(no subject)
Wow, where to start? First, this is going to get long.
Shade: I watched it because Patrick Bauchau and Gabriel Byrne are in it. It's one of those movies with twists. Quite a few. Sort of a Usual Suspects/Tarantino wannabe movie. It's basically about gamblers double crossing other gamblers. It wasn't bad - - Stuart Townsend, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx and Sylvester Stallone are in it. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
Guilty Hearts is one of those compilations movies like I usually like. Unfortunately, these aren't great. The ones I mainly remember is the Gerard Butler one(sad ending) and the Charlie Sheen one(a pretty amusing spelling bee). The Imelda Staunton one was okay, too. Skip it.
Quid Pro Quo was disturbing. It also has a twist ending, but if you pay attention, you'll figure it out. Nick Stahl plays a paralyzed reporter who gets a tip about a man asking an intern to cut off his leg - - his perfectly healthy leg. This leads him to a group of people who want to be disabled, and also to Vera Farmiga's character, with whom he begins an affair. I knew there were people like that, and certainly I would never say, no you can't do this, but I also feel it's a little crazy. I won't spoil the ending. It's worth a watch.
Our Town is an old one, and based on the Thornton Wilder play, but OMG, it's depressing! I love Grapes of Wrath, I can watch it over and over, and I'm telling you, Our Town is depressing. I wouldn't watch it again.
A Christmas Memory is a TV movie based on the Truman Capote short story, about a little boy abandoned by his parents and staying with his much older relatives(Piper Laurie, Patty Duke, Anita Gillette and Jeffrey DeMunn). This has a great cast, even Eric Lloyd, who plays the boy, Buddy. He spends most of his time with Sook(Patty Duke). She's... a little slow, I guess? Jennie(Piper Laurie) decides he's spending too much time with Sook, and decides to send him to military school. The story has a much sadder ending, but the end to the movie was Grapes of Wrath'd. Not sorry I watched it.
Emma's Wish - - I am kind of sorry I watched this one. It's another TV movie. Joanna Kerns(yes, the mom from Growing Pains) is an old woman,Emmma, who makes a wish on a ring and it turns her young again, so she can spend a month fixing her daughter's marriage and life in general. The one bright spot(and it's kind of dim) is Della Reese as Emma's friend. Skip it unless you like heartwarming Lifetime movies.
little man is a documentary by Nicole Conn, about her little boy, Nicholas, who was born very premature. Nicole(a filmmaker) and her wife Gwen Baba(political activist) already had a little girl, Gabrielle, when they decided they wanted another child, this one by a surrogate. They had decided to terminate the pregnancy if there were complications, but apparently Nicole overruled that, and Nicholas was born 100 days early, weighed one pound and spent 158 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Gwen took care of Gabrielle while Nicole stayed with Nicholas. Even when he came home, he had to have oxygen, meds, and a nurse. It took quite a toll on Nicole and Gwen's relationship, but they made it. At least during the documentary. I went looking for info on how Nicholas is doing now. Nicole says that in 2009(when Nicholas was 5 and doing relatively well), Gwen divorced her, and stopped all contact with Nicholas. They share custody of Gabrielle. Nicholas still has many problems, and functions at the level of a 2 1/2 year old, he appears to be happy.
I have to say, of all the movies I've seen recently, little man and Quid Pro Quo have stuck with me. I'm not sure how to feel about the Nicholas situation. I'm sure Nicole Conn is not sorry she made the decision to keep Nicholas. Certainly she couldn't have known it would end up destroying her family. I think of what he had to go through - - the surgeries, the pain, never having a "normal" life - - I'm not sure I could've made the same decision. I'm just not sure how to feel about this one. I do recommend the movie.
Shade: I watched it because Patrick Bauchau and Gabriel Byrne are in it. It's one of those movies with twists. Quite a few. Sort of a Usual Suspects/Tarantino wannabe movie. It's basically about gamblers double crossing other gamblers. It wasn't bad - - Stuart Townsend, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx and Sylvester Stallone are in it. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
Guilty Hearts is one of those compilations movies like I usually like. Unfortunately, these aren't great. The ones I mainly remember is the Gerard Butler one(sad ending) and the Charlie Sheen one(a pretty amusing spelling bee). The Imelda Staunton one was okay, too. Skip it.
Quid Pro Quo was disturbing. It also has a twist ending, but if you pay attention, you'll figure it out. Nick Stahl plays a paralyzed reporter who gets a tip about a man asking an intern to cut off his leg - - his perfectly healthy leg. This leads him to a group of people who want to be disabled, and also to Vera Farmiga's character, with whom he begins an affair. I knew there were people like that, and certainly I would never say, no you can't do this, but I also feel it's a little crazy. I won't spoil the ending. It's worth a watch.
Our Town is an old one, and based on the Thornton Wilder play, but OMG, it's depressing! I love Grapes of Wrath, I can watch it over and over, and I'm telling you, Our Town is depressing. I wouldn't watch it again.
A Christmas Memory is a TV movie based on the Truman Capote short story, about a little boy abandoned by his parents and staying with his much older relatives(Piper Laurie, Patty Duke, Anita Gillette and Jeffrey DeMunn). This has a great cast, even Eric Lloyd, who plays the boy, Buddy. He spends most of his time with Sook(Patty Duke). She's... a little slow, I guess? Jennie(Piper Laurie) decides he's spending too much time with Sook, and decides to send him to military school. The story has a much sadder ending, but the end to the movie was Grapes of Wrath'd. Not sorry I watched it.
Emma's Wish - - I am kind of sorry I watched this one. It's another TV movie. Joanna Kerns(yes, the mom from Growing Pains) is an old woman,Emmma, who makes a wish on a ring and it turns her young again, so she can spend a month fixing her daughter's marriage and life in general. The one bright spot(and it's kind of dim) is Della Reese as Emma's friend. Skip it unless you like heartwarming Lifetime movies.
little man is a documentary by Nicole Conn, about her little boy, Nicholas, who was born very premature. Nicole(a filmmaker) and her wife Gwen Baba(political activist) already had a little girl, Gabrielle, when they decided they wanted another child, this one by a surrogate. They had decided to terminate the pregnancy if there were complications, but apparently Nicole overruled that, and Nicholas was born 100 days early, weighed one pound and spent 158 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Gwen took care of Gabrielle while Nicole stayed with Nicholas. Even when he came home, he had to have oxygen, meds, and a nurse. It took quite a toll on Nicole and Gwen's relationship, but they made it. At least during the documentary. I went looking for info on how Nicholas is doing now. Nicole says that in 2009(when Nicholas was 5 and doing relatively well), Gwen divorced her, and stopped all contact with Nicholas. They share custody of Gabrielle. Nicholas still has many problems, and functions at the level of a 2 1/2 year old, he appears to be happy.
I have to say, of all the movies I've seen recently, little man and Quid Pro Quo have stuck with me. I'm not sure how to feel about the Nicholas situation. I'm sure Nicole Conn is not sorry she made the decision to keep Nicholas. Certainly she couldn't have known it would end up destroying her family. I think of what he had to go through - - the surgeries, the pain, never having a "normal" life - - I'm not sure I could've made the same decision. I'm just not sure how to feel about this one. I do recommend the movie.