Movies for January 2021: Uncle Frank and Rudderless

 Joe is hosting in January and the movies to see are:

Rudderless (2014)

Where to watch it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/rudderless

 

A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.

Director: William H. Macy

Writers: Casey Twenter, Jeff Robison, William H. Macy 

Stars: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman

Uncle Frank (2020)

Where to watch it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/uncle-frank

In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover, Walid.

Director: Alan Ball

Writer: Alan Ball

Stars: Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, Peter Macdissi

Scores for December 2020 Movies

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)  7.10 / 10

About Time (2013)  5.90 / 10

Films of Merit

• Barry (TV series)
• Cernobyl (TV series)
• Fantastic Fungi (2019)
• Fatman (2020)
• Fisherman's Friends (2019)
• Gather (2020)
• My Octopus Teacher (2020)
• The 12th Man (2017)
• The Morning Show (TV series)
• The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
• The Undoing (TV series)
• The Queen's Gambit (TV series)
• The Worricker Trilogy (Masterpiece Theater)
• Youth in Oregon (2016)

Movies for December 2020: Stranger Than Fiction and About Time

Dean is hosting in December and the movies to see are:

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Where to watch it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/stranger-than-fiction

I.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.

Director: Marc Forster

Writers: Zach Helm

Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman

About Time (2013)

Where to watch it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/about-time

At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.

Director: Richard Curtis

Writers: Richard Curtis

Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy

Scores for November 2020 Movies

The Banker (2020) 6.20 / 10
Just Mercy (2019) 7.25 / 10
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)) 7.67 / 10

Films of Merit

• 13th (2016)
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
• Borgen (TV series)
• I See You (2019)
• New Tricks (TV series)
• Ozark (TV series)
• Spies of Warsaw (TV series)
• Tehran (TV series)
• The Crown (TV series)
• The Operative (2019)
• The Spy (TV series)
• Steely Dan live performance on YouTube
• Tom Waits live performance on YouTube

Movies for November 2020: The Banker and Just Mercy

Bill G is hosting in November and the movies to see are:

The Banker (2020)

In the 1960s two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur.

Director: George Nolfi

Writers: Niceole R. Levy, George Nolfi, David Lewis Smith, Stan Younger, David Lewis Smith, Brad Kane

Stars: Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult 

Just Mercy (2019)

World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Writers: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham, Bryan Stevenson

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson

Scores for October 2020 Movies

Night Moves (1975)  6.2 / 10
Ripley's Game (2002)  7.3 / 10

Films of Merit

• Away (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8787802/
• Challenger: The Final Flight (TV miniseries) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12930534/
• Inspector Lewis (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0874608/
• Mars (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4939064/
• My Octopus Teacher (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12888462/
• Schitt's Creek (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3526078/
• Secret City (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4976512/
• Suicide Squad (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386697/

Movies for October: Ripley's Game and Night Moves

Hugh is hosting in October and the movies to see are:

Night Moves (1975)

https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/night-moves-1975

Los Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.

Director: Arthur Penn
Writer: Alan Sharp
Stars: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns

Ripley's Game (2002)

https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ripleys-game

A dying family man in need of money is persuaded to assassinate a European crime boss.

Director: Liliana Cavani
Writers: Charles McKeown, Liliana Cavani, Patricia Highsmith
Stars: John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Lena Headey

Scores for September 2020 Films

Nights of Cabiria (1957)  7.20 / 10

Amarcord (1973)  7.67 / 10

Films of Merit

• 8½ (1963) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/
• Dean (2016) https://www.imdb.com/list/ls040522493/  
• Episodes (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582350/
• Inside Man (2006) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/
• La Dolce Vita (1960) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053779/
• La Strada (1954) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047528/
• Out Stealing Horses (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7319496/
• Perry Mason (HBO TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077823/ 
• The Best of Enemies (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4807408/
• The Last Dance (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8420184/ 
• The Plot Against America (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9308346/
• TURN: Washington's Spies (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543328/

Movies for September 2020: Nights of Cabiria and Amarcord

Steve is hosting in September and the movies to see are:

Nights of Cabiria (1957)

https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nights-of-cabiria

A waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love and cigarettes but finds only heartbreak.

