Book Thief

Based on the novel of the same name, written by Markus Zusak, this is the story of  Liesl, a German  girl (Sophie Nelisse) who is adopted by Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffery Rush and Emily Watson) after her communist mother flees Nazi Germany.  On the way, her brother dies on the train and during his burial, she spies a book fall from one of the gravedigger's pockets thus beginning her book thievery.

Back in World War One, Hans had promised the Jewish family of a fallen comrade that he would do anything for them if they needed.  The son, Max shows up at Hans' door and the Hubermanns proceed to hide a Jew during the war.

Most of the movies set during the holocaust are from the Jewish perspective so this is refreshing to see the viewpoint of not only a German but a young girl.  Liesl reminded me of the real life German girl, Anne Frank (a writer born on June 12th just like this reviewer) with her innocence yet humanity in the face of war.

This movie was true to the book (but of course read the book for more detail), had wonderful acting, beautiful score and scenery.  The storyline between Liesl and Max is not to be outdone by Liesl and Hans, Liesl and Rudy, Liesl and the Mayor's wife nor Liesl and the neighbor, Frau Heinrich.

Overall, I give this two thumbs up in our constant yearning to learn from our history and celebrate the goodness which reside in all of our hearts but sometimes is hidden by tragic war and other negative circumstances.

Son of God/God's Not Dead/Heaven is For Real

I am reviewing all three of these movies into one blog post.

Son of God

     This is similar to the previous movie Passion of the Christ.  It deals with more than just the persecution of Jesus.  While still including the arrest and beatings, it tried to give more background to how Jesus acquired his followers.  

     When I left the theater after viewing, Passion of the Christ, I felt bad for being a sinner in the same way that I felt bad being German after viewing Schindler's List.  When I walked out of this movie, I was more focused on what a loving leader Jesus was than how much suffering he did for his followers.

     Roma Downey stars as Mary, the mother of Jesus and also co-produces it with her husband Mark Burnett (creator/producer of Survivor).  I am glad that they didn't have any other "recognizable" stars in the movie to take away from the story.  Diorgo Morgado played Jesus and while he was believable, I kept thinking he was too handsome to look at which made me feel weird like I was lusting at Jesus.

     Overall, I give this a one thumb up for cinematography and storytelling.  I was glad that I saw this movie and would recommend it.

God's Not Dead

     This is a story about an atheist college philosophy teacher (Kevin Sorbo) who challenges his class to write down the phrase "God is Dead".  One of his students, Josh (Shane Harper), refuses and so the professor requires him to defend his position to the entire class.  The main supporting characters are made up of the professor's girlfriend whom is a non-practicing Christian, her atheist materialistic brother (Dean Cain), Josh's pastor (real life pastor David A R White) and a fellow student (Hadeel Sittu) raised Islamic but exploring Christianity.  

     This movie has a good basis of a story with interesting characters and a foot-tapping song by the Christian group, Newsboys. In fact, when I think of the movie, I hear the line from that song "God is Not Dead, He's surely alive."  Then the movie became issue-driven instead of story-driven and fell flat in its ending.

     The good people in the movie were all Christian and the bad people were either atheist or non-Christian.  This attitude annoys me because when did a BELIEF become fact and if you don't agree with my belief, then you are either bad, wrong of both?

     This could have been a wonderful movie but it chooses to dictate its preaching instead of presenting different beliefs and letting each viewer decide on their own. 

     I give this a half a thumb up for the potential that it could have been along with its catchy song.  I am left disappointed in that my view of Christianity is a belief that there is a God and that he is the only one who can judge after our earthly life and that we all can live our own lives following our heart's passion.

Heaven Is For Real

     This movie based on the book by the same name follows the story of Pastor Todd Burpo's account of his son Colton's experience of seeing Heaven.

     Colton had a severe appendicitis rupture and almost died.  He had an out of body experience where he saw his parents in separate areas of the hospital and then saw Jesus in heaven.  He also met his paternal grandfather and older sister, both of whom passed on before Colton was born.  Todd has to come to grips with his own beliefs and allowing his son to believe what he saw.  Colton's experience affects his family, community and of course faith.

