The Reluctant Fundamentalist 2012

     Based on a best seller novel written by Mosin Hamid.  Changez Khan came to America because he thought the playing field would be level in this country.  He was able to attend Princeton on scholarships and a well-known Wall Street firm hired him as a business analyst.  He's on the fast track to fulfill his dreams.  He meets Erica and they become a couple.  She is still morning her previous boyfriend who was killed in a car accident.  Everything changes after the World Trade Center disaster.  Changez doesn't need to choose sides, they are chosen for him because he is seen as an enemy from Pakistan.

     I could tell right away this film was based on a novel.  The characters don't seem real enough even though the events could be real.  Everything seems to remain on the novel pages and they don't come to life on the screen?  There are heavy themes including alienation, discrimination, terrorism or the threat of it, economics and geopolitical strife.  Teens may see it's appeal minimized?  Some edgy and intense content with kidnapping, shootings, demonstrations, moments where violent picture appear.  Some swearing, social drinking, kissing rolling around and naked shoulders.  It is unlike most post 9/11 films since it revolves around a young Pakistani man who dares to live the American dream but he faces a bitter reality check?  2 1/2* (This movie was so-so)

130 min, Drama directed by Mira Nair and written by Javed Akhtar, Ami Boghani, Mohsin Hamid, William Wheeler with Riz Ahmed, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Kate Hudson, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Martin Donovan, Nelsan Ellis, Haluk Bilginer, Meesha Sahfi.

Note:  Goodreads gives the novel 3.72 out of 5* with 59,779 ratings and 6,098 reviews, Imdb 6.9 out of 10 with 13,150 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 57% with 98 critics 61% with 5,587 user ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Omer M. Mozaffar, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 119 reviews, Metacritic 54 out of 100 with 28 critic reviews (12 positive, 13 mixed, 3 negative, 8.1 out of 10 with 23 ratings (19 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative), Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robeldo, age 17+, 2* positive messages, 3* role models, 3* violence, 3* sex, 3* language, 3* consumerism, 2* drinking, drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  The name Changez is a Pakistani version of Genghis from Genghis Khan.  On the first day of filming in the tea shop,  one of the main actors in the scene refused to say their lines as previously discussed and rehearsed.  There was a frantic rewrite of the script in a race against the shooting schedule.  The actor was not named but it can be assumed that it was Liev Schreiber or Riz Ahmed?

Chef’s Table: Pastry’ Recap: Christina Tosi:

     I am writing about these cakes because I watched this program and I also had slices of two of her cakes.  The vanilla and the chocolate birthday cakes.  Christina is a New York City based chef/restaurateur and she built a trend-setting bakery inspired by her love of a classic American treat, breakfast cereals.  She opened the first Milk Bar in 2008 in New York City and she now operates several locations throughout North America as well as an online business.  She has written three cookbooks and her latest was published in October 2018.  
     Tosi was a picky eater and she had a crazy sweet tooth,  She studied hard and graduated from college with high marks but she didn’t want a standard 9-5 job.  She moved to New York City and she dreamed of being a pastry chef.  Her biggest break came when she started working for Wylie Dufresen at his restaurant wd-50.  She created crack pie and this is now a Milk Bar staple.  After a couple of years she connected with David Chang at Dufresne’s suggestion.  She started out upgrading the food safety plan at Momofuki Noodle Bar.  Chang then hired her to help run the business side and also make her desserts.  
     Tosi came up with a cereal milk pana cotta and Chang was blown away.  It was served for an opening night and he encouraged her to open an entire concept shop centered on cereal milk in a vacant space his company had acquired.  Milk Bar was born.  There was a line out the door on day one and business steady increased.
     Her desserts can be mail ordered and she offers birthday cake, strawberry shortcake cake, chocolate birthday cake and gluten free birthday cake.  They are available in 6” and 10”.  She also makes pies, cookies, birthday cake truffles, corn cookie, perfect 10 cookie, best freaking cookie, SoulCycle cookie, crack pie, compost cookie, confetti cookie, blueberry & cream cookie, chocolate malt cake truffles, chocolate chocolate cookie, cornflake marshmallow cookie, bagel bomb.
     If you are able to order from one of the Milk Bars in person you can get blueberry pie shake, cereal milk jug, birthday cake shake, birthday milk quake, strawberry & corn milk quake, chocolate pretzel dulce milkquake, chocolate malt cake shake, egg and sausage bomb, crunchy cereal shake, the coffee+donut waffle cone, egg and cheddar bomb, spinach artichoke bomb.
     I liked both the birthday cake and the chocolate birthday cake.  I like the chocolate cake best!!  It’s the lightness of the cake, the chocolate and the not too sweet but fluffiness of the frosting!!  These items are what sets these cakes apart.  Plus, they come in 3 layers with the frosting in between and on top.  Also, pressed into the first layer of the frosting are small sugar cookie balls and they are good too.  Multicolored sprinkles are another addition.  I give these cakes 5*!!   
 

The Code Season 1 2014, Episode 5 & 6:

      Ned and Jesse uncover the truth about the Physanto truck’s cargo.  Niko takes Hani captive and he sends a picture of her with a plastic bag over her head to Jesse.  He will exchange Hani for the decrypted files.  Ned and Jesse don’t want to hand over the files but they really don’t have a choice if they want to save Hani.  Jesse and Ned are after Niko Gaelle about the decrypted files but there is a glitch in their plan.  Sophie engineers an elaborate snare to trap the master puppeteer behind Physanto and the files. 

     There is a LOT of drama in these two episodes since they are the last two of Season One.  Jesse and Ned had struck a deal with the government for Jesse’s freedom from the hacking charges.  But now they are involved again with the encrypted files.  Andy King killed a woman working at Physanto when she refused to give him more information about the company.  King is the one that has tied up Hani’s Iranian parents and kidnapped Hani.  He is desperate to save his faltering black-market deal for the files.  If the files go onto the black market, any county with the resources can build nuclear weapons.  
        
60 min each episode, created and written by Shelley Birse, Blake Ashford, Justin Monjo and directed by Shawn Seet with Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman, Adele Persovic, Adam Garcia, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Paul Tassone, Dan Wylie, Luch Lawless, Aden Yound, David Wenham.

 

Note:  Imdb Episode Five 8.1* out of 10* with 125 reviews, Episode 6 8.2* out of 10* with 120 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 56% audience score with 9 ratings, Metacritic 56 out of 100 with 5 critic reviews (1 positive 4 mixed 0 negative), Amazon 3 1/2* out of 4* with 113 reviews. 

The Code Season 1 2014, Episode Three & Four

     Two Canberra based brothers, Ned and Jesse become entangled in a cover up that involves a remote outback community and key members of the Australian Government.  Big Money - Top Secret and they learn there are people who are being harmed and/or silenced along the way.  Clarence is nearly drowned by someone involved with the truck accident incident.  Jesse meets Hani Parande and he really likes her.  Ned believes that Hani has an ulterior motive for hanging out with Jesse?  She came from Iran with her parents and they have visas that could be revoked by the Australian Government?

     I’m still not sure the truck was carrying that got two Australian teens in trouble, one killed and another almost drowned?  Sophie Walsh has tried to do searches on the office computer but she gets the notices that she doesn’t have clearance for the information?  3 1/2* (I liked this series)

       
60 min each episode, created and written by Shelley Birse, Blake Ashford, Justin Monjo and directed by Shawn Seet with Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman, Adele Persovic, Adam Garcia, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Paul Tassone, Dan Wylie, Luch Lawless, Aden Yound, David Wenham.

