Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 2015

     This series is based on novels written by Kerry Greewood.  Any time Detective John ‘Jack’ Robinson learns about a murder, Phryne Fisher is right behind him looking for clues.  Jack has help from his partner Hugh Collins.  Phryne has help from Dorothy ‘Dot’ Williams, Mr. Butler, Bert, Cec and Dr. Mac.  An act at a magic show kills a woman.  A woman is killed outside an Air Force base.  An Italian grandmother is killed in her restaurant kitchen.  A boy living on the street goes missing and his brother needs help finding him.  Phryne’s Aunt Prudence opens her home to a psychiatrist and natural healer.  A hotel concierge falls to his death.  A woman is murdered at a tennis club.  A man who wants to kill Phryne’s father escapes from a hospital.

     All these events take place in the 20’s.  It’s the flapper age and Phryne doesn’t hesitate to dress in the latest fashions.  I liked the clothing, hairstyles and the cars.  The plots and the acting are good too.  Each episode is different and interesting.  4* (I really liked this series)

Each episode 60 min, TV Series, Crime with Essie Davis Nathan Page, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummings, Richard Bligh, Travis McMahon, Anthony Sharpe, Tammy Macintosh.

Note:  Imdb 8.3 out of 10, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 75 reviews, TV.com 9.2 out of 10 with 58 votes.

Special Note: There are three episodes on each DVD for a total of nine different crime stories.  Episode Titles: Death Defying Feats, Murder and the Maiden, Murder and Mozzarella, Blood and Money, Death and Hysteria, Death at the Grand, Game, Set and Murder, Death do us Part.  This series was filmed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The Cat Returns 2002

     Haru is walking with her friend Yuki and she sees a cat crossing the street in front of a truck.  She races to scoop up the cat in her lacrosse stick and get him out of the street.  Unusual things start to happen with cats because the rescued cat is Prince Lune, the son of the King of Cats.  The cats want to repay her and she finds herself in a Cat Kingdom as the soon-to-be bride of Prince Lune.  She gets help from an elegant cat statuette that has come to life and his very fat cat friend. 

     This is very interesting and funny!!  Cats begin talking to Haru and she doesn’t know what to think.  Baron von Gikkingen from the movie Whisper of the Heart is a featured character.  The Cat’s Repayment is a more accurate translation of the original Japanese title, Neko no ongaeshi.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

75 min, Animation directed by Hiroyuki Morita with the voices of Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Judy Greer, Andrew Bevis, Kristen Bell, Rene Auberjonois, Andy Richter, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Kristine Sutherland, Tim Curry, Katia Coe.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, 89% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 298 reviews.

Special Note:  This film was originally going to be a straight-to-video project until the storyboard was reviewed. 

Whisper of the Heart 1995

     Shizuku is a young girl out of school for summer vacation and she checks out a lot of books from the library.  Since sign-out cards are in the books, she begins to notice that there is another person checking out the same books.  She wonders who this could be?  One day she is riding on the train and she sees a cat riding by himself?  She decides to follow the cat to see where he lives and also to have an adventure.  She discovers a different part of town she hasn’t seen before and she meets Seiji.  He is an older boy who is learning to carve violins and he wants to go to Italy to study this craft.  Shizuku is impressed that he already knows what he wants to do with his life.  She feels behind because she is trying to discover her own talents.

     I wonder about animated love stories from Japan with teens 14 and 15 years old?  Isn't this a little young for most teens to be deciding on their mates and careers for the long term?  I did like the story line, the animation and the characters.  Some of the characters show up in other films too.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

111 min, Animation directed by Yoshifumi Kondo with the voices of Cary Elwes, Brittany Snow, Ashley Tisdale, David Gallagher, James Sikking, Jean Smart, Harold Gould, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Martin Spanjers, Mika Boorem, Abigail Mavity, Deanna Russo.

Note:  Imdb 8.0 out of 10, 91% critic 90% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 334 reviews.

Special Note:  This is the only film directed by Yoshifumi Kondo.  Studio Ghibli hoped he would become the successor to Hayao Miyazaki and Takashi Tachibana.  Unfortunately, he passed away in 1998.  The Cat Returns focuses on a minor character from this film, the Baron released in 2002.  There is a billboard in the movie advertising itself?

As High as the Sky 2012

     Margaret lives alone in Southern California.  She was blindsided when her fiancé said their marriage wasn’t working and they separated.  Her older sister and her sister’s daughter show up on the doorstep.  Margaret wasn’t expecting Josephine and ten-year-old Hannah.  Margaret has a lot of obsessive-compulsive behaviors that have gotten worse since the break-up.  Hannah can’t believe that Margaret works as a party planner.  She thinks it doesn’t seem that Margaret would even know what a party is?  Josephine leaves for a couple of days to go to a seminar and she asks if Hannah can stay.  Surprisingly, Margaret and Hannah start to really get along with each other.

