Dark River 2017

     This film is partially based on the novel Trespass by Rose Tremain.  Alice returns to her home village for the first time in 15 years.  She  has been working as a traveling sheep-shearer.  Her father has died and her brother Joe took care of him until he died.  Ruth has come back to run the sheep farm in North Yorkshire and she is claiming tenancy for the farm.  She believes it is rightfully her farm but her brother believes it should belong to him.  Joe feels resentment because he was left to care for their father.  Ruth believes their father promised the farm to her.

     There is a LOT of darkness in this film.  The countryside is gray, dull and it gets a lot of heavy rain.  It can be also be beautiful at times.  There is a LOT of backbreaking work on a sheep farm.  It doesn’t help the mood with Ruth and Joe at odds with each other over ownership of the property.  Too dark and violent for younger viewers.  Only appropriate for the oldest and most mature teens.  This is because there are some startlingly violent sequences.  3* (This movie is OK)

90 min, Drama directed and written by Clio Barnard, story development by Lila Rawlings with Ruth Wilson, Johan Russell, Paul Robertson, Sean Bean, Una McNulty, Esme Creed-Miles, Aiden McCullough, Olivia Brennan, Mark Stanley, Joe Dempsie, Mike Noble, Steve Garti.

Note:  Imdb 5.8* out of 10* with 2,873 reviews, Roger Ebert 1 1/2* Brian Tallerico, Rotten Tomatoes 79% with 58 critics 65% with 738 user ratings, Slant Magazine 2 1/2* Keith Watson, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Wendy Ide, Metacritic 69 out of 100 with 22 critics reviews (positive 15, mixed 6, negative 1), 6.6 out of 10 with 13 user scores (positive 7, mixed 4, negative 2), avclub.com Mike D’Angelo B-, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 116 reviews. 

Special Note:  Three actors in this film are from the series Game of Thrones 2011.  Sean Bean was Ned Stark, Mark Stanley was Grenn and Joe Dempsie was Gundry. 

Before All Others 2016

     Rachel is a young woman and she is suddenly diagnosed with an auto-immune disease.  Her symptoms are mild in the beginning but over a short time she can’t walk anymore.  She asks her estranged grandmother if she can come and stay with her.  Rachel hasn’t seen Rose since she was a little girl.  Rose is widowed and lonely but helping Rachel gives her a new purpose in life.  Rachel didn't know that the family as a 20-year-old secret.

     Rachel was working as a dental assistant but she now has GBS (Guillain-Barre syndrome).  It is a disease that affects the legs and sometimes can be cured with rehab.  This disease is a rare disorder and a person’s own immune system damages the nerves.  The result is muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.  The symptoms can last for a few weeks to several years.    

      In the beginning of the relationship between Rachel and Rose, Rachel is distant with Rose because she is ashamed and unnerved by her physical condition.  They begin to grow closer and they help each other.  Rose hires Ben, he is a handyman and Rose asks him to build a wheelchair ramp for Rachel.  Ben invites Rachel to go to the lake with him.  Rachel has a setback when her illness has a flare up and she is paralyzed.  She tells Ben that there is no “us” and Ben is very hurt.  He doesn’t realize that Rachel is pushing him away because she doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone.  Plus, she doesn't like people to see her when she is helpless.  Ben is super sensitive because he has been hurt before.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie) 

86 min, Family directed by Author Gavino and written by Craig McMahon and John Waldron with Suzanne McGown Brown, Sean Dillingham, John H. Euber, Matthew Goldring, Katherine Stewart, David Aaron Stone. 

Note:  5.6* out of 10* with 99 reviews, dove.org sex 1*, language 0, violence 0, drugs 0, nudity 1*, other 1* grief over the death of a spouse, coping with a difficult and sudden physical ailment, Rotten Tomatoes 20% with 7 user ratings, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 545 ratings, boxofficerevollution.wordpress.com, Production Quality .5 points, Plot and Storyline Quality 0 points, Acting Quality 0 points, Conclusion, Final Rating .5 out of 10 points (Personally, I think this review is overly harsh?

Special Note:  Filmed in Prescott, Arizona.

Men in Black III 2012

     Based on Malibu Comics.  Boris the Animal has been held in a moon-based maximum security prison.  He escapes and decides to go back in time to kill the person who put him in prison.  Agent J realizes the time line has been changed and he also goes back in time.  Agent J has a difficult time convincing the other agents who he is and why he’s there.  Secrets are revealed that are unknown to Agent J about Agent K.

     This is the first Men in Black movie I have watched and I have not seen any of the Ghostbusters either.  Some scenes in this movie are very funny and others are very tiresome.  If you are going to have a sequel with time gap between this film and the previous film, it should be a lot better than this!!  Just because it’s a little different from the other films does not make it good?

     This film is part buddy comedy and part alien action/adventure.  Tons of creepy creatures but fewer than the original movie.  Interspecies peril and a high body count.  Several aliens and a few humans are killed in shoot-outs.  Many involve over-the-top sci-fi weapons.  The question is are humans really a race worth saving?  3* (This movie is OK) 

105 min, Action directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Etan Cohen, Lowell Cunningham with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Chernus, David Rasche, Keone Young.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 326,894 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 68% with 247 critics 70% audience with 757,611 ratings, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Steve Rose, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen 3* out of 5*, age 12+, 2* positive messages, 2* role models, 3* violence, 1* sex, 3* language, 1* consumerism, 1* drinking drugs & smoking, dove.org 2* integrity including friendships, teamwork and overcoming evil, 1* sexual innuendo, 4* language, 3* violence, 2* drugs, 2* nudity, 1* other is a death scene with some grief.

Special Note:  The woman who lives in K’s apartment is in an alternate timeline and she is the same woman in Men in Black II 2002.  She is a waitress and Patrick Warburton’s character is told to marry her and have a bunch of kids.  Shea Stadium also appeared in Men in Black 1997.  It had to be re-created through CGI for this film because it was demolished in 2008.

Hope Springs 2012

     Kay and Arnold have been married for 30 years.  It’s a good marriage but Kay wonders if it could be better.  She buys a book written by a relationship therapist and he offers a therapy session that lasts a week for couples.  Kay tries to convince Arnold to go for the session and she doesn’t know until the last minute if he will get on the plane?  Can they make changes, are they up to the challenge and will Arnold want to do anything in a non-grumpy or non-routine way?
     This is a lot different than I thought it would be and I didn’t consider it to be a comedy.  Carell plays this very seriously and seems like a real therapist.  Streep does a very good job as Kay and there is a lot of emotional turmoil.  Jones in the role of Arnold is in a grumpy mood about everything?  4* (I really liked this movie)

100 min, Comedy directed by David Frankel with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Jean Smart, Ben Rappaport, Marin Ireland, Patch Darragh, Brett Rice, Becky Ann Baker, Elisabeth Shue, Charles Techman, Danny Flaherty, Damian Young, Mimi Rogers, Ann Harada.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10 with 39,995 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 75% with 173 critic 55% audience with 47,016 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, RollingStone 3* out of 4* Peter Travers, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Metacritic 65 out of 100 with 38 critics reviews (positive 27, mixed 12, negative 0), 6.5 out of 10 with 101 user scores (positive 49, mixed 39, negative 13).

Special Note:  Jeff Bridges turned down the role of Arnold.  Dr. Feld tells Meryl Streep’s character about fixing a deviated septum, Streep had this in real life.  The French movie that Kate and Arnold see in the theater is Le Diner de Cons 1998.  It was remade as Dinner for Schmucks 2010 starring Steve Carell as Dr. Feld in this film.  Originally the MPAA was going to give this film an R rating because of the scene in the movie theater.

