Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Emily the Criminal – Netflix Originals

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) was in her mid twenties living in Los Angeles and struggling to make ends meet working as a catering deliverer to try pay off her $70,000 in student loan debt that she had from attending art school. Unfortunately her options were limited because previously she was convicted of aggravated assault while in a abusive relationship, which not only didn’t allow her to finish art school but also gave her a criminal record limiting her employment opportunities.

After doing a favor for a co-worker, he gave Emily a number to text saying that she could make some quick easy money. She was given an address to attend a meeting if she was interested in making $200 in an hour. The meeting seemed like an orientation where they took her ID at the door and explained that they were looking for “dummy shoppers”, which are individuals who use stolen credit cards to buy goods. The meeting was led a Lebanese man named Youcef (Theo Rossi) and Emily seemed to hit it off with him as they traveled with the group to a shopping center where they were instructed to buy flat screen TVs and bring them back to the van.

Emily’s first purchase went off without a hitch and in doing so was offered the opportunity to try another job the following day that would net her $2,000, but was instructed to wait for a text the following day where she would be given the details when she arrived. This time Emily was asked to steal a high-end car and was given a cashier’s check, a black card with no limit and new fake ID. Youcef dropped her off and explained that after the transaction she had eight minutes before the bank would call to verify the account. Emily handled the whole situation but before she left they discovered that the transaction was not valid. She was attacked, but fled and was followed eventually spaying her attacker with pepper spray to escape.

Emily took the car to Youcef and demanded her $2,000 but had a panic attack, so Youcef gave her a ride home where they talked about their dreams and why they were both doing these things. Youcef had a rental property he was renovating for his mother and Emily had dreams of traveling to South America and pursuing her art again. Emily asked Youcef if he would show her the business, so he showed her how to make the stolen credit cards and gave her some rules to follow, specifically not to go to the same store in a week and do not sell out of your home

Unfortunately Emily didn’t follow Youcef’s advice and gave her home address to a couple that broke into her apartment and held a box cutter to her throat while they searched for money and even decided to take a dog that she was pet sitting for her friend. In leaving they threatened her that they knew where she lived, but Emily didn’t want to be victimized so she grabbed her taser, ran out to the truck, tased the guy and drug the girl out threatened her that now she knows where they lived, then grabbed her money and the dog and went back to her apartment.

Youcef said if Emily made over $5,000 he would give her more card numbers with higher limits, but while she was waiting his cousin and business partner Khalil came into the office. He spoke with Youcef in Lebanese, seeming suspicious of Emily presence. Emily had slipped up and shopped at the same store twice in a week and was caught on video, which angered Khalil, though Youcef defended Emily. Ultimately Khalil and Youcef had it out, so Youcef’s plan was to steal all the merchandise and money and flee with Emily, but would this be the way for them to make their dreams come true or conversely it could end very bad for both of them.

Rated: R
Runtime 1h 37m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Noel Diary – Netflix Originals

Well known author Jake Turner (Justin Hartley) was on his holiday book tour when he received an unexpected call that his mother had passed away. Jake hadn’t spoken to his mother in quite a while and their relationship was complicated. She had left everything to him, including her house and all the furnishings, so he had to go back home to take care of some paperwork in his hometown Bridgeport where he discovered his mother had become somewhat of a hoarder.

While clearing out the house, he spent time looking over family photos which included him and his brother Ben who passed away when they were children and caused difficulty with their whole family, ultimately ending his parents’ relationship. A woman knocked on the door that he had seen across the street the day before who said her name was Rachel (Barrett Doss) and she was looking for her mother. Rachel was adopted and had found out her birth mother was working at the Turner residence when she was pregnant with her.

Jake said he didn’t have any information about Rachel’s mother however, had an idea to talk to his neighbor Ellie who suggested Jake asked his father as Ellie had just seen him at Jake’s mother’s funeral and knew where he lived. Initially Jake didn’t want to go as he hadn’t spoken to his father in 35 year, but wanted to help Rachel, so they headed to his dad’s house. While in the car, Rachel found her mother’s diary among some personal items he had gathered and what she read confirmed it was her mother and her name was then 17-year-old Noel Ellis.

On the way Jake shared how Ben passed away and Rachel shared stuff from her mother’s diary much of which included things about Jake when he was young. They had to stay the night due to weather, so enjoyed the local holiday pageant and though there seemed to be a spark between them Rachel was engaged to another man. Rachel picked up one of Jacob’s books at the local bookstore and they chatted about it on the way to his father’s home.

Ellie had called Jake’s dad to prepare him, and when Jake drove up his father was cutting down a Christmas tree for them to decorate together just as they had done when Jake was a child. When his dad tried to apologize for leaving after Ben’s death, Jake said he didn’t want to get into that and was only there to help Rachel. The emotions from the past overwhelmed Jake, who wanted to leave, but Rachel convinced him to stay saying Jake was acting just like his father by running.

