The Thick of Things

Every once in a while, a feel good movie is just what is needed. Like a hot cup of cocoa, it can warm the heart, enliven the spirit, and bring comfort to the troubled brain. Just what the doctor ordered this 2019, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, directed by Marielle Heller, reminds us just how important a man like Fred Rogers is – even eighteen years after his final episode aired (and sixteen years after his death). Based upon the article “Can You Say... ‘Hero’?” by Tom Junod (published in the November 1, 1998 Esquire magazine), it is a story that juxtaposes the harsh realities of an embittered, emotionally angry investigative journalist, Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys – The Americans), with the kind-hearted soul of PBS childhood icon Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks), it just happens that Lloyd’s editor, Ellen (Christine Lahti), feels like it is the perfect time for the man to pull back on the reigns and do a lighter bio-piece on the beloved man.

Oh, how times flies – first they were Goodfellas. . . now they’re old fellas. Martin Scorsese re-teams with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and adds Al Pacino (shockingly, the two had never previously worked together) to the mix in the 2019 film The Irishman. All kidding aside, it is fascinating how time changes things. Twenty-nine years ago the triumvirate mentioned above worked together on Goodfellas, three forty-something’s on the top of their game. . . arguably still on their respective games, they are all now north of seventy-five.

If you’ve ever wanted to see a film where a young boy’s imaginary friend just happens to be Adolf Hitler, then 2019's Jojo Rabbit is for you. Based upon Christine Leunens’ novel “Caging Skies”, Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows; Thor: Ragnarok) adapts and directs this unique satire on World War 2 era Germany. Amplifying an already ludicrous Nazi doctrine, Waititi transports us into the world of young Jojo (first time actor Roman Griffin Davis – a terrific find), a slightly mousy boy heading off to Hitler Youth camp. Completely immersed in a society of indoctrination, it is perhaps no surprise that his poor-advice giving imaginary friend is the Führer himself, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) – in many ways, a skewed stand-in for his missing father (who is off somewhere during the war).

One of the more unique films I’ve seen in a longtime, 2019's Parasite, co-written and directed by Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer), is a twisty movie best experienced without knowing too much – meaning that this will be as close to a spoiler free review as possible. Like many of his movies, Parasite (which he wrote along with Han Jin Won) deals with class divisions – the divide between rich and poor. In Snowpiercer, he adapted a novel that imagines a post-apocalyptic world where everyone left living resides in a specific compartment of a train depending on his or her wealth, yet this picture is grounded in a certain reality.

As you read this review, my recommendation would be to go to Youtube and search for the song “Smile” (there are several versions, I would recommend Nat King Cole’s) – and listen to it in the background. Playing a part in both the trailer and film Joker (2019), the poignant lyrics (by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons) tells you that, “If you smile through your fear and sorrow Smile and maybe tomorrow You’ll see the sun come shining through For You.”, even while the beautifully melancholic melody (written by Charlie Chaplin) tells you a wholly different story. . . one of a smiling clown truly hiding a frown. Also look for a special screening of Chaplin’s Modern Times that plays a part in the film – The Tramp playing the clown despite the crippling burden people and society have put on him.

I’ve always been a fan of horror films that leave the monstrous villain lingering hidden in the darkness. . . viewers’ minds bringing forth much scarier visions than what would usually come by way of CGI or makeup. A film that faithfully follows this rule (both literally and figuratively) is the 2016 horror flick Lights Out, directed by David F. Sandberg. Based off of the director’s own 2013 short film of the same name