"Dolores Claiborne" 1995

Pretty good, except for some unlikely histrionics at the end at the hearing. It's a heavily flashbacked story, and they handled that well - it never got confusing.

"Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" 1982

Pretty stagey, and really everybody's secrets were not worth all the melodrama, but the performances were great.

And I have to ask, again - are southerners really as crazy as they are portrayed in movies? Yeah, it's Texas, but it's the part of Texas that is really the South.

"A Wedding" 1978

Some more Altman, and the perfect subject matter for his style. Like a real wedding, you're not entirely sure who everybody is, and you probably miss some of what is going on. Mac and Tulip's little story just broke my heart - we forget how really great Carol Burnett is.

"Uncle Buck" 1989

if you've rewatched any John Hughes movies lately, you'll have noticed that sometimes they haven't aged well. This is one that still, for the most part, holds up. Even the "threatening the boyfriend" bits seem less creepy when it's an uncle rather than a dad, I dunno. Macauley Culkin is genuinely cute.

"The Greatest Showman"

My daughter made me watch it.

It was by far one of the best movies I've seen in a while. It's loosely based on PT Barnum's life and has some great music that my daughter and I sing in the car together.

"The Sand Pebbles" 1966

Great performances from Steve McQueen and Richard Crenna. It's really a beautiful production, especially the water scenes. I found the story a little bit chaotic and choppy - pretty hard to follow exactly what is happening - but emotionally it rang true, even if you couldn't always figure out what was going on.

This movie was a big deal at the time, due to its resonance with what was happening in Vietnam. It's been pretty much forgotten since, though, I think - you never hear anyone mention it. Definitely worth seeing.

"Sully" 2016



Tom Hanks stars as Sully, the pilot who landed a plane full of passengers on the Hudson River ten years ago. Remember that? I only watched the film out of desperation, nothing on tv! wasn't expecting much from it as I followed the story in live time back then. But I didn't know about the subsequent investigation by the air line into what happened and actually that was quite gripping in its own way. Good movie, perfect for a calm evening in front of the TV when you want to watch something a little serious but not too demanding. Tom Hanks of course excellent as Sully. Clint Eastwood directing so it's solid and simple rather than complex. It didn't rock my world or anything but it's watchworthy.

From what I understand there was not much factually correct about the "investigation" part of the movie.

"Long Shot" 2019

Very sweet and funny rom-com. And, because it's Seth Rogen, some of it's in pretty bad taste. Charlize Theron is running for president, and falls for Rogen, her speechwriter and a radical journalist.

Even though the "Fox and Friends" parodies are hilarious, and a stand-in for Rupert Murdoch is the bad guy, the movie manages, I think, to keep the politics from being too alienating. Right wing extremism is not treated gently, but people with conservative values come out OK.

Got a kick out of the Canadian Prime Minister, too.

Oh really? Noted! (But then...what was the point of the movie at all? I think I give up on Clint Eastwood. )

That reminds me..."The Loudest Voice" (tv series from Showtime)

Not a movie, and the antithesis of a romcom! But Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, and the story behind the Roger Ailes scandal. And why we got Trump. Starring Russell Crowe. Excellent and mustwatch. 20 years ago this would have been a cinema hit and probably oscar nominated, but tv is the new theatre of excellence.

I'll keep an eye out for it - my library doesn't have the show yet, just the book it was based on. I don't think I can stand spending enough time with these people to read it, though.

"JoJo Rabbit" 2019

Set in Berlin in the final months of WWII. JoJo is ten years old, and like all kids, immersed in the culture he's been brought up in - in other words, he's a proper little Nazi.

This started out a little too farcical for my taste, and I was a little worried about what I was in for. It settles down a bit soon, though, or maybe I just got used to the tone. Fantastic performances from everyone involved, especially those kids. It's not a perfect movie but it's a pretty darn good one.

"Knives Out" 2019

I had a very good time indeed. Enough twists to keep you on your toes, good performances from everyone, and quite a few laughs. And just a tiny little bit of a social conscience.

I wish the people who say "Oh, they don't make good movies anymore, it's all superheroes" would get out of the house and go see some of the good movies they are making. I am so out of the superhero fandom that I had no idea that I was watching Chris Evans through all this - I've never seen him before. Yet I see as many or more new movies as the average person, and have a good time doing it.

The previews for that looked good to me. Glad to hear that it wasn't half bad. Chris Evans is one of those actors who move back and forth between large and small budget films and is known to take some risks in picking roles. He was good in "The Losers" which was a action/comedy with Jeffery Dean Morgan. Also "Snowpiercer" was great with him and Tilda Swinton. "Push" is another one that comes to mind.

Oh yes, they still make good movies...lots of them. You just have to do the work to find them.

