"No Hard Feelings" and a Couple of Other Good Movies You Should Know About

[I review the new Jennifer Lawrence comedy "No Hard Feelings" as well as two other films: "Moving On" and "The Quiet Girl")

No Hard Feelings (2023)

Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) needs money to save her home so when she sees an ad to "date" a young man, she goes for it!

Where has Jennifer Lawrence been?  

Not sure how many people saw her 2022 movie "Causeway (I know I didn't)," and she had a two year break between "X-Men:Dark Phoenix" and "Don't Look Up."  Before that, she was the cool girl starring in those "Hunger Games" movies, but later, she was only doing one or two movies a year.  She herself admitted that she took a break.

But now she is back...and boy is she. This latest movie written by Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips and directed by Stupnitsky, reminded me of just how much I had missed her and why.  She is not only a lovely actress but she has real acting chops and here shows her instinct for comic timing. And thanks to the writing, this movie is original and REALLY funny! I can't tell you how many supposed comedies I have been to and didn't laugh once. People, I laughed and laughed and laughed.  And I even shed a little tear at the poignant ending.

Lawrence plays Maddie Barker, a young woman who has lived in Montauk all of her life.  She lost her mother and her mother left her their house but Maddie is about to lose the house due to overdue property taxes. She doesn't want to sell the house because she is bitter about the "summer people," rich folks who take up space in Montauk and make it difficult for the natives to live there. And now her car has been repossessed.  Not good for an Uber driver who needs money.  And let's face it.  Maddie isn't living her best life. We learn early that she has been going from man to man, she has no problem doing whatever the hell she wants and doesn't appear to be looking to the future.  

So she is intrigued by an ad she sees.  A couple is offering a car to any young woman who will "date" their introverted son.  Notice "date" in quotes? Get it, right? 

Allison (Laura Benanti) and Laird Becker (Matthew Broderick) are those rich types that Maddie doesn't approve of.  Their son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), is 19 and hardly leaves his room, he doesn't drive and has no friends. He will be off to Princeton in the fall and his parents are worried he won't make it there if he doesn't...okay, let's be clear here...if he doesn't have sex.  Laird has a fond memory of also being shy at that age but thanks to a young woman who educated him in the ways of the flesh, he was able to come out of his shell and enjoy college. He wants that for Percy. What a Dad!

The Beckers are your typical helicopter parents who do everything for their son.  They even know his passwords and track his phone. But I would say this is extreme helicoptering.  But it also makes for a very funny film.

Maddie goes for an interview with the Beckers. They were looking for a woman in her early twenties and Maddie has to admit she is 32 but manages to get the gig.  Now she just has to figure out a way to meet Percy, have sex with him and keep this deal with his parents a secret. She really needs that car!  Let the comedy begin.

Feldman is a relative newcomer to film acting, though he starred in "Dear Evan Hansen" on Broadway.  He took time away from his Harvard education for this film (I wonder how he feels about playing a future Princeton grad), but I predict we will see more of him.  He is very believable here as the introverted and romantically clumsy Percy.  And it's funny to see Broderick as a helicopter Dad when you remember he was Ferris Bueller.  The rest of the ensemble is also first rate.

But this is Lawrence's movie.

I always admire actors who are unafraid to let it all hang out when it comes to their characters and Jennifer literally let's it all hang out. When Percy and Maddie go skinny dipping in the ocean, some teens try to steal their clothes. Hold on to your seat as Maddie rises out of the sea, stark naked, and proceeds to beat the crap out of those kids to get their clothes back. Jennifer is one brave actress!

Rosy the Reviewer say...so glad you are back, Jennifer. I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. This is a must-see summer movie! (In theatres and available on YouTube)

Moving On (2022)

Claire (Jane Fonda) and Evelyn (Lily Tomlin) are old friends who reunite at a funeral and get involved in a murder plot.

After seeing the latest "Book Club" movie, I had forgiven Jane and Lily for the abominable "80 for Brady." And being a "Grace and Frankie" fan, I was happy to see them together again here, just the two of them. 

Claire and Evelyn were college roommates but they had become estranged.  But when their friend, Joyce, dies, they see each other again at Joyce's funeral.  Claire is clearly agitated at the funeral and it turns out that something terrible happened between Joyce's husband, Howard (Malcolm McDowell), and Claire years ago.  She never told anyone because she didn't think anyone would believe her, but it affected Claire's life to the point that she became estranged from her friends, left her husband and had not been able to move on since that day.  