Jake and his dad decorated the tree and buried the hatchet, then invited Rachel in and Jake’s dad shared a lot about his past with Noel and her life with their family. Jake’s dad had gotten a wedding invite from Noel a few years back, and gave it to Rachel who now knew where her mother was living so she and Jake headed out to find Noel. Jake and Rachel had to stay overnight on the way and had to share the one available room, where they had an intimate evening but Rachel left before morning leaving a note that it was better for both of them.

Rachel shared she knew her mom loved her from what she wrote in her diary, so didn’t need to find her, but Jake decided to go find Noel who was working at a nearby hospital to tell her about Rachel and thank her for helping his family. Jake returned Noel’s diary and Noel said to please let Rachel know if she would love it if she ever wanted to get in touch. Jake called Rachel who tried to push him away as he stood outside her house pleading to give him a chance but she said no. He returned to his mother’s house for the last of his things where to his surprise Rachel did arrive.

Runtime: 1h 39m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Where the Crawdads Sing – Netflix

When a young man from a wealthy family was found dead at the base of a fire tower in a North Carolina marsh, the police decided to blame a young woman named Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who was known as the “Marsh Girl” as she was an outsider and an easy target for injustice. When Kya was young her mother was abused by her father and left, then her two sisters and finally her brother left as well. She spent time with her father though he eventually left too, but she didn’t tell anyone and spent time at the marsh store that was run by a black family who looked out for her.

Kya traded muscles she harvested in the marsh for grits, which was easy as the marsh was her home and where she met Tate (Taylor John Smith), a young boy who also loved the marsh. As they grew older he would bring Kya feathers and vegetable seeds, along with notes. When Kya shared she couldn’t read Tate said he would teach her. When his father showed concern for their friendship, Tate explained that people in the town treated Kya horribly and she couldn’t go to school so he was helping her to learn to read, bringing her books and other things she needed.

Kya and Tate became very close, but Tate was soon off to college, though had plans to come back for Kya. Tate had some understanding of the family issues Kya was dealing with as he lost his mother and sister in a car wreck. They spent one last night together before he left for college, and Tate gave Kya a list of publishers to help publish her nature notes and drawings from the marsh as he said there was nothing out there like it and that she could make a life from it.

They agreed to meet at their favorite beach in the marsh on July 4^th, but Tate never showed, leaving Kya heartbroken with yet another person that walked out of her life. Kya retreated back to her home in the marsh for several years when she discovered developers were looking to buy the land in her area and due to an $800 tax bill on the house she could lose it. This prompted Kya to follow Tate’s advice and contact publishers to sell her work.

Kya had lived in the marsh on her own for 10 years when Chase (Harris Dickinson) came into her life. He was from a socialite family and approached Kya to invite her to a picnic on his boat Sunday. Chase made a pass at Kya, making her feel very uncomfortable, so he asked to make it up to her by taking her up to the fire tower where he promised to not make any unwanted advances towards her and after they began to meet regularly in the marsh.

Chase took Kya to a hotel where they were together for the first time, and she gave him a shell necklace she made that he wore from then on. Chase said he wanted to marry Kya, but later Kya saw Chase in town with a girl who introduced herself as his fiance. Kya told Chase to leave her alone, but he followed her to her place. He hit Kya but she hit him back, then he threw her to the ground and tried to rape her. She got away and told him to leave her alone or she would kill him

Kya went back home and Chase had destroyed her place. A few days later his body was found at the base of the fire tower and the police arrested Kya. With sham evidence and no real apparent motive, local attorney Tom Milton (David Strathairn) offered to take Kya’s case. He showed the sheriff requested the forest service to repair the dangerous grates on the tower as well as established that Kya had an alibi as she was out of town to meet her publishers. One interesting fact was that Chase was missing his shell necklace. Would Kya be found innocent, and if Kya didn’t kill Chase then who did? The ending sheds light on some interesting revelations.

Runtime: 2h 5m

by Shirley Lorraine

9 to 5 at Conejo Brings Large cast, High Energy

Some things apparently don’t change enough over time. One of them is the plight of working women everywhere – inequality. The Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks has highlighted this ongoing dilemma with their current production of 9 to 5, The Musical. Remember when the movie came out in 1980 and was a huge hit?

Based on a book by Patricia Resnick, country legend Dolly Parton picked up the gauntlet and wrote the music and lyrics to bring this saga of all-too familiar life in the steno pool at a large company run by “the good old boys club.”

Director Erin Fagundes has assembled a huge cast and has skillfully mounted a technically demanding production filled with engaging characterizations, familiar situations (sadly, many that are still in play even today) and high-spirited action. It is no wonder this hasn’t been seen on local stages – the sheer number of scene changes is daunting. Director Fagundes and set designer Jordyn Kieffer have managed to fashion a set that is highly functional and actually fun to watch as the set pieces are rolled in and out of the action without missing a beat. The set changes themselves are an integral part of the overall flow of the show.

