A Movie You Might Have Missed #100 — Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

The fight for kids begins now. Inspired by a powerful true story, the film follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible--adopting 77 children--this East Texas community proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America's most vulnerable can be won.

If you're not Christian, you'll likely scoff at this.

If you are Christian, you're going to recognize it. It tells a story of heroic struggle and redemption. The Christian journey following Christ is shown in a way that everyone who's ever gone through hard reality will know. The whole story is powerful but Donna's narration reflecting on her journey struck deep chords with everyone in the family — even my 90-year-old atheist mother who said, "Do a lot of people know about this movie? They should!"

I tend not to like Christian movies because they have bad scripts, bad directing, bad acting, and a blunt message that hits you like a hammer. Angel Studios has been a refreshing change with high quality scripts, directing, acting and production. This is my favorite of their movies thus far.

Based on what I've said above you know who you are. You'll either love this or hate it. I loved it.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #99 — Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

A bookish classics professor makes an inauspicious debut at the hallowed halls of Brookfield School for Boys but eventually finds his feet, ultimately becoming something of an institution at the school.

Robert Donat not only ages convincingly from young adulthood into doddering old age, he persuasively synthesizes the various stages of the character’s life, from diffident, humorless newcomer to endearingly eccentric absent-minded professor, into a well-integrated total portrait.

Stephen D. Greydanus, Decent Films review

A complete surprise. I've always had the impression that this is a namby pamby, sappy story. Au contraire. 

Watching it for our 1940 Oscar winner/nominees viewing, we were surprised at the subtlety of the storytelling. Not many movies extoll the virtues of the shy person who just needs a little encouragement. Mr. Chips doesn't become exactly outgoing but he does learn to go from being lonely to being able to give just the good humored inspiration that his students need. 

Absolutely lovely and Robert Donat earned his Best Actor Oscar with his nuanced portrayal of a shy, quiet man who blooms in later life.

Green Book

Based on a real story. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class African-American pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.

Confronted with racism and danger—as well as unexpected humanity and humor—they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. Winner of Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Ali).

I rewatched this recently before an upcoming discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find. I found myself falling in love with it all over again. More than anything it is a buddy road movie. They aren't buddies at the beginning but we recognize all the famiiar beats. The joy of the movie is in seeing the way those beats are hit in order to reveal the two men.

The strength of the two main performances buttressed by a strong supporting cast, were wonderful. And the main story, spotlighting the power of personal connection, was highly enjoyable. It deserved the Oscar - this is the sort of movie Hollywood seems to have forgotten to make anymore.

If you haven't seen it the you're in for a treat. 

And the Winner Is — 1934

 Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

Also the Academy was still sorting out what years the movies had to be made in order to qualify. So there are some from 1932-33 in here.

WINNER

A cavalcade of English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.

Our least favorite of the Best Picture winners so far. (Oh wait, now we've seen The Life of Emile Zola from 1938. Turns out Cavalcade isn't as bad as we thought at the time.) It isn't terrible but it also isn't great. It just kept going and going. I did enjoy Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook's performances a lot.

 NOMINEES

A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.

How do you not get excited about a movie with this title? And it paid off. Paul Muni was really effective in the role and, amazingly, the over-the-top story was very close to the autobiography that inspired it.

The book and film were both influences in publicizing the horrors of what life was like on the chain gangs and getting them abolished. So it was both a gripping story and social change maker. We're glad we watched it.

This was our favorite of the three movies we could find for viewing, beating She Done Him Wrong and Cavalcade in our personal awards.

New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. One of them is a vicious criminal who’s escaped and is on the way to see “his” girl, not realising she hasn’t exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader.

This is part of our cultural history almost 100 years later as evidenced by the fact that "Come up and see me sometime" is still a known line. Also, of course Mae West's image lives on in the cliches that she herself exploited to great effect.

We liked it well enough as an iconic film and for the funny double entendres as the plot zipped along with a seemingly endless stream of men entering and leaving West's bedroom.

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All the Oscar viewing is here.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #98 — Freaks (1932)

I'd always avoided this movie, worried that it would be too creepy and disturbing. We recently saw the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where the kids are saved at the carnival by a group of friendly sideshow performers. My daughter mentioned that it is amazing how Freaks still resonates through popular culture. She'd seen and liked the movie long ago. With Halloween just around the corner, it was time for me to face my fears.

