Comedy
The Dark Divide
THE DARK DIVIDE At first, I was distracted by the amateur backpacking and the bad science, but after I got over that, the drama, The Dark Divide, is a relatively satisfying story of self-discovery and moving on in life. Sasquatch (Bigfoot) discussions and sightings add a little mysticism and wonder to the film. The Dark…
Love and Monsters
LOVE AND MONSTERS It seems odd to say in this near-apocalyptic pandemic world – but – Love and Monsters, an adventure, monster, romance movie set in a post-apocalyptic world, is fun to watch and is entertaining. Saving the world from one disaster causes another. The remaining population now live in underground bunkers to protect themselves…
- 2020
- Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
The Forty-Year-Old Version
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION The Forty-Year-Old Version is a significant semi-autobiographical comedy, drama about a woman approaching forty and struggling to find her voice. The comedy is mostly the subtle self-deprecating type. Radha Blank wrote, directed, and stars as herself in the film as the lead character Radha. I am always hesitant as a white guy…
My Spy
MY SPY My Spy is the eleventh comedy directed by Peter Segal, the only type of movie he directs. Starting in 1994, Mr. Segal directed buddy comedies (Anger Management 2003), sports comedies (The Longest Yard 2005), sci-fi comedies (Nutty Professor II: The Klumps 2000), adventure comedies (Tommy Boy 1995), and several romantic comedies (50 First…
Blow the Man Down
BLOW THE MAN DOWN Blow the Man Down perfectly sets the Maine seaport small-town tone in this quirky drama of surviving in a town run for the last 30 years by now elderly women. Mary Margaret Connolly dies, leaving her two daughters, Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Priscilla Connolly (Sophie Lowe), to fend for themselves. …
Mother’s Little Helpers
MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPERS Mother’s Little Helpers is a dark-comedy Indie film. The film begins when the four estranged children Sadie Pride (Kestrin Pantera, who wrote and directed the film), Julia Pride (Breeda Wool, the oldest), Jude Pride (Sam Littlefield under house arrest), and Lucy Pride (Milana Vayntrub, the youngest) reluctantly return home to care for…
The Half of It
THE HALF OF IT The Half of It is an adorable coming-of-age comedy-drama from Netflix about a high school senior dealing with her last year at home and starting to discover herself. Written and directed by Alice Wu, whose first movie Saving Face – done 15-years ago – was her own story about coming out…
The Seagull
THE SEAGULL Brian Dennehy died this week. He was the big, burly, most of the time gruff character actor – I can relate to that – who died in the town I grew up in – New Haven, Connecticut. Therefore, I decided to watch one of his later-in-life films, The Seagull, a drama I would…
Danny Collins
DANNY COLLINS Danny Collins is a very melodramatic comedy/drama, with some excellent acting. That’s what you must prepare yourself for if you watch Danny Collins. Do you like the movie Life Itself, or the TV show This Is Us, both overly dramatic and exaggerated views of life? If you can stomach these shows, you will…
Knives Out
KNIVES OUT Knives Out is a surprisingly funny – and a bit quirky – whodunit murder mystery. The dysfunctional Thrombey family meets at the father’s mansion in Massachusetts to celebrate his 85th birthday. The father, Harlan Thrombey, is a self-made one-percenter obtaining his fortune by writing murder mysteries; the rest of the family are just…
Troop Zero
TROOP ZERO Troop Zero is a heartfelt, slightly off-beat, predictable comedy from Amazon Studios. But, the film is more than just a story of misfit kids making friends and becoming more confident. Troop Zero will make you smile, make you cry, and remind you how precious life, friends, and you are. The story happens because…
Shazam!
SHAZAM! Tired of watching Oscar-worthy 3 hour movies, so for the first movie of 2020, I watched Shazam! a light action comic book movie. Shazam! is the seventh film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The preceding six DCEU films are: Man of Steel (2013) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Wonder Women (2017)…
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is a fairy tale. More precisely, the movie is a “what if, fairy tale.” It makes you wonder how the world would differ if the movie’s ending was true. Plot Summary: Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) just wrapped up his 1950’s Western…
Blinded by the Light
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT I always enjoy a movie when the spoken words, or in this case, sung words, are occasionally written on the screen. I believe it is called supertitles. Flashing the words on the screen allows the viewer to read the dialogue and better appreciate the imagery, meaning, or feeling. At the same…
The Peanut Butter Falcon
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON The Peanut Butter Falcon is an endearing, heartwarming road-trip comedy/drama movie set in the U.S. southeast. It introduces Zack Gottsagen, who plays Zak, the co-leading adult male who has Down Syndrome. Zak sets out on the road after escaping from the nursing home where the State placed him. “I am young,…
Yesterday
YESTERDAY Yesterday begins as the lights go out throughout the world. When the lights come on virtually everyone on earth forgets the Beatles. Everyone except the lead in this romantic musical comedy. A world without the Beatles (and a few other things) would be an interesting movie. How is the world different, what type of…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S Breakfast at Tiffany’s is an iconic American movie, it is very chic, stylish, and stars the perfect Audrey Hepburn. Maybe 50 years ago it was, but this movie contains blatant racism (in the full cut version, Mickey Rooney plays a goofy Japanese landlord with an awful accent and grossly stereotypic features and…
The Squid and the Whale
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE The Squid and the Whale is Noah Baumbach’s 2005 Indie movie about the breakdown of a marriage and the effects on the children. Main reason I watched was to prepare for Noah’s newest divorce film – Marriage Story – scheduled for release to theaters in November 2019 and streaming through…
Booksmart
BOOKSMART The tagline for Booksmart states “…. cram four years of fun into one chaotic night.” I guess that’s correct but Booksmart is way more than just a stupid party movie. There is some chaotic “fun” on that last night of high school, but Booksmart is about the friendship of the two leading ladies Amy…
The Farewell
THE FAREWELL I had high expectations for The Farewell, a comedy drama about dying. High expectations sometimes ruin the experience. High expectations lessened my enjoyment of The Farewell. It’s not me – it’s those expectations. Billi (Awkwafina) lives in New York City studying to be a writer. She learns from her parents Jian (Diana Lin)…