MOVIE - Grandma

R (1:22)

Limited release 8/21/15

Viewed Friday 1/22/16 at Kolb cheapie theater

RT Critic:  92  Audience:  71
Critic's Consensus:  Boasting a stellar performance from Lily Tomlin and some powerfully empathetic work from writer-director Paul Weitz, Grandma is a dramedy that shouldn't have to ask you to visit.

Cag:  4 - Liked it a lot

Directed by Paul Weitz

Sony Pictures Classics
will be on DVD 2/9/16

Lily Tomlin, Marcia Gay Harden, Sam Elliot

My comments: Lily Tomlin was great, though I must say some of her "antics" were a little too over-the-top.  Many were right-on of course.  Grief, loss, love, disagreements, family sticky stuff were all examined, with a pretty decent resolution.  I totally enjoyed it, and the thinking that was provoked during and after.

RT Summary:  Lily Tomlin stars as Elle who has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when Elle's granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing $600 bucks before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash as their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets

MOVIE - I'll See You In My Dreams

PG-13 (1:35)

Limited release 5-15-15

Viewed 8-18-15 At Century Gateway with Sheila

RT Critic:  94  Audience:   71

Cag:  2.5 - It was okay, I liked some of it

Directed by Brett Haley

Bleecker Street

Blythe Danner, Sam Elliott, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb, 

My comments:  Okay, big time depressing.  Good movie though, especially the scenes with Carol (Blythe Danner) and her three best friends, all living in little cottages in a retirement community in southern California - Rhea Perlman, June Squibb, and Mary Kay Place.  But looking at Carol's life, thinking about some of the things people in the movie say about death, seeing how suddenly a life can end....as well as watching the poor young man who's hopelessly stuck cleaning pools when he wants to be writing poetry (I know, I know, at the end there might be a teeny, tiny turning of events, but who knows....)  Too much leftover thinking for me.  The kind of stuff I don't want to think about. Hmmm.....

RT Summary:  In this vibrant, funny, and heartfelt film, a widow and former songstress discovers that life can begin anew at any age. With the support of three loyal girlfriends (June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place), Carol (Blythe Danner) decides to embrace the world, embarking on an unlikely friendship with her pool maintenance man (Martin Starr), pursuing a new love interest (Sam Elliott), and reconnecting with her daughter (Malin Akerman).