So Claire plans to kill Howard - she even tells him she is going to kill him - and she enlists Evelyn's help. Evelyn is a retired musician who speaks her mind and also has issues from her past causing her pain. She hates Howard too. The two embark on what turns out to be a series of often humorous failed murder attempts until the big reveal near the end of the film. In the meantime, there are some tender moments when Claire reunites with her ex-husband, Ralph, played by Richard Roundtree.

Fonda is poignant as Claire going from a tightly wound woman who has held everything in for years to one who can finally feel her emotions and Tomlin delivers her wisecracks in her usual funny dry monotone.  McDowell's Howard is creepy - you will hate him too - and Roundtree is wonderfully handsome.  He doesn't seem to have aged a bit.

By pairing Fonda and Tomlin together, the film is definitely cashing in on their real life friendship and chemistry as well as the "Grace and Frankie" series, but though there are comedic moments, this film, written and directed by Paul Weitz, is a far cry from "Grace and Frankie" in how it deals with the issues of aging, regret, loss of independence, revenge, privileged men and well...moving on. Their characters here do us older ladies proud, unlike the nutty old ladies they played in "80 for Brady."  So like I said, Jane and Lily, I have forgiven you for that. You have more than redeemed yourselves with this wonderful little film.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you need a "Grace and Frankie" fix but one with a twist, you will enjoy this. (on DVD and for rent on most streaming platforms).

The Quiet Girl (2022)

Withdrawn nine-year-old Cait (Catherine Clinch) is sent away to live with her middle-aged distant cousin and her husband.

In the summer of 1981, shy nine-year-old Cáit is living with her three older sisters and poor and neglectful parents in rural Ireland. Her mother is pregnant again and her father is a drunk. Cait is struggling in school, bullied and must steal food from her classmates in order to eat because she is sent to school without lunch. For a reason not really explained, it is decided to send Cait away to live with a middle-aged distant cousin Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and her husband Seán (Andrew Bennett) on a farm in another county.

Unlike at home, Eibhlin treats Cait with warmth and love, teaching her how to do chores and buying her new clothes. Sean, on the other hand, is initially withdrawn and acts coldly towards Cait. 

One day when Eibhlín is away, Sean takes Cáit out to the far side of the farm to do chores. While he is busy, Cáit wanders off which causes Sean to panic when he notices she is gone. After finding her, he scolds her and tells her to never wander off again, but later Seán expresses remorse and begins to make an effort to bond with Cáit. He encourages her to run to get the mail, turning it into a game and timing her. Slowly, the two become close. Under the care of Eibhlin and Sean, Cait flourishes and she learns that life can be good. But one day when a neighbor is looking after her, Cait learns about a tragic event in the lives of Eibhlin and Sean, something they had kept secret.

Based on the story "Foster" by Claire Keegan and written and directed by Colm Bairead, this is a beautifully written, produced and photographed coming-of-age story spoken mostly in Irish with English subtitles. It is so thoughtfully presented, it is almost like a poem. Not much happens as the story unfolds but the film will pull you in and after it is over you will not be able to forget it, especially young Catherine Clinch's mesmerizing face. 

This film did what films are supposed to do.  It created an experience for the viewer.  And I am not alone in my praise. It was critically acclaimed and was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the last Academy Awards, the first Irish film to be nominated for an Oscar.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a small film with a very big heart that you will not be able to forget.  The ending will make you cry. ( In Irish with English subtitles. (available on Hulu.  It is also on DVD and for rent on most streaming platforms)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)

More Good Movies You Might Not Know About

[I review M. Night Shyamalan's latest film "Knock at the Cabin" as well as two British films: "The Phantom of the Open" and "Love Sarah."]

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) are on vacation with their daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui), at a remote cabin when there is an ominous knock on the door.  Uh-oh.

This is one of those "What if...?" movies as in what if you were having a nice vacation in a cabin in the woods - just you and your husband and your daughter - and four people knock on the door and then force their way into your life and tell you that if you don't decide to kill one of your family members, the world will end.

That's a big "what if...?" right?

Well, that's what is happening here. 

Eric and Andrew are on vacation in a remote cabin with their adopted daughter, Wen.  While Wen is outside capturing grasshoppers "to study," she is approached by a man who introduces himself as Leonard (Dave Bautista).  But after awhile he gives Wen the creeps and she sees three other strangers carrying weapons.  She runs inside to tell her dads about the man.  But before anyone can do anything, Leonard and the three others are knocking on the door and eventually break it down.  

Along with Leonard, we meet Redmond (Rupert Grint), Adriane (Abby Quinn) and Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird).  They have come to tell Eric and Andrew that the world will come to an end if they don't decide to sacrifice one of their family members. Naturally, Eric and Andrew say, "uh...no..." But then Eric and Andrew are tied up as Leonard tells his doomsday story.

