Tag: monthly roundup

FEBRUARY 2017 Viewing Recap + Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup20 Comments

FebruaryRecap

Boy it felt like it’s been ages since I actually wrote reviews. Naturally because of my short film project I haven’t had time to watch a ton of films, but I did go to a few screenings. Though Jan/Feb are considered dead months at the movies, but I did see some good ones! Since I won’t have time to do a full review, I’m including mini reviews of some of them here.

New-to-me Movies

A United Kingdom

aunitedkingdom

Director Amma Assante has done it again! I absolutely love her work in the period drama Belle from a few years back. A United Kingdom is another tale of forbidden love… and it’s beautifully done! David Oyelowo played Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana, who caused an international stir when he married a white London woman Ruth (Rosamund Pike) in the late 1940s. Both Oyelowo and Pike are wonderful in their roles, they have a lovely chemistry and both conveyed the emotion of their tumultuous relationship beautifully. The political aspect and the romance collide beautifully, done in such an elegant way with a touch of humor. Assante has definitely become one of my fave filmmakers now.

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Project Eden Vol. 1

projectedenvol1

Glad I got to see this indie sci-fi on the big screen a couple of weeks ago. Read my recap of the Minneapolis premiere, quick thoughts about the film & my interview w/ the duo filmmakers. The film is not perfect but still, it’s got an intriguing vision and gave us enough to anticipate the sequel. The two MN actors in the lead (Emily Fradenburgh and Peter Hansen) are both terrific in their first big-budget indie film roles.

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LEGO Batman Movie

legobatmanmovie

The trailer made me laugh SO hard! I think the film is funny, with some really thigh-slappingly-hilarious moments, but I don’t think it’s as good as everyone’s been saying. I actually think the first LEGO movie is more entertaining overall. I just think some of the jokes are just goofy and silly that it actually stopped being funny. It’s also way too bombastic, especially towards the end. Still it’s a hoot to watch and the animation is great. My favorite parts are definitely the one between Batman (Will Arnett) and Alfred (Ralph Fiennes in another fabulous comedic role!), wish there were more of those. I LOVE the moment Batman accidentally kicked Alfred that sent him flying to his grand piano!! 😂

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Finding Dory

findingdory

I finally got a chance to see this one. It’s pretty enjoyable and the ride Dory & co. went on was fun albeit predictable. I have to say I think Finding Nemo is eons better and made a much more lasting impression on me.

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I will have reviews of these two later in March… but I absolutely LOVE both of them. Interesting that both bad-ass heroes, John Wick and Wolverine, got completely beat-up in their respective movies!

John Wick Chapter 2

johnwick2

LOGAN

loganmovie

Rewatches:

SenseSensibility

I only got time to rewatch one movie and I went with my absolute favorite… Ang Lee’s Sense & Sensibility never fails to lift up my spirits whenever I’m in a gloomy/melancholy mood. Everything I learn about love and life I learned from Elinor Dashwood and her sensible restraint.

Movies I’m hoping to see in March

Kong, Skull Island
Beauty & The Beast
Wilson
Personal Shopper

MOVIE OF THE MONTH

loganmovie

Hands down the best X-Men film, and one of the best films of the superhero genre to date. That’s all I’m going to say right now, definitely see this even if you’re not a fan of comic book films.

Well that’s my viewing recap of February. What’s YOUR favorite film(s) of the month?

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NOVEMBER 2016 Viewing Recap + Movie(s) of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup24 Comments

nov16recap

Well I guess we better get used to saying ‘see ya next year’ now that we’ve only got a month left in 2016! Of course now that award season is officially in full swing, there’s a slew of new film screenings coming in December! I sure hope next month isn’t going to be too snowy. I don’t mind cold temps so long as it won’t cause traffic havoc, which always happen whenever there’s a snowstorm.

After a hectic October, I only watched a third of what I did last month. But I had been busy planning a script reading in January and I also did a phone pitch to a producer in the UK for the first time. I bought a pitch session via Stage 32 site just to see if I could do it, it was nerve-wracking!

