Category Archives: Documentary

1970's, 1980's, Documentary, Movie Reviews, Movies, Music

REVIEW: “THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART” (2020) HBO

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“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” is informative, entertaining, and heart wrenching as Director/Producer Frank Marshall reveals the band’s soul and the power dynamic that propelled them to superstardom. Probably the most heart breaking part is it’s being told mostly from the point of view of Barry Gibb, the last remaining Gibb brother.

The memories are wonderful moments here as we are taken through the Brothers Gibb early life in Australia. Contrary to what most thought myself included, the brothers were not Australian but born on the Isle of Man and their parents then immigrated from Manchester, England to Australia in the early 50’s where they started their singing trio consisting then of Barry, and twin brothers Maurice & Robin. Returning to the UK in 1967, the height of Beatles fame no less, the Australian producer Robert Stigwood with his insightful visionary eye signs The Bee Gees and we watch as they break into the UK charts after only five months. This leads to a string of hits as well as a massive touring schedule of the USA and Europe before rivalry between Robin and Barry caused the break-up of the band in 1969, the first of a few splits they have over the years.

We follow the story along with commentary from everyone from Eric Clapton, Mark Ronson, Nick Jonas, Chris Martin and Justin Timberlake sharing either first hand stories or how they were influenced. In the case of Nick Jonas, first hand knowledge of what it’s like to shoot to fame overnight in a band with your brothers and how it can affect not only each person individually, but the family dynamic as a whole. We see how the Brothers Gibb rise to the heights of stardom, only to fall dramatically down and get caught in the tidal wave of egos, drugs, drinking and then realize together they are much stronger than when solo. The comeback is monumental as we watch how they evolve to come to Miami, Florida and make famous the ‘Miami sound’ which takes off immediately in underground gay clubs. We are also introduced to younger brother Andy Gibb, whom they refer to as the ‘caboose on the end of the Gibb train of talented brothers’ and as we know, became very successful in his own right. All this leads into how a semi-famous TV star named John Travolta being signed to a million dollar three picture deal – an unheard of deal at that time and one of these pictures was to be ‘Saturday Night Fever‘. Moving along, the brothers go to the ‘Honky Chateau’ where Elton John had just finished recording his highly touted album of the same name and it’s there that the Bee Gees go on to create that magic that was the very successful Saturday Night Fever soundtrack on which every song was a major hit.

It all comes to a crashing halt thanks to their music being labeled ‘Disco’ – something the Bee Gees did not want to be labeled into any type of genre, and a guy named Steve Dahl starting a “Disco Sucks” campaign at Kaminsky Park after a baseball game. He called for everyone to bring their most hated Disco album and burn them along with hundreds of others. Basically it ended up being more of a racist, homophobic record and book burning which The Bee Gees got caught up in through no fault of their own all equaling the end of an era. It was also the night they announced that Andy Gibb would become an official Bee Gee brother – something that sadly never came to fruition as Andy would pass later that same year.

The last chapter here focuses on another rebirth of sorts for the trio as they ended up writing some top hit songs for the likes of Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton duet, Celine Dion and of course who can forget Barry Gibb’s duet with Barbra Streisand. Barry sums up their career perfectly in noting they never wanted a label put on them even though many tried, they just had different periods in their long career.

Andy Gibb – passed away from heart inflammation on March 10, 1988

Maurice Gibb – passed from complications from a surgery on Jan 20, 2003

Robin Gibb – passed from cancer on May 20, 2012

Barry Gibb is still alive and would rather have them all back and no hit songs.

