Cinemascope: Ocean's Eleven

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2001.

Plot line: Dapper Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules: Don't hurt anybody, don't steal from anyone who doesn't deserve it, and play the game like you've got nothing to lose. Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.

I'm in Vegas this week, and this is one of my go-to movies to help set the right mood. Since I've got family there, it's a city I visit several times a year, and while this is an oldie, it's a goodie. Sure, there are plot holes large enough to drive a truck through, and Julia Roberts moves across the set in lovely clothes and high heels and does little else, but if you are in the mood for a fun heist story, spin this one up. I especially love the dynamics between Clooney and Pitt. They are like an old, affectionate married couple, and have better chemistry than most male/female relationships in movies. While I wouldn't bother with the sequels as they are awful, this one is a delight from start to finish.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: Genius

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2016.

Plot line: Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth star in this stirring drama about the friendship between Thomas Wolfe and editor Maxwell Perkins (who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway).

How is it that this movie did not get the buzz it deserves? If you are a fan of period pieces, of books or writers, of biography, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. The cast is wonderful, the acting really good, and I so enjoyed getting to know more about Max Perkins, and I plan on reading the book this is based on.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: Broadchurch (Seasons 1 thru 3)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.

Released in 2013 - 2017.

Plot line: When the corpse of an 11-year-old British boy, Danny Latimer, is found bloodied and dirty on an idyllic beach, a small Dorset community becomes the focus of a police investigation and media madness. Out-of-town Detective Inspector Alec Hardy gets the point position over Detective Sgt. Ellie Miller, who feels the job should have been hers. Now she must engage in an efficient working relationship with taciturn Hardy. Slowly, more members of the community of Broadchurch are drawn into the investigation, with a telephone engineer drawing great attention when he admits to a special connection to the case. While dealing with so much unwelcome attention, Danny's family tries to cope with its grief. When a suspect is named and charged, the ensuing trial sees the defendant promising to expose more of the townspeople's secrets.

I'm late to this party, but when I heard the main female lead had been selected to continue on as QE2 in The Crown, figured it was time to get familiar with her body of work. This is a police procedural, but the story unfolds over the season. I really like the exploration of small town dynamics, and how everyone has something to hide. Everyone. I watched this on Netflix, and as I've said before, I really love being able to watch TV from other parts of the world, as they have such a different styles of telling a story.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: Peaky Blinders ( Seasons 1 thru 4)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2014 - 2017.

Plot line: Britain is a mixture of despair and hedonism in 1919 in the aftermath of the Great War. Returning soldiers, newly minted revolutions and criminal gangs are fighting for survival in a nation rocked by economic upheaval. One of the most powerful gangs of the time is the Peaky Blinders, run by returning war hero Thomas Shelby and his family. But Thomas has bigger ambitions than just running the streets. When a crate of guns goes missing, he recognizes an opportunity to advance in the world because crime may pay but legitimate business pays better. Trying to rid Britain of its crime is Inspector Chester Campbell, who arrives from Belfast to try to achieve that goal.

I've watched this series over a couple of months and there are so many things I really like about it. This period piece looks at the lives of a group of men after the Great War, the way the lives of women changed and then had to change back, poverty, corruption, politics, crime, and the fact that no matter how much money you make, the aristocrats will never let you in. It's a slow build with lots of twists and turns. Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction and family sagas.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: The Crown (Season 2)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: Based on an award-winning play ("The Audience") by showrunner Peter Morgan, this lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) from the 1940s to modern times. The series begins with an inside look at the early reign of the queen, who ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. As the decades pass, personal intrigues, romances, and political rivalries are revealed that played a big role in events that shaped the later years of the 20th century.

This award winning show is fantastic, and while Season One was entertaining and fun, this one has much darker tones. It's still great, but I could not binge the series as each episode evokes strong feelings. Loved it. Am sad to see Claire Foy leave, but also really like the notion of having older actors play these roles, rather than simply aging the current cast in uncomfortable and strange ways. Cannot wait for the next season.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: Happy Valley (Seasons 1 & 2)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2016.

