April Movie Reviews

*****  Exceptional

****    Great

***      OK

**        So So

*          Blah

Belle is based on a true story about a young woman whose mother was a black slave and father an English noble. She is sent to live with the aristocratic uncle and aunt in England and must deal with all kinds of societal rules because she is of mixed race. Her father dies leaving her a substantial inheritance. The rules of class and wealth are so sleazy with the not-so-rich boys with titles wanting to marry her just for her money. Great movie. Stupid title. Her name is Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and never went by the name "Belle" in the movie so I'm not sure why they'd call the movie by this name. Great costumes and performances. Lots of famous English actors. The actress who portrays her (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is so gorgeous. ****

Blackbird I had no idea what this movie was about and the writing on the DVD cover was too small to read. There was a photo of a young black man on the front cover so I figured it would be some uplifting story about a young black man. It opens with the young black man singing in a church choir about loving Jesus. Beautiful voice. A little holy for me, but really, really beautiful voice. Then another young black man joins in a duet. OK. Then they get friendly and start taking each other's clothes off. HAHAHA! What the hell am I watching? The choir ladies are horrified and start gasping and swooning.  And he wakes up. He was dreaming. Funny. The whole movie continues along this theme...young black man convinced he can't possibly be gay, praying to his Jesus picture to help him understand, and having wet dreams every night about having sex with other gay men. There was a secondary plot about his little sister who was kidnapped from a shopping mall years before and his mother (Mo'nique) is mentally disturbed because of it. But the sin of homosexuality with a lot of hell and damnation was up front and center. It all collides near the end. Most of the performances were really bad, the writing not so good, but the singing made up for it and the kidnapping plot kept me curious.**

Brotherhood is a Danish film with English subtitles about a neo-Nazi group. It opens with one of them luring a young gay kid into a park at night then they all beat him unconscious. That set the tone. From there it focuses on one young man who resists recruitment then is somehow sucked into their meetings and camaraderie. He fights with his parents about neo-Nazi activity in the area and ends up moving in with one of the neo-Nazis. They become very friendly with each other. At one point I almost turned it off. It was a bit like watching a Trump rally - too much hate and violence directed at any number of minority groups. I kept watching hoping it would redeem itself and end with a "free to be, you and me" theme.  ***

Captain Fantastic is about a man (Viggo Mortensen) who is living up in the woods somewhere in the Pacific Northwest with his six children. They spend their days in "training:" sprinting up mountains, rock climbing, hunting, gardening, military-style exercises, debating, critical thinking, and reading incredibly thick books on philosophy, economics, history and politics. Instead of staring mindlessly at a mobile phone, television, or computer, they play musical instruments.  Idyllic anti-establishment utopian living.  Early in the movie we find out his wife is sick has been gone three months getting treatment. He does his errands in town and calls to find out how she is. She has killed herself and eventually we find out she had bipolar illness. The kids decide they want to go to her funeral although the grandfather blames Viggo for her death and threatens to have him arrested if he shows up. He is torn between fulfilling his wife's last will and possibly losing custody of the children if he is arrested. The kids are adamant and demand their rights. They take their bus and drive to California right past The Evergreen State College's liberalist-leaning billboard. That was totally cool!  Great movie. Fascinating commentary on those who righteously  judge him proving the inadequacy of modern living with their nasty, disrespectful, uneducated kids and questioning the quality of parenting skills and education today. *****

Florence Foster Jenkins is based on a true story about a very wealthy woman (Meryl Streep) who lives for music and is very connected in the music world. She dreams of becoming a famous opera star, takes singing lessons, and everyone around her lies to her about her amazing talent. She decides she's ready to give a concert and her husband (Hugh Grant) has to hand select the audience and buy glowing newspaper reviews. This prompts her to record a record and when that becomes the most requested radio song, she is honored with a performance at Carnegie Hall. What a weird story! Streep was wonderful, but what a WEIRD story. And true!? **

Forever is about a journalist, Alice, who interviews a woman whose husband ran off to a commune after their daughter's accidental death. When Alice's boyfriend commits suicide, she finds the commune. Run by a psychiatrist, it's a place where miserable people have gathered and plan to commit group suicide because they "can't face the world away from this place." Some of their back stories are told. It was a little slow and lacking in clarity for a long time. Interesting. ***

