Jimmy-Jim-Jimmy-Jim-Jim-Jim-Jim…
Mulan - the new live action one. It was OK but not as good as good as the original cartoon version.
“Moonlight”
Very good.
“Roma” is up next.
Judas and the Black Messiah – Very good, well acted . Kaluuya was very good. I would put him above the over 3 Supporting Actors in the GG. Haven’t seen On The Rocks. Chicago 7 & Night In Miami were such ensemble casts that I just can’t put one actor above the others.
The movie was very straight forward and nothing new to me. I learned more from Chicago 7. and it lacked lighter moments, any humor. It also lacked the build up to a wtf moment, where there was plenty of opportunity
Death To 2020 – funny satire
BeeGees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - good documentary, a band in my heyday that went through so many stylistic changes, so I got a lot out of this.
Nomadland - I really liked this. American neo-realism - it will not be for everyone, it is slow and meandering, but it needs to be. Is it a best picture? I put it above Mank and Chicago 7, but I feel it isn’t strong enough. More of a film-makers film, so may get support. Interested to see what additional movies the Oscars include, I would doubt anything from the Musical/Comedy, except maybe Hamilton (is that a movie?) Love McDormand and she deserves the nomination, but I don’t see her winning
Palm Springs - funny, engaging. Not as good as Groundhog Day, better than Happy Death Day.strong text
Supernova Not for everyone, but one of the best I’ve seen this year. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci are married, Tucci has dementia, but very early on and this is the last road trip they are likely to be able to take together. They travel the bleak British back woods and revisit some places from their past as well as family before Firth performs on stage for the first time in a long while (pianist). Very moving especially if you have had a family member slowly slip away.
Sound of Metal - Excellent film about a man losing his hearing. Lead actor did a great job, but probably not popular enough to get serious consideration
The Croods: A New Age - not as good as the first, but very funny and enjoyable. Soul was more original, so give that the nod
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Had it’s moments, I just can’t take him in large doses. More plot then the first with the political stuff, would love to know what was real and put on The woman was very funny though,
I Care a Lot: Started strong, but the primary was so detestable, I had trouble enjoying this at all
Over the Moon: Decent beginning and end, but terrible fantasy middle, purely for kids with no adult appeal. Music forgettable. I think they wanted this to be a Chinese Coco
Pieces of a Woman - I felt this could have done so much more on the topic. Just didn’t explore enough in depth. She was good, but not an award winner
Toddler is on a Minions kick, so he watches that 2-4 times every single day.
Fantastic Mr. Fox - youngest just read this story so we all watched the movie. Really enjoyed it. Wes Anderson does some good stuff. I might need to catch up on some of his movies that I missed.
Anderson is not for everyone, very quirky.
I enjoy his films
As do I, but I couldn’t stand The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Hated it from the first cel to the last. Love all of his other work though. Can’t wait for The French Dispatch if it ever gets released.
like Fox, did not like Life Aquatic
Life Aquatic would least favorite minus 1 for Fox.
The United States vs Billie Holliday. Andra Day was very good, not great. The movie was off. too many supporting cast were charactures, the movie was episodic and repetitive
it concentrated on her drug arrests and frames. but I thought it was about the song. they didn’t talk about its writing, or early reaction, just that the FBI hated it. she sang the first line once, when we see FBI officers lining the aisles. It seemed we were to be convinced everything was about a song she didn’t sing publically in 8 years.
little character development as well, just some flashback stuff halfway though
Tom and Jerry on HBO. It was stupid fun. Not a great film for sure. I like Michael Pena and wasn’t crazy about the character he was playing. There was enough old T&J violence if that is what you want from them. Colin Jost was a weird casting choice, but I like Rob Delaney’s role.
Saw White Tiger on Netflix. Thought it was good but not great - still worth a watch. Great performance by the lead actor.
Please Stand By with Dakota Fanning, Toni Collette and Alice Eve. Really enjoyed this one. Fanning is somewhere on the spectrum and her sister, Eve, can’t handle her and the new baby so she is in a group home with Collette as the head counsellor. Fanning is trying to write a script for a Star Trek competition and has 2 days to deliver it hundreds of miles away. She has never been more than a handful of blocks from the group home and has no idea where LA is. Undaunted, she sets out to deliver the script.
Big Foots Wild Weekend Not very good, horrid acting, but what do you expect with the title.
Coming 2 America The sequel we didn’t need. Feels like they wanted to make sure that everyone who liked the original would find the same things in this one. Even a lame joke about how horrible sequels are. I had higher hopes.
2067 An Australian post apocalyptical movie with a family favorite, Ryan Kwanten from True Blood. All plant life has died and that means oxygen is running out. The hero needs to be sent 400 years into the future to see how the Earth was saved. Lots of time travel conundrums. Not great.
Moxie Young woman coming of age as she fights the patriarchy in her high school. Not bad, a little cliched for my taste, but I enjoyed most of it. Amy Poehler as the mom was a good fit, not way over the top as she can be.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things A cross between Groundhog Day and Palm Springs. A high school guy keeps reliving the same day over again and doesn’t know why. One day, he meets a girl living the same day over again as well. He falls for her but she has some dark secret that keeps her from getting too involved. They decide that maybe by identifying all of the tiny perfect things in life, they might break the cycle. Things like a guy sitting on a bench when a delivery truck stops behind him and the angel wings on the truck perfectly align with his body. I really enjoyed this one.
Honest Thief Liam Neeson as a bank robber who meets a woman and wants to settle down. So he tries to convince the FBI he is the thief and to turn the money back in for a reduced sentence near his girlfriend. Bad agents step in and some mayhem ensues. I found the story to be a little too basic for a Neeson film. Fun watch though.
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019)
Highly recommend.
Some issues with anachronisms. Like, the 747 (shown in the first scenes) first flew commercially on February 9th 1969, yet the story starts on February 8th, 1969. Maybe they were showing some private, first flight, not unlike Disneyland’s official Opening Day (7/17/55) was actually a private, guests-only day. And there is an “Exit Number” shown, which were only recently introduced. Hard to get all those out of the scenes.
Groundhog Day (1993)
Fun fact: Andie McDowell’s daughter is in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”!
Something that bugs the crap out of me is that there is no explanation why he, and only he, is stuck in a time loop, though Andie’s character does ask about Deja Vu.
There is a scene where he’s on a pay phone (what’s that?!) at a gas station, gets hit in the head with a snow shovel. Maybe that’s it? The internet has some explanations, about a former gf cursing him in an earlier script. The first draft apparently has him waking up already in the time loop, and instead of comedy it is a lot darker and more exclusively about Phil than fleshing out other characters (and in a twist ending, Phil declares his love for Rita, she rejects it, and now SHE’s put into a time loop!).
Lastly, reference to “Actuarial Tables” by Ned, Ned Ryerson. BING!
Zootopia. We have owned it for years and my kids have watched it with my husband a bunch of times but I had never seen it. I loved it! And especially appreciated the actuary reference.
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I find that reference cringey. Does anyone here actually hunt for tax exemptions?
But I like the rest of the film.