Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Alphabetical Listing of Movies I've Seen and Reviewed Since Mid-2008

I Love My Movies!!

2024 Movie List
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2019 Movie List
2018 Movie List
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2016 Movie List
2015 Movie List
2014 Movie List
2013 Movie List
2012 Movie List
2011 Movie List

2 Guns (8-8-13) enjoyable, but nothing special (3)
3 Billboards Oustide Ebbing, Missouri (1/11/18) Talk about great acting, wow! (5.5)
10 Cloverfield Lane  (3-11-16) Not particularly "thriller" or "smart" IMHO (2)
17 Again (7-20-09) Cute and light (78%)
33 Postcards (5-17-13) Liked it despite its badness and goodness...something different! (3)
About Time (12/11/2013) great, feel-good movie! (4)
Accountant, The  (10-17-16) Brilliant, intertwining story with Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick! (5.5)
Adam (9-1-09) Wonderful acting and moving story. (90%)
Adjustment Bureau, The Clever entertainment (2)
Admission
Adventureland (5/15/09) Entertaining, untrivialized comedy-drama (70%)
After (4/28/19) Sweet teenage flick (4)
All Is True (5/27/19) Could any of it be true? (5)
Alvin & the Chipmunks, the Squeakuel (12-26-09) The kids loved it. (50%)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (12-29-11) It was okay (cute) (2)
Alvin & the Chipmunks - Road Chip (12-23-15) fun and cute, not bad at all (4)
Amazing Spider Man, The (9-4-12) It dragged on and on and on... (2)
American Hustle (1-2-14) This movie just tickled me! (5.5)
American Ultra 8/20/15 (2.5) Bloody, stupid, but entertaining
Amreeka (6-9-11) Another good one! (4)
Angels & Demons (5/09)- Nonstop action with never a dull moment (70%)
Annihilation (3/1/18) Creepy SciFi (4)
Annie (12/28/14) Hugely disappointing (2)
Anonymous (2-2-12)
Ant Man and the Wasp (8/23/18) Really well cast (4)
Anthropoid (8-21-16)) Learned a bit about Czecholslovakia during Hitler's reign (4)
Argo Wonderful movie, loved it (5)
Arrival, The (11-17-16) A scifi wowzer film (5.5+)
Artist, The (1-26-11) Loved it (5)
Attack, The (8-22-13) nope, the book was SO much better.... (2)
August: Osage County (1-29-14) Dysfunctional family hysteria (5)
Austenland (11/14/2013) cute, and much better than the book (3)
Avatar (1-10-10) Saw it in 3-D..Amazing! (96%)
Avengers, The (6-2-12) (and again 6-26-12 with Brendan) Liked it quite a bit (3.5)
Avengers: Infinity War (8/5/2018) Super fun (4.5)
Baby Driver - (7-3-17)  A total fun ride! (4.5)
Back-up Plan, The, The (4-26-10) - Don't expect any surprises - but gorgeous protagonists (40%)
Bad Moms (10-3-16) funny...could have been funnier (3)
Bad Words (5-14-14) A freakin' riot - going to be a favorite (5)
Beatriz at Dinner (6-30-17) Disappointing, great potential by cop-out ending
Beautifully Broken (9/2/18) Making-a-difference tearjerker (4.5)
Beauty and the Beast (3/21/17) Lovely music (3.5)
Before Midnight (7-21-13) just dialogue (but some really good dialogue!) (2)
Begin Again (7-13-2014) Loved the music and most of the storyline (4.5)
Beginners (12-23-11) Liked it a lot (4)
Belle (5-28-14) A gorgeous, thought-provoking retelling of history (5)
Bernie (6-5-12) Definitely a keeper, Liked it a lot (4)
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (5-22-12) Loved it (5)
Big Sick, The (7-13-17) True story with a lot of heart (5)
Big Wedding, The (5-25-13) It was lots of fun - very predictable but fun (4)
Big Year, The (11-18-11) "Obsessed birders with heart," fun to watch three really good actors (3)
Birder's Guide to Everything, A (4-2-14) A sweet and funny coming-of-age (3.5)
Birdman (12/20/14) well crafted and unforgettable.... (4.5)
Black Mass  (10/1/15) great retelling of a true story (5)
Black Panther (3/11/18) Great set, costumes & sound (4.5)
Black Swan (12-20-10) Intriguing psychological story with too much ballet (85%)
BlackKklansmen (9/12/18) Sickening and brilliant (5)
Blade Runner (10/5/17) Ryan Gosling was awesome! (4.5)
Blended (8-25-14) Stupid, but fun (3)
Blind Side, The (11-26-09) A based-on-real-life feel-good movie (90%)
Blue Jasmine (8-16-13) sad, but brilliantly acted (4.5)
Bohemian Rhapsody (11/13/18) OMG - Amazing!  (5.5)
Book Thief, The (1-28-14) Stunning & sad (4.5)
Bookshop, The (10/25/18) Crappy (1.5)
Boss Baby (3/2017) Mediocre (2.5)
Bottle Shock (10/24/08) Lots of Fun (75%)
Bounty Hunter (7-8-10) Cute but trite (55%)
Bourne Legacy, The  Liked it a whole lot (4.5)
Breaking Dawn Part 1 (11-24-11) Splendid scenery, sets, and makeup (4)
Breakthrough (5/19/19) True & faith-based, but not shoved down throat (4.5)
Bridesmaids (5-11) Rip Roarin' Funny! ! ! (5)
Bridge of Spies (10/15) Wonderful movie (6)
Bridget Jones's Baby (11/1/16) Much better than expected and very funny (4)
Brooklyn (5.5) An almost-perfect movie
Brothers Bloom, The (7-14-09) Great story with really likeable protagonists (91%)
Bumblebee (1/15/19) Not my cuppa/only for T (2)
Burnt (1-28-16)  Bradley Cooper playing a chef.... (4)
Butler, The (9-4-13) a great overview of the civil rights movement (5)
Cabrini (3/28/24) Strong females, ruling white men, immigration...(6)
Cafe Society (10-2-16) Woody Allen set in the 1930s (4)
Call Me by Your Name (2/24/18) Coming-of-age love story between two guys (5)
Capernaum (3/24/19 Amazing visual storytelling (6)
Captain America: Civil War (90) Super Heroes at their best! (4)
Capitalism, A Love Story (11-28-09) Informative, but a little choppy (74%)
Captain Fantastic (8/14/16) Wonderful...thought-provoking AND sad
Captain Marvel (3/10/19) So-so, cute cat (3.5)
Captain Phillips (10/24/2013) Edge-of-your-seat true story (5)
Cedar Rapids (3-19-11) Funnnnneeeee.....and fun (4)
Chef (5-23-11) Totally delightful (4.5)
City Island (5-13-10) A new favorite - quirky with lots of laughs (95%)
Crazy Heart (1-30-10) Jeff Bridges was amazing! (96%)
Columbiana Liked it a lot (4)
Company You Keep, The (5-3-13) I liked it a lot (4)
