Saturday, May 27, 2017
Movie #1354 ........................."Dirty Dancing " 2017
Movie #1354 "Dirty Dancing" 2017 is not near as good as the original. How could it be? Tough to do those cult classics over again. Okay, but I must admit, I don't think I ever saw the original all the way through --- not a huge fan of the story, just the dancing. Not enough of it here in this revamp. And not enough good stuff. Jennifer Grey was cast because she was an excellent dancer, daughter of Joel Grey, she can move. Not so in this one. I get the Cinderella story, where the dancer starts out with hardly any rhythm and then is remade into this wonderful dancer, but that's the trouble --- Abigail never was that excellent dancer --- very awkward movements. She just didn't have it. She was hired for the heavy duty acting, which I felt she handled pretty well. The guy was a stereotyped greaser to me, not much to him. Not sure why he makes the big turn at the end, and I think it would have helped it if it came a bit from the actor. The biggest difference is : the secondary characters were flushed out --- they were more famous than the leads, really. People like Debra Messing (the mom) and Sarah Hyland (the sister) and Katy Segal (the older lady who Johnny Castle is visiting on a nightly basis).......so when you spend that much on bigger names, you need to give them something o do, so those stories went on and on --- they took a 90 minute original movie and stretched it to 3 hours (with a ton of commercials, but it still ran LONG!) The ending is a fast forward to Johnny choreographing on Broadway and Baby coming to see the show. Not really necessary because I don't think that there were many people who thought the two at the end of the original would get married and stay together forever. I would give this 2.5 out of 5, a don't bother!
Movie #1353 ........................."Mr. Turner"
Movie #1353 "Mr. Turner" was a rather boring biopic, and long to boot. He's a curmudgeon who grumps around his room, esp. after his father, the love of his life, dies. Then he goes to visit this woman quite a bit, that's when he isn't manhandling his trusty maid. He's a huge nature painter from England , and I'm not quite sure why we need this film about him. Not much here. He DID mentor some young painters, but that was about it. not good not good not good, so this one is a skip this!
2 stars out of 5.
MR. TURNER -- 2 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES 2014 I GAVE IT TWO STARS OUT OF 5
2 stars out of 5.
MR. TURNER -- 2 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES 2014 I GAVE IT TWO STARS OUT OF 5
This incandescent biographical portrait of famed 19th-century painter J.M.W. Turner spotlights his artistic genius, along with the eccentric and frequently insensitive behavior that he exhibited in his private life.
Monday, May 15, 2017
Movie #1352 ........................."Going in Style" (2017)
Movie #1352 "Going in Style" (2017) was truly a gem to watch. I think I saw the original, but I can't remember; however, I don't think I would ever forget this version, since these characters were so endearing, and I found myself laughing at a lot of parts. It had a variety of humor, and even the silly parts (one in particular on a drivable grocery cart) become more plausible in the hands of the adept actors --- and they are all very competent in getting across the humorous as well as the poignant parts --- and all three characters had an equal amount of time in doing that. What I esp. liked about this is that it has something for everyone (although, I'm pretty sure the demographic is 40 years of age and over --- but that's okay, because if more of us go to the theatre to support films like these, we will get more like this one!!!) So my 5 stars to get more of 40 and over to get out and see this one! Yeah, it's fluff, but it's a great heist, a terrific treatise on how the government treats the older set, it has a great theme on the value of us oldsters in society, not to mention a pug puppy to watch and "Aw" over . See? everything, packaged with humor and a big bow of love tied around it. Corny, but true. And once in a while, esp. in this day and age of constant attacks on our humanity, there's a glimmer of hope in watching a feel good film! Support this film so we get more like it!
P.S. the writer for this film also did two other gems: "St. Vincent" and "Hidden Figures" so you want to keep your eyes out for Theodore Melfi, who appears to be a good writer for films!
and Director is Zach Traff --- I plan to see everything he does (he was the lead on t.v. show Scrubs and he's directed "Garden State" and "Wish I Was Here" --- both films I liked a lot! He's another one to look for in the future!
