Author Archives: jjcwn

Movie Review: The Penguin Lessons

Posted on by • Posted in Drama • Tagged , • Leave a comment

The new movie “The Penguin Lessons” is another recent movie that is about what happened in Argentina during the years 1976-1983, known as the “Dirty War”, where as many as 30,000 citizens were arrested and then disappeared (in some cases by dropping them from a plane into the Atlantic Ocean). The Argentinian government targeted any person even loosely connected to any movement that might be considered in opposition to the government.

In the case of The Penguin Lessons, the story of a Penguin rescued from an oil spill by a high school English teacher Tom Michell, played by Steve Coogan happened during the time of the Dirty War. At first, Tom tries to get rid of the Pengiun by returning him to the ocean, but soon both Tom and the Pengiun realize that they have become friends. Over time Tom brings the Pengiun into this English class, so the boys he is teaching will pay more attention, with a side effect of the nonstop cruel bullying of one overweight boy eliminated just by the presence of the Pengiun.

The other story within this very good film is about a young woman, who works as a maid for the school is taken away from her family leading Tom Michell to risk his life trying to save her from her government kidnappers.

This story has several moments of humor and some emotional highs and lows and overall this is a heartwarming story about the value of animals and their effect on humans, very well told.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for The Penguin Lessons are a solid 84% with a very high audience rating of 94% that I agree with and highly recommend this film.

Movie Review: The Friend

Posted on by • Posted in Drama, Relationships • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

The new movie “The Friend” has a very simple logline. An older man, Walter, played by Bill Murray, decides to commit suicide and leave his Great Dane, named Apollo, with a friend Iris, played by Naomi Watts. What follows in this story is the grief that Iris experiences after losing a close friend, the many difficulties in trying to take care of a giant dog, and her landlord’s constant reminders that dogs are not allowed in her rent-controlled apartment.

This movie is filmed entirely in New York City, following Iris continuing with her professional and personal life despite the many challenges she suddenly faces after her friend dies, coping with both grief and anger. There are more flashback scenes with Bill Murray towards the end of this film, that show the depth fo this friendship between Ira and Walter.

Most of the good moments of this story are about the personality and likability of the dog when he demonstrates a high level of intelligence including several moments of sadness in his eyes, after Watler dies early in the film. From ChatGPT: “Great Danes are considered a giant breed, and unfortunately, larger dogs tend to have shorter lifespans compared to smaller breeds. Some of the most common health issues that can affect their longevity include: Bone Cancer, Heart Disease, Hip Dysplasia and Gastric Torsion.“

I thought the ending was well done, with Iris struggling to find a solution to the landlord forcing her to get rid of the dog that she has grown to love.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating for The Friend is a very high 86% with my rating around 80% with an overall running time that could have been shorter, due to the very simple story.

Movie Review: October 8

Posted on by • Posted in Uncategorized • Leave a comment

The October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas are the worst attacks on Jewish people since the Holocaust. What happened on October 7th included: Mass Shootings, Rocket attacks, Kidnappings and executions, Arson and explosives, and even torture and beheadings. Over 1100 people were killed and 250 were kidnapped.

The new documentary “October 8” is about the day after these horrendous terrorist attacks and the unbelievable backlash, not against Hamas, but against Isreal within Ivy League colleges, including MIT, Harvard, Columbia, and Yale. The level of hostility towards Israel which suffered a terrorist attack where over 1100 people were murdered was an unexpected after-effect showing the high level of antisemitic hatred among the most intelligent, wealthy, and privileged college students in the United States. This entire documentary attempts to uncover the reasons for this hatred and hostility and at the end of these two hours, no answers to this insane backlash that is still ongoing was satisfactorily explained.

Two well-known actors, Debra Messing and Michael Rapaport are the only two members of the movie industry who actively supported Israel during the time after the Hamas attacks – another insane fact about October 7th that makes no sense. Other celebrities including Sheryl Sandberg, Bari Weiss
Kirsten Gillibrand and Scott Galloway also have cameos throughout this film. All of them try to make sense of the hostility towards Israel without any satisfying answers.

I mostly agree with the 79% middle-of-the-road ratings for this film on Rotten Tomatoes, and I am surprised at the very low 5.1 IMDB ratings, given its importance to history. I give this film a moderate recommendation.