December Movies

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood☆☆☆☆☆

I was a bit skeptical as this movie started because it’s about the journalist’s awakening and I wasn’t sure I was going to like yet another story about a middle-aged white man’s existential crisis. But Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers won me over, much as Mr. Rogers won the journalist over. The message of this movie is so needed in today’s troubled times.

At the Concord Regal with Ann, Pat, and Al

Dark Waters☆☆☆☆

We’re still living with the impacts of the chemicals that Dupont (and other companies) have used in products like Teflon. I found this movie scary and depressing. I would have rated it higher but the writing of Anne Hathaway’s character is lazy and stereotypical. She plays Mark Ruffalo’s wife and alternates between being mad at him for being obsessed with this case and asking others not to be mad at him for the same thing.

At the Concord Regal with Pat and Al

Tell Me Who I Am☆☆☆☆

Fascinating story of identical twin brothers and how their relationship changes when one of them loses his memory in a motorcycle accident. The brother with memory loss believes everything his brother tells him but is hurt and angry when he finds out that his brother lied by omission about the nature of their childhood. There is a lot of build up to the big reveal but by the time it comes, much of the narrative tension has already been released and so it feels a bit anti-climatic.

On Netflix with Mom and Dad

Bombshell☆☆☆☆

Margot Robbie is wonderful as an intern at Fox News–she made me cry in one scene late in the movie. Charlize Theron is great as Megyn Kelly while Nicole Kidman is a bit odd as Gretchen Carlson. Fairly straight-forward narrative about the downfall of Roger Ailes due to his serial sexual harassment of women in the organization.

At the Ocala Regal with Mom and Dad