El Camino Christmas (2017)

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DailyView: Day 241, Movie 333

I meant to watch this first thing this morning for the DailyView, but I woke up to the internet connection being out. Not sure how long the internet would be out, I watched one of the Studio Ghibli films off DVD. However, it was not too long after I finished watching that movie that the internet returned. So I wrote the review for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and then I went to Netflix for El Camino Christmas.

I had seen the Rotten Tomatoes score for the film and it was at 40%. My expectations were low.

I really enjoyed this movie. I found it funny, filled with some awesome characters with a fantastic cast.

Eric Norris (Luke Grimes) arrived in El Camino, Nevada hoping to find the father who deserted him as a baby. Unfortunately, his trip led him to a drunken former vet Larry Roth (Tim Allen). Meanwhile, crooked local law officer Carl Hooker (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his idiot partner Deputy Billy Calhoun (Dax Shepard) arrest Eric on suspicion of meth dealing, and Carl beats Eric up trying to get a confession.

To avoid the potential police brutality charge that was coming, Billy let Eric loose. Eric was seen by Carl and they engaged in a car chase. This ended up with Eric inside a Liquor store with Carl, shot in the leg by Larry, the owner of the store Vicente (Emilio Rivera), liquor store worker Kate Daniels (Michelle Mylett) and her five-year old son Seth (Ashton Essex Bright), turning into a hostage situation.

Sheriff Bob Fuller (Yearwood Smith) is out front with Billy, keep control of the crazed situation that was only being escalated by the local police intervention.

I really enjoyed this movie as it went from straight comedy to a thriller with some tense moments. It even takes some time to take the potentially one note Carl and give him some character motivation that makes sense and creates an understanding of why Carl is the way he is. Vincent D’Onofrio is great as always and brings a level to Carl that a less talented actor may not have been able to do.

Tim Allen is better here than I have seen him in a long time and he plays a character unlike any other Tim Allen character I have seen before.

This was dark and funny, with engaging characters in a terrible situation. It was not what I expected, but I like this a lot.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

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DailyView: Day 241, Movie 332

I woke up this Christmas morning to the Internet service I subscribe to out completely. That put the DailyView into uncertainty. I had intended to watch the El Camino Christmas on Netflix (which will come later this afternoon), but that is yet to come. Because of the lack of streaming, I pulled out my Studio Ghibli DVD and looked for one of the remaining films I needed to see.

I picked The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

What a sad and joyous experience that was. It was a long film, one of the longest animated movies that I have seen, and it was a gorgeously animated film, with images of amazing artistic skills and glorious hand-drawn art.

I watched the English dubbed version of the film, so I heard some voices that I recognized such as Mary Steenburgen, Chloë Grace Moretz and James Caan.

The Bamboo Cutter (James Caan) was cutting down bamboo when he found a tiny princess. He took her home and gave it to his wife (Mary Steenburgen). The princess turned into a baby and started to grow quicker than normal. As she ages, she meets local kids and becomes close with them. Eventually, her father finds gold in the bamboo and he decided that he needed to take her to the capitol so she could become a proper princess in the upper class of Japanese society. Being dubbed Princess Kaguya in a naming ceremony, Kaguya started to rebel against the expectations of being a princess.

The story is an adaptation of one of the oldest Japanese folklore tales. The story is beautiful and the characterization is wonderful. It shows the way that women are treated in Japanese society, as well as in many other areas of the world as well.

It was too long. However, it is such a beautiful piece of art and a lovely and very sad film. It is a commitment to watch, but it is worth the time.

Lucky

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I had received a recommendation to watch Lucky on Shudder, and I had heard that this was one of the best movies of the year. No doubt that it is a solid new take on the slasher movie with a message to say. Natasha Kermani directed the film and leaves some things maddeningly unresolved.

The general idea behind the story is that May (Brea Grant), a self-help book author, is in a shaky marriage with her husband Ted (Dhruv Uday Singh), but she is being attacked by a home invader every night and she has to fight him off to survive.

People she tells either does not believe her or does nothing to help her and she continues to be frustrated by events. When ted leaves her alone, she becomes even more worried as the strange events repeat themselves every night, no matter where she is.

As the film progresses toward the conclusion, it becomes apparent that Lucky is more about the message and less about the plot. It seems to be a gigantic metaphor for the way women are treated and about the issue of misogyny in the lives of women.