Grade: A

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Review screening: Courtesy of 42 West and HBO

“THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART” COMES TO HBO ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020  

Documentary, Family, Female Director, Holiday, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “DEAR SANTA” (2020) IFC Films

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Being in somewhat of a bad mood due to the rise in Covid cases here and another complete lockdown – I dived into this film all the while thinking I was going into a Christmas film about Santa and his reindeer. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“DEAR SANTA” is a lovely new documentary from Dana Nachman telling us the story of ‘Operation Santa‘ – a lovely program that the United States Postal Office has been operating since 1912 when it was realized something must be done with all the letters children, and yes sometimes even adults, write to Santa each year. There is nothing sweeter than watching the opening where kids excitedly talk about Santa Claus and the letters they write to him. There is nothing that can bring a smile to your face and a lift in your heart more than listening to a young child’s ideal and belief that someone is dedicated to delivering some happiness to each and every one of them. In the 1940’s this wonderful program opened up to the public and has recently has gone online as well. It’s remarkable watching the efforts of everyone from individuals, to families, to companies both large and small, and even other children all join together in this massive effort to bring everyone a little bit of joy during the holidays.

We follow the film as it takes us through big cities and small ones on Christmas day showing us the impact these “Santa’s Elves” have on their communities. We watch as they interview several ‘elves’ in the postal service itself who ‘work with Santa’ to read, sort and deliver the letters received every year. Some of the letters are heart-wrenching as we see families who have been displaced by the huge fire in Paradise, CA or adults who are struggling with just getting beds for their kids. We also follow several of the ‘adopter’ elves i.e., those who go through letters and pick the ones they wish to ‘adopt’ and get the requested gifts and help Santa get those gifts to children and adults all across the country. Some are even past recipients of this wonderful operation and are now giving back in return.

The only beef anyone could possibly come up with about this film is that it’s a bit lengthy, but the end result of it all is this thoughtful, heart-warming, and honest look that proves that not everything is lost in humanity. It’s exactly what’s called for and the world needs back right now, some good old compassion and empathy for others. So if like me you were feeling Grinchy at all this Holiday season – Dear Santa might be just what is in order to remember what makes the season so special.. it’s called giving.

Grade: B+

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Review screening: Courtesy of IFC FILMS

“DEAR SANTA” NOW AVAILBLE ON VOD/DRIVE-INS WHERE AVAILBLE  

 

 

Documentary, Movie Reviews

KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL (2020)

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Remember MySpace? yeah, it barely registers on what it was anymore – yet that is where the world found Kate Nash or more to the point – where she found the world back in 2008. From this she essentially became what is commonly referred to as a ‘one-hit’ wonder – and all of it because of a broken leg suffered while working at Nando’s, a fantastically delicious chicken restaurant chain not known in the States.

More recently others may know her as Rhonda Richardson, AKA Britannica, on the critically acclaimed Netflix series GLOW. As someone familiar with the latter version of Kate Nash, I didn’t have a clue of the story behind the actress, which makes the viewing experience all the more compelling. Like her character Rhonda, Nash has battled her way out of dire circumstances on more than one occasion, and has found herself at the center of something extraordinary, both in the music industry and on the screen.

Essentially this is her side of the story of how to be a one hit wonder and survive it. This is a documentary about surviving the pop industry after you have been dropped by the record label and savaged by critics, trying to kick-start your music career back into gear by playing to small venues paying it all herself from her savings, which doesn’t go well. Something learned those in the music industry a long time ago is, you don’t make money from touring, the money is made in the merchandise – but we aren’t shown any of that here. We are shown how she gets a major big boost by her new manager who has supposedly has ‘big plans’ for her, that really don’t seem to pan out as we see an awkward little show during lunch hour at a PR company of sorts. And then somewhere along the line, we also find out that same manager has been using Kate’s credit card to fund his own wedding. But hold on for a hot minute as has he really been appearing in the filming of a documentary about his artist all the while he was scamming her? What was he thinking?

