A guest post by one of my favorite people on the entire planet, my mom, Lenore Stoller
As a retiree living in Florida, going to the movies is part of our social calendar. We try to see at least one movie a week and with the cost at $5 per person, you can imagine why we spend many date nights at the local theaters. In addition, most of the theaters we frequent have stadium seating so we don’t have to worry if a tall person or someone with a big head sits in front of us. Plus, since we typically hit the Early Bird special for dinner, we normally are pretty full by the time we get to the theater, which means we save money on the popcorn and soda!
But enough about the movie experience in Boynton. Here are my honest reviews of a few blockbusters I’ve have seen since this season with my husband, sister and close girlfriends:
Black Swan: This was an excellent movie. Natalie Portman definitely deserves an Oscar for her performance. But ladies, do not take your husband or your children to see this very dark, sad and frightening movie. I recommend that you go with a few of your female friends and then decide if your daughters would understand the story line. There are some sexually explicit scenes and some very disturbing moments – which hopefully does not resemble the lives of young ballerinas.
The Fighter: The story in this movie is based on the life of a real fighter.It was a very good movie, one that husbands will enjoy and children over the age of 10 might like too. This story of a truly dysfunctional family really gets one to thinking-that inspite all these obstacles, a person can achieve their dream no matter how old they might be! It is unfortunate that Mark Wahlberg wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar because he definitely deserves it!
The King’s Speech – This movie was outstanding. Colin Firth deserves an Oscar as does the co-star who played his tutor. Once again, this movie is based on a true story. It is the story of King George VI (Queen Elizabeth’s father) who had a terrible stuttering problem. Husbands can enjoy this movie as well as children 10 and older. However, they might need a little history lesson before going to see the film.
True Grit -This movie was pretty good (even if you’re not a fan of cowboy westerns) – It’s a remake that originally starred John Wayne and Robert Duvall. Jeff Bridges was great as Rooster Cogburn , a tough hard drinking marshall hired by a 14 year old to find the man responsible for murdering her father. The young lady who starred in this role was also excellent and deserves recognition. This could be a movie for the entire family- but once again the children might have to be 12 years or older. Although there are no sexually explicit scenes, but there is a great deal of violence. Another issue was that sometimes the dialogue was mumbled and garbled. I thought it was the fact that I might be starting to have a hearing problem – but on our way out “young” members of the audience had the same complaint.
The Social Network– Another good movie that’s okay for adults and children who have hit texting age (12 and over). Since this movie is already out on DVD, I highly recommend that you rent it and discuss the themes of genius, greed and duplicity with your partner or kids.
That’s it for now. Mom does add that there are other movies they’ve seen – however, they were so bad, it wasn’t worth sharing those reviews with you. Bottom line, if you only have two hours to spare, spend your money on the films she just recommended. Otherwise, wait for the rest to come out on DVD. Our time is precious…no need to waste it!
Role Mommy 3.0