In any case, stay tuned for some of the interviews from TCFF I haven’t posted yet, i.e. my chat w/ indie comedy Funeral Day‘s director Jon Weinberg and star Dominic Rains.

Here are movies I saw in October:

New-to-me Movies

(Click on the underlined titles for a full review)

drstrange

Doctor Strange (2016)

xmenapocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

arrival

Arrival (2016)

welltakemanhattan

We’ll Take Manhattan (2012)

allied

Allied (2016)

wilderpeople

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)

littleprince

The Little Prince (2015)

loving

Loving (2016)

fantasticbeasts

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (2016)

theshallows

The Shallows (2016)

cairotime

Cairo Time (2009)

talesbylight

Tales By Light documentary (2016)

We also got to see season 1 of this amazing Netflix Original documentary. It follows five photographers around the world documenting their approach to photography and story telling. A must for photography lovers, or those who appreciate beautiful imagery (and who doesn’t?)
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Movies I look forward to in December

So far I’ve RSVP-ed to see Miss Sloane, Jackie, Passengers, and Rogue One in the next couple of weeks. My blog contributor Laura S. will be watching/reviewing Office Christmas Party, Why Him?, and Collateral Beauty. There are even screenings scheduled for January and I can’t wait to see Hidden Figures!

Rewatches

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Casablanca | Sing Street | Love and Friendship

After watching the sputtering Allied (thanks for that description Cindy!) which has many scenes in Morroco, I’ve convinced my hubby to finally watch the masterful classic WWII romance Casablanca! Well let’s just say it was still amazing and though it looked beautiful, it wasn’t style over substance. The other two films were in my top 10 fave movies of the year. I’m glad Sing Street is on Netflix now, and I watched Love & Friendship on the plane back from Vegas.

MOVIE(S) OF THE MONTH

novfavemovies

We have a tie again this month! I have written a review of Hunt For the Wilderpeople and Arrival that I’ll be posting next week. They’re two very different films in terms of tone and plot, but both are excellent in their own right. You can rent ‘Wilderpeople’ now and Arrival is in theaters, so I highly recommend both of these if you haven’t seen them already. Both will surely make it to my top 10 BEST of the year!

Well that’s my viewing recap of NOVEMBER. What’s YOUR favorite film(s) of the month?

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OCTOBER 2016 Viewing Recap + Movie(s) of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup31 Comments

Am I the only one still in disbelief it’s November already?? But I’m glad the temp hasn’t dipped that much yet, this week’s still gonna be in the mid 50s to 60 degrees, which is much warmer than usual, yay!

Well, it’s no surprise October is the busiest month for me, thanks to TCFF! I also managed to squeeze in a few new releases before the film fest started. Suffice to say I saw the most films in October than any other month!

Here are movies I saw in October:

New-to-me Movies

The Girl On A Train

accountant_imgThe Accountant

certainwomen_imgCertain Women

jackreacher2_imgJack Reacher: Never Go Back

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TCFF Movies

bloodstripe_imgBlood Stripe

architect_imgThe Architect

funeralday_imgFuneral Day

pursuitsilence_imgIn Pursuit Of Silence

junefallingdown_imgJune Falling Down

milesbetweenus_imgMiles Between Us

scientologymovie_imgMy Scientology Movie

prisondogs_imgPrison Dogs

wordofhonour_imgWord of Honour: Reclaiming Mandela’s Promise

I haven’t reviewed these films below I saw at TCFF. Some because of a studio embargo until their local release date, and some because I simply haven’t got around to writing them. I shall try to do so in the coming weeks, but honestly, I need a bit of a blogging break.

