The Perfect Summer 2013

     Jake and his mother Alyssa move from Chicago to Wilmington, North Carolina.  Jake’s dad passed away and they lost their home.  Jake and Alyssa are going to stay with Alyssa’s father Lou.  Alyssa hopes to find a job and then they can move to their own place.  Jake learns the only summer activity in this town is surfing.  Unfortunately, Jake doesn’t know how to surf.

     There is a lot of drama and bullying by the experienced surfers of Jake’s age group.  Also, Jake wants to go back to Chicago and reestablish his life there where he was happy.  Because they lost their home, this isn't an option.  It's tough for teens to make new friends and acclimate to a different home.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

120 min, Drama directed by Gary Wheeler with Eric Roberts, Sydney Penny, Adam Horner, Katie Garfield, J.D. Banks, Jason Castro, Louis Mandylor, Tim Ross.

Note:  Imdb 5.4 out of 10, 18% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 33 reviews.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, North Carolina.  Wrightsville is named for a local realtor Joshua G. Wright and many hurricanes have hit this area.  Eric Roberts is the brother of actresses Julia and Lisa Roberts.

The Wedding Chapel 2013

     Sara feels down on her luck and she’d like to escape her problems.  Her boyfriend just broke off their relationship, she had a gallery showing of her art and the critics were not kind to her.  She visits her mom, Jeanie and she learns that her grandmother’s home is going to be torn down to make way for a supermarket.  Sarah convinces Jeanie to take a road trip and see what they can do to stop this development.  They go to a local attorney and he shows them the paper that Jeanie signed saying the sale could go through.  The only way they can stop the project is to also try to save the adjacent local church.  They would need to find some historical reason to keep the church.

     There is a lot of predictability in this film but it is pleasant and interesting.  Sara learns a lot about her mother’s teenage years and she feels very connected to this town and her grandmother’s home.  She starts to move on from her problems.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

103 min, Family directed by Vanessa Parise with Emmanuelle Vaugier, Shelley Long, Mark Deklin, Barclay Hope, Cindy Busby, Brett Dier, Chris Gauthier, Malcolm Stewart, Kwesi Ameyaw, Brent Stait, Michael Tiernan.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 22% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 50 reviews.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Canada.  Shelly Long was also in Cheers, Murphy Brown, Boston Common, Frasier, Modern Family, The Brady Bunch Movie, A Very Brady Sequel.  Her first in the film industry job was as a narrator in the animated movie The Key in 1977.

The Affair: Season 1 2014

     Noah Solloway has been married to Helen for 20 years and they have four children.  They live in New York and Noah is a schoolteacher but he is writing his second novel.  Helen is the owner of a small shop.  They go to Montauk at the end of Long Island in the summers to visit Helen’s parents.  Alison Lockhart is married to Cole and she works as a waitress at The Lobster Roll.  The Lockhart’s also have family on Montauk and they have experienced a tragedy in their lives. 

     Helen’s parents are wealthy and they help Noah and Helen financially.     At times, Noah resents Helen’s parents for their meddling in their lives and he feels guilty for taking money from them.  The Lockhart’s are short on money and a working family with a ranch.  Noah and Alison are both looking for some of the same things.  Escape, a change in their lives, perking up the doldrums of summer.  Each episode tells the story from different perspectives.  The way Noah sees what happened, Alison, Helen and Cole.  Their viewpoints are different for the same time period.  4 ½* (I really liked this series)

12 episodes, 559 min, TV Series, Drama created by Hagai Levi, Sarah Treem with Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, Joshua Jackson, Julia Goldani Telles, Jake Siciliano, Jadon Sand, Leya Catlett, Josh Stamberg, Colin Donnell, Victor Williams.

Note:  Imdb 8.0 of 10, 86% critic 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 877 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Montauk, Long Island, New York City, New York.  The role of Noah was written for West but originally he turned it down.  Both Alison and Noah are from the United Kingdom.  There is a real Lobster Roll restaurant that closes in winter.  There are four seasons of this series.

Love & Friendship 2016

     This film is set in the 1790’s and it is the first adaptation of Jane Austen’s novella titled Lady Susan published in 1871.  Lady Susan Vernon is a beautiful widow.  She has come to the estate of her in-laws to wait out rumors that are circulating about her.  She doesn’t want to waste any time on this visit so she sets about securing a husband for herself and one for her reluctant daughter.

