Tag: three sentence movies

Another free admission, thanks to my hotel stay at the Olympic Club, and another film I would not have watched otherwise, despite my love for Kristen Bell. However, the theater was filled with–judging from their chortles of glee–a lot of moms, and when you discard all trappings of “but, that isn’t realistic because…” then this film is very funny and all three main actresses are fun to watch, especially Kathryn Hahn.  While it was great to see so many actresses having fun, I do find myself questioning as to why the two men who wrote and directed this movie did not include any actual females in the creative process.*

Cost: free due to hotel package
Where watched: McMenamins Olympic Club

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

*What would a movie about bad moms written and directed by women (or even actual moms) be like?  Maybe Hollywood should get on that?

I snuck away for the weekend and free admission to the movie theater was included in my hotel stay at the Olympic Club Hotel, so I watched this.  I found it held my attention and was interesting and it made me want to read the original article on which the movie was based.* Teller and Hill do their solid acting thing, as usual.

Cost: free due to hotel package
Where watched: McMenamins Olympic Club

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/war_dogs.html
Much grumpy commentary by the IMP peanut gallery on this one.  Partially for the Scarface ripoff, partially because the names are not attached to the correct head.

*I did.  You can get it by googling.  Not surprisingly, there is no love interest in the real story.

This was homework watching due to the upcoming release of the remake, but I was happy to find it was enjoyable homework.  I enjoyed Brynner & McQueen’s chemistry and the gradual change of both the townspeople and the hired guns was a pleasure to watch.  It’s rare to find a movie this old that kept me interested for the entire run time* but this was one!

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1960/magnificent_seven_ver2.html

*I often am bored during older movies, so much so that I recalibrate my expectations regarding pacing for films made prior to 1980.

I like that I watched this movie; it was interesting to see the depiction of 50s hoodlums, and Willem DaFoe’s performance was good.  But it wasn’t a very good movie to watch due to some drag and a general ennui that emanated from the characters that made me wonder why I should care much about them.  I’ve hit a low point in my #52moviesbywomen project.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

poster from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085872/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Though I was excited for Kyra Sedgwick and the story seemed interesting, this movie was terrible.  The acting was sub-par, the plotting was awful.  Overall, a movie I found hard to keep watching, due to its inadequacies.

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

poster from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367587/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

This was one of those really enjoyable movies that crept up on me.  The premise is already amusing, so there was that, but both actors so embodied their characters that it was fun to sink into the drama.*  Insights into the pain and pleasures of being famous were plentiful also.

Cost: free via work-sponsored Netflix
Where watched: at home

*Kevin Spacey looks nothing like Nixon, but he had the man down.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/elvis_and_nixon_ver2.html

I felt lucky to be able to watch this early Kelly Reichardt movie and found it very much keeping in the Reichardt style.  It did a good job of overturning all the Bonnie and Clyde cliches.  I also found the Florida setting interesting, as many of her movies are set in Oregon.

Cost: free via work-sponsored Netflix.
Where watched: at home.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1994/river_of_grass.html

This is a very delightful first date movie, as well as very nice period piece.  The young Barack Obama is what was then probably referred to as “charmingly persistent” in his wooing of the much more hesitant Michelle Robinson.* Plus it had a recitation of a poem by Gwendoyn Brooks (which I, too have memorized) and also paintings by Ernie Barnes, who I was not at all familiar with.

Cost: $9.50
Where watched: Cinema 21 with Matt**

*In the 80s this was charmingly persistent. Seen today it’s more of an experience where the woman sets very firm boundaries and the man walks all over them.  Which made this movie kind of uncomfortable to watch.

**With whom I had a very “Who’s on First” conversation:
“And on Thursday, I’m going to watch Southside with You.”
“With me?”
“No, Southside with You.”
“I don’t understand.  With me?”
“No, the date movie with–”
“Oh!  That movie.  I want to see that.”
“You want to see Southside with You with me?”

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

The always-good Linda Cardellini and the always interesting Michael Shannon team up as a couple trying to put their life back together after Cardellini returns from a deployment.  This movie continues the tradition of being a not-quite-there attempt to depict the drawbacks/realities of the endless Iraq/Afghanistan engagement.*  Solid performances, slow plot, overall kind of just there.

Cost:  free via work-sponsored Netflix.
Where watched: at home.

*I think there needs to be some distance from a war to really “get” it on film.  And since this one is still going on, it’s difficult to have any distance.

 

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