Bringing up Bobby 2011

    Olive is from the Ukraine and she is a con artist.  She is trying to raise her ten year-old son in Oklahoma but her lifestyle is not a good environment.  A car hits Bobby in front of their house, he was skateboarding in the street and he gets a broken leg.  Kent is so sorry about the accident, he’s a wealthy man and he becomes their friend.  Later on, two police officers come to the door and the past catches up with Olive.  Kent and his wife step in and take Bobby into their home while she’s away.

    This film makes it tough to like it?!  Milla has an accent and the entire time you wonder if it’s a real accent or did she make it up since she is from Kiev, Ukraine.  It’s too much like a soap opera that’s just OK.  It’s also like two separate films put together?  In the beginning, it’s goofy, easy going and over the top 1930’s.  Then, the second half is darker but more realistic.  2 ½* (this movie is so-so)

93 min, Comedy directed by Famke Janssen with Milla Jovovich, Spencer List, Don Kruizinga, Dalton Olive, Robin Brooks, Milton Killen, Eric Starkey, Dan Corley, Jane Hall, Bill Pullman, Rory Cochrane, Marcia Cross. 

Note:  Imdb 5.2 out of 10, 17% critic 33% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 12 reviews, Metacritic 34 out of 100 with 8 critics 5.9 out of 10 with 8 reviews, Slant Magazine 1* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed at Pops Diner, Arcadia, Oklahoma and Oklahoma, City Oklahoma.  This film was shot in 22 days and was supported by Oklahoma’s tax credit.  The ending credits list Bill Pullman’s character as Walt instead of Kent.  Detective Winters is scolding Walt on a street corner.  The side shot has her mouth out of sync with what she is saying?  There is another film with the same title from 2009.

13 Rue Madeleine 1946

     The beginning of this film is a documentary-style prologue following the training of war agents.  This is a spy thriller showing the inner workings of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.  An OSS training officer learns there is a German mole within the class.  He must discover the mole and decide what can be done?  The plan is to relay false information about the invasion of Europe.  There are very dangerous assignments that still need to be completed despite this additional complication.  The known agents are sent to France to find a secret rocket depot.  When one of the men is killed in a parachute jump, they learn the line to his chute had been deliberately cut?  Of course, the German is the main suspect.

     This is good and the period cars are spectacular.  James Cagney is very good as the lead training officer.  He sets aside his usual tough guy image he uses in gangster films.  The age of 72 years doesn’t hinder this film and I would like to see more Cagney’s movies.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Action directed by Henry Hathaway with James Cagney, Annabella, Roland Belanger, Richard Conte, Frank Latimore, Walter Abel, Melville Cooper, Sam Jaffe.

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10, 83% critic 53% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 2.5* out of 4*, average user rating 3.9* out of 5*, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 53 reviews, Films DeFrance.com 3* out of 5*, Movie-Film-Review.com 5.38* out of 10*, 3 Movie Buffs 3 ½* of 4*. 

Special Note:  Filmed at 20th Century Fox Studios, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Quebec, Canada; Canterbury, Kent, England, UK.  At one time in his life, James Cagney held one of the highest-ranking positions in Black-belt Judo.  Cagney also used his Judo training in the film Blood on the Sun of 1945.  The title 13 Rue Madeleine is the address of Gestapo headquarters in Le Havre, France during the German occupation of France in WWII.  This story was based on Peter Ortiz and he was an OSS agent in WWII stationed in France.  In order to obtain maximum realism and authenticity, all the exterior and interior settings were photographed in the field.  Also. whenever possible, actual locations were filmed.  Originally Rex Harrison was scheduled to play the lead but he turned down the role.  The director, producer and one of the writers worked together on The House on 92^nd Street of 1945 prior to this film.

Candles on Bay Street 2006

     Sam and Lydia are veterinarians in a small town.  They have a busy practice serving both household pets and farm animals.  DeeDee, Sam’s former best friend and girlfriend returns to town after being away for 13 years.  She has an 11-year-old son and his name is Trooper.  Lydia wants to size up her possible competition so she invites them to dinner.  DeeDee is planning to set up a candle making shop on Bay Street in town.  Hosting the candle parties, DeeDee becomes part of the town again.  She is also not a rival for Sam but a friend to Lydia and many others. 

     Warning, a real Hallmark movie!!  This enjoyable with small town values and a nice story set in Maine.  It's nice to see Polly Bergen again in a film.  There is some dialog that's poorly written and some scene changes were clumsy.  The scenery of this area is very beautiful.  The candles glowing through the windows are also beautiful.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

120 min, Drama directed by John Erman with Alicia Silverstone, Eion Bailey, Polly Bergen, Matthew Knight, James Rebhorn, Annabeth Gish, Johnathan Potts, Martha Irving, Aislinn Paul, Ted Atherton, Katie Griffin, Marlane O'Brien, Jayne Eastwood.

