Saturday movie review: Special Correspondents

Not long ago, my husband and I saw a Graham Norton Show (our favorite talk show) episode in which his guests included Eric Bana and Ricky Gervais. They were plugging the upcoming release of their Netflix original feature film, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. From the giggles and guffaws their banter elicited from the host and other guests — as well as my husband and myself — I figured the comedy would be a fun diversion and quickly added it to my queue.

We finally got around to watching it last week, and it was indeed a fun diversion. Far different from most everything else in my Netflix queue, but far more fun, for sure.

special correspondents netflix film

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS stars Eric Bana as Frank Bonneville, a self-absorbed radio journalist who hasn't reached the career level he hoped for and believes he deserves. Problem being...

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Saturday movie review: Recent stinkers

I've recently had a bad run of films in my quest for under-the-radar-but-awesome movies to review for you. It's fairly common to come across a stinker or two between several movies I'm happy to watch and pontificate upon here on Grandma's Briefs. Rarely does it happen, though, to have three in a row — on DVD, not streaming — that just plain stink.

Such a trio made an appearance on my big screen this past week. Each one I had added to my Netflix queue, requested be mailed to me ASAP upon seeing their trailers. Because each one had a trailer that made me think This will make a great review!

Each one stunk. Big time. Leaving me feeling overwhelmingly obliged to tell you to avoid it. Regardless of how good...

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Saturday movie review: The Family Fang

Jason Bateman is an amazing director. His most recent go at the role, THE FAMILY FANG, confirms his name should be prominently and permanently emblazoned across an on-set Director chair.

That's it. That's all you need to know about THE FAMILY FANG. End of review.

the family fang

Okay, okay. You deserve to know more about THE FAMILY FANG. And Jason Bateman deserves for you to know more about the quiet, quirky, independent film he directed. And stars in. With Nicole Kidman. And Christopher Walken. And Maryann Plunkett, who...

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Saturday movie review: The Fundamentals of Caring

Paul Rudd has created a career primarily out of funny films. I like him best, though, when he's not funny. I'm not talking comedic bits that crash and elicit crickets. No, I mean his dramatic roles where he reveals more heart than humor that most endear me to Mr. Rudd.

I found Rudd's most recent part of that sort, in THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CARING, more endearing than any before.

The Fundamentals of Caring Netflix Original

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CARING is a Netflix Original film and I must first give kudos to Netflix for...

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Saturday movie review: Little Boy

Sometimes as adults and definitely as kids, we don't want to believe reality and think if we believe long enough and hard enough that the impossible can come true, that the inevitable bad will turn out to not be inevitable. If we have faith.

Little Boy movie poster

The 2015 drama (with a heavy dose of family friendly humor) LITTLE BOY carries the tagline "Believe the Impossible," which makes it pretty darn obvious it's gonna be about belief and faith and hoping for the impossible to become possible.

The little boy of the title is 8-year-old Pepper Flynt Busbee...

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Saturday movie review: The Letters

I can't imagine there's an adult out there who doesn't know Mother Teresa, the inimitable humanitarian and recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for her endless charitable work caring for, comforting, and loving the sick and poor. Regardless of one's faith (or absence of), Mother Teresa — full name Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, MC — is universally admired for her compassion and kindness, particularly for the underprivileged.

Many folks know Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun and missionary who founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that caters to the poor in more than 133 countries. Many may also know that after multiple illnesses, Mother Teresa died in 1997 and that soon after her death, the process of beatification and canonization began to have her named as a saint.

The Letters film

THE LETTERS, a compelling drama about Mother Teresa's life, is based on documents...

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Saturday movie review: Ashby

Mickey Rourke is not a great actor. Though he's been in a few fine films, did fantastic jobs in them (THE WRESTLER, for instance), he's also had his share of stinkers (THEY CRAWL). Ever since seeing him for the very first time, though, in POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, I've enjoyed watching him on big screens and small.

I used to chalk it up to his good looks and bad-boy swagger. His looks are long gone, it's clear. Too many punches in the face? Too much alcohol? Drugs? Plastic surgery? I know nothing of what happened there — I'm not a rabid fan or stalker, just an admirer — hence ignorant about his personal life.

And Rourke's acting? Well, it's still not great.

Yet, regardless of his looks, acting chops, or the quality of the film he's in, Mickey Rourke continues to mesmerize me — and my husband, too. Which is nice because the fact Jim enjoys seeing him as much as I do saved me explaining my excitement upon discovering a newish (2015) film featuring Rourke streaming on Netflix. My husband was just as game as I to settle in and stream ASHBY, a quirky dramedy starring Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts, and Sarah Silverman.

Ashby movie on DVD

ASHBY is the story of 17-year-old Ed (Wolff), who's new at school, a little odd but outspoken, basically friendless. He's also smarter than the average football player...

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Saturday movie review: Money Monster

When soggy skies dampened plans for my husband and me to go on a bike ride over Memorial Day weekend, we resorted to Plan B and headed to the movie theater for a matinee. Though we knew next to nothing about the plot line of MONEY MONSTER, we figured anything starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney and directed by Jodie Foster had to be good.

money monster poster 

It didn't take long for me to realize the plot of MONEY MONSTER was far from what I imagined. I thought for sure there'd be some sort of romantic leanings between the stars. I was quite grateful, though, to find out that wasn't the case at all. Instead, Clooney and Roberts are...

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Weekend movie review: Eddie the Eagle

When it comes to watching movies, I have to be in a certain mood for certain genres. Say, if I'm in the mood for a documentary, a rom-com won't satisfy, no matter how satisfying it might be if I were in a rom-com mood. Many times my husband and I have let a Netflix DVD sit on the shelf for weeks because we're just not in the mood for drama or perhaps historical fiction despite wanting to see the movie at some point.

One genre I'm always up for, though, always in the mood to watch is the feel-good, root-for-the-underdog genre. Which I'm pretty sure isn't, technically, a movie genre. But it's one of my favorite sorts of films, especially if it's based on a real-life wanna-be winner and has a fair sprinkling of humor and sweetness flavoring the inspirational tale being told.

eddie the eagle

EDDIE THE EAGLE, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, with delightful secondary stars — including Christopher Walken in a brief but key part — is exactly that sort of film.

Egerton plays Michael "Eddie" Edwards, a quirky, committed, and seemingly fearless young British lad who was determined...

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