Sunday, January 1, 2017

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Sunday, January 1, 2017

What the Beck???


Happy New Year!!

Bucket List Update
Academy Award Nominated Movies


2004     Ray
starring:  Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell,                   Harry Lennix
plot –    Jamie Foxx is outstanding in the role of Ray Charles. This                     movie takes us throughout his initially troubled life to                   fame.
This was an amazing movie. I never knew that Ray Charles was a drug addict and womanizer.  He eventually freed himself from his bad choices, which was a relief.  I really enjoyed the movie.


2006     The Departed
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark                        Wahlberg, Martin Sheen
plot –    An Irish mafia King, Jack Nicholson, gets a man inside the                    police department at the same time that the police send                an undercover officer into the mafia. The movie shows                  the struggle to remain hidden in the enemy camp.
At first, I really didn’t enjoy the movie, but it wasn’t long before the great acting drew me in to the storyline. This movie is filled with super star actors and it paid off!!  See it.


2004     Sideways
starring:  Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen,                       Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke
plot –     A groom-to-be and his best friend go into wine country to                     relax the week before the wedding. Jack, the groom-to-                   be, is out for a week of final fling before he weds.                       Things go wrong for both men.
This was a frustrating movie for me. I hated that Jack’s motive showed me that he wasn’t ready for marriage.


2004     Finding Neverland
starring:  Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell,                     Dustin Hoffman
plot –     This is the story of writer J.M. Barrie and what led to him                     creating Peter Pan. The inspiration for Peter Pan came to                 him when he befriended a family of four boys.
This was a fabulous movie. I love Barrie’s relationship with the family, even though it led to end of his marriage.


2005     Crash
starring:  Karina Arroyave, Dato Bakhtadze, Sandra Bullock, Don                       Cheadle, Tony Danza, Matt Dillon
plot –     Many intertwined stories of people in Los Angeles. There is                 a lot of racial issues and tension, as well as learning                     from mistakes.
I totally disliked this movie. It was too many stories going on at the same time and I only bought in to a one or two of them. I like a story that helps me connect with the characters and this movie didn’t accomplish that goal for me.


1928     7th Heaven
starring:  Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Albert Gran, David Butler,                       Marie Mosquini, Gladys Brockwell
plot –    The story of an abused woman who is helped by a sewer                     cleaner. He takes her in and eventually they fall in love.                 He is off to fight in WWI.
I can’t believe that I am writing how much I LOVE this movie. First of all, it is a silent picture, which usually makes me nuts. This story is one of despair, empathy, love, and hope. My favorite moments came when separated by war, the two characters stopped whatever they were doing and silently talked to each other holding their church medals.


2003     Lost in Translation
starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Akiko Takeshita, Kazuyoshi                   Minamimagoe
plot –     Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, a movie star, sent to Japan to                   film a commercial. He meets a young woman, Scarlett                   Johansson, who came to Japan with her groom. The two                 meet in a bar and enjoy each other’s company.
This was an interesting movie about a man and woman who meet in Japan and just become good friends. The woman is married to a man with her in Japan, and the man’s family is back in the states. It was refreshing to see them enjoy time together as friends.



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