Note:  The book written by K.C. McKinnon has 3.72* out of 5* with 423 ratingsImdb 6.6 out of 10, 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Dove.org kissing 1, language 0, violence 0, drinking 1, slight cleavage, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 42 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Mahone Bay and Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Though None Go With Me 2006

     The setting of this film is the 1950's.  Elizabeth promised her granddaughter, young Elizabeth that she would give her some money for her trip to California with her boyfriend.  Young Elizabeth just wants to get the money and be on the road.  Her grandmother starts telling her a story about the early days of her life.  Grandmother Elizabeth also could not wait to leave the small town of Three Rivers.  Grandmother Elizabeth lost her mother when she was a young girl and she lived with her father who was a doctor.  She met a young minister who came to town to help their pastor.  She fell in love with him and promised to marry him when he came back from World War II.   She had known her neighbor for a long time and he wanted to marry her also but she felt he was just a friend.

     This is a Hallmark movie about faith, love and endurance plus sadness, tragedy and sweetness.  Also, we don’t always get what we want as we walk the path of life.  The makeup job and wig used to make Cheryl Ladd seem older look terrible!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

100 min, Drama directed by Armand Mastroianni with Amy Grabow, Christopher Allport, Cheryl Ladd., Bruce Weltz, David Norona, Peter White, Brad Rowe, Millie Perkins, Emily Hardy, Lindy Newton, Chase Ryan Jeffery, Christopher Allport.

Note:  The book written by Jerry B. Jenkins has 4.11 out of 5* with 724 ratings on Goodreads, Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 84% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 180 reviews, Dove.org sex (1), language (2), violence (1), drugs (1).

Special Note:  Filmed in Alhambra and Los Angeles, California.  During a scene with people crossing the street, you can see the reflective bumps on either side of the line down the middle of the road.  These reflective bumps did not exist in 1951.  Ben and Elizabeth are in a soda shop and hey they have purchased sundaes.  A cherry is placed on the top of Ben's sundae but later it only has whipped cream  

The Cornish Mystery 1990

     Hercule Poirot receives a visit from Alice Pengelley in London.  She tells him that she thinks her dentist husband is putting poison in her food?  The next day, Poirot and Captain Hastings arrive in Cornwall to investigate the charges.  They are too late and Mrs. Pengelley has just passed away? Alice's doctor is the local general practitioner Dr. Adams.  Poirot and Hastings visit Doctor Adams and he believes Alice was suffering from gastritis?  Alice thought her husband Edward was having an affair with his pretty receptionist and her death would allow them to marry?  Alice has no other relatives in Cornwall other than her niece and the fiancé of her niece.  Inspector Japp believes this is a simple open and shut case and he thinks Edward Pengelley will soon have the hangman’s noose around his neck!!  Hercule believes someone was giving Alice poison but not her husband??

     I liked this story!!  In the beginning, all the clues point to Edward Pengelley.  He definitely is infatuated with his assistant!!  She must really be a hussy!!  This adds up and 2+2 means he must have killed her??  Even Inspector Japp believes Pengelley is guilty.  But wait??  Are we jumping to conclusions??  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

      

50 min TV program, Crime directed by Edward Bennett with David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran, Chloe Salaman, John Bowler, Jerome Willis, Amanda Walker, Tilly Voxburgh, Derek Benfield, Laura Girling, John Rowe, Hugh Munro, graham Callan, Edwina Day.  

Note:  The book by Agatha Christie has 3.61* out of 5* with 196 ratings on Godreads, Imdb 7.7 out of 10, Amazon 4.9* out of 5* with 578 reviews

Special Note:  Filmed in High Street Dunster, Somerset and Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK.  The village is not filmed in Cornish but it is Dunster in Somerset.  In the final few scenes, Inspector Japp is standing under the eaves of the Dunster Yarn Market and Dunster Castle is visible in the background.  There is also a mistake in this film.  The train going to and from Polarwith Station consists of British Rail Mark 1 carriages and these were first introduced in 1951.  The setting of the story is in the 1930’s.

