Friday, July 3, 2015

Movie #1029 ........................."Love and Mercy"

Movie #1029 "Love and Mercy" is an excellent biopic on the genius  Brian Wilson, song writer for the Beach Boys in their heyday.  I remember listening to the Beachboys and noticing that they had excellent vocals, but their songs sounded a lot alike, esp. when you compare their music to the Beatles (their contemporary).  Well, this film shows how Brian strove to push the music to the limits and the mental illness he showed along that way.  His manager is the bad guy here  (Paul Diamatti) pulling on one end while Elizabeth Banks, the good girl, is pulling him in the other way (she plays his future wife).  I like the stylishness of the film, the idea that two people play Brian, and the way the film explores how he puts together some of the songs.  However, I gave it a 5 instead of a 4 because I think it could have explained some sections even more (like the brothers' relationship with him).....I would recommend it if you don't mind a slower movie film tat is a character study of a musical genius.







Love & Mercy2015PG-13     I would give this 4 stars out of 5.
This candid biopic traces the winding path of Brian Wilson, creator of the Beach Boys' unique sound. Battling mental illness, Wilson traded stardom for an isolated existence in the 1960s but returned to the stage in the '80s after taming his demons.
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Movie #1028 ........................."Cake"

This film, Movie #1028 ....."Cake,"   is truly a tour de force for Jennifer Aniston, esp. if you think she can only do what she did on "Friends."  Here, she must be in pain through the entire film, while also going through other ups and downs in dealing with a friend's suicide and the grief for a loved one.  You get to see another side of the very fine actress Anna Kendrick, too, in this film, since she plays the suicidal friend.  If you ever wanted to know what entails chronic back pain every minute of the day, this is the film to see.  I only gave it a 4 instead of a 5 because of how uncomfortable it is in the viewing, but I'm here to tell you it is well worth the effort.






Cake2015R102 mins  (I give it 4 stars out of 5)
Saddled with chronic pain, Claire Simmons has kept a sense of humor, even if it's of the acidic, angry variety. Upset but gripped by curiosity when a member of her support group kills herself, Claire decides to excavate the truths behind the suicide.
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Monday, June 15, 2015

Movie #1027 ........................."Gracie & Frankie"

Movie #1027 "Gracie & Frankie" unites two beloved friends from another movie "Nine to Five" and has them married to the great Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, only to be told in the first couple of minutes that their husbands have been having a love affair for 20+ years and now they want divorces from their wives so they can get married.  That's quite a bit to believe and take in, but these consummate actors make the show worth watching.  We just got through the first episode and not sure we will do much more, but we'll see.  It seems to be a winning combination, just a bit over the top at times.








Grace and Frankie20151 season  I would give this first episode 3 out of 5 starsMo
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin co-star as two women forced to reinvent their lives in this funny, honest new Netflix Original series.
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Movie #1026 ........................."Who is Harry Nillson...."

Movie # 1026 "Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)" was quite informative about the songwriter/singer Harry Nilsson, and how he was great friends with the Beatles, esp. John Lennon, how he drank quite a bit for a while but how he stopped, his kids, his wife, his ups and downs as a songwriter, how he made hits on the songs he wrote (or ironically didn't write) .  It was quite informative, just a bit long.  But I would recommend it if you would be interested in this guy's writing.  Of course, his most famous song is "Everybody's Talkin' at Me" from "Midnight Cowboy," but there was so much more to him and his music.  






Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)

2006NR 1hr 56m  --- I would give it 3 stars

This documentary reveals the mercurial career of brilliant singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson and his influence on the 1960s pop-cultural landscape.
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Friday, May 22, 2015

Movie #1025 .........................."Pitch Perfect 2"