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Stars: Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi

Amarcord (1973)

https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/amarcord

A series of comedic and nostalgic vignettes involving very large puddles set in a 1930s Italian coastal town.

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra
Stars: Magali Noël, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio

Scores for August 2020 Films

Close-Up (1990)  5.1 / 10

Adaptation (2002)  6.5 / 10

Films of Merit

• Babylon Berlin (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4378376/
• Beecham House (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8451638/
• Crip Camp (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8923484/
• First Cow (2019) https://www.imdb.com/list/ls040522493/
• Grant (TV series) https://www.history.com/shows/grant
• Hamilton (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8503618/
• Just Mercy (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/
• Mrs. Wilson (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6859806/
• Palm Springs (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9484998/
• Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3838978/
• The Hate U Give (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580266/
• The Naked City (1948) https://www.imdb.com/list/ls040522493/
• Yellowstone (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4236770/

Movies for August 2020: Close-Up and Adaptation

Carl is hosting in August and the movies to see are:

Close-Up (1990)

The true story of Hossain Sabzian that impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.

Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Writer: Abbas Kiarostami
Stars: Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah

Available on Amazon Prime, YouTube
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/close-up

Adaptation (2002)

A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.

Director: Spike Jonze

Writers: Susan Orlean (book), Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper

Available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV 

https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/adaptation

Scores for July 2020 Films

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)  7.33 / 10
Touch of Evil (1958)  4.89 / 10

Films of Merit

• 30 Rock (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0496424/
• Chernoybl (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7366338/
• Da 5 Bloods (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9777644/
• Harold and Maude (1971) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067185/
• Honeyland (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8991268/
• If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6963760/
• Just Mercy (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/
• Medici (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5057130/
• On Becoming a God in Central Florida (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6398232/
• The Banker (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6285944/
• The Dish (2000) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/
• The Last Post (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5133742/
• Virunga (2014) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3455224/

Movies for July 2020: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Touch of Evil

Don is hosting in July and the movies to see are:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Two Americans searching for stinking badges in Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Director: John Huston

Writers: John Huston, B. Traven

Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt

Touch of Evil (1958)

A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, mustaches, and police corruption in a Mexican border town.

Director: Orson Welles

Writers: Orson Welles, Whit Masterson 

Stars: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh

Scores for June 2020 Movies

The Third Man (1949)  7.27 / 10
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)  9.18 / 10

Films of Merit

• Baptiste (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8259142/  
• Criss Cross (1949) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041268/  
• Gary Busey: Pet Judge (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12258970/ 
• King Lear (2018) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7473890/ 
• Public Enemies (2009) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/ 
• Rock the Kasbah (2015) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3164256/ 
• Schitt's Creek (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3526078/ 
• Space Force (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9612516/ 
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6412452/ 
• The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man (2018) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7329810/ 
• The Last Kingdom (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4179452
• The Maltese Falcon (1941) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/
• The Rocketeer (1991) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102803/
• Tiger King (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11823076/
• Unorthodox (TV miniseries) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9815454/ 
• World on Fire (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8001092/ 

Movies for June 2020: The Third Man and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Jon L is (virtual) hosting in June and the movies to see are:

The Third Man (1949)

Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.

Director: Carol Reed
Writers: Graham Greene
Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

A criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients.

Director: Milos Forman
Writers: Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman, Ken Kesey, Dale Wasserman
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson

Score for May's Movie

A Thousand Clowns (1965)  5.4 / 10

Favorite Comedies 

• Blazing Saddles (1974) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/
• In a World... (2013) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294677/
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/
• Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/
• School of Rock (2003) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/
• Sideways (2004) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/
• The Mask (1994) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110475/
• The Sunshine Boys (1975) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073766/
• To Be or Not to Be (1942) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035446/

Movies for May 2020: A Thousand Clowns and members' choice

John C is hosting in May and the movies to see are:

A Thousand Clowns (1965)

 A middle-aged iconoclast, doggedly avoiding the tedium of employment and conventional life, faces the prospect of losing custody of his young ward.

