Sunday, December 15, 2024

Movies for January 2025: Wild Target and The World's Fastest Indian

Dean Hiser will host our January meeting, which will be a week later than usual at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, because New Year's Day falls on the first Wednesday. The meeting will be at Dean's house with a Zoom option, and we will discuss:

Wild Target (2010)

A hitman tries to retire, but a beautiful thief may change his plans.

Director: Jonathan Lynn

Writers: Lucinda Coxon and Pierre Salvadori

Stars: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt and Rupert Grint

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

The story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

Director: Roger Donaldson

Writer: Roger Donaldson

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd and Lain Rea

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for December 2024 movies:

Conclave (2024) 8.2 (9 votes)

Ghostlight (2024) 8 (9 votes)

Films of Merit

Cabaret (1972)

Landline (2017)

Hidden, a series (2018-2022)

White Collar, a series (2009-2014)

I Know Where I'm Going (1945)

Elf (2003)

The Piano Lesson (2024)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Movies for December, 2024: Conclave and Ghostlight

Bill Graves will host our Dec. 4 meeting at 7 p.m. at his house with a Zoom option, and we will discuss the following movies:

Conclave (2024)

When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church.

Director: Edward Berger

Writers: Peter Straughan and Robert Harris

Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow

Ghostlight (2024)

When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.

Directors: Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson

Writer: Kelly O'Sullivan

Stars: Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer and Tara Mallen

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for November 2024 movies:

My Old Lady (2014) 6.9 (9 votes)

Tea with the Dames (2018) 5 (9 votes)

Films of Merit

Disclaimer, a series (2024)

Bank of Dave (2023)

Lee (2023)

The Diplomat, a series (2023)

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

Daddio (2023)

Breaking Away (1979)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Locke (2013)

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Movies for November, 2024: My Old Lady and Tea with the Dames

Hugh Heinsohn will host our Nov. 6 meeting online at 6 p.m., when we will discuss the presidential election results and the following movies:

My Old Lady (2014)

An American inherits an apartment in Paris that comes with an unexpected resident.

Director: Israel Horovitz
Writers: Israel Horovitz and Jonathan Mason
Stars: Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith

Tea with the Dames (2018)

Dames Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith get together for tea to reminisce and discuss their acting careers.

Director: Roger Michell

Stars: Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for October 2024 movies:

The Master (2012) 3.9 (7 votes)
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) 7.6 (7 votes)

Films of Merit

Moon Flower Murders, a series (2024)

Going Varsity in Mariachi (2023)

Of Horses and Men (2013)

Bodkin, a series (2024)

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Movies for October, 2024: The Master and Searching for Sugar Man

Carl Carlson will be hosting our Oct. 2 meeting at 7 p.m., and we will be discussing:

The Master (2012)

A naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future -- until he is tantalized by a Satanic cult and its charismatic leader.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

Director: Malik Bendjelloul

Writers: Malik Bendjelloul, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom

Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Dennis Coffey

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for September 2024 Movies

The Peasants (2023) 6.3 (8 votes)

The Monk and the Gun (2023) 7.6 (9 votes)

Films of Merit

Monsieur Spade, a series (2024)

Dark Winds, a series (2022)

Showhouse, a series (2005)

Molly's Game (2017)

Beetlejuice (1988)

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Perfect Days (2023)

Max Manus: Man of War (2008)

Friday, August 9, 2024

Movies for September, 2024: The Peasants, and The Monk and the Gun

Don Nugent will be hosting our Sept. 4 meeting at 7 p.m. at his home, and we will be discussing:

The Peasants (2023)

Jagna is a young woman determined to forge her own path in a late 19th Century Polish Village -- a hotbed of gossip and on-going feuds, held together, rich and poor, by adherence to colorful traditions and deep-rooted patriarchy.

Directors: DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Writers: Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont, DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Stars: Kamila Urzedowska, Robert Gulaczyk and Miroslaw Baka

The Monk and the Gun (2023)

An American travels into Bhutan in search of a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again.

Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji

Writer: Pawo Choyning Dorji

Stars: Tandin Wangchuk, Tandin Phubz and Kelsang Choejay

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for August 2024 Movies

The Crime is Mine (2023) 7.1 (8 votes)

Kinds of Kindness (2024) 1.8 (5 votes)

Films of Merit

Our Almost Completely True Story (2021)

Mr. Turner (2014)

A Gentleman in Moscow, a series (2024)

Federer: Twelve Final Days (2024)

The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

Mash (1970)

Ordinary People (1980)

Land of Bad (2024)

Monday, July 8, 2024

Movies for August, 2024: The Crime is Mine, and Kinds of Kindness

Jon Lee will host our Aug. 1 meeting at 7 p.m. outside at his home, and we will be discussing:

The Crime is Mine (2023)

In Paris, 1935, a young actress has just been acquitted of murdering a famous French producer. This is where the story just begins. Is she really innocent? Or has she gotten away with murder?

Director: Francois Ozon

Writers: Francois Ozon, Philippe Piazzo and Georges Berr

Stars: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder and Isabelle Huppert

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path; a cop questions his wife's demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning; and a woman searches for an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou

Stars: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe

How to find streaming services for movies:

http://justwatch.com

Scores for July 2024 Movies

Rear Window (1954) 7.6 (8 votes)

The Taste of Things (2023) 8 (7 votes)

Films of Merit

The Bear, a series (2022-2024)

Operation Mincemeat (2021)

Fits and Starts (2017)

Shameless, a series (2011-2021)

Eric, a series (2024)

The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2024)

A Gentleman in Moscow (2024)

Friday, June 14, 2024

Movies for July, 2024: Rear Window and The Taste of Things

Bill Triest will host our July 3 meeting at 7 p.m. outside at his home, and we will be discussing:

Rear Window (1954)

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Writers: John Michael Hayes, Cornell Woolrich

Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey