Reviews of movies and TV focused on women
I have a long history with the children’s story A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I’ve been excited to see the new Disney film based on the book directed by Ava DuVernay ever since it was announced. Continue reading “Review: A Wrinkle in Time”
Irreplaceable You begins in the cemetery where Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is buried. In a voice over, Abbie explains her story. It began when she and Sam (Michiel Huisman) were 8 years old. They’d been together ever since. Continue reading “Review: Irreplaceable You”
Miss Sloane is a story about guns and gun control. Only in the United States could a story like this be told. Every other country in the world has better sense where guns are concerned. Continue reading “Review: Miss Sloane”
Belle tells the story of a mixed-race woman raised as an aristocrat in 18th Century England. The political overtones of the story are as relevant today as they were then. Continue reading “Review: Belle”
Jessica Chastain stars in Miss Sloane, a political drama about a powerful Washington lobbyist. The story deals with gun control lobbying, a topic the creators thought would be important in the election. The election turned out differently from what anyone expected, but that’s no reason to stop celebrating what looks like a boffo performance from the women in Miss Sloane. Continue reading “Watch This: Trailer for Miss Sloane”
I saw Larry Crowne back in 2011 when it was first released. I remembered enjoying it. When it showed up on Netflix I watched it again. I enjoyed it just as much the second time. Continue reading “Review: Larry Crowne”
Free State of Jones is an epic tale of rebellion in Mississippi during the Civil War. It stars Matthew McConaughey. This film caught my eye when I saw it also starred Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Keri Russell. The more I learned about Free State of Jones, the more interested I became. It’s a fascinating story that still reverberates today. Continue reading “Watch This: Trailer for Free State of Jones”
Old Ain’t Dead just me, watching whatever looks good. To me. I don’t watch everything. I don’t have a “best of 2015” list because I don’t have a clue as to what most of 2015 had to offer, much less what the best of all that would be.
Yet here we are, at the end of the year, and a top 10 list is in order. So how about an Old Ain’t Dead top 10 for 2015? I present my favorites in no particular order.
I admit to being a little fast and loose with the 2015 part. Some of these things were made before 2015, but I saw them in 2015. Just go with it.
I cheated just a bit, too, because at the end I threw in a few extra mentions of things too good to ignore.
I can’t say enough great things about Beyond the Lights. It is an exceptionally good film. If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to do so. I had the idea that it would merely be a love story. It was a love story, but it has so much more depth than that, which delighted me.
Spoilers ahead. Continue reading “Review: Beyond the Lights”
A brain dump about this and that. Join in with a comment.
Why do articles about Belle or Beyond the Lights refer to Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a “newcomer?” Are people blind? Or just blind to black faces? She was the star of the TV series Undercovers in 2010. She was in Larry Crowne in 2011. She was in Touch in 2012. She has, in fact, been acting in parts on our TVs since 2005. If so many media critics and reviewers haven’t noticed her before now, maybe they should get their vision checked.
Whew, Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) is putting herself in so much jeopardy to keep Cary (Matt Czuchry) out of jail. Every time Kalinda does anything I wonder if this is foreshadowing the way they plan to write her out of the show. The rate she’s going, she could end up in jail herself.
I’m sad to hear that Covert Affairs was canceled by USA. This is a great show with fantastic female parts including Piper Perabo and Kari Matchett as CIA operatives. Personally, I think their ratings fell because they kept the show on Thursday night. The number of quality shows competing for eyeballs on Thursday is through the roof. I’ve been watching 3 or 4 of them on Friday and Saturday, the slate is so full on Thursdays. If they base eyeball counts on live views and not delayed views, their numbers look bad. But that doesn’t mean the fans gave up on the show.
Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Root (Amy Acker) actually kissed on Person of Interest this week. All it took for Shaw to give Root the kiss she’s been wanting was for Shaw to: A) want to save Root, and B) need an excuse to make a grand sacrifice so she could be gone from Person of Interest.
Why be gone? Sarah Shahi is pregnant and needs to leave the show – at least for now. She’s having twins! The decision to end Sarah’s current involvement in the show in this way is explained by executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman in an EW article.
Cats out of the bag… http://t.co/CFeRljn94J
— Sarah Shahi (@onlysarahshahi) January 7, 2015
Extra has an interview with Sarah and the cast about her exit.