Movie #1025 "Pitch Perfect 2" was an okay sequel to the wonderfully delightful first one.  But I know for a fact that you can follow this one even if you didn't see the first one (The three women who went with me did not see #1 and had no trouble following the plot) I heard that part of the criticism of this film  was that Anna Kendrick wasn't in the film all that much, but I don't agree at all with that assessment; she's just moving on and trying to follow a dream and that provides a conflict for the Bellas, and I actually liked that storyline even better than the World competition the Bellas need to compete in to get back their reputation which has been tainted in the opening scene of this film (pretty raunchy but funny incident that happens in front of the President and First Lady, supposedly).  One fun thing about this film is all the famous people who pop up in various places......it's like product placement , but with people.  That, and of course, the a cappella music, esp. the many many ways they insert their songs make the film a fun watch for me (and the people I brought as well). I also enjoyed the energy the performers bring to each of the songs (esp. the German group) , the staging, the choreography, and the office scenes with Kendrick's oddball boss.  It was nice to see the Bellas return, and I was anxious to see what Fat Amy was up to in this film, but I thought some of what she did fell a bit flat in comparison to the first one. But the commentators are even more politically incorrect in this one, but very funny.  I don't think we'll  be seeing another one of these movies  since they are all graduating by the end of this one, except for the freshman (Hailee Seinfeld (from True Grit) who, incidentally, is a breath of fresh air and a good addition to this sequel.  Overall,  I recommend this film  if you like lots of energy and music and you don't want to think a lot about a film at all --- just very entertaining!  









Pitch Perfect 22015PG-13   I'd give it 3 stars out of 5
Hoping to be the first American group ever to win a prestigious international a cappella competition, the Barden Bellas return in this song-filled sequel and come up against a rival group of European singers who are also determined to win.
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Movie #1024 ........................"Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Movie #1024 "Avengers:  Age of Ultron" is not my type of film (action film with super heroes I know nothing about), but it did have several positives to lure me into seeing it, one big one being the director Whedon.  Another is the actors (esp. Downey, Jr, Johansson, and Ruffalo), and finally the first Avengers movie was pretty good.  I can say there was a lot MORE of MORE here, but it was not as good as the first one, esp. in the storyline.  I can sum up in three words all I need to put in this critique:    too.  much.  fighting.  That's pretty much it in a nutshell for me.  I have been on a rampage for a while now on wanting to see more movies that solve the world problems through brains instead of brawn.  The first Avengers film  gave me the impression that they were really trying to figure out how to defeat the bad guys, and they seemed to have a plan.  This one, Ruffalo and Downey Jr seem to work on a plan for about 10 seconds, but I don't remember it ever being told to any of the "heroes" nor to us, the audience.  In fact, the black widow is out of the picture for several minutes and misses any discussion on it, and yet just joins in and fights willy nilly, which is what most of the film is ---- fighting willy nilly.  If you want to just see one fight after another, with some funny humorous jabs here and there, see this.  Otherwise, take a good long walk in the sunshine for two hours and 20 minutes.





Avengers: Age of Ultron

2015 PG-13 

Returning to action to stem another lethal threat to planet Earth, the cadre of superheroes from the original Avengers takes on the evil and all-powerful Ultron, who's determined to stamp out humankind.


Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, more...
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Monday, May 18, 2015

Movie #1023 ........................."Odd Couple II"

Movie #1023 "The Odd Couple II" --- until a week ago, I did not know this film existed.  Then, I accidentally came across it remote controlling through the channels and ended up on some new movie channel we have up in Wisconsin.  And I must say, we enjoyed this, and we were glad we came across it.  "The Odd Couple" has been always one of our guilty pleasures to watch, and it was fun to hear more Neil Simon lines again ----- ones we haven't heard before, but ones a lot like others. But there's some comfort in that, some security in knowing that there will be another joke after the one you just heard, even if you didn't like the previous one.  No one else is capable of writing so many jokes in so little time.....This set up is like "in-laws" and the misadventures just keep on coming --- like another Lemmon film "The Out of Towners" ("oh my god"), and in the hands of these two more than capable actors, you just might believe that most of it happens to them!  It's lots of fun, and if you come across it, it might just be fun for you to check it out!









The Odd Couple II1998PG-13  I would give this 3.8 out of 5 stars
Fussy neatnik Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon) and incorrigible slob Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) haven't seen each other since they shared an apartment life three decades ago but they're reunited on a trip to the wedding of Oscar's son (Jonathan Silverman) and Felix's daughter (Lisa Waltz). A traumatic road trip full of misadventures ensues in this delightful tale about the classic mismatched characters.
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