Tiny Furniture 2010

     Aura (Lena Dunham) is a recent Ohio college graduate, she planned to live with her boyfriend at the end of classes but they broke up and he returned to Colorado.  Unfortunately, she is living with her mother and sister in Tribeca until she can figure things out.  Her mother earns a lot of money as famous artist who photographs tiny furniture.  Her sister Nadine is taller, thinner, younger and her feet and legs appear in the furniture photos.  Aura reunites with her long time friend Charlotte and finds out a restaurant nearby is looking for a hostess.  It seems so convenient but after the shock of her first small paycheck, she decides she is a college graduate, this job is boring and she deserves more.  This all puts her would-be roommate who is arriving the next day in the lurch? 

     This is funny and you see how the series Girls flows from this movie.  Lena is fortunate that she is comfortable in her own skin and she’s doesn’t care if she has no makeup and she is not a size 2 or 4!  She is also extremely talented on camera and behind the scenes as director and writer.  She has a new book published 9/30/14, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned.”  I can imagine she has learned a lot since her college graduation and she seems to be able to do it all!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

98 min, Comedy directed by Lena Dunham with Laurie Simmons, Lena and Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz, Alex Karpovsky, Jemima Kirke, Garland Hunter, Isen Ritchie, Sarah Sophie Flicker.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 78% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  On the TV series, Girls, the same actors from Tiny Furniture are Jemima Kirke, Alex Karpovsky and Laurie Simmons.  Lena’s real mother and sister play these roles.

Robocop 2014

     The year is 2018 in Detroit, crime and corruption are rampant and the police are having a difficult time stemming this onslaught.  OmniCorp has been making drones and robot technology for years to supply the military for use overseas.  They want to bring innovation to police forces but this is only to boost their bottom line.  Alex Murphy is terribly injured by a car bomb on his driveway.  This a golden opportunity for OmniCorp and they receive written permission from his wife to save Alex by making him part robot.  No one knows what this will do to Alex and even the scientists are not sure of the possibilities.  OmniCorp envisions Robocops on every police force in every city.

     This film is a remake of the 1987 film of the same name.  The Imdb rating on the original was 7.5 out of 10 and 88% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.  I think the technology and the special effects have improved in this latest version but the cop-to-cop relationships are very minimal.  More focus on these relationships made the first film a better movie.  More action and more special effects can’t carry an entire movie unless that is all you want to see.  Elevating the screen power of the actors and the sleaze factor of some of them doesn’t improve this movie either.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

117 min, Action directed by Jose Padilha with Joel Kinnaman Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Samuel L. Jackson.

Note: Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 48% critic 52% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1*.

Redwood Highway 2013

     Marie is living in a retirement community in Southern Oregon.  She doesn’t see her family very much and she’s not happy about where she lives.  She receives an invitation to her granddaughter’s wedding but she tells her son that she’s not going.  She gets a phone message from her granddaughter saying that she didn’t expect Marie to come and she was sorry she sent the invitation.  Marie has a change of heart but she decides to walk 80 miles to the coast of Oregon for the wedding.  She also wants to revisit the ocean for the first time in 45 years.

     Marie thinks she’s physically tough but the miles on the road take a toll on her feet, legs and body.  She’s been warned about big cats and a friendly stranger gives her a spray for defense in case she sees one.  He also treats her blistered feet.  A sheriff she meets warns her that the highway is not as safe as it used to be because the trucks travel fast and the road is not wide.  She encounters bad weather but the people she meets are usually friendly.  I walk a lot but I would not set out on a journey of 80 miles without a lot of training before setting out and not at Marie’s age.  She has her family worried and looking for her plus law enforcement are searching.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Drama directed by Gary Lundgren with Shirley Knight, Tom Skerritt, James LeGros, Zena Grey, Michelle Lombardo, Sam Daly.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 of 10, 80% critic 52% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix 3 ½*.

Afflicted 2013

     Derek learns from his doctor that he has Ateriovenous Malformation (AVM).  This means he has an abnormal connection between arteries and veins that bypass the capillary system in his brain.  It can cause intense pain or bleeding that could rupture and cause him to die without any warning.  Derek and Clif are best friends and they decide to travel the world for a year in order for Derek to live his life to the fullest.  Clif is going to film this as a documentary and he has brought a collection of film equipment.  They go to a bar in Barcelona and Derek meets a girl but it doesn’t go as planned.  The next morning, Clif wakes Derek up and he has a severe cut above his left eyebrow and a bloody deep cut on his left arm.  Clif wants him to go to the hospital but Derek wants to stay as far away from doctors as possible for as long as he can.  These injuries start to change Derek causing him to be unable to eat and when he does eat, the food doesn’t stay down.  He has trouble with his eyes, he seems to be getting stronger and able to run faster.

