Movie Monday 12/27/21

It’s been a while. I’ve been mostly watching Hallmark Christmas movies lately, but I did make time for a few regular movies.

The Last Letter from Your Lover - Felicity Jones plays a journalist tasked with writing an article about the editor of the paper who has recently died. While doing research, she finds a misplaced love letter that starts her down the path of finding out more about the lovers and their story. The film goes back and forth in time between the 1960s and the present day. Shailene Woodley, Callum Turner, Joe Alwyn, and Nabhaan Rizwan, among others, are in the cast. It was good.

AKA Jane Roe - Norma McCorvey consented to interviews prior to her death in which she explains how she went from pro-choice to pro-life and back again. It was interesting.

Belfast - Kenneth Branagh wrote this semi autobiography about life in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the late 1960s, when The Troubles began. Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judy Dench, Ciarán Hinds and Jude Hill star in this film. It’s very good.

King Richard - The film tells the story about how the father of Venus and Serena Williams had a strict plan he followed to make them championship professional tennis players. Jamie Foxx plays Richard Williams. I really liked it.

Being the Ricardos - Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star in this film, playing the iconic pair - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. In one week in the life of the couple, we watch them put out many fires that threaten their professional lives and their marriage. It was very good!!

Good Binges:

Dopesick on Hulu

The White Lotus on HBOmax

MK out.

Book Chat - 12/9/2021

I’ve been busy decking the halls, but I’ve done a little reading. 

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Three families get together for a barbecue and something bad happens. The story unfolds slowly as it goes back and forth in time. It was interesting because the story is also told by different points of view. It was good.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tocarczuk

An astrologer and animal enthusiast tries to help the police solve some recent murders in a small Polish village. She is convinced that the deaths were perpetrated by animals for revenge, as all the people found dead are hunters. The police consider her theories the ramblings of a crazy, old woman. I liked it.  

MK out.

Book Chat - 11/11/2021

 I present the latest suggestions:

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney 

To say that this book is about a college student who has an affair with a married man would be reductive, but that’s a good description on first glance. There’s much more to the story, and while it took a minute to get used to the writing style, I ended up really liking the book.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Two brothers in search of a fresh start, plus two fugitives with their own agendas, set off on a cross-country escapade. The story is very character driven, and the characters are superbly written. Loved it!

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

This book is another story that tells about the WPA’s  program of packhorse libraries during the depression. It was very good.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 11/8/2021

I went to a movie theater for the first time in almost two years. I was so looking forward to seeing Spencer, a film about Princess Diana, starring Kristen Stewart. The film opened Friday. I’ve never thought that Kristen Stewart is a particularly gifted actress, but I was willing to go with it. Additionally, I thought her being cast as Princess Diana was quite a stretch. Still, I was game. The fact that there were only five couples in the theater, the Husb and me included, should have been a clue. For sure, the fact that two of the couples left before the movie ended (and well before the final act) was a big one. The film tells a fictionalized story of Princess Diana spending Christmas at Sandringham and deciding to end her marriage. It was not a flattering story. Critics have allegedly started touting Oscar buzz for Stewart. At the beginning of the film, she accurately captured many of Princess Diana’s mannerisms and way of speaking. As the film went on, she gradually morphed into Bella Swan. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I am disappointed.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 11/1/2021

Hello out there! Here’s a recent watch:

Jodi Foster and Shailene Woodley star in The Mauritanian. It’s based on a true story about a suspected 9/11 terrorist who was detained for many years at Guantanamo Bay.

Something to binge:

Nine Perfect Strangers - Hulu - kinda weird

On the Verge - Netflix

Back to Life - (Season 2) - Showtime On Demand

The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin - HBO Max

Maid - Netflix

MK out.

Movie Monday - 10/11/2021

Another week is behind us. While the dash has been busy, I made myself watch some movies.

The Starling with Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dows and Kevin Kline is about a couple that suffered a terrible tragedy. Each deal with the situation in a different way and it causes them to become somewhat estranged. It was so good.

I watched French Exit on the flight home recently, using earphones issued by the flight attendant (long story). The sound quality wasn’t great and I might have missed some of the ennui because I wasn’t overly impressed with this film. Michelle Pfeiffer plays a widow who has run through her money. She sells everything she can and heads to Paris with her grown son. 

Good Binges:

Ted Lasso Season 2 - Apple+

MK out.

Book Chat - 10/7/2021

Here are two books you all might like:

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

Based on historical events, a young woman who was kidnapped as a toddler and raised in the forest uses her skills to help a band of people on the run from Hitler’s atrocities. I loved it.

If You Must Know by Jamie Beck

Two sisters with little in common are forced to confront long held beliefs when catastrophe enters their lives. It was good.

MK out.