Movie #1208 ........................."Happy Christmas"

Movie #1208 "Happy Christmas" has a very capable cast who could do wonders with weak scripts, and this script  is one of them, but they don't do wonders with it.  Anna Kendrick (what a talent) and "Rose" (from "Two & 1/2 men" (at least that's what I know her from") ) are the best the film offers, but there could be so much more.  Typical story line with Kendrick ending up in her brother and his wife's place after being dumped by her boyfriend.  She lives on the couch for several days and really breaks up their routine -- wants them to join her on her binge drinking, etc.  It's just a lot of drinking and wallowing in the sadness of being lonely.  We've seen this kind of film done much better a lot of times, so I'd take a pass on this one.  Even if it fun to watch the two women interact with each other.  Even with liking that, I would give it 2.8 out of 5 stars.  Not recommended.

Happy Christmas

2014   rated R     1 hour and 18 minutes

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After splitting up with her boyfriend just before the holidays, a young woman moves in with her older brother and his family. But as she tries to climb out of her rut and start over, her self-destructive behavior gets in the way.

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber,

Movie #1207 ........................."Cairo Time"

Movie #1207 "Cairo Time" was one of the slowest movies I have ever seen......with not much going on.  I sincerely felt that there wasn't that seismic of a change by the end of the film.  Talk about a slice of life, but I expect something (anything, really) along the lines of change should be shown somewhere in the film for the story's arc to work.  There was so much time in the film spent on quiet looks from Patricia Clarkson to the handsome man showing her around Cairo, that I felt a number of times that I wanted to shout to the t.v.:  We got it, already!!! Yep, while her husband is busy with business (stuck in a place flying distance from Cairo but it's too dangerous to fly back just yet), Clarkson gets carted around by his friend in the company, a very good looking, principled man who happens to know her husband.  Nothing happens.  oops, I don't want to give anything away, but nothing really happens with anybody or anything.  And that's it.  The film ends and .....well, I don't want to give away the movie's end, but maybe I am, so that you, too, don't sit around for 90 or so minutes waiting, waiting, and waiting for nothing to happen.  I give the film 2.8 stars out of 5, and that's for the good acting, with kind of a nothing story!  Not recommended!

Cairo Time

2009    90+ minutes

When magazine editor Juliette Grant travels to Cairo to meet her diplomat husband, Mark, she learns from his friend Tareq Khalifa that Mark has been delayed. But as Tareq shows her around the city, an unexpected attraction develops between them. 

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Elena Anaya,.

Movie #1206 ........................."Doc Martin" t.v. series (7 seasons)

Movie #1206 "Doc Martin" was a fun binge to do a week after the Olympics, when hardly anything is on t.v.  We really enjoyed the two main characters and the secondary ones, as well.  Louisa and Martin are such  an unlikely pair, awkward in every way, and we kept watching to see what hole they would step in next, as far as their relationship.  We esp. liked the 7th season when they were seeking therapy and got homework which they struggled to complete.  The basic premise of the series is a surgeon (and a very good one, I might add)  with hardly any bedside manner ends up in the quaint village of Port Wenn (Cornwall, England, really) as their G.P. because he can't stand the sight of blood.  He falls in love with Louisa and she in him, although it is slow going since he told her she had halitosis on their first kiss!  But they manage to have a child and now what?  Can they live together without killing each other?  The rest of the town have their own problems, very often medical and are in need of Doc Martin's help.  We esp. enjoy the two cops that bumble their way through, and his 3 receptionists --- each one enjoyable in her own way.  And his two aunts, one succeeds the other one when an accident causes the first one's death --- they are both cold like him with no filters as far as dealing with him, but loving in their own ways.  Then there's Bert LARGE (his name fits him!) and his son, always trying to get a job that pays so they can live and enjoy life.  If these village people sound interesting to you, we highly recommend this PBS series (most of which you can stream).  And its final season will be coming our way on U.S. t.v. in 2017.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

Doc Martin

2004 NR Rated NR7 seasons

rated 5.0 stars

5.0

Crippled by a sudden and inconvenient fear of blood, flashy surgeon Dr. Martin Ellingham abandons his bustling London practice and sets up shop as a country doctor in this medically minded British sitcom

