Movie #3424 ........................."Flow" (Max )

 Movie #3424 "Flow" (Max)  -- this film is nominated for two oscars -- animated feature and foreign film.  I don't think it will win either one, but it is a lovely film and surprisingly without any dialogue.  It follows a cat who goes through all kinds of struggles with nature, including weather and other animals.  There's a tsunami, fires, attack of birds, where one of them defends him/her (not sure on cat's gender). But it's not all bad --- he/she learns he/she can lean on other animals, who aren't notoriously friendly with a cat --- like the cute dog that just wants to play with the cat through most of the movie.  It's really cute in some places, scary in the next --- and it flows quite smoothly on this adventure with the cat.  I thought it was a tad long, but I think many kids (and adults)  would enjoy this one.  I'd give it a 3.8 and recommend it.

"FLOW"        2024    PG    1 hour and 25 mins

Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.

Director:  Gints Zilbalodis

Writers:  Gints Zibalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens

Movie #3423 ........................."Anora" (theatre

Movie#3423 "Anora" (theatre) This is the 9th  of the 10 oscar-nominated films for best picture that I watched, and I wanted to like it more than I did, but in comparison to the others, this is in the top 5 to me.(these would include:  Wicked, I'm Still Here, Emilia Perez, Conclave, and now Anora)  Do I really need to see the 10th one, Dune?  I wasn't a fan at all of the first one, so what are the chances.  Anyway, this is "Pretty Woman" on Qualudes.  If you are looking for action, this fits the bill.  If you are looking for humor mixed in with that action, this fits the bill.  If you are looking for a well-acted movie, this fits the bill.  Something topical?  A film that presents Russians as the bad guys is appropriate for this time period.  Now what does it have that some people might not like --- lots and lots of swearing, lots and lots of lap dancing and other sex acts, lots and lots of screaming and punching and fighting (some violence, but not overboard like the Substance);  In order to have some substance, I think the film is set up for a change in the main character  --- and I liked the way that was shown --- the ending scene elevated the film to me --- up to that time, I  just wasn't sure what it was trying to say --- and then, it said it in that last scene.  Is it one of the best films i have ever seen?   No.  Is it better than a lot of the other ones on this list?  Yes.  But it is an out-of-the-box kind of farcical romance, and for the most part it was an intriguing watch for me.  I'm not sure it will win the oscar for best picture, but better this than some others on the list.  I'd give it a 4 out of 5.  I recommend it to people who are looking for something different (esp. in the romance department), who don't mind the sex scenes and the language, and who have patience to wait for somewhat of a payoff.  

"ANORA"           2024        R      2 hours 19 min.

sA young escort from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Director:  Sean Baker

Writer:  Sean Baker

Actors:  Mikey Madison, Paul Weissman, Yura Borisov

Movie #3422 ........................." Nickel Boys" (theatre)

 Movie #3422 " Nickel Boys' (theatre0   This  is another oscar-nominated movie for best picture 2025, and it is based on a book that I read by Colon Whitehead (author of Underground Railroad).  The film is getting a lot of comments on the subjective camera approach to filming; i.e. the eye of the camera are the eyes of the character --- so it is very common in this film to have people talking directly to the camera when talking to the lead characters (two boys, one Elwood  and the other Turner  - so close, they blend smoothly from one to the other  --- but because it has rapid time changes and point of view changes, and the violence is presented through the music sound effects and distorted photos, and a surprising ending some people get annoyed by watching the film.  I appreciated the artsy approach to it all, and I think it matches the way the book was written , too.  This place that Elwood and Turner are prisoners in is based on a juvenile delinquent home in Florida ---- when it was closed, there were tons of bodies buried there, mostly black.  I respected the film, and if you don't mind the artsy filmstuff , i think you might like it, too. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

"THE NICKEL BOYS"     2024    PG-13       2 hours and 20 mins

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, "Nickel Boys" chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African-American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.

Director:  RaMell Ross

Writers:  RaMell Ross, joslyn Barnes, Colson Whitehead

Actors:  Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aunganue Ellis-Taylor

Movie #3421 ......................... "The Substance" (theatre)

