Tag: three sentence movies

There is no discernible plot arc in this film, which could be the kiss of death, were the characters not so delightful to hang out with.*  I related to Lucas Jade Zuman’s Jamie trying so very hard to connect with his much-older mother about feminist issues** despite the fact that she was not interested in relating to her son in that manner.    The cast was outstanding, and there are several scenes in this movie I will think of with fondness for many years to come.***

Cost: $5.35
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12 with S. North

*It’s also full of other stuff that could be really annoying, like intrusive voice over.  Somehow, it manages to make those annoying things not-so annoying.
**Using Sisterhood is Powerful!  Which was a seminal work of my teen years in the 80s and 90s.
***”Art Fags”; Elle Fanning’s list of why she likes having sex; the dinner party scene where Gerwig talks about things not talked about during dinner.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/twozeroth_century_women.html

I had low expectations going in and really enjoyed myself.  The cast was marvelous.* I found that some of the fantastic beasts scenes went on for too long, but otherwise was happy to add this to the Harry Potter world.

Cost: $5.00
Where watched: Jubitz Theater with Matt.

*Waterston, Folger & Sudol were new to me.  Obviously I know Redmayne.

I have pledged to call out “funny” fat jokes in movies when I see them and I’m disappointed to say that this movie contains one.  When Dan Folger first attempts to follow Redmayne into the suitcase, he gets stuck and must jump up and down to get the rest of the way in.  Later in the movie, a beast larger than a house goes back into the suitcase without getting similarly stuck, so there was no reason for this fat joke.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/fantastic_beasts_and_where_to_find_them_ver4.html

Having loved Manchester by the Sea, I did a nostalgia re-watch of this film.  This was the film where I sat up and took notice of Linney and Ruffalo.*  It’s still good, though a few fashion details have aged unattractively.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

*IMDB tells me that I had seen Laura Linney in several things in the 90s, but this was the first big thing.  Ruffalo was unknown to me the first time I watched this.

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

This suffered the unfortunate fate of overselling, which meant I watched a movie I would have found to be amazing and wonderful expecting it to be a transformative movie, and thus left feeling shortchanged.  This is unfortunate, as this was an amazing and wonderful movie grounded firmly in the performances, story and setting.  You should see it, but you might want to ratchet down your expectations to avoid suffering my fate.

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theater with S. North

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/moonlight_ver2.html
(I didn’t really look at this poster until I downloaded it for this review, but WOW! This is an amazing poster!)

Snow Day Cancellations Day II meant there was time to catch Matt up with this film, which is all of the things listed on the poster.  I have trouble getting people to watch this, because everyone thinks they don’t want to watch a movie about the investigation of pedophile priests, but I’m telling those people that they do.  Because this is a movie about people working hard to do what’s right and it’s hopeful and moving in a way that no one would think a movie about the investigation of pedophile priests would be.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home with Matt

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/spotlight_ver3.html

Both Matt and I had disappointing days, plus my tap dance class was cancelled due to the start of the snowstorm. Luckily, I had grabbed this from the library, knowing that Matt would enjoy it.  We laughed a lot–even me, my second viewing–and Matt’s favorite part was “your actions have consequences”

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, with Matt

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/keanu_ver3.html
(There were so many to choose from! I went with this Revenant-inspired one.)

This is the documentary on which Jeff Nichols based his movie Loving.  Watching it after having watched Loving, it felt repetitive, as the fictional movie follows this closely.*  I enjoyed the original media coverage and felt this was a solid documentary.**

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

*This is, of course, not the documentary’s fault.
**If you have no time for either the documentary or the movie, might I suggest Grey Villet’s photos from 1966?  Here’s a link.

Poster from random internet search.

I didn’t get a heads up that this is one of those films where they sing all the way through–not my favorite.  It’s a beautifully composed story, the colors pop, and it’s worth watching just for the wallpaper.*  It’s an emotional film, and quite enjoyable.

Cost: free via Vimeo. (Sometimes the subtitles blipped very quickly, so I couldn’t read them. This was annoying, but I still got the gist)
Where watched: at home

*Seriously.

I watched this so I could listen to the Next Picture Show podcast pairing this movie with La La Land.

poster from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Umbrellas_of_Cherbourg

Aside from being an amazing time capsule of 1982 Valley Girl fashion, this was also an enjoyable movie.  It’s also fun to see how mainstream the “outsider” music has become.*  It’s also a nice bit of adolescent exploration: should you give up your friends for a boy you like?**

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, while painting toenails purple

*There’s a great falling-in-love montage backed by Modern English’s “I Melt With You” which I was fully introduced to as a Burger King commercial. Also Nicholas Cage and his friends have outfits that transcend time much better than the Valley Girls.
**Generally I would say no, but in this case: yes.  Also, aside from this being early Nicholas Cage (before he fixed his teeth!) I also enjoyed Elizabeth Daily as the somewhat slutty friend.  She’s got a classic 80s look, (this is her in Better Off Dead) and has a great voice and I’m pleased she’s still working.  Mostly voice over work.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1983/valley_girl.html
(This poster features the woman who was in the movie in flashback, for maybe two minutes.  It does not feature the main female character.)

I’m checking out a few Ben Foster performances and so watched this movie.  He’s good, Harrelson is good, and this movie ripped me apart.  We still haven’t gotten our seminal war movie from the Iraq/Afghanistan war, but this is a top “home-front” contender.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home