What to see at the movies if you're taking time out from shopping

Hap Erstein reviews:

"May/December"
"Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget"
"American Symphony"

Also at theaters this weekend, "Wonka," a prequel to "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory."

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
All right, we're getting close toChristmas. That must mean it's time to

(00:03):
head to the theaters. Check outwhat you can take some time off from
shopping and check out a movie.Let's check in with the movie guy happerstin
pombechartspaper dot Com. Anything good out, Well, yeah, in December,
it means we're getting close to theOSCAR qualification deadline. So yeah, there's
some goodies arriving just in time forthat nomination deadline. Is a powerful new

(00:24):
movie featuring Natalie Portman and Julian Moore, both giving award worthy performances. The
movie is called May December, directedby Todd Haynes, who gravitates towards female
centric films like Carol and Far fromHeaven and this one. Fortman plays Elizabeth
Barry, an actress on a hitTV series who's been cast to play a

(00:47):
character based on Moore's Gracie, awoman with a tabloid pass see twenty three
years ago, she was convicted ofstatutory rape for having sex with a thirteen
year old boy in the storeroom ofthe pet shop where they both worked,
and after she did time in prison, she married the boy and they moved

(01:07):
to Savannah. Georgia, where theyhope to put their lurid pass behind them,
but now comes a movie to dredgeup, Dridge it all up again,
and the arrival of Elizabeth to studyGracie and interview everybody else around her.
Now Elizabeth needs to know what makesGracie tick, and in her exploration
she finds herself identifying with her abit too closely. It's kind of a

(01:32):
soap roper tale, frankly, butwith plenty to say about our collective fascination
with scandal and about the process ofacting well. Portmanh and Moore are the
reasons to see the movie May December. There's also a terrific supporting performance by
a guy named Charles Melton. He'scomes from TV as Gracie's husband, now

(01:55):
grown. I wouldn't be surprised ifthey all three get Oscar nominations. May
December had a brief run in theaters, and it's now playing on Netflix.
Netflix. Oh, I swear Netflixis paying you believe me. It's got
an all Netflix thing today. It'sby the way, I want to I
want to just mention one thing toyou. How during my vacation I realized

(02:20):
something, but you did you dida full A few weeks ago, you
did a full review of the movieLeo, that's an Adam Sandler film,
which you actually didn't I forget whatthe word was. You actually liked its
wish. It's an animated and forsome reason they made it a musical.
We watched it, my daughter andI watched it. My daughter is an

(02:43):
elementary school teacher. My last nameis Malcolm, as is hers missus,
Miss Malcolm. Malcolm was the substitute, the angry evil sub I don't know
about evil, but she was notmedievil. She was a mean substitute in
the movie. He actually spelled theexact same way we were. We were
blown away. After the Thanksgiving break, my daughter goes back to her school

(03:07):
where she teaches, and one ofher students she texts me. She says,
one of one of my students,she just told me that my name
is in a movie, in anAdam Sandler movie. I'm like wow,
I said, haf talked about thiswhole thing. Unless I completely tuned him
out, he never once mentioned amiss Malcoln. So you know, I
did not mention that. The lastI found that I found that crazy.

(03:28):
I found that crazy. We bothliked the movie, and then I spent
some time with my with my elevenyear old and she watched it on my
phone on Netflix, and so shelike, probac placement for for for your
Malcolm family. I don't. Ihave no idea. I mean, I
don't. I mean, it's nota it's not Smith or Jones, it's

(03:50):
not her it's not her Ring.But it's not But that would help,
but Malcols. But Malcolm's not youknow, I mean, there are other
Malkins out there, there are somein the film industry behind the scenes I've
seen over the years. Are they'renot necessarily related? I don't know.
Not to me. No, definitely, not to me that I'm aware of.
No. Well, anyway, Ijust I found it funny that you're

(04:10):
right. I should have spent atleast five minutes on that you're right.
Well, I'm kind of glad youdidn't, because it came as more of
a shock. It was like wow, And then it took me a minute.
I'm like, wait a minute,hap never mentioned this? Maybe you
just didn't. You know, I'mnot top of mine to you all the
time, So that's fine. OhI think you are. I'm all right,
So I just wanted to bring thatup since we're talking about a Netflix

