N's

 

The Night House  2020

Rebecca Hall  Evan Jonigkeit

 

Beth tries to cope and understand her husbands suicide.  She is tortured night and day with unusual visions pertaining to her husbands death.  The more Beth digs into her husbands past the more sinister her experience becomes.  This film was good.  It was very twisty and kept you entertained.  I have to say, I could not bear Rebecca Hall.  She seem to gasp deeply or breathe hard in a lot of scenes turning this film lower for me.  It was just a constant Huff and Puff sound that she kept making and I found it distracting.  I felt if another actress was chosen for the role of Beth, I would have liked it more.  But all in all the story line was good and the thrills were creepy.  
 

Nocturnal Animals   2016
Amy Adams  Jake Gyllenhaal

Susan regrets walking away from first husband Edward who writes a novel for her.  I believe the story created by Edward was his emotional closure dedicated to their marriage. For me, this film reminded me of a Stanley Kubrick piece.  The opening of this film can be a little much being that there are about four different naked obese woman dancing around.  The way it was shot, the camera angles, the attention of silence, how the musical score haunted in and out of the scenes, Stanley Kubrick's ghost danced around in my mind as I watched this.  It has a slow tone and was predictable but it was enjoyable.

L's

 

Lorena  2019

Lorena Bobbitt  John Wayne Bobbitt

 

This documentary covers the entire eye raising 1993 incident of an abused wife who could no longer take the pain of her horrific marriage.   Lorena had several claims of abuse from husband John Bobbitt, some which were documented from local police.  At first you see John as the poor incident husband who has his penis cut completely off by his fiery wife Lorena.  As this poorly edited documentary continues to unravel, you can see more inside their marriage to find John was severely abusive between physical and sexual action towards Lorena.  Between the court trials and interviews I do feel bad for Lorena because no one women should live in fear of her husband.  Especially as someone so selfish as John Bobbitt.  John tries to play innocent, but the evidence against him along with his own stupidity and narcissism erupts the jerk off personality he truly leads. I honestly don't have a side to pick between these two.  I feel that Lorena should have left this guy the minute he raised his temper.  As for John I know way too many guys like him unfortunately, so I do not feel bad for him through out his penis severing or his pathetic life path.  

 

                                                         

 

The Lennon Report  2016

 Evan Jonigkeit  Walter Vincent

This film gathers the information of a newspaper report Alan Weiss and the ER staff of New York's Roosevelt hospital the night John Lennon was shot.  Being a Beatles fan for many years and John was my favorite, this film was a no brainer to review.  It does have a slow moving pace considering the hysteric story line. Reporter Alan Weiss played by Walter Vincent is rushed to Roosevelt hospital after surviving a nasty motorcycle crash.  The only ambulance on call for the area was occupying Mr. Weiss and could not transport Lennon.  Officers on scene for the shooting carefully put Lennon's fragile body in the back seat of the police car, rushing to beat the already limited clock of John's life.  Dr. Halleran continuously work for 30 minutes trying to revive Lennon.  The annoyance of Mr. Weiss frankly pissed me off.  He persistently poked around for any tid bit of information to build his story. Even after countless warnings from hospital staff and security Weiss continued to break the boundaries.  Massive blood loss and seven gunshot wounds with two piercing through the chest hitting a major artery was determined that Lennon was dead on arrival. This film out lined a tragedy that has broken the hearts of millions.  I did like the interviews of the actual characters as the credits rolled.  It gave a sense of feeling out who these people are.  I personally liked this film but, anyone not a fan probably wouldn't finish it.



 

 

 

 

Last kind Words 2012

Spencer Daniels   Alexia Fast

 

Eli moves to a farm with his family, befriends and falls in love with Amanda, a ghost who wanders the nearby woods.  This film is very slow and has low grade actors.  If you miss this film it wouldn't hurt unless you are looking for a way to fall asleep in the early morning hours.

