BEING THE RICARDOS

If you are expecting a comedy, be forwarned.  This is a serious look behind the scenes of "I Love Lucy" in one of their darkest weeks.........Namely, when Lucille Ball discovered her husband may be cheating on her and Walter Winchell announced on his weekly Radio Broadcast that she had ties to the Communist party.   Nicole Kidmas as Lucy and Xavier Bardem as Desi Arnez create their personas admirably and there are moments you'd swear it was Lucy and Desi  The screenplay and direction by Aaron Sorkin holds a magnifing glass up to the going's on and you simply can't look away.  While not a great movie, it certainly maintains your interest for its two hour running time.  And J.K. Simmons as William Frawley and Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance deliver winning performances. (Fred and Ethel Mertz, in case you forgot) By the way, there are a few laughs, not many and they certainly don't outshine the performances by Kidman and Barden.  If you're a fan of "I Love Lucy," I think you'll be enthralled.

WEST SIDE STORY

I had trepidations.  Why remake a classic?  But after giving it some thought and recalling four versions of "A Star is Born" and countless looks at "Romeo and Juliet," I decided to not prejudge this much-touted remake by Stephen Spielberg.  So what did I think?   I think it is a materpiece in its own right and should not be compared to the earlier incarnation.  They both stand magnificently alone.  Mr. Spielberg is a masterfilmmaker and at the top of his game.  When one knows every song and still finds them fresh as they were many years ago on Broadway, you know you are witnessing cinema magic.  The casting is superb.  Ansel Elgor as Tony and Rachel Zegler as Maria bring an innocent charm to their roles and sing like angels.  Equally impressive are Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alverez as Bernardo  (the later won a Tony when he was a child for his portrayal of "Billy Ellior")  And I must mention Rita Moreno as Valentina giving a flawless preformance that was created especially for her.  And the new Riff  (Mike Faist) brings a "little boy lost" to the role. The dancing (while paying homage to Jerome Robbins occasionally) is brilliantly staged by choreographer Justin Peck.  So, to sum it up, never to my knowledge has a remake of an Oscar winning picutre won an Oscar on the second outing...........But this may be the year...........Nominations are bound to happen.

 

Today, I ventured back to a movie theater with eager anticipation.  I wan not disappointed.  "In The Heights" arrived on screen full of charm, wonder and downright thrilling cinematic glory!  Freely adapted under the direction of John M. Chu from the Tony winning Broadway show, the movie "opens up" into the Latino world of New York City's Washington Heights with all the gusto I had hoped for.  With a cast of mostly unknown Latino actors (Jimmy Smits and Marc Anthony being the exceptions) the standout is Anthony Ramos in the lead role, played on stage by the author Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Mr. Miranda (sporting a beard) does appear in the film as a vendor selling summertime ice's in the sweltering heat.  The plot is of no importance here but it concerns lovers, tears, the lottery, a fictional black-out, an unexpected death and dancing.  And what dancing it is!  The choreography by Christopher Scott is refreshingly exuberant and quite surprising at times (No spoiler here, but some of it will blow you away)  While some may find it hard to follow (owing to the rapidity of some lyrics) it is still a joyful film to behold, full of life and a little fantasy here and there.  And I will be so bold as to say an Oscar nomination is in its future as Best Picture. And one that is well deserved.  To borrow a quote........."This is the stuff that dreams are made of."  Una pelicula brillante!

EMMA

 EMMA:  And yet another look at the Jane Austin comedy of manners and a noteworthy one with one exception.  The film is absolutely splendid from the brilliant period costumes to the cinematography.  Adding to the beauty of it all is a musical score that both amuses and enlightens.  And the cast if first rate.  The exception, you ask?  Well, at times the actors are so comfortable in their roles that they have a tendency to speak softly (as befits the scene) which makes them hard to understand.  (Perhaps the sound man is to blame.)  That being said, it is still a cinematic work of art and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And I'm still in awe of the costume designer (as well as the hair stylist)  Eat your heart out, "Downton Abbey."

THE CALL OF THE WILD

THE CALL OF THE WILD:  While top billing in this re-tooling of the Jack London classic goes to Harrison Ford, the real star of the film is a CGI dog named Buck.  In fact, all of the animals are the result of brilliant CGI work.  (CGI, as a reminder, stands for Computer Graphic Imaging and in this case, Buck was  the result of a ballet dancer going through the "choreography" of Buck's movement and then having it enhanced through technology)...………….Too much information?   Perhaps, but I include it to let you realize what goes into a film like this.  And it is magnificent for those reasons.   In a nutshell, it concerns the "journey" of a rambunctious canine "dognapped" from California and thrust into the "Klondike Fever" of  Alaska.  Yes, as a sled dog.  Along the way, there are terrors, beauty, kindness and eventually, "The call."  While, Mr. Ford appears in only about the last half of the film (with a brief a scene early on) I thought he was at the top of his game (considering he was acting with a dog that wasn't there).   So, if brief, go see this wonderful film and marvel at how it was made.

PARASITE

PARASITE:  After winning all those Oscars (including Best Picture and Best International Film), I had to see what all the fuss was about.  Let's just say it is well deserved in that it is a comedy of sorts, a thriller of sorts and a look at Korean classes of wealth and poverty.  In short,the film is a bit of a marvel that keeps you guessing as to what is next.  Best Director Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho has realized a miracle of a movie, both satirical and sardonic.  While the cast is virtually unknown to American audiences, they are individual superb and equally thrilling in the ensemble playing. I can't reveal too much of the plot lest I spoil your entertainment.  Let me just say, I was mesmerized for the last half of the film and you will be too.   While "1917" is still my choice for best picture of the year, "Parasite" is a worthy number two.

DOOLITTLE

DOOLITTLE:  Robert Downey Jr. stars in this re-imagined tale of the Doctor who could talk to animals.   And the animals?   A splendid array of stars do the voices of these CGI wonders.  They include Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez and Marion Cotillard.  Other stars giving "real life" performances are Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Jim Broadbent.  In a nutshell, Doolittle has become a recluse following the death of his wife (All told in an animated sequence at the beginning of the film).  The plot concerned Doolittle being dispatched to find a cure for the ailing, young Queen Victoria.  And so begins a voyage to find a magic tree whose fruit will save her.  And he his accompanied by his animal friends, a parrot, a polar bear, a gorilla, and ostrich and so on and so on.  We also get some whales and even a dragon thrown in for good measure.  But sadly, it feels like too much was simply "thrown in."   The movie, I would guess was intended for the Christmas holidays but too many hands spoiled the broth and so it is basically a film without the heart is so desperately needs.  The CGI animals are quite well done and some of it is, indeed, breathtaking but it eventually sags under it's own weight.   And when an added scene is tacked on after the closing credits just to let you know what happened to the villain, well you know you're in trouble.   The younger set will most likely forgive all the errors that the filmmakers indulged it, but it is still not what it should have been.