"Little Women" has a great cast and a timeless story of how siblings are woven together for life. I is worthy of time and consideration. It does a good job of showing the obstacles of young women in the 1800's and why the changes we get to witness are so important. That is unless you are a jerk.
FUTURE:
I watched "Bird Box" on Netflix to see what all the talk was about. This is a good movie starring Sandra Bullock and is a tense story. In last year's "A Quiet Place" Aliens have invaded but they are blind. But if you make noise they will get you. In Bird Box if you go out side to see they will get you through your eyes. Yikes! Great fun. 2019 Movie 2 I give it ***1/2 stars.
PAST:
"Mary Queen of Scots" is the retelling of Mary, Queen of Scotland and her life. It shows her world where she once was married to the King of France. He dies and she returns to Scotland to claim her throne but also sets her sites on England. She was the daughter of King Henry of England but the throne was taken by her cousin Queen Elizabeth. This is Monarchy at its most treacherous. Great acting. 2019 Movie 3 It is ****star
The thing these movies have in common are three strong women who face great odds in a male dominant world. Sandra Bullock's character faced great odds, but so did Mary. Another common bond is how they all viewed the importance of children in their lives.
Vice: One of the year's best movies and scariest. No it has a little history, a little dark humor and a lot of reasons to fear what happens in Washington. Great cast and directing. Republicans may not vote for this. *****stars 2018 Movie 53
Aquaman: A very wet super hero move with enough humor to keep me interested. Too many endless fight scenes. *** star 2018 movie 54
Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse: Actually a very good movie that has heart and a story besides fight scenes. ***1/2 stars 2018 movie 55
That's all for this year. Next year I'm going to revert back to old ways.
Is a hard but excellent movie about a Mother dealing with the murder and rape of her daughter.
It is not all dreary there is some great banter as well. Excellent Cast with more than one Academy nominees. Hard R for language and such.
***** star movie, 2017 number 45
Lady Bird: Another mixture of comedy and drama of a coming-of age story of a high school student who calls herself Lady Bird. Again, great cast and story. I give it **** star, 2017 Movie 46
The Last Jedi: IT's Star Wars! of course its good! ****star; 2017 Movie 47
As a rule I do watch Scary Movies. The slasher, or zombie or high body count teen thrillers are not for me. There is some that appeal to me such as the last two movies that I viewed.
"Life" is the story of a group of astronauts on an International Space Station that receive a specimen from a Rover Robot that has come from Mars. It contains a microbe that is believed to be proof of LIFE on Mars. They will study it in Space and not risk bringing it to earth. Ok so far?
All I need to say is: For what comes next, think of "Alien". It gets wild, wooly and scary.
The end is a big surprise but getting there is half the fun. Great popcorn movie.
I give it ***1/2 stars. 2017 movie
13
The next is "Get Out" a fil that gets great reviews but little attention. He have thought about this a long time before going. (Nothing else good in our area). Glad I did. Let's take about three different stories: "Guess whose coming to Dinner?, Stepford Wives, and lets just say "Twilight Zone". Mix well and add some dark comedy. Great Movie. The horror and scary feeling is in your mind more than on the screen. It is well crafted and well acted.
Started off the new movie year with "Sing" the animated movie with voices of great actors and singers. This was an excellent use of talent, animation and music. It was fun to guess the actors. The movie is about an ill-fated talent contest with several small stories developing with every character. Enjoyable for the whole family and great music
"Fences" is a movie by Denzel Washington based on the play of the same name. As I watched it I could see that it is still a play. It is rich in dialogue and superbly acted by Viola Davis and Denzel with a great supporting cast. This story is set in the early 1950's in Pittsburg and is about a Refuse worker and his family- a very unusual family at that. He is in his about 53 and has a 35 year old son by one woman and a 17 year old son by his current wife.
It is a brutal story of a man that did not have a good father-figure who grew up to be a bad father as well. He had the one quality that many of us baby-boomers knew: He believed in responsibility over love. He is a rotten guy that everyone puts up with hoping for better. This is a rich story and a hard one.
One of the best of the year but not for the young (all dialogue no action) PG13
My seldom blogs are ending soon with the purchase of a better computer but for now an abbreviated take on recent movies.
"Allied" is a great period movie set in World War 2 with Brad Pitt. It is a great spy movie
that is do
with great dialogue. It concerns the Nazis, a theme that will be increasing in coming months because of well...
Great drama. I give it ***stars. 2016 movie 37
ne in the style of "Casablanca"
"Arrival" is a 2016 version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Aliens arrive and we try to figure them out. It is a thought provoking story that reveals more about humans than about the aliens.
