Doc "Chris & Martina: The Final Set-A LOVE MATCH to LAST-It's a Winner

The sports doc. Chris & Martina is one for the record books and one to be watched. The most captivating  sports rivalry of the 20th C  was not Ali v Frazer, not Magic v Bird. It was Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova on the tennis court. Their records on the courts and their talents on are full display in this easily watchable and very likable documentary. What makes this such a compelling film is their story of lasting LOVE and friendship off the court. And, tennis tore apart their friendship. The film's strength comes from the their deep friendship that has flourished despite having been pitted against each other for their consummate goal to be #1 in the world. The two contrasting athletes in their style of play and demeanor couldn't have been more diverse. They share their drive and what they gave up to achieve their goals. Martina's defection in the 70s from the Czech Republic meant she was separated from her family which was devastating for her. There's a joyful reunion in which Martina brings Chris back home to meet her family years later. Chris also felt tennis demanded all her focus. It took her away from her first husband "I had nothing left to give off the court." Her victory at Wimbledon, while joyful when having received her trophy "left me lying on the floor of my hotel room. It was depression. I realized I had no friends." However, this is not a depressing film. It's actually very uplifting and life affirming film about competition and dealing with diversity. Looking back at the early years of both women as young girls on the courts and their love for the game is delightful.  We see how arch rivals tend to bring out the best in one another. The film is framed by the present cancer battles both women are facing. The comeback and evolution of their love for one another is a tribute to the characters of both women which I came to admire.  It's reassuring to see the support each has within their own family; Martina her wife and Chris her 2nd husband and sons.  Chris says "We were married 20 years and had 3 children together. The caring doesn't go away."  This film wins in a tie breaker with other engaging sports documentaries as on center court are two great foes who fought each other and who found each other as cherished friends. A double bonus is watching the two champions watching their matches together. 

"Sr." Robert Downey Jr Tribute to Sr Should've Stayed in the Family

The family documentary "Sr." is Robert Downey Jr.'s (RDJ) tribute to his beloved father, Robert Downey "Sr."  Celebrity insight, but, if you're not part of the family, don't bother. Most people are familiar with Robert  Downey Jr. (RDJ)the highest paid "actor in the world".  Yet, most people are unfamiliar with the films the senior Downey (RDS) wrote and directed. The reasons being the son is an extremely talented and prolific actor while the father's films are in a word, unwatchable. "Sr." is a mess of a film that despite a lot of footage spent on the editing process, more editing was badly needed.  There is obvious warmth in the relationship between father and son which is endearing though not compelling enough to sustain interest in either the familial connections or the connections to filmmaking as the family's pursuits. Clips from RDS' movies (the only footage in this film in vivd color) attest to the zaniness and off-the beaten tracks of his life's work. However, bizarre moments and characters does not make for an engrossing film. The impact of his counter culture filmmaking lived in the past. Today these films feel gross in an annoying way that neither call for revised interest or a retrospective. The documentary was shot in black and white to lend an artistic aesthetic to elevate the film's appeal. While New York City's beauty lends itself to the starkness of white and black, the film lacks "le coeur a ses raisons" other than to pull at the heart strings watching a son process the flailing health of his father. It felt gratuitous and voyeuristic watching RDJ wipe away tears and confer with his psychiatrist at the prospect of his father's passing. Furthermore, the man being eulogized is engaged in the eulogizing process was baffling and off-putting. Granted, it's refreshing to watch a family biopic where there's true affection demonstrated rather than animosity. Still, it comes off like chopped up home movies spliced together that play only to family members.  I did find watching RDJ as a young boy and young actor quite charming. The destructive years of drugs and alcohol for both are quickly raked over the coals.  Regret is bemoaned by RDS for introducing his son to these destructive vices. Thankfully, healthy outcomes are shared by both. RDS' second wife was lovingly cared for by him throughout her battle with ALS until her death. Rosemarie, RDS' 3rd and final wife up until his death was asked how long she and her husband have been married.  Her repeated answer was 1,500 years. That's about how long it felt watching this mishmash documentary that despite having been made with a tender heart, is not set far apart from other family's personal tribulations and reflections . 