I'm so glad I did because this was a really amazing movie. The plot is basic. A beautiful and conniving trapeze artist named Cleopatra seduces a carnival sideshow midget after learning of his large inheritance. His friends aren't going to let him be taken advantage of. The acting skills also can be rather basic also because the sideshow freaks are all portrayed by actual carnival performers. 

However, it was the sympathetic depiction of the true humanity and community that the freaks share behind the scenes that wowed my husband and me. Todd Browning's film feels as if it was way ahead of its time in overlooking the physical disabilities and recognizing each as a person. 

Also, just seeing them performing basic skills like eating dinner was often awe-inspiring. They were just living their lives and managing remarkably well in a way that we moderns wouldn't think possible. I wasn't surprised to see that Browning had worked in a carnival before he turned to directing. Looking up the accomplishments of these performers in real life was often revelatory about their abilities and the way they were able to enjoy life.

Freaks is billed as a horror movie, and I'm sure it felt that way when it came out. However, the only time it felt like a real horror movie to us was at the end where the community banded together to protect one of their own. Now that bit was riveting and terrifying.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #97 — Warrior

Warrior relies on many of the clichés that critics of the genre love to mock -- and it transcends them with gripping action, powerful acting, and heart. — Critics' Consensus, Rotten Tomatoes

Let's face it. The poster above would never get me to watch this film. Family conflict would put it even further down the list. Yet here we are.

I'd never even heard of it until Dave VanVickle from the Every Knee Shall Bow podcast said this was his favorite film, even if he was embarrassed to admit it. Rose heard that and felt vindicated in her fondness for it. She said it's hard to believe this movie is as good as it is.

And now, here I am to say that they're both right. This definitely is a movie most everyone has missed. 

Instead of a tale of two cities, we have a tale of two brothers. With Moby Dick generously woven through the story. Each is struggling with a burden from the past. Each looks to a future where winning a mixed martial arts contest gives them what they need to get their lives back on track. It does too. Though not in the way they imagined.

Warrior has excellent acting and direction, with a story that tells you just enough but doesn't talk you to death.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #99 — Cabrini

Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society’s most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.

This is a great bio-pic of the sort that Hollywood used to make so well. It is gorgeously shot, well framed, and compellingly told. The real payoff is in the last of the flashbacks of her near-drowning as a child which puts a new layer of perspective on the story. 

It received positive reviews from secular and religious film critics and you can see why. My book club watched it and our discussion afterwards went in a lot of tangents because Cabrini doesn't shy away from difficult topics. It's definitely a good movie worth watching.

And the Winner Is — 1932/1933

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since the early films can be hard to find. For 1932 we were excited to see so many nominees available. 

This was an unusual year because they hadn't regularized when the awards would take place. This meant that standards about which year something came out were still rather loose.

BEST PICTURE

Grand Hotel remains a classic masterpiece as the first all-star Hollywood epic with many high-powered stars of the early 1930s. The episodic film is set at Berlin's ritzy, opulent art-deco Grand Hotel, and tells of the criss-crossing of the lives of five major guests whose fates intertwined for a two-day period at the hotel. Its ensemble cast of stars were occupants of a between-wars German hotel, all struggling with either their finances, scandals, health, emotional loneliness, or social standing in multiple storylines.

Filmsite

This is the movie where Greta Garbo's famous "I want to be alone" line originated. An all-star cast acts their hearts out in this mother of all melodramas. We thoroughly enjoyed this very good movie which can hold its own against stories of today. I especially enjoyed it as a look at life, from waiting for a new baby to someone preparing to leave this mortal coil. And lots of things in-between!

I will add that we were all quite concerned about the fate of Adolphus the dachshund. Our rating - 5 stars out of five. Definitely watch this one.

NOMINEES

Searching for headlines at any cost, an unscrupulous newspaper owner forces his editor to print a serial based on a past murder, tormenting a woman involved.

If I hadn't already seen Ace in the Hole I'd have been blown away by this scathing indictment of yellow journalism. Once you got past the first set ups of the hard bitten reporters and managers, the story was riveting.

