Q-Tips Reviews

9/13/21 –  Mark Wahlberg, JOE BELL tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin, embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying.

Q-tips say: See it. Perhaps predictable, painful & sincere.

Mrs. Q says: This movie is “based-on-a-true-story” tearjerker “Joe Bell” is a movie with its heart in the right place. Mrs. Q wonders how difficult it must have been years ago when being Gay, Lesbian was not as accepted as it is now. Probably not a movie people will rush out to see in theaters, but one that will be well watched at home, with loved ones and box of tissue. This movie shows Jadin with strength. He’s never portrayed as a victim.

Netflix – Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan

Following the horrific 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Congress appoints attorney and renowned mediator Kenneth Feinberg (Michael Keaton) to lead the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Assigned with allocating financial resources to the victims of the tragedy, Feinberg and his firm’s head of operations, Camille Biros (Amy Ryan), face the impossible task of determining the worth of a life to help the families who had suffered incalculable losses. When Feinberg locks horns with Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), a community organizer mourning the death of his wife, his initial cynicism turns to compassion as he begins to learn the true human costs of the tragedy.

Q-tips say: OK see it. Quiet, somber and a little downbeat – The film is as much a tribute to those we lost as to those who tried to give them some small element of restorative justice. The story is drenched in humanity and empathy.

Streaming – While her house undergoes repairs, fiercely independent senior Helen temporarily moves into a nearby retirement community, where she encounters lusty widows, cutthroat bridge tournaments and a hotbed of bullying “mean girls.”

Ellyn Burstyn , James Caan, Ann Margaret, Jane Curtain, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd.

Q-tips say: Yes, see it. Movie about older people to be watched by oldies-but goodies. Nothing to offend here, just a pleasant time-filler that will help you while away an evening and give you an excuse to eat some popcorn.

Entertaining film about growing old. Decent performances by oldies.