     Non-believers might think it is a preachy movie but not even close to the above-mentioned God's Not Dead.  

     I enjoyed this movie for allowing minds to be open and discussed calmly and rationally yet still passionately.  I give this a strong one thumb up signifying each individual belief that we follow in our hearts.  Please read the book though or a more complete detailing of the Burpo's story and even better would be to read it as a group and openly discuss it. 

     

Draft Day

I am obsessed with football.  I am also love movies.  So when I get a chance to see an advance screening of a movie about football, I am excited.

Draft Day is the fictionalized story of a day (specifically draft day hence the title) in the life of an NFL general manager, Sonny Weaver (played by Kevin Costner).  Sonny manages the Cleveland Browns and has to find balance between the owner (Frank Langella), the fans, the veteran players and the new coach (Denis Leary) while at the same time keeping both his widowed mother and girlfriend (Jennifer Garner) happy.  Sonny's father was the original coach and has passed on leaving a legacy that is hard to match up to.

In the movie, the Browns have the first pick of the draft because they were the worst team last season.  The highly touted prospect is a Heisman winning quarterback from the University of Wisconsin.  Side note, this reinforces that this is fiction as usually the UW is known more for running backs and offensive lineman.  Double side note--GO Badgers!

While watching the movie, I was a bit turned off by the lack of chemistry between Kevin and Jennifer. It also felt like they should be more father and daughter than romantically inclined.  In reality, there is 17 years difference so make your own judgements.

Jennifer Garner's character hit home as a knowledgable  female in the male-dominated NFL world.  To digress, it's like when a couple of guys are talking about a player, play or other NFL issue and I make a comment--at first they look at me like I'm a "dumb chick" but then they realise I know football and it is a fun conversation.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie as it got me back into my beloved football obsession.  It is best when dealing with the NFL front office wheeling and dealing and draft day behind the scenes.  I don't know how true it is to real life but it makes me appreciate all that Ted Thompson, Mark Murphy and Mike McCarthy go through making the GREEN BAY PACKERS the beloved team that they are on and off the field!

I give this one and a half thumbs up pointing to all the legendary NFL coaches and players looking down at us from Heaven.

The Great Beauty

This movie is a foreign film nominee from Italy.  It is the story of writer Jep Gambardello who on his 65th birthday, reflects on his life.  He has published one immensely successful book which has caused him t live the high life of Rome.  The IMDB site states that he reflects on his life due to a surprise from his past--not much of a conflict or surprise if you ask me.  This has beautiful Rome scenery and it would be interesting to read the screenplay to refresh my memory with the good lines.  The acting was nothing special and the plot had no purpose, besides being a typical high-brow nominated film.

I give this one thumb up holding my eyelids open trying to catch the scenery and dialogue and that's about it.

2014 Oscar Nominated Short Films--Documentary

I will review each of the five nominees in alphabetical order.

Cavedigger: This is the story of a man who digs caves in Arizona.  Sounds boring but when you see the artistic design that he creates in those caves it is truly jaw-dropping.

Facing Fears: This is the story about a gay man and a former neo-nazi who beat him up and left him for dead.  This is inspiring at how the tough act of forgiveness by both parties is amazing.

Karama Has No Walls:  This is the story the civil unrest in Yemen and how a peaceful sit-in goes horribly wrong.  This is violent and makes you appreciate what we have and don't have in the USA.

The Lady in Number 6-Music Saved My Life: This is the musical journey of the oldest living holocaust survivor at 109 years old, Alice Herz Sommer.  It has beautiful music, passion and familiar to most tragedy survivors--HOPE.

Prison Terminal-The Last Days of Private Jack Hall: This is the sorrowful last days of a World War II veteran and convicted murderer serving a life sentence.  Jack Hall has been through his share of tragedy but he is till human and should be allowed to die in peace in a hospice room in Iowa.

