"Magic Mike XXL" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Magic Mile XXL" and some DVDs worth seeking out: "The Calling" and "Eden (aka "The Abduction of Eden.") Two books this week: "Bossypants" by Tina Fey and "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler.   I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project:" with the wonderful film "Tsotsi."] 

It's been a good week!



Magic Mike XXL

 

It's been three years since Mike (Channing Tatum) has been a "male entertainer" and dropped out of the Tampa Kings, but now those who are left have come knocking and want Mike to do it one more time.

 

The plot is slight.  Mike is lured back into dancing after a three year hiatus trying to make it in the "straight" world.  But you don't go to movies like this for the plot.  You go for the beefcake.  And there is LOTS of it.  I could look at Channing Tatum's biceps all day long. 

Mike has left the Tampa Kings to start his own construction/design business, but when he gets a call from Tarzan (Kevin Nash), one of his ex-stripper pals, that Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) "is gone," he goes to meet the boys thinking he is attending a wake. Turns out, Dallas has indeed gone but overseas to start his own franchise.  Tarzan just implied Dallas' death to get Mike to meet him and the boys (In addition to Tarzan, Big Dick (Joe Mangianella), Tito (Adam Rodriguez), Tobias (Gabriel Iglesias), and Ken (Matt Bomer) are all back).

They are all on their way to a stripper convention in Myrtle Beach in a froyo truck driven by Tobias, who is now going to be their M.C. since Dallas is no longer with them.  They want Mike to join them for one last hurrah.  Mike initially says no, but you know how these things are.  He can't resist that "one last time."

En route, a car accident derails Tobias so they visit Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith), one of Mike's old flames, who is making a ton of money with a club for women where women can have their fill of "male entertainers."  Mike wants Rome to be their M.C. at the convention but she says no.  But you know how these things are.  She can't resist...

For an inexplicable reason they head to a friend's house, whose mother is Andie McDowell, who plays very much against type as a randy older woman.  There is a running joke about the size of Joe Mangianella's you-know-what and that he has a hard time finding a woman who can handle it (I guess that's why his stage name is Big Dick). They spend the night together and Dick seems pleased the next morning.  So let's hear it for the older women!

Amber Heard is almost unrecognizable (her hair is a mess) as a love interest for Mike and Elizabeth Banks, who seems to be everywhere these days, has a cameo as the woman running the stripper convention.

The dancing is fantastic.  Channing is amazing.  Twitch, from "So You Think You Can Dance," is a newcomer and Channing holds his own with him in a sort of duet during the finale.  But early in the film, Channing does a little dance in his tool shed and let's just say, he puts his tools to good use. Yikes.  Joe Manganiello is also a great dancer and does a fun seduction scene in a 7-11.

But this is also a Bromance movie.  These guys love each other and it is never more evident than when they are all in the froyo truck taking ecstasy and telling them how much they love each other.  I have never heard so many F-bombs, but I also felt like I was eavesdropping on some real male bonding.

Steven Soderbergh directed the first one. This one is directed by Gregory Jacobs, but though Soderbergh didn't direct, he is the Executive Producer and shot and edited this one. Tatum is also one of the producers.  Soderbergh's involvement could explain why Andie McDowell is in this one since he made his mark with the now classic "Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)" with Andie starring.  Reid Carolin does the honors once again on the script.

You know how I feel about sequels.  I ranted about it in my review of "Hot Tub Time Machine 2."  This might not have the "first time" rush of the first "Magic Mike," and you might miss Mr. Alright, Alright, Alright McConaughey, but it's worth it to see Channing and Mangienello.  I'm still sweating.

And let me say this about Channing.  He is not only a lovely piece of beefcake, but he is a competent actor, and more importantly, he just exudes warmth and charisma.  I have seen him several times on talk shows and he seems like a really nice guy who doesn't have a problem making fun of himself and his "Magic Mike" persona.  That makes him an actor that both women and men enjoy.  As for Mangienello, I can appreciate him as well.  Is it getting hot in here?

This isn't "Citizen Kane" by any means. I didn't expect it to be.  It's not even "Citizen Ruth," but I don't care because it made me smile.  Even feminists like a little beefcake from time to time.
 
