The great thing about streaming is if you don’t like it, you can bail. Here are six Netflix streaming movies I watched all the way through. I am not saying they are good, just that I liked them. Safety Not Guaranteed – Is he crazy? Is he a genius? You have to watch to the end to find out. Jeff, Who Lives at Home – He is a clueless loser stoner, but pot allows him to see “the fundamental interconnectedness of all things”….
The Sapphires (2012) “The Sapphires” tells the true story of four aboriginal girls who formed a singing group and toured Vietnam entertaining the troops during the late 60’s. Australians categorized the dark skinned natives as flora and fauna, and routinely stole the lighter skinned children and placed them with white families. That is the backdrop against which this lighter tale of fame and fortune is painted upon. Gail, Julie, Cynthia, and Kay are four cousins that start their musical career…
42 (2013) I confess I’m not a big fan of baseball, but then again I’m not a fan of racism either. Because of the latter this movie worked for me. 42 is about Jackie Robinson the first black man to play major league baseball. The story of how America ended slavery, and the war for racial equality covers many years, has many players, and Jackie is one of them. Post World War II 1946 in America was so drastically different than…
The Way Way Back (2013) Ever had a day that went horribly horribly wrong? How about an entire summer? In “The Way Way Back” you have a summer vacation that goes horribly horribly right. This coming-of-age story is about an awkward adolescent named Duncan who is trying to tread the churning post-divorce blended-family waters. These waters are infested with snarky teenage girls, a loving but flawed mother, her dysfunctional boyfriend, and other interesting characters. Duncan is a likable blend of anxious, shy, pensive, and…
World War Z (2013) This might have been called “Zombies, Zombies, and more Zombies”. Seriously there are a ton of zombies, in “World War Z” and not the slow sluggish ones either, these babies can really move. WWZ plays out like a who-done-it with Brad Pitt trying to save the world. He trots around the globe in search of clues while still managing to call home every day to his wife. It has some amazing visuals, great action, and pretty…
Limitless (2011) “One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small”, so says Jefferson Airplane. But what if one pill makes you smarter, and another one makes you smarter still? This is the basic premise of “Limitless” staring Bradley Cooper. Eddie Morra the aspiring writer turned genius, just can’t lose. He is smarter, better looking, more inspired, more driven, more everything than all the other fish in his little pond. He is the proverbial shark in a tank…
In case you didn’t see this before, here is my 2012 end-of-year list: Argo (2012) Bernie (2011) The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Chronicle (2012) Flight (2012) Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011) Looper (2012) – My review of Looper Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Sleepwalk with Me (2012) The Sessions (2012) I will probably add reviews for most of these once I re-watch them. Sam
Beautiful Creatures (2013) Adapted from the novel, tells the story of Lena Duchannes as she approaches her 16th birthday. Lena was born into a family of castors, which is the politically correct term for witches, who either follow the dark or the light. Men in their family can overcome their natures, but the women find out which side they are on at 16. I’ve met a few girls who turned evil at that age, but later turned back to the light….
The tagline says it all “He’s still dead, but he’s getting warmer”. This is the first romantic comedy about the ultimate in mixed relationships: Zombie boy / Living girl. To say her dad is zombie intolerant is an understatement. He is, in classic drama movie setup, the head of the post apocalypse government and in charge of killing all zombies. I know what you’re thinking, “Is there any metaphorical meaning and substance beneath this light fluffy rom/com?” There is indeed. There are male/female analogies and a…
Take two 14 year old boys, a boat stuck in a tree, a fugitive hiding on an island in the middle of the Mississippi river, mix them together and what do you get? Not sure? What if you add in a trashy girlfriend? Still not sure? How about rich ex-father-in-law bent on revenge? Sound awful? Not even close. You get a gritty story about friendship, life, and the importance of the choices we make. The story centers around and hangs on these two…