Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Movies for January 2023: The Fabelmans and The Motorcycles Diaries

Jon L is hosting in January and the movies to see are:

The Fabelmans (2022)

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a sausagemaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
Stars: Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

The dramatization of a motorcycle rodeo Che Guevara went on in his youth that showed him his life's calling.

Director: Walter Salles
Writers: Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Alberto Granado, Jose Rivera
Stars: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mía Maestro

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

Scores for December 2022 Movies

The Outfit (2022)  7.50 / 10

Films of Merit



Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Movies for December 2022: The Outfit and A Christmas Story

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

A Christmas Story (1983)

In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect way to shoot his eye out on Christmas morning.

Director: Bob Clark
Writers: Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, Bob Clark
Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin
An expert cutter must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.

Director: Graham Moore
Writers: Graham Moore, Johnathan McClain
Stars: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, John Gumley-Mason

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

Scores for November 2022 Movies

Films of Merit


Saturday, October 15, 2022

Movies for November 2022: The Shawshank Redemption and Contagion

Bill T is hosting in November and the movie to see are:

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace, eventual redemption, and a pipe filled with excrement through acts of common decency.

Director: Frank Darabont
Writers: Stephen King, Frank Darabont
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton

Contagion (2011)

Healthcare professionals, government officials, Jenny McCarthy, and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Stars: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

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

Scores for October 2022 Movies

Films of Merit

Bad Sisters (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15469618/
California Typewriter (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5966990/
How To Please A Woman (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10530838/
The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10268488/
The Kindness of Strangers (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6515910/
The Patient (TV mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15574312/
The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20863280/


Monday, September 19, 2022

Movies for October 2022: Brassed Off and As Good As It Gets

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

Brassed Off (1996)

The coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band or will they use the force to save it? 

Director: Mark Herman
Writer: Mark Herman
Stars: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor

As Good as It Gets (1997)

A single mother and waitress with a huge forehead, a misanthropic author , and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

Director: James L. Brooks
Writers: Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear

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

Scores for September 2022 Movies

Films of Merit

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Movies for September 2022: My Left Foot and The Worst Person in the World

 Joe is hosting the September meeting and the movies to see are:

My Left Foot (1989)

Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Director: Jim Sheridan
Writers: Shane Connaughton, Jim Sheridan, Christy Brown
Stars: Daniel Jerry-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan

The Worst Person in the World (2021)

The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.

 Director: Joachim Trier
 Writers: Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
 Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum

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

Scores for August 2022 Movies

Films of Merit

Gaslit (2022 miniseries) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11834592/
Paths of Glory (1957) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/
Scotland, Pa. (2001) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265713/
Slings and Arrows (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387779/
Stranger Things (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/
The Terminal List (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11743610/
When Trumpets Fade (1998) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135706/

Friday, July 15, 2022

Movies for August 2022: The Tragedy of Macbeth and Journey's End

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

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.

Director: Joel Coen
Writers: Joel Coen, from an idea by William "Bud" Shakespeare
Stars: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell

Journey's End (2017)

Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers visiting the carnival, led by mentally-disintegrating young Officer Stanhope, as they await their fate.

Director: Saul Dibb
Writers: Simon Reade, R.C. Sherriff, Vernon Bartlett
Stars: Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Stephen Graham

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

Scores for July 2022 Movies

The Late Show (1977)  5.22 / 10
Grandma (2015)  6.89 / 10

Films of Merit

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11703710/
For All Mankind (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13352968/
Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766394/
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472954/
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (Mini-series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20560404/
Only Murders in the Building (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12851524/
Ridley Road (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10948746/
Roadkill (Mini-series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10846250/
Sex Education (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7767422/
The Old Man (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5645432/
The White Lotus (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13406094/
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745960/
Under the Banner of Heaven (Mini-series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1998372/
Young Wallander (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9359220/











Sunday, June 26, 2022

Movies for July 2022: The Late Show and Grandma

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

The Late Show (1977)

A grumpy semi-retired private investigator partners with a quirky female client and, with the help of a friend wearing a full Cleveland, seek to catch the people who murdered his partner.

Director: Robert Benton
Writer: Robert Benton
Stars: Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy

Grandma (2015)

A teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy seeks help from her acerbic grandmother, a woman who is long estranged from her daughter, and that's the truth.

Director: Paul Weitz
Writer: Paul Weitz
Stars: Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Sam Elliott, Marcia Gay Harden

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

Scores for June 2022 Movies

Films of Merit



Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Movies for June 2022: The Godfather and Citizen Kane

Bill Graves is hosting in June and the movies to see are:

The Godfather (1971)

The aging patriarch of an organized cannoli dynasty that insists upon itself in postwar New York City transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant youngest son.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Emilio Scungio, Diane Keaton

Citizen Kane (1941)

Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud,' which,  as we all know now and insiders all knew then was Hearst's pet name for Marion's, well, you know.

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles, John Houseman
Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore

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

Scores for May 2022 Movies

Films of Merit

Recommended Book

Autobiography by a former Hollywood studio chief, ex-husband of Ali McGraw, and friend to Nicholson and Kissinger, chronicles his rise and fall, naming names and telling outrageous tales and infamous anecdotes.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Movies for May 2022: Midnight Run and The African Queen

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

The African Queen (1951)

In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river with leeches and use his boat to attack a German gunship.

Director: John Huston
Writers: C.S. Forester, James Agee, John Huston
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley

Midnight Run (1988)

A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter who always wanted to open a nice little diner, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.

Director: Martin Brest
Writer: George Gallo
Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto

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

Scores for April 2022 Movies

Films of Merit






 

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Movies for April 2022: Witness for the Prosecution and To Kill A Mockingbird

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

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Agatha Christie, Billy Wilder, Harry Kurnitz
Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama with big black glasses, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his weird little girl and her even weirder little friend against prejudice.

Director: Robert Mulligan
Writers: Harper Lee, Horton Foote
Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton

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

Scores for March 2022 Movies

Films of Merit




Thursday, February 3, 2022

Movies for March 2022: Flee (2021) and The Black Stallion (1979)

Flee (2021)

FLEE tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.

Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Writers: Amin Nawabi, Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Stars: Daniel Karimyar, Fardin Mijdzadeh, Milad Eskandari

The Black Stallion (1979)

After being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion and a short, alcoholic man, and trains the horse but not the man to race after their rescue.

Director: Carroll Ballard
Writers: Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, William D. Wittliff
Stars: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr

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

Scores for February 2022 Movies

Films of Merit



Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Movies for February 2022: The Power of the Dog (2021) and West Side Story (2021)

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

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Charismatic rancher Sherlock Holmes inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.

Director: Jane Campion
Writers: Jane Campion, Thomas Savage
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons

West Side Story (2021)

An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Tony Kushner, Bud Shakespeare, Arthur Laurents
Stars: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose

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

Scores for January 2022 Movies

No Time To Die (2021)  6.00 / 10
Casablanca (1942)  9.33 / 10

Films of Merit

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14079374/
A French Village/Un Village Français (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288631/
Being the Ricardos (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4995540/
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083798/
Only Murders in the Building (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12851524/
Sex Education (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7767422/
Stop Making Sense (1984) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088178/
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5618690/
The Beatles: Get Back (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9735318/
The Hand of God (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12680684/
The Lost Daughter (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9100054/
tick, tick...BOOM! (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8721424/
Yellowstone (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4236770/