Rosy the Reviewer says...It's like being in the front row at a Chippendale's show.  A fun movie to see with the girls or the boys, depending on how you roll.
 

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

The Calling (2014)

 

Detective Micallef (Susan Sarandon) doesn't have much to do in her little town which probably accounts for her drinking, but she sobers up when she discovers there is a serial killer afoot.

Fort Dundas is a bleak Canadian town that would drive anyone to drink and Detective Hazel Micallef is no exception.  She is not averse to the occasional oxycotin either for her "back pain."  Plus she lives with her mother (Ellen Burstyn).  Not a whole lot going on for Hazel.

When Hazel is asked to check on the welfare of Delia, an old lady who lives alone, she finds her dead with a gruesome knife wound to the neck (but not before helping herself to some of Delia's pills) and her mouth manipulated into a scream.  OK, obviously a murder.  But then another murder occurs with a similar m.o. - the mouth contorted into a specific shape.  Now Hazel thinks, uh oh, looks like we might have a serial killer on our hands.  And as more and more bodies turn up with various mouth contortions it becomes clear that this serial killer has a "calling."  She calls on fellow detective Ray Green (Gil Bellows) to help her.  When they figure out there is some religious motives to these killings they consult a local priest (Donald Sutherland).

And let me say this about mysteries and crime dramas and this is only a teensy bit of a spoiler.  When a big name like Donald Sutherland appears in what seems to be only a very small part, you can pretty much count on the fact that he has something to do with the outcome. 

This film is all about the murders.  We know early on who the killer is (Simon played by Christopher Heyerdahl) but we don't know his motivation.  That is the mystery that keeps you watching. 

The screenplay by Scott Abramovitch (from the novel by Inger Ash Wolfe) has some original touches. It's a complicated plot that is not without its problems such as how Hazel actually puts all of the clues together to solve the riddle of the crimes, but if you can overlook that, this is not a bad addition to the serial killer genre. Think a little less gory version of "Se7en."  Director Jason Stone oversees some fine performances and creates a properly gloomy and creepy atmosphere for the actors to work in. And Sarandon is always good.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if the idea of a horror version of "Fargo" interests you and you liked "Seven" or "Silence of the Lambs," you might enjoy this one.

 

Eden aka "The Abduction of Eden" (2012)

 

A young Korean-American girl (Jamie Chung) is kidnapped by human traffickers and becomes a sex slave.

A usually good girl uses a fake ID to go to a bar where she meets a handsome seemingly nice guy.  Wrong.  He's really a handsome not so nice guy who kidnaps her, puts her in the trunk of his car and takes her to Las Vegas to be used as a sex slave.  Welcome to Vegas, baby!

Beau Bridges (where has he been?) plays Bob the cop and it soon becomes apparent he is a bad cop and heavily involved in sex trafficking.

It's a pretty grim story, based on a true one.  We see how it all works:  kidnap the girl, get her addicted to drugs, keep her tethered to a bed until needed, psychologically brainwash her by giving her a kitten and telling her if she messes up the kitten dies.  Throw in some threats to her family and you have a compliant slave who basically gives up on trying to escape.  Try to escape?  Expect to sit for hours in a bathtub filled with ice.

But not our Eden (her sex slave name) who is a plucky girl who realizes that if she befriends her captors and proves her usefulness, she just might have a chance to get out alive.  She worms her way into the graces of one of the "handlers," who is a crack addict.  She becomes his trusted helper and just waits for her chance to get away.

Jamie Chung is an appealing actress who makes this film work.  I had seen her name associated with guys like Bradley Cooper but didn't know who she was.  Now I know.  She has spent much of her career toiling on TV, but I think she has a bright future as a film actress.

There is an addictive documentary quality to this film directed by Megan Griffiths who is making a name for herself ("Lucky Them").  She also co-wrote the script with Richard B. Phillips and Chong Kim, whose story this is.

This film screams of "B Movie."  But hey, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The Fall of the House of Usher" and all of Roger Corman's films were "B's" and they have stood the test of time.

