[olderthanIusedtobe]

Had repeat viewings of a couple movies recently that are both slower paced, character driven films. I was impressed by both on first viewing and they held up well this time around. "Tracks" is based on a true story about an Australian woman that sets off through the outback w/ several camels and her dog, covers nearly 2000 miles of inhospitable country. Mia Wasikowska stars. Mesmerizing. The other one is "Wildlike." Tough to watch at times, deals w/ sexual abuse of a teenager by a family member. But gets beyond that. Some beautiful Alaskan scenery, and a touching story about an unlikely friendship that develops between a middle aged man still in mourning about a year after his wife died, and the teenage girl who has a fairly rough set of circumstances in life.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Enjoyed an offbeat dramedy that really wasn't on my radar, glad I checked it out--"A Long Way Down." 4 people end up on the same tall rooftop in London on New Year's Eve with the intention of jumping. They end up making a pact to at least wait until Valentine's Day before making an attempt on their lives, and then become some kind of oddball support group. Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots (her again; I can't get enough...) star.

[Sore Feet]

I got to an early screening of IT last night. If you like any of a) Stephen King, b) horror movies, or c) Stand By Me specifically, you should see it. It's excellent. I wouldn't personally consider it scary, but if you're easily spooked it's full of good jumps, and Bill Skarsgard is outstanding as Pennywise (infinitely creepier than Tim Curry ever was).

[Toni]

can't wait!!

[zephyr]

[gb]

The movie STEP is a truly amazing documentary about a school in Baltimore established as a charter school with the stated goal of all of it's students being admitted to college. While the title Step refers to the dance troupe at the school, the focus is really about the personalities and aspirations of the young women in the Step Dance troupe. Very inspirational and wonderfully produced. Don't miss it.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I enjoyed "The Big Sick," although it was a bit slow paced and probably a tad overlong. Based on the true story of the relationship between actor/comedian Kumail Nanijani and his eventual wife. Kumail plays a version of himself, Zoe Kazan (I love her!) fills in as his wife. She's adorable but unfortunately is in a medically induced coma for about half of the film. Like pretty much every movie I've ever seen about comedians, it really isn't a comedy. Weird irony to that. It has it's funny moments, but it's definitely more of a drama. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are great as Zoe's parents. The movie is an interesting insight into the lives of Pakistanis living in the U.S. Worth a watch.

[MtnGoat]

Saw It. Meh. Kids were fine, movie was OK. Evil clown was appropriately evil, icky smile for sure. (Did not find him better than Tim Curry's version, however. )

[Josh Journey]

It (2017) Was worth watching (very applicable to real life scenarios). The story surrounding It was more captivating than the actual clown. One of the kids was scarier. It in my opinion is a representation of the hidden dark characters that our passive society overlooks. The kids knew things were very wrong while no one listened.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

The Promise (2017; I'm pretty sure there's more than 1 film with that title). Like most period pieces kind of sprawling and slow paced. An excellent film nonetheless I thought. A bit of a drama with a love triangle at its center (Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon; all very good), but the real story is about the persecution of Armenians in Turkey during WWI. I really didn't know anything about this. A forgotten atrocity in human history. Heartbreaking, worth seeing. edited--this was in the Ottoman Turkish Empire, not modern day Turkey also the cast is a hodge podge of various ethnicities, but one of the secondary actresses--Angela Sarafyan--is actually Armenian

[zephyr]

Just saw Margin Call (2011) directed by J.C. Chandor and starring Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore and others in a well-cast ensemble. This is a suspense/drama about an investment bank on Wall Street at the brink of the big crash in 2007-08. I watched it on a library DVD. The whole story takes place over 24 hours--mainly during the night. It has excellent writing and a good pace for building tension and suspense. I happened upon this scene from the movie a few weeks ago and tracked this film down. Warning: be prepared for a lot of profanity at times. Here's the scene from the movie that got my interest. This is a meeting of the senior partners in the firm and the CEO as they are briefed on the problem recently discovered by one of their risk analysts. ~z

[cascadetraverser]

For all you Sci Fi Blade Runner fans, Cinerama is showing the 1983 film all this week as a Prelude to the Sequel due next week. It is a film that stands the test of time on the big screen. Early reviews on BR 2049 are great as well...

[DarkHelmet]

I have tickets bought for the new on on Friday at the cinerama. Can wait.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

"Apple of My Eye" is a cute family film. About a teenage girl who is training for a horse jumping competition, then has a fall that causes her to lose her eyesight. She has to cope w/ the large changes that brings to her life. Burt Reynolds plays a dog trainer that tries to match her w/ a companion dog. She can't find a good match, so then he trains a miniature pony to be her companion instead. I enjoyed "The Shallows" last year. It was a bit over the top, but for the most part a tense thriller. Was hoping "47 Meters Down" would be similar. Not nearly as good I didn't think. I really didn't appreciate a twist at the end that totally screws with the viewer. Already didn't like it very much, but that pissed me off. My second viewing of "Wonder Woman" I didn't enjoy nearly as much as the first. Many of the side characters were dull and seemed totally unnecessary. The story dragged quite a bit in several stretches.

[ree]

"LOGAN". I had uncontrollable laughing fits watching this movie. And it's not a comedy. I haven't seen more skewered flesh since I ate at Benihana. Pretty ridiculous movie. I thought Marvel Studios movies were for kids... Lots of foul language and violence. Not very good.