Category Archives: Optimistic

2012, Comedy, Coming-of-age, Drama, Feel Good Not For Children, Flirting, Love Story, Mental Illness, Optimistic, Quiet, Sex Scenes, Small gem of a film, Talking Heads, Witty dialog

Liberal Arts (2012)

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From Netflix:

A speaking engagement brings 35-year-old Jesse back to his college alma mater, where he’s blindsided by nostalgia and a plucky sophomore named Zibby. Newly single and unfulfilled by his job, Jesse finds Zibby pulling him out of his disillusionment.

Call it talking-heads, call it an hour and one half of feel-good bubbles, but this little gem made me smile. Just enjoy all the philosophical pronouncements, some of them even make sense.

How can you not like 35 year old Jesse (played by Josh Radnor), an ordinary-looking guy with a friendly, sincere smile who is moral enough to think twice about sleeping with a 19 year old college student and warm enough to help a student suffering from manic-depression?

Feel sorry for the other characters who in a negative way help Jesse start to come alive: Professor Holberg (played by Richard Jenkins) who regretfully must retire even though he still feels like he is 19; Professor Fairfield (played by Allison Janney) who has grown cynical and bitter after loveless years of teaching literature.

Enjoy listening to the clever banter between Jesse and Zibby (played by Elizabeth Olsen). Were you like Zibby at her young age ?

Try and see it with someone you love.

2012, Acceptable for children, Arab Culture, Arabic, Bicycles, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Feel Good For All, Human spirit, Optimistic, Religious Theme, Unusual

Wadjda (2012)

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From Netflix:

Persistent 10-year-old Wadjda would like nothing more than a new bicycle so she can beat her friend (a boy) in a race. But it’s going to take some ingenuity to get one — especially in her culture, which sees bikes as a threat to a girl’s virtue.

Because this film is not yet on DVD, and also not available from Netflix, we went to a movie theater. As my hearing gets worse, I am dependent on subtitles. Since this film is in Arabic, there were subtitles.

While re-enforcing my opinions about the sad repression of women under Islam, this film cannot fail to charm even the most skeptical viewer. Spunky Wadjda and her wonderful young friend Abdullah are a pleasure to watch. Abdullah is so thoughtful of his rebellious sidekick that you wonder where in his male-dominated society he learned to care.

“Just tell the story” and the points will come across. Indeed, you will see religious fundamentalism revealed as also hypocrisy. You will see that although Wadjda’s father loves her and her mother, he is under societal pressure to produce a male heir. You will see Saudi natives able to bully possibly non-legal immigrants. And above all you will see a somewhat crushing regimen forced upon the women in a seemingly bleak country.

For a down-to-earth possibly sad but also spirited story, DO NOT MISS!

2013, B-movie, Comedy, Corny, Feel Good Not For Children, Imperfect, Melodrama, Optimistic, School Teacher, Sex Scenes, Teenagers

The English Teacher (2013)

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From Netflix:

Devoted small-town English teacher Linda yearns for love. Enter Jason, a former student whose career as a Broadway playwright didn’t pan out. When she persuades him to stage his play at the school before giving up, love — and controversy — arises.

Nathan Lane, Julianne Moore, and Greg Kinnear join forces to give us a film which is both a comedy and a somewhat corny melodrama. Thank goodness for the surprising belly-laughs. Although you might give this film a B+, there are some interesting plot turns. Moreover, the events are all too possible (“What! A high school teacher having inappropriate sex! Impossible!”) . Several of the principle characters do have some bad moments, some soul searching, and experience some happy changes.

However, that high school play seemed too lame for the audience to be so excited. But then parents can appreciate just about anything positive.

Since I am not really raving about this film, I feel I can offer a small spoiler: there is a happy ending.

2013, Comedy, Coming-of-age, Drama, Feel Good Not For Children, Optimistic, Teenagers, Vulgar, Witty dialog

The Kings of Summer (2013)

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From Netflix:

Chafing under his widowed father’s control, Joe Toy invites a friend and an offbeat new kid to help him build his own house in the nearby woods. Now that the trio is finally free from parents and responsibility, what’s next?