Watching a film like this, obviously a potboiler and which, if it weren't for the nudity and possibly the subject matter, would qualify for Lifetime Movie status, I realize I have a dark side.  I like movies about the dark side of life.  I find them fascinating and the fact that this is a true story, not only makes it fascinating, but makes me shudder to think that young women actually go through horrible things like this, possibly never to be heard from again.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a terrifying and intriguing look inside the sex trade.

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

256 to go! 

Tsotsi (2005)

Tsotsi is a gang leader in Johannesburg, South Africa, and he's not a very nice kid.  He has no trouble knifing a man on the subway or beating up one of his friends or shooting a woman while stealing her car, but when he discovers there is a baby in the backseat of that car, his life is changed forever. 

 

Tsotsi has the dead eyes of a person who life has left behind.  He leads a gang, lives in a shantytown and doesn't have much of a future. But when he finds the baby, he finds something inside himself that had been lost.  We slowly learn why Tsotsi has given up on the human race and is so filled with hate.  His mother was sick and he was left with his abusive father who crippled his dog in front of him. Tsotsi ran away and lived in a drain-pipe community with other lost children. He became hardened to life but when he found the baby, his humanity was sparked. 

 

Gavin Hood directed and adapted the film from the novel by Athol Fugard, this film won the Oscar in 2005 for Best Foreign Language Film and it is incredibly deserving.  The soundtrack of South African music creates a mesmerizing world and the cinematography is a work of art.

 

But Presley Chweneyagae as Tsotsi is just remarkable as is Terry Pheto as Miriam, the local woman he takes the baby to for help.

 

Why it's a Must See: "...remarkable performances in a film that powerfully conveys the brutality and squalor of the urban slums of Johannesburg--while maintaining a strong belief in the human spirit, which resists being crushed under the heavy weight of poverty..."

---1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...a riveting and extraordinary film that needs to be seen.
(In Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa with English subtitles)

***Books of the Week***

Bossypants  by Tina Fey (2013)

Yes Please by Amy Poehler (2014)

 

Memoirs by two of Saturday Night Live's most famous and successful alums - and they are friends!

Because Tina and Amy are very good friends, I thought it would be fun to not only read these in tandem but to review them side-by-side and compare them.

Tina and Amy met before their stints on SNL.  They were both members of the Chicago improvisational groups Improv Olympic and Second City. They each speak fondly of finding each other.

First of all, both books are funny as one would expect from these two.   You get a sense of Tina's humor from the cover of her book.  When I first saw it, I thought, boy, her arms are hairy.

Both ladies are self-deprecating feminists and very funny.  And they are both tough cookies.  You would have to be to make it in the world of comedy, especially when there is that "thing" out there that women aren't funny.

Both do not want to talk about what you might want them to: Tina's scar (well, she talks a little about it) and Amy's divorce from Will Arnett.  Tina's book is a bit more enlightening about her personal life; Amy's book is more about the humor.

They both take you behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live and of their wildly popular sitcoms: Tina's "30 Rock" and Amy's "Parks and Recreation." They also share their joys and struggles with motherhood.

Both like lists:  Tina has a list of her mother's beauty secrets and what it was like being skinny and what it was like being fat, since she achieved both states.

Amy likes lists even more than Tina:  Six titles for books she thinks should be available on divorce, some sex advice, and why cell phones are evil.

But in the end, both come across as "just girls" you would like to know.  They still remember their hometown roots, their parents and those who helped them along the way.

Rosy the Reviewer says...both books appear on lists of books that every woman should read.  Justly deserved.

Thanks for Reading!

That's it for this week.

See you Tuesday for

"Bars I Have Known and Loved"

 

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Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

 

Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

 Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."

 

 

Why Have a Wife?

When I wrote my semi-humorous pseudo-paean to husbands in my post "Why Have a Husband," I was shocked by the response, especially from my own daughter.

She seemed to be a bit defensive and to take issue with my post.  She said, "If you are going to say that about husbands, why have a wife then?" 

But I forgive her because she hasn't been married long enough to know just what a pain in the ass a husband can be, but mostly because when she said that, I went, "Aha!  Another idea for a blog post."

When I told Hubby about her response and threw out the question, "Why have a wife?, he was quick to respond: "For sex."

So as I clear my throat, I must say, I rest my case.  Husbands are very basic. 

