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Sixteen Candles (1984)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
1984 | Comedy
Molly ringwald and micheal anthony hall (0 more)
80s romcom at its best
What a great movie .molly ringwald s birthday nobody rembers.and the great comic nerd kid of the 80s micheal anthony hall .lots of stars john and joan cusack.bit parts but funny.
  
A Dastardly Plot
A Dastardly Plot
Christopher Healy | 2018 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Plenty of Peril to Keep the Pages Turning
New York City is gearing up for the 1883 World's Fair, and Molly Pepper is hoping her mother, Cassandra, will be able to snag a spot in the inventor's hall to show case some of her amazing inventions. However, when the spot is given to a man - again - Molly and Cassandra devise a plan to break into the Inventory's Guild. That's where Molly stumbles upon the plans to sabotage the opening ceremonies. Who is the villain? Can Molly stop them?

The book starts out a little slowly, some of which is introducing us to the new characters and new series. Once the plot got going, the pacing certainly improved, and we got some fun twists that kept the pages turning. The climax introduced some new threads, and I can't wait to find out what happens next as the series continues. The characters are strong, and the real and fictional rubbed shoulders with ease. I did feel the book stopped at times to lecture us on equality - an important topic to be sure - but it felt like it slowed things down briefly when it came up. This new series has a slight Steampunk element to it, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I also enjoyed the pages at the end that told us about some of the same real people and events that underpinned this fictional world.
  
All That is Hidden
All That is Hidden
Rhys Bowen, Clare Broyles | 2023 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Politics Turns Molly’s World Upside Down
Molly is shocked when her husband, Daniel, announces that he has quit his job with the New York City police department to run for New York Sheriff on the Tammany Hall ticket. Knowing how much Daniel hates bribes, she can’t believe it, but he tells her to trust him. Along with this change, they are moving into a house of Fifth Avenue, which also doesn’t make Molly happy. As she tries to adjust to her new life, she finds that something is going on beneath the surface. Then a murder takes place. Can Molly figure out what is going on?

It's always a delight to visit Molly in 1900’s New York City. The time and place come expertly to life as we watch her try to figure out exactly what is happening. As is often the case in this series, it takes a little while for the story to truly begin, but once it does, we are treated to an interesting mystery. One part of the ending was a little abrupt, but that’s a minor complaint. I’m happy to say I liked Daniel here overall, which isn’t always the case, and the rest of the regulars were their charming selves. I also liked most of the suspects, which made solving the murder that much more interesting. Fans old and new will lose themselves in Molly’s latest case.
  
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
1984 | Comedy
Fun 80's Comedy
Samantha's (Molly Ringwald) family is busy, so busy in fact that they forgot her sixteenth birthday. Samantha has to cope with this while dealing with various misadventures surrounding her life. It's an innocent 80's comedy that takes you on a fun ride from beginning to end.

Acting: 10


Beginning: 10

Characters: 10

Cinematography/Visuals: 8
There are a number of memorable shots that stick out, including the opening scene where you're first introduced to Samantha's family in her Chicago home. Everything is pure chaos causing for a hilarious beginning. A number of other scenes stick out from Samantha's grandma feeling her up to Samantha's convo with The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) inside the hollowed-out car in the school's garage. A lot of different set pieces kept the film interesting.

Conflict: 6
One of the weaker portions of the film for me. So people forgot her birthday, boo hoo. Don't get me wrong, Samantha is a very likable character and there was a large part of me that felt sorry for her. I'm just not sure her situation warranted an entire film. Perhaps a different angle would have created more conflict for me.

Genre: 8
Very solid 80's comedy. You can't name films within the decade that stand out without mentioning this one. Coming of age films? This ranks right up there although not quite as strong as some of the ones I've seen in recent years, masterpieces like Boyhood and Lady Bird.

Memorability: 10

Pace: 10

Plot: 7
The story itself is fine. It's believable even as comedies go. Again, the lack of conflict made things a little bland for me. I will say that the number of memorable moments helped pick up the slack from what the film lacked in conflict.

Resolution: 3

Overall: 82
Another 80's classic I can check off the list. A fun film that still stands the test of time.
  
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Lainie Kazan recommended The Graduate (1967) in Movies (curated)

 
The Graduate (1967)
The Graduate (1967)
1967 | Classics, Comedy, Drama

"The story, the acting was sublime. [Director] Mike Nichols did an incredible job. He just did such an amazing job. The story of the old woman and the young student was so new — we had never seen that onscreen, a depiction of that. Once again, I thought this was just a brilliant character study of these people. The story was extraordinary. I loved the relationship with Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. I just thought that was staggering. And Dustin Hoffman’s performance was so sweet, and he was so insecure and a mumbling fool in so many ways. And she was so seductive. You know, she was a counselor at my camp? She was a drama counselor. When I was nine, she was 17 or 18, and she came to the camp and I was the only one who really took to her of all my camp friends. She would have me lie on the ground and we’d be in this bunk — like in a rehearsal hall or something — she would have us lie on the floor and picture the sky and picture all the different things that could come from the sky [laughing]. She just inspired me. Then I watched her on The Goldbergs — not the new Goldbergs — but The Goldbergs with Molly Goldberg, the brilliant, brilliant television show in the 1950s. Then I saw her in The Graduate — I was a young woman — and I was just — oh my God, she was so beautiful. And I couldn’t believe I had known her. She inspired me to act, she really did. As did Francis Coppola. I went to college with him — Hofstra University. He was the person who wrote all the plays. He wrote the shows — all the original shows that I was the star of. I’d be hired to do all the shows that he had written and his uncle would write the music, so it was kind of great."

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