Manda's MovieWatch

Great movie. A father intent on leading his girls to dominance in tennis and he had to fight for it. My favorite part was when the mom stood up for herself and forced the “King” to acknowledge her role in the creating of their two phenoms. A king who needed the queen. My only wish was to see Serena’s story a bit more along with Venus’s (and to hear about their other sisters too). Will Smith does an incredible job here- you kind of love him/kind of hate him. Only 1 watch check, Ryan totally stayed awake and you can def watch at home.

Pretty good…but long. The mark of a great movie is when it’s long but you don’t notice. I noticed in this one. The stand out here is Jared Leto. Absolutely unrecognizable as Paulo Gucci. I was stunned- BRAVO sir. Lots of hype about Lady Gaga and I thought she did a great job, but for me- it wasn’t Oscar worthy. the story is good but it drags. 3 watch checks, Ryan would be snoozing away- not even all the shots of Gaga’s cleavage would keep him awake.

She was such a punchline…but she may be having the last laugh. It’s hard to not admire Tammy Faye Baker’s bravery to keep being who she was…even when everyone- EVERYONE laughed at her. This was a good movie, created empathy in me when I didn’t expect it. Pretty sure Jessica Chastain will get an Oscar nom and it’s worth seeing just to see her performance…well and all the glorious 80’s fashion (oh the shoulder pads!). 2 watch checks. I think Ryan would actually stay awake for this one!

Truth be told, my excitement about this movie may have been blown up a bit by my excitement at being in an actual movie theater. Yes! Going to the movies! After such a LONG Covid-hiatus, I was able to go see a movie! It was friggin exciting yawl. (As evidence by my photo below…as you can see, I was giddy!) I see a light at the end of the movie tunnel! So back to the movie- adorable, funny, sweet. A total RomCom and I think we could all use a little more RomCom in our lives right now! 1 watch check. I think Ryan would stay awake for this one (he’s kind of a big softie).

Sorry for the long break yawl. In our new reality, going to movies is sadly on hold (thanks Covid-19 👎🏼). Luckily, we live in an age where there’s loads of great movies available to you at home! So I thought I’d do some watch recommendations for movies you can watch from home. Here’s some of my favorites playing now:

Spenser Confidential (Netflix)- 1 watch check. Always Be My Maybe (Netflix)- 2 watch checks. The Two Popes (Netflix)- 1 watch check. Fighting With My Family (Amazon)- 1 watch check. The Farewell (Amazon)- 2 watch checks. Brittany Runs A Marathon (Amazon)- 1 watch check. A Quiet Place (Amazon)- 0 watch checks. Yesterday (HBO)- 1 watch check. Long Shot (HBO)- 2 watch checks

This is the toughest movie time of the year. A dry spell after the oscars. If your local theaters are still playing some of the best picture noms, try to get to those! Well, there’s really no other way to say it, this movie went downhill from the start. The previews billed it as a comedy but it felt like it was a comedy trying to be serious. Don’t waste your money on this one. 4 watch checks (ouch!) and Ryan would be snoozing away.

This was a fun ride. A little slow at first but like a roller coaster, once it gets going – it never slows down. All kinds of twists and turns. The language was brutal but the characters were hilarious. It’s all kinds of fun. You can rent it, Ryan would stay awake for sure (this is a dude’s movie), 1 watch check.

Yes…see this movie. It’s so important to see this history that feels like it must be the 50s or 60s but was actually 1987-1993?! It’s important to see that there are crooked law men but there are also good law men, like Mr. Stevenson. It’s important to fight for what is right and not to give up. You can rent it, although Ryan would try hard to stay awake in this one…he’d be out like a light in about 20 minutes. Only 1 watch check.

It’s like watching a fly getting more and more tangled in a web…you’ll want to yell “stop it!” at the screen. It’s a good story with some turns you don’t see coming but there are gaps in the story that leave you scratching your head. It was nice to see Adam Sandler in such a different role. This is a movie you can rent and I think Ryan would have stayed awake for it. 2 watch checks.

This is a fascinating look at classism and the breaking point of people. I forgot I was reading subtitles and that’s always a mark of a good foreign film to me! It felt like there was so many ways for this story to end and I didn’t expect it to end the way it did. Likely a lock for best foreign film. Ryan would not stay awake for this one, you can rent it and I had just 1 watch check.