Puzzle 2018

     Agnes is married and she has two young adult sons.  Agnes only thinks about her family and not herself.  In the opening scenes there is a birthday party at her house.  Agnes has made the cake and did everything else for her own party.  She gets a 1000 piece puzzle set as a gift.  She puts the puzzle together very quickly and she does it several times.  She sees a notice that someone she doesn’t know is seeking a puzzle partner for a puzzle completion.  She has received a phone for her birthday but she’s planning only using it for emergencies.  She sent a text to offer to be a puzzle partner.  She takes the train to New York and then a cab to the address she has.  She gets out of the cab early and walks because she doesn’t have enough money to go further in the cab.  Robert is the person she has come to see and he tells her the details about the completion and the prize.  He says they will need to practice together regularly to learn to work quickly with each other.  Robert is surprised that Agnes doesn’t sort the pieces by color and she is very fast in solving them.  Agnes tells her husband that her aunt has broken her leg and she needs help.  This is true but her husband doesn’t think it is necessary for Agnes to use her time to help the aunt??

     This is surprisingly good and I really liked this movie.  Agnes learns from Robert more than how to quickly do puzzles.  He points out that she usually never does anything for herself?  Her two sons also point that out to her.  Agnes hasn’t thought about this when she looks at her life??  Her husband and sons don’t do anything around the home.  Louie has a car repair shop and both sons work there.  Gabe is fine with this but Ziggy tells Agnes that he hates working at the shop!!  Agnes helps Louie with the invoices at the shop along with all her other work.  5* (I really liked this movie) 

103 min, Drama directed by Marc Turtle Taub and witten by Polly Mann Natalia Smirnoff and Oren Moverman with Kelly Macdonald, David Denman, Irrfan Khan, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Austin Abrams, Bubba Weiler, Helen Coxe, Mandela Bellamy, Liv Hewson, Lori Hammel, Lawrence Arnacio, Sebastian Chacon, Barry Godin, Matthew Shifrin, Myrna Cabello, Audire Neenan Mhari Sandoval.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10 with 5473 reviews, Roger Ebert 3* Christy Lemire, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 130 critics 76% audience with 704 user ratings, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Mike McCahill, Common Sense Media Michael Ordona, 5*, age 15+, 4* positive, 4* role models, 2* sex, 4* language, 2* drinking, drugs & smoking, The Globe and Mail 3* out of 4* Kate Taylor, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 131 reviews, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*, Metacritic 66 out of 100 with 36 critics (26 positive, 10 mixed, 0 negative) 7.6 out of 10 with 19 ratings (14 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative)

Special Note:  Kelly MacDonald was in a supporting role in No Country for Old Men 2007 and Irrfan Khan was in a supporting role in Slumdog Millionaire 2008.  Both films won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards in consecutive years.  The movie is set in Connecticut but actually filmed in Yonkers.  While Metro-North trains are shown they are not from the New Haven line which is the only line that runs into Connecticut.  New Haven Line seats are red.  The station shown appears to be Mount Vernon, West.  It is likely that the trains are the Harlem Line.  Harlem and Hudson Lines have blue seats.  Trains leaving from Mount Vernon West do not go to Connecticut without transferring, they also do not go to New Rochelle.

Where’d you go Bernadette 2019

     This film is based on a 2012 novel written by Maria Semple.  Bernadette is a loving mom with a teen daughter.  She has sacrificed her creative passions to take care of her family.  Her daughter Bee and her husband Elgie want to take a trip Antarctica as a reward for Bee's good grades.  At first, Bernadette is on board with the trip and then she becomes too frightened to actually take the trip?  Elgie doesn’t know what action he needs to take to deal with Bernadette’s behavior??  Possibly, an intervention is needed or she may need psychiatric help?? 
     Before her marriage and the birth of her daughter, Bernadette was an award winning architectural genius.  She has set aside all her previous dreams and goals to be a mother.  She seldom leaves the house, she doesn’t get along with the parents at Bee’s school and her neighbor Audrey Griffin plus she hasn’t worked in 20 years.  She has a phone personal assistant named Manjula in India.  She regularly communicates with Manjula and this is how she makes all her purchases.  Despite Bernadettes extensive experience with architecture, the family lives in a dilapidated former schoolhouse in Seattle.  It seems that everything about this house is in ruin.  Bernadette begins to behave more oddly with everyone after the decision to go on the trip?  She allows her neighbor Audrey to have the blackberry vines trimmed on the hill behind Audrey’s house.  This area is part of the property owned by Bernadette and Elgie.  Bernadette knows a LOT more about this trimming work than she is letting on??

     There is behavior by a mother with an eccentric, anxious and borderline agoraphobic personality.  She falls back on some instances of very strong language and she over buys products from Amazon and Apple.  A teen vapes and adults drink alcohol.  There is marital discord and upsetting arguments.  There is a LOT of discussion about sexism, stereotypes, the importance of mentors and close parent and teen relationships.  5* (I really liked this movie) 
    
109 min, Drama directed and written by Richard Linklater and also written by Holly Gent, Vincent Palmo Jr. Maria Semple with Cate Blanchette, Billy Crudup, Emma Nelson, Kristen Wiig, Patrick Sebes, Zoe Chao, Lee Harrington, David Paymer, Megan Mullally, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Zahn, Patrick Jordan, Shaun Cameron Hall, Amy Rayko.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10 with 12,749 reviews, Roger Ebert 1 1/2* Monica Castillo, Rotten Tomatoes 49% critic with 170 reviews 74% audience with1,530 ratings, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Benjamin Lee, RollingStone 2 1/2* Peter Travers, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 1430 reviews, Metacritic 51 out of 100 with 39 critic reviews (positive 14, mixed, 7 negative), 6.4 out of 10 with 45 user scores (21 positive, 18 mixed, 7 negative), Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen 4* out of 5*, 13+ age, 4*positive messages, 3* role models, 1* violence, 2* sex, 3* language, 4* consumerism, 3*drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  The story by Maria Semple is a documentary novel but it is told mainly through a collection of fictional archival materials.  The Antarctic Station design and construction scenes in the closing credits are actually the Halley VI British Antarctic Research Station.  Director Linklater was attracted to the story because of the strong mother/daughter relationship.  He is the father of three daughters and a brother of two older sisters.  The production scenes on location in Greenland were hampered by a hurricane that lasted for 36 hours.  Instead of waiting it out, the crew included footage in the film.  This is the first feature film for Emma Nelson in the role of Bee.  This is an Amazon Studios production and the company took every opportunity to include Amazon Prime product placements.  
 

A Million Little Pieces 2018

     The setting of this film is in Chicago of 1993.  James Frey is 23 years old and he is a lost soul stuck in a spiral of auto-destruction.  He is addicted to drugs and alcohol.  After a night of partying, James accidentally falls off the balcony of the house where he was staying.  He breaks his nose and he awakens from his high hours later.  He finds himself on an airplane headed to Minnesota?  He is to be admitted to the Hazelden Foundation.  This is a rehab center for addicts.  James is reluctant to take any steps to address his addictions.  In the center, he meets other patients in treatment.  Leonard is a foul-mouthed former member of the mob.  John is deranged with obsessions and he is unable to contain his primary impulses.  Roy has bipolar disorder with religious delirium.  Miles is a clarinet player and former judge who turned on his roommate.  The rules of the center prevent all contact between men and women by having separated treatment in different pavilions of the center.  Despite these barriers, James meets Lilly.

     The content of this film is mature and disturbing.  The horrifying life of a drug addict is depicted and the difficulty of getting clean.  James smokes crack, chugs liquor, chains smokes and dances in poop.  He is filmed completely nude from all sides and angles.  He also poops nude.  John is a gay character and he is also naked.  He plays out the worst of homophobic stereotypes including sexually preying on another man in the shower.  There is also a suicide and near-death experience.  Angry destruction, painful/bloody medical procedure, punching and more.  Characters conversations are about the appeal of the highs.  There is lots of strong language and prostitution is also shown.  1 1/2* (I didn’t like this movie and I didn’t get very far in viewing)    

113 min, Drama directed and written by Sam Taylor-Johnson and also written by James Frey and Aaron Taylor-Johnson with Billy Bob Thornton, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Odessa Young, Giovanni Ribisi, Juliette Lewis, Dash Mihok, Charles Parnell, Ryan Hurst, David Dastmalchian, Tom Amandes, Charlie Hunnam, Andy Mackenzie, Eugene Byrd, Andy Buckley. 

