February’s movies with $ for charity

I started using Letterboxd last month thanks to Sandy.  If you are interested in rating your movies and keeping tabs on your friends, check it out (sort of like Goodreads).  I’m stacybuckeye if you want to follow me and get a few more than 5 words about the movies I watched.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month.  It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it.  I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie.

Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

We’re at $14

Clearing movie poster.jpgThe Clearing, 2004 (Cast-Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe)           Grade B

Chilling, quiet well-acted thriller.

 Not happy, too tragic.  (Michelle)


Winter's tale (film).jpgWinter’s Tale, 2014 (Cast-Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Will Smith)   Grade B

Sweet love story for Valentines.

 Muddled mess of a movie.   (Kathy)

Colin Farrell: kind of magical.  (Tony)


Madagascar3-Poster.jpgMadagascar 3, 2012 (Cast (voices)- Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwinner)    Grade B

Solid sequel, with a circus!

Fun sequel and bright colors!  (Heather)


The Monuments Men poster.jpgMonuments Men, 2014 (Cast-George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray)                   Grade B-

Stealing Stolen Art from Hitler!!


The Shape of Things Poster.jpgThe Shape of Things, 2003 (Cast-Paul Rudd, Rachel Weisz, Gretchen Mol, Fred Weller)           Grade C+

Power of suggestion = screwed up


A man, wearing a white jacket with a gun on his back, walks through a destroyed bridge. The tagline "Earth is a memory worth fighting for" appears on the top while Tom Cruise's name, the title of the film, the rating and the rest of the credits appears on the bottom.Oblivion, 2013 (Cast- Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Riseborough)     Grade C+

Visually beautiful, Convoluted alien plot

Great premise, a SciFi paradigm  (Michelle)

 Plot holes were too much.  (Heather)


Primaryposter.jpgPrimary Colors, 1998. (Cast- John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester)     Grade C+

Ladies man Bill gets elected.

Wait, Clinton is the hero?  (Tony)

January movies and $ for charity

I started using Letterboxd this month thanks to Sandy.  If you are interested in rating your movies and keeping tabs on your friends, check it out (sort of like Goodreads).  I’m stacybuckeye if you want to follow me and get a few more than 5 words about the movies I watched.

Last year, thanks to your participation, $100 was given to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, thanks to Heather.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month.  It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it.  I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie.

Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

We’re starting at $4 from a few extras last month.

Madagascar Theatrical Poster.jpgMadagascar, 2005 (Cast (voices)-Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer)     Grade B+

Eating meat bad, fish okay.

Fun for kids.  (Veens)

Friends, loyalty, and surviving nature!  (Heather

Wacky zoo animals. Incredibly funny.  (Michelle)

Cute and fun fix :)  (Sheree)

47Ronin2012Poster.jpg47 Ronin, 2013 (Cast-Keanu Reeves)     Grade B-

My much needed Keanu fix.

Ruby Sparks poster.jpgRuby Sparks, 2012 (Cast-Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Benning, Elliot Gould, Antonio Banderas)       Grade C

Dark, Quirky. Pretty messed up.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film).jpgThe Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956 (Cast-James Stewart, Doris Day)    Grade C-

Love Jimmy & Doris. Inane plot.

Que Sera, Sera. Love Doris!  (Michelle)

We have a WINNER and a charity $100 richer!

Three years ago I started writing my 5 word movie reviews and asking for your input too, tying it to raising money for charity.  I love seeing what you all come up with.  The more participants the more fun!

We hit 100 reviews at 12:15-ish on January 1st and we have a repeat winner!  Heather (Gofita’s Pages) topped the reviews this year with 28!  Way to go Heather 🙂 And thanks to the other 16 of you who added your two cents (and $1 for charity).  So where is the money going?  Let’s hear from Heather…

  • Make a difference close to home. Join your local AFSP chapter.

My charity this year is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. http://www.afsp.org/

I lost my brother to suicide this year and love that there are people and organizations out there who offer support for those affected by suicide and those in crisis, as well as destigmatizing mental illness in general.
I don’t know how many of you know Heather, but if you don’t you are missing out.  When she lost her brother and a good friend weeks apart her post on them both touched me and I think it will you too if you have a few minutes to read it (Life and Death). As we start a new year (even if you are practically snowed in like we are) remember to give more hugs, laugh a little bit more and enjoy life. And if you know of someone who might benefit from this charity I hope you will pass it along to them.  I am honored that I can help in some way – even if it’s only by donating $100 (money is never enough) in Heather’s brother’s name, Blaine.

