THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES – I never knew the whole back story of why Brian Jones was ousted from the Rolling Stones….especially since he was the founder of the band. This documentary does an excellent job of revealing Brian’s personal struggles, the dynamics within the band and the atmosphere of music in the 60s. A great watch for any Stones fans. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

A REAL PAIN – Kieran Culkin’s character definitely lives up to this description and so does the film. I found it exhausting and annoying to watch because of this role, which I guess is the point. I had heard there was lots of comic relief in it, but I found none. Kieran has since won the SAG award for his performance. He did a decent job of being obnoxious, the problem is I didn’t see any difference between this character and the one he played on Succession. Jesse Eisenberg’s character is equally annoying with his passive/submissive personality. The two characters are cousins on a Holocaust tour in Poland where they are seeking the long-ago home of their grandmother who has passed. The only interesting part of the film for me was the actual footage of their walk through the concentration camp which I believe is the only one where all the structures still stand. It was sobering and horrid as they entered the gas chamber, but it was the only part of the film which stirred my emotions. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – This film of Bob Dylan’s early musical career covers the years from literally being a complete unknown to the controversial folk concert where he committed the horrid sin of playing electric guitar instead of acoustic. I’ve never been a Dylan fan although I like many of his songs when they are covered by other artists. I was interested in his journey though from point A to point B. Being an actor myself, I always find the arc of other artists’ career travels informative and often inspiring. If the film accurately depicts Dylan’s true character, he apparently was quite funny and also an asshole. He had that snarky, acerbic wit about him. Timothee Chalamet does a great job capturing the trademark gravelly voice and cadence. Ed Norton also shines as Pete Seeger. John liked it, but said it isn’t a film for everyone. He’s probably right. Definitely worth a view if you’re a Dylan fan or interested in Oscar nominations. This movie will probably win in several categories. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

CONCLAVE – A masterpiece! Worthy of all the Oscar nominations and destined to win quite a few. Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci turn in compelling performances as two priests among the entire flock congregated to select a Pope in an ancient clandestine ritual fraught with secrets, deceit and treachery. The shrouded process of choosing a Pope in itself was fascinating to me. That aside, it’s a marvelous film on its own and I loved every minute. So did Francine. Don’t miss it! Cheers!! (With blessed wine, of course). Boyfriends & Girlfriends – 0.

A PERFECT COUPLE – Not! In fact, obviously a most imperfect couple or there would be no story, which is based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand. Predictable premise – wealthy Nantucket family becomes embroiled in scandal when there is a murder on the beach in the wee hours of the morning on the day of a society wedding. The usual stuff. Who did it? Who cares. They’re all obnoxious and deserving of the honor. Fans of Elin’s books, or Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber, may enjoy it. It wasn’t my thing….although Liev was quite tasty in his role. Overall – skip it! Boyfriends -1; Girlfriends – 0.

MARIA – Not a fan. Not of the movie and not of famed opera star Maria Callas. Angelina Jolie delivers a good performance, but it’s not enough to save this arduous, weird film. Apparently Angelina’s real singing voice was blended with Maria’s for the desired effect. Kudos to Angie. But when the film is not displaying opera performances (which were overused), it is underscored with slow, depressing music. I’m sure this was to set the tone of Maria’s final days, but it bored the hell out of me. Some of the dialogue was muffled, silent scenes were excruciatingly long and the use of an actor to portray a drug Maria was dependent on was confusing. Perhaps this was used to symbolize her apparently frequent hallucinations, but it didn’t work. Diane and Chris both hated the film…and Chris is an expert on Maria Callas who has written his own screenplay of Maria’s life story. He also mentioned things were factually wrong in the movie. So you guessed it kids – skip it! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 0.

MARTHA – Love her or hate her, kudos to Martha Stewart’s shrewd, savvy determination and steely grit! You’ve got to give it to her. She built a billion dollar empire in a man’s world, only to see it shattered when she ended up in prison for an illegal stock trade. Then she rose from the ashes, slightly humbled…but just as determined, and rebuilt her life. And amazingly, she is just as beautiful today in her eighties as she was in her 20s. I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary delivered to us courtesy of Martha herself who unabashedly gives us a glimpse of her rare vulnerability and pain, but remains steadfast in her typical Martha mindset. A fascinating life story. Darlene, Jen and Norma concur. Cheers! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 0.