CARRIE PILBY with Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne Worth a Watch

CARRIE PILBY (2016) film now on Amazon is not an amazing movie but it is not without its charms. Carrie (a wide eyed Bel Powley) is a 19 year old Harvard grad thanks to an IQ of 186. Of course, this high IQ is both a blessing and a curse. What's a widowed father (Gabriel Byrne) to do but matriculate his daughter into the IVY league since she's way ahead of all the adolescents her age. Well intentioned but not necessarily advantageous to a precocious girl who is really still a young girl pitted into an adult world which doesn't prepare her for a lecherous professor or peers who prefer someone their own age. Having graduated, Carrie finds herself alone in her NYC apartment without a job, friends or family. Her dad is in London where she was raised and she's left to navigate on her own. Well not entirely. Dad has hired his friend, a psychiatrist, Dr. Petrov (played by a steadfast Nathan Lane) to help guide her. Left on her own, Carrie would choose to stay at home and read. This is not a recipe for happiness. But with the kindly encouragement of Dr. Petrov and the job being as a proof reader she finds kindred spirits.  Carrie commences to navigate herself towards a fulfilling life. The movie is actually a lot better than it sounds. The quirky friends she meets at work are likable. So too is the handsome next door neighbor who plays a long winded instrument out on their fire escape. Bryce and Lane add their talents and finesse. This is an easily digestible, diverting film with a heroine whose tough facade belies a heart searching for connections.  Powley's performance is pitch perfect. She's engaging as a bumptious intellect. yet manages to carry off an underlying vulnerability without garnering pity. We see her as the 16 year old college girl who understandably fell prey to an ill-advised affair with her Lit professor and gain insight to her romantic reserves. Pilby's blazing blue eyes emote non-stop.  I was taken in by this film about an intellectual young lady whose emotional maturity is still mostly on par with her chronological age. This movie may not receive high honors but it does earn high above a passing grade. It's a sweet movie to pass the time. 

MINIONS and MONSTERS-Most Entertaining Minutes at the Start, Sadly Falls Apart

I took my 4 year old nephew, Ames, to see MINIONS and MONSTERS. He would tell you, "It was funny and I liked it." I agree that it was delightfully funny and I did like it - but only up to a point. The clever opening with a tour through a movie studio with loving tributes to favorite family films was a lot of fun. A scene where George Lucas was encased in glass was delightful. So too were the homages that would charm cinephiles. Hats off to Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplain, Orson Wells and other visual treats. I was captivated by the tributes more so than my nephew.  It was a lot of fun watching the minions searching for a vicious villain to serve and conjuring up monsters from the wizard's magical book. Here Ames and I were aligned. And, the beginning friendship of James and Henry (note not Henry James) this isn't classic literature after all, was warm and touching. Sharing a sense of humor does a friendship make. Perhaps, James and Henry will be counted among Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy if they can sustain their routines. Maybe they're likened to the silent screen stars because their language is non-decipherable except for a few words and expletives now and then. However, in the framing of the film, our tour guide (voiced wonderfully by Allison Janey) is befuddled that her group were not familiar with James and Henry whom she credits with saving the movie industry. The film goes to flashback to explain how the minions' mayhem brings them into Hollywood where they are befriended by a movie director and their careers are quickly launched and just as quickly quenched by their antics. So far so good for both Ames and me. But the ending subplot of an alien robot who falls for a lovely suffragette becomes supercilious.  It becomes way too juvenile when the adorable ET like creature conjured by James and Henry, resurrects his  monster buds, including an orange blob with millions of eyes that begins taking over all of Hollywood. I would have shut this Saturday morning cartoon plot line and sophomoric monsters which dragged down an up to then enjoyable movie. The tour guide needs to be corrected of her understatement regarding James and Henry saving the movie industry was actually an unbeknownst saving the world from monsters and aliens. Ames said "I liked the parts with the orange blob kept getting bigger and all the space ships." (A heavy handed salute to the star war movies). I did enjoy the more sophisticated satirical humor and Easter eggs that flooded the first half of the movie. MINIONS and MONSTERS attempted to be all things to all ages. By doing so, it did not achieve a thumbs up from me. However, Ames gave it 2 thumbs up. Yes, Ames and I are the best of friends.

