Pain & Gain - Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg

There are some funny moments. But this movie did not work for me. If you were a 16 yr old male jock maybe. Off the bookshelf, let's make room for something better.

Shirley Valentine

"I'm in love, I'm in love with living." This movie is not to be missed. A lady in London. a mom and a wife, gets sucked into her life and somehow forgets who she is . . . or was. Her friend wins a trip to Greece for two weeks and take Shirley with her.

Her husband is so trapped into his life that when she tries to tell him, he can't accept it. So she leaves without him and finds life.

The scripting, dialog, timing, color is spot on, the Grecian scenery is fantastic, Mykonos maybe? There will always be a place on my shelf for this one.

The Godfather - Marlon Brando

I'd seen it, read the book, so have you quite likely. I had forgotten so much, it all just kept pouring back and new revelation as well; I finally put 2 + 2 together for going to the mattresses.

I had totally forgotten the "thunderbolt" in Sicily. That is what happened to me, that was a very long time ago and I am still married.

Masterpiece of a movie, there is most certainly room on my movie shelf. I guess I will get around to watching II and III, they came as a set.

One Man's Hero - Tom Berenger

Kathy wasn't home so I was a bachelor and this looked like a guy movie. I liked the pen drawings and the plight of the Irish immigrant start. It is a Western and there are some great landscapes and period costumes. The whippings are odd, not sure how they get the cross hatch pattern, whips go across easily, up and down takes a bit more effort. I could not follow the plot, it almost seemed like it was "life sucks". This one is not going to stay on the bookshelf, got to make room for other movies.

New in Town - Rene Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr.

Really enjoyed the movie. The first time I saw it was on an airplane, that results in sampling it more than watching it. We watched it at home and it was really fun. There will be a place for this on our movie bookshelf for a long time.

For extra credit, watch the special features. they filmed the movie in Winnipeg in the winter, so the cold scenes REALLY are cold. I used to be asked to speak at a security conference in Winnipeg in February by Dan Swanson, always managed to duck the opportunity, thank goodness. Hi Dan!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-swanson-155272/

Chocolat - Juliette Binoche

This is a magical movie; literally. They are subtle. Vianne, (Juliette), "blows in with the North wind" to a provincial French village that needs her gifts badly. She opens a chocolate shop. She has a gift to know what people need and give it to them.

There is pushback of course. Mostly led by the Mayor, Comte de Raynaud, (Alfred Molina). But person, by person, Vianne wins them over.

I really resonate with the movie. I love to cook and love to cook for others such as the sick at my church. I try to think what might help them, I pray for them. When they are mortally ill I try to craft food that will bring them a bit of happiness. But I am not magic, I don't even know if my prayers are answered. Watching the movie masterfully touch hearts made me smile.

I really loved the performance of Armande, (Judi Dench). She does a masterful job of playing the older woman, abandoned by her daughter, unable to see and spend time with her grandson.

The turning point, the drama, increases with the arrival of the "river rats", hobos on boats, including Roux, (Johnny Depp). They fit in even less than Vianne and the town is turned against them.

A low point in the movie is when the mayor convinces the pastor to preach against chocolates. Her daughter, Anouk, gets worked over by the other children concerning her mother, the "helper of Satan".

The party for Armande was touching and leads to a series of climaxes. I cannot divulge the endings, but there is a place for this movie on my bookshelf and I intend to watch it again

Bucket List - Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson

Kathy and I watched this movie last night. I turned to the Internet to try to find out what the relationship between Edward, (Jack Nicholson) and Thomas/Matthew, (Sean Hayes) was and learned for the first time, it was reviewed poorly.

Quick reminder, this is not a movie review blog, it is an impressions blog. I have no idea how to critically review a movie. My brother liked it, I liked it. The opening, in McCreath body shop and the close on the mountain, "Because it was against the law" are memorable and open and shut the movie nicely.

My favorite adventure was the car race. To intentionally ram a Shelby, that most be freeing.

I didn't like/get the Carter marriage stranger becomes a husband stuff. I suppose it was important, but I do not know why. I also could not follow the prostitute that Edward hired to seduce Carter conversation, the volume was too low compared to the rest of the movie and we have a decent home theater, but found I did not care enough to rewind and play again.

Overall, it is a good movie, it rates a place on my shelves. When we buy new movies, we chuck older non-performing ones and this one will probably be here for a long while.