Saturday movie review: Rudderless

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A lot of actors seem to think that because they act, they can direct. Every once in a while, they're perfectly correct and prove to have what it takes to combine a heartfelt and well-written script, spectacular performances from top-notch actors, a spot-on soundtrack, and all the other necessary ingredients to make a beautiful, memorable film.

William H. Macy's directorial debut, RUDDERLESS, unquestionably lands him in that category of actors who turn out to be awesome directors.

rudderless movie

RUDDERLESS stars Billy Crudup, Anton Yeltchin, Felicity Huffman...

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Saturday movie review: Black or White

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Considering the racially charged tensions and horrific acts of violence that have recently occurred in our country between whites and blacks, I expected the movie BLACK OR WHITE to be far more powerful than it turned out to be. Instead, the film landed itself a firm spot on my list of Mostly Meh Movies.

black or white film 

BLACK OR WHITE starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer is billed as...

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Saturday movie review: Life of a King

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Though it's an older movie, I had never heard of LIFE OF A KING until scrolling through the Netflix Streaming options the other day for something to watch for this week's movie review. It wasn't a big hit in the theaters, but I found a fair number of redeeming factors in the 2013 film.

life of a king movie

LIFE OF A KING stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Eugene Brown. The film is "inspired by" Brown's mission to...

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Saturday movie review: The Lunchbox

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One of the many great things about movies is that they introduce viewers to cultures and lifestyles they would never experience, possibly never even know about, otherwise. That's the case with THE LUNCHBOX.

The Lunchbox movie

I had no idea there was an entire industry in Mumbai, India based on delivering lunch to workers. Five thousand lunchbox delivery men (dabbawallahs) pick up thousands of filled lunchboxes (dabbas) from the homes of workers each day and...

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Saturday movie review: Cake

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Five minutes into CAKE, I asked my husband, who was watching along with me, if watching it was going to give him nightmares. Jim chuckled and said, "I was wondering the same thing." 

We had the exchange not because CAKE is a scary movie and my husband is a chicken, but because CAKE is about chronic pain and my husband has suffered from such for more than a decade. He managed to watch it all the way through, though, with nary a nightmare that night.

Cake movie

CAKE, starring Jennifer Aniston in a dark, powerful role, is about...

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Saturday movie review: Wild Canaries (update!)

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Last fall I published a movie review on a screwball comedy called WILD CANARIES. I screened it as part of the 2015 Starz Denver Film Festival and at the time, there was no trailer for the film, no rating for the film, no release date for the film. Still, I was compelled to share with you then the wildly entertaining film.

Well, good things come to those who wait!

Wild Canaries film poster

I'm now compelled to tell you there is not only a...

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Saturday movie review: St. Vincent

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I have to be honest: I avoided seeing the comedy ST. VINCENT in the theater and refrained from adding it to my Netflix queue because it stars Melissa McCarthy. Now, I adore Ms. McCarthy, but I've grown weary of her recent roles, the ones where she's tough, wacky, and trash-talking yet sympathetic and sweet at her core. The act was funny the first time around, but she's so much better than that.

St. Vincent film

Then I started seeing numerous positive reviews and could no longer resist watching. So I added ST. VINCENT to my Netflix queue and hoped for the best. An email from one of my favorite fellow grandmas...

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