Neil Young sums up a man's basic needs:

And, in general, that's why a husband thinks he needs a wife.  So we need to get out of that whole "maid thing."

I can easily write about why a husband needs a wife and what a wife is good for, besides sex and maid services.  So here goes.  And thank you to my darling daughter. 

And by the way, this is not just aimed at the man/woman relationship.  This is aimed at whomever considers themselves a husband or a wife.

So without further ado...


Why have a wife?

This is why a husband needs a wife:

---A husband needs a wife to dress him.
We all know that husbands have terrible taste in clothes and even when their taste isn't terrible, they tend to stay with the same style for years.  Sports logos and baseball caps often abound. A wife is needed to make sure they are both not embarrassed by Hubby's clothing choices.

Amy Schumer gives you a hint of what we wives are dealing with.
 

 

 

---A husband needs a wife because she communicates and he doesn't.

Whether you like it or not, if you are a husband, it is likely you are incommunicative except to be judgmental and complain about stuff.  Wives want to talk about feelings and husbands tend to think feelings are something to be felt (there is someone out there who knows exactly where that came from).  Husbands want to come home, be fed, and live in the fantasy that their wives understand when they are too tired to talk to them and when they do talk that their wives really care who won the NFL draft.  A wife communicates what her husband needs to know to have a better relationship and life.

 

---A husband needs a wife to decorate the house.

Unless the husband is an interior decorator, he should not have a say in the window dressings, the couch, the bedspread or basically anything inside the house when it comes to decorating. The Barcalounger does not belong in the living room.  We know that husbands have terrible taste because so many of us have closets full of tarty lingerie and stripper shoes.  What, you don't?  Anyway, if you are lucky and keep your opinions to yourself, your wife might let you have a room of your own where you can hang your neon beer sign and display your trophies.

 

 

 

 

The sleeping poodle is a nice touch, don't you think? 

I have a good eye for detail. 

 

 

---A husband needs a wife to bring home the bacon.

Not literally bacon, but these days, most households require two incomes if you want to live comfortably and especially if we wives are going to have the wardrobes we deserve.  Many of us wives might even make more money than our husbands and that's OK, but if we bring home our own money, we should be able to spend it as we like.  Yes, there should be a financial plan for the future, but working husbands and wives should not have to ask each other for permission to spend money unless Hubby comes home with a Maserati.

 

---A husband needs a wife to do stuff with.

 

 

Not that! Get your mind out of the gutter! I am talking about stair walking, going to movies, playing golf, traveling, having Happy Hour, watching "The Bachelorette."  Ok, you watch "The Bachelorette" because your wife wants to, but wives do things with their husbands that they don't necessarily want to do, too, such as attending ball games and the occasional tractor pulling contest.

 

 

 

---A husband needs a wife so he has someone he can trust absolutely.

I know, we sneak a Macy's bag into the house from time to time and when you see us in the cool faux fur coat and ask us "Is that new?"

 

and we reply, "Oh, this old thing? I've had this for ages," that doesn't really count as not being trustworthy.  That happens because husbands are big grumps about Macy's bags coming into the house.  No, I'm talking about important things like always telling you the truth about how you look, what you should be doing with your life and how to put up the Christmas tree lights.

 

 

 

--- And speaking of the Christmas tree lights.

As I said in my post "Why Have a Husband," husbands need our input, especially when it comes to the Christmas tree lights.  It wouldn't be the holidays without a fight about the lights, now would it?

The bottom line is:  A husband needs a wife to tell him all the things he is doing wrong.  I mean, if your best friend, your soul mate, your wife can't tell you, who can?  Don't you want to know when you are screwing up?

Albert Einstein said, "Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.”

Sorry, Albert.  I say wives don't change.  They just start noticing things their husbands could do better.

But seriously folks and I was only half kidding before, I use the word "wife" as a metaphor.  It doesn't matter your sex.  Etymologically speaking, the word "wife" has historical connections to the term "fish wife," which I hate to say because that is associated with a shrill, yelling woman which has also become a negative metaphor for a wife.  I prefer "better half" and "life partner" and that is what I would like to focus on.

 

When you have a wife, you have a person who in most cases played with baby dolls or took care of their younger siblings or helped and loved their mothers.  They were nurturers. They wanted to take care of someone and they were looking for YOU. When they found you, they wanted to look after YOU and share their lives with YOU.

