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/