Splinters off the backlog

The above title comes from James Agee, who used it for short takes on several movies he had not yet gotten around the reviewing. In a previous column he had lamented, "I should review several of the films mentioned below at some length, and I hope that at length I will. But I have left so many films unreviewed, some of them weeks or months old by now, that I can begin to catch up only be reviewing them now, somewhere near as briefly as possible." I know the feeling. While I have posted some full reviews below, I've had a long list of other movies I've been meaning to get to. This is the peril of trying to see a lot of films (more than once, Agee wrote round-up columns) and then to find the right words -- or the right energy -- only to never get around to it. So here, in short form, are other films I've been seeing.

Judy. Grade: B plus. Yes, Renee Zellweger is spectacular as Judy Garland in this portrait of the singer-actress after her career had largely waned, as she tries to scratch up some cash with a series of London performances in 1969, The movie is thorough in its bleakness, and the ending is a true tear-jerker. (Well, mine were jerked at least.) But there's a flatness to some of the midsection. It assumes generally that its audience consists of fans who will recognized Louis B. Mayer, Sid Luft and Mickey Deans without explanation. And those same Garland fans will notice some, uh, flexibility in its accuracy. On side notes: Zellweger's skill does not diminish the marvelous Garland performance by Judy Davis in Me and My Shadows, and the new film could be part of a despairing-actress triple bill with Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool and My Week With Marilyn.

The Farewell. A. Much as Zellweger is getting Oscar buzz, so is Awkwafina for this touching drama about cultural and personal conflicts. The musician-actress plays a woman who stuck in neutral in New York. Then word that her beloved grandmother is dying in China; the family does not want the grandmother to know but gathers in China anyway, with the excuse of a family wedding. The complex process then finds everyone at once feeling a sense of farewell to their matriarch but unable to fully express it -- and even required to act celebratory about the wedding and to ignore any discussion of the family's future. There are also China/America crosscurrents at work, all making for an excellent tale anchored by Awkwafina's solemn, soulful performance.

The Irishman. B, I can't say how this 3 1/2-hour epic would have felt in a theater because I watched it piecemeal on Netflix, an approach that certainly made clear its episodic nature. Much as I have admired many of Martin Scorsese's films and am happy to see Robert De Niro get away from bad comedies, The Irishman overall is a reprise of pieces from other Scorsese crime sagas, stretched out to unnecessary length. The movie's claims that Frank Sheeran, De Niro's character, was involved in some major hits (as a Sheeran book also said) have been disputed by several experts; I suppose you can look past those claims on unreliable-narrator grounds, since this is Sheeran telling the story. Good casting top to bottom, including Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano and Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa.

Jumanji: The Next Level. C. The previous Jumanji was a fun romp with Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and more. This is a far more labored effort, trying to add to the magic of celebrities-in-a-gamescape but lacking any really inventive ideas. Oh, it has some mildly amusing bits and the addition of Awkwafina to the game. But overall not much.

Waves. A minus. This is a thoughtful, pain-riddled story of an upper-middle-class family headed toward tragedy and then dealing with its aftermath. Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Taylor Russell are the young people in the middle; Renee Elise Goldsberry and the ubiquitous Sterling K. Brown are their parents; writer-director Trey Edward Shults moves them all around in powerful ways, with arresting visuals and a marvelous soundtrack.

Dark Waters. B plus. A straightforwardly told story of pollution and corporate power involving DuPont and Parkersburg, West Virginia, this stars Mark Ruffalo as the lawyer who exposes wrongdoing but needs years to see justice done, years that nearly break his health and hamper his career. It's a good film overall, with unadorned direction by Todd Haynes and a strong supporting cast. At the same time, it's a familiar kind of tale; it reminded me a lot of an earlier pollution-and-the-law drama, 1998's A Civil Action.

Knives Out. B. This is both a murder mystery in the Agatha Christie style and a semi-mocking look at the form. Both are most evident in the climactic scene resolving the twisty mystery, and in Daniel Craig's ain't-this-fun performance as the sleuth who suspects foul play. Writer-director Rian Johnson has his own fun with odd angles and a raft of suspects including Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Don Johnson and Toni Collette -- along with Ana de Armas as the seeming innocent trying to survive the mess. A little boggy at times, but worth a look.

Queen & Slim. A minus. The "black Bonnie and Clyde" they're called, though for some spectators they'll seem more like Thelma and Louise. Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith are on a date when a police officer pulls them over. In a moment, the officer has been shot and the couple goes on the run. Their flight, and their seeking help, are what make the movie most interesting through Lena Waithe's screenplay and Melina Matsoukas's direction. It becomes a portrait of African-American culture, of the lives hidden from the dominant white world, of the places people look for heroes and how that longing can lead to tragic events far beyond what may happen to Queen and Slim. It increasingly feels that there is no good way to end their story. But that, too, is part of the problem it addresses.

That's where I have been film-wise. Oh, and I saw 6 Underground, a disposable and thoroughly ludicrous action film, on Netflix. Enough said. More to see in the days ahead. And I have a big pile of TV splinters I may get to as well.