 Movie #3421 "The Substance" (theatre)  Leaving the theatre after watching this movie, I really didn't know what to say except:  THIS IS A HORROR FILM, and it really isn't being sold as such.  Disclaimer:  I hate horror pictures, and if I knew it was really in that genre,  I never would have paid money to see this film (and I really didn't see all of it in my seat  because like others,  I walked out.  But my curiosity made me  watch the end  in the vestibule just to see how far it would go.  And it crossed the bizarre line way too many times for me.  However, the initial part of the film (about 30 minutes) sets up the  sci fi part well, with creepy music, stark white/black sets, unoccupied rooms with rusty doors, etc.  --- and it  deals with a type of cloning, but we are given very few rules -- actually only one -- that the two people have to take -7-day turns; i.e. they take turns --- while one is living a life,  the other one sleeps it off.  All the characters in the film are shallow and one-dimensional --- never has Dennis Quaid been type casted like this ---He is despicable - he  chomps on food,  puts his face in everyone's face with an annoying voice   - I have always found him to be an annoying actor so this fit the bill for him!  We know little how this doubling works (evidently neither do the characters because  as shallow as they are, they ask very few questions).  But simple greed sets in and the major rule, of course, is broken and all hell breaks loose --- but we don't know what that means until we see a literal bloodbath of kicking, slamming people against mirrors, bleeding, and....well, I don't want to give any more away.  If you still want to see it after what I've said above, you go ahead.  I hate violence and blood and guts, and when it's mindless (without thoughts behind it except revenge), I dislike this  film with every fiber of my body.  I was contemplating giving it a zero, but I do have to say the opening was worth some points, so I would give this a 2 out of 5.    I would never recommend this to anyone I know --- waste of time and film.  However, there must be people out there who might enjoy all the blood spurting, etc. --- I can't believe it has 75% from audience on rotten tomatoes, but I am thinking people are being told what this film is like and not paying money to see it --- so there's a small amount that like Horror films that are supporting it.  I can't believe Cannes gave this best script --- yikes!  Makes me lose trust in the Cannes film festival -- because I think they blew it this time. ONE MORE TIME --- THIS IS A HORROR FILM --- do not pay money to see it if you don't like to see blood and guts by the gallon!  

"THE SUBSTANCE"      2024       R    2hours, 21 minutes  

A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug:  a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.   (did I say it was a horror film and  just the creating of that second person rips Demi's body down the back and like "alien" it appears, blood and guts and all?)   

Director:  Coralie Fargeat

Writer:  Coralie Fargeat

Actors:  Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid)       

Movie #3421 ........................."I'm Still Here" (theatre)

 Movie #3421 "I'm Still Here" (theatre)  Since we are facing an authoritarian regime at this time, it was interesting to  see what it was like to live under one --- this film is based on a true story of Brazil in 1971 under a military dictatorship.  One day, they take the dad, and some time later they take the mother and one daughter, and no one ever knows why ---- The mother spends the rest of her life trying to get some answers ---- the actress does the whole gambit required to possibly win the best actress award, and I think she deserves it (after seeing all the other nominated women).  A cool twist the film uses is to have the actress's real mother (who is a famous Brazilian actress in her own right) play the lead when she's in her 80s.  The film gripped me from beginning to end ---- well done and very tense.  I'd give it a 4.5 (maybe could use just a little more information at times? and a better way to introduce all the kids in the opening of the film --- kept getting them mixed up for a while.  Highly recommend.

"I'M STILL HERE'            2024     PG-13           2 hours 17mins.

A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence during the tightening grip of a military dictatorship in Brazil, 1971.

Director:  Walter Salles

Writers:  Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega, Marcelo Rubens Paiva

Actors:  Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello

Movie #3420 .........................."Wild Robot" ( amazon prime)

 Movie  #3420 "Wild Robot" (amazon prime)  Well, Dave saw this on the plane to Arizona and said he got tearful in a couple of moments, so I HAD to see what all the emotion was about --- he's right.  This was really good, probably the best of all the oscar- nominated animated feature --- And it's so topical right now because it deals with what happens in nature when a member of AI joins the environment.  Roz, the robot lands mistakenly (like E.T.) in a forest and scares most of the creatures, but makes friends with a wolf and begins to parent a tiny bird named Brightbill.  She shows how invaluable she is as nature takes its course and causes problems for the creatures.  A fine comment on AI and climate change and how culturally diverse animals can get along --- so why can't we, right?  I'd give this 4.5  (there was rather a long high point dealing with Roz going back to the mothership that I could have done without) Highly recommend.

'THE WILD ROBOT     2024          1 hour and 42 mins      PG

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island.  To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

Director:  Chris Sanders

Writers:  Chris Sanders, Peter Brown

Actor:  Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor

Movie #3419 ........................."Sing, Sing" (amazon Prime)

 Movie #3419  "Sing, Sing" (amazon prime) I have now seen all the movies nominated for oscars for best picture this year, and I think I like this one the best , but wait.  IT WASN'T NOMINATED!!??! ----this one and "Wicked" would be my favorites  of all the movies I have seen 2025..... for obvious reasons -- the theatrics of both, Wicked for musical, and Sing, Sing for nonmusical.  They both show a lot of humanity from the individuals in the film (contrary to many of the other films  on the list that were nominated) while still preserving the art of the film.  They both take brave leaps into doing something creative and different (something all the films nominated tried to do) , and they were most successful to me.  They brought me in to a new world that I enjoyed inhabiting  for the most part.  Sing, Sing draws the viewer into a prison environment, and some of the prisoners are seedy and disrespectful to each other at first, but once they work on stage with each other and form a theatre family, they find they can face the brutalities of the prison on a daily basis.  This is based on a real program in our country, and I recommend you see what theatre can do for these prisoners.  I give this a 5 out of 5, and I wish it was nominated for a best picture  oscar --- it is definitely a mistake that was made this year.  

"SING, SING"   2023      R          1 hour, 47 mins       oscar-nominated for best actor 2025 and script

Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.

Director:  Greg Kwedar

Writers:  John H. Richardson, Brent Buell, Clint Bentley

Actors:  Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San Jose