The Trip to Italy

Deb 3    Me 1

After fifteen minutes I was looking for a way out of the theater, hoping for an earthquake or something. I had trouble understanding what they were saying and when I could understand them I found they were referring to something i know nothing about. These are my problems. The movies problems were much simpler. It is billed as a comedy and they weren't funny. They are in Italy but it didn't really matter, we didn't see much of it, could've been done in front of a blue screen. It just wasn't anything. There were a couple funny lines and some of the cutaways to food preparation were great, but they couldn't mask the inane ongoing meaningless trite commentary of two boring buffoons. Maybe not the worst film I've ever seen, but in the bottom five. Three. Maybe second worse film ever behind Movie 43 or Prince Avalanche. We're talking boring.

Get On Up

Deb 9    Me 6

It's amazing how many entertainers seem to have identical backgrounds. Or maybe the ones with similar backgrounds are chosen to be film topics. Maybe once the groundwork for a successful movie has been laid, producers look for others to fit the mold. It's now a tired story, so this one focuses on the business side of being a superstar. Acting is terrific (as in so many bio-pics) and this one has a great soundtrack because the star lip syncs to the original soundtrack. It is extremely well done and works even better because his speaking voice perfectly melds into the singing voice. A good movie, good music, a few insights perhaps, and some effort at making a tired formula interesting to watch.

Calvary

Deb 8      Me 5

This didn't look like something I'd ever see and I shouldn't have. Somehow a KCRW review was related to me that this was a comedy so I figured I read it wrong and went. It is a very good movie though. There have been a few movies about the Catholic church and the effect of priests raping children have on the victims, the community and the church itself. Set in a small Irish town the film is filled with interesting looking people who no respect for the church or its officials and have a crude cynical demeanor toward the clergy. That part is neat, but I wish I didnt see the rest of it.

Magic In The Moonlight

Deb 9   Me 10

This is THE BEST Woody Allen movie I have seen since he made Woody Allen movies. Whoever made this did a great job. I dug the Midnight In Paris movie largely because of all the art references, but this is a story driven movie that digs right in and doesn't let up until resolution. I loved the way it unfolded, everything about it was just right in (the old Alfa 1500 was nice too). The star is Colin Firth and he just rocks. The other people do a fine job too, he's the only one I've heard of though. I really enjoyed this thing from start to finish.

And So It Goes

Deb 9    Me 8

Don't know who this was aimed at, probably every Diane Keaton fan in the world, but it was better than expected. Michael Douglas tries his best to be Jack Nicholson and he is better to just be himself. Pretty much a predictable formula we both enjoyed watching it despite itself. Pretty good actually...

A Five Star Life

Deb 5    Me 4

This Italian film is really titled I Travel Alone. It seemed to be a sort of slice of life movie without a particular point of view or definite statement. It takes place in a series of opulent hotels but they do nothing to save this from being boring. Nice to look at, but left us both hollow.

Boyhood

Deb 7   Me 5

From watching the trailer I decided I had NO interest in this movie. Following these kids around for 12 years and weaving the footage into a story just seemed like a gimmic. But watch it I did and there is little redeeming value in the time spent in the theater. I'm sure it was a challenge for the filmmaker, but the rewards to the viewer are minimal in this lackluster insignificant movie. They were lucky that the "star" turned out to be a cool looking guy, and the traditional stars, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette were very good.

Ida

Deb 3   Me 6

Absolutely one of the stunningly most beautiful movies I have seen. This is an extremely well crafted film. I so enjoyed the watching of all the lighting and camera angles, the psychology of the whole thing that I was almost able to dismiss the fact that this is the most dismal depressing and hopeless film in the world. See it academically if at all.