Amy Adams is very good. I give it **** stars. 2016 Movie 38
"Moana" is an animated Disney movie with the usual strong female lead character. (They have dresses to sell our kids). Good comedy with the Rock as a Demigod! That should confuse the kids as well. ***stars, 2016 Movie 39
"Miss Sloan" is one of the year's best. It shows the power of Lobbying groups and gives a version of how they work with Congress. This is a good story that should make us all think about the power being served in D.C. Great ending that reminded me of one of my favorite movies, "Absence of Malice". I give it *****stars. 2016 Movie 40
Fall movies are here and they have started with a bang:
"Deepwater Horizon"
is one of those movies from recent happenings (like Sully) where you think you know the story but find much more. Acting is great as are the effects. I was very moved by this and highly recommend. ***1/2 stars 2016 Movie 31
"Queen of Katwe"
is another true story. I blogged previously about the book by the same name. The movie is spot on. ****stars 2016 Movie 32
In both movies "the LORD's Prayer plays a role. Showing once again that it is the universal connection.
"The Girl on the Train" is also based on a book that I previously discussed. Great story and drama. This makes you understand again that the grass is not always greener somewhere else.
***stars 2016 Movie 33
This summer is full of remakes and sequels, Superheroes
and alien attacks, animations and talking animals and it is good when you can just watch a good story with good acting.
"The Legend of Tarzan" oddly is one of those. Remake: Yes. But this story reminds me of the old black and white Tarzan movies. Great villain, Great Tarzan and Great Jane. FUN.
I give it ****stars (it's a bad year for good movies) 2016 movie #20
The second was "The Infiltrator", a true story of uncover agents that bring down the Columbian Drug Lord, Pablo Escobar. Brain Cranston is great as is John Leguizamo. Tough story of high crimes. I give it ****stars (it's a bad year for good movies) 2016 movie #21
These are three engaging movies for adults this summer for three very different reasons:
"Nice Guys" is a hilarious buddy movie about private investigators who help each other on a weird case. The humor reminds me of the first "Hangover" movie. Stout language , many laughs.
A favorite
****stars 2016 movie 14
"Money Monster" is a tense, hostage-type movie,
well acted and timely subject. ***1/2 stars 2016 movie 15
"Love and Friendship" is a comedy based on a Jane Austen Novel. Witty British Humor, Downton Abbey fans would like. Enjoyed it a lot.
If you read my drivel you know that I rate movies from one to five stars based on the following:
1. Did I like it.
2. Did it move me emotionally.
3. Is it entertaining, historical or thought-provoking.
4. Was it creative and well crafted.
I could care less what the movie ratings or critics say (although I read them). Most critics judge by is it a new idea. Critics also don't like comedies unless they are extremely controversial. I haven't seen all the movies either so this can't be a years 10 best. BTW I didn't want to see many of the movies critics liked!
Here are my ***** star movies in alphabetical order:
Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Concussion
Hateful 8
Love & Mercy
Martian
Steve Jobs
Trumbo
My ****1/2 star movies that could be ***** star are
Sicario
Theory of Everything (from 2014, did not see until 2015)
Other movies with special merit ****star were
Spy, American Ultra, Still Alice, Paper Towns, Ex Machina, and Intern
IT WAS A GOOD YEAR AT THE MOVIES AND I SAW 63 OF THEM.
We went to two movies this weekend and all I can say is: If you want a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, pick your poison.
First was "No Escape" about a Couple that moves to Southeast Asia for a new job and takes their young daughters to settle in a new job. Before they can unpack, they find themselves in a major civil unrest in which all Americans are targeted. It is an intensely brutal race to escape with the help of a CIA-type (Pierce Brosnan). The couple played by Owen Wilson and Lake Bell make this adventure very real. When the goal is to find safety in Vietnam, you are in big trouble. Very well done in a super tense way! I give it ***1/2 stars 2015 Movie 40
If that wasn't enough we went to see "The Gift". After all Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 93! It is tense in a very different way but also similar. In this a couple also moves to a new city (LA) so that the guy, Simon, (Jason Bateman) can take a new job. Similar, but when they arrive they bump into an old high school classmate of Simon. The classmate starts imposing himself on them and soon everyone's world is going crazy.
In "No Escape" the danger is all around and straight-forward, but in "The Gift" you don't know what is true and what is false. It is another kind of tense. Great cast. Great Suspense. Great Story.
I sometimes watched "Man From U.N.C.L.E." on TV back in the 60's. It was a take off on James Bond and Mission Impossible and very good at that. It was 60's fashion with cool cars, music and bad guys.