Well we find out as we see Kate not only be completely devastated by this revelation, but also takes legal action against him and would have gotten a settlement from him had his lawyers not wanted her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. And while the outcome of all this is of course a sweet story, there is something about this documentary that just misses it’s mark a little. Whether it’s the part where she decides she wants to be a singer and actress, without any acting training/skills etc.. or where we never really see any of her actual life. While we see family, we really never see friends or boyfriends, or ever know is she is getting support from people in her life besides just her band & family. So it misses the mark there with me not only there but the Nando’s comment at the beginning almost lost me for good right there and then. As someone who has worked the food service industry for many years, it was truly a put-down of spoiled brat pisser comment to me.  There are many, many people who are having to work in the fast food industry and they don’t all have parents to be buy them electric guitars, or the like so note to Kate, be a bit more appreciative of people who didn’t get ‘discovered’ on MySpace, and serve a big purpose in everyone’s lives as we have come to realize, at least I hope you have now.

I think Kate Nash wanted this whole story to fit her narrative about a plucky British girl that fought against the odds to come back. Down to her last penny and got a role in a Netflix show, and viola’! life is good.  In that way it does succeed, unless you look at it deeply, and then it might raise more questions about it being a little bit of fluff. Either way you look at it, it is worth a watch.

Grade: C+

@pegsatthemovies

 

Media Review Screening ~ Courtesy of K.O. PR

KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL IS AVAILABLE ON ALAMO ON DEMAND

1940'S, 1970's, 1980's, Crime, Crime Thriller, Documentary, Drama, Dramady, History, TV

PEGGY AT THE MOVIES – TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT.. OR NOT – WEEK 5

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And onto week #5 of quarantine TV watches rated by me.

First up:


We’re Here: HBO
Found this gem almost by accident and immediately fell head over heels for it. It’s real life about 3 drag queens who traverse small town America where they have residents from each town participate in a one night only drag show. It’s the storytelling behind each person and town that had me in tears at the end of both episodes that have aired. It’s a much needed watch for the close minded among us.
Grade: A


Tommy: CBS Network
TV diversity is so much bigger than film. But every once is a while comes a show that just doesn’t work as well & the characters feel forced..even with a stellar cast including #EdieFalco & #RussellGJones the storylines just fall flat.
Grade: C


Hollywood: NETFLIX
#RyanMurphy has a signature look to his shows and this one is no different. Set in late 1940’s its beautifully shot but it took me till eps 3 to figure out the difference #DavidCorenswet & #JakePicking – the middle eps. are great, but the finale is predictable & bland. Kudos #PattiLuPone #HollandTaylor & #DylanMcDermott for keeping it interesting.
Grade: C+ bordering B-


Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children: HBO
A startlingly look at what happened to these children & the conviction of #WayneWilliams definitely deserves a watch as Atlanta’s new mayor #KeishaLanceBottoms takes the bold and might I add, right step in re-opening this investigation. It’s eye-opening & heart wrenching-and worth every minute of your time.
Grade: A

That’s a wrap on Peggy at the Movies TV recommendations week 5. Till next week..stay safe and sane.

#tvreviews #womencritic #instareviews #quarantineTV #coronaviruswatching #peggyatthemovies #Atlanta #Tommy #WereHere #Hollywood

Documentary, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “HALSTON” (2019) CNN Pictures

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Halston.  The name is synonymous with iconic fashions of the Seventies. Think Halston and what do you see: Studio 54, Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli – the fashion excesses of the rich and famous of the time period.

Flamboyant dress dictator Roy Halston Frowick was indeed larger than life, and his dirt poor farm boy rise to fashion mogul of the stars story is definitely a fantastic and messy one.  But Documentarian Frederic Tcheng‘s film takes on an odd tone with making a mixed bag of riveting stories, grainy VHS tapestry and a narration done by a ‘fictional character’ i.e., somebody working in the archives, giving the feel of an ‘America’s Most Wanted’ type storytelling.  It seems to be a stretch in an attempt to make a more artistic film, but honestly, any attempts to add interest to Halston’s story were unnecessary as Halston didn’t need it.

