Saturday movie review: Runoff

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What might a loving wife and mother do in hopes of pulling her family from the brink of financial disaster? It's that question that creates the intrigue and suspense in the beautifully filmed, understatedly acted RUNOFF, an independent film written and directed by Kimberly Levin in her narrative film directorial debut.

runoff movie 

Betty (Joanne Kelly) loves her husband, her two sons, her farmland community...

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Saturday movie review: Alive Inside

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I shared a video a few years ago here on Grandma's Briefs of an elderly nursing home resident who amazingly comes out of the fog of dementia when headphones connected to an iPod are placed on his head. ALIVE INSIDE is the full documentary of that magical moment as well as others experienced by several dementia and Alzheimer's patients when given the opportunity to once again hear beloved tunes from days long gone. Joyous moments that prove music is far more powerful than pharmaceuticals.

Alive Inside documentary

In ALIVE INSIDE—winner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award (Documentary)—filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett follows social worker and founder of Music & Memory, Dan Cohen, as he brings music to nursing home residents, via iPods and headphones. The results...

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Saturday movie review: Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

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The simple act of reaching out to make a friend, reluctantly or not, can change lives. That's the bottom-line takeaway I got from the coming-of-age dramedy ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL. The film is based on the 2012 novel written by Jesse Andrews and was a standout at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award.

me and earl and the dying girl

Though rather comedic throughout, the themes of ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL are anything...

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Saturday movie review: Life's A Breeze

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LIFE'S A BREEZE is a cautionary tale from Lance Daly, director of THE COMMITMENTS (a favorite of mine). What might viewers be cautioned against? Throwing out your elderly mother's household goods without checking with her first.

Life's A Breeze dvd

The 2013 Irish comedy stars Fionnula Flanagan as Nan, the elderly matriarch of...

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Saturday movie review: Like Sunday, Like Rain

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I've been intrigued with the idea of nannies since long-ago watching Julie Andrews make a magical, musical difference with her charges in MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. While parents seemingly blew off their children, a nanny could make a child's world far more enriched and delightful than parents would likely ever manage.

Like Sunday, Like Rain

I longed for such adventures as a child. I still can't help but fall in love with books and movies featuring nannies who—often unexpectedly—become far more beloved, important, and relevant to the children they care for than the kiddos' parents could hope to be.

LIKE SUNDAY, LIKE RAIN is one such movie. And though...

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Saturday movie review: The Face of Love

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I watch so many movies that I go through periods where I have a tough time finding a good one to review that I've not already seen. So I scan and search and sample. And sometimes I stumble upon an enjoyable flick I'd previously overlooked.

That's the case with THE FACE OF LOVE. I actually started—and stopped—four other films this week, stinkers one and all. This fifth one, this little gem some of you may have already seen, saved this week's Saturday movie review.

the face of love movie

THE FACE OF LOVE, a romantic drama filmed in 2012 and released in U.S. theaters in 2014, stars...

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Saturday movie review: Love Is Strange

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In the film LOVE IS STRANGE, the filmmakers, writers, and actors show that love is indeed strange. And beautiful and confusing and elusive and challenging. Whether between partners, parents and children, family, friends, and friends who feel like family, love is all of that and more. LOVE IS STRANGE hits on all of that, depicting the delicate dance maneuvering through such connections, regardless of age, gender, or sexual preference.

love is strange movie

In LOVE IS STRANGE—which is out on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming—Alfred Molina and John Lithgow star as...

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