 

The Lodge  2019

Riley Keough   Jaeden Martell

 

Psychological thriller that follows a brother and sister mourning their mothers suicide and adjusting to their father's new fiance during the holidays.  Grace (Riley Keough) recovers from juvenile mental trauma being the only survivor of a suicide cult.  As the kids uncover Grace's sinister past they try to throw her mental state into over drive. This film was creepy and interesting.  I was drawn to the story from beginning to end and was happy that a film produced recently didn't flake out like most.  I highly recommend this film if you are in the mood for a little mind trickery.  I watched this on HULU. 

 

Lords of Salem  2012 

Sheri Moon Zombie  Jeff Daniel Philips

 

Heidi is a radio dj, in Salem, Massachusetts.  She lives in a cozy apartment building with her dog Troy and works on her sober lifestyle.  Heidi receives an old record at her job from "The Lords."  She takes it home for a listen only to fall sick from the music.   From that moment her life changes more and more each day.  She has visions and sees strange creatures.  Heidi's landlord seems like a sweet old woman that is an under cover witch who needs Heidi to appease Satan, only then will her and her sisters be reborn.  This film is the best Rob Zombie flick in my opinion.  I enjoy anything with witches and this film has a nice setting.  There are some disturbing images, blood and some sexual scenes so if that bothers you skip this one.

 

 Let Him Go  2020

Diane Lane  Kevin Costner

Set in the 1950's Margret and George lose their son to a horse accident.  There daughter in law remarries into a well known notorious family and they fear for their grandsons safety.  They set out to save him until the family tries to kill them.  This film was pretty good, it had a slow start to it, but finishing until the end I feel it was worth it.  

The Last Samurai  2003

Tom Cruise  Ken Watanabe

This film is a masterpiece inside and out!  A traumatized civil war captain "Nathan" played by Tom Cruise, abuses alcohol to escape his time in the service.  "Nathan" is summoned to help train the Japanese army.  During his duty he is captured by "Katsumoto," a well respected samurai, and learns the way of the Japanese culture and ends up fighting against his own men.  Two and a half hours of beauty is what you will find if you choose to view this film.  Highly, highly recommend this one!

Last Night in Soho  2021

Anya Taylor Joy  Thomasin McKenzie

This fast paced thriller is set in present day northern London.  We follow "Ellie," a young, kind fashion student with an old soul.  Ellie runs into problems trying to live the college dorm life and decides to rent a room owned by an older woman, Miss Collins.  The first night spend in the new place, Ellie  dreams of a glorious woman named Sandie.  Set back in Ellie's favorite era of the 1960's, Sandie tries to become a famous singer.  Looking for an "in" to the industry Sandie falls for a sharp witted man named Jack.  Jack promises Sandie the world only to drown her in a sea of prostitution.  Every night Ellie tries to chase her dreams to save Sandie from a brutal murder.  When Ellie uncovers all the pieces of Sandie's life, she soon finds out that Sandie was a serial killer.  All the men Sandie had to accompany she stabbed them to death, burying the bodies in the floor of the rental room.  Ellie quickly finds out Miss Collins is "Sandie."  This film was twisty and well thought out.  I loved the 1960s elements infused with in this film.  There were some jump scares and gore so if you do not like that sort of thing skip this one. 

 

 

S's

Split  2017
James McAvoy  Anya Taylor-Joy

I have to start off by saying James McAvoy:  APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE!  This film was ok. It was very basic.  It definitely lacked the M. Night Shamalyn twist.  The previews for this film were gripping and had you aching for some sort of action or suspense.  For me, this film lacked both.  Usually multiple personality traits tend to freak me out, given Dressed To Kill and Raising Cain, but this was a mear shadow.  This story follows Kevin, a man with several personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls in order to feed on them to fufill his inner beast.  This film foreshadowed one of the teenage girls adolescent molestation in order to relate to Kevin.  I felt that this film should have touched more on Kevin's upbringing instead of the victims.  I feel that would have improved my feelings on this film, but I understand why MNS did it , I just wished he didn't. All in all I was bored with this film. 

 

Suburbicon  2017

Matt Damon  Julianne Moore

 

Set in 1950 suburbia, a home invasion is set up to kill a mans wife, collect insurance money and run off with his sister in law.  As the case is investigated the insurance money is held up causing mobsters to collect on the remaining members of the family.  This film moves fast and holds quite a bit of action but all in all it was just ok.

