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.
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
Grace and Frankie20151 season I would give this first episode 3 out of 5 starsMo
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?)
This documentary reveals the mercurial career of brilliant singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson and his influence on the 1960s pop-cultural landscape.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Movie #1022 ........................."The Divergent Series: Insurgent"
Movie #1022 "Insurgent" --- I went into this not expecting much, since the critics seemed unkind to it. I also couldn't remember much about the book I had read. Lots of fighting is all I could remember, but I really enjoyed this and was glad I saw it on a big screen. What redeemed the film is the final 20 minutes and the special effects. For example, what they do to the Chicago landscape is a sight to behold, esp. since it isn't really Chicago but Georgia. Usually I am not a huge fan of action films because there seems to be very little intelligence involved, and I usually think many of the problems the main character has could be solved with more thinking and less fighting. That being said, I like that this isn't all fighting. That there is substance and thought behind a lot of this, and for that reason, and the competent young cast (esp. Miss Woodley who really really worked here!) , and seeing Naomi Watts give it to Kate Winslet, and those dream sequences, I recommend this. I also think if you haven't seen the first one nor read the book (I couldn't remember it) you still probably will find it entertaining and thoughtful. And that's all we want, many times, in a movie theatre, right?
The Divergent Series: Insurgent2015PG-13 I would give this 4 stars out of 5
With war rumbling, Beatrice Prior looks for allies and answers in the second installment of the film series based on Veronica Roth's popular science-fiction novels. "Tris" will have to be fast, though, because the Erudite leader is in hot pursuit.
- Cast:
- Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer
- Genre:
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Movie #1021 ........................."Woman in Gold"
Movie #1021 "Woman in Gold" -- had some problems. The past story overshadows the present. I kept feeling that most of the action in the present was done somewhere else, and we were just told "6 months later" blah blah blah. Now, Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren make up the film, and actually Daniel Bruhl (from "Rush") adds a lot, too, but take that away, and the modern day story isn't told well, nor is it believable --- too much was left out, in my opinion. And I don't know how truthful Helen Mirren's character is nor Ryan Reyolds, but they were both hard to believe ---they seemed to be hot and cold --- let's just say the actors were asked to do some things they were probably uncomfortable in doing to get the characters across, and I blame the script. For example, Reynolds leaves a scene and goes into a bathroom and cries against a wall --- did we miss something? what happened that he was so moved? There were holes in the script. However, I gave it 3.5 because the back story is interesting and well done, and I always like backstories on famous pieces of art, and in that case, the film doesn't disappoint. It's just how they got there that's part of the trouble.
Woman in Gold
I would give this 3.5 out of 5 stars
Six decades after World War II, Jewish octogenarian Maria Altmann begins a quest to reclaim the artwork confiscated from her family by the Nazis -- including a famed Gustav Klimt masterpiece.
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