Movie#2143 ........................."Love, Romance & Chocolate" (hallmark)

 Movie #2143 "Love, Romance & Chocolate" (Hallmark)When I was at Half Price Books a week ago, I came across this Hallmark film I had not seen, and picked it up for a couple of bucks so I could see it.  It had Lacy Chabert (one of my favorite divas of Hallmark  films) who seems to be in all the European trips in the Hallmark Genre -- what esp. piqued my interest for this one  is that this took place in Bruges, and since we are planning to go there some time next April, I decided to watch this, and while watching, take notes on what I wanted to see when there.  When I watch Hallmark films, I generally multitask anyway because the plots are very simple to follow so I don't have to concentrate all that much.  So while watching this one, I was googling what to see in Bruges, and that's actually what they were showing.  So the film is good to introduce Bruges, Belgium to you.  The story was not very involved -- she breaks up with boyfriend and goes to Bruges to get more ideas on making chocolate, which is what she wants to do better --- she gets a chance to work with a topnotch baker who is quite cold, and strict about following his family recipes.  She, on the other hand, likes to mix things up.  Well, the adventures they take with their recipes lead them to their adventure in falling in love;   What a surprise, right?  I'd give this a 3.5 --  the place far outshines what the story does here --- no surprises, some chemistry, just okay.  

"LOVE, ROMANCE & CHOCOLATE     1 hr and 24 mins      2019

Emma and chocolatier  Luck compete for Belgium's Royal Chocolatier.  The beauty and romance of Bruges inspire unique chocolate combinations, but will their entry win without them losing their hearts?

Director:  Jonathan Wright

Writer:  Rebecca Schechter

Actors:  Lacey Chabert, WillKemp, Brittany Bristow

Movie #2142 ........................."Where the Crawdads Sing" (movie theatre)

 Movie #2142 "Where the Crawdads Sing" (movie theatre)  I loved this book and have recommended it to many, and I am here to say that I loved the movie, as well, even though the critics have not been kind to it.  Yep, Audiences are giving the rotten tomatoes score of 97%  to the film, and the critics, a mere 36%.    Rarely, very very rarely is there such separation.  And when there is some separation, I usually look through the critiques and nod my head and say to myself, I can see what they didn't like ....but~!   I have looked through the "Crawdads"  comments over and over, and they seem unwarranted.  And the meanest to me are by females!  what is that all about????? The first thing you can tell by watching the opening credits is that this is a female-run film --- even the director of photography and the editor are both females.  I wonder how much that has happened, if at all.  There are a few men's names sprinkled in (one I noticed was a producer), but this is by and large a female -run film, with a female director at the helm.  That being said, I felt so proud watching all the beautiful images that crossed the screen --- the story well told, even dealing with a huge change  from the novel --- the lack of  the voice of Kya, telling the story herself, her narration on every page.  It comes in and out , for sure, but she isn't constantly in our ears, and she is a very quiet person. (played very well by Daisy Egan-Jones, whom I last saw as a completely different person in "Normal People" - another show I highly recommend).  So we depend on every look , every turn of the head, every eye movement.....very detailed.  Well thought out.  We are Inside her without that narration.  Yes, there are changes in the structure of the book and where the flashbacks go -- I couldn't remember all of them, but I remember an edit in the film where we are watching her footprints in the sand and it moves swiftly to the trial about no footprints there.  Wow!  And there's another edit that goes from a young couple to an old one to show passage of time that is just glorious!  Photography is stunning.  And what did one (female) critic say?  She complained that she didn't see any crawdads..... another one said:"you never feel Kya's connection to her environment" --- huh?  image after image is shown with her traveling in her boat with her hand in the water, or sitting lazily in the boat reading, or sitting on the shore looking at the birds --- and all the pictures she has drawn in her home of nature --- Another critic said "run of the mill drama" --- really?  does every run of the mill drama have such rich characters as the black family that helps her out, a totally abusive family that abandons her?  a bullied, picked on "marsh girl" accused of murder?  a great turn of events ending?  Another one says "Poor pacing" --- there's a huge variety of pacing --- have these people sat through "Lord of the Rings"?  did they accuse that film of poor pacing because I would have..... "Lack of character depth" -- I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing a movie character so shy and quiet, full of such richness and depth of character.  "An all-white reboot of To Kill Mockingbird"?  mean!" This 125 minute film seems longer than that!"  Well, there's a critic who missed the boat!  "This kind of lifeless, misguided adaptation that makes you wonder what anyone saw in the book in the first place" --- Wow!  There are more, but my point is that these critics aren't always correct when judging a film (oftentimes I feel that way about how they judge comedies and rom-coms, my favorite genre) , and I think they are wrong  with this film.  I'm not sure why they would pick on this one.....(although I can make some guesses -  some didn't read the book in the first place, don't usually like adaptations of well thought of books, one critic  hints that she is leery of all popular books anyway, and  possibly, dare I say, they don't like the movie because they discount it as  a chick film?) So I guess I'm here to say :  don't let the critics keep you away from this film, and if you like it, continue to spread the word that this film is a good one and should be seen and supported by us.  Thanks for reading through my whining..............I give this 5 out of 5.  Take that, you mean critics!

"WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING"    2022   2 hours and 5 minutes     PG-13

Director:  Olivia Newman

Writers:  Delia Owens, Lucy Alibar

Stars:  Daisy Edgar-Jones, David Strathairn

Movie #2141 ........................."Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" (Hulu)

Movie #2141 "Good Luck to you, Leo Grande" (Hulu)  This is a very talkie film --- which didn't put me off because it seemed theatrical , i.e. talkie and in one setting with very little movement  going on. So by having so many mini discussions, very little action and all in one set, these things might put viewers off.  However, the big thing that might put viewers off , or attract them, is that they are usually talking about sex.  Hmmm.  I know.  And it is sex, not love.  That's because the transaction (and it is a paying transaction on her part) is between a 60ish woman and a 25-year-old, very handsome guy who seems to be listening to her every word.  Hard to believe, right?  The woman is Emma Thompson and that is even more hard to believe.  We have never seen her in such a raw film.  We know she has a dark humor kind of side,  and  we have seen that in a number of ways (nanny macphee , for one) but not many of us are prepared for full frontal nudity from him, but esp. her,  by the end of the film.  The film is very different in a number of ways ---- it's part instructional -- that is, if you ever thought about what it was like to hire someone to teach you how to do this, you might find this interesting.  It's very intimate, but not romantic.  It's ironic that by the ending both people have gotten something out of it, but it isn't something with a price tag. There are some deep and rich discussions and moments sprinkled throughout the film, but it isn't for everyone.  I liked it because I thought the acting was terrific, and I thought it had a lot to say, esp. considering  today's sexual climate.  I'd give it 4 out of 5, with a disclaimer that  it is a tough watch many times, esp. at the end.  But there are a lot of reasons behind the choices that are made here, and I respect that so much.

"Good Luck toy, Leo Grande"              2022        R      1 hour and 37 mins

Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection and some sex - some good sex.

Director:  Soophie Hyde

Writer:  Katy Brand

Stars:  Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack

Movie #2139 ........................."Spiderman: Far From Home" (on t.v.the other night)

 Movie #2139 "Spiderman:  Far From Home"  (on t.v. the other night)   Anyone who has read this blog for a bit of time knows that I dislike superhero films --- the idea of one guy (or gal, in some very small cases) coming along and "saving the world" usually in a violent way is not my cup of tea at all --- so I avoid those films like the plague.  However, I did check into this one ......for a very strange reason probably to many --- I wanted to see how Tom Holland handled the job.  I have watched the other spiderman movies because I like Tobey Maguire and  Andrew Garfield --- so if the actor seems capable, I might check it out, and I have done that with the Spiderman franchise -- since it is a franchise around a high school, I find it more interesting.  Anyway, I don't know Tom Holland except that he was Billy in the "Billy Elliot" movie, so that was a plus to me --- and I ended up liking this one a lot.  Zendaya reminded me of my niece with the faces she made and the humor that came out of her remarks... and I liked the field trip idea, although the teachers on the trip, as usual, came across inept.  Oh well.  And here's the biggest selling feature to me --- Jake Gyllenhaal.  I didn't even realize he was in these superhero films.  I try to see everything he does, as strange as some of the films may be.  The cyber stuff he uses to manipulate what we see and what we don't see  was very fascinating to me, and it drew me in.  However, when it just got to fighting and throwing fire and whatever, it lost my interest again.  But I did like the set up and the characters.  I would give it a 4 for those.  Maybe a tad better than the others in this genre?  But I can't say that because like I said I have just watched some spiderman and batman and superman, but that's it ---oh, I did try "wonder woman" but yikes!  So maybe those of you out there can tell us how good this one is in comparison to everything else out there....

 a shout out to John Favreau in this one --- I know he has gone to (what some people would term) "the dark side" and become a director, but he was enjoyable here...."Chef" is one of my all-time favorite movies!

"SPIDERMAN:  FARM FROM HOME"   2019    PG-13    2 hours and 9 mins

Following the events of Avengers:  Endgame (2019) (which I did not see), Spiderman must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.

