Movie News
The Movie Committee has announced that movies are now showing every Saturday evening at 7 p.m In the Auditorium and on Tuesdays twice a month.
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Saturday, Jan. 3: A House of Dynamite
An international ballistic missile of unknown origin is headed to the United States with 20 minutes until impact. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, with Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso.
2025 Apocalyptic thriller R 1 hr 52 min (Netflix)
Saturday, Jan. 10: The Thursday Murder Club
Four retires who solve cold cases for fun encounter a real murder. Based on the novel by Richard Osman. With Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie.
2025 Mystery/Comedy PG-13 1 hr 58 min (Netflix)
Tuesday, Jan. 13: It Was Just an Accident
A group of former Iranian political prisoners face the question of whether to take revenge on a man they believe may have brutalized them in prison. Directed by Jafar Panahi. Won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. In Farsi, with subtitles.
2025 Drama PG-13 1 hr 43 min (Amazon rental)
Saturday, Jan. 17: Train Dreams
The life of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker in Idaho in the early 20th century. Based on a novella by Denis Johnson. Directed by Clint Bentley; with Joel Edgerton (nominated for a Golden Globe).
2025 Drama PG-13 1 hr 42 min (Netflix)
Saturday, Jan. 24: Jay Kelly
An aging movie star looks back at his life and tries to repair his relationships with his daughters. Directed by Noah Baumbach; with George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern.
2025 Drama/Comedy R 2 hr 12 min (Netflix)
Tuesday, Jan. 27: The Left-Handed Girl
A single mother and her two daughters move back to Taipei to open a noodle stand at a night market. Directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and co-written with Sean Baker. In Mandarin with subtitles.
2025 Family drama R 1 hr 48 min (Netflix)
Saturday, Jan. 31: Wake Up Dead Man
The third installment of the “Knives Out” series. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back on the scene. Father Jud (Josh O’Connor), a newly arrived priest, becomes a murder suspect.
2025 Mystery/Comedy PG-13 2 hr 24 min (Netflix)
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FEBRUARY
Saturday, Feb. 7: This Is Spinal Tap
A filmmaker (Rob Reiner) interviews and follows one of England’s loudest rock bands on tour. Directed by and starring Rob Reiner; with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer (co-writers).
1984 Satire R 1 h 22 min (Amazon rental)
Tuesday, Feb. 10: The Mastermind
In 1970, failed architect James Blaine Mooney and cohorts wander into a museum in broad daylight and steal four paintings. When keeping the paintings proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney finds himself on the run. Directed by Kelly Reichardt; with Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim.
2025 Drama R 1 hr 50 min (Amazon rental)
Saturday, Feb. 14: When Harry Met Sally
Through years of chance encounters, Harry and Sally discuss their different opinions about whether men and women can be platonic friends. Directed by Rob Reiner; with Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher.
1989 Romantic comedy R 1 hr 36 min
Saturday, Feb. 21: Marshall
Early in his career, Thurgood Marshall was sent to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to defend a Black chauffeur accused of the rape and attempted murder of a white society woman. Directed by Reginald Hudlin; with Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown.
2017 Drama PG-13 1 hr 58 min (Amazon rental)
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
The film depicts 8-year-old Bobo's life on her family's Rhodesian farm during the Bush War's final stages. It explores the family's bond with Africa's land and the war's impact as seen through Bobo's eyes. Written by, directed, and starring Embeth Davidtz; with Lexi Venter, Zikhona Bali.
2024 Drama R 1 hr 38 min (Amazon rental)
Saturday, Feb. 28: A Little Prayer
A man tries to protect his daughter-in-law when he finds out that his son is having an affair. Written and directed by Angus MacLachlan; with David Straithairn, Jane Levy.
2023 Drama R 1 hr 31 min (Amazon rental)
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The Movie Committee always appreciates feedback. Thank you to all the residents who have suggested movies for future showings. These suggestions are always welcome.
Streaming Movies
Many residents prefer to watch movies at home for a variety of reasons, or they miss a particular movie because they have other plans for that night.
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Almost all the movies now shown at Broadmead are available from streaming services. (See the end of this post for the services used for this month’s movies.)
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For most services you sign up on your computer or phone. Newer TVs have the apps for Amazon and Netflix already on them and may have others as well. Of course you can also use Roku and similar devices.
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Amazon rentals are the major source of our movies. You need an Amazon account but you don’t need Prime to rent movies. The Prime service includes a number of new movies; they are available free for a limited period of time and then they move to rentals. Oppenheimer, for example, is now free on Amazon Prime, and costs $6 as a rental. At the end of January, Amazon is raising the cost of a Prime subscription if you want to see movies without ads.
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Most Amazon rentals are $4 to $6, except when the movies are brand new and popular. (They can be as much as $20 at first, but after a while the price drops.) You have 48 hours to watch a rented movie once you start to stream it.
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Kanopy is a free service sponsored by libraries and has increased the number and depth of its offerings. You sign up online using your Baltimore County library card. Kanopy has always regulated the number of movies you can watch each month. It used to be 15 movies; they have now moved to a different method. You get 45 “tickets” a month, and each movie “costs” 2 to 4 tickets. Again, once you start streaming, you have a limited time to complete the movie.
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Netflix is a subscription service with various levels: ads, no ads, etc. There are no restrictions on the number of movies you watch or a limited time in which to complete them. But Netflix doesn’t carry many older movies and its focus is shifting to series.
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An excellent source for locating movies is the website www.JustWatch.com.
JustWatch - The Streaming Guide All your streaming services in one app.
It tells you which streaming services are carrying the movie and the cost (not always accurate, but close). I use JustWatch to track movies that are still playing in theaters. I’m then notified when they become available for streaming.
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The Voice movie listings will now indicate the streaming source (if available) for each movie.
Movie Reviews
For those looking for movie reviews, most major movies are reviewed on the Roger Ebert site, which has a rotating group of reviewers. The reviews give a detailed plot summary. Four stars is the highest rating.
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Wikipedia has entries for most movies. In addition to a very detailed plot summary (including spoilers), the entries give the production history, cast, summary of critical reviews, and awards for which the movie was nominated or won.
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The Guardian, one of the few major newspapers without a pay wall, also has reviews.
If you have access to the New York Times, their reviewers are excellent, and their recommendations are noted as “Critics’ Choice.”
Movie History
For those interested in movie history, MIT, in its Open Courseware program, has a series of recorded lectures by David Thorburn, with an associated list of suggested films. The lectures include some movie clips. Thorburn has a very animated style of lecturing. His approach is particularly interesting because he places cinema in the context of society and points to connections with the other arts. His lectures are carried on YouTube, so you can view them on your TV, but you have to search for them. You can find information about the lectures at https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21l-011-the-film-experience-fall-2013/video_galleries/lecture-videos-notes/
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