“Nowhere Boy.” / “Paradise Highway.”

“Nowhere Boy” (2009, Amazon) British biographical drama, based on Julia Baird's biography of her half-brother, the musician John Lennon. The movie is about the teenage years of John, his relationships with his aunt Mimi Smith and his mother Julia Lennon, the creation of his first band, the Quarrymen, and its evolution into the Beatles.

       As most bio-flicks go, the excursion could be lumbering due to its predictability or exciting because of actors’ performance. In the case of “Nowhere Boy,” the acting highlights are not those by Aaron Johnson (or Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as John Lennon but by Kristin Scott Thomas as Aunt Mimi and Anne-Marie Duff as Julia. Not much on the Beatles thingy. 🎥💻📽

“Paradise Highway” (2022, Hulu) child trafficking thriller, written and directed by Anna Gutto in her feature length debut. Premise: To save the life of her brother, truck driver Sally reluctantly agrees to smuggle illicit cargo, a girl named Leila. As they begin a danger-fraught journey across state lines, a dogged FBI operative sets out on their trail, determined to do whatever it takes to terminate a human-trafficking operation and bring Sally and Leila to safety. 

       Sally is Juliette Binoche. The aging FBI agent is Morgan Freeman. These names are enough reason to allot 115 minutes of your time for a little distraction. 

       An international co-production between the United States, Germany, and Switzerland, the indie project tackles a global menace hence funding is no-brainer. But to gain notice, the movie needed named performers with unmistakable gravitas to deliver it. Expectedly, Juliette and Morgan's acting supplied the necessary life and glow to a predictably languid plotline. 🎥💻📽

GAVE UP. <>“Anatomy of a Fall” (2023, Hulu) French legal drama film. A writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband's death. Remarkably done movie but it bored me.