 

 

 

 

Sinister  2012

Ethan Hawk

 

A struggling author moves his family to a house where a mysterious murder occurred.  While researching the cold case he soon uncovers other gruesome murders which all seem to tie together, hosted by a sinister force.  



Safe  2018
Michael C. Hall  Amy James-Kelly

Dr. Tom Delany is a well known surgeon in a close nit gated community who suffers the loss of his wife, trying to balance life for his two daughters, Jenny and Carrie.  Once the dead body of Jenny's boyfriend Chris surfaces and she is no where to be found, the chase begins to find Jenny and murder of Chris.  This all in all had a good story line and I know that each episode pointed the finger to each resident of the neighborhood and wanted to keep you guessing until the end but I felt it dragged out too long.  Unnecessary fluff that dates back to a story of Dr. Delany's wife and her friends back when they were teenagers set fire to a school and accidently killed children in the building. That story had been kept under wraps for years no one truly knowing the who fire starters were.  Jenny and
Chris were close to exposing the full story until Chris confronts Sofia, local detective and original fire starter so she 'silences' Chris by drowning him.  This story felt like that the "fire starters" had a curse of karma on their backs either getting killed off in each episode or punished for the crime. This series could have been better if it cut to the chase quicker.  I felt Michael C. Hall's British accent is awful and was distracting in the first few episodes. 

Swallow 2019

Haley Bennett  Austin Stowell

In this psychological sleeper, we meet Hunter, a young wife who is the result of her mothers rape.  Hunter fights with the mental nonacceptance from her mother and wealthy in laws.  She becomes pregnant with her first child but still is unfulfilled.  Her only triumph is repetitive compulsion to swallow and digest strange objects.  Something her privileged husband doesn't understand nor care for her unhealthy addiction and makes a mockery of their trust which only increases her disorder causing her to be monitored.  Feeling that she has had enough pain in her life, Hunter chooses to leave her husband and track down her biological father only to learn he has fully moved on with his life and regrets her completely.  Making a fresh start for herself, she aborts her baby and goes off on her own.  Watching the trailer of this film was iffy on how it would pan out, to my surprise I enjoyed it.  It scratches deeper than a surface wound, it takes you into the emotional grasp of ones past traumas and self destruction in order to regain control.   

Shutter Island  2010

Leonardo Dicaprio  Ben Kingsley 

On the surface, this film takes place 1950's Boston, a small place called Shutter Island, similar to Alcatraz where the only way on and off the island is by boat.  The island is surrounded by frigged  waters, steep jagged cliffs, thick forests, huge thorn-ed patches and poisonous plants purposely making it difficult for an escape.  Federal Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leo Dicaprio) and new partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) is called to Ashecliffe asylum to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando a dangerous woman who was sentenced to Ashecliffe for drowning her three children.  Teddy questions fellow patients, nurses, police officials and doctors but still feels something is being left out of the equation.  In addition to Teddy's assignment he is also seeking a man Andrew Lattuce who was responsible for a fire set in Teddy's apartment murdering his wife Dolores.  Teddy has kept watch on Andrew last learning of Andrew's sentence to Ashecliffe. Teddy tries to keep focus on the investigation but struggles with flashbacks of his time during WWII and seeing his dead wife.  He slowly uncovers the fact he is Andrew Lattuce. Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) brings out evidence showing Andrew back to who he really is, the most dangerous patient at Ashecliffe, suffering from multiple personalities, in order to recover from his past trauma.  His wife, Dolores set the apartment fire, she drown their children and he killed her because of it.  Everything "Teddy"-Andrew thought he saw was just a deflection of his own life he was trying to bury.  This film is incredible from start to finish.  The casting was perfect, the story line holds many twists it keeps you on the edge for answers, the setting in my opinion was the best.  The forest, the water, asylum and island itself held such a mystery it was the icing on the cake. I highly recommend this film, to this day I am still impressed by it's flawless features. 