Note:  Goodreads gives the book 3.65* out of 5* with 218,004 ratings and 11,623 reviews, Imdb 6.2 out of 10 with 1346 reviews, Roger Ebert 1 1/2* Matt Zoller Seitz, Rotten Tomatoes 27% with 48 critics 47% with 61 user ratings, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 2637 customer ratings, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Cath Clarke, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, age 17+, 3* positive messages, 1*role models, 4* violence, 5*sex, 5*language, 0* consumerism, 4* drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  This film is based on the book written by James Frey.  In 2006, James was made to publicly admit that the book was not a memoir but fiction.  Oprah Winfrey was one of his biggest supporters at this time.  She redacted her support and publicly shamed him for passing the lie as truth and profiting from the sales.  Oprah announced his deceit on an episode dated 26 January 2006 of The Oprah Winfrey Show.  The director, Sam Taylor-Johnson is married to cast member Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  Originally, Warner Bros planned on making the film adaptation of the book with Orlando Bloom and Josh Hartnett in mind.

The Farewell 2019

     Billi is a headstrong and independent Chinese-American woman.  She returns to China when her beloved grandmother is diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Her family has made the decision to keep grandma in the dark about her illness?  Billi is struggling with the idea that grandma doesn’t know the reality of what is wrong her?  The family stages an impromptu wedding to allow everyone to see grandma one last time.
     Billi is a twenty-something millennial and she lives her life like most New Yorkers.  Barely able to pay rent and often on the lookout for a new job.  She still goes home to mom and dad to do her laundry.  Every time she does this, she knows she’ll have to endure parental comments.  Billi’s mother announces the imminent wedding of Billi’s cousin.  Something is not right about this announcement?  Her parents are pressured by Billi’s suspicion!!  They quickly confess to the real health status of her grandma.  Billi is shocked by the news!!  They all end up around the dinner table at Nat Nat's home back in China.  They fake their true feelings around the clock!!
     This is a thought provoking film dealing with a loved one’s impending death.  There are differences between Eastern and Western philosophies of life.  Especially, in the way family members interact with each other.  Most of the language is in Mandarin with English subtitles.  The words are fairly simple because several relatives don’t know Chinese very well.  There is quite a bit of smoking and drinking and a booze-fest at the wedding.  A reference is made to gambling which is seen in a seedy, smoke-filled room.  The family bonds over drinking games.  Positive themes include compassion, empathy and self-control.  2 1/2* (this movie is so-so)  

100 min, Comedy directed and written by Lulu Wang with Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu, Hong Lin, Tai Ma, Diana Lin, Yang Zuejian, Becca Khalil, Yongbo Jiang, Han Chen, Aoi Mizuhara, Xiang Li, Hongli Liu, Shimin Zhang.

Note;  Imdb 7.6 out of 10 with 41,462 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 98% with 322 critics 87% audience with 2490 ratings, Roger Ebert 4* Christy Lemire, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Wendy Ide, indiewire.com Grade A- Eric Kohn, Metacritic 89 out of 100 with 47 critic reviews (47 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative), 8.3 out of 10 with 195 user scores (171 positive, 16 mixed, 8 negative), Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, 4*, age 11+, 3* positive messages, 4* role models, 1* violence, 2* sex, 3* language, 2* consumerism, 4* drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  The family dog’s name is Ellen.  In the film Crazy Rich Asians 2018, Awkwafina’s character is called Asian Ellen.  Lulu Wang is one of the writers and directors, she also plays piano on the film’s soundtrack.  Lulu considerably underestimated the rates she would need to pay to Chinese actors.  Shuzhen Zhao in the role of Nat Nat is a very popular actress in China.  Lulu personally plead with Shuzhen to accept this role and accept a fee that was affordable.  Surprisingly, this film beat out Avengers: Endgame 2019 for the year’s biggest per-theater average!!  I had a little trouble reading the subtitles because they are in white print.  If there was white in the background, they were very difficult to read.  

Brian Banks 2018

    Brian is an All-Amrican high school football star committed to playing for USC.  It has been his dream for a long time to play in the NFL.  All his preparations and hopes are halted when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison.  There is a shocking lack of evidence that Brian committed this crime.  He is railroaded though a broken justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation.  Years later, he fights to clear his name within a system that is still unjust.  With the support of Justin Brooks and the California Innocence Project, Brian fights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL.
     This is a fact based drama but it’s about a he said she said story.  The accuser of the crime doesn’t get to tell her side of the story?  It is really moving with good performances and an important story to tell.  Sometimes everything that is spoken and printed can’t be taken at face value!!  Too many times information gets a skewed treatment or a preconceived stance.  It can take digging to find the real truths.  This film also shows that simple mistakes made during teenage years can impact the rest of your life.
 
99 min, Bio directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Doug Atchison with Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Melane Liburd, Tiffany Dupont, Xosha Roquemore, Mystie Smith, Jose Miguel Vasquez, Dorian Missick, Monique Grant, Matt Battaglia, Michael Franti.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10 with 3109 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes, 61% with 69 critics 97% audience score with 1831 ratings,Roger Ebert 2 1/2* Christy Lemire, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, 2* out of 5*, age 14+, 2* positive messages, 3* role models, 3* violence, 2* sex, 4* language, 0 consumerism, 1*drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 1427 reviews.

Special Note:  Brian Banks went to Long Beach Poly High School and was a part of the prestigious Jackrabbit football team.  He also played against De La Salle and this game was featured in the movie When the Game Stands Tall 2014.  The setting of this film is in Long Beach California but it was filmed in Memphis Tennessee.  Director Tom Shadyac teaches film at the University of Memphis.  In 2018, he opened a climbing gym and community center in the Soulsville neighborhood of South Memphis.  Shadyac’s family also has a long-running history of leadership at St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis.  This Hospital was founded by Danny Thomas and he was a family friend of the Shadyacs.

Wild Nights with Emily 2018

     This film is a dramatization of a little known side of the writer Emily Dickinson and her life.  Supposedly, she had a relationship for a long time with sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert.

      I have added this film to my list of very odd film productions!!  I really don’t know what to believe is true and what is false?  It seems the only way to determine the truth would be to read the 1955 publication of Emily’s complete poems.  Since I am a realist and not a fan of poetry, I don’t intend to take on this challenge!!  The bottom line is, this seems to not have made profit and what difference does it really make whether it is based on truth or fiction?  This a comedy for entertainment purposes and I don’t think it succeeds in that goal!!  I thought Molly Shannon in the role of Emily was overly dowdy in appearance!!  1 1/2* (I really didn’t like this movie)  
 
84 min, Comedy directed and written by Madeleine Olnek with Molly Shannon, Susan Ziegler, Amy Seimetz, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal Dana Melanie, Joel Michaely, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas, Casper Andreas, Allison Lane, Robert McCaskill, David Albiero.

Note:  Imdb 6* out of 10 with 695 reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2* Sheila O’Malley, Rotten Tomatoes 91% with 76 critics 57% audience with 66 ratings, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4* Pat Brown, Metacritic 7.4 out of 100 with 14 critic reviews (positive 12, mixed 2, negative 0), 5.9 out of 10 with 8 user scores (positive 4, mixed 3, negative 1), Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 125 reviews, Washington Post 2 1/2* Pat Padua.

Special Note:  There is a review online of this movie by Barbara Stephens.  “She writes that she has been reading and studying Emily Dickinson since she was a child.  She is now 68 years old and she has also read Emily’s letters to Susan.  There is a beautiful magazine article published about 10 years ago wherein they described how Emily wasn't the recluse she is always made out to be.  She had a large, enclosed garden conservatory where she had many people visit and especially children.  Barbara was saddened by this film's approach, believing it to be more a marketable than a true portrayal.  She turned it off after 45 minutes.  She gave it 2 stars because in spite of the story because it had good production values.”  After Emily’s death, her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd.  They both heavily edited the content and the name Susan was deliberately removed??  Dedications of poems to sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert were obliterated, presumably by Mabel Loomis Todd.  A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.”

Additional note from Wikipedia:  “Dickinson was a prolific poet yet only 10 of her nearly 1800 poems were published in her lifetime?  Many of her poems deal with death and immortality.  These themes were also recurring topics in letters to her friends. 

Financials:  The opening weekend had a gross in the USA of $30,209 on 14 April 2019.  The gross in the USA was $519,48 and the cumulative worldwide gross was also $519,48. 

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story 2020

    In Atlanta Georgia, East Lake Meadows was a public housing project.  This film is about the people who lived there from 1970 to the demolition of the buildings in 2000.  Eva Davis was one of the residents asserting the rights of the tenants.  This community was on the edge of Atlanta called East Lake Meadows.  For 25 years, many thousands of low-income families called this area home.  Most of the people were African Americans and many were on welfare assistance.  There were strong bonds among the people but there were also many challenges.  A crack wave swept through the neighborhood and there was so much crime, it was nearly unlivable.  Children were not out at night because it was extremely dangerous after dark.  There were many murders and fights after crack moved into the Meadows.  In 2000 (30 years later), Atlanta bulldozed the project to make way for new mixed-income housing.  More government and philanthropic funds poured into the area and a thriving community needed to be created.

