Greenfingers 2000

    Colin Briggs is a prison inmate and he has just been placed in a new program.  The inmates are working on and designing a new garden on the property.  There is a lot of freedom for the inmates and a different experience for them.  Colin learns he’s really a gardening guru and he works with four other inmates.  They become so good as gardeners that they are invited to create a garden for a national gardening competition in the UK.

     This film could be a Hallmark movie but it’s not!!  It is following a pattern with down and out men, getting a second chance and also meeting people who think they don’t deserve this chance.  There will be a setback and their entire program could be in jeopardy.  There will be people who don’t judge them fairly and it's because of their backgrounds.  I still thought this was different, interesting and good.  3 ½* ( I liked this movie) 

91 min, Drama directed by Joel Hershman with Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, David Kelly, Warren Clarke, Danny Dyer, Adam Fogerty, Paterson Joseph, Natasha Little, Peter Guinness, Lucy Punch, Sally Edwards, Donald Douglas, Kevin McMonagle, Julie Saunders.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 46% critic 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, BBC 3* out of 5*, Empire Online 3* out of 5*, Metacritic 46 out of 100 with 25 critics 8.1 out of 10 with 10 reviews, Movie Guide language moderate, violence light, sex moderate, nudity moderate.

Special Note:  This film is based on inmates of Her Majesty’s Prison Leyhill and it is located in Cotswold.  Filming was done at the world-renowned music school, the Yhundi Menuhin School.  Some scenes were also filmed at Queen Elizabeth’s Training College, Leatherhead.  The hospital room shown in the film was really the TV room for students.

Judy Berlin 1999

     Arthur Gold is married to Alice, they have a son David and he’s 30 years old.  He is severely depressed after a failed attempt to be a Hollywood filmmaker.  He weeps bitterly in the bathroom every morning.  The marriage between Arthur and Alice is just OK.  Arthur is the Principal of an elementary school.  Sue Berlin is a teacher and she is preparing her class to witness a solar eclipse.  Arthur and Sue would like to be more than boss and employee but there doesn’t seem to be much future in that for them?  Sue’s daughter Judy Berlin is leaving town and going to Hollywood.  She is hoping to be a star.

     There is just not enough going on in this film.  Edie Falco talks so much and so fast you wonder how she can accomplish this?   Everyone seems to be aging right in front of your eyes and wearing out except Judy Berlin?  2* (I didn’t like this movie) 

93 min, Comedy directed by Eric Mendelsohn with Barbara Barrie, Bob Dishy, Edie Falco, Carlin Blynn, Aaron Harnick, Bette Henritze, Madeline Kahn, Julie Kavner, Anne Meara, Novella Nelson, Peter Appel, Marcia DeBonis.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, 77% critic 68% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle clapping, Metacritic 74 out of 100 with 30 critics,

Special Note:  Filmed in Nassau County, Oyster Bay, Plainview, Suffolk County, The Plainview-Old Bethpage Village Restoration, Round Swamp Road, Long Island, New York.  The profits from this film’s premiere were donated towards ovarian cancer research in memory of Madeline Kahn.  This was her final feature film.  Judy Berlin was the name of one of Eric Mendelssohn’s classmates.  There is a mistake with the solar eclipse.  The sky goes so dark that the streetlights come on.  Much of the story continues through this dark time for too long of a period.  A real eclipse has the totality and darkness for about two minutes. 

Endeavor Season Four 2017

     This season starts off in 1967.  Morse is having as session of paranoia and he semi-convinced someone is out to get him.  His Sergeant’s Exam “went wayward” and never made it to be graded.  Thursday’s daughter turns back up a couple of towns over in Lemington.  She is in a relationship with an abusive married man?  Thursday and his wife Win don’t think they should push her to come home.  All she really wants is for them to ask?  Superintendent Bright is trying to convince Morse to head to London and make a fresh start.  It will be a new station for him and he can try again.  Thursday joins in on the advice and Morse is almost convinced.  Then, the exam turns up and her terrible boyfriend sends Joan to the hospital.

      The result of the Sergeant’s exam going missing is an automatic failure.  Of course, an investigation by Bright reveals that the only exam to go missing is the one for Morse.  He determines he will not be affected the supposed failing of his exam and he remains in Oxford!!  Thursday is promoted to Chief Inspector and Morse is promoted to Detective Sergeant.  They are both awarded the George Medal for their actions in averting a disaster at a nuclear power plant!!  4* (I really liked this series)

89 min each episode, TV series with Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Sean Rigby, Anton Lesser, James Bradshaw, Caroline O’Neil, Sara Vickers, Abigail Thaw, Dakota Blue Richards, Jack Bannon, Shvorne Marks, David Reed, Robin McCallum, Joanna Horton, Matthew Walker, Sophie Simnett, Ty Hurley, Glen Davies, Sharlette Henry, Alex Mann.

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 227 reviews.

