Year of the Dog (2007)

Year of the Dog (2007)

Plan B Entertainment etc.

May 11, 2007
Dramedy
DVD
C-

A woman understandably likes her dog better than the people around her, and then the dog dies.  Mike White wrote and directed, seven years after he starred in Chuck & Buck.

The Wood

The Wood

MTV Productions/ Paramount

July 16, 1999

Dramedy
DVD
C-

I could picture some people loving this movie, but I couldn't relate much and the present-day stuff felt a little forced. Rick Famuyiwa directed and co-wrote

The Women's Balcony AKA ישמח חתני

The Women's Balcony AKA ישמח חתני

Pie Films

29 September 2016

Dramedy

DVD
B-

This is sort of a clean-cut Orthodox Jewish version of Lysistrata, not feminist per se, since the women want to maintain that separate area of the title, but it is warm, human, and gently funny.  Except that the young rabbi is a complete villain, who is neither redeemed nor truly punished, which is why I can't go higher on my grade.  Emil Ben-Shimon directed.

Wish I Was Here

Wish I Was Here

Worldview Entertainment etc.

July 25, 2014

Dramedy

DVD

D+

Zach Braff co-wrote, directed, and stars in a story about a character I don't care about.

Wilson

Wilson

Ad Hominem Enterprises

March 24, 2017

Dramedy

DVD
C-

Not bad for a movie about an unlikable protagonist.  Daniel Clowes adapted his own graphic novel, and Craig Johnson directed.

Why Did I Get Married?

Why Did I Get Married?

Tyler Perry Studios

October 12, 2007

Dramedy
DVD
D+

Clunky and cliched, but with nice winter scenery.  Tyler Perry wrote, directed, and plays...Terry!

What Ever [sic] Happened to Baby Jane?

What Ever [sic] Happened to Baby Jane?

Warner Bros.

October 31, 1962

Dramedy?

DVD

C-

I'd of course heard of this for years, and it turns out to be, well, luke-warm camp.  Admittedly, I tuned out after a quarter hour, before it got anywhere near horror.  The movie is based on Henry Farrell's novel and directed by Robert Aldrich, before the other four of his movies I've rejected in this project.

The Weather Man

The Weather Man
Escape Artists

October 28, 2005

Dramedy
DVD
D+

There's only so much enjoyment I can get out of seeing Nic Cage being miserable.  Gore Verbinski directed, the year before Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; he also did Rango and The Ring.

We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo

Vinyl Films etc.

December 23, 2011

Dramedy
DVD
D+

I didn't care about this family.  Director Cameron Crowe co-adapted Benjamin Mee's memoir.

The Way, Way Back

The Way, Way Back

Sycamore Pictures etc.

July 26, 2013

Dramedy
DVD
C-

Bumped up a notch or two for the always marvelous Allison Janney.  Nat Faxon and Jim Rash co-wrote and co-directed.

Waterboys (2016)

Waterboys (2016)

Venfilm etc.

1 December 2016

Dramedy
DVD
B

This is one of those rare movies I enjoyed without actually liking any of the characters.  They're funny, poignant, and believable.  I'll admit this might've been a B- without the Scottish scenery and the music by the Waterboys, whose one-hit "The Whole of the Moon" is one of those songs I haven't thought of in decades but instantly remembered.  Robert Jan Westdijk wrote and directed.

Waiting to Exhale

Waiting to Exhale

20th Century Fox

December 22, 1995

Dramedy
DVD
D+

The acting (especially by the actor playing the cheating husband) and the writing, with Terry McMillan helping to adapt her own novel, are both laughably bad, but at least the women are pretty and well-dressed.  Forest Whitaker directed.

Vanya on 42nd Street

Vanya on 42nd Street

Sony

October 19, 1994

Dramedy?

DVD
C-

Sort of about a casual but professional performance of a Chekhov play, I think.  David Mamet co-adapted and Louis Malle directed.

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

Super Crispy Entertainment etc.

January 25, 2017

Dramedy?
DVD
C-

Unfocused but not terrible.  Shawn Christensen directed and co-wrote.

The Upside of Anger

The Upside of Anger

Media 8 Entertainment

April 1, 2005

Dramedy?

DVD
D

Contains no likable or interesting characters.  Mike Binder wrote and directed, a couple years before Reign Over Me.

Up

Up

Disney/Pixar

May 29, 2009

Children's, Animation, Dramedy?

DVD
D+

I think more than any Pixar movie, this made me loathe the company, especially as I found the whole "marriage in a minute" montage incredibly manipulative.  Watching the first quarter hour today, I just found the movie, well, bland, especially the character design.  But, yes, I didn't detest it, so I've mellowed.  Peter Docter and Bob Peterson co-directed, and co-wrote with somebody else.

(Untitled)

(Untitled)

Parker Film Company

January 9, 2009

Dramedy?

DVD

D+

This is obviously meant to be satirical, but honestly Margaret Atwood (among others) was making these points about the art world thirty or forty years earlier.  Jonathan Parker directed and co-wrote.

Uccellacci e uccellini

Uccellacci e uccellini AKA The Hawks and the Sparrows

Arco Film etc.

4 May 1966

Dramedy
DVD
C

I watched this to the mid-point because I really did like the part before the fable of the monks.  Pier Paolo Pasolini wrote and directed, between Accatone and Porcile.

Tyrel

Tyrel

Magnolia Pictures

December 5, 2018

Dramedy

DVD
C-

Pretty well acted but uncomfortable to watch.  Sebastián Silva wrote and directed.

Two Brothers & a Bride AKA A Foreign Affair

Two Brothers & a Bride AKA A Foreign Affair

B&W Films Inc.

January 21, 2003

Dramedy
DVD

C-

Has potential I guess.  Helmut Schleppi directed.