September- Film

I hope I have a better film month than I did in August. I only remember seeing The Secret Life of Pets : 2 and I didn't get much pleasure from it.

Best of August:: Fracture, Timeless season 1, Manifest season 1

Worst of August: Black bird

Best for me August
The Wife.Glenn Close

The Rookie - Season 1 (2019 (ABC network)
5/5

Starting over isn’t easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can’t keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he’ll be risking lives including his own. But if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become a success in this new chapter of his life.

I don't watch TV because I hate the commercials but I do watch lots of series on DVD...NO commercials. This is very realistic. My husband who spent 35 years on the police force says it portrays very accurately what a rookie cop goes through as far as training is concerned. The only thing that is over done is that they would never let a rookie do some of the tasks these people do on the street. But hey...it was entertaining and NO COMMERCIALS!!!

Good Boys
4/5 stars
A group of young boys are invited to a party where there will be kissing. This ensues into a lot of hi-jinks and awkward situations.
We saw this film this weekend and we could not stop laughing. However, this is R rated and not for kids. I don't think there was any nudity but the kids are exposed to situations that are grown-up and confusing for them but funny to the audience.

Innocent (2018 - BBC)
4/5

After seven years in a high security prison, David Collins' conviction for the murder of his wife, Tara, is overturned due to a technicality, or as his lawyer puts it, an appalling miscarriage of justice. Able to start his life again and begin to repair relationships with his family and friends, David hopes to finally be allowed to mourn his wife's death. As a new investigation is launched, headed by DI Cathy Hudson, dark secrets of abuse, affairs and money troubles rise to the surface. From jealous sisters to disgruntled lovers, these secrets rip fragile relationships apart at the seams. But one question remains: is David Collins truly innocent?

Everyone looked guilty...except the man that was convicted. Each episode keeps moving and new twists to the story are introduced.

Silent Witness - Season 10 2006) BBC
5/5

Four bodies from the River Thames point to a sickening racket. Dr. Harry Cunningham’s murdered ex-girlfriend never wanted him to learn her deepest secret. The bride who died at her bachelorette party hid a fatal fact from her groom. And the old woman who looked beaten to death has one last surprise for her son. Will Nikki and Harry’s tentative relationship survive the cruel and random deaths they deal with every day?

Composed of 4 two-part episodes. One of my favorite series.

Law & Order True Crime: The Menemdez Murders (2017)
4.5/5

When the Menendez brothers were tried on national TV for brutally killing their parents in Beverly Hills, their story became a national obsession. Now, the first edition of this anthology series delves into the players, the crime and the media circus, detailing the day-to-day battles of the trial and unveiling the shocking truth of what really went down when the cameras stopped rolling.

This was done in 8 episodes. I remember the 1984 murders and the long, 6 year trial. At the end many were still asking if justice was really served or was it a glaring political agenda. I still don't know the answer. I believe if the Menendez family had been a poor struggling family the whole thing would have been over in 2 episodes...but these were rich, well known people. I'm not sure it matters any longer. The brothers are in prison and the parents are still dead.

The Thaw (2009)
2/5

At a remote Arctic research station, four ecology students discover the real horror of global warming is not the melting ice, but what's frozen within it. A prehistoric parasite is released from the carcass of a Woolly Mammoth upon the unsuspecting students who are forced to quarantine and make necessary sacrifices, or risk infecting rest of the world

Nothing to write home about. Stupid people doing stupid things. "Hey...everybody has these strange bugs crawling out of them but lets go in the room anyway. Before we do let's destroy every means we have of communicating with civilization to send help."

Adopting Terror (2012)
4/5

Tim and Cheryl Broadbent are excited to finally adopt Mona, a beautiful baby girl. But when the baby's biological father starts stalking them, their world turns upside down: through intimidation, manipulation, and violence, he is determined to take his daughter back.

The biological father was just plain creepy and you had to feel for the adoptive parents even when they started doing everything wrong. It has a fairly good twist in the plot in spite of being a rather weak script.