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

    Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard makes a wager with Hercule Piorot.  Japp believes that Piorot cannot solve the mystery of the disappearance of Mr.Davenheim without leaving his apartment?  Piorot is confident he can solve this case with the help of his friend Captain Hastings doing interviews and collecting clues.  Mr. Davenheim is a wealthy banker living in a splendid house in the country.  He left his home to post a letter and has not been seen since he left?  Mr. Davenheim was supposed to return in time to meet with his business rival Gerald Lowen.  Mrs. Davenheim discovers a few days later that her jewelry has been stolen from a locked safe that was forced open.  Obviously, the clues link Gerald Lowen to the disappearance and the theft?
    It is slightly difficult for Piorot to remain confined to his home for seven days during the investigation!!  Especially, since his companion is a talkative parrot that needed a home while his owner is away.  Should the bird be used for nourishment instead?  Is it possible for the little gray cells to meet this challenge?  This is interesting and good.  4* (I really liked this movie)

52 min, Mystery directed by Andrew Grieve with David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran, Mel Martin, Kenneth Colley, Tony Mathews, Fiona McArthur, Richard Beale, Bob Mason, Peter Doran.

Note:  The book as a rating of 4.6* out of 5* with 19 reviews, Imdb 8.0 out of 10, Amazon 4.9* out of 5* with 579 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed at Joldwynds, Surrey and Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK.  The time frame of this story can be speculated by the newspaper Japp places before Poirot.  The headline is “Bank Collapses, Demand Enquiry.  There is a story below that mentions Sir Kingsley Wood as minister of Health.  Sir Wood held the position from 1935 until 1938.  David Suchet performed all the magic tricks Poirot is doing.  There is a mistake when Poirot is carving a roast chicken.  The first slice is from the right breast but the second and later slices show the right breast still intact?  He is then carving from the left breast?  At the dinner table, Poirot has his usual napkin covering his clothing.  When he was asking Japp and Hastings the first of two questions, the napkin disappeared.  It reappeared when he is asking the second question?

The Lost Mine 1989

    Hercule Poirot is hired by Lord Pearson to find Mr. Wu Ling.  He is a Chinese businessman with a map showing a long lost silver mine.  Mr. Ling is found dead in Chinatown.  Poirot must use his little gray cells and also the new communication system at Scotland Yard to find the map and the killer.  Poirot feels the clues point to an American, Charles Lester, as the killer.  But, Poirot feels this is all a little too convenient to be true?  It is not helping matters that Poirot is overdrawn at his bank and it must be their mistake!!  It doesn't take very long for Poirot to become furious with the bank and the employees!!  Lord Pearson is the head of the bank where Poirot keeps his accounts.  Poirot and Hastings have been playing Monopoly and unfortunately, Hastings is winning!!  Everything Hasting does while playing the game tremendously annoys Poirot!! 

    It is interesting to see that Scotland Yard of 1935 has two way radios connecting headquarters and cars in the field.  They use a large map of the city and model cars to represent the positions of the cars.  Women in the office move the cars on the map according to the information that's called in.  They are able to trap a suspect by the use of 3 police cars.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

51 min, Mys directed by Edward Bennett with David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran, Anthony Bate, Colin Stinton, Barbara Barnes, James Saxon, Vincent Wong, Richard Albrecht, John Cording, Gloria Connell, Julian Firth.

Note:  The book by Agatha Christie has 3.57* out of 5* with 188 ratings, Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Amazon 4.9* out of 5* with 579 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed at Teddington Studios, Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK.  There are several mistakes in this film?  The setting is autumn of 1935 but Poirot and Hastings play Monopoly on a game board with London locations.  The first London edition of the game was not published until 1936.  Also, the Monopoly money has only numbers while actual money for the first British edition had number with pound symbols.  Lord Pearson tells Poirot and Hastings that a lump of ore can be refined into top grade 24 karat silver.  The karat is a unit purity for gold not other precious metals.  Silver purity is measured in parts per thousand with pure silver being 999.  When Japp is in conversation with one3 of the radio cars, the detective in the car says Control to Unit 7, he is Unit 7 not Control. 

Hercule Poirot: The Veiled Lady 1989

     Hercule Poirot meets with a mysterious veiled woman concerning a blackmail threat.  Mr. Lavington is asking Lady Millicent Castle Vaughn to pay 20,000 pounds for a love letter she wrote to a soldier when she was 16 years old.  She is soon to be married to the Duke of Southshire.  She cannot afford this sum and doesn't want the letter to be shown to her future husband.  Poirot and Hastings agree to meet with Mr. Lavington to try to get the letter returned without the payment.  Mr. Lavinton calls on Poirot bu he laughs at the suggestion that he will return the letter to Lady Millicent without payment of the money?
    This is interesting and funny!!  Poirot dresses like a Swedish locksmith to enter the home of Mr. Lavington to look for the letter.  He is wearing peasant clothing, riding a bicycle and looking totally out of character as the famous detective.  Later, Poriot and Hastings return after dark for a real search.  Things do not go as planned from this point on.  4* (I really liked this movie)

49 min, crime directed by Edward Bennett with David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran, Frances Barber, Terence Harvey, Carole Hayman, Tony Stephens, Don Williams, Lloyd McGuire, Peter Geddis.

