Hamnet

 

Hamnet (Amazon Prime)

Hamnet deserves the awards it has received. It won the Golden Globe for best picture. Chloe Zhao is nominated for an Oscar for best director, and Jessie Buckley is nominated for best actress and is in strong contention to win. 

The film is about love, grief, and surviving both. William and Agnes were passionate, and she became pregnant before marriage. When they married, he was eighteen, and she was twenty-six. Their family grew with a daughter and twins, Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare’s successful career as an actor and a playwright took him away from his home to London. During this absence, his beloved son Hamlet dies of the plague. Hamlet's death burdens their marriage, and her son's grief consumes Agnes.

Jessie Buckley as Agnes delivers an outstanding performance. Her acting is powerful; her grief feels real. The death of Hamlet strains their marriage, and she scolds William for being away when Hamlet dies. He also feels devastated for not being home when Hamlet passed away. Her performance will greatly boost the film's chances of winning Best Picture.

Besides Buckley, the cast is excellent. Paul Mescal plays William Shakespeare. Besides sorrow, he conveys guilt. His performance is nuanced. As a tribute to his son, he writes Hamlet. The film's highlight occurs when Agnes watches the play and realizes how William feels about Hamnet’s death. Mescal is not nominated for an Oscar and did not win the Golden Globe. This snub contradicts his great performance.

The children were also great. Of note was Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet. The young actor's interpretation of the role was nuanced.

For the Oscars, Hamlet has solid competition, but I give it strong odds.

Marty Supreme

 

Marty Supreme

Marty Mauser is a world-class table tennis player. Despite his relentless ambition for his sport, he is completely reprehensible. He lies, steals, and abandons his pregnant childhood girlfriend. To further his career, he is willing to be humiliated and throw a match.

 All this said, Timothee Chalamet brilliantly plays this character. Chalamet never eases up on Marty’s intensity. His portrayal of Mauser makes him unlikable. He is an apex conniver.

The cast is fantastic. Gwyneth Paltrow came out of retirement to play Kay Stone, a faded, retired actress, a bit past her expiration date. Stone and Mauser have a sexual liaison, but it is devoid of love. He uses Stone as a means to an end. She desires someone other than her husband. Their relationship is transactional.

Her husband, played by Kevin O’Leary, known as Mister Wonderful from the TV show Shark Tank, delivers a fantastic performance. His character as Milton Rockwell is a pen magnet who shifts from being a potential benefactor to Mauser’s tormentor. He takes pleasure in humiliating Mauser. O’Leary is quite comfortable as an actor.

Odessa A’zion, Racheal Mizler, is Marty’s very pregnant girlfriend. Staying in character, Marty denies being the father. She wants to leave her husband, but Marty is not a safe harbor.

Some members of the cast are eclectic. Besides Kevin O’Leary, there are other non-traditional actors. John Catsimatidis, who owns Gristedes and D’Agostino, plays a businessman. There is also Issac Mizrahi, the fashion designer, who plays Stone’s publicist. Penn Jillette, the magician, plays a farmer. As nontraditional actors, they gave great performances. Fran Dresher played Marty’s mother. She is an actress, but her last gig was the national president of the SAG-AFTRA actors' union. Her gravel voice is her hallmark.

The set design was impressive. It depicted New York City in the 1950s. Everything looked authentic, from the cars and police uniforms to the tenements. I can attest to their realism since this was my neighborhood back in the 50s.

Timothee Chalamet won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, so he has strong odds for an Oscar.

 

 

Bugonia (Prime)

If there were an award for weirdest film, Bugonia would win hands down. The narrative is at the intersection of where Looney Tunes meets sci-fi. Teddy and Don are two conspiracy obsessed individuals believing that a pharmaceutical  CEO  is an alien member of the malevolent Andromedan race whose goal is to destroy humanity. Teddy is played by Jesse Plemos, Don is played by Aidon Delbis, and Emma Stone is the pharmaceutical CEO, Michele Fuller. A subplot to the destruction of humanity is that Teddy’s mother participated in a drug experiment for Fuller’s company that rendered her comatose. Which is the root of Teddy’s hatred for Fuller.

Teddy and Don resolve to kidnap Michele and force her to admit that she is an alien. They shave off her hair and apply an antihistamine cream to prevent her from communicating with the mother ship. She is locked up in Teddy’s basement, and  Michele escapes. The question that the film poses is whether Teddy is totally delusional or if Michele is an alien. The film has some chaotic scenes and brief, gruesome ones.

A possible reason the film may be unorthodox for Americans is that it is a remake of the Korean film Save the Green Planet. Bugonia is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who directed Poor Things, which was also fantastical.

Despite the storyline, the acting was excellent. The actors' interpretations of their characters were compelling and a positive feature of the film. Jesse Plemos was neurotic and edgy. Emma Stone was the uber female executive and a combative victim.  She was more than a handful for Teddy and Don. Don was autistic and followed Teddy’s instructions.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a generous 88% rating, even though it is unprofitable, which explains the $5.99 rental fee. That said, Academy nominations for Stone and Plemos would not be surprising.

