Category: Romance


The Power of the Dog

January 4th, 2022 — 4:49am

The Power Of The Dog–nf
****

This is an American Western that takes place in the mid-1920s. We see ranchers, cowboys, and lots of horses, but there is an occasional 1920s automobile. We meet two brothers who have a large ranch with lots of cowboys working there. One of the brothers, more of the city refined type, marries a widow who has a son in his late teens or early 20s. The other brother is a rough-and-tumble cowboy who does not easily accept these interlopers into his family and the family business.

The film is written and directed by Jane Campion and is based on the 1967 novel by the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

The film is a spellbinding example of magnificent character development. To brothers own the ranch where the action takes place. They are seen as quite different and yet quite complex. George marries a woman who hides her own personal problems. She has a son who appears to be somewhat effeminate and is actually a medical student studying to be a surgeon. The other brother Phil is as rough and tough as a cowboy can get. We learn about his hero “Bronco Henry,” who we never meet but is depicted as even more tough, if that were possible. These characters are not always who they seem to be as the story slowly reveals, and that is the magic of this movie.

This film was named as one of the best movies of 2021 by the American Film Institute and received seven nominations at the 70th Golden Globe Awards including best drama as well as many other nominations. After you have seen the film, if you want to try to understand the title, go to:

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Romance, Western

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

August 15th, 2021 — 8:18pm

Breakfast at Tiffanys
***

First of all, the title has very little to do with the theme of the movie. The film is clearly a story about the 1950s. One of the old fashioned themes is that when it comes down to it, the woman is owned by the man, although the woman may very well negotiate the sale. Premarital sex is for sale especially among the wealthy as we see through the main characters and it is the woman once again who actually arranges the deal.

The setting is New York City, specifically Manhattan, during the 1950s. The glimpses of the automobiles and the streets and the people seem quite real to those of us who lived in New York during this time period. Most of the action takes place in and out of these Manhattan apartments but this is not what you think of when you think of an apartment house but rather what is called a Brownstone. (Buildings which were once large homes, now divided into several apartments on each of 3 or 4 floors.)

The main character, Holly Golightly, is a care free spirit, hard to pin down, always a step ahead of the sugar daddy she aims to attract. She ultimately falls in love with another tenant in her apartment house played by George Pepard. Audrey Hepburn who is 31 years old at the time of the film is sweet, charming, and very complicated as well as being quite beautiful.

We came away from this cinematic experience with an appreciation of a great actress of her time and an enjoyable look at delightful classic movie

Comment » | 3 Stars, Romance

Hampstead

July 13th, 2021 — 7:31am

Hampstead

***

Diane Keaton plays a British widow who lost her husband a year before She is not interested in the well-meaning friends who want to introduce her to a well-heeled accountant. From an apartment window with a pair of binoculars she sees a guy (Brenden Gleeson) living in a shack in some large wooded area seemingly either part of the metropolitan city or just on the fringes of it. She sets out to meet him and see what is going on with him. There are well-meaning demonstrators, some of whom want the wooded area cleaned up and others who want to be on the side of the “hermit,” who claims he has single-handed deserved ownership of the house since he has built it on his own and lived in it for the past 17 years. There is courtship, romance, do-gooders, and actual dramatic court room scenes. However, it is Diane Keaton’s realistic and lovable character that carries the movie and ultimately touches our heart.

Comment » | 3 Stars, Drama, Politics, Romance

Steal A Pencil For Me

May 22nd, 2021 — 1:00am

Steal A Pencil For Me-nf
****

As have so many stories about the holocaust, this film produced by Michel Ohayon has touched our hearts. It tells a true story about a man Jac Polak and woman Ina Soepwho met in Holland shortly before the Nazis took over. He was infatuated with her although he was married to someone else. When their time came and they were deported to a concentration camp, they kept in touch with each other through clandestine letters and notes (hence the movie title). Through this continued relationship (along with film clips of various cattle cars whisking the Jews away and pictures and clips of the horrors that went on during those terrible years), we ultimately learned that this unusual couple never lost hope that they might reunite. Sure enough after liberation, they found each other and have had more than 60 years of marriage. It is no surprise that this is a moving story that not only tells about enduring love, but reminds us about history that we must never forget.

Comment » | 4 Stars, Documentary, History, Romance

Frida

December 15th, 2020 — 4:47am

Frida- ( Netflix)
****

This is moving romantic biography about the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. It begins with a bus accident which severely injured her legs, in which she made a good functional recovery. She was able to pursue her artistic inclinations as a painter and then met one of Mexico’s most famous and revered artist, Diego Rivera. Much of the story is based on their tumultuous romantic relationship, which included a phase where they took in a Russian revolutionist by the name of Leon Trotsky who had fled to Mexico after Stalin was out to destroy him and his ideas.

This film, which was released in 2002, is based on a 1983 book by Hayden Herrera. The movie was directed by Julie Taymor and stars Selma Hayek who was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in a leading role in this film. It also features Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera as well as costars Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, and Antonio Banderas. The film blended the passion of Mexican music with a sexual romantic storyline based on real well-known people. It is a worthwhile cinematic experience.

Comment » | 4 Stars, Biography, Drama, Romance

Love, Guaranteed

October 15th, 2020 — 5:30am

***
Love, Guaranteed ( Netflix)

This Rom Com is a total cliché and “too cute by half.” However, during these dark Coronavirus times, there is something rejuvenating about watching good things happening to good people. Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook) is a caring workaholic attorney who takes on cases to actually help people. Nick (Damon Wayans, Jr.) comes into her life as he wants her to take on a dating company that guarantees findings love. Since he has gone out on thousand dates through the service and not found his special someone, he wants to sue the company and is ready and able to pay whatever it takes. It is true that you know from the first moment exactly what will happen in the end, yet the characters are endearing, the confection sweet, and you end up wanting to go along for the ride (2020).

