Category: Movies

Movie 1: The Art of Racing in the Rain

This film is based on the best selling novel by the same name. It’s as good or better than similar films of recent years mainly because the script is honest and faithful to its story line.

Its critics offer resentment to “gimmicks and weepy cliches” but if you focus on the family drama and the core story without the distractions, you might discover a heartwarming and tender underbelly.

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Movie 2: Honeyland

This unusual movie is based in Macedonia (part of the former Yugoslavia) where beekeeping is an important part of rural life, both as a food source and a revenue.

This documentary film captures the importance and difficulty of everyday life in a remote corner of the world and has received numerous awards for cinematography and originality. It is well worth seeking out. Macedonian with English subtitles.

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Movie 3: Tel Aviv on Fire

The story line highlights the absurdity of the Israel/Palestine reality in Jerusalem and beyond. In this film the production crew for a popular Palestinian soap opera is forced to alter the script to avoid conflict. It’s interesting at first but ultimately dissolves into political satire. Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.

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Movie 1: The Kitchen

My my my…the critics did NOT like this movie! Perhaps a bit to violent…or perhaps too racist, sexist, shocking, unnerving. It’s a shame because the acting is excellent. The story line is…let’s say uncomfortable. Nonetheless, McCarthy, Haddish and Moss transform themselves into impressive characters. Our favorite tagline from a critic…”The Kitchen needs a remodel.” Wish we had thought of that!

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Movie 2: The Nightingale

This is the second film by Jennifer Kent. This one is more than a bit grittier. Frankly it is a lot grittier, violent and brutal on so many levels.

While difficult to watch, it’s still a story that should be told and is deserving of an audience. It’s based on real history of 1825 Australia when British troops controlled the land with a heavy hand. Gaelic, Aboriginal, English with English subtitles.

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Movie 3: Them That Follow

A preacher of a Pentecostal congregation in deep Appalachia, with the support of its congregation, believe in atonement of sin by potential dead-dealing snakes. Yup!! We are ‘off the grid on this one!’

The acting is good, the story unique. That said, it was incredibly difficult to watch. Frankly, it’s a bit of a let down.

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Movie 1: Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

Set in the 1960’s and 70’s, mostly on the Greek Island of Hydra, Marianne was the inspiration/muse for several of Leonard Cohen’s hit songs. This film is a documentary about the famous couple.

Marrianne was a Norwegian ex-pat and Leonard a Canadian poet. The film received mixed reviews but we found it both interesting and entertaining.

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Movie 2: Mike Wallace Is Here

Wow! This documentary is a thorough look at his television career and unique style as an interrogative reporter. It’s concurrently interesting and annoying. It’s also a wild romp through history and well worth the watch.

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Movie 3: Luce

This film is unique, relevant, well acted. It’s filled with provocative scenes. Excellent character acting makes this production work even with its occasionally awkward story line. It’s well worth a watch.

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Movie 1: The Farewell

We love the tagline! “The Farewell is an uplifting tale based on an actual lie.” It’s the story of a Chinese family whose matriarch has only weeks to live. The family gathers in Changchun, China under the guise of a wedding.

It’s simple, complicated and believable all at the same time. The acting is excellent and compelling. Do seek this film out. It’s in wide release in major markets but may be challenging to find or in limited release in smaller markets.

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Movie 2: Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

It had to happen sooner or later. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s characters join forces to thwart evil doer, Idris Elba. It’s concurrently funny, goofy, unique and satisfying.

The script and production won’t garner any major industry awards but it will attract audiences. It’s a little goofy but still worth a watch.

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Movie 3: Maiden

It’s not often a Documentary film gets attention or credit for its impact on a global scale. This film chronicles how a 24 year old female charter boat cook became the skipper and leads her all female team in the Whitbread Round the World sailing competition in 1989.

It’s simply brilliant film making and an inspiration to anyone challenged to stretch conventional limits. That should come as no surprise to those of us who already know that women are very much the equal to men.

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Movie 1: Wild Rose

A young Scottish woman wants to be a country singer in Nashville. While she has the drive and talent, she is a young mother with a young child and practically no resources to pursue her dream.

It’s a bit confusing, sometimes baffling, but ultimately enjoyable with a unique peek from a different point of view. It’s one part reckless, one part inspiring, and mostly satisfying. It’s worth seeking out.

Note: The heavy Scottish accents are a bit difficult to understand at times. Subtitles would have helped.

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Movie 2: Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood

It’s Quentin Tarantino’s ninth Hollywood film, this one set in 1969 during Hollywood’s “Golden Age”.

It’s a reminder of what the film industry was like. More like the wild West with rapid change, expanding wealth, radically shifting social paradigms except this one is set in the Hollywood Hills.

There is a lot to like in this film. A romp through times past. It’s a reminder of how quickly times evolve and how bizarre reality can be under the right circumstances. Don’t miss this one!

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First! A BIG hello to all our friends, family and fellow travelers! We’ve been in Wisconsin almost five weeks now. It’s been a very HOT and HUMID summer for the most part. It’s something we are not used to. When there is rain, it is torrential. Massive amounts of rain for hours at a time.