 

 

 

The Roses (Amazon Prime)

This is going to be a short review. The film is a waste of time and talent. The film is a dark comedy that never sees the light of day. Two accomplished actors, Benedict Cumberbatch and Oliva Colman, are the husband and wife combatants in this marital war.  The comedy comes from who can be cruelest and most neglectful of the other. Not even Kate McKinnon could save this film.

The script must have been written by an eight-year-old whose every other word is the F bomb. The director’s name was expunged from the credits. I am requesting a refund for the VOD.

 

Springsteen-Deliver from Nowhere (Amazon Prime)

This is an excellent movie. The two leading actors, Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen and Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau, give strong performances. A talented cast supports them.

The film centers on the making of his second album, Nebraska, but it’s broader than that. It’s a moody film that explores Springsteen's struggles with depression and his relationships. The most significant is his relationship with his father. Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to Bruce as a boy with his father. Stephen Graham plays his father, Douglas, who was an alcoholic, and it’s implied that he was abusive. It is suggested that Springsteen’s depression was influenced by his father.

White shows the pressure Bruce is facing in his career right now. His stress increases because he refuses to compromise his artistic standards for record labels' demands. White doesn’t try to imitate Springsteen, but he adopts some of his mannerisms. And yes, he sings his own songs.

Jon Landau is Bruce Springsteen’s manager and record producer. He cares about Bruce, and his respect and affection show through. White and Strong complement each other well. Landau’s performance shows he cares for the person and champions the artist.

Stephen Graham playing Bruce's father is a bit unusual but captivating. Graham is an English actor and feels more at home in  Guy Ritchie films. He plays an important, even if tragic, role in Bruce’s life. Anyone who has an alcoholic father can relate to the character.

Odessa Young plays Faye Romano, Bruce’s love interest. Their relationship develops intimacy but ultimately dissolves due to his depression. The pain experienced by both Faye and Bruce is depicted effectively.

Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 60% rating. I think they got shortchanged.

 

Nuremberg  (Prime Video)

Nuremberg is a psychological historical drama about the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II, where the Nazi high command was tried for crimes against humanity. The film features a large cast, but four main characters drive the story: Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring, Michael Shannan as Justice Robert H. Jackson, Rami Malic as Dr. Douglas Kelly, and Leo Woodall as the translator.

Rami is the psychologist brought to Nuremberg to evaluate the mental state of prisoners on trial. He interacts most with the Nazis, especially Goring. They form a bond that lasts throughout the film, changing from a purely clinical relationship to a quasi-friendship. It is quasi because how can you truly befriend a monster?

Rami delivers a passionate performance. He acts as the link between Goring, the justice, and the military. Sometimes, his emotions override his professional judgment. His most complex relationship is with Goring. They are engaged in a game of who controls whom. Goring possesses a superior intellect, complemented by his narcissistic personality. A question throughout the film is whether they have developed a friendship. It is a mercurial relationship.

Crowe is the centerpiece of the film. He delivers a powerful performance, only showing his humanity when he questions his wife and daughter. He depicts Goring as incredibly confident, to the point where Rami and the justices worry he might manipulate the trial to overturn his conviction. Crowe is great at showing arrogance with a smile.

Shannon is the justice assigned to prosecute the case for America. This is the first time an international tribunal has been convened to prosecute war crimes. The responsibility of the case weighs heavily on him. Shannon performs his role in his usual understated manner.

Leo Woodal gives a sublime performance. He tells the story of the victims. He is an American soldier, a Jew born in Germany, and recounts how he and his sister escaped Germany.  He knows his parents were taken to a concentration camp, but does not know their fate.

The film is rated PG-13, but the actual footage of the Nazi concentration camps is disturbing.

I recommend, if you can, seeing the 1961 film Judgement at Nuremberg. I think it gives a more complex story.

Frankenstein

 

Frankenstein (Netflix)

This film is a great adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. Guillermo del Toro offers some unique interpretations of the story for this movie. However, it differs greatly from the classic version of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff as the flat-headed, greenish monster with bolts in his neck. This version feels more like a Gothic novel than a horror film. Still, there is some gore, especially when the creature is assembled from spare body parts.

Oscar Isaac delivers a passionate performance as Victor Frankenstein, the obsessed scientist trying to cheat death. Throughout the film, he shifts from a brilliant anatomist to someone facing the consequences of tampering with Nature.

One of the best performances is by Jacob Elordi, who plays the Creature. He has moments of rage, especially when he is attacked, but he also shows compassion. The scene with the blind old man on the farm, where he is hiding, is very tender.

Another example of his compassion is his relationship with Elizabeth, the fiancée of his younger brother William, played by Mia Goth. There is a bond between the Creature and Elizabeth that may go beyond sympathy.

Christof Waltz is Elizabeth’s uncle, Felix Kammerer, a wealthy arms manufacturer who funds Victor’s experiments. His ulterior motive is that he wants Victor to include him in the Creature, thereby cheating death. Victor refuses because Felix is diseased (even a mad scientist has standards).

You will not be disappointed by this film. Even my wife liked it.