Private Fears in Public Places (Coeurs)

Hearts is a much simpler title. The English title comes from Alan Ayckbourn's play. There were some good performances in this darkish comedy about love and missed connections. And some oddities - like the kinky life of the rental agency worker. And again, it had some resonances with me - the bartender character took care of his mother till she passed and then took in his estranged father to do his best at taking care of him too. It is hard looking for one's own relationship when one is a caregiver, or at least that was my experience. I would recommend this film for people who like Alan Ayckbourn or movies about love (even the missed sort of love...) Still not an island film yet. How many of those do I get, BTW? I was thinking five...

American Ultra

Kristen Stewart. Again. And I still don't find her intriguing. Jesse Eisenberg I have a soft spot for. I don't know why. This movie had potential - a laid back Bourne Identity sort of movie. And there were a few good bits here and there - though Jesse did a bit of scenery chewing when he was playing angst. But it just missed the mark for me. Topher Grace was a pleasant surprise for me - I always like to see him. And Connie Britton. Not an A-Lister, is she, but I still like to see her in things. So, not a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Maybe more of an aloha sort of had gesture thingy.

You Kill Me

Took me a while to recognize Ben Kingsley, which is a good thing I guess. Interesting movie about a mob's hitman who gets sent to SF for rehab. Good acting all around. OK story. Ben Kingsley's accent was a bit confusing to me. I always like Téa Leoni for some reason. And I always enjoy SF settings. My old stomping grounds. All in all, worth a watch if you like any of the leads or enjoy dark comedies about assassins.

Okja

Why did I watch this? The second disturbing movie of the night. What a great way to spend a Sunday night - watching two movies that make me feel guilty for eating. Sigh. This was an odd film and I am not really sure what its message was supposed to be. Some company creates a super pig program and farms the piglets out all over the world. One ends up in remote Korea where a young girl and the superpig grow up together and form a special bond. Then the evil company wants to slaughter the pig. Sigh. Glad I was finished dinner by the time I watched this. Ack, even. Not a bad movie, just not something I would willing watch again or suggest to anyone to watch, unless you have "thing" for CGI super pigs.

Sausage Party

A little too much potty mouth - and I am not a huge Seth Rogen fan (who played the lead), this animated adult feature was quite disturbing. Looking at food from the food's perspective made eating dinner (which I happened to be doing while watching the film) odd. There was a bit too much scatological and sexual for my tastes. Others might enjoy it much more than I did.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Hit home a bit with someone dying and all. Oops, that is a bit of a spoiler, sort of. Anyway, I enjoy independent films. This one had a few actors none of whom I recognized. The two main leads were both enjoyable to watch. I think I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the movies that Earl and Greg created. I didn't think much of the movie that they made for the dying girl. Grief is a powerful force. Opportunities to cry a bit seem to everywhere just now.

Welcome to the Rileys

I had seen a trailer but had forgotten what the movie was about. Good cast, interesting story. Set in New Orleans for the most part. Hard to really say what it was about except for the search for connection, perhaps. Kristen Stewart was in this as well - she seems to have been in a lot of movies that I have seen lately. Enjoyable movie - though I did find James Gandolfini's accent to be inconsistent and a little weird. Pleasantly surprised but not an island movie for sure.