"GOING IN STYLE" (2017) PG-13 I give it 5 out of 5 stars. 1 hour and 35 minutes
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin
P.S. the writer for this film also did two other gems: "St. Vincent" and "Hidden Figures" so you want to keep your eyes out for Theodore Melfi, who appears to be a good writer for films!
and Director is Zach Traff --- I plan to see everything he does (he was the lead on t.v. show Scrubs and he's directed "Garden State" and "Wish I Was Here" --- both films I liked a lot! He's another one to look for in the future!
"GOING IN STYLE" (2017) PG-13 I give it 5 out of 5 stars. 1 hour and 35 minutes
Cheated out of their pensions, three elderly friends decide to extract justice from the system by robbing a bank and then heading for Las Vegas. But their grand plan starts to fall apart when a dogged FBI agent picks up their trail.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Movie #1351 ........................."The Courageous Heart of Irene Sendler"
Movie #1351 "The Courageous Heart of Irene Sendler" is a film I was anxious to see because for my book club we had read a book on this Polish hero who saved 2500 little kids from the Jewish ghetto during WWII. She was part of the underground activities, convincing the parents to send their kids to safe places for them once many people were seeing the writing on the wall; i.e. Hitler would send all the ghetto people to work camps where to die --- they didn't even have barracks at places like Treblinka. She would get the kids new identities, but she promised the parents that she would copy down there real names with their new names and bury them in a jar so they could be found in the future. The problem was Irene got arrested and tortured, and even though a good samaritan got her to safety, she could never go back to the jars -- which became a mute point anyway, since most of the ghetto people that she didn't take to safe havens perished in the work camps. She was truly a hero, but the information about her and the underground saviors in Poland went unrecognized for many years, since Poland was not free from oppression for many years (under the Communist rule after Hitler). So it's just recently that her story has come to light, and this film was finally made. It wasn't as tough as some Holocaust films I've seen (in fact, in the first hour, there are no brutal beatings or killing), but once she is taken prisoner, those scenes are tough to watch. But the film is so darn inspiring about this woman, who was so hard on herself through the whole ordeal because she could save more ---- much like the Hacksaw Ridge hero in that film. I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.
"THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENE SENDLER" 2009
"THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENE SENDLER" 2009
In the early days of World War II, Polish Catholic social worker Irena Sendler (Anna Paquin, in a Golden Globe-nominated turn) devises a daring plan: Disguised as nurses, she and colleagues gain access to the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw and smuggle some 2,500 Jewish children to safety. John Kent Harrison directs this drama based on Sendler's real-life exploits, for which she received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Marcia Gay Harden and Nathaniel Parker co-star.
Movie #1350 ........................."Fairytales for Emma"
Movie #1350 "Fairytales for Emma" is a Czechoslovakian film with subtitles, and it was my favorite movie I saw at the Phoenix Film Festival, and I'm very excited that we are going to show it for the Naperville Film Festival. It's very topical, dealing with an immigration officer who excels at busting people who try to come into his country in fake marriages. One day at work as he successfully uncovers another fake marriage, he finds out he might be father to a little girl who is in a hospital where her mother is dying from a car accident. The little girl is precocious and wins him over quite quickly, even though he is a hard nut to crack --- but that's just the beginning but everyone does not live happily after he meets her. Problems get thrown their way that include an immigration officer (female) who is even a tougher nut to crack, a pet gerbil, a redheaded concierge in a hotel who seems unlucky in love, and lot of questions on what really constitutes a "family". All the actors are quite good, and they are fun to watch when they are in a pickle. The film itself has a fairytale quality and the movie itself has that magical quality that I really enjoyed. 5 out of 5 stars. Hope you get to see this some time --- it's Czech title is:
Genre: Romantic Comedy and Drama Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.
Pohádky pro Emu
or FAIRYTALES FOR EMMA 2017Genre: Romantic Comedy and Drama Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.