Leonard tells Eric and Andrew that they are not there to kill them, but if they don't make this sacrifice, they will live but will roam the earth alone after the rest of humanity has perished.  Leonard turns on the TV to show Eric and Andrew what is happening in the world - first a tsunami hits the West Coast, then a virus, then airplanes start falling from the sky. Is any of this true? Is it a conspiracy?  What will Eric and Andrew decide?

Leonard's menacing physique belies the fact that he is actually a gentle giant, a second grade teacher who has joined forces with Sabrina, who was a nurse and Adriane and Redmond (not sure what they did before becoming weapon-wielding prophets of doom), all of whom have had the same apocalyptic visions.

Through a series of flashbacks we get to know more about Eric and Andrew and the others, and the film briefly deals with same-sex marriage and hints at the discrimination that gays have experienced but it doesn't really go there. I wish it had explored that more.

Based on the book "The Cabin at the End of the World" by Paul Tremblay and directed by M. Knight Shyamalan (who also wrote the screenplay with Michael Sherman and Steve Desmond), Shyamalan is good at these kinds of horror films with preposterous plots.  Shyamalan has a knack for creating tension and making you question reality, so despite the outrageousness of the premise, I was hooked and it was tense.  I mean, really?  Is this for real? What is going to happen? 

Rosy the Reviewer says...yes, it's a crazy premise and sometimes the film is almost laughable, but, at the same time, it is gripping and makes us wonder, just what would we do to save others and that is the kind of movie that becomes a cult classic. (On DVD and for rent on Amazon Prime)

The Phantom of the Open (2021)

Maurice Flitcroft, a complete novice golfer, manages to get himself into the qualifying round of the 1976 British Open. True story.

No, I did not do a typo.  This was not meant to be "Phantom of the Opera."  It really is "Phantom of the Open," and it's all about a guy who couldn't play golf to save his life, but somehow he managed to get himself into the British Open ...and not once, but six times... using pseudonyms and disguises.

Maurice (the Brits pronounce this "Morris") Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is a retired crane operator who needs to find purpose.  He had never attempted to play golf before but after seeing a clip of Tom Watson winning the British Open in 1975, just like that, he decides to take up golf and enter the 1976 British Open.  And through a fluke, he gets himself in as a professional and scores 121, the worst score every recorded at the Open by a so-called "professional golfer." 

Based on the book "The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer," written by Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby (screenplay by Farnaby), this is based on a true story - yes, Maurice Flitcroft was a real guy. 

After the initial debacle that Flitcroft caused at the 1976 Open, the Open did what they could to keep Flitcroft out, but he continued to try to enter and often succeeded by using fake names like Gene Paycheki, Gerrard Hoppy, James Beau Jolley, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel and by wearing disguises.  But despite his ineptitude as a golfer, he gained fame, or rather notoriety as "The World's Worst Golfer" and had the distinction of a golf tournament named after him in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Oh, those crazy Michiganders!

Directed by Craig Roberts, this is an enjoyable movie that pokes fun at the stuffy aspects of golf and shows where there's a will, there's a way, as Maurice doggedly follows his dream. Mark Rylance, one of those actors who can do anything and be anyone, embodies the ever optimistic Flitcroft, and likewise, Sally Hawkins as Maurice's loyal and supportive wife, Jean, is perfect.  If Maurice was the world's worst golfer, his wife Jean was the world's best wife.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a feel good movie that golfers will especially like. (Amazon Prime)

Love Sarah (2020)

When her mother is tragically killed right before realizing her dream of opening a bakery in London, 19-year-old Clarissa decides that with the help of her mother's best friend, Isabella, and her grandmother, Mimi, she will open the bakery herself.

Baker Sarah (Candice Brown) and her friend, Isabella (Shelley Conn), were going to open a bakery in London, but Sarah is killed cycling to her new bakery and Isabella is left holding the financial bag.  Not a confident baker herself, she decides to give up and sell the store until Sarah's daughter, Clarissa (Shannon Tarbet), talks her into going ahead with the bakery. Clarissa is a wannabe ballerina with some bad habits who has just broken up with her boyfriend.  She enlists the help of her grandmother, Mimi (Celia Imrie), a retired trapeze artist (I know, where did that come from?), not an easy feat since she has been estranged from her.

At first the women struggle to find their footing, but Mimi hones in on the idea of creating pastries and desserts that honor the diverse Notting Hill population, to give them a taste of home.  You want a Kringle from your home country of Denmark?  Sure, you got it!  Want a Japanese cake?  They will figure out how to make it!

