September 2019

I got a “work breather” this month, as my magazine skips a few issues around this time of year. The big drama this month was having to do jury duty—my first time—beginning on Sept. 30, a situation that didn’t resolve itself until early October (so more on that next time). I also finally had to get my kitchen repainted, the result of an inspection of my apartment that did not go well. More on that next time too. Worth mentioning: I walked out of a movie this month, The Peanut Butter Falcon. Then, in early October, I walked out of It: Chapter 2. I don’t usually walk out of movies, but those two just didn’t cut the mustard. TV: The new season began this month, and it was very sad not to have The Big Bang Theory to look forward to anymore. But at least Modern Family is around for one more year. The list of TV shows I want to watch is growing by the day: Two-Sentence Horror Stories, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Undone, Creepshow and Big Little Lies are just some of the series I want to watch. Plus, my old favorites Hot Date, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Law & Order: SVU, The Simpsons, Stranger Things, The Good Place, etc., are back. BOOKS: I finished Dangerous to Know by Margaret Yorke (so-so) and started The Institute by Stephen King. It’s a big one, and I’m really enjoying it. MUSIC: I finally completed Part 1 of my Elton John project, and have been listening to a compilation of pop-rock songs from 2018 assembled by my friend John Baldan.
Here are the movies I saw in September:

BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON (2019)—True-life story of an overweight woman (Jillian Bell) who stages a successful campaign to lose weight by running. The actress actually lost a bunch of weight during the filming of the movie. It’s a decent comedy-drama, but both Joan and I were troubled by how unpleasant the main character got after she lost the weight. I doubt I will remember much about this movie even a few weeks down the road. (6)

OFFICIAL SECRETS (2019)—Here’s another true-life story (with more to come). This one is about Katharine Gun, a government communications employee who leaked a secret memo that exposed an illegal spying operation by the USA. (The memo was all about how to blackmail United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq.) Considering the huge whistleblower story that blew up in the last week or so, this slice of real-life espionage is more relevant than ever. Keira Knightley is outstanding as Gun, and the story is riveting and absorbing. (10)

LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (2019)—Documentary about the “Blue Bayou” singer, whom I saw perform live in Hollywood, FL, on Oct. 10, 1980. The performer now suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and cannot sing. This film takes us through her amazing journey, first as part of the struggling Stone Poneys, then catapulting into superstardom as a solo artist. It takes us through all of the phases of her career, showing us a portrait of the artist as someone who sang whatever the hell moved her at the time. Boy, was she a knockout! Great soundtrack includes her hits “Long, Long Time,” “You’re No Good,” et al., and there are plenty of memorable celebrity interviews by the likes of Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Karla Bonoff, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Don Henley. (9)

AD ASTRA (2019)—Joan and I feared we were getting ourselves into another Interstellar experience (i.e., not good), but at least for the first hour or so, I enjoyed this outer-space adventure, in which astronaut Brad Pitt has to solve the mystery of why Earth is experiencing deadly impulses from around Neptune, which is where his father supposedly died in action. Eventually Pitt learns that his dad is still out there…is he responsible for these terrible impulses? That’s about where we lost interest. The whole “daddy” aspect of the movie wasn’t very interesting, and the movie spirals out of control in the second half. (6)

DOWNTON ABBEY (2019)—One of my all-time favorite TV shows finally hits the big screen, and it’s a marvelous entertainment for fans. All of the main characters are back, with a story that involves the king and queen of England dropping by Downton. Quick, polish the silverware! They do a great job of giving all of the characters a little story. One of my favorite movies of the year. (10)

HUSTLERS (2019)—Yet another movie inspired by a true story. I had expected this to be an outrageous comedy, but in fact it’s a comedy-drama about some strippers who enter into a scheme to drug upscale clients and max out their credit cards. The entire cast, including leads Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu, are first-rate. Extremely well assembled. Another of my favorites of the year. (10)