My Life is Murder Season One 2019

     Alexa Crowe solves a murder mystery in each episode and there are ten episodes.  She likes to stir the pot and see what comes to the surface about the case.  She is empathetic but she can be blunt and rude.  She also has a quirky sense of humor.  She is a former police woman and very few people know why she left the force.  Her long-time friend Detective Inspector Kieran Hussey frequently asks her to step in on his trickier cases.  She has an assistant, Madison.  She is a Data Analyst for the Police and many times she can dig into records for information about a case.  Madison is nothing like Alexa because she is an extrovert but they are a great team together.

     I did like this series very much.  It’s about crime but it’s not heavy and it doesn’t keep you from going to sleep afterwards.  The characters are good, interesting and this is only the second leading role for Lucy Lawless.  During down times, Alexa has a fancy and complicated  industrial bread machine.  She bakes bread semi-professionally for a cafe.  Her feelings are hurt if patrons don’t eat her bread?  She wants to know why they didn't eat it?  Another item I like about this series is the scenery of Melbourne.  It is another character in the series and many areas are very beautiful.  5* (I really liked this series)  

One season, each episode is 1 hour, Crime with Lucy Lawless, Bernard Curry, Ebondy Vagulans, Todd River, Alex Andreas, Dilruk Jayasinha, Kate McCartney, Steffen Schweizer.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10 with 1019 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 169 ratings, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 18 user ratings.

Special Note:  Lucy Lawless is famous for playing Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess of 1995.  She has also been in musical theater in her home area of New Zealand.   In this series Xena is a reformed evil warrior who has committed dark deeds including murder.  Filmed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 2019

     This film is based on the true story of the real friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Lloyd Vogel.  It is about  kindness triumphing over cynicism.  Esquire Magazine writer Lloyd Vogal is a jaded and bitter man.  He is assigned by is editor to write a profile of Fred Rogers.  In the beginning, he is very skeptical and he doesn’t believe Fred Rogers is really like the person he seems?  Fred must be putting on an act for his show but he can't really be like this in is regular life?  Lloyd learns about empathy, kindness and decency from Fred.  Lloyd starts to believe in Fred, is behavior is real and it begins to change Lloyd’s life.   

     This is a biopic based on the meeting of a cynical writer Lloyd Vogel and Mister Rogers.  Hanks does a very good job of playing Mister Rogers but this film is nothing like I thought it would be?  I thought it would be about the Mister Rogers program, how the program originated, how they came up with the ideas and the positive connection he had with children.  Also, it would include information about Mister Rogers’ background, his wife and his two sons.  This is 100% not a film for children!!  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so) 

109 min, Bio directed by Marielle Heller with Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson, Maryann Plunkett, Enrico Colantoini, Wendy Makkena, Tammy Blanchard, Noah Harpster, Carmen Cusack, Kelley Davis, Christine Lahti, Maddie Corman, Daniel Krell.  

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10 with 47,532 reviews, 96% with 349 critics 92% with 11,256 ratings, Roger Ebert 3 1/2* Monica Castillo, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media, Sandie Angulo Chen, age 10+, positive messages 5*, role models 5*, violence 2*, sex 1*, language 2*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 2*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 10,333 reviews, Letterboxd 3.7* out of 5* with 89 fans.

Special Note:  Fred Rogers had a reputation for being extremely difficult to interview.  It was because he cared more about the person interviewing him than he did about being interviewed.  He would often use this time to befriend the person interviewing him.  Ancestry has confirmed that Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers are actually sixth cousins.  Joanne Rogers, Fred’s widow said that she thought Tom Hanks was the perfect actor to play Fred. 

Midway 2019

     This film is about a battle between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy.  The time setting is before and after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  On December 7, 1941, it was at 7:55 am Hawaii time that a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on it's wings appeared out of the clouds above the island of Oahu.  A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed and they descended on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault.  The bombings and the plane and ship battles marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific during WWII.  This is a heroic feat and it’s based on real life events.  It is the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, training, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds against them.  In the final year of WWII, the Allies prepared for a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland.  Prior to an invasion, conventional and firebombing campaigns were used against Japan.  This caused the devastation of 67 Japanese cities.  The war in Europe ended when Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945.  

      After the surrender of Germany, the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific theater.  The Allies called for the unconditional surrender of the Imperial Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945.  The alternative to a refusal of the Declaration would mean prompt and utter destruction of Japan.  The ultimatum was refused and the war continued.  By August 1945, the Allies had produced two types of atomic bombs.  The order was given to use the bombs on four Japanese cities on July 25, 1945.  On August 6, a uranium gun-type bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  Three days later a plutonium implosion bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.  Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 and the instrument of surrender was signed on September 2 in Tokyo Bay and this ended the war. 

     This is an action heavy drama about one of the biggest battles in WWII.  The ships and planes are CGI.  There is pervasive conflict and violence.  Many scenes of explosions, bombs and sudden violent deaths.  Characters also appear looking swollen, bruised and some have been held captive.  Lots of military guns, ships and planes.  Just a few kisses between married couples.  Frequent swearing, Japanese people are called Japs in a sneering tone.  There is pipe smoking, cigars and cigarettes.  Characters get drunk and lurch around.  A Japanese soldier decides to go down with his sinking ship.  Courage and teamwork are evident in the way soldiers on both sides unite for common goals.

138 min, Action directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Wes Tooke with Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Luke Kleintank, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Keean Johnson, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss Brandon Skelnar, Jake Manley.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10 with 52,766 reviews, Roger Ebert 2* Odie Henderson, Rotten Tomatoes 42% with 160 critics 92% audience with 12,048 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 10,131 reviews, Metacritic 47 out of 100 with 28 critic reviews (positive 6, mixed 20, negative 2), 6.1 out of 10 with 167 user scores (positive 91, mixed 39, negative 37), Common Sense Media Joyce Slaton, 13+ age, 3* positive messages, 3*, Letterboxd 2.8* out of 5* with 11 fans.

Special Note:  The wreckage of the sunken Japanese Akagi and the Kaga were found one month before the premiere of this film.  The last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders was James Doolittle’s copilot Dick Cole.  He passed away at the age of 103 in April 2019.  It was seven months before the release of this film.  Best’s lung problems were caused by an element of his rebreather overheating.  He had tuberculosis as a boy and it had remained dormant.  It was contained in nodules that were sealed over in response to the initial infection.  The caustic side generated by the rebreather resulted in caustic fumes penetrating the nodules.  This caused the tuberculosis to return.  Best was treated for it and cured.  His lungs did sustain some permanent damage.  

Box Office:  There are other versions of this film from 1942 and 1976.  The 1976 version was number 10 in the list of most popular movies at the box office and earned over $43 million.  This 2019 version earned 125.6 million with a budget of 100 million.

Ford vs Ferrari 2019

     Carroll Shelby is an American car designer and his driver of choice is Ken Miles.  They battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford.  Their goal is to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.  Enzo Ferrari’s fast Rosso-Corsa racing cars have continually dominating the mid-1960’s motorsport world.  Shelby is a race car driver but he is forced to retire after winning the 1959 ’24 Hours of Le Mans’ endurance race.  Lee Iacocca and Henry Ford II offer Shelby an opportunity to beat the Italians at their own game.  British sports car driver and racing engineer Ken Miles agrees to lend a hand and improve the image of the Ford company.  The race team has a limited amount of time to rewrite history.  They develop the Ford GT40 Mk I high-performance racing car.  Now, this Ford car needs to prove itself against Farrari.