Sweet Land | The Eagle Huntress | Iron Will
Burn Country | No Light and No Land Anywhere | Trespass Against Us
Claire in Motion | 11:55 | Actors of Sound
Free Cece | Lion | Moonlight

The Last King (2003 TV miniseries)

Earlier this month I also got to see this miniseries, directed by Joe Wright and starring the immensely watchable Rufus Sewell. It’s the chronicle of Charles II’s time on the throne, his 10 year exile from Oliver Cromwell’s England, and his triumphant return. I haven’t finished it yet but hopefully later this month, as you know I have a penchant for period dramas starring gorgeous Brits 😉

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MOVIE(S) OF THE MONTH

movieofthemonth

We’ve got a tie this month! It’s tough enough to pick just TWO favorites of the month, let alone one. But these two moved me more than others and the ones I keep thinking about days after. Not only do these two feature excellent storytelling and performances, they’re also groundbreaking in many ways. It’s so rare to see female soldiers being depicted on screen, it’s even more scarce to see a good depiction of them the way Blood Stripe did.

As for Moonlight, I honestly have never seen Black sexuality/masculinity depicted in this way and it struck me just how beautiful and nuanced the story was. I’m also impressed by the casting of the protagonist, utilizing three different actors in three main stages of his life. Lets just say this film is worth the hype.

Well that’s my viewing recap of OCTOBER. What’s YOUR favorite film(s) of the month?

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SEPTEMBER 2016 Viewing Recap + Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup19 Comments

sep16recap

Autumn is in the air! It’s been a rather cool September, especially the past week, but I LOVE the crisp Fall air as the leaves are turning. In fact we’re going to drive up north this weekend to see some gorgeous Fall foliage.

Well September have been quite eventful, thanks to Twin Cities Film Fest special screening of the indie drama The Trouble With the Truth. It was so fun to get to meet (and interview) Lea Thompson and director Jim Hemphill. The film is available on Amazon Prime and it’s got a stellar reviews, so check it out!

Here are movies I saw this month:

New-to-me Movies

queenofkatwe

Queen of Katwe

bridgetjonesbaby

Bridget Jones Baby

troublewithtruth

The Trouble With The Truth

manknewinfinity

The Man Who Knew Infinity

sully

Sully

The Nice Guys

elvisnixon

Elvis & Nixon

dressmaker

The Dressmaker

birthofnation

The Birth Of A Nation

magnificentseven

The Magnificent Seven

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October press screenings include The Girl On The Train, The Accountant, The Space Between Us, and Certain Women. Oh and of course a slew of films screening at TCFF! So excited about the lineup this year, so I’ll definitely be watching a ton of great films in October!

I’ve been working on a list of films by female directors I can’t wait to see, so be on the lookout for that in the next couple of weeks!

 Rewatches

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) | Jane Eyre (2011)
The Saint (1997) | Phantom of the Opera (2004) | Belle (2014)
Beauty & The Beast (1991)| Le Soleil Noir (Louis XV doc, 2009)

Naturally most of my re-watches revolves period dramas 😀

My hubby got me the 25th Anniversary edition of Beauty & The Beast so of course I watched it as soon as it arrived in the mail. It made me look forward to the 2017 live action version even more just to see how they’d pull it off!

MOVIE OF THE MONTH

Queen of Katwe

queenofkatwe

This film is such a pleasant surprise. A based-on-a-true-story that’s uplifting and inspiring and so full of heart, yet it’s not afraid to show the darkness of the protagonist’s story. My full review will be up next week!

Well that’s my viewing recap of September. What’s YOUR favorite film of the month?

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AUGUST 2016 Viewing Recap + Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup22 Comments

Aug16Recap

Well, that’s it folks… Summer days are definitely numbered now that we’re entering the ‘brrr’ months. Ok so I’m being a tad dramatic. September is actually still quite warm here in the upper Midwest, and in fact Autumn is my all time favorite season, it’s just the season that followed that I’m not looking forward to.

2016 Summer blockbuster season has been seriously lackluster, with mostly duds than gems. I don’t think there’s a single film I absolutely love, except maybe Pete’s Dragon, but it remains to be seen if that would be a classic down the road. Well, I always look forward to smaller Fall films.