This year we experienced several tornado warnings. Something else we are not used to. The good news is there were only two that were a threat to us. We lost power twice, once for only a few hours and once for almost 14 hours. If you are not accustomed to these events, it can be both daunting and terrifying.

On the upside, watching the cycles of crops in the massive farms are intriguing. Corn from sprouts to over your head. You can almost see it grow. Wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, potatoes and a dozen other crops flourish in the rich soil and abundant rainfall. And let’s not forget Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland!

We’ve been busy with family commitments with almost no time for touring and travel to nearby attractions. No worries, we will make up for it with a fall trip to Europe. We have two weeks booked at an apartment in Paris, a tour from Prague to Budapest. And finally a visit with friends in Switzerland. Overall it should be a blast.

In the mean time, here are some photos we thought might interest you. We send our best wishes to all. Thanks for all your support and ideas.

We send virtual hugs and kisses to all!

J&J

Assorted pics from this summer.

Gracie is ready to celebrate the 4th!

Lion King

This film is virtually the same as the original in most respects. That said, don’t be deterred from seeing it.

The most important reason to see this film is the updated/upgraded animation. It is so good you’ll be challenged to distinguish live action from digitally created. It is nothing short of amazing and totally advances the audience experience.

It’s worth the few extra dollars for a premium screening. We saw it on an “Ultra” screen. It’s also available in Dolby and IMAX formats.

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The Art of Self-Defense

If you are in the mood for a weird, dry, confusing film with bewildering characters who incrementally become more bizarre, then this is your film!

If not for the performance by Jesse Eisenberg this review would end here. Fortunately, his character evolves into quite the tough masculine realist.

We cannot recommend this film for children.

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Movie 3 None

Note: Unfortunately there are no new films being released in the Milwaukee market area. We will spend our last couple weeks exploring more of the museums and other cultural points of interests. We will post as time allows. We send wishes of good health and happiness to you all. J&J

This Basilica just south of central Milwaukee at 6th Street and Lincoln Avenue is a true gem.  It carries an extraordinary history.  It’s named after St. Josaphat, an Archbishop in the Kingdom of Poland in the early 1600’s.

The first parish was built as a church in 1889 but burnt to the ground a year later.  A second church was built but it was too small to accommodate the congregation of 12,000 parishioners.

The current structure broke ground in 1896 and was completed in 1901.  It is based on a smaller version of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Both structures have a cross shaped floor plan with a huge central dome.  

Much of the construction materials were re-purposed from the closed U.S. Post Office and Customs House in Chicago.  Most of the stained glass windows were imported from Innsbruck, Austria. 

The Basilica today is the largest church in Milwaukee.  It seats over 1,000 on the main floor with hundreds more in the galleries.

Child’s Play

The biggest realization today was we have seen every movie currently in release in the greater Milwaukee Metropolitan Area! Unless something new is released in the next month we will seek other activities to entertain ourselves!

Child’s Play was a remake about a killer doll named “Buddi”. The good news is there is a lot less violence than the “Chucky” series. The bad news is the visuals are graphic, quite gory and expansive. There is an injection of humor here and there in an attempt to soften the gore. Unfortunately we cannot recommend this film for younger viewers.

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Stuber

Far from rocket science or brain surgery, Stuber is a buddy comedy where the two men could not be more different from each other. The biggest surprise wasn’t the stereotypical characters. It was how hilarious the screenplay was from beginning to end.

The unseemly pairing of the lead characters speaks volumes about current society in a way that is palatable to a broad spectrum of audiences. Brain and brawn blend together with layers of social commentary. It was better than we expected.

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Crawl

We are at that point in the summer movie season when new releases, well, are less than prolific. Hence: Crawl. On the upside, it’s suspense filled, occasionally intense, and one critic noted it has “plot conveniences”, which is a new description for us.

There is a big overarching flaw in the film. The consistent references to alligators in lieu of the massive and gravely powerful crocodiles.

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Annabelle Comes Home

Annabelle has been around a while with her evil spirits and hurtful shenanigans. This time she is locked in a glass case with a warning “Absolutely Do Not Open”.

It’s your guess if anybody payed attention to that warning… That said, this is classic horror film done well! We resisted the temptation to stonewall this film but having run out of local inventory, we acquiesced.

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Midsommar

This is quite a unique movie set in a remote Swedish village. One part family tragedy, one part summer affair, one part summer festival, and one part pagan cult. How does that sound for a summer holiday?!

That said, it is innovative. Above average acting and action. It gets pretty intense and should not be viewed by children. The visuals are impressive.

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Spider-Man: Far From Home

Often funny, action packed and entertaining with a touch of angst. It’s respectful of its Iron Man roots including mayhem and destruction, albeit in a playful way.

The energy in this film drives the story along with ease. There is a bit of teasing, the action scenes are clever and unique. It’s marginally okay for younger children. Overall, it’s a great transition from the last sequel Endgame.

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