Special Note:  Episode titles are Game, Canticle, Lazaretto, Harvest. Season 5 premiered on June 24, 2018.

Endeavor Season Three 2016

     This Season begins in the summer of 1967, a year after the events of Season two.  Inspector Fred Thursday is alive and back on duty but he is suffering discomfort from the bullet still lodged in his lung.  Morse was cleared of all charges in connection with the Blenheim Vale case from Season Two.  Morse wonders about his future as a police officer?  He learns from his old friend Jim Strange that in prison his treatment was appalling!!  Morse feels a LOT of guilt and anger but Jim says prison was the safest place for him during his efforts to prove his innocence.  Morse is recovering in a wooden shack in the forest?   The relationship with Nurse Monica has fallen apart under the strain.  Morse has not let his analytical mind go to seed as yet!!  His newest case is the death of artist in a house fire.  Morse is also drawn into the complex lives of the rich people across the lake from the shack.  An au pair disappears after her evening class at night school.  Morse has determined he will take his sergeant’s exam.  In the mean time, a garment factory owner is shot inside a bank.

     It’s really nice to see Morse and Friday back.  There are problems but they will be figured out in time.  Morse needs to shake himself out of his doldrums.  Friday can’t go full speed ahead at all times with his constant pain.  I really like these episodes and Morse doesn't miss anything when he's at the top of his game!!  4* (I really liked this series)

89 min each episode, TV series with Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Sean Rigby, Anton Lesser, James Bradshaw, Caroline O’Neill, Sara Vickers, Abigail Thaw, Dakota Blue Richards, Jack Laskey, Jack Bannon, Shvorne Marks, Robin McCallum, Joanna Horton, Chris Larkin, Stefanie Martini, Tom McKay. 

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 1459 reviews, 92% audience Rotten Tomatoes, The Telegraph 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Titles for the episodes for this season are Ride, Arcadia, Prey, Coda.  

Endeavour: Season Five: 2018

     The setting of this film is April of 1968 and it follows Endeavour Morse in his job as a police constable.  He works alongside his senior partner DI Fred Thursday.  Their team conducts several investigations around Oxford University, Oxford United Kingdom.  The auction of a priceless Faberge Egg is getting underway at Lonsdale College.  Soon after the announcement, the egg is stolen?  Hollywood glamour comes to Oxford and a horror movie begins filming.  Morse is confronted with a possible serial killer and the future of the force is in doubt.  Ancient rites of the autumnal equinox are conducted.  A stray shot accidentally hits a young boy and a German skiing competitor is killed.

     All the events in this series are interesting and complex.  The cases are not easily solved right away.  Filming was already underway for Season 6 before Season 5 finished airing in the US.  Probably Season 6 will be released in the UK in early spring and then released for the US in the summer.   Shaun Evans and Roger Allam are both returning as Endeavour Morse and Fred Thursday.  4* (I really liked this series)

6 Episodes, TV Series, 60 min each, Masterpiece Mystery PBS 2018 with Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw, Sean Rigby Anton Lesser, Caroline O’Neill, Sara Vickers, Abigail Thaw, Dakota Blue Richards, Jack Bannon, Lewis Peek, Mark Arden, Claire Ganaye, David Reed, Robin McCallum, David Jonsson Fray, Phil Daniels, Greg Austin, Tanya Fear, Abby Wilson, Ty Hurley, Simon Scardifield.

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 5703 reviews, 100% critic 94% audience on Rotten Tomatoes,

Special Note:  Abigail Thaw is the daughter of John Thaw and he played Inspector Morse.  She appears in several episodes of Endeavour as Dorothea Frazil.  The titles for this season are Muse, Cartouche, Passenger, Colours, Quartet, Icarus.

Last Summer of La Boyita 2009

     Jorgelina is a young girl and she feels estranged from her older sister Luciana.  Her sister Luciana is now an adolescent and she feels older and far superior to Jorgelina.  She has also become very interested in boys!!   Their parents decide to separate the girls for their summer vacation and Jorgelina doesn’t want to spend her vacation with Luciana.  Jorgelina goes with her father to the countryside and they will visit her lifelong playmate and friend Mario and his family.  Jorgelina’s family owns the working ranch but they usually visit only on vacations and they live in the city.  Mario is training to compete in a horse race.  Luciana is going to the seaside with their mother.  The family will keep in touch by phone.

     I thought this was interesting and the scenery is very beautiful.  Many times siblings cannot stand each other or get along!!  Growing up is a battle to gain the attention of your parents and develop at your own pace.  Jorgelina is interested in every facet of growing up and she wants to learn everything she can about how her life will change as she matures.  Mario is more reluctant around Jorgelina than he formerly used to be?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)    

    

93 min, Drama directed by Julia Solmonoff with Guadalupe Alonso, Nicloas Treise, Mirella Pascual, Gabo Correa, Maria Clara Merendino, Guillermo Pfening, Arnoldo Treise, Claudio Quinteros, Silvia Tavcar, Edith Nadalin, Magali Fernandez, Paula Siero, Pochi Ducasse, Hector Streck, Maria Florencia Balivasevic. 

