The Movie and TV Thread

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 25

The Nickel Boys is an adaption of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. It got good reviews and was nominated for the Critics Choice Award for Best Picture and the Academy Award for Best Picture as well.

It's tells the story of a two teens in a reform school in Florida that was later found to be very abusive. It's based on a real reform school called "Dozier School for Boys" that was shut down but unmarked graves were found on the site. Survivors came forth and testified about the abuse there. It received extensive news coverage here.

The cinematography and direction is interesting in that it is from the perspective of the two main characters eyesight so it's a bit all over the place. Also symbolism is rampant.

Overall, it's a very good movie even given its dark subject matter.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nickel-boys-review

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/08/16/boys-were-beaten-abused-florida-reform-school-now-colson-whitehead-fictionalizes-that-history/

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 2

The Return is a decent movie, that I'd give 3 of 4 stars. Well acted by legendary actors Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. It tells the story of a king returning to his island home many years after fighting in Troy.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 4

Sing Sing is an excellent story that is a fictionalized telling of a theater group in a prison in New York. The movie was nominated for Best Picture, script and actor at the Oscars and is well deserving of its accolades. Very well done. A good deal of the cast are actual former prisoners that participated in the program when incarcerated.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 6

The Last Showgirl is about a 57 year old showgirl that has been in the same show for decades and is ending her run when it closes down. It stars Pamela Anderson and she does a brilliant job.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 8

Suze is a Canadian movie about a mother going through some heartache and problems with her teen, who finds herself looking after her daughter's jilted boyfriend have a suicide attempt. Despite the heavy topic it's relatively light hearted and billed as a comedy drama.

I really enjoyed the movie.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 14

Zero Day is a six-part Netflix series about an ex-President being called to head a commission on a cyber attack that shut down the entire country and killed 3,000 people when systems shut down causing a series of accidents around the country.

It's really a tense thriller that has lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing. I really enjoyed it. It has a really good cast of A listers like Robert DeNiro, Angela Basset and Jesse Clemons.

It has some political commentary about the role of conspiracy theories and political divisions

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 18

Got around to watching box office smash "Wicked Part I". It was good. You can tell a lot of money went into the special effects, set production and costumes. Over all though I was a bit underwhelmed given all the hype. I would say of the 10 movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar I would put at the bottom. (I've seen them all except for "I'm Still Here", the Brazilian movie which I hope to see soon).

That said, I'll most likely watch part 2 when it's released later this year just to complete it.

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 19

Tweety said:

Over all though I was a bit underwhelmed given all the hype.

I got to see Wicked live in London several years ago, and after seeing the movie version posted on FB that I preferred the live version... I was surprised at how many people told me I was wrong.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 19

Rose_Queen said:

I got to see Wicked live in London several years ago, and after seeing the movie version posted on FB that I preferred the live version... I was surprised at how many people told me I was wrong.

I agree. I saw the live version, albeit years ago, and remember really liking it. I liked the movie version but meh......

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 22

The Room Next Door is a really good movie starring acclaimed actresses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. It's about a woman dying of cancer and wanting to end her life with dignity in an area where that is illegal and her friend agrees to "be in the room next door" when she decides to end her life.

Very excellent written script and very well acted.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 23

The Count of Monte-Cristo (2024 version) is a French film in French with subtitles. It of course if based on classic French novel of the same name. I'd never seen a film version although it's been remade into movies and TV specials many times over.

This version at 3 hours really is a great movie. I'll post a professional review since I am not that. 🙂

Quote

"The Count of Monte Cristo" is an energetic, entertaining treat, full of noble heroes, fair maidens, evil villains, duels at dawn, and swashbuckling sword fights. The cinematography is lush, the vistas are wide, the costumes are gorgeous, the music is dramatic, and the running time is expansive. And yet American filmmakers have (for the most part) forgotten how to make this kind of a good, old-fashioned epic, in favor of lumbering, muddy, uninspired slabs of IP exploitation. it's a shame, really, that this foreign film, from an art-house distributor, is scratching an itch we didn't used to have to outsource.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-count-of-monte-cristo-film-review-2024

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 24

One of Them Days is a comedy about two roommates having a series of bad events some of which were caused by their own bad decisions. It's laugh out loud funny and suspenseful as you wonder how it's all going to resolve itself. It does have a lot of profanity though.

It stars established actress Keke Palmer who was named by the NCAAP Awards as Entertainer of the Year a few weeks ago. It also stars Sza who is a superstar in the music world whose collaboration with Kendrick Lamar is currently sitting at #1 on the charts. This is her acting debut and she's really good.