Thursday Movie Picks: Witnesses

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves saw something. Did you? I'm bringing it way back this week. 

1) Rear Window

Okay, so I just saw this for the first time last year, but from what I've seen of Hitchcock so far, this is by far my favorite.

2) Sister Act

A singer who witnesses a crime gets sent to a convent to hide out. I've lost count of how many times my BFF and I would break out with "Oh Happy Day" because of this film. This and the sequel were a staple for young me. 

3) Our Lips are Sealed

Remember when the Olsen Twins were in witness protection? Objectively, this movie is terrible but I was obsessed with the Olsens when I was a kid. My hair cut and style were always inspired by them. I'm kind of surprised this film popped into my mind when I saw this theme. I had to roll with it. 

Review: The Farewell

You're just too sad.

Billi (Awkwafina) is a Chinese-American who finds her her grandmother (Shuzhen Zhao) is dying of cancer and her family has decided to keep her in the dark per tradition. Not wanting her to travel to China with them and give it away, Billi surprises everyone by making the trip she cannot afford to discreetly say her final goodbyes.

Awkwafina described this movie as an "empathy orgy" in an interview and she's not too far off. While there's some awkward laughs here and there it's cloaked in depression, but not the kind that turns the film into misery porn. Director Lulu Wang based this story on a lie her family truly told her grandmother and you can tell. It feels very personal.

The cast is very good. There's nothing showy about these performances but they're very understated and you believe each character really loves their Nai Nai and are internally processing a lot about the situation. Billi in particular is very introspective with her grief. The strangest thing for me, however, was the fact that they all travel back to China under the guise of Billi's cousins' wedding, yet they never say a word to each other. With one being raised in Japan and on in America, there could be somewhat of a language barrier, but it seemed strange to me that the two grandchildren never had a conversation on what their parents were doing.

I surprisingly wasn't in a puddle of tears by the end of this. I think that was because I kept expecting it to end a certain way and it never did. But I did leave feeling incredibly moved by what I just saw.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable quote: "He's my only cousin, don't you think I should be there?" - Billi (Awkwafina)

Indie Gems: The Hummingbird Project

All for Wall Street.

Cousins, and high frequency traders, Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgard) leave their job and their over the top boss Evas (Salma Hayek) to secretly build a fiber-optic cable from Kansas to New Jersey in order to get the stocks faster than her company. With the help of contractor Mark (Michael Mando) they are determined to make their extremely difficult plan work.

The plot of this film really didn't entice me but I wanted to see this for the cast. It gets off to a bit of a rocky start, but I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected. What they're doing is so outlandish that you almost expect it to say "based on a true story" but it never does. 

Eisenberg finally plays out of his comfort zone in this, which was the best part for me. He too often goes for the awkward neurotic thing and this finally felt like he was getting back to his Social Network form. Skarsgard is excellent as well, even though he's in the worst bald cap ever throughout the entire film. Hayke's character is a huge schemer that I thought would get on my nerves but even though she looms in the background of what Vincent and Anton are doing, it's never too much. It's nice to see Michael Mando in something outside of Better Call Saul as well.

The Hummingbird Project is pretty serious but has some deeply funny moments throughout. It makes for a nice watch at home.

Grade: B

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "That's an entire millisecond!" - Vincent (Alexander Skarsgard)

Thursday Movie Picks: Mrs. Robinsons

I hope you're ready to rob some cradles because this week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is all about those older women who like younger men. I've actually never seen The Graduate, every time I see the term "Mrs. Robinson" I make a mental note to watch it and never do. I'm not crazy about the term to be honest, but here are some films with older women and younger men.

1) The Reader

I've been thinking about this movie a lot lately, I think I'm do for a re-watch for this film about a teenage boy who has an affair with an older women, only to encounter her again later in life as a law student while she's on trial. 

2) Florence Foster Jenkins

The wanna be Opera singer has a husband who is about two decades younger (in the film, in real life the age cap is only about 12 years) I expected to dislike this movie but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

3) The Good Girl

This is still my favorite Jennifer Aniston performance. It's about a bored woman who hooks up with her younger co-worker. I like this film quite a bit.

DVD Review: A Kid Like Jake

What happens now?

Alex (Claire Danes) and Greg (Jim Parsons) are parents to a young boy named Jake (Leo James Davis) and with kindergarten coming up, they are looking for the best school for him. While applying for many private schools, his preschool director Judy (Octavia Spencer) points out that Jake's love of all things princess may be a bit more than a phase, and both parents deal in different ways.

Not too long ago I watched Girl on Netflix. That film was about a transgender ballerina and it received a lot of well earned criticism for the way it portrayed that story.Going into this knowing a transgender director, Silas Howard was at the helm at least told me that it would be handled with care.

And it is. A Kid Like Jake isn't really about Jake at all, it's about how Alex and Greg navigate parenthood after acknowledging that maybe Jake doesn't really feel like a boy. Both of them are progressive people and I felt like their fears and acknowledgements rang true. Greg is more open to the idea than Alex who goes through a denial phase. My only wish is that the film would've felt more cohesive. 

