Greetings to everyone!
We returned home this last Monday after an exceptional trip to Eastern Europe. More on that in another posting. We have a few new subscribers joining us today, Welcome.
We knew we were going to be way behind on our movie viewing and we are trying to squeeze in as many movies as possible this week.
Here is what we have managed to see so far. It’s always good to be home!
J&J
The Foreigner
This Thriller/Drama was released some time ago. We were glad to see it was still in the theaters when we returned home earlier this week. The story line seems implausible at first but gains traction in almost every subsequent scene.
Overall, it was an intense film with strong acting and intelligent plot twists. Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan fill the leading roles. There are more than another dozen excellent actors in other roles.
The genre is listed as Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery and Suspense. It is rated R for violence, language and some sexual material. The run time is 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Rating: 
Thor: Ragnarok
The latest film from the Marvel movie empire, this film has the mighty Thor trapped somewhere across the Universe, reduced to gladiator sparring with the likes of his former friend, the Hulk. In the meantime, Thor’s all powerful sister, Hela is destroying their home world in anger.
There is an all star cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, a wicked Cate Blanchett, the always superb Tom Hiddleston, rising star Tessa Thompson, always excellent Mark Ruffalo an the prolific Idris Elba. Like icing on a cake, there are added performances by Karl Urban, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Neill and Lou Ferrigno.
Overall, the film is both funny and audacious, quirky and fresh. Audiences clearly loved it. So did we. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and suggestive material. Run time is a whopping 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Rating:
LBJ
Every once in a while a movie comes around that instantly triggers personal memories from decades ago. For me (Jim) this was one of those times. Though I was only a child, I recall the political angst of the time. John Kennedy had become President. Lyndon Johnson, the Senate Majority Leader, was now Vice President. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and the nation was quite divided.
In a remarkable transformation, Woody Harrelson morphs into President Johnson. Jennifer Jason Leigh shines as Lady Bird Johnson. Jeffrey Donovan is perfect as John F. Kennedy and Michael Stahl-David captures Bobby Kennedy perfectly. There are at least another 12 actors as key characters rounding out the cast.
Audiences and critics reviews have been mixed. President Johnson was a complicated personality governing in complicated times. Anyone interested in politics today should be interested in this movie. The genre is listed as Drama/Biography. It is rated R for language and runs 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Rating:
Incredible likeness to President Johnson by actor Harrelson.
Glad you’re home. Thanks for the review.