Movie #1681 ........................."Late Afternoon" (animated short)

Movie #1681 "Late Afternoon" was yet another oscar-nominated animated short for 2019.  This one is a good one --- and very universal.  It involves an elderly woman with dementia and her relationship with her caretaker, and how she escapes the world of aging with memories of her past.  Very heartbreaking and well done --- I would give it 4 stars out of 5.










"LATE AFTERNOON"      2018    9 MINUTES -- animated short

Dir. Louise Bagnall

The year’s most devastating tale of aging and illness comes by way of a minimalist animated short from Ireland. “Late Afternoon” tells a gentle story of Emily, an elderly woman deep in the throes of dementia. A biscuit falling into the abyss of a teacup sends her on an aching mental whirlwind of her life. These scenes of a young and curious Emily are so joyful that the audience might lose itself in the memories, just as she does. The pain is that much sharper, then, when Emily returns to the present and does not remember her caretaker.

The stunning artistry of the animation sets this short apart. “Late Afternoon” looks like a watercolor painting come to life, with fractals of muted color swirling across the screen as the film catapults through time. The character’s faces are sparsely sketched, but with such careful detail that somehow two dots for eyes and a line for a mouth can convey the barely perceptible sadness of Emily’s caretaker as she watches her charge decline. The stunning score is both melancholy and uplifting. And the final moments, between a mother and daughter, are more emotionally affecting than many a skilled actor could ever muster in person. “Late Afternoon” is an absolute must-see.

Movie #1680 ........................."Animal Behavior"

Movie #1680 "Animal Behavior" -- this is another oscar-nominated animated short for 2019, and I found it the funniest one --- what a wonderful "cuckoo's nest" idea of putting all these animals into a group therapy session.  I enjoyed it --- loved the humor, and would give it 4 stars out of 5.

"ANIMAL BEHAVIOR"   2018

Dir. Alison Snowden and David Fine

" 'You need to stop gazing at your own navels and just get on with your lives,'  an ape says to a text-savvy praying mantis, a boy-crazy leech, a dog with a psychology degree, a bird with a traumatic past and a pig, among other animals. “Animal Behaviour” takes the absurdities of modern human behavior and manifests them in their logical extremes, as character traits of various animals that gather together for a group therapy session. Lorraine the leech has attachment issues, Victor the ape can’t manage his anger, and Jeffrey the bird has nightmares of pushing his little brother out of the nest to his death. The animal stand-ins for human behavior certainly aren’t subtle, but are delightful nonetheless.

Snowden and Fine utilize a muted, familiar animation style, one that evokes the Nickelodeon comics of yesteryear, which adds to the scenes a harsh realism that juxtaposes wonderfully with the antics unfolding on screen. Notably, the short relies heavily on an actual script to advance its concept and develop its characters; none of the other entries in this category come close to this level of hyperactive dialogue, and many have no dialogue at all. But of course, only 'Animal Behaviour' has a talking praying mantis. A group of Vancouver-based actors turns in fantastic voice performances — Ryan Beil as the mostly calm, canine psychotherapist is a standout.

The film climaxes in a literal dogfight, as a conventional shrink’s office becomes the animal kingdom writ small. This hilarious twist, though a bit heavy-handed, packs a startling punch. The audience remembers, perhaps with a jolt of discomfort, that they were in the animal kingdom all along."

Movie #1679 ........................."Bao" (animated short)

Movie #1679 "Bao" is the animated short that won the oscar for 2019 --- it was shown with "Incredibles 2" so it was seen by many, plus it is available on you tube, if you want to see this 8 minute pixar offering.  I have to say there have been better ones, but this was short, well done, and quick to the point.  Although, I could see a kid say that what he got out of it was that if you want to keep your friend, you have to digest him!  Also, it came across to me as heavily edited and jerky, but it could be that's how it was on you tube because I didn't see it on the big screen.  I personally liked two other ones a bit better than this one, but it is a strong entry because of its quality in animation, and I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

"BAO"     2018   8 Minutes

A Chinese-Canadian woman suffering from empty nest syndrome gets a second shot at motherhood when one of her handmade dumplings comes alive.

Director:

 Domee Shi

Writer:

 Domee Shi

Stars:

 Sindy Lau, Tim Zhang

Movie #1678 ......,.................."True Detective" Season 1, Disc 1

Movie #1678 "True Detective" Season 1, Disc  1 --- I have to say, we were disappointed with this show considering we heard lots of great things about it.  The pacing was so slow, that we weren't ready to commit the time to watch two more discs of it, so we are leaving it at  Disc 1.  I would commend the show on the acting, tech stuff, and the idea behind the show, but I would say we aren't continuing to watch this particular season because of the extremely slow and tedious pacing and the story line, which didn't come across too interesting to us. I might check out this newest season though with Mehersela.  I think I would have stuck with this one if it were just the length of a movie, but with 8 episodes, you are committing 8 hours to one show that seemed too long and convoluted to get to a worthy ending, so I will give this 3 out of 5 so far.


"TRUE DETECTIVE"    (rented it from netflix)

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star in this crime drama about two detectives caught up in the 17-year-long hunt for a serial killer. Both cops' roles in a 1995 murder investigation come back to haunt them when the case is reopened.