Mustang 2015 from Turkey
5/5
Wonderful multi award winning movie.

Woman at War. 2018. Icelandic comedy/drama. Halla is a conservatively dressed choir master by day and an eco-warrior/terrorist (how ever you see her probably depends on your socio-economic background), at weekends. She regularly disrupts the power supply at a large smelting works, but the company is employing more sophisticated means of catching her after each successful attempt. She then discovers that an application to adopt a child from the war-torn Ukraine has been successful and she must decide which fork in the road she should take. I really enjoyed this unusual film, particularly the inclusion of the background musicians in the scenes. I hope it wins some prestigious awards. 8/10

Last Summer. 2018. Welsh drama. Two carefree pairs of brothers roam the rural backdrop to their their lives until an adult tragedy separates them, and their misery and lack of understanding of the situation forces them try to "fix" things. My daughter was hiding under her cardigan fearful that Rex the dog was going to be shot, but I can "hand on heart" say the dog survived a very sticky wicket (it's a cricketing metaphor) until the very end. A bit of a misery fest and I'm dubious it was filmed in Wales because it never rained. 5/10

Tucked. 2018. British drama. Jackie, an old hetero drag queen helps Faith, a young up and coming gay performer. Their friendship eases the knowledge that Jackie doesn't have long to live and gives him the courage to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Great chemistry between the two leads and funny and sad in equal parts. I don't know why I like films about drag queens (Viva and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), but I generally like boxing films too, which is odd for a coward and a pacifist! This had a really excellent soundtrack, which I was unable to track down. Nice! 7/10

The Golden Glove. 2019. German nasty! I believe there was a serial killer called Fritz Honka who murdered four prostitutes in the 70's. Obviously nobody actually saw him commit these crimes, so this film was the outpourings of a director with a revolting imagination. Nasty, vile and repugnant, and yet, I watched it to the very end. I suggest you play it on a loop, invite your worst enemy round to babysit your cat, and then hide all the remotes. Ewww!

The Intruder (2019)
4.5/5

A young married couple buys a beautiful house on several acres of land, only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.

Very predictable but a real nail bitter.

Silent Witness - Season 11
5/5

This series begins with an RAF helicopter crashing into an asylum seekers’ detention center. Harry suspects a possible RAF whitewash and finds himself up against the Ministry of Defense who are struggling to cope with the demands of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Subsequent stories include a trail of murders that leads to a hospital cover up, and the killing of a notorious female murderer that forces Nikki to revisit an emotive and controversial case from her past.

I've always said that no one does mysteries like the British and this series is just further proof.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes (2007)
4.5/5

TV mini-series based on eight stories by horror writer Stephen King.

The fist story..."Battlefield", was excellent. The others were okay but nothing to write home to mother about.

Downton Abby 2019
4/5
Most enjoyable, Maggie Smith was wonderful.

>19 aussieh: How long has it been since the TV series finished? I don't know how these spin-off films work if you've never seen the show. I quite enjoyed Deadwood: The Movie, but I could tell there was a lot of history I didn't know about.

>20 .cris:
The series finished a fair while ago, the movie has the same cast with a few more interesting characters.

Has anyone else noticed a gradual de-escalation of the need for actresses to "get their tits out for the boys". There seem to be fewer gratuitous sex scenes and frequently after the sweaty deed is done, our female love interest pillow talks or wakes in the morning wearing a chemise or a t-shirt. It's about time young (and not so young) actresses were afforded the dignity of not having to "git bare-arse nekkid" for any flimsy excuse. Whether this is the result of the backlash against Harvey Weinstein and his predecessors since the year dot, or not, I'm all for it. Girl Power! Signed A. Hypocrite.

Beacon Point (2016)
2.5/5

A group of hikers lost on the Appalachian Trail stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their survival.

The scenery was pretty. The story could have had promise if the plot had been explained and the people hadn't been so incredibly STUPID and dull. I was rooting for the bear but he dies:( Let's all wander around by ourselves off trail in the middle of the Appalachians. Let's lose the girl with the pretty pink back pack too...to bad about the bear. We could have fed her and her pink backpack to it. I just wrote a better ending than the script writers.