My first instinct when the film ended was that I wanted more, I wanted more of a conclusion to the story than what the film was presenting. However, upon reflection, Lucky became more about the idea than the story. It deals with the struggle of women in the world and the challenges that they have to fight to accomplish. It does discard much of the narrative structure to end the film with a shocking turn, leaving the results very unresolved. It is a fascinating film that takes some big swings that mostly create the image that Natasha Kermani wants to project.

This won’t be for everyone, but the message is important and dominates the movie.

3.5 stars

Best and Worst Sci-Fi Movies of the Year

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Science fiction has been a staple of geek culture for decades. Some of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time are films that are beloved among this community. So to look at the best and the worst of this genre is a must. Some years there are more than others where as other years there are a lot. 2021 is somewhere in the middle.

As a general rule, although I could include them if I wanted to because they really do fit, I do not allow any super hero/comic book movies in the Sci-Fi category. It just makes it neater.

Let’s start with the worst….

Worst Sci-Fi Movie of the Year: Infinite

Infinite (2021) - IMDb

This film had a terrible reputation before I saw it, but I still started up a Paramount + account in order to basically see this. It was so bad. It has two huge actors in Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor, which only makes it worse. It deals with some garbage like past lives and hallucinations from past lives and I really do not remember much more about it than that. I know I got a couple months free of Paramount + in a deal and that meant I spent more than I should have for this film.

Other Dis-honorable mentions: Reminiscence with Hugh Jackman wastes what could have been a decent premise for a dull, stupid mystery/romcom. Voyagers was Lord of the Flies in space. It was unlikable and I went to the theater, during a time when I wasn’t doing that much, to see this. Ugh. Awake on Netflix literally put me to sleep in one of the most ironic moments of my movie going experience for 2021. Could we call F9 sci-fi? They do go into space and it was terrible. Video game based fantasy film Monster Hunter is another borderline sci-fi film that was horrendous.

Previous Best Sci-Fi Movie Winners:

Best Sci-Fi Movie

Previous Winners:  Upgrade, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, The Martian, Ex Machina, Star Trek Into Darkness, Edge of Tomorrow, Freaks, The Invisible Man

Best Science fiction movie of the year: Dune

Dune (2021) - IMDb

Of course it is. Dune from director Denis Villeneuve was a huge risk that has paid off with a film that was beautiful to look at, even if it felt like it was not a complete story. Dune did well enough in the box office, despite being released also on HBO Max day and date, to warrant the sequel that Villeneuve had hoped to do. It was a passion project from Denis and it showed. This first film may be even more beloved when the second one comes out.

Honorable mentions: Tom Hanks in the future with a dog and a robot is a can’t miss film and the Apple TV + film Finch was the result. One of the films that snuck under the radar this year is Boss Level, another Groundhog Day type film that does some wonderful things. The Tomorrow War from Amazon Prime starring Chris Pratt was fine, although not the greatest of the year. Swan Song was a film filled with great performances, especially from Mahershala Ali.

Swan Song

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Apple TV + has had a few movies on their streaming service in 2021, but they have not had a lot. There are more series than movies. However, Mahershala Ali’s new sci-fi film, Swan Song, debuted on the service last week and he is a standout in the film.

Cameron (Mahershala Ali), a loving husband and father, was diagnosed with a terminal illness. His doctor (Glenn Close) presented him with an opportunity to spare his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris), who just recently lost her twin Andre (Nyasha Hatendi), the grief of his death. She offered to have him replaced with a duplicate of himself who would insert himself into his family’s life without them knowing.

Mahershala Ali brings a major performance in this dual role, playing the uncertainty and the anguish of a man not sure if what he was doing was right. Mahershala Ali is really strong and elevated the film, which is okay, to another level.

Performances are absolutely the strength of this movie because not only is there Mahershala Ali, but Awkwafina, who plays another person who has already replaced herself with a duplicate, is amazing and Naomie Harris as Poppy has some really powerful moments over the loss of her brother.

The premise is excellent too, but the film does not feel as if it takes the steps to really commit to it. Thanks to the performances, Swan Song turned out to be a worthwhile experience.

Swan Song is currently available on Apple TV +.

3.6 stars

White Christmas (1954)

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DailyView: Day 240, Movie 331

I was not expecting to see this movie start off with a scene from World War II. White Christmas is a classic Christmas film that has only a tangential connection to the holiday, but features Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in all their glory.