Do not dismiss this film as just another teen-fling. Granted the main characters are teenagers, but their parents are wonderful comic personalities. Whoever wrote the script has a clever, sparkling, tongue-in-cheek skill with droll sarcasm. But do be prepared for a few obscenities here and there.

To be able to build such a house in the woods seems to me to be fantasy, but just accept it and move along.

Hats off to the three teen stars, including the remarkably offbeat character Biaggio.

Hopefully Kathy and I were not as overbearing as the three parents. At the very least our kids did not run off and live in a ramshackle hut in the woods.

And not a serial killer in sight! Have fun!

2013, Adventure, Airline pilot, Amputee, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Frenetic, Grim, Mayhem, Medical Theme, Military, Occasional gore, Optimistic, Suicide, Suspense, Violent, Zombies

World War Z (2013)

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From Netflix:

A U.N. employee races against time and fate as he travels the world trying to stop the spread of a deadly zombie pandemic. As the undead hordes gain strength across the globe, governments topple and Earth stands on the brink of total social collapse.

If you are not eager to see virus-crazed “zombies” infecting other humans by biting, crowds of panicky people running to nowhere, bodies flying through the air, exploding airplanes, and very tense escape sequences, then DO NOT SEE THIS FILM!

On the other hand I love suspense and the various episodes in this fright-fare are indeed some of the scariest I have seen in a long while. In fact the tension mounts throughout the film. Probably the most nerve-wracking sequence has Brad Pitt at the W.H.O headquarters in Wales trying to get to some needed stored virus while avoiding the already infected “zombies” at W.H.O. Of course you understand (we learn this early in the film) that noise is what sets these critters in motion.

As far as endings go, the authors found an excellent way to finish the story.

You have been duly warned. However, in the category of well-plotted, not silly, visually and emotionally explosive scare-mares, DO NOT MISS!

2011, Alcoholism, Drama, Ethical struggles, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Nudity, Optimistic, Quiet, Sex Scenes

360 (2011)

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From Netflix:

In this remake of the 1950 classic La Ronde, an all-star cast weaves through interrelated stories about love, passion and loneliness. From London and Denver to Phoenix and Vienna, people are haunted by their need to connect, despite the consequences.

Of course the coincidences of people’s lives interrelating as described in the film are contrived. But, so what? Not only are the individual stories interesting (and sometimes cliff-hangers) but the acting is excellent. There are successes, failures, disappointments, and people in and out of love. Call this medley of stories a “people pot-pourri”.

Whenever a character speaks in a language other than English (e.g. Russian, French, Slovakian) there are English subtitles.

In addition to many new faces there are some well-known actors: Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, and Anthony Hopkins.

Hopefully you will enjoy this optimistic well-done adult drama.

2012, Based on a Book, Fantasy, Gay theme, Human spirit, Nuclear energy, Optimistic, Sci-Fi, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Violent

Cloud Atlas (2012)

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From Netflix:

In this star-studded drama, six seemingly disparate stories take viewers from a South Pacific Island in the 19th century to 1970s America to a dystopian future, exploring the complicated links that humans share through the generations.

In Mitchell’s novel each of the various episodes, all of which are related one to another, continue uninterrupted up to a cliff-hanging point of the episode near its end. At the end of the novel each of the episodes concludes.

In the film, on the other hand, those episodes are shuffled like a deck of cards. You constantly and abruptly flit from episode to episode.

Story alone will get you through the 172 minutes, even if not all the actors (some quite well known, but mum’s the word) excel at their craft.

For me the most unsettling thread was the account of Corpocracy. Could that really happen? In the book names of objects are replaced by their brand names. For example, the word “Lipton” is used instead of the archaic “tea”. Also I found the costumes for that portion eerily appropriate.

Believe it or not, I preferred the film. Enjoy!

