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Ricki And The Flash (2015)
Ricki And The Flash (2015)
2015 | Comedy, Drama
6
5.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The iron lady goes all iron maiden
Meryl Streep has always been one of our most reliable actresses. The three-time Oscar winner has starred in some iconic films, from Sophie’s Choice to The Devil Wears Prada and from Kramer vs Kramer to The Iron Lady, she can turn her hand to almost anything.

However, her latest role sees the fan favourite star as an ageing rock star who must heal the voids in her family after an incident. But does Ricki & the Flash do Meryl proud?

The film sees Streep play Ricki Rendazzo, aka Linda, a musician playing in the pubs of California, estranged from her family after years of absence. Suddenly, she’s thrown back into the mix after her daughter Julie, played superbly by Meryl’s real-life offspring Mamie Gummer, faces a personal crisis.

Starring alongside the Academy Award winner is the ever-reliable Kevin Kline as Linda’s ex-wife Pete. His scenes with her show real chemistry and the relationship they share is completely believable.

Having Streep’s daughter on the screen with her was a masterstroke by director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) and they share more than just a familiar face. Their mannerisms are completely in sync and match up together in more ways than any acting class could have taught.

Unfortunately, the clichéd script and predictable story really let Ricki & the Flash down. There’s not an ounce of originality here, despite the great casting, and the ending is signposted not only in the film itself, but in the trailers – the cardinal sin of movie marketing.

What is a pleasant surprise however is Meryl’s cracking vocal performance. With her belting out hits like Lady GaGa’s Bad Romance and Pink’s Get the Party Started left, right and centre, the soundtrack is positively sizzling and a real highlight throughout the film.

Nevertheless, Demme’s usual visual flair, for which he won an Oscar back in 1991 with The Silence of the Lambs, is nowhere to be found here. The cinematography is inoffensive enough but lacking in any real punch, a disappointment given the film’s bursting energy.

I feel that Streep too is aware of these shackles and her characterisation, whilst capable, lacks the finesse of some of her other work. Let’s remember though, that Streep at her worst is many other actresses at their best.

Overall, Ricki & the Flash is a capable film led by a pleasant and inoffensive cast. Meryl Streep is always reason enough to give any movie a go, but this somewhat muddled comedy drama is towards the bottom end of her work.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/09/06/the-iron-lady-goes-all-iron-maiden-ricki-the-flash-review/
  
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Dutch (59 KP) rated Experimemtal Film in Books

Mar 11, 2019  
Experimemtal Film
Experimemtal Film
Gemma Files | 2015 | Horror
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Experiments in film
When Lois Cairns stumbles upon a mystery that points towards a lost chapter in Canadian film history she jumps at the chance to make a name for herself and revive a career as a film critic that has long been on the slide.
Enlisting the help of a former student she becomes embroiled in the tale of Lady Midday and the tragic Whitcombe family.
The first part of the book very much focuses on Lois, her husband Simon, their autistic son Clark and her mother Lee with whom she has a strained relationship. Lois has seen her career fail, her health is not far behind and she feels guilty at the inability to love her son the way she feels she should.
As the story of Lady Midday unfolds she finds herself sucked into a story much darker and terrifying than she ever could have imagined.
Experimental Film is what I would call a gentle ghost story with the majority of the book focussed on Lois and her family and the struggles she must overcome to maintain her health, her project and ultimately her son.
I enjoyed the story but would not call it a horror story but rather a character focused tale with a subtle dash of the supernatural and a book worth seeking out.
  
The Gleaners & I (2000)
The Gleaners & I (2000)
2000 | Documentary
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"In Gleaners And I, what’s around you is what you survive on – it’s a kind of contemporary foraging that they’re doing. I thought of that, and Agnes [Varda, the director] was on my mind because, A) she passed away when I was making a film, and B) they brought back a print of Vagabond before I was shooting. I was in New York and I saw Lady Bird and the theater was packed and there was so much hype about Lady Bird at that time. Then I walked up and I saw Vagabond in this not-so-full theater and saw a print of it. I thought, “Oh my God, the inventiveness of that film and the sort of circular motion of it and how she just decides to let people talk to the camera at a point, even though she’s in this narrative!” Anyway, just her confidence to be so inventive with narrative form. She’s so inspiring. How she moved in and out of documentary and narrative and how her docs have such narrative threads in them and her narratives… she just opens the door, and it’s like, “OK, now you’re going to talk to these real people that aren’t actors,” and she is just very fluid between those two. I admire those things about her work so much."