Country Strong (1-12-11) Love the music (3)
Cowboys and Aliens Liked it (3)
Crazy Rich Asians (9/9/18) So much fun! (4.5)
Crazy, Stupid, Love (8-7-11) Watching what the men will wear next is the best part...really cool outfits! (4)
Criminal (5-13-16) fun-to-watch thriller with a happy ending  (4)
Cyrus (7-22-10) Nowhere as good as expected...disappointing, actually (66%)
Dallas Buyers Club (11/19/2013) almost flawless and unforgettable (6)
Danny Collins 94/30/15) a new favorite (6)
Dark Phoenix (6/9/19) Didn't care about anyone in this one (3)
Dark Shadows (5-14-12) Liked it a lot (4)
Date Night (4-28-10) - Fun and Funnnnnnny (87%)
Dead Don't Die, The (6/30/19) a WTF, fun-to-watch movie (4)
Deadpool (5/10/16) Crass, funny, and violent (4)
Deadpool 2 (5/19/18) Fuuuuuuny... (4)
Debt, The, It was okay (2)
Denial (10-24-16) learned much about the British Judicial system (4)
Descendant, The (12-9-11) Loved it (5)
Despicable Me 3 (7/27/17) mediocre (2)
Despicable Me 4 (7/29/24) More fun that I thought it'd be (4)
Dinner, The  (5-8-17) Bizarre with a cop-out ending (3)
Disobedience (6/21/18) Gay and Orthodox... (5)
Divergent (3-29-14) Equaled expectations and was fun to watch (3)
Doctor Strange (11-15-16) Special effects are AMAZING (5)
Don Jon (10/13)  I keep thinking about this one...(5)
Dora (8/11/19) Disappointing (2.5)
Double Hour, The (7-30-11) Good movie. Good mystery. Great storytelling. (4)
Doubt (2/25/09) Fantastic acting (80%)
Dough  (5/5/16) Jewish baker in London (4)
Downhill (2/13/2020) Stupid and sad (2)
Dressmaker, The  (10-27-16) Great and Horrible at the same time (3)
Duplicity (5/7/09) Very entertaining (70%)
East, The (8-18-13) just terrific (6)
Easy A (9-22-10)  Delightful.  Fun.  Clever (90%)
Eat, Pray, Love (8-25-10) Gorgeous settings - Rome, India, Bali  70%
Eclipse (7-4-10)  Better than the book! (89%)
Eddie the Eagle (2/28/16) A true event feel-good story   (5)
Eighth Grade (8/6/18) Bleh (2)
Fading Gigolo (5-9-14) Fun to watch (3.5)
Fair Game (12-9-10) Entertaining AND educating. (93%)
Family, The () as much as I wanted to love it, I didn't (2)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (12-4-16) HarryPotterish/Rowling Fantasy (4)
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (12/15/18) A bit confusing and long (2.5)
Father Figures (12/26/18) Great fun, and really funny, too (4)
Fifth Estate, The (10/31/13) interesting and informative (3)
Fifty Shades Darker (2/27/17) Mmmm, Jamie Dornan.... (3.5)
Fifty Shades Freed (2/12/18) OMG, Jamie Dornan (3.5)
Fifty Shades of Grey - 2/13/15 Sinfully delicious (4)
Fighter, The (3-6-11) Great accents...acting....and story! (6)
Finding Dory (8/2016) Saw it twice - and didn't mind.... (3.5)
First Reformed (6/21/18 yup, two in one day...) Bizarro (Unrateable at the moment)
Five Feet Apart (4/6/19) Too many tears, good story (4)
Five Year Engagement, The (5-26-12) Liked it a whole lot (4.5)
Florence Foster Jenkins (10/14/16) A farce, based on a true story.... (4.5)
Footloose (12-15-11) Liked it (3)
Frankie & Alice (5-1-14) Fascinating (4)
Friends with Benefits Liked it a lot (4)
From Paris With Love (3-30-10) A bit boring at first, but redeemed itself with tongue-in-cheek humor (68%)
Frozen (1-1-14) Great music and animation (4.5)
Get Out (3/8/18) Bizarrre, creepy, wonderful fun (5)
Ghost in the Shell, The (4/4/17) Good creepy (4)
Ghost Town (11/7/08)  Imaginative and quite funny (70%)
Ghost Writer, The (3-12-10) Kept me engrossed and thinking (81%)
Gifted (4/24/17) Loved this one (4.5)
Gigantic (6/2/09) Quirky and clever, a new favorite (95%)
Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2-13-11) Disappointing, left me wanting something more....(2)
The Girl in the Spider's Web (11/19/18) As improbable as it was enjoyable (3)
Girl Who Played With Fire, The (8-22-10)  Mesmerizing - but not as good as the first one (88%)
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The (English) Loved it even though I didn't want to (5)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The (Swedish) (6-13-10) Wow.  An incredible movie! (97%)
Giver, The (8-17-14) A great flick based on a favorite book (4.5)
Glass (1/22/19) Great psychological thriller (4)
Glass Castle, The (8/26/17) Terrific Movie based on a memoir (5.5)
Gloria (3-19-14) For all women of a "certain age" (4)
Gnomeo and Juliet (3-1-11) Didn't like it (1)
God's Pocket (5-16-14) Dark and depressing (2)
Goldfinch, The (9/14) wonderful adaptation (5)
Gone Girl (10-8-14) not-so-great book, great movie (5)
Grand Budapest Hotel, The (3-26-14) A freakin' riot! (4)
Grandma  (1/22/16) Lily Tomlin and lots to think about... (4)
Greatest Showman, The (1/20/18) A decent musical, great music (3.5)
Greenberg (4-13-10) Slow-moving, hard to care about the characters (45%)
Grown Ups 2 (11/22/13) stupid...perfect for a Friday night (3)
Grown Ups (7-18-10)  Hilarious! (85%)
Guardians of the Galaxy(11/2014) Fun (3)
Guilt Trip, The (2-15-13) Quite a few chuckles, enjoyable (3.5)
Hamlet 2 (9/28/08) Expecting More (1.5)
Hanna (4-23-11) I expected something more, but I'm not sure what.... (2)
Happy-Go-Lucky (12/12/08) Charming and fun (5)
Harry Potter & the Deathly Harrows (8-8-11) All Harry's movie...not quite enough of everyone else... (2)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows Part 1 (12-2-10) The book dragged, the movie didn't! (92%)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7-15-09) A blast! (91%)
Hateful Eight, The (4) Bloody and gorry and funny
Heat, The (8-6-13) freakin' hilarious (5)
Hector and the Search for Happiness (10-9-14) Quirkily terrific (5)
Hell or High Water (9-11-16) One of the best in a long time...high cudos for acting and story (6)
Hello, My Name is Doris (2016) Left me incredibly depressed (2.5)
Help, The (8-16-11) Wish I'd read the book first - the movie was a very good period piece. (3)
Help, The (1-15-12) Liked it a lot (4), seen for the 2nd time
