Watching Movies....and TV, too!
May. 7th, 2023 08:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilda_eliseA good mix of TV and motion pictures. Most were good, but a couple of clinkers, too.
MOVIES WATCHED IN APRIL
Apr 1 - The Whale (2022)
A reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau
A real downer of a movie. Yes, the teacher is the whale, but not in the way one would think. Not a movie I’ll watch again, but still interesting. And I can see why Fraser won the Oscar.
Apr 1 - Hasan Minhaj: The King’s Jester (2022)
Features comedian Hasan Minhaj as he shares his thoughts on fertility, fatherhood, and freedom of speech by discussing some of his recent life events.
Director: Prashanth Venkataramanujam
Stars: Hasan Minhaj, Ammad Quraishi
Some funny parts, but I thought Minhaj made it too much about himself. He covered relevant issues, but, because they were about him, it sort of diluted the message.
Apr 1 - Ricky Gervais: Humanity (2018)
Live performance of British comedian Ricky Gervais filmed in London's Eventim Apollo.
Director: John L. Spencer
Star: Ricky Gervais
Now here’s someone who is truly funny. I’d seen this concert before, but loved the rewatch.
Apr 5 - A Man Called Otto (2022)
Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.
Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Tom Hanks. Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks
A sweet film that shows the ups and downs of Otto’s neighbors’ lives. Unfortunately, it’s not hard to see the ending coming a mile away.
Apr 7 - Goodnight Oppy (2022)
The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.
Director: Ryan White
Stars: Angela Bassett (voice), Jon Stewart, David Letterman
An excellent documentary that follows the “life” of the Mars rover, Opportunity. Okay, so we anthropomorphize robots, but it was still sad when Oppy finally “died.”
Apr 8 - Empire of Light (2022)
A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones
A truly interesting movie, that’s not really about anything, yet is about everything.
Apr 13 - Deep Water (2022)
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
Director: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts
Kind of a strange movie. The ending was something of a surprise.
Apr 17-20 - The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek (2022)
Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before.
Stars: Gates McFadden, Larry Nemecek, Marc Cushman, David Gerrold, Nichelle Nichols, Wil Wheaton, Brannon Braga, Rick Verman, Walter Koenig, Nicholas Meyer, Brent Spiner, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Connor Trinneer, Robin Curtis, Catherine Hicks, David Gautreauc, Christopher Lloyd, Kate Mulgrew, John Billingsley, Denise Crosby, John de Lancie, Leonard Nimoy, D.C. Fontana
Quite a bit of new information, at least for me, because TOS is the only one of the older series I watched. I tried Enterprise, but was put off by its “teenage boy” mentality. But I learned enough that I might try watching Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.
My only gripe is that nothing is said about Discovery, or Strange New Worlds which I have been watching. There are photos, but nothing really about them.
Apr 21-25 - Welcome to Wrexham (2022)
Docuseries chronicling the purchase and stewardship of Wrexham AFC, one of professional football's oldest clubs, by two Hollywood actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Stars: Wrexham A.F.C., Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney
Never thought I’d be watching a series about soccer. About any sport, really. But, hey, Ryan Reynolds. It turned out to be quite interesting. Not the games so much, but the town’s history and the people who live there. The club goes on to the National League a year later, so the second season should be interesting.
Apr 26 - Blonde (2022)
The story of American actress Marilyn Monroe, covering her love and professional lives.
Director: Andrew Dominik
StarsAna de Arma, sLily Fisher, Julianne Nicholson
About the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen. So much was made up that I couldn’t finish it.
Apr 29 - Clock (2023)
This film by writer/director Alexis Jacknow will follow a woman's desperate attempt to fix her broken biological clock.
Director: Alexis Jacknow
Stars: Dianna Agron, Melora Hardin, Jay Ali
Interesting concept, though I don’t know of any woman who, not wanting kids, wants to “fix” her body so that she does. Really horrifying when you think about it.
MOVIES WATCHED IN APRIL
Apr 1 - The Whale (2022)
A reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau
A real downer of a movie. Yes, the teacher is the whale, but not in the way one would think. Not a movie I’ll watch again, but still interesting. And I can see why Fraser won the Oscar.
Apr 1 - Hasan Minhaj: The King’s Jester (2022)
Features comedian Hasan Minhaj as he shares his thoughts on fertility, fatherhood, and freedom of speech by discussing some of his recent life events.
Director: Prashanth Venkataramanujam
Stars: Hasan Minhaj, Ammad Quraishi
Some funny parts, but I thought Minhaj made it too much about himself. He covered relevant issues, but, because they were about him, it sort of diluted the message.
Apr 1 - Ricky Gervais: Humanity (2018)
Live performance of British comedian Ricky Gervais filmed in London's Eventim Apollo.
Director: John L. Spencer
Star: Ricky Gervais
Now here’s someone who is truly funny. I’d seen this concert before, but loved the rewatch.
Apr 5 - A Man Called Otto (2022)
Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.
Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Tom Hanks. Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks
A sweet film that shows the ups and downs of Otto’s neighbors’ lives. Unfortunately, it’s not hard to see the ending coming a mile away.
Apr 7 - Goodnight Oppy (2022)
The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.
Director: Ryan White
Stars: Angela Bassett (voice), Jon Stewart, David Letterman
An excellent documentary that follows the “life” of the Mars rover, Opportunity. Okay, so we anthropomorphize robots, but it was still sad when Oppy finally “died.”
Apr 8 - Empire of Light (2022)
A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones
A truly interesting movie, that’s not really about anything, yet is about everything.
Apr 13 - Deep Water (2022)
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
Director: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts
Kind of a strange movie. The ending was something of a surprise.
Apr 17-20 - The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek (2022)
Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before.
Stars: Gates McFadden, Larry Nemecek, Marc Cushman, David Gerrold, Nichelle Nichols, Wil Wheaton, Brannon Braga, Rick Verman, Walter Koenig, Nicholas Meyer, Brent Spiner, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Connor Trinneer, Robin Curtis, Catherine Hicks, David Gautreauc, Christopher Lloyd, Kate Mulgrew, John Billingsley, Denise Crosby, John de Lancie, Leonard Nimoy, D.C. Fontana
Quite a bit of new information, at least for me, because TOS is the only one of the older series I watched. I tried Enterprise, but was put off by its “teenage boy” mentality. But I learned enough that I might try watching Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.
My only gripe is that nothing is said about Discovery, or Strange New Worlds which I have been watching. There are photos, but nothing really about them.
Apr 21-25 - Welcome to Wrexham (2022)
Docuseries chronicling the purchase and stewardship of Wrexham AFC, one of professional football's oldest clubs, by two Hollywood actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Stars: Wrexham A.F.C., Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney
Never thought I’d be watching a series about soccer. About any sport, really. But, hey, Ryan Reynolds. It turned out to be quite interesting. Not the games so much, but the town’s history and the people who live there. The club goes on to the National League a year later, so the second season should be interesting.
Apr 26 - Blonde (2022)
The story of American actress Marilyn Monroe, covering her love and professional lives.
Director: Andrew Dominik
StarsAna de Arma, sLily Fisher, Julianne Nicholson
About the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen. So much was made up that I couldn’t finish it.
Apr 29 - Clock (2023)
This film by writer/director Alexis Jacknow will follow a woman's desperate attempt to fix her broken biological clock.
Director: Alexis Jacknow
Stars: Dianna Agron, Melora Hardin, Jay Ali
Interesting concept, though I don’t know of any woman who, not wanting kids, wants to “fix” her body so that she does. Really horrifying when you think about it.