The Grand Seduction
4/5 stars
This is the heartwarming and funny tale of a town in Newfoundland trying to seduce a doctor to come to their village so they can entice a factory to open up and provide jobs for the townspeople. Stars the wonderful Brendan Gleeson and Taylor Kitsch. I thought this was very sweet. I don't know if it ever came out to the theaters and the only reason I got it from the library was because Gleeson was in it. I love finding films like that especially when they turn out to be quite good.

>24 JulieLill: I liked this one a lot also.

Cold Pursuit (2019)
4.5/5

A grieving snowplow driver seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son. Based on the 2014 Norwegian film 'In Order of Disappearance'.

I like most everything that Liam Neeson is in so was rally looking forward to see this one. In whole...very different....Macabre.... Really dark.... Not your typical Liam Neeson film but extremely entertaining watching him pick off the drug dealers. You have never seen so much snow in all your life. I thought it was made in Antarctica:)

>25 Carol420: I wonder if I added this because of your review. I really did like this.

>26 Carol420: I thought one was really good. There is just something about Liam Neeson that I have to watch all of his films!

>28 JulieLill: That makes two of us.

Justified - Season 1 (HBO TV series 2010)
5/5 - Timothy Olyphant gets a 25/5:)

Old-school U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home in the poor, rural coal-mining towns in Eastern Kentucky.

I had never heard of this one but needed a series to fill the week, so picked this up at the library. I'm so happy that there are 5 more seasons and I hope every one is just like this one. I usually am leary of series or movies that try to portray the southern people or the southern way of life...but have to say that this one got it pretty much right.

Unlocking the Cage -
4/5 stars
Fascinating true story of the animal rights lawyer-Steven Wise who with the help of others got the courts to acknowledge that “cognitively complex” animals have limited legal rights. While the film centers on chimpanzees, the law also envelopes whales, dolphins and elephants.


Remember
4/5 stars
This is the fascinating story of a German (played by Christopher Plummer) who is losing his memory. He is sent out by a friend to track down a Nazi soldier who got away and he is to kill him in act of revenge. There is quite a twist at the end which I never expected. I don't know if this was ever released in theaters but I thought was very interesting and kept my attention the whole time.

Domino (2019)
2.5/5

A Copenhagen police officer seeks justice for his partner's murder by a mysterious man.

90 minutes later you are still trying to wrap your head around what the heck this thing was about and how did little Denmark get into this whole mess? The police trampled all over the crime scene. No one investigated anything and the good guy cop got blamed for going after the escaping terrorist instead of staying with his dying partner.

Big Little Lies (HBO TV series 2017 Based on the book by Liane Moriarty)
3/5

The apparently perfect lives of upper-class mothers, at a prestigious elementary school, unravel to the point of murder when a single-mother moves to their quaint Californian beach town.

I read the book...the story was interesting but I didn't like the characters in the TV series any more than I did the ones in the book. Entitled snobs was the kindest description I can come up with. Even the 6 & 7 year old kids were already carbon copies of the parents.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
4/5 stars
Based on Shirley Jackson's novel of the same title, we find two young women living with their uncle when their young handsome cousin comes into their lives with less than good intentions. I don't think this did well and they didn't even close caption the film but I really enjoyed this film. Beautifully filmed.

Justified - Season 2 (HBO TV Series -2011)
5/5 Timothy Olyphant still gets a 35/5.

U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is a modern day nineteenth century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals, and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. That conflict results in a reassignment for Givens to the U.S. District covering the town where he grew up. He is an anachronism, a tough, soft-spoken gentleman who finds his quarry fascinating, but never gives an inch. Dig under his placid skin and you'll find an angry man who grew up hard in rural Kentucky, with an outlaw father, who knows a lot more about who he doesn't want to be than who he really is.

Really like this series and the character of Raylan Givens.