Hidden Figures (1-15-17) Eye-opening and masterful true story (6)
Hollars, The (4) Dramady with great actors
Hologram for the King, A (5) another Tom Hanks winner
Home Again (9-7-17) Cuteness abounds (3)
Hope Springs (9-13-12 Hilarious and sweet, Liked it a lot (4)
Horrible Bosses Sheila hated it and left - pretty crass, but funny in places (3)
Hostiles (1/25/28) Violent, sad, and one helluva movie (5.5)
Hot Tub Time Machine (4-2-10) This really stunk (38%)
House Bunny, The (9/14/08) Extremely silly (1)
How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (2/22/19) Entertaining enough... (3.5)
Hundred Foot Journey (8/31/2014) cute, fun, and a taste of India and France! (4)
Hunger Games, The () Loved it (5)
Hunger Games: Catching Fire (12/6/13) watchable, good in places, but draggy in others... (2)
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (11/28/15) bleh (2)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (6/30/16) Delightful - a great family film from New Zealand (5)
Hustle, The (5/15/19) Funny and not stupid! (4)
I Am Love (8-5-10) Some WOW, Some Blech (81% )
I am Number Four (2-22-211) SO kept my attention, but the book was better. (2)
I Feel Pretty (5/3/18) Fun, funny, charming with a message (3.5)
Ida (6/15/14) Overly long, overly dark (literally) and overly depressing (2)
Ides of March (1-27-11) Really loved it (5.5)
I'll See You In My Dreams (8/18/15) Quite depressing with two hilarious scenes (2.5)
The Imitation Game (1/23/15) Great movie, based on a true story (5)
Impossible, The
In Time (12-2-11) Thrilling to watch and interesting to think about (4)
Incendies (5-29-11) Powerful - a masterful piece of storytelling(6)
Inferno (10-31-16) Confusing and disjointed (3)
Instant Family (12/18/18) Perfectly cast, funny and heartwarming (5)
Instructions Not Included (8/30/13) just wonderful and F-U-N-N-Y (5.5)
Interstellar (12/31/14) Long movie, but very entertaining (4.5)
Insurgent (3/20/15) Pretty decent - followed the book quite well, too.... (3.5)
Intern, The  (1/13/16) Delightful, about friendship between different aged people (4.5)
Into the Woods (1/9/15) Weak plot and story line, singing's great (2)
Invention of Lying, The (11-19-09) Some good chuckles, entertaining.... (65%)
Invictus (3-24-10) Wonderful...you don't even need to "get" rugby (86%)
Ironman 3 (5-27-13) Liked it at least three times more than Ironman 2 (3.5)
Iron Man 2 (5-25-10) Can't even compare to Iron Man 1 (42%)
Isn't It Romantic (2/18/19) Cute, not enough singing and dancing (3)
It's Complicated (1-6-10) (84%)
Jack Reacher (12-22-12) Very entertaining (3.5)
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (11-9-16) Really well done (4.5)
Jane Eyre (4-28-11)  a lovely film for a classic story (4)
Jane Got a Gun (11-16-16) Good western with great leads (4.5)
Jason Bourne (8/28/16) All car chases and macho (3)
Julie & Julia (11-25-09) Simply wonderful in every way (96%)
Julieta (2/12/17) Mesmerizing story, though very depressing (4.5)
Jumanji (2/2/18) A super fun movie (4)
Jumanji: The Next Level (12/13/2019) Fun and Funny (3.5)
Jupiter Ascending  (2/6/15) Stupid and disappointing (1.5)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (7/5/18) Nothin' Special, but sorta fun (3)
Just Wright (7-2-10)  predictable...but fun (72%)
Karate Kd, The (6-24-10) Fun movie, yucky bullies... (87%)
Keeping Up With the Joneses (11-23-16) Fun and funny, too (3.5)
King's Speech, The 1-5-11 Amazing acting, my favorite movie of 2011 (6)
Knight and Day (6-30-10)  Funny and action-packed (85%)
Knives Out (1/4/2020) a fun whodunit (4)
Labor Day (3-16-14) Tension-filled and slow in places, but very likable (4)
Lady Bird (12/23/17) Superb acting (4.5)
The Lady in the Van (6) Maggie Smith's most marvelous movie!
Laggies (11/2014) Fun! (4)
LA LA Land (1/17/17) Don't get the hype (3.5)
Larry Crowne (7-11-11) Light and entertaining (3)
Last Chance Harvey (1/22/09) Super (60%)
Last Station, The (2-22-10) A fascinating story. Three "amazing" actors in a row - let's add James McAvoy! (88%)
Last Vegas (12/21/2013) hilarious! (4)
Late Quartet, A (1-6-13) As it developed I liked it more and more (4)
Leap Year (1-19-10) Adorable but SO predictable (63%)
Leave No Trace (7/15/18) Wowzer (5.5)
Letters to Juliet (5-15-10) A sweet, feel-good, predictable love story (76%)
Leviathan (3/5/15) Good, but bleak (3.5)
Life of the Party (5/11/18) Laugh-out-loud funny (3.5)
Lincoln Lawyer (4-21-11) Michael Connelly and Matthew McConaughey- a winning combo (3)
Lion (1/12/16) Amazing and brilliant true story (5)
Little Women (12/29/2019) Fabulous! (5.5)
Logan Lucky (9/3/17) Clever, funny comedy (5)
London Has Fallen (3/18/16) Ridiculous and violent...but entertaining (3.5)
Long Shot (5/3/19) Feel good AND funny (4)
Love and Friendship (June, 2016) meh.... (3)
Love and Other Drugs (12-4-10) Nothing like what I expected.  Jake! (85%)
Love is All You Need (7-9-13) sweet film -enjoyed the Italian setting, Danish language, and Reel Pizza (3)
Love the Coopers (11/2015) eye-roller (2.5)
Love, Simon (3/19/18) A bit too picture perfect, but fun to watch (4)
Madagascar 3 (6-23-12) with Brendan & Ashley (and again (7/5/12 with Ella) Not quite my cup-a-tea (2)
Magic Mike (8-24-12) Very entertaining, liked it (3)
Magnificent 7 ,The  (11-6-16)  The old west...lots of gunfights, as expected, but entertaining story (4)
Mamma Mia! (8/14/08) Fun and funny (70%)
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (7/23/18) Great Music and Scenery! (4)
A Man Called Otto (2/21/23) Tom Hanks was great, as usual (5)
Manchester by-the-Sea  (1/30/17) Powerful and super sad (5.5)
Marlowe (2/20/23) Atmospheric 1930's setting (4)
Marshall (10/17/17) A+ story and acting! (5)
Masterminds (10/30/16) Stupidly hilarious  (3.5)
The Martian, 11/2015) (4.5)
Master, The  Yuck-but terrific acting.....(1)
Maudie (7-21-17)  Incredibly done biopic (5.5)