     This is a fact based racing drama.  It’s briskly paced and entertaining enough to appeal to non racing fans.  It includes car crashes, explosions, drivers on fire and people dying in car wrecks.  Characters also fight, punch, wrestle and they have some violent temper tantrums.  Language is fairly strong.  Era-appropriate brands are featured in ads around the racetrack.  Some of the brands are Coppertone, Good Year, Budweiser.  One character takes prescription medication for a heart condition and there is some background smoking.  Ford was the winner not because Miles outraced Ferrari but the Italian cars all broke down and the Ford cars excelled.  The engineering is the true drama of the race and that is not given enough credit in the film.  It’s not as easy to get viewers excited by the details of fixing leaks and running engines until they blow and finding a fix over and over!!  I don’t know why I was surprised that the suits at Ford were always trying to interfere with Shelby and the driver Miles??  Ken is the best driver but they don’t like his image??  Carroll must have chewed a lot of gum very rapidly because he is doing that in this film?  5* (I really liked this movie)
        
152 min, Action directed by James Mangold and written by Jax Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth with Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Tracy Letts, Remo Girone, Ray McKinnon, J J Feild, Jack McMullen, Corrado Invernizzi.

Note:  Imdb 8.1 out of 10 with 237,832 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 92% with 329 critics 98% with 98 ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Glenn Kenny, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 13+, positive messages 2*, role models 2*, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 3*, consumerism 2*, drinking drugs & smoking 0, The Washington Post 3* out of 5* Kristen Page-Kirby, RollingStone 4* out of 5* Peter Travers, Metacritic 81out of 100 with 47 critic reviews (positive 42, mixed 5, negative 0), 8.3 out of 10 with 551 user scores (496 positive, 37 mixed , 18 negative), Letterboxd 3.8* out of 5* with 395 fans, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 15,058 reviews.

Special Note:  This film is also known as Le Mans ’66.  Christian Bale took race driving lessons at the Bondurant High Performance Driving School.  The founder of the school had been a friend of Ken Miles.  Bale also got to hear plenty of stories about the 1960’s racing scene.  Stunt coordinator Rober Nagel later said that Bale was “hands down the best actor I’ve ever trained.”  Bale had seven months to lose seventy pounds before filming.  He gained a lot of weight for his role in Vice 2018.  Ford distanced themselves from the film before it was released over its portrayal of Leo Beebe as bossy and a manipulator?  

The Bystander Theory 2013

     Liz Jennings is the owner of a florist shop and she has been piling up debts that she can’t pay.  She learns she has inherited a house from her grandfather that she never met.  At first, she thinks she doesn’t have time to travel to inspect the house and property.  She changes her mind and she goes to Brockmeyer Texas.  Her first evening staying at the house she goes out for dinner, someone breaks in and steels the 8 mm film reels.  Liz had been watching the reels with a projector that was also in the house.  The sheriff thinks it was probably a teen because they sometimes look at death notices before they break into house that is probably empty.  Soon after, Liz gets a surprise visit from conspiracy theorist Shame Fuller.  He has a radio program and he is convinced Liz’s grandfather was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  It’s possible the thief was looking for the film Liz’s grandmother took when the JFK motorcade went through Brockmeyer?

     There is actually a “Babushka Lady” filming 8 mm home movies from a different angle than the famous tape by Zapruder.  No one knew who the “Babushka Lady” was but Liz sees her grandmother taking the pictures on a reel?  If there actually is such a reel, it has never been seen by the public.  There might never be an answer about the conspiracy theory until there is a deathbed confession or someone involved with the cover-up comes forward?  This film seems like a Hallmark or a Lifetime movie.  It is an interesting but I don’t plan on checking out any of the facts or details!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)   

94 min, Drama directed and written by Tony Zavaleta with Brad Leland, Wendy Zavaleta, Dameon Clarke, Roger Boyce, Ashley Spillers, Dan Silver, Merrilee McCommas, Garrett Schenck, Dirk Van Allen, Peter Malof, Roland Uribe, Babs George, Tony Salinas, Mj Vandivier, Andre Paulk.

Note:  Imdb 5.3 out of 10 with 75 ratings, Amazon 3.2* out of 5* with 66 ratings.
Special Note:  If you are interested, there are plenty of information online at many websites about the Bystander Theory. 

The Mountain Minor 2019

     The setting of this film is 1920s-1950s.  Charlie feels worn out by life and he struggles with leaving his current location and his family Ohio.  It’s the depression and Charlie wants to return to his childhood Kentucky home.  He misses the music and lifestyle that once defined him.  First, he needs to pass his musical heritage on to his grandkids.  The primary setting of this is in Kentucky and most of the footage was shot near Boone.  Usually, the people living in the Appalacians were not moonshiners but proud and simple folk.  They made do with limited resources in difficult times.  Their distinctive music helps to define their people.
  
     In the this time period, millions of Appalachians left their homes in the mountains.  They migrated to urban Midwestern centers in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.  It is the depression in Eastern Kentucky and Charlie’s parents, OZA and Vestal Abner face the difficult decision to leave the way of life they know.  They are going to move to Ohio for employment and better opportunities.  The automobile plants are paying $1.00 a day.  They are running low on food and on money so there is no other decision but to leave.  If crops don’t produce at the right times, the farmers and their families can go hungry.  They can try to buy from other farmers but at times they can’t afford the prices.  The local store in town has been sold to a new owner because the former owner can’t make a living.  The larger stores that are new to the area are getting the customers.  5* (I really liked this movie)

97 min, Drama directed and written by Dale Farmer with Dan Gellert, Ma Crow, Asa Nelson, Hazel Pasley, Elizabeth Laprelle, Jonathan Bradshaw, Warren Waldron, Amy Cogan Clay, Judy Waldron, Trevor McKenzie, Mike Oberst, Chuch Blackburn, Ed Pilkington.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 42 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 64% with 58 critic scores 24% audience with 41 ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Sheila O’Malley, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 47 reviews.

Special Note:  All the principal actors are traditional musicians.  There is Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth LaPrelle and acclaimed banjoist and fiddler Dan Gellert.  They are the ones playing all of the music in this film.  The traditional Appalachian musical genres of Old Time and Bluegrass.  or 2019

Awards:  Best Narrative Drama Feature Film, Longleaf Film Festival, 2019.  Other awards received, Best Narrative Drama Feature film from UPIKE Film & Media Arts Festival 2019.  Best Feature Film, Northeast Mountain Film Festival 2019.  Best of Festival, Jukebox International Film Festival 2018.  Best Picture-Runner Up, Jukebox International Film Festival 2018.  Best Appalachian Film, Queen City Film Festival 2018.  Best Drama Feature, Franklin International Film Festival 2018.  Best Director (Dale Farmer), Endless Mountain Film Festival 2018.  Best of Festival Feature Film, Endless Mountain Film Festival 2018.  Best Actor (Asa Nelson), Endless Mountain Film Festival 2018.

In Darkness 2011

     This is the true story of Leopold Soha.  He risked his life to save a group of Jewish men, women and children.  In the beginning, he’s only interested in their money and property.  He’s a thief and burglar but he becomes drawn into hiding this group for 14 months in the sewers of Lvov in the Ukraine.  They all lived in the ghetto but a few of the men dug through the floor of one of the rooms to the sewer.  When the Nazi’s came through the ghetto killing everyone, many people went into the sewer.  Soha realized right away that he could not provide food for so many and established a dozen as feasible number.

     In Darkness is a very apt name for this film, everything is dark except outside the sewer.  It’s winter and the ground is covered with snow and it is somewhat dark there too.  This film made my eyes tired because of the sharp contrast between dark and light and the subject is tough too.  3* (This movie is OK)

145 min, Drama directed by Agnieszka Holland with Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Furmann, Agnieszka Grochwska, Maria Schrader, Herbert Knaup.

Note:  Blockbuster 4 ½*, imdb 7.1, 90% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Metacritic 74 out of 100 with 36 critics reviews (positive 31, mixed 4, negative 1), 7.1 out of 10 with 23 user scores (positive 14, mixed 8, negative 1), The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 314 reviews. 