     Note:  Imdb Episode 3, 8* out of 10* with 39 reviews, Episode 4 8* out of 10* with 123 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 56% audience score with 9 ratings, Metacritic 56 out of 100 with 5 critic reviews (1 positive 4 Mixed 0 negative). 

 
Special Note:  Canberra is the capital city of Australia.  It is known for the parliament buildings, the Parliamentary Triangle, fantastic festivals and a celebration of the city’s many spring blooms.  It is an expensive city because the average weekly income is the highest in the country, $1,803.01 before taxes.  Shelley Birse was nominated for a 2015 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Award in the Betty Roland Prize for script writing category for The Code Episode #1.1. Blake Ayshford, Shelley Birse & Justin Monjo won a 2015 Australian Writers Guild Award in the Major Award Winner category for The Code 2014. 

The Code Season 1 2014, Episode One & Two

      Ned and Jesse face political pressure after publishing a video of an accident involving two teens and a truck from a top secret research facility.  Ned was driving and he accidentally tapped the back of the  truck.  For some reason Jesse was pushed over a cliff in the car and she died.  Why would a bloodied Ned be left on the road and Jesse killed?  There must be something in the truck that no one is supposed to know about?  Ned travels to probe details about the truck accident in Lindara.  This is a fictional town filmed in Broken Hill, Silverton, New South Wales and Cockburn Australia  Jesse is kidnapped and held blindfolded in an empty holding cell?  Ned doesn’t know what is happening to Jesse, he only thinks that Jesse isn’t home and he’s not answering calls.  Ned is very worried because he knows there is something very wrong about what they found on the internet.  

     This series is set in Australia and there are six episodes.  Jesse is autistic and he has difficulties interacting with people.  He is a computer wiz, he was arrested once and put in jail for hacking.  Ned works press briefings in the federal building and he is also a newspaperman for an online news company.  There is a Season 2 of The Code.  I recently watched another series with Lucy Lawless titled My Life is Murder.  Lucy is totally different in this film.  3 1/2* (I liked this episode)

60 min each episode, created and written by Shelley Birse, Blake Ashford, Justin Monjo and directed by Shawn Seet with Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman, Adele Persovic, Adam Garcia, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Paul Tassone, Dan Wylie, Luch Lawless, Aden Yound, David Wenham.
     
Note:  Imdb Episode One 7.9* out of 10* with 195 reviews, Episode Two 8* out of 10* with 154 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 56% audience score with 9 ratings, Metacritic 56 out of 100 with 5 critic reviews (1 positive 4 mixed 0 negative).

Vera Season 9 of 2019: Episode Two, Cukoo

      An unidentified teenage boy is found murdered in the coastal town of Peyton-by-the-Sea at a boat shipyard.  It is far away from his home town and an investigation shows he has been reported as a missing person.  He left the home of his support worker and he has a younger brother still living at this home?  CC TV footage from a train station gives his picture and the time he left the train.  Missing Persons shows he has been missing for six weeks and his name is Caden Lennon.  Vera learns that this quiet community has been plagued by a serious drug problem.  Supposedly, the only known dealer in the area has turned his back on crime?  Another person my have stepped into this drug market?  There is a wall of silence surrounding the death of this teen boy and a new drug dealer may be the explanation?

     Vera is sharp and so is her team.  They start right away with interviews and gathering important information.  The coroner states that Caden was killed by stab wounds and one severed an artery.  There were also traces of drugs in his system.  A local police officer is under suspicion and he is cautioned more than once not to delve into information about the case.  This isn’t his case, it’s Vera’s case and her department!!  This seemingly peaceful town seems sleepy and peaceful but it has a dark underbelly!!   5* (I really liked this episode.  (I really like this series)   

89 min, Crime directed by Paul Gay and written by Ann Cleevses (characters) and Paul Logue with Brenda Blethyn, Denny Doughty, Jon Morrison, Ibinabo Jack, Riley Jones, Paul Kaye, Peter Davison, Adrian Lukis, Jodie McNee, Amira Ghazalla, Seeta Indraini, Andrew Readman, Faith Alabi.

Note:  Imdb 8 out of 10 with 286 reviews, Amazon 4 1/2* with 148 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 1 critic rating and 6 user ratings, The Telegraph 2* out of 5* Michael Hogan, inews.co.uk 3* Jeff Robson.

Vera Season 9 of 2019, Episode One: Blind Spot:

     Vera investigates the murder of a 26 year old trainee forensic psychologist.  Joanne Caswell is found dead on a Northumberland landfill site.  There is an unpleasant smell at the rubbish area and it is blamed on methane gas.  This can’t be true because methane is an odorless gas although it is a commonly held belief that there is a smell attributed to methane.  Joanne works for the prison service and she is newly qualified.   She has been looking at a possible error in the case of a football coach who confessed to the murder of a teenager.  

     Vera is hardworking, she adds all the pieces together one at a time.  She does have help from her team, they delve into all the relevant information and people involved in the case.  There are LOT of twists and turns in this mystery!!  The earlier case adds additional background to the events of this murder.  It is possible that Joanne was getting close to sensitive information that someone wanted to remain hidden.  Is it damaging enough to result in a murder.  There are many suspects to sift through.  One of the pluses to this series is the scenes of the Northumberland countryside.  Her preferred travel vehicle is a battered Land Rover.  5* (I really like this series)   

89 min, Crime directed by Paul Gay and written by Ann Cleevses (characters) and Paul Logue with Brenda Blethyn, Denny Doughty, Jon Morrison, Ibinabo Jack, Riley Jones, Paul Kaye, Peter Davison, Adrian Lukis, Jodie McNee, Amira Ghazalla, Seeta Indraini, Andrew Readman, Faith Alabi.

Note:  Imdb 8 out of 10 with 286 reviews, Amazon 4 1/2* with 148 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 1 critic rating and 6 user ratings, The Telegraph 2* out of 5* Michael Hogan, inews.co.uk 3* Jeff Robson.

Bombshell 2019

      Gretchen Carlson brings a law suit against Fox News founder Roger Ailes.  She is alleging sexual harassment.  Everyone is wondering what will happen next?  Fox News correspondent Megyn Kelly comes forward with her own story of harassment.  Multiple other women decide to add their stories and this becomes a movement that reverberates around the world.  It came to be known as the Me Too Movement.  

     Sexual harassment includes any unwelcome sexual advances and it can be verbal or physical contact.  This is a fact-based drama and it is eye-opening about how Roger Ailes treated the women at Fox News.  This film can serve as a useful tool for parents to share with older teens as a warning about manipulation.  How it’s difficult to counter sexist behavior and how women really feel about it.  There is smoking by a powerful figure, lots of swearing and crass language.  The environment is highly political but there aren’t any discussions about politics.  5* (I really liked this movie)

109 min, bio directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph with Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Malcolm McDowell, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Liv Hewson, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Rob Delaney, Mark Duplass.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 68,467 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 69% with 313 critics 84% with 6,822 audience ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Christy Lemire, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Simran Hans, Metacritic 64 out of 100 with 46 critic reviews,  27 positive, 18 mixed, 1 negative, 6.2 with 147 user scores, 81 positive, 43 mixed, 23 negative), Common Sense Media, Tara McNamara, age 15+, 4* positive messages, 4* role models, 2* violence, 3* sex, 4* language, 3* drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 11,679 reviews.  5* (I really liked this movie)

Special Note:  Director Jay Roach is best known for his Austin Powers movies.  Make-up turns Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly and many fans were confused about who was the actress playing Kelly.  Some thought her to be Elizabeth Banks?  I had trouble keeping all the blonds in order!!  The scene with Kayla Pospisil being asked to lift up her skirt was filmed with multiple cameras capturing all the angles at once.  Jay Roach wanted Margot to do this scene in one take.  Kayla Pospisil is the only main character not based on a real person.  She is a combination of real-life people or experiences rolled into one character.  Josh and Ben Lawson play the Murdoch brothers and they are brothers in real life. 