So even though your wife wants you to dress better, stay out of the decorating decisions, communicate more and do a better job putting those Christmas tree lights up, just know this: she wouldn't be trying to make you a better person if she didn't care.  She would find someone else to work on! 

See you Friday

for my review of the new movie 

 

"Magic Mike XXL" 

and

 

The Week in Reviews

 

(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

and the latest on

My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 I Die Project."

 

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"Inside Out" and The Week in Reviews

[It's more about what to avoid this week except for the new movie "Inside Out." I also review the DVDs "The Long Way Down" and "Hot Tub Time Machine 2." The Book of the Week is "Always Pack a Party Dress," fashion advice from a fashionista, and I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project:" - the Soviet silent film "Earth"]

 
Inside Out

Pixar's animated version of what it's like inside the mind of an 11-year-old.

Eleven-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) lives happily in Minnesota with her parents.  She loves her parents (Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane), she loves playing hockey, she likes to be goofy and has a best friend.  But when her family movies to San Francisco, Riley's world starts to fall apart.  She has a hard time making friends and misses her old friends, has an embarrassing moment at school, the hockey is not working out so well and she hates the pizza...and it doesn't help that adolescence is just around the corner.

If you ever wonder what your kids are thinking, well, now we know how it all works as Pixar takes us inside their minds.

We can see inside Riley's brain, where Joy, (Amy Poeller), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) live.  Joy runs the show.  She is a happy control freak but that's great because joy is what rules little Riley's life.  Joy doesn't want anything but joy for little Riley. Anger blows steam and flames out of his head when riled.  Fear runs amok, Disgust says "ugh" a lot and Sadness is a round blue blob of melancholy who keeps screwing things up, but as long as Joy is running things, she can keep those negative emotions at bay.

But Sadness can't keep her hands to herself and keeps touching the little balls of Riley's happy memories that are in storage up there at Headquarters and contaminating them. But it's the "core" memories that are most important and when Sadness messes those up, Joy and Sadness must go deep into the recesses of Riley's mind to save them.  There they run into Bing Bong (Richard Kind), Riley's long forgotten imaginary friend, part elephant, part floppy-eared dog who cries candy tears and who tries to help them.  But they also run into Riley's fears and sad memories.

While Joy and Sadness are gone from "control central," Fear, Disgust and Anger try to keep things running smoothly in Riley's mind.  Well, you can pretty much figure how that's going to work.

But what Joy doesn't realize in her frenzied quest to keep Riley happy is that Riley needs to be sad sometimes.  Sadness makes you appreciate the joy.  

That's the message in this delightful story devised and written by 
Pete Doctor ("Up," "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story") and others and directed by Doctor and Ronaldo del Carmen. 

But don't be fooled by this being a Disney picture.  This is not "Toy Story" or "Cars."  Yet it is just as enjoyable but probably not for very little kids.  The little kids in the audience were running around and not watching this film, because this one is more cerebral and aimed at older kids and their parents.

There are all kinds of funny moments and recurring bits such as a chewing gum jingle that once played you can't get out of your mind (we've all had that happen, right?) and Riley's "train of thought" is actually a train.

How is Pixar able to create characters that look like Keane paintings and yet get you to care so much that the hankies are out for much of the film?  It's the end of childhood.  That gets to all of us.

 Rosy the Reviewer says...a not-to-be missed summer movie!

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

A Long Way Down (2014)

 

Four disparate people find themselves up on a London rooftop on New Year's Eve, all planning to kill themselves. 

However, they talk each other off the ledge (literally).  The four make a pact that they cannot kill themselves until February 14 (the next date that people are likely to kill themselves).

Slowly the film reveals each character's story and what led them to that rooftop on that New Year's Eve.

Jess (Imogen Poots) is a politician's daughter (Sam Neill is her Dad), a sort of bad girl who is despairing of a recent rejection. 
 
Martin (Pierce Brosnan) is a disgraced TV presenter.
 
Maureen (Toni Collette) is overwhelmed caring for an invalid son and JJ (Aaron Paul) wanted to be a rock star but now is reduced to delivering pizzas. Oh and by the way, he is also dying of brain cancer.

