Category: Movie Monday

5/8/17 Movie Monday: Films of John Cusack

Welcome to DMM’s 5/8/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week I’m shining the spotlight on the films of John Cusack. Here are three movies that, taken together, show Cusack’s impressive range as an actor. Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil (R) The most important party of the Savannah Christmas season ends with a bang! When affable host Jim Williams shoots a man to death. The party is over, the investigation begins. A movie that proves truth can be every bit as riveting as fiction. John Cusack plays magazine writer John Kelso. Kelso has come to Savannah, Georgia to cover the glittering, annual Christmas bash thrown by local art collector, antiques dealer and “confirmed bachelor” Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). It seems everyone in this town has a…

Movie Monday: Fun Movie Musicals That Are Perfect For The Season

Welcome to DMM’s 5/1/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. It’s springtime, and that’s the perfect time to enjoy some fun movie musicals. These feel-good fantasies may be a little silly at times, but with their bright colors and foot-tapping songs, their cheerful enthusiasm is hard to resist. Xanadu (PG) The Greek muses incarnate themselves on Earth to inspire men to achieve. One of them, incarnated as a girl named Kira, encounters an artist named Sonny Malone. With the help of Danny McGuire, a man Kira had inspired forty years earlier, Sonny builds a huge disco roller rink. – IMDB, Written by Randy Goldberg This one aims to be a throwback to the glamorous, big-budget musicals of the 1940s. With a musical score and songs written by Jeff Lynne and…

4/24/17 Movie Monday: Future Shock

Welcome to DMM’s 4/24/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, the spotlight is on futuristic thrillers. These movies imagine future worlds in which humanity has found different methods to conquer death and disease—each sinister in its own way. Vanilla Sky (R) A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover. This is the type of film with a third act twist that makes you re-evaluate everything that came before. Multiple viewings are rewarding not only for the sake of connecting the dots that lead up to the big reveal, but because the script raises interesting questions about identity and what it means to live a fulfilling life. Tom Cruise does a self-aware take on his own ultra-rich,…

4/10/17 Movie Monday: Shakespeare Adaptations

Welcome to DMM’s 4/10/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, I’m shining the spotlight on Shakespeare adaptations. These adaptations put Shakespeare’s original dialogue into a more modern context. This can make the material much easier to understand and relate to, particularly for students who are struggling to follow the Old English plays. Romeo + Juliet (PG-13) Shakespeare’s famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the doomed, star-crossed lovers, this Baz Luhrmann production is colorful, clever, and filled with top-flight talent. The contemporary setting substitutes Sword brand guns for the actual swords in the original play, and re-envisions the Montagues and Capulets as powerful families in control of megaconglomerates with mafioso overtones. It’s…

4/3/17 Movie Monday: Flight of the Conchords

Welcome to DMM’s 4/3/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed. This week, I’m spotlighting the work of New Zealand musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. Everything featured here is currently rated 4.5/5 stars; these guys are good! Most people here in the U.S. got their first exposure to this musical comedy team in HBO’s One Night Stand: Flight of the Conchords (NR). This clip from YouTube captures their quirky style far better than any description could.

3/27/17 Movie Monday: New Releases

Welcome to DMM’s 3/27/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed. This week, I’m sharing my  take on two recent releases.   Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (PG-13) – currently only available for purchase, not rental. From Lucasfilm comes an epic adventure – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. In the first Star Wars movie ever released, A New Hope, Princess Leia hid the plans to the Death Star in R2D2, and the rebellion used them to destroy the Death Star. This movie tells the backstory of how the plans were stolen. It’s big and noisy, and all the critics who described it as first and foremost a war…

3/20/17 Movie Monday: Demons and Angels

Welcome to DMM’s 3/20/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, it’s all about movies that pit angels against demons. I’m a sucker for this genre, and it’s one that many filmmakers seem fascinated by, too. Many of the modern interpretations explore the notion of angels not as loving, watchful caretakers, but as the footsoldiers of God. Here are a few of the most well-reviewed examples of the form. Legion (R) At a remote desert truck stop, the fate of the world will be decided. Evil’s armies are amassing. Armed and united by the Archangel Michael, a group of strangers become unwitting soldiers on the frontlines of the Apocalypse. Their mission: protect a waitress and her sacred unborn child from the relentless, bloody siege of the demonic legion.

3/6/17 Movie Monday: Smart Teen Comedies

Welcome to DMM’s 3/6/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, I’m focusing on teen comedies that raise the bar. Note that I’m not saying these movies are necessarily recommended for anyone aged at least 13, since some of them have strong language and adult situations. But for older teens and adults looking to reminisce, these are all worth the watch. Easy A (PG-13) After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her reputation tarnished until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. One of Emma Stone’s earliest starring roles, and definitely one of the first where she gets to show her comic timing chops. The excellent script hits all the usual…

2/20/17 Movie Monday: Tom Hanks Comedies

Welcome to DMM’s 2/20/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week’s focus is on lesser-known Tom Hanks comedies. Hanks has been known primarily for his dramatic roles for quite some time, but he got his start in comedies and all of these are winners.

2/13/17 Movie Monday: Anti-Valentine’s Day Movies

Welcome to DMM’s 2/13/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week’s theme is geared to those who aren’t feeling the hearts and flowers this Valentine’s Day. Funny, scary or thought-provoking: hopefully there’s something for everyone here.