     The mixed-income housing meant that half of the residents were for low-income people and half open market to anyone who wanted to live here.  Unfortunately, only about 15% of the former residents returned.  Many accepted housing vouchers and they were used to move to neighborhoods just as poor as the Meadows had been.  Atlanta was able to rid East Lake Meadows of this dilapidated and run down housing area but it wasn’t a benefit to those who previously lived there.  The mixed-income was too high for people on welfare.  Some of the former residents regularly meet together to catch up how on things are going for them now.  5* (I really liked this movie) 
    
104 min, Doc directed and written by Sarah Burns and David MacMahon with Henry Cisneros, Bill Clinton, William Jelani Cobb, Eva Davis, Chasity and Rilene Dixon, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Willie Harrison, Lawrence Lightfoot, Beverly Parks, Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mario Luis Small, Brandon Thrasher.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10 with 35 ratings, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 5 ratings, Hollywood Reporter 80 of 100 Dan Fienberg, New York Times 80 out of 100 Mike Hale, Letterboxd 3.6* out of 5*.

Special Note:  The executive producer of this film was Ken Burns.  This film was shown on PBS March 24, 2020. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain 2019

     This film is based on a novel written by Garth Stein.  Denny is a race car driver in Seattle and he lives alone.  He decides he’s going to get a dog and he goes to look at some Golden Retriever puppies.  He selects a boy puppy and he names him Enzo Swift.  Denny did not think about the details of taking care of a puppy, especially the potty training but he is determined to do the job.  Later, Enzo and Denny begin running together.  Enzo watches the races on television with Denny and he starts to get the idea of how to drive a car and race.  Enzo has a LOT to say about Denny and his friends.  Denny meets Eve and they get married.  Enzo is not sure about this new person but they all start to get along.  Denny gets a chance to race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida. 
  
     There have been alterations in this film that are different from the novel.  One character is omitted and Denny’s legal troubles are changed to a different subject.  One very good thing about the marriage between Denny and Eve is that she is not trying to limit Denny’s career as a driver.  Eve’s parents are very wealthy and they are the opposite of Eve.  They think this job is too dangerous for a man with a wife, especially since the wife is their daughter.  This is a very emotional drama told from the point of view of Enzo the Golden Retriever.  Racing analogies are used to explain how to steer thought life’s most difficult challenges.  This can connect with adults and teens but younger kids might not understand this and they could be upset by the sad scenes.  Death is a subject about a person and a dog.  There is also a depiction of a child’s fear of separation from a parent.  There is pressure about parental custody of a child by grandparents with a lot of money, experiences with the court system and an adult lies in court.  I thought this film was very good and interesting too.  5* (I really liked this movie)   

109 min, Drama directed by Simon Curtis and written by Mark Bomback with the voice of Kevin Costner, Milo Ventimiglia, Jackie Minns, Marcus Hondro, Ian Lake, Andres Joseph, Gary Cole, Donald Heng, Peter Ciuffa, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Amanda Seyfried, Kathy Baker, Martin Donovan.

Note:  Goodreads gives the book 4.21* with 443,889 ratings and 38,456 reviews, Imdb 7.5 out of 10 with 19,716 ratings, Rotten Tomatoes 43% with 117 critics 96% audience if 6,272 ratings, Roger Ebert 2* Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, 3* out of 5*, age 10+, 5* positive messages, 4* role models, 3* violence, 1* sex, 1* language, 3* consumerism, 1* drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 10,673 ratings, Metacritic 43 out of 100 with 31 critic reviews (positive 6, mixed 5, negative 4), 7.4 out of 10 with 33 user scores (24 positive, mixed 5, negative 4), Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5* with 23 fans, dove.
org faith 1*, integrity 4*, language 1*, other 2* for 2 deaths.
 
Special Note:  This is the first voice role for Kevin Costner.  All shots of Denny in the Turner Motorsports M4 GT4 race were filmed with blue screen backgrounds on a stationary airbag suspension rig.  All on-track scenes with that car were performed by pro racers Justin Marks and Tanner Foust at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.  Nearly at the end of this film, Enzo goes for a ride with Denny in a replica 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.  Only 33 original cars were made from 1957 to 1962.  They are highly prized for their racing success with legendary drivers at the wheel.  In 2014, an original 1957 Testa Rossa sold at a private sale for $39.8 million.  Porche has had the most overall victories of any car manufacturer with 22 wins by various models including the road based 911, 935 and 996.  In the scene with Denny as the first driver to head to the pits to get rain tires, the car is a Turner BMW.

Castle on the Hudson 1940

      This film is based on a novel written by Warden Lewis E. Lawes.  Tommy Gordon is an arrogant mobster and he has been sentenced to a long prison term in Sing Sing.  For weeks, he stays alone in his cell because he doesn’t want to conform to any of the regulations in the prison?  When he can’t stand being alone any longer, he agrees to try to fit in.  Tommy believes he will not serve a long sentence because his political pals have promised him a quick parole.  Later, he finds out they have left him behind and he doesn’t know if he will still do life?  He has a beautiful and wonderful girlfriend Kay and she comes to see him on visiting days.  She tried to see him when he was in his cell isolation but the guards and the warden would not let her.  She is in a car accident and Tommy is notified that she may not live because she has serious injuries.

     Surprisingly, Warden Long gives Tommy a pass to go see Kay because of the dire situation.  Tommy only needs to promise he will be back at the prison that evening.  A LOT of complications arise when Tommy goes to see Kay.  I thought it was interesting that a man gave an IQ test to each prisoner.  He used a wooden puzzle to see if they could fit the pieces into the correct slots.  This test would determine the work department of the prison suited to the intelligence of this person.  Some prisoners could do it easily right away and others could not do it at all?  I was surprised about the ending?

67 min Crime directed by Anatole Litvak and written by Seton I. Miller, Brown Holomes, Coutney Terrett with John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, Pat O’Brien, Burgess Meredith,  Henry O’Neill, Jerome Cowan Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, John Litel, Margot Stevenson, Willard Robertson, Edward Pawley, Billy Wayne, Nedda Harrigan, Wade Boteler.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 534 reviews, 83% audience score with 10 user ratings, TCM Leonard Maltin 4 1/2*, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 8 reviews,TCM 4.5* recommend, 4.1* cinema history, 4.4 cinematography, 4.5 lead performers, 4.4 supporting cast, 4.38 director, 4.3 screen play, 4.4 music score, 4.5 title sequence). 

Special Note:  Originally released in 1940 by Warner Bros. but released again in 1948 by MGM.  In the opening scene of the MGM version, there is a theater marquee for Tenth Avenue Angel 1948.  Partially obscured is the advertisement of this Castle film.  The $15,000 that Tommy and his gang stole in 1940 would be the equivalent of $276,678.00 in April 2020 dollars.

The Good Karma Hospital Series 2 2018

     Junior Doctor Ruby Walker arrives in India looking for a job and a distraction from her heartbreak.  She anticipates the sunshine and picture-perfect beaches.  These are not the realities of work at an under-resourced hospital.  This is a medical drama soap opera combination. 
     The setting of this series is in tropical South India.  The filming was actually done in southern Sri Lanka.  The first season of this series had audience of around 6.7 million viewers and a 26% audience share.  This success prompted ITV to commission a second series.  This season was also a success so a third series was filmed.  4* (I liked this series)

TV Series, each episode 60 minutes, created by Dan Sefton with Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, James Krishna Floyd, Darshan Jariwala, Neil MOrrissey, Nimmi Harasgama, Sagar Radia, Philip Jackson, Phyllis Logan, Achint Kaur.  

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 210 with 1,386 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 80% with 5 critic ratings 77% audience, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 99 ratings, ratinggraph.com average rating 7.7 out of 10 with 788 total votes.

Special Note:  There are three seasons of this series, 2017, 2018, 2019.   Amanda Redman in the role of Dr. Lyda Fonseca was badly
scarred when she was 18 months old on her left arm.  She was scalded with a pan of boiling hot turkey and vegetable sup.  She suffered burns to 75% of her body but her arm was the only part permanently damaged.  The trauma was so severe that she was pronounced clinically dead at the Queen Victori Hospital in East Grinstead, Sussex.  