Comment » | 3 Stars, Comedy, Drama, Romance

A Secret Love

June 9th, 2020 — 9:39pm

***
A Secret Love- (Netflix)

We came to this documentary film believing it was about a pioneering case that challenged the law about same-sex couples and helped to make ground breaking precedent. We were obviously mistaken in our expectation. Who we did meet were two amazing women, Pat Henschel and Terry Donahue, the latter of whom had been an established professional women’s baseball player in her younger years. They did find romance in a time when love between women was usually not openly expressed. The film was directed by Chris Bolan who is the great nephew of Ms. Donahue. The movie followed these women into their senior years and we see how their families came to accept them and how they transitioned into a senior living facility. This is a touching movie about a love affair between two women, which will inspire future generations of women who might now be more able to openly express such feelings.

1 comment » | 3 Stars, Documentary, Romance

A Fortunate Man

May 22nd, 2020 — 4:35am

A Fortunate Man ****

This is a very engrossing and complicated story about a man who was anything but fortunate. The main character, Sidenius (Jens Albinus), is brought up in a religious Christian family, in which his father was the church pastor. The son does not get the blessing of the father as they have a bitter departure, as Sidenius goes off to seek his own life and fortune, which to him would mean selling his dream of giving the world his idea of a new form of energy and power through windmills and canals which could remake turn of the century Denmark. He encounters a wealthy Jewish family and is drawn to the oldest beautiful daughter (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal) who would also connect him with great wealth and the potential to make his engineering dream come true. However, the story becomes more complicated as we come to appreciate Sidenius’ rebellion from his father as he unwittingly also identifies with him. The movie allows the viewer to understand how for most of this man’s life, his self-centered personality made him insensitive to the feelings of the women in his life and even to his own children except for a final moment of insight. The story is adopted from a novel by the Danish author, Henrik Pontoppidan.

Aside from showing us the insight into the psychodynamics of a man, as we see the impact of his childhood on his subsequent life, the film also highlights several other interesting issues:

It shows the impact on a person raised in one culture (in this case a poor religious Christian culture) who suddenly finds himself surrounded by a wealthy family (in this case a Jewish culture).

It also spotlights a well-known dilemma when a creative genius with a new idea is confronted with the established society that is not quite ready to embrace his revolutionary concepts.

There is also a familiar subplot of a woman who believes she is in a committed relationship and finds herself pregnant and realizes that her partner, who does not know she is pregnant, is actually ready to move on and break up the relationship.

Finally, there is also the well known story of an estranged grown child finding out that a parent has died and now is drawn back to be a loyal child when it is really too late.

So, you can see this very well done film directed by Bille August will hold your attention and stir your emotions. It is certainly worth seeing (2020).

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama, Romance

Last Christmas

November 15th, 2019 — 6:09am

***

Last Christmas-rm

This is one of the first Christmas films of this season. It takes place in London, which looks quite beautiful during holiday time. The story is the brainchild of Emma Thompson, who plays the mother of Katie (Emila Clarke) who would like to make it as a singer, but at the moment works dressed up as an elf salesgirl selling Christmas items. There is romance all around as the owner of the store where she works (Michelle Yeoh) is smitten with a handsome customer. Katie’s sister (Lydia Leonard) is in a relationship with a woman that her parents are not ready to accept. Katie appears to have found a wonderful guy (Henry Golding), but it turns out that there is something mystical about him.

Thompson’s story and screenplay, which are co-written by Greg Wise and Bryoni Kimmings, attempts to meld together the joy of Christmas which includes charity, forgiveness, and of course, romance all with a spiritual flavor. Credit should also be given to director Paul Feig who had to blend everything in the right proportions. There is also a strong music background, which not only sets the Christmas mood but highlights the other moving themes of this film. The predominant voice is the written music and performance of the late George Michaels. If you are looking for a Christmas movie, you cannot go wrong with this one (2019).

 

Comment » | 3 Stars, Drama, Romance

Always Be My Maybe

August 17th, 2019 — 5:34am

***

Always Be My Maybe – nf

Two kids, a boy and a girl who happen to be Asian are best friends growing up in San Francisco. They ultimately have their first sexual experience together as teenagers in the backseat of his car. They then go their separate ways. Marcus (Randall Park) stays in their hometown working for his father’s contracting business and is part of a struggling upstart band. Sasha (Ali Wong) becomes a famous restaurant chef and designer mixing with the rich and famous and is about to marry a very wealthy somewhat older man who needs to go to India for a couple of months prior to the wedding date. Marcus and Sasha who have not seen each other for 15 years have a chance meeting when he and his father come to do a repair on her latest mansion.

Nahnatchka Khan does an excellent job directing and he has corralled some absolutely beautiful mansions and restaurants for the backdrop of this story, which was co-written by the two main stars and Michael Golamco. The problem with the storyline, as interesting and beautifully as it was presented, is that you can easily guess how the plot is going to unfold. Everything develops as you would expect it, well done and charming, evocative and engaging but not with much originality. Perhaps the “punch in the face” to Keanu Reeves was a surprise and subsequently became the theme on which the movie rides to its inevitable conclusion. (2019)

Comment » | 3 Stars, Drama, Romance

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