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.