Episode 2.1:  An unusually hot spell brings dozens of heat stroke sufferers to the hospital.
Episode 2.2:  Lydia is outraged to find that her former colleague Anila is now operating as a herbal healer and poaching Lydia’s patients.
Episode 2.3:  Ruby sets up an outreach clinic at a distant tea plantation.  A reluctant Gabriel accompanies her.
Episode 2.4:  Ruby is still reeling from her discoveries at the tea plantation.  She must decide if she can forgive past mistakes.
Episode 2.5:  When a building collapses onto the local market the hospital is inundated with casualties. 
Episode 2.6:  AJ saves the life of young Hair, he was dumped outside the hospital with stab wounds but he refuses to name his attackers.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019

     The setting of this film is 1969 in Los Angeles California.  It is somewhat based on the murder of Sharon Tate by the Charles Manson family.  Everything is changing in Hollywood, actors and other professionals need to adapt.  TV star Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth are trying to hold onto their careers in this new film industry.

     I really liked the vintage cars and I wonder how fast they are really going because they seem to be very fast??  The characters are believable and there are some very funny comedy scenes along with the serious scenes.  Brad Pitt’s has a dog and it is a pit bull and her real name is Sayuri.  This dog is literally and figuratively a real star!!  She is from Delaware and she plays Brandy with stunt-double Cliff Booth as her owner.  They have rituals about her food!!  There is also a rumor that Cliff Booth killed his wife and he was never charged?

     This is an intense crime movie with extremely shocking and graphic violence.  There is very strong language, sex talk, scantily clad women.  Characters drink and smoke tons of cigarettes (one dipped in acid) and one character thinks he may be an alcoholic.  Along with the negatives there is the positives that the film is complex, funny, smart, mixes up fact and fiction plus beautifully filmed.  5* (I really liked this movie)     
  
161 min, Comedy directed and written by Quentin Tarantino with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mick Moh, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino. 

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10 with 480,450 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 85% with 531 critics 70% audience with 26,402 ratings, Roger Ebert 4* Brian Tallerico, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Wendy Ide, Metacritic 83 out of 100 with 62 critic reviews (positive 56, mixed 6, negative 0), 7.6 out of 10 with 1528 user scores (positive 1165, mixed 178, negative 185), Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, positive messages 1*, role models 0*, violence 5*, sex 3*, language 5*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*.

A Perfect 14 2018

     This film is about the world of plus-size modeling and the women working these jobs.  They are fighting to throw out the distorted perception of body image in people’s minds.  Incredibly tall and lean figures are on the runways, in the magazines and they are the high fashion models.  They are required to be 5”8 to 5’11 with a dress size of 4-6 and a bust size of 34.  Plus size models are generally size 12 and up with good body proportions.  A guideline is waist 10 inches smaller than hips.  The plus size models are not on the covers of fashion magazines and they are not walking the high fashion runways.  The average American woman wears a size 16 to 18. 
     The high dollar modeling jobs go to the non-plus size models.  The plus size models don’t bring in as much money.  It is also more difficult to get representation by agents in the plus size category.  There are some models in this plus size category that have made it big such as Ashley Graham, Jessica Leahy, Chloe Marshall, Danika Brysha, Lexi Placourakis.  

     One of the featured models in the plus size is Elly Mayday.  She was working as a flight attendant for Sunwing Airlines and then she became a model.  She started having symptoms and she was finally diagnosed with ovarian cancer stage III in 2013 at the age of 25.  She had four surgeries and she was told she was cancer free.  Then her disease recurred and she passed away in March 2019 at the age of 30.  This is a very moving story and  Elly’s real name was Ashley Shandrel Luther.  5* (I really liked this movie)
    
105 min, Doc directed and written by Giovanna Morales Vargas with Elly Mayday, Laura Wells, Kerosene Deluxe, Laura Agudelo, Linda Bacon, Tracy Cake, Hanna and Muriel Amar, Denise Bidot, Pauline Clavel, Jessica Biffi,  Luisa Fernanda Cobos, Georgina Burke.

Note:  Imdb 4.8* out of 10 * with 264 reviews, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 27 reviews, facebook 14,490 likes, Daily Mail 503 comments. 

Awards:  Fit Autor Film Festival Mexico Best Feature Doc, Lady Filmmakers Festival LA USA Best Doc, Miami Fashion Film Festival USA Founder’s Award, Seattle International’s Fashion Film Festival WA USA Most Inspirational, Twin Cities Film Fest MN USA Best Documentary, Women Texas Film Festival USA Best Storytelling. 

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice 2019

     The focus of this film is the singing career of Linda Ronstadt.  She was brought up outside of Tucson Arizona with a European and Mexican heritage.  She moved to Los Angeles to pursue her singing career.  She definitely knew the feeling of being a woman in a profession dominated by men.  This fact changed the dynamic, the environment and impacted the face of rock music relating to women.  The reason for this situation is that there were just not very many woman backup musicians.  Consequently, this job was left to the men.  Linda was told many times to remain in her rock music genre because trying another genre would ruin her career?  She did exactly the opposite of this advice and she had critical acclaim and popular appeal in other genres.  She recorded light operetta such as Gilbert and Sullivan, pop standards, country collaborations and traditional Spanish-language Mexican folk songs.

    Linda was not a song writer but she owned whatever song she decided to sing.  She reduced her singing in 2000 because she felt her singing voice deteriorating.  Her last full-length album was released in 2004 and her last live concert was in 2009.  She announced her retirement in 2011.  She continued to make public appearances on public speaking tours in the 2010’s.  She published an autobiography, Simple dreams: A musical Memoir in September 2013.  This film states that she retired because of Parkinson’s disease.  Wikipedia says that progressive supra nuclear palsy (PSP) is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain.  It leads to loss of balance, slowing of movement, difficulty moving the eyes and dementia.  It may be mistaken for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimers.  I thought this film was very interesting and there is a lot of information I didn’t know about Linda and her family!!  5* (I really liked this movie)   

95 min, Doc directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman with Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Maria Muldaur, Don Henley, David Geffen, Cameron Crowe, Aaron Nevill, Peter Asher.  

Note:  Imdb 8* out of 10* with 1,279 reviews, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 1,828 reviews, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 17 critic reviews (14 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative), 7.8 out of 10 with 10 ratings (9 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative), Roger Ebert 3* Nell Minow, RollingStone 4* out of 5* David Browne, Google users 90%, Washington Post 3* out of 4* Michael O’Sullivan, Letterboxd 3.7 out of 5*.

Edie 2017

     Edie is 83 years old and her husband has recently passed away.  They were married nearly 30 years.   She met him, they got married and soon after he had a stroke.  She feels like she hasn’t done anything in her life that she wanted to do.  When she got married, her father planned a climbing trip for them to the Scottish Highlands but they didn’t go.  Edie took care of her husband and he treated her badly.  He was cold, controlling and he kept her isolated.  She has a daughter but their relationship is strained and more so lately.  Nancy wants Edie to go into a retirement home.  Edie decides she must go on a camping adventure and climb Mount Suilven in Scotland.  Right away things start to go a bit badly.  She has a reservation for a place to stay but she is a day early and they don’t have accommodations for her?

     The scenery of the Scottish countryside is very beautiful.  Sheila Hancock in the role of Edie is a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company.  Edie really deserves this enlightening journey, she has paid her dues without much reward.  It will take courage, determination and strength for her to reach her goal of climbing Mount Suilven.  Edie has many wrinkles but she has wonderfully beautiful blue eyes.  4* (I really liked this movie)

Note:  Rotten Tomatoes 62% with 42 critics 70% with 103 user ratings, , Imdb 6.5* out of 10* with 1,455 reviews, Roger Ebert 3* Nell Minow, The Telegraphy 2* out of 5* Tiim Robey, Chicago Tribune 3* Mark Kennedy, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Metacritic 41 out of 100 with 11 critic reviews (positive 2, mixed 8, negative 1).

102 min, Drama directed and written by Simon Hunter and also written by Edward Lynden-Bell, Elizabeth O’Halloran with Sheila Hancock, Kevin Guthrie, Paul Brannigan, Amy Manson, Wendy Morgan, Rachael Keiller, Donald Pelmear, Daniela Brauer, Christopher Dunne, Tori Butler-Hart, Calum MacRae.

Special Note:  Everything that Edie does in this film was done by 84 year old actress Sheila Hancock!!  Filming on location in Sutherland in the Scottish highlands on the Assynt Estate and in Lochinver. 

