Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

News of the World

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Movie-going right now is kind of catch-as-catch-can. Of course many movies (“Wonder Woman” probably the most well known), can be seen on various streaming services. But for us true connoisseurs, nothing beats going to an actual theatre for the full moving-going experience. But is it safe? I am here to tell you that from my view point, the answer is yes! We went to the AMC in Columbia, Maryland at the Columbia Mall. Everything is designed with your safety and comfort in mind. We ordered tickets and concession food online (which we picked up at the counter as you would any take-out). There were wet wipes and hand sanitizer everywhere. The seating is appropriately socially distanced. Also, going to the first showing of the day meant that we were the first people for the day to sit in those seats. I felt safer there than I do in a grocery store. Anyway, you are probably wondering how the movie was. It was fantastic! “News of the World” is a western starring the always entertaining Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kidd, a man who wanders through the small towns of Texas in the years following the Civil War, reading newspapers to small town denizens who are thirsty for news of any kind. Riding between jobs, he comes across a burned wagon and a lynched man. Hiding nearby is a frightened girl dressed in buckskins. She doesn’t speak English, but he finds documents that show she is an orphan. He tries to bring her to the authorities, but no one can take her. At first, he doesn’t want to either, but he decides it is his responsibility to get her to her only kin. The rest of the movie is a sometimes brutal, sometimes poignant journey of the savagery and humanity of the western frontier as they travel the wilds of northern Texas; encountering an interesting number of human and natural barriers on the way. This is the perfect movie to see in a big theatre during a pandemic. The scenery is breathtaking and the settings realistic and interesting. The characters are very well drawn. Bravura performances and a good story with a hopeful message for the future make this one worth seeing.

Let Him Go

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Mr. and Mrs. Adnerb continue to haunt the local theatres in hopes of seeing a great movie. Except for “Tenent,” expectations have fallen short. “Let Him Go” is another mediocre movie being released by the studios hoping to entice the crowds back. It is not working. The more into the pandemic we get, the more we don’t need a depressing downer of a movie. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane play George and Margaret Blackledge (I love both actors by the way) who have overcome several tragedies in their life, including the death of their adult son in a freak accident. Mrs. Blackledge finds solace in her grandson. Eventually their son’s widow remarries and moves away; but not before Margaret witnesses the new husband physically abusing both mother and child. Fearing for the safety of their grandson, the Blackledges decide to see if they can rescue the boy. The clan that won’t give him up are some of the most stereotypical villians I have seen in a serious drama. There is a side plot featuring a Native American young man that was interesting, but perplexing. It didn’t add or detract from the story, it was more like filler. The acting is topnotch and the cinematography is breathtaking. The first half of the story is super slow and takes a long time to set up the action of the second half. So, I wasn’t expecting the brutal violence and heavy handed cruelty of the matriarchal clan, (John Boorman pulled off hill people violence with far more style and impact in ‘Deliverance.’ This time around, it’s just violence for visceral effect), and leads to an almost predictable and extremely unsatisfying ending. We counted about 15 people in the theatre. If studios want to find a market for their movies, I suggest releasing a few of the bigger budget movies like “No Time to Die” or “Wonder Woman 1984.” Until that happens (likely not ’til the really big markets like LA or New York open back up), even a mediocre movie is better than nothing.

The Honest Thief

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These are strange times to be going to a theatre. The last two times we have gone, the theatre lobby as well as the theatre itself, have been eerily empty. The theatres are doing everything they can to help people feel safe, and yet most people aren’t going. There are several reasons for this: great movies on Netflix et al, lack of good movies being released, and limited concession food. Out of all of these reasons, theatres would get more business if the studios would release some good movies. Aside from “Tenent,” the only thing being offered are reruns or grade “B” movies. “The Honest Thief” is a B movie that wouldn’t have stayed in town more than a week or two pre Covid-19. With the lack of grade “A” movies out there, this one seems down right epic! It is the type of story that has served Liam Neesen well. He plays nice guy Tom Carter. The only thing is, he has been busily robbing banks. There is a reason he’s been doing this, and his justification is eventually revealed. But he’s decided to stop his criminal activities after he meets storage facility manager Annie (Kate Walsh). He calls the FBI and offers to make a deal to return the $8,000,000 he’s stolen for a lighter sentence so he can marry Annie with a clear conscience. However, that amount of loot is pretty seductive, and he gets set up by two rogue FBI agents. These agents
of course plan to just take the money and make sure Tom is taken out in the process. But like all good bad plans, things go very awry and Tom and Kate have to take on the baddies. Just like he did in the “Taken” movies, Neesen will have to use his talents and skills (and he does again have a set of skills) to persevere. This was a decently made movie of this sort, and it will do until the next Wonder Woman or James Bond movie comes along. You don’t have to go out of your way to see it, but it won’t be a disappointment either.

