The Out-Laws

I wasn’t going to say a thing. Nope. Nothing.

…but then, I had promised my Cousin Su that I would have something to say by the time I was done watching the movie.

One thing I like for sure is the play with the title. In-laws… Out-Laws.

The one thing I am sure I loved is the fact that Pierce Brosnan is still a hunk and may always be.

I’ve got to admit, it was entertaining…. And like my niece Su said, interesting…but I hate to say I didn’t get an intriguing/fascinating feeling.

I felt it was predictable… Right from the moment when we could tell that the Father In Law had been made during the robbery at the bank.

So, really, I’m still not saying much… All I’m saying is;

The Out-Laws is an interesting movie with a predictable script…all the characters are amazing but weird… Except the Bride.

Everything was beautifully twisted… Especially with the help of the cuffs and chains at the end.

Brief Encounter

1945

I saw a post about platforms and I found a movie recommendation there.

Brief Encounter. A film adapted from a screenplay about a married man and a married woman who meet by chance and have an intense affair.

I went ahead and saw the film , a 1945 classic and then I found and saw the 1974 remake of the film.

While I was completely blown away by the original version, I think the remake was unnecessary.

As an original, it could have been alright… But for a remake, I think it lost the entire story.

The lovers were cold and didn’t even seem to have any sparks…Not only was the chemistry lacking, the conversations were bland and the path to their affair was rushed.

They showed no uncontrollable emotion… The affair had no driving force.

For a film that ran for an hour and forty three minutes, I would say not enough of the time was spent on the lovers and their encounter.

1974

What leaves me pondering is how two good actors, Sophia Lauren and Richard Burton could leave me feeling this way.

Weepy

Ruby (CODA) & Marisol (The Man Called Otto)

I admit. I’m a weepy person when I get emotional.

Especially with movies.

A few months ago, I heard myself scream in between sniffles “Mimi do you always have to cry like that?”

It was 3am on an insomniac night and I had just finished up the movie CODA.

I think cry is a subtle way of putting it, I literally sobbed that early morning.

It was just as I reached for the tissue to blow my nose again today that I realised A Man Called Otto had that same effect CODA had on me.

I won’t write a review on any of them, they are worth more than just a few words.

I am recommending these two movies.

  • CODA Children of Deaf Adults – [Marlee Matlin] – Ruby gave a stellar performance.
  • A Man Named Ottto – [Tom Hanks] – The character Marisol really touched my heart.

I hope you love them like I do and I hope they make you feel.

A Beautiful Life

Whenever I get a chance to find new and good music, I take it and I enjoy it.

The Danish Netflix movie A Beautiful Life was one of these chances.

We see a fisherman who loves to sing and play music with no intention of becoming a music star. Somehow, his talents are discovered by a music producer and there the story grows.

Elliott, the fisherman/musician takes us through the movie with beautiful songs that he gets to write and sing.

The movie may not be everyone’s cup of tea as it falls under the cheesy romance drama category but it is a good story.

To be very honest, it was Elliott’s looks that drew me to the movie. He is a hunk.

Elliott is played by Danish singer Christopher Lund Nissen. He’s commonly known as Christopher. I’m glad to have found him and I’ve latched unto some of his previous songs.

My favourite song from the movie is the one with the same title as the movie… It’s a beautiful song… A beautiful Life – Christopher

Maybe I do

I saw the cast; Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon and I knew I couldn’t ignore it

This very witty comedy drama is a must watch.

Young lovers, Michelle and Allen have a fight about Allen’s fear of getting married. They both go home to their parents.

The parents decide it’s time to meet and when they do, they discover that they already “know” each other…very well.

The six of them try to work out and resolve this very complicated situation.

The film is based on a play written by Michael Jacobs titled Cheaters.

Thank you Michael Jacobs…I didn’t only see a meaningful film with thought provoking conversations, I also had a good laugh.

Jennifer Lopez

I’m not sure how to even begin…

I’ve been a fan of Jennifer Lopez’s movies since the first time I saw The Wedding Planner. I don’t think it’s her acting I love, although she doesn’t do bad at all.

I really love romcoms, even the cheesy ones…provided there’s a good story line. So maybe that’s what makes me love Lopez’s movies.

