Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – 6

A one-joke movie (if you can call it a “joke”) that proceeds slowly, in a direct line, without subplot or supporting cast (maybe a Covid project?). As adroit as Emma Thompson’s acting is, her character is scarcely believable, from premise to finish. If, on the other hand, you take this as a Disney fantasy, and look on “Nancy Stokes” as a flesh-and-blood version of Jasmine, or Ariel or Elsa (names I’m making up), then you might find this charming, especially, I think, if you’re a woman.

Top Gun: Maverick – 7.5

Predictable, cliched, unrealistic and a total throwback, but what a pleasure, after Petite Maman, Everything Everywhere, and Crimes of the Future, to  see a movie that made us cheer, laugh and cry, all on cue. Jennifer Connelly is a treat on the eyes, Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, the supporting cast, led by Jon Hamm, is fun. Moral issues about war are minimized by never naming or showing the, literally, faceless enemy. In fact, despite all the action shots of aerial dogfights, the bigger enemy is the military bureaucracy. We can all unite against that!

Everything Everywhere All At Once – 2

In 50 minutes I couldn’t make out the premise, and the characters, action and language (Chinese) were so unpleasant that we figured anything we might do at home would be more fun.

Crimes of the Future – 4

A “love story” without chemistry set in a fairly bleak future world where public surgery to remove spontaneously growing extraneous organs is the hot ticket. This resembles a George Saunders short story or a Remedios Varo painting on steroids. Director David Cronenberg is the master of the “body horror” genre. One has to wonder why, other than a bizarre personal obsession, this exists.

A Taste of Whale – 7.5

A provocative documentary about whaling in the Faroe Islands–specifically, an annual (or more) slaughter of pilot whales unfortunately called a “grind.” While the killing is stomach-turning and Sea Shepherd activists politely present the arguments against, the local islanders, and the filmmakers, ask why is this different from slaughterhouse killing of the other animals we eat.

Downton Abbey: New Era – 7

No surprises and nothing original, but in managing to tie up multiple stories with happy endings for everybody–and I mean everybody–Julian Fellowes brought a few tears to my eyes and gave us a pleasant afternoon in the movie house. Everything was a bit pat and no scene lasted more than its allotted 60 seconds; it was also helpful, maybe essential, to have the back stories of all the characters firmly in mind. But the residents of Grantham Hall have been good company for many years, and they didn’t let us down.

Petite Maman – 3

This one required a suspension of disbelief that I couldn’t quite muster. Or maybe it didn’t. Or maybe I missed something when the slow pace put me briefly to sleep. Two look-alike 8-year-old girls meet in the woods and I kept waiting–mercifully for only 1:18–for a plot to emerge. Three points for sincerity.

Cyrano – 8

It felt like an art museum, the Watteau gallery in particular, with soldiers parading and lovers dallying. By adapting a classic play, the movie suspended disbelief and even made the songs feel integral to the plot, which they were. Peter Dinklage, of course, is not a traditional Cyrano, but again, we weren’t looking for realism once we fell under director Joe Wright’s spell. This also allowed us to cast aside contemporary feminism and appreciate the dutifully shallow Roxanne. It’s a matter of taste, but we found Cyrano sweet, especially when viewed on a theater big screen.

House of Darkness – 6.5

Not for everyone, but if you came to it expecting Neil Labute’s typically cruel depiction of a male-female relationship you wouldn’t have been disappointed by Justin Long’s bumbling attempt at seduction or Kate Bosworth’s innocent iciness, not to mention the bloody denouement. With only one set and three actors (plus a cameo), this was evidently a Covid project. Even in the fine arts, not every picture is pretty.

Apples and Oranges – 1

A history of volunteers at Israeli kibbutzes, told through archival footage and ex post facto interviews, making no point, having no point of view, presenting no reason for its existence as a documentary film.