The Graduate  I can't believe I've never seen this movie! I've definitely seen scenes from it. It's about a goofy kid (a very young Dustin Hoffman) just out of college who is directionless and kind of depressed before depression was a lifestyle. He's ruthlessly seduced by his father's partner's wife who is messed up. He's so naive and brainless and does just what she says. It kind of reminds me of Great Expectations. Then he falls in love with her daughter and his indiscretions become public. The whole movie is pretty strange. I bet it was scandalous back in the day. Richard Dreyfuss makes an appearance before anyone knew who he was - he can't be more than 18 years old and it's a tiny one line part. LOL. ***

Great Expectations (2013) The most modern Dickens' film adaptation with Helena Bonham-Carter as Miss Haversham who is brilliant, although a bit crazy and creepy in everything she does. Excellent sets, beautiful photography. ****

A Hologram for the King is about an older salesman (Tom Hanks), divorced and somewhat directionless, who goes to Saudi Arabia to sell the king a hologram program and IT system. The king is a little unpredictable as is his entire staff. No one shows up on time, schedules are flexible, the customs and laws foreign, and country in general anything but the United States. It's a great story about multiculturalism and life's unexpected journey. Hanks was great. ****

Knight of Cups This was way too abstract and existential for me. Christian Bale goes from frame to frame looking depressed or bored or drugged. Not much acting involved or required. There really isn't any dialogue just a narration from any number of people on the absurdity of life. Or something. On occasion Christian narrates how he's wasted thirty years of life not living and then continues to not live for another 30 minutes. Or something. Very morose. Lots of cavorting with women or chasing them around rooms. Great views of Los Angeles, but I've always found L.A. to be very oppressive. Not sure the point and have no clue what the title means. I prefer a story with a plot and a theme. *

Indignation is based on the novel by Philip Roth about a young Jewish-atheist in the early 1950s who goes off to college and falls hard for a girl who is a bit unstable. The costumes and sets were excellent, performances outstanding. Strange story. Interesting ending, thought-provoking, more like the beginning to a totally different movie, but the plot itself never felt like it was going anywhere. Kind of disjointed as if it was trying to say two different things and trying to be two different movies at once.***

Little Miss Sunshine was such a great story about a family, dysfunctional in so many ways but a family who screws up together stays together. Lots of stars: Toni Colette, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carrell, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, and Paul Dano. The husband is an inspirational speaker on winning but he's a loser, the uncle just tried to commit suicide, grandpa is a drug fiend, and the brother hates everyone so he has taken a vow of silence. They take a road trip to California so the seven year old can compete in a beauty/talent contest. Some great LOL moments. I always meant to see this movie, but never got around to it. ****

Louder Than Bombs is about a famous photographer's auto accident death which is assumed was a suicide, but her youngest son who was twelve at the time was never told. He's older now, a little rebellious and messed up. The performances were good, but the story wasn't that interesting and this is coming from someone who loves death themes. There didn't seem to be enough emotion [for me] even with all the disclosed secrets of this woman's indiscretions. At one point I almost turned it off, but I kept hoping it would take a turn or twist. **

The Magnificent Seven is my favorite western of all time so this 2016 version had a lot to live up to AND I had high hopes. Great cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawk, Vincent D'Onofrio . Even Matt Bomer has a part for about five minutes. He must have really wanted to be in the movie!  Chris Pratt played the Steve McQueen role and wow, that man can sit a horse sexier than I've ever seen. Great music composed by James Horner who also did big scores for Braveheart and Titanic. The score has the feel of the original movie's theme which is a classic, but it's just a little different. There is a special feature on the music - Horner wrote seven songs for the movie based on just the script then died in a plane crash as they started filming. What a loss. Great sets and beautiful scenery.  Lots of death and mayhem. I don't remember who died in the original Magnificent Seven, but this modern interpretation is pretty interesting. Also in the original the bad guys were the Mexicans. In this version the bad guy is Peter Sarsgaard who is deliciously evil.  ****

Meant to Be is a Christian-themed movie about a group of seemingly intertwined people, one young man who grew up in foster care looking for his mother, one young woman who was adopted and never knew her mother, one pregnant teenager who doesn't know what to do, and one social worker who wants to help. The performances were adequate and there is a lot of God talk throughout. The individual, interwoven storylines were interesting and seemed fairly predictable, then it takes a surprising, yet moving twist. I did NOT see that coming. The heightened emotion and excessive sentimentality made it easy to overlook the preaching. Obnoxious preaching. Those Christians really know how to sell their doctrine and beat it down one's throat. I think for some it would be a very difficult movie to watch. (I wish I could be more detailed or clear, but I don't want to give away the twist.) ****

