For it being a long weekend, I sure didn’t get in as many movies as I would have liked. But here is what made the cut!
Nonnas – Admittedly, losing power at my house for several hours is what finally prompted me to watch this movie. It was one of the few things I had downloaded on my tablet, so why not? Despite starring Vince Vaughn, this movie was maybe the most PG thing he’s ever done. He just played a real life guy who missed his mom and his nonna and their cooking. Inspired, he takes his mom’s life insurance money and buys a run-down restaurant, enlists the help of his longtime friend and general contractor to get it in top form, then found a bunch of old Italian ladies who love to cook for people. Overall, this movie was just fine and cute in a lot of parts. But towards the end I was kind of squirming with how awkward its PG-ness was, and also just wondering when the heck it was going to be over. Pleasant and safe enough for the whole family, but nothing exceptional. Though I would like to visit this real life restaurant!
Julie Keeps Quiet – So look, my namesake and tennis in one film? Absolutely you know I had to watch this. Though it had its premiere at Cannes, I missed out on the chance to watch this at TIFF last year, so I jumped on it as soon as it was available to rent. I honestly had no clue it was based in Belgium, but the premise was alluring enough. Julie is a teen, but also a top tier tennis player at her academy. Though she is the best, she always feels a little bit like an outsider, as she is the only one there on a scholarship. Things are complicated further when her coach is suspended after one of his other star players commits suicide. It’s heavily implied that he was acting inappropriately with her, and her academy is doing everything they can to make sure no one else suffered this same fate and to find enough evidence to get this guy in some serious trouble. The film itself never delivers some big or over-the-top reveal. In fact, Julie, as the film’s title suggests, keeps pretty mum on the whole topic whenever it’s brought up. Despite no loud antics, the film is taut and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. A superb drama.
On Swift Horses – After reading the novel of the same name and seeing the cast walk the red carpet at TIFF, I have been highly anticipating this film. Sadly, it only came to one theater near me for such a short time that I had to relent and wait to rent it. Though I don’t fully remember every detail from the novel, what I saw portrayed on screen seemed pretty dang faithful to the novel. But I have to admit, I don’t recall Muriel having any full blown affair. It added more to the story in a good way, I felt, but I do not remember this plot line in such detail in the book. Anyway, Muriel and her brother-in-law Julius are the true center of this story. And while Muriel thinks Julius is the first true love of her life, I think instead that he is a mirror of her. They are so similar in so many ways that even her husband Lee brings it up. Poor Lee just wants a nice, quiet, traditional life, but he’s surrounded by “abnormal” and ultimately unhappy people. Julius just might have found happiness trying to kick his gambling habit in the form of another addict, Henry. Just like after reading the novel, I sure hope those two find their happy ending. I don’t know that this story is for everyone, but I’m sure I’ll be revisiting it someday.