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Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Amazing Acting - Amazing Story of Hill Country Survival
I was stunned at the amazing performances of Amy Adams (mother) and Glenn Close (grandmother) of the protagonist. This is a true story of one young boy's struggle to rise from poverty in the Appalachian hill country. A must see!
Boudica: Rise of the Warrior Queen (2019)
NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE
This is a pathetic woke rewriting of history. It does NOT follow Celtic history or legend. According to history she DID NOT run away from home to avoid a "quant traditional marriage". She lived a normal childhood for the time and married an ICENI who became the tribal king and she the queen. The had two daughters. The rest of the story is well known.
Bridgerton (2020)
Woke Fantasy "Period" Drama - Embarrassing
This series is so slathered in PC woke-ness it entirely misses its mission to entertain. Insulting and pathetic - avoid at all cost - watching even one episode will lower your IQ by 50 points.
Nightflyers (2018)
Griping & Intense SyFy - Worth Seeing
Could've given 8 or 9 stars but ten episodes was about 4 or 5 too many - would have preferred a shorter more condensed version. Will keep you watching on the edge of your seat.
Brimstone (2016)
Dakota Fanning Made This Film Watchable
An easy 45 minutes could have been cut from this dark 2 1/2 hour movie. The director was so impressed with himself he just couldn't part with any of the scenes - many of which added nothing - not even texture. Going overboard with male brutality required going overboard with feminist resistance. Dakota Fanning did more for this film than anyone with her acting and an incredible range of facial expression. Guy Pierce great job at playing evil. I'd like to see him in better roles - loved him in Time Machine. It's a shame the two best actors were completely ignored by the Dutch who nominated themselves for nearly all awards.
North & South (2004)
Sweet love Story- Very Well Acted - Saw it Twice
This is the third retelling of this story on film and a common theme for British viewers. The difference between the North and the South in England are more subtle today but still exists and would come as a surprise to many viewers outside of the UK.
Time Trap (2017)
Low Budget But Interesting & Unpredictable Plot
Low budget sci-fi but the plot didn't use a lot of CGI. I gave it a 9 based on what they accomplished with only $1 million. The acting was surprisingly good from a cast of no names. It starts a little slow and awkward but watch through the first 15 minutes and the pace picks up. Plots is different & unpredictable making it worth watching!
The Pixar Story (2007)
An Outstanding Rags to Riches Story of Pixar
This is an amazing story of artists, engineers and computer geeks who share a fascination with computer animation and movie making. This eclectic collaboration of hard work and family friendly movie making was rivaled only by Walt Disney himself and resulted in a string of amazing cinematic successes rare in the movie industry - a must see!
First Light (2018)
Well Made, Well Acted Alien Sci-Fi - Edgy
This movie is edgy and realistic- approaches the issues and complications of alien contact without the intergalactic budget and glossy unscientific assumptions of Star Wars or Marvel genre films. This film will make you think for a change.
The Cara Project (2016)
An Interesting Peek Into Cara Delevingne's Career as a Supermodel
As a short documentary focused primarily on Cara Delevingne's modeling career, this film provided an interesting introduction to Cara and her rise as a British supermodel. Viewers are informed that the film was not approved, authorized or endorsed by Cara Delevingne. I rated this film a 6. However, had Cara actually been interviewed or officially involved in some way, I could have easily rated this film a 7 or 8 for its content and insight into the modelling world and Cara's impact on fashion.
While some say modelling is a vain (billion dollar) profession, there is nothing narcissistic about Cara Delevingne. She appears at every turn to be a sweet, confident, happy go lucky young lady whose rapid success as a British supermodel coupled with a down to earth, approachable personality has earned her enormous respect in the modelling world and millions of loyal followers on social media. As this film clearly shows, Cara is blond, blue-eyed, skinny, beautiful, well connected and rich which made her entry and rapid rise in modelling almost expected.
However, Cara has had more than her share of difficulties in life which this film barely mentioned. Her mother's addiction to heroin, Cara's ongoing battles with severe depression that started at 15 coupled with her dropping out if high school at 17. Cara's success in spite of those difficulties alters her story from that of a "poor little rich girl" into one of admiration at her seemingly unshakeable desire to succeed. A lesser girl might not have risen from those struggles and for that reason, Cara is a positive role model to millions of young girls around the world.
Cara has always wanted to act and sing and has left a very successful career in modelling at its peak in order to pursue a career in acting. This film discusses Cara's acting ambitions. It also mentions roles in "Paper Towns" and "Suicide Squad" as "future" acting roles which gives the impression that much of this film is dated around 2014. Cara has since starred in "Valerian, the City of a Thousand Plants" by Luc Besson and had a minor role in "Tulip Fever" directed by Justin Chadwick.
Modelling is knowing where the camera is and posing for it. Acting is the opposite, it's knowing where the camera is and pretending it's not there. That's not an easy transition and many successful models have failed as aspiring actresses. However, Cara Delevingne is not your typical supermodel. She has more grit, determination and acting talent than many and her supermodel star power will present her with more acting opportunities than she might have otherwise received. Unfair advantage? - no - that is an advantage she has earned as one of Britain's top supermodels and I am betting that with focus, hard work and careful role selection she will become a very successful actress as well.
Lady Bird (2017)
Triumph of A Young Girls Spirit & The Loss of Innocence
Much has been said about this movie being a story of a mother (played by Laurie Metcalf) and her daughter "Lady Bird" (played by Saoirse Ronan). It's true that their relationship is a central theme in this "dramedy" but it is also a story of a father and his daughter. Lady Bird's father (played by Tracy Letts) is loving, gentle, sympathetic and sensitive to the changes in Lady Birds life. Even though he is going through some very tough times himself (depression & unemployment), his support for his daughter never waivers and we see him providing the emotional stability that Lady Bird desperately needs during her curious, awkward and turbulent high school years. Just as it seems her life is seeing some sunshine, unexpected events knock her back down again. However, Lady Birds incredibly positive spirit picks her up and puts her right back in the game. She refuses to let embarrassment or hard times rob her of the best years of her life and I think the audience is right their on the sidelines cheering her on. Greta Gerwig's script is fresh and unpredictable and the acting is superb. Lady Birds story does not demand as much of Saoirse Ronan as her incredible role in Brooklyn (robbed of the many awards it truly deserved). But Saoirse nailed this role leaving no stone unturned with her great American accent, and wonderful sense of comedic timing.
Hangar 10 (2014)
Cloverfield Meets Blair Witch - Abbie Salt Made the Movie Believable
No spoilers here - just a quick thumbs up to Abbie Salt's performance. Her "sweet girlfriend" character was the anchor to this movie. The male roles were written to be stereotypical and superficial. Even though camera angles were not meant to be flattering, she still injected enough of Sally's "sweet girl next door" pixie dust that people who start this movie will keep watching to see how "she" handles the situation. She had the same effect as "Mary Ann" on "Gilliganss Island" without the campy comedy. I'm glad the script didn't call for the boyfriend fighting with the "accidental" flame from the past although there were hints of it in the beginning. Another interesting note for me is that my distant English cousin Lord Tollemache lives not far from Rendlesham at Helmingham Hall. When I was in Suffolk last summer we drove through that beautiful countryside from Bury St Edmunds to Helmingham. Abbie Salt - I never heard of you before Hangar 10 but I'll be looking out for you now. Chin up (rleecollins@hotmail.com).