Month: May 2019

Sauvage/Wild

Let’s be clear right away. This is the story about mostly professional gay men who sell themselves to others as prostitutes in Strasbourg, France. It’s the product of French Director Camille Videl-Naquet and was nominated for Best Picture at the French version of the Academy Awards.

The lead character is played by the very talented Felix Maritaud, whose performance single handedly carries the entire production. It’s gut wrenching to watch and is not suitable for audiences other than mature adults.

That said, it’s beautifully filmed, with some touches of hopefulness and optimism. Overall, however, it spends entirely too much time on the underbelly. The ending is a surprise.

It’s not rated. It’s listed as a Drama. The run time is 99 minutes. French with English subtitles.

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Ask Dr. Ruth

What a delightful contrast to our first film. It’s the life story of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, from her painful childhood being separated from her parents, to her surviving the Holocaust, to her rise to fame as America’s sex therapist.

Now in her 90’s, still standing only 4 feet 7 inches, she is a spitfire. Her mind and spirit radiate uplifting energy through her thick German accent. Her contributions to the world transcend her 44 year career on television, radio, lectures and public appearances.

This film is also not rated. It’s listed as a Documentary with a run time of 100 minutes. We feel this film is suitable for audiences of mature children and above.

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Long Shot

This new release is both familiar and unique. Familiar because it’s a familiar “Rom-com” format and unique because it is close enough to real politics to remind us of a variety of current events.

The acting is quite impressive. The plot is as believable as our current political events. Unlike our political events, the film does not take itself seriously. Consider this film one part heartwarming, one part satire, one part political quagmire and one part comedic fantasy.

This film is rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use. It’s listed as a Comedy running 115 minutes. We do not think it is appropriate for children.

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Hello all! We will be in Ireland for the next three weeks with limited access to movies. We’ll be back in early June. Until then, we wish you all much happiness and good health. J&J

Penguins

Here is a captivating film about the Adelie Penguins and their summer cycle in the hostile territory of Antarctica. It’s the Disney documentary production that delivers the life cycle of these delightful and determined little fellows into a full blown movie.

This is a family friendly story about the incredible journey these two foot high creatures must endure simply to survive another year. It’s lighthearted, often funny, occasionally tense but ultimately satisfying.

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Dogman

This is an unusual film set in an unnamed seedy seaside village of Italy. It’s pretty bleak from the beginning, and frankly goes downhill from there.

Marcello is the owner of a modest pet grooming business. He also has a young daughter whom he adores. He befriends the town’s bully, Simon, who is simply a horrific thug.

The film is often bleak, intense, surprising and violent. It’s also intriguing.

The film is not rated. It is not appropriate for children. The genre is Drama, Mystery and Suspense with a run time 103 minutes. Italian with English subtitles.

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Avengers: Endgame

Ladies and Gentlemen…if you are a fan of animated films and/or the movie versions, you must make time to see this film! It was released five days ago with sold out theaters shattering earnings of more than 1.2 billion dollars globally!

Why? you may ask! Someone convinced the Marvel enterprise this product was a perfect time to wrap up existing products and clear the decks for the next generation of super heroes and/or beyond…

At three hours and 2 minutes, one must prepare for refreshments and such. Our theater was the largest IMAX theater in San Francisco and was sold out with over 435 seats, a seven story screen and a state of the art sound system.

If you are a fan of this franchise already, be prepared for surprises, unexpected twists and turns, and throwbacks to the numerous characters and their unique qualities.

Parents should be advised this film is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence, action and some language. At three hours long there is a lot to consider, including scenes of sex & nudity, profanity and some intense scenes. That said, we do not think this film is suitable for young children.

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