FILM REVIEWS #482
December 5th, 2013
11/29/13- I liked this movie very much. Great and true story with great acting and very realistically done. Sad beyond sad at times. Everybody should see this movie. TRDB.
2) NEBRASKA- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “When a cantankerous old boozer thinks he’s won a magazine sweepstakes prize, his son reluctantly takes a road trip with him to claim the fortune. As they drive from Montana to Nebraska, they visit friends and relatives to whom the dad owes money.”
11/15/13- Good reviews in general and a good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
12/4/13- Basically I enjoy almost every road movie I see and this was no exception. An interesting story about families. Dern was great. TRDB.
12/3/13- The worst!! TRDB.
4/12/13- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
4/22/13- A thoroughly enjoyable movie from Scotland. Luckily that there were sub-titles. TRDB.
5/25/13- Very good reviews. TRDB.
6/7/13- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
3) MAN OF STEEL- 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.”
6/5/13-Mixed reviews in general and from the NY Times as well but I can’t imagine NOT seeing this movie. TRDB.
4) MUSEUM HOURS- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When Anne arrives in Vienna to visit an ailing relative, she takes refuge in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and befriends Johann, a guard. Director Jem Cohen blends fiction and documentary in this meditation on how art and the world shape each other.”
6/28/13- Great reviews all around including the one in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
7/17/13- While parts of this movie were both novel and interesting the movie itself was a bit boring and the one relationship in the film went nowhere. TRDB. At the Theater.
5) SIGHTSEERS– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Newly coupled Chris and Tina embark on an RV road trip to take in England’s unique sights and rolling countryside. But as events and people inadvertently raise Chris’s ire, the trip takes a gory wrong turn.”
6/16/13- Very good reviews with most reviewers calling this film weird. TRDB.
6) THE HUNT- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Lucas is rebuilding his life after a bitter divorce: He has a new job and a girlfriend, and is working on his relationship with his teenage son. But an unfounded accusation of pedophilia changes everything as his community turns against him.”
6/27/13- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
7/12/13- A very good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
7/27/13- I liked this movie very much but it was one of the most troubling films I’ve ever sat through. TRDB.
7) SOME GIRL(S)- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “A narcissistic writer who’s about to get married embarks on a cross-country journey to reconnect with each of his exes, including his high school sweetheart, a married professor and his friend’s younger sister.
6/28/13- Mixed reviews and today’s NY Times is no exception. TRBD.
8) ADORE- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this seaside drama adapted from a novella by Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s teenage sons must carry out their affairs in relative secrecy.”
8/24/13- I’ve seen just 4 reviews– 2 up, 1 down and 1 neutral. TRDB.
9/6/13- Today’s NY Times called this movie absurd. TRDB.
9) TOUCHY FEELY- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Massage therapist Abby awakens one day to discover that she’s physically repulsed by human touch, a situation that will doom her career. Meanwhile, Abby’s brother Paul, a dentist with a foundering practice, experiences unexplained success.”
9/6/13- Weak reviews in general and the review in today’s NY Times was mixed– more negative than positive. TRDB.
10) JAYNE MANSFIELD’S CAR- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In 1969 Alabama, grizzled WW II vet Jim braces for a visit from his ex-wife’s now-widowed husband, who’s bringing her body from England to bury. Soon, the tumult of the era, the changing South and generational clashes play out in Jim’s home.”
9/13/13- Poor reviews from most and a “just OK” review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
DEC. 17-
1) 2 GUNS- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Two special agents — one Naval intelligence, one DEA — partner for an undercover sting against a drug cartel that takes a serious wrong turn. Disavowed by their agencies, the pair goes on the run while trying to find out who set them up.”
8/2/13- A good review in today’s NY Times and mixed reviews elsewhere. TRDB.
2) AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “After escaping prison, Bob Muldoon begins a search for his girlfriend and young daughter, but their reunion doesn’t go as planned: He took the rap for a crime she committed, but now she’s involved with a lawman from their past.”
8/6/13- Mixed reviews with some very good ones and some really poor ones too. TRDB.
8/16/13- A negative review in today’s NY Times saying that the film was unconvincing. TRDB.
3) ELYSIUM- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this dystopian thriller set in 2159, the wealthiest humans move to a fabulous private space station, while life on Earth grows ever more grim. With no other options, an ex-con agrees to join a risky mission to bring balance to the two worlds.”
8/9/13- Mixed reviews in general and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
4) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Award-winning documentarian Morgan Spurlock turns his camera on boy band phenomenon One Direction in this combination concert film and backstage pass. The film follows the multiplatinum group as they prepare for their 2013 world tour.”