E Stout's The THINGS WE NEVER SAY-Has Lots to Say on Lack of Communication

In "The Things We Never Say" Elizabeth Strout expands the theme of human isolation and the improbability of honest, open communication. Artie is a high school history teacher who cares about his family, his students and the state of the world. The story takes place under Trump's first administration. Yes, Artie's a kind, thoughtful man who is loved by those who know him. But the question remains, how well can we really now someone. "His {Artie} study of history, he learned about the leaders, and the various groups involved, but he had somehow missed this fact about every single person that they held within themselves a vast, unknowable universe." The political tension that has polarized our country is a backdrop that magnifies secrets being kept to sustain a status quo and prevent turbulent relationships. Artie's greatest pleasure comes from his weekend sail where he steers himself through turbulent waters. If only he could maneuver himself freely and share with his wife of 30 years, Evie, what is weighing on his mind. Evie became a therapist after a girl was killed in car accident in which their son was driving. Her career highlights the hypocrisy of keeping major secrets from both spouses."Artie was aware for the first time how much people lied to one another." Strout is very direct in her condemnation of Trump. Artie and his new"best friend" Kevin who rescued him from drowning formed a friendship in which he felt at peace. With Kevin he was able to share his feelings and felt heard (as long as they didn't discuss politics.) The story becomes somewhat muddled among the layers of clandestine behaviors (shoplifting), various affairs and careers (espionage). Strout makes the point that when communication is open and trust is built, people can positively impact other's lives. Artie influence on two of his students' lives is heralded ad nauseam. However, the futility and rarity of open dialogue is rare. "Why don't people ever say anything real? Ands now he knew why. Because to say anything real was to say things that nobody wanted to know." The overall melancholia and suicidal ideations makes this a bleak novel. One can argue that Strout made her hero likable enough to engage the reader. One can argue, as Artie pondered, there is no free. So why should we care? The delicate balance between personal agency and outside forces is examined. So too is the inability to truly communicate which is truly depressing. "So blind we humans are-so blind. To each other and to ourselves moving through life as through shadows, putting out a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone...grasping only the smallest details of one another's selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see." 

ALICE and STEVE-Not Your Typical Family Comedy on Disney+ Cringeworthy Fun

The comedy series ALICE and STEVE airing on Disney+ is not your typical PG 13 fare. And, it's fair to say this is not intended for the family to watch together. It's a cringeworthy comedy where a loving mother and daughter relationship is threatened when mom learns her longtime best friend and former college beau, Steve is sleeping with her 26 year old daughter, Izzy. The friendship between Alice and Steve is evident. There's plenty of humor amidst the mourning of a mutual friend while drinking and doing coke at nightclub following the funeral. Alice is played by the incomparable British stage and screen actress, Nicola Walker ("The Split" and "Last Tango in Halifax"). Alice is thrilled when her daughter returns home following her recent break-up. Steve is played by the New Zealand comedy actor Jermaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords" and "What We do in the Shadows"). Steve has known Alice's daughter Izzy since birth. She's played by Israeli film and series actress Yali Tool Margalith ("A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" and "House of David"). While mom is upstairs searching for her old coke stash, Izzy and Steve casually chat. Both inform the other of their single status since Izzy's recent break-up and Steve's divorce. A sexual tension is obvious as Izzy questions Steve why his wife left him. Steve's sense of humor and self-mocking are charming. Izzy's flirtation with Steve does not go unnoticed. Coming downstairs ready to go back out with Steve, Alice is oblivious to an attraction between her daughter and Steve. A hilarious hi-jinx night ensues. Alice inadvertently allows Steve's ubiquitous dog to ingest her coke. After the harried night they return to Alice's home where she insists Steve and his dog spend the night. While Alice is upstairs asleep with her husband Daniel (British actor/musician Joel Fry) Izzy comes back down to get some more wine sans pants and joins Steve on the couch. Despite being her mom's friend and twice his age, Steve succumbs to Izzy's sexiness and the two spend the night getting fully acquainted. Izzy pursues Steve at his place and easily gets him to continue their dalliance.  Izzy brazenly informs her mom she's now with Steve. As you can imagine, Alice is furious with both of them. The comic premise is promising. The strong performances from this international group of talented actors gives credibility to the silliness and cringe worthy scenario. Izzy meets mom head on as an adult of 26 able to determine whom she dates. Alice is irate. Steve is remorseful but not enough to give up the good thing he's got going. Alice has to finagle to sabotage the awkward love match. But she comes off as a shrew and what's a mom to do? The situational comedy is salacious fun with a cast that carries it off despite its off-putting odd-couple pairing.