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Special Note:  Both written and directed by Julia Solmonoff.  She has a MFA in Film from Columbia University and she currently teaches Film Directing.  She is also a Fulbright and PEO Scholar.  The Film Society of Lincoln Center celebrated her work in a special showcase of her shorts and features.  The title in Spanish is El ultimo verano del la Boyita.  Filmed in the Pampas of Argentina.  Guadalupe and Nicolas are both non-professional actors.    

Like Dandelion Dust 2009

     This film is based on a novel by Karen Kingsbury.  The Porters are a struggling blue-collar family in Ohio.  The Campbell family is very privileged, wealthy and they live in Florida.  Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide because of love for a little boy.  Richard ‘Rip’ Porter is an alcoholic with anger issues and he’s arrested for beating his wife Wendy.  Rip is sent to prison for seven years.  When Rip is released from prison, he’s sober and he has taken anger management courses.  He suggests starting a family but Wendy tells him that she had a son and she gave him up for adoption.  Jack Campbell and his wife Molly have six-year Joey and his birth parents are Rip and Wendy.   Rip immediately wants custody of his son.  Someone inside the prison forged Rip’s signature on the adoption papers and there ten other cases of forgery. 

     There are always two sides to every story.   In Joey’s case, are his birth parents Rip and Wendy mentally capable of taking care of him??  Just because Jack and Molly are wealthy, does that make them better parents?  The bottom line is that both families want and love Joey but what is best for Joey?  Brent Pepper can really play a hardworking but dirty and messy looking guy!!  3* (This movie is OK) 

    

100 min, Drama directed by Jon Gunn with Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Cole Hauser, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton, L. Scott Caldwell, Abby Brammell, Kirk. B.R. Woller, Brett Rice, Neil Ronco, Brooke and Blake Michael Bryan.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 82% critic 76% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Common Sense Media age 15+, positive 3*, role models 3*, violence 2*, language 1*, consumerism 1*, drinking, drugs & smoking 4*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 139 reviews.  Goodreads gives the book 4.23* out of 5* with 8,322 ratings.

Special Note:  Rip is the character played by Berry Pepper.  One scene with Rip meeting their dog was not supposed to include the dog-biting Rip on the nose.  The dog decided to improvise and Berry Pepper was actually bitten by the dog.

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding 2011

     Diane Hudson is a New York Attorney with two teens, Zoe and Jake.  She’s married to Mark Hudson and he has just surprised her by asking for a divorce?  She tells Mark that she’s taking Zoe and Jake to spend a week with her mother in Woodstock.  Diane has been estranged from Grace because she grows and sells marijuana. 

     This film is always trying too hard and missing the mark.  Everything that is supposed to be ‘hip’ is thrown into the mix until you can’t take one more thing!!  The result is one mess after another until you are glad to see the end!!  A waste of good actors.  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)

96 min, Comedy directed by Bruce Beresford with Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Olsen, Joseph Dunn, Ann Osmond, Teri Gibson, Robert Bowen Jr., Nat Wolff, Joyce Van Patten, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyle MacLachlan.

Note:   Imdb 5.9 out of 10, 30% critic 39% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Common Sense Media age 17+, positive 3*, role models 1*, violence 1*, sex 3*, language 3*, drinking, drugs & smoking 4*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 247 reviews.

Special Note:  Grace explains in the film that her daughter was born at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.  The birth was during a Jimi Hendrix rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.  Catherine Keener is playing Grace’s daughter and she was born in 1959, ten years before her character’s birth?  The real Woodstock festival was going to be held in Woodstock but it was actually held in Bethel New York.  Bethel is over 50 miles from the town of Woodstock.

3 Backyards 2010

    This film is one day in the life of three people in a Long Island neighborhood on an autumn day.  John is going on a business trip and he’s been fighting with his wife.  They have a young daughter.  Peggy is asked by her actress neighbor to take her to the ferry.  Peggy becomes upset when the neighbor starts crying in Peggy’s car but she won’t discuss why she’s crying?  Christina is late for the bus and she was trying on her mother’s bracelet that is a gift for her mother’s birthday.  Christina doesn’t have time to take off the bracelet and she loses it on the way to school.

     Many times I could guess what was going to happen before it happened?  The three stories never intersect with each other?  There doesn’t seem to really be much going on in any of the stories?  I thought this was a waste of good actors and a waste of my time!!  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)

88 min, Drama directed and written by Eric Mendelsohn with Elias Koteas, Kathryn Erbe, Edie Falco, Rachel Resheff, Ron Phillips, Wesley Broulik, Ann Arvia, Dana Eskelson, Randi Kaplan, Embeth Davidtz, Kathy Searle, Joe Cipoletti, Louise Millmann, John Monteleone, Nicole Brending.

