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The comedy was refreshing, quick, and in respect to the book. One reviewer said it was like Grumpy old Men.

R | 1h 44min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy | 2 September 2015 (USA)

After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
Director: Ken Kwapis
Writers: Michael Arndt (screenplay) (as Rick Kerb), Bill Holderman (screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson

I’m glad I waited a day to review this. When I saw it, my sides hurt from laughing and I loved it. Now, I loved it even more. The comedy was refreshing, quick, and in respect to the book. One reviewer said it was like Grumpy old Men. And that’s a bad thing? It worked on so many levels. After reading some bad reviews, I decided I still wanted to see it because I greatly admire Robert Redford as well as the novels author Bill Bryson. It didn’t matter to me that Bryson was 40 in the novel and Redford was 78. The humor and angst against society is the same.

The bestselling book is written as a diary of Bill Bryson hiking the Appalachian Trail with his friend from his younger days, Katz who is played by Nick Nolte. Katz is an alcoholic who seems like he took too many doses of LSD in the 60’s. He’s also hilarious as he tells profane stories of how he used to “chase pussy.” His character is a riot in the book as well as the movie and the critics who say otherwise need to chase more … Well, you hear my point. I won’t get into the plot because truly, there is none. Only daily diary snippets set to some amazing nature cinematography. You really do experience the trail. What you learn is that sometimes you have to go away to really come home. It makes me want to get on the phone and do something with my lifelong friend Eric. It has the message of contacting friends and doing what you can even when the whole thing isn’t comfortable. Putting friends first will lead you home. Thanks Mr. Redford and Bryson for an excellent book and film. 9/10 stars from me. The critics are wrong about this gem.

The 3 lead actors track a killer in this true crime drama.

Zodiac (2007)
R | 2h 37min | Crime, Drama, History | 2 March 2007 (USA)

In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher
Writers: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Robert Graysmith (book)
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo

Director David Fincher has directed some truly great thriller stuff in his time. He did Se7en with Brad Pitt and organ Freeman as well as Panic Room and Fight Club. In between those you have other great films. How does he do it?

The actors in this film really make it special. You have Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., & Mark Ruffalo. Regardless of plot, and this one is good, you should see the film for these three.

I love films about killers. It’s like a mystery genre. You put the pieces together and get the guy arrested. Sometimes it takes months and years but you hope for that resolution. There lies the problem for me. This killer was never caught. For that reason, I find the movies a little unsatisfying. It’s still worth seeing for historical reasons. The guy is a real evil asshole whoever he really was. As an aside, I hope the Snowman killer coming to theaters soon gets caught. Fingers crossed.

7/10

This film is based on a true story. Once again, a movie presents vans in culture. Specifically, a van in British culture about 15 years ago and a lady that lived in it.

The Lady in the Van

Cast

Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent

Directed by

Nicholas Hytner

Written by

Alan Bennett

Other Info

Biography, Comedy, Drama
Rated PG-13
1h 44min

The dilapidated van was owned by Mary Shepherd, a scraggly old homeless woman who lived in it for 15 years on Alan Bennett: playwriter’s, driveway. Bennett wrote about the experience in a play and it won numerous stage awards. In fact, Maggie Smith, known for being in the Harry Potter films and a billion others, played the role of Shepherd which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 2000 Olivier Awards; and in the 2009 BBC Radio 4 adaptation. What’s more, Jennings wrote the book & the film. It’s the content of this heartwarming film, along with Maggie Smith’s acting, that makes a pleasant watch. It gets you thinking about all sorts of things worth talking about.

What if you had no one and you were entirely alone in the world? How would you view families playing together and people going to work talking negotiations etc. Alan Bennett write plays about lonely people but he meets the ultimate muse when he meets Mary Shepherd. Through a course of events at the beginning of the story, he begrudgingly allows her to park her van, which is her home, on his driveway. This causes him troubles he hadn’t accounted for but he lets her stay for 15 years. In a very unwittingly way, they are both kept company and they both see the other, thereby not making them as lonely as some.

Mary has an interesting story of how she came to be homeless. I won’t spoil it but suffice it to say, she feel as if she can never re-enter society. In the time she spends on Jennings’ driveway, he hears many of her stories and finds her a better choice than his own mundane, non-adventurous life for writing content. That’s why he lets her stay. They have experiences and the characters are developed more than adequately.

In the end we learn that Shepherd had been a nun and a decorated pianist in previous years. It’s amazing that Jenning’s never knew that until the end. To conclude, Maggie Smith is well grounded in this character and she is entrancing to watch. She’s plays the character as if it were herself. I also liked Jennings’ performance. I didn’t like the way that had his inner dialog with himself, a “clone” who comes in and out of scenes. I would have rather seen something like him writing and having his words speak. At any rate, the film did very well so don’t let my criticism take away. I highly recommend this for British viewers who know the play as well as for American fans of Maggie Smith and British culture.