I couldn’t help but think of last year’s 70s rock biopic and juxtapose that with Rocketman. Both films have a soundtrack that makes you want to sing along with a lifetime of familiar tunes (ya know, for those of us at a certain age). Both films are highly entertaining. Both films show the dark side of…
We can count on a lot during the summer months (some that we love more than others): heat, ice cream, mosquitos, sprinklers – – – and blockbuster movies in the cold AC. It is the latter I enjoyed recently—that blockbuster style of movie with no hint of Oscars or awards but purely meant to entertain: Godzilla: King…
First Reformed is a slow-paced movie that builds to an expected climatic ending that doesn’t squarely deliver it’s punch. Ethan Hawk plays a depressed minister in an historic upstate New York tiny church with a string of unresolved issues haunting him. This church is overshadowed by its contemporary, which handles the business side of this…
Not being familiar by name alone with the painting of the same name as this film, I had no idea what this movie was about when I began watching it. (No, I hand’t even looked at the movie poster; I had this on my viewing list only based on award nominations.) Quickly, I realized it…
Here’s the second of Best Picture nominations that someone referred to as a comedy that wasn’t. A friend and I caught sight of this trailer one afternoon, and I mentioned wanting to see it. He mentioned the movie was a comedy. I countered that I didn’t have the impression it was a comedy. No doubt…
Thank you, Kenneth Branagh. Apparently I needed a few naps. I know, I know. Many people thoroughly enjoyed watching the latest film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s oh-so-popular mystery novel of the same name. The film has made money. And I looked forward to it for personal reasons. Alas, the sweeping but painfully slow music, the…
This movie left me conflicted. On the one hand, of course Sally Field is joyful and lovable, and she is a bright star. On the other hand, even as the bright music of Field plays, the film dances slowly with sad and pitiful, and while spinning around the floor, hurtful and mean-spirited cut in. Okay, so…
Gray Mountain is a typical Grisham book. And I know: it’s not my typical type of book to read. But it was recommended—in spite of it being a known typical Grisham book—due to an element of the plot. Here, a young lawyer who has been practicing for years, suddenly finds her practice and career focus shift…
Wow. This film was gripping. And it was bleak. Another that I caught up with while on a recent flight, Everest entertains. The film covers the true story (as a dramatization, not as a verified actual account) of the fatal expeditions on Mount Everest in 1996. Yes, fatal. Going in, I knew people would not survive. But…
Watching movies during flights usually isn’t my typical use of the time. But a recent flight found life not so typical. And 99 Homes had an actor nominated for a Golden Globe, so I partook. The movie was good, but it was also relatively quickly forgotten. The film—about an evicted home owner whose house is…
Daddy’s Home is a light, fun, all-around run-of-the-mill comedy. It was our pick for the family movie on Christmas Day, and it suited everyone well enough, age 14 to 73. It was better than I expected. Sure, it’s corny sometimes. Sure, its humor sometimes tries too hard. But the laughs were as varied as our…
This book is a collection of short stories, with one storyline making a few repeat appearances over the course of that character’s dating and engagement. The writing is light. It is good writing. I *want* to say that it is funny. But I just cannot bring myself to do so. I did laugh at the…
The Girl on the Train provides a mystery reminiscent of Gone Girl, written in a similar style of jumping among first-person writers as the story unfolds over different time periods and from different perspectives. It is entertaining, and the mystery lasts long enough to interest the reader, even if not quite long enough to for…
I saw this film well over a week ago (Two weeks ago?), and since then, when asked if I’d seen any movies, more often than not, I haven’t been able to recall this film or its name. So I suppose I can say that Sicario is forgettable. That said, it did entertain me. Now, my…
Mistress America was funny. But it was also scattered and tiring. It rambled. It was muddled. And it did not sell its premise to me well enough. It’s a good enough movie to escape for a short time for a matinee, but if you’ve choices for that time, think about which way to spend your…