Note:  Imdb 5.1 out of 10, 76% critic 29% audience on Rotten Tomatoes,  Metacritic 69 out of 100 with 9 critics 6.7 out of 10 with 7 reviews, Slant Magazine 2 ½* Ed Gonzalez, Amazon 2.5* out of 5* with 51 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Clinton Diner, Maspeth, Queens; Northport, Port Jefferson, Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York.

The Secret Life of Bees 2008

     The setting of this film is South Carolina in 1964.  It is based on a novel by Sue Monk Kidd published in January 2003.  This period is the time when the Civil Rights Act ended segregation in public places and banned discrimination.  Just because there was a law didn’t mean this was going to peacefully happen overnight!!  Rosaleen Daise goes into town to register to vote and three men beat her.  She is taken to the hospital but she will go to jail after leaving the hospital.  These men are determined to beat her again and possibly kill her?  Rosaleen is the nanny for Lily Owens and Lily comes to the hospital to rescue Rosaleen.  They leave town, hitch a ride and Lily wants to go to Tiberon South Carolina.  She hopes to find out information about her mother.  Lily's mother died when Lily was 4 years old.

     This film is very good and I also read the book before watching the film.  It gives me a tingle in my spine to think about how good the book is!!  There are some minor changes in the film from the book.  There are a LOT of emotions, loss, longing, searching, freedom, bondage, cruelty, fear, love, hope.  4 ½* (loved this movie) 

104 min, Drama directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood with Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany, Hilarie Burton, Tristan Mack Wilds, Nate Parker, Shondrella Averey, Renee Ford Clark, Sharon Conley, Nicky Buggs.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 699 reviews, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 32 critics 7.8 out of 10 with 33 reviews, Common Sense Media age 13+, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 2*, drinking and smoking 2*, Goodreads gives the book 4.03 out of 5 with 1,010,465 ratings.

Special Note:  Alicia Keys learned to play the cello in four weeks for her role.  Director Gina Prince-Bythewood sent Jennifer Hudson to a local store to guy several items.  The workers and the customers verbally and racially abused her.  Actually, they were actors and Bythewood wanted Hudson to get the feel of a racially tense environment.  Bythewood has also directed Disappearing Acts 2000, Love & Basketball 2000, Biker Boyz 2003, Beyond the Lights 2014, Before I Fall 2017, Nappily Ever After 2018 and she is working on Silver Sable and Black Cat.  She was adopted at the age of 3 weeks and she has four siblings.  She grew up in Pacific Grove, California.

The Bookshop 2017

     The setting of this film is in England of 1959 and 1960.  It is based on a 1978 novel by Penelope Fitzgerald.  Florence Green has been a widow for a long time and her husband was killed in WWII.  She has not considered remarrying because she was so happy in her first marriage.  She opens a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal Town.  Unfortunately, Florence incurs the wrath of wealthy Violet Gamart.  Violet would like the historical building where the bookshop is located to be a cultural center instead.  Violet has the money and political connections to have a new law written.  The law states that historical buildings can be taken from the owner to be used for the benefit of the community.  After an investigation of the soundness of the building, it can also be obtained with no money paid to the owner if problems are found?

      Florence has opened a wonderful shop and many people are enjoying patronizing the new business.  Edmund Brundish is a reclusive man in the community and he has been asking Florence to send him copes of books she thinks he would like.  Christine is a local schoolgirl and she has been hired to assist with the shop work.  Florence finds her personal resolve tested, a battle ensues for her shop and for the soul of this community!!  4 ½* (I loved this movie)

      

113 min, Drama directed by Isabet Coixet with Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Hunter Tremayne, Honor Kneafsey, Michael Fitzgerald, Frances Barber, Reg Wilson, James Lance, Patricia Clarkson, Nigel O’Neill.

Note:  Imdb 6.5*, 54% critic 48% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Washington Post 3* out of 4* Michael O’Sullivan, Metacritic 62 out of 100 with 22 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 9 reviews, Common Sense Media 3* positive 3* role models 1* violence, 1* sex, 1* language, 2* drinking, drugs, smoking, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Amazon 3* out of 5* with 11 reviews, the book in paperback has 3.3* out of 5* with 205 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in County Down, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK; Bell Reco, Argentona, Castell de Godmar, Badalona, Catalonia, Spain.  In the ending scene, the cover of the book this movie is based on is seen among other books in the shop window.  Isabel Coixet’s screenplay won the Frankfurt Book Fair prize for Best International Literary Adaptation 2017.  This film also received 12 nominations for the XXXIIrd edition of the Goya Awards by the Spanish Cinema Acedemy.  Awards were won for Best Film, Director and Adapted Screenplay.  Julie Christie reads narration but she is uncredited.  The book that Christine is holding at the end scene is A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Arthur Warren Hughes. 