Maze Runner, The (9/21/14) Entertaining, but that's all (3)
Maze Runner Part 3: The Death Cure (2/11/18) Entertaining, if nothing else (3)
McFarland, USA (3/9/15) A Truly feel-good movie (5)
Me Before You (6/17/`6)) Nicholas-Sparks-like tear jerker (2)
Mechanic:  Resurrection (10-19-16) Very entertaining once you get past the shoot-em-up stuff (3.5)
Menashe (10-26-17) Left me feeling pretty gray (2)
Midnight In Paris (6-18-11) Absolutely charming....and fun!(6)
Midwife, The (4) Good, but not great, drama (8/12/17)
Mighty Macs Liked it a lot (4)
Milk (12/13/08) Super (6)
Million Dollar Arm (7-30-14) Loved it (5)
A Million Ways to Die in the West (8/10/14) Crap
Mirror, Mirror (7-19-12) Lots of fun (3)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (12-2-16) Clever fantasy/time-travel (4.5)
Missing (2/19/23) Almost completely done through computer and telephone screens (4.5)
Mr. Popper's Penguins (8-22-11) A Surprising Delight (4)
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (5/31/09) Wonderful (91%)
Molly's Game (1-6-18) One smart movie (5)
Monsieur Lazhar () Really Loved it (5.5)
Monsters University (6-13) Not bad for an animated movie... (4)
Monsters vs. Aliens (4/22/09) A fun movie (75%)
Monuments Men, The (2-15-14) True story, fun-to-watch actors (3)
Moonlight (11-19-16) "Life" in three parts.... (4.5)
Moonrise Kingdom (7-8-12) Liked it a lot (4)
A Most Wanted Man (8/7/14) Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film (5.5)
Mortal Engines (12/14/18) Excruciatingly long (1.5)
Mortal Instruments, The: City of Bones (11/6/2013) mesmerizing actors (3)
Mother and Child (8-14-10)  A beautifully woven  beautiful story (89%)
Mud (5-29-13) Good movie, though a bit slow and long (3.5)
The Mummy (6-12-17) Stupid but watchable (3)
Muppets, The (12-13-11) Didn't like it (1)
Murder on the Orient Express (11/15/17) Huge casst (4.5)
Mustang (5) In Turkish with subtitles, five incredible actresses playing sisters
My Life in Ruins (6/10/09) A-l waste of time (25%)
My One and Only (9-24-09)  A surprise hit for me. (72%)
Names of Love, The
Nebraska (1-10-14) Second half of the movie was AWESOME (5.5)
New in Town (5/09) Predictable, cute, and charming (75%)
New Moon (12-2-09) Entertaining...though quite long.... (60%)
New York, I Love You (1-26-10) Artsy and different (82%)
Nine Lives  (8-15-16) Great fun, and a family movie to boot (3.5)
Non-Stop (3-21-14) A good mystery (4)
Nora's Will Liked it a lot (4)
Norman (6/1/17) Unsettling (3.5)
No Strings Attached (3-26-11) Delightful! (5)
Nothing Like the Holidays (12/16/08) I liked it a lot (80%)
Oceans 8 (6/9/18) Entertaining! (4)
Olympus Has Fallen
Omar (3/5/14) Whew! Quite a story.... (5)
On the Basis of Sex (1/10/2019) Real, relevant, and right (5)
One for the Money (2-6-12)
One I Love, The (9-18/14) 4
Only the Brave (10/31/17) A wonderful tribute to the Granite Mountain Hotshots (5)
Other Guys, The (8-13-10) Very funny - it's meant to be stupid so you don't mind that it is. (71%)
Oz the Great and Powerful (3-12-13) It grew on me, liked it quite a bit (4)
Paper Towns  (9/21/15) Entertaining - the scenes with the three best friends were the best (3.5)
Paris Can Wait (6/17/17) Nothing much special here (3)
Patience Stone, The (10/1/13) extraordinary story! (4.5)
Paul (3-20-11) A Riot! (3)
Peanut Butter Falcon (8/29/19) clever and different (5)
People Like Us (8-13-12) Liked it a great deal (4.5)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (4-27-20) Enjoyed the book AND the movie (77%)
Peter Rabbit (3/22/18) Surprisingly entertaining (3)
Pets II (6/21/19) Not bad at all (4)
Phantom Thread (2/22/18) A little TOO quirky and odd...(2...3...4?)
Philomena (12/10/2013) bittersweet story, wonderful actors (4.5)
Pitch Perfect Loved it (5)
Pitch Perfect 2 Funny (3)
Pitch Perfect 3 (12/31/17) So much better than #2! (4)
Postcard Killings, The (12/20/20) Grizzly but interesting (4)
Power of the Dog (1/2/22) Slow, dark, depressing, sad, and oddly enough, wonderful (5)
Precious (1-5-10)  Powerful. Great Acting. Tough to watch. (94%)
Pride and Glory (10/28/08) A good murder mystery on film (90%)
Proposal, The (7-6-09) Charming and really, really funny (90%)
Public Enemies - (8-6-09) Really good movie (88%)
Pulling Strings (10/13) This was a blast (4)
Puzzle (10/16/18) Gettysburg Majestic Quirky (4.5)
Queen of Katwe (10-10-16) True story of a chess prodigy in contemporary Uganda  (4,5)
Queen to Play (Joueuse) (7-16-11) Lovely setting, a little too much chess (3)
Rachel Getting Married (12/2/08)  Unsettling (Story 25%/Acting 85%)4
Railway Man, The (6/10/14) Colin Firth as a POW of the Japanese during WWII
Ready Player One (4/5/18) Endless action near the end (3.5)
Reds 2 (8/23/13) Left in the middle - BLECH!
Red Sparrow (3/5/18) Great Espionage piece (5)
Reluctant Fundamentalist, The (5-26-13) - It bowled me over (6)
Rider, The (6/19/18) Amazing movie (6)
Risen (4) Great historical fiction set in 33AD
Robot & Frank (9-20-12) Okay, great cast, flat ending. (2.5)
Rock the Kasbah  (10/15) Unfortunately, a waste of time (2)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie (1-8-17) Great characters with good actor picks (4)
Ruby Sparks (9-17-12) A charming movie that sparkles.  Loved it. (5)
Rules Don't Apply (12-9-16) Unsettling Hollywood Biopic (4)
Run and Jump (2-10-14)  Great storytelling and beautiful Irish scenery(5)
Sabah, A Love Story (1-2-10) My kind of movie (88%)
St. Vincent (10-31-14) Bill Murray at his best (4.5)
Safe House () It was decent (2.5)
Safety Not Guaranteed (9-1-12) Loved it a lot (5.5)
Same Kind of Different as Me  (10/21/17) A little too religious for me (3.5)
Searching for Sugarman (4) It was really good, I liked it a lot
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel  (3) Disappointing
Secret in Their Eyes (9-23-10)  Great movie - an Argentinian murder mystery (97%)
Secret Life of Bees (11/18/08) Wonderful (5)
Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1-15-2014) Loved it - hilarious and clever! (5)
Secret Life of Pets (8/30/16) Somewhat watchable...but the kids liked it (3)
Secret Life of Words (12-18-09) Indie, off-beat, and interesting (83%)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World- Yuck (1)
Selma - 1/12/15 Beautifully crafted, and mesmerizing (5)
Sense of an Ending, The (3/25/17) great British CRF flashback movie (4.5)
Separation, A (4-30-12) It was awesome (6)
Serious Man, A (10-29-09) Adored this Coen Brothers black comedy (93%)
Shape of Water, The (1/22/18) An unforgettable story (6)
Sherlock Gnomes (3/29/18) Super Yuck (1)
She's Out of My League (5-5-10) - Haha funny and quite sweet (84%)
Silver Linings Playbook (1-7-13) Fantastic movie- WOW! (6)
A Simple Favor (9/18) Bizarrely fun (4.5)
Single Man, A (2-21-10) This time is was Colin Furth that was amazing! (90%)
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 8/10/08  Just plain fun
Skyfall: Dragged on and on (2)
Slumdog Millionaire (2/4/09) Outstanding (75%)
Smallfoot (10/1/18) Actually fell asleep.... (2)
Snowden (9/20/16) Very Good Biopic (5)
Social Network, The (2-14-11) Intriguing! (6)
Sonic the Hedgehog (2/27/2020) Surprisingly fun! (3.5)
Source Code (6-8-11) Super! (5)
Spectacular Now, The (9-6-13) a particularly good movie (5)
Spiderman: No Way Home (1/10/22) Lots of fun surprises, but too long (4)
Spotlight  (12/10/15) (6) retelling the story of The Boston Globe's investigations into the Catholic priest child molestation scandal
Spy Who Dumped Me, The (8/12/18) So disappointing, funny in places (2.5)
Star Trek Beyond (9-16-16) 80% boring 20% fun (2)
Star Wars Episode 7:  The Force Awakens (4.5) Great story, wonderful actors
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode 8) (12/21/17) Fun to watch, a bit too many explosions....(4)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (1/23) Love Adam Driver! (3.5)
State of Play (5/12/09) Very Good with suspense and a twist (75%)
Stillwater (8/8/2021) Matt Damon was wonderful (5)
Suffragette (11/2015) Entertaining and educational (and intense)  (4.5)
Sully (9/12/16) Tribute to an "everyday hero" (5.5)
Sunshine Cleaning (4/27/09) I just loved this one (6)
Super 8 (8-26-11) It was okay, a modern day Goonies (2)
Table 19 (3/2017) Not one bit funny...Yuck! (1.5)
Tag (6/16/18) Lighthearted fun (3.5)
Tammy (9/2014) Didn't think I'd like it but I did! (4)
Terri Liked it (3)
Thanks for Sharing (9-20-2013) a splendid movie with fantastic acting (5.5)
Their Finest (6/7/17) Could've been wonderful (3.5)
This is the End (9/24/2013) silly, nutty, funny....(2)
This is Where I Leave You (10/15/14) hysterically funny and poignant at the same time (4)
This Means War (2-18-12) It was okay (2)
Thor:  The Dark World (11/11/13)  good one with lots of chuckles (4.5)
Thor Just Plain Fun (2)
Three Identical Strangers (8/17/18) Got darker and darker (3.5)
Three Musketeers, The  (10-30-11) Didn't like it (1)
Time Traveler's Wife, The (8-19-09) Better than expected...a tear jerker, though. (89%)
Tiny Furniture (2-4-11) pathetic protagonist, did NOTHING for me. (1)
Tower Heist (12-5-11) Liked it (3)
Town, The, (10-7-10) Great setting (Boston) and great accents! (87%)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (7-21-11)  Brendan really enjoyed it.  I didn't (1)
Transsiberian (10/16/08) Hey, this was good (80%)
Tomb Raider (3/16/18) Attention grabbing, for sure! (3)
To Rome With Love (8/10/12) Liked most of it a lot (3.5)
Trainwreck (8/3/15) Raunchy and real and wonderful (5)
Triple 9 (3-1-16) Gritty, bloody, and mesmerizing (4)
Trolls (7-10-17) cute but not so bad! (3)
True Grit (2-5-11) So good! (5)
Tully (5/8/18)  Unsettling (3)
Twilight (11/27/08) Pretty much what I expected (60%)
Twilight Saga  (11-20-12) Worth the wait (4.5)
Two Days, One Night (2/9/15) Slow, good acting, though (3.5)
Two Lovers (5/5/09) Like it a lot (80%)
Ugly Truth, The - (7-30-09) Cute but silly (55%)
Unknown, The (2-21-11) A wonderful mind-tickler(4)
Up in the Air (12-25-09) Completely enjoyable. (90%)
Upside, The (1/14/19) Paraplegic buddy movie done right (5)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (8-9-17) A SciFi Star Wars-y flick (4)
Venom (10/8/18) My introduction to Tom Hardy (4)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (8/27/08) Still mulling it over (2.5)
Victoria & Abdul (10/14/17) It appears to be based on a true story, at least somewhat...(4)
War Dogs (9/13/16) "troubling" real-world stuff (4.5)
Way, Way Back, The (8-5-13) fabulous movie (6)
Wedding Ringer, The (1/19/15) fun and funny (4)
We're the Millers (10/26/13) a freaking funny movie! (4+)
What If... (8-14) a favorite! LOVE Daniel Radcliffe! (5)
What Just Happened (11/21/08) Mostly boring, much emotional sadness, some funny parts (1)
Where'd You Go Bernadette (8/17/19) somewhat different from the book (4)
Whip It (10-31-09) Thoroughly enjoyable entertainment (93%)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot  3/5/16 really interesting and fun to watch (5)
Why Him?  (12/24/16) Crass and a real hoot  (4.5)
Wind River (9/3/17) My favorite of 2017 (6)
Winter's Bone (9-11-10) Bleak, sad, depressing, but wonderfully put togetha favoriteer (86% )
Winter's Tale (2-16-14) Stupid film.  Enough said. (1)
Win Win (4-17-11) A super movie! (4)
Wonder (12/1/17) Ultimate Feel-Good Movie (5)
Wonder Park (3/19/19) Umm, no.... (2.5)
Wonder Woman (7-11-2017) Lots of WWI History included (4.5)
World War Z (7-13) will watch for the sequel (3)
A Wrinkle in Time (3/25/18) Not my vision at all (2.5)
Yesterday (7/9/19) Just plain fun (5)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (10-31-10) I liked it a lot, despite not-so-great reviews (86%)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (10/31/08) Fun, Funny, Sweet -- and Tasteless & Raunchy (67%)
Zero Dark Thirty (1-28-13) A bit of hugely important contemporary history (4.5)

