Movie #2149 ........................."Wedding Season" (netflix)

 Movie #2149 "Wedding Season" (netflix)  I was looking for something that was light and found this gem on netflix the other night.  It is kind of Hallmarkian but offers more realism to the situation and the two characters.  The closing is a bit messier, not so swift and guessable as Hallmark.  And the people are better actors, I thought.  However,  the gist of the story has been dealt with a la Hallmark -- that is, an Indian guy and girl have a quick meet and both lament the fact the folks are pushing too hard for them to date ---  the parents even made up their bios on an app -- so for the 14 or so weddings they have  to attend in the summer, they decide to pretend they are a "couple" --- and , well, you know the rest.  But like I said, it's messier than a Hallmark film, I thought.  I enjoyed this film because it was bollywood --- so it never shied away from  showing  many of the wedding/everyday customs, and I found that enjoyable --- they even end with a big bollywood dance during the closing credits (of course!)  But what I liked most was the theme:  If you focus on the love, fear becomes unimportant.  And the film put that and the couple through the test a lot.  I'd give it 4.5; yep, I liked it that much!

"WEDDING SEASON"    2022       1 HOUR AND 38 MINUTES (see? Hallmark time would be 95 mins)

Pressured by their parents to find spouses, Asha and Ravi pretend to date during a summer of weddings, only to find themselves fall for each other.  

Director:  Tom Dey

Writer Shiwani Srivastava 

Actors:  Pallavi Sharda, Syuraj Sharma (he was Pi in "Life of Pi" ), Arianna Afsar

Movie #2148 ........................." The Forgiven" (redbox)

 Movie #2148 " The Forgiven" (redbox)  I have to admit I chose this film purely by who was in it:  Jessica Chasten and Ralph Fiennes, two of my favorites, playing a married couple in some exotic place (Morocco)  --- An unforeseen tragedy occurs on their way to some posh party -- and it affects the rest of their lives.  The film had lots of Great Gatsby moments --- lives of the pampered rich, indulging in every vice there is --- expensive alcohol, drugs, and each other.  That's the party they were going to, and Jessica stays at while Ralph is taken elsewhere to "pay" for the tragedy he caused.  We learn a ton about Muslim traditions in this seemingly god-forsaken place (at least to Fiennes and the rich) and the last part if very, very emotional and successful.  It's just the journey getting there ---- too overwhelmingly Great Gatsbyish (I made up a word there, sorry) for me.  Tough to watch for a couple of reasons, so for that reason I don't recommend to many people at all --- 3.5 out of 5 for me.  But I must admit, I had a workout class at 8:30  am the other morning, and I was up at 7 a.m. to watch the ending before bringing it back to the store when it was due.   (fell asleep the night before --- through the gatsby stuff)

"FORGIVEN"  2021         R      1 HOUR AND 57 MINUTES

This takes place over a weekend in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party in a grand villa.

Director:  John Michael McDonagh

Writers:  John Michael McDonagh, Lawrence Osborne (novel)

Actors:  Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith

Movie #2147 ........................."The Last of the Movie Stars" (HBO Limited Series)

Movie #2147 "The last of the Movie Stars" (HBO Limited Series)  I have always been a fan of both of these movie stars, so I checked into this series, but I have to admit, I only saw 4 of the episodes.  I am not a fan of long documentaries that take a while to get to a point ----- and this one tests the theory, for sure.  I went longer than I thought, I guess because I was waiting for a disc of "Cool Hand Luke" (which occurs in episode 2) .  That was when I learned that the director Stuart Rosenberg wanted Paul Newman to sing something to react to his mom's death.  It's a good story as to how that scene was done.  Anyway, this is an unusual documentary because it is loosely organized --- Ethan Hawke got the go ahead to put it together and evidently Newman had prepped for someone to do this on his life with Joanne, so he had tons of cassettes --- audio comments on the films and himself and Joanne, and their relatives, and the kids, etc.  So Ethan was overwhelmed with info and didn't know what to do with it, so he decided to cast all the voices because some of the cassettes were incoherent --- so like Laura Linney plays Joanne and George Clooney plays Paul Newman throughout the series.  To me it was a big jumble --- I would try to figure out who was speaking and by that time, I missed what that person would say --- hard to follow, generally.  But very creative --- perhaps, if it had less people, and a more definite focus --- he titles each of the episodes, but maybe it's just me, but I didn't see an obvious overall focus in each one ---and there was a lot of repetition --- yes, the Newmans were very different --- yes, Paul was more famous than she was, even though right out of the gate she won an academy award and known to be the better actor of the two for a long time --- yet, she's the one that kept the family together and sacrificed her acting career to care for the family; probably for that reason he would direct her in a few films to keep her juices going.  The doc points out over and over that they worked differently, they played differently, but their relationship worked --- The four episodes were good, but I felt I had seen enough, and like I said, "Cool Hand Luke" fans might enjoy that particular discussion, and the ones on George Roy Hill films ("Butch & the Kid," and "Sting).  All of my very favorites!  I'd give this 3.5 out of 5.