These five short documentary films all were powerful stories about real people (hence being documentaries) that captivate you from the opening scene until the closing credits and all the heart-touching moments in between.  I give thumbs up to them all but if I had to choose, there would be a 3-way tie between Facing Fears, The Lady in Number 6 and Cavedigger with Facing Fears narrowly edging out the competition.  I give Facing Fears two thumbs up in the deep-seated hope that all of us in society can celebrate our diversity and learn that forgiveness is the most powerful weapon around.

Before Midnight

This is the third installment (perhaps final?) of the before series:  Before Sunrise followed by Before Sunset preceded this movie.  Co-written and co-starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy play a couple in love.  Jesse, an American writer and Celine, a french environmental feminist originally met on a train in 1994, reacquainted in France in 2005 where he was married with a son and now are in Greece saying goodbye to his son while they and their twin daughters finish their summer vacation.

I haven't yet seen the first two movies but may later.  I enjoyed this movie as a beautifully-written, oozing terrific chemistry adult romance.

I give this a one and a half thumb up in enjoyment of depicting real-life, terrific chemistry and best of all beautifully written script and that it makes me want to watch the first two installments.  

The Lone Ranger

Not looking forward to seeing this as I heard that it wasn't a good movie.  I appreciated the whole Lone Ranger/Tonto story but was turned away from this Tonto's makeup.

Now that I've seen it, I rescind my comment.  Johnny Depp disappears into every role he takes on and that includes his portrayal of Tonto.  This version is told by Tonto which I found refreshing seeing Tonto as the storyteller and not just a sidekick.  Armie Hammer portrayed the Lone Ranger as a guy who fell into the job which made him more human and not as much of a "hero complex".

This was an obviously Disney-fied production with it's humor and storytelling and PG-13 action/adventure.  One of the best theme songs (William Tell Overture) was predominately featured at multiple times throughout the movie making it hokey and inspirational at the same time.  The reference to Native American medicine and spirituality especially relating to Silver, the horse was a nice touch.  Tom Wilkinson was a good bad guy.

I give this a one and a half thumbs up in surprise and a mighty "high ho Silver away".

20 Feet From Stardom

This documentary feature is about the unfortunately dying art of back up singers.  Darlene Love, Merry Clayton and Judith Hill among others were depicted in this movie along with lead singers Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, David Bowie and Bette Midler.  The back up singers may not get the recognition from the fans and media but they are still working at the craft of their passion.  The leads were also extremely supportive and recognized that the back ups are stars in their own right.

The music was catchy, toe-tapping and sing-a-long (even for those of us who can't carry a tune in a bucket) and the stories were heart-touching.

I give this a one and a half thumb up snapping fingers to the beat of the music and inspiring myself to follow my true passion(s).

Dirty Wars

This feature length documentary is about America's covert wars by the Joint special ops during the already controversial Iraq/Afghanistan war.  This was investigated by journalist Jeremy Scahill.  Jeremy appears to be a good investigator but I'm sure as with many political documentaries, if you are on one extreme of the other you could think this depiction was slanted.

I believe war is tragic and an extreme response but do not follow foreign affairs nor politics so probably shouldn't judge.  I give this documentary a one thumb up for investigation but one thumb down for the fact that it is a war that had to be investigated.

I hope it ends soon and that the men and women risking their lives come home safe to their families and are welcomed back and acclimated back into non-war situations safely.

2014 Oscar Nominated Short Films- Live Action

These five films were separated by discussions from filmmakers, Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave), Shawn Christensen (Oscar winner-short film last year), Peter Webber (Girl with the Pearl Earring) and actor Matthew Modine providing insight to future filmmakers about creating short films, staying pure in your vision and most importantly telling a good story.

I will review these films in alphabetical order.

Do I Have To Take Care of Everything? is a 7 min. comedy from Finland is about a family that oversleeps and is late for a wedding and the mother feels like she has to do everything herself in order to get anything accomplished.  This is a fun romp through a family's chaotic day with a great twist at the end.

Helium is a 23 min.story from Denmark about young Alfred who is terminal in a hospital and talks to Enzo, a janitor at the hospital, about a fantastical place called Helium.  This movie provides a heart-warming journey traversing the treacherous waters of child illness and brings to mind the essence of the long film Patch Adams and its mission to bring peace to the patient instead of focusing on the illness.

