAZON PRIME) is a Holocaust tale of bravery and selflessness in the face of supreme Nazi evil. It tells the story a young Marcel Marceau (born Marcel Mangel and played by Jesse Einsenberg). Marceau, along with his brother and other young members of the French Resistance faced peril and the horror of Klaus Barbe to rescue orphaned Jewish children of all ages. There’s plenty of drama and suspense to keep your attention. This is not just another story of the Holocaust. Richard and I recalled that we saw Marceau preform many years ago, but neither of us knew anything about his past as is explored in this new feature length film.  Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz.

  Ellen ****  Richard ****

.** ** **
Finally, please feel free to add your thoughts (in the Comment section above or in an email) on any of these films and consider recommending others that you have seen recently and have enjoyed.

Share

Five Movies: From Mesmerizing to Horrifying

07 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"All Is True", "Ash Is Purest White", "Crazy Rich Asians", "Hotel Mumbai", "Maiden", "Surviving Mumbai", Dawn Riley, DC Asian Pacific Film Festival, DC Cinema Club, Fan Liao, Ian McKellen, Jia Zhangke, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Mumbai, Shakespeare, Taj Mahal Hotel, Tao Zhao, Tracy Edwards, Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race

Check out these five films we’ve seen recently, four reviewed by Ellen and one by Richard. All are worthy of your consideration.

Reviewed by Ellen Miller:

All is True:    Ellen ***** Richard *****

All is True, a historical drama that concerns the latter years of Shakespeare’s life, was made for me. Historical films are one of my favorite genres and this one is enhanced by the acting of Kenneth Branagh (as Shakespeare), Judi Dench (as his wife, Anne Hathaway), and Ian McKellen (now 80 years old). With Branagh as the director, producer, and writer, this film “had me from hello.”

The film is set in 1613, immediately following a fire which destroyed the Globe Theater. It opens with Shakespeare returning to his home in Stratford from which he had been long – and frequently – absent.  The adjustment of his daughters and his wife to his return is difficult, and he is unsettled. The story of the last three or four years of his life unfolds, and while what is portrayed in the film is not all true, much of it is based on facts of his latter years. But these distortions matter little here as this film depends not on the story itself, but on the acting, the staging, and the filming, all of which are amazing accomplishments.

The combination of the story, the acting, and the cinematography makes the movie mesmerizing. Each scene is filmed as though it was a still life painting, lit only by candles. The acting is taut – Dench, for example, delivers her lines with such expression and passion that her actual words are unimportant. You know exactly what she means. There is so much contained in this film (I keep wanting to call it a play): family dynamics; convention-resisting daughters; titled men and literary figures paying homage to Shakespeare; the relationship between Shakespeare and his wife; and Shakespeare’s planting a memorial garden to honor his son. (Funnily, the deceased son was named Hamnet – who, in this production, is a ghost who haunts his father.)

An interesting note is that Branagh is a Shakespeare obsessive, and he created this film as a bookend for Shakespeare in Love (which we saw and indeed did love). In a way, the play is an elegy, yet it also provides a detailed portrait of a man of creative genius and his many personal flaws.

And one final note: the film was actually released in 2018 so it could be considered for the Oscars. Somehow, it did not receive a single nomination. And that is true.

Go see this. It’s brilliant. It is scheduled to be released May 10th.

Ash Is Purest White:   Ellen **** Richard ****

I am not sure how this film came to our attention, but we are certainly glad it did.  It is Chinese-made and tells the story of a China we do not know. Perhaps it’s a side of any country not available to outsiders. Even though Richard and I have traveled extensively in China for the last 30 years on our own and with our Beijing and Guangzhou-based friends, we were seeing a side of China we had never seen before. This story was so unusual and so fascinating that about half way through I turned to Richard, at the same time he turned to me, and said, “this is absolutely fascinating.”  And he agreed.

This is the story of China’s contemporary gang culture and illegal underground activity. This is a story of rival gangs, of illegal guns, and of maiming, murder, and mayhem.  It is also a story of romance and sacrifice.

The film takes place over a period from 2001 to 2018 during which we see the main character fall from being a leading member of the criminal underworld in Datong, near Mongolia, to a broken, sick, and disrespected man. We see his girlfriend endure prison to protect him and survive that hardship to care for him, even though he no longer cares for her. The story is told in three parts that are well linked together.