The Public
3.5/5 stars
A librarian holds the library hostage when the local shelter is full on a freezing winter evening and allows the homeless stay the night. I never saw it released to theaters but I really enjoyed this film starring, written and directed by Emilio Estevez. Funny and moving!

The Curse of La llorona (2019}
3/5

Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.

Good special effects but the story is the same as most of these. The family begs for help but then doesn't so anything they are told to do. The film's biggest strength is, as you might imagine, 'La Llorona' herself. She is seriously creepy.

A Boy Called Sailboat. 2018. What a quirky little film! An Hispanic family who live in a house held up with a stick, create an "if you build it, he (they) will come" scenario, with about as much charm as a person could take before it turns into nauseating. A very cute kid, called Sailboat (?) finds a ukulele, and is tasked by his sick grandma to write her a song. It's packed with many odd characters...a boy who can't blink...J K Simmons, as a man selling cars in the middle of a desert....a teacher who can't spell....and many others. I really enjoyed it. Funny and smiley, with a lovely, peculiar ukulele soundtrack. Not for lovers of action films. 7/10

Yesterday. 2019. Comedy fantasy. As a girl of The Beatles era, a lover of Danny Boyle, but suspicious of rom-com aficionado, screenwriter Richard Curtis, I went in with mixed feelings. I'm told lead actor Himesh Patel is a long-time soap actor, but he was unknown to me, yet he was convincing as the only man in the world who could remember The Beatles, after a global power outage. Soon he becomes bigger than....The Beatles (?) with the help of Suffolk singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran (who has to be the worst actor I've ever seen since I caught a teen show on Nickelodeon). A few years ago I would have moaned about the love interest and never have had to admit to bubbling like a babe (yes, it was full on sobbing). All I can say is "Thank You For the Music". It seems that our musical heritage is the only thing that can hold its own against Superheroes in the cinema, so I guess we can expect a lot more of the same. I want a biopic about The Kinks please. 7.5/10

>39 .cris: I enjoyed that film. There is a new movie coming out about a teen and his love for Bruce Springsteen! Set in the Thatcher era called Blinded by the Light
Preview of it at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1YFA_J5JBU

Dirty John (2019 - Netflix TV series)
3.5/5

Debra Newell has a seemingly perfect life: she's successful, beautiful and lives in one of California's most desirable coastal cities, Newport Beach. The only thing missing is love. So when she finally meets charming and handsome doctor John Meehan, she's quickly swept into a whirlwind romance, much to the dismay of her daughters Terra and Veronica. Their fast-tracked relationship creates tension between Debra and the girls, leaving them no choice but to investigate the stranger who has swept their mother off her feet. And with a fraught family history, the backstory of Debra and her mother Arlane provides insight into why she may have been so vulnerable to John in the first place. As Debra gets drawn deeper into his lies and sinister game of psychological manipulation, it results in horrific consequences for an entire family.

It was the type of story that kept you watching the next episode and then the next and the next until you found that you had sat through all 8. The characters were not people that most of us would want to call our friends. They were all to various degrees naive, manipulative entitled, overbearing, stupid and just plain all out dumb. The oldest daughter, Veronica was a cold, overbearing b----th. Eventually Debra tried leaving him, shutting him out of all her affairs and then... Hello...she takes him back and tries to help him???? I was just waiting for someone...anyone... to just kill him.

>41 Carol420: I loved this. There were so many characters to hate, and Debra....what planet was she from? I believe it was based on a true story.

In Order of Disappearance 2014 Norwegian.
5/5
For me a wonderful rewatch, Pal Sverre Hagen was magnificent.

>43 aussieh: I agree, a wonderful film that can be watched over and over again. I know the remake with Liam Neeson was well received, but anyone who hasn't seen the original doesn't know what they're missing. I'll always think of Bruno Ganz as Hitler, (Downfall) no matter how many different roles he takes.