Just Before Losing Everything is a 29 min. drama from France about Miriam and her decision to escape her fearful husband with their two children.  The adage it takes a village to raise a child could be changed to it takes a community to rescue a family for this movie.

That Wasn't Me is a sobering story from Spain about a Spanish aid worker traveling to Africa with her boyfriend being confronted by child African soldiers, in particular one named Kaney and how neither of their lives are the same.  This makes you appreciate the life that most Americans are fortunate to have growing up in our childhoods and not in war.

The Voorman Problem is a 13 min. story from the USA about Doctor Williams who is called in to meet with a prisoner who has an unusual affliction, he believes he is God.  The Doctor must decide if he is a faker or a lunatic and wonders why God would choose to be in a straight jacket in prison.  This movie brings to mind the old Twilight Zone episodes.

I give two thumbs up to all five nominees for telling interesting stories while at the same time making you laugh, cry, shutter get angry but mostly making the viewer think.  I actually wouldn't mind any of these winning but the slight edge for this reviewer would have to go to a tie between Do I Have To Take Care of Everything and The Voorman Problem.

2014 Oscar Nominated Short Films-Animated

The five nominees  for short films were separated by an animated ostrich and giraffe which were funny (albeit rolling-your-eyes funny) to watch.

I will review each in alphabetical order.

Feral is the 13 min. story about a wild boy found in the forest by a hunter.  The boy tries to live in society by the same lessons he has learned in the wild.  The animation was dark and gray which went along with the feeling of the story.

Get a Horse! is the 6 min. story where Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow go on a musical wagon until Peg-Leg Pete tries to foil their day.  This was shown at the beginning of the movie Frozen too.  This is creative in combining black-an-white with color and also the appearance of being in and out of the film but the story was cute but less interesting than the effects.

Mr. Hublot is the 11 min. story about a character with O.C.D. who stays away from the outside world as much as possible.  A robotic pet enters into his life and turns it upside down.  This made me feel like I was watching an animated version of Her with all it's technology and lack of inter-personal physical communication.

Possessions is the 14 min. story depicting the ancient Japanese legend "Tsukimono" that states spirits attach to objects even when the object is deemed unusable.  The objects in this movie are broken umbrellas, ugly scarves and other "junk".  The spiritual world provides us with an interesting perspective of how we should perhaps live our physical "reality world" lives.

Room on the Broom is the longest film of the group at 25 min.  This tells the adapted story from the book of the same name by Julia Donaldson about a witch and a cat who, much to the cat's annoyance, pick up a dog, a bird and a frog on their journey and subsequent conflict with a dragon.  I have never read the book but would consider the story as a combination of Dr. Suess, Mother Goose and Shel Silverstein.

I would give one thumb up to Feral, Get A Horse! and Mr. Hublot for telling complete stories in a short span of time.  Which is the amazing part of short films.

I give one and a half thumbs up for Possessions in the hopes that we recognize the impact that both our actions and attitudes have on the world we live in--people and objects.

I give Room on the Broom two thumbs up as a complete story containing interesting characters (the cat especially), lyrical and humorous writing and action-filled plot.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This is part 2 of a three-part series just like the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) series that this is it's prequel.

I enjoyed Lord of the Rings as a whole, never reading any of the books but basically seeing them because of their Oscar nominations.  Honestly, I don't feel smart enough to read the books which I have heard are extremely detailed with language, characters and plot of the hobbit, dwarf and fairy lands and worlds.

When I saw the first Hobbit movie, I walked out thinking oh cool, this will be fun and interesting to watch.

Not so much with this middle entry of the series.  This does it not stand on it's own (like the middle LOTR) by not having an ending--sorry SPOILER.  Although not boring, it was slow moving watching the trek to get to the mountain/dragon.

I'm glad that I saw it but now anxious to get to the finale to finish the story and be done with all these LOTR/Hobbit movies.