Note:  The book has 3.71* out of 5* with 231 ratings on Goodreads, Imdb 7.5* out of 5*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 72 review.

Boardwalk Empire Season Two 2011

     This series is inspired by the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson.  The series returns to Atlantic City in the 1920’s.  Nucky Thompson is the treasurer for the city and he has many relationships with mobsters.  He also has political contacts and he gets his money from bootlegging.  The Federal Government is trying to stop the booze from flowing in but they are not very successful.  The Volstead Act was passed on July 22, 1919 with a vote of 287 to 100 with a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.  It remained in effect until the passage of the 21st Amendment which repealed Prohibition in 1933.  The Act did not make it illegal to drink alcohol but forbade the manufacture, sale and transportation of liquors.  Any wine, beer or spirits purchased before January 1920 were able to be enjoyed in private homes.

     You never know what is going to happen next in this series!!  You are also wondering who will be killed off and what the body count will be for this installment?  There are also active members of the Ku Klux Klan in this area.  Some of the people living in Albert "Chalky" White's neighborhood are bothered by the Klan.  Of course, Chalky is a friend of Nucky and he has his own bootlegging warehouse.  4 1/2* (I really liked this series)

    

Each episode 55 min, created by Terence Winter with Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whiggham, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Michael Kenneth Williams, Paul Sparks, Gretchen Mol, Michael Stuhlbarg, Anthony Laciura, Jack Huston, Anatol Yusef, Michael Pitt, Aleksa Palladino, Paz de la Huerta, Dabney Coleman.

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon Video 4.7* out of 5* with 4964 reviews, Metacritic 82 out of 100 with 14 critics 8.5 out of 10 with 341 ratings.

Special Note:  Filmed in New York.  Terence Winter always phoned an actor when the writers decided to kill off this character.  The unmasked disfigured face of war hero character Richard Harrow is entirely computer generated.  He also placed cotton on the left side of his mouth to change his speech and jaw placement.  Some famous characters were based on the real person but other characters are fictionalized.  Alex Baldwin was considered for the role of Nucky Thompson.  Michael Shannon was not happy working in television.  The filming was spread over six months and he had little or no time for discussing the script or his character.  The series premiered on September 19, 2010 and completed five seasons on October 26, 2014.

Titles:  21, Ourselves Alone, A Dangerous Maid, What Does the Bee Do?, Gimcrack and Bunkum, The Age of Reason, Peg of Old, Two Boats and a Lifeguard, Battle of the Century, Georgia Peaches, Under God’s Power She Flourishes, To the Lost.

Woman in the Fifth 2011

     The French title is La femme du Veme.  Tom Ricks is an American writer arriving in Paris to try to reenter the lives of his wife and daughter.  His wife slams the door in his face and calls the police.  He quickly gets on a bus and he falls asleep.  At the end of the bus line, the driver wakes him up.  He discovers his suitcase and most of his money are gone.  He is in a barren industrial area of Paris but he finds a bar where he can order coffee with the last of his change.  He talks to the owner about staying in one of the rooms but he can’t pay right now.  The owner agrees but takes his passport and later gives him a strange job with an eight-hour shift.  Tom locks himself in a small room and determines if a visitor should be let in to see Mr. Monde?  He meets Ania at the bar and he meets Margit at a gathering for writers.

     There is a LOT going on here and there are questions but there are no answers?  Who is Mr. Monde, who are the men visiting him, is this an illegal or dangerous situation.  Tom has a published novel but he has no money or support system, what happened between Tom and his wife, why is he not allowed to see his daughter?  Tom has a chance to write during his job shift but instead of working on a novel he writes long letters to his daughter.  Maybe the questions are more intriguing than the answers could ever be?  This film has a different conclusion than I expected which asks the viewer to set aside the question of improbability?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

85 min, Drama directed by Pawel Pawlikowski with Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi, Delphine Chuillot, Julie Papillon.

Note:  Imdb 5.4 out of 10, 62% critic 22% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, The Telegraph 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 18 critics, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4, Amazon 3.2* out of 5* with 36 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in 131 Rue des Poissonniers, 142 Boulevard Pereire, Paris 17, Rue de L’Ourcq, Paris, France.  There is a wide variance in the review numbers for this film?  It must be a matter of taste or possibly belief in the ending?  I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of this film by offering too much information.  Also, numbers designate the neighborhoods of Paris and in French they are called arondissements.  As indicated by the title, the woman lives in the fifth neighborhood and that would be the cinquieme arondissement.  

Additional Note:  I thought Hawke did a very good job speaking French.  I think it’s a very difficult language and you need to use and study it every day to really be able to speak fluently with the French people.  They appreciate it when you try, many speak English and they will go out of their way to help you.  Some people from the United States have lived in France for years and they will also help Americans with the language.  Despite their immersion in the community, sometimes they still have complications with the language.

Beirut 2018

     Mason and his wife Nadia are living in Beirut and Mason is a diplomat.  Their life was good until Mason’s CIA friend comes to a party to take Karim in for questioning.  Karim is a thirteen year-old Palestinian boy that has been living with Mason and Nadia.  They have been thinking about adopting Karim.  The CIA is interested in Karim’s older brother?  Mason and Nadia didn’t know that Karim had an older brother and supposedly this brother is very dangerous?

     This film had potential but it just doesn’t make the mark?  Some events are not explained and some are boring?  There is some suspense but it seems to drag on.  Viewers don’t have any investment in the kidnap victim because he is just another embassy person with very little screen time?  2 ½* (This movie is so-so) 

109 min, Crime directed by Brad Anderson with Jon Hamm, Jay Potter, Khalid Benchagra, Yoav Sadian, Lelia Bekhti, Kate Fleetwood, Mark Pellegrino, Colin Stinton, Mustapha Touki, Youssef El Hibaqui, Aziz Attougui.  

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 81% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*,  Metacritic 69 out of 100 with 31 critics 6.6 out of 10 with 44 ratings, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 277 reviews, Washington Post 4* out of 5*, Plugged In 1 ½* out of 5*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* .

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Tangier, Morocco and Rhode Island.  Non-local women in the cast and crew were advised not to go out in public unless men accompanied them.  Authorities discovered that an ISIS cell was across the street from the production offices.  Islamic terrorists reportedly were building a bomb that they planned to use on a nearby McDonald’s on the first day of Ramadan.  Filming was done during the month-long Ramadan holiday.  No water or food can be consumed during daylight hours.

Boardwalk Empire Season Three 2012

      There is a LOT going on in this season and it begins on New Year’s Eve of 1922.  Gyp Rosetti is a Sicilian mobster controlling New York City.  He is a violent and he is an easily offended person.  Nucky refuses to sell alcohol to anyone but Rothstein in New York.  Nucky receives an award from the Roman Catholic Church for charitable work (actually accomplished by Margaret).  Transporting liquor through Tabor Heights turns complicated.  Nucky is enamored with Billy Kent and he wants to help further her career.  After the problems with liquor shipping in the Tabor area, Eli and Mickey visit Tabor Heights.  Nucky and his family share Easter dinner with Eli and his family.  Soon after, there is an attempt on Nucky’s life.  Nucky fights the physical effects of a concussion.  Richard begins seeing Julia, she is the daughter of an older veteran he met.  Gyp and his crew move into Atlantic City.  A full-scale war begins in Atlantic City.

     This series has you on the edge of your seat with every episode.  Power is the name of the game.  The power you have and the power you want.  Money is also the bottom line.  It’s just business and the sacrifice of a few people or more doesn’t matter?  Everything seems very realistic.  4* (I really liked this season)

TV series, 12 episodes, 5 seasons created by Terence Winter with Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Michael Kenneth Williams, Paul Sparks, Gretchen Mol, Michael Stuhlbarg, Anthony Laciura, Jack Huston, Anatol Yusef, Brady Connor Noon, Lucy Gallina, Jose Gallina. 

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, 92% Rotten Tomatoes critic 95% audience, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 15 critics 8.6 out of 10 with 248 ratings, Amazon Video 4.6* out of 5* with 1446 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.  For the major players the clothing was period specific.  Numerous minor performers wore clothing clearly made in the later 20^th and early 21st century. 

Episode Titles:  Resolution, Spaghetti & Coffee, Bone for Tuna, Blue Bell Boy, You’d Be Surprised, Ging Gang Goolie, Sunday Best, The Pony, The Milkmaid’s Lot, A Man, a Plan, Two Imposters, Margate Sands.

Hereditary 2018

     Annie Graham’s mother has passed away and Annie is having a difficult time with her grief.  She also has regrets about her relationship with her mother.  Annie lives with her husband Steve, their 16-year-old son Peter and their 13-year-old daughter Charlie.  Peter seems to be the person with the most sanity in the household?  Annie tries going to a support group for the bereaved but she doesn’t know if she belongs there?  She meets group member Joan and they become friends.      

     The scenery of this area in Utah is very beautiful but also slightly ominous and menacing?  It may be the perfect background for a film that is extremely dark, serious, intense, scary and creepy.  It includes ghosts, séances, death, burned bodies, severed heads, a car accident, maggots, flies, ants, blood, rage, screaming and panic.  The characters have fits, bang their head on hard surfaces, smoke pot, drinking as teens, weird apparitions and language.  I thought the scariest part is the music!!  My honest opinion is that I would like to have all the time back that I used to watch this movie?  There is a LOT that is ambiguous and there is a LOT of cruelty.  I didn’t get the ending either??  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)  (Maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea??)