Shalimar: The Deadly Thief 1978

     Sir John Locksley is an ailing millionaire and master jewel thief.  He invites the best rival jewel thieves in the world to his island estate.  They will compete for the ultimate prize of the Shalimar Ruby.  The winner will walk away as the proud owner of the world's most luminous jewel but the losers will pay with their lives.

     The plot of this film was inspired by the novel The Vulture is a Patient Bird by James Hadley Chase.  The English film version is known as Raiders of the Sacred Stone.  This movie is terrible, it could be at the top of the list of worst movies ever!  There are only interesting moments or possibly minutes!!  A musical number on the beach is ridiculous and laughable.  One thief's body is made into a god by the natives and another comes back from the dead?  Was Rex Harrison out of money and he needed to make house, car and boat payments?  2* (I didn't like this movie)

90 min, Action, directed by Krishna Shah and written by Kader Khan, Momin Khan, Friday Lani, Krishna Shah and Stanford Sherman with Rex Harrison, Zenat Aman, Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, John Saxon, Sylvia Miles, O.P. Ralhan, Prem Nath, Shreeram Lagoo, Aruna Irani, Clyde Chai-Fa, M.B. Shetty, Phunsok Ladhakhi, Anita, Jjayamalini, Anita Advani.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10 with 512 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 32% audience with 289 ratings, Amazon 2.7* out of 5* with 4 ratings, eBay 3.3* out of 5* with 3 ratings.

Special Note:  Dialogue from this movie was used for the song Thai on the internationally released album Bollyhood by Buddy Maxwell.  This the first and only Bollywood film for Rex Harrison, John Saxon and Sylvia Miles.  Harrison’s voice was dubbed by Kader Khan. 

Absentia 2019 Season One

     Emily Byrne is a FBI agent and she is married to special agent  Nick Durand and he is also an FBI agent.  They have a 2-year old son son Flynn Durand and a black lab dog.  Emily mysteriously disappears and she hasn’t been seen or heard from for six years.  No one knows what happened to her?  Nick has remarried to Alice Durand and Flynn is 8 years old.  Emily is found in a deserted industrial space and she has no memory of what happened during the time she was missing.  She has a new reality with Alice married to Nick and the is raising Flynn.  Nick tries to help her discover what happened, were she was and who did this to her.  Of course, Alice is not happy that Emily is back but she is trying to work everything out.  Flynn is happy that his mother is back in his life.  Emily’s father is very supportive but her brother Jack is a loser!!
 
     This season of the series leaves you on the edge of your seat every moment!!  Emily is blamed for a series of new murders?  This is a grim police drama with some very disturbing scenes and gory details.  There are beatings, a woman is tortured, bodies in various stages of decomposition are shown and a young character is injured in a crash.  The above mentioned events in this series go by very quickly and the plot is very engrossing.  5* (I really liked this series)    
    
Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10 with 10,185 reviews, Amazon 3.4*out of 5*, Metacritic 59 out of 100 with 4 critics reviews (positive 2, mixed 1, negative 1), 6.4 out of 10 with 25 user scores (positive 16, mixed 5, negative 4), Rotten Tomatoes 47% with 15 critics 69% with 175 user ratings, tracking-board.com B-, Common Sense Media Mark Dolan, age 17+, positive messages 0, role models 1*, violence 5*, sex 3*, language 4*, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 2*.

Three Seasons, 2018, 2019, 2020, Amazon Prime, Crime, each episode one hour, created by Matthew Cirulnick and Gaia Violo with Stana Katic, Patrick Heusinger, Neil Jackson, Paul Freeman, Christopher Colquhoun, Patrick McAuley, Cara Theobold, Angel Bopnanni.

Special Note:  Actor Angel Bonnanni in the role of Tommy Gibbs had to learn how to handle a weapon for this series.  He also watched documentaries on detectives and the police.  He did extensive research to get into his character.  All ten episodes were filmed at once and this is ver uncommon for TV.  Oded Ruskin, the director, said he was able to track all the story lines at once.  Filming was done in three and a half months in the middle of winter.  The setting is supposed to be Boston Massachusetts but it was actually filmed in Sofia Bulgaria.

Episode Titles:  Comeback, Reset, The Emily Show, Me You Him Me, Dig, Nobody’s Innocent, A&B, Brave Boy, Child’s Play, Original Sin.   

West of Zanzibar 1928

     This film is based on a play written by Chester De Vonde, Kilbourn Gordon and adaptation by Waldemar Young.  Phroso is a magician and his wife Anna leaves him for another man named Crane.  Phroso and Crane fight over Anna leaving and Phroso is paralyzed after a fall.  Later, Anna returns and Phroso finds her in a church.  There is a young child with her and Anna is dead.  Phroso believes Anna’s child was fathered by Crane.  Phroso and the child leave for East Africa and 18 years pass.  Phroso is known as Dead Legs by his pals and he is plotting revenge against Crane.  The African men have been poaching elephant tusks and bringing them to Dead Legs.  The Ivory belongs to Crane.  Dead Legs is seeking revenge and retribution.

     This is a silent black and white film with title cards used to show the words of the actors.  Because of the technical challenges to add sound most films were silent before late 1920.  This may the strangest movie that I have ever seen!!  The black and white and the silence really make this an eerie film!!  There is a lot of action and a lot of characters.  Revenge is the main theme.  3* (this movie is OK)

65 min, Drama directed by Tod Browning and written by Elliott J. Clawson, Joseph Farnham and with Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore, Mary Nolan, Warner Baxter, Jacqueline Gadsdon, Tiny Ward, Kalla Pash, Curtis Nero.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10 with 1545 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 81% audience with 456 ratings, Movies Silently Score 5*, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 22 ratings.

Special Note:  Remade in 1932 with the play’s original title Kongo.  In the ceremonial tribal dances by the African people the local extras had difficulty dancing to the drums.  A radio was brought to the set and it played Jazz tunes by a local station.  The original ending ended with the child now a woman stabbing Dead Legs.  Set builders laid down a burlap base and then covered it with a mixture of paint and putty to create the consistency and appearance of the floor where Dead Legs lives.  Reel #4 of this film was lost or at least a considerable part of it.  An MGM laser disc was released i 1993 and Dead Legs is mistakenly referred to as Daddy Legs?

Hannah and Her Sisters 1986

     The setting of this film is two Thanksgivings two years apart.  Hannah’s husband Elliot falls in love with her sister Lee.  She collects unemployment and she is waiting for the right artist to mold her.  Hannah has a successful acting career and she is always lending money to Holly.  April and Holly have started a catering business and they are hoping for success.  Everyone is always turning to Hannah for advice.  Her former husband Mickey is a hypochondriac and he renews his relationship with her sister Holly.  Mickey and Holly learn that Mickey’s sperm count is too low and they probably will not be able to have children?  Holly is upset and she doesn’t know if she can remain in the marriage without the possibility of a child.  

     This is a typical Woody Allen film with New York in the background as a character.  Everyone has problems and everyone talks to other people about their problems.  Hannah always hosts the Thanksgiving dinners and does most of the work but she doesn’t mind.  Everyone has insecurities and even the mother of Hannah, Lee and Holly thinks she is still young and men want to fall for her??  There are profound concepts about life but also laughs from the characters and their relationships.  Everyone is a work in process.  There is dishonesty, infidelity, codependency and lack of self-realization.  Some characters have substance abuse issues, drinking and smoking frequently occur.  There is some mild swearing.  I've seen this movie before but I didn’t remember a lot of it.  4* (I liked this movie)  

107 min, Comedy directed and written by Woody Allen with Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Carrie Fisher, Maureen O’Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Max von Sydow, Lewis Black, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Christian Clemenson, Julie Kavner, J.T. Walsh, John Turturro.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10 with 65,337 reviews,  Roger Ebert 4*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media Renee Schonfeld, age 15+, 3* positive messages, 3* role models, 0 violence, 3* sex, 2* language,1* consumerism, 3* drinking drugs & smoking, Letterboxd 4* out of 5* with 171 fans, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 573 reviews.  I have seen this movie before but I didn’t remember a lot of it.  4* (I liked this movie) 
    
Special Note:  I thought the funniest line in this film is when Woody Allen’s character is worried that he has a brain tumor.  The his hearing in his right ear has decreased.  He is talking with a woman at the TV series location where he is working.  She says, “But, remember you were worried that you had a malignant melanoma but it was only a dark spot on the back of your shirt?”