An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side. My heart was wrung by the story of the woman whose 20-year-old scandal was raked up to provide higher circulation. The daughter's final speech was tremendous, as was Edgar G. Robinson's final speech.

Grand Hotel deserved to win but this was our favorite of the other nominees. Our rating - 3-1/2 stars.

When Colette introduces her husband Andre to her flirtatious best friend, Mitzi, he does his best to resist her advances. But she is persistent, and very cute, and he succumbs. Mitzi’s husband wants to divorce her, and has been having her tailed. Andre gets caught, and must confess to his wife. But Colette has had problems resisting the attentions of another man herself, and they forgive each other.

This is very French and also before Hollywood's self-imposed code that monitored sexuality and immorality onscreen. As you can tell from the fact that the husband is happily playing around with another woman in a popular screwball comedy from Ernst Lubitsch, who was on his way to becoming the king of clever, romantic comedies. Before there was Cary Grant, there was Maurice Chevalier but even he couldn't save this.

We were mystified at how this got nominated. There's precious little of Ernst Lubistch showing and it seemed tedious. Our rating 2 stars.

An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.

We enjoyed this a lot more than One Hour with You, although both films starred Maurice Chevalier and were written/directed by Ernst Lubitsch. This was also our first movie starring Claudette Colbert who was a huge star in this era. It was early in her career but she lit up the screen.

Light, frothy fun and you can tell it was pre-Code which is also interesting.

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey when they are held hostage by a warlord during the Chinese civil war.

A visual treat beginning with Marlene Dietrich and her wonderful acting and costumes. This was a real period piece in more ways than one, set during the Chinese revolution and featuring several actors we know from watching other Oscar nominees. As the final film of our 1932 nominees review it was a great way to end those movies. Grand Hotel definitely was the correct winner but this was a notable contender.

Our rating 3-1/2 stars.

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All the Oscar viewing is here.

Just Plain Fun Movies — The Fall Guy

Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, stuntman Colt Seavers has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.

This has a slow start but once it gets going it never slows down. It is such a clever and funny homage to action movies, from the many references dropped to the way the soundtrack features the songs up front and loud. As always, main attraction Ryan Gosling is wonderful. I would watch him read the phone book.

It wasn't perfect. There is that slow start. Emily Blount is, for me, always unremarkable. A stronger female star was needed to provide a spark strong enough to match Gosling and the script in general. The script could have used another pass to clean up the main storyline but all the asides and references made it great fun to watch. 

However, those are small quibbles. Overall The Fall Guy is just a great popcorn movie.

And the Winner Is — 1931

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since the early films can be hard to find. We began in January 2023 with Cimarron from 1931, which won Best Picture for the 4th Academy Awards.

When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land moves his family there. Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage.

Once the town is established, Yancey is restless again and goes to explore the wilderness while his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself. She soon becomes prominent in her own right.

This 1931 movie swept the Oscars and they did a good job. It is dated in some ways, of course, being 92 years old. That being said, it also was surprisingly progressive for the time. There were some elements that would now be called racist but there were also distinctly pro-woman, native American, Jewish, and mixed marriage elements.

We enjoyed the dynamic between the husband and wife, with neither being perfect - he keeps abandoning the family to go off adventuring, while she falls prey to the conventions that keep parts of society down. Both influence the other for good.

Interestingly, Edna Ferber patterned Yancey on Sam Houston's youngest son who had all Yancey's best attributes without the wandering off element.

No other movies from these Oscars were available. We were glad this movie was so enjoyable. Our rating - 3-1/2 stars out of five.

Mulk (Country)

I recently rewatched this for an upcoming podcast episode. It was my third viewing and I was surprised that it was just as powerful as the first time. It speaks to modern times in America as well as to the original Indian audience.

My original review is below.

This was based on a true case where a terrorist's entire family was taken to court and accused of being a terrorist cell. We were invested on the family's side, as most American viewers would be, and as the movie intended everyone to be. It was also very interesting to see how the top terrorist persuaded the family son to his cause.

The movie did an especially good job of showing the friendly Hindu-Muslim relations between neighborhood families which then spiraled downhill after the terrorist act. And we appreciated the inside views of the horror-stricken family and how they also got different reactions to the crime from inside their own Muslim community.

