Monday: The Boston Strangler (1968)
Women in Boston are being strangled and raped. The police realize that it is the same person doing the killings. They do all they can to catch him. The police bring in anyone who has committed a sex related crime no matter how small. John Bottomly is a lawyer who works for the state attorney general. He is tasked with working on the case. He combines all the districts investigations so they can share info and not miss anything. A woman survives an attack by the killer. With her help and luck they are able to find the now named Boston Strangler. There is more to him then they imagined. Even thought it's based on a true story I don't want to give that away. I will say that is an interesting revelation, and without knowing anything about the case I guessed it. I thought the movie was alright. Very 60s in the way they filmed it with the split screens and everything.
Wednesday: Tea and Sympathy (1956)
Tom is a senior at a boys prep school. He is different then the rest of the boys. Although he is good at tennis he doesn't have much else in common with the boys. He likes to write songs and enjoy nature. He knows how to sew. All the other boys, the head of his house, and his own father think he is a sissy. They bully him and do all they can to make him suffer. The only person who is nice to him is the wife of the head of the house he lives in. She sees him for what he is, a nice boy who cares for others. Tom is desperate to be understood. He doesn't want to be picked on. He makes plans to prove to the others that he is a man. But things go very wrong. This movie was ok. Really is just made me so mad. They bullied him for things that weren't even that offensive. So he can sew and likes to write songs, that doesn't make him any less manly. His own father didn't support him. He was ashamed of him. From his hair cut to how he was received by his peers. They had lunch at a cafe and the other boys were sexually harassing the waitress. The father thought it was good fun and was disappointed his son wasn't harassing the woman. I understand it was the 50s so things were a little different as far as what was accepted. But it was still wrong. There was nothing wrong with him.
Friday: Mank (2020)
This is the true story of Herman Mankiewicz, a.k.a Mank, who wrote the screenplay of Citizen Kane. Mank had gotten into a car accident. He was sent to the desert to heal and to write the script. He is working with Orson Welles despite his reputation in Hollywood. We see flashbacks of the events that led him to where he is. He was working at Paramount Studios. This was during the Great Depression and with WWII not too far off. Although Mank is good writer he is also a drunk with no filter which can get him in trouble. One day he wakes up at Hearst Castle. William Hearst was a very powerful man who owned most of the newspapers in the US. His mistress was the actress Marion Davies. Mank soon becomes friends with Marion and William. Although he is unhappy with having to be around Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who is also their friend. They get on for a while. But after a local election that was clearly driven by Hearst, Mank cuts ties with them in his true drunken fashion. It is clear that Citizen Kane is about Hearst. Despite the controversy Citizen Kane is very successful. This is a really good movie. They did a good job. The script is amazing. It was written by the director David Fincher's father. It is in black and white. You don't see many films in black and white these days. I think the last one was Roma. It feels like a classic 30s film from the opening credits to the cigarette burns in the corners. (Cigarette Burns are the black circles you see in the corner of old films. This meant it was time to change reels.)
Saturday: The Take (2016)
Michael is an American living in Paris. He is a talented pick pocket. One night he steals a woman's bag. Little does he know there is a bomb in the bag. He ditches the bag and the bomb detonates. Michael is now the prime suspect in the bombing. A rogue CIA agent, Briar, catches Michael. After proving that he is innocent Briar convinces Michael to help with the case. The bombing is linked to a Muslim group, but that is only front for the real criminals. They want the attention on the Muslims and not on them. These criminals are more than they seem. Michael and Briar have to work together to bring them down. I thought this movie was ok. I really only watched it because Idris Elba played Briar.
Sunday: Happiest Season (2020)
Abby has never liked Christmas. But she is excited to spend it with her girlfriend Harper and meet Harper's family. Before they get to Harper's childhood home, Harper tells Abby that she hasn't come out to her parents. And that she won't until after the holidays. It would also help if Abby pretended she wasn't gay either. Abby reluctantly agrees. Harper's family is obsessed with perfection. They ignore the middle sister. The oldest sister left her high paying lawyer job to raise her kids. Her parents don't consider her important anymore. Abby struggles to get along with everyone. It is also clear that Harper's mom is trying to fix her up with her ex-boyfriend, and Harper does little to discourage this. Abby is concerned that Harper will never come out. This movie was alright. Not sure why I watched it. Other than it was nice to see a different kind of Christmas movie with a gay couple. But I really don't like Kristen Stewart who plays Abby. I don't get why everyone likes her so much. She has three facial expressions: angsty, painful happiness, and sad/no expression.
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