Friday, July 1, 2016

June Films

- Esio Trot - Is there a 12-step program to overcome my obsession with this darling show?

- Hungry for Change - Whenever I am a bit off track with my diet and health, re-watching this documentary always brings my focus back to eating right and trying to maintain a positive outlook on myself.

- Pray the Devil Back to Hell - This film proves that females are exceptional beings. From the moment I read "Then, ordinary women did the unimaginable." I cried. And I pretty much didn't stop throughout the rest of the film. Non-violent protests to combat violence and war seems like an impossible task. The women of Liberia proved that it is not. An uplifting and gorgeous documentary.

- Toy Story 3 - Without question the greatest series of films of all time. I cannot wait until Toy Story 4 comes out next year!!!

- Tab Hunter: Confidential - Ever since Battle Cry I have thought Tab Hunter was the ultimate dreamy-dreamboat boy. This was a great documentary that gave insight to the actual person and not just the pretty boy we all drooled over. So nice to see that he is happy and living his very best life. (sidebar: Is it just me or could Sam Heughan, if he chopped off his locks, went blonde and was clean shaven, totally be a dead ringer for a young Tab Hunter?)

- City Slickers - I remember seeing this in the theatre with Rachel back in '91 and we were roaring with laughter the entire time. So many great lines, most of them from Daniel Stern. The whole scene where he is fighting with his wife at Billy Crystal's bday party was hilarious. I love when Stern screams at her, "If hate were people, I'd be China!" I mean that is brilliant writing.

- Tumbledown - This film gave me the promise of so much more. It felt kind of scattered and at times I could really sense the actors acting, which takes one from the experience of being a part of the film and places them back as merely the viewer. The Boston accents, especially Joe Something-from-True-Blood, seemed out of place seeing as only a handful of the characters spoke like Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting. I wanted so much to like this, a story of a musician who died too soon and the writing of his life by a fan of his music and by his widow, but in the end all I felt was disappointed. Why do they always make the main characters get together in the end? It's so overdone and boring. However, the songs were serene and beautiful.

- Rocky III - I have no idea what possessed me to re-watch this. It was very 80s and not really in a good way.

- Remember - I liked everything about this except the very end. It was so wonderful to see Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer in different and exciting roles. This film showcased the fact that old does not equal out of style, out of date, or out of touch. These men have more to offer now than ever before. Had the ending been different I would have absolutely loved this film, rather than been left with a disappointed taste in my mouth.

- El Topo - I had reservations about Jodo's most famous film, but actually, fact-ually, I seriously enjoyed it. It was most certainly odd and sometimes unnerving and a lot surreal, but I like the odd and unusual. Next I think I might give Holy Mountain a try...

- The Final Girls - Daddy Pax told me about this film when it first came out and I only just now got around to it. I think I saw the preview for it and decided to give it a watch because Maeby (Alia Shawkat) and Malin Åkerman were in it. (I loved Malin in happythankyoumoreplease and in The Giant Mechanical Man.) Plus it also featured Andy the manny from Modern Family (Adam DeVine) who was cast as the token douche-bag (a role he excelled at) and cutie patootie Alexander Ludwig from Vikings! I'm telling you, that Ludwig kid is so adorable I just wanna adopt him and enroll him in private school. Anyway, back to reality - this movie was really original, something nearly unheard of in the horror genre, but it was and it was super fun. The perfect Saturday afternoon flick when it's hot as blazes out and it's safer inside near the AC.

- The Salvation - That Mads Mikkelsen is the master at subtlety. He conveys so, so much without much action. I love that. Even though I skipped through the scene in the stagecoach (No thank you, rape & humiliation scenes, I have zero interest in you and wish you would go away forever, and take your real life counterparts with you.) I watched everything else and was so impressed with Eva Green's performance. Oh, and Eric Cantona and his gorgeous greying beard made for lovely background eye candy. But that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a real son-of-a-bitch. Who knew he could be so evil? However, I prefer him as a good guy...Anyway, it had been years since I saw a really good old fashioned Western and this one delivered.

Maggie's Plan

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