December’s 5 word movie reviews with $ for charity – LET’S GET TO $100 by the 1st!!

We finally made it to $100 for charity!!  But you can still add your 5 words to start raising the next $100 for a new charity!  Take a peak through the backlist or scroll through this year’s reviews to see if you missed anything.

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We made it to $100!  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug theatrical poster.jpgThe Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug, 2013 (Cast-Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly)   Grade  A-

Smaug is compelling.  Quality storytelling.

The-internship-poster.jpgThe Internship, 2013 (Cast-Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rose Byrne, John Goodman)     Grade B-

Predictable but enjoyable Google infomercial.

Google overdose with funny guys.   (Sheree)

Admission movie poster.jpgAdmission, 2013 (Cast-Tina Fey, Paul Rudd)     Grade B-

Likeable chracters with decent story

Good; don’t compare to book  (Kathy)

Cute but didn’t stand out.  (Heather)

WallStreet2013poster.jpgThe Wolf of Wall Street, 2013 (Cast-Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler)                                        Grade D

Sex, drugs, depravity. Repeat. Repeat.

November 5 Word Movie Reviews & $ for Charity

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, it was busy around here.  Gage got his first haircut last week so I’ll have to post pics soon.

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We’re getting close with $82 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

Catching-Fire poster.jpgThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2013 (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks)      Grade A

Total girl crush on Katniss!

*Squeee* no please don’t end :)  (Sheree)

 Heart-felt, action-packed, and Katniss rocks!  (Heather)

 Anything Jennifer Lawrence can’t do?  (Jill)

50 50 Poster.jpg50/50, 2011 (Cast-Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan, Anna Kendrick, Angelica Houston, Bryce Dallas Howard)      Grade B+

Tears. Laughs. Cancer. Thoughtful. Real.

Ender's Game poster.jpgEnder’s Game, 2013 (Cast-Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley)      Grade B

Good, but read the book.

The Family Tree Movie PosterThe Family Tree, 2011 (Cast-Hope Davis, Dermott Mulroney, Chi McBride, Max Thieriot, Britt Robertson)     Grade C-

Silly little movie with chuckles

Four Christmases-Movie Poster.PNGFour Christmases, 2008 (Cast-Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen)  Grade C-

A no chemistry romantic comedy.

Love anything with Vince Vaughn.  (Michelle)

October’s 5 word movie reviews & $ of charity

I did not see Gravity in IMAX or 3D.  You may notice I watched a lot of female centered movies this month.  It was on purpose.  More on this in another post.

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We’re getting close with $79 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

Enough Said (film).jpgEnough Said, 2013 (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, Catherine Keener)                 Grade B+

RomCom for the older set.


PosterGravity, 2013  (Cast-Sandra Bullock, George Clooney)                                                                         Grade B

Tense, stark, beautiful. Serious Sandy.

Lots of breathing in space.  (Kathy)

Intense, but breathing got boring.  (Sheree)

Sandra Bullock’s day really sucked.  (Tony)

So not worth the hype.  (Brendan)


Contenderposter.jpgThe Contender, 2000 (Cast-Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Sam Elliott)        Grade B-

Equity in politics? Maybe someday.

Accused ver2.jpgThe Accused, 1988 (Cast-Jodi Foster, Kelly McGillis)                   Grade B-

Vile gang assault on trial.

Horrendous story but Jodie delivers.  (Heather)

Boys on the Side poster.jpgBoys on the Side. 1995 (Cast-Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matther McConaughey)        Grade C+

Families are made with love.

September’s 5 word movie reviews & $ of charity

Huh, I never really got the appeal of Channing Tatum but Magic Mike helped that 🙂

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We are over halfway there with $78 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

Prisoners2013Poster.jpgPrisoners, 2013 (Cast-Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal. Terrance Howard, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano)       Grade A

Gritty, heartbreaking tale of desperation.

Well acted, twisting plot, must-see  (Michelle)

Edge of seat 2013 favourite :)  (Sheree)

The Butler poster.jpgLee Daniels’ The Butler, 2013 (Cast-Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey)                                                  Grade B

From fields to White House.

Good acting, but nothing new. (Kathy)

Not what I was expecting (but good!)  (Tara)

Magic Mike.jpgMagic Mike, 2012 (Cast- Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn)          Grade B-

Cheeseball with side of heart.