The Good Liar 2019

     Roy Courtnay is a career con artist.  He can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish on-line.  As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised that he begins to care for her.  This turns what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life.  There is terrific energy and dash.  The flashback sequences show that it’s actually more daring and ambitious than you expect.  There is an unexpected duel between Roy and Betty. 

     This is a fraud and scam drama about a con man and his target.  You can quickly see that Roy has insincere intentions.  When he is not charming Betty, he is being physically violent with an adversary.  The violence feels more extreme than the movie calls for.  Some brutal altercations and some deaths.  Betty is very astute and she has self control.  She sets sexual boundaries despite Roy’s efforts to persuade her otherwise.  There is an assault and a rape plus very few scenes are without drinking (wine, champagne, scotch, etc.) with something always on the table or in the hand of an adult.  Profanity isn’t frequent but it is harsh when it is used!!  The two lead actors do a very good job in their roles.  There are twists and turns that I didn't expect!!  5* (I really liked this movie) 

109 min, Crime directed by Bill Condon and written by Jeffrey Hatcher. This film is based on a novel written by Nicholas Searle with Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter, Mark Lewis Jones, Laurie Davidson, Phil Dunster, Lucian Msamati, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Tunji Kasim, Spike White, Stella Stocker, Daniel Betts, Nell Williams, Celine Buckens.


Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10 with 18,683 reviews, Roger Ebert 2 1/2* Peter Sobcznski, Rotten Tomatoes 63% with 160 critics, 85% audience with 3837 ratings, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Wendy Ide, SF Chronicle a clap Mick LaSalle, Common Sense Media Tara mcNamara, age 15+, 2* positive messages, 3*role models, 4* violence, 4* sex, 4* language, 1* consumerism, 3* drinking drugs & smoking, Metacritic 55 out of 100 with 31 critic reviews (positive 15, mixed 15, negative 1), 5.2 out of 10 with user 50 scores (positive 16 , mixed 24, negative 10), Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 2786 reviews, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  The Charing Cross station used in this movie is actually the closed Charing Cross station on the Jubilee Line and it was also used in Skyfall 2012.  This is the first time Helen Mirren has worked with Ian McKellen.  While Roy and Betty are at the Slough railway station, a train in a partly purple livery speeds through.  This is one of the new Elizabeth line trains (late 2019) running experimentally and did not exist in 2009, the setting of this film.  Roy leaves on a GWR branded train, in 2009 this would have had a First Great Western livery.  The GWR brand didn’t return until 2015.

Anne of Green Gables 2016

     This film is based on a novel by L.M. Montgomery.  Anne Shirley is an orphan and she is accidentally sent to a couple looking to adopt a boy.  At first, Marilla Cuthbert wants to send Anne back but she can’t bear for her to go back to the orphanage.  Marilla tries to arrange for a family to take in Anne but that doesn’t work out.  Matthew Cuthbert wants Anne to stay even though she is the most inventive and talkative person he has every met.  Marilla decides that Anne can stay, she can do chores that will help both Marilla and Matthew. 
  
     Most of the content is kid friendly but Anne’s friend Diana Barry accidentally gets drunk when they are having a tea party together.  There are a number of flashbacks into Anne’’s past that hint at violence, physical punishment and unpleasant living conditions.  Anne has spirit and perseverance plus there are messages about family, friendship and love.  I have seen several versions of the Anne of Green Gables story and this is a good one.  I enjoyed the portrayals by the actors and the story line.  4* (I liked this movie) 
  
90 min, Drama directed by John Kent Harrison and written by Susan Coyne, Lucy Maud Montgomery with Ella Ballentine, Martin Sheen, Sara Botsford and Dan Dillabough, Julia Lalonde, Kate nennig, Stefani Kimber, Linda Kash, Drew Haytaoglu, Kyle Gatehouse, Tannis Burnett, Richard Binsley, Sophia Roberts, Jaime Feggi, Sean McCann, Alanis Peart.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10 with 1240 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 40% audience with 53 ratings, Common Sense Media Emily Ashby, age 7+, positive messages 5*, role models 5*, violence 1*, sex 2*, language 0, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 1*, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with  63 critic reviews (positive 3, mixed 1, negative 0), Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 448 reviews, Letterboxd 2.9* out of 5*, indiewire.com Grade B-.
  
Special Note:  Ella Ballentine in the role of Anne played a small role in the TV series Reign.  Megan Follows previously played Anne in the 1985 film and she is a main character in Reign.  Martin Sheen’s character was previously played by Richard Farnsworth.  Both Farnsworth and Sheen appeared in Firestarter and The Dead Zone.  Colleen Dewhurst played Marilla in the 1985 film.

Magnificent Homespun Brown 2020

    This film is based on a book with the same title written by Samara Doyon and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita.  It is an exploration of the natural world and family bonds.  Homespun Brown is a young girl of mixed-race.  She is a living, breathing, dazzlingly multi-faceted and exuberant young girl.  She is firmly grounded in her sense of self-worth and belonging. 

     A series of young brown girls admire the many different brown in their environments and in their own images.   The browns are deep secret brown like an eye color.  Feathery brown like tree shadows on a hike.  Amber brown like the color of eyelashes.  Dark brown the color of honey and hair.  Each girl is featured with family members or friends.  They relate to nature by having fun or in reflective moments.  5* (I really liked this movie)
 
Note:  I wasn't able to find reviews for the film but for the book.  Amazon gives the book 4.8* out of 5* with 35 reviews, Goodreads 4.25* out of 5 with 230 ratings and 72 reviews, Target 5* and sold out.  Video by Dreamscape.

The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story 2020

     Kanzi’s family has moved from Egypt to America.  At her first day in a new school, Kanzi wants to fit in with the other students.  She "forgets" to take the kofta sandwich her mother has made for her lunch.  Mama comes to the school to give Kanzi her sandwich.  She wears a hijab and she calls Kanzi by the name Habbibit.  This means dear one and the teasing by the other students begins as soon as mama leaves the room.

     That evening, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her testa (grandma) in Cairo gave her.  Kanzi writes a poem and her teacher sees the poem.  The teacher gets the entire class excited about creating a quilt (a paper collage) of student names in Arabic.  Now, the students are feeling a connection to Kanzi and she feels better about fitting in with the other students.  Just an idea and a small gesture by the teacher makes Kanzi very happy.  5* (I really liked this film)  

Note:  I was able to find reviews for the book and not the film.  Amazon gives the book written by Aya Khalil 5* with 47 ratings, Barnes & Noble 4.8* out of 5* with 9 reviews, Goodreads 4.52 out off 5 with 152 ratings and 76 reviews, Target 5*, Topsta 5*.
  
Special Note:  Aya Khalil is a freelance journalist and educator and she has taught at all levels from preschool to college.  She currently lives with her husband and their three children in Toledo Ohio.  Anait Semirdzhyan is an experienced illustrator and she has lived in diverse cultures throughout the world.  She lives in Seattle Washington.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 2019

     This is the ninth and final film in a four-decade-long saga.  The surviving members of the resistance face the First Order once again.  The legendary conflict between the Jedi and Sith reaches its peak.  The Skywalker saga is brought to its end.