So what do we know about Halston exactly that we didn’t – well I for one, didn’t know anything about his early days.  Jackie O’s pillbox hat? Halston. The “hot pants” revolution in the 60’s? you got it..Halston. He started his career at Bergdorf Goodman, the iconic luxury department store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. And from there he received financial backing for his own House of Fashion and viola’, the Halston private studio was born and plans to take over the fashion world began.  He literally put American fashion on the map – thanks in large part to his splash at the Versailles Fashion Show, something which an American fashion designer had never been invited to, let alone taken the show by storm.

Following all this, we get the interviews – ranging from movie director Joel Schumacher, whom partied hard with Halston since the beginning showing us how they were not accepted by some in their fun, freedom living lifestyles in 19060’s gay Fire Island; to model and actress Marisa Berenson, who was one of the first to walk his runway in his clothes and became a movie star; to Elsa Peretti, who created Halston fragrances and worked with him for years. There is also Liza Minelli who has worn Halston exclusively for decades. And lest we forget, Elizabeth Taylor and Bianca Jagger to name a few,  who take us all in for a glimpse at some of the Studio 54 parties, the Andy Warhol years, and Halston’s lavish lifestyle.

Much of the later years center around the impact of business dealings. The 1973 deal where Norton-Simon acquired Halston and his brand, which is what drove his expansion into fragrances, shoes, furniture and more. We see his historic 1980 trip to China, and learn about his record-breaking $1 billion deal with JC Penney, a transaction outsiders described as he “moved from class to mass.” and made Bergdorf-Goldman pull everything of his out of their stores with many high-end’s following suit with theirs as well. We hear stories of his controlling nature and almost sadly watch as Esmark (Playtex) purchases the brand and discovers that once they owned the Halston name,  Halston the man, could be and was, booted from the company with John David Ridge taking over as the ‘designer’ of all things Halston in 1984.

Halston is the true story of this man who designed for the world’s most fashion-conscious people, and for such diverse causes as The Olympics, the Girl Scouts, and Avis company uniforms. Having Esmark erase the Halston history was a downright tragedy.  Having the designer die of AIDS in 1989 at age 57, was an even bigger one.  By that time at least, he had disappeared from public life as his purpose and name were no longer his.

Halston wanted to take over the entire world with his fashion. He almost succeeded.  Now if they could only erase that ridiculous narration – this would be an award winning documentary.

Grade: C

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Media Review Screening: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 ~ Courtesy of Deadline Documentary

 

Biography, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, History

SPIRIT AWARDS NOMINEES – WEEK TWO SCREENING REVIEWS

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Started and finished up Week Two of Spirit Award nominee screenings. Closed it all out on Saturday and granted I didn’t see everything yet, but have gotten in a good portion of those nominated and while some they did provide screeners for most, a few did not (I’m looking specifically at you “Thoroughbreds”), or I made the screenings. From here on it gets real as (drum roll) we vote.

“WILDLIFE” Dir: Paul Dano

‘Wildlife’ is a perfect example of how you can put two very good actor/actresses in a film and it still doesn’t make it good. Jake Gyllenhaal is just plain wooden in his role here and Carey Mulligan almost overacts her role as a cheating housewife. Almost painful to watch what could have had potential, just did not work.
Grade: D

“SUPPORT THE GIRLS” Dir. Andrew Bujalski

I found myself having a soft spot for this one even though it might not have been the best movie I’ve seen – it most definitely had it’s moments while giving a absolute spot on portrayal of what it’s like working in the service industry, most especially in the “Hooters” type atmosphere. Regina Hall leads the cast as the general manager, but almost stealing the show from her are the ‘girls’ Haley Lu Richardson, AJ Michalka, and newcomer Shayna McHayle. James Le Gros as the grubby bar owner rounds this out. It’s definitely got a good #GirlPower message to women servers around the world!
Grade: C+