I give this a strong one thumb up basically for the sole enjoyment seeing the beauty of New Zealand.

Nebraska

An aging, booze-addled father (Bruce Dern) makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son (Will Forte) in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.


This is the quintessential Oscar nominated movie.  Filmed in black and white, giving it a classic quality.  The screenwriting was easy to follow but not simple with the only flaw being (SPOILER ALERT) when they said that the father had an affair.  The acting was excellent from arguable legend Bruce Dern but also surprisingly from SNL alumni, Will Forte.  June Squibb rocked the film with her priceless humor and impeccable comic timing.  Stacy Keach reminded people of his good acting and it was neat to see Devin Ratray again (older brother Buzz from the home alone movies) older but a bit typecast as a bully.  This captured the attitude of small town living without trivializing nor undermining the charm.


I give this two thumbs up in surprise and crossing them in hopes for the ultimate surprise as a Best Picture win.

Prisoners

When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?  

Starring Hugh Jackman as Keller, Terrence Howard as the other father, Viola Davis and Maria Bello as the their wives with Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective, Paul Dano as the suspect and Melissa Leo as the suspect's mother.  Needless to say a TON of stars.  The acting ability permeated through the screen and the suspense held you on the edge of your seat.  The plot twists at the end were great too.

This is one of the rare cases where the movie surpassed the previews as I thought the previews looked too vigilante.  I give this a one and a half thumbs in freaked out surprise grabbing the edge of my seat during the whole movie.

All Is Lost

Robert Redford, minimal dialogue and a boat...that's about it.  Somehow it still works wonderfully.  The only bad thing was being forced to admit that Robert Redford looks every bit of his 77 going on 78 years of age and that he has spent way too much time out in the sun.

After a collision with a shipping container in the middle of the Indian ocean, a man finds himself stranded and staring his own mortality in his face.

As a viewer, you get to experience action, slight humor and thought-provoking moments.  At the end, you walk away from watching, feeling wet and drained as if you were the one struggling to survive.

I give this a one strong thumb up holding on for dear life in a quest to survive.

The Croods

An animated tale about a caveman family trekking in a "new" world.  Along their way, they discover fire, shoes and most importantly the value of family.

This is a cute tale with humor most notably, Cloris Leachman's Gran character.  Nicholas Cage is perfect as Grug the patriarch who uses strength to make up for brainpower.  Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds are adorable as Eep and Guy.

I give this a solid one thumb up for the portrayal of a tomboyish daughter learning to break away from her father's rule but realizing the father and daughter's love is one of the best relationships in a daughter's life.

Captain Phillips

I am not the best at following the news.  I don't remember much if anything about the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of a US cargo ship even though it was the first one in 200 years.

The legendary Tom Hanks plays the title role of Captain Richard Phillips who epitomizes strength and leadership throughout the movie.

Barkhad Abdi is a great story of a native Somalian whose family moved to Minnesota where Barkhad became a limo driver with no acting aspirations.  He now as a supporting actor nomination and an agent.  He held his own in scenes with multi-nominated and multi-winner Tom Hanks.

Overall, this movie came together with action, stunning visual scenes, acting and heart.

I give this movie one and a half thumbs up as a true representative of what a best picture nominee aspires to be...a movie for all.

Dallas Buyer's Club

This movie is based on the true story of Ron Woodroof who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 (or 1986 depending on where you look).  In the movie, he lived in Texas as an electrician and was a partaker in bull-riding at rodeos.  He was a womanizer and homophobic bigot.  When he was diagnosed with HIV, he went through all the classic steps of grief starting with denial.

Matthew McConaughey received his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Ron.  I fully admit that I haven't watched all the movies he has been in and pretty much have only seen him in shallow, comedic roles.  I was not overwhelmed with his performance this time, but I was overwhelmed with how gaunt he became to depict Ron.

Jared Leto on the other hand, took over every scene he was in portraying the transsexual, Rayon.  His character provided an education to Ron's bigoted attitude, humor during tragic circumstances and heart overall.  If he doesn't win the supporting actor Oscar, it will be a HUGE shock.

