Category: Three Sentence Movie Reviews

The thing that got me about this movie?  The fact that as common as it is for women to become mothers, I think this is the first movie I’ve seen that examines the feelings of a woman becoming a mother.  Great performances by Smulders and Bean and I look forward to exploring more of director Kris Swanberg’s work.

Cost: free from library via Hoopla
Where watched: at home, on my computer screen.

poster from IMP awards (and it’s very bad.  Very.)

This is a quiet little movie about loss and music.  I found it to be a pleasant way to pass an evening, but it caused no huge tremors of delight.  I did enjoy how not-for-Hollywood Johnny Flynn was.

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

poster from imp award

This movie is clever in that way that women–for most of history viewed as nothing more than chattel–have had to be clever in that it seems to be a story about a man inventing an ingenious device and finding success and love, but which also tells us the story of women lining up for a “treatment” that I suspect most of them knew did nothing for their diagnosis of hysteria, but was beneficial none the less. Great performances all around.   This is a light and funny film best taken with a glass of wine and some chocolate after a long hard day of being female.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.

poster from IMP Awards

There’s some really great female body image stuff  in this and the usual Holofcenian touches.  This, of course, includes Catherine Keener, and I could not stand her character.*  However, it was quite well acted, including the four female leads and Jake Gyllenhaal when he was still playing teenagers.**

Cost:  Free from library.  (I requested this myself, but later found it on the shelf.  I do indeed think someone in my neighborhood has been systamatically working their way through Holofcener’s movies.  And now I have seen all of them too. Thanks random library patron for hooking me up with Holofcener!)
Where watched: at home.

*In my book, it’s not really important for female characters to be likable, but I so very much didn’t like her Michelle Marks, and unfortunately, it sunk the movie for me.
**He was 20 at the time.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2002/lovely_and_amazing.html

Expecting a brainless romantic comedy, I was instead blown away by this.*  Mr. Kutcher was his usual non-offensive self, and the rest of the cast really knocked it out of the park.**  It was also laugh-out-loud funny in parts,*** which came as no surprise once I figured out that Ivan Reitman directed it.

Cost: Free from library.  (Also, this was on one of my Letterboxd lists.  I’m not sure why.  Perhaps I made notes? I did.  Movie Date recommended it.)
Where watched:  At home while changing the toes from green to red.
I wonder how long I could watch Ashton Kutcher moves during pedicures before I had to repeat?  The answer is that there are 17 Ashton Kutcher movies I haven’t watched, so I could keep going for a very long time.  I won’t though.  I think I would eventually stop being pleasantly surprised that his movies aren’t actually that bad.

*Secret to success with Ashton Kutcher movies:  lower those expectations.
**And what a cast!  Natalie Portman! Kevin Kline!  Greta Gerwig!  Mindy Kaling! Jake Johnson! Lake Bell! Ludacris! Olivia Thirlby!
***Many rom-coms are more “smirk” or “quiet chuckle” events.  They don’t come with actual laughter.

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

Just as gripping on second viewing and so much fun because three of the four main leads are women.  And I love all their performances.  Matt really enjoyed it too, if by “enjoyed” you mean “was completely and thoroughly disturbed by the ending.”

Cost: $2.00 at Videorama
Where watched:  at home with Matt to celebrate my new job.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/gone_girl_ver3.html
I think the other poster where Mr. Affleck has his back to the camera is even better than this one, but I’ve already used that one.  But even this lesser version, this is a fabulous poster.  Do you see the eyes???

I went into this documentary thinking I would be angry at the situation these six brothers (and one sister) were put in by their parents, and indeed, their lives for a long time followed a path different than what I (and probably the majority of poeple) would choose for them.  However, the boys themselves displayed such resiliency on camera that I left the theater hopeful that they would find their way in this world, despite probably lacking a lot of basic skills.*  The film is worth watching just to see how striking they are when the venture out into New York City from their tiny, cramped apartment.

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater with S. North.

*But really?  The fact that children are allowed to be raised this way is disturbing.  There should be more oversight.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/wolfpack.html

While there is a dearth of women-who-aren’t-objects in this movie, what it does have is a ton of good acting by males, particularly Jason Mitchell as Easy-E.  Though I was the right age to be a fan, the rock/rap divide was a chasm on the time and I was standing firmly on the heavy metal side,* so I was watching this for the story (it delivered) rather than the music.  I found myself questioning if having all the members of NWA sign off on this movie meant that some things were portrayed in a more rosy light than maybe actual events that occurred, but ultimately enjoyed this motion picture.**

Cost: $5.00
Where watched:  Hollywood Theater with Kelly***

*For instance, when I hear the phrase “straight outta Compton”, I think not of NWA, but the line from the Kid Rock song “Cowboy”: I ain’t straight outta Compton, I’m straight out the trailer.
**Also, I found myself marveling at just how BIG t-shirts in the 80s were.  I mean, I was wearing them too, but in comparison to now, the actors were swimming in them.
***Note that Kelly and I began the summer with a movie featuring Paul Giamatti taking advantage of a musician and we ended the summer with a movie where Paul Giamatti took advantage of multiple musicians.  Crazy.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/wolfpack.html