BELLE- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “This period drama based on fact traces the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a biracial girl born in 1761 to a British admiral father and an African mother. Raised by her great-uncle, Dido finds her place in society despite her mixed ethnicity.”
5/2/14- Fairly good reviews and the NY Times liked it. TRDB.
Add comment May 2nd, 2014
BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In her search for new pursuits after retirement, married Caroline unexpectedly finds romance with a flirty hunk who’s decades younger. But her newly reinvigorated self seems surprisingly unconcerned by the consequences of her actions.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews, mostly positive. TRDB.
Add comment May 2nd, 2014
BLUE RUIN- 2003. Synopsis by Netflix. “Bad news from the past unhinges vagabond Dwight Evans, sending him on a mission of bloody retribution that takes him to his boyhood hometown. After killing his quarry, Dwight holes up in a relative’s house to await payback from his victim’s family.”
4/27/14- Good reviews from critics and audiences as well. The NY Times did not care for it. TRDB.
10/14/14– A suspenseful, well done thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Lots of blood so be warned. TRDB.
Add comment April 27th, 2014
PERFECT SISTERS- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “On January 18, 2003, police, alerted by a frantic 911 call from a distraught pair of teenage girls, arrived at the girls Toronto area town house to find their mother dead. It appeared the 44-year-old alcoholic, having slipped into a booze-and-pill stupor, drowned in her own bathwater. The death was ruled accidental by the authorities. But rumors quickly start to circle the girls, was it an accident or something more sinister?”
4/11/14– Good reviews for the teen actresses but NOT for the movie. TRDB.
11/12/19- The review above just about says it all. TRDB. Netflix Disc.
Add comment April 12th, 2014
STAY- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Ex-professor Dermot and his girlfriend, Abbey, are forced to reevaluate their feelings about family when she becomes pregnant. Facing an uncertain future, Abbey revisits her roots in Canada, while Dermot forges a tentative bond with a local boy.”
3/21/14- Poor reviews in general but it did sound interesting to me. The NY Times was “so-so” on this one. TRDB.
Add comment March 23rd, 2014
NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME 1- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac reveals a lifetime of sexual experiences to a man who saves her from being beaten in an alley. As the aging but charming bachelor tends to the woman, she shares erotic details of encounters from her youth to her present.”
3/21/14- Very good reviews for Lars von Trier’s latest. The NY Times liked it also. TRDB.
7/9/14- Definitely different and I can’t say I liked it. I will not see Volume 2. TRDB.
Add comment March 23rd, 2014
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON- 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Ryota (Masaharu Fukuyama) is a successful Tokyo architect who works long hours to provide for his wife, Midori (Machiko Ono) and six-year-old son, Keita. But when a blood test reveals Keita and another baby were switched at birth, two very different families are thrown together and forced to make a difficult decision while Ryota confronts his own issues of responsibility and what it means to be a father. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON extends the Japanese cinema tradition of familial exploration to deliver a gentle and moving story of personal redemption that playfully navigates its way through the drama.”
1/17/14– An excellent review in today’s NY Times and from others as well. TRDB.
3/12/14- An superb portrayal of what “family” means. Wonderful acting by all and definitely a must-see.” TRDB.
Add comment January 17th, 2014
HOURS- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “After Nolan’s wife dies in childbirth during Hurricane Katrina, his newborn daughter is placed on a ventilator. When the hospital is evacuated, he stays with her, desperate to keep her alive as the storm rages around them.”
12/13/13- Mixed reviews in general but the NY Times liked it. TRDB.
Add comment December 13th, 2013
AMERICAN HUSTLE- 2003. Synopsis by Netflix. “This fictionalization of the “Abscam” scandal of the early 1980s follows con man Irving Rosenfeld and his lover, Sydney Prosser, as they help an eccentric FBI agent expose corruption among several members of Congress in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”
12/13/13- A very good review in today’s NY Times and from most other critics as well. TRDB.
12/20/13- Way over the top in every way but lots of fun and I liked it. TRDB.
Add comment December 13th, 2013
COLD TURKEY- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this holiday-gone-bad yarn, Peter Bogdanovich plays the patriarch of the dysfunctional Turner clan, a blended family gathering for Thanksgiving. But with the arrival of estranged daughter Nina, long-simmering grievances and resentments surface.”
11/22/13- Awful reviews all over and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
Add comment November 22nd, 2013