I would also recommend two other movies she directed: Women Talking and Away From Her. Both are very moving but in different ways.
Sarah Polley has come a long ways from playing Anne in Road to Avonlea.
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Jackpot! on Amazon. Awkwafina and John Cena. Set in the near dystopian future (2026-2030), a lottery winner gets a huge payout, but they need to survive until sundown to keep the money. The winnerâs name and location are posted and the mobs go after them. One rule, no bullets. The one who kills the lottery winner get the money, no chain of continuous killing. Awkwafina doesnât know about the lottery, but somehow ends up winning. Cena offers a protection service. Feels a lot like a newer version of Itâs a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Kind of wacky and whimsical until the end. Not great, but a fun ride.
My Mother the Spy on Amazon. Momâs a spy, adult daughter doesnât know. They end up on a mission together. Pretty silly.
Beetlejuice on Max getting ready for the sequel Monday. Had seen it many years ago, but didnât have all of it in current memory. Now I do.
the best part of MMMW was there wasnât one unrecognizable face in the whole huge cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the theater. Paid homage to the original fairly well. They threw in a few things I would have missed if I hadnât watch the original the day before. In the model in the attic, there is a capsized car next to the covered bridge, nice touch, easy to miss. The story was OK. Way more Keaton than in the original. Jenna Ortega was great. Winona Ryder, much less so. Lots of time spent in the underworld. The soul train was entertaining as well.
The Boy and the Heron on Max. Seen a bunch of Studio Ghibli movies. This is by far the strangest. May need some time to think about it. Set during WWII, so that may play a role. Sort of time travel. Lots of parakeets, not sure what they are supposed to represent.
For Better or For Worse on Amazon from 1990 or so. Robert Hays and Kim Cattrall in a weak rip off of Romancing the Stone. She worked for a US State Department agency that did things the CIA wouldnât. Think paying off black mailers, etc. She meets him and get married. She has one more mission. He gets involved. Reasonably pleasant film, but not really worth more than that.
We missed her start in the US. Or at least I did. The first time I noticed her was in The Sweet Hereafter, where she did a great job in a great movie.
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Itâs basically a documentary on playing cards, their history and possible hidden meanings, with a good amount of magic thrown in.
Wife really liked it, too.
I bought it via Amazon.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - wife was big fan of original wanted to see this in theater. I could have waited til it came to streaming. Was OK but not as good as original. The first half to three quarters seems like a slow homage to the original. But I think Iâll be singing the wedding dance number all week which was the highlight of the movie IMO.
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Uglies - as dystopian YA fantasy goes, this was an OK movie, Iâve seen better and worse in the genre. Though like many âteenâ dramas the actors looked and felt way too old for the parts. I have not read the book series nor am I likely to.
My MiL asked me for math movies.
It made me realize that I donât like ANY math movies or bio-pics.
Every one Iâve seen pretty much sucks.
The characters are always made more extreme, and whatever math is shown is stupid.
Hidden Figures was good.
Stand and Deliver was pretty good too.
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Good Will Hunting was pretty good, too. The math shown was pretty legit for the most part.
I donât know if A Beautiful Mind counts?
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Imitation Game
Life of Pi 
Gifted
The Deal on Amazon. William Macy as a movie producer type trying to get is nephewâs (Josh Ritter) script made into a movie with Meg Ryan and LL Cool J. The machinations reminded me of a MASH episode where everyone needed to promise something to the next guy to get what was needed.
You May Not Kiss the Bride on Amazon. Clueless guy needs to marry a gangsterâs daughter to repay a manufactured debt and she gets a green card. She is supposed to be eastern European but has a 100% American accent. They get involved in a kidnapping while on their honeymoon. Guess what, they actually fall in love. Never saw that coming. Not great, but story is OK with Rob Schneider as the wacky helicopter pilot.
My Spy: The Eternal City on Amazon. The sequel we didnât know we needed. Sophie is now in full teenager mode and JJ has trouble figuring it out. The Vatican is about to get nuked too. All the usuals return and Anna Faris too. Not nearly as good as the original. Seems like they wanted a sequel and tried to find a way to make a story.
Strawberry Mansion on Amazon. If you are a fan of the very weird indie films out there (think Frank), this may be up your alley. Very hard to explain. There is a dream auditor and then the weirdness kicks in. Really enjoyed it for what it was.
IF (Airplane) I expected funnier, was very young adult, not really for me. But enjoyable enough. I thought the lead actress did a very good job, excellent facial expressions, especially if acting against a blue screen
A Quiet Place: Day One (Airplane) Not really an origin story, as no idea where they came from, and not much of a learning curve to know to be quiet, So really just more of he same with (mostly) new characters. Was ok, just nothing new
The Boy and the Heron (Max) Well made, but fantasy anime is just not my thing
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Disney+) The graphics are great, just an unnecessary sequel. Maybe looking to start a new franchise, but not a great start. I did enjoy the juxtaposition of the Caesar stories
Push (2009) was on peacock. Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning have powers and are being pursued by a government agency that wants a case with a drug that enhances powers. In this genre Iâve seen better but I did really like the dynamic between Evans and a young Fanning so found the movie very enjoyable. Looked like they set up for a sequel at the end but I do t think one ever came.
My Old Ass at the theater. Aubrey Plaza is the big name associated with this and she has a meaningful part as the older self. But it is really about her younger self played by Maisy Stella. The movie considers what you would tell your younger self if you could go back in time (hint, she does ). Took me a while, but I figured out the one mystery in the film, shortly before the reveal, which I generally donât do very well.
I was gonna ask, so was it good or not, but, Aubrey Plaza, so it doesnât matter.
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