Director: Fred Coe

Writers: Herb Gardner 

Stars: Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, Gene Saks, William Daniels

Members' Choice

Members are to watch a comedy of their own choice, but it cannot be The Big Lebowski.

Scores for April 2020 Movies

The Two Popes (2019) 8.36 / 10
Marriage Story (2019) 6.27 / 10

Films of Merit

• Babylon Berlin (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4378376/
• Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3146022/
• Dark Waters (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/
• Love & Mercy (2014) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903657/
• Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9358200/
• Offspring - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1530541/
• Paterson (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5247022/
• Press (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7547518/
• The Fundamentals of Caring (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452386/
• The Great Courses on Amazon Prime - https://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Courses/e/B06XPWVHFB
• The Spy (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5952634/
• The Valhalla Murders (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9100822/

Movies for April 2020: The Two Popes and Marriage Story

Bill T has selected these movies to see for April:

The Two Popes (2019)

Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict XVI and the liberal future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.

Director: Fernando Meirelles
Writer: Anthony McCarten
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Juan Minujín

Marriage Story (2019)

Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.

Director: Noah Baumbach

Writer: Noah Baumbach

Stars: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Alan Alda

Scores for March 2020 Movies

Joker (2019)  7.44 / 10
Parasite (2019) 7.40 / 10

Films of Merit

• Babylon Berlin (TV series)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV series)
• Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
• Feast of Love (2007)
• Hamish Macbeth (TV series)
• Knives Out (2019)
• Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
• Snowpiercer (2013)
• The Big Sick (2017)
• The Call of the Wild (2020)
• The Handmaiden (2016)

Movies for March 2020: Parasite and Joker

Nic is hosting in March and the movies to see are:

Parasite (2019)

A poor family, the Kims, con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks. But their easy life gets complicated when their deception is threatened with exposure.

Director: Bong Joon Ho
Writers: Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo

Joker (2019)

In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is ignored by the cute girls in high school and embarks on a fiesta of violence involving bad hair and troweled-on makeup. His penchant for 80's techno-pop brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

Director: Todd Phillips

Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson 

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Caesar Romero, Zazie Beetz

Scores for February 2020 Movies

Jojo Rabbit (2019)  7.89 / 10
1917 (2019)  8.5 / 10

Best Unreviewed Movies of 2019

• Book Smart 
• Echo in the Canyon 
• Harriet 
• Journey's End 
• Knives Out 
• Marriage Story 
• Motherless Brooklyn 
• Pain and Glory
• The Two Popes
• Tolkien 

Other Films of Merit

• The Young Pope (TV series)
• The New Pope (TV series)
• The Somme (documentary)

Movies for February 2020: 1917 and Jojo Rabbit

Joe is hosting in February and the movies to see are:

1917 (2019)

Two young British soldiers during the First World War are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldiers' brothers, from walking straight into a deadly trap.

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Stars: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

A young boy in Hitler's army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Director: Taika Waititi

Writers: Taika Waititi (screenplay), Christine Leunens (novel)

Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson

Scores for January 2020 Movies

Ford v Ferrari (2019)  7.10 / 10
The Irishman (2019)  7.40 / 10

Films of Merit

• 5 to 7 (2014)
• Bonfire of Destiny (TV series)
• City Island (2009)
• Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019)
• Inside Man (2006)
• Knives Out (2019)
• McCarthy: Power Feeds On Fear (American Experience) 
• My Generation (2017)
• Parasite (2019)
• Ray Donovan (TV series)
• The Crown (TV series)
• The Laundromat (2019)
• The Marriage Story (2019)
• The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD
• The Two Popes (2019)