Reviews

I watched two and a half hours of this latest adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" and chose not to watch more. My intelligence had been insulted enough by that time and, given that it appeared Mr. Scrooge was about to prostitute or potentially rape Mrs. Cratchit, I just turned the TV off.

Why did I watch it as long as I did? One well-written line roped me in early on. Bob Cratchit has not yet shown up for work. Scrooge is preparing the office for the day's work by counting out lumps of coal for Cratchit. Muttering to himself the entire time, he grudgingly places three coals near the fire. Then, as it's Christmas Eve, in a moment of "kindness", places a fourth lump. Immediately he notices a smudge on the cuff of his sleeve.

I may not be getting this exact, but here's what I thought I heard Scrooge say: "The smudge came from the fourth piece of coal. T'was kindness that left the smudge." Or something like that.

"Ah!" I thought, "There may be some new perspective on Scrooge's thoughts and twisted logic!" I was willing to watch more, hoping to be delighted with a fresh angle to this well-known, beloved story, eager to see Scrooge redeemed. There was some potential for something really different but as soon as the first of many incongruous F-bombs dropped in the dialog, I knew the writers were clueless as to that potential and really only wanted to shock viewers with some of the most worn out tricks the "entertainment" industry has to offer: foul language, ugly dystopian landscapes, and demoralizing angst.

An inordinate amount of time is spent on Marley. For some reason, the writers thought viewers would want to watch a boy urinate on Marley's grave which leaks down six feet to drip in Marley's eyes. I was willing to overlook such puerile nonsense since it happened in the first few minutes, but that really is the first clue to the caliber of content yet to come.

The main spirit played by Andy Serkis reminded me of Radagast from The Hobbit and didn't resemble any spirit described by Dickens. No matter what Andy Serkis said I just couldn't shake the notion that he was a kind of morbid Radagast. I kept waiting for some birds to come and land on his head. Well, maybe that's not the fault of the movie but my own issue. Anyway...

Aside from the one promising line he gets to say, Scrooge is constantly washing his hands and brushing his clothing like some kind of clean freak and muttering to himself in a barely audible voice. Bob Cratchit, on the other hand, is downright urbane compared to Scrooge, speaking lines that Dickens' timid Bob Cratchit would not dare utter.

As the movie drags on, and timing was a major issue throughout, we are made to discover that Scrooge was molested as a child during his time away at boarding school. His evil father had made a deal with the headmaster that he could abuse Scrooge in exchange for free tuition. In an utterly ridiculous scene, Scrooge is rescued by his gun-toting sister, Lottie. We are shown very little more of Scrooge's youth. Fezziwig never makes an appearance. Scrooge is shown to be a heartless, opportunistic businessman but with a soft spot for animals. Then we see Scrooge soliciting Cratchit's wife and I was done.

The movie slogs on...and on...and I could pick the movie apart for all the ways in which it departs from the original story by Dickens, but I won't waste my time or yours. Suffice to say, none of the changes made sense. There is little fresh insight to be had in this dreary exercise. My advice is skip it.

There are already many excellent reviews covering the thought-provoking story of "The Reader". I decided to write a quick review because the story was important and, for the most part, well-written and well-acted. But, in my humble opinion, to make this a truly great movie, and the material deserves more attention, this film needed another pass through an editor's hands to remove the extraneous sex scenes.

The subject matter is serious but I found myself wondering if the costume budget had been drastically cut given how many scenes are shown of naked people. I only needed one sex scene to set the stage for the passionate affair between Michael and Hannah. The repetitious sex scenes became gratuitous and boring. Not one of them was original but instead were reminiscent of those that had gone before in "Summer of '42", "The Graduate", and many others. A good 20 minutes in sex scenes alone could've been cut and the movie would've been better for it. As it was they became an unwelcome distraction from the actual point of the film. And that's a shame because once we get beyond them the movie really takes off. Until then, however, my inclination to stop watching was great. I'm glad I didn't, but I did want to warn others. It gets better. A little fast-forwarding may be in order.

