***** Exceptional
**** Great
*** OK
** So
So
* Blah
Deserted was
about a woman (Mischa Barton) who just got out of prison and goes with her
brother to a hippie festival in the desert with three other women. Their car
breaks down so they accept a ride with three men in an RV who are going to the
same festival. Driving in Death Valley at night isn't a good idea. After a
night of drug-induced cavorting, they wake to find out the battery on the RV is
dead, they have no idea where they are, and one of them
is dead. None of them bothered to tell anyone where they were going so they
start walking in hopes of finding civilization. One by one they die. It was an
adequate story. Not sure the point of the ex-convict plot line. The
performances were OK. ***
The Female Brain was
about an anal retentive neurological researcher who knows so much about how
people's brains work she doesn't trust them. She's studying several different
types of couples based on the differences between how men and women think and
therefore behave. The scientific data presented at the beginning is really interesting,
especially the stuff about why women act the way they do. **
Freak Show is
about a gay kid with a crazy, alcoholic mother (Bette Midler) who goes to live
with his rich, conservative father when mom goes into rehab. He's very flamboyant, loves to
dress up in wild costumes, and is constantly being bullied and beaten up by
kids at his new school. I love the morning of his first day of school...the
maid said, "You might want to re-think your outfit. You are now living in
a red state". It had some really funny moments, but most of them were
shown on the previews. I loved his courage and humor in the face of all that
opposition. ***
In Your Eyes is
about a man (Michael Stahl-David) in New Mexico and a woman (Zoe Kazan) in New
Hampshire who have shared some kind of telepathic connection since they were
little. They can see through each other's eyes and feel what they feel. It was
a little far-fetched, but such a wonderful uplifting story about connecting
with another person. Of course, both look like they are talking to themselves
constantly so people think they are crazy. She's married to a doctor who
eventually has her committed and he's an ex-con on probation with problems of
his own. Still, really sweet story with
a great ending. I wish I had a friend in my head who could see what I
experience and feel what I feel. ****
The Isle of Dogs is
an American animated movie set in a slightly futuristic Japan. Legend has it
dogs were banned from Japan, then reinstated which according to the local
cat-loving ruling class, the Kobayashi Dynasty, created a "dog saturation
crisis" due to overbreeding. The dogs come down with dog flu and snout
fever (infected by the dynasty in order to get rid of dogs and replace them
with mechanical dogs) and the prime minister (Kobayashi) uses fear propaganda
to turn the citizens of Japan against all dogs, banning them to Trash Island
where Japan dumps its garbage. The first dog to go is the prime minister's
twelve-year old newly adopted/distant nephew/ward's guard dog, Spots. The boy
steals a plane, flies it to Trash Island to find his beloved dog. Cute
story. The Japanese people all speak
Japanese and it's translated through translators or foreign exchange students.
The dogs all speak English and sneeze constantly (snout fever...LOL!). Beautiful
animation and art. I'm not fond of the
dogs as gods mentality and the current dog epidemic so I rather liked the idea
of all dogs banned to an island. It had a agenda I found realistic, but the bad
guys were obviously the ones not to root for. The line up of celebrity voices
is impressive with Brian Cranston the lead stray and Scarlett Johansen his love
interest, a show dog...Ed Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand, F. Murray
Graham, Liev Schreiber, Angelica Huston...even Yoko Ono has a couple lines! ***
Just Charlie is
about gender dysphoria and a boy who feels trapped in a male body and hiding
who he/she really is. Very sad. It must be difficult. Good story. Good
performances. ***
A Kid Like Jake is
about a four year old who has a very creative imagination, loves princess
movies, and dressing up in dresses. He's
about to go into kindergarten and his parents are stressing out how he will fit
in or if he'll even get into any private school. A lot of views of New York
City. With every scene change, panoramic view of the city, view of buildings,
view of streets. Not sure the point. Good performances. **
Rampage is
about an experiment gone wrong, transported on a space shuttle which blows up
and infects animals on earth, specifically an alligator, a wolf, and a rather
tame gorilla at the San Diego Primate Center run by the Rock. These animals
start growing like crazy, becoming aggressive, and killing everything in their
path. It got pretty bloody and gross. The special effects were a little
unbelievable. I turned it off. *
A Trip to Spain with
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. I think this is the third installment after
England and Italy. It's two guys traveling and eating fine food. They are both
really good at impressions and I kept wondering are they improvising or if it's all scripted. I vacillated between envying their carefree, close relationship
and feeling irritated at all the chatter. Constant talking. At times it was
funny, especially the impressions, but I know if I were traveling with them it
would get really old really fast. There is a scene where they are sitting with
two women who are listening to this constant chatter that should be funny and they
looked uncomfortable as if they were expected to laugh but were just tired of
it. It's like being in a classroom with two obnoxious boys who are competing
for attention. The Mick Jagger and David Bowie impressions were great though. Beautiful
landscape. Gorgeous food. **
We the Animals is
about three brothers growing up in a volatile environment with unpredictable
parents. The youngest escapes nightly into an imaginary world illustrated in
his notebook. The art work is awesome. ***
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