Spencer  2021

Kristen Stewart

I am not a big Princess Diana fan, but I do enjoy Kristen Stewart.  The little I knew of Diana, I felt that Kristen nailed this performance.  She held down the look, body language and accent beautifully.  I cannot confirm how much of this portrayal holds truth but this was a slow moving, sad toned film.  It peeks in around Diana's struggle with bulimia, nonacceptance from the royal family, no real friends to lean on.  I felt that this is entertaining enough to take a look.  

Sing 2  2021

Bono  Matthew Machonghey 

I was so happy there was a sequel because the first film was super cute and this one definitely didn't slack on the music choice or comedy.  The gang has to impress a rich Vegas show boat to hold an epic performance they seek out a popular singer that has gone into hiding after his wife dies.  

The Survivor  2021

Ben Foster   Danny Devito

This is the true story of Harry Haft, a holocaust camp survivor who was pushed to box other prisoners to death for the amusement of the German soldiers. Harry becomes a "boxing champ" of the camp, artificially befriending a German soldier, Schneider.  Harry ends up killing Schneider in order to escape.  While trying to gain back his normal life, Harry becomes a well known boxer in 1940s New York.  Harry endlessly searches for Leah, a love lost in the separation of the concentration camps.  After finding nothing of Leah, Harry feels she has died. Marrying another and having a family, Harry finds out that Leah is still alive.  While visiting with Leah, he finds he is still in love with her.  The only down side is that Leah has cancer and not much longer to live.  Harry loves her and says goodbye.  This film was great.  The transition between memories in the camp, to present day was well done.  The cast was picked perfectly, they all had the magnetism to help the film flow.  I loved the detail of black and white for memories to the deep emotional urban decay of the city.  I felt that the decay of the lifestyle of a boxer chips away at you the way the Holocaust did for him.  The actor who plays Alan, (Kingston Vernes) comes into the frame with these piercing angelic blue eyes.  Alan was the one who wrote the book on his father Harry and produce this film.  Which I feel is so sweet and such an amazing story to be told.  The legacy of this tale is one to be respected and admired. This is an HBO made film, so you can find it on HBOMax, or on demand HBO. 

   

 

 

G's

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes  1953
Marilyn Monroe  Jane Russell

Showgirls Dorothy and Lorelei board a cruise to Paris in order to promote their careers.  Lorelei's Fiancée's father believes her to be a quick lover looking only to take his son's money, so he hires a private detective to follow her on the trip only for the detective to fall for Lorelei's friend Dorothy.  I thought this film to be cutesy, with thriving girl power making these two beauties shine. This would be perfect for a ladies night in.

Ghostbusters  2016
Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon

I have to admit, I was skeptical about seeing this newer version of Ghostbusters while growing up with the original.  I went to see it for my love of Melissa McCarthy and my new girl crush, hilarious SNL native Kate McKinnon.  I was very pleasantly surprised with this version.  Not only was it stitchingly funny but to show the world girls can do it all!  Girl Power! Ok, that was more 90's and too Spice Girls, LOL.  This film keeps you entertained minute to minute with jokes, paranormal knowledge and fast pace script.

The Gift 2000

Small town card reader and psychic Annie (Cate Blanchett), tries to help find Jessica (Katie Holmes) a young sassy southern beauty who goes missing.  Jessica is engaged to well known wealthy man Wayne Collins, (Greg Kinnear) so when the word spreads it makes every headline.  There are a lot of suspects in question; Buddy a young man who is known to be mentally off and grew up in an abusive family, gives up hints on Jessica's disappearance 

Grandma  2015

Lily Tomlin  Julia Garner

Hot tempered Grandma Elle, tries to help her pregnant teenage granddaughter find money for an abortion.  This film is super funny if you love Lily Tomlin's humor.  I find her sarcasm hilarious. The story line was basic but Lily's comedy is worth the time. 

Gretel and Hansel  2020

Sophia Lillis   Alice Krige

Sinister adaptation of the old children's story.  This film is not highly gory but it does hold some creepy scenes.  I absolutely love this film for it's cinematography.  The shots of the woods, sun burst and architecture are stunning if you like the dark filter and gothic ambiance.  This film does have a slow feel to it but I highly recommend it for all the intense scenery.  