Plot line: In a magnificent role written specifically for her, Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax, The Paradise) shines as Catherine Cawood, a hard-working, earthy police sergeant who strides her beautiful patch of Yorkshire like a grown-up. Catherine's work and personal life are already complicated in crime-riddled Happy Valley when Tommy Lee Royce wanders into town, freshly released from prison. Was he responsible for Catherine's daughter's death, as she believes? And will her suspicion cloud her judgment when another young girl goes missing? A superb, award-winning BBC hit with a dynamite cast and six finely wrought episodes, from one of Britain's best writers, Sally Wainwright (Last Tango in Halifax, Scott & Bailey).

One of the things I love about Netflix is the ability to see TV shows from other countries. This British drama is dark and suspenseful with complex characters and complex themes. It's not your typical American style cop show, and the story arc carries over the entire season. How you feel about people and things will change as you watch the show, and isn't that why we watch?

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a TV series worth watching.

Cinemascope: Manhunt:Unabomber

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: This miniseries tells the story of the FBI's hunt for the Unabomber in the 1990s. Agent Jim "Fitz" Fitzgerld, a fresh-faced criminal profiler with the agency, faces an uphill battle in tracking the infamous criminal but also has to fight against the bureaucracy of the Unabom Task Force (UTF), of which he is a part. Although Fitz pioneers the use of forensic linguistics, others in the UTF dismiss his maverick ideas and new approaches. Ultimately, though, his new techniques help him identify and capture the Unabomber.

Anther series that got me hooked and didn't let go. True crime is all the rage, and this exploration about the beginnings of criminal profiling, and the case of the Unabomber. The acting is really good all around, and I was delighted with the process of figuring out how this case was solved. I knew only the bare bones of the case, so most of it was new to me, and I was fascinated the entire time.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: Alias Grace

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.

Released in 2017.

Plot line: Based on the 1996 Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, "Alias Grace" tells the story of young Grace Marks, a poor Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who is accused and convicted of the 1843 murder of her employer and his housekeeper. Stablehand James McDermott is also convicted of the crime. McDermott is hanged, but Grace is sentenced to life in prison, leading her to become one of the most notorious women of the period in Canada. The story is based on actual 19th-century events.

Netflix continues to produce fantastic content, and this is one is no exception. I have yet to read the book, but this interesting series explores themes of family, poverty, the agency, or not, of women, crime, and the norms of the period. Wonderful acting, and as with any Atwood story it as has a fascinating story at its center.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Non-fiction November

I participated in Non-fiction November this year, and these are the books and documentaries that I completed during the month. You can read my comments on my Instagram account.

Cinemascope: Confirmation

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.

Released in 2016.

Plot line: Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States Supreme Court is called into question when Anita Hill, a former colleague, testifies that he sexually harassed her.

I remember the Anita Hill hearings, and the classic BS of a woman not being believed. This TV movie dramatizes that event, and it made me oh so angry. Again. It's interesting to watch it 25 years later during the #MeToo movement and fallout. It's a straight up account of this historical event, but I did learn a couple of things I didn't know.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: This Is Us (Season 2)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of love, joy, triumph and heartbreak, revelations emerge from parents Jack and Rebecca's past, while triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin discover deeper meaning in their present day lives.

I finished watching the season finale yesterday, and seriously love this show. One of the best on TV at the moment in my opinion. I love the exploration of real issues, complex people, and no easy answers to what life throws your way. I cannot talk about why I love this one more without spoilers, so do yourself a favor and give it a try. So dang good.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: The Exception

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2016.

Plot line: German soldier Stefan Brandt goes on a mission to investigate exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Kaiser lives in a secluded mansion in the Netherlands, and as Germany is taking over Holland, the country's authorities are concerned that Dutch spies may be watching the Kaiser. As Brandt begins to infiltrate the Kaiser's life in search of clues, he finds himself drawn into an unexpected and passionate romance with Mieke, one of the Kaiser's maids.

I cannot recall how it is that I requested this title, but it was certainly not what I expected. A wonderful period piece of a dark time in history told through the specific lives of a handful of characters. The themes explored gave me lots to think about. The only strange thing about it is that the characters are all German, yet everyone has a British accent. Not sure I understood that choice, but really good nonetheless.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne.

While I have not read all her work, Joan Didion is a author I admire, so was delighted when Netflix released this documentary. There are criticisms about this documentary, and I would agree with some of it. Having a nephew tell this story means that things are slanted a certain way. There is way too much about her husband and not nearly enough about the author and her critical mind, let alone the fashionista side to her. But then, maybe no-one other than family would have had enough access to make this documentary, so we've got to take what we're given. I'm fascinated by the public/private personas of celebrity figures, and this gave me insights into the woman.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: Gerald's Game

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame.

