May Movie Club Notes - Trying to catch up

Although I started writing this post in May, it is now August and I am really trying to take care of the backlog of Movie Club notes. Here finally are May's notes.

Our regular Movie Club season usually runs from September through June but we've acquired so many new members this year and we're having so much fun that at our May meeting on the 9th, we decide that this year we will continue meeting into July. (As a historical point, the first couple of years we met year round but had such poor showings during the summer we decided to suspend those meetings.) We have such a good time discussing the movies of the month and everything else under the sun that folks actually miss the social connection when there isn't a meeting.

This month's movies were The Mist, selected by Puma and The Forbidden Kingdom selected by John. I have to say that both films received mediocre ratings as shown below, but of the two The Forbidden Kingdom was probably the bigger disappointment. The first time that megastars, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, have been in a film together is big news for a lot of people. Unfortunately, most of the group agreed that the talent deserved a better vehicle. The film was beautifully shot and some of the martial arts scenes were incredible. Nevertheless the film did receive one A+ rating from Puma who said this is her "favorite kind of story", campy, hyped-up adventure. She said that she was "on the edge of her seat with delight". Unfortunately for the filmmakers she was the only one who felt that way at Movie Club and also it seems in the general movie viewing public.



Here are the Movie Club grades for The Forbidden Kingdom



Kathi B

John B

Puma A+

Zanetta B+

Stephanie F-

Ramona C+

Gwen D

David B+

Harold C

Gregg C

Carl B

Ed D+

Hope C

Patrice C


The Mist didn't fair much better. Most thought that the film was somewhat saved by its unexpected ending. Puma thought that the violence and gore was excessive and gratuitous. Harold thought that the best part of the film was its look at how people react when they are locked down together and have few choices. Carl was reminded of The Twilight zone and both he and Stephanie thought the film would have better if it had focused on the interaction that Harold mentioned. How diverse folks act when they are trapped together.

And the ratings for The Mist:

Kathi C-

Yvonne C+

John D-

Puma B

Tonique C

Stephanie B-

Ramona C-

Gwen D

David B+

Harold C+

Carl C

Ed C

Hope C

Patrice C

India A+

Next month's movie selections are: 3:10 to Yuma and The Visitor.