Tag: Woman Director

Little Women: the Gen X Version

The review:

Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women is my generation’s Little Women and it’s full of great performances and too much moralizing.* While everyone is batting a thousand, Claire Danes goes the extra mile, not only ugly crying, but also killing it in her deathbed scene.** I’ve never liked the bones of the story***, but this is still fun to watch.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home, in preparation for the Greta Gerwig version

Consider also watching:

  • In Her Shoes
  • The Virgin Suicides
  • Frozen
  • Sense & Sensibility

Further sentences:

*I mean, geez, I know how progressive Louisa May Alcott and her family were, but it seems like every time Marmee opens her mouth it’s to provide a mini-lecture about their advanced beliefs. My eyes were rolling.
**Pun intended. Simple words said beautifully, and the waterworks start.
***Amy. Brat with few redeeming qualities. Jo. Belongs with Laurie. Or at least a single writer. Anyone but that old guy.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

While filming, Claire Danes was carrying a candle up the stairs and her hair caught on fire.

Update: an oral history of this film’s production, provided by the New York Times. Worth reading!

Blinded by the Light is a Perfectly Fine Film

(which is not to be confused with a “fine film”)

The review:

Gurinder Chadha creates a perfectly pleasant and predictable* Sunday Afternoon Movie* with Blinded by the Light. Springsteen’s music is ably used to further the plot—especially when Viveik Kalra’s character Javed is first introduced to the Boss during a terrible storm.** I had a lot of problems with this film, but enjoyed the lead performances, the depiction 80s-era discrimination, and period details.***

The verdict: Good

(just barely)

Cost: $11.00
Where watched: Baghdad Theater with an audience of Bruce fans who clapped at the end.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Literally every scene played out in a way that was not at all surprising.
**A movie watched as the last pleasant gasp of weekend before the unpleasant chores to gear up for the week begin.
**That said, with the depth of the Springsteen catalog, I would have liked them to not have used “Born to Run” in two different parts of the film.
***Though it did the thing I hate: deploy outdated technology for no purpose except to make the audience laugh. In this movie there was a scene with an early mobile phone. The phone had no reason to be in that scene.

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

The movie is inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of the works of Bruce Springsteen. It is based on Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park

The New Romantic is a Different Take on an Old Story

The review:

Carly Stone’s The New Romantic isn’t a love story and it isn’t a screed. Instead, a college newspaper columnist (Jessica Barden) skips out on dating for a different kind of experience.* Hayley Law is great** in the best friend role and Brett Dier is an amusing fellow journalist.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home, having failed to make it all the way to the theater for the movie I was planning on watching. (There was traffic)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*One that is filmed so it’s not as titillating as it might have been.
**Will we get to see her in a starring role?

The Farewell is Well Worth Your Time

The review:

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell is a quiet bit of funny and sad as we watch Billi (Awkwafina) come to terms with her Chinese grandmother’s terminal cancer diagnosis.* Shuzhen Zhao (Nai Nai—the grandmother) is a delight, full of vim and opinions and ways to get rid of the negative energy. It’s a movie full of moments that weave together into a loving portrait of a family spread far apart by geography but with a very close bond.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: The Hollywood Theatre, with S. North (who paid, because I forgot my wallet)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Complicating the diagnosis: in China it’s common to withhold the diagnosis from the patient so everyone must act as if the family is only gathering for a family wedding.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

In addition to writing and directing, Lulu Wang also plays piano on the film’s soundtrack.

Late Night: A Grown-up Comedy I Heartily Recommend

The review:

Nisha Ganatra gives us a rare object in Late Night: the grown up comedy. Aside from a great cast* it’s also an interesting look at how those past-your-bedtime** comedy shows get created. It’s got some laugh-out-loud moments, and many chuckles and I found myself thoroughly charmed.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: the Laurelhurst Theater

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Emma Thompson of course, and Mindy Kaling. And all those writers in the writers room were fun to watch and I enjoyed seeing Paul Walter Hauser, who was so good as the not-so-smart buddy Shawn in I, Tonya
**It occurs to me that probably no one thinks of these shows this way any longer. I’m asleep by 10, but still see bits from late-night comedy shows because they are available on YouTube

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

A poster for director Nisha Ganatra’s first feature, Chutney Popcorn, can be seen on the wall of Molly’s room.

