Movie #693 ........................."Silver Linings Playbook"

Movie #693 "Silver Linings Playbook" --- I see this to be nominated for esp the script in the Oscar race because it is quite different and 'out there" --- it walks that line of showing mental illness in a funny light at times while then showing scenes that are painfully sad.........For a long time, I felt the film was going along, introducing its quirky characters but not going anywhere, much like the characters in the film itself --- however, when they have a goal, the characters and the film take off. The high point and end worked well for me, and things came together nicely , but it's a rocky road along the way ---- but isn't that life anyway, and esp. when you are depressed, or bi polar, etc. I applaud any film that suggests there are other ways (besides drugs) to deal with mental illness, and this would be one of them (Lars and the real girl is another one) A very different, frenetic tone to this film and not for everybody, but I welcomed its differences. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.... Silver Linings Playbook2012R After a four-year stay in a psychiatric institution, former teacher Pat Peoples has no choice but to move back in with his mother. While he's trying in vain to reunite with his wife, Pat meets another woman fated to change his life. Cast:Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham Genre:Romantic Comedies, Comedy

Movie #692 ........................."She's Out of My League"

Movie #692 "She's Out of My League" --- title pretty much says it all: outstandingly good looking girl hangs out with a gawky skinny insecure airport security guy, but the two characters have a lot to them, and that's what is interesting in the film --- this so proves that there's so much beyond looks in a relationship --- and the meeting with her folks was so awkward and so funny that I think I'll never forget it --- the guy Jay Baruchel is very talented and I'm anxious to see more from him. this is likable and just okay of a film for a romantic comedy. 3 stars out of 5 stars She's Out of My League2010R104 minutes When he starts dating drop-dead gorgeous Molly, insecure airport security agent Kirk can't believe it. As his friends and family share their doubts about the relationship lasting, Kirk does everything he can to avoid losing Molly forever. Cast:Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Krysten Ritter, Geoff Stults, Lindsay Sloane, Andrew Daly, Jasika Nicole Genre:Romantic Comedies, Late Night Comedies, Comedy

Movie #691 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Room for One More"

Movie #691 "Room for One More" stars real life married couple Cary Grant and Betsy Drake -- kind of an unbelievable married couple that adopts older kids to give them homes --- wish there were more like them, but it shows the definite struggles to help the kids fit in --- they are successful with all of them, but then this is an old film. Room for One More (1952) I rate this 3.8 out of 5 stars Anne and "Poppy" Rose are the average American family, with three quirky kids. Anne has a good heart and gives lost cats and dogs a home - and one day also the orphan Jane, a problem child who already tried to kill herself once. At first Poppy is worried and wants to get rid of her, but with love and patience they finally manage to integrate her into the family. Just then Anne invites another orphan, the aggressive handicapped Jimmy-John, to their summer vacation.

Movie #690 ........................."Road to Christmas"

Movie #690 "Road to Christmas" is a made for t.v. movie that I thought might be a step above the others, since married-in-real-life couple Jennifer Grey and Clark Gregg are Claire and Tom in the film coming together in one of those journey flicks --- it's predictable and unbelievable in parts, and the script is cringeworthy in a few spots. Don't need to see this one at all! The Road to Christmas (2006) - I gave it 2 out of 5 stars High-powered fashion photographer Claire Jameson finds herself stranded in middle America on the way to her dream Christmas-time wedding in Aspen. Unable to get another flight or rent a car, Claire is reduced to begging for a ride. When the rugged former artist turned teacher, Tom Pullman and his 13-year old daughter Hilly kindly offer to take her, none of them realize that their journey is just beginning, and it will leave all of them in a very different place than where they began

