Film – Page 5 – ChicksFlicks&Cocktails

SALTBURN – Psychotic university student, Oliver, insinuates himself into the family of a rich classmate. The dysfunctional, entitled family never see him coming as creeper Oliver stealthily unleashes hell into their lives. Completely unsettling. A real downer. Cheers! Boyfriends – 1; Girlfriends – 0.

THE HOLDOVERS – A handful of boarding school students and staff are forced to remain on campus during the Christmas break. Three of them in particular are broken people struggling to navigate through their pain filled lives. Paul Giamatti heads the cast and newcomer Dominic Sessa shines as troubled student Angus Tully. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

MAESTRO – Bravo!!! An exquisite work of art! Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan are captivating as legendary composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia. I was mesmerized. Expect numerous Oscar nominations for this one. Cheers! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 1.

MAY DECEMBER – Loosely based on the MaryKay Letourneau scandal, this film is just as weird and disturbing as the actual events. Also it drags. I didn’t like it. If you’re curious about the shocking 1996 sexual relationship between a 34-year-old teacher and her 12-year-old student, check it out. Otherwise, skip it. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

GENIE – Ugh! Skip it! Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

CORALINE – Kids’ stop-motion animated horror film from 2009 based on Neil Gaiman’s book. The book remains popular, so I read it for the first time several weeks ago. Naturally, I then had to see the film which I’d also heard a lot about. Fortunately it had dropped on Hulu. It follows the book quiteContinue reading

A HAUNTING IN VENICE – Kenneth Branagh returns as super sleuth Hercule Poirot in this film based on Agatha Christie’s murder mystery “Halloween Party.” I’m not really a fan of murder mysteries, but I liked this one because of the ghost story…right up my alley. Branagh, who also directed, is always spot on. Plenty ofContinue reading

THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL – Not nearly as good as the original Humphrey Bogart film from 1954, the main reason being this film depicts only the court-martial itself and not the actual events leading up to it. Those facts are all stated, but we need to see them in action to make the production interesting.Continue reading

HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY – I abandoned ship less than halfway through the film. Skip it! Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

80 FOR BRADY – A handful of laughs and four great older leading ladies couldn’t save this picture. Even Brady couldn’t save this picture. In fact, he was the major sap in this super sappy story. Skip it. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.