8/3/13- An OK review in today’s NY Times and mixed re.views from others. TRDB.
5) DEVIL’S PASS- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Five students retrace the steps of a group of hikers who famously perished in Russia’s Ural Mountains more than five decades prior. It isn’t long, however, before trouble besets the new group of adventurers in this found-footage chiller.”
8/9/13- No reviews as yet but this movie sounds very scary and I probably won’t see it even if it gets good reviews. TRDB.
8/23/13- The NY Times panned this film in today’s movie section. TRDB.
6) THE WORLD’S END- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Twenty years after attempting a marathon pub crawl, a group of friends reunites to give it another shot. Their ultimate destination is the World’s End pub, whose name turns out to be rather literal.”
8/23/13- An OK review in today’s NY Times and very good reviews in general. TRDB.
2) 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.”
11/21/13- I’ve seen just 1 review and it’s bad. TRDB.
9/28/13- Excellent reviews although A.O. Scott from the NY Times wrote a negative review after this film won at Cannes. TRDB.
11/2/13- Great acting by the two lead women and a lot of graphic lesbian sex have contributed to making this movie, the winner of the Palme d’Or Award in Cannes, the most talked about movie in a long time. The story itself was very good as well and I recommend the film. TRDB.
8/16/13- A poor review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
11/29/13- A weak review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
3) IS THE MAN WHO IS TALL HAPPY?- 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) applies his playful imagination to animating a series of conversations with the esteemed linguist, philosopher, political commentator and activist Noam Chomsky. At the heart of these talks is Chomsky’s theory of the emergence of language. In this intellectual feast, Gondry uses drawings to make complex ideas more accessible and to expand the documentary form.”
11/22/13- Very good reviews from everybody. TRDB.
DirecTV- www.directv.com/DTVAPP/listing/ppvMovies.jsp
Time Warner Link- www.twondemand.com
11/29/13- I liked this movie very much. Great and true story with great acting and very realistically done. Sad beyond sad at times. Everybody should see this movie. TRDB.
4) DALLAS BUYERS CLUB- Jacob Burns, Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury, Clearview 100. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Loosely based on true events, this drama follows Ron Woodroof, who refuses to accept he’ll die in 30 days when he’s diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He extends his life and eventually helps many other AIDS patients by smuggling medications from abroad.”10/16/13- Very good reviews for this Indie drama. TRDB.
11/1/13- The review in today’s NY Times gave this movie an OK review but said that it lacked passion and “played it safe.” TRDB.
11/23/13- Very good reviews but not from this guy. I felt that the movie was predictable at every stage and the acting from Jennifer Gardner was weak. The story however could have been more interesting if anyone other than McConaughey showed any interest. TRDB.
5) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS– Saw Mill Hawthorne. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this exciting adventure based on true events that made international headlines, Tom Hanks portrays Capt. Richard Phillips, who is taken hostage by Somali pirates after they hijack his cargo ship, and the U.S. Navy’s efforts to rescue him.”
10/11/13- This movie, starring Tom Hanks as Captain Phillips, has received excellent reviews but one critic said that it was a Hollywood style “A Hijacking”, a movie that I saw a few months ago that had a similar theme and was excellent. The NY Times liked it also. TRDB.
10/11/13- The movie was well done and helped along by the knowledge that it was taken from a true story. Tom Hanks did his usual good job. I enjoyed the last 15min. the most. TRDB.
6) 12 YEARS A SLAVE- Saw Mill Hawthorne, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “The autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was abducted from New York state and sold into slavery in the mid-1800s, serves as the basis for this historical drama. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Northup, and Brad Pitt plays an abolitionist.”
9/29/13- Excellent reviews. TRDB.
10/18/13- A glowing review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
11/6/13- Overall I enjoyed this movie as this is clearly a story needing to be told. The acting was wonderful. Throughout the movie I couldn’t help thinking about this as another Holocaust movie with the dehumanizing, the oppression, the splitting of families and the often random nature of the violence inflicted on the victims, in this case Blacks. My only objection was that too many scenes seemed the same to me, each showing the difficult daily life on the plantation in one form or another. TRDB.
7) GRAVITY- Saw Mill Hawthorne. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “As a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission embarks on a space walk with a seasoned astronaut, debris strikes their craft and destroys it — leaving the two floating through space tethered together, with no connection to Earth.”
10/2/13- Very good reviews and this film has been well received at festivals too. TRDB.
10/4/13- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
10/11/13- Kind of a weak story but the special effects are definitely worth the price of admission. TRDB.
For Independent Films in Palm Beach County go to www.lakeworthplayhouse.org
For Films everywhere go to- www.fandango.com
Entry Filed under: All Reviews,Old Newsletters
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