I really enjoyed watching Hidden Figures. The story was compelling and laid out neatly for our viewing pleasure. It shone a spotlight on a part of history with which I wasn't familiar. And, most importantly, it made me want to learn more about Katherine Goble Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan. What a shame the screenwriters felt they had to preach at me about racism rather than just tell the true story of these amazing and talented women. They weren't amazing and talented "in spite" of being black or "in spite" of being women, they were just amazing and talented in their own right. One day, perhaps, Hollywood will get a clue and give audiences credit for having a brain.

Much of the atmosphere of racism in the movie did not ring true for me. In many cases it didn't even make sense, so I looked into it. The first question I had for the internet was "Did Katherine Goble have to run half a mile to use a bathroom on the NASA complex?" The answer is no. For more info on the conditions and life of Katherine Johnson check out the interview with her here: https://youtu.be/r8gJqKyIGhE. In particular check out 11:49 where she says she "didn't feel segregation". Everyone was working. The job was important and they weren't going to jeopardize the mission with foolish racist antics. She was part of a team. I would've liked to have heard so much more about Katherine and her mind and work, less about the social issues of the 1960s!

I understand screenwriters have to condense a large amount of information into a couple of hours but the ham-handed and, let's be honest, false representation of racism at NASA and the treatment of these women was a repeated and unwelcome intrusion into what should have been a very interesting and educational movie about such remarkable women. For example: I strongly suspect Katherine Goble never, ever would have been so unprofessional as to scream at her boss and co-workers like she does in what Hollywood probably sees as a "cathartic" scene. It was completely out of character and a distraction from what should have been the real story, that of Katherine's accomplishments. Goble was a conscientious and intelligent woman who would've never done such a thing which, to my way of thinking, says a lot more about her than this silly, manufactured scene.

But I don't want to run the risk of being just as ham-handed in my review and I'll leave my criticism at that. I'll only add, don't let the prospect of being bludgeoned by an anti-racism message keep you from going to see Hidden Figures.

If you're into the Star Wars odyssey by all means, pay the money, and see this one on the big screen. If you're even a lukewarm fan of the franchise, sure, go have a look because the film is visually entertaining with some interesting effects, in particular, the light and shadow effects as planets and spacecraft move around their respective suns. Notice I am not using words like "outstanding" or "stunning" because nothing about this movie qualifies for either of those adjectives, and yet it held my interest for two hours and 13 minutes but left me with very little to applaud.

The story is familiar and the lines spoken by the actors are nothing new but not so much so that I was left shaking my head or groaning though I did find myself sighing many times toward the end as the movie packed in one trouble after another and the dreadful denouement loomed large.

Momentary bright spot: The robot, voiced by Alan Tudyk, thankfully speaks his lines in a matter-of-fact way that was a blessed relief from all previous "cute" robots. And he had some good lines too. He is a complete departure from the earlier robots in that he's not there to appeal to children but rather simply there as comedic relief in this mercilessly dark story. Which brings me to my main criticism of this film.

SPOILERS AHEAD!! (Consider yourself warned) . . . . . I really did not like this movie once the story was told and done. I walked out of the theater feeling disgusted and gloomy, and that's not what I pay the price of a ticket to do. I go to movies to be impressed, amused, and diverted from my cares. To me that's actually the definition of "entertainment". But a movie where everyone dies is not entertaining. And if the writers of this movie honestly think they redeemed this dismal exercise in death by having the final word in their script be "hope" they are naive and completely underestimate the power of the medium from which they've chosen to make a living.

So, for the die-hard fans, sure, go, enjoy the special effects. For the rest of us who would rather not see a movie entirely devoted to death and destruction, save your money. For all it's good points, Rogue One is a miserable movie with nothing to offer but death. And right now in reality on planet earth with apocalyptic nihilists running around indiscriminately murdering people Rogue One seems particularly ill- timed and unhelpful. And no, I'm not comparing the rebels to terrorists but I am saying we, humans, have enough real death in our lives already. We don't need even more of it in our "entertainment".