Saturday movie review: Miss You Already

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MISS YOU ALREADY is about girlfriends. Life-long girlfriends. True BFFs.

Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore play Milly and Jess, who became quick chums as school girls and shared milestones major and minor ever since.

Now, as adults, adventurous and outrageous Milly has a gorgeous husband, a lovely family, and a high-power position. More grounded and even-tempered Jess has an adoring yet less glamorous hubby, a more earthy career, and struggles endlessly with fertility issues.

Miss You Already film

Milly and Jess balance one another. Milly encourages

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Saturday movie review: Queen of Katwe

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I don't know how to play chess. Disney's QUEEN OF KATWE is about chess. Despite my lack of knowledge of the game, I found the film intriguing — even suspenseful at times — but most of all inspiring. Because QUEEN OF KATWE is about much more than excelling at a board game.

Queen of Katwe

QUEEN OF KATWE tells the true tale of a 10-year-old girl living in Katwe (pronounced CAT wee or CAT way), a slum in Kampala, Uganda. Phiona Mutesi (newcomer Madina Nalwanga) and ...

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Saturday movie review: Learning to Drive

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LEARNING TO DRIVE is a chick flick. Literally. The touching dramatic comedy was written by a woman (Sarah Kernochan), directed by a woman (Isabel Coixet), produced by women (executive producer Eleni Asvesta and producer Dana Friedman), and stars always intriguing Patricia Clarkson in a story primarily about a woman.

LEARNING TO DRIVE also stars a few men, Ben Kingsley most prominently. Which factors into the film resonating with men as well as women. Yet Kingsley's presence isn't the only reason men might enjoy the insightful movie made primarily by women. That can be attributed most fully to the engaging, uplifting story of a broken marriage, a new marriage, and an unexpected friendship forged.

learning to drive movie

The film opens with Wendy (Clarkson) and her husband...

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Saturday movie review: Max Rose

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Jerry Lewis is back in business. Back in the movie business, that is.

For many, many years, it seems Jerry Lewis' primary business — and passion — was supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association in myriad admirable ways. It's been more than 20 years, in fact, since acting was his primary gig, since he starred in a movie.

That last movie — FUNNY BONES — was released in 1995. Like most of Lewis' films dating back to his first in 1949, FUNNY BONES was a comedy. Lewis plays funny like no other.

MAX ROSE proves Lewis plays serious and heartbroken like no other, as well. At 90 years old, Jerry Lewis is back in fine form, albeit a form most of us might not expect from the comedic genius.

Jerry Lewis in Max Rose

MAX ROSE stars Lewis as the title character, a retired...

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Weekend movie review: The Light Between Oceans

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Regular readers of Grandma's Briefs likely know I'm a huge fan of movie trailers. I share them often here on my blog. I always ensure I get to the movie theater in plenty of time to see all the previews preceding a feature film. I even went so far recently as to set my DVR to record an AXS TV program called "Nothing But Trailers" — three full hours of trailers every Monday night.

About six months ago I stumbled across the trailer for THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS. Deeply moved by it, I passed it along to my oldest daughter, who was so deeply moved she purchased the novel, written by M. L. Stedman, within 10 minutes of watching the trailer. She in turn passed along a glowing, nay, raving recommendation of the book so I then purchased it too. Hardcopy versus her digital version that she couldn't share with me.

I was as enthralled by the book as my daughter, and we agreed when the movie came out, we absolutely must see it together.

the light between oceans movie 

Needless to say, when I lucked out and was invited to screen THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS earlier this week...

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