The Pickle Recipe 2016

     Joey Miller is a popular MC for weddings plus Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies.  He lives in Detroit city and he’s a single father deeply in debt financially.  He’s planning on doing the Bat Mitzvah for his daughter Julie and the date will be soon.   There is a fire at his latest wedding gig and the fire destroys his all of his equipment.  Joey contacts his shady Uncle Morty to see if he has any money?  Morty gives Joey the idea of stealing Joey's grandmother Rose’s prized and secret dill pickle recipe.  Rose runs a deli/café and her pickles are the draw for the customers.  No one can make a better dill pickle than Rose!!  She doesn’t even allow anyone to watch her during her pickle making process.

     There are a lot of the same events repeated in this film?  A lot of effort is put into schemes that will not result in getting the pickle recipe.   I don’t see how Joey and Morty can justify their sleaziness and their behavior since Rose is a cherished relative?  If Rose wanted any family members to have the recipe, she would give them the recipe personally!!  2 ½* (This movie is so-so) 

97 min, Comedy directed by Michael Manasseri with Jon Dore, Lynn Cohen, Miriam Lee, David Paymer, Eric Edelstein, Taylor Groothuis.

Note:  Imdb 7. 6 out of 10, 36% critic 95% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 39 out of 100 with 5 critics, Amazon Video 3* out of 5* with 10 reviews.

Spartacus 1960

     The time period of this film is 73 B.C., it is based on a novel by Howard Fast and inspired by a true story.  A Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiator training school run by Lentulus Batiatus.  More and more slaves join their movement.  Their plan is to acquire ships from Silesian pirates if they can raise enough money?  They want to be transported to other lands from Bransisium in the south.  The Roman Senate plans to send an army against the slaves while they are still in Vesuvius.  Marcus Publius Galbrus is sent to lead the army and the slave army defeats him.  Next, General Marcus Licinius Crassus leads his own army against the slaves.  Spartacus is the leader of the freed slaves and there are thousands of them.  The slaves make their way to Brandisium but the Silesians have abandoned them and there are no ships in the port.  They must turn north and face the mighty army of Rome.

     I watched this film in sessions because of the extended length.  It is truly an epic film.  The gladiators revolted and killed their guards because noblemen and women came from Rome and they wanted to watch a fight to the death.  The women selected the fighters.  One of the gladiators refused to kill the other gladiator and one of the noblemen killed him.  Normally, the gladiators were training and there were no fights to the death of one of the men.  I can see how all of the men, women and children in the group of slaves would want to be free from ill treatment and bondage.  4* (I really liked this movie)    

       

197 min, Adventure directed by Stanley Kubrick with Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, Harold J. Stone, Woody Strode, Peter Brocco, Tony Curtis.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, 96% critic 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 87 out of 100 with 17 critics 7.7 out of 10 with 22 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 854 reviews.

Special Note:  Originally Anthony Mann was the director but he had a major falling out with Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick was brought in.  Douglas also had a difficult time with Kubrick.  The only sequence filmed by Mann was the salt mines in the beginning.  Kubrick was not given control of the script and he felt it was full of stupid moralizing?  Peter Ustinov’s daughter was born at the beginning of production.  He joked that she would be in kindergarten by the time the movie was finished!!

Awards:  Academy Award for Best Actor in Supporting Role for Peter Ustinov.  Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography and a BAFTA Award for Best Picture.

Natural Selection 2011

     Linda has been married to Abe for 25 years.  They live in the Houston suburb of Jersey Village, Texas.  Linda isn’t able to have children.  Abe thinks it’s a sin for them to have relations because they cannot have a child.  When Linda learns that Abe has had a stroke at a sperm bank, she is naturally infuriated!!  She is also afraid that Abe will die.  She goes to the sperm bank and asks the clerk if Abe has any children?  The woman says she cannot give out that information.  She tells Linda that Abe has been coming to the bank for 20 years.  Linda goes back again and the woman says she will not be in the office for a short time.  Linda learns from the clinic records that Abe has an adult son.  She wants to drive to where he lives and bring him back to meet Abe.

     Linda is very naïve plus she has lived a sheltered life!!  She doesn’t know that she may be getting in over her head with Abe's son Raymond!!  The acting of Rachael Harris as Linda is very good and she makes her character seem believable!!  Linda and Raymond are like oil and water in their personalities and the way they live.  You know right away that there are going to be problems that Linda doesn’t foresee!!  3* (This movie was OK)  

90 min, Drama directed by Robbie Pickering with Matt O’Leary, Rachael Harris, John Diehl, Gayland Williams, Jon Gries, Stephanie King, Berna Roberts, Drake Dempsey, Michael Hyland, Greg Grosh, Rob Huebel.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 73% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Rolling Stone 3* out of 4*, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 14 critics, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 13 reviews. 