     Sci-fi action violence is taken up a notch.  There are more major space battles, high stakes destruction, tense chases, crashes, peril, injury, fierce light saber duels.  Plus, more blasters, arrows, cannons and other weapons.  A little more intense and darker than the previous two films in the trilogy.  Creepy villains, unusual locations and more explicit deaths.  Language isn’t frequent, women hold strong positions in the Resistance.  Messages of courage, teamwork, hope and loyalty.  This movie is better than I expected.  It does seem strange to see the images of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.  The actions scenes are good and the light saber fights are good.  The characters are more likable than in previous films.  Seems like two camps in the reviews, loved it or hated it??  3 /12* (I liked this movie  

142 min, Action directed by J.J. Abrams and written by Chris Terrio, J.J Abrams, Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, J.J. Abrams, Chris Terrio, George Lucas with Carrie Fisher (archive footage) Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Sucotamo.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 1`0 with 337,913 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 51% with 487 critics 86% audience with 98,236 ratings, Roger Ebert 2 1/2* Brian Tallerico, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Mark Kermode, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, 3* out of 5*, age 11+, 4* positive messages,4*  role models, 4* violence, 2* sex, 2* language, 1*consumerism, 0 drinking drugs & smoking, Metacritic 53 out of 100 with 61 critic reviews (positive 19, mixed 37, 5 negative), 4.7  out of 10 with 4880 user scores (1855 positive, 848 mixed, 2,177 negative), Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 6804 reviews.

Special Note:  There is a massive crowd celebration scene and C-3PO says that this event happens once every 42 years.  This was the time span between the first Star Wars movie released in 1977 and this film.  The official time line in The Rise of Skywalker's visual Dictionary is 35 years after A New Hope.  Thirty tons of black beans were shipped to Jordan to use as sinking sand?  Unused footage of Carrie Fisher shot for Star Wars: Episode VII 2015 was incorporated by changing the background, her wardrobe and her hair to gray.  It is 36 years since Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles reprised their roles.  This is the longest time for any original actor to return.  John Williams has said that this would be the final film for which he would compose the music. 

The Goldfinch 2019

     This film is based on a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Donna Tartt.  Theodore Decker is thirteen year old boy living in New York City.  He is with his mother and she is killed in a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Theodore is standing in front of the famous painting The Goldfinch.  He is shocked and confused in the rubble after the bombing.  He puts the painting into his book bag and he takes it with him when he exits the Museum.  A wealthy Upper East Side family brings him into their home to live with them after the bombing.  Theo Decker’s life is turned upside-down by the loss of this mother. 

     There are upsetting images after the bombing including additional violence, child abuse and playing with guns.  There is a LOT of smoking plus drug and alcohol abuse by adults and teens.  A scene demonstrates how to cut up prescription drugs to intensify a high.  There is also plenty of strong language, betrayals, lying, gambling and the idea of a person as good or bad.  All of the above do have consequences.   I thought this film was overly long??  The different directions and the people in Theodore's life are interesting.  There are some twists and turns that I didn't see coming!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)
         
149 min, Drama directed by John Crowley and written by Peter Straughan and Donna Tartt with Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elfort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Wilson, Sarah Paulson, Willa Fitzgerald, Aneurin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, Ashleigh Cummings, Aimee Laurence, Robert Joy, Boyd Ganes, Carley Connors, Luke Kleintank.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10 with 12,540 reviews, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, age 16+, 2* positive messages, 3* role models, 4* violence, 2* sex, 4* language, 1* consumerism, 5* drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  This is the first film directed by Finn Wolfhard that isn’t a horror film or a comedy.  There is a mistake when Theo writes a letter on notepaper from “Hotel Sluys” in Amsterdam.  This is the English spelling of the Dutch town of Sluis and it would never have been spelled with a y in the Netherlands. 

Dirty Girl 2010

    The year is 1987 and Danielle is the “bad girl” of Norman High School in Oklahoma.  She’s in trouble again and she is sent to the principle.  He sends her to the special education class.  The class splits up into teams to experience being parents using a bag of flour to represent a baby.  Danielle and her chubby 35% gay partner Clarke are not very successful in the beginning.  Danielle doesn’t want to become part of a Mormon family when her mom marries.  Clarke doesn’t want to go to military school.  They run away taking their baby with them in Clarke’s dad’s car.  They use his dad’s credit card to finance a trip to California to meet Danielle’s dad.

     This is funny but has a serious side too.  Danielle uses foul language, she's having sex and smoking cigarettes.  Clarke's father wants him to be more of a man.  Danielle has a vintage red Mustang convertible.  For me, this brings her credibility up several notches.  She can snap her fingers and attract the cute and popular guys until she’s paired with Clarke.  Everything changes for both of them on their trip.  4* (I really liked this movie)
 
90 min, Comedy directed by Abe Sylvia with Jeremy Dozier, Juno Temple, Zach Lasry, Johanthan Slavin, Marcella Lentz-Pope, Mary Steenburgen, Milla Jovovich.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 ½*, imdb 6.2 out of 10, 27% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Common Sense Media, Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, 0 positive messages, 0 role models, 2* violence, 4* sex, 5* language, 1* consumerism, 3* drinking drugs & smoking, Metacritic 37 out of 100 with 13 critic reviews (positive 2, mixed 7, negative 4), 8 out of 10 with 24 user scores (20 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative), Letterboxd 3.1 out of 5* with 12 reviews, 4.6* out of 5* with 219 reviews.

Special Note:  The hairstyles of Mary Steenburgen and Milla Jovovich are worth a look at this movie.  The stock of hairspray companies must have doubled during the filming!!  I could not take my eyes off their hair in all of their scenes.

Britt-Marie Was Here 2019

     This film is based on a novel written by Fredrik Backman.  Britt-Marie is 63 years old and she has just separated from a 40 year marriage to a cheating husband.  She has also left her home and her long life as a housewife.  She has been told she is a nagging passive aggressive person.  She lives in the small town of Borg, 88 miles south-west of Stockholm.  This city has no pride left except for the young soccer team and Britt-Marie’s new job is to coach the team.  Britt-Marie doesn’t know anything about soccer except that her husband liked to watch it?  This is the start of a journey filled with struggles, challenges but also warmth and love.  Britt-Marie’s first step at the clubhouse is to start cleaning!! 

     Britt-Marie can’t stand a mess!!  She loves to make to do lists and she loves cleaning products.  Sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms?  She doesn’t intend to do that but she is socially awkward and a fussy busybody.  She takes the coach job because nothing else was available!!  The previous coach was a man and he passed away.  His daughter lives nearby but she is blind.  4* (I really liked this movie)

97 min, Comedy directed by Tuva Novotny and written by Anders Frithiof August, Fredrik Backman, Oystein Karllsen and Tuva Novotny with Pernilla August, Lancelot Ncube, Vera Vitali, Peter Haber, Olle Sarri, Malin Levanon, Anders Mossling, Mahmut Suvakci, Cecilia Milocco, Nils Magnusson, Stella Oyoko Bengtsson, Sigrid Hogberg.

Note:  Imdb 5.1 out of 10 with 963 reviews, Roger Evert 3* Nell Minow, Rotten Tomatoes 68% with 19 critics, 67% audience with 6 ratings, Metacritic 53 out of 100 with 7 critic reviews (positive 2, 4 mixed , 1 negative), Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 30 reviews, Letterboxd 2.6* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Goodreads gives the book 4.07* out of 5* with 86,816 ratings and 11,054 reviews.  Some of the scenes are filmed in a small location called Lodose and this is four miles outside of Gothenburg.  The second largest city in Sweden is Gothenburg and it is a metropolitan area on the west coast.