DCI Banks: Cold Is The Grave: Part 1, Season 1, Episode 7, 2010:

      This series is based on novels written by Peter Robinson. Detective Inspector Banks is asked by his superior officer, Chief Superintendent Rydell to find his missing teenage daughter, Emily.  Banks is going out on a limb on this investigation because he should not be looking into this case.  Banks learns that Emily is in the Soho neighborhood of London and she is living with a violent criminal, Barry Clough.      

     Emily is returned to her parents and her mother Rosalind Rydell is very happy.  Rosalind had been very distraught over Emily’s absence.  Along with the Rydell case, the department is working the murder of Charlie McKay.  He stole money from a bar in Eastvale, wrecked a stolen van and he was murdered in a gangland execution.  Banks is still worried about Emily even though she has been returned to her parents.  She said in front of Banks and Clough at a large party that she had incriminating evidence about Clough.  Emily disappears again and Clough’s henchman Niall Gilbert has been following Emily and Banks?

     There is a LOT going on in this episode.  Banks has only an internet lead to follow in his search for Emily.  It was very dangerous for Emily and her family plus Banks for her to disclose that she has dirt on Clough.  Barry Clough will stop at nothing to have a “clean” reputation!!  Plus, he has plenty of money to hire people to gladly do his dirty work.  Banks runs into some pitfalls and some of his officers are suspicious about his behavior concerning Emily??  This is only conjecture but it does add to the burden for Banks.  Down the road, will there be blow back for getting involved in this case?  5* (I liked this series)     

Seven seasons, each episode is 48 min long, crime, directed by Marek Losey and written by Andrea Lowe and Lorraine Burroughs with Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe, Lorraine Burroughs, Jack Deam, Colin Tierney, Adonis Anthony, Ross Armstrong, Ross Boatman, James Boyland, Sam Chapman, Scott Dyet, Paddy Fletcher, Gemma Hepworth, Ellie Jacob.

Note:  Goodreads gives the book 4.06* out of 5* with 5,510 ratings and 239 reviews, Imdb 7.8* out of 10* with 256 reviews, Amazon 4 1/2* with 373 reviews, google.com 4 1/2* with 121 reviews.

Knives Out 2019

     Renowned crime Novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday.  Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.  The family and his private nurse are gathered together to discuss where they were and what they were doing at the time of Harlan’s death.  A complication is that his private nurse Marta Cabrera receives all the money from Hanlan's estate.  All of the family members are appalled and horrified that they have been cut out of the money!!  Despite the seriousness of Blanc’s investigation, the family members tell self-serving lies and create red herrings to complicate the inquiry.

     This movie is like the films based on Agatha Christie stories.  There is a murder victim with some blood, fighting including punching, slapping, arguing and harsh language between relatives and an employee.  One married man is said to have had an affair.  People drink at a party, characters smoke cigars and pot.  Prescription medications are injected, there is talk about a morphine addict.  There are both elements of mystery and comedy.  What stands out is the message that kindness and compassion are important qualities in a person.  Lying and depending on monetarily supported and jobs from a relative can lead to jealously, hatred, competition and comparisons between relatives about what they are receiving.  I wondered why the makeup of some of the women made them look very old and wrinkled.  Some of the men also looked old, wrinkled and with fake tans.  I think that Daniel Craig’s strange accent was to separate him from his James Bond character.  Also, I think he is wearing a heavy coat to increase his size to make him seem more authoritative?  4 1/2* (I liked this movie)

    
130 min, Crime directed and written by Rian Johnson with Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katerine Langford, Jadeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, K. Callan, Noah Segan, M. Emmet Walsh, Marlene Forte, Raul Castillo, Kerry Frances.

Note:  Imdb 7.9* out of 10* with 370,875, Rotten Tomatoes 97% with 447 critics 92% with 33,830 audience scores, Roger Ebert 3 1/2* Brian Tallerico, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Mark Kermode, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 13+, positive messages 3*, role models 2*, violence 4*, sex, language 3*, consumerism 2*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*.

Special Note:  Released 27 November 2019 in the USA.  K Callan plays Christopher Plummer’s mother in this film and she is actually six years younger than Plummer?  Agatha Christie also died at the age of 85 and she authored many mystery stories.  Most of the F bombs in the script were removed to secure a PG-13 rating.  Also, the director wanted to keep the film more like the mystery films he used to watch with his family growing up.  There are several artworks and window designs in the mansion featuring memento mori, depicting scenes of everyday life populated by skeletons or souls.  Memento mori translates remember you are mortal and was popular in Victorian times.  It is to remind individuals that death comes for all people, rich or poor. 

DCI Banks: Playing with Fire Part 1 2010

     DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.  In this episode, a young woman is killed at the top of a hill near a power line tower on Eastvale moor.  She is Lucy Payne and she was in a previous episodes as the women who helped her husband kidnap and murder five young women.  She is now paralyzed, in a wheelchair and scarred by acid after being attacked in prison.  Her throat was cut and she had been living in a local care home since she can’t talk or take care of herself.

     A local girl is found murdered in an alleyway in the town center.  She had been out partying with her friends the previous night and she has been strangled.  Banks is wondering if there is a serial killer involved in both the murders?  5* (I really liked this series)   

Note:  45 min each episode with Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe, Lorraine Burroughs, Danny Rahim, Colin Tierney.

Imdb 7.28 out of 10* with 281 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5*, The Telegraph 2* out of 4* Michale Hogan, Ebay 5* with 2 ratings, TV.com 8.5* out of 10, Amazon 7.2 out of 10 with 281 reviews, Goodreads gives the book 4.06* out of 5* with 4,284 ratings and 253 reviews.

Special Note:  DCI means Detective Chief Inspector, usually a minimum rank held by a senior investigation officer (SIO) who heads major investigations such as murder.  DS/PS is Detective Sergeant/Police Sergeant.  The first supervisory rank.  Senior to that of a Constable and junior to the rank of Inspector.   DI is Detective Inspector.

DCI Banks 2010: Aftermath Part 2

     Two houseboats moored on a stretch of a Yorkshire canal are charred and blackened after a fire.  One of the victims on one of the boats is Leslie Whittaker and he is a second-hand bookseller.  It is found that he was drugged and then his barge was set on fire.

     Next to Whittaker’s boat is another boat that was also set afire but it sank.  On this boat is local student Cristina Aspen.  She was hit on her head with a blunt object and her body came to the surface.  

     A unusual angle about the fires is that there is an oil painting on board Whittaker’s boat that may be a very valuable original Turner painting.  There is also 25,000 pounds in cash on the boat.

