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.