Friday, October 10, 2014

GONE GIRL

Movie:  Gone Girl
Jan's Rating:  B
Time:  2 hours 25 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I saw this movie with my friend, Laura, this week.  I had started to read the book but didn't like it.  However, I decided I might like the movie.  Well, I'm glad I went to see it but it is not one I would want to see a second time.  Everyone I have talked to agrees that they did not like the ending....not in the book, nor in the movie.  Ben Affleck was hot, no doubt about that!  He is married to Rosamund Pike, a very good actress from England.  She certainly plays her part well as the psycho wife.  She finds that her husband is having an affair with one of his students and she plans a payback that is worthy of an Oscar.  She leaves Ben and makes it look like he killed her.  At first he thinks she was kidnapped but she left enough clues for him to know exactly what she was doing, framing him for her murder.  She had an affair with Neil Patrick Harris, which was the unbelievable part of the movie.  Since everyone knows Neil is gay, it is hard to imagine him having an affair with any woman.  I personally think they could have found a straight man to play that role.  Please understand, I have nothing against gays, but that was not the role for Neil if you wanted people to  believe it was really happening. Tyler Perry did a good job playing Ben's attorney.  That's about all I have to say about this movie.  Go see it and form your own opinion, or maybe you will agree with me.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

Movie:  The Hundred-Foot Journey
Time:  2 Hours 2 Minutes
Jan's Rating:  A

Jan's Opinion:  Well, I have seen two good movies in one week!  I saw "And So It Goes" earlier in the week and loved it, and yesterday, my husband and I went to see The Hundred-Foot Journey and it was delightful!  I gave both movies an "A" so you know how much I loved them.  My husband also gave this movie an "A", said it was the best movie he can remember ever seeing, so that should tell you something.  Helen Mirren is the only American actress that I recognized and she did a fantastic job of playing the role of a one-star restaurant owner who was intent on getting two stars, and would not let anything get in her way!  An Indian family moves in across the road from her and opens a restaurant and she doesn't like the competition.  It is a love story of the young and the old, tangled with competition, which will keep you smiling throughout the movie.  I highly recommend it!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

AND SO IT GOES

Movie:  And So It Goes
Time:  1 hour 34 minutes
Jan's Rating:  A

Saw this movie with my friend, Laura, yesterday and we both totally enjoyed the movie, is definitely our kind of movie - lots of laughs with a few tears thrown in.  The Enquirer gave it a "D"!  I seldom agree with their movie reviews and this was definitely one of those times.  Michael Douglas plays the role of a grumpy old man who is trying to sell his mansion for more money than it is worth.  He finds out he is a Grandpa and isn't happy about it.  He is living in an apartment next door to Diane Keaton.  As you can guess, she manages, with a lot of laughs, to turn this grumpy old man into someone we would all enjoy having as a friend.  I totally recommend it!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

JERSEY BOYS

Movie:  Jersey Boys
Rating:  A-
Time:  2 hours 14 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  My husband and I finally saw this movie yesterday and we both loved it.  Took us back many years.  Christopher Walken played the mob boss who helped Frankie Valli.  All the guys who sang with Frankie were unknown to me but did a wonderful job portraying their roles in the movie.  As you probably know, the movie is about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, their ups and their downs, which were many, but they sure could sing!  I highly recommend this movie to the old for the memories, and to the young for the experience of hearing wonderful singing without rapping.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

EARTH TO ECHO

Movie:  Earth to Echo
Jan's Rating:  A
Time:  1 Hour 40 Minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I just saw my second movie in two days so I'm back on track!  My sister's grandchildren are visiting from Perrysburg, Ohio so she and I took two of them, Bailey and Ethan, to see this movie and we all loved it!  Today is Bailey's 9th birthday so we allowed her to do flips and cartwheels in the lobby.  Her 6-year old brother stood by ignoring her and admiring his new ball cap.  Back to the movie....... Three boys, Tuck, Munch and Alex, are a trio of long-time buddies.  Their neighborhood is about to be destroyed by a construction project that is forcing their families to move away.  Two days before they are to move, the boys start receiving a strange series of signals on their phones.  They run away from home and follow the signals and find a little alien who is lost, and along with a female school friend, they help the alien (Echo) find his way back home.    I think my score is better than some, but we really did enjoy it.  It reminded me of E.T.

