Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Movies for June, 2024: The Day the World Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind

John Cleary will host our 7 p.m. June 5 meeting at his home, and we will be discussing:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

An alien lands in Washington, D.C., and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

Director: Robert Wise

Writers: Edmund H. North and Harry Bates

Stars: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal and Hugh Marlowe

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Roy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writers: Steven Spielberg, Hal Barwood and Jerry Belson

Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut and Teri Garr

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for May 2024 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

American Fiction (2024) 8 (9 voting)

Past Lives (2023) 6.7 (9 voting)

Films of Merit

The Beautiful Game (2024)

Ripley, a series (2024)

Killing Eve, a series (2018-2022)

Freud's Last Session (2023)

The Gentlemen, a series (2024)

Falling for Figaro (2020)

The Teachers' Lounge (2023)

The Ipcress File, a series (2022)

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Movies for May, 2024: American Fiction and Past Lives

Nic Bentley will host our May 1 meeting at his home with an online Zoom option, and we will be watching:

American Fiction (2023)

A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.

Director: Cord Jefferson

Writers: Cord Jefferson, Percival Everett

Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross and John Ortiz

Past Lives (2023)

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.

Director: Celine Song

Writer: Celine Song

Stars: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for April 2024 Movie

The Pillars of the Earth (2010) 7 (7 voting)

Films of Merit

Anatomy of a Scandal, a series (2022)

Suits, a series (2011-2019)

Shetland, a series (2013-2023)

Sugar, a series (2024)

Resident Alien, a series (2021-2024)

Surrounded (2023)

Five Came Back (2017)

20 Days in Mariupol (2023)

Monday, March 18, 2024

Movie for April, 2024: The Pillars of the Earth

Dean Hiser will host our April 10 meeting at his home with an online option, and we will be watching a formerly eight-part movie series reorganized into two long parts:

The Pillars of the Earth (2010)

This series, formerly eight parts, is set against a backdrop of medieval war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart. The series is available for rent in two 3.5-hour parts on Amazon Prime and Apple Plus.

Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Writers: Ken Follet and John Pielmeier

Stars: Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen and Eddie Redmayne

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for March 2024 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

Poor Things (2023) 5.25 (8 voting)

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) 8.2 (7 voting)

Films of Merit

The New Look, a series (2024)

Suits, a series (2011-2019)

Monsieur Spade, a series (2024)

Six Feet Under, a series (2001-2005)

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

Woman of the Year (1942)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

The Last Repair Shop (2023)

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Movies for March, 2024: Anatomy of a Fall and Poor Things

Bill Graves is hosting our March 6 meeting at his home with an online option, and the movies to see are:

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

A woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death, and their visually challenged son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.

Director: Justine Triet

Writers: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

Stars: Sandra Huller, Swann Ariaud and Milo Machado-Graner

Poor Things (2023)

The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers: Tony McNamara and Alasdair Gray

Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for February 2024 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

A Compassionate Spy (2022) 4.9 (10 voting)

5 Fingers (1952) 7.l (9 voting)

Films of Merit

The Pigeon Tunnel (2023)

The Ides of March (2011)

Masters of the Air (2024)

American Fiction (2024)

The Newsroom, a series (2012-2014)

Eternally Confused and Eager for Love (2022)

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Interstellar (2014)

Monday, January 15, 2024

Movies for February, 2024: A Compassionate Spy and 5 Fingers

Hugh Heinsohn is hosting our meeting at 7 p.m., February 7, 2024, and the movies to see are:

A Compassionate Spy (2022)

The incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia.

Director: Steve James

Stars: Joan Hall, Ted Hall, Joseph Albright

5 Fingers (1952)

During WWII the valet to the British Ambassador to Ankara sells British secrets to the Germans while trying to romance a refugee Polish countess.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers: Michael Wilson, L.C. Moyzisch, Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Stars: James Mason, Danielle Darrieux, Michael Rennie

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for January 2024 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

The Boys in the Boat (2023) 7.3 (10 voting)

The Holdovers (2023) 7.4 (10 voting)

Films of Merit

Nightmare Alley (2021)

They Call Me Magic (2022)

Winning Time, a series (2022-23)

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Ferrari (2023)

My Grandparents' War, a series (2019- )

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

Maestro (2023)

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Movies for January, 2024: The Boys in the Boat and The Holdovers

Carl Carlson is hosting our January 10 meeting at 7 p.m., and the movies to see are:

The Boys in the Boat (2023)

A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington's rowing team, from their Depression-era beginning to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Director: George Clooney

Writers: Daniel James Brown, Mark L. Smith

Stars: Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner and Peter Guinness

The Holdovers (2023)

A cranky history teacher at a remote prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go.

Director: Alexander Payne

Writer: David Hemingson

Stars: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for December 2023 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) 8.3 (8 voting)

The Heiress (1949) 7 (8 voting)

Films of Merit

Six Feet Under, a series (2002-2005)

Doc Martin, a series (2004-2022)

Golda (2023)

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (2021)

Friday, November 10, 2023

Movies for December, 2023: Killers of the Flower Moon and The Heiress

Don Nugent is hosting our Dec. 6 meeting at 7 p.m. on Zoom, and the movies to see are:

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one -- until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, David Grann
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone