I really enjoyed it. Aubrey is one of my favorites so I would have like more of here in the movie. But even so, it was very good. Best I’ve seen in a while.
1 Like
The Gun Runners (1958) - Audie Murphy
I watched Sideways (on Hulu) for the first time since it came out. It holds up really well, imo.
Are you chewing gum?
The Wild Robot at the theater. Could easily be an Oscar contender and maybe best song too. Great for almost all ages, maybe a little scary for very young. Wasn’t expecting to like it very much and came away very impressed.
1 Like
Molli and Max in the Future- (Amazon) - sci-fi romcom. Kind of cute but sort of predictable.
Kleks Academy on Netflix. A very weird cross between Harry Potter, Wily Wonka and Trainspotting. Its Polish YA fantasy film that is pretty hard to describe. Probable target is early teens, but not sure they would really get all the underlying themes, since they are buried in odd dialogue usually. Not a drug user, but I think this could be fun if you were high.
Megalopolis at the theater. This is probably Francis Ford Coppola’s last film. I read that he financed 100% of the 140MM budget himself, selling off a share in his winery to get the cash. As one reviewer said, it felt like a lot longer than the 138 minute runtime. It is labeled as a fable at the start and is a sort of compare and contrast of the fall of the Roman Empire and the fall of the US. There are some similarities between the leaders of today and the leaders of Ancient Rome, but the connections are tenuous at best. Coppola pays a lot of homage to others throughout the film such as Shakespeare, Petrarch, Any Rand, Metropolis, Robert Moses, etc. I got some of it but not all. There is also a bunch of Latin thrown in that may have been Easter egg-ish that I didn’t get. I’d call it a jumbled mess overall.
Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop on Amazon. Thought this would be pretty light fare a la Hallmark. Was a little bit darker but still had a Scooby Doo feel to it. Starred Kelsey Grammar and Nathalie Cox. Not a lot of meat, but fun.
1 Like
The Outrun at the theater. This one starts Saoirse Ronan in every scene. That is a good thing. This film is about alcoholism and family history of mental illness. There are a lot of flashbacks to a lot of different points in time. Her hair color and finger nail polish are the best clues to try and figure it out and it seems important. The film primarily takes place on the Orkney Islands off the coast is Scotland. Beautiful but bleak. The ending was a bit of a surprise to me. Highly recommend.
White Bird at the theater. Based on a book by the same name. My wife felt that the film was pretty close to the book. Grandmother (Helen Mirren) telling grandson about here life as a young Jewish girl in occupied France in 1942-1945 and the family that hid here. Very moving and very well done.
One might note that this is a sort of sequel to Wonder, which IMO is also a good movie.
I didn’t see Wonder, but there are some pictures on Julian’s phone from the movie.
Salem’s Lot 2024 Max version. Decent adaptation of the book as I recall though it’s been forever since I read it. Overall though just a kind of “meh” vampire movie.
1 Like
It’s What’s Inside - Netflix. This was a crazy take on the freaky Friday theme.
Killer Heat on Netflix. This is a Joseph Gordon-Levitt project. Very noir and intended to be from the outset. He narrates over the action too. Set in Crete, lots of nice scenery. Jo Nesbo is one of the writers. He write Troll Hunters a number of years ago and the Harry Hole series. One of my favorite authors.
Hocus Pocus, and something Halloweenish on Hallmark.
1 Like
Part way through Oppenheimer. Fell a sleep for a bit, though it was kind of intentional. It seems interesting, but I’m not loving the telling the story through flashbacks but am enjoying Matt Damon’s character. Oppenheimer seems to be a bit of a dick.
So, third or fourth biggest bit of a dick in the movie.
Book tells his whole story, and is a very good, long read.
2 Likes
Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose on Amazon. Stars Simon Pegg trying to play Christoph Waltz and he pulls it off pretty well. Also has Minnie Driver and small part for Christopher Lloyd. Set in the 1930s, Pegg (Fodor) investigates the paranormal, in this case a talking mongoose named Gef (“Jeff”). A little dark and not really that interesting a watch.
We Live in Time with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as mid 30’s people who meet and experience the ups and downs of life. Pretty moving story told in so many timelines (too many, I think). It explores what we want to be remembered for when we are gone.
Saturday Night at the theater. The movie chronicles the 90 minutes prior to the very first showing of Saturday Night on NBC in 1975. The movie is set as if in real time running 90 minutes or so. The cast was chosen with precision and are excellent. The chaos of those 90 minutes are palpable. Well worth the time, especially if you were an early fan of the show.
1 Like
The first showing of Saturday Night Live?
Or a factionalized version of Saturday Night Live just called Saturday Night?
Just curious.