The Death of Stalin

A movie that tries to be funny about what is ultimately a very unfunny subject. The Soviet Union in the early '50s was indeed, as the film makes clear, a place of great upheaval, chaos and murder on a grand scale, so trying to laugh about it, and about the men who made much of that happen, is a tricky task. This “comedy of terrors” does eventually achieve a level of success on that undertaking, though it has to build in that effort to reach its ultimate crescendo of genuine amusement. The credit for that achievement largely rests with the performance of Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev. Buscemi, even with his follicles pared down to the former Soviet leader’s familiar hairline, does not particularly look like the man, yet he captures his brusque, blustery nature quite well while adding an extra layer of caustic manner to the characterization, a performance that leavens the proceedings with the lion’s share of the story’s humor. Good work is also handed in by Simon Russell Beale as Lavrenti Beria, who brings a fair share of jocularity to his character’s murderous doings. Still, there’s a reason it takes a while for the laughs to break out in this movie—the gruesome nature of life under the communist dictatorship was no laughing matter. (Oddly, it also probably does not help that so many of the characters are played here by British actors, and that famously dry British wit doesn’t work as well as usual in this context.) Overall, the story works and the film entertains, but it’s not quite the riot one might expect, all things considered. But, after all, it does beat a trip to the gulag.

Charlotte's Web

Believe it or not, when I was trying to get my children’s book manuscript published oh-so-many years ago, I kept running into a mindset that said that no one publishes “talking animal” stories anymore. They were—and perhaps still are—deemed passé, and regressive, and possibly even reactionary. There is perhaps no greater example of how astonishingly stupid that notion is than this movie, even with it being almost twenty years old as of this viewing. This seems like a simple story, but in fact it examines eternal truths, in a way that is accessible to all. The miracle of White’s work, which shines through in this adaptation, lies in using the form of a fable—a genre as old as stories themselves—to illustrate eternal truths about life and the world, both our human lives and our place in that world of other lives, including our animal cousins, and what this existence means for all of us, in all of its beauty, joy and sadness. This production captures that essence wonderfully, with a script that remains true to the original book, visual effects that are flawlessly executed, a tempered hand when it comes to the “updating” and “comic relief”—the jive talking characters and stunt casting are kept to a minimum—and an emotional tone that resonates without overstepping into something overwrought. I’m tempted to give this film Best of All status, but even without such accolades, this movie is must-see material. “Terrific” and “Radiant" hardly cover it. 

Home on the Range

What a surprise. This seemingly forgotten film turns out to be a delight, a genuinely funny movie with a nicely skewed sense of humor and a tight, consistent story. The sense of humor derives largely from the inspired casting of Roseanne Barr as the lead character; her unique persona gives much of the bite to the jokes. The rest of the cast performs good work, too, in a variety of roles. And the songs, though a bit sparse for a true musical, work really well where they fit in, with good melodies and witty lyrics. (Having contributions from k.d. lang and Bonnie Raitt helped the quality quotient in a big way.) All in all, this one stands out as a very good movie that got a bit lost in the shuffle upon first release. Thank goodness there are such robust secondary sources for films these days; otherwise this one might have unfairly disappeared completely. Do yourself a favor and watch this flick if you’re one of those who missed out on its original run.

Monsters University

I watched this flick with little enthusiasm at first--I have an established bias against these later Pixar movies, for various reasons--but gradually I warmed up to this one. The story hit every college movie cliche imaginable, but the movie eventually comes out on top despite its deficiencies, mostly because of plenty of good gags and jokes, and one fairly unexpected twist towards the end that redeems a lot of the triteness.

Monsters Inc.

The nice part about watching this movie: listening to the terrified screams of children, of course. All cynical humor aside, this really is an entertaining and amusing bit of animated schtick. It's well-designed--naturally; Pixar has the template down pat by now--and witty, without trying too hard to be hip and "now"; i.e., no surfer- and/or jive-talking characters. Just funny stuff.

The Laramie Project

Gut-wrenching, but, I think, necessary. If for no other reason than to ask once again--in the wake of the Matthew Shepard murder--the question, why does this country (or all of humanity, for that matter) have to be like this? Maybe watching movies like this could help some people find some meaningful answers.

Ghost World

Hits the nail on the head more often than a town full of Amish people building a barn. An awesomely true story with clever writing and a dead-on recognition of what's what in this world. The only possible quibble: in real life, girls that cute don't get that surly. Otherwise, it's perfect. A "Best of All" inductee.