A heart-wrenching drama about the effects of dementia, both on an elderly man suffering from the disease and his daughter.  Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman give excellent performances that show the tragic effects the disease has on the afflicted, as well as their families.  Both of their performances are powerful, moving, and exceptional.  Highly recommended.

The Courier is a well made and well acted cold war spy movie, but it doesn’t make the impact that it should.  Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Greville Wynne, an everyman recruited by the CIA and MI6 to act as a courier for a high-level contact within the GRU.  I appreciated the production values used to recreate Sixties London and Moscow.  Several performances, including those by Rachel Brosnahan as a CIA agent and Merab Ninidze as spy Oleg Penkovsky stand out. The movie becomes affecting when both heroes are in prison, but before then, it’s a very slow boil.  Lightly recommended.

While watching Minari, I couldn’t help but think: is farming the saddest profession?  With so many variables out of your control, a happy and successful farmer would seem to be the exception to the rule.  Farming requires you to deal with the weather, pricing futures, insects, water (or the lack thereof), the physical toll, bank loans, and so on, any of which could leave you teetering on the brink of insolvency.  Being a farmer requires incredible fortitude, physical as well as mental.  You have to fully acquiesce to whatever fate may bring you, good or bad.  Minari fits squarely into the “tough life of the farmer” category of movies, and acquits itself well as a drama. Definitely recommended.

Nomad is expertly made in all aspects: acting, direction, cinematography, screenplay, editing and film score. Frances McDormand gives a naturalistic performance that is incredibly moving. A must see! Continue reading Nomandland (2020)