Hanna Season 2 2020

     Previously, Hannah was able to help Clara escape from Ultrax in Season One.  Hannah attempts to rescue Clara again now that she is back under the control of Ultrax.   Clara was given information about her mother to get her to return to Ultrax.  Right away, Clara knows the information was false and it was a trap to get her back.  CIA agent Marissa Wiegler is beginning to see Hanna as the daughter she never had now that Hannah’s father has died.  Ultrax has moved all the young women to a different location and Hannah is beginning to learn more about Ultrax.  

     Terri Miller is a new employee at Ultrax and she has given the trainees notebooks with new names and backgrounds for them.  Sandy has really fallen in line with writing to her newly discovered family.  It is really Terri writing to the trainees.  Clara doesn’t have any background and she finally decides the one she is given is good enough.  Hannah is back at Ultrax and she pretends to belong with the new name of Mia Wolff.  Jules and Mia are sent to kill a journalist in London planning to meet with a military lawyer intent on exposing Ultras’s secrets.  Sandy and Clara fly to Barcelona to recover the evidence.  5* (I really liked this season and especially the expensive cars!!)

Producer David Farr with Esme Creed-Miles Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Rhianne Barreto, Khalid Abdalla, Justin Salinger, Dermot Mulroney, Felicien Juttner, Giles Norris Tari, Lyndsey Marshal, Kermaal Deen-Ellis, Phaldut Sharma, Benno Furmann.

Episode Titles:  Safe, The Trial, To the Meadows, Welcome Mia, A Way to Grieve, You’re With Us Now, Tacitus, The List.
Safe:  Hanna hides Clara in the forests of Northern Romania.
The Trial:  Marissa and Hanna return to Paris.
To the Meadows:  This is the new headquarters for Ultrax and where all the other girls are living.
Welcome Mia:  Marissa joins Hanna at The Meadows. 
A Way to Grieve:  Marissa is imprisoned in The Meadows.
You’re With Us Now:  Hanna and Jules are sent on their first mission. 
Tacitus:  Hanna is in Barcelona.
The List:  Clara and Kat hide in a hillside villa.
Bonus:  Official Trailer and Official Teaser Trailer.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10) Rotten Tomatoes 92% with 12 critic ratings, 71% with 63 user ratings, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 384 reviews, indiewire.com Grade B+.

Light of My Life 2019

     A father and his young daughter journey through the outskirts of society.  It is a decade after a mysterious pandemic has wiped out half of the world’s population.  Almost all of the women in the world have been killed by a disease.  It’s extremely dangerous for this young girl and she looks and dresses like a boy to keep her safer.  Whenever the father and daughter meet someone, she is referred to as his son.  It is a struggle for them to be protected, keep together the bond that they have and retain their humanity.  There are roving male bandits looking for any human females. 

     Many times they take shelter and live in the woods.  They have rules, there is a secret place for their stash of extra items.  There is red alert when they are in extreme danger.  They try to hide from anyone that they meet in the woods or on a road.  For a while they take shelter in an abandoned house.  They stay a few days and narrowly escape from four men breaking into the house.  They hitch a ride and the father steals the car.  They are going to a house where the father’s grandparents used to live.  They learn that the home has been occupied by Tom and his two friends Calvin and Lemmy.  They have been living in the house for four years.  Tom tells the father about a safe place with friendly people where they could go.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)   
    
119 min, Drama directed and written by Casey Affleck with Anna Pniowsky, To Bower, Casey Affleck, Elizabeth Moss, Hrothgar Mathews, Timothy Webber, Thelonius Serrell-Freed, Jess James Pierce, Tommy Clarke, Lloyd Cunningham, Kory Grim, Michael Ching, Dee Jay Jackson, Sydnee Parker Anderson.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10 with 8,658 reviews, Roger Ebert 3* Sheila O’Malley, Rotten Tomatoes 81% with 53 critics 74% with 351 audience scores, RollingStone 3 1/2* out of 5* David Fear, Metacritic 67 out of 100 with 16 critic reviews (positive 12 mixed 11, negative 5), 6 out of 10 with 32 user scores (positive 16, mixed 11, negative 5), Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 1237 reviews, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  In Berlin at the Berlinale-Premiere, Casey Affleck said he began writing the screenplay 10 years prior to filming.  Principal photography was in British Columbia’s Okanagan.  Casey Affleck also wrote, directed and starred in I’m Still Here 2010.  Elizabeth Moss as the girl’s mother and Anna Pniowsky as the girl are the only females in this film.

The Tomorrow Man 2019

     Ed Hemsler and Ronnie Meisner live in the same small town.  Ed has a bomb shelter and he spends his life preparing for a disaster that may not happen?  Ronnie spends her life shopping for things she may never use?  Ed notices Ronnie in the grocery store and he invites her out for coffee.  They seem to hit it off?  How can they get beyond the things that are consuming them at their homes?
     A lot of times people become afraid of what might happen?  They are so busy preparing for this “might happen” that they aren’t living their life in the right now?  Both Ed and Ronnie are in their 60’s and if they want to have love between them and they need to let go of the what if?  Ed doesn’t get along with his adult son because he’s always telling him what to do?  Will his son ever listen, probably not?  This is a slow and quiet movie with elderly people who have a LOT of eccentricities!!  Some of Ed’s efforts to connect with Ronnie could be considered stalking?  Some adult drinking and one character smokes.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

94 min, Drama directed and written by Noble Jones with John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Derek Cecil, Katie Aselton, Sophie Thatcher, Eve Harlow, Wendy Makkena, Isabelle Boni.

Note:  Imdb 5.7 out of 10 with 1,167 reviews, Roger Ebert 2 ½* Nell Minow, Rotten Tomatoes 42% with 55 critics 44% audience score with 43 ratings, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara age 13+, 2* out of 5*, 3* positive, 1* role models, 1* violence, 3* sex, 4* language, 3* consumerism, 2* drinking, drugs & smoking, SF Chronicle G. Allen Johnson sit up in seat, Letterboxd 2.9* out of 5*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 182 reviews, Metacritic 49 out of 100 with 18 critic reviews (positive 5, mixed 10, negative 3), 6.2 out of 10 with 5 user scores (positive 2, mixed 3, negative 0), Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 876 reviews.

Special Note:  This is the directorial debut for Noble Jones.  The world premiere was at the Sundance Film Festival January 30, 2019.  Filming took place in Rochester, New York, Lithgow’s hometown.  When Ed shows his shelter for the first time there are three jars of Vegemite.  This is an Australian yeast extract spread and it is like Marmite that is used in the UK.  Vegemite is much loved by some in Australia but it is an acquired taste.  It does have a very long shelf life and a little goes a long way.  It could be a favorite of people with stocks of food and those with the what if frame of mind?  Vegemite is also mentioned in a song by Men at Work.  “Buying bread from a man in Brussels.  He was six-foot-four and full of muscle.  I said, “Do you speak-a my language?”  He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich.”

Ready or Not 2019

     Many times a new husband or wife will make efforts so the in-laws will like them.  Grace is going to have to give it her all if she wants to fit in with her husband’s wealthy dynasty.  They require her to follow a brutal tradition.  The bride will need to survive her wedding night when the rest of the relatives hunt her down.  The matter of class struggles hit the fan in this extremely dark satire film.

