Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Human Experiment




What I liked:

  • This film is a must see.  It talks about the dangers of toxins in our bodies in a way that you can understand and is not too overwhelming.  
  • There are great stories from all different types of people.
  • The website has lots of easy suggestions on how to get rid of toxins in our everyday life.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Monk with a Camera

http://www.traileraddict.com/monk-with-a-camera/trailer 


 What I liked:

  • It's a fascinating story.  
  • It has great pictures and film from the past to help understand Nicholas Vreeland's journey and choices.
  • There are appearances by The Dalai Lama and Richard Gere.
  • The animation is really good.

Grantham & Rose



What I liked:

  • It's great to see Marla Gibbs still acting and looking great! #227
  • Tessa Thompson was good. 

Le Week-end



What I liked:

  • Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent play a realistic couple.
  • Jeff Goldblum!
  • The characters are delightful and flawed.  
  • The story is funny and sad.  

Life's A Breeze



What I liked:

  • Fionnula Flanagan was wonderful.
  • Kelly Thornton was great and shows real talent for such a young age.
  • It's a cute story.
  • If this little town has that much garbage in it's landfills, how much do you think your city has?

Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Congress



What I liked:

  • The first half of this film is a futuristic and harsh look at the realities of Hollywood.  It makes film studios look bad, particularly Paramount.  
  • Kudos to Robin Wright for taking this role that challenges the system.
  • It co-stars Harvey Keitel, Paul Giamatti, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Danny Huston, and Sami Gayle.
  • Jon Hamm's voice.
  • "Tom Cruise"
  • The second half of this film is a futuristic and harsh look at society.
  • The animation is very good.  You can tell that they were having fun with it by the images that they show.   

Mood Indigo



What I liked:

  • This may be one of the most visually creative films that I have ever seen.  Nothing is "normal" in this film.  
  • Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou are charming.
  • Omar Sy has an infectious smile.
  • It also stars Gad Elmaleh, Aissa Maiga, and Charlotte Le Bon.

Beyond the Walls



What I liked:

  • It is an interesting topic.  What do murals stand for?  What is the story behind them?  How much thought and planning goes into making one?
  • They showed different murals and stories from all over the world.

Waltz for Monica



What I liked:

  • It's based on the life on the world famous Swedish jazz singer, Monica Zetterlund.
  • Edda Magnason, who plays Monica, is stunning.  She looks like a combination of Julianne Hough and Alice Eve.  She is also a fantastic singer.
  • The music was wonderful.
  • Hair, makeup, and costumes were lovely.

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Grand Budapest Hotel



What I liked:

  • It's a Wes Anderson film so it's delightfully quirky.
  • Ralph Fiennes was highly entertaining.
  • Jude Law has a lovely voice.
  • Hair and makeup on Tilda Swinton alone was amazing let alone what they did to the rest of the cast.  I would not be surprised if they received an Oscar nomination for this.
  • Loved Saoirse Ronan's accent.
  • Tony Revolori was great.
  • The rest of the cast was charming: F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Larry Pine, Fisher Stevens, and Bob Balaban. 
  • Loved the use of light and color.

Divergent



What I liked:

  • Shailene Woodley was very good.  Her character is complex but still has a nice innocence to her.
  • I enjoyed Miles Teller.  He doesn't play an easy character to like.
  • Kate Winslet is fantastic.  Nice to see her play evil.
  • It also stars Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q, and Mekhi Phifer.
  • The opening shot of a war torn Chicago is chilling.  It looks so real.
  • The soundtrack is good.
  • There was no love triangle.

Muppets Most Wanted



What I liked:

  • It stars Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey.
  • Lots of cameos: Tony Bennett, Hugh Bonneville, Jemaine Clement, Sean Combs, Rob Corddry, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Zach Galifianakis, Josh Groban, Salma Hayek, Tom Hiddleston, Toby Jones, Frank Langella, Ray Liotta, James McAvoy, Chloe Grace Moretz, Usher, Saoirse Ronan, Russell Tovey, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, and Christoph Waltz.
  • I enjoyed the opening number.

Bad Words



What I liked:

  • This was Jason Bateman's directorial debut.  He seemed to like pointing the camera at the light to get a halo effect.  Everything else was status quo.
  • Kathryn Hahn in a lead female role!
  • Rohan Chand is adorable.
  • It also stars Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney, Ben Falcone, and Steve Witting.
  • There are some funny parts.

In Secret



What I liked:

  • Elizabeth Olsen is just stunning.  And a very fine actress.
  • Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton, and Jessica Lange were all great.
  • The first half of the story was good.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

2014 Academy Awards



















  • Do not love the stage design right now.
  • Can't decide if that Liza dig was hilarious or mean. #Hilarious
  • I think Ellen looks too much like a sparkly pirate.
  • "Boy, is he pretty." -Ellen on Jared Leto.
  • Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
  • Shocked that they are not playing Leto off with the music.
  • I am ok with Jim Carey's blue jacket.
  • Pharrell lost the shorts but brought back the hat!
  • I dig this song.
  • I do not care for the video playing in the background.
  • Shake it Meryl!
  • Why was Jamie Foxx on stage?

Live Blogging the Red Carpet for the 2014 Academy Awards

  • Love Viola Davis' emerald greed Escada dress.
  • I like Kristen Chenoweth's new short hair do.
  • I like Liza Minnelli's blue streaked hair.
  • I like Anna Kendrick and Olivia Wilde's black dresses and beautiful up do's.
  • I am disappointed in Amy Adam's choice.  I expected a little more pizzazz for her.
  • Ryan Seacrest's interview of Barkhad Abdi is painful to listen to.
  • I have no words for Pharrell's shorts.  I guess it's better than that ridiculous hat.
  • I am surprised by Lupita Nyong'o's ice blue gown.  It's pretty but I expected her choice to have more structure.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards













  • I loved the Mia Farrow joke.  Way to go Patton Oswalt.
  • Loving Laura Dern's strawberry blonde hair.
  • Best First Screenplay: Bob Nelson for Nebraska.
  • You should see Lake Bell's In a Word and JGL's Don Jon if you haven't.
  • Best Supporting Male: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club.
  • This was a tough category.  Michael Fassbender was fantastic in 12 Years.  Will Forte was great in Nebraska.  And Keith Stanfield was amazing in Short Term 12.
  • Take away Jared's scarf and he totally looks like Jordan Catalano. #MSCL
  • Best First Feature: Fruitvale Station.