Three sentence movie reviews: Paddington Bear

I stayed far away from this movie in 2014, because I didn’t want a favorite childhood book to be ruined by the movie adaptation. However, Paddington 2 was getting such rave reviews from critics* that I decided to check it out. It did the opposite of ruining a childhood favorite; it made it better with a funny sweetness and great acting all around.**

Cost: Netflix subscription
Where watched: at home, with Matt, who had no childhood references to the book and also enjoyed the film.

*When critics are raving about Paddington 2, is something wacky in the world, or is it just that good of film?  Time will tell.
**Nicole Kidman=very fun villain. See also: To Die For

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

Three sentence movie reviews: Tramps

A birdwalk on IMDB involving Grace Van Patten* brought me to this film which is a standard day-in-the-life story, this one involving two people operating right on the edge of criminal behavior. It held my attention, but did not dazzle, and I suspect I’m going to go off on another birdwalk chasing down Callum Turner, who was interesting to watch.

Cost: Netflix subscription
Where watched: at home

*Recently seen by me in the Meyerowitz Stories

poster from: http://www.mrqe.com/movie_reviews/tramps-m100118191

It snowed!

Aside from that stuff at Christmas that was really ice pretending to be snow, we have not had much in the way of the white stuff this winter. And here we are, in late February, with a snowstorm.

This was the perfect kind of snow. It looked very pretty and also didn’t really stick on the roads, so things weren’t very snarled up.

Thanks, winter, for being so polite. And pretty.

Goodreads commenter Rick makes a point


I did not love The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, but I appreciated Goodreads Member Rick’s response to the “homosexual activity” question posed. It reminded me to be grateful that we’re moving on from the view that things that certain kind of people do is “activity” instead just of living their lives like the rest of us.

Three sentence movie reviews: A Star is Born

Oh my goodness, Judy Garland is amazing and this movie is completely worth watching, three hour run time be damned.*   Who else but Garland could conjure up an entire production number by herself using a “practice record” and items present in her living room? In parts of the movie, Cukor seemed to be experimenting with still photos and voice over which was odd and didn’t work for me, but other than that, this movie was captivating.**

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

*Don’t have time for 3 hours?  Marinate yourself in “The Man That Got Away”
**So far, I’ve adored both versions of this story. I love how it’s not a story of exploitation, but of mutual love and respect. It’s a tale of love untainted by all the Hollywood stuff we know goes on (and has always gone one). It’s sad and it’s sweet and so very good. I’ve seen the preview for the 1970s version, though, and it looks like it’s going to destroy everything I love about this story, so I’m putting a healthy distance between this version and that one.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1954/star_is_born_ver2.html

Enchilada Bubble Up Casserole

I got very excited at the thought of a bubble up casserole, wherein the stuff below bubbles up between the bits of dough and it all cooks together into one delicious mass. So I made one. This is from Budget Bytes (and thank you, Jan, for the recommendation. It’s a great site.)

Sadly, I had too many biscuit drops and they all grew together before the enchilada sauce could bubble up. Only around the outsides did the bubbling up happen like I thought it would.

It was still very good. Also, I didn’t follow the directions fully and I accidentally put the cheese on before I put the biscuit pieces on. I think it looks better that way, anyway.

Three sentence movie reviews: Irreplaceable You

Oh, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, you’ve been so good in so many films* and I hope you keep working for many years. This is one of those films that could be incredibly so-so, or also could be quietly charming and very good, and I’m happy to say that it was the latter, rather than the former. This was just the bit of “good movie” my Sunday night needed.**

Cost: Netflix subscription fee
Where watched: at home. Matt was half watching it and he also enjoyed it.

*I’m specifically thinking here of Beyond the Lights, but I know also she’s quite good in Belle, which I haven’t seen because the library only had a Blu-Ray copy and I didn’t have a Blu-Ray player when it was released on DVD. Which reminds me. [pause while things happen online] Hold has been placed.
**Random note:  Michael Huisman also played the romantic lead in the Age of Adaline. What a difference the subtraction of facial hair and addition of glasses makes. And further investigation has me thinking they also changed his nose. Also, he was Sonny in the show Treme!  He’s great in that, too.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/tv/irreplaceable_you.html

Three sentence movie reviews: Black Panther

If you are going to see one–and only one–superhero film, this is a good pick, mostly because it’s so well done, but also because this superhero film has put women front and center in a way that none of its predecessors have.* It’s an action-packed, meaningful narrative that handles very well its many plot arcs. That said, I have seen many superhero films and am burned out on the genre, so while I appreciated how good this movie was, I also didn’t love it in the way I would have had I seen it in 2012, instead of 2018.

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Century 16 Eastport, our first visit to that theater. Movies start early at Century Theaters. Our showing was at 8:45 a.m.

*Except Wonder Woman, but if that movie wasn’t female forward, it would have been a disaster.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2018/black_panther.html