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/

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/