The Dark Night Rises 2012

     It has been eight years since Batman took the fall for the murder of Harvey Dent.  He has not appeared in public for any reason and rarely leaves his estate.  Bane, a new evil presence has appeared in Gotham City and he aims to take over the city by force.  Bane was once a member of the League of Shadows.  Batman was also a member but Bane was forced out due to his extreme behavior.  It is also rumored that Bane escaped from a middle-eastern prison called The Pits of Hell. 

     This is final installment in director Christopher Nolan’s extremely violent Batman trilogy.  There are ultra-violent scenes of torture and death that are too intense for younger teens.  There is a disturbingly high body count with massive explosions, kidnappings, broken necks, shootings and hand-to-hand combat.  Not much blood but LOTS of death and mass destruction.  The film’s villain, Bane is monstrously muscled, frighteningly sadistic and very scary looking.  

     This is long and there is so much going on it’s hard to keep track.  There are many errors in voice to lips moving, character errors, geography and facts.  It’s almost too much to follow and take in during one viewing.  Many references to Batman’s past also muddy the plot.   3 ¼* (This movie is above OK but not into good)

165 min, Action directed by Christopher Nolan with Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Note:  Imdb 8.4 out of 10 with 1,466,129 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 87% with 364 critics 90% audience with 1,211,563 ratings, Roger Ebert 3*, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen age 15+, 4* out of 5*, positive messages 1*, role models 2*, violence 4*, sex 2*, language 2*, consumerism 2*, drinking drugs & smoking 1*, Letterboxd 3.7* out of 5*, Metacritic 78 out of 100 with 45 critic reviews (positive 37, mixed 6, negative 2),  8.2 out of 10 with 4,225 user scores (positive 3,548, mixed 362, negative 305).

Special Note:  Christopher Nolan told the actors and actresses the ending of the movie verbally to avoid any leaks.  Dr. Johanthan Crane also known as The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) is the only villain to appear in all three of The Dark Knight movies.

Loving the Bad Man 2010

     Julie Thompson works as a clerk in a local grocery store, she tries to do the right things.  Her car breaks down with a flat tire and she calls for emergency help but it will take an hour.  She is outside a bar and the bartender asks one of the customers to help her since he is a mechanic.  Mike Connor has been drinking a lot of beer and he’s very angry.  Earlier in the day he punched his boss for accusing him of stealing tools and taking too much time on a job.  He fixes Julie’s car but then attacks her, he is given a prison sentence of 10-20 years.  Julie gives birth to a baby boy.  She sets out to try and give her child a chance at a somewhat normal family.  She forgives Mike and she visits him in prison.  She is trying to explore and refine her relationships with her family, friends and also with Mike.

     Julie’s father is very angry about Julie’s visits to the prison.  There are some intense scenes including a prison fight, stabbings, a man is killed, prisoners rebel and the guards have rifles.  A store manager nabs a kid stealing pot tarts.  A man talks about killing another man.  There are some instances of demeaning or slang language. 

     Slightly sledgehammer in it’s style and almost like a play with inexperienced actors.  It also seems that the writers don’t really know what they are dealing with?  Some of the scenes include misinformation about this type of crime?  3* (This movie is OK)

103 min, Drama directed by Peter Engert and written by Giovanni Igneri, Wes Halula and Peter Engert with Alexander Alonso, Carol Antoine, Stephen Baldwin, Raul Barrios, Jason Bartley, Jeff Beal, Mike Benitez, Cree Kelly, Arturo Rossi, Antoni Corone, Kim Ostrenko, David Hemphill, Ava and Olivia Tyler, Josh Randall, George Smith, Kevin A. Walton.

Note:  Imdb 4.2 out of 10 with 354 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 57% audience with 99 ratings, dove.org age 12+, 2* sex, 2*, language, 2* violence, 1* drugs, nudity and discussions about abortions, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 129 ratings.

The Lady 2011

     Aung San Suu Kyi’s General father was killed by a military coup when she was very young in Burma.  Years later she lives in Britain with her husband Michael Aris and her two young boys.  She receives a phone call that her mother has had a stroke.  She quickly leaves for Burma to be by her mother’s side at the hospital.  There are many demonstrations by students and many are injured.  She sees students running to the hospital and she sees soldiers enter the hospital to kill some of them.  A small delegation requests Suu remain in the country and help them with their struggle for democracy.

     I have seen many news stories about Suu but I didn’t know the full extent of her story or anything about her husband and boys.  She was a prisoner in her home and also in the country.  If she left to go to her family, she would not be allowed to return.  She was a strong figure representing freedom by making many sacrifices.  4* (I really liked this movie) 

132 min, Bio directed by Luc Besson and written by Rebecca Frayn with Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonanthan Woodhouse, Susan Wooldridge, Benedict Wong, Markus Waldow, Htun Lin, Agga Poechit, Donatienne Dupont, Phoe Zaw, Marian Yu, May, Ko Ko Win Aung, Thein Win.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10 with 10,003 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 36% with 72 critics 62% audience with 6,695 reviews, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 311 reviews, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Metacritic 43 out of 100 with 21 critics reviews (positive 5, mixed 13, negative 3), 6.5 out of 10 with 19 user scores (positive 13, mixed 5, negative 1), Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, boston.com 2* Ty Burr, The Telegraph 2* out of 5* Robbie Collin. 

Special Note:  The screen play was written over a period of three years.  Interviews with key figures in Aung San Suu Kyi’s entourage enabled her to reconstruct her story.  This move was filmed in Bangkok and the working title was “Dans la Lumiere”, Into the Light.  Suu Kyi had a controversial reign as State Counsellor of Myanmar and she defended the Rohingya genocide.  Luc Besson and Rebecca Frayn said they regretted making this film?  Suu Kyi also appeared at The Hague in 2019 and she publicly disputed the accusations of genocide against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.  Michelle Yeoh studied 200 hours of video of Suu Kyi and she learned Burmese for her role.  In June 2011, Michelle Yeoh landed in Rangoon Airport in Burma and she was deported the same day.  The reason given was that she was blacklisted. 

The Spy in Black 1939

     The setting of this film begins on Saturday March 17, 1917.  The operation is to destroy the British fleet at Scapa Flow in 1917.  A German U-Boat captain is sent on a spying mission to the North of Scotland during WWI.  The U-boat surfaces on the coast of Scotland and Captain Hardt leaves the vessel.  He travels to a small village to meet his contact.  He finds more than he bargained for in his contact the local schoolmistress!!  He plans to use the treacherous assistance of disgraced Royal Navy Commander Ashington.  He lost his command due to drunkenness and he agrees to guide the Germans to the location of the British fleet.  Nothing goes smoothly or as planned.  

    Even for it’s age and shot in black and white this film is very interesting and good.  There are surprises that you don’t see coming!!  Filmed at Denham Studios, location shooting at Northchurch Common in Berkhamsted Hertfordshire in Orkney Scotland.  5* (I really liked this movie)   
      
77 min, War directed by Michael Powell and written by J. Storer, Emeric Pressburger and Roland Pertwee with Conrad Veidt, Sebastian Shaw, Valerie Hobson, Marius Goring, June Duprez, Athole Stewart, Agnes Lauchlan, Helen Haye, Cyril Raymond, George Summers, Hay Petrie, Grand Sutherland, Robert Rendel, Mary Morris Margaret Moffat.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 with 1,892 reviews, 100% with 13 critics 71% audience with 433 ratings, Letterboxd 3.4* out of 5*, www.radiotimes.com 3* out of 5*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 52 reviews. 

Special Note:  The British Board of Film Censors passed this film on March 10, 139 and reviewed the film in the Monthly Film Bulletin in March 1939.  The film did not reach cinemas until August 3, 1939.  It closed on September 2, 1939 because WW2 was declared and the British government closed all cinemas for safety reasons.  There was a U29 in the German Navy during the Great War.  It was sunk in 1915 when rammed by HMS Dreadnought.  In America, this film was titled U-Boat 29.  This is the first collaboration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.  A yer later Conrad Veidt is a Danish Sea Captain and Valerie Hobson is a British Secret Agent.  They are trying to uncover a German spring ring operating in WWII in London.  The tile of this film is Contraband 1940. 

The Moth Diaries 2011

     Based on a novel by Rachel Klein about a high school boarding school for girls.  Rebecca has been struggling for two years with the suicide of her father and her mother has also struggled.  Her best friend is Lucy, she has helped Rebecca with her depression and helped her though classes.  It’s the third year and all the students are excited about seeing each other again.  There is a new student this year, Ernessa.  Rebecca becomes very upset when Lucy is always sticking up for Ernessa and always wanting to be with her.  Rebecca feels the loss of her best friend and she starts to fall back into her battle with depression.