The new version is just as good. It has witty banter. East meets West rivalry (just like the "Cold War" days. Nothing critical to say about this story. Just great summer fun and action.
This movie made me think of my high school years. I was not a social "Chance-taking" guy. I was cautious if not a little timid. I was part of the "in-crowd type kids" that were seen as leaders, but I was always reluctant to stray from my comfort zone and in to the unknown. I didn't hurt me but it made me different. But then I always saw the kids that pushed to envelope. They tried everything! They bothered me because they always seemed to get away with things. I would have been caught!
"Paper Towns" is about that. Two kids that grew up in Orlando across the street from each other (Boy and Girl). When they rode bikes, only he wore a helmet. She would climb up to his second floor window to talk at night and to suggest going out to play after night! You know the type.
As the movie develops they grow apart during High School, their Senior year, He is a band nerd who is headed for Medical School and she is a wild child traveling with the fat crowd. Until one night when she comes again to enlist his help.
This movie is about the people also that do not see their future because they aren't comfortable with their present. Paper Towns is the term for a fake town that appears on maps as a copyright. One map maker will show a "Paper Town name" along a road and know that if any other map maker shows it, they are copying. Well acted and well told!
Looking for a place that doesn't exist.
This is not a deep movie for there is much humor and high school things that we all remember (no matter the generation). It is PG13 so it is more like Ferris or 16 Candles and less the current R-rated fare. I Liked it. It is being compared to "Fault in Our Stars" which was also written by John Green.
What if as the years past, you have elderly children?
What would life be like if someone close to you grew old and changed but you did not?
What would people say? What would the government do with you?
All these questions are answered in the "Age of Adeline". It is a well crafted story where the special effect is time much like "Boyhood." Great cast and smart sci-fi for thinking people.
I was pleased to be able to attend the "Bare Bones International Film Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It is a festival of independent film makers of documentary, short film and feature film. Last night wife and I set with a group of film makers as they screened their work and discussed the how, why, and what of their creations.
No matter what the art, the simplest goal is to share with others the personal creativity and also to get feedback, encouragement, and acceptance. I need it in my architecture: when I post a project on FACEBOOK, I yearn for "likes". These film makers deserve the same. Some even mentioned that this festival marked the most people to see their projects and the most to give encouragement.
As a personal note, I was disappointed that we were the ONLY non-film makers there to view the films!
The films watched:
"Adoption" An adult daughter of a sick man finds out she is adopted and searches for her birth mother.
"We Choose You" A teen girl deals with the foster family system
"Lavender" A comedy of a Gay man and a Lesbian who's mothers "Hook them up for a blind date!"
"Captured" A man dealing with the disappearance of his wife (A journalist assigned to the Middle East Conflict.
"The Glass Owl" a Slap stick crime comedy.
"Mortal Dilemma" a short action film about three men meeting in a West Texas roadside stop.
"Thicker Than Water" a western about retribution concerning three brothers. (FILMED JUST A FEW MILES FROM MY HOME!)
Just for kicks I always pick my choices for the Academy Awards. I saw all Best Picture nominees, but not all actor and actress awards. So I will do what the real pickers do and say who I pick and then who probably will.
Best Supporting Actor: My pick is J.K.Simmons for Whiplash. He will win.
Best Supporting Actress: My pick is Patricia Arquette for Boyhood. She will win.
Best Actor: My pick is Michael Keaton for Birdman. Word has it that Eddie Redmayne will win.
Keaton has had the emotional role. Redmayne had the physical role in Theory of Everything (and he is British)!
Best Actress: My pick is Reese Witherspoon for Wild, but I didn't get to see Julianne Moore in Still Alice. Moore will probably win. She has five nominations but no wins and I hear she is great in this role.
Best Picture: My pick is Boyhood which too 12 years to make, a truly one in a million movie. If it doesn't win I want BirdMan even though I hear Hollywood went crazy over Grand Budapest Hotel.
Best Director: Richard Linklater is my pick. This may be one of those weird years when the Best Picture does not produce Best Director. How can you not pick Linklater when he held a cast and crew together for 12 YEARS! Crazy Good accomplishment!
Best Animated Movie is a Sham. How can LEGO movie not be nominated? I don't care who wins this.
Best Song is too hard! Glory form Selma will probably win but the songs most important to the movie is Lost Stars form Begin Again or Everything is Awesome from Lego Movie.
sly discussed. Great story and drama. This makes you understand again that the grass is not always greener somewhere else. 
****stars 2016 movie 14
