Recently Watched

Binge-watching: Alpha House

by

Binge-watching Alpha HouseAre you binge-watching any shows right now? If you like political shows like House of Cards and Scandal, but you also appreciate smart comedy and satire, then you’ll probably love Alpha House. Someone told me about it a few months ago and it sounded so good that I wrote it down. It was the first time that I learned that Amazon Prime has original programming, similar to Netflix. Garry Trudeau, known for Doonesbury, created the series. He also writes and produces it.

Bill Murray makes frequent appearances and the series premiere opened with him. The cast members blow me away. John Goodman, Clark Johnson, Wanda Sykes, Cynthia Nixon, Amy Sedaris, Haley Joel “I see dead people” Osment, Matt Malloy, Mark Consuelos and more.

The main characters are four Republican Senators living together in one house in Washington, D.C. and is inspired by the real life living arrangements of some Democrats.

There are a ton of celebrity appearances and many actual politicians, like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator John McCain appear as themselves too. One thing that I like about Alpha House is that while the main characters are fictional, President Obama is referred to as the President. So it feels a bit more deeply based in reality than other shows.

G and I have been binge-watching the show and we both love it. As I mentioned last week, I’m doing a free trial of Amazon Prime, so we are streaming it free online. We watched Season 1 this week and are deep into Season 2. Hopefully there will be a Season 3, but I have not been able to find out. If you’re looking for something new to watch, I highly recommend Alpha House!

+ + +
Screenshot: Here & Now (WBUR)

Recently Watched: Rain

by

“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

by

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.

+ + +
Screenshot: Winter’s Tale – Official Trailer

Recently Watched: The Best Man Holiday

by

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!

+ + +
Screenshot: The Best Man Holiday – Official Trailer

Recently Watched: Small, Beautifully Moving Parts

by

Small Beautifully Moving PartsThis past weekend, I was looking for a quick film on Netflix. Small, Beautifully Moving Parts was suggested as one that I might like. Since it was only available until November 1st, I decided to watch it. Good choice Netflix!

It was quite a sweet film and I recommend it if you’re looking for something a little quirky and sentimental. Below is a description from the movie trailer.

Sarah Sparks is pregnant and feeling wholly ambivalent, despite her boyfriend’s pure enthusiasm. A committed tech-geek, she fears she is more interested in ultrasound technology than in what’s being ultra-sounded. When her sister lures her to L.A. for what ends up being a terrorizing baby shower, Sarah keeps her rental van and hits the road in search of the source of her anxiety: her estranged mother, now living off the grid. SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS takes a comic and poignant look at one woman’s coming-of-parenthood in the age of technology.

You have a couple of days to watch it if you like. I love labyrinths and was really happy to see one in the movie. Although it wasn’t used as fully in the scene as it could have been. I would have liked to see the character walking it, while pondering her dilemma. Anyway, that’s just me.

Have you seen any good films on Netflix lately that you recommend?

+ + +

Photo Credit:  Official Trailer on YouTube