2012, Amputee, Boxing, Drama, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, French, Love Story, Mixed Martial Arts, Nudity, Optimistic, Redemption, Violent

Rust and Bone (2012)

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From NetFlix:

An extraordinary story of survival and salvation from the acclaimed, award-winning director of A Prophet. Starring Academy Award Winner Marion Cotillard as Stéphanie, who navigates a gritty relationship with Ali, a street fighter, in a world where love and courage appear in many forms.

When I first saw Matthias Schoenaerts in Bullhead I was very impressed. “Bullhead” is an excellent film but not for everyone because it is quite violent. In both “Bullhead” and “Rust and Bone” Schoenaerts plays a very physical role, that is to say a tough, strong, silent, possibly insensitive character. He can now take these roles because he is a very young looking and very much in good physical shape at the age of 35.

Of all the roles played by Marion Cotillard, probably her portrayal of Edit Piaf in La Vie en Rose. She is NOT an amputee. You can read about the film techniques in the Wikipedia article about the film.

Once again “Rust and Bone” might not be for everyone: there are brutal illegal fights between men for betting purposes (think dog fighting); there is much nudity and very explicit sexual intercourse; there is a harrowing scene on a semi-frozen pond; there are many frank scenes featuring Cotillard as an amputee.

However, the film is basically one about redemption, love, and the ability to mature and change.

If gritty appeals to you, then I heartily recommend both “Bullhead” and “Rust and Bone”.

2011, Acceptable for children, British, Comedy, Crude Talk, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, Fishing, Love Story, Optimistic, Politicians

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

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From NBetFlix:

A sheik with a love for the sport hopes to introduce fly-fishing to the Middle East and turns to uptight fisheries expert Fred Jones for help. Buoyed by the sheik’s enthusiasm (and his comely English aide), Fred sets out to achieve the impossible.

Ewan McGregor does it again. Somewhat of a rarity these days, this film is a feel-good that the entire family can watch. Good plot, good acting, good romance, good humor: what’s not to like?

Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect as a hard-nosed, ambitious, ruthless, and vulgar governmental communications maven.

Emily Blunt portrays Harriet well as a young woman caught between two loves.

Ewan McGregor carries off the role of a fishing geek (possibly with Asperger’s, but that is not completely clear) who agrees to try the impossible and bring salmon fishing to a desert.

Even though there is no sex and violence, DO NOT MISS!

1994, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Flirting, Gay theme, Love Story, Optimistic, Unusual, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

The Sum Of Us (1994)

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From NetFlix:

In this Australian comedy based on David Stevens’s stage play, Jeff (Russell Crowe) is a young gay man living with his widowed father, Harry (Jack Thompson). Although Harry has always accepted the fact that his son is openly gay, his acceptance is challenged. Jeff brings home a potential lover one night, and in turn, when Harry gets involved with Joyce, a divorcée, she and Jeff can’t see eye-to-eye.

“Comedy” is not an apt description of this unusual, well-made, gay-themed film. If anything, it is a touching, warm-hearted drama. Filmed in the Sydney (Australia) from a time that reminds me of our own country before the United States became ancient Rome, the anti-gay sentiments portrayed therein are probably similar to our attitudes here in the USA 18 years ago.

Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand in 1964. So he was a young pup of 30 years when he starred in this film. Jack Thompson, who played Jeff’s father, has been in many films. For example, he was Maj. J.F. Thomas in “Breaker Morant” (which you should see!). John Polson (the potential lover) also has a respectable film resume. In this production the acting is excellent.

One device used in the film is that throughout both Jeff’s father and Jeff speak to us directly as a running commentary.

Lest you be hesitant to watch a gay-themed film, I assure you that the most explicit sexual activity portrayed is a kiss. However, the conversation is something else: off-color comments and very explicit discussions abound!

Every now and then I felt I was watching pro-gay propaganda because of the father’s attitude. How rare was it in those days to have such an understanding and accepting father? If there is a theme to this film it is: You have not lived if you have not loved.

Going out on a limb, I will say DO NOT MISS!