Hello, once again movie fans and Happy Holidays one more time from your friends at Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend. It’s been a great Holiday season so far, and we expect nothing less from New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Sure, there will be a few people in the office who miss Jan. 2 with “a touch of the flu,” but they’ll be fine after a little ginger ale and 163 Tylenol. That said, don’t drink and drive, because to do so makes you less than a quality individual. No excuse to get loaded and then be behind the wheel. Instead, enjoy a good movie, as recommended by Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend. Rotten Tomatoes is ready with five new releases, so let’s talk about them.
Christian Bale (on the right) looks uncannily like the real Dick Cheney (on the left).
Vice, rated R for language and some violent images.
We always knew that Vice President Dick Cheney wielded more than his share of power under President George W. Bush. We never knew the extent until now. Vice tells the insider story of how one man, in a mostly ceremonial post, changed the world into what it is today. Vice stars Christian Bale as Cheney, Sam Rockwell as the President, Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld. Rotten Tomatoes 65, Gildshire 4.4
John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell made a sub-par movie in Holmes and Watson.
Holmes and Watson rated PG-13 for crude sexual material, some violence, language, and drug references.
Full disclosure, Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend saw this one Christmas Day, but it isn’t recommended. It stars Will Ferrell as Sherlock Holmes, John C. Reilly as Dr. Watson, Rebecca Hall as Dr. Grace Hart, and Rob Brydon as Inspector Lestrade. Rotten Tomatoes 6, Gildshire 2.0.
Nicole Kidman’s performance is powerful in “Destroyer.”
Destroyer, rated R for language throughout, violence, some sexual content, and brief drug use.
Nicole Kidman in a role that is so far off from her norm as to suggest she is a different actor entirely. This one has the look and feel of a true story, but it is not. Kidman plays Erin, an LAPD undercover cop with a fraught past on the job, so expect Ms. Kidman to get Oscar consideration for this one. It costars Sebastian Stan as Chris, Toby Kebbell as Silas, and Tatiana Maslany as Petra. Rotten Tomatoes 76, Gildshire 3.9.
(l to r.) Armie Hammer as Marty Ginsburg and Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
On the Basis of Sex, rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive content.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a hero to many, so they will want to see this movie. It is about her origin story (to borrow a phrase from the latest superhero comic book flick) as a young and stubborn lawyer, whose eyes are opened to gender inequality. Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend is proud to name it the Movie of the Fortnight award winner. It stars Felicity Jones as Ms. Ginsburg, Armie Hammer as Marty Ginsburg, Justin Theroux as Mel Wulff, and Kathy Bates as Dorothy Kenyon. Rotten Tomatoes 75, Gildshire 4.9.
left to right, John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy and Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel.
Stan and Ollie rated PG for some language, and for smoking.
Laurel and Hardy were movie stars of the highest magnitude in their day. Their movies rank with the blockbusters of today, inflation adjusted. This movie is about Stan and Oliver, whose relationship was complicated, though it and the Laurel and Hardy act flourished for many years. It stars John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy, Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel, Nina Arianda as Ida Kitaeva Laurel, and Shirley Henderson as Lucille Hardy. If the RBG movie wasn’t competing, then Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend would have been happy to select this one. Rotten Tomatoes 90, Gildshire 4.8.
That’s it for Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend. You will be roundly entertained no matter what choice you make, except for that one choice. Choose wisely, and you will choose well, dear reader.
Allow us at Gildshire Goes to the Movies: New Year’s Weekend to wish you the happiest of New Year celebrations. Enjoy a movie or four as part of the long weekend. Until next time, two weeks hence, we bid you a fond farewell, with but one last question.
Does anyone know if they still sell Flicks chocolate discs? They were so good.