By Holly
Couldn't make it through 15 minutes.
Round-Up
By Wendy
Girls Trip. Lots of stupidity, but also a lot of humor, warmth, and good acting. I'm also inclined to like any film with four women leads! At one point, all four women get down on their knees to pray together. I can't think of any "White movie" in which people do that, but it seems usual in "Black movies." Definitely a cultural difference!
Poker Face. Just watched the first episode. Found it intriguing enough to keep watching. Enjoyed Natasha Lyonne a lot, I'm happy to say. In Russian Doll season 2, she was really starting to be a caricature of herself.
Echoes. Exceptionally dumb even for a good twin-evil twin movie, which is saying something.
Behind Her Eyes. (TV show) I don't know how I would rate this strange story of a woman who somehow ends up deeply involved in a couple's life, with each spouse not knowing the other is spending time with her. It takes a lot of left turns, and it's overall weird, but, damn, it has stayed with me and made me think.
As I Am. Cicely Tyson's autobiography. She's impressive, and egotistical, and humble, and not someone to mess with!
Art of the Con. By Anthony A. Amore. I like con artists in fiction, but the real ones are pretty much selfish scum. This book focuses on art-related cons; there are so many, that it becomes less and less possible to be 100% sure a piece of art is authentic.
The Verifiers. By Jane Pek. Entertaining story of a young woman who works for a company that investigates people on online matching services.
A Spool of Blue Thread. By Anne Tyler. Not her best, but she's nearly always worth reading.
Flower Drum Song
By Wendy
What a dumb movie. What a weird, racist, sexist movie. What a lot of pointless, endless choreography. What a ludicrous plot.
What fun!
Not all of it--much is just too dumb, weird, racist, sexist, etc. But there are many talented performers, and Rodgers provides his usual and wonderful gorgeous melodies. Some of the sexism is actually kind of funny. And it's an interesting snapshot of what was considered acceptable, even advanced, by a certain bunch of people at a certain point of time.
Girls Trip, Intolerable Cruelty, The Love Punch
By Holly
Girls Trip
Delightful actresses--Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish--in a story of friendship. I love seeing women supporting women stories. This one got a little too TOO for me, and too long at 2 hours, but I enjoyed enough of it. Regina Hall gave a subtle performance that raised the quality for me.
I'd give it a B-
Intolerable Cruelty
A not-their-best Coen Bros. film, kinda sorta almost a little bit worth seeing just because George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones are so good looking and charming.
C+
Love Punch
Emma Thompson, IMHO, can do very little to no wrong. Pierce Brosnan is (like Clooney and Zeta-Jones above) good looking and charming. This romantic comedy had potential: a businessman and his employees are cheated out of their retirement funds by the new owner of the company. He, along with his ex-wife, decide to work together to get the money back, in the form of a $10,000,000 diamond the new owner bought for his fiance.
Included in the "comedy" in this romcom, Thompson/Brosnan, with the help of their friends Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie, drug and restrain 2 couples who are going to a wedding where the bride will be wearing the diamond. The restraining, complete with duct tape over mouths and hands and feet tied, is just not funny.
Negatives: inconsistencies! Brosnan is afraid of heights when it suits the story, and not afraid of heights at other times.
Brosnan/Thompson have NO MONEY yet manage to pay for hotel rooms, scuba gear, rental cars, etc.
Things that couldn't ever happen, happen.
The wacky physical comedy isn't funny: Watch 4 people in their 50s climb a cliff! Watch Thompson play beach volleyball with women half her age and in perfect shape! Watch Imrie accidentally shoot a gun in a busy restaurant. Watch Thompson/Brosnan climb out a window and walk along a skinny ledge on the side of a building to get to the room with the diamond. Not LOL.
Here comes the "howevers." Nice chemistry between Emma and Pierce. Enjoyable sidekicks in the form of Spall/Imrie who really get into the spirit of the heist, learning things about each other after 35 years of marriage. The France locations are stunning. It's great seeing "older" people get to do things. I just wish they had been give better things to do.
Final grade: C
Big Brown Eyes
By Holly
This is the kind of movie that makes me understand why some people don't like movies from the 1930s.
Although it's always fun to watch Cary Grant and Walter Pidgeon, I didn't like Joan Bennett who I felt was trying to be Carole Lombard. An annoying story (jewel thievery), where the men are annoying (hitting and hitting and hitting on obviously disinterested women), and the heroine is annoying (breaking up with a boyfriend, about whom she leaps to a conclusion that he's in the wrong, and refusing his many heartfelt apologies, when he shouldn't have had to apologize because he did nothing wrong). With me being this annoyed, it's not surprising that I didn't make it through the film.