     An investigation of Whittaker’s death leads to Jake McMahon, he is a local artist known to have connections with Whittaker.  A post mortem shows that Whittaker had been drudged prior to the time of the fire.  There was no chance he could escape once the boat was on fire.  Cristina Aspen was also drugged before she died.  Tensions rise when Banks questions Cristina’s father and his much younger wife. 5* (I really liked this series)

Each Episode 45 minutes, 32 episodes, crime, series 2010-2016 with Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe, Lorraine Burroughs, Colin Tierney, Dennis Hewitt, Charlotte Riley, Samuel Roukin.

      
Note:  Imdb 7.28 out of 10* with 281 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5*, The Telegraph 2* out of 4* Michale Hogan, Ebay 5* with 2 ratings, TV.com 8.5* out of 10. 

Dirty Girl 2010

      The year is 1987, Danielle is the “bad girl” of Norman High School in Oklahoma.  She’s in trouble again and 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 named Joan to represent their 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.

      Danielle is foul mouthed, promiscuous and cigarette smoking.  Clarke is looking for some kind of family connection.  There is nearly constant strong language, heavy sexual innuendo and sexual suggestions.  A violent scene of a father beating up his teen son. 

       This is funny but has a serious side too.  Danielle has a vintage red Mustang convertible.  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, William Horwich, Gary Grubbs.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10 10,238 customer ratings, 27% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 242 customer ratings, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, positive messages 0*, role models 0*, violence 2*, sex 4*, language 5*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*.

Special Note:  The hairstyles of Mary Steenburgen and Mill 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 their scenes.  There is a web site online about Dirty Girl Farm. 

Chesapeake Shores: Season 3 2018

     This series is based on books by Sherryl Woods.  Singer Trace returns to Abby after three months on tour and the discovers a family in turmoil.  Nell tries to save the Wish Foundation.  Abby discovers a never-opened letter sent to Trace.  Abby’s family questions Trace’s role in Abby’s family.  

     I did not get very far into this series.  I don’t know how they found so many beautiful people to be the characters in this series?  Everyone has perfect attire, perfect hair and they are always squabbling about something?  So many hidden secrets, I couldn’t keep track of any of them and who the characters were?  I wondered how many hair stylists and wardrobe people they had on set to take care of the characters?  2* (I didn’t like this series) 

264 min, 4 discs with Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, Barbara Niven, Laci J Mailey, Emilie Ullerup, Diane Ladd, Treat Williams, Brendan Penny, Andrew Francis, Kayden and Abbie Magnuson, Britt Irvin, Jessica Sipos, Carlo Marks, Brittany Willacy, Oliver Rice. 

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10 wit 3992 reviews, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 192 ratings, Hallmark 5* out of 5* with 5 reviews, Common Sense Media Emily Ashby, age 10+, positive messages 5*, role models 4*,

Episode Titles:  An Open Book, The Way We Were, The Rock is Going to Roll, Once Upon Ever After, Love Eventually, Here and There, It’s Just Business, All Our Tomorrows, Forward to the Past, Before a Following Sea.

Special Note:  I really liked a review on google.com:  These two acting powerhouses (Jesse Metcalfe and Meghan Ory) alone may make the show worth watching, and the giddy chemistry of the romantic leads certainly doesn't hurt. Here in Cliché Shores, you can live a quiet, sanitized life surrounded by all those hackneyed themes and characters you expect from lightweight escapist paperbacks.

DCI Banks 2010, Aftermath Part 1

     This series is based the Inspector Banks novels written by Peter Robinson.  A police officer is killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call.  A neighbor across the street initiated the call to the police.  DCI Alan Banks is called to investigate.  There are four bodies all women in the cellar.  The wife has been hit on the back of her head by her husband by a blunt object.  The husband is dead and the assisting officer killed him with her baton after he killed the lead police officer.  DCI Banks is desperate to find the fifth victim, it’s possible she is still alive?  All five women had been reported missing by their families.

     Four of the missing women have been found but a fifth woman isn’t at the scene and she was also reported as missing.  The wife has denied any involvement in the murders but is it possible she is lying or is she also a victim?  The officer who killed the husband may be facing charges?  5* (I really liked this episode)

Each Episode 45 minutes, 32 episodes, crime, series 2010-2016 with Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe, Lorraine Burroughs, Colin Tierney, Dennis Hewitt, Charlotte Riley, Samuel Roukin.    

Note:  Imdb 7.* out of 10* with 5,266 reviews, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 169 ratings, Imdb 10 out of 10*, The Telegraph 2* out of 4* Michael Hogan, Ebay 5* with 2 ratings, TV.com 8.5* out of 10*.

Special Note:  There can be a lot of violence and shocking scenes in this series.  Jack Deam is also Inspector Mallory on the Father Brown series.  In Father Brown, he's always wrong and always making mistakes but that isn't the case in this series.  He seems very competent.

Absentia: Season Three 2020

      Emily Burn ends her FBI suspension in Boston and she is trying to come to terms with her fears.  She sees risk everywhere she looks and she can’t find a reason to trust anyone.  Her ex-husband Nick Durand and current FBI agent is taken captive.  Emily is not allowed to follow the case but she doesn’t listen.  She gets help from Kai, she is a young girl following a case of murders for body parts.  Nick is being held in a secure facility and he is being tortured.  Emily refuses to think Nick is dead.  Emily meets a very dangerous Dawkins and he could lead her to Nick.  Cal and Emily leave to find Nick.  Emily and Cal find they may have another mission other than Nick.

     I think there could be another three season set of this series.  The ending caused me to think this is possible.  This first group of episodes were all filmed in one session in Sofia Bulgaria.  I don’t know what the body count is in each episode?  I think it would be too difficult to keep track and also pay attention to everything that is happening.  

     This is a police drama with some very disturbing scenes and gory details.  There are beatings, some characters are killed, there is a lot of suspense with characters stalked and followed, there are shootings, tortures, mass killings, serial killings, kidnappings.  There is a possibility of a mole inside the FBI?  5* (I really liked this series)   

 
Each episode 38-55 min, 10 episodes each season, 3 seasons, Crime created by Matthew Cirulnick and Gala Ciolo with Stana Datic, Patrick Heusinger, Neill Jackson, Paul Freeman, Christopher Colquhoun, Patrick McAuley, Cara Theobold, Matthew Le Nevez, Natasha Little, Angel Bonanni.

Note:  Rotten Tomatoes 78% audience with 32 ratings, Amazon 4 1/2* with 288 ratings, Common Sense Media, Mark Dolan, age 17+, positive messages 0*, role models 1*, violence 5*, sex 3*, language 4*, drinking drugs & smoking 2*.

Episode Titles in Latin and English:  Tabula Rasa (Clean Slate), Capta Est (Taken), Nosce Inimicum (Know the Enemy), Alea Iacta Est (Throw the Dice), Quid Pro Quo (Without Any), In Quo Ego Vado Vos (I Will Go), Liberavit, Veritas Aequitas Truth Equity), Tenebris (Darkness) Iterum Nata (Again NATO).

Borat 2006

     Borat Sagdiyev is a TV reporter on a popular show in Kazakhstan. He is the sixth most famous man and a leading journalist in Kazakhstan.  His government sends him to America to make a documentary about American society and culture.  Borat takes a course in New York City to understand America humor.  Borat is watching Baywatch on TV and he discovers how beautiful the American women are.  He is watching C.J. Parker played by actress Pamela Anderson.  She is from Malibu California and Borat decides to travel there to make her is wife.  He will also take her back to his country.  Along the way, Borat and his producer meet strange and wonderful Americans.  They are real people in real chaotic situations with very funny consequences.

