Catherine Cole

"Hannah", (2017), is definitely not a film for those of us with short attention spans. Part of the difficulty is that it is the subject matter plays out, somewhat, in 'real' time. And Charlotte Rampling is tasked with supporting the majority of the film with her performance. Here is a woman who is isolated and alone. Her husband is in prison for some un-disclosed cause. Whatever the nature of the situation, it has alienated and isolated the family even further. That heart-breaking scene where she tries to bring a birthday cake for her grand-child's party only to be re-buffed by her own son and sent away. Every move she makes, every breath she takes has a poignancy. She tries to maintain her dignity and sense of self in a world that's turned it's back on her. I think our impatience, at times, with the glacial pace of the action, mirrors our own dis-like of not being able to fill up all the spaces in our own existence.

Admittedly, I watched "Perfect Stranger", (2019) with Halley Berry & Bruce Willis as I'm fond of both actors and also it looked as if it was going to be a pretty good suspense movie. But, the premise doesn't make very much sense. Why would an investigative reporter be looking into a murder where she is actually the killer? The sub plot of her researcher, Miles, having a secret room which is a shrine to her is just silly and leads nowhere in the plot. The shocking twist at the end doesn't make sense. Fortunately, the actors manage to save this as a thriller set-piece, dark, moody, somewhat thrilling, despite everything.

The first time I watched "Grace and Frankie" it was Seasons One-Six. Then, in anticipation of Season Seven, I re-watched it again from the beginning. As part of my Summer viewing, I just re-watched the whole thing again from Season One to Seven. Like so many things in life, it just gets better with age. With such veterans as: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, Sam Waterson, how could it go wrong? This time I tried not to binge-watch and found that I had over-looked some small details that I hadn't noticed before such as when Bud sees his Dads kissing for the first time in the beach house. Is he dreaming? If that really happened, should he tell his Moms? Family dynamics stood out for me this time around, in all it's messy ups and downs. And the indignities and small triumphs involved in the aging process for both women and men.

Unfortunately, there's a precedent for these brats trying to grasp their 15 minutes of fame. Anyone who's read "Hollywood Babylon" , (1959), by Kenneth Anger will have an intimate insight into the Dream Factory and the very real nightmares which it has inflicted on many poor souls. And what the heck is Paris Hilton famous for anyway, other than being a vapid, talent-less socialite? The 'It Girl' came to us in the Twenties as Hollywood churned out one beautiful, ill-fated actress after the other. "The American Meme" is just more of the same in a different medium. How these kids are going to feel when they're in their Fifties is anyone's guess!

Re-watching Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino", (2008), is a real treat in this age of 'woke' culture and political correctness. Walt's character, as a retired Polish-American auto worker living on the out-skirts of Detroit, (a city which I've been familiar with for over a half century), is a life-lesson on the ever-changing dynamics of modern life in all it's complexities. No one is painted as black/white, villain/victim. The beautiful sound-track by Eastwoods' pere and fils, is there to embroider many themes in all their poignancy. This is a mature work by Eastwood, which will resonate so much with those of us who watched the Vietnam War unfold on t.v. in all of it's horrors in the Sixties. There was some criticism among the Hmong actors about the accuracies/inaccuracies of this film. But, as one commentator expressed it, Eastwood was not there to make a documentary. What we learn about cultures as we gain experience is that no one has the moral high road. In the end we are all profoundly flawed.

For those of us who are old enough to have had parents/grandparents involved in WW1 & 2, + The Great Depression, there are parts of "The Crown" which do tend to indulge in some revisionist history, at times. A somewhat sympathetic portrayal of the deposed Edward & Mrs. Simpson doesn't seem to cover their sinister flirtation with Hitler and a plot during WW2 which would have the Nazis put Edward back on the throne if they'd won + kill Churchill. Their sad, extravagant pointless life afterwards gives their fairy tale a pin prick. Poor Princess Margaret was, in fact, a drain on the royal purse not to mention one of the more useless members despite her intriguing life. She had no one to blame but herself for her royal romping! Princess Anne gave more of a surprising turn-- and is the one sibling who is most like her Mother. The Queen Mum was much more than a conniving, interfering old biddy & she had helped Britain greatly in WW2 to maintain morale. Like so many of the past Prince of Wales', while I do admire some things about Charles, he is a weak, self-indulgent, immature man. Not being able to stand up to 'Mummy' before, brought countless grief and sadness to Lady Di, their children and many others. Not leader-ship material! And as for Camilla, who's never done a honest days work in her life before-- and is now being trotted out in the royal dog & pony show-- not Queen material, either! What "The Crown" mainly emphasizes is Elizabeth's sense of 'duty'. She gets to seem like such an old stick at times, but she really did herald in another 'Elizabethan Age' with some revisions!

Much better than the reviews give it credit for-- especially Roger Ebert! The various time lines do make it somewhat confusing-- but the performances of the three female characters hold it all together-- especially Emily Blunt. The men seem to be somewhat weakly drawn-- but the shocking twist at the end is firmly in the thriller genre. Beautifully filmed along the Hudson River in New York State. The train itself seems to be a metaphor for the strange journey of life.