Monday, October 3, 2016

Monday, October 3, 2016

What the Beck???

Bucket List Update

Academy Award Nominated Movies

2011     The Descendants                          

starring:  George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick                         Krause, Patricia Hastie

plot –    Matt King’s (Clooney) wife is in an accident and then a coma.                 Clooney has to reconnect with his kids and deal with the                 relatives about a land trust.        

A fabulous movie! As usual Clooney is great as a Dad struggling to really learn all about his kids.

1941     Hold Back the Dawn

starring:  Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor                   Francen

plot –     Boyer plays Georges Iscovescu who desperately wants to                    become an American. He moves to Mexico and tries to                  marry an American citizen so he can come over the                      border.

It was an okay movie, but it was a little slow at times.

1995     Babe                 

starring:  Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, Danny Mann, Hugo                 Weaving, Miriam Flyn

plot –     Babe is a pig, but wants to be a sheep herder like the dogs                     that raised her. Farmer Hoggett helps Babe, too.

I do not usually watch kid’s movies, but I absolutely loved this movie.  It was so well done, that I just loved the entire thing.

1997     L.A. Confidential                 

starring:  Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell,                   Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito

plot –     In 1950 there is corruption in Los Angeles. Three cops              investigate a string a murders.

I just couldn’t get into this movie. It was an okay movie, but it couldn’t hold my interest.

1998     Life is Beautiful                 

starring:  Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini,                         Giustino Durvano

plot –     In WWII, a Jewish librarian and his son are sent to the camps.                  Dad creatively protects his son.

This was a fantastic movie. Wow! This movie shows the depths of love a father feels for his family. This was such a thought provoking movie. I have seen a lot of movies on the Holocaust and WWII and this one is a great movie.

1999     American Beauty                 

starring:  Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley,                     Mena Suvari, Peter Gallagher

plot –    Midlife crisis hits a husband/father. He reverts back to                       teenage behavior and causes a lot of grief for himself,                   his friends and his family.

This was an interesting movie about a midlife crisis.

2002     The Hours                 

starring:  Nicole Kidman, Julienne Moore, Meryl Streep, Stephen Dillane

plot –     Dealing with suicide is the topic of this movie. Three                         different women react to the topic addressed in a novel                  titled Mrs. Dalloway.

This was a really good movie.  It isn’t until the end that you find out how all of the characters are connected.  I must honestly admit, that I didn’t even recognize Nicole Kidman.  What a great make-up artist they hired.