I got around to watching the movie, Pieces of April. (For mature audiences but it's not R-rated or anything.) It's about a young woman whose dysfunctional family is coming to visit her on Thanksgiving. She and her mother have always had a rocky relationship and this is probably their only chance to make up before Mom dies. On Thanksgiving day, her oven stops working so she has to ask her neighbors for the use of theirs. I really enjoyed the movie though there were some aspects I disliked.

Some of the comedy seemed a little bit forced and awkward. Like there's a bit where April's family takes time off their road trip to have a funeral for a dead animal they ran over. I guess it's supposed to show that they're sensitive about death what with mom's illness but it just felt really out of character for them. And there's also a bit where one of April's neighbors is going to let her use her over but then reneges because she's a vegan. Why wouldn't she just immediately refuse? Are we really supposed to believe she didn't know that Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

The characters in the movie were good. I really liked the couple who were the first ones to help April. Part of me wishes they could have had bigger roles though if they had the story wouldn't have been as exciting. And the character of April's mother was really good. Her actress, whose name I can't remember, did such a great job with her facial expressions and her tone of voice. (Spoiler) I was a little disappointed by the ending though. I would have liked to have seen April's reconciliation with her family portrayed in greater detail. Having it be shown without dialogue felt somewhat lazy. Writing arguments is easy (for me anyway.) Writing forgiveness is a lot harder. Still I'd be saying if my heart wasn't warmed anyway.

The best movie I've seen this year so far was Mary Poppins Returns -because it was full of allusions to the original film, and really showed respect for the books - which I grew up on. Plenty of tearful moments.

The next best, and in a completely different genre, is Green Book, the true story of a talented and highly educated musician who employs a driver to accompany him on his tour around southern USA in 1962. The musician is black, and the driver is white. It is full of drama and the growth of a friendship between two very different men. It's not everyone's type of movie, but I was very impressed.

My Henry V DVD arrived yesterday! Took awhile to get here... mainly because I ordered it from South Korea.
Hopefully I can post my review soon!

They Shall Not Grow Old is a wonderful documentary. It was released on ordinary TV here so I saw it last year. I really liked that it didn't shy away from the more horrible aspects yet, at the same time, was not gratuitous. I learnt far more about the personal impact of the war from it than I did from anything else in school (except, perhaps, for the opening of Saving Private Ryan which I was shown at the age of 12) - I hope it becomes a staple of teaching. It is amazing how the restoration brought it to life. Though I know people are wary of this happening to old films (such as colourising To Kill a Mockingbird) when it's done respectfully and well, for a good reason, it can be like this.

I haven't seen Mary Poppins Returns yet though I would like to at some point. I've never read any of the books! What appeals most about the film (I'm not a huge fan of the original) is the 2D animation ...

Before Christmas I saw Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I was really looking forward to Ralph but it was disappointing. The first film I felt had an emotional journey, but this film seemed to double back on some of the ideas and 'rules' set up in the first. For example,

However, Spider-Verse was excellent. When the first trailers came out my thoughts were very much 'Another one? Really?!' but there were so many good reports about it I thought I'd better check it out. It is a fantastic movie in so many respects. The script is great, the art direction is amazing, the animation is wonderful. Everything comes together. It's the best film I've seen in ages.

OK, I finally watched Henry V, starring Kenneth Brannagh. AND IT WAS AWESOME!!
The acting was an extremely emotional interpretation of Shakespeare's script, turning what others might make a dull recitation into a believable story with real people. The scene between Henry and Katharine didn't even sound like Shakespeare!
The battle was well done, with plenty of attention to historical detail and plenty of emphasis on how wet and miserable it was to fight in the rain and mud. A mild level of gore, but not so realistic as to be too disturbing.
And the speech. The St. Crispin's Day speech was one of the best-delivered speeches I have ever seen. Totally real, totally heartfelt. Brannagh is a great actor.
I give this movie a 10. I just wish it had been longer.(It was 137 minutes!)

This is what happens when we don't have TV anymore, no longer hear about new movies. Have no clue about the Ralph movie, not surprised another Spider Man movie came out, it seems there's been a flood of superhero flicks lately, Glass I think is the latest one I know of. I've read Shakespeare and saw one of his plays once, but it never really clicked with me. I have seen military history stuff...the battle you're talking about is the one between the French/English on a French farm field? Trying to remember the name of the place and other specifics, but it's getting close to bedtime and my brain has shut down already...