     Josephine and Hannah are nothing like Margaret and it seems they could not be from the same family or related at all?  This film moves along at a slow pace and you wonder what is going to happen at the end?  But you become very drawn into the characters and care about what happens to them.  The actors seem to become the characters instead of acting just as them.  There is a twist to the ending.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Comedy directed by Nikki Braendlin with Caroline Fogarty, Bonnie McNeil, Laurel Porter and the voices on the phone of Dee Wallace and Jenny O’Hara.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 41 reviews.

Special Note:  Caroline Fogarty was in Waitress and Legally Blondes.  Bonnie McNeil was in Red Poppies and Sympathy for Delicious.

The Petrified Forest 1936

     This film is based on a Broadway play written by Robert E. Sherwood and set during the Depression.  There is a small diner out in the Arizona dessert and Gabby works there as a waitress.  Her dad owns the place and her granddad also helps out.  They also have gas and water for the cars coming by.  Gabby’s mother was from France and she returned home because she hated living in the desert.  Gabby can’t wait to save enough money to go to France and get out of the desert.  Alan has been walking plus hitchhiking across America and he stops by for a meal even though he doesn’t have the 30 cents it will cost.  He’s a burned-out British intellectual and Gabby has never met anyone like him.  They are quickly very attracted to each other.  There is a complication, an outlaw and notorious killer is in the area and he's headed their way.  Duke Mantee and has hit the road with his gang and they don’t care who they need to kill to escape the law.  He has planned to meet his girl near this diner.

     I really question the manner that Bogart uses to play the killer?  It is more like he is imitating a monkey in King Kong?  It’s the way he holds his arms and hands, seemingly as if he had been wounded and couldn’t hold them any differently?  Despite this, I did like the setting, period details and the story.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

82 min, Crime directed by Archie Mayo with Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran, Joe Sawyer, Porter Hall, Charley Grapewin, Paul Harvey, Eddie Acuff, Adrian Morris, Nina Campana.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 100% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 217 reviews.

Special Note:  Warner Brothers originally wanted to cast Edward G. Robinson in the role of Duke Mantee.  Leslie Howard said he would quit the picture if Humphrey Bogart didn’t play the role.  This was a break that Bogart needed and he thanked Howard by naming his daughter Leslie.  Both Howard and Bogart later starred in The Stand-In.

Johnny 2010

     A ten-year old boy lives in a foster home and he has leukemia.  His mother was skilled in a car accident and his latest treatment doesn’t seem to be working.  Johnny’s regular doctor sends him to Doctor Carter to see if there is something else that can be done for him.  Doctor Drew Carter and his wife Julia have been struggling for two years since they lost their son in a car accident.  Doctor Carter agrees to take Johnny into their home as a foster so he can be with a real family before he dies.  He didn't discuss this with Julia before he made his decision.  Doctor Carter’s daughter Kayla is very happy Johnny has come to live with them but Julia can’t let go of her grief.

     Johnny has a positive attitude towards everyone he meets.  Even a bully at his new school can’t bother him.  He touches everyone with his spirit that doesn’t want to give up despite his desperate circumstances.  He’s very happy to live with a real family in their home for as long as he can.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

88 min, Drama directed by D. David Morin with Jerry Phillips, Musetta Vander, Lonnie Colon, Leslie L. Miller, Lee Majors, Mel Fair, Leticia Robles.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 56% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 126 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Manistee, Michigan and Santa Monica, California.

Adult Beginners 2014

     Jake is an entrepreneur riding high on the eve of his company’s big launch.  He and his investor friends are set to make a big payout.  Unfortunately, Jake receives the news that there is a crash and burn instead of a big launch.  Now all his friends are out to get him for losing their investments.  Some want to kill him so it might be a good idea for him to leave Manhattan.  Since he doesn’t have any money or a job, he goes to the family home on Long Island where his sister, her husband and their young son live.  His sister is expecting another child, they want to sell the house and Jake’s visit is very unexpected.  Justine and Danny give Jake the paid job of watching their son Teddy instead of taking him to daycare.

     There are some advantages to the babysitting job.  Jake gets a salary and he has a golden opportunity to meet women with their children.  He is suffering from depression and the phone messages about wanting to kill him continue.  It’s a bit like returning to a cocoon for him to have his old room at the family home.  Wrapping up in a warm blanket, not having to go to work and not really being an adult.  Somewhat predictable but entertaining.  3* (This movie is OK)

92 min, Comedy directed by Ross Katz with Rose Byrne, Nick Kroll, Babby Cannavale, Joel McHale, Caleb and Matthew Paddock, Paula Garces, Caitlin FitzGerald, Jane Krakowski, Mike Birbiglia, David Bernon, Bobby Moynihan.

Note:  Imdb 5.5 out of 10, 47% critic 30% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Amazon 3.3* out of 5* with 98 reviews.

Special Note:  Nick Kroll is a comedian with a Comedy Central series called the Kroll Show.  Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale are a couple in real life and they have a young son.  This movie was filmed in New York and Teddy is played by twin boys.