Based on a true story, and a good movie to watch with your mom on Thanksgiving.* I could have done less with the prominent use of camera angles from the cat’s perspective, but those fade by mid-movie. Luke Treadaway’s performance was solid, and he did a good job sharing a screen with a cat.
Cost: Netflix
Where watched: at Mom’s house.
*She picked it out.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2016/street_cat_named_bob.html
Good depictions of mother-daughter relationships are hard to come by in film.* That makes this coming-of-age story a rare gem that manages to capture the senior year attempts at growing up, as well as lay the patchwork for the eventual mother-daughter separation.** Ronan & Metcalf are brilliant as the mother-daughter pair, and props also must go to Beanie Feldstein as the stalwart best friend, and Odeya Rush as the vapid rich girl.
Cost: $9.00 (pre-Thanksgiving treat!)
Where watched: Hollywood Theater. My showing sold out. (!!)
*This is partially because of the general absence of women in film, but also because it’s hard to get the nuance of loving someone who also drives you crazy.
**It’s also a very funny film.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/lady_bird.html
I came prepared to not like this movie, as it was not reviewed favorably, and thus I was less than impressed. The main problem for me was that there was even more violence in this film than in the first one and it was spread throughout, so I spent a goodly amount of time covering my eyes.* I was in it for Channing Tatum, and he had maybe five minutes on screen.
Cost: $5.00
Where watched: Jubitz Cinema
*Most of the first film’s run time consisted of training sequences; the violence was mostly saved for the end.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/kingsman_the_golden_circle_ver5.html
http://www.impawards.com/2017/kingsman_the_golden_circle_ver19.html
I put off seeing this, due to superhero fatigue, but thank goodness I caught up with it, as this movie is an exercise in excellent storytelling. As someone who loves a good high school film, I can say that this is an quality high school film, with bonus superhero elements. Tom Holland is a great Spider-Man, but special props go to Jacob Batalon as Ned, who aspires to be “the guy in the chair.”
Cost: $1.50 from Redbox
Where watched: at home, with Matt (his second viewing)
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/spiderman_homecoming.html
This starts as an amusing cross-cultural romp, but makes an abrupt and harrowing turn halfway through, making for an uneven (and unpleasant) film. The performances by Dench and Fazal were quite good, and the costumes nice. Overall, the uneven nature made for a very disjointed movie experience.
Cost: free due to Regal Gift Cards
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12, with mom.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/victoria_and_abdul.html
Chris Hemsworth is already quite stunning in the looks department, is a fine actor, and thus, it seems unfair that he would also have great comedic timing.* But he does, and this movie is delightful in a wacky way most Marvel movies aren’t. Tessa Thompson is also fun to watch, as is the director as Korg.
Cost: free due to birthday gift cards
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12, with Matt
*I mean really, must he be good at everything?
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/thor_ragnarok.html
When one spends several hours doing hard labor in service of a landscaping project, one does not have the gumption to do much else. So it was that this film got a re-watch, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. The casual “funny” racism of Jeff Bridges character still irked, but I still loved the layers of this story and how well it is told.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home with Matt, who really enjoyed it.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/hell_or_high_water_ver2.html
Fun fact: Comancheria was the original title of this film. It seems that it worked better for the French people than the idiom Hell or High Water.
(4 movies watched) (good movie month)
Drug-dealing life, normal life.
Crazy good.
Hilarious
Heartfelt
There are so many things to say about this expertly acted and very interesting movie. However, I have only three sentences. Thus, I will tell you that the performances of Rebecca Hall* and Bella Heathcote are impeccable, and that Angela Robinson’s directing skills made for a superb movie.
Cost: free for me, (birthday “dinner”) some insane amount of money paid by Matt.
Where watched: Regal Fox Tower, with Matt.
*Looking over Rebecca Hall’s filmography, it seems she’s in a lot of quality flicks. She might make a good candidate for an all-filmography project.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/professor_marston_and_the_wonder_women.html
I’d been wanting to see this ever since the Next Picture Show paired it with This is Spinal Tap for their podcast. Having finally seen it, I can report that this movie is hilarious enough that I laughed aloud while watching it by myself. The cameos are reason enough to watch this movie,* although the songs are a close second.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.**
*And I say this as a person who is fairly unaware of the modern pop music scene, and had only vaguly heard of many of the people in the cameos. If I found them funny, someone with more knowledge will appreciate them even more.
**I floated this as a possible in-theater movie experience to Matt and he rejected it, saying it sounded dumb. But when I put the movie on while he was in the room, he was quickly sucked in, laughing even harder than me, and only reluctantly left for an appointment. The next day he picked up where he stopped and watched the whole thing in one sitting–which is a rare thing.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/popstar.html