Release Date: April 8th, 2017 MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Rudolf Havlik Actors: Ondrej Vetchy, Anna Geislerova, Ema Svabenska, Vilma Cibulkova, Petra Buckova, Jiri Dvorak, Vera Kresadlova, Anna Polivkova
Movie #1349 ........................."Painless"
Movie #1349 "Painless" --- another movie I saw at the Phoenix Film Festival centered itself on a subject I had never seen on a movie screen --- the disease that a small fraction of people suffer from --- they are born painless ---- and all the problems that go along with that medical problem. So much so that a very intelligent man suffering from it is constantly striving to find a cure, and his life is full of research and development on the subject. He works with a doctor, but when that doctor doesn't seem to be working fast enough and won't do some things to go further in his testing, the painless man has an offer from another doctor that he finds difficulty in turning down --- to the detriment of his own health. How far will someone go for the sake of science? Throw an interesting love story into the mix, and you have a good, solid drama --- I'm not sure if it will ever be shown anywhere, though. I tried to get it to our Naperville film festival to no avail. Too bad, because it is an interesting watch. I give it 4 stars out of 5.
"PAINLESS" 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES 2017
"PAINLESS" 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES 2017
Henry Long desperately seeks a cure for the condition that leaves him unable to feel physical pain.
Director:
Jordan HorowitzWriter:
Jordan HorowitzMovie #1348 ........................."The Happys"
Movie #1348 "The Happys" was a fun movie I watched at the Phoenix Film Festival a couple of weeks ago (and just got to blogging on it -- it's been a bit busy these days). It mainly follows a "good girl" who gives up her life in the midwest to follow her boyfriend to Hollywood when he gets a break in film (he's a pretty boy). She's all by herself and knows no one but the boyfriend , so she keeps busy cooking/baking for him --- she delivers lunches, dinners, etc. which becomes futile after a while when he continually reminds her they have a great catering table available on the set. So then she turns her focus on the food truck community, trying to find her niche in this new environment. When her boyfriend is bedding down a coworker and she catches him, she turns her attention to the agorophobic neighbor for companionship. There's more in the film as she journeys to find her self worth. She's not the only one on a journey, though --- her boyfriend and the agoraphobic also both have secondary stories that are equally entertaining. I enjoyed all the fleshed out characters here, and the movie is infused with a lot of humor along with scenes that are very emotional and that deal with real life social problems. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.
THE HAPPYS 2016 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Twenty-one year old Tracy walks in on her boyfriend Mark having sex with a man and decides to leave him. After assessing her limited options, she returns to Mark with a deal-if he agrees to marry her, she'll forget the incident ever happened. Mark accepts her terms, but neither fully understands the sacrifices they have to make. As their relationship deteriorates, Tracy's world opens up when she befriends the quirky residents in her Los Feliz neighborhood: Sebastian, a troubled recluse who closed the door to society after being bitten by a poisonous spider; Luann, a former child star and true free spirit; Krista, Mark's hard-charging talent manager; Jonathan, a gay magazine reporter; and Ricky, a hot Mexican with a failing food truck. As Tracy discovers her sense of self and true passion for cooking, she is a catalyst that forces them all to grow and connect in unforeseen ways .
THE HAPPYS 2016 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Twenty-one year old Tracy walks in on her boyfriend Mark having sex with a man and decides to leave him. After assessing her limited options, she returns to Mark with a deal-if he agrees to marry her, she'll forget the incident ever happened. Mark accepts her terms, but neither fully understands the sacrifices they have to make. As their relationship deteriorates, Tracy's world opens up when she befriends the quirky residents in her Los Feliz neighborhood: Sebastian, a troubled recluse who closed the door to society after being bitten by a poisonous spider; Luann, a former child star and true free spirit; Krista, Mark's hard-charging talent manager; Jonathan, a gay magazine reporter; and Ricky, a hot Mexican with a failing food truck. As Tracy discovers her sense of self and true passion for cooking, she is a catalyst that forces them all to grow and connect in unforeseen ways .