Movie #3031 ........................."The Cases of Mystery Lane" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3031 "The Cases of Mystery Lane" (Hallmark)  I really enjoyed this, mostly because of Paul Campbell, who is one of my favorite Hallmarking people, but also the story line.  He plays a disgruntled auditor who , unbeknownst to his wife, takes up private investigating --- when she finds out, she's upset he was lying to her where he was, but then joins in eventually on the "fun" of investigating together.  I would give it  4.  Very enjoyable.  Reminded me of the thin man series of long ago.

"THE CASES OF MYSTERY LANE"  (Hallmark)  

Follows Alden and Birdie Case, as they find a new way to keep the mystery alive in their marriage.  Alden takes classes in hope of becoming a private investigator, and Birdie may hold the keys to solve one of his mysteries.  

Movie #3030 .........................." Game of Love" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3030 " Game of Love" (Hallmark) The subject of this one is board game designing, and that was interesting, and the female was strong (as she always is) but I wish we were in on more of the voices that were made undesigning the thing --- we were privy to a few decisions --- just wish there was more to it.  I'd give this a 3 out of 5.  I did like the conflict:  working alone vs. working on a team

"GAME OF LOVE"    2023

It follows Audrey and Matthew.  They are tasked with creating a new game to help players find romance.  As the two try to work together, they discover something they have in common:  they each have a lot to learn about love.

Director:  Jason Bourque

Writers:  Joey Elkins, Samantha Herman, Blake Silver

Actors:  Kimberley Sustad, Brooks Darnell, Darien Martin

Movie #3029 ........................."Winning Team" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3029 "Winning Team" (Hallmark)  A soccer movie a la Hallmark --- the soccer girl played soccer well, but acting?  not so much, so I never really believed that she would help on a team of h.s. students.  Although, nice diversity on Hallmark's part.  The guy is the best thing in the movie -- he is a wisecracker and funny so he saved the movie for me.    3 out of 5.

"WINNING TEAM"  (Hallmark)    2023

It follows pro soccer player Emily as she finds herself no longer in the game and teams up with Ian, a laid-back small-town coach, to lead her niece's team to the playoffs.

Director:  Jason Furukawa

Writer:  Renee Uyeshiro

Actors:  Kristoffer Polaha, Joanna Burke, Marci T. House

Movie #3028 ........................."Empire of Light" (HBO)

 Movie #3028 "Empire of Light" (HBO) This film could have been so much better, and was better in the hands of Woody Allen in "Purple Rose of Cairo" because they both pretty much have the theme that the movies can make a bland life come alive.  This film could have been better with Olivia Coleman at the helm, but there are some icky moments (like the opening) .  However, the love story is very different because it is really love between two friends, and that was kind of interesting to watch.  Other than that pacing seemed uneven, and the film tended to lag more than take off with a story.  3.5 out of 5.

"EMPIRE OF LIGHT"  2022   1 hour and 55 mins  

Director:  Sam Mendes

Writer:  Sam Mendes

Actors:  Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth (not a lot in the film at all)  

Movie #3027 .........................."Royal Matchmaker" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3027 "Royal Matchmaker" (Hallmark) This a pretty improbably storyline, but due to the actors' charisma and working easily together, it came to an end, and I'm not sure how.  She is a matchmaker (like Dolly Levi) and a king of some small country wants his son to find the best married partner, So he hires the matchmaker and guess what?  while trying to find a wife for him, she falls in love with him.  We all know this story.  What i didn't get with this one, though, is how could he marry her when he is supposed to marry some kind of royalty....but that was never brought up.  Oh well.  I give this a 3.5 out of 5.

" ROYAL MATCHMAKER"  2018, 1 hour and 26 mins

Matchmaker Kate Gleason is hired to find a wife for Prince Sebastian of Moldavia.  After some difficulty, Kate succeeds, only to realize that she has fallen in love with Sebastian herself.

