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By Mainstream Chick, on January 23rd, 2010
 The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is one of those small arty films starring an impressive roster of accomplished actors who probably took the gig for the love of the material rather than box-office glory. It’s a psychological drama tinged with wry humor and melancholy. So if you like that sort of stuff, you’ll probably like this film.
Robin Wright Penn plays Pippa Lee, a middle-aged woman who’s married to a much older man (Herb, played by Alan Arkin) who decides the couple should live out their remaining years together in a staid retirement community in Connecticut. [... Keep reading]
By Mainstream Chick, on January 4th, 2010
 A Single Man is a good movie, but not an entertaining one. Colin Firth delivers a quietly stunning performance as George Falconer, a middle-aged college professor struggling to get through life after the accidental death of his longtime partner, Jim. The movie is set in 1962 Los Angeles against a backdrop of fear involving the Cuban Missile Crisis and an undercurrent of anti-gay sentiment. The story revolves around a single day in George’s life – a day in which he goes about his usual routine while also preparing to commit suicide. Brief, intermittent flashbacks provide [... Keep reading]
By Adventurous Chick, on October 14th, 2009
 I will admit that as a bored high school student I would sometimes sit in class staring out the window fantasizing about a handsome man pulling up in a fancy sports car and whisking me away to a more exciting life. So I can completely understand how 16-year old Jenny is seduced by an older, seemingly sophisticated man in An Education.
It’s 1961 England and young Jenny, played by Carey Mulligan, is feeling stuck in her adolescent world and dreams of her life to come while listening to French music in her suburban bedroom. She and her parents believe that for [... Keep reading]
By Arty Chick, on October 11th, 2009
 What is it about Adrien Brody that is so attractive? He is not classically handsome. It’s the eyes. Those sad puppy eyes. In The Brothers Bloom he plays the younger brother named Bloom with Mark Ruffalo as older brother Stephen. (Strangely, they never explain why they are the Brothers Bloom and it is his first name.) The brothers are con men and have been at it since childhood. Now grown, Bloom has tired of always living “a scripted life” since Stephen comes up with all the cons and he just plays his part. Bloom has [... Keep reading]
By Arty Chick, on September 20th, 2009
So, what is coming up this fall? More for the chicks, one can only hope. Usually, post-summer we get back to having adult fare and start the march to the Oscar race. The list below is wide releases. If you are in New York or Los Angeles, you will have a much wider choice. For the rest of us, there are a few gems and a bit of dreck. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?
My choices as chickflix are marked with **. Others I would see are ***.
September [... Keep reading]
By Mainstream Chick, on September 14th, 2009
 Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art–//Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night//And watching, with eternal lids apart//Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite//The moving waters at their priestlike task//Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores//Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask//Of snow upon the mountains and the moors–//No–yet still stedfast, still unchangeable//Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast//To feel for ever its soft fall and swell//Awake for ever in a sweet unrest//Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath//And so live ever–or else swoon to death. – John Keats (1819)
Okay, so here’s the deal: If you like/understand/are intrigued by [... Keep reading]
By Arty Chick, on September 13th, 2009
 If there were an Academy Award for the best profanity laden insults in a film, In the Loop would be the winner hands down. There are more barbs thrown in this movie than any other I can remember. But they are wickedly written and perfectly delivered in one of the most taut political comedies I have ever seen. You really have to listen to the dialogue and keep up with a fast paced story. It is set in the British and US diplomatic circles and concerns a rush to war somewhere in the Middle East precipitated [... Keep reading]
By Mainstream Chick, on September 9th, 2009
 As I looked around the small indie theater at the start of Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, I was somewhat surprised to realize that my friends and I were the youngest attendees – by far (and we aint exactly spring chickens). By film’s end, I understood why. We were probably the only ones who didn’t know beforehand who Mrs. Goldberg was… and that’s a crying shame.
The documentary is a long-overdue salute to broadcasting pioneer Gertrude “Tillie” Berg, who created, wrote and starred in America’s first family sitcom, The Goldbergs. The show – which started on radio in 1929 and moved to the [... Keep reading]
By Mainstream Chick, on September 6th, 2009
 My One and Only is one of those feel-good movies that should leave most theater-goers generally satisfied. It’s not overly funny or sad or violent or sappy. It’s just a good ol’ fashioned “nice movie.” And every once in a while, it’s really nice to see one of those.
I’m not a huge fan of Renée Zellwegger, but she holds her own in this indie flick. She plays Ann Devereaux, a narcissistic but ultimately well-meaning mother who leaves her cheatin’ husband (Kevin Bacon in a small, but pivotal role as a bandleader) and hits the road with her two teenage sons, [... Keep reading]
By Arty Chick, on August 2nd, 2009
 Serendipity is a wonderful thing. I have to admit, when I was looking for a movie to see today and I saw Tetro listed, I’d never heard of it. But since it was at the closest theater and it was raining at the time, I thought I’d give it a go. It turned out to be a fantastic find. Francis Ford Coppola has crafted a gem of a film, loosely based on his Italian-Argentine family’s background. It is set in Buenos Aires and stars indie bad boy Vincent Gallo in a story of estranged brothers coming to terms with the painful legacy of their famous conductor father. The script is intelligent and the emotions so real, I was on the verge of tears for the main characters several times. But I also laughed. Coppola hasn’t done anything like this in decades and I hope this means he’s back to making the brilliant films he made back then. [...read on]
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What is Chickflix? In a nutshell, it’s a website/blog developed by three women on a mission to offer fun, informative, easy to digest movie reviews from a uniquely female perspective. (...more) |
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