Enter Sarah's ex-boyfriend, the handsome Mathew (Rupert Penry-Jones), who just happens to know how to bake and might just be Clarissa's father.  And there is even some romance for Mimi when inventor Felix (the veteran actor, Bill Paterson) enters the picture.

All of these characters come together to form a community. Wounds are healed as these three women of three different generations grapple with their grief and differences to honor Sarah. They name the bakery after her - Love Sarah.

All of the cast members are excellent, especially Celia Imrie, who is one of those ubiquitous British actresses who you recognize but you don't know her name (right now she is starring in the Netflix series "The Diplomat" and the movie "Love Again.")

Written by Jake Brunger (story by Mahalia Rimmer, Eliza Schroeder and Brunger) and directed by Schroeder, this is one of those small heart-felt movies that the Brits are so good at.

Rosy the Reviewer says...fans of the Great British Baking Show (aka "The Great British Bake Off") will particularly enjoy this (the Sarah of the title - Candice Brown - who is briefly seen at the beginning of the film, is one of the real life winners).  It's a film as sweet as the pastries made in the bakery and just like eating a delicious macaron, you will feel good after seeing this film. (Amazon Prime)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)

FINALLY...Some Good Movies That Give Respect to the Older Generation!

[I review "Book Club: The Next Chapter," "Living" and "Maybe I Do"]

If you read my last blog post, you know that I was having a conniption fit about "80 for Brady" and its depiction of older women, but thankfully I am in a better mood and happy to share with you some really good experiences where getting older is taken seriously.  And don't get me wrong.  I am not above having some laughs at my own expense or at the expense of being old.  I just don't like to be the butt, pardon the expression.  So I am happy to say here are some movies about older folks that are serious about aging but also there are some laughs to be had that don't make fun of that time that we will all experience. Being old. Enjoy.

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

The ladies of "The Book Club" - Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candace Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) - are back, but this time they are headed to Italy for a Bachelorette Party! What? 

If you saw the first "Book Club" movie, you will remember that these four women have known each other since college and have gotten together ever since for a monthly book club.  Reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" shook up their little world, and I have to say, that could have been a funny premise but I wasn't very kind in my review of that first one.  

However, maybe I am getting soft, because I am happy to report that I really enjoyed this film. And it's a sequel.  Go figure!  But what's not to like when a film celebrates female friendship, but more importantly, doesn't make fun of women in their 70's and 80's just to get some laughs ("80 for Brady," do you hear me)?  But don't get me wrong, there are some laughs to be had.

Written and directed by Bill Holderman, this time around the ladies of the Book Club are just coming out of isolation due to the Pandemic (they used Zoom to meet), but now they are ready to see each other again in person.  And when they do, they discover that Viv is engaged.  She has never married but decided to take the leap, with the handsome Arthur (played by the still handsome Don Johnson), even though she is in her 80's and still uncertain about marriage. 

But then Carol brings up the idea of going to Italy, a Girl's Trip they had always wanted to take but didn't because life got in the way.  So now with Viv's impending marriage, why not do a Bachelorette trip to Italy? They all have reasons not to go but they are reading Paul Coehlo's "The Alchemist," a modern classic about following one's dreams, so with that as their inspiration, they take the plunge and head for Italy.

So off they go to Rome, to Venice and Tuscany.  Fun and surprises ensue.

Great to see these four women together.  It is clear they all really like each other in real life and that is fun to watch.  Particularly fun to see Mary Steenburgen and Candace Bergen again who haven't appeared in films much lately. Candace still has that Murphy Brown dry wit.  Also Jane is amazing at 85.  She even makes a bit of fun of herself about her plastic surgery.  But Diane.  Like I said in my review of the first film.  Get over the "Annie Hall" thing.  The hat, the cinched belt, the poofy skirt, the combat boots. It's getting really old, and I'm not making fun of your age. It's old as in get over it.  However, I will give her some credit for toning down her usually jittery and nervous acting style. It's there but not as bad. 

So, okay, this film is as much a travelogue about the wonders of Italy as it is a comedy and, yes, it's silly and predictable at times, but people...Italy is actually a wonder (brought back some happy memories for me), but more importantly, finally, a film about four aging women that does not make fun of them.  And best of all, this film is all about the importance of long-standing, supportive female friends.  I enjoyed it very much. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...an unexpectedly delightful film that celebrates the importance of longtime female friendships without making fun of that or the ladies.  A feelgood film. And Jane, I forgive you for "80 for Brady!" (In theatres)

Living (2022)

A 1950’s London bureaucrat learns he only has six months to live and decides to change his life while he still has the chance and make a difference.

Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) works for the Public Works Department in London. He is a buttoned-up, bowler-headed bureaucrat who gets on the train each day, goes to work and routinely does his job. It's a 1950's Dickensian life in an office where little gets done. When some ladies come to the office to try to get his department to put in a park in an impoverished neighborhood, the paperwork goes from office to office to office, endlessly.

But then Williams finds out he is going to die and that shakes up his life. He goes to the Seaside to live out his days but realizes that his buttoned-up bureaucratic life has robbed him of the ability live. So he joins forces with Talbot (Jamie Wilkes), a local ne'er-do-well and hangs out at a carnival and some strip joints with the guy thinking he needs to party to the end. But that doesn't really work either.

And then Williams runs into Miss Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), a clerk who had worked for him but left because, well, let's just say she had more life in her than the rest of the worker bees in that office. Over a meal, she tells him that she had nicknames for everyone in the office. Of course, Mr. Williams wants to know what nickname she had for him. "Mr. Zombie." Well, that sets off a spark in him. Sitting with the lively Miss Harris, he realizes he has been dead all along, so before he dies he wants to learn how to live and do something important with his life. Remember that children's playground? Well...

I have to say at the outset, I saw the Japanese version of this film – “Ikiru” - back when I was working on my project to watch all of the movies in the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” book. When I started I had already seen 600+ but that left me with over 400 to watch. It took me ten years, but I did it and you can see the fruits of my labors in my archive. Anyway, during that project, I discovered "Ikiru," the original film by the famed director Akira Kurosawa and that film was one of my favorite discoveries. You know, he's the guy who did "The Seven Samurai," which we Americans might only know because we saw the American remake, "The Magnificent Seven." So, even though I hate American remakes of perfectly good foreign films, I will give "The Magnificent Seven" a pass. But that said, since being in such a bad mood lately over the state of the world I came into watching this film with a chip on my shoulder. What? Take on Kurosawa, one of the most influential film directors of all time? I was skeptical, but writer Kazuo Ishiguro and director Oliver Hermanus pulled it off. It's a quite wonderful film.

The film is fairly faithful to the original screenplay by Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni, but even if you saw that one, you will want to see this one because Bill Nighy is a powerful actor and a good story is a good story and a good message is a good message. And the last scene in the film…powerful filmmaking is powerful filmmaking! I cried at the end of the original and I cried at the end of this one.

This is a tour de force for Bill, and I must say, the soundtrack is exquisite.

Rosy the Reviewer says…a lovely small film that will leave you wondering about your own life...in a good way. What would you do if you were given just six months to live? This film is a reminder that it’s never too late to find purpose and meaning in your life and do something important. (Amazon Prime and Apple+)

Maybe I Do (2023)

When Michelle (Emma Roberts) and Allen (Luke Bracey) decide to get married, it's time to meet the parents.  But turns out, the parents already know each other!  What?

Sam (William H. Macy) and Grace (Diane Keaton) "meet cute" in a movie theatre.  They are each there alone.  Sam is crying his eyes out so Grace goes over to comfort him. I know. I am certainly not going to go up to a strange man in a dark movie theatre and offer my condolences because he is crying into his popcorn. Not realistic but that's kind of what "meet cute" means, and Diane Keaton is known to do wacky stuff in the movies.  Anyway, they hit it off and end up spending the evening together talking about their unhappy marriages. Poor Sam. He actually hates his wife.

Meanwhile, Howard (Richard Gere) and Monica (Susan Sarandon) are in a fancy hotel room.  Monica is trying to seduce Howard but he is not interested.  The two have been having a four-month affair but Howard is over it.

And then there are young Michelle and Allen who finally decide to get married so they also decide it's time for their parents to meet each other. Well, I am sure you have already figured out what is going to happen. Howard and Grace are Michelle's parents and Sam and Monica are Allen's parents, and when they all meet, after getting over the shock of recognition, they all offer differing opinions about marriage which starts to get in the way of Michelle and Allen's wedding plans.

It's strange to see actors like Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere playing someone's parents these days when I remember them as romantic love interests in the movies of yesteryear.  But we all get old.

Based on a play by Michael Jacobs, who also wrote and directed this film, despite the predictability and some plot contrivances, this film actually takes getting older seriously.  It deals with the loneliness that often accompanies unhappy marriages, young love versus aging love and the fears associated with getting older.  There is a particularly moving scene where Sam has a conversation with his Dad, Allen, where Allen talks about loving one's parents vs husband and wife love.  A baby is given to you and you love the baby but you didn't choose the baby.  Your husband or wife is a choice.

Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey are an engaging young couple and Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere are both aging well, though Susan has defintely had some work done.  And William H. Macy is always reliable. But here's Diane again. I am just not a fan of Diane Keaton these days. I am glad that as an older actress she is getting work, but her nervous, jittery acting style gets on my nerves and that continuous "Annie Hall" look.  I am so over it, but at least here she is toned down a bit. Instead of jittery and nervous she is just twitchy.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a sometimes funny but often poignant little film about parenting, marriage and aging that doesn't make fun of any of those things. (Amazon Prime)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)

When "Cocaine Bear" is the Best Movie You Have Seen in Weeks! Some Movies You Might NOT Enjoy Watching At Home.

[I review the movies "Cocaine Bear," "80 for Brady," "Magic Mike's Last Dance," and "Women Talking"] 

Is "Cocaine Bear" a wonderful movie?  No.  I wouldn't go that far. But I knew what I was going to get - an entertaining, sometimes funny, horror film - and that is important. I wasn't disappointed, so it's the best movie I have seen in a long while.  

Sadly, the other movies I am reviewing here were very disappointing. I think they were trying to do something more but failed miserably.  What is going on in the movie world these days? So far, for me, few have been worth seeing.  And that makes me sad.  Let's hope it's just a blip, but in the meantime, I'm going to be b**chy, er, tell it like it is about the movies. As always, you can count on me.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

A huge black bear goes on a rampage after ingesting cocaine.

So how does a bear find cocaine?  Well, a drug smuggler (Matthew Rhys) tries to parachute out of his plane with a duffel bag full of cocaine but knocks himself out as he exits the plane, falling to his death.  The duffel with the cocaine falls into the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest where a black bear eats it, likes it, goes berzerk and attacks two hikers from Iceland.  The hikers should have realized they were in trouble when they saw the bear beating its head against a tree. 

Meanwhile middle-schoolers Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery) skip school and head for the forest where they find a brick of cocaine and try some.  When she discovers that Dee Dee has skipped school, her mother, Sari (Keri Russell), enlists the aid of Liz (Margo Martindale), a forest ranger, and ventures into the forest to find her daughter.  At the same time, the drug smuggler's cohorts Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) are sent looking for the cocaine by their boss, Syd White (Ray Liotta in his last role) and some local delinquents are hanging around causing complications.  

All of these disparate characters encounter the bear and mayhem ensues - literally.  Legs and arms are flying around all over the place and it isn't always the bear doing the damage. The characters are not the sharpest tools and find ways to hurt themselves too! I have to admit I laughed quite a bit, because, though, grizzly (pardon the pun), this film is actually funny. Nothing like a head rolling into view after a particularly bad encounter with the bear.

Now I know the idea of a bear eating cocaine and going berserk sounds rather far-fetched, but believe it or not, this film, written by Jimmy Warden and directed by Elizabeth Banks, is actually based on a true event, though granted very loosely based. In the original event, the bear unfortunately died.  Here, the bear gets hooked and therein lies the comedy. All of the actors seem to be having a good time and you will too. And you will find yourself rooting for the bear, who it turns out, aided by lots of CGI, is quite a good actor.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like over-the-top comedy/horror, you will enjoy this.  And remember that old anti-drug commercial - "This is your brain on drugs?"  Well, this is a bear on drugs!  (now streaming on Peacock)

Okay, so I liked "Cocaine Bear." 

It didn't try to be anything but what it was - a comedy/horror film with a sense of humor about itself. But as for the next few movies I am going to review...let me preface them with this.

If you have never read the search description of my blog, here it is: 

"In her often humorous yet personal style, Rosy reviews movies, TV shows and books you will want to know about (and some you will want to avoid)!" 

Well, here comes the AVOID part.

(And I know some of these films may have fans, but you know that old saying "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like?"  Well, I know a lot about movies and I know what I DON'T like!)

80 for Brady (2023)

Four women of a certain age go on a mission to attend the Super Bowl and meet Tom Brady. 

Four friends - Trish (Jane Fonda), Lou (Lily Tomlin), Maura (Rita Moreno) and Betty (Sally Field) - are all octogenarians.  Well, not Betty, as she keeps pointing out. They bond over their love of Tom Brady.  They discovered him sixteen years ago when Lou was battling cancer.  They thought he was hot and they started a tradition of being super fans. So now it's 2017 and the Patriots have made it to the Super Bowl against the Steelers, and the four are determined to somehow go there to see their hero. They manage to win tickets for the game and off they go. Silly, Old Lady shenanigans ensue. And that's it. That's the whole movie.

