The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)

William J. Donovan : You're an unusual man Mr. Berg, you speak 7 languages, you're an athlete, you're more than up to the physical requirements of the job...

I'm on a bit of a streak of picking films that just leave me feeling incomplete. And so it continues.

For me it, it was like The Catcher Was a Spy went out of its way to not focus on the interesting, captivating, story that was being presented. In fact, they had Jeff Daniels state the exact opposite of what would be captivating. "if there's a 1% chance of imminent doom then we go stop it..."  But, that statement means that the whole story is after a 1% check-in. The really good guys were being sent on missions with much more credible impact. Poor structure if there ever was.

But worse, was that with the lack of investment, the final decision, by Mo Berg, lacked any impact or sense of closure. The film just stopped and evaporated like a smoke into a Parisian night. 

But, Paul Rudd makes a good go of a dramatic performance.  I think he should continue down this path for his career.

Bottom-line, design and structure doomed this film, there was nothing solid execution could do.

2.8 out of 5 stars. 

RBG (2018)

"I'm very similar to the Notorious BIG; we're both from Brooklyn." -Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It's a bit of a praise bio. I'm of the opinion that she deserves praise, but if you were interested in a more nuanced understanding of her cases, her legal scholarship, etc.  -Which I am- then RBG will leave you a bit underwhelmed.

For those who are unfamiliar with the workings of the US Supreme Court and the positions of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I highly suggest RGB.  If you just want to revel in the career and impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I suggest RGB.  If you just hate RGB, yeah you should watch it.

That said. It's not a particularly inspired biographical film.

3.4 out of 5 stars.

Chappaquiddick (2018)

"The bay of pigs was better a better run operation." -Robert McNamara

In a very brave bit of decision making the John Curran,  Chappaquiddick's director, chose to pull the curtain back on half of Roshomon. The payoff could be huge if we accept that the events presented in the film are both real and made up....and that a person has the ability to curtail aspects of both in to a singular version moving forward that is agreed upon.  -history is just a bunch of agreed upon lies.

Unfortunately, the gamble did not pay off. Even a solid cast,  decent writing, and a very good performance by Jason Clarke could not over come the fatal flaw of this unreal telling of alternative history. It is not in the nature of the audience to be highly informed and most expect Hitchcockian directives on what to think. This is my opinion with regard to mass appeal.

Thus, Chappaquiddick ended up meaning very little, historically, theatrically, emotionally, et all. If I hadn't been in the minority that wanted to know a little more about the historical events, it may have tanked harder. Curiosity is not a great motivator for selecting/going out to see a film.  It's enough when you are stuck on a plane though.

Clancy Brown. Please be in more things.  Please voice more things. I consider you a consummate professional actor.

2.4 out of 5 stars.

In an alternate reality, I would like to make a Roshomon film about Chappaquiddick. First, we'd watch Kennedy's version, then we'd watch Ms. Kopechne's version through a medium, then we'd watch from the perspective of Joe Gargan.