The actors were all great, especially Rishi Kapoor as the family patriarch and Ashutosh Rana as the public prosecutor. Rana is well known for his "negative roles" and we could see why.

Some reviewers criticized this for a lack of subtlety but c'mon. It's a courtroom drama. That means over-the-top speeches whether in America or India. Even the venerable Twelve Angry Men doesn't escape that. Overall, a good legal movie with a message that works today in America in a lot of ways.

Rating — for viewers with medium to difficult Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.)

Major

This was a really excellent biopic/action movie showing Major Sandeep's story. He was a hero of the Mumbai attacks who rescued many people and directed his team in saving others.

I knew very few details of the terrorist attacks and hadn't heard of Major Sandeep, including whether he lived or died. That made it very suspenseful. Knowing it really happened made it hit much harder than the usual action film even though this did have a lot of big moves that you would expect from a Hollywood film.

Just Plain Fun — The Lost City

Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to the ancient city’s lost treasure that featured in her latest story. Alan, determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, sets off to rescue her.

This movie had mixed reviews and I've never been a fan of either Sandra Bullock or Channing Tatum. So I ignored it until I came across a positive review from Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Blog which summed up:

Behind charming lead performances and an upbeat message, The Lost City is a fun as hell romantic action comedy.

We watched this for our family movie night and all of us really had a great time. It's a solid comedy that is an homage to Romancing the Stone, while being completely different. Very funny and a lot of fun. Also, Brad Pitt's part showed why he should do more comedy.

Godzilla Minus One

POSTWAR JAPAN. FROM ZERO TO MINUS.

In postwar Japan, a new terror rises. Will the devastated people be able to survive… let alone fight back?

We loved this for a lot of reasons. It manages to combine the monster movie action thrills of a Hollywood-style movie with the introspection of the first Japanese Godzilla movie. The result is simply fantastic, something that keeps you on the edge of your seat with adventure and also looks at surviving the ultimate catastrophe of having your society, family and life collapse. 

This was especially interesting since it is set in post-WWII Japan so you are also getting the Japanese commentary on that whole situation. Along with the biggest monster to stomp a city.

Godzilla Minus One was unavailable since the first short theater run in America due to some Godzilla licensing agreement with the Hollywood movie makers. I was thrilled to hear it is now on Netflix since we'd figured it wouldn't be allowed here until 2025. Being suspicious of streaming agreements based on something so flimsy and stupid, we wasted no time in watching it. Do thou likewise!

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

I put the general description above but, honestly, if you saw Mad Max: Fury Road then you've already got the idea. And if you didn't, just move along - nothing to see here. We loved Fury Road so when it got good reviews we knew we wanted to see it in the hteater. Watching this on the big screen reminded us of what a wonderfully immersive experience the movie theater is. We're definitely going to try to actually go to the movies more often.

This was George Miller doing what he does best — creating Myth (with a capital "M") as he tells the story of a young girl cast into the middle of apocalyptic societies in the vast Wasteland. This could be Gulliver's Travels, the Odyssey or Iliad. The characters are archetypal, the societies encountered each tell us something of basic humanity, the themes are simple but powerful, and the adventure keeps pulling us along. I appreciated the supporting visual touches like the art included on the food convoy tank. Any people wants to tell their story, how great they are, and art is so often the way to do it — even in a society as twisted as The Citadel.

As my husband said, it is amazing how a good story told with great pacing and classic framing/images can make 2-1/2 hours fly by despite the gruesome violence.

I was grateful to Miller for telegraphing the violence and almost never dwelling for long on any of it. I was also fascinated at how he evoked Fury Road which is forward in the future but managed to one-up himself in the prototypes of the adventures and stunts that we already have seen. It isn't omnipresent. We hadn't seen Fury Road since it came out but there were echoes which made us say, "Oh that's right, this happened ..."

A good time was had by all and now I want to watch Fury Road again.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #96 — The Good Earth (1937)

China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.

Wow, Louise Ranier definitely earned her Oscar! What a performance! She was also my favorite performer in The Zigfeld Follies for which she also earned an Oscar. To be fair, everyone gave top notch performances. This is the sort of movie that doesn't usually appeal to me - long dramatic sagas of families struggling to survive, especially since I'd read the book long ago and hadn't liked it much. This sold it though. By the end I was loving it.

