Movie #3040 ........................."Air" (movie theatre)

Movie #3040 "Air: (movie theatre) This was a fun watch for a number of reasons.  Being from Chicago, there isn't a bigger athlete in our history than Michael Jordan, so to have the whole story revealed to us about how Nike got Jordan to use his name to step into their shoes.  In addition, the cast is a fun watch : Matt Damon's scenes with Ben Affleck actually make Affleck work more than he usually does in films; Jason Bateman is always entertaining to me, and Chris Tucker and Chis Messina and of course Viola Davis, playing Jordan's mom, and the main person that has to be convinced this is a good deal.  Finally, the film has a good, solid storyline with rapid fire dialogue -- sometimes hard to keep up with, esp. when it is done using basketball references, or code words for their shoe business.  Then, I muddled through, and that is reason i would give this a 4 out of 5, but all around a fun watch!

"AIR"      2023     R      1 hour and 51 mins

Follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan.

Director:  Ben Affleck

Writer:  Alex Convery

Actors:  Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Chris Messina, Voila Davis, Chris Tucker 

Movie #3039 ........................."Blue Jean" (Wisconsin Film Fest)

Movie #3039 "Blue Jean" (Wisconsin Film Fest) We had never tried to go to the Wisconsin Film Fest, never really knew the dates, but this year there was a big display in  the Isthmus newspaper in Madison, so we picked this one to see early tonight. And we were both glad we did.  A very involved story of a gym teacher/coach in the UK by day, and a lesbian bar frequenter by night.  Since Margaret Thatcher, extreme conservative, is in office, gays are forbidden to be teachers, so she needs to cover that part of her up most of the time --- her family isn't supportive, and her school makes her confront what she is hiding, esp. when a new student who the teacher picks up all the clues that she is a lesbian has an incident that the teacher must take a stand.  And she does, and the teacher feels like she has failed the student.  It's a really good story about what it is like to keep the truth of what you are from your friends &  colleagues & students.  It's a daily battle.  The woman who plays jean is OUTSTANDING --- it's a haunting portrayal of a very unhappy woman who searches for love.  The high point got a big laugh and a congratulatory response from the audience (the theatre was filled) and that says something about the film, for sure.  I'd give it 4 out of 5 and recommend it, if it gets close to where you live.  I just wish there were less love scenes -- got to be a bit gratuitous after a while because we knew how she felt for Viv, the biker, already and really didn't need more scenes to prove it.

"BLUE JEAN"    2022   1 hour and 37 minutes      RATED R

In 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality.

Director:  Georgia Oakley

Writer;  Georgia Oakley

Actors:  Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday 

Movie #3038 ........................."Don't Worry Darling" (HBO max)

 Movie #3038 "Don't Worry Darling" (I saw this on Icelandic Air, but it is available on HBO) This one had an implausible script with lots of holes in it, I thought.  I know it is supposed to be a Sci Fi Thriller, but it should be somewhat believable to get its theme across. (like "Handmaid's Tale")   This reminded me of "Stepford Wives," and I felt the same way about that film as this one. Okay, that being said, why did I continue watching it?  One reason -- Florence Pugh.  She is very good in this, and she tries to bring the message home to us, but the script just doesn't help her much.  I also wanted to support a female director, and I usually like what  Wilde does, but this one wasn't for me.  I'd give it a 3 --- some nice images and moments, but that's about it -- but what about Harry Styles, right?  He was just okay, playing a pretty boy who appears to be conflicted between loving his wife and loving his job that gives him a bunch of perks he might like better.   And the ending?  what did you make of that?  Incoherent to me, but at that point I was very tired of watching this film.

"DON'T WORRY DARLING" 2022   R   2 hours and 3 mins

A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian exerpiemental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.

Director:  Olivia Wilde

Writers:  Katie Silverman, Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke

Actors:  Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde

Movie #3037 ........................."Shrinking" (series on Apple TV)

 Movie #3037 "Shrinking" (series on Apple TV)  10 episodes, if you can look past  the raw language and situations that occur in this t.v. series, it has great characters (led by Harrison Ford and  Jason Segal as therapists , Ford being Segal's mentor) and some great discussions between characters, only sometimes in therapy.  There's a very enlightening relationship between father and daughter both trying to get through grief and beginning to move on.  The cast also includes  the gay couple who are friends who bring some humor to their lives, along with  the couple next door who seem mismatched , but because they both have dynamic personalities in their own right, they add humor , as well.  The show really shows what a therapist's life can be like if he is also in need of a therapist himself.  I'd give this 4.5 out of 5 --- the scripts are pretty sharp.  

"SHRINKING"   2023       33 minute episodes, 10 episodes for season 1

A grieving therapist starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks.  Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge changes to people's lives - including his own.