The Menu
By Holly
I totally enjoyed this movie. An excellent cast and a story that was both Agatha Christie-type familiar yet totally original. It's amazing how people's minds work, and I salute the writer and director. The cast by the way includes Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau (who was so good in Watchmen), Janet McTeer, Judith Light, John Leguizamo, and others.
I already look forward to seeing this again!
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
By Holly
I tried twice but I could not make it through this movie. Nothing in it felt real. It was cutesy and twee. Manville can do no wrong, and I love Jason Isaacs, but I didn't care about the story.
The Glenn Miller Story
By Holly
A standard Hollywood biopic, with a lovely performance by June Allyson as The Wife. The music is great. James Stewart seems about 20 years too old for the part.
Round-Up
By Wendy
The 2023 Golden Globes Awards
By Holly
Not even worth a photo. I didn't make it to the end. The worst host ever. Too long speeches. Notable moments: Ryan Murphy's speech. Jennifer Cooledge, although she talked too long. Some fantastic dresses: Jenna Ortega, Ana de Armas, Julia Garner, Jessica Chastain. Andrew Garfield looked fantastic. I hope it's more fun next year because I am insane and do the same stuff and hope for different outcomes!
Clue
I'm not sure how you manage to fill a movie with funny people--Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Martin Mull--and make such a dud of a film. It has nice costumes and... and... and... that's it for me. Added to my list of movies I never have to watch again.
Heist and Checkmate
By Wendy
Just posting to remember I saw these, so I never accidentally watch them again.
Heist: the heist is only a small part--more of it is robbers on a bus. It's mediocre but Jeffrey Dean Morgan is worth watching, as always. By the way, this is the 2015 Heist, not the 2001 movie or the TV show. And have you noticed that heist is a weird word?
Checkmate: bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Some idiots rob a bank. A priest does assassinations for hire. The devil plays chess. Danny Glover gets a paycheck.
She Said
The story of the two New York Times reporters who covered the Harvey Weinstein story, She Said is well-written, well-acted, and deeply upsetting.
The reporters are both married women with kids, and the movie does an excellent job of showing the emotional cost of spending so many months on such an ugly story.
I'm so glad to have lived into an era where two women reporters are not an anomaly--or a miracle! I much prefer Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan to Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford.
Without Merit, by Colleen Hoover
By Holly
An emotional, funny story told by a 17 year old who feels unseen by her sister, brother, father, stepmother Victoria, mother Victoria who lives in the basement, and most of the rest of the world. Nothing super novel in this novel, but spending time with this messed up family and their slowly revealed secrets was well worth 359 pages.
Monkey Business (1931)
By Holly
The anarchy of Groucho Marx in 1931 mostly comes off in 2023 as major a**holery. He batters with his words, some true and/or funny, but overall make 90 minutes feel like 4 hours. Harpo's childlike persona is frequently endearing but overshadowed by his creepy habit of running after scared women. Chico's middle of the road character comes off best and it's always a joy to watch him play piano.
This is now on my Holly's Official List of Movies She'll Never Watch Again, topped by Oklahoma and Ben-Hur, and many more.
Kaleidoscope
The new Netflix heist series, Kaleidoscope, has an interesting twist: rather than being numbered, each episode is named after a color and viewers are encouraged to watch in any order than appeals to them (although it is recommended that you watch White--the day of the heist--last). The episodes are described by their time period: three weeks before the heist, the day after the heist, etc. A Google search reveals many discussions of how to choose an order: ie, chronologically, following the order on Netflix, or various options that that the writers believe have something to offer.
The underlying idea is that each order offers a unique experience as the viewer learns information in a different order and perhaps therefore has a different sense of how the heist goes, who is trustworthy, who is working with who, and so on. I personally watched in almost the order Netflix has, with one exception (I wanted to see what had happened 25 years earlier.)
Here's the thing: you can only watch the show for the first time once. After that, even if you switch the order, you will already know what you know, so you can't be led into a different experience.
BTW, the show is fairly good. The heist is interesting but has holes you could drive a fleet of trucks through. The show has some good performances, some intriguing characters, and some beautiful women (and some combos thereof). It also has some bad performances and really, really annoying characters.
I'm glad I watched it but don't consider it a must-see.
I Know Where I'm Going
By Holly
Can loving a film be passed down from parent to child, like hair color and insanity? If so, I’ve been a fan of the 1945 British film I Know Where I’m Going since about 6 months before I was born.
My parents used to tell me about how, in the 1950s, they would seek out the film at NYC revival theaters, following it to progressively smaller venues, seeing it as often as possible. In the days before videotape and waaay before streaming, seeing a listing in the TV Guide for a desired movie was akin to finding a 4 leaf clover. And thus I was introduced to the film directed and written by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. As a teenager seeing it for the first time, I found it a little confusing and odd. But it is a movie that not only holds up to repeat viewings, but improves.