Director:  Mike Kohl

Writer:  Mark Amato

Actors:  Bethany Joy Lenz, Will Kemp, Simon Dutton

Movie #3026 ........................." Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" (netflix)

 Movie #3026 "Bardo:  False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" (netflix) Now for something  completely different --- this is one of the most "Out of the box" kind of a film I have seen in a long time, and it was nominated for best cinematography --- and I think I would have given it to them but it went to "All Quiet on the Western Front."  Because of the subject matter (a man's head) his mind conjures up some weird fantasies --- for example, in the first 20 minutes, he is sitting on a subway with a plastic bag of fish in water, and the subway starts to fill up with water on the floor and gets so high, it takes his fish to the floor and then he dives in to swim for them --- odd, right?  That's just the beginning.  There's some humor, good characterization, fairly easy to follow, considering the subject matter.... I would give it 4.5 out of 5.  

"BARDO:  FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS"     2022   R    2 hours 39 mins

An acclaimed journalist-turned-documentarian goes on an oneiric introspective journey to reconcile with the past, present and his Mexican identity.

Director:  Alejandro G. Inarritu

Writers:  Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone

Actors:  Daniel Jimenez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid

Movie #3025 ........................."All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" (HBO)

 Movie #3025 "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" (HBO)  Still another Documentary nominated for 2023 Oscar, and once again, too long!  I was disappointed with this one because I thought it was going to be about the opioid crisis and the Sacklers, but it was about a photographer that filmed he protests and got to be an acitivist.  Not near as interesting, or informative, in my opinion.  This documentary never pulled me in to the problem  I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5.

"ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED"  (HBO)    2022     2 hours and 2 mins

Follows the life of artist NanGoldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty that was great responsible for the opioid epidemic's unfathomable death toll.

Director:  Laura Poitras

Actors:  Nan Golden, David Velasco, Megan Kapler

Movie #3024 ........................."A House Made of Splinters" (Apple)

 Movie #3024 "A House Made of Splinters" (Apple)  This was nominated for Documentary, and like the others, it was long, but short on information.  It followed a couple of Ukrainian kids in a temporary orphanage that takes in kids from war-torn Ukraine --- they show how difficult it is for the kids, how their parents are suffering from pTSD and drinking and using drugs and are very negligent in taking care of their kids during the war.  It breaks your heart.  The film is just a bit scattered and hard to follow at times.  I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.

"A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS"     2022    1 hour and 27 mins

Children and staff in a special kind of home:  an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions.  Staff do their best to make the time children have there safe  and supportive.

Director:  Simon Lereng Wilmont

Actors:  Margarita Burlutska, Anjelika Stolyarova, Olga Tronova

Movie #3023 ........................."Marry Go Around" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3023 "Marry Go Around" (Hallmark)  this is one I could have missed --- it is a retelling of "Sweet home Alabama" where the woman wants a divorce to marry someone else, but he is holding out because he still thinks there's a chance.   This is not a good version of that film at all --- the one main problem is they lacked stage business --- they just kept walking around the town and making up reasons to meet so that their love would re-grow by the end of the film./  Ugh!  2.5

"MARRY GO AROUND"   (Hallmark)  2022  1 hour and 24 mins

Abby is a successful executive moving to paris and planning to marry Edward.  Life is perfect until she  learns her divorce to h.s. sweetheart Luke is not exactly official.

Director:  David Weaver

Writer:  Robert Tate Miller

Actors:  Amanda Schull, Brennan Elliott

Movie #3022 ........................."Dating the Delaneys" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3022 "Dating the Delaneys" (Hallmark) this does cover  3 generations, The lead woman's mom and her daughter --- all of them start doing about the same time.  Rachel Boston is very new at it after all of these years and she is befriended by paul Campbell, who is a widow, still dealing with moving on.  So they make  deal to "fake date' and critique each other when it is over ---- the idea was cute, the couple is cute and they are very easy going with each other. I'd give this a 4.  

'DATING THE DELANEYS"      Hallmark    2022   1 hour and 24 mins

Follows three generations of Delaney women as they explore the highs and downs of modern-day dating, discovering that love and romance can b found at any age, and even where you least expect it.