127 min, Drama directed by Ari Aster with Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Christy Summerhays, Morgan Lund, Mallory Bechtel, Jake Brown, Harrison Nell, BriAnn Rachele, Heidi Mendez. 

Note:  Imdb 7.3, 89% critic 62% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon Video 3.3* with 869 reviews, Metacritic 87 out of 100 with 49 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 549 reviews, Rollingstone 3 ½* out of 4* Peter Travers, The Guardian Mark Kermode 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Park City, Utah Film Studios, Sandy and Salt Lake City Utah.  Toni Collette told her agent that she didn’t want to do any more heavy and dark films.  She changed her mind when she read the Hereditary script.  The original cut of the film was over 3 hours but consisted mainly of more family dialog.  Gabriel and Alex had previously worked together.  Alex and Milly knew each other from school.  The interior of the Graham house was built on a sound stage.  Director Aster wrote biographies and back stories for all the characters before writing the screenplay for his directorial debut.  The film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and her Lover from 1989, influenced Aster.  Shooting lasted 32 days.  Gross was $44 million in the United States and Canada.  $35.3 million in other countries for a total gross of $79.3 million with a production budget of $10 million.   

Running Wild 1995

     Christine Shaye works for the television station Global Explorer.  She is interested in working on a good documentary subject.  She travels to Africa to meet John Varty.  He has been working on documentaries about wild life in Africa.  Another television executive at the station is trying to derail any project that Christine proposes to management.  The African subject is about a mother leopard and her two cubs.  Christine gets the go ahead on her project but Varty tells her that the mother leopard has died.  She was killed in a lion attack.  The focus is now the nurturing of the two cubs. 

     Christine and John both have the interests of the cubs as their focus.  The station executive is interested in furthering his own career.  The resident wild life manager has money on his mind and he has a buyer for the cubs at a very good price.  He's trying to come up with ways to get the cubs away from John Varty.  Both Varty and Shye discover that locating a good place to re-home the cubs is more difficult than they expected.  I did like the dedication of John Varty in finding the best outcome for the cubs.  (3* This movie was OK)

94 min, Drama directed by Dee McLachlan with John Varty, Elmon Mhlongo, Brooke Shields, Martin Sheen, David Keith, Norman Anstey, Themba Ndaba, Renee Estevez, Greg Latter, Vusi Kunene, Tidi Modise.

Note:  Imdb 5.7, 33% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 20 reviews, The Movie Scene 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Brook Shields went on safari in Kenya for the TV series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in 1984.  I had a little difficulty envisioning her in the wilds of Africa??

7 Days in Entebbe 2018

      An Air France Flight 139 from Tel-Aviv to Paris via Athens with 248 passengers and a crew of 12 is hijacked on 27 June 1976.  Two Palestinians and two Germans were in charge of the operation.  Two hijackers were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- External Operations.  The other two hijackers were members of the German Revolutionary Cells.  At the airport, the passengers were separated into two categories, Jewish and non-Jewish.  Their demand was freedom for 40 Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons plus 13 prisoners in four other countries and a ransom of $5 million.  The flight landed in Entebbe Uganda and Ugandan President Idi Amin personally welcomed the hostages. 

      A LOT of the information above is not given in the film including the number of passengers, the number of crew members and many other relevant facts.  This is supposed to be an action film but there is very little real action?  It’s a lot of yelling and bullying of innocent people not involved with or responsible for anything the terrorists stand for?  When Idi Amin was controlling Uganda, this was not a country friendly to the landing of an unwanted plane filled with unwanted people!!  (2 ½* this movie is so-so)

107 min, Action directed by Jose Padilha with Batsheva Dance Company, Zina Zinchenko, Ben Schnetzer, Daniel Bruhl, Amir Khoury, Ala Dakka, Rosamund Pike, Paloma Coquant, Trudy Weiss, Danny Scheinmann, Brontis Jadorowsky, Denis Menochet, Gal Pertsiger, Saffron Scheinmann.

Note:  Imdb 5.8 out of 10, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 2.5* out of 5* with 148 reviews, Metacritic 49 out of 100 with 29 critics 5.8 out of 10 with 34 reviews, Common Sense Media age 14+, 1* positive messages, 1* role models, 4* violence, 3* language 2* drinking, drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  Filmed in Malta and the UK.  The plane landing shots were filmed at Malta International Airport in Luqa.  The day after filming wrapped, a real-life hijacked Libyan plane landed very close to the set.  Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu participated in the raid of the airport by IDF commandos and he is the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu.  Benjamin became Prime Minister of Israel in 2009.   Replica hand grenades and pistols were used.  Dorah Block is listed as one of the casualties of the IDF raid but she didn’t die during the raid.  She became ill early in the siege and she was sent to a hospital in nearby Kampala.  Two army officers following the orders of Idi Amin murdered Dorah and the murder was in retaliation for the Israeli raid. Some of her doctors and nurses were also murdered because they intervened and cared for Dorah.