The press finds out about the four of them so they decide to make some money out of it by telling their stories and saying that an angel stopped them from killing themselves.  But it all blows up and they decide to get away together to Tenerife to escape the press.

What started for each of them as a mission to kill themselves becomes a mission to save each other. 

I love Pierce Brosman and I have liked Nick Hornby's other screenplays ("High Fidelity," "About a Boy"), though he didn't write this one.  This one is based on his 2005 novel, adapted by Jack Thorne and directed by Pascal Chaumeil and it's a really good idea for a film: four people who all decide to kill themselves forming a bond not to. 

So what's the problem?  It just doesn't add up to a satisfying film. The characters are not particularly likable so you just don't really care what happens to them. Perhaps if Hornsby himself had written the screenplay, the film might have had more gravitas.  Unfortunately, the film was executed in a disjointed way and treats the issue of suicide in a rather glib manner.

Rosy the Reviewer says...good idea that they couldn't quite pull off.  Not recommended unless you are a big Pierce Brosnan fan (he is still handsome as hell) or wondered what happened to Aaron Paul after "Breaking Bad" ended.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2  (2015)

 

If you didn't see the first one, there is a hot tub that is really a time machine.

There is a bit of a recap at the beginning of this film, in case you didn't see the first one.  Lou (Rob Corrdry), Nick (Craig Robinson), Jacob (Clark Duke) and Adam (Adam Scott) discovered that their hot tub could transport them back in time.  Knowing what they knew in the present, they were able to make money and change their lives from what they learned from the past.   

So as this sequel begins, Lou is a rich big shot Internet mogul (he invented a search engine called Louggle), and Nick is a successful songwriter from stealing parts of other songs from the past.  Clark Duke is back as Lou's son Jacob and Adam Scott replaces John Cusack (who very wisely did not affiliate himself with this film), accompanied them back in time in the first one, as Cusack's son. 

Lou is shot in the groin at one of his over-the-top parties, and it is revealed that he has actually hidden the hot tub from his pals. But now they plan to go back in time before Lou was shot to save him.  Unfortunately, they end up in the future instead of the past.  Supposedly, The Hot Tub doesn't take you where you want to go.  It takes you where you NEED to go, and though I couldn't really figure it out, they needed to go into the future.

In the future - 2025 - Neil Patrick Harris is President.  And it gets worse.
 
Now bear with me.  The boys are here in the future to kill Lou's killer who came from the future to kill him in the present.  If you understand that you will enjoy this movie far more than I did.

There is one laugh: a smart car that wants to kill you and an ensuing fight between Lou and the smart car but basically it's penis jokes and offensive homophobic humor.

If they went into the future, why didn't Lou die?  If they couldn't control where they went when they ended up in the future, how could they get back to the present?  Oh, geez, why do I even try to figure this out?  I should instead try to figure out why I watched this thing in the first place!

Yes, I have to ask myself why. Why do I keep doing it?  Watching these comedies that are just terrible.  In my eternal quest to find a comedy that is actually funny, I have to kiss a lot of frogs or should I say, watch a lot of clunkers. But I remembered the first one as being funny, so I thought this one would be too.

That's the problem with sequels.

Beware of sequels, unless it's a "Star Wars" film (though all of those weren't stellar), "The Godfather," or "Jurassic World."  I am actually starting to get phobic about it because of the spate of sequels we have been subjected to, none of which measured up to the first (Pitch Perfect 2, both "Hangover" sequels,  and "Anchorman 2.")  And what is worse, many of them didn't deserve a sequel to begin with.  Think "Dumb and Dumber." If anything could be dumber than "Dumb and Dumber," it's "Dumb and Dumber To." If you liked the first one they will crank out as many as you can stomach, each one more horrible than the next until you can't stand it any more.  I am already worried about "Magic Mike XXL" and the next "Hunger Games."
 
Rosy the Reviewer says... if you like penis jokes, you might like this, but it's the kind of base humor that appeals to 15-year-old boys (and Hubby).  Don't wait until the future.  Avoid this DVD NOW!

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

258 to go!

 

  

Earth (1930)

 

It's the Ukraine in 1930. The peasants want collectivization but the landowners do not.