The battle is Agincourt, fought on the fields outside of a castle called Agincourt in 1415. Outnumbered English archers destroyed an army of French knights, helping to aid in the death of chivalry in general.

Finally took the time to see Mary Poppins Returns. Very fun movie, a worthy sequel to the first film, and it had several recognizable moments from other books in the series. I was a little curious to see how my mother would react since Julie Andrews is one of her favorite actresses, but she had a lot of fun too.

Also watched Ralph Breaks the Internet.

And I finally saw Crazy Rich Asians. A great romantic comedy.

The Mrs., and I went to "The Up Side".
I must say I was pleasantly suprised. It was definitely a more adult film, with at least two scenes a bit much for little ones, but lacking the vulgar humor.
A buddy film, it shows quite well the tensions that can, and do happen between two individuals, but also the bond which can occur when people are willing to spend the effort to get to know each other, and look past the surface.

This past weekend, I watched Hunter Killer with my dad and little sis. It was intense and entertaining. There were definitely a few "look how cool the Navy is" shots, but that's was no surprise. Of course smart people know that the Army leads the way and is so much more awesome. That said I might be planning to add it to my film collection once the price drops on the Blu-ray, should look good on my shelf right in between The Hunter For Red October and Olympus Has Fallen/London Had Fallen.

SnowAngel

Apollo 11...

Oh. My.

Oh... WOW...

This is not a docu-drama. This is not a documentary. Most of the footage, with some exception of some graphics, are 100% released and UNRELEASED footage that has been restored. Some of which has been restored so well that it looks like it was shot TODAY. There are NO voice overs. It is all done through mission audio, news audio, and public affairs recordings. The editing isn't choppy and it's smooth enough that it flows really well. Definitely worth seeing as the 50th anniversary of the landing is this July.

I got to see it in IMAX with a NarniaWeb friend of mine.

Ooh, I heard about that documentary but I don't know if it's releasing in the UK. I'd love to see it. Hopefully it'll be released here on Blu-ray at least.

Crazy Rich Asians is fun but it was so hyped I was a bit disappointed. I liked it, though, and I'll watch it again!

Last month I saw How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It's a good conclusion to the trilogy, but like the second film it's nowhere near the brilliance of the first. As ever the animation and visuals were stunning. The characters even had tiny hairs on their skin! Though I thought the story of the film was only okay, the ending was perfect.

I went to see Captain Marvel on Monday. I really wanted this to be amazing, but out of all the Marvel movies it's one of my least favourite. The 90s setting is something I was looking forward to seeing on screen, but because of all the alien technology, characters and locations it didn't feel very much like what I remember. Inevitably I have ended up comparing it to Wonder Woman. I think Captain Marvel's story is better, but I 'got' Diana as a character much more than Carol. Because of the structure of this film - Carol has memory loss at the beginning - it's hard to get to know her because she doesn't know who she is. It's such a pity, especially when Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, etc. all had such strong beginnings.

I REALLY want to see Apollo 11. It's not here though. I'm sure it'll turn up on Netflix or Amazon Prime at some point... or even on "old fashioned" dvds.

Re: AJ's post. I'll probably take a pass on HtTYD3 then. I've seen too many sequels that I don't care for and it even casts the original that I love into a less desirable category. (Pirates of the Caribbean as an example.) And... I'm tired of sequels.

As for Captain Marvel, I haven't seen it yet, and I am interested, but thanks to the reviews I'll be going in with low expectations and I'll probably end up liking it a lot. I tend to find I often go against the grain.

I hope y'all get to see it. I'm not surprised Houston has it due to being home of the center the mission was run out of. It's one of the few films I'd recommend for families with kids because the way it's cut together, it keeps it moving.

I'm probably going to wait to see Captain Marvel till it hits DVD because of finances and the fact the main reason I want to see it is the piece of Nick Fury's history.

Apollo 11 is here but I'll likely end up seeing it (perhaps this upcoming week) in a non-IMAX theater.

I'll probably wait for the DVD of Captain Marvel.