Steve Zahn in a small role actually showed more range as an actor than Matthew McConaughey.

Jennifer Garner is a good actress who didn't seem comfortable working with Matthew yet still did an admirable job in her role as a doctor handcuffed between hospital bureaucracy and the oath of caring for patients.

The attitude about AIDS in the 80's was accurate and was reminiscent of the book Tell The Wolves I'm Home (which I recommend) but I digress.

I give this a one strong thumb up mainly for Jared Leto but feel like it should have been more.

Strictly Ballroom

After watching the Academy Award nominated Baz Luhrmann movie, The Great Gatsby, I was talking to a friend who asked if I've ever seen this movie.  I had not but I liked his version of Gatsby and Moulin Rouge before that so I thought I would give this movie a try.

As a fan of the television show, Dancing with the Stars, I love to watch ballroom dancing.  The passion for the music and dancing and for entertaining.  This was all also present in Strictly Ballroom.  Basically a bunch of unknowns acting in the movie but getting the story originated and co-written by Baz Luhrmann beautifully across to the viewer.  It was a romantic love story, heartfelt drama and moving soundtrack/choreography all in one.

I give this a one and a half thumb dancing in pure enjoyment.

Despicable Me 2

Steve Carell is back as Gru.  I didn't rave over the first movie but then this movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated feature and Best Song.  I am not sorry that I saw this movie.  Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig are funny as love interest and if you want to see live action love interest, watch Anchorman 2.  Although predictable in parts of the plot, this was enjoyable but let's be honest, the reason to watch this is for the adorable minions.

They speak gibberish but are still cute and for basically this reason alone, I give this a one thumb up pointing to the minion with one centered eye.

Blue Jasmine

Out of the many movies that Woody Allen has written and directed, I only liked a handful that I would watch again.  Midnight In Paris, Bullets Over Broadway, The Purple Rose of Cairo and even Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask are those movies.

Blue Jasmine is not one of those movies.

Cate Blanchett (Jasmine) is a wonderful actress who is totally believable at portraying a mentally ill woman.  Sally Hawkins (Ginger, Jasmine's sister) is a good actress but was better in Happy Go Lucky and undeserving of a supporting actress nomination.  I wish Woody Allen had made the sisters more connected and Sally more caring about her sisters mental illness.  Alec Baldwin was typecast as a swindling womanizer.  Peter Sarsgaard is a good actor but the role was sort of a dunce.  Andrew Dice Clay was surprisingly good as Ginger's ex-husband Augie.

I hated the ending and felt like there was too many gaps in the character arcs.

I give this a half thumb up for Cate Blanchett carrying the film more than anyone else including Woody Allen.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Heading into this movie, I heard negative comments at the sex, profanity and drug use in this movie.  Although there was a ton of F-bombs and  huge amount of drug use, I didn't feel like it was gratuitous.  The sex scenes weren't even that bad to me.  The only thing that rubbed me offensive to watch was when they were using the word R-word and depicting cerebral palsy as the stage after drooling in quaalude use.

This movie is based on the book Jordan Belfort wrote about his own life.  He aspired to be rich and powerful like Gordon Gekko's character from the 1987 movie Wall Street.

The appeal of being rich, I understand.  The appeal of being so powerful that you lose your moral compass, I do not understand.

Leo Dicaprio deserves his Lead Actor Oscar nomination.  It felt like the role was Gatsby on drugs and not much of a stretch from what he seems to be like off screen.

Jonah Hill was fantastic as a supporting actor in MoneyBall but I didn't see anything to convince me that he was worthy of another nomination this time.

Marty Scorsese is more respected for his directing ability from this reviewer after seeing this movie but if he wins Best Director, there is a good chance it will Best Picture which I would prefer not to happen (with 6 out of 9 nominees watched, 12 Years A Slave is my favorite).

It was a joy to see Rob Reiner back in front of  the camera, playing Jordan's father.

I give this a surprising one and a half thumbs up for directing and Lead acting but hope that it does not give anyone the ambition to follow in Jordan's footsteps.