Movie #689 .........................Broadway Melody of 1936

Movie #689 "Broadway Melody of 1936" -- I woke up to this film this a.m., and it was just plain silly. I have always loved Eleanor Powell and feel she is the best female tap dancer of all time, and that the Broadway melody of 1938 with Fred Astaire and her has the best co-ed tap dance in film --- "Begin the Beguine" with Powell and Astaire (toward the end of the picture, if you want to check it out - it is unbelievably amazing!) Anyway, when I saw it was her day on TCM, I thought I'd check this one out --- esp. when I saw Jack Benny playing a journalist who kept getting punched because of the articles he was writing about Broadway! Hah! Made me laugh to think Frank Rich or Ben Brantley would get a punch in the face over their reviews nowadays! This one had a silly premise, but some good tap dancing and silliness provided by Benny. Not the best one, but lots of fun. Broadway Melody of 1936 ---- I rated it 3 stars A plucky young singer and dancer (Eleanor Powell) tries her best to convince her onetime childhood sweetheart (Robert Taylor), who's grown up to become a successful promoter, that she has enough talent for the Broadway stage. But he's so busy making eyes at the wealthy widow he's dating (June Knight) that he barely has time for his former flame. Buddy Ebsen and Jack Benny co-star in this classic Hollywood musical. Cast:Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Una Merkel, Frances Langford, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen, June Knight, Vilma Ebsen Genre:Classic Movie Musicals, Romance Classics, Musicals, Classics

Movie #688 ........................."Big Fish"

Movie #688 "Big Fish" --I just decided to revisit this movie recently since we got tickets to the pre-broadway musical in Chicago in May based on this film, and I'm glad I did. The last time I saw it, I remember there was a room full of people and they proceeded to all fall asleep --- when that happens, I feel like I picked a bad movie, and that reaction has a definite bearing on my enjoyment while I'm watching it, so I remember getting to the end, but the film seemed disjointed to me and not enjoyable. However, many people I know and care about have felt differently about this film, so I wanted to try again to watch it. Glad I did because this time I really enjoyed it --- The strong theme of; a life is rich when embellished with stories really comes through and now I can't wait to see this on stage. The film still comes across disjointed in a few spots, but the optimism, congeniality of it remains. What a wonderful film about family and its importance to who we are. I recommend it -- it is a fantasy, but it is so congenial that most everyone would find something likable about it. Big Fish 2003 PG-13,125 minutes In this disarming fantasy told largely through flashbacks, young reporter William Bloom attempts to learn more about his dying father by finding the truth behind a lifetime of his fanciful tall tales and legends of epic proportions. Cast:Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, David Denman Genre:Fantasy, Tearjerkers, Dramas Based on Contemporary Literature, Drama

Movie #687 ........................."Lincoln"

Movie #687 "Lincoln" --- let me say the first thing that came out of my mouth after viewing this film --- Wow! I feel like I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a few weeks with a true hero in American History --- someone who speaks so wisely but who also is so folksy with his story telling ---- I felt like the film showed how much he was like everyman, but then how much he was like no man that America would probably ever know --- majestic is the word, the way the sun comes through the window and shines on him as he makes one important decision after another --- how he faces divisiveness much like the problems that exist in our Congress right now --- that makes this film so topical. And the two hours and 29 minutes? Go by very quickly for me, but maybe not for everyone. This is a film of words --- this isn't one car chase after another --- this film tests the listener to pay attention to the words and the importance of them --- the high point is words --- the exposition sets the tone when one young soldier recites a lot of the opening of the Gettysburg address, only to be finished by a black man --- such reverence for the words. How I loved that. How I loved to see this man tell one story after another all the while trying to deal with the grief of his dead boy, having to move on because his wife, his little son, his party, & his country depend on him! And when the end hit me, I felt it internally, even with the knowledge of what was going to happen and even with the huge scope of this film --- Spielberg did it right, and a special tip of the hat goes to yet another acting feat for Daniel Day Lewis who WILL win this year for best actor. Can't imagine anything much better than this portrayal, which will linger for years and years and years. I gave it 5 stars out of 5 Lincoln2012PG-13 Director Steven Spielberg takes on the towering legacy of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his stewardship of the Union during the Civil War years. The biographical saga also reveals the conflicts within Lincoln's cabinet regarding the war and abolition. Cast:Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, John Hawkes, Jared Harris, Joseph Cross, Tim Blake Nelson, David Oyelowo, Bruce McGill Genre:Drama