>42 .cris: You know...coming to think of it, John was almost more liable than any of the women in the story. It was based on actual events. They found after his death that he had been doing this since he was 19 or 20 years old and had at least 12 known wives and heaven knows how many kids...8 that they knew of. They figured that there were numerous women that he didn't marry. My husband says Johm's sex life alone should have killed him.

Blinded by the Light. 2019. Musical. IMDb "In England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen." Not a lover of "The Boss" and never thinking he was relevant to young Brits, I struggled through this film, only able to watch it sections. The young Asian lead's cheesy grin was tiring as was the incompatible love story and the stereotypical Pakistani dad, who had no intention of integrating with society. I was a little taken aback by the naive declaration of the Springsteen obsessive youth that Asians were accepted as equals in the US. I doubt there was the same impact with American racist skinheads used by The National Front here, but I doubt that Bruce had first hand knowledge of being part of the black/brown underclass. I really didn't like it. Are there people who only ever listen to one artist? One for Springsteen fans. 3/10

>46 .cris: That is too bad. I think I will just wait till it comes on DVD and get it from the library! My brother in law is/was a big fan of Springsteen years ago.

>47 JulieLill: It's only my personal opinion, you might well love it!

Evil Things (2009)
1/5

It's Miriam's 21st Birthday. As a birthday gift, Miriam's aunt Gail has decided to lend Miriam her beautiful country house for an entire weekend. Aunt Gail's country house is amazing. It's a four bedroom house surrounded by breathtaking mountains and miles and miles of woods. Miriam invites her young college friends Cassy, Mark, Tanya and Leo to join her at the country house for what looks to be the most amazing weekend ever. Of course they all jump at the chance to spend a free weekend in the country, in the middle of nowhere. Miriam's friends are totally in the mood for a big time party weekend. They're also anxious to escape the dark and gloomy concrete jungle known as Manhattan. Miriam, Cassy and Tanya bring the food. Mark brings the beer and Leo, the aspiring filmmaker, brings his new video camera. Leo hopes to produce a short movie by documenting every amazing moment of this weekend getaway. Unfortunately, what Leo ends up capturing on camera is not a weekend of peace

I'm glad I read this as I have no earthly idea what i just watched or what it was suppose to be about.

Justified - Season 3 - (2012)
5/5 - Timothy has moved up to 40/5

Old-school U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home in the poor, rural coal-mining towns in Eastern Kentucky.

Justified... Season 3... somehow manages to top Season 2, which topped Season 1. Neal McDonough as Quarles is one of the best villains of recent memory with a "killer" performance. The dynamics between the characters are all perfectly crafted. On season 4.

>50 Carol420: I loved Justified- I thought Timothy Olyphant was wonderful in it.

Brittany Runs a Marathon
4/5 stars
I had not heard of this film online or anywhere but we were looking for a movie and saw this at the local theater.
Brittany's life is a mess physically and emotionally and her doctor urges her to get in shape. She wants to run when she sees her physically fit neighbor running. It takes off from there. We really enjoyed this film. It had a few slow scenes but we laughed pretty much through the whole film.

Somewhat based on a true story
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/752755460/a-fun-but-familiar-story-of-making-your... Spoilers in this website!

Mr. Mercedes - season 1 - Based on the novel by Steven King
4/5

Tells the story of a psychopathic killer who drives a stolen Mercedes into a crowd and a recently retired detective who tries to bring him down.

None of the characters were any that you would feel comfortable inviting home for dinner. I've read that season 2 is a disappointment...but I'm nothing... if not a glutton for punishment:)

>53 Carol420:
I have not long ago viewed Mr. Mercedes series one, and was spellbound by it, I have no desire to follow up with season two.

>53 Carol420: >54 aussieh: I quite enjoyed series two. I’ve just started three, which is book 2 in the trilogy, but even with Bruce Dern making an appearance, it’s the weakest of the three. I didn’t like the book very much either.

I have purchased Game Of Thrones series 8, the last a believe..However when first starting to view I realized that I needed to watch series 7, almost finished this and looking forward to moving on to series 8. Lot's of hours of viewing in the two series.