The North County Film Club kicks off the new season with The Sapphires on Sunday, January 12. You're not going to want to miss this film. In 1968 four young talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group, The Sapphires entertain the US troops in Vietnam. Based on a true story, The Sapphires is a triumphant celebration of youthful emotion, family and music.
Here's a photo of the real Sapphires as they are now:
And here's a review of The Sapphires with some interesting points which might make for some good discussion after the film showing on Sunday.
If you don't know about the film club and want to join - the membership fee is $10.00. Sign up for membership at the table outside of the Digiplex (Mission and College, Oceanside). The pass for all 10 films is $45.00 and can be purchased at the box office (can you imagine? only $4.50 per film!). If you only want to see 5 of the films, you can purchase a pass for $30.00 (you must select the 5 films before you purchase your pass).
We welcome new members. Join us for some great films. Here's the lineup for 2014 Winter-Spring Season.
Film News
Once again, I'm missing the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Maybe next year. It started on the 3rd and runs through the 13th. So if you're in the area or want to make a special trip, here's the info: Palm Springs Film Festival. This is one of the best festivals in the U.S. It features mostly foreign films, but also showcases some of the more important US films.
Critic's Corner
Gail Brown is favoring us with another of her film reviews, this time for American Hustle.
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
Directed and Co-written by: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)
Rated: R
Ratings: IMDB 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes 94% fresh and 8.2, the five who saw it today, 7 to 9.5
This movie is not easy for me to review. It is still swirling around in my head. Definitely not one of my favorite movies of the year….although it did have redeeming qualities as I noted below.
The Good: The casting and acting…..I could not take my eyes off the four characters. Amy Adams, who we once looked at like the ‘girl next door’…will surprise you. Christian Bale who gained 50 lbs for this role, is a very intense actor (since he was 11 in Empire of the Sun) who totally sank himself into this role. Jennifer Lawrence, at age 24, has the acting chops of someone twice her age. Bradley Cooper’s passion for his craft comes through in every role he plays. The four of them do not disappoint. Also the music was very good.
The Disappointing: It is not a good thing when a 2 hour and 9 minute movie feels like 3 hours….I also found myself drifting off through a number of scenes. Although the acting was superb and memorable…I could never sit through this movie again. It was just a little too ‘over the top’ for me and maybe even over-acted here and there as well.
Note: Most of the critics are raving about this movie and you will see that many have it as one of their top ten movies of the year. Others I know liked it a lot… so please don’t let my review discourage you from seeing it. If you love these four actors, then by all means see this movie because their performances made it worth seeing. Could get an award or two for ensemble acting as well as for some individual performances.
Hope to see you all on Sunday the 12th at the Digiplex in Oceanside (unless, of course, you're in Palm Springs).
List me as one of the fans. I agree with the acting assessment, but my attention never wavered. Maybe that's because I like stories about heists and scams. I even liked The Grifters, which was real dark. This picture isn't. Here's a freebie...I really disliked The Wolf of Wall Street, despite my interest in scams and Wall Street in general. Now my attention did waver in that one! A lot. Member Mary Ellen Reese
ReplyDeleteI'd give it 7/10. I found it consistantly amusing, but a bit derivative in its style and plot-wise a tad wobbly when more characters got introduced in the second half.
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