     This is a supernatural horror movie and Sarah believes that in Ernessa she is faced with the type of vampiric creature she is reading about?  The main theme seems about suicide.  The bodies begin to pile up and everyone thinks Rebecca’s suspicions are a product of her emotions and imagination?  There is a lot more going on here than teen friendships but not enough is going on.  This is take-off on the Twilight films due to their popularity but this is very calm, low-key and short, just slightly creepy.  There is a mix of teen angst but with gore and sex.  There are dead bodies with lots of blood.  Partial nudity and two women together.  Language is infrequent but lots of strong innuendo and sex talk.  Scenes of teens smoking pot with consequences.  3* (This movie is OK)

82 min, Suspense directed and written by Mary Harron and also written by Rachel Klein with Lily Cole, Sarah Bolger, Scott Speedman, Sarah Gadon, Judy Parfitt, Melissa Farman, Laurence Hamelin, Anne Day-Jones, Valerie Tian, Kathleen Fee, Gia Sandhu, Julian Casey, Steffi Hagel, Leif Anderson, Roxan Bourdelais.

Note:  Imdb 4.9 out of 10 with 6,208 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 13% critic 23% audience, Metacritic 38 out of 100 with 13 critic reviews (positive 3, mixed 5, negative 5), 6.3 out of 10 with 7 user scores (3 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative), Letterboxd 2.4* out of 5*, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, 2*, positive messages 0, role models, 0 violence, 4* sex, language 3*, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 4*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 137 ratings, Slant Magazine 2 1/2* out of 4* Andrew Schenker.

Special Note:  The classical piece Ernessa plays on the piano is Chopin’s Nocturne No. 1.  Lily Cole suggested a few different pieces to the director Marry Harron and she chose this piece.  Mary had never heard it before.  The novel studied in Mr. Davies’ class is Camilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.  The illustrations are by David Henry Friston.  He illustrated the story when it appeared in serial form in The Dark Blue, a literary magazine of the 1870’s. 

Dead Awake 2010

     Dylan is trying to solve a mystery from ten years ago.  There was an accident between a taxi and a car.  The taxi ran into the back of a second vehicle and the driver left the taxi.  Dylan and a detective have not been able to find out what happened in this accident?  Dylan works at a funeral home, he’s sad when the deceased person doesn’t have anyone attend their funeral.  He jokes with the owner that no one would come to Dylan’s funeral?  They place a funeral notice in the paper and Dylan pretends to be dead in a casket.  Two women come to the viewing, his former girlfriend and a stranger.  He follows the stranger to see who she is and it turns out she is a drug addict living in a seedy room.

     Trying to keep the suspense creates a major problem with this film.  For nearly the entire movie, you don’t know who the passengers were in the taxi?  Scenes go back and forth through Dylan’s dreams.  Some details are revealed but there are too many mix-ups in the screenplay.  3* (This movie is OK)

93 min, Mystery directed by Omar Naim and written by Jonny Harrington, David Boivin and Justin Urich with Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Brian Lynner, Kim Grimaldi, James Serpento, Jack Mishler, Justin Marxen, Shane Simmons, Rachel Storey, Britt Slater, Paul Nycz, Andrea Leon.

Note:  Imdb 4.5 out of 10 with 1,319 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 20% with 10 critics 18% audience with 1,393 ratings,  Letterboxd 2.6* out of 5*.  

Special Note:  Filming was done in the fall of 2009 in Des Moines Iowa. 

Super 8 2011

    In the summer of 1979, a group of young friends are filming a Super-8 movie when a pickup truck drives into a moving train.  The train cars derail one after the other resulting in a huge disaster.  The Air Force comes to clean up the site since all the cars on the train are their property.  The film team is worried that the Air Force will come looking for them since they took casts of their tire tracks at the scene.  Strange things start to happen in the nearby town.   People start to disappear and all the dogs run away to the towns surrounding this town.

    This movie is a combination of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Transformers.  Some of the ideas are hard to grasp and the strange things are filmed in dark areas so you can't see the details.  The young actors are good, it's the adults that need work.  There is some intense action violence during the train accident.  Some blood and use of weapons, some scenes may make you jump but gore is minimal.  There is some drinking and drug content including someone trying to sell kids pot plus more swearing than necessary.  3* (This movie is OK)

111 min, Sci-Fi directed and written by J.J. Abrams with Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Jessica Ruck, Joel McKinnon Miller, AJ Michalka, Andrew and Jakob Miller, Jade Griffiths, Britt Flatmo.

Note:  Imdb 7. out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 81% with 287 critics 75% audience with 135,249 reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo, age 12+, positive messages 2*, role models 3*, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 3*, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 3*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5*, dove.org sex 2*, language 5*, violence 2*, drugs 3*, nudity 1* other, a dad crying from grief, kids driving cars without consequences, kids vomiting and kids lying.

Special Note:  One of J.J. Abrams’ favorite TV show episodes is Walking Distance in the series The Twilight Zone 1959.  The Air Force code name for the evacuation plan in this film is Operation Walking Distance.  Originally, the boys were sitting and waiting for Alice to pick them.  They were going to just talk.  J.J. Abrams heard the boys singing together between takes later on.  He re-shot the scene featuring them singing “My Sharona.”  Elle Fanning was 12 years on at the time of filming her driving scene.  It was illegal for her to actually drive and another person is driving the car with a min-steering wheel in the backseat.  Steven Spielberg (producer for the production) was on set many times during filming.  J.J. Abrams and Spielberg have stated that the filming was some the most fun they have ever had on a set.

Henry’s Crime 2010

    Henry is set up to take the fall in a bank robbery and he goes to jail for a year.  Max is also in jail but he doesn't want to leave, every time he comes before the board, he makes sure he doesn't go free.  Henry decides he's done the time so he might as well do the crime.  He talks Max into finally getting out and they start working on the plan.  There are several complications, one is Julie, Henry might really like her?
    Can Reeves play anything other than a zombie without emotion or movement?  Some of the swerves this movie takes seem impossible to believe.  How is this a comedy?  There is frequent strong language but there isn’t anything requiring an R rating.  There are several love scenes but they are handled with restraint.  No nudity and only kissing and hugging.  The few action sequences are brief and generally mild fights.  In one, a man has a gun and a shot is fired.  Some substance abuse and a woman smokes one cigarette.  A few beers are consumed and one character seems drunk in one scene and vomiting..  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

108 min, Com, directed by Malcolm Venville with Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Peter Sormare, Bill Duke, Judy Greer, Fisher Stevens, Danny Hoch, Drew McVety, Carlos Pizarro, Chris Cardona, Mark Anthony, Brian Rogalski, Steve Beauchamp, Allel Aimiche.
           
Note:  Imdb 6.0 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 41% with 54 critics 25% audience with 6,820 ratings, Roger Ebert 2*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Cath Clarke, Metacritic 49 out of 100 with 19 critic reviews (positive 2, mixed 16, negative 1), 5.4 out of 10 with 17 user scores (positive 7, mixed 5, negative 4), Common Sense Media Renee Schonfeld age 15+, positive messages 2*, role models 2*, violence 2*, sex 2*, language 4*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 2*.  Amazon 3.5* out of 5*, Metacritic 72 out of 100 with 41 critic reviews (positive 28, mixed 13, negative 0).

Special Note:  The restaurant scene was filmed on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore, New York.  The bank used in the movie is the Buffalo Savings Bank.  It is located in Buffalo, New York.  It was completed in 1901 in time for the Pan-Am Exposition being held in Buffalo the same year.  It is now a branch office of M&T Bank.  The Music Hall in Tarrytown New York stood in as The Orphium Theatre.  Citizens of the town saw the posters in the display windows.  They were very excited about a production with Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga.  Unfortunately, there were no tickets for sale.

Whatever Works 2009

     Lifelong New York resident Boris Yellnikoff rants to anyone who will listen about impressing his ideologies on religion, relationships and the randomness or worthlessness of existence.  He begrudgingly allows naive Mississippi runaway Melodie St. Ann Celestine to live in his apartment.  Surprisingly, his reclusive rages lead to a friendship.  Boris is happy to mold the impressionable young girl’s worldly views to match his own.  On the subject of love, “whatever works” is his motto.  His already perplexed life complicates itself further when Melodie’s parents track her down!!

