On Golden Pond (1981)

This film stars three great legends: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda as the Thayers.
Henry Fonda is the curmedgeony Norman Thayer, retired college professor. Hepburn is his kind wife, Ethel and Jane Fonda is their daughter, Chelsea, whom we don't know too much about except she lives far away and has a troubled relationship with her father just as Jane did in real life. But Norman is about to turn eighty and Chelsea has a new boyfriend who has a son, Billy Ray (Doug McKeon). While it is probably not the greatest idea, Chelsea and her boyfriend (Dabney Coleman) leave his teenage son behind and head off to Europe, but this forces Norman to become less grumpy and have a fellow troublemaker around and they do get into trouble, getting caught in the rocks when they go out fishing, but the summer does finally get Chelsea to try to be friends with her father and none too soon as he nearly has a heart attack at the end of the film, but fortunately recovers because Ethel needs him. He's her knight in shining armor. But they probably won't have many more summers on the lake.
While the plot is a truffle and underdeveloped at times, the acting is impeccable, though Henry should have won his Oscar four decades earlier for his brilliant performance as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, but the film is abound with natural performances. I just hope that no loons were harmed in the making of this film. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Whenever there's a knock on the door, he yells for Ethel to get the door, but its always her knocking.
-Chelsea's new husband is not an outdoorsman.
-I wonder why Norman didn't want the mailman to marry Chelsea.
-If you want someone to perform a back flip, your driving board should probably be higher.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

Once you get over the awkward beginning and settle into the story, this is truly a remarkable film, if a bit predictable and trite.
Lily James is a revelation as Juliet Ashton, a successful author writing under a fake name, but its 1946 London so she has war wounds and parents whose death is not fully explained. Currently, she has writer's block but her romantic life is grand, with the handsome American soldier, Markham Reynolds (Glen Powell).
Her life changes when she receives a letter by chance, from Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman). He's discovered one of her books that she had to sell and has decided to write to her to thank her for her sale and how much it enriched his life.
Then, finally, the film starts to get truly interesting, with as the lives of those on the island of Guernsey (between England and France) intertwined with Juliet's as she learns about them. Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during World War II which reeked havoc on their lives, causing the island to be bombed and lives lost. The book club started because the Germans nearly caught them after eating a pig, which was forbidden.
The group is an eclectic mix. Dawsey, the laborer who is profoundly deep, the moonshiner and spirit seer Isola (Katherine Parkinson), the rebellious Elizabeth McKenna (Jessica Brown Findlay), the postmaster Eben (Tom Courtnay) and the heartbroken Amelia Maughey (Penelope Wilton).
While the film comes across as romance and it is, it is also a mystery of what happened to Elizabeth during the war, as she was arrested. We eventually learn that she fell in love with a German, Christian (Nicolo Pasetti), who died, had a child and then tried to help a German POW and was arrested. She was eventually shot at a concentration camp by trying to help someone else, so she died a hero. Dawsey is now raising the child as his own. Mark helps Juliet find out about Elizabeth's tragic death but he doesn't understand what has drawn her to this island. Needless to say, that relationship is doomed.
In the end, it is mostly predictable except that Juliet proposes to Dawsey just before he's able to get the words out. So, everyone gets their happy ending (except Mark, but he doesn't deserve it). While it was largely predictable and it has been done countless times before (namely in Hallmark movies), it is done with such style and grace and tells an important message that the tried and true plot feels fresh. The great acting doesn't hurt either. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Unfortunately, the names Markham and Dawsey are deal breakers for me.
-While I like Isola's attitude, waiting for her Heathcliffe to come along, I would have picked another hero because Heathcliffe is a total ass.
-Matthew Goode is also solid as Juliet's publisher, but what does that man need to do to get a leading role.
-The snowball's importance needed to be explained.
-At least this film had an epilogue, weak though it was, but at least there was one.

Django Unchained (2012)

This was the worst Tarantino film I've seen (I've only seen four).
The plot just kept going and it was way too bloody, even by Tarantino standards. Django (a solid Jamie Foxx) just needed to go back to get his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) but instead he kills more people (I wonder what he was like before meeting up with King). And Christoph Waltz, as Dr. King Schultz, is great as the smooth talking but bullet friendly bounty hunter, but his role was a leading one but supporting though he would win the supporting actor Oscar.
Now, while none of the bits were funny, I get the point of him calling out the KKK for how ridiculous and foolish it is to ride horses with a hood with two holes for your eyes only.
While it was incredibly watchable, it kept going on and on for no reason, and Leonardo DiCaprio was wasted, both as a character and actor which is unacceptable. So, I have no intention of ever watching this again. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-Cameos include Jonah Hill, Franco Nero, and Quentin Tarantino himself.
-Samuel L. Jackson is unrecognizable as Stephen, Calvin's (DiCaprio's) trusty butler.
-King hates slavery but loves randomly killing people, without a fair trial.

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) had an interesting life from marrying at just thirteen to becoming the queen of country music.
While her husband, Doolittle (Tommy Lee Jones) is her driving force, he also foolishly married her when she was far too young and then raped her on her wedding night. Now, she should have had some idea of sex (though this was before sex education was a thing) but she said no and he didn't stop. Doo also does the two things Loretta's father (Levon Helm) told him not to do, he slaps her and takes her far away from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.
But he also believes in her and somehow, though blood, sweat and tears manages to get Loretta's song on the radio and her career takes off from there. And the film starts to take off and cram too much into the final hour as Loretta goes from someone who had no idea that her song was on the charts to losing her mentor, Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo), to owning her own ranch. Doo is there for it all, sure, he drinks too much (he's an alcoholic) and occasionally cheats on her which inspires some of her best songs. And despite her limited training, she teaches herself guitar and starts to write songs. Spacek is a revelation and more than deserved her Oscar. Jones is also great. However, the second half of the film is wobbly which just a shame and Lynn's life would have probably worked as a mini series so nothing got overlooked and I feel that a giant scene at the end was missing. Loretta goes from being the overworked Queen of Country Music, to arguing with Doo over the room layout for a new house to being back up there on the stage.
Still, despite the plotting issues, the film has a real feel, gritty and lived in, which is not something you see often and the actors make the people real right in front of your eyes which is also refreshing to see. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Salt and sugar can be easily mistaken, but I've never done it, though it was also done on The Great British Baking Show by one of the bakers.
-Five dollars must have been a fortune for a pie back then.
-It should never be legal for a thirteen-year-old to get married.

Blue Sky (1994)

This is the little seen film that won Jessica Lange her second Oscar.
She shines as Carly Marshall, the sexpot wife of Army Corporal Hank Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones). She's probably slightly bipolar and loves being the center of attention but she's no pushover. And while she might stray, having an affair with the jackass General Johnson (Powers Boothe), she does utterly adore her husband.
While there is a lot of build up, the more important plot centers around Hank's job of nuclear testing for radiation, and two citizens accidentally wander into a testing site and get burned both literally and figuratively. But he can't tell anyone and that kills him. Despite to save his name, Carly first gets Hank committed to the mental hospital, but quickly regrets her decision so she risks her own life and reputation to save his but it works, forcing you to wonder if her decisions were correct.
Fortunately, Hank decides to leave the army and pursue teaching inside, which is probably a good decision considering the army nearly ruined his life.
Now, the film is far from perfect. Both of the Marshall daughters (Amy Locane, before she got arrested and the younger Anna Klemp) have personalities but don't have much to do other than keep their mother out of trouble and the budding relationship between Alex (Locane) and Johnson's son, Glenn (Chris O'Donnell) is underdeveloped. And the plot is sort of a bait and switch, though I liked that part. And Lange truly shines in this little jem.
Sure, I don't feel that they explained the year and period properly as this film occurs in the 1960s but integration has already occurred on the Alabama army base so I don't know if that's accurate or not. And when Carly gets injured (she goes though a glass door), her back legs are injured but they still have her laying on her back at the hospital which just doesn't make any sense to me either.  Still, it was a good enough film to be watched again. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Carrie Snodgrass is good in her small role of General Johnson's wife, Vera.
-We do truly need more on Carly's background and why she ran away from home and keeps lying about her background.

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Enter one of the most complicated mother-daughter relationships in Hollywood.
Aurora Greenway (Shirley Maclaine) utterly adores and loves her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger) while also being her biggest critic.
While Aurora is a socialite and widow, she has many suitors but does not approve of Emma's choice of husband in scholar Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels), yet, somehow despite the ups and downs, they remain best friends. Aurora skips Emma's wedding because Emma doesn't heed Aurora's advice and marries him anyway. While Flap is mostly dependable, he's a bit boring and Aurora just wants better for her daughter but Emma prefers a simple life instead. Despite being broke, Emma refuses to consider abortion when she gets pregnant with her third child, a decision neither of them regret.
Despite being closely bonded, both mother and daughter have their own lives. Emma must dealing with money woes and a cheating husband but she embarks on an affair all on her own, with the married but sexually repressed banker, Sam Burns (John Lithgow). Aurora ignores her misgivings about the alcoholic astronaut next door, Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson) and gradually starts to date and fall in love with him even though he has many girlfriends and loves sex far more than she does.
Everyone comes together when Emma is diagnosed with cancer, which eventually leads to her death. Aurora has to fight with the nurses so Emma gets the treatment she needs and Emma tells Flap that her mom should get the kids, which he agrees to reluctantly, knowing he can't still have a career and raise them on his salary so the ending is bittersweet.
While Aurora and Emma are very much mother and daughter, they are also friends, telling each other many things that could make a person cringe but hopefully each tidbit of information brought them closer together and gave Aurora insight of how Emma raised her children, in an environment very different from her own. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-The debate of how stay-at-home moms are treated early, Emma's career-driven friends, scoffing at the fact that she doesn't work.
-The grocery store clerk is really the worst.
-We never learn what Flap is a nickname for.
-The acting is very good, but I'm surprised that Maclaine won the Oscar over Winger as they were both equally brilliant.
-Why must Nicholson always portray an asshole?

Chicago (2002)

This film wasn't half bad. I mean, yes, most of the main characters are murderers and have few redeeming qualities, but the film still managed to be enjoyable.
Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) kills her lover because he's a lying asshole and ends up in jail and manages to great, slimy attorney, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere, who knew that he could sing and dance so well?). But fame is a fickle and Roxie needs to be the center of attention, her name needs to be splashed on the cover of every newspaper in Chicago and when it no longer is, she invents a crazy lie.
Naturally, she gets away with her crime but just as she gets off, another female kills, leaving Roxie in the dust. Despite her misgivings, she teams up with fellow murderess, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and they become famous, despite their sordid past. So, they both get what they want: fame and money.
For the most part, the film moves briskly, mixing the traditional stage performances with the plot and except for the first number, crudely interrupted by Roxie's lovemaking scene, it works well. Sure, it's bizarre and most of the costumes are not appropriate for 1920s Chicago, but you just kind of need to go with it. And while the glitz and glam is the film's shiny cover, there is heart, fake heart, but heart nevertheless underneath everything. The songs and choreography are great and the performances are memorable and while I don't feel this film deserved to win Best Picture at the Oscars, it is a film that I will watch again anyway. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Queen Latifah is pretty good at the prison matron who takes bribes.
-John C. Reilly (who knew that he could sing?) is Amos Hart, Roxie's kind but dim-witted and gullible human.
-Roxie faked a pregnancy to stay relevant, that is not okay.
-While I'm against murder (who isn't), most of the dead men were truly jerks.
-There are also small roles for Lucy Liu and Christine Baranski.

Primary Colors (1998)

What happened to Adrian Lester's career? He was quite good in this film but has barely had a role of this caliber since. What a shame.
Henry Burton (Lester) is a grandson of a civil rights leader and is recruited by Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta) to be his campaign manager and he accepts this. At first, Stanton seems like a genuine human being though that is instantly short-lived as he comes out of his office with no tie and an Allyson Janney buttoning up her blouse.
While Stanton does want the best for the country, he is also slimy. Now, protesting the Vietnam War isn't that wretched but having his record expunged, probably not the wisest move, but his biggest issue is that he sleeps with other women, women who are not his wife, including a teenager. And he feels that he might the father of the young woman's baby so he has his uncle submit blood for the test so yeah.
But all the cover ups and sleazy tricks work. Stanton wins. And it is an interesting ride with a great cast of supporting characters despite the predictable twists. I knew that Stanton would be having affairs left and right, which he was. I knew that Henry would soon start sleeping with fellow campaigner Daisy (Maura Tierney) and when one of Stanton's opponents stated that he dropped out of politics twenty years ago, for personal reasons I knew that it was secretly for drugs, which it was, big time. However, it was unclear why Daisy leaves the Stanton campaign, which is super annoying.
The film really gets interesting when Libby (Kathy Bates) is brought back into the Stanton's lives. She is crazy, and has spent time in a mental hospital but she's fiercely loyal, which ultimately leads to her downfall. She fully deserved her Oscar nomination.
And while the film has a good meaning, always take the high road, it is just so upsetting that all politicians are lying bags of scum. But at least the acting is impeccable. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Emma Thompson is great as a Hillary Clinton lookalike as Stanton's loyal but pissed off wife.
-Billy Bob Thornton is another worker on the campaign who is not a racist but is inappropriate with another staffer, whipping out his penis. But she just laughs it off, thank goodness.

Gosford Park (2001)

Boy, they certainly took their time getting to the murder. The murder doesn't occur until more than an hour into the film's two plus hour running time.
To no one's surprise, Julian Fellows (the genius behind Downton Abbey) wrote the screenplay and assembled an utterly brilliant cast with probably too many characters. But here, everyone matters, and everyone has an interesting back story, both the upstairs wealth and the downstairs servants. And the murderer is not who would expect, as there are technically two murderers. The rapist, Sir William (Michael Gambon) is both poisoned and then, stabbed. And the detective (Stephen Fry) can't seem to figure out what actually happened and there are plenty of suspects and twists along the way.
Turns out William used to own factories before the first world war (this film occurs in fall of 1932) and constantly raped his employees, impregnating several of them, including both his current housekeeper, the stiff and radiant Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren) and snarly cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins, who has some great zingers). But he deposited the babies at an orphanage instead of arranging for them to be adopted as he promised and that is not something Mrs. Wilson can abide.
Now, while I wouldn't have predicted that Sir William, who loves his dog more than his wife, was such a wretched human being, I did feel that one of the guest's valet (Clive Owen) for a guest was indeed Mrs. Wilson's son.
There are a few side plots that are just odd, including Ryan Phillippe's Henry, pretending to be Scottish, disguised as a valet, when he is really an actor and potentially the lover of Hollywood director Weissman (Bob Balaban), despite nearly raping a maid and sleeping with the dead man's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). Still, despite everything, this is an excellent film with superb acting who turn a trifle into something special. While the murder took forever to come by, and everything is wrapped up too quickly, I could have continued watching this film with this cast of actors and characters for hours more. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Maggie Smith also shines as Her Ladyship, who adores gossip about everyone else and their servants. Kelly MacDonald is great as her young, inexperienced maid who falls in love with Clive Owen.
-Maggie Smith's servant in Downton Abbey, Jeremy Swift (Pratt) is also a servant here.
-A blond Emily Watson is another servant, and possibly the only one who actually liked Sir William, which is good considering that she was sleeping with him, but her adoration also leads to her downfall.
-Those Brits love their dogs.
-They don't understand how anyone can be a vegetarian.
-You should always make sure your knives are accounted for.

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

This film never fails to delight, though there are several cases of confusion or mistaken identity probably because everyone is so formal and refer to each other by last name, more often than not.
Upon the death of the elder Mr. Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson), his second wife and daughters are left virtually penniless. Being left with five pounds per year for women of their statue is next to nothing, they can barely afford beef or sugar now, so they are next to the poor house.
Certainly money woes are not the only worries for the Dashwood sisters, the practical Elinor (Emma Thompson) and the romantic and passionate Marianne (Kate Winslet) also have woes in the romantic field as well. Marianne's love, John Willoughby (Greg Wise) turns out to be a cad, so she's better off without him though don't tell that to her heart and Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant), whom Elinor favors,  is secretly engaged to someone else. But through a series of various events, everyone ends up happy in the end, thank goodness. Edward's fiance ends up falling in love with his crooked toothed brother and Marianne learns to appreciate the quiet adoration of Christopher Brandon (Alan Rickman, who will forever be Professor Snape), a former colonel in the army.
The film is just gorgeous to look at, with the scenery and clothes and listening to the utter politeness and eloquence of how they speak is nothing short of miraculous, with brilliant performances especially from Thompson (despite being far too old for her role) and Winslet (who basically steals the film). It is also nice seeing Rickman portraying a character you can genuinely root for. Grade: A
Side Notes:
-Interesting fact: Thompson and Wise would get married and have a child. They are still married to this day.
-What happened to the woman Willoughby knocked up, other than going back to the country and also wouldn't someone like that ruin Willboughby's good name and reputation?
-Margaret Dashwood (Emilie Francois) is a young explorer.
-My favorite character (other than Marianne) is Mrs. Jennings (Elizabeth Briggs) who is a matchmaker like no other, probably because she has nothing better to do.
-Imelda Staunton shines as Mrs. Jenning's surviving daughter, a carbon copy of her mother, belittling her husband (Hugh Laurie) to death though he does show kindness to Elinor.