81nKPIXzkUL._RI_.jpg — Dragonslayer (1981)

**Directed by: Matthew Robbins**
**Starring: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, John Hallam**
**Rated: PG**
**Running Time: 1 h 49 m**
**TMM Score: 3.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Story, Production Design, Tone**
**WEAKNESSES: Annoying Protagonist, Predictability (?)**

Dragonslayer (1981)

December 20, 2018

A young sorcerer’s apprentice is recruited by knights from a distant land to slay a dragon.

MV5BMjM3ODc5NDEyOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTI4MDcxNjM@._V1_.jpg — Widows (2018)

**Directed by: Steve McQueen**
**Starring: Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Daniel Kaluuya, Brian Tyree Henry, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Elizabeth Debicki, Jacki Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Erivo, Lukas Haas**
**Rated: R for Violence, Language Throughout, and Some Sexual Content/Nudity**
**Running Time: 2 h 9 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Editing, Acting**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Widows (2018)

December 19, 2018

Four women with nothing in common except a debt left by their dead husbands’ criminal activities take fate into their own hands.

spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-dom-asm-online-1sht-6072x9000-05-aoj-rgb-1532383689774_1280w.jpg — Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

**Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman**
**Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Zoe Kravitz, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, Liv Schreiber, Chris Pine**
**Rated: PG for Frenetic Sequences of Animated Action Violence, Thematic Elements, and Mild Language**
**Running Time: 1 h 57 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Animation, Story, Meta-Writing, Crazy Freaking Visuals**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

December 18, 2018

After Peter Parker is killed, a device opens a portal between multiple dimensions, allowing multiple versions of Spider-Man into new Spider-Man Miles Morales’s version of New York.

MV5BMjM3NzQ5NDcxOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzM4MTQ5NTM@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,674,1000_AL_.jpg — The Nun (2018)

**Directed by: Corin Hardy**
**Starring: Taissa Farminga, Jonas Bloquet, Demian Bichir**
**Rated: R for Terror, Violence, and Disturbing/Bloody Images**
**Running Time: 1 h 36 m**
**TMM Score: 1.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Aesthetic**
**WEAKNESSES: Plot, Writing, Lack of Scares**

The Nun (2018)

December 17, 2018

A priest and a woman on the threshold of her final vows are sent to Romania to investigate a mysterious death at a monastery.

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)

December 16, 2018

Under heavy sedation in the spiritual, new age / scientific Aboria Institue, young lady Elena tries to escape her obsessed captor.

MV5BMTMwNjQ0NjMzN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjMxMTkyNA@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,680,1000_AL_.jpg — The Tree of Life (2011)

**Directed by: Terrence Malick**
**Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Tye Sheridan, Sean Penn**
**Rated: PG-13 for Some Thematic Material**
**Running Time: 2 h 19 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Cinematography, Visual Storytelling, Directing, Acting**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

The Tree of Life (2011)

December 14, 2018

A young boy comes of age in Texas during the 1950s. His parents have two conflicting ways of looking at life.

Cries and Whispers (1972)

December 13, 2018

Two women return home to visit their dying sister, only to have repressed tensions come to light.

The Book of Eli (2010)

December 13, 2018

Through a ravaged post-apocalyptic wasteland, Eli must travel and protect a book he claims is of untold value. Whether or not it is, there's a mad man water baron after it and the promise of what it hold in its pages.

MV5BZjBhNjQ2NmYtYzMwYi00ZGM5LTgwN2YtOWZkZjZkOTQyNGZlL2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc1NTYyMjg@._V1_.jpg — La Strada (1954)

**Directed by: Federico Fellini**
**Starring: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart**
**Rated: NR (Suggested PG-13 for Suggestive Content and Brief Violence)**
**Running Time: 1 h 48 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Acting**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

La Strada (1954)

December 12, 2018

A jovial girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, and learns to endure life with all it’s ups and downs.

v+1.jpg — Volver (2006)

**Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar**
**Starring: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas**
**Rated: R**
**Run Time: 2h 1m**
**TMM Score: 4 Stars**
**Strengths: Acting, Story, Setting, Directing**
**Weakness: None**

Volver (2006)

December 12, 2018

When two sisters visit their dying half-witted aunt, one of them realizes that their aunt isn’t crazy. Their mother really has returned from the dead to settle her emotional affairs.

MV5BNzE4ZmVmZDEtNTY0NS00OThhLTkzODAtOTY4MDRhOGU4ZDQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTIyNzY1NzM@._V1_SY999_CR0,0,708,999_AL_.jpg — Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)

**Directed by: Ingmar Bergman**
**Starring: Albert Johansson, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek, Annika Tretow**
**Rated: NR (Suggested R for Some Nudity and Sexual Material)**
**Running Time: 1 h 33 m**
**TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Writing, Themes, Directing, Cinematography**
**WEAKNESSES: Pacing (?)**

Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)

December 11, 2018

A poor ringleader for a traveling circus returns home to his wife after three years away, making his mistress jealous and angry.

alex-tsoucas-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-poster-variant-arts.jpg — The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

**Directed by: Nicolas Roeg**
**Starring: David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark**
**Rated: R**
**Running Time: 2 h 19 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Directing, Writing, Editing, Cinematography, Acting, Unconventionality**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

December 10, 2018

An alien poses as a human in an attempt to return to his dying planet, but the distractions of a human woman and the greed of man continually complicate things.

