Movies, Documentary, Drama
We often think of today’s politics as brutal and ruthless. Watching A Royal Affair, which explores the politics of Denmark just before the American and French Revolutions, reminds us that politics has always been a brutal affair. The film is not uplifting, as it portrays the political maneuvering at the Danish court, but it offers an excellent history lesson. After watching the film, I wanted to find out to what extent it was historically accurate. According to Wikipedia—which I generally trust—the film is very accurate in its portrayal of how the personal physician of the king tried to bring Enlightenment values to the government of Denmark.A Royal affair
Movies, Comedy
On Christmas Eve, I stumbled across Charade, a movie starring Cary Grant and Aubrey Hepburn. It is a thriller mixed with romantic comedy. The gender roles in the film are outdated. A leading Hollywood studio would not dare to make such a portrayal today. The dialogues between Grant and Hepburn are very funny. Nobody could be this eloquent in real life—or at least, I have not met anyone who can consistently be intelligent, funny, and persuasive in daily interactions.Charade
Movies, Comedy
If you are looking for a holiday movie that will enchant you, do not choose Our Little Secret on Netflix. The premise sounded promising, but the plot is too predictable, and the characters feel like they were crafted by amateur hands. The only thing I enjoyed was studying Lindsay Lohan’s face and trying to imagine how the once-cute girl ended up with such a swollen appearance. I haven’t seen her since Mean Girls, so I was a bit surprised by her current look.Our Little Secret
Movies, Drama
If you are hoping to learn a lot about Leonard Bernstein’s artistry, Maestro will disappoint you. There are two moments where one gets a sense of Bernstein’s creative power. Otherwise, the film is dedicated to chronicling his complicated love life. Bernstein is homosexual but marries and has children. Bradley Cooper (director and actor of Bernstein) focuses on telling this story. Bernstein’s musical artistry merely serves as a background that remains largely unexplored. I once saw a little video of Bernstein teaching the history of music in five minutes at Harvard. Given the title Maestro, I was hoping music would be at the center of the film. Perhaps there is a good documentary on Bernstein I can look for.Maestro
Movies, Comedy, Drama
Crocodile Dundee was made with $7 million and took in over $300 million at the box office. It was the commercially most successful Australian film ever. Because the film became so popular, I wasn’t sure whether I had seen it or not. It turns out I had never seen at least the first “Crocodile Dundee” movie, and I fully appreciate why it was so successful. It is utterly charming. A young journalist happens to be in Australia when she hears the news that a man in the outback was attacked by a crocodile and then managed to rescue himself through an ordeal of several days.Crocodile Dundee