Good, excepting McConaughey’s disgusting character  (Michelle)

Eye candy with a heart
Must’ve been the pain killers (Nise)

Wine, girlfriends, Channing Tatum: yum!.  (Tara)

Tatum hot, the rest not ;)  (Sheree)

Silly but pretty to see.  (Heather)

August’s 5 word movie reviews and $ for charity

Where did August go?!  I hope you’ll join in this month, last month we only added a few dollars.

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We are over halfway there with $71 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

We're the Millers poster.jpgWe’re the Millers, 2013 (Cast-Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter)               Grade B+

Laugh out loud crude, funny


Trouble with the Curve Poster.jpgTrouble with the Curve, 2012 (Cast-Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams. Justin Timberlake)       Grade B-

Father Daughter Baseball Drama

A heart-warmer with Clint Eastwood.  (Tony)


Heathersposter89.jpgHeathers, 1988 (Cast-Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty)      Grade  C+

 1980’s high school black comedy.

Crazy and disturbing cult classic.  (Heather)


Jobs (film).jpgJobs, 2013 (Cast-Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney)               Grade C+

Apple, yes. Kutcher, no thanks.


On golden pond.jpgOn Golden Pond, 1981 (Cast-Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, Jane Fonda)    Grade C

Flawless acting, but too slow.

Love struggles though the generations.  (Kathy)

Family fights, forgives great actors.  (Nise)

July’s 5 word movie reviews with $ for charity

Somehow we managed to hit the theater a lot this month!

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We are over halfway there with $62 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

Two women wearing sunglasses, one holding a rocket launcher. Image is stylized using only black and red and white.The Heat, 2013 (Cast-Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy)    Grade B

Funny girls rock!  Beware F-bomb.

Funny female buddy cop film.  (Kathy)

Love the women buddy comedy!  (Heather)


 

RED 2 poster.jpgRed 2, 2013  (Cast-Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins    Grade B

Old guys rock!  Beware blood.

Still fun, hilarious, Helen Mirren!  (Heather)

Helen Mirren – still best assassin!  (Kay)


 

All the president's men.jpgAll the President’s Men, 1976 (Cast-Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Jason Robards)    Grade B

Old school newspaper journalism rocks!

Two Handsome Men Seek Truth.   (Nise)

An oldie but a goodie.  (Sheree)

Hoffman. Redford. Politicians lie? Shocking! (Brendan)


 

Serenity One Sheet.jpgSerenity, 2005 (Cast-Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin)       Grade B-

Fillion rocks!  Campy space fun.

Fast, great, a few plotholes.  (Heather)

Makes you suffer their pain.  (Tony)


Superman, bearing his traditional red and blue costume, is shown flying towards the viewer, with the city Metropolis below. The film's title, production credits, rating and release date is written underneath.Man of Steel, 2013 (Cast-Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe)              Grade D

The first 45 minutes rocked.

Up, up and away awesome.  (Sheree)

 Implausible story and ridiculous characters.  (Heather)

Superman’s dads are Robin Hood.  (Tony)


 

Only God Forgives poster.jpgOnly God Forgives, 2013 (Cast-Kristin Scott Thomas, Ryan Gosling)         Grade F

Save yourself!  No rocking here.

Ryan Gosling can’t save it. (Sheree)

June’s 5 word movie reviews

A good movie watching month.  When I look at these movies posters I realize that I need to watch more movies starring women!

You know the drill, add your 5 words to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and to see the other reviews you can add to.  We are over halfway there with $62 so far.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

Woman in black ver4.jpgThe Woman in Black, 2012 (Cast-Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds)     Grade B+

Gothic. Spooky. Quiet. Poor children. 

Creepy good, but ending…meh.  (Michelle)

So-so story, spooky, unforgiving ghost.  (Heather)


Searching for bobby fischer.jpgSearching for Bobby Fischer, 1993 (Cast-Max Pemeranc, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne)       Grade B+

Chess ability shapes a life.

Fascinating biography of young chess-player.  (Heather)


Now You See Me Poster.jpgNow You See Me, 2013 (Cast-Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher)   Grade B

Magically entertaining. Kept me guessing.

Interesting story, not great ending.  (Heather)


Right stuff ver1.jpgThe Right Stuff, 1983 (cast-Sam Shepard, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Scott Glen)    Grade B

Seven astronauts conquer outer space.

Best of Best conquer space.  (Sheree)

One word – Chuck – and others. (Kay)

You’ll believe astronauts can fly.  (Tony)


TheIceman2011Poster.jpgThe Iceman, 2013 (Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans)    Grade B-

Killer loves family. Predictable, good.