When I got a netflix notification for her latest movie, I wasn’t so eager. I didn’t know what to expect. The movie The Mother is an Action Thriller film. I needed a little time to process that.

I need to add, this is nothing like Parker, Money Train, Out of Sight or any semi action movie you may have seen her in.

This is Jason Bourne kind of action…and she is the “Jason Bourne”.

I finally saw the movie last night.

🤦‍♀️

I don’t know if it’s the story line that bothers me or its lack of proper structure and/or direction… I can’t really tell. Nothing stands out exceptionally. It didn’t grip me at all.

I didn’t even hit the pause button in the moments when I had to leave to room to do a thing or two. That’s very unusual for me.

…but one thing I am sure of is this, Jennifer López can pull off any role. She did justice to the character.

She is definitely Action Thriller Protagonist material

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Everyone is talking about the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once so I decided to give it a shot.

I am pretty sure there will be a many interpretations and explanations to the movie. I think it was made to be so. It’s the kind of movie where everyone relates to differently.

First, to understand this movie, I believe you must be a person who is able to be free and honest with his/her self and also open to feeling emotions. Without these, you may just entertain yourself with a two hour action-science fiction and miss out the mental lessons.

The movie is meant to bring out the thinker, feeler and evaluator in you.

We see Evelyn in different universes and how life is for her in each of them. No matter which universe we see her in, one thing remains lacking; compassionate love. This is clearly because of her own pain and suffering from regrets of life.

As expected, the people who get to feel more hurt by her own pain and hurt are the closest people to her; her husband and daughter.

The main message of the movie lies in the end; we must let go of our pain and try to show compassion, love and kindness. It is the only way we can win in this journey called life.

There is so much more to the story and I recommend that you give it a try.

At the end of the movie, all I kept thinking about was Romans 12:21 – Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

It’s amazing how this verse just keeps sneaking up on me every time, everywhere. I think I better listen up.

Good Old Things

When I was about 19 years old, my “cousin” Gosha, in a bid to bond and create a deeper relationship with her dad began making trips to the town where I lived. Her father, who for reasons best known to him back then, had moved from the city where his family lived to the town where we lived, had a small apartment, somewhat like a bachelors pad; and so Gosha always stayed with us for the duration of her visits.

Gosha was and is a conversationalist; she can talk and listen for hours. She also is an arguer. She had my sister all to herself when it came to arguing though, you can definitely count me out of that. How they enjoyed it and laughed while at it, I still wonder. I loved the conversations. We would talk and laugh so loud, I remember my dad shushing us around 2am one night.

During one of those conversations, we began talking about old movies and Gosha recommended one; Gone With The wind. She said it was a must watch. About a year later, when she came for another visit, she returned with a video cassette of the movie. We promised to see it but we never did because no longer had a video cassette player as the world had migrated to Video CDs.

About a year ago, 20 years later, I suddenly started to crave old movies; I began feeding this craving one movie after another. I started with ‘The Sound of Music’ 1965; you could see the excitement on my sons face when he heard me singing along with Maria and the von Trapp family singers.

Next, I saw ‘The Godfather I’ 1972, then ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ 1961 and then ‘Coming to America’ 1988. One afternoon, while driving home, wondering what old movie to see next, I remembered Gosha’s ‘Gone With The Wind’ 1939. I finally got to see it… 20 years later and It was worth it.

Gone with the Wind is a beautiful movie, it tells a tale of a spoilt but strong and determined lady who must face problems brought forth by The Civil War and her participation in The Reconstruction as well. It does not exclude her love affairs and how they all played out.

After Gone with the wind, I made a list of popular old movies that I had not seen yet and then I began viewing them one after the other. I have graded them with stars, just in case you want to give it a go as well.

  • Father of the Bride 1950 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Anastasia 1956 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Roman Holiday 1953 ⭐⭐
  • Casablanca 1942 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Mary Poppins 1964 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • An Affair to Remember 1957 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Palm Beach Story 1942 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have got a few more I would like to see, but I have not made time for them yet.

  • It happened one night 1934
  • Chances 1931
  • 12 Angry Men 1957
  • Vertigo 1958
  • Double Identity 1944
  • Imitation of Life 1959
  • Sunset Boulevard 1950
  • The Apartment 1960

Also, in the memory of Olivia Newton John, I decided to watch Grease 1978.

Is there any good old movie you think I need to see?