.......via NETFLIX.
These are movies which I think, perhaps, haven't been that widely seen.
I've not been to a movie theater in several months, but I'll recommend this quartet of ready for rental films to the right audiences, each of them starring one of my favorite actresses with many notable supporting performances and multiple moments of movie magic to be enjoyed in all of them:
"Never Again" The Link
This 2001 flick features Jill Clayburgh and Jeffrey Tambor, along with Bill Duke from "Predator," Peter Dinklage from "The Station Agent" and Sandy Duncan from Tyler, TX in this comedy/romance I'll characterize as being much like "When Harry Met Sally...." and/or a Judd Apatowesque offering probably best aimed at open-minded viewers over age 50. There's even a beauty shop scene which rivals Meg Ryan's famous "orgasm in a restaurant."
The language and humor is coarse and coarser and coarserer.......way, way past what's in "Sex and the City," but my wife and I thought it all rang very true and found that stuff quite funny. There's no actual nudity that I recall.
I guess younger viewers could enjoy this movie also or they might be shocked and awed as were Clayburgh's movie daughter and her college boyfriend, arriving unexpectedly for Christmas vacation and walking in on Jill and Jeffrey busy cunnilinguistically in the sack. We thought this was a telling blow, struck for sensual seniors of the Boomer Generation who still enjoy sex, in this realistic, cogent, poignant and (we thought) tasty, if not always tasteful, flick.
The lovely and talented Miss Clayburgh died last year, but still is currently featured in Apatow's "Bridesmaids" and Edward Zwick's "Love and Other Drugs". She also shone brightly in "Starting Over," "Silver Streak" and "An Unmarried Woman," earlier in her distinguished film career.
Any of those movies is worth a rental, IMHO.
"Passengers" The Link
From 2008, this film has the vibe of TV's "Lost" and I'll recommend it to those who either really liked that lengthy TV series or those who won't be spending their time to watch all 6 seasons of it. I'm in that latter group, myself.
It also would be appreciated, I think, by movie goers who've felt shortchanged by writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, since enjoying "The Sixth Sense." That's another group that I'm in.
Anne Hathaway gives an effective, layered and nuanced performance in this nicely paced movie, IMHO, and that's plenty good enough for a fan like me to dig watching it, plus I thought Patrick Wilson, Andre Braugher, Dianne Wiest and David Morse added thespian depth.
I noticed some sizable plot holes and faults here and there, for sure; however I enjoyed this mystery movie and would have enjoyed it even more if Anne had let her chest puppies out to play like she did with Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love and Other Drugs."
There were opportunities for nudity, but they were largely unused.
I found that good plot buildup, believable acting which elevated a suspenseful story and some cheesy special effects all combined to make this a worthwhile rental on a less than eventful night.
"Rabbit Hole" The Link
Nicole Kidman was Oscar nominated as Best Leading Actress for her role in this 2010 movie. I doubt that many of her fans have even seen it and I think it's the least recommendable of these four movies to a general audience. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted the screenplay from his play.
If you made it through "In the Bedroom" with Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek and Nick Stahl and/or Sophia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides" with James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirstin Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Scott Glenn and Danny DeVito you might give this one a chance.
Angst, acrimony, anger and agonizingly adrift after an accident are among the keywords here. I guess the A's are enough to cover that.
Those enjoying hard-edged, word-driven, theatrical, heartfelt, measured plot movement such as David Mamet has in his plays, screenplays and directed films like "The Winslow Boy," "House of Games" or "Glengarry Glen Ross," this could be worth your time.
Others beware.
For me, Nicole Kidman causes every movie she's ever in to be at least worth a rental. But, though she was excellent here, I fear this film won't enthrall or even interest many movie watchers.
Cookie's Fortune The Link
I first saw this Robert Altman flick back in 1999 on the big screen. Starring Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Donald Moffat and Lyle Lovett, the ensemble workings of this cohesive cast reminds me of movies like "Steel Magnolias" and the literary fact that Erskin Caldwell and Tennessee Williams only offer tragic dramas.
That's arguably our comedic loss, because things very often go down in small southern towns and cities which are pretty funny.
After the Cookie crumbles, early in this flick, all the delicious comedic melodrama ensues.
If you enjoyed Altman's entertaining final movie, "A Prairie Home Companion," or his classic send up of "Nashville," this one is probably for you also.
Personally, after two viewings over 10 years apart, I find nothing at all wrong with this movie that a cold beer, while watching at home, won't cure.
And if you don't drink alcohol? Then a Coke, Dr Pepper or a even cold root beer will do you just fine.
