Review – The Greatest Night in Pop

I was working a graveyard shift job in the spring of 1985, which meant I spent hour after endless hour with Top 40 radio for company. So when “We Are the World” went into high rotation, it didn’t take long for it to go from charming effort at doing good to grating ear worm that got played at least once an hour. That said, it’s legitimately a moment of moderate importance in the history of popular music. In that spirit, it’s interesting to learn more about the night dozens of celebrities ended up in the same room singing the same song at the same time. Mildly amusing

Review – The Days

This is a miniseries about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and I found a lot of it completely mystifying. In particular there seemed to be a lot of disconnect between the government’s reluctance about relatively minor expenses such as helicopter transport for pump equipment and the imminent, long-term irradiation of a significant chunk of Honshu. The series also features an alarming number of scenes where characters in the middle of every-second-counts crises spend vast spans of time staring at each other. I’m not questioning the accuracy of these moments in the story. But if you’re like me and you find that sort of thing intensely annoying, be prepared to be intensely annoyed. That said, they spent a lot of money on the production and did a good job of recreating the disasters. Mildly amusing

Review – Thanksgiving

For everyone waiting for a good horror movie with a Thanksgiving theme, the wait continues. This typical slasher revenge plot tastes a lot like leftovers. See if desperate

Review – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Like the first one, this is more about the effects than anything else. So if you liked it before, here’s seconds. Mildly amusing

Review – Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire

Philosophical question: would any movie that combines Star Wars and The Seven Samurai automatically count as a remake (or reboot or whatever) of Battle Beyond the Stars? To be sure, mid-budget filmmaking has gotten a lot more sophisticated since 1980. Effects are better. Producers are more savvy about setting things up for sequels. Beyond that, however, the story is at least three different kinds of reheated. Mildly amusing

Review – Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It

I’ve been a big fan of Rita Moreno going all the way back to watching her on The Electric Company when I was a kid. I still remember how delighted I was to discover that she’d had a whole career in movies before then (not to mention plenty of work since). This documentary shows her as a great person behind the scenes as well. Of course that makes it all the harder to learn about the systemic racism and sexual assault she was forced to deal with. But overall this is an upbeat account of a fascinating life. Worth seeing

Review – Barbie

The last movie I saw about Barbie was Hotel Terminus, so at least this one was shorter. Everyone’s hearts are in the right place here, and that’s actually part of the problem. Most of the wry critiques of gender roles in American popular culture are on point, but they take the place of plot and character development. The result is more of a cleverly produced parade of in jokes than an actual story. Mildly amusing

Review – Elvis

This is a roughly even mix of what a rebellious spirit Elvis Presley had and what a fool he was to trust Colonel Tom Parker. The actors do a professional job in their roles, and Baz Luhrmann keeps his directorial conceits more under control than usual. It’s a shame they didn’t spend this time and money on a more interesting story. Mildly amusing

Review – All the Light We Cannot See

In the waning days of World War Two, a blind woman working with the French resistance connects with a German soldier grown opposed to his duties. The production’s efforts to wax philosophical largely fall flat, but the melodrama keeps the story moving. The art direction’s reasonably good, too. Mildly amusing