D's

Dana Carvey: Straight, White Male, 60  2016
Dana Carvey

Seriously a comedic genius! I was so excited to watch this stand up special when it hit Netflix.  Dana's flawless impressions and witty charm are a force to be reckoned with. I have found Dana's talent to be yet another overlooked gold mine.  I haven't laughed this hard since his Critics Choice stand up special back in 1995.  He works so hard on perfecting his material, I cant help but honor a great respect for him.  He has been the great and powerful behind some of Hollywood's most memorable comedy.  Thank you Dana, you are a legend!  If you own Netflix and have not checked this stand up special out, do it, you may suffer from face and stomach aches from laughing so much.  Hey you might work up a tighter core from the roaring laughter you will encounter...

Dumb: the story of Big Brother Magazine  2017

Johnny Knoxville  Spike Jonze

This documentary is about the beginning of chaotic and somewhat disgusting young skateboarders who publish the controversial magazine Big Brother.  This also touches on the early lives of Jackass participants and pro skateboarders.  There is raunchy material and many nude scenes.  But, if you are a fan of Jackass style content then you can sit through it.  I liked this film, it was gross, shocking and entertaining.  Jackass was a huge hit when I was a senior in high school and I have been a fan ever since.  You can find this on HULU. 

The Dunwich Horror  1970

Dean Stockwell  Sandra Dee

Cute Librarian Nancy is approached by strange yet intriguing man Wilbur who takes her to his family house.  Nancy slowly slips under Wilbur's spell, understanding he has a family blood line of witchcraft.  Wilbur tries to sacrifice Nancy to open the gate and unleash unspeakable power.  This film was pretty good, being made in 1970.  I appreciate the makeup and cinematography around that time period.  This story held a steady creep factor and was entertained from start to finish.  

The Diary of a Teenage Girl  2015

Bel Powley   Kristin Wiig

 "Minnie," a young girl has her first sexual experience with "Monroe," her mothers boyfriend and starts a on going sexual affair.  "Minnie" tries to escape her feelings for "Monroe" through drugs and other sexual experiences.  This film was highly sexual, whether it be the content or the cartoons "Minnie" doodles it holds vulgar images.  

The Deeper You Dig  2019 

John Adams  Tobey Poser

 Ivy a local fortune teller searches for her missing daughter Echo and unknowingly befriends Echo's Killer.  This independent film was awesome! It was perfectly creepy, intense and gorgeous.  I was immediately attracted to the scenery.  This film was shot in upstate New York during the winter.  The winter chill breezes through you when you watch this because you can feel the work of the camera angles.  They were very intelligently executed. The story was not scary but it was interesting enough to keep your attention.  There are some scenes that are graphic, especially when Ivy crosses over the Seven Circles realm.  The history of the Tarot cards, witchcraft and the paranormal has been taken on an exciting path within this script.  This film was written and directed by a family.  I look forward to diving deep into their productions. 

Darkness Before Dawn  1993

Meredith Baxter  Stephen Lang

Mary Anne is a drug addicted nurse who works at a out patient rehab center.  She falls in love with Guy, a recovering out patient, who is not in full recovery.  They end up getting married ans together become struggling heroin addicts.  Several attempts to become clean and on the road to recovery just kept racking up for the both of them.  Eventually as they separate to become sober on their own, they stay on the road to recovery and now try to help others in sober living.  True and sad story. 

Deception  2008

Ewan McGregor  Hugh Jackman

Jonathon is a boring, nerdy looking accountant that befriends a successful lawyer, Wyatt who introduces him into an escort ring.  Enjoying his new found lifestyle, Jonathon falls for one of the escorts he only knows as "S."  Jonathon tries to date and love S, but she goes missing.  Desperately trying to find the woman he loves, Jonathon becomes blackmailed by Wyatt only to uncover S belongs to Wyatt a con-man who uses the ring to extort money setting up gullible men.  This film was unexpectedly good.  The twists worked well through the story line and it moves quickly.

