Category: Three Sentence Movie Reviews

This third viewing in the theater came about because Matt hadn’t watched this yet.  Which meant I got to enjoy it all over again.  And Matt got to enjoy it for the first time.

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst, with the aforementioned Matt.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/misc/2015/brooklyn_ver4.html

Very good performances all around, especially by Sophie Okonedo as May Boatwright.  It may have been that I was tired, but I found this movie to be a little slow. But it’s not often you get such a good cast, so it wasn’t the worst thing.

Cost: free (work-sponsored Netfix subscription)
Where watched: at home.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2008/secret_life_of_bees.html

This was a second viewing for me, so I was able to breathe through the first half, unlike my initial viewing.  Regular air intake left me more room to be in awe of how well Larson and Tremblay are together, each actor strengthening the other.  This is a great movie that also manages to be frustrating because so many people will read the synopsis and decide it is not for them.*

Cost:  $3.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst with S. North.

*It is.  It’s one of the most beautiful films about being a mother that I’ve ever seen.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/ireland/2015/room_ver3.html

The two male leads were both incredibly wooden in their performances, and neither one of them was good looking enough to draw attention away from their lackluster skills.  The story itself was interesting, so that was good.  And it was quite pretty to look at, what with the random spikes growing out of everything.

Cost: free due to work paying for Netflix
Where watched: at home with Matt.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2011/red_riding_hood.html

I was bracing myself for violence as depicted in Twelve Years a Slave, and was relieved that this movie’s violence was not on that level.  But the violence shown was horrible.*  Very good performances by all and completely worth watching.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.

*I kept thinking how the police officers on the bridge who attacked the marchers had to go home and eat their dinner.  And what did they have to say about their day?  And what do their now-grown children say about their father’s actions during the Civil Rights Movement.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2014/selma.html
(A comment on the poster noted that on the four-color poster, Dr. King’s neck had been slimmed down.  I looked and it was true.  See for yourself. Another comment supposed that this had to do with this being the British version of the poster, and Brits being more familiar with actor David Oyelowo than Martin Luther King.  To that I say, “hmmmm.”)

I’ve seen this before,* and remembered loving it; and I’m happy to report that despite the passage of 16 years, this movie is still as fresh and as enjoyable as it was at the turn of the millennium. Partially this is due to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ability to write and film a love story, and partially because Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps go above and beyond their acting duties and infuse their characters with so many levels of humanity, you can’t help falling in love with them yourself.** Overall, I think it’s a travesty that Prince-Bythewood isn’t directing a feature film every couple of years or so.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.

*In 2000, when I was in Lincoln, NE for a wedding and borrowed a bike so I could ride to the theater.
**I do have some problems with the “forth quarter” of the movie, but those quibbles are not for the three sentence movie review.

If you are in the mood for a longer review, I think Roger Ebert makes some good points about the kind of “sports film” this is.  Reading it, I’m reminded of how I miss his reviews.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2000/love_and_basketball_ver2.html

Mostly, I found this movie to be slow, which isn’t a bad thing.*  What this movie did have were subtle shifts and a lot of internal introspection and change.  Also really good acting by all participants.**

Cost: free from library.
Where watched: at home.

*For instance, it examined gender roles in a much more interesting way than The Best of Me did.
**While Emayatzy Corinealdi was very good in the lead, Lorraine Toussaint really killed me with her portrayal of a mother trying and failing to connect with her daughters.

poster from:  http://www.impawards.com/2012/middle_of_nowhere.html

I knew I shouldn’t have watched this, not just because it is adapted from a Nicolas Sparks novel,* but also because my DVD copy advertised it was a “Tears of Joy” edition.  But I like Michelle Monaghan, and I’m a sucker for the “first love” plot, so viewed it I did.  And dammit if my thought “that plot twist didn’t set me up for Tears of Joy” wasn’t followed by actual Tears of Joy ten minutes later.**

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.  Toes are now ice blue.  And let me say, the previous color, a glittery black and mauve concoction called “Scandalous” took a very long time to remove.  I have other polish that is also difficult to remove, but that polish doesn’t chip on day three of wear.  Scandalous, living up to its name, will not be making an appearance on my toes ever again.

*If you made a game of drinking each time his stories reinforce traditional gender roles you would be dead before the climax.****
**It was still a massively annoying movie though–though not as terrible as the Notebook.  It was filled with the gender role crap, plus Luke Bracey looked like he was five years out of college.***  Could they not find someone close to eighteen to play an eighteen-year-old?  I could never really believe Liana Liberato was his first love.
***IMDB trivia reports Bracey was 25 and Liberato was 19 when filming.  Interestingly Bracey’s bio on the site doesn’t include his year of birth.  So perhaps he is older.
**** “Why do I feel dumber after you tell me about these movies?” Matt asked, after I dramatically recounted the plot.  He was also highly offended at the title, once I told him where the Tears of Joy came from.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/best_of_me.html