Source
  
Lady Bird (2017)
Lady Bird (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Drama
In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.



I'm going to start at the end and work my way forward. When the film ended there was just silence... I don't expect cheering or anything like that, but there's normally some murmuring and movement as people are getting up. But no one realised that the film had ended because it happened so fast.

The emotion between Lady Bird and her mother towards the end of the film were really strong and it reminded me of why I'm always entertained by Laurie Metcalf.

All in all there was nothing wrong with this film. But it's just a teenage girl's life... I've led one of those, I don't need to see a film about one. It just wasn't anything exciting. After a little Googling (because I wanted to see what nominations and wins it had this award season) I discovered that the writer wants to make three more films in the same setting. I'm feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

There are lots of bits of story line that don't have any resolution. I'm not sure if that's to do with the quartet of films plan or just that they had nothing to do with Lady Bird, and that bugs me a bit.
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Pity in Books

May 6, 2024  
Pity
Pity
Andrew McMillan | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, LGBTQ+
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Pity by Andrew McMillan is a compassionate book that’s as much about the town it’s set in (Barnsley) as it is about the people in it.

I can’t honestly tell you which parts I liked best: the thoughts of the miners as they trudged to the mine and worked there; the sociologists researching the history and decline of the town; and Simon, who works in a call centre by day and has a drag act in local clubs and bars at night. Each part blended with and gave explanations for every other component of this book, and explained the impact on the next generation.

Simon’s sections and the preparation for his show, where he would dress as Margaret Thatcher were particularly engaging. Her impact on ex-mining towns are clearly still apparent, and Simons alter ego, Puttana Short Dress, appears dressed as the Iron Lady with the slogan “This turn is not a lady!” - it’s a genius act!

I was left wondering where Simon and Ryan’s relationship would go, as Ryan seemed unhappy about Simon wearing his makeup on the journey home after his act had finished. Could he accept Simon - ALL of Simon?

This was a short read, that I would happily have read if it was twice (or more!) the length - it was all over too soon!

Recommended.
  
The Happy Return
The Happy Return
C.S. Forester | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Chronologically the 6th in CS Forester Hornblower series, this was actually the first published (in 1937!), and so is a pretty good 'jumping-on' point for those unfamiliar with the character or novels.

Sometimes also known as 'Beat to quarters', this sees Hornblower commanding the frigate Lydia on it's mission into Spanish held waters: a mission that will involve forming an alliance with an insane Spanish landowner, encounters with the 50-gun Spanish ship-of-the-line Natividad, storms at sea, and (the married) Hornblower's first encounter with (the fictional) Lady Barbara Wellesley, the sister of the future Duke of Wellington.

A quick reading and thoroughly enjoyable read it is!
  
AA
And a Puzzle to Die On (Puzzle Lady #6)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Puzzle Lady Cora Felton is hiding from her birthday by digging into a 20 year old murder. Why is someone interested in the case now? Is the real killer behind bars? The plot contains plenty of twists, but I felt the ending was overly convoluted. There was plenty of word play, which is why I read the series, so I loved that. Those who read for the cross word puzzles might be disappointed to learn they are unrelated to the mail plot. Personally, that didn't bother me.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-and-puzzle-to-die-on-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
The Puzzle Lady is back and dealing with stolen chairs, charges of plagiarism, and being framed for murder. And to think she was complaining about being bored. I was impressed with how everything was tied together in the end. My only real complaint here was that the witty banter between characters I normally love had too much of an angry tent to it for the first half of the book. Still, there were plenty of laughs. Now, if only Dennis would die soon I'd really be happy.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-you-have-right-to-remain.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.