Fly Away

Fly Away is the story of a single mom. Jeanne, struggling to raise Mandy, her sixteen year old severely autistic daughter, by herself.  I chronicals her relationship with her daughter, struggles with her ex-husband., lack of social life, and floundering carreer.

I'm going to be up front here.  This film is not going to win any awards.  Some of the acting  is wooden, particularly the love interest. And there is enough pie in the sky thinking to fill a very large house, particularly at the end.

But there are also some very wonderful things here too.  The director, Janet Grillo, apparent has a child with disabilites so she capture the relationship well.  Grillo captures those terrible lows that are balanced out by beautiful highs.  Those highs being and "I love you" or a moment of social awareness that would have meant nothing with a child not the autistic spectrum. 

The second thing that will take your breath away about this film is the performance of the young lady who plays Mandy. Her name is Ashley Rickards.  I stopped the film to look her up because I wanted to know if she was really autistic. 

In the end this is really a film about a coming of age both for mom and daughter and it raises all kinds of questions about humanity and our responsibility to care for the weaker members of our society.

Worth Watching.  Available on Netflix Instant Viewing.

On another note, several of you, my loyal followers, have told me that you missed my blog and you have wondered where I have been.  In answer to that I will give you the photo record of my entire viewing catalog for months on end.  As to my review...................I love them is a super dorky kind of way.  Like I wouldn't mind owning action figure or going to a convention kind of dorkdom.  Think less of my if you must.

Bottle Shock..................Based on a True Story

Bottle Shock
PG-13

How bad can it be?  I mean it has Alan Rickman it!  Who doesn't love Snape?  And it has the guy who played Captain Kirk in the latest Star Trek movie.  He can even sort of act, unlike the original Captain Kirk.  And Bill Pullman.  He was the President in Independence Day.  You have to trust him. Right?  If you were thinking all of this, then welcome to Bottle Shock.

I found this movie because the trailer was before some other movie.  I don't even remember which one but it looked like fun.  Then I discovered it was on Instant Viewing, so when we had a family get together with my parents,  (HI MOM) we all watched it.  It just the right kind of film.  Funny and light and an underdog for whom to cheer. Everyone thirteen and up found it enjoyable.


What to know before viewing


1) Best line (it's in the trailer so I'm not spilling the beans.)  Bill Pullman- "Why don't I like you?"  Alan Rickman- " Because you think I am an asshole and I'm not really. I'm just British.....and well..... you're not."

2)  It's an indie.  A well done indie.  I didn't really get the low budget feel from it.



What about the kids?


I have decided I stink at this section.  I am oddly liberal on some things and conservative on others.  I have found www.commonsensemedia.com to be very helpful on this matter.  Check them out if you have never used them before.  Here is what they had to say about this movie.  From now on I am just going to link them in this part.  LOL.

Currently on Netflix Instant Viewing and here.


Three Stars- "Liked It"


Just for fun, I am going to experiment with putting the trailer her.  We will see how it goes.

Amexicano............It's Complicated

Amexicano
PG-13

Not your grandma's movie about illegal immigration and stereotypes.  Okay, so it doesn't have the same ring as "not your grandma's Oldsmobile" but you get the idea.  This is a complicated movie about a complicated issue.  I have never seen another film like it.

Bruno is a blue collared guy from Queens who is unemployed and at the end of his benefits.  Things have gotten bad enough that he  finds himself working with illegal day laborers, something he neither agrees with or enjoys. Ignacio, one of the laborers, befriends Bruno and as the relationship grows, Bruno is forced to reconsider his preconceived notions.

This is one of those indie films that is clearly done on a small budget and it has that kind of feel to it.  At the start of the movie it bothered me a bit, but the script and acting are both well done and soon enough I forgot about the rest.  I finished this movie before I went to bed last night and I went to sleep thinking about it.  I woke up thinking about it.  I expect this to be a film that sticks with me.

What to know before viewing


1) Carmine Famiglietti, who plays Bruno, is also the writer of this.  I hope he gets more work from it.

2) Manny Perez, whom I remembered from the movie Bella, plays a terrific bad guy.  You don't like his character from the moment you see him.  He plays right into all of Bruno's stereotypes about illegal immigrants and ironically ends up being a citizen of the U.S.

3) The ending.  There is not much I can say without spoiling it.  I will say this.  I didn't expect it to end when it did and it ticked me off a little at first.  But the more I think about it the more I see why it ended there.

What about the kids?


I think PG-13 is about right.  This movie is disturbing but in a way that really challenges your thinking.  A teen that is up to the challenge would probably enjoy this film.

Currently available on Netflix Instant Viewing and here


4 Stars- "Really Liked It"


I keep debating with myself about the stars on this one but 4 is what I went with right after I watched it so I think I will stick with that.

Paper Heart...........................Love?

Paper Heart
PG-13

This one is a little hard to describe and every sentence I start to form about it includes the word quirky.  So let me just get that out of the way.  Quirky, quirky, quirky, quirky, quirky.  In case you missed that, this film is quirky.

It is a documentary in which Charlyne decides to find out what love is. She claims over and over again that she doesn't believe in love and wants to understand.   She sets out to do so by interviewing people as she travels around the country.  During filming,  she meets Michael and she has some lessons on the topic that she wasn't expecting.

Charlyne, who really is the lynch pin of the film, is awkward and understated but endearing and you certainly feel for her and Micheal as their relationship emerges on film and they would clearly love to be rid of the cameras and crew.  One of my favorite scenes is in a diner when they are discussing what to order.  Charlyne, a vegetarian, says she is going to order a BLT without the B but with the P and C (pickles and cheese).  Micheal looks stunned and says something along the lines of "But the whole beauty of ordering a BLT is the simplicity of saying  BLT and them knowing what you mean."  (quirky- Sorry.  Had to slip in one more)

Things you need to know before viewing

1) Don't be surprised when puppets show up.  I am guessing the production was low on cash and this started out as a cheap way to show peoples stories.  First time they did it, I was like "What the heck!"  But by the end I was looking forward to them.  It was a really cute idea.


2) There is a totally bogus psychic scene where Charlyne goes to get a reading.  The folks involved find it bogus too and say as much but......yeah.......it's in there.


3) Don't expect a traditional ending.  This is real life.  Quests usually turn up more questions than answers.


4) Did you know that the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus does not have a synonym for quirky?


What about the kids?


There is one interview with a gay couple where they talk about having sex on the first date.  That could be uncomfortable with the kids and is likely the source of the PG-13 but is easy to skip.  Mostly, I think younger kids would just be bored.  


Currently available on Netflix Instant Viewing and on DVD and Blue-ray


Three Stars- "Liked It"