TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Cecilia's Movie Reviews 2015 Films

Monday, January 4, 2016

Cecilia's Movie Reviews 2015 Films

I saw a number of movies over the holidays. Here are some comments about them. I'm rating them from 1-5, 5 being the best.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens -

I made my contribution to the makers of this movie, which really isn't that great. From the start, people were running around, ships were zooming about, cliches flew left and right, and there wasn't very much originality to this latest Star Wars episode. People hardly talked in this movie, and by "talk" I mean exchange ideas, beyond just discussing where they should go next. The older characters (Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker) were supposed to evoke fuzzy nostalgic feelings, but except for Han Solo, I was simply stunned by their lack of vitality. I rate this movie 2 or 3 at the best for old time's sake.

Bridge of Spies -

This one I enjoyed and rate it 5 stars.
This is set during the Cold War, when an American lawyer negotiates the release of one Russian spy for two Americans. What I loved most about the movie was the mood created ... Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie, spies, and other fun details. This movie is suspenseful, interesting, and satisfying.

Point Break -

I don't know why I watched this film.

This is a remake of the 1991 hit. This is another one of those "running around" movies like Star Wars. A young FBI agent and the criminals he seeks undergo death-defying surfing, mountain climbing, skiing, and so on. This is 90% about the extreme sports and 10% plot. I rate this 2 stars.

Brooklyn -

This is about a young Irish girl who immigrates to America, falls in love with an Italian plumber, marries him, then visits Ireland, only to meet an Irish man who, if not for the Italian, would be the perfect match for her. She has to choose between the two men. The movie was well done but the character annoyed me because of the choices she made. Still, the movie deserves 4 stars.

Read also

Movie Review: The True Story Behind Remembrance
Movie Review of Mr. Turner
Movie Review of Calvary

Tags: movies, movie, film, reviews

This is all for now,
Cecilia

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.