Special Note:  Filmed in Austin, Bastrop and Smithville, Texas.  A first film for director Robbie Pickering.  The film critic Roger Ebert was so impressed by this film that he showed it at Ebertfest in 2011.  Winner of both the jury and audience awards for a narrative feature at the SXSW Film Festival.  Rachael Harris has been acting from 1994 to 2016 and she has been in films and also on television.  She was in Wreck-it Ralph of 2012, Diary of a Wimpy Kid of 2010 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days of 2011, The Hangover of 2009, Evan Almighty of 2007, For Your Consideration of 2006, Starsky & Hutch of 2004 and Best in Show of 2000 plus other films.

The Hunger Games 2012

     This film is based on a book by Suzanne Collins.  There are three books in the series and there are four films from these books.  The setting is the ruins of what was once North America.  Panem's land mass has been reduced by rising sea levels.  The location is possibly in the Rocky Mountains.  The Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games every year.  This will be the 74^th year of the games.  The names are randomly drawn from those who have submitted their names in order to get food for their families.  Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old and she volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, Prim.  Peeta Mellark is selected as the boy tribute.  They live in District 12 somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, possibly in Kentucky or West Virginian.

     It’s obvious to the viewer that the Capitol is the haves and the Districts are the have nots.  The movie doesn’t address this class distinction but the Capitol is definitely shown as making the rules and forcing the districts to abide by them.  They can also change the rules as they go along.  The games are supposed to remind the twelve districts that an uprising against the Capitol would be futile.  But, instead they grind down the districts further and make them think more about how they could gather together for an uprising.  This is directed at the teen audience but I thought the film was good and I also read the novels.  They have 4.6* out of 5* with 73,723 reviews. 

142 min, Sci-Fi & Fantasy directed by Gary Ross with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woodie Harrilson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Willow Shields, Elizabeth Banks, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Paula Malcomson, Rhoda Griffis.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 84% critic 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 49 critics 7 out of 10 with 1,855 reviews, Empire Online 4* out of 5*, Rolling Stone Peter Travers 3 1/2* out of 4*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 13,359 reviews.
Special Note:  Filmed in Shelby, Pisgah National Forest, Asheville, Concord, Charlotte, Hildebran, North Fork Reservoir, Black Mountain, DuPont State Forest, Barnardsville, Cedar Mountain, North Carolina.  On the set there was a swear jar.  Co-Writer and Director Gary Ross said that  half of the penalty money was added to the jar by Jennifer Lawrence.  She was paid $500,000 for her role.  It took her three days to agree because she was unsure how this film would affect hercareer.  Her background had been largely films from the indie circuit.  For Catching Fire of 2013 she was paid ten million dollars.  Twenty times more than her other paycheck.  The Hunger Games film titles are The Hunger Games 2012, Catching Fire 2013, Mockingjay Part 1 2014 and Mockingjay Part 2 2015.

Before Midnight 2013

     This film is the sequel to Before Sunset (1995) and Before Sunrise (2004).  It's been nine years since there has been a film about Jesse and Celine.  Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delphy) have twin daughters and Jesse has a teenage son Hank from his previous marriage.  Jesse is feeling a lot of remorse because he lives in France and Hank lives in Chicago with his mother.  Jesse thinks it’s bad for both of them to not be a part of each other’s regular lives.  Hank has spent the summer with his family on a vacation in Greece and he has just left to return to Chicago.  The family had been staying with Jesse's author colleague.  Jesse begins to question the decisions he has made in his life and he thinks his relationship with Celine could be at risk?

     The entire film is dialogue.  Hawke has described Before Sunrise as the film about what might be.  Before Sunset is the film about could or should be.  Before Midnight is the film about what is.  Talking, talking and then arguing, arguing.  I could not take anymore and I didn’t finish this film.  It’s like going to someone’s house and you never say a word but they never shut up!!  2* (I didn’t like this movie) 

109 min, Drama directed by Richard Linklater with Ethan Hawke, Julie Delphy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Jennifer and Charlotte Prior, Zenia Kalogeropoulou, Walter Lassally, Ariane Labed, Yiannis Papadopoulos.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, 98% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Rolling Stone 4* Peter Travers, Empire Online 4* out of 5*, Amazon 3.8* out of 5* with 567 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Kardamyli, Messinia and Pylos Greece in 15 days.  This film is dedicated to the memory of Amy Lehrhaupt.  She was the woman who inspired Before Sunrise.  Director Richard Linklater spent a night walking and talking around Philadelphia with her in 1989.  They initially stayed in touch by phone calls but lost contact.  Later in 1994, Linklater hoped she would show up at the world premiere for Before Sunrise but she didn't.  Ten years later he was filming the sequel Before Sunset and he still had not heard from Amy.  In 2010, Amy's friend contacted Linklater and told him that Amy died in a motorcycle accident on May 9, 1994 at the age of 24.  This was just a few weeks before the shoot began. Linklater and Hawke were both devastated by her passing.  