The three main characters, memorably played in the movie by Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, are given new life by Katie McTyre, Dana Kolb and Mary Grace Zehnpfennig, respectively. Each is a powerhouse. All three have strong voices and enough energy to carry the audience through the two-and-a-half-hour journey.

The less than PC boss, Franklin Hart, Jr., is played to the comedic hilt by Scott Quintard. He embodies fully the character everyone loves to hate. He is often backed up by a capable cadre of yes-men dancers who are a delight to watch as they move set pieces into place.

The love-struck role of Roz is fully portrayed by Dana Weisman, who gives a stand-out and polished performance throughout.

A multitude of ensemble members fill the desk chairs, dance with enthusiasm and fill in all the gaps and then some. Of note is the choreography by Julie Hackett and Susan Ingram which gives everyone something to do. The large cast is also treated to a variety of costume changes to accent each “fantasy” production number. Well done keeping it 80’s light.

A live orchestra, hidden out of sight somewhere, provides excellent accompaniment throughout. Nice to hear it live rather than recorded.

You will exit the theatre with the familiar 9 to 5 song playing in your head for days and the realization that some aspects of corporate life haven’t really changed that much, despite the passage of time. But if we could just sing and dance our way throughout the days, as this cast does, all would be well in the end.

9 to 5 runs through December 4 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday December 3 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets available at www.ConejoPlayers.org, (805) 495-3715.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Good Nurse – Netflix Originals

In “The Good Nurse” when the arrival of new ICU nurse Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) at Parkfield Memorial Hospital in New Jersey coincided with a series of suspicious deaths, nurse Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) risked her own safety to uncover the truth in this movie based on true events.

Amy Loughren had been working at Parkfield Memorial for eight months, where she was trying to get a year of employment to qualify for health benefits. She had cardiomyopathy, a condition requiring her to have a heart transplant and that was unknown to her employer, believing her job would be at risk. She was assigned to the ICU, where she was introduced to an experienced nurse that had just been hired named Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne).

When Amy’s patient, 77-year-old Ana Martinez, passed away inexplicably, the hospital launched an internal investigation, but did not contact the state police until seven weeks after Ana’s death and also had not contacted her family to inform them they believed she died under suspicious circumstances. Detectives Danny Baldwin (Nnamdi Asomugha) and Tim Braun (Noah Emmerich) found these facts to be very troubling as it seemed Parkfield’s board, led by Linda Garran, the hospital’s risk manager, downplayed it, claiming the death was unintentional and that the reason for reporting it was simply to abide by health protocol.

Unfortunately, Ana Martinez had been cremated, so there was no physical evidence to help the investigation. Baldwin and Braun began interviewing the staff and when Amy reviewed the records noticed that insulin had been administered to Martinez, despite her being a non-diabetic. When they questioned Amy directly about Charlie, she defended him, so Braun shared all the hospitals where Charlie had previously worked weren’t willing to co-operate. To complicate matters further, when Parkfield finally shared its investigation with the police the file was basically empty, which caused Baldwin to snap at Garran who banned both detectives from the hospital.

When Kelly Anderson, another ICU patient, suddenly developed strange symptoms, Amy discovered that insulin had been administered to her which at that moment caused her to go into a seizure and die despite Amy’s efforts to save her. Amy began working with the police and convinced Kelly’s husband to exhume her body for an autopsy, which revealed that she had insulin and digoxin in her system which led to her death. With this unquestionable proof, Amy agreed to wear a wire and meet with Charlie to see if she could get him to confess, though to this point he had no proof she knew what he was doing.

The real Charlie Cullen plead guilty to the death of 29 people to avoid the death penalty, though he may have actually killed as many as 400 people in the 9 hospitals he worked in and never explained why he did it. Charlie Cullen is currently serving 18 consecutive life sentences in the New Jersey State Prison and will not be eligible for parole until 2403.

Charlie Cullen was a nurse for 16 years. Most of the hospitals he worked at harbored suspicions about him, though none stopped him and there have never been criminal proceedings against any of the hospitals. Amy Loughren got her heart surgery and lives in Florida with her children and grandchildren.

Rated: R
Runtime: 2h 3m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Top Gun: Maverick – Amazon Rentals & Theaters

When the U.S. Government discovered there was an unsanctioned nuclear enrichment facility that could supply the needed materials to build nuclear weapons, the decision was made that the facility would have to be destroyed. Unfortunately, it was at the end of a narrow, well-guarded canyon in the crevasse of two large mountains making it almost inaccessible even by air strikes. A plan was formulated to get the Navy to solicit the skills of their top twelve Top Gun pilots to train a team to take out the facility, though most had never seen any combat flying.

