Movie Review: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022)

After Everything, Everywhere, All At Once swept this year’s Oscars, we saw an increased amount of circulation for it, and well, I was curious to see what all the buzz was about.

Evelyn Wang has a lot on her plate. She’s being audited for her laundromat business; she’s trying to throw together a party for her often difficult father, who’s visiting from China; she has a tense relationship with her own very American daughter, Joy; and her husband Wayman painted the wrong shade of white on the ceiling of the laundromat.

It’s a mundane life, and one that Evelyn doesn’t get a lot of joy from. But she soon learns that she lives in a multiverse of parallel universes and not all of the Evelyns, Waymans, and Joys live such an ordinary life. Complications ensue. . . .

Walk A Mile In My Shoes: February

This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you lace up those sneakers and join our journey. For February, we’re going to be looking at a growing issue in Carroll County–homelessness.

Movie Review: Minari

It’s not often that a movie with a Northwest Arkansas setting generates Oscar buzz, but last year’s Minari not only did so but also won one (Best Supporting Actress for Youn Yuh-jung). As a result, I’ve been looking forward to reviewing the movie as soon as we received the DVD at the library, and I’m so excited to post this because it’s been one of the best new movies I’ve watched in a long time!

Parasite (2019)

Note: Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in our county, we’ve had to close the building to the public again. However, we are still doing curbside service. Please check out our website for more information on how you can continue to check out items like the movie reviewed today. Thanks for your patience and cooperation!

The Kim family lives in unremitting poverty in Seoul, South Korea, though it’s not for lack of trying. Still, they subsist on meager wages from a pizza box folding job, and the most exciting part of their day is scoring free Wifi for their phones. That is, until son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) scores a job tutoring for the wealthy Park family. He sees a good opportunity–not only for himself but the rest of the family–and starts plotting to insinuate his parents (Song Kang-ho and Jang Hye-jin) and sister (Park So-dam) into the Park family’s life as well. Complications ensue.

Movie Review: The Old Man and The Gun (2018)

Forrest Tucker is a polite, dapper, and immensely charming 70-year-old man, with old-fashioned manners. He is, as one person who met him briefly explains, “Well, he was also sort of a gentleman.”

He also compulsively robs banks.

Movie Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Lee Israel has a problem.

At one point in her life, she was a successful author, writing biographies of famous women like the actress Tallulah Bankhead. She was even on the New York Times Bestseller list.

But that was years ago. Now, she can’t find work and is behind on her rent. The only friend she has is her ailing cat, and nobody will return her phone calls. As far as Lee is concerned, the fact she is now living in poverty and unemployed is a disgrace.

Her longtime agent, though, is less confused about why Lee has been snubbed by the literary world–just because she wrote a bestseller doesn’t mean she’s famous, her proposed new book subject is unmarketable, and Lee herself is just thoroughly unpleasant to deal with. Nobody wants to work with her.

Her agent advises her to seek a different line of work. And that’s just what Lee does. She starts forging letters from famous, deceased authors and selling them to collectors and antique dealers. Needless to say, complications ensue.

The Mule (2018)

I was raised on a steady diet of Clint Eastwood’s iconic 60s and 70s movies. These were mostly his Westerns, both those of the spaghetti and non-spaghetti persuasion, as well as his cop movies. Though Eastwood has gone on to be a noted director for a wide range of acclaimed films–many of which I have enjoyed–I always still think of Clint as, well, The Man with No Name, Dirty Harry, and Josey Wales.

The Man With No Name (though he does actually have a name in all the movies 😉 )

As Eastwood’s career has shifted behind the camera, his own appearances on the other side of the lens have become somewhat rare. Mary-Esther recently suggested I review his latest movie–The Mule (which he stars in, directed, and produced)–and I’m glad I did! It was an interesting change of pace for him that still plays to his strengths as a performer. Thanks for the great suggestion, Mary-Esther!

TV Review: To Walk Invisible (2017)

I usually am up-to-date on my Masterpiece Theater viewing, but I missed this biopic about the Brontë sisters when it first aired a couple of years ago. Fortunately, Mary-Esther suggested it to me, and I’m glad she did! It’s a well-acted, well-made dramatization of one of the most famous literary families in history.

Predator (1987)

Usually, I try to focus on newer movies and TV shows for my reviews, but while I was researching potential things to write about, I came across last year’s The Predator, a remake of the classic 1980s action/sci fi film Predator.

Now, if I were a fair-minded person, which I often claim to be, I would have given The Predator a chance.

However, I’m not really that fair-minded. Ever since I heard they were working on this remake, I just couldn’t get over the fact that there was no reason to remake the movie. I’d have been much happier if they’d just re-released the original in theater.

Because if you’re looking for a veneer of outrageous, over-the-top 80s action overlaying a far more complex science fiction tale, then you can’t do better than Predator.

So, for that reason, this week I’m reviewing the original (and best) Predator.

I, Tonya (2017)

During her career as a figure skater, Tonya Harding attracted attention for her impressive athleticism, as well as for her blue collar background and tumultuous life off the ice. But her career ended when her personal life collided with her professional career, and her main rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was assaulted by Harding’s ex-husband’s associates. Last year’s Tonya Harding biopic, I, Tonya, purports to deliver up a black comedy about her life.