Miss Meadows was about a substitute teacher who is in some kind of regressive time warp due to a childhood trauma. She dresses in little girl clothes with anklet socks, has an obsession with manners and good grammar, plays hop scotch while walking down the street, says "Tootle Loo" all the time, has a fetish for tap shoes and tap dancing, and totes a gun in her little 1950s vintage pocketbook purse. When confronted by bad guys: would-be kidnappers, mass murderers, child molesters, or anyone who pulls a gun on her, she unexpectedly shoots them dead believing the world will be a better place without them in it. Great storyline. Love the revenge and strong woman themes. It was a little slow and a few of the scenes seemed out of place and poorly developed. I would have liked to have seen more intrigue or death or depth or something, but the character was fun to watch. I'm normally not fond of Katie Holmes, but this was a great role for her. ***

October Gale is about a recently widowed woman doctor (Patricia Clarkson) who goes to her cabin on a secluded Canadian island. This young guy shows up in the middle of a storm with a bullet in his shoulder and she doctors him. A local man shows up and she tells him she needs to get wounded guy to the marina. He leaves and unties her boats so she's stranded. That is definitely suspicious. The wounded guy confesses he spent time in jail for killing someone during a bar room brawl and the father of the man he killed is out to kill him. She decides she will help him defend the island and she gets the ammo for the rifle. Hmmm...so strange. I mean would you believe this total stranger's story and agree to shoot people for him without knowing for sure what was really going on? The storyline was really weak. Anyway, they wait and the bad guys show up in the middle of a hurricane-like storm in a boat. She doesn't do a very good job defending anything and bad guy (Tim Roth) punches her in the face. He babbles his side of the story which is the exact same story as wounded guy. You'd think someone would lie to create some drama. Nice cabin. Beautiful scenery. OK performances, but very weak story. Not sure the point. No intrigue, no twisty plot, no surprise, no meaningfulness and too many long scenes of introverted pondering. **

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a fantasy movie about a family who moves into an old family house. One of the boys finds a book written by his great, great uncle on the secrets of the magical kingdom and when the goblins' leader finds out all hell breaks loose. Outstanding special effects with the creatures. That pig-like creature was hilarious. Excellent performances from an all-star cast. Sarah Bolger is a great actress. Amazing drawings of fantastic creatures and love all the magic. Too violent and scary for little kids. ****

That Burning Feeling I saw this DVD and assumed it might be brainless and stupid as the DVD case clearly suggested: it's about a man-whore and his bout with a STD. Yes, that is the basic gist of it, BUT it's much deeper than that... He works for a sleazy real estate mogul, has a nice cushy life and sleeps around with women he calls disrespectful nicknames, never getting to know them, and never calling them back. Then he is diagnosed with gonorrhea, sends an impersonal message to all of them by mistake and in turn they email him with expletives, threats and general messages of loathing. He meets a woman who inspires honesty and he goes about reconnecting with the other women to get to know them and to make amends. He discovers women are real human beings. All the while he's on a drug cocktail that cripples him with hilarious side effects. It turned out to be a wonderful story about relationships and living with honesty for a full life. Nice surprise. ****

Touched by Fire is about two bipolar patients who meet in a mental institution become more manic in their association. When they are both released to weather the severe depression after the manic episode, they find each other then attempt to exist without medication to maintain their passion and creativity much to the dismay of parents. What a mess. ***

Walk of Shame was hilarious! Elizabeth Banks is a prim and proper news anchor who interviewed for another job at a station that is very clean cut. She's told she didn't get the job and wallowing in self pity because her boyfriend left her, opts to go out drinking with friends dressed in a slutty yellow dress, gets drunk, and ends up going home with the bartender (James Marsden). Sometime in the middle of the night she finds out she has another shot at the job, but will need to get to work the next day for the interview. She gets locked out of the guy's apartment, her car has been towed, ends up in a taxi thinking the foreign taxi driver is taking her to the towing company, but he takes her to a strip club thinking she's a hooker, and she ends up in the hood. With no phone, no money, no purse she wanders the streets asking everyone for help, but they all think she is a crack whore. LOL. It was hilarious from start to finish. Even the beginning credits feature screw ups by news anchors. The cats were seriously LOL. I think there should have been more cats....****

What a Girl Wants is about a girl (Amanda Bynes) who never knew her English aristocratic father (Colin Firth) since her pregnant mother (Kelly Preston) was manipulated by the rich people into leaving him.  She feels like half her life has been missing and flies to London to meet him. It was very a very sweet fairy tale. Colin Firth is yummy as always. ***

You're Not You is about a woman (Hilary Swank) with ALS and her college-student/musician/failure-at-life/newly hired full-time caregiver and part-time slut (Emmy Rossum). Good story. Not a good way to die. Swank was superb. Stupid title. ***