MOVIE - Love the Coopers

PG-13 (2:00)

Wide release 11/13/15

Saw this one by myself

RT Critic: 20   Audience: 41

Cag:  2.5 It was okay....

Directed by Jessie Nelson

Groundswell

Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Alan Harkin

My comments:   This was sort of stupid and unbelievable.  Diane Keaton is bent on leaving John Goodman after many years of marriage....but why?  It's totally unapparent and really dumb.  A few laughs, Alan Arkin is great....but I was pretty unimpressed.

RT Summary:  LOVE THE COOPERS follows the Cooper clan as four generations of extended family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration. As the evening unfolds, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.

MOVIE - And So It Goes

PG-13 (1:34)

Wide release 7/25/2014

Viewed 8/1/14 at ElCon (Fran and I tried to see this the day BEFORE it opened in Bangor....)

RT Critic: 16  Audience:  44

Cag:  3/liked it - a nice "feel good" movie

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Clarius Entertainment

Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton

My comments:  Okay, so maybe this wasn't the most brilliant or clever movie ever made - but chalk it up as a just-fine "feel good" movie; a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, especially if you're in the over-50 crowd.

RT Summary:  There are a million reasons not to like realtor Oren Little (Michael Douglas), and that's just the way he likes it. Willfully obnoxious to anyone who might cross his path, he wants nothing more than to sell one last house and retire in peace and quiet -- until his estranged son suddenly drops off a granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) he never knew existed and turns his life upside-down. Clueless about how to care for a sweet, abandoned nine-year-old, he pawns her off on his determined and lovable neighbor Leah (Diane Keaton) and tries to resume his life uninterrupted. But little by little, Oren stubbornly learns to open his heart - to his family, to Leah, and to life itself - in this uplifting comedy from acclaimed director Rob Reiner

Movie - The Big Wedding

R (1:29)

Wide release April 26, 2013

Saw it at Crossroads Sat. afternoon 5/25/13 (Happy Birthday, Steve...)

Comedy

RT Critic:  8% Audience: 69%

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Justin Zackham

Lionsgate Films

Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, Robin Williams, Amanda Seyfried

My thoughts:  The Big Wedding was a frivolously fun movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon.  There were lots of good ha ha's and many gentle chuckles...and even a few snorts coming from me.  What a fantastic cast to be able to watch, some famous names and a few new faces that were quite delightful.  You could tell exactly what was going to happen, there were no surprises at all, but that was okay...that's not the kinds of movie it was.  The setting - a huge house on the edge of a clear, calm lake on a perfect summer weekend (by watching the credits I think it was somewhere in or about Greenwich, CT).   I enjoyed the movie a lot.  And Topher Grace was adorable.

Fandango/Rotten Tomatoes synopsis:  A charmingly modern family tires to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential to become a full blown family fiasco. To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (De Niro and Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process