TAMMY

Movie:  Tammy
Jan's Rating:  B-
Dave's Rating:  C
Time:  1 Hour 36 Minutes

Jan's Opinion:  First of all, to those of you who read my blog, I'm sorry I haven't posted any movies lately but it has been months since there was a movie that I wanted to see!  Isn't that sad?  When I saw the previews of  "Tammy", I knew I wanted to see it, so yesterday my husband and I went to see it and we both rated it.  Except for Melissa's foul mouth, it was a very enjoyable movie, not Oscar worthy, but definitely made us laugh.  Melissa McCarthy works in a Burger King-type place and Ben Falcone (her husband in real life) plays the role of her boss.  He fires her not long after the movie starts and she goes home to find her husband is being unfaithful to her.  She packs a bag and goes to her Mother's house to borrow a car so she can leave town.  Her Grandma lives with her mother.  Grandma, an alcoholic, is played well by Susan Sarandon.  They take off in Grandma's car and there begins a comedy of bad decisions on both their parts.  Also in the movie are Kathy Bates and Saundra Oh (from Grey's Anatomy).  If you can stand the bad language, you will enjoy the movie.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

DRAFT DAY

Movie:  Draft Day
Danny's Rating:  A+
Time:  1 Hour 49 Minutes\

Jan's Opinion:  I did not see this movie but my grandson, Danny, went to see it with his grandfather and they both loved it.  Danny actually went to see it a second time with his father.  Following is what my grandson wrote for this blog:

Danny's Opinion:  The NFL football movie stars Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Dennis Leary and Ellen Burstyn.  This movie shows everything in very fine detail of how the NFL draft is run and all of the pressure and big decisions are put on the general manager of each team.  This movie was such a shocker to me because I would have thought that a movie made about the NFL wouldn't be very well scripted, but this showed me that I was wrong.  This movie, I believe, would be a big hit for anybody with any interest about football.  This film gets a well-deserved rating of A+ from me because of the acting and story line.

Friday, February 28, 2014

NEBRASKA

Movie:  Nebraska
Time:  1 hour 50 minutes
Jan's Rating:  C+

Jan's Opinion:  I have now seen all the movies I wanted to see that are up for an Academy Award.  There are three that I have no interest in seeing.  My husband and I rented this movie last night and we both agreed it deserved a C+.  Do not know why the movie is up for an Academy Award.  It stars Bruce Dern and June Squibb, who both did a good job acting but not an Oscar-worthy performance.  In the movie, the two of them are married, and getting up in years. He has the beginning of Alzheimer's disease and she nags him to death, wants to put him in a nursing home. He received one of those letters from Publisher's Clearing House telling him he may have won a million dollars, so he wants to go to Nebraska to claim it. He lives in Montana. His son tries to tell him that he hasn't won anything, that they are just trying to sell him magazines, but he insists he won, so his son drives him to Nebraska, thus the rest of the story evolves.  Also, the movie was in black and white, which depicts the time period, but I prefer color, no matter the time period.  My opinion might not be shared with others, but just telling you how my husband and I felt about the movie.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB

Movie:  Dallas Buyer's Club
Jan's Rating:  A
Time:  1 hour 57 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I didn't have the opportunity to see this movie when it was in the theaters so my husband and I rented it from Time Warner last night.  This is another movie taken from a true story.  Ron Woodroof, played by Matthew McConaughey, is an electrician and rodeo cowboy.  He doesn't live a very clean life.  He is not gay but drinks any kind of alcohol he can get his hands on, does drugs, and has unprotected sex with any woman who is willing. He knows he is ill but ignores it until he ends up in the hospital and the doctor tells him he is HIV Positive.  After cursing out the doctor, he leaves the hospital.  He then takes the diagnosis seriously and reads up on the disease.  When he learns that the United States has a lack of medicines, he goes to Mexico where they introduce him to alternative treatments and he gets better.  He then goes back to the States and starts his own business selling these alternative "vitamins".  Jennifer Garner plays the role of his doctor and agrees with him that the United States is not doing enough.  I'm going to leave you hanging here so I don't spoil the whole movie for you.  Go see it.  It's a little bit dark but the acting is brilliant.  You no doubt heard that Matthew lost 47 lbs. for this role.  He certainly did not look like "Sexiest Man of the Year", which was his title in recent years.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

LABOR DAY

Movie:  Labor Day
Jan's Rating:  B+
Time:  1 hour 51 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  My friend Laura and I saw this movie today and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a little slow in the beginning which is why I gave it a B+ instead of an A, but overall, a very good movie.  Kate Winslet plays a divorced woman who lives with her son in a run-down home on the edge of town.  Her husband left her years ago for his secretary.....gee, imagine that....certainly not an original plot.  I think the son is in 6th grade in the movie, but he looks more like he's 13 years old.  Anyway, he and his mother are in town shopping one day when they meet an escaped convict, played by Josh Brolin, who "convinces" them to take him home with them.  The man has been in prison for a murder he says he did not commit; thus begins a romantic relationship between him and the boy's mother.  There is more involved with the boy's feelings and a surprising ending.  Treat yourself to this movie.  I think you will enjoy it.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