I thought "The Arrival" with Amy Adams was really good and it just came out in 2016. And "Midnight Special" with Michael Shannon and Kirsten Dunst is one of my favorite recent movies.


"And just a tiny little bit of a social conscience."

How dare they?

Ha!

Yeah, it's not "Citizen Kane" but it was a lot of fun.

It's not even that much work to find a good movie - chances are if you go to a biggish multi-plex, there will be at least one decent movie playing, setting aside the entire action-extravaganza genre, which you may or may not like. But a person does have to get out of the house to do that, and that might be the hard part for many.

Did you like Citizen Kane?

In recent years I've seen more and more negative reviews of that film. And sometimes it will drop down the top film lists, I'm not sure why though...I think the film is a masterpiece just based on the cinematography alone. That's before you even get to the acting work of Orson Welles.

Yeah, I didn't mean it was hard work to find a good movie. Just that you have to put in a little effort beyond just reading other people's reviews.

What's really hard is trying to find a good movie that fits your particular mood that day. Some movies that I really like will leave me feeling "Meh!" every once in awhile.

I'm starting to find it difficult to watch movies at home - my attention just isn't there, with all the other distractions. I'm halfway through "If Beale Street Could Talk", and it's so good, but I just somehow can't get myself to stay focused on it. I know that if I'd seen it in a theatre, I'd have been riveted the whole time and come out raving about how great it is.

So for me it's not about when, but where, I watch, that has an influence.

I'm so mad that I missed "The Irishman" in its brief theatrical release here. I'm going to have a hard time watching it at home.

That one has been getting thrashed in the reviews too. But you just never know until you see it for yourself.

Yes the sheer scope of watching the movie on a huge screen with great audio at an actual cinema is something that is hard to duplicate at home.

What's missing is the audience and their reactions to the film. Plus these days there are so many good theaters that show indie films or awesome midnight movies. One of my favorite cinema experiences was watching "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at a movie theater in Richmond, Virginia. Amazing!

The audience went all out on their costumes and really enhanced the whole vibe in the place. They brought all the "Virgin" audience members who had never been to the show before up on stage before the movie started and doused them with water and confetti.

Not the critics I follow - they either loved it, or liked it a lot. I'm hoping it might get a bit more theatrical time if it gets any Oscar nods.

I'm lucky enough to live in a city with two art house/repertory theatres, so there's almost always something good to see. One has Saturday morning cartoons that you can come to in your pyjamas, with free cereal. That doesn't really appeal to me too much - I'm old enough that Saturday morning cartoons weren't really a thing here when I was a kid, so it's not a big nostalgia thing for me. But it's a fun idea.

That sounds like a blast. Except for the being out in public in your pyjamas part.

I would say the majority of the reviews that I've seen have been positive. But a few critics are panning the film pretty hard. They may be just Scorsese haters in general though. I'm not sure I want to see it myself. There is a little "been there, done that" feeling there.

I'd really like to see Scorsese come out with something different or at least have a new take on a particular film genre.

He’s an old man now, and it sounds like this is an old man’s movie. The new Almodovar, same thing. Another I missed while it was here, darn it.

There is certainly nothing wrong with that. What is art but a means to express what we're going through at the time it is made?

"House" - 1977

Trailer - https://youtu.be/NOq6I4I51G0

What can I say about this one?

Well, to start the filmmaker used practical special effects for this movie. Meaning the majority of the special effects were done In-Camera. The color palette that they decided to use here only makes things scarier.

Amazing!

The creepy sound track with piano and sharp strings is a perfect fit. Because this movie is a like a traditional Japanese ghost story. It's about a high school student who gets in a fight with her soon to be Stepmother over something small...like it always is.

To get back at her Stepmother, she convinces her friends to join her for a trip to visit her favorite Aunt out in the country by train. She hasn't seen her in 10 years. Oooohhhh!


...except her Aunt is a white haired witch and needs the blood of young girls to maintain her youthful looks and witchy powers.


If you have a fondness for the bizarre and creepy, you might want to check this out.

"Little Women" 2019

Very nice indeed. The decision to start the book with the girls in adulthood was a good one - we see all the beloved childhood scenes in flashback. Perfectly cast, and beautifully shot - every childhood scene is drenched in golden light.

This is a difficult book to film because it's a nostalgic and emotional warm spot for many people, and we don't want anyone messing with our memories. I'm pretty much OK with all the choices made here.

I'm one of those rare people who never thought Jo should marry Laurie anyway, and I loved Professor Bhaer in the book - loved all the New York parts so much when I was a kid. The idea that you don't have to marry the young handsome fellow you've known all your life, but can go off and do different things and meet different people and make different choices resonated very strongly with me as a girl. I always understood why Jo loved him - it was because he respected her and took her seriously. So I'm not crazy about the take this film takes on that whole thing, but I'm OK with it - it works well dramatically.