Now Playing: What did you see at the movies?

[ElleCee]

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish I loved it. It was sweet and funny and surprisingly very emotional. The voice acting and soundtrack are sublime. One character Perrito, a little Chihuahua, is adorable and a scene stealer.

[mrspickles]

Feb 13, 2023 21:41:37 GMT -4 ElleCee said:

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish I loved it. It was sweet and funny and surprisingly very emotional. The voice acting and soundtrack are sublime. One character Perrito, a little Chihuahua, is adorable and a scene stealer.

I want a Perrito soooo bad!

We loved it too.

[groovethang]

Saw Air this afternoon and it was great. Highly recommend.

[ratscabies]

Had a day off in SC this week, so I went and saw Spinning Gold.

I grew up a huge Kiss fan, so I HAD to go see the biopic about their label (‘s president, Neil Bogart).

I was not expecting much, and that’s what I got. The one other person taking in the Weds matinee came late, and left an hour in. I spent a bunch of time in the middle actively debating whether it was bad enough to leave. It was only 8 bucks to get in, but I’d spent $22 on popcorn and Mt Dew….

I ended up staying, and did learn a few things, but was disappointed they didn’t touch on his last hurrah in the 80s, Boardwalk Records and I Love Rock n Roll.

All four of his kids were involved in the production (2 wrote, 1 produced, and 1 directed), so it was really a love letter to dad.

The actual home movies from the 70s of Neil playing with the kids did choke me up a bit, but that is no reason to recommend the film.

[scarlet]

Air. Really good movie. All the acting is A+ and Affleck is a good director.

[prisma]

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In elementary school I read Judy Blume's books over and over so many times that I probably had them practically committed to memory, so this was for me a really nostalgic experience. Some of the smaller plot points that I had forgotten about came back to me as the story progressed. They changed some of the details and padded out the character of Margaret's mom (I assume to give Rachel McAdams more to do) but it didn't fundamentally change the story. And it's set in 1970, so it really honors the time period in which the book was written, rather than the ways they modified it later to keep it current. The only thing they did they really bugged me for 1970 give the maxi pads adhesive strips instead of belts. I distinctly remember them shopping in the drug store and selecting belts to go with their pads. At the time I was reading the book belts were no longer a thing and pads all had adhesive, but I thought belts seemed like an exotic detail and I regretted that I would not be able to pick out a belt for myself. (Go figure.)

Kathy Bates was not how I envisioned Margaret's grandmother but she still did a good job with the role. The actress who played Margaret was really good. Very sweet. The actress who played Nancy (the first friend Margaret makes when she moves) was not how I envisioned her from the book but really nailed the domineering and manipulative friend/not-friend. Rachel McAdams and the actor who played Margaret's dad had good chemistry and I could really buy their commitment to each other, which explains why they were so adamant about cutting religion out Margaret's life so she wouldn't be hurt by it the way Margaret's mom was. That was a detail I appreciated more as an adult than when I read it as a kid.

If you hadn't read the book, I'm not sure how good the movie would be. It's not Oscar material. But there were two women behind me around my age who had pre-teen daughters with them and the daughters clearly loved it because the movie is about all the stuff you go through at that age. It really brought back what it felt like to be 12 again.

I think this is getting ready to leave theaters, but if you are a Judy Blume fan you should definitely check it out. I enjoyed seeing it on the big screen just because at home I'm watching stuff on my iPad usually and it's harder to get immersed. But I really did enjoy it.

[batmom]

Thanks for that review. I think I'm about you age prisms and I have the same memories of the book. I should round up some friends and go watch it.

[famvir]

Just a note on the belts and pads…good riddance. They were a total mess. You had to pull the ends of the pads and cinch them into the belt. I still remember the smell, the blood getting on my skirts and underwater and even my desk seat at school. The belts were a mess after one use.

So much so that when my daughter started her period, I introduced her to tampons. (I think they still had the adhesive strips, but no wings yet? And what ever else came?)

It was like, no way am I adding that trauma to my child’s/young adults life.

Let me show you how to use tampons, and make sure you have an infinite supply.

[Ladybug]

The Little Mermaid live-action movie was ok, but they made a few changes that bugged me. I thought Halle Bailey was perfect as Ariel. She captured the innocence, pluck, curiosity, and charisma of the original Ariel 100%. And she has a beautiful voice that could handle the songs spectacularly. This brings me to my biggest critique: Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. She could not handle "Poor Unfortunate Souls." I know following Pat Carroll is a high bar, but Melissa just didn't have the pipes to do the song justice. It reminded me of Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast. Disney, hire people who can SING these amazing songs! They also cut out a few of the lines (the one about "never underestimate the power of body language"). "Les Poissons" is totally cut from the movie. Prince Eric has a song about exploring or discovering or something, I honestly don't remember. "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" are performed wonderfully by Daveed Diggs as Sebastian. I could've lived forever without ever hearing Awkwafina "rap" as Scuttle. Generally, the movie sticks pretty close to the original, and the leads have very sweet chemistry.

[kostgard]

I may be excited about the Barbie movie because I actually squealed, “I had that Barbie!” at these pics of Margot Robbie.

Seriously - Day to Night Barbie. You could stash her evening shoes in her briefcase.