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) 

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

The Heiress (1949)

    A naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.

Director:  William Wyler

Writers: Ruth Goetz, Augustus Goetz, Henry James

Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson

How to find streaming services for movies: 

http://justwatch.com

Scores for November 2023 Movies

Average rating on a 10-point scale

The Duke (2020)   6.7 (10 voting)

The Covenant (2023) 6.3 (8 voting)

Films of Merit

Home (2020)

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

The Burial (2023)

The Pacific (2010)

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Buddymoon (2016)

A Million Miles Away (2023)

MotherFatherSon (2019)

Summerland (2020)

Movies for November, 2023: The Duke and The Covenant

  Jon Lee is hosting our Nov. 11 meeting at his beach house on Boiler Bay, and the movies to see are:

The Duke (2020)

     In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the 

Duke of  Wellington from the National Gallery in London.

Director: Roger Mitchell

Writers: Richard Bean, Clive Coleman

Stars: Jim Broadbent, Heather Craney and Stephen Rashbrook

The Covenant (2023)

     During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry

an injured sergeant across miles of  grueling terrain.

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writers: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim and Sean Sager

How to find streaming sources for movies:

https://www.justwatch.com 

Scores for October 2023 movies

Average rating on a 10 point scale:

Seven Samurai (1954) 7  (7 voting)

Dersu Uzala (1975)  7.3 (7 voting)

Films of Merit

Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (2022)

Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret (2023)

Obit (2016)

Foundations (2021)

Suits (2011-2019)

Country Music (2019)

The Pacific (2010)

Movies for October 2023: Seven Samurai and Dersu Uzala

 John Cleary is hosting our Oct. 4 meeting, and the movies to see are:

Seven Samurai (1954)

Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, and he gathers six other samurai to join him.

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni

Stars: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima

Dersu Uzala (1975)

The Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Yuriy Nagibin, Vladimir Arsenev

Stars: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov

How to find streaming sources for movies:

https://www.justwatch.com

Scores for September 2023 movies

Rating on a 10-point scale: 

The Matrix (1999)  7.3 (7 votes)

Bicentennial Man (1999) 5/ (7 votes)

Films of Merit

Jules (2023)

Painkiller (2023)

Jury Duty (2023)

Narvik (2022)

Peace by Chocolate (2021)

Reservation Dogs (2021)

Trial (1955)

Enchanted April (1991)

Sabrina (1995)

Dahaad (2023)

Movies for September 2023: The Matrix and Bicentennial Man

 

Bill Triest is hosting our September 6 meeting, and the movies to see are:

The Matrix (1999)

When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he
discovers the shocking truth – the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil
cyber-intelligence. 

Director:  Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Writers: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss

Bicentennial Man (1999)

An android endeavors to become human as he gradually acquires emotions.

Director: Chris Columbus

Writers: Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Nicholas Kazan 
Stars: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill 

How to find streaming sources for movies:

https://www.justwatch.com

Scores for July 2023 movies

Barbie (2023)    7.6 / 3

Oppenheimer (2023)    7.75 / 8

Films of Merit

Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) 
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Season 4 (2023)
Hijack (2023)
The Day After Trinity (1981)
Silo (2023)
The Social Dilemma (2020) 

Movies for August 2023: Barbie and Oppenheimer

Nic Bentley is hosting the August meeting and the movies to see are:

Barbie (2023)

Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

Director:  Greta Gerwig

Writers: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach

Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae

Oppenheimer (2023)

The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martine Sherwin
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon

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

Scores for July 2023 Movies

The Counselor (2013)  5.2 / 10

The Road (2009) 5.1 / 10

Films of Merit

• Armageddon Time (2022) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10343028/
• Jaws (1975) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/mediaviewer/rm1449540864/
• 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090570/
• Babett’s Feast (1987) --   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090570/mediaviewer/rm1991156993/
• Casa Susanna (2022) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21875250/mediaviewer/rm2089553153/
• We Are Lady Parts (2021) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10846104/mediaviewer/rm859489793/

Movies for July 2023: The Counselor and The Road

Jon Lee is hosting the July meeting, and the movies to see are: 

The Counselor (2013)

A lawyer finds himself in far over his head when he attempts to get involved in drug trafficking.

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: Cormac McCarthy

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Barden, Brad Pitt, Bruno Ganz, Rosie Perez, Sam Spruell, Toby Kebbell, Edgar Ramirez, Ruben Blades, Natalie Dormer, Goren Visnijic, Daniel Holguin, Chris Obi, Richard Cabral, Provence Maydew, Paris Jefferson, Dar Dash, Alex Hafne

The Road (2009)

In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.

Director: John Hillcoat

Writers: Joe Penhall, Cormac McCarthy

Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee

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

Scores for June 2023 Movies

Faraway (2023)   5.44 / 10

The Birdcage (1996)  6.50 / 10

Films of Merit 

• Love and Death (2023) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14586350/
• Still: A Michael J Fox Movie (2023) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19853258/
• The Freshman (1990) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099615/
• We’re the Millers (2013) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723121/

Movies for June 2023: Faraway and The Birdcage

Dean is hosting the June and the movies to see are:

Faraway (2023)

Zeynep is unhappy. That's why she flees to a Croatian island, where her deceased mother bought a house long ago. She hopes to find peace and relaxation finally - but she hasn't reckoned with Josip, who still lives on the property.

