Comedy, Movies

Definitely, Maybe

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Definitely, Maybe offers some new ideas for how to create tension in the romantic comedy genre. As always boy and girl cannot make up their mind who they want to be with. But the story is told in a different way. Our boy just received his divorce papers and is about to sign them. His [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Manchester by the Sea

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This wonderful film deals with an intriguing question: how do you deal with something that one can never truly recover from? Casey Affleck gives a stunning performance. If I were a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, I would vote to give him the Oscar for best male performer in a leading role. Do [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Red Dog – True Blue

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This prequel of the funny Red Dog disappoints. It has a very weak story. The original Red Dog was based on an amazing true story written up in a book that even the best fiction would have difficulty matching. So the screenplay writer, Daniel Taplitz, had a relatively easy time. But in this prequel [Read More]
Drama, Movies, Phantasy

LaLa Land

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Unlike in the case of Sully, I knew very little about Lala Land except that it is a musical. Lala Land feels very fresh. It resurrects the musical genre but does it in a way that our current sensibilities are not offended. The most interesting part of the film is how it vi- sually told [Read More]
Documentary, Drama, Movies

Sully

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Sully has been nominated by many critics as a top film of the year. I knew why many critics loved the film. Sully rejects landing a plane that lost both engines safely on the Hudson River and saving the lives of all 155 passengers makes him a hero. He insists that he was [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Departures

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Christmas 2016. This wonderful film from Japan landed in my house during the holidays. It has been circling the airwaves since 2008. I am glad it finally reached me. The film won an Oscar for best foreign film and it is a treat fitting the holiday spirit. At the center of Depatures [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Hacksaw Ridge

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I saw this film on the weekend after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. The Donald as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the world is not a comforting thought. I guess we just need to get used to sleeping a bit less soundly when Obama steps down and the Donald [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Boy

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Enchanted by The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, I rented Taika Waititi’s earlier film Boy. It is not as mesmerizing as the The Hunt but it still a tour de force of creativity. The film focuses on childhood and growing up. More specifically it traces how we as children turn our parents into heroes and gradually come boy_1 [Read More]
Diary, Questions

Why did Trump run for President?

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This is a big qustion indeed. The next couple of months will probably tell. The WSJ editorial page and today Peggy Noonan called for Trump to sell all his business interests and put the proceeds in a blind trust so that his presidency will not be constantly undermined by perceived conflict of interest. As the Trump PBS [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Girl on the train

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I did not jump onto this train voluntarily. I was dragged on it. After watching it, I can at least confirm that the low IMDB rating is right on target. Now the most interesting question is why would this book become a bestseller? I suspect because it allows women to feel victims of their [Read More]