After saving his life during the war, Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) convinced musical star Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) that they would work better as a theatrical pair when the war was over. With great success, they stop off to see a new group, the Haynes Sisters. Judy (Vera-Ellen) and Betty (Rosemary Clooney). They hit it off and they wind up at the same place in Vermont. an inn owned by their beloved former General, Thomas Waverly (Dean Jagger). The unexpected lack of snow has caused financial struggles for the General. Wallace and David decided that they would help the general out by putting on their show.

There was a lot of great music. Again though, the only Christmas music is White Christmas which is done at the beginning and at the very end.

The dancing is brilliantly choreographed, especially the first dance scene with Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. That dance routine to “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” is so spectacular.

The film is totally sweet and I can see where some people may think it was too much. There were typical misunderstandings involved in the plot that cause problems that could be overcome with just some communication. Thanks a lot, Mary Wickes (who played the nosy Emma).

There are some great parts tot eh film. It might be a bit too long, but the music and dance were fantastic and Bing Crosby, and especially, Danny Kaye were wonderful.

A Very Murray Christmas (2015)

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DailyView: Day 240, Movie 330

Christmas Eve brings a little treat I found on Netflix. Bill Murray in a Christmas special featuring a group of celebrities, music and some funny comedy.

Bill Murray starts off in the middle of a blizzard in a hotel where he is scheduled for a live Christmas special, but the spirit was hardly jolly within him. Paul Schaffer was with him, happily playing the piano.

A series of celebrities showed up to sing, even if they could not truly sing. We have Maya Rudolph, Chris Rock, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones, David Johansen, and the band Phoenix.

There were several songs that were just off enough that they worked very well. I loved the whole Bill Murray/Chris Rock duet “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Chris Rock’s entire antipathy of the moment was only out shadowed by the electricity going off.

With the live special cancelled, Murray took it to the bar and there was just some joyous performances. The French indie pop band Phoenix performed a wonderful song called “Alone on Christmas Day” with Murray jumping in and out of the frame.

There was a fun section that occurred in Murray’s mind after he passed out from too much drinking. This moment included the arrival of George Clooney and Miley Cyrus. Clooney was a hoot in the song “Santa Claus wants Some Lovin”.

In the end, I enjoyed this film, a homage to the old variety show format. I was also impressed with the voice on Maya Rudolph, who I do not think I have heard sing before. A Very Murray Christmas was witty and fun, a real surprise for the season.

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

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DailyView: Day 239, Movie 329

We are just two days away from Christmas, so there is no better time to watch a Halloween horror anthology film than now. Okay, maybe instead I am watching this movie, 2007’s Trick ‘r Treat because it is leaving HBO Max at the end of December and I want to watch it. A little bit of October in December never hurt anyone…except perhaps a whole bunch of characters in this movie.

Trick ‘r Treat had several small stories all taking place in the same town of Warren Valley, Ohio on Halloween night where a certain add trick-or-treater named Sam (Quinn Lord) seemed to be enforcing the riles and customs of All Hallows’ Eve.

There are several stories that were being told in a non-linear narrative, jumping around showing how they may be tied together. These include a school principal Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) who, along with his annoying son Charlie (Brett Kelly), appeared to be some form of serial killer (though the film does not go into much detail on this bit of the tale), a group of kids pulling a trick dealing with an old legend of a bus crash, Kreeg (Brian Cox), Wilkins ill tempered neighbor and his hatred of Halloween and mysterious background, as well as Laurie (Anna Paquin) and her sister Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith) who were attending a surprise party.

These stories appeared separate but they did continue to mix across during the narrative. There were some real gross out moments (I hate vomit scenes) and several extremely creepy moments. The irony is thick through Trick ‘r Treat and it keeps you intrigued to see where it was going next. It also makes you wonder why this town is such a mecca for the mysterious.

The framing of the film was much like a comic book, which DC Comics put out a graphic novel of the film (which was initially supposed to be a four issue weekly series but had to be redone when the film was delayed).

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy Halloween!

C’mon C’mon

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Director Mike Mills’ new film has a simple story, but it dives into considerable depth of character, looking at the relationships between adults and kids, in C’mon C’mon.

Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) is a journalist who is working on a project that calls for him to interview kids across the country. Suddenly, he is tossed into a situation in Los Angeles where he has to help take care of his nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) because Jesse’s mother/Johnny’ sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) has to help her ex-husband (Scoot McNairy) get past a major life event.

However, Johnny needed to continue his work in New York so he convinces Viv to let him take Jesse with him to the Big Apple.