PHILOMENA

Movie:  Philomena
Jan's Rating:  A
Time:  1 hour 38 Minutes

Jan's Opinion:  Yesterday was my sister Judy's 70th birthday so we went to lunch and a movie to celebrate. We saw "Philomena" and we both loved it.  Philomena, played by Judi Dench, was an Irish Catholic and had gotten pregnant out of wedlock when she was a teenager.  She was sent to live with the nuns to have her baby, then had to stay for four years to work off the cost of living and giving birth there.  The nuns sold her baby and she spent years looking for him.  She hired a man played by Steve Coogan to help her find her son and most of the movie is centered around their mission to find her child, now 50 years old.  It was well done and thoroughly enjoyable, so I recommend you see if if you haven't already.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Movie:  Captain Phillips
Jan's Rating:  A
Time:  2 hours 15 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I didn't get a chance to see this movie on the big screen so we watched it at home last night and we both enjoyed it very much.  This was probably Tom Hanks' best acting role ever, especially at the end.  As you probably know, this movie was taken from a true story that happened in 2009 about pirates who took over a cargo-carrying ship.  The pirates had guns, the men on the ship did not have guns.  The pirates were given many chances to take money and leave but they wanted "millions" and that wasn't going to happen.  The Navy brought in the Seals and you don't mess around with those guys.  The head pirate is serving 33 years in a prison in Terra Haute, Indiana, the others were all killed.  The movie kept you on the edge of your seat a few times.  If you haven't seen it, give it a try, I think you'll like it.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

BLUE JASMINE

Movie:  Blue Jasmine
Jan's Rating:  C-
Time:  1 Hour 38 Minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I had not planned to see this movie because I am not a fan of Woody Allen (writer and director of this movie) but I do like Cate Blanchett and since she is up for an Academy Award for Best Actress, opposite Meryl Streep, I decided to rent the movie last night to see if I liked it as well as Meryl Streep in August:  Osage County.  I have to tell you, I was disappointed and glad I didn't pay $8 to see the movie.  Cate Blanchett plays the role of  "Jasmine" who is married to "Hal", played by Alec Baldwin.  Well, Alec Baldwin is an investor (a crooked investor) and uses his clients' money to invest to make himself wealthy.  Hal and Jasmine live in a world we can only dream about.  Then Jasmine finds out that Hal has been cheating on her for years, and there is nothing worse than a woman scorned.  She reported him to the FBI and not only did her husband go to prison, but they lost everything they had, then her husband hung himself in his prison cell.  He also lost all her sister's money.  Jasmine has a nervous breakdown, can't cope with being poor, so goes to live with her poor sister.  I won't tell you the rest and ruin it for you.  However, if you read my blog, you know how I hate movies that leave you hanging at the end.  This movie had the worst ending of any movie I have ever seen.  If Woody Allen wanted me to pick my own ending, he should have given me a discount on the movie.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

Movie:  August:  Osage County
Jan's Rating:  A+
Time:  2 hours 10 mins.

Jan's Opinion:  My friend, Laura, and I saw this movie today and we both enjoyed it.  I am a huge fan of Meryl Streep's acting abilities and this movie was no exception.  She was absolutely brilliant.  She seems to be able to take any character and turn herself into that role and make you believe she really is that person (if that makes any sense).  Julia Roberts was excellent in her supporting role as well.  The movie was a bit depressing but had funny places too.  I have seen dysfunctional families before, but this is probably the best example of one.  I don't want to tell you more and ruin it for you, but make sure you see it before it leaves the big screen.

Friday, January 10, 2014

AMERICAN HUSTLE

Movie:  American Hustle
Jan's Rating:  C+
Time:  2 hours 9 minutes

Jan's Opinion:  I saw this movie today with my friend, Patty, and we both were in agreement that we were disappointed in the movie.  I knew that the story was taken loosely from a true happening in 1978 when scam artists caused a huge political scandal in New Jersey.  However, the movie does not start out with any details to set the stage for the story but just dives in with the scandal.  Also, as I have mentioned before, I am really turned off by movies that use the "F" word one or two times in every sentence.  It isn't necessary to make a movie better, but rather makes it worse....for me anyway.  I will say that the acting was excellent by Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Jennifer Lawrence.  They should be up for an Oscar, but not the movie.   Just my opinion folks!