     Basically, this is a raunchy and vulgar comedy.  Borat uses his character to expose the effects of ignorance by targeting ignorant behavior.  This is absolutely not kid entertainment unless their eyes and ears are covered!!  Borat lampoons Americans’ sexism, racism, homophobia, bias against Jews, religious intolerance, classism and ageism.  He puts people on the spot and flings questions at them.  Includes naked men wrestling, visual gags about prostitution, feminism and marriage, toilet humor, some physical fighting and clumsiness.  Jokes aimed at church practices, Jews, rodeos, cowboys, etiquette, patriotic pride, hip hop culture, college fraternities.  Many instances of language use.  I wonder if anything was omitted from this film that could have been made into a joke? 

     It is impossible not to laugh at the jokes.  Borat acts so innocently and some of the funniest parts are the reactions of the people he is meeting.  Sometimes I felt guilty for laughing!!  Then, I would think about Borat not being a real person but an actor.  On the other side of the coin, Borat is so stupid and this makes the film work?  The people Borat interacts with are thugs, ghetto guys, everyday people, stuffy upper middle class people, racists and politicians.  3* (This movie is OK)

Comedy 84 min, directed by Larry Charles and written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Todd Phillips with Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Chester, Charlie.

Note:  Imdb 7.3* out of 10* with 346,069 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 91% with 220 critics 79% audience with 1,204,688 ratings, Roger Ebert 4* Jim Emerson, The Guardian 5* Peter Bradshaw,  Common Sense Media Cynthia Fuchs, age 14+, positive messages 2*, role models 0*, violence 3*, sex 5*, language 4*, consumerism 1*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*. Rollingstone 4* Peter Travers, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 2222 reviews.

Special Note:  During the production of this film, the police were called on Sacha Baron Cohen 92 times?  When Sacha speaks Kazakh, it is mainly Hebrew disguised by a heavy fake Eastern European accent.  The Hebrew is understandable and contains many jokes.  Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Steve Martin contacted Sacha about a cameo role in the movie.  Sacha thought they would ruin some of the gags if they knew what was going on?  The FBI assigned a team to Sacha during filming because of numerous reports of a middle eastern man traveling the mid west in an ice cream truck?  Borat is based on a Russian doctor Sacha once met.  He said the doctor was completely hilarious but it was unintentional?

Harriet 2019

     This film is based on the life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman.  She escaped from slavery and transformed into one of America’s greatest heroes.  She had courage, ingenuity and tenacity and she freed hundreds of slaves.  She also changed the course of history.

     Harriet experienced visions and it is likely that she did have these episodes.  She had a  brutal head injury when she was a young girl.  When Harriet leaves the plantation, her name is put on a list of conductors.  There are four names visible on the list.  The first name isn’t clear but the other three names are Lewis Napoleon 21-2 (91.3% success rate), Moses Pinkett 28-5 (84.8%) and John Clay 43-7 (86.0%).  Harriet claims she had never lost a slave and her rating was 100% success rate. 

     This film is intense and the violence is often upsetting and almost all aimed at black characters both free and slaves.  Some die from brutal beatings and gun violence.  Families are separated when slaves are sold and slaves tell stories of the what they have experienced in their lives.  Harriet took 19 trips into the South to bring more than 300 slaves to freedom.   

125 min, Action directed and written by Kasi Lemmons and also written by Gregory Allen Howard with Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Clarke Peters, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Omar J. Dorsey, Henry Hunter Hall, Tim Guinee, Nick Basta, Joseph Lee Anderson, Antonio J Bell, CJ McBath, Alexis Louder, Aria Brooks, Janelle Monae.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10 with 16,345 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 73% with 217 critics 97% audience with 12,138 ratings, Roger Ebert 3* Tomris Laffly, Common Sense Media, Sandie Angulo Chen, age 12+, positive messages 4*, role models 4*, violence 4*, sex 2*, language 3*, drinking drugs & smoking 1*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Simran Hans, Washington Post 3* Ann Hornaday, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 13,866 reviews.

Special Note:  This is the first feature film to be made about the life of Harriet Tubman.  Cynthia Erivo was chosen for the title role because she had won a Tony, Grammy and Emmy for The Color Purple musical on Broadway.  Leslie Odom Jr. also won a Best Lead Actor in the musical Hamilton.  Harriet Tubman was 5 feet tall and Cynthia Erivo is 5 foot 1 inch. 
 

When Calls the Heart: Disputing Hearts: Season 6 Episode 6: 2019

     This film is based on a novel by Janette One (Love Comes Softly series) and the setting is the 1920’s.  Jealousy breaks out in Hope Valley when Gowen strikes oil on his property.  This event splits the town into the haves and the have-nots.  A young married couple sold their land and now they find out there was oil on the land.  Now they are sorry and feel cheated.  One man has a gate on his property that leads to other properties.  Now he wants to collect a toll for using the gate from the owners that have oil on their land.  Nathan has been offered a judgeship but he’s not sure if he wants to take it?  Nathan is urging him to accept the offer.  

     The local schoolteacher Elizabeth Thornton has a new young girl Allie as a student in her class.  She sees Allie gambling with other students and taking money from them?   She also notices Allie keeps to herself and doesn’t play or want to work with the other students.  She talks to Allie’s family to see what can be done to make changes in Allie’s behavior.  3* (This movie is OK)

     This is definitely a Hallmark film!!  Everyone is dressed in their Sunday best every day even though this is a rural area?  There is full makeup and hair styling?  There also has to be a LOT of drama in every scene.  The jealous feeling about the oil strike, a new student fitting into a class, no time since having a baby, decisions about jobs and relationships.  This is a drama after all!!   

84 min, Drama  This film is part of a Hallmark series with six seasons, directed by Mike Rohl and written by Elizabeth Stewart and Derek Thompson with Erin Krakow, Kavan Smith, Pascale Hutton, Chris McNally, Kevin McGarry, Paul Greene, Martin Cummins, Aren Buchholtz, Eva Bourne, Loretta Walsh, Andrea Brooks, Kayla Wallace Ben Rosenbaum, Sheri Rabold, Nick Hunnings.

Note:  Amazon 4.9* out of 5* with 19 ratings, Imdb 8.3 out of 10 with 64 ratings, hallmark.com 5* out of 5* with 2 reviews, wcth_tv 3,326 likes.

Special Note:  I didn’t know this before but every episode of this series has the word heart in the title.  Close to My Heart, Heart of a Teacher, Hearts and Minds etc.
 

The Way Back 2010

     The time setting for this film is 1941 and it is based on a novel by Slavomire Rawicz.  Three men attempt to leave the Gulag in communist Russia and four other men escape with them.  They find  a teenage girl, Irena Zielinska living in the forest.  The conditions are terrible with cold, heavy snow and they are all starving.  Janusz assumes leadership for the group.  Janusz is Polish, his wife was tortured to give evidence that he was against the government and this is how he came to the Gulag.  Janusz spent most of his younger days outdoors.  He knows how to live in the wild and find their direction by checking the bark on trees.  As they move on, the snow changes to intense heat.  Eventually, they don’t worry about being tracked down but the relentless physical conditions begin to wear on everyone.

     This is a WWII era adventure film focusing on prison and survival in the wilderness.  There is plenty of intense, disturbing imagery.  Blood, sickness, starvation, death, freezing, scorching heat, lice, mosquitos and relentless pounding by the environment.  There are also strong and inspiring messages related to teamwork, kindness and overcoming challenges.  Violence is infrequent but there is strong swearing.  Characters trade cigarettes and share vodka.  There is a lot of harshness but beneath is a very good story.  5* (I really liked this movie)    
    
133 min, Adventure directed and written by Peter Weir with Dragos Bucur, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Alexandru Potocean, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Stron, Gustaf Skarsgard, Jim Sturgess, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Zachary Baharov, Sally Brunski, Igor Gnezdilov, Dejan Anelov.
     