The relationship between Johnny and Jesse is at the center of the film, but it is not the only relationship investigated. Johnny and Viv’s mother/son relationship is looked at as well as the relationship between Jesse and his father. Each one is realistic and caring, showing the depth of love between the individuals as well as the amount of other feelings that occur in a normal relationship.

Johnny struggled as he was unused to having to connect with a 9-year old kid before, searching for support on the phone with Viv, both verbally and via text. You can see how close Johnny and Jesse becomes through the difficulties of living in the world.

The film is beautifully shot in black and white, bringing a richness to the imagery of the land. We get to see the differences between LA, New York and, eventually, New Orleans, as Johnny continued his work interviewing kids about their thoughts and concerns.

Some of the interviews with the kids are wonderfully intriguing and feel as if they are real. I do not know if these are actors as the interview subjects, but if they are, they do a tremendous job of feeling genuine. These interviews play over the end credits as well and help to emphasize the themes of the movie.

C’mon C’mon is poignant and emotional and anyone who has relationships with kids are going to relate to the film. Joaquin Phoenix is subtly great and Woody Norman gives a fantastic performance. Gaby Hoffmann is amazing as well, especially considering that, for most of the movie, all she has to act opposite is the phone she is talking on.

This film is recently available on VOD and is a very strong and positive film you should search out.

4 stars

MacGruber (2010)

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DailyView: Day 239, Movie 328

There are some comedy movies that I skip because I believe that I am not going to like the humor and then, when I see it, I laugh and find it extremely funny and wonder why I ever doubt it.

And then there is MacGruber.

This was so stupid. I hated it. It was filled with so much stupid immature humor that I may have giggled at once (maybe) and I feel dumber after watching it.

It did not help that I watched this on Peacock and I had to pause for commercials throughout the movie despite having paid for the No Ads.

That aside, this SNL skit was nowhere near effective or funny enough to extend out to 90 minutes. The film was filled with humor that was obnoxious.

It was cool to see former and current WWE superstars Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, The Great Kahli, MVP, Big Show and Kane as MacGruber’s squad that die immediately. Their appearance was a highlight and their death a low light.

Kristen Wiig is decent in the stupid movie. Val Kilmer is here too.

I can’t believe that I wasted my time with this.

The Matrix Resurrections

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Back in 1999, there was a science fiction adventure film released that was imaginative, inspirational and epic. It was called The Matrix. It transcended the theater and planted itself squarely in the pop culture zeitgeist of a generation. Then came a pair of sequels that most (though admittedly not all) of the people believed were a major step down. They convoluted the narrative structure of the original until it was a mess.

Then, almost 20 years later, one of the original creators of the original, returned and resurrected the series with a brand new film featuring some of the same stars and several of the same characters.

The Matrix Resurrections returns to the world of the Matrix with our favorite Neo (Keanu Reeves) back on tow. Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), who died in the third film, is here too. Morpheus is back, sort of, with a different actor taking the role made famous by Laurence Fishburne, although it is not quite the same.

Then there are a group of other secondary characters who make up the crew, most notably Bugs (Jessica Henwick). None of these secondary characters mean much.

Our villain from the original trilogy was Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving, is now being played by Jonathan Groff, in one of the more interesting takes. Agent Smith’s newness is strange and I can honestly say I am not sure how it happened. I must have missed that reason among the ton of exposition being dropped.

Another villain was Neil Patrick Harris. He plays villains surprisingly well. He has some great facial expressions that provide the Analyst with his development.

I’m not sure if you can tell from my tone so far, but I did not like this movie very much.

It started meta to the max as Mr. Anderson was shown as the creator of a video game called The Matrix and that all of Neo’s memories were inside the game as fiction instead of truth. He was shown as mentally unstable and it had been stated that he was suffering from mental illness. I have to say the whole meta narrative started to pull me in a bit. I was wondering exactly where it could go from there.

Where it did go was to Exposition City. The next hour (or more) of the film was spent telling us what had happened and how our heroes had been placed in this new reality. Some of the exposition was documented through scenes from the original trilogy to help cement the concept.

It was during this period of time that I found myself losing interest.

The action scenes continued to be repetitive and were nowhere as inventive as the ones from The Matrix.

Most of the second half of the movie was spent trying to reawaken Trinity from the Matrix and getting her out while avoiding the Swarm, which was absolutely not zombies.