Director:  Allan Harmon

Writer:  Jennifer Barrow

Actors:  Rachel Boston, paul Campbell, Zoe Christie   

Movie #3021 ........................."Argengtina. 1985" ( Amazon Prime)

 Movie #3021 "Argentina 1985" (Amazon Prime) I watched this mostly because it was an Oscar-nominated foreign film, knowing, however , that probably "All Quiet on the Western Front" would probably win, since it had so many nominations.  Why?  I don't know because I thought this film was wonderfully interesting and very informative on this problem in Argentina in 1985.  The very best prosecutor in the country is called upon to prosecute the government that is trying to stay in power for war crimes.  For that reason it is very topical, since this is what should be happening with Russia' s Putin, and hopefully, will in the coming months. But it shows just how difficult it is to find people who will be witnesses to the war crimes, knowing full well, they would be on a watch list possibly to be killed if they take the stand.  I wish I was smart enough to follow every detail , but I was able to follow along fairly well, and I found this most intriguing --- 3/4's of it is a trial, and it's amazing how it keeps the interest up through the whole ordeal.  Yes, it could have been a documentary, but the filmmakers decided to cast actors in the parts and I'm glad they did --- it was much more interesting for me to watch, and then at the end, they showed us the real people, and that was effective, as well.  It's somewhat of a feel-good film showing you people with integrity trying to make  this terrorist government be accountable.  It shows the power of words, and it underlines the importance of our insurrection trials we had over last summer.   I'd give this a 4.5 and recommend it - I found it very watchable and intriguing.

"ARGENTINA: 1985"  2022      2 hours and 20 mins     rated R

A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina's bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time.

Director:  Santiago Mitre

Writers:  Mariano lines, Martin mauregui, Santiago Mitre

Actors:  Ricardo Darin, Gina Mastronicola, Francisco Bertin

Movie #3020 ........................."To Leslie" (Amazon Prime)

"Movie #3020 "To Leslie" (Amazon Prime)  This is it!  The Last best actor/actress nominee for 2023 --- this is a bit of a controversial one because it was the one actress  that seemed to slide in because several high- powered women in Hollywood pushed for her nomination  --- the result?  Well, to me, it was watching the actress play a drug-addicted alcoholic for the first hour  -- and it was a hard watch.  She really never came out of it --- she plays a lottery winner in a small town who goes through all the winnings   on drugs and alcohol, and had left the town (and her son behind to be raised by someone one else), and now she returns to try to make amends, but only having hit the lowest of low times, with no food and sleeping in the street for days...... until someone gives her a break and gives her a job that she finds hard to do (cleaning motel rooms) because she is always high.  Unfortunately, I have seen movies on this subject before, some even better..... but the last 50 minutes are the redeeming part of the film (kind of her move to redemption is  juxtaposed with the film's redemption, in my eyes) .  This is where the actress shines and is probably the reason she got nominated.  I give the film 3.5 -- and not watchable to everyone.

"TO LESLIE"   2022       R      1 hour, 59 mins

Inspired by true events, A West Texas single mother wins the lottery and squanders it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak.  Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption.

Director:  Michael Moris

Writer:  Ryan Binaco

Actors:  Andrea Riseborough, Drew Youngblood, Tom Virtue

Movie #3019 ........................."All That Breathes" (HBO)

 Movie #3019 "All That Breathes" (HBO)  I'll make this short and sweet.  I was trying to watch this because it is nominated for an academy award for Documentary feature this year.  I watched it for about an hour and then turned it off.  I decided life is way too short to waste my time watching a badly edited film.  I had better things to do with my time than to watch long passages of people staring at each other or at birds that aren't doing anything but flying  in the sky.  One of the characters complained through the whole film, and he was so annoying and one-dimensional that I turned it off.  It got some award at the Cannes Festival, and  I'm still wondering why --- I am thinking the crop of movies is just really bad this year?  This is a 2 out of 5 --- there were maybe two or three shots that were worth taking a second look at.  This is a nope for me.  