I've seen plenty of negative comments about the fact that 1937 movie standards meant white actors portrayed Chinese characters, which would never be done these days. However, I've learned, as I read tons of old literature, that we have to keep the cultural ideas of the past in mind instead of rushing to judge by our standards. So let's just talk about the movie as it tells the story.

As I watched I kept thinking of the intended 1937 audience and how exotic and interesting this would have been to them. In fact, despite how it seems to dismissive viewers today, I feel it probably humanized the Chinese to Americans in a very positive way. Farmers certainly would've understood this family's struggles.

This was the last of the movies we viewed for the 1938 Oscar winner and nominees. It is the movie we'd have given the Oscar to, hands down. The winner, The Life of Emile Zola, is a movie that landed at the bottom of the list no matter what else we watched.

I'm really glad we embarked on Oscar project. I've seen so many movies I'd never have known I liked otherwise. This is one.

NOTE

Here's my list of all the Oscar movies we have watched. Here are the ones we liked so much that I reviewed them here to tempt you into trying them.

Hansan: Rising Dragon

BEFORE THE EPIC BATTLE IN THE ADMIRAL: ROARING CURRENTS

In 1592, admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fleet face off against the might of the invading Japanese navy and its formidable warships. As the Korean forces fall into crisis, the admiral resorts to using his secret weapon, the dragon head ships known as geobukseon, in order to change the tide of this epic battle at sea.

I loved the first in this series about famed Korean Admiral Yi. I've really been looking forward to this prequel, about Yi's famous earlier victory against the dominant invading Japanese fleet. It didn't disappoint, although it wasn't quite as rich in the secondary characters as The Admiral was. Highly recommended. As with the first movie, you've got to be willing to let all the confusing characters just wash over you. It will all come straight and make sense, rewarding you with a wonderful story.

Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies)

I liked this so much. In many ways it reminded me of Kathal where a police investigation is entertaining and interesting while weaving serious topics into the story without heavy-handed moralizing.

When two identically dressed brides, with requisite scarves covering their faces are grabbed by the wrong groom at different train stations, how will they be restored to their rightful places? Especially when neither can remember the name of their groom's hometown?

I fully expected this to be the story of each bride learning to love the new man she is around, but this story did not go there at all. Add the complication of a Bandit Bride who pretends to get married in order to steal the wedding jewelry, and you've got a captivating set of circumstances. The writing and directing was good, the acting wonderful, and it left us feeling good. What more can you ask for?

Polite Society

"I am the fury!"

Martial artist-in-training Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.

Really enjoyable, with a fresh, fun feel that made me think of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The Man Who Feels No Pain. With a touch of a Get Out vibe. 

Coming-of-age stories usually bore me to death but this lively movie leaves regular expectations far behind. I especially enjoyed Ria's two friends as a sort of Greek chorus who predicted both Lena's and Ria's plotline through the film. The fight sequences entertained me in a way they usually wouldn't since they allowed me to gauge Ria's real ability to do the stunts she's been practicing. And the fights that were during the wedding became truly beautiful as the gorgeous saris swirled during kicks and jumps.

 Finally, I defy anyone to watch Ria's "spa day" with her sister's mother-in-law-to-be and not laugh. It's a whole new kind of torture. 

I look forward to more from this director.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #95: Masquerade

15 DAYS LOST TO HISTORY.

Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.

This is based on the true fact that in the eighth year of King Gwang-hae's reign his Annals contain fifteen missing days. This movie comes up with a look-alike pauper covering for the prince who has been poisoned. It's set in 17th century Korea so there are fabulous costumes and a lot of court intrigue. Most of all there is the stellar performance by Lee Byung-hun. I can see why he's one of Korea's top actors.

I always enjoy a noble impersonation story, especially The Prince and the Pauper and The Prisoner of Zenda. This is the best I've ever seen. We know all the common twists and turns but this movie keeps you in suspense even as you fall in love with the imposter more in every scene.

I wouldn't have heard of this movie except that there's a very popular television series based on it. Now I can't wait to watch it. Don't you wait to try this one. It's really something special.