Ash Is Purest White is filled with scenes (and some places) familiar to us: small cafes filled with working men and women; men smoking and playing mahjong as a respite from their working in coal mines; a boat trip on the Yangtze before Three Gorges Dam is built, high rise modern office buildings, and drab uniformly built worker housing.

The writer-director is a well-known Chinese filmmaker – Jia Zhangke — and here he depicts a view of contemporary China that is not widely known. The pace is slow and steady, allowing you to digest all that is happening as you stare fixedly at Bin (Fan Liao)) and Qiao (Tao Zhao), the fraught gangster couple. This is a big and important story about contemporary China. The acting is extraordinary, and the film raises disturbing questions about contemporary China

We highly recommend it.

Hotel Mumbai: Ellen***** Richard****

Here’s a big box office film that really worked. It’s a not a great film, but it is one Hell of a good movie. Batten yourself down and imagine a film of unrelenting tension and drama and prepare to either close your eyes or to cover them at any second. This movie tells a fictionalized account (barely, I think) of the horrifying incident of the November 2008 terrorist attacks on the city of Mumbai, India by Pakistani Jihadists. Ten members of an Islamic terrorist organization organization based in Pakistan carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai, including the world famous, elite Taj Mahal Hotel. The movie graphically presents the indiscriminate murder by the terrorists of innocent people at a train station, various prominent hotels, a Jewish community center, a hospital, and a café. A leader who was present only in their headsets encouraged them in their mayhem and guided the terrorists in their carnage.

And horrifying it is. It is based on a Surviving Mumbai, a documentary, and while this movie was a fictionalized account, it rings true. (I am tempted, but I don’t think I can bear to watch the documentary account.) Watching this film is a sobering experience. Its horror is only lightened slightly by members of the staff of the Taj Mahal Hotel who risked their own lives to save those who were held hostage there.

This is not a movie about the acting (good, but not amazing), or the production (stunning at times), but its success is due to the screenplay and direction of the action. It was so well paced to create tension and uncertainty of the outcome that I’m quite sure that I didn’t take a breath from start to finish. I was exhausted by the end of it.

You’ve been forewarned.  But see it if you can.

Maiden: Ellen ***** Richard*****

This documentary is an example of why we enjoy being members of the Sunday morning DC Cinema Club. Had we only read a description of the film, it’s unlikely we would have seen it, and therefore we would have missed a film of considerable importance and enjoyment.

The story is about the first all women’s boat to participate in the Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race. The year is 1989, and the race is a beyond dangerous and grueling around-the-world challenge of 32,000 miles. It takes six to nine months to complete.

It is the story of the grit and determination of one woman – Tracy Edwards (awarded the Yachtsman of the Year, the first woman ever to receive the award) — and her determined and skilled crew.  She and her crew faced incredible odds, first even imagining they could participate in the race, to finding financial support. They faced ridicule from the press and other yachtsman; and no one thought they would even complete the first of the five legs of the grueling race.

The one thing that wasn’t difficult was finding competent women with sailing experience. Edwards was doing this initially for herself to prove that she could, but in fact, she and the crew eventually realized, they were also doing it for all women — to prove their competitiveness, toughness, and stamina in this all male sport. Woven into the narrative were recent interviews of many members of the crew who offered reminiscences and reactions from their achievement. This added tremendously to the quality of the film.

The impact of the documentary comes in large part because of the incredible footage that was made at the time.  The boat had a fixed camera on it, and one of the crew members took responsibility for additional photography.  In addition, the documentary includes aerial photography, along with video and interviews from on-site TV coverage. 

For those watching, the tension wasn’t just about whether the team won or lost the race, but also about the skills and fortitude of the sailing crew and the breakthrough for women. Our enjoyment of the film was further enhanced by having one of the crew, Dawn Riley, present Sunday. She talked about the race, the crew, answered our questions about the film and indicated that their involvement has had an impact (positive) on the participation of women in yacht racing.

The film will be released June 28, 2019. Put it on your list and go see it.  For sure, we will take our granddaughter and grandson to see this inspiring documentary.

Reviewed by Richard Miller

  Crazy Rich Asians Richard ****

I most likely would not have seen this film if I had not been invited to a pre- festival screening of it by a new friend who is the Director of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival (Coming up May 31-June 2, 2019). 

But I’m glad he invited me and that I went.