Unhinged

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Movies are starting to come back, and I am so happy. Nothing beats seeing a movie on a big screen with some “buttery” popcorn and reclining seats. Theaters are also doing a good job of following safety protocols. So all the pieces are in place for a wonderful movie immersion experience…except where are all the movies? Except for “Tenent,” the big studios are still holding back the good ones, hoping to get better box offices with late year releases. It is in this kind of an atmosphere that a movie like “Unhinged” even gets a chance to be noticed. “Unhinged” is a bad movie that stars a good actor. Russell Crowe plays a man who has been beaten down by life and a messy divorce that has turned him into a psychopath. He does that quite well. When the movie opens, we watch him beat in a suburban house door, murder the couple inside, torch the house and impassively watch as it explodes in flames. Only later do we find out that this was his ex-wife and her new husband. In the meantime, our protagonist Rachel, played by Caren Pistorious, is not having a good day. Late for an appointment because of traffic, she gets frustrated with a man who is slow to move when the light turns green and honks her horn at him. Of course, we know who it is, even if we hadn’t already recognized his massive pickup truck. This small act has huge consequences. The rest of the movie revolves around the Man’s vendetta against Rachel, her family, and friends as he becomes more and more unhinged. As Rachel is chased by this unglued man, she makes the most ridiculous decisions, most of which do not involve going to the police for help and result in a number of people dying gruesomely. Like all good psychos and their chosen implements of destruction; the Man is mostly unchallenged, his truck nearly indestructible and he is virtually impervious to crashes and physical injury; until the last 20 minutes or so. He unerringly finds Rachel, her son and family; though some of this is because Rachel, dopey throughout, leaves her no password protected cell phone in her unlocked car to be stolen while she shops at a gas station convenience store. The end of the movie was totally ludicrous. In normal non-COVID times, this movie would be forgotten among the big blockbusters like “Wonder Woman” or the next James Bond movie. Still, a return to the movie theater experience has to start somewhere! So even though it is a subpar movie, I don’t regret watching it, and can’t wait for our next big screen adventure!!

Tenet

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Yay! Seeing a movie in the theatre is back, even if it’s quite different from the experience we are used to. I was so excited about being able to see a movie the way great movies are meant to be seen, that I almost gave this one a Golden Apple. I just couldn’t quite do it though. Tenet is directed by Chrisopher Nolan (Inception is one of his movies) and stars John David Washington (Denzel’s son). This is only the second movie I have seen him in (The first was Blackkklansman), and he is already emerging as a favorite with me. Tenet starts off with a bang as we see Washington playing some kind of secret agent who is “killed” in the line of duty during a special operation that goes awry. Believe me, I will be spoiling nothing if I tell you about the plot because the story is so confusing and convoluted that anything I will tell you might actually help with your understanding of the movie. It seems that people in the future have figured out how to ‘invert’ objects (that is, shift them through time). For example, an inverted bullet could go in the opposite direction it was fired initially, and change history. What if the same thing could be done with a nuclear weapon? All the plot shifts and twists are far, far more complicated than these simple examples. Washington is tasked with trying to stop this from happening. Washington’s partner is Robert Pattinson who may, or may not know what is going on. Everyone involved does a stellar job. The acting is great and the scenery and effects are eye-catching. However, the movie is very hard to follow (especially the first half hour) and there are a few too many plot holes for my taste; though it all eventually comes clear in the end. I still recommend Tenet, because you have never seen anything quite like it, and we all need a little escape into the past.