Movies – Full Listing
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…
Unbelievable
UNBELIEVABLE Unbelievable is an incredibly powerful true story about a multi-state serial rapist in Colorado & Lynnwood, Washington. With great respect and in some detail, this Netflix Original 8-episode series shows the rapist’s methods and the impact on the victims. In addition, Unbelievable shows the botched investigation in Washington State, and the two women who…
- 2019
- True Crime, Drama
Ramen Shop (Ramon Teh)
RAMEN SHOP (RAMEN TEH) Masato (Takumi Saito) is a Chef in his father’s Ramen Shop. His strongest childhood memories are of his Chinese mother Mei Lian (Jeanette Aw) eating Pork Rib Soup. His mother died while Masato was still a boy. After Masato’s Japanese father Kazuo (Tsuyoshi Ihara) dies, he visits Singapore to learn about…
- 2018
- Drama, WAR MEMORIES
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…
Find Me
FIND ME Find Me – the 2018 Indie drama – is more than just a wonderful travelogue movie through a few National Parks (Zion, Death Valley & Yosemite). Written, directed and starring, Joe Huang, Find Me is about expanding your horizons and dealing with hardships. Joe (Joe Huang, Why Am I Doing This?) is an…
- 2018
- Drama
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)…
Another Life
ANOTHER LIFE Another Life is a science fiction 10-part drama series about an alien invasion that premiered on Netflix in July 2019. Aliens drop a towering crystalline artifact on earth and the earthlings begin to study the artifact. Simultaneously, earth launches a one of a kind spacecraft into space to investigate the aliens’ home world….
- 2019
- Science Fiction, Drama, SERIES
The Cranes Are Flying
THE CRANES ARE FLYING The Cranes Are Flying is an obscure but incredible Soviet/Russian film from 1957. This film won the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) which was the highest prize awarded at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Stealing a phrase from a YouTube commenter where the trailer for this film can be found, “This is…
Hustlers
HUSTLERS Jennifer Lopez – her first scene in Hustlers – is an amazing scene to behold. J.Lo is the main reason to see this movie. Hustlers is a comedy crime drama movie about strippers; strippers that never strip but make “more money than a brain surgeon.” Dorothy (Constance Wu), aka Destiny, a new dancer, is…
First Man
FIRST MAN With all the craziness in the 1960’s – the Vietnam War & the protests, the Pill, the Cold War, Civil Rights Act & riots, the assassinations, and the music – it is pretty amazing that the US orbits, then walks on the moon flying in analog space capsules filled with buttons, switches and…
A Private War
A PRIVATE WAR A Private War is a dramatization of the American journalist Marie Colvin’s life from 2001 to 2012 while she was working for the British national newspaper, The Sunday Times. Rosamund Pike (Hostiles, Gone Girl, Hector and the Search for Happiness) is superb as the war time journalist Marie Colvin. This film is…
Us
US I usually do not enjoy horror movies. I dislike seeing people dehumanized, treated like meat, slashed, sawed, and physically tortured. However, Us is different and worth watching. Us is shot in Southern California. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is prominent in several scenes. Us is more than just a scary movie with an appropriate…
Rocketman
ROCKETMAN Rocketman is an excellent biopic of Elton John’s life during the 1970’s & 80’s – not a linear story – instead, it is a musical. This musical shows the most significant events in Elton’s life during that time – not just what happened – but how he felt and how he survived those crazy…
Always Be My Maybe
ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE An adorable rom-com, with two charming people + Keanu Reeves. Does anything more really need to be said? The charming people are the two leading roles – Ali Wong & Randall Park. How charming is Ali Wong? Even almost eight months pregnant in both of her comedy specials (Baby Cobra in…