The Second Mother 2015

     Val works as a housekeeper for Dona Barbara and a nanny to her son Fabinho in Sao Paulo.  She doesn’t need to pay for her room and board so she is financially stable.  She regrets and feels guilty about leaving her daughter Jessica in Pernambuco with her father and his relatives.  Pernambuco is in the northeast of Brazil and Val is divorced from Jessica’s father.  The divorce was acrimonious and Val doesn’t speak to her ex-husband or his relatives.  Jessica calls Val and asks to come and live with her.  She wants to take her college entrance exams at the University of Sao Paulo.  After she arrives, she doesn’t want to sleep with Val in her small room but she wants the guest room?  Val feels this is outrageous because Jessica is the daughter of a servant and not a guest?

     It doesn’t go smoothly when Jessica begins living in this household with Val and the family.  Dona Barbara is not happy with Jessica in the guest room.  She has the pool drained because she said she saw a rat?  It was really because she didn’t want Jessica swimming with Fabinho and his friend?  Val tries to explain to Jessica how she should be behaving but she does not want to listen or change how she acts.  (3* this movie is OK)

112 min, in Portuguese with English subtitles, drama directed and written by Anna Muylaert with Regina Case, Helena Albergaria, Michel Joelsas, Karine Teles, Lourenco  Mutarelli, Bete Dorgam, Luis Miranda, Theo Werneck, Luci Pereira, Anapaula Casernik, Hugo Villavicenzio, Roberto Camargo, Alex Huszar.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 96% critic 89% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian Peter Bradshaw 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 82 out of 100 with 26 critics 8.7 out of 10 with 111 reviews, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 258 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Morumbi, Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The title was originally The Kitchen Door and it was based on Muylaert’s own experiences with a nanny who cared for her son and letting her daughter be cared for by others.  An early draft of the screenplay had Jessica come to Sao Paulo to become a hairdresser and then becoming a nanny like her mother.  The Premier was at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival with Regina Case and Camila Mardila sharing the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for acting.  The European premiere took place in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and it won the Panorama Audience Award. There is another film with the same tile from 1925. 

 

Papillion 2017

     This film is based on the international best-selling autobiographic books Papillon and Banco written by Henri Papillon Chariere.  These books were first released in France in 1969.  He was a safecracker living in Paris and he was framed for the murder of another man.  He was sent to the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island and condemned to life.  He is determined to regain his freedom and he forms an interesting friendship with convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega. 

      I thought this movie was overlong and I watched it in two sessions.  There is a LOT of sameness also.  It's better to forget what you have watched and start anew another day where you don't remember the sameness?  I caught my mind wandering to how bad would someone smell after one year of not bathing?  Charlie Hunnam put a huge amount of effort (the extreme weight loss) into this film but was it worth it??  2 1/2* (this movie is just so-so)   

133 min, Crime directed by Michael Noer with Charlie Hunnam,  Rami Malek, Damijan Oklopdzic, Christopher Fairbank, Jason Ryan, Eve Hewson, Sladjana Biljam, Joe David Walters, David Stoller, Gilly Gilchrist, Mark Robert Pullen.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 52% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Metacritic 52 out of 100 with 29 critics 6.3 out of 10 with 21 reviews, Rollingstone 3* out of 5*, Washington Post 1.5* out of 4*, Commonsense Media age 16+, 3* out of 5*, positive messages 4*, role models 3*, brutal violence 5*, sex 4*, language 4*, drinking, drugs and smoking 2*, not much drinking and smoking allowed in a penal colony!!

Special Note:  Filmed In Belgrade, Serbia; Niksic, Kotor, Ulcinj, Montenegro and Rabat, Malta.  Charlie Hunnam lost 40 pounds during filming.  Delays and torrential rain caused the filming of the prison scenes to take two months.  They were supposed to last only a few weeks.  Papillon means Butterfly and was Henri’s nickname due to the tattoo on his chest.  There is another release of this from 1973 with Steve McQueen as Papillon and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega.  This film has 8 out of 10 on Imdb, Amazon Video 4.7* out of 5* with 603 reviews,

The Two Mrs. Carrolls 1947

     Sally Morton is on holiday in Scotland and she meets struggling artist Geoffrey Carroll.  They begin to like each other but he doesn’t tell Sally that his is already married with a grade school aged daughter.  Sally and Geoffrey return to their own homes when the vacation is over.  Meeting Sally has inspired Geoffrey and he feels a renewed vitality in his painting.  He immediately begins a new painting of his wife.  Unfortunately, two years later his wife passes away and Geoffrey reconnects with Sally.  They marry and his daughter Beatrice comes to live with them.  Sally is a wealthy woman and she likes to entertain.  She invites her friend and former boyfriend Charles “Penny” Pennington for a dinner party.  He brings two wealthy American guests to join the party.  Cecily Latham is beautiful but icy and arrives with her doting mother.  Right after the party, Geoffrey begins to paint Cecily.     

