Selma

This would have been cheaper than tickets.

Into the (Mother Fucking) Woods

In one word....



Well said, Charles Nelson Reilly.

It was cute and everyone did a fine job singing but for a cutesy movie it was just too long.  And predictable -- and not in that 'oh look my favorite fables are in this movie' kinda way but just ....well, boring.  I was impressed at most of the singing as these actors (save Anna Kendrick of course) are not your typical musical actors and I liked that people died - so not too sappy.  But it ends there.

 I thought Frozen was better.

American Sniper

I had to digest this movie before I could blog about it.  While it is a hard movie to watch, I do feel it accurately portrays (with a dash of Hollywood flair) what certain military situations are like for many of our soldiers. When I came out of the movie I had to ask myself, "Did I just see the same movie that the country is arguing for / against??".  

To say this movie glorifies killing or completely celebrates/or demeans our part in the wars of the Middle East is stupid.  War is not that simple.  I support our troops but am intelligent enough to know that our military is a sampling of our population so we are going to have a lot of crack-pot-jacked-up-nut-case-assholes just like we do in our everyday life.  Not everyone is a hero.  Also-- supporting our troops in NO WAY means we support the conflicts in which they are asked to fight.

That being said, it is clear Chris Kyle had a gift for sharp shooting and did NOT take a lot of glory in all the killings.  The same can not be said of those around him or those at home who worshiped him.  He wanted to protect his brothers and his country.  He figured out early - via the telescopic scope of his weapon-- war is a mind-fuck and most of the time it is killed or be killed.  Unless you are faced with that day after day, there is no way to be able to put yourself in that exact mindset.  

I think Bradley Cooper played Chris Kyle just perfectly- and while I do not agree with the number of nominations this film received, I do think it should be celebrated for his performance and they way it was put together.  Fault should not be placed with the film itself but in the way some groups / people / both political parties have injected their own idiotic ideas into it.  Just experience it for what it was created to be- one man's story of war.

As for the comment that 'sniper's are cowards' - I mean c'mon, really?  In the situations of kill or be killed, snipers seem to be a sadly needed layer of protection.  Having family serving still in the Middle East- hey, do whatever you need so they can come home safely.  

That being said, I HATE that we are there, I don't agree with it and wish we could 100% pull out.  As a woman, I couldn't help but wonder what a better place the world would be with less testosterone in it-- and would we ladies do better if we ran the world?  This Ladyfriend thinks yes.

I am angry at how many times I just had to type the name of this movie for the ballot. Really, truly angry.

Uhm -  huh? 

What? What'd I miss?

Imitation Game

 Ok, ok- the minion who looks like Issac from Love Boat wasn't in the Imitation Game but I needed something to cheer me up after the end of that film.  

It is an interesting story and I enjoyed the film but the last 15 minutes or so rather did me in to the point of liquid welling up in my eyes.  This mystery liquid did not spill onto my cheeks but there was some sniffing.  This liquid was for the treatment of Alan Turing -for everything he endured and  also the realization of how little we know how our own lives are governed and what very little control we have over it.  What will surface about our own time in 50 years when it's deemed 'safe' by the powers that be?  

Strong performances by a good cast- I loved the nerdy details and despite my horror at their solution, I can totally see why they had to arrive at that sad conclusion.  I can forgive that. The saying 'War is Hell' exists for a reason.  The treatment of Mr. Turing, though, I can not.  No excuse for it- especially after everything he gave for his country.  THAT is unforgivable.