(04:31):
film. What else do you have? All Right, it's taken twenty three
years, but we now have asequel to that exceedingly clever stop action animated
feature, Chicken Run, which cameout just before the OSCAR category for Animated
Feature was created. I mean,if it had been around, they would
have absolutely won the OSCAR. Thenew one is called Chicken Run Dawn of

(04:54):
the Nugget and it brings back Gingernow voice by Sandy Newton and hockey at
Zach Leavey, who they've now gota I'm sorry they had master reminded the
escape from Tweety's farm back in thefirst movie, and they now hatch a
baby girl, Molly, who isas determined and stubborn as her mother.

(05:16):
Now. When the first movie wasabout busting out of the coup in a
direct parody of the Great Escape,this time Molly had a team of poets
to break into the nearby Chicken Nuggetfactory to rescue the cluckers who are earmarked
for slaughter. I say, Earmark, I'm not sure chickens have ears.
But there are again plenty of tonguein cheek references to movies from the James

(05:40):
Bond series to The Truman Show tothe Extermination Parallel of the Toy Stories three
and the candy colored world inside theNugget Factory absolutely will remind you of Barbie
Land. So the jokes and cancome and puns fly fast and furious,
and the stop action animation is again. I'm Marvel. My expectations were high

(06:03):
for this movie, and Donovan Nuggetabsolutely exceeds them. Now you know,
you think I'm on the take ofNetflix, but here again they produce this
one too, So it's Netflix.You just send the check this way.
And no, I don't no malconsin that film. This is a complete
Malcolm free zone. Yes real.I just hope the folks that are are

(06:24):
Ardman, that's the company that madeChicken Run and Walls and Grammit that they've
already started on another installment so wedon't have to wait another twenty three years
to see it. Yeah, aChicken Pan Run band. I never saw
the first one. I oh,it's so good. I just looked this
up. They have ear lobes,so I lobes. Yeah, they know

(06:46):
they can have they can hear somehow, but there's nothing protruding out of their
their faces, their their heads.Can chickens hear you. They can hear
sounds in the ten to twelve thousandhurts range, but not from their ears.
Okay, this is this is interesting, all right. Hens ends with

(07:08):
white ear lobes typically lay white orlightly tinted eggs. Hens with red ear
lobes most commonly laid brown eggs.But there are always exceptions to those roles.
I don't know. This is thisis the kind of stuff you can
only get on the internet. I'lltell you about right, all right,
what do you have an armhouse ticker? I do, of course. My
our house pick this week is adocumentary called American Symphony, and it looks

(07:32):
at a year in the life ofJohn Baptiste. He's the former musical conductor
for Stephen Colbert's late night TV show. So documentary director Matthew Heineman, He's
he's an Emmy and Director's Guild Awardwinner for Carteland. He follows Battista and
captures the highs and lows of hisyear, both professional and personal. Professionally,

(07:57):
it was extraordinary. He got elevenGrandy nominations. This year. This
is the year they're talking about incategories ranging from pop to jazz to classical.
Meanwhile, he's preparing to conduct atCarnki Hall a composition he made that
it too is called American Symphony.Just like the movie. Now, it

(08:18):
should be a year of great joyfor Baptiste, but it's marred by the
news that his girlfriend and soon tobe his wife, so Leka Jaoud,
has been diagnosed with a return ofcancer after ten years of being in remission
and needs a dangerous bone marrow transplantoperation. So the film bounces back between

(08:39):
the rehearsal room and the hospital asthe two of them struggle to remain upbeat
about her the situation. Batist isa genuine larger than life character brimming with
music ideas to be redefined. Reallywhat a composer is like? See American
Symphony and you will want to knowmore more about his music. This is

(09:00):
the first rate documentary. I thinkit's a it's a ride of extreme ups
and downs, but it's very veryauthentic and powerful. And guess where it's
streaming right Netflix? Only on Netflix. There you go go to it.
I did a couple of honorable mentionsand I don't know when it's going to
be out everywhere, but it isplaying in select theaters. Poor things with