 

The film begins with close-ups of fruits and flowers, then long close-ups of pensive peasants. Our hero Vasyl, a proponent of collectivization, arrives with a tractor.  All of the other farmers urinate into an overheated radiator to show their solidarity in what has become a famous scene.  Vasyl is killed by an opponenet of collectivization but in death he becomes a symbol of the new way of life.

 

Why it's a Must See:  "Aleksandr Dovshenko's Earth is arguably the single greatest achievement of the ever-more-impressive Soviet silent cinema...Dovshenko's ode to the beginning of collectivization in the Ukraine is a riot of delirious imagery of swaying wheat fields, ripening fruits, and stampeding horses."
---1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

I have to be honest.  The silent films are the tough ones to appreciate. It's bad enough that we have to read subtitles, but the histrionic acting used to supplant the fact that no one talking is difficult to watch by today's standards.  It's probably because we are so over stimulated these days.  But if we can try to put ourselves back almost 100 years, I think we can appreciate the films that were produced then.

This was a bit like doing homework.  As a film enthusiast, this is one I had to be educated about, because I did not find it particularly enjoyable.  But I also didn't like math but knew I needed to know about it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Unless you are really into film history and like Soviet silent films, you can probably skip this one.

***Book of the Week***

Always Pack a Party Dress: And Other Lessons Learned from a (Half) Life in Fashion by Amanda Brooks (2015) 

 

Brooks is the author of "I Love Your Style: How To Define and Refine Your Personal Style (2009)" and has worked as fashion director for Barneys - New York.  Here she shares her life and career along with fashion tips and other advice.
 

I was drawn to this book because I love fashion:  I like reading about it and I like wearing it.  However, when I am reading about buying basics for my wardrobe and a Rolex comes up, I am wondering what the hell I am doing with this book.  Brooks also says the book is aimed at 20-somethings with the goal of helping them feel fabulous.  If it takes a Rolex to feel fabulous, I pity those 20-somethings reading this book.  I don't know any who can afford a Rolex.

Brooks got into the fashion business early by becoming a photo assistant to  Patrick Demarchelier and from there her opportunities skyrocketed.  Reading books like this remind me that coming from money (she went to Deerfield - and you don't go to Deerfield if you don't come from money - and Brown, summered in Palm Beach and dated Diane von Furstenberg's son) helps you in life and being pretty doesn't hurt either when it comes to getting glamorous jobs and hanging out with the beautiful people (Mick Jagger had the hots for her and she name-drops like there is no tomorrow).

Brooks shares her "style influences (her mother - she's the one with the Rolex) - Sofia Coppola, Tracee Ellis Ross, David Hicks and Celine, to name a few.  When your style influences are movie or musical royalty, British nobility or a person whose name embodies a very high end brand, you know you are reading the work of someone who moves in circles you can't hope to enter.

She shares her ten best pieces of clothing which include a Balmain pea coat, a Chanel faux-crocodile jacket, and a Philip Lim evening cape and her five best accessories are Manolo Blahnik pumps, a Chanel bag, Celine sunglasses, Proenza Schouler colorblocked bag and Repetto flats, you know she is just  showing off and writing this book for her friends.  I don't even know who or what Proenza Schauler and Repetto are.

She tries to mitigate that with a chapter on how to pack (don't forget that party dress because you never know when one of the jet set will expect you at their party), how to learn from your mistakes, how to handle rejection, consulting tips (not sure how that slipped in there - not sure how many of those 20-somethings she is targeting are consultants) and making jam on her farm (read estate) in the Cotswolds, the fact remains that she thinks we can turn things we like to do on the weekends into a career, she gets to go to the Met Ball (not just once but many times) and she married a rich guy.  If you 20-somethings out there can relate to that, fine.  If anyone out there can relate to this, fine. I'm just trying to fit INTO a party dress!

Rosy the Reviewer says...there are some fun fashion tips here but unless you can relate to having lunch with Isabella Blow, and getting free Louboutin's from Louboutin himself, this is an exercise in futility and will just depress you.

That's it for this week!

Thanks for Reading!

 

See you Tuesday for

"Why Have a Wife?"

 

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Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

  

Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."