A relatively simple story—a determined woman traveling to the remote Hebrides to marry her rich boss is delayed by a gale…just long enough to fall for a charming, penniless Naval officer—is told so beautifully. The adjectives that come to mind are magical, fanciful, romantic, heart warming, lyrical, sexy, otherworldly, life-affirming, imaginative, cinematic.
Powell and Pressburger are the creators of Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) and could be thought of as the forerunners for directors like Wes Anderson and early Darren Aronofsky.
So, if you’re open and in the mood for a grown-up romance, and wish to be transported to the 1940s and Scotland, in glorious black & white, give the film a try. At the very least, watch the underknown and therefore underrated Roger Livesey. He’s subtle, unique, and has one of the top 10 voices in film.
The Birds
By Holly
I’m all for animals fighting back. (See 1972’s Frogs
for a creepy, lousy but excellent, example.) While Hitchcock’s film has about
20 great minutes in it, the rest is mostly talky and uninteresting, with never
an explanation given for anything. There are some highlights: Rod Taylor. Tippi Hedren’s
clothes, thanks to Edith Head. Bird attack scenes. Rod Taylor’s blue eyes. No
music, except for bird song. Suzanne Pleshette’s weary, resigned bitterness. Rod
Taylor.
A friend once said she couldn’t watch Jennifer Garner in
movies because she “wanted to fill in her dimples with spackle.” In a
similar vein, I wanted to smack that smug look off Hedren’s face. Maybe that’s
what the birds wanted, too.
Two notes:
If I were a bird on the jungle bars having to listen to those kids sing that awful annoying song for 5 minutes, I'd attack, too. (I found the lyrics online and include them below.)
And, HEY Tippi! Turn around and open the f*cking door!
Lyrics to the song sung by the kids in school pre-attack:
The butter came out a grizzle-y-grey. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now! The cheese took legs and ran away! Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!
She let the critter get away. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!
I asked my wife to wash the floor. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now! She gave me my hat and she showed me the door! Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, Now, now, now!
I married my wife in the month of June. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now!
I brought her off by the light of the moon. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!
She combed her hair but once a year. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!
The Wonder
By Holly
The Wonder was written in 2016 by Emma Donoghue, who also
wrote Room (2010), a worthwhile read. (Room is narrated by a 5 year old boy and made believable by Donoghue. No easy thing.) I watched the
film The Wonder first, not knowing it was based on a book, because Florence
Pugh is in it, and I’m a Pughie. After watching it alone, 2 days later I made my
husband watch it with me. I loved the movie, and the book even more.
“The wonder” is Anna, an 11 year old girl surviving on 3
sips of water a day…for 4 months. Those in charge of her 1862 Irish county want
to document Anna in order to potentially declare her a miracle. They hire a
local nun and an English Nightingdale nurse to watch over Anna and her family to see if food is being sneaked.
There are no villains in The Wonder. Donoghue is respectful
of the lives and motives of all involved. The relationship formed between Anna
and nurse Mrs. Wright is foremost, and it's unique and beautiful. All characters are
interesting and worth getting to know. I recommend both the book and the film,
now on Netflix.
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
In one episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Mary and Jenn are meeting at restaurant with decor simultaneously ritzy and tacky. Both of their faces are stiff with injections. They stand to hug, and as they pull apart Mary tells Jenn that she smells "like hospital." Jenn had been at the hospital for 4 days because her aunt was having serious surgery. Mary retches and says that the smell of "hospital" brings her to a dark place because she spent two weeks there having her odor glands removed (an elective surgery). Jenn says,
"I wish you wouldn't tell me I smell like hospital after my aunt had both her legs amputated!"
This is one of probably 50 absurd and unscripted lines that these rich, bored women utter with complete conviction each episode. I dont know if any of you would actually like it but it is available to watch on Peacock if you care to abandon your preconceptions and take a ride through insanity.
Love Is News
By Wendy
This 1937 romantic comedy, starring Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, and Don Ameche, has an interesting premise. Loretta Young is a famous millionaire who is constantly hounded by the press--in particular, reporter Tyrone Power. To give him a taste of his own medicine, she announces that they are engaged, so that he too will lose his freedom and privacy and sanity.
They don't do as much with the premise as I would like, and much of the film is dumb. But it's interesting, quick, and short, and Power and Young are excellent at looking deep in each other's eyes and being gorgeous.
The Maltese Falcon
By Wendy
If I were forced to choose an all-time favorite film, it might well be The Maltese Falcon. From the compelling story to the fabulous characters to the gorgeous black-and-white photography, the movie is a complete pleasure to me. I'm not saying it's perfect, but, for me, it's perfectly entertaining.
I think it also rates so highly to me because I've loved it forever. I don't remember ever seeing it for the first time--it's always been in my life. I figure I've seen it at least 20 times! As much as I adore many new films, a film that's been with me my whole life holds a special place.
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