I enjoyed Keanu and Carrie-Ann in their iconic roles. They were a strength of the film. It continued to look tremendous and the CGI was top notch. I’m not sure the purpose of the film. The narrative was a basic retread with a few tweaks, and the characters were flat and uninspiring. Jonathan Groff was great too, as he always is.

There is a post credit scene that is as out of place as much of the rest of the movie. I feel as if there is a story inside this film that has a comment about the overall use of nostalgia in Hollywood, but it never takes full grasp. Otherwise, there is nothing new here and The Matrix Resurrections should have just stayed in the goo.

2.2 stars

The Gambler (1980)

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DailyView: Day 238, Movie 327

I needed a movie that would fit into the small window I had today and I went on to Peacock to find it. I almost watched it last night before Hawkeye episode 6 was broadcast, but time got away from me. So I picked up The Gambler, starring country music superstar, the late Kenny Rogers.

The Gambler is a Western. Kenny Rogers played poker connoisseur Brady Hawkes, a grifter who received a letter from a son (Ronnie Scribner) he did not know he had. His son, Jeremiah, wrote that he and his mother needed his help.

As he was traveling by train, Hawkes met a young, brash gambler named Billy Montana (Bruce Boxleitner) who was cheating in a poker game. Hawkes taught Billy a lesson taking his money from him.

This was a fun, TV movie form 1980. Kenny Rogers is fine, though you can tell he is not an experienced actor. We get several examples of poker playing and we see how Brady Hawkes is an amazing gambler. The friendship between Hawkes and Billy that built through the movie and they worked well together.

The poker game they played with the character Doc Palmer (Lance LeGault) was really great and brought an intensity to a card game that was unexpected.

I liked this for what it was. It was a decent Western with good characters and a simple story. Most of the time, if you got that, then you’ve got something.

Hawkeye S1 E6

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SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EP. 6

“So This is Christmas?”

The Hawkeye finale had a lot of actions and the wrap of storylines (maybe too many), but it left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach because of one major moment… after a confrontation with Kate Bishop and being hit with a car driven by Eleanor, Kingpin ran into someone with a grudge.

Maya.

The show made it appear as though Maya, aka Echo, killed Kingpin by shooting him in the head. We did not see the actual shot, but we heard it off screen. Still, it made me unhappy that after so long waiting to see Vincent D’Onofrio reprise his role only to kill him off after the first episode.

The I saw this on Twitter. It was from the comic books.

This made me feel a lot better. I expect that Kingpin survived the attack and will be the main antagonist in the upcoming Echo series on Disney +.

So with that out of the way, I can look back over the rest of Hawkeye episode 6 with more open heart and less bitterness over the possible death of Kingpin.

There were a lot of great scenes in this episode, many of which included Florence Pugh as Yelena. Her initial reactions with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop in the elevator and through the Christmas Eve party was great. Honestly, I would go for a whole series of Kate and Yelena together. The dialogue is crisp and the action is well designed.

But even more emotional was Yelena’s showdown with Clint on the ice outside 30 Rock. Yelena had every intention of killing him, but she wanted to know about her sister Natasha more. This was a powerful scene and fit beautifully with these two tremendous actors. Clint doing the whistle brought Yelena back to reality, finally accepting that what Clint was telling her about Natasha’s final moments was true.

We got a chance to see the new costumes and to see our LARPers in action as Clint and Kate’s “army.” This was a little iffy for me, but it worked in the long run. Gotta love Grills.

One of the issues I believe is the difference in directors. Episode six was directed by Rhys Thomas, who also directed episodes 1 & 2. Episodes 3-5, which are considered the best of the series by most critics and commenters, were directed by Bert and Bertie. I wonder how the series would have felt had Bert and Bertie directed episode 6 as well?

Then, thankfully, Clint was able to get back to his family for Christmas as he promised, with Kate and Lucky the Pizza Dog in tow. I could not have handled a tragic end for Clint Barton after these six episodes so I am thrilled that he made it home. Plus, he had a certain gold watch with him that he gave to his wife Laura. On the back of the gold watch, we see a symbol of SHIELD, confirming that Laura was, at one time, an agent of SHIELD. Was she Mockingbird? Maybe.

This episode ended with a post credit scene, the only episode of the series to do so. After wishing everyone a Happy Holidays from Marvel Studios …

The show gave us a full Broadway number from Rogers: The Musical. We got the full song of “I Can Do This All Day”!

This was a ton of fun and really put a nice button on the series.