Note:  7.3 out of 10 with 107,921 reviews, 74% with 138 critics 72% with 33,795 audience scores, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, RollingStone 3 1/2* out of 5* Peter Travers, Common Sense Media, Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 14+, positive messages 3*, role models 3*, violence 3*, sex 3*, language 4*, consumerism 0*, drinking drugs & smoking 2*.

Special Note:  French adventurer Cyril Delafosse-Guiramand actually did the walk described in Slavomir Rawicz’s book.  He became a technical advisor for this film, he was inspired by the book and he took the walk of four thousand miles.  He works in the I.T. industry but his hobby is walking.  He coached the actors and he was on the set every day.  A 53 thousand 820 square foot Gulag Camp was built at Nu Boyana Studio in Sofia Bulgaria.  It is still there as of 2015, maintained by the studio and available for use in filming.  
 

The Beaches of Agnes 2008

     Agnes Varda explores her memories, most are chronologically in order with photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments and playful contemporary scenes of her narrating her story.  At this time, Agnes Varda is nearly 80 years old.  She grew up in Belgium, also living in Sete, Paris, and Norimoutier, France.  Originally, her first name was Arlette but she changed her name to Anges at the age of 18.   She was part of the New Wave movement and she also raised children.   A daughter Rosalie from a relationship with actor Antoine Bouseiller and a son Mathieu during her marriage to Jacques Demy.  Jacques passed away in 1990.  Agnes passed away from cancer on 29 March 2019 in Paris at the age of 90.

     Many of the films made by Agnes are about marginalized or rejected members of society and documentary in nature.  She made a short film on the Black Panthers after seeing their leader Huey Newton was arrested.  She created her own signature style by using the camera as a pen.  She believed that all roles should be working together simultaneously to create a more cohesive film.  Because of her photographic background, still images are often significant part of her films.  She directed and wrote 24 feature films from and 21 short films from 1955 to 2019.  She also worked on four television movies from 1970 to 2011.  5* (I really liked this film) 

112 min, Doc directed by Agnes Varda and written by Didier Rouget and Agnes Varda with Andre Lubrano, Blaise and Vinvent Fournier, Andree, Stephane and Christophe Vilar, Rosalie Varda, Mathieu Demy, Christophe Valllaux, Mireille Henrio, Didier Rouget.

Note:  Imdb 8* out of 10* with 3,177 reviews, Roger Ebert 4*, The Guardian 4* Peter Bradshaw, Rotten Tomatoes 96% with 71 critic reviews 89% with 1234 user rating, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 30 customer ratings, Slant Magazine 3* out of 4* Eric Henderson, Metacritic 86 out of 100 with 19 critic reviews (positive 19, mixed 0, negative 0), 7 out of 10 with 15 with user scores (positive 10, mixed 3, negative 2), Letterboxd 4.2* out of 5*.

 
Special Note:  Agnes won many awards during her career.  The BBC polled 368 film experts from 84 countries to name the 100 best films by women directors.  Agnes Varda was the most-named director with six different films on the list.   

Peppa Pig: Sunny Vacation 2011-12

     There are 6 editions of the Peppa the Pig series with 303 episodes from 2004-2019.  Usually 52 episodes in each edition except for 53 & 54 for the Christmas Special in 2007 and another Special with 3 episodes from 14 February 2015 and 6 March 2016.  The main characters are Peppa, her younger brother George, Mummy and Daddy.  This series is also available in other languages. 

     In this episode the family takes a plane to Italy.  Right away, Daddy pig doesn’t realize that the people in Italy drive on the other side of the road.  They are honking because their car is going in the wrong direction.  Daddy pig thinks they are being friendly so he honks back.  Peppa takes her yellow stuffed animal with her and she leaves it behind every time the family stops.  A policeman driving a scooter brings it back to Peppa every time!!  Peppa is having a fun time but she can’t wait to get home and see her friends.  4* (I really liked this episode)

Parent Reviews:  Peppa can be bossy and rude, this can cause children to mimic this behavior.  There is snorting from the pigs.  Peppa is sometimes disrespectful to her parents and she can portray spoiled behavior.  There is body shaming too.  Many parents feel children shouldn’t watch this series.     
   
1 disc, run time 60 minutes, 12 episodes.

Note:  Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 157 ratings, influenster.com 5* out of 5*,  Best Buy average review 4.6* out of 10 stars with 58 reviews, Common Sense Media age 3+, 5* out of 5*.

New Amsterdam: Season One 2018

      Dr. Max Goodwin is brilliant, charming and the new medical director at America’s oldest public hospital in New York.  He’s trying to tear down bureaucracy to provide exceptional care but the doctors and the staff are not so sure?  This has been the same story before with other directors but no one else has delivered on their promises?  The hospital is understaffed, underfunded and under appreciated.  Max wants to breath new life into the old ways of the establishment.  This hospital is the only place in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers Island Prison and the president of the US if necessary.  

     In this show there is nonstop medical tension.  Patients are coming in and their conditions are all stages of life and death.  They are bloody at times, in pain, they die, are diagnosed with diseases and can be treated, others are diagnosed but the prognosis is not good,  surgeries and injuries can be graphic and upsetting.  On the opposite side, doctors flirt with each other, sometimes date, there are romantic complications and kissing.  It is somewhat predictable, it has some soapiness and can be a bit tedious.  There is strong advocacy for socialist medicine but how can there be free care and medicine for everyone?  Who will pay the bill??  2 1/2* (This series is so-so)
    
TV series, each episode 43 minutes, 5 seasons with Ryan Eggold, Janet Montgomery, Freema Agyeman, Jocko Sims, Tyler Labine, Anupam Kher, Alejandro Hernandez, Margot Bringham, Lisa O’Hare, Diedre Friel.  

Note:  Imdb 8.2* out of 10* with 14,916 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 34% with 32 critics 82% with 50 user ratings, Common Sense Media, Joyce Slaton, age 14+, 3* positive messages, 3* role models, 3*violence, 2*sex, 0 language, 0 consumerism, 0 drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 385 reviews, 5*, Metacritic 47 out of 100 with 14 critic reviews (positive 2, mixed 8, negative 4), 5.4 out of 10 with 7 user scores (positive 4, mixed 0, negative 3).

Special Note:  This series is inspired by Bellevue Hospital in New York City and this hospital was established in 1736.   Somewhat based on Dr. Eric Manheimer’s memoir Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital.  Dr. Manheimer has been the medical Director of Bellevue Hospital for over 13 years and he is a Clinical Professor at the New York University School of Medicine.  The overseer of the hospital is the Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) of the city of New York.  

Gemini Man 2019

      Henry Brogan is a retiring assassin.  He is pursued by a mysterious killer that can predict his every move.  He soon learns that he’s being hunted by a younger clone of himself.  His next step is to find out why he’s being targeted and who created this clone?

     Violence is the biggest issue in this film.  Guns, shootings, car chases, explosions, martial arts-the fighting, slamming a character with a motorcycle.  I thought the best part of this film is the motorcycle riding action!!  Who knew a motorcycle could also be a weapon?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

117 min, Action directed by Ang Lee and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray, Darren Lemke with Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Douglas Hodge, Ralph Brown, Linda Emond, Ilia Volok, E.J. Bonilla, Victor Hugo, David Shae, Theodora Miranne, Diego Adonye, Lilla Banak.