Lone Survivor

This movie has been touted as the best war movie since Saving Private Ryan.  In my opinion, Saving Private Ryan was a war movie for the first fifteen minutes or so but then it is more drama at Tom Hanks character finding and bring back Matt Damon's Private Ryan than actual fighting in a war.

If you like war movies, Lone Survivor is a real war movie.  It shows the camaraderie of the soldiers who are not just working their jobs as fighters for our country but men who connect as brothers although unrelated.

This shows the toughness yet heart that it takes to be a soldier and make decisions in extreme situations.  This movie is based on the true life story of the Navy Seals mission of June 2005 entitled Operation Red Wings which as the title surmises only led to one survivor.  The rest of the valiant crew gave definition to the term "The ultimate sacrifice".

The director met with the families of all the servicemen who lost their life and one of the father's read  his sons death notice in tears about how his son was shot eleven times and the father said to the director "that's who my son was, that's how hard he fought, make sure you get that right."

I believe he did get it right and I would encourage all of you to either see this one large thumb up movie (including the ending credits where the real soldiers are memorialized) or at the very least send a thought or prayer of thanks to all the men and women who have fought, are fighting and will fight to defend the rights of our country.

Her

This reminded me of the lesser known movie, Disconnect about our dependence on technology but on a much grander scale.

I try to live my life to connect with other humans in a personable way and refuse to let technology take over my life.  Oh sure, I have a smart phone, e-reader and computer (obviously as I'm writing this blog) but cannot survive without person-to-person interaction.

When people walk down the street or in a place of business talking through their ear piece or other blue tooth device, I am saddened.  Many school age children and young adults are growing up and going to school without never learning the knowledge of interpersonal communication.  The beauty of a loving touch through a pat on the back or hug.  The power of looking into someone's eyes and not saying a word but still getting your point across.  It seems to me like silence is shunned instead of treated like the golden attribute that it is.

This movie made me sad at all the voice-activated technology telling objects (software) what to do instead of working with a person and discussing, deciding or even collaborating and compromising to accomplish a feat.  A relationship can be many things objects, animals, people but people should be the most valued.

The job that Joaquin Phoenix's character has as a letter writer for people intrigues me as a writer.  It also hurts me to think people would rather pay people to show applicable feelings than to experience them themselves.  The supporting role by Amy Adams provided some stability for Joaquin but this movie was mostly between Joaquin's Theodore and "Her".  The supporting roles of Rooney Mara and Chris Pratt were under developed for these talented actors.

I give this a one and a half thumb up to encourage verbal discussion about improving interpersonal communication instead of using those thumbs for texting and other technological uses.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Oscar-nominated means a must see for this reviewer.  Good music, soulful acting and slow-moving plot make for a typical Oscar movie.

Oscar Isaac is a an actor and singer perfect for the role of fictional Llewyn Davis.  This was inspired by the story of musician Dave Ronk and the Greenwich village music scene of the 1960's.  I admired Oscar's acting and would be happy to sit in a dive bar listening to him sing folk music.

Carey Mulligan is an under-rated actress who flawlessly takes on any role she portrays (An Education and Never Let Me Go among others).

Justin Timberlake and John Goodman seem to pop in nearly every movie lately and are both charming in their own ways.  I didn't like John Goodman's character arc in the movie but he is also an under-rated actor subtlety very diverse in his acting skill.

I give this a half thumb up for the music and acting but was under-whelmed overall.

August: Osage County

The tag line for this movie is Misery Loves Family and it is very appropriate.

This movie, based on the Tony award winning play of the same name, were both written by the amazing Tracy Letts.  Trivia: he is the son of another amazing writer, Billie Letts of Where The Heart Is fame.

There are so many stars in this movie adaptation, Benedict Cumberbatch (who eerily looks like a young Dennis Quaid), Abigail Breslin, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Sam Shepard, Ewan Mcgregor, Chris Cooper, Oscar-nominee Julia Roberts and perennially nominated Oscar winner, Meryl Streep.  Unlike Django Unchained and Lee Daniels, The Butler, these stars do not get in the way of the story.  The story is strong, funny, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking all at the same time.  You could call it depressing but that would be over-simplifying the impact of the movie.  This is the type of movie that resonates with the viewer long after you walk out of the 121 minute movie.

