Five on Friday // Movies

Hello, friends and happy Friday! How is your week going? It’s getting chilly over here! I’ve pulled all of our winter things out of the closets and we’ve been cozying up a lot. I made a big pot of soup, a creamy vegetarian chowder with portabello mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. It’s the perfect weather for movie watching so I thought I would share some of the ones that I’ve watched lately. First, the ones that I enjoyed…

1. Hidden Figures — This one was so good, so very good! I highly recommend it and consider it a must-watch for anyone. It was visually beautiful, the dialogue was tack sharp, and it was deeply touching & inspirational — all of the things that I require to call a film excellent.

2. War Dogs — This one was okay. It wasn’t anything terribly moving but it was intriguing and it had me laughing all the way through. It was a light, comical spin on a serious topic (government contract corruption) with some decent, yet hardly believable, action scenes woven in. The film is based on a true story and I often found myself wondering which parts were true and which parts were Hollywood, but overall, if you’re looking for something light & funny, it’s a good choice.

3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — I talked a little bit about this one here. This movie touched me in such a profound way that it’s impossible for me to describe. I highly recommend it, but be prepared to have your heart strings pulled hard.

4. Sully — The true story of Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River back in 2009. I was fascinated & horrified when that story hit the headlines and I’ve been eager to watch the film since it came out. I love Tom Hanks and he did a fantastic job portraying Sully in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the film. It was very well-done, although I did feel that some of the sub-story lines were a little rushed.

5. Manchester by the Sea — I watched this one awhile ago and it’s difficult to remember all of the details now, but I can say that the movie is very dark. It’s based around a major tragedy. I happen to love the lead actors, Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, and they both shined. It doesn’t stick out as one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but it’s another heart string puller which is the type of movie that I gravitate toward at this stage in my life.

For honorable mentions, I will share two more Casey Affleck films from that short stint I had where I wanted to watch all of his movies–Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Gone Baby Gone. They were both decent. They don’t even remotely make my list of all-time favorite films, but if you’re desperate for something new to watch I would recommend either of them. I watched them both all the way through and enjoyed them.

On the other hand, there were three movies which I started recently and didn’t even bother finishing. First was The Girl with the Pearl Earring, which I really wanted to like because I happen to love the painting that it is based on and I love Scarlett Johansson. Unfortunately, it was so incredibly boring and slow that I turned it off after less than ten minutes. Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix is another one that I started only to turn off after a short while. It was also slow and boring, which is surprising because I typically adore Joaquin Phoenix. I may come back to that one again in the future. The last one that I started and didn’t finish was War Machine with Brad Pitt. Again, I was so surprised that I didn’t like this because I’ve absolutely loved every Brad Pitt movie I’ve ever watched, and that’s a lot of movies! Unfortunately this one just bored me, not sure if I’ll even give it a second chance.

Okay, friends. That’s it for this edition of Five on Friday. I hope I’ve given you some inspiration to cuddle up with a good movie, a cozy blanket, and a bowl of popcorn this weekend. Lots of love, always.

If you’re interested, you can check out my last set of movie reviews here and my other Five on Friday posts here.

Happy Weekending! xo