"ALL THAT BREATHES"  2022    1 hour and 37 mins

Amidst the darkening backdrop of Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite.

Director:  Shank Sen

Actors:  Saluki Rehman, Mohammad Saud, Nadeem Shehzad

Movie #3016 ........................."Triangle of Sadness" (Amazon Prime)

 Movie #3016 "Triangle of Sadness" (Amazon Prime) This one is nominated for best picture , and probably has the least chance of getting it.  Why?  Many people will not have seen it, and it is the first time this director's work has been honored with an oscar nomination, and the other couple of films he has done in the recent past, is considered better by most critics.  I have seen the other 2-- "The Square," and  "Force Majeure"  --- where did I see them?  At film festivals, and this director is well respected and known for doing "out of the box" type of films.  In fact, Will Ferrel and Julia Louise Dreyfuss did an American Version of "Force Majeure" , and although I didn't see it yet, I'm guessing it didn't do well as a comedy because  this director finds comedy in tragedy --- dark dark dark humor.  He usually takes a big grouping of people --- like the art world, or people at a ski lodge, or a big business dinner, or in this case, a cruise with tons of rich people, and makes fun at their expense.  I must warn you that if you are planning to go on a cruise, you might not want to see this one because there ends up to be a lot of vomiting and diarrhea involved..    I don't want to say much more because the best part of seeing this man's work is to try to guess where he will take the story next.  His films are always worth discussing after watching, so if you see this one, please make some comments below so we can get even more out of the experience.  I would give this 3.8.  It was quite the adventure, but not sure why it won the Palm d'Orr at Cannes this year.  It isn't a film everyone will like at all.  

"TRIANGLE OF SADNESS"       2022 R    2 hours, 27 mins      

A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.

Director:  Ruben Ostlund

Writer:  Ruben Ostlund

Actors:  Harris Dickinson ( from "Where the Crawdads sing'), Charibi Dean (who died unexpectedly before the film was released), Dolly de Leon 

Movie #3018 ........................."Color My World With Love" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3018 "Color My World With Love" (Hallmark) Now for something completely different and a very brave subject to do a film on --- a woman who has been looking out for her down syndrome daughter for 22 years is having problems letting her go out on her own, including okaying a relationship with a boyfriend and possible husband.  Meanwhile, a handsome, nice man, about her age, is watching over the boy with down syndrome who loves the woman's daughter....and they become closer as they deal with this relationship between the two young people who are taking their first steps into adulthood, but who  want to do it with little guidance.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5.

"COLOR MY WORLD WITH LOVE"    2022   1 hour and 24 mins

Emma's daughter Kendall becomes engaged, but Emma is concerned as Kendall and her fiancé have Down Syndrome and Emma worries she's not ready to take this step.

Director:  Peter Benson

Writers:  Charlie Shahnaian, Shari Simpson, Pamela Wallace

Actors:  Benjamin Ayres, Yoshie Bancroft, David DeSanctis, Lily D. Moore

Movie #3017 ........................."A Royal Runaway Romance" (Hallmark)

Movie #3017 "A Royal Runaway Romance "(Hallmark) I know, another Hallmark movie with royalty?  But this one was a bit different from the others in that, everyone knows she's a princess from the get go --- the one guy she is going to America to see is an artist whom she thinks she has fallen in love with when he did her portrait.  But, you'll never guess this one!  Her body guard opens up a whole new world to her when he is assigned to escort her to meet up with that guy in Colorado.  Being a princess is a given and not the conflict point, which makes it a reversal of the normal storyline for these royalty hallmark films.  The triangle of lovers was good, and there are some good shots of mid USA, which is introduced to her on her journey through the U.S. with the bodyguard.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5.

"A ROYAL RUNAWAY ROMANCE"    Hallmark    2022    1 hr and 24 min

Princess Amelia of Bundbury travels across American to explore a budding romance with an artist, only to fall in love with her bodyguard Grady.

Director:  David Weaver

Writer:  Jake Helgren

Actors:  Philippa Northeast, Brant Daugherty, Sarah-Jane Redmond