Meryl Streep is her usual phenomenal self as Violet Weston, the matriarch of a family of three women (Julia, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette) coming back together after a family crisis.  Every member of the cast has their own faults just like us all.  I originally though Chris Cooper was the only redeeming character until after some percolating in my mind, realized that even he is flawed--making fun of Abigail Breslin's character's vegetarianism.  Tracy Letts adds a Native American role solely as a caretaker for Violet as stability and also to show the love of Violet's husband, Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard).  Tracy also puts in some plot twists to keep ratcheting up the conflict for more dramatic effect.

I give this two thumbs up in appreciation for the writing of Tracy Letts, the acting of Meryl Streep who at 64 1/2 years young still succeeds in every role (hence the 18th Oscar nomination) and the rest of the cast and crew of this movie.  This is a snub of the 2014 Oscars, as it deserved a Best Picture nomination.

Saving Mr Banks

The tag line for this movie is Where Her Book Ended, Their Story Begins.  It is perfect summary of the movie.  This depicts P.L. Travers recollection of her childhood while meeting with Walt Disney to discuss adapting her book, Mary Poppins to the big screen in 1964.

Emma Thompson plays P.L. Travers magnificently in perhaps one of the biggest Oscar snubs of 2014.  Tom Hanks seems to enjoy himself as Walt Disney and Colin Farrell showed his acting prowess as Travers Goff, the author's father.  Bradley Whitford also seemed to enjoy himself in a 'fluffier' role than he usually plays as one of the screenwriters.   Paul Giamatti adds some heart as P.L. Travers driver.

This is a movie that I wouldn't mind watching more than once but I think reading the screenplay would be even better to see the exact quotes/dialogue used by the author very much appreciated by this reviewer/writer.

I even got my eyeful of an adorable plush Donald Duck, but was sad when P.L. Travers snuggles with Mickey Mouse instead of Donald Duck in one scene; Donald is always second fiddle to Mickey. :-( Sorry Donald Duck collector had to contributor her two cents worth.

I give this a strong one and a half thumbs up in praise at showing the realistic story of 'Disneyfying' a classic story and HIGHLY recommend people to wait around at the end credits to listen to a recording of the real P.L. Travers recordings with Disney to prove how amazing Emma was with her acting.

Frozen

Disney has taken Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairy tale, The Snow Queen and turned it into an animated feature.  As with most (if not all) Disney movies, it starts off one or both parents die.  That bothers me but I understand the idea that in order to make the children watching it believe they can thrive, they must see other kids succeeding without adults help.

This is the story of two sisters, Anna and Elsa.  Elsa is the snow queen but gets in trouble when the fear of hurting her sister overpowers herself. As the story progresses, we meet many characters but Olaf as the snowman is the essential comic relief.  Kristoff and Sven help Anna try to help Elsa overcome her fear and Hans provides an interesting plot twist.

SPOILER ALERT: Disney could have followed the usual fairy tale where girl and boy fall in love but instead we are focused on the power of sisters which is a refreshing change of tradition for Disney.

This movie also has wonderful music, in particular, Elsa's songs were sung by the amazing Idina Menzel.

I give this one and a half thumbs frozen pointing up because I actually felt cold watching the movie but thawed at the end from the heart-warming tale.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

If you enjoy Will Ferrell comedy and non-Politically Correct humor, you will like this movie.  As is typical, the original is funnier but only because it was an original so it was fresh and new.  This sequel is funny too and I like it when the original cast all comes back for the sequel to continue the chemistry.

The fight scene from the first movie is revisited in this sequel and is actually bigger, better and funnier.

Kristen Wiig was a great addition as Brick's love interest.  Their scenes together were hilariously unintelligent.

I give this a strong one thumb up pointing to the direction the corners of your lips will be pointing from laughing and enjoying this movie.....at a budget theater or as a rental.