     This is a tepid comedy but it takes on mature themes such as threesomes, homosexual relationships and infidelity.  A main character attempts suicide but botches the job.  Language is usually insulting but not overly coarse.  Some drinking and smoking.  Humor directed at adults or older teens.  This title will not be on the list of movies many kids would want to see!!  This film follows an Allen formula of a neurotic, faith doubting Jew with a bleak view of life.  Boris falls for a real Southern Belle but she not anywhere near his old age bracket!!  There are some laughs!!  This film works because of the unlikely chemistry between Wood and David.  Their friendship enables them to find more meaning in their own lives.  4* (I liked this movie)
 
93 min, Comedy directed and written by Woody Allen with Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, Henry Cavill, Adam Brooks, Lyle Kanouse, Michael McKean, Clifford Lee Dickson, Yolonda Ross, Carolyn McCormick, Samantha Bee, Conleth Hill, Marcia DeBonis, Willa Cuthrell, John Gallagher Jr., Nicole Patrick.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10 with 69,522 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 50% with 165 critics, 61% with 39,704 audience ratings, Metacritic 45 out of 100 with 31 critic reviews (positive 10, mixed 16, negative 5), 6.4 out of 10 with 103 user scores (positive 68, mixed 11, negative 24), RollingStone 2 1/2* out of 4* Peter Travers, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 383 reviews, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo age 15+, positive messages 2*, violence 1*, sex 3*, language 2*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 2*.

Special Note:  Woody Allen said he cast Larry David because he is one of the few comedians that make him laugh??  This film takes some of its roots from A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams.  Marietta is a Southern woman visiting the big city.  She is similar to Blance DuBois in several ways.  She is horrified at apartment where Boris lives and she is coy about her drinking.  One of her lines is “You are not the gentleman I was expecting?”  Woody Allen started to write this movie in the 70’s.  His main idea was to tell how a family of intolerant rednecks changed completely for different reasons after living for a while in New York.

The Caine Mutiny 1954

     This film is based upon a Pulitzer Prize winning novel written by Herman Wouk.  The setting is during WWII.  The USS Caine is a small insignificant ship in the US Pacific Fleet.  The ship is caught in a raging typhoon and the Ships’ Captain is relieved from command by the Executive Officer.  Considered an act of mutiny but the choices are to remove command from the Captain or let the ship sink with all hands on board in the typhoon.  The crew believes the Captain is mentally unstable and perhaps even insane.  At a later date, there is a trial for the Navy to decide if this is a criminal act or an act of courage.

     A fictional story with some action but basically a drama.  It’s a story about men fighting for their country.  Their individual capabilities, their heroism and their own consciences.  Most of the scenes are aboard the Caine.  This ship is a mine sweeper in the Pacific.  There is a scene with ships under attack as they land on an island.  Another scene is a very violent and life threatening storm.  There is a sub-plot with a young Ensign, his girlfriend and his mother.  There is some social drinking and smoking is accurate for this time period.  I thought this was interesting and very good!!  5* (I really liked this movie) 
  
124 min, Drama directed by Edward Dmytryk and written by Stanley Roberts and Michael Blankfort with Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis, May Wynn, Tom Tully, E.G. Marshall, Arthur Franz, Lee Marvin, Warner Anderson, Claude Akins, Katherine Warren, Jerry Paris, Steve Brodie.  

Note:  Amazon gives the novel 4.7* out of 5* with 406 ratings, Imdb 7.7 out of 10 with 23,672 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 92%  with 25 critics 87% with 7,548 ratings, Empire Online 4*, Metacritic 63 out of of 100 with 8 critics (positive 6, mixed 2, negative 0), Slant Magazine 3* out of 5*, Common Sense Media Renee Schonfeld, age 12+, positive messages 4*, role models 4*, violence 1*, sex 0, language 0, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 1*.

Special Note:  There was opposition about the casting of Humphrey Bogart because he was much older than Captain Queeg.  Bogart was already seriously ill with esophageal cancer but it was not diagnosed until January of 1956.  Bogart’s courtroom scene was so powerful that it completely captivated the film technicians and crewmen.  He received a round of thunderous applause.  Fred Mac Murray was going through a difficult time is his life during filming.  His wife had just died and he needed this job as a distraction.  The US Navy was never happy about the depiction of Captain Queeg as a madman in the novel.  It implied that the Navy would hire or keep in place someone so clearly deranged.  This film version skirted around that subject and portrayed him as a victim of battle fatigue or PTSD.  Several weeks before filming began, Jose Ferrer broke his right hand.  He is seen wearing a cast but his injury is only briefly referred to.  In the scene with the waterfall in Yosemite, a large bonfire of red fir bark is ignited and pushed evenly over the edge of the cliff.  It appears to onlooker below as a glowing waterfall of sparks and fire.  This event happened every evening at 9 PM in Camp Curry.  In 1968, the Park Service Director decided to end the Firefall tradition.  When visitors asked about the Firefall, they were told that this film had the best footage available.  The scars on Van Johnson’s face are real and not make-up.  While filming A Guy Named Joe 1943, he was in a car accident and thrown through the windshield.  Plastic surgery could not totally remove his scars.  In later films, he wore heavy make-up to hide them.  In this film ,he felt they added to his character’s appearance.

The Debt 2010

   This film begins in 1997.  A retired Mossad agent was part of a celebrated trio of secret agents who tracked down a Nazi war criminals in East Berlin in 1966.  This incident was so applauded in history that three decades later her daughter has published a book about the mission.  A Nazi war criminal, the Surgeon of Birkenau was killed.  Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has appeared.  An agent must return to Eastern Europe to determine the truth.  There are many haunting memories and trauma relived during this mission.

    This movie is told in back and forth sections, one section is the present and the other is 1966.  There isn't any difficulty telling the sections apart because of the ages of the people.  This movie had a lot of potential with a strong cast but it feels weak and dreary with a few tense moments.  It is about the trio of agents who were celebrated as heroes but they share a dark secret.  There are several fight scenes that are brutish, bloody and realistic.  You feel like the characters are really fighting for their lives.  There is some swearing and drinking, several characters smoke cigarettes but it is accurate for the setting of 1966.  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

114 min, Mystery directed by John Madden and written by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan with Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Tomer Ben David. Romi Aboulafia, Ohev Ben David, Elana Kivity Davenport, Eli Zohar, Iren Bordan, Brigitte Kren.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 62,942 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 77% with 183 critics 66% audience with 35,891 user ratings, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo age 15+, positive messages 2*, role models 1*, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 3*, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 2*,  Metacritic 9.2 out of 10 user scores with 5 ratings (positive 5*, mixed 0, negative 0), Amazon 4.1* out of 5*, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, dove.org 3* sex 4*, language 4*, violence 3*, drugs 2*, nudity 2*, other 2*, the Holocaust is discussed, there is a coverup about a man who supposedly died but he escaped.

Special Note:  Jessica Chastain spent four months of training in Krav Maga for this movie.  Helen Mirren in the role of Rachel was required to speak some dialogue in Russian.  He father was a Russian diplomat but she did not speak Russian when she was a child.  She memorized phonetically her lines and they are nearly flawless and quite credible as native Russian speech.  Julia Roberts watched this film and afterwards she desperately wanted to work with Jessica Chastain.  The character of Dr. Vogel was loosely based on Dr. Josef Mengele, S.S. Officer and physician in the Auschwitz concentration camp.  Ciaran Hinds also played a Mossad Agent in the film Munich 2005.  The plane landing in the background during the Agents’ arrival scene is an Antonov An-26 from the Hungarian Air Force.  It has fake Israeli markings.  The pistol used by Jessica Chastain as the young Rachel was a Beretta 70S.

The Change Up 2011

    A married father and a swinging single swap bodies after a wild night of drinking and do their best to turn their lives into chaos.  It all happens at a fountain and when they go back to the fountain to change back, it's been moved and the city doesn't know where it is?  Dave is a successful lawyer and with Mitch holding the reins it looks like a big business plan may go south.  Now that Dave is Mitch he's not sure how to handle all this freedom from any responsibility.  Dave's wife thinks they are joking and she doesn't believe they've switched bodies.   
     This is better than I thought it would be because the ending turns out to be more than expected.  It seemed very predictable and already done before with some funny moments but the men learn valuable lessons.  There is a LOT of language in nearly every scene.  There is sexuality with nudity, a soft porn movie set and a fully naked and very pregnant woman.  There is also crass toilet humor.  The themes are mature and revolve around two best friends.  The men are nothing alike but they secretly envy each other’s life.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

118 min, Comedy directed by David Dobkin and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, with Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, Mircea Monroe, Gregory Itzin, Ned Schmidtke, Ming Lo, Sydney Rouviere, Craig Bierko, Dax Griffin, Andrea Moore.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 25% with 153 critics 47% audience with 46,385 ratings, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen age 15+, positive messages 1*, role models 0*, violence 1*, sex 4*, language 5*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 4*, Roger Ebert 1 1/2*, RollingStone 2* out of 4* Peter Travers, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Slant Magazine 2* out of 4* Nick Schager, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 1,055 reviews, dove.org 4* sex, 5* language, 2* violence, 4* drugs, 3* nudity, 2* temptations to cheat on spouses. 

