Now, before you all get excited, no, I did not watch the new Top Gun movie. Mainly because I have never seen the original. Yet. Give me until next weekend and that all could change. Anyways, here’s what rounded out the month!
The Valet – I had medium expectations from this comedy film, and it kind of delivered. Evidently this is a remake, and according to critics, a pretty good one. I myself, was expecting to laugh a lot more, but it was still an enjoyable film. Actress Olivia Allen is caught having an affair with real estate mogul, Vincent Royce, so in order to squash any repercussions, Vincent hires valet, Antonio Flores to pretend to be who Olivia is seeing, as he was around when the paparazzi photos were taken. He agrees to a small sum that he wants to use to get his recently separated wife back. Olivia and Antonio make an interesting pair, but the two eventually form a friendship once she connects with his close-knit family. Near the end Antonio also gains more self-worth, but everything wraps up not quite how I was expecting. In a nice way! This film managed to be funny while also tackling several social status and cultural issues.
Senior Year – I got roped into watching this so-so comedy again. Upon a second viewing, it was kind of tedious, but still a light film I didn’t mind watching for a second time. Probably not again in the near future, though.
Men – Whaaaa! This movie was kind of bananas. Harper Marlowe is a recent widow, as we see in flashbacks her soon to be ex-husband fall to his death. She decides to take some time away at a remote home in a small village. Not long after she arrives, she encounters many different versions of the same man that rented her the property. Pretty soon those encounters turn violent and she’s essentially being hunted throughout the town and the property. Obviously, the fact that actor Rory Kinnear is playing all of these different men give the film a supernatural element, but I also couldn’t decide by the end if everything that had happened in the film was just a morbid hallucination by Harper. Perhaps as a way to cope with her grief? I still have some research to do, but this film was eerie, and the last 15 minutes or so were fairly disturbing. Definitely not for everyone, but I found it to be a delight to watch!
The Duke – Based on real events, this crime-drama was quite fun to watch! We first see Kempton Bunton in court pleading not guilty to the theft of the famous Goya painting of the Duke of Wellington. From there, we go back in time about six months to get an idea of what really went down. We see that Bunton is kind of a free spirit who just wants to watch the BBC without having to pay for a license for it! He and his family scrape by mainly from the wages his wife, Dorothy, earns as a cleaner. She wants nothing more than for Kempton to stop getting arrested for silly things and to finally land a stable job. In an effort to get free television for all, he takes a trip to London where he comes back with the Goya painting. For a time, it’s kept hidden in the back of a closet, and the ransom is for the amount paid for the painting so that the funds can be donated. There ended up being some fun twists in this film along with a good degree of humor. If you like anything historical in nature, I recommend this slightly fictionalized retelling.
All My Puny Sorrows – Holy crap was this film depressing as hell. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about the lives of two sisters, Yoli and Elf. In the present day we learn that their father committed suicide by getting struck by a train a little while ago. Since that time, both sisters have had a difficult go at life. Yoli, the younger sister, has a floundering writing career, a failed marriage with a teen daughter she’s struggling to raise. Alternatively, Elf is a beautiful and celebrated pianist with a stable partner, who, on the eve of an international tour, tries to kill herself. The rest of the film is spent with Yoli trying desperately to get her sister to want to stay. This film is dark and terribly sad, and not for the faint of heart. I did find it interesting that this movie is based off of a novel of the same name, so I will be checking that out likely.
Breakfast with Scot – This movie was cute as hell! Eric is a former Maple Leafs hockey player who now is a successful sportscaster. He is also living a happy and quiet life with his husband, Sam. Their lives get turned upside-down when they become temporarily responsible for Scot, the son of Sam’s brother, Billy’s, ex-girlfriend. She died of an overdose and had Billy listed in her will as the one to care for her son, but he’s at first unreachable and then reluctant to return from Brazil for Scot. In the meantime, Eric grumpily spends time with Scot who is flamboyantly gay; something Eric is very uncomfortable with. Eric tries to get Scot into hockey and in an effort to get Eric to like him, he agrees. Obviously this is going to backfire, not just with Scot, but with Sam, as well. The ending maybe came up a little too fast, but this film just sort of warmed my heart. Also, kind of ahead of its time a little bit back in 2005. And kudos to the actual Maple Leafs for letting the film use their name and logo.
Operation Mincemeat – Another WWII drama! Man, they just keep coming! This time around though, the focus is on England trying to deceive Germany about an invasion in Sicily they are planning. In order to do so, Operation Mincemeat is formed and they come up with a ploy to have a dead body washed up on shore with false information on his person. Most of the film is spent watching a small group come up with this dead man’s life story. It is quite an elaborate scheme though, and one that I don’t think would ever be used today, but what do I know. While there was plenty of drama to go around, along with an intriguing story, I thought this one lacked as it spent unnecessary time around a love triangle that never existed in real life. I wonder how much screen time was spent in this slightly bloated screenplay about that love triangle. I think I would have liked it better without. Regardless, this was still another fine entry in the WWII movie boom.