I swore I was not going to see this movie, because I am not a fan of movies where Old Ladies are made to look ridiculous, and I had a feeling that's what was going to happen in this movie. But I am Rosy the Reviewer, after all, so I felt that I needed to do due diligence for my fans, and as an Old Lady myself, I felt I had the cred to give my take on this film. So I watched it and I was right. It was a nightmare of Old Ladies running around like madwomen trying to get tickets to the Super Bowl so they could drool over Tom Brady, and once they were there, getting themselves involved in all kinds of crazy stuff. It was also about Old Ladies obsessed with sex (which is almost always a theme in these kinds of movies), smoking pot and getting high (another cliche) and participating in silly antics for the amusement of the masses. 

"Oh, look at that old lady.  She is high and wearing a mask and thinks she is in an 'Eyes Wide Shut" scenario with a bunch of guys who all look like Guy Fieri. Isn't that hilarious?" Not. 

"Oh look Betty is competing in a hot wings eating contest and can eat the hottest of the hot! Isn't that hilarious?" Not.

"Gee, Trish writes erotic fan fiction about Rob Gronkowski.  Isn't that hilarious?" Not.

"Wow, look at Lou giving Tom a pep talk so that he can come back from behind and win the game! Isn't that hilarious?" Not. 

But the final straw was when the ladies made their way into the coordinator's booth and called the plays for the game!! What? Hilarious, right? Old Ladies calling the plays for the Super Bowl and their team wins.  I give up.

So here's the question.  

What are seasoned, award-winning actresses doing in a mess like this?  Shouldn't they be playing the great roles for older women created by Shaw, Lorca, Chekhov and Wilde?  But no, they have to pander to the masses and make fools of themselves, and for that, okay, they did a good job of that. Because instead of playing some of the great roles for women of a certain age, they are playing old ladies lusting after Tom Brady!

I know actresses of a certain age have to hustle for roles.  They are not respected as they should be and I get that but c'mon, ladies. Can't you finance something serious for yourselves that celebrates being a successful woman of a certain age that helps us learn something from your lives? Or maybe Broadway is calling. Broadway doesn't require close-ups (though Jane at 80 looks like a baby doll - I need to know who her plastic surgeon is!), and it doesn't pander to Avenger fans.  Don't soil your awards with stuff like this.  You deserve better.

Written by Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern and directed by Kyle Marvin, this film is based on a true story and I will give it props for celebrating female friendships, but why make this movie? So four Old Ladies love Tom Brady and want to go to the Super Bowl.  That's really stretching it as the plotline for a film. Oh, right, Tom Brady is one of the producers.

The best thing about this movie was the football footage and I'm not even a football fan!

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you want a good movie about older women watch "Driving Miss Daisy," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" or "The Joy Luck Club."  But not this one. (Streaming on Paramount+, on DVD and for rent on Amazon Prime)

Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)

Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) is back and offered a deal he can't refuse.

And thank god this is his last dance.  I mean, how many more hip gyrations can our now aging Mike do before he throws his hip out?

When the movie starts, Mike is 40 and the pandemic has taken a toll on him. He feels adrift.  He has given up dancing and started a furniture store but it was failing so now he is hustling and taking any gig he can get.  But then, while bartending at a charity event, he meets Max Mendoza (Salma Hayek), an older, very rich woman who is also adrift. Her marriage is in trouble and she is bored. She propositions him.  At first, Mike thinks she has mistaken him for a male prostitute, but then she explains that one of her friends had told her he did a "nice little dance."  She thought if he danced for her, it would lift her spirits.  She asks him how much and he says "$60,000."  That's a bit much even for a very rich woman.  How about $6000?  It's a deal.

Well, my peeps, let me tell you. Boy, did our Mike do a dance!  It was actually a bit cringey but when he lifted her up onto his shoulders and pressed her against the sliding glass door... Let's just say it all became less a dance and more like a simulated sex act, but still really cringey...and, then, well, they ended up in bed as one does after a dance like that.

And based on that dance, Max gets her groove back and decides to hire Mike to come to London to choreograph a show in her theatre.  You see, her husband (Alan Cox) owns a famous, historic theatre - Rattigan's - in the West End and Max looks after it. So far, they have been producing stuffy period plays but now Max, with her newly ignited passion, wants to capture the magic of our Mike and put on a male stripper show.  How do you think that's going to go over?

This is not just a sequel to the first hugely successful 2012 "Magic Mike" movie.  And you already know how I feel about sequels (if you don't, you haven't been reading my reviews very long). This is a sequel to a sequel  and the fact that it's a sequel to a sequel makes it that much worse.  They should have all stopped while they were ahead.  