Sunday, March 30, 2014

19. Faking Normal - Courtney C. Stevens

2014 Harper Teen
321 pgs.
Written for YA
Finished 3/29/2014
CRF
Goodreads Rating: 4.10
My Rating: 4
TPPL
Setting: Contemporary Tennessee
1st sentence/s: "Black funeral dress.  Black heels.  Black headband in my hair.  Death has a style all its own.  I'm glad I don't have to wear it very often."

My comments:  Read this all in one night.  I loved Bodee - but who wouldn't?  I loved Alexi's mom, but again, who wouldn't? I couldn't stand Alexi's sister - but you weren't supposed to. I liked the whodunnit aspect. A little-too-pat ending, but I wanted that.  So why not a five?  I needed more reason that Alexi couldn't say NO!  More than once! This is just not believable to me - her reasons (or non-reasons) just don't cut it.....

Goodreads Review:  Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

MOVIE - Divergent

PG-13 (2:20)
Wide Release 3/21/2014
Viewed Saturday afternoon 3/29/2014 at El Con
RT Critic: 40 Audience: 79
Cag: 3 Equaled expectations and was fun to watch
Directed by Neil Burger
Lionsgate Films/Summit

Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, TonyGoldwyn, Miles Teller

My comments:  Well, I was particularly impressed with the casting of the movie - the two leads did a great job (Shailene Woodley, playing Tris, knocked it out of the park and Theo James is so intense - and gorgeous).  The addition of Miles Teller as Peter was particularly well-cast, as was Tris' father (hello, Mr. President!)  The only ones that didn't do it for me were Christina and Will, those didn't work for me at all.  The storyline followed the book pretty well, but it doesn't really bother me when things are left out....they can't include all the idiosyncrasies and nuances that you get from a book.  It was very entertaining and fun to watch, I was completely absorbed.

Rotten Tomatoes Review:  DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late. Based on thebest-selling book series by Veronica Roth.

18. Chasing Darkness - Robert Crais

#12 Elvis Cole/Joe Pike
audio read by James Daniels
8 unabridged discs, 7 hours
2008, Brilliance Audio
288 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 3/27/14
Goodreads Rating: 4.14
My Rating: 4.5 (Loved it)
PBS - now it's my turn to send it off into the great unknown -
Setting:  LA (or course!)

My comments:   I really enjoy Robert Crais' writing.  A lot.  He writes believable mysteries that keep me guessing. I love Elvis Cole. He's fun and funny.  I want to learn more about Joe Pike, but I like that he's kept a bit mysterious.   You can read this series in any order - I have and it works just fine. Bring 'em on!

Goodreads Review  It's fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women -- one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole's world upside down.
          Three years earlier Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd's case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole's eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero.
          But the discovery of the death album in Byrd's lap now brands Elvis as an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could only have been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of the seven victims -- two more young women were murdered after Lionel Byrd walked free. So Elvis can't help but wonder -- did he, Elvis Cole, cost two more young women their lives?
Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Lionel Byrd and his nightmare album of death -- a truth hidden by lies, politics, and corruption in a world where nothing is what it seems to be.:

MOVIE - The Grand Budapest Hotel

R (1:40)
Limited Release 3/7/14
Viewed 3/26/14 at ElCon with Sheila and Connie
RT Critic: 92 Audience: 90
Cag:4 - A freakin' riot - liked it a lot.
Wes Anderson
Fox Searchlight

Ralph Fiennes + a whole lot of famous actors doing smallish parts (including Bill Murray)

My comments: I've got to admit I wasn't really looking forward to this movie and probably wouldn't have gone to see it if Sheila and Connie hadn't picked it.  But what a pleasant surprise - it was 100 minutes of pure pleasure.  I'm so glad I saw it.  (Someone said that this was Ralph Fiennes first comedic part.  And the young man who played Zero was just great!))

Rotten Tomatoes Review: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop ofa suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

MOVIE - Non-Stop

PG-13 (1:50)
Wide Release 2/28/2014
Viewed 3/21/14 at ElCon with Fran
RT Critic: 59 Audience: 71
Cag: 4 A really good movie!
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Universal Pictures

Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore

My comments:  I didn't realize how much I was going to like this movie - the mystery kept you guessing back and forth, one way then another; the tension was perfect, and Liam Neeson was his usual enjoyable-to-watch self.  Nto a bad afternoon at all!

Reviews  Global action star Liam Neeson stars in NON-STOP, a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the government to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes.

