Movies for May 2021: Nomadland and The Last Picture Show

 Jon Lee is hosting in May 2021 and the movies to see are:

The Last Picture Show (1971)

In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writers: Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich
Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd

Nomadland (2020)

 After losing everything in the Great Recession, a woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

Director: Chloé Zhao
Writers: Jessica Bruder, Chloé Zhao
Stars: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May

How to find movies online:  https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for April 2021 Movies

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)  8.40 /10
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)  7.22 / 10

Films of Merit

• Atlantic Crossing (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9348700/
• Avalon (1990) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099073/
• Behind Her Eyes (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9698442/
• Concrete Cowboy (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8846176/
• DCI Banks (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1652216/
• Downhill (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4558376/
• Fast Girls (2012) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700808/
• Hemingway (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13129360/
• Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423455/
• Line of Duty (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2303687/
• Mank (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10618286/
• Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6150576/
• News of the World (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6878306/
• Paper Lives (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13045890/
• Promising Young Woman (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620292/
• Rain Man (1988) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095953/
• Silk (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1717455/
• Soul (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2948372/
• Sound of Metal (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5363618/
• Tenet (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723592/
• The Half of It (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9683478/ 
• The Surgeon's Cut (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13487106/
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8521718/

Movies for April 2021: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Grapes of Wrath

How to find movies online:  https://www.justwatch.com/

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

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

During a recording session, tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues".

Director: George C. Wolfe
Writers: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson
Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

A poor Midwest family is forced off their land. They travel to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.

Director: John Ford
Writers: Nunnally Johnson, John Steinbeck
Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine

Scores for March 2021 Movies

The Assistant (2019)  5.60 / 10

Ordinary Love (2019)  6.90 / 10

Films of Merit

• A Bridge Too Far (1977) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075784/
• A Most Beautiful Thing (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11541324/
• A Year in Space (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5428494/
• Adu (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9616700/
• Allen v. Farrow (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13990468/
• Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60 (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6217368/
• Hope Gap (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7587876/
• Humor Me (2017) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5658242/
• I Am Greta (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10394738/
• I Care a Lot (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9893250/ 
• Last Tango in Halifax (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2216156/
• Mango Dreams (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5069158/
• Minari (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10633456/
• Rebus (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0867015/
• The Investigation (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9112152/
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5788792/
• The Midnight Sky (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10539608/
• Small Axe (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464896/
• The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11080108/ 
• The Sinner (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6048596/
• World on Fire (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8001092/

Movies for March 2021: Ordinary Love and The Assistant

Bill T is hosting in March and the movies to see are: 

The Assistant (2019)

Where to find it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-assistant-2020 

A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.

Director: Kitty Green
Writer: Kitty Green
Stars: Julia Garner, Owen Holland, Jon Orsini 

Ordinary Love (2019)

Where to find it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ordinary-love

An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.

Directors: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
Writer: Owen McCafferty
Stars: Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson, Esh Alladi 

Scores for February 2021 Films

The Life Ahead (2020)  6.22 / 10

Beanpole (2019)  6.22 / 10

Films of Merit

All Creatures Great and Small (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10590066/

All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12538822/

Blown Away (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9908860/

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey (2017) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6861980/

Hope Gap (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7587876/

I, Claudius  (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074006/

If I Were You (2012) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587309/

Long Way Round (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403778/

Miss Scarlet and the Duke (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8270592/

Murder Most Foul (1964) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058383/

One Night in Miami (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10612922/

Soul (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2948372/
The Dark Divide (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8356394/

The Dig (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3661210/

The Goonies (1985) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/

The White Tiger (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6571548/

You Can Count on Me (2000) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203230/

Where to find movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Movies for February 2021: Beanpole and The Life Ahead

Nic is hosting for February and the movies to see are:

The Life Ahead (2020)

Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-life-ahead

In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her.

Director: Edoardo Ponti

Writers: Ugo Chiti, Romain Gary, Fabio Natale, Edoardo Ponti 

Stars: Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri 

Beanpole (2019)

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

1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.

Director: Kantemir Balagov

Writers: Kantemir Balagov, Aleksandr Terekhov

Stars: Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov

Scores for January 2021 Films

Uncle Frank (2020)  7.33 / 10

   

Rudderless (2014)  6.90 / 10

Films of Merit 

• Almost Famous (2000) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/
• First Cow (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9231040/
• For All Mankind (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/
• I Am Not Okay with This (TV Series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9446688/
• Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7453996/
• Long Way Up (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12824922/
• Moon (2009) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/
• News of the World (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6878306/
• Nomadland (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9770150/ 
• The Bodyguard (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7493974/
• The Damned United (2009) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226271/
• The English Game (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8403664/
• The Professor and the Madman (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5932728/
• The Stand (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1831804/
• The Vow (TV series) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10222764/
• Woman At War (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7279188/

Where to watch movies online: https://www.justwatch.com/

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/