Norm Gilbert

Relevant, well written with a stellar cast of wildly talented actors. In the mold of Aaron Sorkin less the rapid fire delivery, allowing for moments of silence, Don't miss this...

I went to Lowell from 1963 to 1966. One of the first classes in the new building on Eucalyptus Drive. Watching this film brought back fond memories of high school but also convinced me I never would have made it through if Lowell then was like Lowell today. It is so much more competitive and harder to be admitted now then it was in the 1960's. These kids are high achievers, dedicated, hard workers and super smart but also unique, fun and fully alive at such a young age. I really enjoyed getting to know them. Just seeing the same halls and classrooms where I spent my teen aged years really made the film personal for me. I was not aware of the discrimination faced by Asian Americans in college admissions. It is apparently a real problem and the top colleges are so biased against high achieving Asian kids. It is so totally unfair and really made me both sad and angry. The pressure these kids are under is insane, though. Everyone is all about the next step, getting top grades, being better than your peers, getting into a top university, taking AP classes, while creating a "well-rounded" personality that looks good on college applications, all just to have a "successful career and make a lot of money". In the entire movie no one ever considered a future doing what made them happy. None of them actually knew who they were and what they wanted out of life. The depression caused by the rejection of not getting into any of the universities that they wanted to attend was to them at the time, a really crushing blow and seriously wounded their self-esteem. As someone once said to me when I was in high school: "There are no final exams in life" Try Harder is an excellent documentary and one well worth watching.

Held my attention for the entire 90 minutes. Sure, it is violent and bloody, but it is also quite funny and droll. Hugh Grant steals the movie in a different role than his former Mr. Sleazy Charm who gets Julia Roberts. This is, after all, the same handsome and debonair dude who solicited a not very attractive street walking prostitute in Hollywood and was caught in the act, in the back of a car engaged in a sex act for which he had paid said prostitute. Well, Hugh Grant is finally playing that guy, with somewhat similar results. He is excellent in this film. Not the least bit likeable, plays a homosexual, who thinks he is quite clever enough to swim with the sharks and come out the survivor. Lots of twists and surprises, with the story revealed slowly and deliciously. Guy Richie makes Guy Richie films. He is a craftsman. Guaranteed, this film has the best on-screen vomiting ever. These shots put Regan's split pea soup eruption from The Exorcist into the minor leagues of on-screen vomiting. Don't try to figure out the plot. Why is there a dead body in the freezer next to the Wagu beef? Just go along for the ride. No sex, no nudity, lots of drug use though. And killing. Lots of killing. But only when necessary. Not for the queasy though.

A truly great film, and a sad film that shows that 50 years later, not much has really changed. The political conventions are now staged events without delegates. Everything is predetermined. The cops are still bashing people's skulls and using tear gas to disperse peaceful protests, we are still at war, the government is more corrupt than ever, the courts are rigged with political judges, and only the good guys get assassinated. I've been hoping since I was a teenager that America would progress and yet it seems we are still on the verge of civil war and a takeover by a would-be dictator. Sacha Baron Cohen was excellent in a very serious role. Not a bit of comedy. Frank Langella's portrayal of the unqualified and biased Judge Julius Hoffman was the performance that stayed with me long after the movie ended. The credits at the end that told me what happened to these people later in life were eye-opening. Many of the key characters are now deceased. A must-see film, and available for free as part of a Netflix subscription.

Screw the critics. Sometimes they are just plain wrong. There is a reason JoJo Rabbit was nominated as Best Picture and Scarlett Johansen as Best Supporting Actress. What a tour de force by Johansson, who goes from Marriage Story to JoJo Dancer in 2018 and is totally believable in both. Sam Rockwell is also amazing as a disgraced Nazi Captain. I finally got around to seeing Rockwell in Richard Jewell, and like Ms. Johansson is so totally different yet believable in both films. This movie will make you laugh and bring you to tears. One of the best movies of the year despite the ignorance of the film critics. JoJo Rabbit won the Audience Favorite award at the Toronto Film Festival. See the film and decide for yourself.