It’s delightful. Fun. Entertaining. And the story is a universal one, with perhaps a twist of an ending. It’s a romantic comedy that pleases.

Handsome, rich Asian man invites his NY Asian girlfriend (who somehow does not know about his background and comes from a very different economic and social background herself) to attend his best friend’s wedding back home in Singapore. You can almost imagine the story. She’s amazed. His mother is dismayed. He’s caught in the middle. She’s stunned by what she sees, learns, and experiences. I’ll leave the unwinding and conclusion of the story for you experience on your own if you see it.

The film comes from a book of the same name, and we were fortunate to have the one of the screenwriters, Adele Lim to talk about the film and answer questions following the screening. The largely Asian audience gave the film and Lim an enthusiastic reception.

Not only is the story well told, even if familiar, there are good performances, and the scenery from Singapore made me want to get on an airplane to see the city for myself. Plus, there’s the food. Dumplings and dumpling making (flashes of our own Chinese dim sum preparation at Thanksgiving here in DC for the past 40+ years).

For a satisfying outing, see Crazy Rich Americans and then find a good dim sum restaurant in your area to ‘top off’ the afternoon/evening. (Note: Crazy Rich Americans won the Critics’ Choice Award for the Best Comedy, Jan. 13, 2019 and was nominated for a number of other awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – musical or comedy. It has an all Asian cast and was produced in Hollywood.

** ** ** **

The 33rd Annual Washington International Film Fest is coming up (April 25-May 5), and the program looks very good, including many films we haven’t seen or even heard of. Check it out – 80 films from 45 countries over a period of 11 days.

Share

Why We (Still) Love Movies and the Movies We Loved in 2018

27 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

"A Fantastic Woman", "A Private War", "A Star Is Born", "And Breathe Normally", "BlacKkKansman", "Blind Spotting", "Bolshoi", "Borg vs McEnroe", "Capernaum", "Cold War", "Dark Money", "Everybody Knows", "Foreign Land", "Free Solo", "Gladesmen: The Last of the Sawgrass Cowboys", "Green Book", "Heading Home", "If Beale Street Could Talk"", "In Love & In Hate", "Israel: The Story of Modern Day", "Lean on Pete", "Maze", "Memoir of War", "Monrovia Indiana", "My Love or My Passion", "Playing God", "Roma", "Sergio & Sergei", "Sofia", "Stan & Ollie", "The Favorite", "The Guilty", "The Hero", "The Journey", "The Last Suit", "The Mule", "The Rider", "The Shape of Water", "The Wife", "Tully", "Yomeddine", Ben Is Back, No Date No Signature"

Updated: 12/29/18:

(From Ellen’s and my post last year, with a few updates, and which mostly still holds true for us):

People often say the reason they love the movies is because they offer an escape. But that’s not why we enjoy them. We love movies because they tell stories, show us worlds and places we will never know first hand, teach us lessons about life, breathe life into historical or political moments, and/or make us question what we think we already understand. (Ed. additional note.1: And, of course, we’ve been known to see a movie simply for the escapist, thriller aspect of the film.)

Come to think of it, we love movies for the very same reasons we love books and love to travel.

For us, a “great movie” has to have a good story; strong, believable, and well acted characters; great directing; with cinematography, music, and production that adds to the whole. We’re not particularly fans of comedy, satire, or overly intellectual films, where nothing much happens for two hours. And while we can appreciate a “critic’s film” (i.e., a film that critics love but audiences not so much), only sometimes do they rise to the top of both our lists.

We’ve averaged about a movie a week in 2018 (actually a bit more since we rarely post reviews of the movies we don’t really like, ones that are already super popular, or the “big theater” shows). That’s not a bad number, considering the time we travel, how much we read, how much time one of us spends watching baseball in the summer and early Fall – GoSox, and the time we spend with our five grands under the age of 10.

Also, we love going out to the movies. Seeing a film in a theater somehow seems more special than watching one at home, which we rarely do. (We did once watch one at home, our first Netflix movie – Mudbound – thanks to the technical assistance of daughter Annie, as some aspects of the modern TV are still a mystery to us.)

Below is a listing — recap list — of the films this year, 2018, which have received a top rating from at least one of us. We are not going to pull out our top ten for you, even if we could decide on a ten best. Just browse the list and link to our earlier reviews to see if certain ones might appeal. You can also save this list by printing out this post.

