Quiz (2020)

Quiz is an enjoyable dramatization of the Charles Ingram scandal on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It is part courtroom drama, part heist, part game show drama. The genius of Millionaire was always its simplicity: questions, and four possible answers, unlimited time. It was unbelievably suspenseful. Quiz is about appointment TV in an era that no longer has appointment TV thanks to streaming. I readily admit that there is a nostalgia factor to this miniseries.

I really appreciated the different perspectives displayed in the movie, not only from Charles and his wife, but his brother-in-law, and the showrunners. There is a very real community (especially in the land of the pub quiz) of trivia enthusiasts that only formed by word of mouth in the early internet era, before the advent of Facebook and Reddit. And while they didn't break the game, they very cleverly broke the process to get on the game. The show rightly asks whether that is against the spirit of the game, and if that's even a real problem? A show would kill to have a community of devoted fans; publicity of that sort is priceless. In the era of James Holzhauer, is there something wrong with studying for a test of knowledge? Is there something wrong with preparing for a once in a lifetime chance at a million pound prize? And then the central tension of the plot is whether Ingram cheated at all. Episode 2 certainly looks like cheating but Episode 3 throws in sufficient ambiguity to raise serious doubt. You sympathize for this couple who was skewered in the tabloids and by the public. The Army Major is portrayed as a simpleminded guy compared to his wife, but he earned membership in Mensa, he answered many questions without any coughs, and maybe he just got lucky? And didn't he make for great TV?

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Disney's latest attempt at a live-action re-imagining of a beloved tale is almost incoherent. It's ostensibly the Nutcracker, but it tries to emanate the Chronicles of Narnia, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, making it wholly unoriginal. Some of the characters have the same names as the ones from the ballet but the story is totally different and that's a bad thing. Nothing is really quite explained enough to satisfaction. And there are a handful of plot points that frustratingly don't go anywhere. I love Keira Knightley and I've never heard her voice sound so unnatural. Also beware the mice; there are A LOT of mice in this movie.

But let's try to focus on the good. The cinematography and art direction are beautiful. Linus Sandgren's visuals are stunning as usual. The music of the Nutcracker is iconic. The score by James Newton Howard does not merely copy Tchaikovsky's composition. It does includes short snippets here and there. But Howard's excellent soundtrack has noticeable variations on the themes from the Nutcracker. There is one scene of the movie that rises above the rest: it's obviously the ballet scene featuring none other than Misty Copeland. In a movie full of CGI, the most magical scene is the one featuring practical sets on a ballet stage. I actually wouldn't have minded if more of the story was told through dance. That wouldn't have been inappropriate for the Nutcracker. They couldn't done a Chicago-esque kind of thing. The ballet is preceded by maestro Gustavo Dudamel taking his place in front of the orchestra in silhouette a la Fantasia. That's Disney invoking itself; I don't know if anyone else would be so bold but Disney.