Saturday, September 28, 2019
First Lines: J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.
Die Weibchen (1970)
A young woman joins an exclusive women's health clinic only to discover it's run by feminist cannibals.
Quite unusual and mostly tedious movie attempts to be an artsy pseudo-feminist satire, but leans more in the direction of sexploitation with some bits of gore.
Friday, September 27, 2019
A League of Their Own (1992)
Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.
Likable and mildly entertaining comedy drama with a slight feminist message is best when more focused on humor and the sport (and sport politics), but doesn't try to avoid sentimentality either; the stars help a lot, though.
Halliwell*: "A comedy that trundles along in a predictable fashion, settling for sentimentality rather than humour."
Maltin***: "Thoroughly entertaining comedy...Davis and Madonna stand out in a first-rate cast, with Hanks giving a terrific performance as the drunken ex-baseball star...Good-natured fiction that sheds light on a neglected chapter of real-life sports history."
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Detroit (2017)
Fact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.
Harrowing reconstruction of a historical event exposing a shocking racist misuse of police officers' authority; excellently directed and photographed, and very convincingly performed by the cast.
The Family (2019)
An enigmatic conservative Christian group known as the Family wields enormous influence in Washington, D.C., in pursuit of its global ambitions.
This documentary does fascinatingly shine light on a dubious religious sect trying to manipulate governments to their advantage; however, it does not come up with enough evidence to clarify the magnitude of the influence and thus seems more like a conspiracy theory.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The Lake House (2006)
A lonely doctor, who once occupied an unusual lakeside house, begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.
Silly and schmaltzy romantic drama doesn't care much to make us believe its far-fetched premise.
Maltin**1/2: "Romantic drama stretches credulity (to put it mildly) but still creates a moodiness that's intriguing...enough to allow a willing viewer to go along for the ride."