Movie #1205 .........................As Cool As I Am

Movie #1205 "As Cool As I Am" is one of those movies that teenagers and their parents should see.  It deals with teen sex, 16 year olds to be precise.  I know, the ooh factor kicks in, but it is an intelligent film that deals with a very smart, mature teen (maturer in some ways than her parents) who was a product of a teen pregnancy (Mom and dad are played by the very capable Claire Danes and James Marsden).  Dad now spends only 5 weeks at home (works rest of time as a lumberjack out wherever, and that leaves mom unhappy and restless, so she gets a job (unbeknownst to her old fashioned hubby who believes HE should be the breadwinner).  Meanwhile, 16 year old teen Lucy is playing on the monkey bars with childhood friend Kenny at the beginning of the film, and towards the middle, the relationship grows to sex in his bedroom --- his mom picks up on that so his real dad sends him away.  Lucy is devastated ---- and ends up at one of those teen parties where something awful happens that makes her even more "out of whack" --- It's like dominoes after that, since her home life is now falling apart, too, and her mom isn't being a mom (dating around) ---- her mom is young herself and starts to see life as a living hell.  The film really puts the characters in real situations due to teen pregnancy , and that's what makes it a good teen film to me.  It shows the consequences that one quick decision could make.  It ends really well (and up!) and really underlines the real stress teen pregnancy puts on everyone involved.  (without having her learn it first hand, I might add!)  It deals with questions that parents and kids can talk about after the film,  and I picture good family  dialogue all around.  But not just talk --- and the film becomes a visual aid.  I would rate it a 4 out of 5, with good acting done, esp. by the nuclear family  and LUCY and KENNY!  they come across as real kids!


 
AS COOL AS I AM      2013        1 hr and 32 minutes     rated R
About to turn 16, Lucy realizes that her parents' marriage is on shaky ground -- and that theirs is not the only relationship that's in trouble. After her longtime boyfriend leaves town, Lucy opts to ditch her tomboy image and restyle her life.

Cast: Claire Danes, James Marsden, Thomas Mann, Sarah Bolger

Movie #1204 ........................."Master of None"

Movie #1204 "Master of None" --- I watched just the pilot and the next one, and that was really enough for me.  I can understand why others will continue, but I just thought it was okay.  The first one had a funny situation and that hooked me (he was watching his friends' kids to see if he would like kids) but I honestly can't remember the second one, so I thought if the rest is more like that one than the other one, then I could move on to something else.  I am not convinced the cast is capable of getting across the dry humor that is expected to go on episode after episode --- "Parks and Recreation" did, but then the cast was more than capable.  I give it 3 stars out of 5.
MASTER OF NONE             2015         (2 episodes from season 1)    

Created by actor and funnyman Aziz Ansari (who also stars), this incisive comedy follows 30-year-old Dev, a sporadically employed actor exploring life, love and the immigrant experience from the perspective of a single New Yorker.

Movie #1203 ........................."Old Acquaintance"

Movie #1203 "Old Acquaintance" was another Bette Davis movie I saw (rather late I might add) after I watched "Little Foxes" on TCM (Bette Davis' night) , and again I was impressed with her work.  Here she plays a completely different person --- more like the person she played in "Now Voyager" (one of my favorite Davis' films), a very giving person who understands what it means to make sacrifices for people whom you love.  Here, it's the actress Miriam Hopkins that is chewing up the scenery, and I kept thinking...what if they had switched roles?  I think it might have been a better film, except I don't think Hopkins could have played the other part --- she comes across pretty weak and overdone here.  She's the weak link in an otherwise well done older film.  I like the whole idea of the story.  Two women who have been friends through thick and thin, trying to make a living from writing, and Bette gets the first big break in publishing her book and so jealousy ensues (on Hopkins' part, not on Bette's --- she's too nice and caring)  Bette plays a pretty nice person all the way through --- when she is tempted to take hopkins' husband, she says it is wrong and backs off.  She cares for Hopkins' daughter and explains her mother for her --- and when the girl and she are both in love with the same man, well, you can guess what has to happen.  I think the best scene, the climax, the telling off of each other scene, works so well because you believe Bette's character, who finally tells Hopkins off and it is well worth the wait.  I give this 4 stars out of 5 mostly for Bette!
OLD ACQUAINTANCE         1943, 1 hour and 50 minutes

Acclaimed author Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis) returns to her small hometown and reconnects with her melodramatic friend Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins), who's now married to Kit's old crush Preston (John Loder). Trouble brews when Millie gets inspired to publish a trashy novel she's wrtten. When Millie's newfound fame outshines Kit's, the once-contented Preston becomes disillusioned with his wife's new ego -- and finds himself attracted to Kit.

Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Bette Davis, Gig Young,