Indie Film Series at Studio C: Little Men

One of the many things I love about Studio C in Okemos is their Indie Film Series. This fall they are showing a different indie film each week and this week I had the privilege of seeing Little Men.

Jake and his parents are forced to leave their Manhattan home when his grandfather passes away, leaving them his Brooklyn apartment.  Jake isn't too thrilled at first but is excited to make a new friend when he meets Tony.  Tony is a Brooklyn raised talker who makes friends with anyone he meets and the great thing about him is that he passes no judgement to others.  Jake is a reserved, artful soul who doesn't make friends as easily so relies on Tony for friendship.  The pair are two peas in a pod.

Their friendship is challenged when Jake's Dad is forced to evict the tenant of the dress shop below his apartment.  You see, Jake's grandfather left his dad his apartment but also the store he was leasing.  What he didn't inform his son was that the tenant was paying an extremely low rent amount which wouldn't survive long.  Once realizing the tenant wasn't going to make adequate rent, the eviction process began.  The bigger problem was that not only was he evicting a woman from her business and only source of income, but she was also Tony's mom.  After Jake finds out what his dad has done, he cries to him pleading as he can't imagine someone he loves making such a harsh decision.

This was a heartfelt story that conveys how decisions adults make can and do affect their children.  The writer did an excellent job of portraying the inner conflict many of the characters had. Even side characters such as Jake's mom who was fully aware her income was the only income supporting her family, had their own layer to add to the film.  It was rated 7.2/10 on IMDB and an astounding 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.  I would definitely give it an 8/10.  It wasn't my favorite indie film as so far, nothing beats What Mazy Knew, but it was well written, well directed, and well acted.  I have to stay Tony and Jake played by Michael Barbieri and Theo Taplitz were nothing short of amazing.  A must see for my fellow indie film goers.

Bridget Jones's Baby-Or Should I Say Baby Daddy

For for those who are Bridget Jones fans, please don't be mad when I tell you that this is the first Bridget Jones movie I've seen.  However, when I saw the previews for this I thought it looked like the perfect chic flick and am happy to report that I was right.

Bridget finds herself at another birthday which ends the same as they all have- she is alone. After this dreadful birthday passes, she convinces herself this year will be different and begins a new path of self discovery and finding her next Mr. Right.  Seeing Mr. Darcy, the love in her life that extended over the better part of a decade, with his wife was the best motivation to do so.  Her spirited friend invites her to a girls weekend at a festival where Bridget meets the handsome Jack who ends up giving her a fun night of passion which she hasn't had in quite a while.  Bridget reverses the usual and ends up being the one to sneak off that next morning after Jack went to fetch them both breakfast.  Bridget comes back home to reality and attends a christening where she runs into Mr. Darcy, again, who informs her he is divorced.  The two reconnect and have their own night of passion.  I know what you are thinking; Bridget is definitely getting her fair share of action these days.  This all comes turns into a conundrum when she finds herself pregnant and in her own version of a Maury Povich episode wondering who the father is.  She natural has a hard time telling both men she is pregnant with what could be either one of their children so she does a slightly dishonest approach and just tells them she is pregnant on separate occasions which allows both to assume the baby is theirs.  Soon enough she comes to her senses and reveals she isn't sure who it is.  The guys do exactly what you'd expect of both.  Jack, who runs a successful dating website and knows all the perfect things to do, stays and embraces all of it making sure she knows how amazing he is and would be as a father.  Mr. Darcy runs fast as this is all too much for him to deal with.  Things do get better as both men end up being in her life during the pregnancy and pleading to stick around to support her and father their children until they find out who that actually is.  Meanwhile, she pursues her relationship with Jack since she feels her and Darcy had their time.  Jack says all of the right things, is convinced they are a perfect match, and as much as she'd like that, she continues to question herself and their relationship.  The fleeting thoughts of Mr. Darcy and their history are flooding her mind and heart.  Bridget knows this isn't really a matter of who the father of her child is, but who she should bewith and who she wants to be with.

This movie rated 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.5 out of 10 stars on IMDB.  I would have rated it a 7 myself.  It was definitely entertaining.  My favorite part was the beginning when Bridget has a sing-a-long with herself in her apartment.  She is definitely relatable and you can't help but adore her.  I felt it to be very predictable because you know from early on who she will end up with.  What did surprise me though was who ended up being the father.  I was convinced I knew and even told my friend this in the middle of the movie.  I can admit when I am wrong and indeed was.  If you are looking for a fun chic flick or were a fan of the previous Bridget Jones movies, you will adore this one.

