Author: Village Vidiot

  “Echo in the Canyon,” documentary, May 10, 2020 (2018), Netflix. B liked this one more than I did.  This film chronicles Jakob Dylan of the Wallflower’s exploration of one portion of the music scene from Laurel Canyon/LA in the mid-1960s, focusing on particular aspects of the evolution of both folk and rock in that…

  “Planet of the Humans,” May 7, 2020 (2019), Amazon Prime.  Michael Moore produced this attack on both the activist ecology movement (e.g., Bill McKibben) as shilling for Green Capitalism and destructive forms of energy generation, such as biomass.  As McKibben acknowledges in a rebuttal, he initially supported biomass but shifted his position not, as…

  “The Two Popes,” (some subtitles/English/Spanish/Latin/Italian), May 7, 2020 (2019), Netflix.  Brilliant acting from Anthony Hopkins as Benedict XVI and Jonathon Pryce as Francis I.   It’s an exciting and frequently very funny film that also graphically takes one into the horrific torture chambers and mass executions of the Argentinian junta’s rule.  This film follows from…

  “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” April 17, 2020 (2019), Amazon Prime during Covid-19.   We saw this two nights before the Boston Marathon would have run thus year.  Brittany  (Jillian Bell) is not an easy person to be around.  Her NYC career has not gone the way she’d hoped, she’s gained a lot of weight, and…

  “Midway,” March 31, 2020 (2019), DVD.  I was really looking forward to this and, as has been the norm of late, was terribly disappointed.  Based on the true story of the battle of Midway in 1942, this script is about as trite as it could be.  The acting is flat and the characters one-dimensional. …

  “Ford v Ferrari,” March 21, 2020 (2019), DVD.  I’ve been very stressed out, what with the virus, the economy, online teaching, and the like.  I turned to this as a piece of cinematic escape, and it was that.  Carroll Shelby (Matt Daman) was the only American to win at LeMans (1959) but then had…

  “Downton Abbey,” March 13, 2020 (2019), DVD.  I had high hopes for this cinematic spinoff from the acclaimed English TV series chronically changes in England through the noble Crawley family and their servants.  I’d enjoyed the first few seasons although I dropped out at the end.  It was too much of a soap about…

No, not a movie. I’ve recreated this blog as thevillagevidiot.com, having lost the ‘villagevidiot.net’ url. So it goes. I’ll be entering more films in here and hope to edit many more already in with photos and other information.  Please return and browse at will.  Your friend, The Village Vidiot.

“Motherless Brooklyn,” February 11, 2020 (2019), DVD.  Edward Norton, an actor whose work I really enjoy, read the Jonathon Lethem novel this is based on in manuscript, bought the rights, produced, wrote, directed and starred in this Wynton Marsalis-jazz infused  noir fable of power, corruption, struggle, and resolute friendship.  He moved it from our present…

  “Pain and Glory,” February 5, 2020 (2019), DVD (Spanish with subtitles.)  I have a very strange relationship to and with the films of Pedro Almodovar.  If feels as though he intentionally alternates remarkable works of cinema with superb and emotionally powerful character development and incredible dialogue with works of self-indulgent crap.   This wonderful, thoughtful,…

“The Danish Solution: The Rescue of the Jews in Denmark,” February 4, 2020, DVD, Documentary, 2003.  In these difficult times, I would recommend viewing the 2003 documentary “The Danish Solution: The Rescue of the Jews in Denmark.” Narrated by Garrison Keillor, it recounts the actions of everyday people, rich and poor, that resulted in the…

  “Toy Story 4,” January 25, 2020 (2019), DVD, animated.  Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and all the gang (fine actors doing excellent voicing, although I missed Don Rickles, d. 2017) are now Jessie’s toys as she goes off to kindergarten where she makes “Forkie,” a spork/toy who becomes part of this community after…

  “Hotel Salvation,” (in Hindi, subtitled), March 9, 2019 (2016), DVD.  Who would have thought Disney would be distributing David Lynch or that he’d make a G-rated film, but both these things apply to this marvelous 1999 film about Alvin Straight (the late Richard Farnsworth) who drove his riding mower 300 miles to see his…

This is a remarkably well-acted, very tense, painful film about two terribly lonely women teaching at a municipal secondary school in England. Judy Dench (Oscar nomination) plays Barbara, a cold, bitter, and vicious history teacher (what else!) who lives primarily via her journal, which she keeps religiously. She’s positively Victorian (or even Regency) in her…

This is a marvelous Chinese film about a child prodigy violinist and his peasant father. The father, seeking the best for his child, sacrifices everything to get him to the city for lessons. It is a lovely and humane film. Really worth watching. See this film

This is a funny, kind, largely loving look at an African-American barbershop in Chicago. Calvin (Ice T) inherits the shop from his father but has greater dreams for himself. Life in the shop provides a look at the community and this very important institution. Some fine acting from Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Anthony Anderson, and…

This is a fine French film about Lolita, the overweight daughter of a renowned novelist with a trophy wife barely older than the daughter. She is desperate for her father’s affection (he’s narcissistic and so is she). Indeed, her unpleasant characteristics are part of the film’s strength. She’s tried acting and now wants to be…

This interesting but overblown and melodramatic look at female insecurity chronicles a tough, accomplished, and renowned woman lawyer and prosecutor (Tilda Swinton) through her work life and very active and very bisexual love life. Despite great success in the courtroom and her soon-to-be appointment as a judge, she is utterly insecure and destructively self-critical about…

This film really worked for a cautionary tale about allowing a system to arrest people in relation to their ‘future’ acts. Very well done by S Spielberg, with a fine job by Tom Cruise, it only breaks down in the last 15 minutes or so. Otherwise, a fine take on the Philip K Dick story….

This film about an Indian wedding and culture in the “world’s largest democracy” started slowly, with set pieces that were predictable, but it evolved rapidly into a captivating piece about family and class in India, about love and obligation, about what matters to people. It is really well acted. The work by the man who…

This excellent and very strange Icelandic film looks at a Japanese businessman who goes to Iceland to perform a religious ritual for his parents but discovers much about himself and the world in the process. Very nasty vision of some American thug/hitchhikers played wonderfully by Lily Taylor and Steven Fischer. Well worth seeing and a…

This drama chronicles the real libel case brought by English Holocaust denier and Hitler fanboy, Steven Bannon, I mean David Irving (played by the ever superb Timothy Spall) against American historian Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz). It’s an important case. Fought out in the English civil courts where the defense must prove its innocence and the…

This documentary revisits the issues raised by “Pumping Iron” almost 40 years ago, following new competitors. Arnold and Lou make appearances of course and Mickey Rourke narrates as the reigning king, Phil Heath, goes head to head with Kai Greene and others. Each individual’s style, personalities, backgrounds, is shown shaping the event and the competition….

This documentary recounts the rise of anti-gay legislation in Uganda and the opportunistic and profoundly perverse role played by US evangelical missionaries in building this movement. Another painful and disturbing story of overt meddling and the money and power at stake in this battle here and in Uganda