What did you watch this week camarade? (03/19-03/25)

Be it to escape the craziness of this world or to hide from our own personal problems, movies are a great source of comfort and entertainment for us all. This week was no exception:

The calling (2014 TV): The reason I came to this cold Canadian crime thriller was for Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace and Donald Sutherland but the reason I stayed was for my homeboy Kevin Parent who played is role to perfection and brought a very fresh energy to this film which could be described as a cross between Fargo and The X-files movie. My rating: 6.2/10

Kramer VS Kramer (1979 TV): Dustin Hoffman has always been a great actor hasn’t he? Tremendous performance here. Je was 42 but looked 30. Meryl Streep’s role is more secondary but she’s strong in each of her scenes too. Powerful film but nothing that would make me want to see it again. 7.5/10

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021 TV): No wonder this movie is 4 hours long, half of it is in slow-motion! Ha! Just kidding, it was a great ride. My kids and I watched it over 3 evenings. I was one of those who really appreciated the 2017 version, especially after the atrocious Batman VS Superman film. As for this improvement, I can’t rate it too much higher. BTW, I’m Superman, my first son is Flash, my second son is Batman and my daughter is Wonder Woman so the spots are open for Aquaman and Cyborg, in case there are any interested. My rating: 8/10

Half of a yellow sun (2012 TV): Not that I particularly enjoyed it the first time around but it just happened to play and I just happened to give it 2nd chance. It has some good parts but I can’t say I will up my rating too much. I will copy/paste something from IMDb that sums it pretty well: « The film has two parts, the first comes across as a cheap soap opera and the second, a cheap action movie. Scenes played out that were pointless and didn't add much to the plot, making the first half plod along longer than it should have.» I’ll just finish by saying that although the title sounds pretty cool, this movie could’ve been called « Sex, Love and War in Nigeria ». My rating: 6/10

The fly (1986 TV): It had been over 15 years since I had seen this classic and I think I enjoyed it even more this time around. Cronenberg’s best film in my book. One complaint only; not long enough! My rating: 8.5/10

Air America (1990 TV): When I looked up this movie online I was surprised by the majority of low ratings. At first glance it has all the elements for successful flick. It did take be about 20 minutes to settle into the story and the atmosphere of the film but once I did it was a pretty fine flight. (I think it was my first time seeing Ken Jenkins playing another role than Dr. kelso and I just couldn’t dissociate him from his Scrubs character.) My rating: 6/10

Homeward bound: The incredible journey (1993 DVD): 10 years old me: “This movie is perfect and made me happy.
20 years old me: “This movie is perfect and it made me tear up.”
30 years old me: “This movie is perfect and it makes me cry!!!” My rating: 10/10

Earthly possessions (1999 TV): Two great actors (Sarandon/Dorff) in an highly uneven and rather mediocre film is what this is. I wanted it to be quirky, charming, smart and fun. It was mostly bland, the dialogue was often dumb and the script was highly far-fetched. The first half felt like a long buildup for the Motel room scene, which was the best moment of the film and the second half feels like a struggling story trying to wrap itself properly. (This was my 2nd Susan Sarandon this week!) My rating: 5/10