Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

The Father

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Here is another intense movie up for a few Academy Awards. “The Father” is a serious and disquieting movie. Outstanding performances from Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman (both previous Oscar winners) give this movie a prestigious and rather regal look. The story takes place mainly in the mind of Hopkins, who plays a man in the final stages of dementia. He lives with his daughter (Olivia Colman). Or does he? You will be just as confused as Hopkin’s character is as you watch him try to figure out what is going on in his life. Both actors give heartbreaking tour-de-force performances which deservedly have garnered them award nominations. The performers, as well as the writer and director, do an outstanding job of bringing us into this world as active observers. You will really empathize with the characters as they struggle to find their way through the illusions and confusions many have faced, and will deal with in the course of aging. It will really make you think about this aspect of what many families must deal with while facing the end of life. If you want to see two acting greats at the top of their game, this is a movie not to miss.

Nomadland

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This is one of the movies up for a best picture Academy Award and I wouldn’t be surprised it took home the Oscar. This is a compelling story full of sadness and hope. At the heart of the story is Frances McDormand, brilliant as usual, playing a tough, independent woman named Fern. Fern has lost everything, her husband, her home, and her job. Even her home is empty, deserted in a town that has turned into a ghost town. So she takes to the road and is living a nomadic existence. She lives in her van, traveling the more unsettled parts of America and taking various odd jobs in different cities and campgrounds. Along the way, we are introduced to a variety of intriguing characters. Some embrace their nomadic lifestyle; while for others, it is a tragic happenstance of life that took them out on the road. But there is an indisputable comradeship and mutual support and faith that she finds with her fellow travelers. Despite everything that Fern goes through, she never loses her indomitable spirit and her joyous exaltation of nature. I have read that some of the actors in the movie were real nomads who didn’t have any idea that Frances was an actress. They tell heartbreaking, enthralling stories that you will not soon forget.

Land

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“Land” is not a movie that everyone is going to enjoy, but I really liked it. Robin Wright gives a bravura performance as Eydee, a city girl who suffers a heartbreaking tragedy and decides kind of ‘out of the blue’ to move to an isolated, run down cabin in the Rockies. She has no car, no electricity and no phone. There is no running water and her bathroom is a crumbling outhouse. She is also very ill-prepared to survive the harsh winters. She even tries to do some tasks by reading instructions as she tries them out. Most of the movie centers on Wright and her struggles to survive a harsh winter on her own. She faces brutal snow storms, destructive animals (including a bear who tears up her living area and food), and even starvation as she comes to realize that she needs more than the ‘How-To’ books she has brought with her. Eydee is saved by a stranger, the gentle and kind Miguel who promises to teach her survival skills. Together with a companion who is a nurse from the nearest town, they manage to nurse her back to health. Miguel gives her some companionship, and teaches her a few essentials – like learning how to shoot and dress a deer! Robin Wright also directed this and the scenery is exquisite. I don’t know if it will be nominated for any awards, but it is a decent movie with a partly sad ending (I’ll say no more) that somehow is still hopeful.

The Little Things

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Yay – our local theatre at Arundel Mills is back in business! We were there for the re-opening, so to speak, since it was the first Saturday the county allowed it to be open in several months. Everything is looking good, and the management is doing a great job. As you can imagine, there were some technical difficulties with starting everything back up. The movie was delayed about 20 minutes so the manager gave everyone a free pass to a future movie for our inconvenience. (We really weren’t inconvenienced, but we’ll take it!). Now to the movie. “The Little Things” stars Denzel Washington as a small town deputy sheriff, Joe “Deke” Deacon, who used to be a big deal detective in Los Angles. Something bad happened during his last case in Los Angeles and he ended up losing his wife, having a heart attack, and having to leave under a dark cloud. Whatever it was will keep you guessing until the end. He’s back in LA on a routine assignment to pick up a piece of evidence, and is delayed and sort of tags along with the current hot shot detective Sgt. Jim Baxter, played by Rami Malek. Baxter is facing a possible serial killer and it seems his case may be related in some ways to a cold case of Deke’s. Jared Leto is his usual weird and creepy villain who may or may not be the sadistic serial killer. Denzel is at his quiet best, and he and Rami finesse their impromptu alliance well. Jared excels in his portrayal of the odd and subtly maleficent suspect. My friend, Dava, says this movie reminds her of “Seven,” starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, with Kevin Spacey. I tend to agree. If you enjoyed “Seven”, are fans of Denzel or Rami, or like to predict what will happen next, this is the movie for you.

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.