Movie Reports

Two friends have an offbeat hobby, they make cheesy low budget sci fi actions films.  One of them, the black guy, gets super serious and dreams of making it big with their films so they buckle down and try to make a thirty minute low budget sci fi epic.  Once they screen the film they're kind of shocked that audiences find it funny and not some amazing action epic.

This is a fun little documentary about how dreams can get the better of you.  If you like films about film making, then this one is for you.  Catch this one on Netflix instant.

This creepy claustrophobic film is about a house owned by a couple of Argentine men who worked for the military dictatorship of the 1970's.  They've grown old now but they still love to torture and maim young people.  Some sexy young people stumble in to this house of horror and things get explosive.

I quite liked this one.  It's on Netflix instant.

 George Takei has led a remarkable life.  He was interred at one of the interment camps that FDR ordered during WW2, he went on to become a well known actor, who was a role model for many young Asians who grew up seeing only white people on TV, a politician and a public servant, a player in the LGBTQ community, and a true showbiz legend who has used his fame and celebrity to make the world a better place.  This cute documentary tells his story from several different perspectives.  Takei's husband is a big part of this film and rightfully so, he's a huge part of Takei's current success and Takei admits that without him, he'd be a mess.  Their relationship is a shining example of what marriage should be, people who love one another who work, play, and march through life together.

I highly recommend this sweet documentary, it's on Netflix instant.

An uber wealthy pampered woman's life falls apart after her husband's dubious business dealing are uncovered.  He goes to prison where he ends his life and she moves out to San Francisco to start all over with the help of her poor but proud adopted sister.  She tries to fit in and become what we would think of as 'normal,' but her sense of entitlement and the memory of her wealth gets the better of her and she fucks up the new life her sister helps her build.

I had mixed feelings watching this one but in the end I really liked it.  I despised Blanchett's character throughout most of the film, as I think we're supposed to do.  I quite liked Sally Hawkins, she turned in yet another solid performance but for me, the performance that stole this film was the one turned in by Andrew Dice Clay of all people.  His working class roots allowed him to tap into the impotent rage that  his working class character has after he loses all his money in the financial double dealings.
This one if one of Woody Allen's better later films.  It works because Allen knows these wealthy New York types.  It also works because Allen isn't in it and none of the characters are a stand in for him.  I recommend it, and I bought it on Amazon's streaming service.

A Monkey Movie Report

In late 1960's Britain in a Ford plant a group of union women were paid substantially less than their male co workers were, once they found out out about it, they went on strike and they brought Ford in the UK to its knees. This fine little film tells the story of this fateful working class victory.

All the principals acquit themselves quite well and as usual Sally Hawkins turns in another fine performance. Geraldine James, Bob Hoskins, and Miranda Richardson also are stellar in this film. Also the soundtrack, which is full of period music, is quite nice too. I loved that they used a couple of Desmond Dekker songs in it.

We had to watch it with the subtitles on because the accents were a bit impenetrable at first but once my ear got used to them I tuned out the subtitles and I got on with enjoying the film.

This film is an inspirational little gem that should stand along side other great films about unions and unionizing, such as Norma Rae and Bread and Roses. I highly recommend it.

A Monkey Movie Review

For every hundred coming of age films that are about a horny teenage boy trying to lose his cherry there's one really good coming of age film about a teenage girl. In my opinion there have been two really great ones and they are The Slums of Beverly Hills and this film:
The story in this movie is as old as time itself. Girl meets worldly suave older man, older man shows her the finer things in life, seduces her, then she finds out about the past that he's been hiding and they break up. It's been done before in other films but rarely has it been done this well. And a lot of the credit for how well it goes in this film is due to the film's author, Nick Hornby (who also wrote my favorite Christmas movie ever, About a Boy), and to all the actors who brought his words and characters to life.

Peter Sarsgaard is neatly creepy as the older man who befriends the young girl, played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan. He reminded me of Harold Pinter character, a nice guy but if you scratch his thin veneer there's a shitload of menace underneath. He's chilling at times and at others he's a little lonely puppy dog who wants nothing more than to hold and entertain Mulligan's character.

Other standouts in this film are Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour as Mulligan's parents. They start out as gruff parents who want their daughter to be well rounded in school and to make grades good enough to get her into one of the finer colleges in England. But when they are seduced by Sarsgaard's charm and the promise of his money, they abandon their hopes for their daughter's education when it looks like she's going to be married to him one day soon. To see them rationalize this 180 degree change is fascinating and sickening all at once. Olivia Williams is a stand out as the teacher who sees that Mulligan is on the wrong path and in a rare chillingly unlikeable role, Emma Thompson is great as the icy headmistress of the Mulligan's school. Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike also give great nuanced performances as Sarsgaard's accomplices and friends. And finally, in a cameo role Sally Hawkins infuses more quiet dignity and desperation in a moment or two on screen than most actors do in a lifetime of work.

This is a fine film that I highly recommend.

Brunette of the week

Sally Hawkins.

A Micro Monkey Movie Review

Best Mike Leigh film ever. Sally Hawkins is luminous and cute as a button in this sweet slice of life movie. Eddie Marsan is creepily great as well. Highly recommended.

Start your summer off right with these LOL Cats thingys I made for you: