Tag: movies
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Movie review: The Big Sick
Brief synopsis: A Pakistani-American man and a Caucasian-American woman fall (reluctantly) in love. When Emily suffers a life-threatening illness, Kumail meets her parents and struggles to reconcile his family obligations with his love for Emily. This appears to be a semi-autobiographical movie based on the lives of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon (the co-writers). For…
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Movie review: Jason Bourne
I love the Bourne series of movies. I love its anti-government, conspiracy theory nature. I even love “The Bourne Legacy,” which most people don’t. I adore Jeremy Renner, and the character growth of the female lead in that movie isn’t something you see in a lot of in action movies (see also “The Terminator” and…
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Movie review: Finding Dory
We were fortunate enough to be able to attend an advance screening of the latest Pixar movie, “Finding Dory.” (Thank you to Disney for donating the item to a Children’s National fundraising event!) Jim and I are both fans of “Finding Nemo” and actually thought the emotional resonance of that movie was one of its…
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Movie review: Captain America: Civil War
I have a soft spot for movies with lots of explosions and (cartoon) violence. I also have a soft spot for Disney. And a soft spot for the Marvel movies. And a *definite* soft spot for Jeremy Renner. So when you have a movie that contains all of those elements AND adds an extra element…
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Movie review: Spectre
Spectre has a difficult act to follow (besides being spelled the odd British way). Skyfall (the previous movie) was generally recognized as one of the best James Bond movies, certainly of recent vintage. Spectre is a solid but not spectacular addition to the Bond series. The plot is interesting in the sense that you see…
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Movie review: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
The upside (if you can call it that) of being snowed in with 30 inches of snow is that you can gather for family movie night every night of Snowzilla (as long as school is cancelled the next day, of course). We resumed Snowzilla movie watching with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. I am generally a…
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Movie review: The Martian
The book is on our to-be-read list, but 30 inches of impending snowfall seemed like a good excuse to watch this movie. And a bit to my surprise, it was excellent! Matt Damon obviously carries the movie, although there are strong supporting performances throughout by all the actors. (It was especially nice to see Sean…
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Movie review: Inside Out
Once again, Pixar hits it out of the ballpark with a movie alternately funny and touching that appeals equally to kids and adults. The nominal story is about an 11 year old girl, Riley, whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, and how she copes with this move. (Without detracting from the trauma of…
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Movie review: Jurassic World
If what you’re looking for is a roller coaster thrill ride of a movie (especially one that contains dinosaurs), “Jurassic World” is the movie for you. For those of you who have seen “Jurassic Park,” the plot will seem hauntingly familiar, but this time, the dinosaurs are bigger, badder, and as one of the characters…
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Movie review: Avengers: Age of Ultron
I confess I have a tremendous weakness for movies with lots of explosions and clever banter where the plot is optional (it helps to have eye candy as well). The latest Avengers movie meets the criteria perfectly in all ways. I saw this movie with the gaggle on Mother’s Day (a perfect Mother’s Day gift!)…