September screenings include Queen of Katwe, Sully, Blair Witch, Bridget Jones Baby and The Dressmaker. None of them are on my must-see list, but I’d think they’d be pretty entertaining. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for Bridget Jones Baby (and she’s in it as well), so that’s the main draw for me in seeing it. Still hoping there’d be a screening for The Magnificent Seven and American Honey!

So anyway, here are movies I saw this month:

New-to-me Movies

SuicideSquad

Suicide Squad

FlorenceFJ

Florence Foster Jenkins

PetesDragon

Pete’s Dragon

BenHur

Ben-Hur

Anthropoid

Anthropoid

IANASK

I Am Not A Serial Killer

Equity

Equity

HologramForKing

A Hologram For the King

LightBetweenOceans

The Light Between Oceans

CliniqueDrBlanche

La Clinique du Docteur Blanche (2014)

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That last one is a French TV movie starring Stanley Weber that’s now available on Amazon Prime!

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As you can see, I didn’t really see that many movies this past month. I’m so behind on my reviews, too, but I’m hoping to do my write-up of Florence Foster Jenkins, Ben-Hur, The Light Between Oceans and Equity sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I’ve also posted my top 10 list of the year so far…
are any of your favorites on the list?

 TV Series

WineShow

The Wine Show

MrRobot

Mr. Robot (Season 1)

 Rewatches

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Starz’s The White Queen | BBC North & South
The Age of Adaline | Not Another Happy Ending

I didn’t rewatch many movies this month. I did watch about an hour worth of the 1959 Ben-Hur, especially some of the key moments that are so indelible to this day. It’s incredible how in the age of pre-CGI, the epic chariot race still got my blood pumping, and the rowing/ship battle scenes are simply incredible. It made me miss Quintus Arius’ presence in the 2016 all the more.

MOVIE OF THE MONTH

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EQUITY might not be the first Women-on-Wall-Street film, but it certainly is an important one that paints a realistic portrayal of real women on the male-dominated financial industry… strong, driven, ruthless, conflicted… This film isn’t afraid to show powerful women who are flawed. It’s a warts-and-all approach that I find refreshing. A far cry from the rosy, fantasy world of Mike Nichols’ Working Girl.

Produced, written, directed by women featuring a female-driven cast, this is a film I wish Hollywood would make more of! It’s not perfect, but the story’s well-crafted and Anna Gunn is excellent in the lead role.

Well that’s my viewing recap of August. What’s YOUR favorite film of the month?

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AUGUST 2015 Viewing Recap + Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Flix Reviews, Weekend Roundup32 Comments

August2015Recap

Well, we are officially entering the ‘ber’ month which means ‘brrrrr’ months are upon us. But I do love Autumn here in Minnesota though so let’s not think about Winter yet.

The highlight for me this month is that I’ve kept up on my script and it’s about 70% done now. I mean obviously there’s going to be a ton of rewrites and polishing but I’m just glad I’ve kept up with it almost daily, and thus I haven’t been blogging [and visiting others’ blogs] as much lately. In any case, I might blog even less in the future, but I don’t plan on giving that up completely, at least not yet.

Posts You Might’ve Missed

Liebster Award

A Trio of Casting News
I’m Excited About

Guest Post – Musings from a part-time cartoon artist:
Maybe some comics shouldn’t be movies

five_newtomeactors_2015Music Break: Pride & Prejudice and
Fave Scores from Dario Marianelli

Interview with the filmmakers of
NO ESCAPE: John Eric & Drew Dowdle

Blogathons

Against the Crowd:
a battle of two sword-n-sandals movies

The Five Emotions Blogathon

Thursday Movie Picks #56:
Alien Invasion of Earth

Reviews

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

The Man From U.N.C.L.E

Dark Places [guest review]

The End of the Tour

Solomon Kane

Casting By Documentary

No Escape

New-to-me Movies:

Hitman: AGENT 47 (2015)

Seeking A Friend For the End of the World (2012)

La Banda Picasso (2012)

The Last Flight (2009)

Two Days One Night (2014)

I tried to watch CHERI with Michelle Pfeiffer but just couldn’t finish it. I just think Rupert Friend is so awkward in the title role. Heh, his character is supposed to be a young French Casanova, wish they had cast Stanley Weber who’d be more age appropriate AND perfectly seductive in the role.

Rewatches:

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Pride & Prejudice TV miniseries (1995)

Persuasion TV movie(2007)

Sword of Vengeance (2014)

Top Secret! (1984)

Hot Fuzz (2007)

TV Shows:

Dancing on the Edge

Movie of the Month

TwoDaysOneNightPoster

I had been waiting to see Two Days One Night for ages. I thought this was going to hit Netflix back in June. Well, it was well worth the wait. It’s such a compelling human drama, right from the start the story truly sucked you in and Marion Cotillard gave such an amazing performance. It’s an understated role and they made her look so plain her as a young Belgian mother Sandra who discovers that her workmates have opted for a significant pay bonus in exchange for her dismissal. So the title refers to the time she has to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job.

This is the second film by the Dardenne Brothers‘ work after The Kid with the Bike and it’s definitely a superior one. It’s such a minimalist film in terms of style, the performances are naturalistic, but the story REALLY packs a punch. I was fully invested in the character’s journey and it really pays off in the end. It’s certainly one of miss Marion’s most astounding work in her already illustrious career. I can’t recommend this one enough folks, see it pronto if you haven’t already.

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So that’s my AUGUST recap. What’s YOUR fave movie(s) you saw this month?
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JULY Viewing Recap + Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Weekend Roundup47 Comments

July2015Recap

How in the world is July over already?!?! Seriously, this past month has been a total blur to me. I feel like I haven’t done anything worth writing about the entire Summer! I mean we’re finally gonna go for a bike ride outside of town with some friends, something we’ve been meaning to do since the beginning of Summer but just never got around to it, heh.

Well, the one thing I love about July was writing my birthday tribute to my beloved Stanley Weber and getting a thank you tweet! Yes I’m still giddy just thinking about it 😉 On a related note, I finally got around to writing my first ever script. It’s going well so far, I just hope I can keep the momentum and actually FINISH it.

Posts You Might’ve Missed

Supporting cast you wish got the leading role

Musings on the Han Solo spinoff &
who we’d like to see as young Solo

The Dream Vacation Blogathon

Favorite directing duos & their film(s)

Thursday Movie Picks: Science Fiction Movies (No Space/Aliens)

Music Break: Top 5 Fave Soundtracks from Henry Jackman

Thursday Movie Picks: Sequels

Musings on Clueless – random observations on the
iconic 90s movie 20 years later

TIFF 2015 Picks

Reviews

Ant-Man (2015)

Cartel Land (2015)

A Most Wanted Man (2014)

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

ONCE (2006)

Self/less (2014)

Song of the Sea (2015)

New-to-me Movies I haven’t reviewed yet:

Ondine (2009)

A Promise (2014)

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Minions (2015)

What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

Rewatches:

Sabrina (1995)

Clueless (1995)

Notting Hill (1999)

Not Another Happy Ending (2013)
I pretty much watch this one every other week, sometimes I just
have it running in the background whilst I’m working on
my laptop just to have Stanley to keep me company 😉

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

TV Shows:

Saw one episode of BBC’s Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express

I’m currently juggling a few British series:
Downton Abbey | The Fall | Any Human Heart

Movie of the Month

MIRogueNationIt’s an easy pick this month. I absolutely LOVE this latest Mission Impossible movie, even more than the fourth one which was my fave until this one. I LOVE Rebecca Ferguson here, I’d love to see her replace Tom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt for future MI movies! I mean if they can’t have a female Bond, why not have the protagonist of MI movies be a female spy?

I’ll be reviewing it this weekend, but for now, I’ll just say that ROGUE NATION is one of the most entertaining movie I saw all Summer and would likely end up on my top 10 of the year. There’s apparently plenty of juice left in the franchise!

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So that’s my July recap. What’s YOUR fave movie(s) you saw this month?
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