Movies: Wind River, Columbus, Menashe

Greetings to all!

Two weeks after returning to San Francisco, we are generally up to date on movie releases with the exception of a handful of films that came and went (or were never in wide release).  Nonetheless our movie count stands at 115 to date this year.  At this rate we will exceed our record of 2016.

The big surprise this week was Columbus.  Since many of you are avid movie goers like us, we welcome your take on this film, especially since our view is the polar opposite of most critics.

We send our best to you all!

J&J

Wind River

Set in winter in a remote area of the American West, Wind River is both a beautiful and heartbreaking story about death and despair.  Filmed in Wyoming, it captures the setting and tone Director and Screenplay Writer Taylor Sheridan wanted for this movie.

The acting headlines Jeremy Renner as a contract traker, and Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI outsider from Florida.  It was nice to see several Native American actors filling the roles including Julia Jones, Gil Birmingham, Martin Sensmeier, and Tokala Clifford.

This crime drama gets gritty as the scenery gets more beautiful.  It is quite the visual backdrop for such a tragic story.

Rated R for violence and adult subject matter, running 1 hour 51 minutes.  It is listed as a Mystery/Crime genre.

Rating  

Columbus

This is a unique film about a Korean father and son relationship set in a small Indiana college town.  Enter Casey, recent college graduate with a passion for architecture.  Soon a friendship develops. There is angst and drama, blah, blah blah…

Let’s get right to it.  The story drags on and on ad nauseum.  There is a ridiculous amount of time chatting about modernist architecture and horrible upbringings and such.

In full disclosure, we are the odd men out.  Critics nationwide thought this film was the greatest thing since sliced bread, giving it a 9.0 rating out of 10.  It was just way too artsy fartsy for our sensibilities.

It is listed as a Drama/Romance.  It is not rated and runs a long 1 hour, 44 minutes.

Rating  

Menashe

Here is a rare and insightful peek behind the curtains of the New York Hasidic Jewish community and one mans struggle to raise his son after the the death of his wife.

The actors are impressive.  The Menashe character, who works in a grocery store, is played by Menashe Lustig, who in reality is a Hasidic widower whose nature is warm and sensitive.  His son is played by the young Ruben Niborski.

The neighbors and relatives are all involved, especially the rabbi who insists Menashe’s son can only be raised in a household with a father and a mother.

The film is rated PG and the genre is listed as a Drama.  Runtime is 1 hour, 22 minutes.

Rating 

 

2 thoughts on “Movies: Wind River, Columbus, Menashe”

  1. I READ YOUR COMMENTS AND REVIEWS AND FEEL LIKE SUCH A NEOPHYTE. I HAVEN’T BEEN TO THE FLICS IN MONTHS. I NEED YOU CLOSE BY TO BE MY CATALYSTS. XOXOX

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