The Critical Filmmaker

Call me a cynic, but this film didn't grab me at all.  I guess it's really designed for people who are a bit more involved in politics or have strong ideals about their candidates.  For me it was just a fictionalized account of events that have happened in politics within the past few years.  The only shocking thing was the ending which felt like it was saying, "Hey look, this is what it's like.  Life goes on." I had expected more from this film.  I thought it would be more of a thriller with twists and turns, but it didn't thrill me at all.  The acting was great, but the plot fizzled for me. Personally, I think I'm more of a realist than a cynic, since I do lean toward positivity.

Good film, though I had expected more from it.  The trailer made it seem like Brad Pitt's character, Billy Beane, was the one with the ideas, although he's the one who brings in Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), who helps make a considerable difference to the team. It was a nice film, and a true story worth telling.

Showing my age here...  I used to watch SWAT when I was a kid and I loved it.  I also watched The A-Team, and while I watched it every week and was a big Stephen J. Cannell fan, I didn't love the show as much as his others (Hardcastle & McCormick and Riptide). The A-Team: I have to admit, I was ambivalent about seeing this film.  I'm not crazy about all the remakes of TV shows out there.  I think Hollywood needs to come up with some original ideas and stop reviving old films and TV shows (or copying from each other). When a friend told me she liked it, I decided to give it a chance.  Unfortunately, I don't share her enthusiasm.  It just didn't gel for me.  What made the show work was the banter and the charm.  This film was all cockiness with a couple of inside jokes here and there.  There was no cohesion for me.  It was just a big mess. SWAT Conversely, I liked SWAT.  I loved the old show, so I was expecting this one ...

Here's a list of films I recommend seeing: Girl Rising - documentary about the importance of education for girls in poorer countries and how girls give back to their communities The Iceman - based on the life of mob hitman Richard Kuklinski.  It was a compelling film with some minor plot holes, but still captured my interest. Attack - a film by a Lebanese director about a Palestinian man who is a successful doctor in Israel.  Everything is going great until he finds out that his wife was a suicide bomber. Reluctant Fundamentalist - another terrorist film, only this one is about a man who is accused of being the mastermind of a terror cell, but he insists he's an innocent victim.  Is he telling the truth? Kon Tiki - the true story of a group of men who (in 1947) set out to prove whether a balsa wood raft made it across the pacific in ancient times.  It well done, and I loved how they filmed it in English as well as in Dutch. Disconnect - Some people didn'...

I know I've been remiss at posting reviews.  I have seen a few good films lately, but I find myself more interested in exploring the why's and wherefores of films I didn't completely love.  I'm not being facetious or negative. Just the opposite.  In fact I know I should post all my positive reviews and I will do it in the next posting.  Right now I'm motivated by one thing: Why was Silver Lining's Playbook awarded so many accolades? Again, I'm not trying to poke fun or be negative.  I'm just trying to understand what stood out.  Was it the fact that Pat and Tiffany were able to go against the odds and find love with each other?  Was it the shocking condition that Pat had?  Were we supposed to feel sorry for him or laugh about it?  Was it because De Niro was in it?  Was it because Jackie Weaver was in it? I'll tell you what I liked about this movie.  First, my most favorite scene is when Pat's father confides in him about wanti...

I know I mentioned in a previous review that I like stories of discovery.  I also have said in the past that I tend to enjoy films about teachers and writers. Well, this film is sort of an exception to that.  Maybe it's because I saw Freedom Writers the night before and the scenes of jaded teachers and faculty tend to grate on me.  Coming from that film and seeing the opening sequence in which college professor - and Lewis and Clark aficionado - Lewis is told that teaching his students isn't important, only irked me a tad bit further And then there are his kids who in some ways remind me of George Clooney and the younger cast in the Descendents (read my review).  Another film I didn't love. I think my problem is that we've gone down this road before.  We've seen these kind of predictable plots.  They key in these films should be how they get there.  To paraphrase Lau Tsu, "It's the journey, not the destination."  And yet neither of these fil...

Impossible is definitely an apt title for this film, which tells the true story of a family that got caught up in the Tsunami in Thailand a few years ago. The special effects of the tsunami is incredible.  It's amazingly realistic.  It just takes your breath away. It's a compelling and powerful story.  It also seems so unbelievable.  Yet, if you believe in fate and destiny and happenstance, you find this film quite intriguing.