Sunday, June 29, 2014

Obvious Child

In Obvious Child we learn that even when you screw up life goes on. Though Jenny Slate's character makes poor decisions, she perseveres with heart, and seems to learn from her experience. This is a story about being a young adult and finding a place in the world. It tackles tough subjects, but left me with a smile.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

How to Train Your Dragon 2

I loved How to Train your Dragon for it's joy, spunk, characters and visuals. How to Train Your Dragon 2 continues the story, even aging the characters, which is nice in the animated world. There are a lot of battles and even more dragons than the first. I did love the baby dragons. Clever and satisfying, another good adventure with the Vikings.

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Normal Heart

The AIDS epidemic has had a lot of battles to fight and The Normal Heart goes inside the war. It is still amazing to me that people would have to fight so hard for decent medical treatment no matter what. This world's hang ups in regards to sexual orientation is sad and pathetic. It's the fighters that win. This film has wonderful performances and tells quite a story. Well done.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Some Velvet Morning

An encounter of two people is high drama with only two actors. The film Some Velvet Morning leads us down a winding path right up to the surprise ending. That's all you're going to get here. Another film worth a look for the outstanding performances.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Weekend of a Champion

Cameras in race cars were not the norm in the 70s, but Roman Polanski got Jackie Stewart to do it for the documentary Weekend of a Champion. This weekend in 1971 at the Monaco Grand Prix looks at the racing and the lifestyle. Jackie Stewart was quite a driver. Wonderful documentary.

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Across 110th Street

One of the finest 70s period films I've seen. Skillfully shot and dynamic performances make Across 110th Street a classic. This crime story moves well and is very violent. The police have their hands full in New York City and the good guys have a tough time. Beautiful piece of cinema. I went back and watched a lot of scenes twice, especially the ending. Well done.

Sunday, June 01, 2014

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Rude, vulgar, sweet, vulgar, offensive, vulgar, funny, vulgar and clever...oh did I mention vulgar. A Million Ways to Die in the West is quite a ride.The story is a bit lame, but the performances are great, and every once in a while there's a good bit. And oh so vulgar.