Tangled

Well this is quite different than the Disney movie I was expecting! Just kidding. This is a bit of a rough watch. Not because of the acting, directing, etc. All that is good. I might even say great. But the subject matter and story are the opposite of uplifting, depressing and even a little disturbing. It's very "real", for both good and bad. Another interesting aspect is that it looks in many ways (from the sets and dress to even the music and cinematography) like it was made in 1979, not 1997. Which is a cool aesthetic, for sure. If you can handle some depressing subject matter, check this one out.

I'm so far removed from this scene that I wonder if I'm qualified to comment on it. Somebody should break the ice, however, so, here goes... For the sake of her increasingly-observant pre-schooler, a bar-tending, mechanically-inclined Chicago mom quits running drugs, but dates the main man's gambling-indebted attorney, who is killed by a car bomb. Her grief is compounded when her estranged husband is released from prison and kidnaps their child to New Orleans, to where she tracks the two, accompanied by a "greasy" older guy with whom she shares living quarters; and the dead man's best friend - a sports commentator on TV. With all of these options in her life, it's nice to see the choice that she ultimately makes. It's not exactly "my type" of movie - subject matter that's "too heavy" to attract me. (I watched it only because so little about it appeared on the IMDb.) Other opinions may differ, but, mine is that this is a slightly above-average effort, sincerely-if-not-expertly acted, exuding cheapness which fits right in with the storyline. Check it out if you're in that frame of mind.