“COLETTE” Dir: Wash Westmoreland

Colette is yet another true story of female empowerment – a woman with real talent trying to break out of the gilded cage she finds herself trapped in. Colette is the ghost writer of a series of novels about her own life, but because of the times, her husband says they are his and takes credit for them – until she steps out of the cage. While not Keira Knightly’s biggest fan, she does the brooding Victorian women like no other. Dominic West delivers a reliably solid performance as expected, with the supporting cast also doing the same. Sadly, the film seems much longer slog than its 111 minute run time, notably the whole middle portion of the film being somewhat pedestrian as well.
Grade: C

“YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE” Dir. Lynne Ramsay

What a huge letdown this film was for me. Most definitely inspired by ‘Taxi Driver’, and ‘inspired by’ is where it shall remain as this pointless plot about Joaquin Phoenix as hired enforcer with clearly some mom issues of his own. This plot falls all over the place with bad, slow pacing and brings nothing new to the table. Yes, I get it, it supposed to be an ‘art’ film – but even those have to have some semblance of some type of clever conversation or suspense.. anything really. To those that loved it..kudos..
Grade: D

“CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME” Dir: Marielle Heller

Melissa McCarthy brings a whole other side to her acting her with this strong dramatic turn as a celeb bio author who books cease to be published so instead she resorts to ‘authoring’ fake celebrity letters. Something which she is very good at, probably better than writing her actual books truth be told. Aided by the fantastic supporting performance of Richard E. Grant, this film is non-stop literary fun from beginning to end..and by end we mean in jail for fraud.
Grade: B+

“BLACKkKLANSMAN” Dir: Spike Lee

I will confess, Adam Driver kinda kept me away from watching this film because my admitting that I am just not a fan might make some upset because of the whole Star Wars thing etc.. etc.. so Star Wars fanboys I apologize, as I actually liked him here. But come on, John David Washington, was perfection. This movie had me from moment one, and made me laugh with disbelief, but it also made me cry at the very end when you do realize that we ARE letting it happen again – and that breaks my heart. #RIPHeatherHeyer
Grade: A+

“EIGHTH GRADE” Dir: Bo Burnham

I mean all I can say is read my review here to know how much I loved it.

REVIEW: “EIGHTH GRADE” (2018) A24


Grade: A-

“WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” Dir: Morgan Neville

Again, my review from when I saw this wonderful film earlier in the year.

REVIEW: WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” (2018) Focus Features


Grade: A+

@pegsatthemovies

Crime, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Independent Feature, Movie Reviews, Movies, Mystery, Romance, Spirit Awards, Thriller

Spirit Awards Review Nominee Screenings – week one

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So I am a member of Film Independent and every year they do a two-week long jaunt of screenings of all the Spirit Award Nominees. As a lover of Indie films, these two weeks are quite heavenly as not only are the screenings just a short distance from me, but let me see and open my eyes to many films that you don’t always get a media screening invite for. It gave me personally an extra benefit this year as I was quite ill, especially these past few months and missed quite a few of screenings I did have. So onward with brief thoughts and grades on everything I’ve seen so far. Mind you, I did miss some of these even, as not only do they do a whole block of them on weekends as in four in a row – I had a medical time-out for most of the week. Luckily, many of the films are luckily on Netflix, Prime or Hulu – and as voters are also provided with links to watch all of nominated films. But truthfully, watching films on a laptop just seriously isn’t how they are meant to be viewed now is it. So with that in mind – here we go. (following in the format of the Film Independent Screening Awards schedule)

Day One:
“SORRY TO BOTHER YOU” Dir: Boots Riley

I was really loving the first part of this film as it was satire sharp, imaginative and funny. But not only does it run too long, but that bizarro left turn it takes in the last third of the movie will surely leave most as bewildered as I was.
Grade: C-

Day Two:
“SHIRKERS” Dir: Sandi Tan

This was a great little women-driven documentary that takes on a journey of a lost film, a strange relationship that made that happen, and all the friends along the way. But maybe it’s the oddness of all of it put together that works so well.
Grade: B