Director:  Jon Watts

Writers:  Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Stan Lee

Stars:  Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal

   

movie #2138 ........................."The Offer" (miniseries - Paramount)

Movie #2137 "The Offer" (miniseries - Paramount+)  We loved this series --- it was so much fun to watch the making of "The Godfather" and all the problems in the background that were present at the time that got in the way of  the making of that oscar -winning film.  For example, it covers the difficulties in  signing on Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, the mob's actual hand in the shooting, how difficult it was to shoot the last sequence in Paloma, Italy, and all of this and more fell  on the shoulders of the producer  Al Ruddy, who only had  "Hogan's Heroes"  under his belt.  Furthermore, this show shows  the relationships that were made along the way and the wheeling and dealing  amongst the very loud and boisterous head of paramount,  the totally all money-interested business manager, bullying and mean head boss, the meticulous  director,  the oftentimes unfocussed writer and   hard-to- manage but extremely- talented -and fit- for -their- part -actors.  And I might add Juno Temple to the mix --- Ruddy's  right hand woman who cleans up all the messes!  Yeah, Juno!  (she's much much more than a pretty face, and every bit as good in this show as in "Ted Lasso") .  This t.v. series made us want to go back to the original material to watch , but this time appreciate more, the work that went into making it.  5 out of 5.

"THE OFFER"       10 episodes, each about an hour, 2022           t.v. miniseries (Paramount)*

* we took Paramount's offer to watch this within the month they gave us free

The oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy never-before revealed experiences of making "The Godfather) in 1972.

Creators:  Leslie Greif, Michael Tolkin

Stars:  Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Dan Fogler, Juno Temple, Giovanni Ribissi

Movie #2137 ........................."The Phantom of the Open" (movie theatre)

 Movie #2137 "The Phantom of the Open" (movie theatre)  a golf movie?  no, not just a golf movie, but the best one I have ever seen on the subject, for sure!  This is based on a true story of a British guy (Mark Rylance) who by a fluke gets into the British Open without being able to play well at all --- His score is so high at the end of one round, he is asked to leave, but he feels he is a Brit and it should be open to everyone so he continues to play --- and he continues to try to go back year after year in disguise --- He sounds silly, but if you watch him, he is so earnest and kind and very much an individual and that is due to Rylance's acting --- and Sally Hawkins does a wonderful support of him as his wife who is so positive all the time.  His family has to deal with all the embarrassment that goes along with this story and that makes for some inner conflict that kept the story going.  It's amazing how entertaining this film about golf was, but I loved it and recommend it.  I am giving it a 4.5 only because the sound wasn't to my liking --- some lines were mumbled or British expressions that I could n't follow as easily as I wanted to because I wanted to appreciate everything that was said.   P.S.  you might have to look for this one really hard because there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in it --- so it seems like it's depending on word of mouth.  So if you see it and like it, tell others.  

"THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN"    2021      PG-1`3     1 hour and 46 mins

Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship Qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, become a folk hero in the process

Director:  Craig Roberts

Writers:  Simon Farnaby (screenplay), Scott Murray (book "The Phantom of the Open")

Stars:  Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans

Movie #2136 ........................."Mark Twain Prize to Jon Stewart 2022 (PBS)

 Movie #2136 "Mark Twain Award Prize to Jon Stewart 2022 (PBS) -- I also missed this when it was on t.v. in June, and so I googled where to stream it and got a resounding PBS --- I didn't kn ow it was a free app you can put on your apple t,.v., so I did and voila --- the Mark Twain prize shows were all there, from Letterman, to Chapell, to Julia Louis Dreyfus --- I'm sure they are all fun, too.  And I have seen most of them, but esp. wanted to see this one, Jon Stewart from the Daily Show because there seems to be so much more to this guy than just comedy ---- and the show did not disappoint;  Wow, when Dave Chapelle starts out , and Stephen Colbert is in the end spot, I don't think you can go wrong with this type of roasting humor.  Jon doesn't like people to praise him, yet there are several comedians in the business right now who owe their success to him, so the job here was to praise him while making fun of him.  I loved it --- it gets pretty blue in spots, but to balance that, there's some moments with firefighters that would break your heart.  I give this also a 5 out of 5 and recommend it.

Movie #2135 ........................."AFI Salute to Julie Andrews - 2022" (on demand Xfinity)

 Movie #2135 "AFI Salute to Julie Andrews - 2022" (on demand xfinity)  Are you a fan of Julie Andrews?  If not, this is a don't bother, but if you are, like I am, I found it quite delightful.  They covered "Sound of Music," (with 5 of theVon Trapp kids showing up), "Mary Poppins" (with Dick Van Dyke zooming in), "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot" footage from Broadway, and speakers diversified from Steve Carell (Julie is Gru's mama) , Carol Burnett (her best friend -- showed some footage of shows they did in the past that were hysterical!, and Gwen Stefani (who looks to Julie as a mentor).  I missed watching it when it was first shown on the t.v. in June, but it was fairly easy to find on demand.  I give it 5 out of 5.  Lots of fun to watch, once again, if you are a Julie Andrews' fan (or like to watch someone who is really really nice being honored in such a gracious way!)