     I didn’t know how this was going to turn out!!  I knew it was a very bad sign that Geoffrey started to paint Cecily.  He has painted Sally but he refuses to let her see the finished portrait?  He also arranges for his daughter Beatrice to begin attending boarding school?  Beatrice is very happy about meeting new friends and going away.  Also, what happened to Beatrice’s mother????  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

99 min, Crime directed by Peter Godrey with Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith, Nigel Bruce, Isobel Elsom, Patrick O’Moore, Ann Carter, Anita Sharp-Bolster, Barry Bernard, Colin Campbell, Peter Godfrey.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 108 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 2.5* out of 4*, average user rating 3.1* out of 5*

Special Note:  Filmed at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California.  The release date for this film was delayed and there are possibly two reasons.  The film had a strong similarity to the 1944 film Gaslight and many thought Bogart’s performance was awful?   I was surprised to learn that the film did poorly at the box office and generally poor reviews in the US?  Earnings were $2,292,000 domestically and $1,277 foreign. 

Beirut 2018

     Mason and his wife Nadia were living in Beirut and Mason was a diplomat.  Their life was good until Mason’s CIA friend came to the party to take Karim in for questioning.  Karim is thirteen year-old Palestinian boy that has been living with Mason and Nadia.  They have been thinking about adopting Karim.  The CIA is interested in Karim’s older brother?  Mason and Nadia didn’t know that Karim had an older brother and supposedly this brother is very dangerous?

     This film had potential but it just doesn’t make the mark?  Some events are not explained and some are just boring?  There is some suspense but it seems to drag on.  Viewers don’t have any investment in the kidnap victim because he is just another embassy person with a few scenes?  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

109 min, Crime directed by Brad Anderson with Jon Hamm, Jay Potter, Khalid Benchagra, Yoav Sadian, Lelia Bekhti, Kate Fleetwood, Mark Pellegrino, Colin Stinton, Mustapha Touki, Youssef El Hibaqui, Aziz Attougui.  

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 81% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*,  Metacritic 69 out of 100 with 31 critics 6.6 out of 10 with 44 ratings, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 267 reviews, Washington Post 4* out of 5*, Plugged In 1 ½* out of 5*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* .

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Tangier, Morocco and Rhode Island.  Non-local women in the cast and crew were advised to go out in public unless men accompanied them.  Authorities discovered that an ISIS cell was across the street from the production offices.  Islamic terrorists reportedly were building a bomb that they planned to use on a nearby McDonald’s on the first day of Ramadan.  Filming was done during the month-long Ramadan holiday.  No water or food can be consumed during daylight.

Running Wild 1995

     Christine Shaye works for the television station Global Explorer.  She is interested in working on a good documentary subject.  She travels to Africa to meet John Varty.  He has been working on documentaries about wild life in Africa.  Another television executive is trying to derail any project that Christine proposes to management.  Christine doesn't realize he is doing this?  The African subject is a mother leopard and her two cubs.  Christine gets the go ahead on her project but Varty tells her that the mother leopard has died.  She was killed in a lion attack and the focus now is the nurturing of the two cubs. 

     Christine and John both have the interests of the cubs as their focus.  The wild life manager has money on his mind and he has a buyer for the cubs at a very good price.  He is trying at every turn to get the cubs away from Christine and John.  They have been trying to find a place that will take the cups in a wild life area.  This is a LOT more complicated than they expected.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie) 

94 min, Drama directed by Dee McLachlan with John Varty, Elmon Mhlongo, Brooke Shields, Martin Sheen, David Keith, Norman Anstey, Themba Ndaba, Renee Estevez, Greg Latter, Vusi Kunene, Tidi Modise.

Note:  Imdb 5.7, 33% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 20 reviews, The Movie Scene 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Brook Shields previously went on safari in Kenya for the TV series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in 1984.  Recently, John Varty has been leading a controversial project that aims to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining tiger population outside of Asia.He h as made more than 30 documentaries and this feature film.  Swift and Silent won an American Cable TV award in 1993 and The Silent Hunter won The New York Gold Award.