New York City Ballet Returns to LA after a Long Absence-Times are always Changing

If it seems that NYC Ballet hasn't been in Los Angeles in forever, it's because it has been two decades. Hooray, herald the return of one of the world's top echelon ballet companies. There's an audience here that revels in ballet and dance. Dance is a consummate performance art. It encompasses all musical styles and  endless visual designs expressed through movement of the human form. Hallelujah, there was live music albeit, limited musicians who accompanied the dancers. There are two different programs featured for the six performances over four days; June 24-28 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Last night's opening performance was a pastiche of modern, classical and most dance forms in between. In particular, the final piece on last night's program, "The Times are Racing" choreography by Justin Peck. The work premiered in 2017.  Its medley of hip hop, contemporary, tap and "ballet" was energetic and ambitious. There was plenty of fleet footwork and exciting moves to admire. "Ballet" is in quotes because female ballet dancers are to be "en pointe" creating an elongated, ephemeral visual effect. The women dancers did not don pointe shoes. Constrictions placed on ballet are continuously being stretched and challenged which is essential for art forms to thrive. Still, the mixed styles in "Times" is not ground breaking but appropriated as dance is want to do.  Justin Peck, a former dancer with the company was named Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer in 2014. With this post comes the crucial responsibility for keeping ballet alive and expanding its audience. The costuming was street wear with jeans, cut-offs and t-shirts. is beginning The non-stop intensity was intoxicating. In contrast, "Signs" (2022) choreographed by. Gianna Reisen with music by Philip Glass was softer and more sedate. The dancers all wore pale blue leotards.  Glass' repetitive scoring was less abrasive than his typical pulsating style. My favorite piece for the evening was "Red Angels," (1994) with blood red bodystockings and fiery portals in the staging. This gave the affect of dancers slithering out of Hell; ready to cause havoc. The ambience and choreography were startling and gloriously menacing. Despite being an "older" piece, it felt alive and timeless.  There was no Balanchine ballets in this program.  Two of his ballets are featured on the other program. There was a Jerome Robbins piece which featured his humorous wit and broadway showmanship. Created with Baryshnikov mind, the solo dancer, Daniel Ulbricht and cellist on stage played off each other. Ulbricht's musicality was superb as he emphasized Bach's Six Suite compositions. Comparing him with Baryshnikov's gravity defying leaps came up a little short. The evening offered something for everyone to favor. It's vital for major companies like NYC Ballet to continue to embrace new techniques and ideas while maintaining its classical lineage. Most importantly, let's keep attending ballet and dance in LA to ensure it remains here. 

DRAMA- Strained Drama but Terrific Acting Zendaya and Robert Pattison

The 2006 film DRAMA now screening is testament to what good acting can do to a script that leaves legitimacy at the door. The always captivating Zendaya stars as Emma and the bankable Robert Pattison as Charlie. This rom/com has a charming start where Charlie hits on Emma in a coffee shop by claiming he was taken by the book she's reading. His clumsy overtures are ignored until Emma turns to face him and is startled to see he's been speaking to her. She tells him she's deaf in her right ear. He's so flummoxed Emma offers him a chance to try the encounter again. Next the two are on a dinner date where Emma tries to discuss the novel and Charlie owns up to never having read it and just wanted to meet her. Emma accepts his good natured apology and the relationship flourishes from them into an enviable full blown romance (as is their apartment replete with circular staircase and floor to ceiling windows).  The perfect couple becomes engaged. Charlie's best friend Mike (an endearing Mamodou Athie) and his wife, Rachel (a tour-de-force Alana Haim) gather to taste test wines for the wedding. As they imbibe overtime, the married couple engage in everyone sharing "the worst thing you've ever done." While the sharing is embarrassing,  Emma is the last to share. Her's is a whopper. In high school she had seriously contemplated shooting up her school. This obviously shocking reveal is new to her new fiancee. Rachel has plenty deplorable expletives to say! Emma's responds by regurgitating everything on the table ending the evening leaving a lot of unfinished business between the two love birds. Emma does explain what her torment was like back then to Charlie. "I only thought about it and didn't go through with it." Charlie revisits some of Emma's explosive behaviors and is unsure whether they are as made for each other as before. The wedding photo shoot is a hoot with feigned smiles and stiffness and the wedding toasts are uproarious. The acting is so captivating all round it makes this dilemma more of an entertaining drama than it's cut out to be. If only the two would sit down and rehash their concerns instead of Charlie harboring doubts and acting out, things would work no doubt . Still, the film is a captivating, guilty pleasure but not one anyone would want to try over again. 