"LAST OF THE MOVIE STARS"      T.V. SERIES ON HBO     2022     59 minute episodes (6 of them)

Follows a celebration of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman's lives

.Ethan Hawke , director

Movie #2146 ........................."Dog" (redbox)

 Movie #2146 "Dog" (redbox) - This is an example of a movie that was misrepresented in the trailer -- I thought it was going to be a comedy like "Turner & Hooch" -- it is far from that one, except the idea that a bond develops between man and beast .  In this case, it's a dog and man who are both suffering from PTSD (due to war) - Channing Tatum is now searching for what to do next , and as part of a career he has now chosen, he is told in order to get on the path to that career, he has to drive his dead friend's war partner (dog) to his funeral cross country.  The dog is mean and takes a bite out of him, so this is not a movie for the kids --- I would say more than 3/4's of it shows the downside of PTSD in both creatures.  Of course, the selling moment is an emotional one (it worked for me) at the funeral --- no words were needed  while the  camera just focuses on the dog and what he does ---- I marveled at how trained that dog (or probably several of them, one being digital) was through the whole film, and Tatum did some good work here, too , playing second banana to the star dog.  But I felt more in the film could be explained about the PTSD instead of trying to show the inner turmoil --- Yes, he talks to the dog in scenes, but it was more cursory than informative.  Of course, that is probably part of their PTSD, but still..... The film definitely shows a good idea of what a soldier with PTSD (and a dog) goes through.  And that is very much needed! I give it a 3 out of 5.

"Dog"   (redbox)  PG-13                     1 hour and 41 mins

Two former Army Rangers are paired against their will on the road trip of a lifetime.  Briggs and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois) race down the Pacific Coast to get to a fellow soldier's funeral on time.

Directors:  Reid Carolin, Channing Tatum

Writers:  Reid Carolin , Brett Rodriguez

Actors:  Channing Tatum, Ryder McLaughlin, Aavi Haas

Movie #2145 ........................."Minions: The Rise of Gru" (movie theater)

 Movie #2145 "Minions:  The Rise of Gru" (movie theater)  Animation is not my favorite genre to watch, but there's something about the minions that makes both of us laugh so we are steady fans of them.  In fact, I raved about the last one because for the first time in a long time, the last battle wasn't all violence --- it was a dance off!  and I loved that!  This one was just okay --- the story was a lot of conflict and overwhelming action, but then when it went back to the minions, we laughed and laughed (esp. a toilet seat escape they make with tp wrapped all around them.  The kiddies should love it, but for me, I gave the minions part 5, but the movie as a whole, 3.5.  (P.S.  I know we should just watch the Minions movies by themselves, but we find then, that it is too much for the 90 minutes --- we think they are great comic relief and should be put in as many comedy movies for that, as possible!  Can you imagine an Adam Sandler movie going back and forth from his "schtick" to the minions?)

"MINIONS:  THE RISE OF GRU" (movie theatre)     2022     1 hour and 27 mins

The untold story of one twelve-year-iold's dream to become the world's greatest supervillain.

Directors:  Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, Jonathan del Val

Writers:  Matthew Fogel (screenplay by) , Brian Lynch (story by)

Voices:  Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Alan Arkin

Movie #2144 .........................Unexpected (netflix dvd)

 Movie #2144 "Unexpected" (netflix dvd) This was a good, solid film about two females; one is a  h.s. science teacher and the other one is one of  of her black students, both pregnant about the same time. The film shows all the steps that go into the prep for having a baby --- without any preaching or agenda, just kind of a documentation on it -- all the while the two females bond while the teacher tries to urge her very intelligent student to get into University of Illinois  --- only for the student's dreams to go there shut down when she finds out there is no campus housing available for her and a baby --- only off campus, and she'd never be able to get any financial assistance for that.  The film show but never says, how a baby can change the woman's life that she will always be sacrificing --- whether she works right away after having the baby or staying home with the baby.  The decisions that are made are life changing and very , very difficult.  There isn't much action in a film like this; it is what I would term an independent film, but it says volumes about expecting.  I would recommend it with a 4 out of 5, and esp. U. of I attendees would enjoy the walk around the campus int the  middle of the film. 

UNEXPECTED    2015      1 hour and 30 minutes   - R rated (I don't agree with this rating, it was fine)

An inner-city high school teacher discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her promising students and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate unexpected pregnancies.

Director:  Kris Rey

Writers:  Megan Mercier, Kris Rey

Stars:  Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean