“Forgotten Hollywood”- 21st Century 50 Fav Films (#48, #47)…

Posted on May 16, 2021 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

“`I continue the countdown of my favorite fifty motion pictures of the twenty-first century. These choices are not necessarily the best technical films of the last two decades, just flicks I can enjoy again and again. Let me suggest that once I put them out there, you might decide to watch these gems.

“`My next two selections feature strong female characters in edgy semi-biographical cinema. They both were released in 2017.

“`To recap: #50 – GOSFORD PARK / #49THE READER. Let us continue the countdown:

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~ #48 – I TONYA (2017)

“`Tonya Harding soured on her fifteen minutes of fame after being trashed by the media while she attempted to earn the right to participate in the sport of figure skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics.  After rival Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted, Tonya would plead guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution in the subsequent investigation.  She was eventually banned for life by the United States Figure Skating Association.

“`Loosely based on actual events,  I Tonya provides the sordid account as a satirical comedy with Harding cast in a sympathetic light by the compelling Margot Robbie. The mockumentary approach of the production is its strength.  The supporting cast excels as trailer park chic and Allison Janney earned an Oscar for her role as the figure skater’s hellish mom.

“`Nominated for three Academy Awards, I Tonya takes a tragically humorous trajectory. This kind of perspective has a celluloid lineage that includes  Fargo and 2020s Promising Young Woman. For the record, Kerrigan had no intention of viewing this flick. It is a production that bites you on the butt and might even take out your kneecap; so to speak!

         

~ #47 – MOLLY’S GAME (2017)

“`Aaron Sorkin is getting well-deserved press for his latest work, The Trial of the Chicago 7. Of course, The Social Network remains his prize screenplay. In between, he was quite chatty (in print) with his Steve Jobs and Molly’s Game. The latter was Sorkin’s directorial debut.

“`Poker is the subject of Molly’s Game and I LOVE movies about gambling. Molly Bloom is on a solid path to participate in the 2002 Winter Olympics as a world class mogul skier until she is severely injured during a qualifying event. The production follows Molly (Jessica Chastain) who becomes a target of an FBI investigation after the underground poker empire she oversees for Hollywood celebs, athletes, financiers, and the Russian mob is exposed. She ends up writing a best-selling memoir in 2014 about her gritty experience.

“`Giving his actors a workout with a rugged screenplay and shotgun dialogue, Sorkin garnered the production its only Oscar nomination. Incidentally, Bloom was astonishingly pleased by the intensity of Chastain’s performance. I predict this work will be considered Sorkin’s lost classic.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 16th, 2021 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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