Some other plot points wrapped up:

  • Eleanor killed Armond.
  • Jack was innocent and had been framed by Eleanor. Jack had a chance to show his sword skills helping Kate at the party.
  • Maya killed Kazi in an emotional struggle.
  • Eleanor was arrested for the murder of Armond but she did show that she loved Kate more than her partnership with Wilson Fisk.
  • More trick arrows including another Pym tech one that led to a problem for the Track Suit Mafia.
Hawkeye Episode 6 Finale: Is the owl a Marvel Easter egg? - GameRevolution
  • Eleanor using information to try and blackmail Kingpin shows that she has some balls.
  • Clint called Kate his partner.
  • Kingpin wore his Family Business outfit from the Marvel Comics.

Hawkeye has been a great season. My current Marvel Studios’ Disney + series ranking are as follows:

  1. WandaVision
  2. (very close) Loki
  3. Hawkeye
  4. What If…?
  5. Falcon & Winter Soldier

They’ve all be excellent though. Not sure what is next…maybe Moon Knight? She-Hulk? Ms. Marvel. I’m sure it will continue the excellence the 2021 shows have begun.

Sing 2

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When the first Sing came out, I remember not expecting to like the film much, but enjoying it quite a bit. Now, with Sing 2 coming out, once again I was not certain that I would like the new Illumination film. However, for the second time, I enjoyed this sequel a lot.

In much the same way as the first film, our mismatched group of animal performers now are trying to put on a show on a bigger stage, for the wolf Mr. Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), whose viciousness showed through. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) yells Mr. Crystal that he can guarantee the return of rock star Clay Calloway (Bono), who went into seclusion after the death of his wife. Problem was… Buster did not know where he could find Clay.

The story was pretty simple and straight-forward, with the creators throwing conflicts into the story to cause issues. Each of the main characters had something that they had to overcome in order to put on their show.

The first act of the film is a bit slow, bordering on dull. As the film progressed, the story picked up steam. In the third act, the story was mostly about the show, as the characters accomplished what they had to do in order to be successful.

Easily the best part of the movie is the music, with the exception of the opening number, Let’s Go Crazy, which would most likely have Prince rolling over in his grave. The stage show that makes up the third act is filled with amazing music and beautiful animated backdrops. The colors and brightness of these scenes leaped off the screen.

The film is filled with a great deal of voice talent, both those returning from the original and new ones to the sequel. They include Taron Edgerton, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Nick Offerman, Halsey, Letitia Wright, Pharrell Williams, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz, and Adam Buxton.

Though the ending was predictable, it still had an emotional wallop and made the journey worthwhile (that is …after Let’s Go Crazy).

4 stars

2021 Documentaries

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I do enjoy a good documentary. I do not see enough of them during a year, but I do try to see the major ones- or, at least, ones that I have an interest in.

The Documentary Award is given to either a movie or a TV documentary. It has gone to single film docs and docuseries. Last year was an example as Tiger King was the winner. Interestingly enough, the second season of Tiger King came out on Netflix this year an I have not watched it and I think most of the world, which was desperately obsessed with it last year, did not watch it either.

Previous Documentary winners:

Best Documentary

Previous Winners:  Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King

Runners-Up: The doc that nearly took the prize was the film on Disney + called The Rescue which was about the rescue of the Thai soccer team that had been trapped below ground in a cave that was filling with water . It was extremely gripping and was an awesome viewing experience and I wanted to make sure I called it out because I knew it would not be winning this year, but it was so good it really deserved it. In many other years, The Rescue would have gotten this award. Another really good doc was Val, which is about Val Kilmer and his life using footage he filmed throughout his life. Another one I loved watching was Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11 which was powerful and talked with people involved in 9/11 just after it happened and then twenty years later. The Reason I Jump was another brilliant doc this year which I loved even more because I use the book it is based on in my class to teach about Autism. There were a couple of decent docs focused on individuals : Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed and Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road.

Best Documentary Winner: The Beatles: Get Back

Hanging out with the Beatles in Get Back - Vox

Three episode documentary released on Disney + over three consecutive days during Thanksgiving on the Beatles? Yes, please? Organized and produced by Peter Jackson? You had me already, but go on…

This was a phenomenal documentary about the last days of the Beatles, but putting a different face on it. This doc showed how much the Beatles loved each other even if they struggled at times to work with each other. It also is an amazing record of how genius works. Watching Paul McCartney pull Get Back out of the air is one of the greatest moments ever.

Over eight hours of documentary presented on Disney + as an event series, The Beatles: Get Back is wonderful.