Let me know what you think.
These are movies which I think, perhaps, haven't been that widely seen.
I've not been to a movie theater in several months, but I'll recommend this quartet of ready for rental films to the right audiences, each of them starring one of my favorite actresses with many notable supporting performances and multiple moments of movie magic to be enjoyed in all of them:
"Never Again" The Link
This 2001 flick features Jill Clayburgh and Jeffrey Tambor, along with Bill Duke from "Predator," Peter Dinklage from "The Station Agent" and Sandy Duncan from Tyler, TX in this comedy/romance I'll characterize as being much like "When Harry Met Sally...." and/or a Judd Apatowesque offering probably best aimed at open-minded viewers over age 50. There's even a beauty shop scene which rivals Meg Ryan's famous "orgasm in a restaurant."
The language and humor is coarse and coarser and coarserer.......way, way past what's in "Sex and the City," but my wife and I thought it all rang very true and found that stuff quite funny. There's no actual nudity that I recall.
I guess younger viewers could enjoy this movie also or they might be shocked and awed as were Clayburgh's movie daughter and her college boyfriend, arriving unexpectedly for Christmas vacation and walking in on Jill and Jeffrey busy cunnilinguistically in the sack. We thought this was a telling blow, struck for sensual seniors of the Boomer Generation who still enjoy sex, in this realistic, cogent, poignant and (we thought) tasty, if not always tasteful, flick.
The lovely and talented Miss Clayburgh died last year, but still is currently featured in Apatow's "Bridesmaids" and Edward Zwick's "Love and Other Drugs". She also shone brightly in "Starting Over," "Silver Streak" and "An Unmarried Woman," earlier in her distinguished film career.
Any of those movies is worth a rental, IMHO.
"Passengers" The Link
From 2008, this film has the vibe of TV's "Lost" and I'll recommend it to those who either really liked that lengthy TV series or those who won't be spending their time to watch all 6 seasons of it. I'm in that latter group, myself.
It also would be appreciated, I think, by movie goers who've felt shortchanged by writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, since enjoying "The Sixth Sense." That's another group that I'm in.
Anne Hathaway gives an effective, layered and nuanced performance in this nicely paced movie, IMHO, and that's plenty good enough for a fan like me to dig watching it, plus I thought Patrick Wilson, Andre Braugher, Dianne Wiest and David Morse added thespian depth.
I noticed some sizable plot holes and faults here and there, for sure; however I enjoyed this mystery movie and would have enjoyed it even more if Anne had let her chest puppies out to play like she did with Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love and Other Drugs."
There were opportunities for nudity, but they were largely unused.
I found that good plot buildup, believable acting which elevated a suspenseful story and some cheesy special effects all combined to make this a worthwhile rental on a less than eventful night.
"Rabbit Hole" The Link
Nicole Kidman was Oscar nominated as Best Leading Actress for her role in this 2010 movie. I doubt that many of her fans have even seen it and I think it's the least recommendable of these four movies to a general audience. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted the screenplay from his play.
If you made it through "In the Bedroom" with Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek and Nick Stahl and/or Sophia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides" with James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirstin Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Scott Glenn and Danny DeVito you might give this one a chance.
Angst, acrimony, anger and agonizingly adrift after an accident are among the keywords here. I guess the A's are enough to cover that.
Those enjoying hard-edged, word-driven, theatrical, heartfelt, measured plot movement such as David Mamet has in his plays, screenplays and directed films like "The Winslow Boy," "House of Games" or "Glengarry Glen Ross," this could be worth your time.
Others beware.
For me, Nicole Kidman causes every movie she's ever in to be at least worth a rental. But, though she was excellent here, I fear this film won't enthrall or even interest many movie watchers.
Cookie's Fortune The Link
I first saw this Robert Altman flick back in 1999 on the big screen. Starring Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Donald Moffat and Lyle Lovett, the ensemble workings of this cohesive cast reminds me of movies like "Steel Magnolias" and the literary fact that Erskin Caldwell and Tennessee Williams only offer tragic dramas.
That's arguably our comedic loss, because things very often go down in small southern towns and cities which are pretty funny.
After the Cookie crumbles, early in this flick, all the delicious comedic melodrama ensues.
If you enjoyed Altman's entertaining final movie, "A Prairie Home Companion," or his classic send up of "Nashville," this one is probably for you also.
Personally, after two viewings over 10 years apart, I find nothing at all wrong with this movie that a cold beer, while watching at home, won't cure.
And if you don't drink alcohol? Then a Coke, Dr Pepper or a even cold root beer will do you just fine.
Let me know what you think.
