Spring Break Movies

Although I didn’t go anywhere for spring break two weeks ago, I did take advantage of the time away from the office to go see three movies.

Captain Marvel ☆☆☆☆☆

I LOVED this movie! It wasn’t as good as Black Panther but it was better than Wonder Woman, two movies that I also loved. The movie has lots of strong women at its core and, unlike Wonder Woman, there is no love story in the plot. Brie Larson first came to my attention in Room and she is just as good here as she was in that very different movie. Another strong point in favor of the movie is that the inevitable climactic fight scene near the end didn’t last very long. I hope to see this one again.

At the Concord Regal with Ann, Pat, and Al

Stan and Ollie ☆☆☆☆

I’ve never been much of a Laurel and Hardy fan. I put them into the same category as The Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello–old black and white films of grown men being mean to each other and playing out lots of slapstick comedy. But this movie with Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly looked interesting to me. It was even better than I thought it would be. It tells the story of what happens to two men and their relationship when their comedic act has outlived its moment in time. The two actors are outstanding in their roles and the story is sweet without being cloying. Just a nice story about a male friendship, something we don’t see very often. The showing that I attended started with a Laurel and Hardy short called Helpmates from 1932 that was incredibly painful to watch. The comedy is old-fashioned. The pacing is slow. The acting is bad. The social norms are out-dated and even offensive. I’m glad I saw the short but I’m also glad that it was only 20 minutes long. Times do change!

At Red River with Pat and Al

Apollo 11 ☆☆☆☆☆

Apollo 11 was the NASA mission that landed humans on the moon. This documentary tells the story of the mission using only archival footage from the time. Everyone on the planet knew that this was a historic undertaking and so there is a ton of footage available, including official footage from NASA and as well as footage taken by spectators. The only narration of the story comes from Walter Cronkite taken from his broadcasts at the time. This is an amazing documentary both because the feat of landing someone on the moon is amazing and because it’s so cool to watch it all unfold through the eyes of the people of the time. Even though I knew they would land on the moon successfully and then return home safely, I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. Just a spectacular documentary.

At Red River with Pat and Al