Writer Daniel Pearle adapted this story based on his own play, and you can tell that's how it originated because sometimes the performances are way too theatrical to fit the tone of the movie. Danes and Parsons often feel like they're talking at each other instead of to each other. Danes being the most over the top of the two. I think both are reliable actors and it's nice to see Parsons play someone that isn't Sheldon Cooper, but I felt Danes needed to be toned down a bit, and they could've completely dropped the subplot with one of Greg's patients that ate up a decent chunk of the film and went nowhere. I think we could've spent that time getting to know Jake, the title character instead.

This is one of those movies that I think I appreciate more than I like. I appreciate the care taken by all involved, but I'm not a huge fan of the finished product for the reasons mentioned. 

Recommended: No

Grade: C

Memorable Quote: "Are you saying he's done this before?" - Greg (Jim Parsons)

What I watched on TV in July

Here's my TV roundup for the month of July!

Big Little Lies

This season may have been an editing disaster but I enjoyed it overall. Meryl Streep's Mary Louise is easily the most annoying villain I've seen on TV in a long time and I apologize to any of my Twitter followers who had to listen to me bitch about it. But the acting was outstanding this season. Kravitz, Kidman, and Dern particularly were amazing. I hated Renata last season but grew to love her (earned) tantrums she threw this season. The ending was kind of a cop out, but I hope there's no season 3 to expand on it because I'm not sure if I can handle the possibilities. 

Euphoria

I was not expecting to like this show as much as I do. Zendaya gives a career best performance and they made all of the character's stories very interesting. I see some comparisons to Thirteen Reasons Why, and to be honest I didn't think of that show once when watching Euphoria. They're very different.

Legion

We finally saw Charles Xavier which is cool but I'm so confused about the time line this is set in. Everything has that 70's aesthetic but I swear they've mentioned the internet before. I'm basically watching this for Dan Steven's performance at this point. It's a mess. 

The Act

Joey King is fantastic in this, wow. I watched the documentary this is based on; Mommy Dead and Dearest on HBO and was fascinated by this absolute train wreck of a story. I normally don't care for Patricia Arquette in anything but she's very good here as well. I can't recommend this enough. 


When They See Us

This limited series was an absolute gut punch. The actors were very good and at four episodes it's a quick binge. I recommend watching something light after this considering it's so depressing.

Stranger Things

It was weird at first not to have ST come back during Halloween but it fit right in over 4th of July weekend. Over all, I really enjoyed this season. They played into a lot of fan service but I think most of it paid off. I'm glad Eleven got to do other things besides cry all season, I liked that they fleshed out her relationship with Max. Poor Will got sidelined a bit this season. The highlights were with Dustin and Steve, and my least favorite parts (aside from Billy who I still don't give a fuck about) where Joyce and Hopper. They were both a bit *too much.* The ending was super trope-y which I think took a lot of the emotion out of it, even if the letter was a nice touch. Here's hoping Season 4 comes swiftly. 

I Love You, Now Die

This was a two part HBO documentary about the Commonwealth v Michelle Carter. A 17 year old girl who was charged with involuntary manslaughter when she encouraged her boyfriend via text to kill himself, which he ultimately did. I have to say I feel differently about this case now then when I did when I originally heard about it. The media really painted it in a certain light. Part one is told from the prosecution's side, and part two from the defense. This was a bizarre case for sure. I don't think Carter should be serving jail time for this, but I think she needs serious psychiatric help.

Can I bitch about The Walking Dead for a minute

Of course I can, this is my blog! I have a long documented journey with my abusive relationship with this show, that I ultimately dropped after they killed Carl because I deduced that no satisfying ending could come from without him. The long running comic just ended, and it ended on a note that was worthy of the story and I just want to say for the millionth time, that I still CANNOT believe Scott Gimple botched the writing of this show so badly that they will never have an ending like they do in the comics. Judith Cosplaying Grimes isn't Carl and it will never work in the same way. At least book Carl got to grow up, become a man, get married and start his own family while being able to look back proudly on what Rick accomplished.

*heavy sigh*

Thursday Movie Picks: The Great Outdoors

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is the great outdoors. I love being outdoors in the summer, but today I'm going to celebrate some films where people are absolutely not living their best lives outside at the moment.

1) Leave No Trace

Ben Foster plays a father that forces his daughter, played by Thomasin Mackenzie to live off grid. She's fine with this, until she gets a taste of normal living and it causes tension between the two. The acting in this film is extraordinary

2) 127 Hours

James Franco plays Aron Rolston, a real life hiker who had to literally cut his own arm off to escape a crevice he fell into. I think this film is wonderful, it's amazingly directed by Danny Boyle, the soundtrack is perfect, and yes, Franco is a real life creep, but he is SO good here.

3) The River Wild

Nostalgia pick! I've been in a David Strathairn mood lately so this film has been on my mind. I haven't seen it for years, but being held hostage whilst rafting is intense.