James' World 2

Pieces of a Woman is a drama directed by Kornél Mundruczó, from a screenplay by Kata Wéber. An American-Canadian co-production, the film is directly related to Mundruczó and Wéber’s 2018 stage play of the same name, performed by the artistic ensemble of TR Warszawa. Martin Scorsese serves as one of the executive producers. A young woman is traumatized after giving birth at home — somewhat slow and definitely depressing but well-acted.

Martha Weiss (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean Carson (Shia LaBeouf)are expecting their first child. Martha goes into labor and Sean calls their midwife, Barbara who is unavailable. Martha has started labor and is upset that Barbara is with another mom in labor but after speaking with her on the phone, she allows Barbara to send another midwife, Eva Woodward (Molly Parker), in her place. Martha struggles with nausea as well as pain during contractions.  When she reaches ten…

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is a mockumentary comedy directed by Jason Woliner in his feature directorial debut. It is a sequel to 2006’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The film is about a young girl who is being offered as a bride to Vice President Mike Pence during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election. I didn’t like the first Borat movie and I disliked this sequel even more.  Too crass and too absurd for me.

Kazakh’s journalist, Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is released after 14 years of labor in a gulag.  The order was given by the country’s Premier,  Nursultan Nazarbayev (Dani Popescu), who has chosen Borat to embark on a mission and deliver Johnny the monkey to Donald Trump.  Johnny is Kazakah’s most famous porn actor. The Premier is hoping to redeem Kazakh as a nation from the previous…

The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is a historical legal drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The film follows a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters. Branded the name of “The Chicago Seven”, they have been charged by the federal government with conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I didn’t know I wanted to see this film until I saw it — The Trial Of The Chicago 7 definitely gets my vote, well done!

In August 1968, Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) –  a founding member of the Youth International Party (Yippies), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) – a founding member of the Yippies, Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) – a leader and one-time president of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) – an organizer in Chicago for the National Mobilization Committee to…

Sound of Metal is a drama directed and co-written by Darius Marder.  It tells the story of a heavy-metal punk drummer who loses his hearing. While Sound of Metal moves along fairly fast conquering the life of this drummer, it stumbles along the way with gaps offering no explanations or viable future for the impending problem. I was, however, delighted to see a different perspective into the world of the deaf.   In my opinion, Sound of Metal turned out to be a pretty interesting movie.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer and his girlfriend Lou Berger (Olivia Cooke), is a singer. Together they make up the metal duo called ‘Blackgammon’. They live in a modest RV and drive across the country to perform gigs. Suddenly, Ruben panics as he discovers that he is beginning to lose his hearing. He then goes to a pharmacy in…

Nomadland is a drama written, edited, and directed by Chloé Zhao. The film is based on the 2017 non-fiction book called Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder. Nomadland is about a woman who decides to leave home after her long-time job shuts down permanently and travel around the American West in a van.  I felt Nomadland was slow, dry, and depressing, yet managed to stay interesting.  I would guess it probably appealed to nomads at best.

In 2011, Fern (Frances McDormand) loses her job after the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada falls victim to the Great Recession and shuts down. She worked there with her husband for many years until he recently died. Fern decides to sell most of her belongings to purchase a van that she would live in while traveling the country searching for work. In the meanwhile, Fern takes a seasonal job…

Minari is a drama written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. A semi-autobiographical take on Chung’s upbringing. The plot follows a South Korean immigrant family of four who tries to make it in rural America during the 1980s. In a word; Heartfelt! Minari is definitely worth seeing.

A Korean American family moves from California to their new plot of land in rural Arkansas. Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun) hopes to grow Korean produce and sell it to vendors in Dallas. As a father and breadwinner of his family, Jacob is making the biggest decision of his and his family’s life, one that his wife Monica Yi (Han Ye-Ri)does not agree with.  First, he decides to decline the services of a water diviner, to avoid paying for county water, then digs a well in a spot he finds on his own. Next, Jacob enlists the help of  Paul (Will Patton), an eccentric…

“Mank” is a biographical drama about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and hisdevelopment of the screenplay Citizen Kane (1941). Directed by David Fincher, based on a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher, the film was produced by Ceán Chaffin, Douglas Urbanski, and Eric Roth. While I view “Mank” as a great production, I don’t think it’s for everyone. The movie is filmed in black and white and draws its breath from an old Hollywood era, soaked in thick industry lingo.

In 1940, RKO provides Orson Welles (Tom Burke) complete creative freedom for his next project. Welles recruits Herman J. Mankiewicz “Mank” (Gary Oldman), who is in Victorville, California recovering from a broken leg he sustained in a car accident. Herman dictates the script to his secretary, Rita Alexander (Lily Collins), who notices similarities between the main character and William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance). Producer John Houseman (Sam Troughton) is concerned about Herman’s…

I’m Your Woman is a neo-noir crime film directed by Julia Hart from a screenplay by Hart and Jordan Horowitz.  I’m your woman focuses on several criminals trying to assist a woman on the run after her husband, who is involved with organized crime, mysteriously goes missing. I actually saw this movie twice — it’s a good one.

In the late 1970s, a housewife named Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is married to Eddie (Bill Heck), a professional thief. Jean’s existence appears to be somewhat mundane, to top it off, she and Eddie are unable to conceive or adopt children. One day, Eddie mysteriously comes home with a baby boy for Jean to raise. She quickly decides to name the baby Harry (Jameson and Justin Charles, Barrett Shaffer). Sometime later, Jean is awakened in the night by one of Eddie’s business partners, Jimmy (Jarrod DiGiorgi), who gives her a…