     Surprisingly, this movie was filmed in 26 days.  There doesn’t seem to be much of a story and there really isn’t?  There is a LOT of talking and worrying about decorum!!  Anyone with real manners doesn’t stand a chance of staying on their feet!!  Lady Susan has set a purpose for herself and she will get there by any means needed!!  I liked the hairstyles, clothing, settings and mannerisms of this period.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

92 min, Comedy directed by Whit Stillman with Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Morfydd Clark, Tom Bennett, Jenn Murray, Lochlann O’Mearain, Sophie Radermacher, Stephen Fry, Jordan Waller.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 98% critic 61% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*,

Special Note:  Filmed in Country Dublin and County Wicklow, Ireland.  Sienna Miller was originally cast as Lady Susan.  Beckinsale and Sevigny worked together in The Last Days of Disco of 1998, also directed by Stillman.  Beckinsale hasn’t made a movie in four years.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople 2016

     Ricky Baker has been raised in foster care and he gets a new placement in the New Zealand countryside.  Ricky has a reputation for getting into trouble but he starts to like it here.  Aunt Bella really loves him and he can get along with Uncle Hec even though he doesn’t say much.  As a birthday surprise, Ricky gets a dog of his own and that’s a great gift for him.  Unfortunately, circumstances change and the authorities come to remove Ricky from this home.  Ricky disides that this isn’t going to happen and he goes on the run in the bush country.  Uncle Hec knows Ricky will need help in the bush so he goes out to track him.

     The people are different and the story is different in this film.  Uncle Hec and Ricky are like oil and water but they decide to get along.  There is a reward for Ricky and many people are out looking for him.  Uncle Hec and Ricky are thinking of this only as an adventure.  Sometimes a person has had hard luck and sometimes this starts to turn around.  There are a lot of funny moments!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

101 min, Adventure directed by Taika Waititi with Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Oscar Knightley, Stan Walker, Mike Minogue, Cohen Holloway.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, 97% critic 91% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 1004 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed Nanawatu-Wanganui, Auckland, Central Plateau, Puhoi, Coromandel, New Zealand.  Waititi also directed Eagle Vs Shark, Boy and What We Do in the Shadows.

The Ones Below 2015

     Theresa and Jon have moved into the apartment downstairs from Kate and Justin in a small London suburb.  Both Theresa and Kate are expecting babies.  They start to swim together and afterwards Theresa meets Justin for lunch.  Theresa and Jon are wealthy and Jon doesn’t need to be at work every day but Justin does.  To welcome them to the neighborhood, Kate and Justin invite the new couple for dinner.

     Theresa and Jon are opposite in personalities.  She’s easy to get along with but Jon is rather terse and he likes everything a certain way.  Justin is a hard worker and Kate stays at home.  They seem a better match as a couple.  Everything seems to be going well for a time.  I had an idea how this film was going to turn out and I was right.  Later it seems Kate and Justin didn’t figure things out as easily?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

87 min, Drama directed by David Farr with Clemence Poesy, David Morrissey, Stephen Campbell Moore, Laura Birn, Deborah Findlay, Sarah Malin, Anna Madeley, Jonathan Harden, Sam Pamphilon, Franc Ashman.

Note:  Imdb 6.1 out of 10, 72% critic 48% audience, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 5* with 3 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Canonbury, Islington, Middlesex, London, England, UK; Wakes, UK and France.  The character Theresa says that her father was English and her mother was a Finnish hippie.  Actress Laura Birn is Finnish and she was born to Finnish parents in Helsinki.

Do You Believe? 2015

     This film has a dozen different people are all moving in different directions.  The key element in all of their lives is that they are looking for something more than what they have now.  Their lives begin to intersect on one night. 

     A lot of times I don’t like ensemble movies because they don’t spend enough time on each character.  It’s all driven to a final conclusion from the twelve different stories.  Crash was an ensemble piece and I was surprised it won an Academy Award?  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

120 min, Drama directed by Jon Gunn with Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Alexa PenaVega, Sammy Aaron, Brian Bosworth, Valeria Dominguez, Delroy Lindo, Andrea Logan White, Lee Majors, Liam Matthews, Ted McGinley, Tracy Melchior.

Note:  Imdb 6 out of 10, 17% critic 84% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 1814 reviews.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Manistee, Ludington and Muskegon Heights, Michigan.  Adding a question mark to the title of a film is considered bad luck by the movie industry.  Sean Astin and Andrea Logan White worked together in Moms' Night Out of 2014.  The name listed for one of the characters is Pretty Boy but his real name is Percy.