When considering who would train the best for this impossible mission, one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) was called to action by his Top Gun rival, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), who had become commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, while Maverick rose only to Captain in the ranks over the past 30 years, spending his time testing Next-Gen jets pushing them past supersonic to the Mach 10 threshold.

Maverick didn’t consider himself a trainer and was also concerned that one of the twelve pilots selected to train for the mission was Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), son of Maverick’s late best friend and RIO Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. Rooster resented Maverick for pulling his papers and setting him back four year in the pilot program, but unbeknownst to him Maverick promised Rooster’s mother before she died that Rooster would not become a pilot like his father.

The mission was a direct assignment from Iceman, who knew though Maverick had a harsh exterior that he was the best pilot and candidate for the job. Maverick wanted to decline, but heeded his dear friend’s words and set off to head up the mission and deal with the loss of Goose and having Rooster on the team. Maverick’s true wish was to honor his best friend and be the father Rooster never had, but Rooster blamed him for his father’s death.

Maverick felt that if he put Rooster on the team he may lose his life and if he didn’t Rooster would never forgive him. Maverick was reluctant to further interfere with Rooster’s career, but Iceman advised him that “It’s time to let go” and reassured him that both the Navy and Rooster needed Maverick. Unfortunately Iceman died shortly after of throat cancer and was no longer there to help Maverick navigate the intricacies of diplomacy.

The other pilots also didn’t respect Maverick, though quickly changed their views after every one of them lost to Maverick in basic dogfight training in their F-18s. After numerous VR training flights, Maverick chose Lieutenant Natasha “Phoenix” Trace and WSO Lieutenant Robert “Bob” Floyd. to lead the second strike pair, including Lieutenant Reuben “Payback” Fitch and WSO Lieutenant Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia and chose Rooster as his wingman. The four jets launched from an aircraft carrier as Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from the USS Leyte Gulf to destroy the nearby air base as they approached.

As they said throughout the movie, the success of the mission ultimately “comes down to the pilot in the box” regardless of the considered odds against them, and “Top Gun: Maverick” shares a compassionate putting aside of the past between Maverick and Iceman (Val Kilmer), who actually suffers from the health condition he portrayed in the movie.

Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 11m

by Shirley Lorraine
Flight Delays Spark Reluctant Acquaintance

Theaters must have a back-up plan when the scheduled season runs into bumps. At the Ojai Art Center Theater, the cancellation of a scheduled production of Blithe Spirit created an opening that held an opportunity for two accomplished actresses, Jill Dolan and Sindy McKay, to reprise their roles as strangers in an airport in Walter Cronkite is Dead by Joe Calarco, now playing through October 16.

The two appeared in the production in 2019 at another venue. Having seen and enjoyed that one, I was entranced by the way the two slipped into their roles like donning a comfortable old coat. The staging employs the original, effectively simple set by Tom Eubanks as well as recorded “airport” announcements that are well worth paying attention to.

Margaret (Jill Dolan) is a woman embarking on her first air flight ever. She carries considerable mental baggage and a large measure of fright. It doesn’t help that a raging storm has delayed or cancelled flights, leaving passengers to languish in the few sparse waiting areas of the airport. Her attempt at calm is interrupted by the arrival of hurricane Patty (Sindy McKay), a seasoned traveler and compulsive talker.

Margaret is significantly uptight and minimalistic, while Patty is casual, slightly chaotic and curious. To Margaret’s dismay, Patty’s belongings and manners spill over the “shared” space in unapologetic abandon.

On the surface, the two appear to be from completely different worlds and situations. As time passes and delays continue however, they discover numerous similarities and eventually even enjoy each other’s company. The journey of their plight is a mixture of amusement, tension, pathos, reflection, realizations and acceptance.

Considering the current weather conditions on the East Coast, I couldn’t help but think of how a version of this scenario is probably playing out in many airports across the globe. How timely.

The dialogue reminds one to see beyond oneself and be kind to fellow travelers who may be struggling with the conditions both outside and below the surface.

As so often happens in unfamiliar public surroundings, one never knows what to expect. Both actresses are so at ease in their roles, neither missed a single, solitary beat as their table suddenly became shorter on opening night, not once, but twice. The audience reacted more than the two did, carrying on without a hitch. Kudos, ladies.

The 90-minute production is played without intermission so sit back and just enjoy the interaction. Curtain time for this production is 7:30 and you won’t want to miss the “intro” of Walter Cronkite giving the news.

There is nothing like live theater, in my opinion, to transport one to other worlds and embrace viewpoints and thoughts of others. I recommend attending Walter Cronkite is Dead. Time well spent.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. The Ojai Art Center is located at 113 S. Montgomery Street. www.ojaiact.org (805) 640-8797.