Snowden: The Government's Worst Nightmare

Do you remember hearing about that guy who leaked all of that important, classified information which exposed the CIA and their tactics to literally spy on all of us?  Well this movie is about that guy and his name is Edward Snowden.  This film is a dramatization based on true events and I have to say, Oliver Stone killed it.  

Edward Snowden joined the military for the same reasons many others have-he wanted to defend the country he loved.  That all came to a halt when he broke his legs and was discharged.  Snowden had other talents though and those talents were evident when he joined the CIA.  Snowden believed he could make a difference in the world and fight for his country through his work and talents in the cyber world.  His supervisors quickly learned how intelligent he was and therefore Snowden was quickly placed in jobs and projects that were very important but also introduced him to knew information that he never realized could be possible.  One example is when he discovered the government had the ability to not only see every text, email, and other methods of communication, but also viewed citizens in realtime through computer cameras.  They indicated this was to keep everyone safe and at first Snowden tried to believe it, but the more in-depth he got with central intelligence, the more wrong it felt until he couldn't do it anymore.  Snowden tried to voice his concerns, but quickly realized that was dangerous territory and things would't change unless he did something big.  

Snowden reached out to a small group of journalists and leaked valuable information which showed how the basic human right to privacy had been secretly confiscated.  Snowden knew how severe the consequences could be, but wanted to do the right thing which to him was letting the public know.  As soon as the media leaked the classified information and Snowden performed an interview explaining in more detail just how much was going on out of the public eye, Snowden then left the country and was able to find a safe place in Russia where he still lives to this day.

I have not done a fact check to see what was true and not true with this movie nor am I going to go into my thoughts on if I think he was right or wrong.  What I can tell you is that this was a fantastic movie.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays an excellent Snowden even down to the voice.  There is an awesome part in the end of the movie where the interview starts as Joseph but changes to Snowden himself and this is where you can really see the similarities.  It was a compelling story that portrayed the turmoil one young man went through when he joined a program thinking he was savings lives only to discover he was invading privacy in an attempt to do so.  You feel for him and what it does to his relationships as well as his health.  The inner conflict he has is astounding and was definitely portrayed well in this movie.  I highly recommend seeing it whether you are familiar with the real-life events or not and then go home and put tape over your cameras on your PCs.  

Florence Foster Jenkins: One Woman's Passion for Music

Most of the time my movie adventures are with my husband, relatives, or friends, but once in awhile I get to enjoy a good film by myself. To some this may be odd, but there is something about seeing a movie by myself that makes me happy.  Usually on these rare occasions, the movie ends up being an indy or unique film that I really enjoy.  This movie was definitely the latter.

Florence Foster Jenkins was an heiress who had a passion for music.  She lived for it and made sure to fund it and support it at all times.  It was often you would find her surrounded by musical geniuses such as Sinatra.  She loved it so much that she aspired to be an Opera singer, but had no idea how much her vocal skills were lacking.  This is probably because her husband did everything he could to ensure his wife had a constant group of supporters and rather charmed life.  You see, Florence contracted a disease from her first husband and was unable to have children.  Her current husband, played by the charming Hugh Grant, was a devoted supporter of his wife.  He paid good money for everyone around her to cheer her on and make her believe she was far more talented than she actually was.  This usually tended to work out well, but went too far when Florence found a way to sing at a well-known opera house in New York.  Her husband was terrified of what would happen once an audience filled with people who didn't know of Florence's voice nor the appropriate response that her other supporters had been accustomed to.  He also caught wind that a reporter would be attending this event.  He tried convincing her not to go on, but couldn't break her heart and tell her why, so the show went on and you'll just have to see it to find out if her singing pulled through after all.

What I loved about this movie was that is showed the importance of being compassionate for others.  It is true, this woman had the equivalent sound of nails on a chalkboard, but was it worth crushing her spirits when she did't have much else that was important to her besides music?  She had this image of a successful woman with musical talent, but in reality she had a sexually transmitted disease, no children, and a sort of arrangement where her husband spent his days with her but went home to his girlfriend at night.  It is really sad when thinking about it, but when you see her surrounded by those she loves and music, you see why everyone acts as they do.  They do it for their love of Florence.  It was a witty movie with lots of spirit and I loved the decade it represented.  If you are a fan of the early-mid 1900's, you'll love this movie.