Note:  Imdb 5.7 out of 10 with 73,227 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 26% with 305 critics 83% audience with 8,795 ratings, Rotten Tomatoes 2* Odie Henderson, The Guardian 2* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age13+, 1* positive messages, 0* role models, 3* violence, 1* sex, 3* language, 2* consumerism, 2* drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.3* with 15,706 reviews.

 
Special Note:  The original script was written for Clint Eastwood.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead was chosen instead of Tatiana Maslany and Elizabeth Debicki.  Some scenes were shot in Cartagena, Colombia.

Monogamy 2010

      Theo and Nat live in Brooklyn and they are an engaged couple getting married soon.  But, their relationship is strained and they aren’t even married yet?   Theo is a wedding photographer but he’s bored with the set routine of taking this type of pictures.  He comes up with a side business called Gumshoot.  This is a service where clients hire him to take pictures that are not posed but part of their everyday life outside their homes.  He becomes infatuated with the client Subgirl, this is not her real name.   He’s obsessed with following her above and beyond the photography job.  Nat develops a staph infection in a cut on her thumb.  She is hospitalized for antibiotic treatment to combat the infection.  Instead of taking care of Nat, Theo abandons her to the loneliness and boredom of her hospital stay so he can continue to fixate on Subgirl?

     Not very much going on here, Theo has a job with a lot of freedom and a side job with more freedom but he wants even more freedom?  When do you reach a point where you have so much freedom that you are not in the relationship anymore?  He’s so involved with himself that he has nothing left for Nat and she’s not asking for very much.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

96 min, Drama directed and written by Dana Adam Shapiro and also written by Evan M. Wiener with Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meital Dohan, Zak Orth, Ivan Martin, Madison Arnold, Sarah Burns, Paul Diomede, Hannah Gilli, Neal Huff, Adam Pally, Mason Pettit, Samantha Sherman.

Note:  Imdb 5 out of 10 with 727 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 48% with 25 critics 27% audience with 1109 ratings, Amazon 3.8* out of 5* with 204 ratings, Slant Magazine 1* out of 4* Andrew Schenker, Letterboxd 2.6* out of 5*, Metacritic 47 out of 100 with 11 critic reviews (positive 1, mixed 9, negative 1), no user scores.

Special Note:  This film won Best New York Narrative at the Tribeca Film Festival 2010.

The Campaign 2012

     A North Carolina district has incumbent four-term Congressman Cam Brady running uncontested in an election.  He’s not doing a very good job but that doesn’t seem matter since there isn’t any opposition.  Two powerful men recruit Marty Huggins, a very unlikely candidate, to run against Cam.  The Moch brothers are comparable with the Koch brothers in wealth, status and agenda.  The Koch brothers are wealthy major contributors to conservative policy and advocacy groups in the US.  Marty is the son of a Republican heavy hitter.  Marty's father plans for their campaign vehicle to be based on establishing factories in the district that will import cheap Chinese Labor.  Tim Wattley, a professional campaign manager is hired to run Marty’s campaign and groom him for this political contest.  The prospect of winning changes Marty and his family dynamics.  He begins to line up with the grand plan of the Moch brothers.  Cam feels his only chance to win is to play dirty?

     Very funny, it does have some raunchy scenes that could have been eliminated for a better movie.  Since politics has gotten so bad that anything can happen, some of tricks in this film have happened.  The film is begins with a family with young kids listening to a very raunchy answering machine message?  There is some nudity and jokes about sex and the indiscretions of a married man.  There is a LOT of swearing but the subject matter is a comedy gold mine.  Since this is an election year, you may think differently about the electoral process in general after viewing?   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

85 min, Comedy directed by Jay Roach and written by Chris Hency, Shawn Harwell with Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, John Lithgow, Dylan McDermott, Katherine LaNasa, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox, Karen Maruyama, Grand Goodman, Kyra Haywood, Jay Roach, Shane Harwell, Adam McKay, Madison Wolfe, Josh Lawson.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10 with 122,899 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 66% critic 54% audience 66% with 204 critics 51% with 123,133 user ratings, Roger Ebert 3* out of 5*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Common Sense Media, S. Jhoanna Robledo, age 17+, 1* positive messages, 0* role models, 1* violence, 4* sex, 4* language, 3* consumerism, 3* drinking drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 49 reviews, Letterboxd 2.5* out of 5*. 

Special Note:  Cam's US Flag lapel pin starts out as small and as the the numbers come back from the polls the flag grows to 4-5 times larger.  Cam's slogan "taking care of business" is a reference to the hit song with the same name.  Zach Galifianakis based the character of Marty Huggins on his fictitious twin brother Seth.  Zach created and first performed this character in his DVD special Live at the Purple Onion 2006.  Zack has an uncle who was a Representative in North Carolina and this is the location of this film.  

Legal Action 2018

     A woman asks her lawyer ex-husband to defend her career criminal brother.  He is accused of killing a District Attorney.  Nashville resident Casey McKay discovers there is a web of conspiracy surrounding this  murder.  Mr. Gates is a corrupt land developer and he manipulates people with threats to do his dirty work.  Jay was freed from jail but he met with underworld gangster Gates to tie up some loose ends.  Jay’s son is worried that Jay will go back to the life of crime.  Gates “persuades” Jay to do a job for him, like it or not.

   

     This is a good guys versus bad guys film.  Casey is smart as a lawyer, he knows how to handle himself with criminals and he’s good with a gun.  Previously, Eric Close was in Nashville and Without a Trace.  This film is similar to Justified with Eric Close as a stand-in for Timothy Olyphant.  The pace is slow and it’s easy to figure out where this is going.  Just a few side steps to keep you watching.  Seems low budget but some action is better than no action?  3* (This move is OK)

99 min, Action directed by Brent Christy and written by Shea Sizemore and Jason White with Eric Close, Nick Searcy, Tommy Flanagan, Tanya Clarke, Kevin Sizemore, Gregory Alan Williams, Mark Ashworth, Christian James, Kristopher Wente, Gunner Willis, Brian Lafontaine.

Note:  Imdb 6.1* out of 10* with 229 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 38% audience with 8 ratings, dove.org, age 12+, integrity 2*, violence 2*, drugs 1*, other 2* tension and threats between characters, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 192 ratings.
Special Note:  Filmed in Toccoa Georgia.

Sparkle 2007

     Sam Sparks is 22 years old and he is a waiter.  He has been living with his mom in Liverpool.  She is a singer in the same pub.  Sam learns an apartment will become available and he wants to move to London.  His mom doesn’t want to move but Sam wants to get a job in the public relations field.  They do move into the apartment in London.  Sam meets Sheila and charms himself into working for her in this field.  Then he meets Kate and he really likes her.  Balancing his job and his love life becomes overwhelming.  There are unexpected twists and secrets are uncovered.  Will Sam need to choose between his career and the love of his life?

     The two complaints I have about this film are that is doesn’t define the family relationships until later on and it’s not funny.  You don’t know two characters are brothers; two other characters are the parents of another character.  Isn’t this important and relevant information?  3* (This movie is OK)

100 min, Comedy directed by and written by Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter with Stockard Channing, Shaun Evans, Anthony Head, Bob Hoskins, Lesley Manville, Amanda Ryan, John Shrapnel, Peter Gordon, Lorenzo Martelli, Ray Carruthers, Sophia Dawnay, Ellie Haddington, David Woodcock.

