Lady Bird is a funny, truthful coming-of-age ,story

Movie Title:      Lady Bird

Grade:   A

Rating: R, 1 hour 34 minutes

In a Nutshell:  No, this movie has nothing to do with Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.  This coming-of-age story is a charming movie with a lot of humor and creative storytelling.  

Writer and director Greta Gerwig captures soul extremely well.  It's her first solo directorial debut. She named the main character, Christine, after her own mother and Christine’s mother is a nurse, just like Greta’s real mother. The movie is not really a young love movie, but a love story between Christine and her mother.

Tips for parents: 

• Talk of premarital relations.  There is a scene of Christine losing her virginity.
• Spoken and written profanity, including F-bombs.
• “Your mom’s hard on you.” – Danny O’Neill (Lucas Hedges)

“Yeah, she loves me a lot.” – Lady Bird

* Point out to your daughter that Kyle just honks the horn and expects Christine to go out to his car.  Super tacky.

* Pornography

* Christine makes some really bad choices, lies, and attempts to steal something from a store.

Uplifting theme: 

• Life
• Love
• Family
• Choices and accountability
• Friendship, loyalty

Things I liked:

• I’m such a fan of Saoirse Ronan.  She’s fantastic in everything she does.  She’s originally from Ireland, but her American accent in this movie is really great.  Like always, her Golden Globe nominations is well deserved.
• Laurie Metcalf is always a delight.  The scenes with her and Saoirse together are really great. She also deserves her Golden Globe nomination!
• The dialogue feels real, but funnier than real life.
• I thought it was cute when they were crying while listening to a John Steinbeck audio book in the car during their road trip in the beginning of the movie. Every parent will be able to relate to the growing pains of their relationship.
• Some of the scene transitions were awesome and extremely clever. 
• All of the acting is really great.  The entire cast is excellent.
• You really feel invested in the characters and grow with them during their character arcs.
• Stephen Sondheim wrote the songs in the musical that the students perform in the movie.
• For a short time, Lady Bird broke the record held by Toy Story 2 on Rotten Tomatoes for the best-reviewed movie of all time.
• It feels fresh.  Thank you.  Even though I love superhero movies, it's nice to have something else at the movie theater!

                               

Things I didn’t like:

• I don't have to see people have sex in a movie to know that they did.  I'd much rather NOT.  People complain that society is falling apart, but they don't seem to see the connection between that and all the garbage that's in movies.  We don't have to see everything. Come on, people.  What do you think....do movies reflect society or influence it or both? 

Interesting lines:

• “I wish I could live through something.” – Christine

“Aren’t you?” – Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf)

• “Just because something looks ugly doesn’t mean it’s morally wrong.” – Lady Bird

Funny lines:

• “Lady Bird!” – Christine
• “ Is that your given name?” – Father Leviatch (Stephen Henderson)

“Yeah.” – Christine

“Why is it in quotes?” – Father Leviatch

“I gave it to myself.  It was given to me by me.” - Christine

• “Just go to city college, then to jail, then back to city college...”    Marion        (What parent hasn’t had this conversation with their teenager?  Ha ha)
• “What I’d really like is to be on Math Olympiad.” – Lady Bird
• “But, math isn’t something you’re terribly strong in.” – Sister Sarah Joan (Lois Smith)
• “That we know of yet.” – Christine
• “Hey, I’m like Keith Richards.  I’m just happy to be anywhere.” – Larry McPherson (Tracy Letts)
• “I want to read it in bed.” – Lady Bird, when she wanted her mom to buy a magazine.

“That’s something that rich people do.  We’re not rich people.” – Marion

• “Six inches for the Holy Spirit!” – Sister Sarah Joan at the dance, telling Christine and Danny to spread farther apart.
• "You're giving me an eating disorder!" - Christine to her mom.  Then she sighs, "I wish I could get an eating disorder."

                                          @trinaboice 

Brooklyn features talented Saoirse Ronan

Movie Title:      Brooklyn

Grade:   B+

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 51 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Irish actress Saoirse Ronan shines in this period piece about Irish immigrants coming to America in the 1950’s.  It’s a character study about self-discovery that flows slowly and smoothly.

Some critics were hoping she would be nominated for an Oscar for best actress, and she made the list (she didn't win). Not only that, but the film was also nominated for Best Picture, although it didn't win either.

Uplifting theme: 

•  The film asks the questions of all us:  Who am I?  Where do I belong? What should I do with my life?
• “Home sickness is like most sicknesses.  It will pass.” – Father Flood (Jim Broadbent)

Things I liked:

• I loved it when that guy sang an old Irish song in the food hall on Thanksgiving.  Have you discovered Peter Hollens on YouTube?  He sings a fantastic Irish song that I really love: “The Parting Glass”, which has been featured in the video game Assassin’s Creed 4. 
• I’ve always liked Domhnall Gleeson.  I loved him in About Time .   Too bad he doesn’t show up until the end of the movie.
• Julie Walters plays Mrs. Kehoe so well that you can almost taste her boarding house cooking.
• I loved visiting Ireland.  One of the things on my Bucket List is to not just go to Ireland, but to sing with drunk locals at pub in Ireland.  No, I don’t drink, but I think it would be fun to feel like an Irish girl where the locals hang out.
• I appreciated the respectful nod to all of the Irish immigrants who helped build the bridges, buildings, and traditions of Brooklyn: Then and Now® .

Things I didn’t like:

• The Irish director, John Crowley, introduces small conflicts throughout the film, but the big one doesn’t arrive until almost the end of the movie.  I thought it was resolved too quickly; I would have liked to see it explored in more depth.
• It’s very slow-moving.
• Tony’s character is, sadly, quite unmemorable.  He’s a nice guy, but his little brother is more interesting than he is.  There isn't a lot of chemistry in their romance.

Funny lines:

•  “Why didn’t you wear your blue dress?” – best friend

“Are you asking why I didn’t make more of an effort?” – Eilis Lacey

Tips for parents:   

• 2 F-bombs.  Usually a movie is rated R after the first F-bomb, so I don’t know why the film still has a PG-13 rating. 
• There’s an uncomfortable pre-marital sex scene with clothes on (mostly).