Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Being the Ricardos

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Are you a fan of the old 1950’s sitcom, “I Love Lucy?”  If so, I think you will enjoy this movie.  If you are asking yourself, “Lucy who?” this may be one to skip.  As I am a fan, I totally enjoyed “Being the Ricardos.”  The whole thing takes place in one week  during the filming of an episode of the hit show.  It starts with the script read  on Monday and takes us all the way to the final live performance on Friday.  Much happens in that week though.  First, Lucille Ball is accused of being a communist.  This revelation could be, and was, the kiss of death for a lot of 50’s actors, writers and directors.  Second, the tabloids had published pictures of Desi out on the town with another woman.  Last of all, Lucy finds out that she is pregnant, and she and Desi have decided to write the pregnancy into the show. This is absolutely unprecedented and shocking to their network and sponsors who were afraid even referring to her as pregnant would  lose viewers (and revenue!).  All of this drama is woven in and out of the performances of the four key players.  And they are all marvelous!  Nicole Kidman does not do an imitation of Lucille Ball, she becomes her.  You really get to see the difference between the ditzy Lucy Ricardo and the tough as nails Lucille Ball.  Javier Bardem surprised me.  I never felt he parodied Desi Arnaz in any way.  J.K. Simmons was the curmudgeonly William Frawley as Fred Mertz.   Nina Arianda is heartbreaking as Vivian Vance who played Ethyl Mertz.  Even though she and Lucille Ball were around the same age, it was always her fate to play older, dowdier and dumpier.  On top of everything else, there are flashback scenes which were my favorites.  These scenes showed how Lucy and Desi met, how much in love they were, and how astute they were as business people. The two Arnaz children apparently approved of this vision of director Aaron Sorkin and they are the executive producers.   If you are looking for a documentary, this is not the movie for you, although you may want to check it out if it streams on Hulu or Netflix.  If you are a fan, you will definitely want to check this one out.

21 Bridges

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What makes this police action thriller rise above the usual ‘cop out for vengance’ movie is the performance of Chadwick Boseman.  I wasn’t sure about another action oriented cop drama.  But I loved him as Jackie Robinson in ’42’ and as T’Challa in ‘Black Panther,’ and so I was willing to give his latest a go.  In this movie, he takes on a role that Denzel Washington might have played back in the day.  The plot is simple.  Two young men are interrupted in the middle of a robbery by some policmen.  When the dust and bullets finally clear,  seven officers are dead.  Precinct Captain McKenna (J.K. Simmons) is out for vengeance for his men, and feels that rogue detective, Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) – who has used his weapon to kill 8 suspects in as many years – is the only person who can make this right.  Davis is saddled with a with a tough partner in Narcotics agent Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller).  She seems to know her stuff, but is that all she knows? The perps are caught on a traffic camera, and identified.  Andre is able to deduce that they are probably still in Manhatten.  In a somewhat unlikely plot device, all 21 bridges that lead into Manhattan are blocked off so that no one can get in or out, including the killers.  As Davis gets closer to the perps, he begins to suspect that not all is as it seems.  The resolution is tense and action packed, if not totally believable.  But, if you like action thrillers, there is nothing here that will disappoint you.

The Snowman

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I had high hopes for this one.  I recently read the book by Jo Nesbo.  He has written seven other books that feature Norwegian detective Harry Hole.  The book was no “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” but was still an interesting read.  I wish the movie had been even 1/10 as good as the novel!  I wonder how people who didn’t read the novel were able to follow the plot, because I was confused and I knew what was happening….kind of.  The action jumped around a lot, and they did not develop the characters well.  You don’t find yourself interested or invested in them, even the main people!  Michael Fassbender is a great actor, but even he couldn’t imbue the character of Harry Hole with any real life or interest.  You never find yourself getting behind him as an investigator. Toby Jones and J.K. Simmons were wasted in their roles, as was a rather debilitated looking Val Kilmer. This was another movie where those involved made inexplicable changes to the plot that added nothing to the story.  For what it’s worth (and no spoiling here) the main story is that a serial killer is killing promiscuous women and sometimes using their heads as a topping for his snow creations.  Detective Hole and his new partner are on the case.  Who is the killer?  What is going on?  Who cares?  This is definitely not one that I would recommend.

Patriots Day

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I found this to be a very well-done movie that recreates the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.  This movie reminded me of some of the events and taught me some things about the investigation that I didn’t know.  Mark Wahlberg plays a composite of several police officers who were on site when the bombing took place and helped with the subsequent manhunt.  J. K. Simmons adds a little well placed comedy relief to this story.   The movie also features some of the survivors at the end, including Dun Meng (played by Jimmy O. Yang) whose carjacking and escape ultimately led to the capture of the Tsarnaev brothers.  You will need to dab your eyes several time throughout the story but especially when retired baseball player David “Big Poppy” Ortiz gives a short, inspiring speech at the end.  Also featured in minor roles are Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Michelle Monaghan.  This is definitely a movie worth watching!

The Accountant

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I love this movie!!  It is one of the quirkiest action movies I have seen in a long time.  There are plot twists, flashbacks, and an autistic “hero.”   The screenplay by Bill Dubuque is sophisticated and smart.  The story centers on Christian Wolff, an autistic accountant who may have underworld connections.  J.K Simmons is the Treasury agent who wants to find him.  There are good supporting performances from Jon Bernthal and Anna Kendrick, as well as Jeffery Tambor and John Lithgow.  This is Ben Affleck’s movie all the way though.  I have taught many students who had Asperger’s or high functioning autism and I can tell you that Ben nails his portrayal of these often misunderstood individuals.  Be prepared though, there is a lot of violence in this movie, more than you might expect if you have seen the movie trailer.  In a way that is too bad, because I think older kids could learn a lot from this.