Your Weekend Movie Guide for February 2018

It is hard to believe but this movie opened at Radio City Music Hall fifty five years ago this month.   Odd that the poster above says it is "not suitable for children."   Wow.   Yet, the book that spawned it is frequently read now in middle schools.

I went to a screening of "Mockingbird" recently at the Egyptian Theater and it still works wonderfully.   Of course, in today's self-conscious society, it is exalted even more for its "diverse" themes.   Jeez.  You mean America was like this early in the 20th Century??   Um, yes, and you can't change history, folks.

Nevertheless, the adage is that "they don't make them like this" anymore and it's correct.   Just take a look at the junk in theaters this month.   You know the drill, movie goers.   I'll sift through the LA Times entertainment pages and give you my knee jerk reaction to the garbage on our local screens.

Meanwhile, stand up, Scout.   Your father's passing.

Fifty Shades Freed:   Does that mean this stupid franchise ends with this one?

I, Tonya:  Reviewed here recently.   Lots of fun watching horrible people.

All the Money in the World:  Recently reviewed here.   An amazing feat of film making given that virtually a third of the movie was reshot a month before it opened.

Call Me By Your Name:   Recently reviewed here.  A good idea totally upended by very creepy casting.

Lady Bird:   Recently reviewed here.  See it if only for Laurie Metcalf's performance.

Darkest Hour:  Reviewed here recently.  About ten Churchill speeches too long.

The Shape of Water:  Blog review coming.   You'll find it amusing.

The Post:  Reviewed here recently.   Interesting, but Lou Grant episodes were better.

A Fantastic Woman:   If you insist...

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri:  Recently reviewed here.   Of all the Best Picture nominees, this might be my fave.

Phantom Thread:  Will see it.   I need the sleep.

Maze Hunter - The Death Cure:   Who?  What?

The 15:17 To Paris:   Clint Eastwood will be directing ten years after his death.

The Greatest Showman:  Reviewed here recently.   Fun movie but I remember very little of it six weeks later.

Peter Rabbit:   Should be on a double bill with "Fatal Attraction."   

13 Strong:   Strong what?

Coco:  Pixar has fallen so far down the rabbit hole.   Not Peter.

The Party:  A soiree at the home of a British politician.   Wake me later.

Surfer:   A teenager wipes out.   Paging Gidget and Moon Doggie.

Poop Talk:   A documentary about...you guessed it.

Nostalgia:  An ensemble drama wtih Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, and Bruce Dern.   The last two I guess are the nostalgic part.

Loveless:  A drama set in Russia.  Collusion!!!

Looking Glass:  Nicholas Cage buys a troubled motel.   Petticoat Junction it's not.

Honor Up:  A crime drama set in Harlem, which, in itself, is redundant.

Irreplaceable You:   For one thing, I know it's not about Donald Trump.

Golden Exits:  An Australian visits Brooklyn.   Seriously.   That's the elevator pitch.

Early Man:  A cartoon about early man.   Wouldn't that be the Flintstones?

Black Panther:  The King of Wakanda faces threats to his homeland.  Well, that log line doesn't put me on the ticket line.

Dinner last night:  Honey bourbon pork chops at Bistro Garden.