Having hired actor Michael Caine to portray his Sherlock Holmes character so he can continue pursuing his career as a doctor, Ben Kingsley’s John Watson is left in a lurch when Caine quits, taking with him the year’s of perceived expertise the public believed he deserved. While the central mystery is forgettable, the role reversal is quite fun. Kingsley and Caine are fantastic working off of each other and make up for the weaknesses in the rest of the film. 
Dorothy Parker, portrayed here by Jennifer Jason Leigh, reminisces about her life and experiences as a member of the infamous Algonquin Round Table during the 1920s. Even today, Parker is well known for her supposed wit. Unfortunately little of that is exhibited here. Instead, it’s just a bunch of insufferable know-it-alls trying to one-up each other with every irritating sentence they utter. Not being helped by Leigh’s strange accent, the best thing the film has going for it is some lovely period design and an impressive cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Beals, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
During the Saffron Revolution with the government attempting to prevent anyone from accessing the Internet, video journalists in Myanmar risked severe penalties to secretly film what was happening in their country. Later that footage was smuggled so the world at large could bear witness. The film drops the viewer straight into the action, which makes it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with the situation to really follow what is going on. Luckily that’s not completely necessary to appreciate the film as a momentary celebration of the power of freedom of the press and of the people to join up in protest.
Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features
Disgusted with her inability to find certain classic titles in New York City bookstores, Anne Bancroft reaches out to Marks & Co., a London secondhand bookshop located on Charing Cross Road. Thus begins a decades long correspondence between her and shop manager Anthony Hopkins that quickly exceeds the basics of book procurement. A completely charming and cozy tale, it’s the perfect film for letter and/or book lovers which I count myself as if only on a casual level. The simple relationship that develops through their letters is one based on intelligence and respect with the slightest hints toward unrequited romance, but it’s not just about them as there’s additional chains of friendship that develop between all of the bookshop employees and their families.
Witnessing the murder of his father Ethan Hawke at the hands of his uncle Claes Bang when he was a child, Alexander Skarsgård vows revenge on those responsible. I checked this out on a whim, seeing the cast and positive reviews, despite thinking I’d be unlikely to enjoy a period piece set in 800s Scandinavia. What I got was a sweeping tale of vengeance mixed with Nordic mythology that kept me enthralled throughout. With fantastic acting, a compelling though not wholly unique story, and gorgeous scenery, it definitely deserves the praise I had read. I may not understand everything in director Robert Eggers’s films, but it does make me want to check out those I haven’t yet.
The history of the Tacoma-Narrows Bridge from the original 1940 ‘Galloping Gertie’ to the current twin bridges that cover the span is documented here through interviews with people knowledgeable about the bridge and footage of the remaining pieces of the original bridge that now serve as an artificial reef in the strait. I find the story of the collapse of the first bridge fascinating and had higher hopes for this documentary. There’s not much to the film for anyone who has any knowledge about the bridge though some of the underwater filming is a bonus to see. For my interest level, it’s best to just stick with watching the available footage of the collapse.
After surviving a car accident, clinical psychologist Halle Berry awakens as a patient in the mental institution where she works, accused of murdering her husband Charles S. Dutton. This certainly is not Halle’s best work nor is the story a particularly good one, but I was surprised at the direction it went and it kept me interested. I originally probably checked this out mostly for Robert Downey Jr. in a role that is tiny when compared to his position in the credits, but came away most impressed with Penélope Cruz’s supporting role as one of Berry’s troubled patients. 
Adapted from a novel by W. Somerset Maugham which itself is based somewhat on the life of Paul Gaugin, stockbroker Laurence Olivier leaves a path of destruction amongst his friends and loved ones as he decides to pursue a career as an artist. Hard to get into partially because of the poor quality of the recording, but also because Olivier’s character is an insufferable prick that it’s hard to feel sorry for him when he comes down to leprosy. What is impressive is that recording even exists as it was originally a live television broadcast, captured by the Kinescope technique of using a 16mm film camera fixed on a television monitor to record the broadcast, which allows us to see such a performance by Sir Laurence and also those of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy as a married couple who get caught up in his storm.
Years after their beach party adventures, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello are married and living a doldrum life in Ohio. During a layover in Los Angeles, they meet up with their adult daughter Lori Loughlin and find their beach fever reignited. Only having a basic knowledge of who Frankie and Annette were back then, I still remember when this film came out and had a passing desire to see it as one of my first experiences of film reboots. I probably shouldn’t have bothered. Maybe in a different mood, it might have hit better, but it essentially is just wall to wall clichés of irritating corniness with strange references (like Annette being obsessed with Jif peanut butter), lame ‘punks’, and annoying narration by the king of the punks, their young son Demian Slade. What little it has going for it is an earnestness and one of the strangest mix of cameos committed to film, from Bob Denver to O.J. Simpson to Pee-wee Herman to Fishbone. 
Thirty years after recording the iconic She’s So Unusual album, Cyndi Lauper celebrated by performing the entire album from start to finish for the first time at New York City’s Highline Ballroom. While certainly not the best concert film I’ve ever seen, it’s still a great chance to see Cyndi performing all of the well-known songs off of the album. She obviously has an incredible amount of talent and I’d love to see her in a bigger, more extravagant production. 