     I was slightly nervous and a little bit scared to start watching this film because of the dreaded horror/thriller genre.  I could only watch for about 20 minutes.  Everything is definitely not what it seems but not in a horrific or thrilling way?  I wonder if this film was just a way to pay for a vacation of a year?  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie)

85 min, Horror/Thriller directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse with Michael Gill, Derek Lee, Cliff Prowse, Baya Rehaz, Benjamin Zeitoun.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 79% critic 59% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*.

Youth in Revolt 2009

      This film is an adaptation of the first book in a series by C.D. Payne.  Nick Twisp is a fourteen-year-old teen living with his divorced mom in Berkeley.  Nick is lonely until he goes camping at Restless Axles trailer park in Ukiah with his mom and her current boyfriend.  He meets Sheeni Saunders and it’s almost love at first sight.  He decides to get into trouble when he goes back to Berkeley so his mom will send him to Ukiah to live with his dad.  Sheeni gets his currently laid off dad a job in Ukiah and he moves there to start work.  When Nick gets his mom mad enough to send him away, he finds out Sheeni’s parents have heard about his “bad boy” routine and they sent Sheeni to a boarding school in Santa Cruz.  Trent, Sheeni’s former boyfriend also attends this school.  This is very BAD news!!

     There are funny moments in this film especially when Sheeni’s brother Paul, played by Justin Long, introduces hallucinogenic mushrooms to Nick, Mr. Ferguson (Nick’s neighbor), Lacy (George Twisp’s girlfriend) and later to Sheeni’s parents.  Nick also creates an alter ego, Francois Dillinger to help him win the girl of his dreams.  He is funny with thin shorter length white pants, a thin mustache, aviator sunglasses and he is always smoking.  Francois is inspired by Sheeni’s attraction to all things French and his persona is based on French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.  Belmondo is one of the key actors in the French New Wave but he has switched to mainstream movies since the mid-60’s.  3* (This movie is OK)

90 min, Comedy directed by Miguel Arteta with Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Erik Knudsen, Adhir Kalyan, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ari Graynor, Rooney Mara.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 66% critic 52% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  Screenwriter Gustin Nash has written the script for this film.  He has also worked on Charlie Bartlett and Da Mob (TV series).

The Namesake 2006

     This film is based on a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri and covers 25-30 years.  Ashoke is a Calcutta born and Bengali speaking.  He traveled by train to visit his grandfather in Jamshedpur.  Ashoke is reading the book Overcoat authored by Nicholai Gogol while talking with a fellow traveler.  Ghosh advises Ashoke to travel.  The train has a terrible accident with many people injured or dead.  Soon after this experience, Ashoke moves to America and returns to India in 1977 to marry Ashima.  They become parents of a son and they name him Gogol after Ashoke’s favorite author.  After a few years, they have a daughter and name her Sonia.  Their son is conflicted with his heritage from India, his unusual name and his life in America.

     I thought this story seemed familiar but I couldn’t remember if I had seen the movie or read the book.  I did some checking and I’ve seen this movie before.  This is good and it is interesting with the comparison of the lives of the parents and then the lives of their children.  The parents retain much of their culture of India but the children move further toward American culture.  Ashima wonders if she gave birth to strangers?  4* (I really liked this movie)

122 min, Drama directed by Mira Nair with Kai Penn, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson, Brooke Smith, Sahira Nair, Jagannath Guha, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Sandip Deb, Sukanya.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 86% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*.

Special Note:  Mira Nair was born in India, received her education at Harvard and married a man from Uganda.  Sahira Nair has the role of the daughter Sonia.  She is the niece of the director.  Irrfan Khan was also in The Life of Pi.

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With 2006

     James Aaron has been an actor for 20 years but he doesn’t get very many roles.  He’s 39 years old, overweight and he lives with is mother.  He has been dating the sister of his agent but they both dump him on the same day.  James has turned down roles on the local TV program because the roles he is offered make him sad?  He learns second hand that there is going to be a remake of Marty, his favorite movie.  He’d love to have a role but he’s not offered an audition.  This situation causes him to have a slight meltdown when he talks at a grade school career day. 

     There are a lot of comedy people in this film and it’s listed as a comedy but it’s not funny? It’s a lot of sad.  James lies to himself about dieting, he goes to a Compulsive Eaters Anonymous meeting but it’s very low key, he doesn’t push himself to take roles and he doesn’t understand the signals he gets from women.  Fat guy jokes can't carry 80 minutes.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)  

80 min, Comedy directed by Jeff Garlin with Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Garlin, Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta, Wallace Langham, Roger Bart, Paul Mazursky, David Pasquesi, Joesy Slotnick Mina Kolb.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 of 10, 72% critic 39% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix 2 ½*.

Special Note:  Jeff Garlin had the role as Larry David’s manager on Curb Your Enthusiasm.