I am a Channing Tatum fan and was a fan of the original movie, but this is a perfect example of wringing as much out of a concept as possible, and not in a good way. With a screenplay by Reid Carolin (he wrote the first two Magic Mike films), this is about as far-fetched as you can get and takes away any good feelings you might have had about the original film. It did for me, anyway. 

Why would a rich woman hire a perfect stranger, who gave her an elaborate lap dance, to come to London to choreograph a show at her theatre?  I don't care how good a dancer he is, she has known this guy for ONE DAY! And to make matters worse, the film is slow to get going, there is the requisite disaffected teenage daughter, which I have become sick of encountering in films, and there's not enough sex.  Some good sex can sometimes save a bad movie but, anyway, I digress.  This is basically a "let's put on a show" movie, but it makes you wish Judy Garland and Micky Rooney would turn up (I know, you young-uns don't have the slightest idea who I am talking about)! 

And then Max's husband does what he can to shut down the show. A bureaucratic prig has a problem with the stage, but the male strippers get her to change her mind by taking over the city bus she is riding on and doing a dance for her. Please. Have you ever been to London? THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. I am absolutely gobsmacked that this thing was directed by Steven Soderbergh.  He must have also been affected by the Pandemic!

It seemed this film was striving for a metaphor - dance is life or something like that. The teenaged actress playing Max's daughter (Jamelia George) narrates and brings up highfalutin stuff about dance and life but if you are going to do that, DON'T CHOOSE MALE STRIPPERS.  When male strippers personify dance as life, I'm saying, nope.

Rosy the Reviewer says...just awful.

Women Talking (2022)

In 2010, the women and girls of an unnamed, isolated Mennonite colony discover that the men have been using livestock tranquilizer to subdue and rape them. What should they do?  Nothing?  Stay and fight?  Or leave?

When the women discovered that the men had been raping them, they had been told that the acts were the acts of demons.  Right, demon men in their community.  The attackers are arrested and imprisoned and the women are told they need to forgive the men and that forgiveness gets them into heaven.  If they don't forgive they will have to leave the colony.  So while most of the men are away posting bail, the women decide to vote on whether or not to forgive the men.  So lots of talking and arguing about what to do and we get to know the women.

Scarface Janz (Frances McDormand) wants to stay along with Salome (Claire Foy) and Ona (Rooney Mara), who is pregnant after being raped, but she votes to stay only if new rules give women equality. However, Ona changes her mind and joins Mejal (Michelle McLeod) to leave the colony along with Mariche (Jessie Buckley). There are those set in their ways who want to uphold the status quo, even when there is abuse, and then there are those who want to embrace change no matter what. 

August (Ben Whishaw), the colony's schoolteacher, joins the women to record the meeting, as none of the women were taught to read or write. Their reasons for leaving are transcribed by August: to ensure the safety of their children, to be steadfast in their faith, and to have freedom of thought. They decide to try to take boys aged fifteen years and younger with them. The women plan to leave at sunrise but it's not that easy.  Who will get away, who will stay?

Oh, the evil that men do.  Sorry, guys, but we women don't do this sort of thing, subjugating you, making you powerless, and worse, drugging and raping you.  But the bottom line here is the power that women have once they start talking and sharing and when they realize they are not alone.  When women get together and share a common bond of mistrust and abuse, watch out!  

Written and directed by Sarah Polley, the film is based on a 2018 Canadian novel of the same name by Miriam Toews (who also contributed to the screenplay) and was inspired by rapes that occurred at the Manitoba Colony, a remote and isolated Mennonite community in Bolivia. 

This film was nominated for Best Picture of 2022, which brings me to my usual rant about the Academy raising the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10.  It is sometimes a stretch to get to 10 and, though this film has redeeming qualities in its message, I don't really see it as a Best Picture. It has limited appeal for various reasons i.e. it would mostly be of interest to women and those watching "Return to Amish (okay, don't come after me.  That's my sense of humor);" it's very claustrophic and talky; and it has a one note plot that is slow, slow, slow and not much happens. The film is aptly titled. The women talk and talk and talk and talk.  I usually have a high tolerance for movies like this, but my finger was itchy on the fast forward button for most of it.   

But it looks like I am in the minority. 

It was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 28th Critics Choice Awards and the 75th Writers Guild of America Awards. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time but I am thinking you won't be either. 

I wanted to like this film. 

It had qualities I usually like: a film about women written and directed by a woman, an outstanding cast and a hopeful theme - that the young people will learn from the past and come to save us. God knows we need the young people to save us these days but sadly they can't save this movie.

Rosy the Reviewer says..though the film features an all-star cast and has redeeming qualities, it failed at the most basic level. It was boring.

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

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