“LEAVE NO TRACE” by Debra Granik

If you asked me if I thought I would enjoy a film about a man (Ben Foster) and his 13-yr. old daughter (Thomasin McKenzie) who have been living off the grid in an urban park of all places, and what happens when they make a single mistake and get caught, well I would’ve have probably laughed a bit and given you a ‘NO’ in response. As it was, I loved this film. It was taunt with drama, and the age old question of what is right or perceived as so, and what is wrong, again, perceived as so.
Grade: A

“HEREDITARY” by Ari Astor

While the film wasn’t scary per se for me, nor a particularly good horror film by any stretch, it did stitch itself together enough to follow along and be entertaining mostly because Toni Collette took it there. I had forgotten about Gabriel Byrne somewhat over the years, but his supporting role along with Ann Dowd, Milly Shapiro and Alex Wolff topping off with good performances of their own, helped bring this film up a notch to be sure.
Grade: C

“ROMA” Dir: Alfonso Cuarón

A completely different take on the trials and tribulations in the life of a maid in to a rather dis-functional wealthy family in 1970’s Mexico City. While Yalitza Aparicio is a breath of fresh air to be sure, along with Marina de Tavira and well, truly the whole cast, I do think it’s a bit over-hyped in the ‘how good it is’ department. Mind you it IS good and I will leave it at that.
Grade: B

Day Three:

“PRIVATE LIFE” Dir: Tamara Jenkins

Both Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti give a completely believable ordeal of what one couple goes through to have a child – including numerous fertility ordeals, tests, fake surrogates, family surrogates, money and most of all their own lives and relationships, in a series of choices that can only make one cringe at times as to what some will choose to endure.
Grade: C-

“THE FAVOURITE” Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos

Let me just shout about how much and how long I’ve loved Olivia Colman. I always felt she was under-utilized so much or not given enough credit for her work. Here, she finally gets her lead role that will no doubt finally change all that and bring her an award. Alongside Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone as her supporting, they do a commendable job of making this odd story come to life. While I didn’t love the film overall, the performances were so strong. Even Nicholas Hoult dons the old British wig and make-up to do a fun spin here as the strangest of cads. All said and done, just give Olivia her due already and be done with it.
Grade: C+

Day Four

“MADELINE’S MADELINE” Dir: Josephine Decker

I tried very hard to find a redeeming quality of this film and I just really didn’t find one. It was all over the place with nonsensical scenes cutting back and forth to add up nothing of what makes a film flow from scene to scene. It completely lacked any sense as you didn’t know if Molly Parker’s character was wanting Madeline (Helena Howard) to be crazy or making her crazy. All in all, it just lacked any and all of the Drama/Mystery/Thriller it is categorized as.
Grade: D-

“MINDING THE GAP” Dir: Bing Liu

As we know not all documentaries are going to be a pleasant, happy experience. This one however, made me feel as though I was watching a long drawn out episode of Teen Mom. And while I’ve never actually watched that show, I’m going to guess if you add in their boyfriends and skateboards, you’ve got it down pat. Enough said.
Grade: D-

“FIRST REFORMED” Dir: Paul Schrader

Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried both give good performances here and once again, without that this would be a truly hard film to sit through in it’s entirety. I just wish the movie didn’t drag so much for so long in many different parts. It’s seems as it’s trying to be a social commentary on despair, climate change, torment and tragedy all wrapped up in a bow that you see the ending coming right at you by the 30th minute leaving nothing to chance.
Grade: C

Day Five:

“If Beale Street Could Talk” Dir: Barry Jenkins

While I wasn’t Moonlight’s biggest fan, I did find Beale Street to be a far better film to be sure. I still didn’t love it as it left a lot of questions unanswered for me that I wanted to know and made it feel incomplete to me. While Kiki Lane and Stephan James are the leads, for me it was all about Regina King and Michael Beach (who is all of a sudden in so many projects and I love this fact) who really brought home the acting. And while so much of this hit hard, there was just still too much I wanted to know more about.
Grade: C+

And that’s all I’ve seen at this point – but I’ve still this weeks schedule and to make up some of last week’s also. So please come back as I will hopefully be posting more often again.