Sully: Tom Hanks Reminds Us He's Still Got It

I'm sure many of you remember that crazy story about a pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River several years ago.  This was an extraordinary case because all 155 passengers survived the crash, let alone the severely cold temperatures which would have killed many of them had they not gotten rescued sooner.  I remember seeing the news reports and thinking what a hero the pilot was.  I had no idea that this same man was also being scrutinized for his landing as some felt he could have safely landed the plane back at the airport from which he took off.  Yeah......people suck.

This film gives us an inside picture of that entire day in which the plane took off then shortly after, literally ran into a flock of birds.  This caused the engines to malfunction and gave the pilot seconds to decide his best course of action.  He determined the safest route was to land in the Hudson River and refused to leave the plane until all passengers were off.  He also wouldn't be interviewed or meet with the mayor at the time until he had a count that assured all passengers survived.  As days since the crash passed, he and his copilot were investigated by the commission which was proper protocol to ensure the best course of action was chosen and that he was in good condition to fly.  When things started to get challenging was when computer simulators were stated to have shown the plane could have landed safely back at the airport had he chosen that option, which seemed to show he did not make the right choice and infact endangered 155 souls.  I know........poor guy.  It was up to Sully to show the commission how computers may be able to predict outcome, but there is one thing they were missing-human input and real life events.  Would he be able to prove this or would he be forced into early retirement and changed from a hero to zero?

I was worried this movie would be a long one as it was directed by Clint Eastwood and let's be honest folks, his movies are great but do tend to drag on a bit.  I am happy to report that it was well paced and did such a great job of portraying how intense it was in the air that day and the internal conflict Sully went through as he began to doubt his own efforts.  Even if you are not familiar with this real life event and just want to see a good movie, I highly recommend this.  I mean come on, it's got Tom Hanks who apparently is always going to kill it on the big screen.

The Light Between Oceans: A Movie Review

I knew this movie was going to be a tear jerker, but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't just another sappy movie. I was constantly questioning who I agreed with and contemplating what I would do if I was in the same situation. I still can't answer those questions, but can tell you this movie will pull on your heart strings while making you think and reflect about right and wrong.

Tom and Isabel lived on an island as Tom's job was to man the lighthouse and monitor the ocean view.  It was a quiet place to live, but they had each other which was all they needed.  As time passed, they tried to have children but were left with two devastating miscarriages.  The first miscarriage left the couple disheartened and the second destroyed Isabel.  All she wanted was to be a mom and she felt this dream to be impossible.

One day Tom saw what looked like to be an abandoned boat wash upon shore which would soon reveal itself to have a man (dead on arrival) and crying baby. He called for Isabel who came running over and whisked the baby immediately to console her.  After talking and arguing about what to do, they decided to keep the baby and buried the man.  Isabel convinced Tom to go against his judgement and to raise the baby as their own.  Tom would do anything for his wife and this decision, he knew was wrong, but had to do for her.

After Tom, Isabel, and their daughter Lucy became accustomed to their life together, Tom accidentally met Lucy's real mom back on land and heard the terrible story of how her husband and baby were missing and presumed to be dead.  Hannah, Lucy's biological mother had a feeling her daughter could still be alive and held on to all hope of finding her as it was all she had left.  This crushed Tom as he couldn't be responsible for a mother losing her child.

Tom began sending signs to Hannah that her daughter was still alive and eventually, Hannah was able to find her daughter.  This also meant the daughter Isabel had raised and loved as her own for 4 years would have be literally grabbed from her reach, leaving her heart broken and hating her husband.  Poor, little Lucy did not know her real mother and wanted nothing to do with her which caused Hannah to begin to think maybe she should give her back as she would do anything to make her daughter happy.  Meanwhile, Tom was in jail for kid-knapping and refused to allow any charges to be brought against his wife.  His fate would be in Isabel's hands who still loathed him.  Would Isabel be able to think past her own heartache to save her husband, and would Hannah return her only daughter whom she once lost to the family who raised her? These questions pose the true difficulty of making choices based on what we want versus what we should do.

This film was well done.  The story line was engaging and the acting authentic.  I must warn any who have struggled to have children or suffered miscarriages that it will be hard to watch.  The scene when Isabel realizes she is loosing her second baby before it is born is still vivid in my mind.  The ending was definitely not predictable which was one of the characteristics I liked about this movie.  I really couldn't tell which way they would take it.  Just don't forget the tissues when you see it.