Movies Watched -- Hereditary (2018)

127 minute running time so at least 30 to 40 minutes too long … horror movie, but looked lame when watched on ffwd. Didn’t grab me, didn’t interest me, I’m not really into horror. Most critics loved it, but you can always count on Rex to tell the truth: “Hereditary, the long, pretentious occult thriller … boasts the four-word label in film-festival jargon that often reliably guarantee a torturous disaster: ‘Big Hit at Sundance!’ … Toni Collette has never appeared more deranged and out of control.” Full red, avoid it.

Allergic to nuts

Movies Watched -- Loving (2016)

123 minute running time so at least 20 to 30 minutes too long. I watched most of it on ffwd. About the Loving vs. Virginia verdict … the woman who played Mildred Jeter was absolutely stunning, no doubt of mixed race herself … wasn’t interested in the story, plus it was too long. Give it a miss.

We ain’t hurtin’ anybody

Movies Watched -- Prisoners (2013)

153 minute running time so at least an HOUR too long … I watched most of it on ffwd. Pair of young girls kidnapped, which means no parents of young girls will voluntarily watch it. Wolverine’s daughter and her token black friend and neighbor disappear. Wolverine then abducts and really graphically tortures the suspected kidnapper, but of course he’s off track … Jake Gyllenhaal plays a detective with a squinting problem and inexplicable neck tattoo. Anyway, I wasn’t thrilled, and a running time of 153 minutes is just inexcusable. Skip it. (Edelstein called it a long sentence.)

Creepy eyeglasses means he’s guilty

Movies Watched -- Lone Survivor (2014)

120 minute running time so 20 to 30 minutes too long. Short underwear model, Marky Mark, has cast himself as the lone survivor of a tragic special ops mission in Afghanistan (which really happened, it’s based on a true story).

It’s War Porn, but sort of reverse War Porn since it shows the Americans getting beaten for once … turns the SEAL team into superheroes as they are shot and bounce down mountainsides, yet heroically fight till the bitter end. All the soldiers are handsome white boys. A Chinook helicopter was shot down during a rescue mission for the trapped four (another 16 dead).

I wasn’t thrilled with this, you can give it a miss.

Marky Mark chewing Backy and strictly following those Rules of Engagement

Movies Watched -- A Fantastic Woman (2018)

100 minutes so the right length, but I quit watching this after 20 minutes, and it was a Blu-Ray disc so I don’t have a screencap to accompany the post. It’s about a transgender man/woman in Chile… his/her older male partner croaks and he/she has to deal with his family afterwards… it didn’t grab me, I wasn’t interested, I have no idea why it has won any critical acclaim. Could be that the transgender issue is hot now and the media latched onto this thing, but you can definitely give it a miss.

Tony Lane also wasn’t thrilled.

Movies Watched -- Leave No Trace (2018)

109 minute running time, so at least 10 to 20 minutes too long. Unusual movie, directed by a woman from a script written by women. About a damaged guy (a Marine vet with PTSD) and his teenage daughter who live in the woods outside of Portland … “social services” brings them in and tries to house them (they’re all very nice, no stupid people in the mix), but Dad wants to run away again and does, taking his daughter with him, even though she just wants a place to settle down and live a “normal” life. Mom is absent, dead or divorced, we don’t know.

I didn’t buy the story. Just how long have they been out in the woods? And the father is not going to abandon his fine-boned daughter, I don’t care how much shock and awe he saw in the desert. Critics (esp. women like Zacharek, who wrote a good and glowing review) are going to love it, and it’s not terrible, it’s just that the premise is flawed.

Miss Quivering Chin with yet another Kind Earthy Woman

Movies Watched -- Support the Girls (2018)

90 minute running time so the perfect length, but I have no idea how this ended up on my to-watch list. About an overwhelmed woman who manages a Hooters-style restaurant in Houston? Not sure what demographic they’re targeting with this one, but it isn’t mine. The lead is sweet, but the story is depressing. Give it a miss.

Burgers, beer, and boobs

Movies Watched -- Green Zone (2010)

114 minute running time so at least 20 minutes too long. Bouncy cam, non-stop action, video-gamer special (never forget how many thousands of people really died). War Porn of sorts, and at its heart, a really dumb Hollywood thing… yes, of course non-existent WMD were a pretext for starting the war, everyone knew that from the beginning … but we need chief warrant officer “Miller” going rogue to get to the bottom of this fiction … funny to see the Entertainment Tonight host as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, he probably would have done as good a job as the real guy … god, I hated this … fast forward. Give it a miss.

Don’t be naive, Freddy.

Movies Watched -- Foxcatcher (2014)

134 minute running time, so they could have trimmed 20 minutes or so, but this was really good, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Steve Carell with prosthetic eagle nose plays John Dupont, nutty supporter of the US Wrestling Federation, Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz (whom I do remember from early cage fights), and Mark Ruffalo plays Dave Schultz, Mark’s older brother, also an Olympic gold medalist. Interesting (tragic) story, well told. Highly recommended!

(Rex also liked it.)

Ornithologist, Philatelist, Philanthropist

Movies Watched -- Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) (2016)

113 minute running time, so it could have been trimmed a bit … but this was a special film … a documentary, but not a conventional one. Life on the small island of Lampedusa (population 6,000) off the coast of Italy (shown through the simple times of a young boy), and the front line of the refugee crisis … desperate people crossing the Mediterranean trying to get to Europe — Sudanese, Syrians, Eritreans, etc. — first arrive here. I enjoyed it and can recommend it.

So many body bags….