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Spotlight
Spotlight tells the story of the reporting team at the Boston Globe who uncovered and published the truth about abuse by Catholic priests and the church, legal, and government leaders who helped keep that truth hidden. Most amazingly, this story broke virtually in the nest of the Catholic Church. They couldn’t have chosen a more Catholic saturated town besides the Vatican to do their probing. It took some guts. We all remember when the story broke and the mayhem it caused, which is why I found it interesting to see where the story began with the quiet, meticulous methods of a small, passionate, and intelligent research team played by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Brian d'Arcy James, and Rachel McAdams.
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Joy
If you put Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence together enough times they are going to end up married. Or at least with a few love children. And it’s all David O. Russell’s fault. I feel like that’s the story we’re all waiting for here after she teamed up with Cooper and relentless matchmaker, I mean director, Russell for the 4th time in Joy. Because of the many departures that Russell took from Joy Mangano’s real life this is not being categorized as a biographical film. He didn’t even want to meet her until after the film was finished in order to let the film be his guide. Russell’s film tells the story of a divorced single mother who is living with some of the most needy and ungrateful people you can imagine. She’d make her life a whole lot easier if she just emptied her house of her ex-husband in the basement and her divorced parents, a deadbeat father and a mother who spends her days in her room watching soap operas and being as unhelpful as possible. Don’t even get me started on her half-sister who passive-aggressively tries to smother any spark of hope or ambition that arises in Joy.
After a painful and bloody experience wringing out a mop while cleaning up broken glass, Joy designs self-wringing mop, what we now know as the Miracle Mop. As seen on TV. The path to getting a patent, manufacturer, and stage for an invention is paved with corruption, fraud, and betrayal. And it’s a road that she goes down with frightening tenacity. I found myself asking “Good grief, Joy, don’t you ever get tired?” But seriously, this woman does not know when she has failed – which I guess is how you become a success. The reason that so few people become the entrepreneurial powerhouse that she has is because most people are more cautious, more practical, and more exhaustible. 4.5 out of 5 stars
After a painful and bloody experience wringing out a mop while cleaning up broken glass, Joy designs self-wringing mop, what we now know as the Miracle Mop. As seen on TV. The path to getting a patent, manufacturer, and stage for an invention is paved with corruption, fraud, and betrayal. And it’s a road that she goes down with frightening tenacity. I found myself asking “Good grief, Joy, don’t you ever get tired?” But seriously, this woman does not know when she has failed – which I guess is how you become a success. The reason that so few people become the entrepreneurial powerhouse that she has is because most people are more cautious, more practical, and more exhaustible. 4.5 out of 5 stars
Brooklyn
I loved this movie so I’m just going to talk about all the stuff I loved about it. Brooklyn was lovely and funny and heartbreaking. We’re always told of the bravery and difficulty of those who immigrated to our country, but it has seldom been made as real to me as it was here.
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The Martian
While being super sciencey, this film kept me entertained and fascinated throughout. I forgot for most of the movie that this was a movie. It was just a dang good story. And (English major coming out here) I also liked that there is very little conflict between characters. It is a largely cooperative film. The conflict is not man vs. man, as is traditional. This is man vs. nature (sort of). Man vs. circumstance. And it’s not just this one man either. It is humans vs. this one man’s circumstance. So many stories of this scope focus on one person saving the world. This was a story about the world coming together to save this one man.
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