Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Movies for January 2022: No Time To Die and Casablanca

Bill T is hosting in January and the movies to see are:

No Time To Die (2021)

Bond James Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond James Bond onto the trail of a mysterious one armed man who is unable to mix a proper martini.

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Stars: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Rami Malek

Casablanca (1942)

A cynical American gin joint owner who is no good at being noble struggles to decide whether to help out a pal or build a hill of beans with his former lover but the usual suspects are shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Dooley Wilson

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for December 2021 Movies

Repo Man (1984)  5.1 / 10

Films of Merit

Call the Midwife (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1983079/
Foundation (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804484/
King Richard (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620288/ 
My Garden of a Thousand Bees (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15196228/
My Life as a Turkey (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101982/  
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11852724/
The Lost Leonardo (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11225756/
The Morning Show (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7203552/
The North Water (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7660970/
The Shrink Next Door (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947248/
The Soloist (2009) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/  
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155267/

Monday, November 8, 2021

Movies for December 2021: Repo Man and Farewell, My Lovely

 Nic is hosting next month and the movies to see are:

Repo Man (1984)

A young punk recruited by a car repossession agency finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu that is wanted for a $20,000 bounty - and has something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.

Director: Alex Cox
Writer: Alex Cox
Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter

Farewell, My Lovely (1975)

Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by all around nice guy Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.

Director: Dick Richards
Writers: David Zelag Goodman, Raymond Chandler
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Harry Dean Stanton

Scores for November 2021 Movies

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Films of Merit


Thursday, October 7, 2021

Movies for November 2021: Baby Mama and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Joe is hosting in November and the movies to see are:

Baby Mama (2008)

A successful, single businesswoman wearing glasses dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman to be her unlikely surrogate.

Director: Michael McCullers
Writer: Michael McCullers
Stars: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

The lives of a disparate group of contestants and a chronic alcoholic hasbeen intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Writers: Horace McCoy, James Poe, Robert E. Thompson
Stars: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young

Scores for October 2021 Movies

The Courier (2020) 7.18 / 10

Bullitt (1968) 6.45 / 10

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Films of Merit

Book Recommendation

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Movies for October 2021: The Courier and Bullitt

 Dean is hosting in October and the movies to see are:

The Courier (2020)

Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Director: Dominic Cooke
Writer: Tom O'Connor
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan

Bullitt (1968)

An all-guts, no-glory San Francisco cop lives in a sewer and becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection.

Director: Peter Yates
Writers: Alan Trustman, Harry Kleiner, Robert L. Fish
Stars: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for September 2021 Movies

Pig (2021)  6.36 / 10

Films of Merit



Thursday, August 5, 2021

Movies for September 2021: Pig and Night Moves (2013 version)

Bill G is hosting in September and the movies to see are:

Pig (2021)

A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Writers: Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Three radical environmentalists look to execute the protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam.

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writers: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for August 2021 Movies

Films of Merit












Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Movies for August 2021: Oh! What a Lovely War and I'll See You in My Dreams

Hugh is hosting in August and the movies to see are:

I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)

A widow and former songstress discovers that life can begin anew at any age.

Director: Brett Haley
Writers: Brett Haley, Marc Basch
Stars: Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliott

Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.

Director: Richard Attenborough
Writers: Charles Chilton, Ted Allan, Len Deighton
Stars: Wendy Allnutt, Colin Farrell, Malcolm McFee

Scores for July 2021 Movies

How to find streaming sources for movies: https://www.justwatch.com/

Films of Merit



Monday, June 7, 2021

Movies for July 2021: Sound of Metal and Lone Star

Carl is hosting in July and the movies to see are:

Sound of Metal (2019)

A heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.

Director: Darius Marder
Writers: Darius Marder, Abraham Marder, Derek Cianfrance
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci

Lone Star (1996)

When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.

Director: John Sayles
Writer: John Sayles
Stars: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Stephen Mendillo

Scores for June 2021 Movies

Kodachrome (2017)  5.29 / 10
Rescue Dawn (2006)  6.17 / 10

Films of Merit






Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Movies to see for June 2021: Kodachrome and Rescue Dawn

Don is hosting in June and the movies to see are:

Kodachrome (2017)

Set during the final days of the admired photo development system known as Kodachrome, a father and son hit the road in order to reach the Kansas photo lab before it closes its doors for good.

Director: Mark Raso
Writer: Jonathan Tropper
Stars: Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen

Rescue Dawn (2006)

A U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.

Director: Werner Herzog
Writer: Werner Herzog
Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies

How to find movies online: https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for May 2021 Movies

Films of Merit




Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Movies for May 2021: Nomadland and The Last Picture Show

 Jon Lee is hosting in May 2021 and the movies to see are:

The Last Picture Show (1971)

In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writers: Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich
Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd

Nomadland (2020)

 After losing everything in the Great Recession, a woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

Director: Chloé Zhao
Writers: Jessica Bruder, Chloé Zhao
Stars: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May

How to find movies online:  https://www.justwatch.com/

Scores for April 2021 Movies

Films of Merit


Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Movies for April 2021: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Grapes of Wrath

How to find movies online:  https://www.justwatch.com/

John C is hosting in April and the movies to see are:

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

During a recording session, tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues".

Director: George C. Wolfe
Writers: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson
Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

A poor Midwest family is forced off their land. They travel to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.

Director: John Ford
Writers: Nunnally Johnson, John Steinbeck
Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine

Scores for March 2021 Movies

The Assistant (2019)  5.60 / 10

Ordinary Love (2019)  6.90 / 10

Films of Merit

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Movies for March 2021: Ordinary Love and The Assistant

Bill T is hosting in March and the movies to see are: 

The Assistant (2019)

A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.

Director: Kitty Green
Writer: Kitty Green
Stars: Julia Garner, Owen Holland, Jon Orsini 

Ordinary Love (2019)

An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.

Directors: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
Writer: Owen McCafferty
Stars: Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson, Esh Alladi 

Scores for February 2021 Films

Beanpole (2019)  6.22 / 10

Films of Merit

All Creatures Great and Small (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10590066/
All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12538822/
Blown Away (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9908860/
Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey (2017) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6861980/
I, Claudius  (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074006/
Long Way Round (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403778/
Miss Scarlet and the Duke (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8270592/
Murder Most Foul (1964) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058383/
One Night in Miami (2020) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10612922/
The White Tiger (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6571548/
You Can Count on Me (2000) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203230/

Where to find movies: https://www.justwatch.com/



Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Movies for February 2021: Beanpole and The Life Ahead

Nic is hosting for February and the movies to see are:

The Life Ahead (2020)


In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her.

Director: Edoardo Ponti
Writers: Ugo Chiti, Romain Gary, Fabio Natale, Edoardo Ponti 
Stars: Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri 

Beanpole (2019)


1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.

Director: Kantemir Balagov
Writers: Kantemir Balagov, Aleksandr Terekhov
Stars: Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov

Scores for January 2021 Films

Uncle Frank (2020)  7.33 / 10
   
Rudderless (2014)  6.90 / 10

Films of Merit 

Where to watch movies online: https://www.justwatch.com/