Movies

In a World …

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Netflix streaming – they rated it as a 4.3 for me, with the general audience giving it a 3.8. I gave it 4 stars, though a weak 4 stars. Written, directed, and starring Lake Bell, who I liked in the short-lived science fiction series Surface, it’s a romantic comedy that’s pretty good, but certainly not great. There are some pretty funny moments, and it’s interesting to see the world of voice-overs, but there’s not that much to recommend here.

In a World ... movie poster.

If you like Lake Bell, you’ll probably like this movie.

Adventure, Five stars, Movies

McConkey

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Netflix streaming. They predicted it at 4.9 for me, with the general audience at 4.2. While it’s not normally what I would give 5 stars for, in this case I gave it five stars for the story and the man and not so much for the movie-making, which I felt was better in, say, The Crash Reel (see review several posts below).

McConkey movie poster

This guy was amazing, a really unique person. I had read previously that his Mom said that she guessed that he had gotten over his fear of heights, but he said he hadn’t, and that was what made it fun. In the movie he mentioned, after landing yet another spectacular stunt, that he was still shaking. He had incredible courage to keep doing it. His wife’s comment, that making him stop would be like caging an eagle, was an eloquent way to describe his spirit. And his gift.

Movies

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

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Netflix streaming – they predicted it at 3.9 for me, with the general audience (over 2 million ratings!) at 4.0. I guess I had high expectations for such a classic that I had never seen before, but I was really disappointed. I do like this poster, though:

Breakfast at Tiffany's movie poster.

The movie just seemed silly to me, and the delayed but predictable ending only helped a bit. Audrey Hepburn certainly was pretty, and I just learned that she actually sang Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” in the movie. I was impressed with the lip-syncing since I assumed it wasn’t her singing it – but I was wrong, and she did a great job with it. That bit was probably the highlight of the movie for me.

Books

Some Remarks

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A collection of writings, essays, short stories, magazine articles, interviews, etc. … by Neal Stephenson, my favorite author. I found this to be a fascinating read across the board, whether he’s writing science fiction or discussing technical topics such as laying submarine cable along the bottom of the ocean. This guy knows so many interesting things and has a unique way of expressing them …

Some Remarks book cover

… for example, in “The Spew”, Continue reading →

Five stars, Movies

Thor – The Dark World

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Netflix DVD. They predicted it at 4.3 for me, and it has 3.8 for the general audience. I gave it 5 stars.

Wow, this was a really spectacular movie, I can’t believe it got only a 65 on Rotten Tomatoes. Somebody is being a bit too picky about plot holes, I guess. I haven’t even thought about any plot holes, I just let the movie wash over me and it was amazing. Spectacular scenes, many funny bits, sibling rivalry roller-coaster, and a fantastic twist at the end. Not to mention gorgeous styling of costumes and scenery. What’s not to like?

Thor - The Dark World movie poster

Television

The Killing

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Netflix streaming. This is somewhat of an off-putting title, and it’s a difficult, gloomy tv series to get into, but I really liked it. I just finished watching the series finale – season 4, episode 6, and it was quite good. A few things in this final season stretched belief, but it was a fitting end to the series. This show is based on the Danish TV series Forbrydelsen, which translates to “The Crime”. Perhaps that would have been a better title, but, in fact, the entire first season does relate to the investigation by two homicide detectives into a single murder. Check the Wikipedia entry for more details.

The Killing - tv series - poster.

What is captivating here is the relationship between the two lead characters, Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman). Both of them are damaged characters, Continue reading →

Television

Penny Dreadful

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Netflix DVD – tv series. This is a horror series, which I normally wouldn’t really want to watch – however, Netflix rated it as a 4.7 for me, with the general audience giving it a 3.8, so I figured it must be  MY kind of weird, so I gave it a chance. Five episodes in, after almost giving up on it after three episodes, I’m hooked! It’s extremely well done, and Eva Green should get an Oscar for her work in this series. I’ve had goosebumps crawling up my spine several times watching it, which is very unusual for me. Creepy, but fascinating! The character development is great, the costuming and sets are fantastic, and the plot keeps twisting and twisting.

Penny Dreadful movie poster

Five stars, Movies

Good Will Hunting

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Netflix streaming – a rewatch, I had seen this before and gave it 5 stars. The general audience rates it as a 4.2. This second viewing reminded me what a good movie this is. I didn’t remember that there was so much swearing in it, or that there were so many great dialogue scenes. Several of the scenes are very emotional to watch – if you truly connect with this movie. It was fun to watch Robin Williams again, but all of the main actors were fun to watch.

Good Will Hunting movie poster

I can’t believe a printed movie poster would have such a blatant spelling mistake in it! Btilliant!