I'm not really a fan of scary movies, especially slasher types, but I do try to creep myself out with season books and movies around Halloween. When this showed up on Netflix, I started to watch it, got totally spooked so had to stop watching. Then went back after several days, during day light hours, and finished watching it. This is based on a Stephen King book of the same name, and it's really good. It's not what you think it's about when you start, but don't read any reviews, go in cold and see what you think.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: Mona Lisa Smile

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2003.

Plot line: Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students including Betty (Kirsten Dunst) and Joan (Julia Stiles) to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Remember how I said I really enjoy campus stories this time of year? This is the second time I've watched this movie, and it's a fun one this time of year. It's not without its flaws, but I enjoy the themes explored, and the setting is lovely.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: First Position

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2011.

Plot line: Every year, thousands of aspiring dancers enter one of the world's most prestigious ballet competitions, the Youth America Grand Prix, where lifelong dreams are at stake. In the final round, with hundreds competing for only a handful of elite scholarships and contracts, practice and discipline are paramount, and nothing short of perfection is expected. Bess Kargman's award-winning documentary, First Position, follows six young dancers as they prepare for a chance to enter the world of professional ballet, struggling through bloodied feet, near exhaustion and debilitating injuries, all while navigating the drama of adolescence. A showcase of awe-inspiring talent, tenacity and passion, First Position paints a thrilling and moving portrait of the most gifted young ballet stars of tomorrow.

This is the second time I've watched this documentary, and I loved it just as much as the first time. I smiled, I was amazed, and I was in tears. This is a wonderful documentary about talent, skill, hard work and resilience in young people, and I am in awe of such dedication.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: This Is Us (Season 1)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.

Released in 2016.

Plot line: The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of love, joy, triumph and heartbreak, revelations emerge from parents Jack and Rebecca's past, while triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin discover deeper meaning in their present day lives. Successful businessman and father Randall searches for information about his biological parents. Kate finds love and self-acceptance while battling obesity. Kevin pursues a more meaningful career, which brings some difficult choices.

I honestly think that the less you know about this show going in the better. I'd been hearing buzz about this one, and it got some Emmy nods and wins, but all I really knew going in is that it's a family drama. I didn't have very high expectations, and was blown away by the themes this show tackles, and tackles well. Once I started watching I couldn't stop. I was in tears most shows and right out bawling in others. No car chases, no gun fights, just a powerful look at humanity and our pain and our joy. Loved it.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a TV series worth watching.

Cinemascope: Dead Poets Society

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 1989.

Plot line: A new English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), is introduced to an all-boys preparatory school that is known for its ancient traditions and high standards. He uses unorthodox methods to reach out to his students, who face enormous pressures from their parents and the school. With Keating's help, students Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) and others learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.

I've been disappointed with the movies I've tried lately. So much hype that they just don't live up to, so I decided to go back and watch an oldie but goodie. Also, Autumn always makes me think of boarding school stories, so I picked this one, and am delighted at how well it holds up. So good on so many levels, and asks an important question: what is education for? All these years later and I was still in tears during that last scene.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

Cinemascope: Narcos (Season 3)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: Now that the bloody hunt for Pablo Escobar has ended, the DEA turns its attention to the richest drug trafficking organization in the world: the Cali Cartel. Led by four powerful godfathers, this cartel operates much differently than Escobar's, preferring to bribe government officials and keep its violent actions out of the headlines.

I love this Netflix series. You learn much about the drug industry, the cartels, the US culpubity in all of it, and the reason why the moeny spent on "the war on drugs" was essentially money flushed down the toilet. The acting and production quality is really good. I am often to be found talking to the characters while I watch, and my blood pressure increases with every show. So good.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Cinemascope: Hidden Figures

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2016.

Plot line: Three brilliant African-American women at NASA -- Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) -- serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.

I have yet to read the book that this is adapted from, and plan to move it up my TBR. This is an interesting look at the contributions that women, women of color in particular, made to America's space program. It's about time stories like these are told on the big screen. It could have been tighter in parts, but I really enjoyed learning more about these women and their achievements.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.