 

 

Z's

Zach Galifinakis: Live at the Purple Onion  2006
Zach Galifinakis

This comedy special is a pisser.  If you like Zach's humor you will fully enjoy this one!  It switches back and forth from Zach's live stand up in a small bar to an interview with Zach's "brother" Seth.  I have always found Zach's material to be a hidden gem.  He can throw a blast at someone so commonly toned, you almost miss the insult.  I feel that his comedic gift is over looked by publicized talentless hacks.  Zach seems to thoroughly think up his material, which is why I praise him for his genius.

Zodiac  2007
Jake Gyllenhaal   Robert Downey Jr.

A California newspaper cartoonist becomes obsessed with cracking the mysterious serial killer case titled "Zodiac."  I enjoyed this film because it covers a lot of information.  It tends to run a bit long, but keeps you entertained with a combination of information and a dramatic reenactment of each of the murders and encounters.  If you like serial killer inspired films then I would definitely suggest this one.

H's

  The House on Telegraph Hill  1951
Richard Basehart  Valentina Cortese

Victoria survives concentration camp, uses dead friends identity to marry into America only to find the man she quickly married is of German decent and attempts to kill her.  This film is quick moving and suspenseful.

How To Steal A Million  1966
Audrey Hepburn  Peter O'Toole

Nicole falls for Simon, a skilled thief who is actually an undercover agent looking to bust Nicole's father for replicating his own paintings as priceless originals.  Audrey looks stunning in this film.  Her hairstyle frames those gorgeous eyes making it hard not to love.  The blossoming romance between Nicole and Simon is adorable, especially when you throw crime into the mix.

Harvey  1950
James Stewart  Josephine Hull

Care free, sweet hearted Elwood P. Dowd, has an imaginary 6'3 pooka rabbit friend named Harvey.  Elwood's sister Vita is terribly embarrassed that their small town looks down on her because of her brother's behavior, she attempts to have him committed.  James Stewart has precious eyes, it is easy to fall in love with this film.  

Hustle  2022

Adam Sandler  Juancho Hernangomez

Adam Sandler plays Stanley Sugerman, a basketball recruiter for the Philadelphia 76ers.  After many exhausting years traveling all around the world looking for professional players, Stanley finally gets promoted to coach.  Unfortunately, his promotion is short lived, the head of the company has passed away and his greedy son tries to eliminate Stanley.  Like many Happy Madison Productions, this one has a Never Back Down message.  Stanley continues to fight for one man who deserves to be in the NBA.  Adam has a good eye for underdog stories with some humor to boot.  I enjoyed this film, you can find it on Netflix.
 

J's

The Jinx  2015
Robert Durst  Andrew Jarecki

This six episode installment is an interview styled HBO special conducted by Andrew Jarecki.  Andrew sits down with Robert Durst, to discuss the 1982 disappearance of his wife Kathy, mysterious murder of close friend Susan Berman and the murder and dismemberment of his neighbor Morris Black, which Durst was accused and tried.  I enjoyed this special because it completely broke down who Robert Durst is.  From his youth having witnessed his mothers suicide, the abuse of his father and neglect from his brother, Robert couldn't grasp the concept of a kind heart or understand how to normalize his thoughts.  He constantly talked to him self when he thought no one could hear him, which in fact left blood on his hands. Whenever asked a question from Jarecki that Robert felt was incriminating to him, the wheels would spin and he was slow, careful and calculated on every breath that left his mouth. Little did Robert know that when the session would break, camera off but mic still on, Robert would mutter to himself the truth of the questions. Its as if Robert couldn't stand the truth locked up inside of him, letting the lies slip from his lips left him powerless until the truth would whisper out under his breath.  I find this man to be a chilling criminal guilty of all three crimes.  Anyone who believes or falls for his act is just another sad statistic that fell for his amateur lies.

Janet Jackson: Janet  2022

Janet Jackson

This documentary is beautiful.  I have loved Janet since I was a kid.  She is so creative, beautiful, intelligent and sexy!  She can do it all and do it well.  This documentary takes you back to Janet's early life and career.  Janet is such a strong, independent woman, I admire her for all her hard work.  Her career has been so incredible and she deserves all the wonderful praise from it.  I really enjoyed this documentary, it gives unseen footage and I liked the fact that they had her there in front of the camera to talk about each issue and they bring up.  Janet is so classy and handles herself well.  If you are a fan of hers I definitely recommend this. 

