Tag: movie review

Movies and Shows- May/June

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I watched 7 movies in May and 8 in June. And I streamed 5 shows over the two months.

Loved all of these- Cormoran Strike seasons 2 &3, Brigerton season 3, The Gentlemen season 1, Project Runway All-Stars season 20, and Is It Cake 3?

LOVED these movies

The Holdovers, 2023. Set at a prep school in the early 70’s where several kids get left behind over Christmas break. This quiet drama had all of the things you want in a movie. Paul Giamatti was so good!

King Richard, 2021. I took a little break from Will after the slap heard round the world, but I am interested in the Williams sisters and Jason is an avid tennis player. I thought this was a fascinating look into their childhood and the driven man who helped raise and train them. I wish it hadn’t ended where it did, but that’s just my 2 cents.

Champions, 2023. I love basketball and feel good movies, but, most importantly, representation matters! I’m so glad that we watched this.

REALLY LIKED

American Fiction, 2023. A professor/novelist wants a bestseller amidst much family drama. A smart look at the boxes we put people and things into.

The Fall Guy, 2024. A silly action-packed ‘romance’ that we all really liked on the big screen. Can’t go wrong with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

LIKED THESE

The After, 2023. This short film is amazing for what emotion is managed to fit into less than 20 minutes. Beautiful movie-making.

Hit Man, 2023. Forced to portray a killer for hire on the spot, Gary learns he has a flare for it.

The Garfield Movie, 2024. Gage wanted to see it and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s nice to see Garfield winning over new generations.

Love Again, 2023. A story about grief and love.

Unfrosted, 2024. Silly cereal movie filled with nostalgia.

Meh

Mother of the Bride, 2024. It’s always great to see Benjamin Bratt, but this romantic comedy fell a little flat for me.

Two if by Sea, 1996. I love both Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary, but in this they both play thieves working out some relationship issues and it just didn’t work for me.

I Watched These So You Don’t Have To

The Tearsmith, Fire on the Amazon, A Fool and His Money

Have we watched any of the same things?

The Good, the Great, & the Ugly – March/April Movies

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I decided to discontinue my 5 word movie reviews, but haven’t put anything in its place, so we’re going to try something new.

I watched 5 movies in March and 8 in April. I also streamed season 1 of Resident Alien, 3 Body Problem on Netflix, and season 1 of C.B. Strike based on the Robert Galbraith series. All three of these were great.

These are listed in the order I liked them best. How many of these have you seen?

The Great

Damsel, 2024. All things a great fairy tale should be.

Dune 2, 2023. I liked this one a little better than the first. It was slightly less confusing and visually stunning on the big screen.

Hack Your Health: Secrets of Your Gut, 2024. Short but very good documentary about gut health. So many of us with kids with autism know how important diet is and I applaud these doctors for linking autism to the gut, not just the brain. It’s not about autism. but that it was mentioned a few times in relation to gut made me happy. Not enough doctors know to help parents understand this should be one of the first steps after diagnosis.

The Good

The Batman, 2022. I love all of the Batman movies, some more than others. This was a darker look than some and thought Robert Pattinson was a fine Batman, but less than stellar Bruce Wayne.

Saltburn, 2023. A creepy and oddly compelling tale of a young man wanting friends above his station in life.

Oppenheimer, 2023. I liked it, but thought it was too long. Good movie about the making of the bomb and the man in charge.

We Have a Ghost, 2023. Went in expecting a ghost story and got a lot more. A good family friendly film.

Where the Crawdads Sing, 2022. I liked it. Very atmospheric and loyal enough to the book.

Set It Up, 2018. Cute little romantic comedy about young adults trying to figure out their lives.

Plus One, 2019. An edgier romantic comedy with potential.

Upgraded, 2024. Another romantic comedy, but this one has an aspiring art gallery owner lying her way to the top.

It Chapter Two, 2019. I liked part one, Gage even watched it and liked it (his first real scary movie), but this one was too violent and just boring much of the time. The kid cast was great, but the adults, even the big names, couldn’t save it for me. It’s not quite in the ugly category, but it’s close.

The Ugly

The Hunt, 2020. I have no idea why I continued to watch this past the first 10 minutes. Lots of violence and nonsensical politics.

Capote, 2005 movie

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I’ve never read In Cold Blood, but it is in my ‘to read’ pile, so I thought I’d see this movie about Truman Capote during the 4 1/2 years it took him to reasearch and write the book.  In Kansas, two young men murder a family of four and Capote asks his childhood friend, Haprer Lee, to help him research in Kansas.  Once he meets the prisoners he becomes very attached to one of them.  He was there when the two were hanged for their crimes.  An interesting note – it was during this period that Lee had To Kill A Mockingbird published.

Okay, I thought Philip Seymour Hoffman was excellent as Capote and Catherine Keener did an outstanding job as Harper Lee, but I did not care for the movie.  It was slow and a little erratic.  Some parts were interesting, like that Capote never wrote another book after this one and he never took notes from interviews, but on the whole I thought it was a yawner.  I do think it will make In Cold Blood more interesting when I get around to reading it.

I would only recommend this movie if you are a fan of Truman Capote or In Cold Blood.