Special Note:  Leslie Mann used a body double when she walks to the bathroom in slow motion. Most of the female nudity is not real.  Computer generated breasts were used for Mann and Wilde.  This is the second movie in two years with Leslie Mann playing the wife of a man who has a big change with his body.  The previous film was 17 Again 2009.  Reynolds and Bateman are long-time friends.  Reynold’s character Mitch expertly wields a samurai sword in the beginning of the movie.  He acquired this skill for his role as Wade Wilson in Deadpool.  Samurai swords are seen or referred to by the character Mitch throughout the movie.  Filming was done in Atalanta for tax purposes and it was supposed to be warmer than LA in the middle of winter.  A major snowstorm crippled the city for days.  The woman playing Pamela is Alan Arkins wife Suzanne Arkin.

Boy Wonder 2011

    Sean is a nine year old Brooklyn boy and he witnesses his mother's murder during a violent carjacking.  Sean is obsessed and haunted by his past.  He becomes a loner vigilante at age seventeen after vowing to track down her killer.  He visits the local police station frequently to look through mug shots searching for the face of his mother's killer.  He's a straight A student by day but by night he kills a drug dealer intending to make Sean another gun victim.  Another man is beating a woman and he got away with beating a young boy but he doesn't get away from Sean.  He also intervenes when a homeless man is taunting an Asian family on public transit.  New homicide detective Teresa Ames takes an interest in Sean and his case.

    It's obvious that Sean has a lot of mental problems from the trauma he suffered when his mother died.  He also didn't get the treatment he needed at the time.  The film is vague on some of the facts and the ending.  You want to think that he finally was able to set aside his Sean justice system?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie.

93 min, Drama directed and written by Michael Morrissey with Caleb Steinmeyer, Zulay Henao, Bill Sage, James Russo, Tracy Middendorf, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Chuck Cooper, John Sharian, Kether Donohue, James Russo, Jake Randazzo, Robbie Stubbs, Chris Bert, Nicole Patrick.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 50% critic with 6 reviews 62% audience with 1,017 ratings, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 614 ratings.

Special Note:  Caleb Steinmeyer and Tracey Middendorf both appeared in Lost.  Steinmeyer played John Locke at 16 years of age.  Middendorf played Bonnie as an Other manning the Looking Glass.  They did not share any scenes. 

The Help 2011

     This film is based on a book written by Kathryn Stockett.  It’s the 1960's in Jacksonville Mississippi, everything in the town is divided between black and white.  The black women are maids in the houses of the white women and it's been this way for a long time.  There are published laws regarding the interaction and separation of the two races.  Skeeter Phelan is a southern society girl, a part of this white society but she sees things differently and she wants to be a writer.  She starts talking to Albileen Clark about what it is really like to be a maid.  Skeeter and Abileen encourage the other maids to begin to tell their stories.

    This is very good, it's a story that most of us don't know anything about.  Raising white children but not raising their own children.  Not being able to use the same bathroom used by their employer.   Cooking, cleaning and doing everything.  Facing the possibility every day of being fired for very little reason.  This film is emotionally intense and isn’t likely to appeal to young children.  It’s a historically relevant drama that mature tweens and teens can watch with their parents.  It teaches about segregation and the importance of racial equality.  It also shows that oppressed people have important stories to tell.  The language is tame for a PG-13 movie.  African Americans are referred to as negro and an adult restaurant worker is called boy by white patrons.  A character is obviously physical abused by her husband and a woman has a miscarriage.  Almost everyone in the 60’s smokes cigarettes and drinks.  4 1/2* (I really liked this movie)
 
146 min, Drama directed and written by Tate Taylor and Kathryn Stockett with Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Chris Lowell, Sissy Spacek, Eleanor and Emma Henry, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Brian Kerwin.

Note:  Imdb 8.1 out of 10 with 412,170 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 226 critics 89% audience with 107,739 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, RollingStone 3 1/2* Peter Travers, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Xan Brooks, Letterboxd 3.8* out of 5* with 703 fans, Metacritic 62 out of 100 with 41critic reviews (positive 24, mixed 15, negative 2), 7.9 out of 10 with 477 user ratings (62 positive, 15 mixed, 2 negative), Amazon 4.8* out of 5*, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, age 12+, positive messages 3*, role models 4*, violence 2*, sex 1*, language 2*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*, dove.org 2* sex 5* language, 2* violence, 2* drugs, 2* nudity 2*, 2* vomiting, attitudes of disrespect and racism.

Special Note:  The book was rejected 60 times before it was eventually published.  Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jacksonville Mississippi in 1963.  Real-life national news headlines of this event are used in this film.  Director Tate Taylor and Kathryn Stockett were childhood friends in Jacksonville Mississippi.  Skeeter’s real name is Eugenia, she has this nickname because when she was born, her leggy appearance caused her older brother to remark that she looked like a skeeter (mosquito).  Jessica Chastain is a vegan and she ate soy ice cream melted in a microwave to gain weight for the role of Celia Foote. 

Everything Must Go 2010

    This film is based on a short story titled Why Don’t You Dance written by Raymond Carvan.  He is an American author and poet.  Nick was once a successful salesman with a happy marriage.  His years of heavy drinking have finally caught up with him.  He's fired from his job and all his possessions are on the front lawn of his house when he gets home.  His wife if fed up and she tossed them all out of the house!!  His policeman friend Frank Garcia advises him that the only way he can live in front of his house is to put up signs that he is having a yard sale. The law will allow him five days.  He enlists the help of a neighborhood kid to help watch his belongings and help with the sale.  Nick intends to sit in his chair, drink beer on lawn for as long as he is able to stay!! 

    There is potential here but there are details left out in the beginning that could diminish your sympathy for Nick.  There are times you wish that Nick would just move forward and get a life!!  The ending is just a fizzle that makes you wonder why you invested any time in this movie?  There is some humor but this is also a serious and sobering movie.  It is about Nick sliding over the brink of life.  There is some swearing and a few brief sexually charged scenes.  LOTS of drinking!!  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

97 min, Drama directed by Dan Rush and written by Raymond Carver and Dan Rush with Will Ferrell, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, Rosalie Michaels, Stephen Root, Laura Dern, Glenn Howerton, Argos MacCallum Todd Bryant, Jason Spisak, Tyler Johnstone, Kyle Sharkey, Scott Takeda, Matthew Dearing.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 73% with 133 critics 53% audience with 21,298 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, RollingStone 3* out of 4* Peter Travers, Metacritic 65 out of 100 with 37 critic reviews (positive 25, mixed 12, negative), 6.4 out of 10 with 68 user scores (positive 34, mixed 29, negative 5), Letterboxd 3* out of 5*, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo age 17+, positive messages 3*, role models 0, violence 2*, sex 3*, language 4*, consumerism 2*, drinking drugs & smoking 4*.

Special Note:  Director Dan Rush asked writer Mr. Carver’s widow Tess Gallagher for her permission before adding to the story and adding additional characters.  Filming was done in Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona.  Nick is looking through his yearbook and the name of Keith Mosca appears multiple times.  Keith was the art department production designer and art director for this film. 

The Waiting City 2009

    A couple from Australia travel to Calcutta India to adopt a child.  Once they arrive, they discover that processes move very slowly in India.  There obscure bureaucratic procedures.  The stress of the waiting causes tension, anger, resentment and dissatisfaction in their relationship.  Fiona is a successful, self-starting lawyer.  Ben is relaxed, easy-going musician.  This movie is a tough sell, the characters are not very likable and the circumstances so uncomfortable.  Definitely not a welcome tourist travel guide to India or how to adopt a child in this area.

     The intoxicating mystic power of Calcutta pulls Fiona and Ben Simmons in separate and unexpected directions.  They thought their marriage was strong but all these changes have shown vulnerability in their marriage.  The plot is very predictable.  3* (This movie is OK)
 
107 min, Drama directed and written by Claire McCarthy with Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton, Samrat Chakrabarti, Isabel Lucas, Barum Chanda, Tanushree Shankar, Tillotama Shome, Dana Roy, Tamal Ray Chowdhury, Palomi Ghosh, Kaylyan Chatterjee, Kamalendu Banerjee, Jeremy Sims, Shankar Haldar, Sumatra Saha.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 75% with 16 critics 52% with 853 ratings, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 16 ratings.

Special Note:  This film was rated highly by PBS but this channel is obligated to praise Australian productions if they are good or not??  The man is portrayed as a slightly relaxed Russel Crowe.  The woman is brittle and wooden in her mannerisms and really just a good looking clothes horse??