November 2017

I spent this month putting together the January 2018 issue of Speedboat magazine and looking forward to my Carnival Cruise on Dec. 10, which I’d started planning nearly a year ago. The weather in L.A. has finally started to cool off a bit. Thanksgiving at the Newmans was the typical grand shindig, with great people, great food and fun times. YouNow turned into a major time suck, but I have met some very cool and talented people there. BOOKS: I am nearing the end of Awakening by Sharon Bolton, a mystery in which snakes take the center stage. MUSIC: I have been drilling Dua Lipa’s fun and danceable self-titled album, as well as working my way through the Kinks discography.
Here are the movies I saw in November.

LADY BIRD (2017)—Greta Gerwig, a favorite actress of mine, goes behind the camera to direct this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy-drama about Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), who goes to a Catholic high school in Sacramento. The film focuses on her problematic relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf), her boyfriends and her female friends. It compares favorably to 2001’s Ghost World (starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson); I subsequently realized that Ronan was the young star of 2015’s Brooklyn, which I also enjoyed. (9)

LAST FLAG FLYING (2017)—Vietnam vets Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburn take a road trip to attend the funeral of Carell’s son, who has been killed in action in Iraq. This is one of the year’s finest films, a moving and unexpectedly hilarious picture based on Darryl Ponicsan’s novel (which is a sequel to his The Last Detail). Really enjoyed this one! (10)

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MO (2017)—Reviews of this drama starring Frances McDormand as the mother of a slain daughter were so enthusiastic that my expectations were a little too escalated. Woody Harrelson is excellent as the local police chief McDormand tries to shame into finding her daughter’s killer, but the movie has too many subplots, meanders way too much and doesn’t have a satisfying ending. A lot of it is thought-provoking, and all of it is well-acted, but overall it’s really kind of a mess. (7)

THOR: RAGNAROCK (2017)—The latest installment in Marvel’s superhero series is, like the first sequel, not as good as the original. But it’s passably entertaining, has tons of great special effects and Thor’s brother Loki is as unpredictable as ever. Presumably we have finally seen the last of Anthony Hopkins’ character. I wish we could have had less of The Hulk, who is my least favorite character in this superhero franchise. (8)

THE ROOM (2003)—How do you grade the worst movie ever made if it brings you so much joy? Should it get a “1” for being so incompetently made that it insults your intelligence, or get a “10” for making you double over in uncontrollable laughter? I watched the infamous The Room to prepare myself for the upcoming film The Disaster Artist, which is about the making of The Room. My only regret is that I did not see this film with an audience. That would be priceless. I’m giving it an (8) because I was entertained—albeit for all the wrong reasons.

WONDER (2017)—Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson have been home-schooled their young son Auggie, who suffers from a facial deformity. But now they’re sending him to a private (middle) school to continue his education, and he’s mortified because he knows he’ll be an outcast. Sure enough, he experiences bullying, and any number of other indignities. But the movie, which is based on R.J. Palacio’s novel, is a heartwarming and moving experience—one of the year’s best. (10)