Past Lives, Present Jives, Imbalance Thrives

*Fair Warning: Spoilers are here, breaking my promise, but just this once: Day Two of ponderings (with gratitude toward @Filmspotting for helping nudge me to my current feeling for the film). My reaction and thought process about the film Past Lives has changed like phases of the moon. So it’s appropriate that today’s Super Moon… Continue reading Past Lives, Present Jives, Imbalance Thrives

No Hard Feelings: Bringin’ Back the Bawdy

Gene Stupnitsky (Picture Groucho Marx with a cigar saying, “With a last name like that you’ve got to have a sense of humor”) and John Phillips wrote No Hard Feelings with the former (Stupnitsky) directing the movie. They worked together on The Office and Stupnitsky also wrote and directed Bad Teacher, another guilty pleasure of… Continue reading No Hard Feelings: Bringin’ Back the Bawdy

The Return I Was Hoping For: W.A.’s Asteroid City

I’ve always enjoyed Wes Anderson with one exception, French Dispatch. And when I say exception, I hated the depressing black and white, couldn’t relate to any of the characters and the three stories amounted to an emotional zilch. But Wes Anderson, with the help of Roman Coppola, has returned to an artistically creative plateau with… Continue reading The Return I Was Hoping For: W.A.’s Asteroid City

The Eight Mountains: Rapturous Butte* (*2 syllables, long E)

Ok humor me on the title, since I just went down a rabbit hole searching for a clever mountain term. I now know the Alps are still getting taller and what a massif is…I digress… The Eight Mountains is a fabulous book written by Paolo Cognetti and was adapted to the screen by writer/director Felix… Continue reading The Eight Mountains: Rapturous Butte* (*2 syllables, long E)

It Ain’t Over; I Sure Hope Not

It Ain’t Over is a touching documentary written and directed by Sean Mullin. I fought back tears several times and credit Yogi Berra’s gorgeous life story most, but Sean Mullin assuredly spun the tale in a very entertaining way. Mostly through excellent old films and news clippings, Mullin uses Berra’s beautiful granddaughter as the springboard… Continue reading It Ain’t Over; I Sure Hope Not

You Hurt My Feelings: For Real Nicole Holofcener

I’ve liked all of Nicole Holofcener’s films, especially Can You Ever Forgive Me for which she was nominated for an Oscar. With You Hurt My Feelings, she hasn’t exactly upped the conflict ante, but she has portrayed genuine human beings navigating the rocky waves of real life. And she’s worked with Julia Louis-Dreyfus before (Enough… Continue reading You Hurt My Feelings: For Real Nicole Holofcener

Master Gardener: Suffocating the Seeds

I really wanted to love Master Gardener, Paul Schrader’s third film of the ‘man in a room trilogy’, primarily because of my polar opposite experiences of the first two. I ADORED First Reformed and was fully on board with his messaging of environmental concerns, religious hypocrisy and oppression and of course the phenomenal performances of… Continue reading Master Gardener: Suffocating the Seeds

The Way @CineBistro Siesta Key: Hope for the World

I’ve moaned before about the lack of participation at film events. Now I get to “praise the chef”. I’m not sure how the sold out crowd heard about The Way (2010, Emilio Estevez Director and Screenwriter), but man, am I happy I was there in a crowd! The Way is a gorgeous story about a… Continue reading The Way @CineBistro Siesta Key: Hope for the World