(09:24):
Emmastone and Mark Ruffalo and Willem Defoe. This looks like a really strange film,
kind of like their science fiction A. I didn't get a chance to
see it, but I've heard alsogood things about it. Yeah. This
Stone, of course is everywhere onTV. She was just on hosting Saturday
Night Live, and you know thatmeans she's got something to promote. So

(09:45):
I'll read this off of IMDb.The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of
Bella Baxter, a young woman broughtback to life by the brilliant and unorthodox
scientist doctor Godwin Baxter. So it'salmost like a like a Frankenstein and kind
of thing. Uh, the otherone, and I'm really looking forward to

(10:07):
this. And that's opening this week, and uh it is Wonka and that
is the that is a wide releasethis week. And that is a prequel
to the Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryor Willie Wonka and the Chocolate that I
have liked. Everyone you prefer Wonka. So far, the word on this
did get your expectations a little lower. You like Depths at Wonka huh okay,

(10:30):
Yeah, no, I totally boughtit. The original with with Gane.
Wilder is the best. People peoplehave said, and I haven't read
it. People have said that theDepth one was closer to the book,
which that's true. Uh so,I guess you got to give credit where
credit's due for that. But Iyou know, I obviously I preferred the

(10:50):
older one. It was when Iwas a child, and you know the
songs. Yeah, yeah, theytook out the whole. What I do
like about this one that's coming outBesides you know, Timothy shallow Man,
I'm sure he does a great job, but Hugh Grant cut down the side,
so to speak, as the yumbalumpa. So I like that little

(11:13):
scene in the Hind. I yourguy. I'm a grand guy though.
I like you. I like you. Grant About a Boy is a great
movie. That music and lyrics hedid with Oh Barrymore. Yeah, I
always like that. I always likethat movie. Keegan Michael Key shows up
in this as the chief of Police. I don't know anybody else. There's

(11:37):
reasons to be interested. Just somebodywas telling me it's didn't quite live up
to with the expectations. Okay,we'll see. I the billing on Fan
Diego. The summary of this isvery simple. It's one sentence. Willie
Walka becomes the greatest chocolate heer inthe world. That's it all. What
else do you what else do youneed to know? I think we know

(11:58):
where the story goes. You know, they do word it again in the
Depth. Well, in the Depthversion they did go back to some of
that. I don't know if thisis going to be true to that,
and if that was from the bookand they change it, then we know
this is not from the book,right, so we'll see. But that
they did show some of that stuffin the Depth, Wonka, So wait,
don't remember that? Okay? Well, yeah, he goes and he's

(12:18):
in the forest and he's how hefinds the loop balloopahs and stuff, and
then the stuff with his father whotells him Chalcolate, he's a waste of
time, and all that stuff.They do. They do some of that
in the in the Depth version toa very good imitation. Who is that
you're doing? I forget who?I forget who it was? Oh man,
now now I gotta look at thereal research, all right, real

(12:41):
quick, let's just do this beforewe wrap up. It was Willy Wonka
and the Chocolate Factory. I believethey changed it from No, it was
Charlie Charlie, and the changed itback because the original was Okay, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory. Oh five, wow, so long time ago?
Huh it was no. David Kellyplayed Grandpa Joe. So then I got

(13:07):
one every ten years or so,it seems. Oh, Christopher Lee,
the late great right, but hedid pass at this point, right?
Yes? Has he died? Yeah? Twenty fifteen. Well, I just
remember them having time he was stillalive, and they said, can you
can you hold off your debt tocome in and fill in for Kevin Spacey?
And I've already forgetting the name ofthe movie. A decent movie.

(13:28):
I can't remember what it was.Remember then that Christopher Plumber took over for
Oh was it Plumber? I thoughtit was that was Plumber. Oh,
I get my Christopher's confused. Myold man Christophers for reeves no different than
he's been dead a lot longer.All right, Well, I guess we'll
wrap up here, and uh,we'll see what's coming out next week.

(13:48):
Check out next week Okay, seeyou said getting close to Christmas.