all I have is a loathing for a world that's forgotten

I have been vastly entertained by a wide variety of movies lately. There are some good ones here!

Fatman (2020) - "A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking."

Source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I saw the trailer when it was first released and was intrigued
IMDB: 5.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 45% Audience: 84%

notable quote: "Point is, we both have good days and bad days. We disagree. We tick each other off. ... But I love you. So we figure it out, we work through it, we lift each other up."

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Eshom Nels, Ian Nelms

featuring:  Mel Gibson, Walter Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield

my notes: not like any movie I'd ever seen before. Weird, heartwarming, creepy, thoughtful, bizarre. I think I loved it!

overall: highly recommended

In Good Company (2004) - "A middle-aged ad exec is faced with a new boss who's nearly half his age... and who also happens to be sleeping with his daughter."

Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it was a quiet day, I was putting up Christmas decorations, and I wanted something mindless playing
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 54%

notable quote: "You just pick the right one to be in the foxhole with...."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Paul Weitz

featuring: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger

my notes: not at all what I expected, this is a strange and pointless film. Are any characters amiable or interesting or fun enough to want around? Is the story compelling? Is the filming well done? Nah.

overall: not recommended

Out of Sight (1998) - "A career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: George Clooney. 'nuf said.
IMDB: 7.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 93% Audience: 74%

notable quote: "Hey Ray, do you ever wear one that says 'undercover'?"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Steven Soderbergh

featuring: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina

my notes: George Clooney makes a good crook. Farina, albeit stereotyped, is always good. Don Cheadle and Ving Rhames are wonderful. Lopez, however, cannot pass for a FBI agent. It's just too ridiculous.

overall: mildly recommended

American Women, a.k.a. The Closer You Get (2000) - "A group of ordinary Irish fellows are bored and

dissatisfied with the local women in their small town. Led by fashion-conscious butcher Ian, they decide to pool their resources and put an ad in an American newspaper inviting American women to their town dance in the hope of attracting some exciting potential mates. The local women, including Ian's smitten assistant Siobhan, decide to retaliate in their own way."
Source: I own it on DVD
I watched it because: it is in my top 10 of all time
IMDB: 6.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 32% Audience: 48%

notable quote: "'There’s a suit. You know. That I’ve seen. It mean, it was made for me, you know? Tailor-made. But… I can’t. This is the most beautiful suit in the world. But I can’t stop thinking, what if it looks ridiculous? What if this exquisite thing you’ve yearned for your whole life…looked better on somebody else? Somebody who could truly do it justice?'

    "'Love is God’s most precious gift. It is also His most fragile. It exists for a moment here, maybe, or an instant there, perhaps. Against the odds and despite everything that’s going on around it. So, if this suit really is made for you, and you’re lucky enough to still have the opportunity to enjoy it—trust the tailor that cuts the cloth.'"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Aileen Ritchie

featuring:  Ian Hart, Sean McGinley, Niamh Cusack, Sean McDonagh

my notes: this movie just gets to me. It is raucously funny, it is hopeless, and it is beautifully poetic.

overall: most highly recommended

The Natural (1984) - "A middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: the last time I saw it was in college, and I wanted to see if I liked it as well
IMDB: 7.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 82% Audience: 88%

notable quote: "I shoulda been a farmer."

MPAA rating: PG

directed by: Barry Levenson

featuring: Robert Redford, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall, Wilford Brimley

my notes: the story is reasonably good, but the film is far, far, far too long. Extended scenes of characters "reflecting" could have been cut, wholesale. This 144 minute movie would be leaps and bounds better at 94.

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Supporting Actress—Glenn Close

• Best Cinematography

• Best Art Direction

• Best Music—Randy Newman

overall: mildly recommended

[the title quotation is from Fatman]