Films Either One or Both of Us Rated Four or Five Stars

(Click on a film to see our review)

A Fantastic Woman

A Star Is Born

And Breathe Normally

Ben Is Back

BlacKkKlansman

Blind Spotting

Bolshoi

Borg vs McEnroe

Capernaum

Cold War – not reviewed but definitely recommended

Dark Money

Everybody Knows

Free Solo

Foreign Land

Gladesman: The Last of the Sawgrass Cowboys

Green Book

Heading Home

If Beale Street Could Talk  – not reviewed but highly recommend

In Love & In Hate

Israel: The Story of Modern Day

Lean on Pete

Mary Poppins Returns – not reviewed but worthy

Maze

Memoir of War

Monrovia, Indiana – not reviewed, worthy

My Love or My Passion

On the Basis of Sex – not reviewed but we loved it.

Phantom Thread

Playing God

Roma

Sergio & Sergei

Sofia

Stan & Ollie – not reviewed but both of us enjoyed it

The Favorite – not reviewed and big disagreements between us

The Guilty

The Hero

The Journey

The Last Suit

The Mule – not reviewed but enjoyed

The Rider

The Shape of Water

The Wife

Tully

Widows – not reviewed but enjoyed for its escapist plot

Yomeddine

Share

The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers in 2017

29 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Best Book List, Books, Favorite Reads by MillersTime Readers in 2017, MillersTime Readers Favorite Books, Most Enjoyable Reads 2017


“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” – A. Lincoln

Once again the MillersTime “best books roundup” is my favorite post of the year. It’s a labor of love and is only possible because so many of you take the time to send in what books you have enjoyed over the last 12 months. I’m indeed indebted to each of you and offer my heartfelt thanks to all of you.

The 2017 list is comprised of the favorite reads of 82 adults and 10 children. Fiction leads the nonfiction 56% to 44%, similar to last year. Our youngest participant is almost five month’s old; the oldest is 96. The rest of you are mostly between the ages of 35- 75. Fifty-eight percent of you are women, 42% are men.

While I don’t expect everyone of you will read all the way through this list (anyone who does can claim it as a favorite book for next year), know there is a tremendous amount of information here. I’ve organized it in several ways, hopefully to make it more user friendly:

I. The most frequently cited titles (three or more times) are listed first.

II. Next the contributors are listed alphabetically — to make it easy if you are looking for the favorites of someone you know — with the titles and authors next and then any comments made about those books.

III. Finally, there are also two spread sheet links included as easy, searchable references for you to see the titles, authors, and MillersTime contributors in summary form:

List # 1 – Organized by book titles 

List #2 –  Organized by reader/contributor’s name.

I. Titles that appear on the Favorites’ List three times or more:

Fiction (F):

  •      A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
  •      America’s First Daughter, Stephanie Dray
  •      Days Without End, Sebastian Barry
  •      House of Names, Colm Toibin
  •      Manhattan Beach, Jennifer Egan
  •      Salvage the Bones, Jesymn Ward
  •      Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesymn Ward
  •      Small Great Things, Jody Picoult
  •      The North Water, Ian McQuire

Nonfiction (NF):

  •      Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
  •      Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
  •      Evicted, Mathew Desmond
  •      Grant, Ron Chernow
  •      Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
  •      Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann

For me, as is true every year, the strengths and value of this year’s list have more to do with what contributors say about a book than the number of times a book may be listed. Often, a book listed only once is one I most want to read in the coming year.

A reminder: this list is not meant to be the best books published in 2017, but rather what the title of this posting states — The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers in 2017.

Please forgive my endless prompting for your submissions, though the results, I hope, may have been worth the reminders. (Late additions — please feel free to send them — will be posted as they arrive, without any snarky comments from the editor.)

And, of course, I take responsibility for any inaccuracies or mistakes in the posting of your names, the titles, the authors, and your comments. Please do let me know about errors so I can correct them quickly and easily.

Feel free to share this post with others — family, friends, book clubs, etc.

Enjoy.

II. The 2017 List of Favorites:  

(alphabetical by reader’s first name):

Continue reading »

Share

Movies: Three to See

29 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"Hell or High Water", "Ixcanul", "Volcano", 2015 Philadelphia Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Indignation

No movie reviews for a while. Maybe because our summer has been filled with other activities. But when we have been home and tried to find something to see, there didn’t seem to be much of interest.