Cast 

Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, Tory Kittles, Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, Kelly Reilly

Genres 

TV Shows, TV Dramas, TV Crime Dramas, TV Mysteries, HBO

Moods 

Dark, Gritty, Cerebral, Suspenseful

Movie #1677 ........................."Period. End of Sentence." (doc short)

Movie #1677 "Period.  End of Sentence." 25 minutes, available on netflix is also nominated for the AA for doc short for 2019.  This is the one that stands out in the category for being about a very different subject, a somewhat tabu subject --- menstruation.  Women in India,. majority misinformed, get trained to run a factory that makes pads for all the women to make life easier for them.  Very inspiring, and I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.  It may just win this weekend with  the me-too movement.

Movie #1676 ........................."A Night At the Garden" (doc short)

Movie #1676 "A Night at the Garden" is another short doc nominated for AA 2019, available at PBS. It runs only 7 min.  and it shows a Nazi  rally at the garden with soldiers marching, and I think we are supposed to see how topical the film is now with some of the political rallies that people are going to. It was shocking and short and sweet, but disturbing.  I would give it 3 stars out of 5.

Movie #1675 ........................."Lifeboat" (doc short)

Movie #1675 "Lifeboat is still another doc short that is nominated for AA 2019.  (available on line) concerns a boat that continually saves N. African immigrants who are trying to find asylum across the  ocean.  I thought it was just okay.  3 stars out of 5.

Movie #1674 ........................."End Game" (doc short)

Movie #1674 "End Game" is another documentary short that is nominated for AA in 2019 which you can stream own netflix, 40 minuets.  It concerns a very difficult subject --- that of prepping for death in a hospice care facility --- tough to watch.  You follow a couple of families having to make decisions with their dying relatives.  I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Movie #1673 ........................."Black Sheep" (2018 doc short)

Movie #1673 "Black Sheep" is nominated for an AA for doc short and it's available on you tube --- 26 minutes --- it's from point of view of an African American kid who deals with racism and  bullying at his school in his own way.  This is the one doc short in this category that pulled me in emotionally, and perhaps it will for you, too. I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Movie #1672 ........................."Free Solo"

Movie #1672 "Free Solo" is nominated for an academy award this weekend in the documentary category, and since it has been touted as the biggest competition for "RBG" (which I earlier saw/reviewed), I wanted to see if it was as good as "RBG."  "Free Solo" is a tough watch, esp. for me, who doesn't like heights and who would have a hard time understanding the why in relationship to this project...... why try to climb El Capitan (in yosemite) free solo (without any ropes or harnesses)?  I guess the answer for this guy is....because it hasn't been done before and he can! It is a well done doc in photography, and in how it is put together --- the mountain is divided into about 6 major parts and he and his crew describe the problems with each part and show him practicing with ropes and harnesses.  The last 18 minutes or so are actually showing bits of the climb and it is amazing.  I can say that I wasn't bored while watching (but I must admit on some of the practicing I was doing something else (something small) but the last 18 minutes I kept turning away, but my eyes wanted to see it because never would you be able to get up this close unless you were watching some unbelievable filmmaking.  I'd give it 4 stars out of 5 (just because there seemed to be a couple of lag moments), but overall, a very good film!

"FREE SOLO"   1 hour and 37n minutes    2019  documentary

In this "cliff-hanging" documentary, rock climber Alex Honnold prepares for and undertakes the most daunting challenge of his life: becoming the first person to free-solo climb (without ropes or safety gear) the face of Yosemite's El Capitan.

Director 

Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Genres 

Documentary, Science and Nature Documentaries, Sports Documentaries, Outdoor & Mountain Sports, Mountaineering & Climbing, National Geographic

Movie #`1671 ........................."My Secret Valentine"

Movie #1671 "My Secret Valentine" --- well, I am a Christmas Hallmark movie fan, no doubt, so I thought I might check out a movie on the Hallmark channel that was based on a different event from xmas, so I ended up watching this one the other night trying to fall asleep.  It was intriguing to me as I first started watching it because I noticed that the two "lovebirds" were actors I had seen in the hallmark xmas movies (surprise!) and two that I particularly liked but never saw together, and that's what got me to watch it to the end.  The story is SOOOOOO overdone, it's beyond funny --- guy comes in to buy up whatever company it is (in this case, it is a winery --- which merely motivated me to get a glass of red wine, really) and of course, she wants to keep it in the family.  On top of that unbeknown to either of them (except the audience who long guessed it )  he is staying in a place that she is renting, and their relationship is based on notes they leave each other on the chalkboard.  It was laughable that she just seemed to walk in to check on the board whenever she wanted to --- good thing he wasn't asleep or walking around in his underwear when she did that.  She called him her "handyman"  --- how cute is that, right?  nope.  But I made it to the end.  Just barely --- not much to this except for the two actors whom I find interesting to watch whenever I see them --- but this movie wasn't worth their talents.  I would give it 3.5 out of 5.  And it does nothing to spark interest in movies on this channel besides the xmas ones.

"MY SECRET VALENTINE"   2018       1 hour and 23 minutes

A young woman takes advice from the notes that are left by a mysterious "Handyman" when a sales rep arrives with plans to buy her family's winery.

Director:

 Bradley Walsh

Writer:

 Carrie Freedle

Stars:

 Lacey Chabert, Andrew W. Walker, Peter MacNeill