Classic & Great Movies

It's time to watch some classic movies!  The Arizona Inn has a huge library of classic movies that feature people that have stayed at the Inn.  It was fun poking through their annotated list of titles and choosing one to watch.  I have not seen many of the old classics.  I guess it's time!  

I've gathered this list of movies from here and there.  Let me know those I've missed!

Classic Movies Watched in 2014
North by Northwest (1959) Alfred Hitchcock - Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint

Alphabetical Order:
39 Steps, The (1935)
400 Blows, The (1959)
2001 (A Space Odyssey) (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
African Queen, The (1951)
All About Eve (1950)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
All the King's Men (1949)
Amadeus (1984)
American Grafitti (1973)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
An American in Paris (1951)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apartment, The (1960)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Asphalt Jungle, The (1950)
Bad and the Beautiful, The (1952)
Bells of St.Mary's, The (1945)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
Big Heat, The (1953)
Big Sleep, The (1946)
Birds, The (1963)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow-Up (1966)
Body Heat (1981)
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Bride of Frankenstein, The (1935)
Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Casablanca (1942) saw on the big screen at the Fox Theater, downtown Tucson
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City Lights (1931)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
Deliverance (1972)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Dr. No (1962)
Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Dr. Zhivago (1965)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Duel in the Sun (1946)
East of Eden (1955)
Easy Rider (1969)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
ET (1982)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Flashdance (1983)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Frankenstein (1931)
Freaks (1932)
French Connection, The (1971)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Godfather,, The (1972)
Goldfinger (1964)
Gold Rush, The (1935)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The (1966)
Goonies, The
Graduate, The (1967)
Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
Greed (1924)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Heiress, The (1949)
High Noon (1952)
His Girl Friday (1940)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Hustler, The (1951)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jaws (1975)
Key Largo (1948)
King and I, The (1956)
King Kong (1933)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Lady Eve, The (1941)
Last Picture Show, The (1971)
Laura (1944)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Lost Weekend, The (1945)
M (1931)
Maltese Falcon (1941)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
Manhattan (1979)
M*A*S*H (1970)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Metropolis (1927)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)
Moonstruck (1987)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
My Man Godfrey (1936)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Night of the Hunter, The (1955)
Night of the Living Dead (1969)
Notorious (1946)
North by Northwest (1959)
Nosferatu (A Symphony of Horror) (1922)
On Golden Pond (1981)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Out of the Past (1947)
Ox-Bow Incident, The (1943)
Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
Pillow Talk (1959)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946)
Princess Bride, The (1987)
Psycho (1960)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Quiet Man, The (1952)
Rain Man (1988)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebecca (1940)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Red River (1948)
Red Shoes, The (1948)
Repulsion (1965)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Robe, The (1953)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Say Anything (1989)
Searchers, The (1956)
Seven Samarai (1954)
Seven-Year Itch, The (1955)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Shane (1953)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Silver Chalice, The (1954
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
Sound of Music, The (1965)
Spartacus (1960)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Stagecoach (1939)
Star Wars (1977)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Summer of "42 (1971)
Sunrise (1927)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Ten Commandments, The (1956)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Thin Man, The (1934)
Third Man, The (1949)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Sir With Love
Tootsie (1982)
Top Gun (1986
Top Hat (1935)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
True Grit (1969 & 2010)
Twelve Angry Men (1957)
Vertigo (1958)
Way Out West (1937)
West Side Story  (1961)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
White Heat (1949)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff? (1966)
Wild Bunch, The (1969)
Witness (1985)
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Wuthering Heights (1939)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Young Frankenstein (1974)

MOVIE - North by Northwest

Unrated (2:26)
Wide release 9/17/1959
on DVD 8/2000
Viewed at the Arizona Inn with Fran and Terry
RT Critic: 100 Audience: 94
Cag: 3/Liked it
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Turner Studios

Actors:  Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau

My comments:  I must be missing something.  People rave about this film - a young acquaintance has seen it a dozen times. Cary Grant was certainly charming. To me it was predictable though fun - production techniques and acting has certainly changed (improved?) over the years.  My question - has it been colorized?  Or was it originally in black and white?  I saw the color version, but the black and white might have given me an "older" feel and thus I might have been able to watch it more as a classic and not thought it was actually funny.....

Rotten Tomatoes Summary:  While having lunch at the Plaza Hotel in New York, advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) has the bad luck to call for a messenger just as a page goes out for a "George Kaplan." From that moment, Thornhill finds that he has stepped into a nightmare -- he is quietly abducted by a pair of armed men out of the hotel's famous Oak Room and transported to a Long Island estate; there, he is interrogated by a mysterious man (James Mason) who, believing that Roger is George Kaplan, demands to know what he knows about his business and how he has come to acquire this knowledge. Roger, who knows nothing about who any of these people are, can do nothing but deny that he is Kaplan or that he knows what they're talking about. Finally, his captors force a bottle of bourbon into Roger and put him behind the wheel of a car on a dangerous downhill stretch. Through sheer luck and the intervention of a police patrol car and its driver (John Beradino), Roger survives the ride and evades his captors, and is booked for drunk driving. He's unable to persuade the court, the county detectives, or even his own mother (Jesse Royce Landis) of the truth of his story, however -- Thornhill returns with them to the mansion where he was held, only to find any incriminating evidence cleaned up and to learn that the owner of the house is a diplomat, Lester Townsend (Philip Ober), assigned to the United Nations. He backtracks to the hotel to find the room of the real George Kaplan, only to discover that no one at the hotel has ever actually seen the man. With his kidnappers once again pursuing him, Thornhill decides to confront Townsend at the United Nations, only to discover that he knows nothing of the events on Long Island, or his house being occupied -- but before he can learn more, Townsend gets a knife in his back in full view of 50 witnesses who believe that Roger did it. Now on the run from a murder charge, complete with a photograph of him holding the weapon plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the country, Thornhill tries to escape via train -- there he meets the cooly beautiful Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), who twice hides him from the police, once spontaneously and a second time in a more calculated rendezvous in her compartment that gets the two of them together romantically, at least for the night. By the next day, he's off following a clue to a remote rural highway, where he is attacked by an armed crop-dusting plane, one of the most famous scenes in Hitchcock's entire film output. Thornhill barely survives, but he does manage to learn that his mysterious tormentor/interrogator is named Phillip Vandamm, and that he goes under the cover of being an art dealer and importer/exporter, and that Eve is in bed with him in every sense of the phrase -- or is she? 

Series Synopsis - Robert Crais

Robert Crais

born June 20, 1953
raised in Louisiana 
adopted - only child
I'm guessing he now lives somewhere in the L.A. area

Robert Crais has written (or helped write) scripts for many tv cop series and has penned many unproduced (and a few produced) tv pilots.  


He writes with tongue-in-cheek humor and puts a huge value on friendship.  His mysteries have everything I look for - I need to be kept guessing.  And his photos make him look gorgeous.  A nice plus!


Robert Crais has quoted that he doesn't think his books need to be read in order.  I agree.  I've skipped around with them and have had no trouble at all.  I WILL read them all, though.  I adore Elvis Cole and am super fascinated by Joe Pike.


He says he will not sell the movie rights to Elvis Cole.


Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series:

1 - The Moneky's Raincoat (1987) The title comes from a Basho haiku included in the front of the book
2 - Stalking the Angel (1989)
3 - Lullaby Town (1992)
4 - Free Fall (1993)
5 - Voodoo River (1995)
6 - Sunset Express (1996)
7 - Indigo Slam (1997)
8 - L. A. Requiem (1999)
9 - The Last Detective (2003)
10 - The Forgotten Man (2005)
11 - The Watchman (2007)
12 - Chasing Darkness (2008)
13 - The First Rule (2010)
14 - The Sentry (2011)
15 - Taken (2012)


Non-Series novels:
Demolition Angel (2000)
Hostage (2001) (Made into a 2005 film starring Bruce Willis)
The Two Minute Rule (2006)
Suspect (2013)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

MOVIE - Gloria

R (1:49)
Limited Release 1/24/14
Viewed 3/19/14 at the Loft with Fran
RT Critic: Audience: (can't bring this up on Rotten Tomatoes!)
Cag: 4-Liked it a lot
Directed by Sebastian Lelio
from CHILE - in Spanish with subtitles

Fandanago Review:  Gloria is a "woman of a certain age" but still feels young. Though lonely, she makes the best of her situation and fills her nights seeking love at social dance clubs for single adults. Her fragile happiness changes the day she meets Rodolfo. Their intense passion, to which Gloria gives her all, leaves her vacillating between hope and despair -- until she uncovers a new strength and realizes that, in her golden years, she can shine brighter than ever. GLORIA is Chile’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards®, and stars Paulina García in a tour de force performance that captured the Silver Bear Best Actress Award at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

My comments:  One of those movies that makes you think during ... and long after ... the movie is over.  What is loneliness?  Your kids are grown, your husband/partner is gone (I guess it doesn't matter if it's through divorce or death), but you're still very much alive.  What happens next?  THAT''S what this movie is about!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Through the Evil Days - Julia Spencer-Fleming

Rev. Clare Ferguson & Russ VanAlstyne Mystery #8
I ABANDONED THIS BOOK 
audio read by Suzanne Toren
2013 Macmillan Audio
368 pgs.- I only got through a little more than 50
Adult mystery, quit reading on 3/19/2014
Goodreads Rating: 4.09
My Rating: 1/Didn't Like it
TPPL
Setting: Contemporary upstate New York

My comments:  I guess I should have read these in order, but the first books in the series were totally unavailable (or extinct) in audio, so I jumped into #8.  I made it through almost the first two cds.  Too many bigoted church people. Too much talk about church and church-related "stuff."  And one of the most unlikable protagonists I've encountered in a while (Russ). Totally negative, pissed about his new wife's pregnancy, temper easily triggered.  I spent a 35-minute ride without even turning it on - that's when I decided I didn't like it and didn't want to listen to another word. (In 50 pages, the mystery was barely even touched upon!)

Goodreads Review:  On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire, that quickly becomes a double homicide and kidnapping. Which is the very last thing Russ needs...Currently he's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood. And his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week in an unelectrified ice-fishing cabin. The vestry of St. Alban's Church has called for the bishop to investigate Clare's "unpriestly" pregnancy. She has one week to find out if she will be scolded, censured, or suspended from her duties. Officer Hadley Knox is having a miserable January as well. Her on-again-off-again lover, Kevin Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police Department that might take him half a state away.
     As the days and hours tick by, Russ and Clare fight personal and professional battles they've never encountered. In the course of this one tumultuous week the lives of the Millers-Kill residents readers have come to love and cherish change forever. Readers have waited years for Through The Evil Days and Julia Spencer-Fleming delivers with the exquisite skill and craftsmanship that have made her such a success.

17. The Tyrant's Daughter - J. C. Carleson

2014, Alfred A. Knopf
295 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 3/19/2014
Goodreads Rating:  3.99
My Rating: Liked it (3)
TPPL
Contemporary Washington D.C. area
1st sentence/s:  "My brother is the king of nowhere."

My comments:  Great premise, excellent research, believable characters. I liked it. However, it didn't grab me as I expected.


Goodreads Review:   From a former CIA officer comes the riveting account of a royal Middle Eastern family exiled to the American suburbs. 
          When her father is killed in a coup, 15-year-old Laila flees from the war-torn middle east to a life of exile and anonymity in the U.S. Gradually she adjusts to a new school, new friends, and a new culture, but while Laila sees opportunity in her new life, her mother is focused on the past. She’s conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to regain the throne their family lost. Laila can’t bear to stand still as an international crisis takes shape around her, but how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations? 
          J.C. Carleson delivers a fascinating account of a girl—and a country—on the brink, and a rare glimpse at the personal side of international politics. 
          *Bonus Backmatter includes a note about the author's CIA past, and a commentary by RAND researcher and president of ARCH International, Dr. Cheryl Benard. Recommendations for further reading are also included. 

Sunday, March 16, 2014

MOVIE - Labor Day

PG-13 (1:51)
Wide release 1/31/14
Viewed at Century Gateway 12 on Sunday afternoon, 3/16/14
RT Critics: 31  Audience: 58
Cag: 4/Liked it a lot
Directed by Jason Reitman
Paramount Pictures

Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet

My comments:  What do the critics know?  I liked it.  It was slow in places, but the tension built and built, the charisma between the two adult leads was lovely, and the part of 7th-grade Henry was played perfectly.  I loved the special touches added to make Frank's personality show through - the way he treated the neighbor-boy with cerebral palsy, his cooking and baking talents, his love of baseball.....  I couldn't wait to see the end credits, because the scenery was all Massachusetts - even though it was set in New Hampshire.  I've been down those roads before, I've seen those houses on those quiet streets - and sure enough, it was Massachusetts.  It couldn't have been anywhere else!

Reviews:  "Labor Day" centers on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers, a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. The events of this long Labor Day weekend will shape them for the rest of their lives.