Jackass Forever  2022

Johnny Knoxville   Steve-O

I was so happy to hear that Jackass was making another film.  Like the other Jackass installments this one is nutty and crass as its roots have shown.  Minus Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn everyone came together for this project.  A few new crazy cast members but it still hits home.  Lots more penis in this sequel versus the others so just be aware. 

C's

Compulsion  1959
Dean Stockwell  Bradford Dillman

Based on the 1924 murder trial, Artie an over privileged wise cracking rich boy with a lust for crime involves Judd, a very intelligent yet impressionable college brother into committing murder of a young boy.  I enjoyed Dean Stockwell's performance in this film.  His eyes held such captivation for his role.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



R's

Rope  1948
John Dall, Farley Granger and James Stewart

Brandon and Philip strangle their friend David, throw his body in a trunk, then have a dinner party served on the trunk for David's friends and family. This Hitchcock thriller has a sly cat and mouse tone which keeps you entertained.  James Stewart's performance is truly amazing.

Remembrance  2011
Alice Dwyer, Dagmar Manzel, Mateusz Damieck

I am usually not a fan of love stories but this true international romance tugged at my heart. Taking place in 1944 near the end of the Nazi revolution, a beautiful Jewish Hannah falls for handsome Polish Tomasz while held captive in a work camp. The couple try to sneak in as many passionate visits during their enslavement. Hannah soon becomes pregnant. Lack of nutrition and strenuous manual labor leaves Hannah to become ill. She refused to tell Tomasz about the pregnancy or to show her fragile health. Tomasz successfully escapes from the camp with Hannah by his side to his family home. Hannah's condition worsens leading to a miscarriage. Tomasz must leave Hannah behind with his unsupportive mother to find a safer place for them. Once Hannah is well enough she sets off to find Tomasz. He had left instructions for her to stay with his sister in law. She stays a short while with the loving family member only to succumb the fear of the Russian army. Tomasz's sister in law was taken sparing his mother. Hannah hid in a tree and is unharmed. She still worries of Tomasz and sets out to find him. The harsh winter forces Hannah's journey to an unsettling halt. Nearly dead from the cold Hannah was found on road by the Red Cross. Weeks later Tomasz returns to his sister in laws home only to find his mother. His mother had told him Hannah had died from her sickness. Years pass leaving one another to be believed dead. In 1976, Hannah sees an interview of an older gentleman describing the story of their love and escape. Hannah shocked, searches all informational avenues possible to see if this man was in fact her lost love. She receives news that Tomasz was alive. Desperate to hear his voice she calls him. They arrange to meet after years lost. As soon as they lock eyes, the film ends, which I would have loved to see them at least hug. This film was very sweet. You could feel the love within the film and even though they had to move on towards different lives I couldn't help but hope they would reunite and rekindle their romance. I guess it's the chick in me. There are subtitles throughout this movie which doesn't bother me and it wasn't a constant installment. I highly recommend.

The Revenant  2015 
Leonardo DiCaprio  Tom Hardy

Set in winter of 1820, Hugh Glass played by Leo DiCaprio out deliver goods while fighting off rival American Indian tribes.  While on hike, Hugh gets viciously attacked by a bear leaving him near death.  Fellow journey men and Hugh's son, Hawk carry his lifeless body through mountainous trails in the woods.  Trying to fight to stay alive for son Hawk, Hugh witnesses Hawk's brutal murder by John Fitzgerald, a loose cannon itching with rage.  This film has a haunting tone that keeps you drawn in.  Leo DiCaprio's craft is brilliant.  The way he communicates his emotions thrive in this film.  Run time is a bit longer than usual but its worth every minute. 

Room  2015
Brie Larson  Jacob Tremblay

17 year old Joy was abducted, held captive and raped for 7 years in a secure garden shed.  She attempts escapes but all fail until she uses her 5 years old son Jack, to fake his own death to enter the outside world for the very first time to locate help.  Returning to the world, Joy and Jack struggle to maintain a regular life.  This film was heart wrenching at many scenes and moved quickly through the first half.