movies

Recently Watched: Middle of Nowhere

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Recently WatchedDuring the snow storm last week, G and I finally watched Middle of Nowhere. It’s been on my Netflix list for a while now and I’m so glad that we saw it. What a beautiful film! We both really enjoyed it. And if you’re into indie films, you’ll probably love it too. Check out the movie trailer.

The story is a simple one. A woman’s husband goes to prison and she decides to wait for him. But we see all the complexities of her life. Her job, family and hopes for the future. The characters are nuanced and the soundtrack is wonderful.

The Director is Ava DuVernay and I think this film is where I first learned of her. She won Best Director for it at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. She also directed Selma, which I thought was amazing. I saw it when it first came out on the big screen, which doesn’t happen so much anymore.

DuVernay has become a real force in film, Hollywood and just in general. There is even an Ava DuVernay Barbie Doll!  It sold out in 17 minutes!

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more by DuVernay in the future and I’m sure she will keep us guessing.

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Screenshot: YouTube

In Light of Venus in Retrograde ~ @CoherenceMovie

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Sci-fi movies are a guilty pleasure. I love a good dinner party. And with the recent blue moon, Venus in retrograde, and Jupiter getting ready to move into my sign next week, I’m feeling like COHERENCE could be an interesting movie.

So after seeing the library promote it as a new movie title, I just put the DVD on hold.

On the night of an astronomical anomaly, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. Part cerebral sci-fi and part relationship drama, COHERENCE is a tightly focused, intimately shot film that quickly ratchets up with tension and mystery.

Will I enjoy it or will it be another two hours of my life that I can’t get back? I’ll report back!

*Updated 8/13/2015* Happy to report that I loved this movie! I definitely recommend it. It’s not what you think it is and I’m not even sure it’s possible to really figure it out, but it’s fun trying and I survived another retrograde!

Recently Watched: Rain

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“Rain” is another DVD that I happened to find while at the library and recently watched. The movie is a coming of age story about a teenage black girl set against the beauty of the Bahamas. But the film shows its seedier side too.

Many years ago, I visited the Bahamas for a quick getaway and had the best time. This film takes us beyond the surface of what we can see on a vacation. According to an OnlineAthens article, “‘Rain’ is the first indigenous feature film produced entirely in the Bahamas.”

CCH Pounder plays a starring role and seeing her name on the credits assured me that this would be a good movie. Her character reminds me of the saying that when the student is ready the teacher will appear.

“Rain” is the title of the film and the name of the main character as well. She is a budding athlete, but needs someone to help her develop into the person that she is meant to be. The movie takes us along for the ride.

What movies have you watched recently?

Recently Watched: Winter’s Tale

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Winter's Tale Colin Farrell
When I saw the preview for Winter’s Tale last year, I was immediately interested. Give me a hint of time travel and I’m all over it.

Plus I’m a Downton Abbey fan and was happy to see Jessica Brown Findlay again after the very sad and unexpected death of her character Lady Sybil. The beautiful smiling face of Colin Farrell didn’t hurt either. Actually, his beautiful face is the best part of the movie in my opinion.

Luckily, I did not pay to see Winter’s Tale when it first came out. Although I was tempted. Before Christmas, I was at the library randomly getting DVDs to watch and grabbed it.

Can a movie be a fairy tale if there are no fairies? If so, it’s a fairy tale. If not, it’s just a tale. I can suspend disbelief along with the best of them and even I had a bit of trouble with this one. The magic was rather inconsistent and not what I expected. In a bad way.

The cast is great. With Russell Crowe, William Hurt, Graham Greene, Jennifer Connelly and a surprise to me, Will Smith. A pretty big name to not have been mentioned in the previews. Smith’s role is rather small and certainly not his best, but it was nice seeing him anyway.

If you don’t see this movie, you’re not missing anything. Don’t pay to see it. Apparently Farrell is up for a Razzie as Worst Actor because of this movie. However, there have been other movies which never get blogged by me. They were so horrible that I was angry that I wasted two hours of my life that I could not get back and didn’t want to spend anymore time thinking about them.

Winter’s Tale isn’t that bad. But mostly because two hours of looking at Colin Farrell is still rather enjoyable. Plan accordingly.

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Screenshot: Winter’s Tale – Official Trailer

Recently Watched: The Best Man Holiday

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The Best Man HolidayIf you were a fan of The Best Man movie back in 1999, you”ll probably love The Best Man Holiday, which came out last year. Even if you didn’t see the first movie, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

I’m all about sentimental Christmas movies this time a year, so I decided to get the DVD from the library. Surprisingly there was no wait!

After seeing The Best Man Holiday last night with G, I wish that I had seen it when it first came out in the theaters. We both really enjoyed it. They captured all the fun and spark from the first movie and put it into the holidays.

The ending left no doubt in my mind that there would be another movie coming soon. Apparently we have to wait until 2016 to see it. Looking forward to it!

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Screenshot: The Best Man Holiday – Official Trailer