The Hunt 2012

     Also titled Jagten.  Lucas is a lonely 40-year-old divorced day-care worker.  He’s trying to arrange for his teenage son to start living with him instead of living with his ex-wife.  Klara is a young girl and gets mad at Lucas.   She tries to kiss him and he says he cannot accept that gift.  He asks her to give the gift to her older brother instead.  She tells the manager that Lucas did something bad.  Everyone in the town turns against Lucas, he loses his job, his son is not allowed to see him and he is not welcome to shop in the local grocery store.  The police become involved since many of the children have come forward with the same story.

     This is tough movie to watch because of the theme but with very good acting.  Once everyone believes something true or not, how do you change their minds?  If no one believes you, how can you fight the lie.  A lie can sometimes be much stronger than the truth and you are guilty without a trial.  Mad Mikkelsen is usuallyin the bad guy role.  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

115 min, Drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg with Mads Mikkelsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lasse Fogelstrom, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing, Lars Ranthe, Alexandra Rapaport, Hana Shuan.

Note:  Imdb 8.3 out of 10, 94% critic 93% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 30 critics 8.4 out of 10 with 211 reviews, The Telegraph 5*, Roger Ebert 3*, Letterboxd 4.1* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Hoje Taastrup Church, Taastrup, Denmark.  Officially submitted by Denmark to the Foreign Language Film category of the 2014 Academy Awards.  Premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and the first Danish-language film in the main competition since 1998.   The second film by Thomas Vinterberg, his first was The Celebration of 1998. 

Leaving Limbo 2013

     This film is adapted from a stage play called My Wonderful Coma.  The year is 1989 and Monica is riding in a car with her teenage friends.  She is on a double date with her boyfriend/fiancé Elias Cecil and her friend Noelle Perris plus Owen Williams.  Owen is driving, he’s not a good driver and they have an accident.  The only person not hurt is Owen. Monica is in a coma and Ben has both his legs crushed.  Ben was a football player and now he is doing physical therapy just to be able to walk again.  Monica remains in her coma from 1989 until 2008 and this coma has lasted for 19 years until she suddenly wakes up.  She is lucky she remained alive and mentally stable for this long amount of time.  She has received mysterious flowers once a week for the entire time and her father has spent countless hours at the hospital with her.  She is emotionally devastated when she learns 19 years have gone by and she has missed a huge chunk of her life.  She is also distressed to find out that Ben has moved on with his life without her. 

     Owen walked away but he has tremendous guilt.  Cecil lost a promising football career.  Perris is bitter and she is into playing mind games.  This seems like a filmed for television movie.  The ideals are shoved down your throat and the acting is not very good.  I didn’t know if I could continue watching.  The dialogue, clothing and hairstyles are supposed to be funny but I didn’t think so?  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

93 Min, Drama directed by Sandy Bolian with Mandy Brown, Elias Cecil, David Fruechting, Luke Barnett, Amy Mathieson, Noelle Perris, Matt Kohler.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 29% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.1* out of 5* with 51 reviews, Dove.org 1* sex, language, violence; 2* drugs, nudity, battling, disrespect, lying. 

Special Note:  Filmed in Pasadena, California. 

Cinnamon 2011

     The title of this is also My Dog's Christmas Miracle.  Cinnamon is a small Maltese dog, she loves her owner and wants to keep her all to herself.  Professor Madeline meets the man of her dreams and Cinnamon is afraid she’ll be sent to the pound.  She does everything she can to keep the couple apart.  She gets her real chance to cause trouble when Madeline goes to a conference and asks architect Kevin to take care of Cinnamon for three days.  Kevin has a son and he is jealous of both Madeline and Cinnamon!!

     This is cute and enjoyable.  Somewhat predictable but that doesn’t matter when you have talking dogs!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

91 min, Family directed by Michael Feifer with Cynthia Gibb, Greg, Evigan, Ashley Leggat, Ciara Bravo, Lesley-Anne Down, Robert Carradine, Kendall Ryan Sanders, Charlie Stewart, Caia Coley, Beth Shea, David O’Donnell, John Burke, Odessa Rae, Joey Diaz, Orlando Deral Wilson. 

Note:  Imdb 4.5* out of 10*, Common Sense Media age 6+, 2* out of 5*, positive messages 3*, positive role models 3*, violence 1*, sex 3*, drinking, drugs & smoking 2*, Amazon 5* with one review.

Special Note:  Filmed in Saint Clarita, Los Angeles, Simi Valley, Los Angeles, Ontario, California.  There is another movie with a similar title, Canela Cinnamon of 2011 but this film is about a traditional Mexican restaurant.

