Tag Archives: films

Shipshape

Posted on October 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

I saw All is Lost starring Robert Redford yesterday.

I’m still thinking about it.

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Our Man (as Redford’s character is credited) is forced to face his mortality when his yacht is damaged by a random shipping crate adrift in the ocean.

I couldn’t help thinking how I would handle the same situation.

I wouldn’t tackle the problem with such silent determination. Although alone, I would curse and shout and cry out in frustration.

I also probably wouldn’t be as patient and thoughtful…or nearly as inventive.

I hope I would show one-tenth of his courage.

Critics call this Redford’s best performance; I agree. And I applaud the writer and director on the ending…

…which you are not getting out of me here. No sirree.

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No ordinary film

Posted on October 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

Robert Redford’s new film All is Lost opened today in select markets.

It’s getting major awards show buzz, and I want to see it. But since I’m not in one of those markets tonight, I found myself re-watching the movie that earned Redford a Best Director Oscar way back in 1980.

Ordinary People

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I love everything about this film.

I love the way “Pachelbel’s Canon” is interwoven throughout the film…and the quiet when words are not spoken.

I love that Mary Tyler Moore took on such an emotionally closed-off character…and that Donald Sutherland provides just the right balance of heart and wisdom.

I love Timothy Hutton’s inspired performance…and the fact he won an Oscar for his very first feature film role.

And I love that, viewing after viewing, the movie still makes me cry. And think.  And want to watch it again.

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Heavy

Posted on October 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

I rushed to the theatre to see the movie Gravity for two reasons:

  1. the terrifying space collision that we get a tantalizing glimpse of in the movie trailer; and
  2. Sandra Bullock’s performance, which has received rave reviews and early Oscar buzz.

The views of space are breathtaking, and the accident that drives the plot drains whatever air remains in your lungs.  I saw the movie in 3D, and its use is at once seamless and highly effective.

gravity posterGeorge Clooney is his usual playful self in his scenes with Bullock, but I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say she appears alone onscreen for a majority of the movie.

Tom Hanks goes solo on an island in Castaway, and Robert Redford on a crippled yacht in the upcoming All is Lost, so it’s about time an actress — especially one of Bullock’s caliber — gives it a try.

But while Bullock’s Dr. Stone is well-acted — and I was on the edge of my seat time and time again — I left the movie feeling very little emotional connection to her character.  I just expected…more.

Let me know what you think.

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We look but cannot see

Posted on September 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Earlier this week, my friend Caroline re-watched The Way We Were after many years away from the film, and was blown away by two things:

  • Robert Redford the actor; and
  • Robert Redford the amazingly good-looking human being.

robert redford TWWWThe latter is an area of universal agreement.  No man has ever looked better than Redford did in this film.

See how Barbra Streisand is gazing up at him in the still from the movie?  Insert any woman — or man of that ilk — and they will have the same look of stunned appreciation on their face.

Perfection does that to a person.

Redford’s acting, on the other hand, has not always received the same level of appreciation.  But his upcoming movie, All is Lost, has generated Best Actor Oscar buzz at film festivals.

Take a look at the early trailer below.

Perhaps now that Redford is craggy instead of captivating, audiences are better able to focus on his performance.

I’ll be there!

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It feels like the first time

Posted on June 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Actors hate being typecast.

But producers (who like money) and audiences (who like what they like) usually support it. Perhaps that explains why Rachel McAdams is starring in yet another romantic comedy, About Time.
 

 
It looks great, right? I literally cried the first time I saw the trailer. But Rachel playing the wife of yet another time traveler?

It’s like she’s cheating on Eric Bana!!

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Fake Hollywood couples who make me happy

Posted on March 13, 2013 | 3 comments

Adam Sandler is a man of extremes.

When his movies are good (The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates), they are very, very good.  And when they are bad (Little Nicky, Jack and Jill, That’s My Boy)…

They’re horrible.

wedding singerMe thinks Sandler has been looking at his filmography and noticed a common thread running through his very best films — Drew Barrymore. Could that be why he’s starring in and co-producing a new film with her?

The Hollywood Reporter says yes!

In the rumored film, the two portray single parents who had a bad first date, but soon after are trapped together at a vacation resort with their kids.  Hilarity ensues.

I loved The Wedding Singer.  It’s my very favorite Adam Sandler film.  And I just re-watched 50 First Dates last weekend and laughed myself silly when Drew Barrymore — to protect Sandler — beats the crap out of Rob Schneider with a baseball bat.

Good times.

Both films made big bucks at the box office, so I know I’m not the only one who loves this duo.  Let’s get excited!!

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Still-er funny

Posted on December 18, 2012 | 1 comment

It’s Tuesday — time to tout one of my favorite flicks!

AMC agrees.

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The 2000 comedy, Keeping the Faith, was featured on AMC this very afternoon while I was working from home.

(Really.  I was.)

Ben Stiller and Edward Norton star as a rabbi and a priest.  Jenna Elfman is the woman they both fall in love with.

The city of New York provides the backdrop for both their childhood story — the three were good friends — and their reunion as adults (where all hell breaks loose).

I love seeing Edward Norton in a lighter role like this, and Ben Stiller in a comedy that isn’t quite so over the top.

It’s the perfect feel-good film for the holidays.  Trust me —

I feel better already.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Religion

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Name callin’

Posted on June 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Did you know that if you Google the term ‘old maid,’ you get photos of Bette Davis?

That’s rather unexpected.

Apparently the screen legend was in a movie called The Old Maid in 1939.  (I feel better not remembering it.)

In the film, an ex-lover arrives on her wedding day and “sets in motion a chain of events which will alter her and her cousin’s lives forever.”

Hmmm…wonder who ends up being the old maid in this scenario?  I ask because according to the calendar, today is Old Maid’s Day.

That’s right.

I am tickled by the idea, the phrasing and now the discovery that there is a movie of the same name.  Might need to rent it to pay the proper homage to this oh-so-archaic of holidays.

But hey, if the shoe fits…

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Rain day

Posted on January 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Guess who was waiting to greet me at my front door this morning?

Surly little devil.

And rumor has it he plans to hang around all day.

Uninvited.

Now, I have two possible responses to my unwelcome guest.

First, I can let him ruin my day.  Get nothing accomplished.  Eat too much.  Get depressed. Perhaps shed a tear or two for no particular reason.

Or I can chose the far healthier response…

Go see a movie.

I still may not get as much work done as originally planned.  I may — okay, I will — eat junk food.  And if I end up crying, that simply means…

It was another great day at the theatre.

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