As readers of this site know by now, we tend to look for independent films and foreign films, and only occasionally do I write about main stream films, as there is usually enough already available for readers to find that information on their own.

Nevertheless, I do have three films for your consideration, one is a foreign film we saw in last year’s Philadelphia Film Festival, one is a directoral debut, and one is a main stream film.

Ixcanul ***** (Ellen gave it ****)

I noticed that this film is currently being shown in DC (Landmark’s E Street Theater) and so I’m reprinting my mini-review of it from my post about the 2015 Philadelphia Film Festival:

Ixcanul The Volcano_Key Still-0-800-0-450-crop

Oct. 31, 2015: “Guatemala’s first ever submission for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Film and a very good one. This film concerns a young Mayan girl, Maria, her family, and their difficult life in a mountainous region of Guatemala. When Maria makes an adolescent choice, the families’ life becomes even more tenuous. Although the film is fiction, it feels like a documentary and was made with actors who are local people — not professionals. Particularly wonderful is the mother, both as a character in the story and how she portrays that character. This film was the winner of the Silver Bear (second best award) at the Berlin Film Festival. I suspect Ixcanul (Volcano) may be too small of a film to be widely distributed in the US. That would be a shame.”

How glad I am to have been wrong about its US distribution.

Indignation****

Shown at Sundance in January of this year, this film has just been released nationwide. Based on a 2008 novel with the same title by Philip Roth, it is director James Schmaus’ first film (he also wrote the screenplay).

Indignation.v1.bjsxMTAzODQxO2o7MTcwNjc7MTIwMDsxMjgwOzY5Mg

The setting is a small town in Ohio and tells (another) coming of age story. This time the main character is a Jewish boy who leaves his working class family and home in Newark, NJ to attend conservative Winesberg College.

There, Marcus (Logan Lerman) meets the wealthy (and troubled) Olivia (Sara Gadon) and also clashes with the college dean (Tracy Letts) about religion. I’ll leave the details of what ensues for you to discover yourself.

But there is much to appreciate in this film. You will be come involved with both Marcus and Olivia as their stories unfold. And there is a wonderful scene (15 minutes or so?) that involves a verbal confrontation between Marcus and the dean that by itself is almost worth the price of admission to Indignation.

Good acting, good screenwriting, good directing, and a familiar but not worn out story all make for a satisfying film.

Hell or High Water****

Nothing especially new here either in this cops and robbers western, except the acting is terrific and the story has you not sure whose side you are on.

Hell.jsxMTE5OTU2O2o7MTcwNjc7MTIwMDs3MjE7NzIx

Two brothers are robbing a series of small branches of a large bank in small Texan towns to accumulate a certain amount of money (the details of why they’re doing this become clear partway through the film). It seems as if they might get away with what they’re doing (only taking small amounts of money from each branch) until two Texas Rangers decide to get involved.

The story, tho it takes perhaps too long to unfold, holds you, largely because of the acting, particularly the interactions between all four of the characters. The brothers, Toby and Tanner (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) have a bit of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid about them and are likeable characters. The Rangers, Marcus and Alberto (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham), are also crusty ‘characters’ who are likewise appealing, particularly Jeff Bridges.

If you’re looking for a ‘bit’ of an old fashioned western film with some moral ambiguity, and engaging characters, Hell or Highwater will do just fine.

Share
← Older posts

♣ Search



♣ Featured Posts

  • Cappadocia: Thru Ellen’s Lens
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: Petra & Wadi Rum
  • I Changed My Mind
  • By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…
  • So Many Books…So Little Time? Here Are 34 Recent Favorite Reads
  • One Favorite Read
  • Yes, It’s True…I Biked from Bruges to Amsterdam!
  • Carrie Trauth Made the World a Better Place
  • “I Used to Be a Human Being” – Andrew Sullivan
  • MillersTime Contributors Favorite Reads from 2021
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: Alaskan Landscapes & Skyscapes
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: The Brown Bears of Katmai, Alaska
  • When I Was 22…
  • The Country ‘Spoke’ Again
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: The Slot Canyons of Arizona

♣ Recent Comments

  • Ellen Miller on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Richard on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Tiffany Lopez Lee on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Brandt Tilis on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Ping on Cappadocia: Thru Ellen’s Lens

♣ Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011

♣ Sections

  • Articles & Books of Interest
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.