     This film is a comedy-horror movie with very graphic violence.  Characters are killed in many ways and die with spurting, pooling blood and gurgling.  This is all for laughs??  Dead bodies are shown with long looks at the injuries.  Other characters drink, get drunk, snort white powder, take pills and seem manic.  There is frequent language and the message is supposed to be about power and wealth.  I did not like this movie, I didn’t get very far into it and I don’t recommend it for viewing!!  1* (I hated this movie)   

95 min, Comedy directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy with Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Elyse Levesque, Nicky Guadagni, John Ralston, Liam MacDonald, Ethan Tavares, Hanneke Talbot, Celine Tsai.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 87,641 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 88% with 287 critics 78% audience with 4340 ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Scout Tafoya, RollingStone 3 1/2* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Simran Hans, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 5481 reviews, Common Sense Media Joyce Slaton, 3* out of 5*, age 16+, 1* positive messages, 2*role models, 5* violence, 2* sex, 4* language, 1* consumerism, 3* drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  Seventeen different versions of Grace’s wedding dress were created by costume designer Avery Plewes to show the progress of Grace’s night.  Her clothes correspond to her attitude at that moment.  There were just five candelabras so they had to keep moving them around to illuminate rooms and hallways.  A producer was accidentally stabbed with a rope knife.  Adam Brody was playing around and he thought the blade was retractable?  The producer received 8 stitches to his shoulder and he returned to the set later that day.  Grace’s yellow Chuck Taylor sneakers were custom painted for this film because Converse no long makes yellow.  The Le Domas family empire of board games is based on the former game manufacturers Milton Bradley Company and Parker Brothers.  These games are now owned by Hasbro. 

I See You 2019

     Strange occurrences plague a small town detective and his family as he investigates the disappearance of a young boy.  The boy is riding his bike through the woods.  He is yanked into thin air like he had come to the end of a rope?  This boy joins a list of other missing kids in this small town.  Greg Harper is trying to fit clues together before more disappearances occur.  Other strange things start to happen.  Greg gets locked in a closet?  Silverware vanishes from the kitchen drawers?  Greg’s favorite coffee mug is missing?  A window repairman is let in while the family is away?  Drones swoop around different locations and they sometimes look like they are going to crash into houses.  Is there a chance that a supernatural force might be lurking.  Or, is it nothing scary really happening?  

     This film has some good suspense and it does a pretty good job at being scary but there is also some head scratching moments for viewers.  The story line is all over the place and there are many twists and turns.  There is a problem with Helen Hunt's face?  In the beginning, I thought it was part of the film?  She must have some kind of filler or botox and her ability to speak clearly is compromised?  3* (This movie is OK)

Special Note:  The waterfall and river exteriors were shot in downtown Chagrin Falls Ohio just outside Cleveland Ohio.  Also, some filming was done in Bentleyville Ohio.  This is a sci-fi horror movie with a teen in a world ten years after an apocalyptic event that leaves a world filled with ghosts.  There are two suicides, stabbings, a choking and drowning, A teen says she will tell people she hooked up with a guy in exchange for his help.  Chicago has been declared to be a No-Go Zone after the disaster but everything and everyone are not what they seem.  

98 min, Crime directed by Adam Randall and written by Devon Graye with Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague, Life Barer, Gregory Alan Williams, Allison Gabriel, Erika Alexander Jennifer Grace, Adam Kern, Riley Caya, Sam Trammell, Nicole Forester, John New berg, Teri Clark.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 15,477 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 38 critics 72%  audience with 383 user ratings, Roger Ebert 1 1/2* Nick Allen, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4* Henry Stewart, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 509 reviews, Common Sense Media Brian Costello, age 13+, 0 positive messages, 0 role models, 4* violence, 3* sex, 3* language, 0 consumerism, 0 drinking drugs & smoking. 

Ad Astra 2019

     Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system.   He wants to uncover the truth about his missing father.  His father had a doomed expedition that may threaten the universe 30 years later.  Roy’s journey could uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos?

     Space travel is just the setting for this film.  It is also the emotional odyssey of a man who’s trying to make peace with his conflicted feelings about his father.  Major Roy McBride is an admirable man, courageous, calm and thoughtful.  He is living in a future with race, gender and age having equal professional footing.  There are gun battles, moon battles with explosions, solar flares, an animal attack and characters die.  Much of the sound is muted through the quiet of a spacesuit.  This is like a psychological chess game.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)    

123 min, Adventure directed and written by James Gray and also written by Ethan Gross with Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Kimberly Elise, Loren Dean, Donnie Keshawarz, Sean Blakemore, Bobby Nish, LisaGay Hamilton, John Finn, John Ortiz, Freda Foh Shen, Kayla Adams, Ravi Kapoor.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10 with 173,745 reviews, Roger Ebert 4* Brian Tallerico, Rotten Tomatoes 84% with 368 critics 40% with 10,262 audience scores, RollingStone 4* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Mark Kermode, Common Sense Media Tara McNamara, 13+ age, 3* positive messages, 3* role models, 3* violence, 1* sex, 3* language, 2* consumerism, 1* drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  The title means to the stars in Latin.  It is often used as a shorthand for Per Aspera Ad Astra (through hardships to the stars).  Director James Gray had to compromise with the studio on the ending.  Even with a major star/producer Brad Pitt, they still struggled for years to get this film completed.  Tommy Lee Jones seems very old but he is 16 years older than Brad Pitt.  The proposed engine used by Roy’s craft is a theoretical electric propulsion engine.  This explains how the craft is able to travel to Neptune without the need for fuel because the fuel is provided by solar arrays.

Poms 2019

     POMS is a comedy about a group of women who form a cheer leading squad at their retirement community, proving that you're never too old to 'bring it on!’  It is based on a true story about a group of ladies called the Sun City Poms.  This film is about women facing their old age as they choose to live.  Some in isolation, in denial, willing to be inspired, afraid to be seen as failures.  There is nothing groundbreaking in the writing but most of us live ordinary lives.  The acting is out of the ordinary by the seniors.  There is too much focus on Diane Keaton but it’s her story to tell?  The women show a lot of spunk in their roles!!     
     When I looked up POMS on Amazon for reviews, the rating was for 100% Pomegranate Juice drink?  There is also a documentary movie titled POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  Pomeranian puppies for sale is also a listing!!  There is a good ensemble cast but there are many cliches including references to plucky underdogs can triumph, friends are really important and life is short so live it fully.  3* (this movie is OK)
 
90 min, Comedy directed and written by Zara Hayes and also written by Shane Atkinson with Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Celia Weston, Alisha Boe, Charlie Tahan, Rhea Perlman, Phyllis Somerville, Pam Grier, Patricia French, Ginny MacColl, Carol Sutton, Bruce McGill, Alexandra Ficken, David Maldonado, Karen Beyer.

Imdb 5.9 out of 10 with 3516 reviews, Roger Ebert 2 1/2* Nell Minow, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 868 ratings, Rotten Tomatoes 36% with 84 critics 74% with 839 user ratings, Metacritic 36 out of 100 with 17 critic reviews (positive 3, mixed 7, negative 7), 6 out of 10 with 15 user scores (positive 7, mixed 4, negative 4), indiewire.com Grade D.

Special Note:  Patricia French appears with Diane Keaton, Pam Grier, Rhea Perlman, Phyllis Somerville and Jacki Weaver on the DVD cover but her name isn’t listed?  Celia Weston’s name appears but her picture is not on the cover?  There is a mistake in the scene with Martha stuck behind a gold cart upon her arrival.  The camera shows her in her car from the side.  In this shot she’s moving much faster and the background is totally different.  I looks like the filmmakers simply inserted a shot from her on the freeway by a mountainside from earlier in the film?  Sheryl walks up to Martha’s house saying she hoped her new neighbor would be a man.  There was clearly a “Welcome Martha” sign in the front yard.  Sheryl should have known the new neighbor is a woman?  In the closing credits, “Stars and Stripes Forever” is misspelled as “Stars and Stripe Forever?”  The rating is PG-13 for some language and sexual references.

Box Office:  $10,000,000 estimated budget, opening weekend USA $5,361,937, gross USA $13,631,124, cumulative worldwide gross $16,418,218 for a profit of $64,182,218.