December Film: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Our December pick, which stars Tom Hanks, whose judgment I always trust when choosing a film for our club, is A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. It's a much-praised, fact-based, tale about an encounter with the beloved Fred Rogers children's TV host that turned the life of a depressed journalist (Matthew Rhys, who starred in The Americans TV series) around. Suffice to say that the movie is anything but a treacly bon bon.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VLEPhfEN2M

REVIEW: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/movies/a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood-review.html

BACKGROUNDER: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/19/magazine/mr-rogers.html

November Pick: Harriet

Our November film is Harriet, a biopic about the terrifying adventures of Harriet Tubman, one of the most courageous slave-rescuers in history and an extremely effective abolitionist.

SYNOPSIS:  From her escape from slavery through the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman is told.

TRAILER:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqoEs4cG6Uw

CAST & CREW:  Harriet Tubman is played by Cynthia Erivo, a virtual newcomer to movies whose performance has garnered unanimous praise. Janelle Monáe, arguably the best-known actor in the cast, is best known as a musical recording artist, actress, and model, plays another major role. Director Kasi Lemmons is an American film director and actress, most notable for her work on the films Eve's Bayou, The Caveman's Valentine and Talk to Me. 

VIDEO ABOUT THE REAL HARRIET TUBMAN:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ85z9vggYM

REVIEW:  https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/harriet-review-cynthia-erivo-1203330489/

October Pick: Judy

In what's being called a triumphant, virtuoso comeback, Renee Zellweger stars in Judy as, of course, the legendary Judy Garland. Suffice to say that RZ got a jubilant standing O at TIFF a couple weeks ago and nearly unanimous rave reviews.

We'll see the film on October 8 for the 1:50 screening at the Dundas/Yonge Cineplex.

SYNOPSIS:  Thirty years after starring in "The Wizard of Oz," beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.

TRAILER:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ynUq8TjYA

REVIEW:  https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/judy-movie-review-889110/

INTERVIEW with Renee:  https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a29026941/renee-zellweger-judy-garland-interview/

THE REAL JUDY GARLAND:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcT2GqU47Kc  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUY2GEV4AY0

September Pick: The Goldfinch

Just days after The Goldfinch premiered at TIFF, we'll be seeing the film at what, for us, is an unusual venue: the Yonge/Eglinton Cineplex on Tuesday, September 17, for the 12:30 pm screening. Be aware that it is extra-long at 135 minutes.

SYNOPSIS:  If you've read the Pulitizer Prize-winning novel by Donna Tartt, you won't mind reading the following spoiler. If not, you might want to skip it:

Theodore Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love.  Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day -- a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. 

TRAILER:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcG06hZooHM

REVIEWS:  They've been mixed between ecstatic and dismissive, but Movie Club members, I believe, prefer to make up their own minds - which is why I've chosen not to publish links to any of them. 

August Film: Mike Wallace is Here

We haven't gone to many documentaries over the years, but Mike Wallace is Here promises to interest not only news junkies (like me), but also popular culture history buffs.

It's a Hot Docs screening, so we'll see it at the Bloor Theatre (on Bloor St. about a block east of Bathurst on the north side of the street) on Tuesday, August 13, for the 11:30 screening. As always, early arrivals may choose between mingling with other members for a bit, or going into the auditorium on their own. Afterwards, those who wish to nosh & natter will gather in the lobby and then head out to a nearby restaurant.

SYNOPSIS:  For over half a century, "60 Minutes" fearsome newsman Mike Wallace went head-to-head with the world's most influential figures. Relying exclusively on archival footage, the film interrogates the interrogator, tracking Mike's storied career and troubled personal life while unpacking how broadcast journalism evolved to today's precarious tipping point.

TRAILER:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDSq2fF9flk

REVIEWS:  https://nowtoronto.com/movies/reviews/review-mike-wallace-is-here-avi-belkin/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/a-new-documentary-about-mike-wallace-reminds-us-of-journalisms-power--and-responsibility/2019/07/30/c3160408-b09c-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html?noredirect=on

June Pick: All is True

Our June pick is: All is True, directed by Kenneth Branaugh, who also stars as William Shakespeare during the last three years of his life; Judi Dench as his long-suffering wife, Anne Hathaway; and Ian McLellan as the  as Anne Hathaway. Ian McKellen as the pivotal Earl of Southampton. 

This elegiac film is another of actor/director Branaugh's forays into the Shakespearean canon. They include: Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love’s Labours Lost, Othello and As You Like It.


SYNOPSIS: The year is 1613, and Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age. But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground. Devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family. Haunted by the death of his only son, Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationship with his wife and daughters. In so doing, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as a husband and father.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I5cKmiONDI

REVIEW: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/21/all-is-true-review-ben-elton-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare