Loving : a movie review

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Loving, movie, postaday2016, review

My mother and I went to see Loving this morning at one of her favorite theaters on the Upper Westside. We loved it. The direction, the acting, the history and its message make it such that it should be required viewing for everyone. We both knew of the Supreme Court Case, but it really hits you after the first half hour, which passes by without any drama, quietly, when the police sneak into the house under the cover of darkness to arrest the couple for sleeping together, as to why that Supreme Court case was so impactful.

I highly recommend seeing it, it needs to be seen.

Hacksaw Ridge : a movie review

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Hacksaw Ridge, movie, postaday2016, War

My husband, our son and I went to see Hacksaw Ridge, my choice, ordinarily I don’t pick war movies, but I was curious to learn about Desmond Doss, the conscientious collarborator. He refused to see himself as an objector, he saw himself as playing a different, but equally important role in the Second World War being fought out in the Pacific Islands.

We all came away agreeing that this was a very well directed movie. The acting was top notch, but it was secondary when to came to the emotionally primal waves that came through the screen. It was so hard to watch at certain moments, I flashed back to Private Ryan, that was how brutal the savagery was, but also how realistic.

We were happy to have seen it, you need to be reminded how terribly horrible war is, but I can’t help asking, how do we forget so easily?

Arrival : a movie review

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Arrival, movie, postaday2016

I love watching movies without any expectations, you just go in for the journey and come out on the other side of the story. My husband and I both enjoyed the movie very much, it wasn’t your average sci-fi movie, like Independence Day full of action, terror and potential annihilation of mankind, it was more of a cerebral sci-fi movie, still full of potential threat, but the question was always at whose hand, ours or theirs? 

The questions raised by the story kept the movie interesting throughout, our limited faculties in divining responses from something non human lay at the crux of the matter. Amy Adams was wonderful as the linguist Doctor Louise Brooks, she made language so powerful and transformative. The theories revolving around how language effects your way of thinking, how learning new languages can rewire neural pathways and open your mind kept me engaged, but I was still fearful for our survival in the movie because there was a lot of military involved and language isn’t too sexy in that milieu.

Time was another concept introduced into the canvas, I’ve seen how other sci-fi movies have treated time as a construct and this movie did an interesting job folding the idea of time being non linear for the aliens and linked to their language. I can’t explain it very well, but it made sense during the movie.

The movie wasn’t what we had expected, but we were very happy to have seen it.

Inferno :a movie review

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Inferno, movie, postaday2016

My husband and I went to see Inferno last week, I can’t believe I forgot to write about it, I think I got distracted by our son’s birthday celebration last weekend. We enjoyed the movie, another chapter in Dan Brown’s fascinating world of patterns, codes and conspiracies. I read the book, I enjoyed it as I have his other’s, though I disagree with the premiss of the “evil” threat of over-population, for me Dan Brown’s work is all about the art and treasures of antiquity, that’s where the beauty of the character Robert Langdon comes in and his guidance through the world of religious and cultural lore and who better to play him than Tom Hanks.

My husband and I left the movie dying to revisit Florence and Venice with a long side trip to the grand city of Instanbul. The idea of walking through the streets of these three cities excites my imagination. One of these days hopefully.

Doctor Strange : a movie review

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Doctor Strange, movie, postaday2016

My husband has been so looking forward to Doctor Strange and he wasn’t disappointed. I loved it as well, but unlike him I didn’t follow any of the Marvel comics, so I went into the movie with absolutely no expectations, it was great nevertheless for me, perfect marriage between an amazing actor, compelling fantasy story and awesome special effects.

I especially loved the journey Benedict Cumberbatch took as Doctor Stephen Strange, the brilliant neurosurgeon to Stephen Strange, broken man to Doctor Strange, mystic, sorcerer, defender of the mystical realm. I am looking forward to the next installment, but in the meantime I am looking forward to seeing Benedict Cumberbatch come back as Sherlock Holmes January 2017. His Sherlock is brilliant!

The Magnificent Seven: a movie review

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movie, postaday2016, The Magnificent Seven

I have never seen The Seven Samurai or the 1960 The Magnificent Seven, so this movie was brand new to me, my husband had seen them, he loves those kinds of movies and he really liked this remake, I did as well. However I wasn’t prepared to be so sad by the end of the movie, if I had seen either the original or the western remake of 1960, I would have known not to become too attached.

The entire cast was great, the villain was especially dastardly, he had the gall to use God and his favor as a justification for his greedy ways, it reminded me of the time when the monarchy used religion to justify their power, just that alone made me want to see him get taken down by the Maginificent Seven. The heroine played by Haley Bennet was put to good use by the director, she gave the movie its heart and anchored its moral compass in the community. My favorite part of the movie was the camaraderie between the gun slingers, they had such easy conversations, laughing and getting to know each other, even the horses had chemistry with their owners.

The vistas were breathtaking, I wish I could find some images to show you, I have never been out west, but after seeing how majestic the rock formations are, it may very well be on the bucket list of destinations.

I think that this movie will please those like me, who have never seen the original and those who have seen it, there is nothing to lose in seeing the movie, it’s an exciting ride.

Treatment day made better with Keanu

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Keanu, movie, postaday2016

After my treatment session was over, it makes for a longish day of waiting for a cocktail that isn’t the kind of cocktail anyone would really care to wait for, I needed some funny and I got that watching the movie Keanu. My husband wasn’t on board with the rental, but he was wrong, another instance of bad trailers, you would think that the trailer part of marketing would be a top priority. Anyway, it wasn’t stupid, lazy humor, it was fun, tongue in cheek humor surrounding the cutest little kitten ever. Keanu the kitten was so easy to fall in love with, no wonder everyone was fighting over him. I felt so much better while watching the crazy hijinks Key and Peele went through, I love these guys. Laughter is the best medicine.

Morgan : a movie review

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Morgan, movie, postaday2016, review

My husband and I went to see Morgan today, a movie directed by Luke Scott and produced by Ridley Scott, we sort of knew what we were in for, the Scott name clued us in to expect sci-fi which we love. This movie was so good, it made us think, it kept us on our toes, I was thinking about what prejudice, scientific  research, experiments, humanity, emotional intelligence, intelligence and corporate responsibility meant in the grand scheme of things. I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that the plot is tight, there aren’t any lulls in the storytelling, it takes you down the rabbit hole and brings you to the other side quickly. The acting was great, I’m a big fan of Kate Mara’s, she put in a heck of a performance. I’m not sure if this movie is going to be a hit, but I highly recommend it, it kept me out of my head for almost two hours and took me on a journey where I couldn’t see the ending until the last possible second when it was presented to me right before the screen went dark.

Mechanic Resurrection : a movie review

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Mechanic Resurrection, movie, postaday2016, review

My husband and I have been fans of the Mechanic franchise, Jason Statham is one of our favorite action stars and so we were looking forward to this latest installment. Jason did not disappoint, not one bit, he still has it in him to be believable as a ruthless champion of the underdog. I have to admit I was disappointed that his character’s base of operations was no longer in the south of France, we also didn’t get to see his old friend the Inspector, they briefly explained why that was, it made sense, but I still missed the gorgeous French scenery. Speaking of scenery, Brazil, Thailand and Romania weren’t too shabby, my husband and I could see ourselves walking along the glorious beach where Jason had set up another base of operations.

The only critique we have of the movie was the lazy formulaic “love story”, it felt scripted and heavy handed. Jason’s character doesn’t need a damsel in distress scenario to fuel his righteous anger, we would believe him battling the bad guy because it’s the right thing to do, we don’t need a quickie love story to drive the plot.

Both my husband and I were most engaged when Jason was doing his preparations, his reconnaissance and research for his “assignments” those were the best parts of the movie. They also brought in one of the big guns, Tommy Lee Jones, not a bad guy per se, not a good guy either, it will be interesting to see if he plays any role down the road in future installments.

It was a lot of fun to watch, despite the kissing parts lol.

Bad Moms : a movie review

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Bad Moms, movie, postaday2016, review

My husband and I went into this movie expecting silliness and slapstick, we weren’t disappointed, it was very funny, but it was more than that, it dealt with the issues of expectations, judgment, responsibility, accountability and what does parenting really mean in the final analysis.

I liked how the movie highlighted the “mean girls” aspect of motherhood judging, you hope to escape it once you leave high school, however fast forward to your parenting chapter and you find those individuals who decide that they are the final arbiters of what is acceptable and what is not. During the movie I was trying to remember if I felt judged as a mother, it was hard because I was laughing a lot, but afterwards, driving home, I can think of a few times listening to other mothers speak about what they were doing and feeling inadequate. I now have the luxury of hindsight, our children are young adults and I have learned that you do the best you can and hope your children grow up to be kind, compassionate and happy. It is hard to be this philosophical when you are deep in the trenches with young children, work and all the after school activities and that’s what the movie explained quite creatively. 

I loved the friendship between the three “bad moms”, friendship does wonders when you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed and the message that a happy mom is a relaxed mom. Mom is one big subject worthy of a movie and this one did it justice with a lot of laughter.