@pegsatthemovies

Biography, Documentary

REVIEW: WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” (2018) Focus Features

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“Won’t You Be My Neighbor” is hands down, the best film I’ve seen all year. And you might say “Oh it’s not a film, it’s a documentary” and you would be right. But it is still the best film of 2018 so far.

“WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” is a beautifully done, heartwarming tribute to Fred Roger’s and his Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood show – which changed children’s television forever. This film highlights Rogers’ humanity and decency and shows how he brought his message to children everywhere. He was a Christian pastor who brought his values to work – without trying to preach or force his religion on you. I must say as a person who doesn’t believe in religion myself..he was truly the epitome of the word “good christian” probably the last of his kind as many who tout themselves as that now, couldn’t hold a candle to this man. And he gave everything to kids and truly cared about their views of the world and what happens to them.

His message remains timely today and also shows the importance of PBS. Interviews with everyone from his wife to his co-workers capture the essence of this wonderful human being.
The film is so well done and emotional – making you laugh, smile and yes, even grown men had tears during some remarkable moments. He made me think again and want to pass along his message of Love..yes..Love people. Do I wonder how he would handle today’s horrible effect of reality TV and what is going on with children being shot at school..yes I do. And I sure wish he was here to help in this time of inexplicable hate.. Please do yourself a favour and watch this film – it might give us all pause to think for a moment.

Grade: A+
@pegsatthemovies

Thank you to @filmindependent and @lacma for this screening.

1940'S, Action, awards, Biography, CGI, Crime, Documentary, Drama, History, Independent Feature, Movie Reviews, Movies, Musical, Mystery, Oscar Awards, political, Religious, Romance, Sci Fi, War, Western

FINAL DAY: COUNTDOWN TO THE OSCARS ~ “BEST PICTURE”

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WE ARE HERE!!! The final day of my Oscar Countdown and I’ve saved the biggest and best for last. While this is a very good slate of films, and most of them deserve to be here, for the first time ever, I don’t have a picture that I truly ‘LOVED’ this year in this category as Nocturnal Animals wasn’t nominated. I liked them all, again, some more than others, and while I still have a pick – there is no one clear choice for me. That and my pick has no chance of winning whatsoever. So with that being said…I always hope for a few fun upsets!

BEST PICTURE

Arrival
While I really enjoyed this film, one of the best Sci-Fi movies I’ve seen, but can I roll with it for best picture? nah, but it is worth a watch, especially if you like this genre. It also has a very relevent message for this day and age of politics that we now live in. It shows that hate for something or someone different, really doesn’t need to be. Truthfully right now, I would trust an alien more than the circus clown act we have in charge at the moment.

Fences
While I liked this film at points, on other points it just lagged or went to fast as they literally took every single word from the play and put it into the film. I get it, you don’t want to mess with the original sometimes, but in this case, trimming it down some would have been beneficial and the movie suffered as a result of not doing so.

Hacksaw Ridge
Let’s face it, the first 45 minutes of this was an absolute cheese-fest. The remainder – sort of a gore-fest. And while it did good at the points of making you flip-flop on what you wanted that main character to do, it also gave us some Brits & Aussies doing terrible attempts at southern accents.

Hell or High Water
While it’s good to see a film be remembered from earlier in the year, and I liked the film, it just really never struck a chord with me as award material when watching.

Hidden Figures
I enjoyed this film a lot and it was about time something was done and made about these three fantastic women and what they contributed to our NASA space program in the 60’s. It had some big ups and a few downs with the tone of it all.

