Romance
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN The Anomaly: An anomaly is defined as a departure from the normal order, something that is peculiar, irregular or difficult to explain. Discoveries in science, for instance, are sometimes pushed forward by anomalies since anomalies can give you a fresh perspective on something. An anomaly must be what happened…
Cold War
COLD WAR Cold War’s beginning sets an interesting premise for this black & white Polish art-house drama set in the political upheaval period after WWII (1949 to 1964). The interesting part has Wiktor Warski (Tomas Kot), Irena Bielecka (Agata Kulesza), and the Manager Lech Kaczmarek (Borys Szyc) traveling through Poland. Traveling to find young adults…
Clara
CLARA Clara is a small film by a 22-year old first time director Akash Sherman, that tackles a huge subject – searching for intelligent life in the universe. The film attains it’s objective by inserting a slightly mystical romance in the middle. A Canadian romantic sci-fi film shot in and around Toronto. A data driven…
- 2018
- Science Fiction
The Lobster
THE LOBSTER Almost gave up on The Lobster since it is so offbeat, quirky and purposely oddly acted. But this is a piece of art co-written and directed by the typically offbeat Yorgos Lanthimos. Mr. Lanthimos most likely invested years worth of effort into writing, planning and directing this film so the least I can…
- 2015
- Thriller, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction
A Star is Born
A STAR IS BORN The fourth remake of A Star is Born starts out with a bang. The introduction of Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) at one of his live concerts, shot with handheld cameras, is excellent. The photo below is during the filming at a concert in England. Bradley Cooper plays the guitar during the…
Eye of the Needle
EYE OF THE NEEDLE After a Whidbey Island, Washington State beach fire on a cold, clear November day, the Eye of the Needle was intriguing enough WWII movie that only one of the six people watching fell asleep. Had to rewatch it the next day when there was no laughing, talking or spouting sarcasm to…
Disobedience
DISOBEDIENCE In Disobedience, it takes a while to understand the real problem plaguing this “once we were best friends” trio, but when you get there, the movie beautifully and heartbreakingly intertwines faith in God (“Word Hashem [God] is my life”), freedom, and choice. Rachel Weisz (The Lobster) as Ronit, estranged from her Rabbi father’s Othodox…
Practical Magic
PRACTICAL MAGIC Practical Magic with its amusing witches is completely unbelievable and has a totally outrageous premise. This allows Practical Magic to do whatever they want and they do it amusingly well. You could say Practical Magic is a happy rom-com-ish movie even with the abuse, murder, witches, remurder, ghost, haunting, and possession. Sandra Bullock…
Sleepless in Seattle
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE Rewatched Sleepless in Seattle on the 25th anniversary since its release in June 1993. True, it is a romantic comedy, a very good one – and everyone knows what happened so forget the summary. But, Sleepless In Seatle contains many scenes, quotes, and a soundtrack that makes “Sleepless in Seattle” a timeless…
Waitress
WAITRESS Andrienne Shelly wrote, directed, and co-starred in this very satisfying 2007 Indie movie. Before Ms. Shelly knew if her just completed movie would be purchased & distributed, Andrienne was murdered in her apartment by a petty thief – she was 40. Since then, Waitress has been made into a Tony nominated Broadway Musical –…
Sing Street
SING STREET Sing Street is a well done Irish movie set in Dublin in the 1980’s. This film is part drama, part musical, but mostly a good movie. Poor troubled family takes the middle kid Connor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) out of private school and sends him to a free school run by bully Jesuit Brothers and…
SITR & La La Land
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (& LA LA LAND) Saw La La Land the day before Debbie Reynolds died, so the comparison to Singin’ in the Rain seemed appropriate. Singin’ in the Rain was Debbie Reynolds’ first leading role. Had to rewatch Singin’ in the Rain, since the last time I saw it was in…
Paterson
PATERSON “The Line” There’s an old song my grandfather used to sing that has the question, “or would you rather be a fish?” (this fish line is heard at 1:54 in the above link) Paterson (Adam Driver), the Paterson New Jersey poetic bus driver, is then interrupted, as he is every time he tries…
Padmaavat
PADMAAVAT I was very excited about Padmaavat the grand big screen epic Indian drama. Heard about it since 2016 since it was starring my favorite Indian actress, Deepika Padukone, although at this point I am only aware of two Indian actresses. Set in the 13th Century Afghanistan/Western India. Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh), the Sultan of…
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