Always be my Maybe: A Sneaky Charmer

The review:

Nahnatchka Kahn’s Always Be My Maybe did not charm me from the beginning, but it slowly ramped up, and by the end I found myself satisfied with a very funny, and surprisingly moving, film. While neither Ali Wong nor Randall Park were familiar to me, their awkward chemistry and their characters’ long history provided a couple I could root for.* Add in a series of scenes featuring a major star who chews scenery while playing himself, plus some crackling dialog and a bevy of one-liners and you’ve got a solid rom-com.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching a bevy of Netflix Rom-Coms:

Further sentences:

*Though I’m not at all convinced of their long-term prospects.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Ali Wong began performing while at UCLA as a member of the university’s LCC Theatre Company, the largest and longest-running University Asian American theater company, of which Randall Park was a co-founding member during his time at UCLA.

Booksmart: A High School Film, but Different

3SMReviews: Booksmart

The review:

Olivia Wilde’s movie Booksmart isn’t just about two studious high school students who go to a party; the reason they attend the party is the crux of the film. There are hijinks along the way, and standard movie stuff happens* but the realization that drives the need to attend a party is what sold this movie for me. There were a couple of scenes I adored and the movie is also populated with a variety of interesting types** and some excellent markers of how high school looks different from my own experience.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater with Matt, who also liked it.

Consider also watching:

*It’s the same list I had for Wine Country (hijinks, things not going according to plan, fights, personal realizations, a happy ending) and because it’s a raunchy comedy you can add vomiting.
**Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are great as I knew they would be, but I also loved Skyler Gisondo as the kid trying to buy his way into everyone’s heart, Molly Gordon as the girl known by an unfortunate nickname, Bille Lourd as the weird girl who is everywhere, and Michael Patrick O’Brien’s short turn as Pat the Pizza Guy.

3SMReviews: Booksmart

Favorite IMDB triva item:

In a May 24, 2019, interview on National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered,” director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” as it is used by the two best friends Amy and Molly as an inside reference between them: “‘Malala’ is their code word for unconditional support. So what ‘malala’ means is that what I’m asking you to do now with me you must do….Malala [Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest-ever Nobel laureate] is one of their great role models. And I think that’s why she holds the most significant place in their friendship, the idea that if you call ‘Malala,’ you must really mean it.”

Wine Country is Light-bodied, Dry and Crisp. And Amusing

3SMReviews: Wine Country

The review:

Director Amy Poehler has assembled an amazing cast for Wine Country and that cast is key to the success of this amusing and enjoyable film. It follows the standard “weekend away” movie plot* and makes for a great Sunday Afternoon Film.** There were some great cameos, many conversations that women will find amusing, (and perhaps men will too) and a good soundtrack, especially if you are of a certain age.

Verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Hijinks, things not going according to plan, fights, personal realizations, a happy ending
**Those films you watch that are pleasant and are your last gasp of freedom before it’s time to start gearing up for the coming work week.

3SMReviews: Wine Country

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Poehler said on the Busy Tonight show that one of the film’s funniest props (the CPAP machine her character uses to help her sleep) actually belongs to her. “You know how Bradley Cooper used his real dog in A Star Is Born?” Poehler said, “I used my real CPAP machine.”

My Life Without Me Confronts End-of-Life in a Different Way

3SMReviews: My Life Without Me movie review

The review:

I’m not sure how I missed Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me as I’m usually all in on anything Sarah Polley, anything Mark Ruffalo, and I’m a fan of movies that explore complexities in relationships.* Though there were times that I felt like the slower-than-usual speech patterns of Ruffalo and Polley were distracting, there was a lot to like in this film. Plus, I feel like the ratio of upper-middle class/rich people stories to grinding poverty is about 7-to-1 in the movie world, so the living situation in this was an interesting change.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Free from Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

*But thanks to Josh Larsen’s Filmspotting recommendation, I caught up with this film!

3SMReviews: My Life Without Me

Blockers: Still funny the second time around.

Blockers 3SMReviews.com

I did a re-watch of Blockers so Matt could see an appreciate it’s comic stylings. He did. Original review here.

Cost: $1.50 from Redbox (it went away from Redbox, and was in $14.99 streaming rental purgatory for a while, but then it reappeared.)
Where watched: at home, with the aforementioned Matt.