Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of February 17, 2020
Jojo Rabbit
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, violence, and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Available on Disc and Streaming
From the brilliant mind of New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi (Oscar-winner this year for Best Adapted Screenplay) comes this irreverent yet fantastic film about a young boy living in Germany during WWII who struggles with being in the Hitler Youth while at the same time befriending a young Jewish girl hidden in his walls while taking advice from an imaginary Hitler who follows him around. The first part is pure slapstick until the gravity hits, converting this into a poignant and thoughtful fantasy. The cast is just perfect with Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie showing off their potential as the young heroes while Scarlett Johansson (Oscar-nominated here), Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Taika Waititi himself as Hitler, round out the amazing cast. And while it may look like it makes light of a horrifying subject, at its very heart it is a sober, thought-provoking story worthy of its many accolades. A
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Rated PG for some strong thematic material, a brief fight, and some mild language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Available on Disc and Streaming
When Tom Hanks signed on to make a film about Mr. Rogers, there was a palpable feeling of anticipation felt throughout the country. And while he really is simply amazing in the role, many were like me in that they wished this had been a biopic instead of a story about Mr. Rogers getting involved in a journalist’s life. But that’s the story this time out. Matthew Rhys plays the lead role as a cynical man with family issues who is sent to interview Fred Rogers for Esquire Magazine. The movie takes place like an episode of Mr. Rogers where our hero’s focus is on the troubled man. And it does work. It’s a lovely tale that is hard not to love. That being said, I wanted more Mr. Rogers and less of what I got, leaving me in a happy state but yet somewhat unfulfilled by the end of the movie. B+
Midway
Rated PG-13 for sequences of war violence and related images, language and smoking
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 42%
Available on Disc and Streaming
The Battle of Midway was an important and pivotal battle against the Japanese during WWII and it is very deserving of a big epic motion picture. But just as in the case of the 1976 Charlton Heston bomb by the same name, this film is a mess with a great cast and a bad script, with a director in over his head. Here, Independence Day director Roland Emmerich takes a lame and derivative war script, full of some of the worst dialog in ages, and throws in as much CG as they can possibly fit in, hoping you won’t know the difference. But you can see it in the casts’ eyes when they say their lines, that this film is an awful attempt to tell a story that needs to be told much better. My favorite is Woody Harrelson, who while playing Texas hero Admiral Nimitz, phones in his role looking like there is just enough pot to get him through the shoot. Ultimately we get one of the worst war films since Michael Bay took on Pearl Harbor almost 20 years ago. C-
Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer
Not Rated, but would be an R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Certainly one of the most interesting films of the week is this documentary that explores the history of America’s most infamous tabloid and how it eventually gave way to Donald Trump’s success in winning the White House. It truly helps you understand how when the man yells out fake news – it comes from expertise in the subject. It is a fascinating look at a group of “journalists” and businessmen figuring out how to make money with made up news and then make more money by gaining exclusives and burying the stories. It might make you a bit embarrassed to be an American at times, but it is who we are, whether we like it or not. And the ironic thing about this documentary is that the filmmakers work diligently to show the hard truth behind the fiction. A-