La La Land – WINNER
With an opening scene that I just loved and so well done, you would think the rest of the film was going to be just as good. It’s not. Mind you it’s a good watch, but far from a great one and just a little to far-fetched, cutsey perfect for me. But hey, WHIPLASH was so damn good and was what a jazz story could be, that well, I guess I’ll give a groan when this wins, but I can’t hate on it completely.

Lion – MY PICK
While far far from a perfect film, the first half delivers big and is terrific, but it’s second half drags a lot until you get to the last 10 minutes or so. Again, I’m not in love with it. Having a great post Q & A with Dev Patel and first time director Garth Davis probably helped me some, but it did move me as a wonderful story of hope. And with that, I picked it even though I know it has absolutely no chance of winning.

Manchester by the Sea
For me, the film isn’t terrible – but honestly, I had no idea what as happening in the first 20-30 minutes. You just knew the guy was angry, but no clue as to why. It took 2 hrs. to get to the point and those 2 hrs. seemed like many more at times.

Moonlight
While watching this film, I couldn’t help thinking I’ve seen this story before..and I have – noting the fact it was done much better on the ‘The Wire’ and I think I would have liked to see three episodes of that again vs. this film. It was more than a tad inconsistent, with the first two thirds much better than the last third, and I was distracted by having characters played by multiple actors who looked nothing alike. That being said, it’s a good film considering the shoe-string budget it was made on.

@pegsatthemovies
Thanks all for taking the time to give this a read. Let me know your thoughts on if you agree or disagree with my picks. Don’t forget to give this page a follow or a follow on twitter as well @pegsatthemovies. Cheers!

awards, Documentary, Foreign Film, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY ONE ~ “BEST FOREIGN FILM & BEST DOCUMENTARY”

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Well, Well, Well.. here we are!! At that time of year once again where I give a countdown of my top Oscar categories, hence the title “7 Days of Oscars” – This year I’m starting off gently, and I’ve added in two categories ~ Best Foreign Language Film & Best Documentary Feature ~ and I’m starting off with those two. I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they don’t always necessarily coincide with each other!! 😀

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Embrace of the Serpent
I did like this film as it was truly interesting to me. Not a pick though.

Mustang – MY PICK
Simply LOVED this film! By far, one of the best movies I saw this year period.

Son of Saul – WINNER
People seem to love this movie. As someone who was told many camp stories as a child by family members who had been in them, it rang very false to me. Didn’t really like the film at all.

Theeb
While this movie told a good story, I just didn’t gravitate towards it as much as I did others.

A War
This is the only one I haven’t seen yet, though I plan to this week as it’s the last one on my list to do so.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Quick note – Documentaries are never easy watches.. They are hard and quite depressing, though mostly eye-opening, they can be difficult to watch – this years picks are no different.

Amy – WINNER
Sad & Heartbreaking are just two of the words I would use to describe this doc on the life of Amy Winehouse. While showcasing how beautiful her voice was, it also shows how at times, some just can’t handle the trappings of fame that go along with a gift like this.

Cartel Land – MY PICK
This would actually be my pick for best documentary and while it has a chance at winning, Amy will probably be the one. This story is simply put and very straight-forward showing that even behind the good, there is bad. And it shows us all, it will never end.

The Look of Silence
Possible one of the hardest watches of the whole movie season for me. It might sound silly, but I even had to put down my popcorn I was so disturbed and more than one person left the screening. The true evil of people never fails to boggle ones mind.

What Happened, Miss Simone?
Well done portrait of Nina Simon’s life. While I wasn’t completely familiar with all her music as it was quite before my time, I knew who she was. The accounting of her struggle with mental illness & being banished by promoters for her support of the race struggles at the time is shown in some great footage.

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Also haven’t seen this one as I just couldn’t do three movies in a row on this day of screenings. It’s just too hard sometimes with the depressing nature of documentaries. I can only handle so much. I will see it this week tho.