S Korean TV Series "Teach You a Lesson" Corporal Punishment Deemed Crucial in Classrooms

The Korean Netflix series "Teach You a Lesson" is not your typical high school classroom drama. Based on the webtoon "Get Schooled" set in modern day Korea, the show is anything but slow. We follow a student on his way to high school student who wishes he could wake up sick and miss school or go to sleep for the next two years and wake up when high school is over.  As he walks onto campus, his gaze follows his classmates upwards to a student standing over the edge of the roof of the school. The student silently leans forward and falls to his death. This shocking heart wrenching episode flashes back to all the brutalities and humiliations this student suffered prior to taking his own life. The nightmare for the student who wishes to be in a coma is only starting. He is now the new victim and is physically beaten and tormented by his callous classmates. A group of boys lead by one bully (whose father has a high level in government) rules the school. No one pushes back; neither teachers or students. Until an unknown adult appears dressed all in black. He resembles a sexy amalgamation of Keanu Reeve and Joseph Gordon-Levitt punches the bully. Meet the new teacher played with pizazz, wit and warmth by Kim Moo-Yul as Na Haw-Jin. Cell phones filming, the shocked, socked in the jaw tormentor demands to know who him. Na welcomes the chance to introduce himself as their teacher and his plans for reforming the school. You think - teachers can't do that.  Think again. While corporal punishment in school is deemed antiquated, barbaric and illegal, Na informs everyone he can, he will and he does. There's new legislation granting Na the authority to take matters into his own karate, tai-chi, super hero hands.  Take note, this episode was more than a well choreographed fight flick or simple revenge story. There's real empathy and intelligence in the show. Na connects to the boy being picked-on. "There are good adults out there. No one's saying fight back. Find an adult and talk to them. And, also run!" I did enjoy the comeuppance the vicious, sociopathic student received and of his parent from whom the apple didn't fall far from the tree. This is a smartly written, well acted show. But,  please cast high school students who look like teens not 20 something. The 2nd episode degenerated into a melee of students intent on gaining notoriety by causing fights.  The violence was over the top, out weighing any redemptive lesson.  Watch the first episode (maybe skip the 2nd) and try the third. I was won over by the charisma of Moo-Yul and the originality of  the pendulum swinging so far out that corporal punishment was not only condoned, but owned!  Each episode is set in a different school.  The pushback in the public forum is another aspect that elevates the grade of "Teach You a Lesson."

Open Poetry Readings at Malibu Library Courtyard

All were invited to a free poetry reading in the courtyard of the Malibu Public Library on Saturday.  Being outdoors and being free was good enough for me and my dog Bowie to attend. The librarian/host for the event opened by addressing, "Why poetry?."  She followed her rhetorical question with other why questions. These were cheesy in their assessment of value fond in - say, life. She then read from Walt Whitman's famously life-affirming poems. While her comments were overall, trite - they laid a foundation for appreciating the following poets and Shakespearian thespian. There was a set theme assigned the three poets invited. One got the memo whose poems "had never before addressed the meme of joy." Her poem was in keeping with the day's sugary theme. She ladled it on heavy with the cream. The male poet started off by taking the liberty of speaking on his favored topic of philosophy. Before he went on to his more macabre v. joy poems, he said, "I hope I wasn't being too esoteric."  He was, and it was arid. His poetry along the lines of romantic mysticism; a werewolf attacking his victim was anything but staid. It was cleverly chilling. I got a flavor for what the werewolf was going for. The last invited poet didn't do her homework. She said "I'm going to ad lib". She brought a book of Khalil Gibran's poetry and read random poems as she riffled through the book until the audience called out stop. This didn't win her any accolades from me but surprisingly, her great aunt had a friendship with the famous Lebanese-American poet and she happened to have a correspondence her aunt had written to him. (How she had the poem when it was written to Gibran I'd have liked to know.) However, her aunt "Joy" (how's that for irony) was an amazing writer whose epistolatory correspondence waved poetically of her bucolic surroundings and her yearnings. Aunt Joy's letter was the highlight for Bowie and me as Bowie sat up and paid attention. The last arranged speaker shared her passion for language as conveyed through Shakespeare's mastery of words. She performed "Hamlet's" famous soliloquy and emoted his turmoils exquisitely. The courtroom oration from "Merchant of Venice" was lacking having not failed to adequately set up Shylock's brutal treatment prior in the play. Afterwards, the floor was opened to anyone wishing to share their own poetry. Hats off to the young lady who bravely shared her heartfelt writing. And, regardless of any criticisms I had, Bowie and I very much enjoyed gathering with others outside to listen to the intrinsic beauty of prose and poetry.  This I knows.