Creators:  Brett Goldstein (from Ted Lasso), Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel

Actors:  Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford

Movie #3036 "Operation Mincemeat" (netflix)

 Movie #3036 "Operation Mincemeat" (Netflix) This movie was recommended to me before getting on the plane to Iceland, but when I saw the offerings, this was one of the few I hadn't seen, so I tried to plug in my earplugs, but of course I didn't have the right attachment so I decided to just read the whole film.  That was a weird experience.  I never heard the voices of the people, just read the subtitles.  It was still an interesting story of WWII.  I don't want to give too much away, but I can say that this ends up to be one very important cog in the whole Normandy operation and it deals with a strange scheme to make the Germans believe that we won't be landing in Normandy but somewhere else -- to put them off guard.  Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald are all good in their parts ---and they play important roles in this operation, that a lot of people don't probably know about.  I'd give it 3.5 because it was stretched a bit too much for me.

"OPERATION MINCEMEAT"      netflix          2021     PG-13     2 hours and 8 mins

During WWII, two intelligence officers use a corpse and false papers to outwit German troops.

Director :  John Madden

Writers:  Michelle Ashford, Ben Macintyre

Actors:  Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald

Movie #3035 ........................."Birta" (Icelandic Air)

 Movie #3035 "Birta" (Icelandic Air) I saw this on the plane from Iceland since it was an Icelandic film  billed "with a heart " A very good movie for showing the place and the people (not necessarily the weather - oh, it showed cold, but not near the snow and wind and rain that we experienced) - It is also an excellent family film for the tweens --- they would have to be able to read the subtitles and to understand a young girl's plight when finding out her mom can't afford Christmas this year, so she feels she needs to pull her weight.  There's not much more to the story, but the two sisters and the mom are endearing, and so are the   quirky neighbors and friends they have.  I give it a 4 out of 5.

"BIRTA"        2021     1 hour and 25 minutes

Life can be complicated when you're only eleven.

Directors:  Bragi Thor Hinriksson, Petur Magnusson

Writer:  Helga Amardottir

Actors:  Kristinn Oli Haraldsson, Kristin Erla Petursdottir

Movie #3034 ........................."Timeless Love" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3034 "Timeless Love" (Hallmark)  This was an  interesting idea but stiff actors - she is in car accident and experiences clairvoyance and sees future family she will have- then after awakes from coma , meets the guy- 3

   " TIMELESS LOVE"        2019     1 hour and 25 minutes

Megan wakes up from a coma in a hospital.  The husband and 2 kids she just dreamed about aren't real.  At her first job interview, she meets Thomas from her dream - or was it a vision years into the future?

Director:  Brain Brough

Writers:  Donovan Barlow, Brittany Wiscombe, Donovan Barlow

Actors:  Rachel Skarsten, Brant Daugherty, Jill Adler

Movie #3033 ........................."Long Story Short" (on Iceland Air)

 Movie #3023 "Long Story Short" (on Iceland Air) It has a   great premise, like Groundhog, dealing with time traveling  --- the groom, who is bad about making a commitment, on his wedding day is cursed (or gifted, depending on how you look at it) on every anniversary for the next ten years, he just travels to that one day and watches the disintegration of his love life with his soul mate --- it will continue unless he makes vital changes.   The idea seems way out of the box, but the actors  made it believable pretty much throughout-  and also, you can imagine with him not know she is pregnant, etc., it was laugh out loud funny in parts.   Overall, the  overlapping dialogue and storyline dealing with time traveling  both help to make the film go by very quickly - I'd give it a 4 out of 5.  

"LONG STORY SHORT"   2021     R       1 hour and 30 mins

Teddy wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he's jumping forward to the next year of his life.

Director:  Josh Lawson

Writer:  Josh Lawson

Actors:  Rafe Spall, Zahra Newman, Ronny Chieng      

Movie #3032 ........................."Snowkissed" (Hallmark)

 Movie #3032 "Snowkissed" (Hallmark)  - this had a pretty typical hallmark storyline, nothing really new here, but there were some positives that made it stand out a bit ---- mostly, it was because it was filmed (and about) Banff, one of my favorite places we've been to --- drop dead gorgeous scenery, and the film made sure to point that out.  In addition, the lead couple, and the secondary one, too, were very cute and easy to watch.   Despite it taking  a long time to get to a typical conflict, it was enjoyable with all the beautiful scenery --- I'd give it a 4.

"SNOWKISSED"   2021    1 hour and 24 mins      hallmark

A travel-averse journalist chases her dead assignment where she soon finds herself mentoring a handsome B and B owner who wants to be a tour guide.

Director:  Jeff Beesley

Writer:  Kim Beyer-Johnson

Actors:  Jen Lilley, Chris McNally, Amy Browning