Note:  Imdb 6 out of 10 with 887 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 57% with 93 critics 45% audience with 885 ratings, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 56 reviews, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*, Eye for Film 3 1/2* out of 5* Max Crawford, BBC 3* out of 5* Stella Papamichael, timeout.com 3* out of 5*, Eye for Film 3.5* out of 5* Max Crawford, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw.

Special Note:  Originally Sam was going to be an electrician named Sparky.  It is a common British term for this type of job.  When Sam went to London he was looking for any kind of work.  The producers still wanted to call this movie Sparkle so they gave Sam the last name of Sparks and his mother became a singer.  There is another film with this title from 2012 with Witney Houston, Tika Sumpter, Carmen Ejogo and Jordin Sparks.

Dripping in Chocolate 2012

     A woman has been strangled in front of a business doorway in Sydney Australia.  The neighborhood is called The Rocks.  Detective Bennett O’Mara finds a chocolate wrapper while collecting evidence at the crime scene.  Across the street is a boutique chocolate shop and Juliana Lovece is the chocolatier.  Juliana tells Detective O’Mara that this type of chocolate was shipped to a specific customer.  Soon after, the husband of woman that Juliana has just met is found murdered.  Since Juliana is at the scene, she is also suspected as the perpetrator of this crime.  Detective O’Mara is getting very suspicious about the innocence of Juliana!!

     The evidence against Juliana has piled up along the way.  Juliana has a boyfriend but she is very flirty with O’Mara?  She has a beach house and she claims it’s just a shack but it is a lot more upscale than a shack?  Maybe there is more to Juliana than we know?  5* (I liked this movie) 

  

90 min, Crime directed by Mark Joffe and written by John Ridley and Sarah Smith with David Wenham, Louise Lombard, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Rick Donald, Aaron Glenane, Caroline Brazier, Richard Brancatisano, Lucy Durack, Geoff Morrell, Shannon Ashlyn, Laura Gorun, Sara Gleeson, Richard Healy, Michael Robertson, Paul Winchester.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10 with 195 reviews, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 43 reviews.

Special Note:  Mark Joffe has also directed The Man Who Sued God and Cosi.  Sara Smith and producer Julie McGauran have been in a TV program on Channel Seven, Wild Boys.  Geoff Morrell has been the star in Grass Roots and an adaptation of Cloudstreet.  David Wenham was in Sea Change and Lord of the Rings.  Louise Lombard is from LA and she was in The Hour of Eliott and Hidalgo. 

A Bug’s Life 1998

     As an annual job, a huge colony of ants collects every piece of food that grows on their island for a group of menacing grasshoppers.  This year, an ant named Flik accidentally knocks over the offering pile.  This forces the grasshoppers’ leader Hopper to make the ants redo their gathering.  Flik is desperate to help save the colony because of his mistake.  He volunteers to go out into the world and search for a group of warrior bugs to help him.  What he finds is a talented group of circus performers?  Of course, the grasshoppers return to take control of the island.  Flik needs to step in as a hero before it’s too late for the colony!!

     There is a lot of good bug and bad bug cartoon action.  Some images could be scary to very young children.  Especially those who have not yet differentiated make believe violence from real violence.  Also, sensitive kids who are not comfortable with suspense of jeopardy.  There is scowling, threatening grasshoppers loom and swarm toward an ant colony.  The ants are the heroes and they contend with fire, rain, predatory birds and power hungry grasshoppers.   5* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Animation directed and written by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton.  Also written by Joe Ranft, Don McEnery and Bob Shaw. with the voices of Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, Jonathan Harris, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McShane, John Ratzenberger.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10 with 260,625 reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 92% with 87 critics 73% with 982,460 audience scores, empireonline.com 4* Kim Newman, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 23 critic reviews (positive 18, mixed ,5 negative 0), 7.8 out of 10 with 390 user scores ( positive 325, mixed 58, negative 7), Amazon 4* out of 5* with 424 reviews, Common Sense Media, Nell Minow, age 5+, 1* educational value, 3* positive messages, 3* role models, 2* violence, 0* sex, 2* language, 0* consumerism, 0*drinking drugs & smoking.

Special Note:  The two mosquitoes trapped in the light of the bug zapper are the voices of the co-directors, Lasseter and Stanton.  This is the first Pixar film to have outtakes.  The names on the boxes that make up the City are all the names of the writers’ kids.  JuJu’s Litter, Hannah’s Bananas and PJ Pop.  Princess Atta is named after the genus of the ants of the same name.

101 Dalmations 1996

     This film is based on a novel by Dodie Smith and the setting is London England.  It is also based on a cartoon film from 1961.  Roger is a struggling computer game author and composer.  He meets Anita in St. James Park and she is a fashion designer.  Roger has a male Dalmation, Pongo.  Anita has a female Dalmation, Perdia.  It’s a match made in heaven for Roger and Anita plus Pongo and Perdita.  Not much time later, Perdita is going to have puppies.  Everyone is excited about that.  Even Anita’s aunt Cruella DeVil is excited about the puppies but for a different reason.  Unfortunately, Cruella sees Dalmatian fur coats???

     Everything is going smoothly until the puppies are dog napped by two men hired by Cruella.  The dogs in London and the country dogs get together and send barking messages to each other about the puppies being kidnapped.  The two men also kidnap more Dalamation puppies and now there are 101 puppies.  They are being kept in the run down old DeVille mansion. 

     This is very good, interesting and and just a few tense scenes with the bad guys.  The adult dogs and also all the puppies are very cute.  Children will not think about the logistics about having 101 puppies plus two adult dogs!!  There is a LOT of smoking and drinking by Cruella and her two henchmen.  Language is idiot, imbecile, fools mostly directed at the henchmen by Cruella.  5* (I really liked this movie) 

       

103 minutes, adventure directed by Stephen Herek and written by John Hughes with the voices of Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel, Tim McInnery, Hugh Fraser, Zohren Weiss, Mark Haddigan, Michael Percival, Neville Phillips, John Evans, Hilda Braid.

Note:  Imdb 5.7 out of 10 with 98, 960 reviews, Common Sense Media Nell Minow, age 5+, positive messages 3*, role models 3*, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 1*, consumerism 2*, drinking drugs & smoking 3*., Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 2258 ratings, Metacritic 49 out of 100 with 20 critic reviews (positive 8, mixed 9, negative 3),  6 out of 10 with 125 user scores (positive 36, mixed 77, negative 12), Letterboxd 2.7* out of 5* with 12 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 42% with 36 critics 40% audience with 625,268 ratings, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Empire Online 5* Phil Thomas, Telegraph 4* out of 5* Alice Vincent, dove.org 1* violence and 0* for sex language, drugs, nudity and other.

Special Note:  230 Dalmatian puppies and 20 adult Dalmatians were used during filming.  Despite her character Cruella’s passion for fur coats, Glenn Close insisted that her character wear fake fur coats.  When Cruella appears on set in her wig, make-up and costume one of the dogs tried to sneak away.  Jeff Daniels in the role of Roger heard a voice on set short sit.  Immediately he sat in a chair and then he was told.  “Not you, Jeff!!  John Hughes made more money on this movie than any other movie in his career.  He received a piece of the merchandising profits.  The car driven by Cruella is a 1974 Panther DeVille.