Director: Vanessa Jopp
Writers: Jane Ainscough, Alex Kendall
Stars: Naomi Krauss, Goran Bogdan, Adnan Maral

The Birdcage (1996)

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing orsonistic parents.

Director: Mike Nichols
Writers: Jean Poiret, Francis Veber, Édouard Molinaro

Stars: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman

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

Scores for May 2023 Movies

Air (2023)  8.00 / 10
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)  5.44 / 10

Films of Merit

Days of Wine and Roses (1962) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055895/

Forest for the Trees (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10106394/

Jailblazers (2023) - https://youtu.be/FLnR9VEqQMU 

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15339456/

The Diplomat (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17491088/

Transatlantic (2023 mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15441266/

TT3D Closer To The Edge 2011 - https://youtu.be/-lJuP1E6zJQ

Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition (2023) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27237290/

Movies for May 2023: Air and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

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

Air (2023)

Follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.

Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Alex Convery
Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

A father's wish magically brings a wooden boy to life in Italy, giving him a chance to care for the child.

Directors: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale, Carlo Collodi
Stars: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann

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

Scores for April 2023 Movies

Zero Effect (1998)  5.56 / 10

They Might Be Giants (1971)  4.60 / 10

Films of Merit

• Catherine the Great (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7243884/
• Don Juan DeMarco (1994) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112883/
• Faraway (2023) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18747542/
• Godland / Vanskabte land (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19623228/
• Paris Can Wait (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4429194/
• The Mandalorian (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8111088/
• The Music Man (1962) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/
• The Night Agent (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13918776/
• The Elephant Whisperers (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23628262/

Movies for April 2023: Zero Effect and They Might Be Giants

Hugh is hosting in April and the movie to see are:

Zero Effect (1998)

The world's greatest detective Daryl Zero aided by his associate Steve Arlo investigates a complex and mysterious case of blackmail and missing keys for shady tycoon Philip H. Knight who is less than forthcoming about what is really happening.

Writer: Jake Kasdan
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller

They Might Be Giants (1971)

In a Manhattan psychiatric hospital a man, convinced he is Sherlock Holmes, is treated by a female doctor who happens to be named Watson.

Director: Anthony Harvey
Writer: James Goldman
Stars: George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward, Jack Gilford

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

Scores for March 2023 Movies

Argentina, 1985 (2022)  7.56 / 10
Waking Ned Devine (1998)  7.22 / 10

Films of Merit

• 1923 (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18335752/
• All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016150/
• Charlie Chan in London(1934) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024968/
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488589/
• She Said (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14807308/
• Shrinking (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15677150/
• The Menu (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9764362/
• Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5057054/
  

Movies for March 2023: Argentina, 1985 and Waking Ned Devine

Carl is hosing in March and the movies to see are:

Argentina, 1985 (2022)

A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina's bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time.

Director: Santiago Mitre
Writers: Mariano Llinás, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre
Stars: Ricardo Darín, Gina Mastronicola, Francisco Bertín

Waking Ned Devine (1998)

When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.

Director: Kirk Jones
Writer: Kirk Jones
Stars: Ian Bannen, David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan

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

Scores for February 2023 Movies

To Leslie (2022)  8.00 / 10
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)  6.80 / 10

Films of Merit

• Devotion (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7693316/
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/
• Fire of Love (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16227014/
• Glass Onion (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/
• Good Night Oppy (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14179942/
• Outer Range (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11685912/
• Sword of Trust (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8484012/
• The Book of Boba Fett (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13668894/
• The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10687506
• The Good Nurse (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4273800/
• The Journey (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4826674/
• The Judge (2014) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872194/
• The Last Of Us (TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581920/
• The Lying Life of Adults (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12708140/
• The Pale Blue Eye (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14138650/
• The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022 TV Mini Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14183410/
• Till (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4960748/
• You People (2023) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14826022/
  
• Women at War (2022 TV Mini Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14579330/

Movies for February 2023: The Banshees of Inisherin and To Leslie

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

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship and their fingers, with alarming consequences for both of them.

Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon

To Leslie (2022)

Inspired by true events. A West Texas single mother wins the lottery and squanders it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak and broken beer bottles. Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption.

Director: Michael Morris
Writer: Ryan Binaco
Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, James Landry Hébert

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

Scores for January 2023 Movies

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)  6.11 / 10
The Fabelmans (2022)  6.00 / 10

Films of Merit

• 1923 (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18335752/
• 1883 (2021 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13991232/
• 1945 (2017) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5815492/
• Alaska Daily (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15421858/
• Cabaret (1972) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068327/
• Chicken People (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4819510/
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/
• Inside Man (2022 TV mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10948716/
• Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5275872
• RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8178634/
• Seinfeld (1989 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098904/
• Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone amd Nigel Bruce
• Side Effects (2013) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2053463/
• Slow Horses (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5875444/
• Something the Lord Made (2004) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386792/
• Tár (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14444726/
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/
• The English (2022 mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11771270/
• The Good Heart (2009) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808285/
• The Old Man (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5645432/
• The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6439020/
• The Woman King (2022) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8093700/
• This Is Where I Leave You (2014) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371150/
• Three Pines (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15351648/
• Tulsa King (2022 TV series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16358384/
• You Laugh But It's True (2011) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1671547/
• The White Queen (2013 TV mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2372220/