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Vita & Virginia (2018)
Very deep and insightful
I watched this movie not expecting anything different from other movies covering sapphic relationships, and was very pleased to see a deep analysis of the tumultuous affair and friendship between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf. Sure the music seems a bit out of kilter but the dialogue and physical relationship between the two women was incredibly real and very emotional. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to know the inspiration behind Woolf's novels. The low rating seems completely unfair to this amazing movie.
Gentleman Jack (2019)
Outstanding tale of a vigorous, intelligent, headstrong woman
Enjoying every minute of this outstanding series. Suranne Jones does a marvellous job of portraying Anne Lister convincingly - a woman who puts men in their place and cleverly works around those who try to outwit her. All the while she chases after women with the enduring hope that they won't decide they're "not like that" and go off to marry men. Women will be able to relate to many of Anne's adventures and some of her exploits. I rarely give a 10 star rating but this one captures a top rating from me. Highly worth your time.
Sharp Objects (2018)
Disappointing and confusing
I really hate to be the one to rate this lower as I admire all the actors in this series and really wanted to keep up with it. But there is just too much jumping around - flashbacks, hand-held cameras, sudden cuts to dripping blood or bloody scenes, and then watching the characters talk to each other with no context as to which period of time the communication takes place. Sometimes it's when the characters are younger, sometimes not. So it's very difficult to follow the story with so many cuts to random shots and previous events. Example: when the character played by Amy Adams sees her mother (played by the excellent Patricia Clarkson) throwing roses down onto the floor in a hospital setting (I think), this scene is repeated for emphasis, and a great deal of focus was put on the red roses. But there is no sense of when this takes place relative to the rest of the story, even though the scene appears to be very important. The story just jumps back to whatever happens next and there was no clear connection between these scenes. I tried very hard to stay with this series, but with my husband continually falling asleep every time we start watching it, I think I will just have to give it up, although reluctantly. I vastly prefer the previous work by the director, "Big Little Lies."
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Unbelievable
I am thoroughly shocked and dismayed that this movie received so many nominations at the Oscars. My whole family hated this movie. The movie is filled with nothing but quirky and whimsical scenes that do not develop the characters or even provide a storyline. Essentially, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" uses the same technique but a different location from previous movies by Wes Anderson. I used to take the angry and critical comments about Oscar-nominated or -awarded movies with a grain of salt, since I could see some value in many nominated movies in the past. Now I have absolutely no faith in the Oscar nomination process since they clearly want to pick and choose movie makers who do something "different" with their movies. It reminds me of the fable of the emperor with no clothes. I know that I will always avoid any movies made by Wes Anderson in the future.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
Outstanding with a few flaws
As a scientist, I approached this series with some trepidation that the narration would contain a few cringe-worthy scientific errors. So far, Neil DeGrasse Tyson has pulled off a masterful narrative and has been careful to cite historical facts as well as our current knowledge of the way life and the universe works. I was elated when he directly addressed the claims of those who believe the universe (or perhaps human life on Earth) was created just 6,000 years ago. But my elation turned to dismay with the sentence, "The theory of evolution is a fact." Much as I would love to agree with this statement, we must remember that in all of scientific endeavours, it is unfortunately a fallacy to say that any theory is a fact. I wish that Tyson had had the wisdom to modify the wording of this sentence before he delivered it, because now it is prone to justifiable criticism. The real explanation is that the theory of evolution is powerfully supported by enormous and overwhelming evidence across many scientific disciplines. We have evidence supporting evolutionary development in that even our DNA is shared across all plant and animal life on Earth. But it remains a theory because we can never travel back in time and witness firsthand the evolution of human species. This is the only reason that the teaching of evolution remains a theory. It's interesting that gravity is also, by definition, a theory, even though no one has tried to contest the existence of gravity. Where are the anti-gravity groups who demand that the teaching of gravity be balanced by the view that gravity doesn't exist?
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Brilliant brilliant brilliant!
How can anyone miss this?! This is simply the best Disney movie ever made. It's a classic example of how a good story is the most essential element of any movie, whether animated or otherwise. All of the characters have been carefully chosen for their vocal abilities and have pulled off their respective roles perfectly. What is notable is that this movie did not rely on computer animation tricks, but instead used old-fashioned Disney animation. Music and songs are kept to a minimum, and mushy, over-the-top sentimentality is nowhere to be seen. It is just a clean, entertaining story packed with visual and auditory jokes that demand a repeated viewing (actually our family has probably watched it upwards of 20 times now, as it is a favorite of our daughter's).
Anyone who claims that this is the worst movie made by Disney (or any of the actors associated with it) just did not listen closely enough to what the characters say. It really requires close attention to detail. We find that having the closed captioning on helps a lot.
Enjoy!