Upstairs Downstairs Series Two 2012

     Prior to the popular series Downton Abbey, there were two seasons of this series.  The time period is in 1938.  WWII is in discussion but the British hope it can be averted through diplomacy.  Lady Maude has been the head of the household at 165 Eaton Place but she has died.  Sir Hallam Holland is a foreign-service diplomat working on the war discussions and he has moved with his family to Eaton Place.  His wife is Lady Agnes, she’s just had a daughter and they also have a young son.  Lady Agnes has been told it would be dangerous for her to have another child.  There are three new other arrivals at Eaton Place.  Beryl is a nursery maid with ambitions to move forward from this position.  Blanche, Hallam’s aunt is an archeologist and her specialty is putting things into order.  Hallam has pulled some strings and had Lady Persephone, the sister of Lady Agnes, flown out of Germany.  She will help Lady Agnes to run the household.  Also on the staff are Mr. Amanjit, Mrs. Thackeray, Pritchard, Eunice and Johnny.

     There is a LOT going on in this series especially since Britain is trying to negotiate their way out of another war.  Britain hasn’t recovered from the cost and the extreme losses of WWI.  Chamberlain resigns and Churchill takes his place. Talks with Hitler are probably going to be futile.  There are uproars at both Eaton Place and in the government.  3 ½* (I liked this series)

649 min, Drama directed by Anthony Byrne, Marc Jabst, Brendan Maher with Angela Baddeley, Keeley Hawes, Ed Stoppard, Adrian Scarborough, Neil Jackson, Anne Reid.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 2120 reviews,  Metacritic 65 out of 100 with 8 critics, DVD talk content 4*, video 3*, audio 3 ½*, extras 1*.

Titles for this Season are:  A Faraway Country About Which We Know Nothing, The Love That Pays the Price, A Perfect Specimen of Womanhood, All the Things You Are, The Last Waltz, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

My Lucky Elephant 2010

     A young elephant is very curious, he goes into a village and the people were trying to drive him away.  This behavior stopped when his very large mother came to rescue him.  Then, he followed a rabbit and his mother was not able to find him.  A young orphan boy discovers him and they become a family.  They have some jobs along the way to earn money but they end up at the Academy of Art.  Elephants are trained here to become painters and the art is sold to tourists.  Lucky doesn’t want to paint flowers like the other elephants and his surprising natural talent causes a stir at the Academy.

     This is a good family movie, some tension concerning what will happen to the boy and the elephant but all ends well.   Filming is done in Thailand and a first time acting job for Khunchan in the role of the orphan boy.  3 ½*  (I liked this movie) 

91 min, Drama directed by Eric Schwab with First Khunchan, Somboon, Tanyarat Pradittan, Hong, Charlie Sungkawess, Wallop Thearathon, Georges Levillain, Witoon Bauadaeng, Pawin Chantanimi.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 34 reviews, Common Sense Media age 10+, 4* out of 5*, positive messages 3*, Positive Role Models 3*, Violence 2*, Dove.org 2* language, 1* violence, 2* nudity, 1* lying.

On The Waterfront 1954

     Terry Malloy was a fighter and he really thought he could take his last opponent but the fight was rigged.  He still dreams about being a prize-fighter but he tends pigeons and runs errands at the docks.  Terry works for Johnny Friendly and he is the corrupt boss of the Dockers Union.  Terry’s friend Joey Doyle is thrown off an apartment roof and murdered by two of Johnny’s thugs.  Terry meets his friend’s sister and she introduces him to Father Barry.  The Father is trying to get members of the Dockers Union to provide information for the courts that will turn around the corruption. 

     The role of Terry Malloy was modeled in part after whistle-blowing longshoreman Anthony DeVincenzo.  He testified before the Waterfront Commission about activities on the Hoboken Docks.  He suffered a degree of ostracism for his testimony.  He also sued and settled with Columbia Pictures many years later.  Eva Marie Saint is in the role of Edie Doyle, the sister of Joey Doyle but she is not listed as a first billed actor on IMDB.  Producer Sam Spiegel listed Saint in the credits as a supporting actress.  It was because he hoped she would win best Supporting Actress and she did win an Oscar.  Nominated for 11 Oscars and won eight.  I thought I had seen this before but I actually didn’t.  I thought it was interesting and good.  I think the depictions of the conditions on the waterfront look to be accurately portrayed.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

108 min, Crime directed by Elia Kazan with Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning Leif Erickson, James Westerfield, Tony Galento, Tami Mauriello, John F. Hamilton, John Heldabrand, Rudy Bond, Don Blackman, Arthur Keegan.

Note:  Imdb 8.2 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 98% critic 95% audience, Roger Ebert 4*, Metacritic 91 out of 100 with 15 critics 8.8 out of 10 with 158 reviews, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 520 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in St. Peter and St Paul Church, Our Lady of Grace Church, Stevens Park, Court Street, Hudson Street, Willow Avenue, Railway Station, Waterfront, Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City, New York.  It was written Brando’s contract that he would work until 4PM every day and then he would leave for an appointment with his analyst.  Brando’s mother had recently died and he was in therapy to resolve issues with his parents.  Brando took this role because he didn’t want Paul Newman.  Soon after the release of this film, the AFL-CIO expelled the East Coast Longshoremen’s Union because it was still run by the mob.