MV5BODhmMDFlNTAtMmQ4YS00MzRkLTlkNTUtMDcyMzkxNmU1YTBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzU0NzkwMDg@._V1_.jpg — Cold Water (1994)

**Directed by: Oliver Assayas**
**Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Cyprien Fouquet, Laszlo Szabo**
**Rated: NR (Suggested R for Some Language and Brief Nudity)**
**Running Time: 1 h 32 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Writing, Characters, Directing, Acting, Cinematography, Soundtrack**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Cold Water (1994)

December 7, 2018

A rebellious teenage couple finds out that the girl in the relationship is to be sent away, and they decide the only way to escape is to run from their problems.

BB 1.jpeg — Beauty and the Beast (1946)

**Directed by:Jean Cocteau**
**Starring: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parely**
**Rated: NR**
**Running Time: 1h 33m**
**TMM Score: 5 Stars**
**STRENGTHS: Production Design, Creature Effects**
**WEAKNESSES: None**

Beauty and the Beast (1946)

December 7, 2018

A loving and majestic telling of the classic tale of of love, magic, and the belief that beauty must come from within.

focus_8c00_Poster France.jpg — Belle De Jour (1967)

**Directed by: Luis Bunuel**
**Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Genevieve Page**
**Rated: R**
**Running Time: 1 h 40 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Acting, Cinematography**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Belle De Jour (1967)

December 6, 2018

A young Parisian housewife spends her afternoons working as a prostitute in a brothel.

d 4.jpg — Day for Night (1973)

**Directed by: Francois Truffaut**
**Starring: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Francois Truffaut**
**Rated: PG**
**Running Time: 1h 55m**
**TMM Score: 5 Stars**
**STRENGTHS: Beautiful Reflection of Reality**
**WEAKNESSES: Glosses Over Tragedy**

Day For Night (1973)

December 6, 2018

Summary

A film crew struggles to finish their film as personal struggles, relationships, scheduling complications, and crises arise.

A Film for Film Makers

I was looking forward to this film as I worked through France for our Road Trip. He's one of the few classic French directors whose films I had actually seen. Well, I watched one, "The 400 Blows," and it was in film school, but I loved it and was pumped to take my next step into his world.
I had heard that it was a delightful, funny, and heartfelt film and I have to say I agree completely with that sentiment. Many people's view of foreign film is of a black and white, subtitled, and slow film but Truffaut shows how ignorant this view is.
A bright airy laughter filled film is only accented by moments of tragedy as a cadre of filmmakers overcome obstacles, even when those obstacles are themselves, in order to create a work of art. Usually, I'm about 50/50 on movies about movies but this one had me because it was more about the process of film making and why it is so addictive to those who do it.

There is no other craft like it and the relationships you form with the people you do it with are some of the deepest and most trust driven you can experience. I met my co-conspirator on True Myth Media, Seth Steele, on the first feature film we ever worked on and it is a frequent struggle for the loved ones of such addicted artists that they feel like they are competing for love with a movie.

This film shows why that is in a whimsical yet technical way, showing the diversity of roles and personalities one encounters on a production. The number of times I thought to myself as watching this movie, "Oh man, that reminds me of so-and-so," is high. It was a bit of a nostalgia trip making me long for home. My home away from home. My cheap hotels, long hours, stolen moments, and the crescendo of wrapping.

What is there to say about the acting, cinematography, and production design? It's a love letter to film making by a master film maker and his team of film makers. Of course, it is wonderful all 'round. It's failures are the failures of romantic poetry. The heart is on the sleeve and no one is ashamed to say how they feel.

When I finished it, I was torn between wanting to write, wanting to find out if there is a production gearing up, or trying to get my family to watch this film. I landed on recommending it to all of you; my film family and friends. For you to see and understand a piece of my passion for film making and hopefully how it mirrors those things for which you have passion.

Author's Bio Page

Review Written By:

Michael Mcdonald

MV5BOTNkYjY1ZjItODM0OS00NzE4LTk2ZGYtNGNiZGNiN2M2NzIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzMzMjU5NDY@._V1_.jpg — Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)

**Directed by: Robert Besson**
**Starring: Anne Wizaemsky, Walter Green, Francois Lafarge**
**Rated: NR (Suggested PG-13 for Suggestive Content and Brief Partial Nudity)**
**Running Time: 1 h 35 m**
**TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Unique POV, Symbolism, Empathy, Simplicity, Cinematography**
**WEAKNESSES: Pacing, Art House Heavy (?)**

Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)

December 5, 2018

The life of a donkey named Balthazar and the townspeople around him whom either treat him well or abuse him.

Breathless (1960)

December 5, 2018

A French ne'er-do-well steps up from boosting cars and penny ante crimes when he kills a police officer. As the French police close in he attempts to convince a young American student to skip town with him to Italy.

MV5BMWFjZjRiM2QtZmRkOC00MDUxLTlhYmQtYmY5ZTNiMTI5Nzc2L2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTAyODkwOQ@@._V1_.jpg — Le Samourai (1967)

**Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville**
**Starring: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon**
**Rated: NR**
**Running Time: 1 h 41 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Style, Acting, Directing, Soundtrack**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Le Samourai (1967)

December 4, 2018

A professional hitman lives a life of solitude in order to keep things simple, but when there is a witness to his latest contract, things get complicated.

L'argent (1983)

December 4, 2018

When a couple of kids pass off a counterfeit bill in a photography shop they inadvertently set off a chain of events which will have dire consequences, not for them, but for innocent standers by.

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Summary

A Film for Film Makers

Michael Mcdonald