Skip to main content

Iron Lady Review

What I liked: An interesting story telling approach. It was a good drama and period piece. The main take home I left with was doing great things requires great people with enormous resolve (often taking the form of annoying perfectionism) and willing to make great sacrifices. It seemed that everything she accomplished (from political position, to policy success, to political downfall) was the purely her force of will. I learned a lot about 1980s British history, though to be fair I didn’t know much so if this is your area you probably already know all about it. I really liked the scene when she is teaching her daughter to drive and may quote it frequently on the freeway. I was impressed with the way they handled her relationship with her husband; it succeeded in being touching and pointing out the strain that ambition and public office put on marriages. I liked the ending, admittedly it was anticlimactic and not great as endings go for a biography. What I liked about it was its framing in the film and the way it captured my attention for an inordinate amount of time for something extremely mundane, the director did a good job on that.
What I didn’t: I don’t think Thatcher would have liked to be presented this way and I think it did a disservice to her accomplishments to frame a biographical movie about her that mostly highlighted her difficult personality and declining mental capacity. As an interesting drama it was good, as a biography I couldn’t help thinking they didn’t consult her family on this and it focused disproportionately on her flaws at the cost of her accomplishments.
Who should watch this? Mom would probably like it, like I said it is a good drama so anyone looking for a slower, more thoughtful movie would appreciate it.
Would I watch it again? Maybe

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Reveiw

What I liked: For a movie based on what is in essence a fictional encyclopedia, this movie has a surprising amount of plot. Not great plot, but more than I usually get from reading an alphabetical reference book. I liked the dopey sidekick, his facial expressions were great and he was the only one who acknowledged that what happening on screen was not actually normal. I liked that the president led the tiny army of US wizards to their tiny battle in a subway. So as military victories go, this was not one for the history books, for many reasons. But it did lend more meaning to the phrase Commander in Chief. I felt like Dr Who was once again a bow tie wearing socially awkward guy who lives in a box that is bigger on the inside. Some of the creatures were cool but the CGI didn't quite make them alive. I liked the sloth monkey, I don't really know who it was or what it was doing but I would support a slothmonkey planet of the apes crossover. I like that the guy from SWAT has fina...

Free Guy

What I liked: I liked Guy. That is in fact the point but I like how happy, carefree, and wholesome he is in what is essentially Grand Theft Auto. I like what the NPCs decide to focus on as they achieve consciousness. I liked the ridiculous YouTubers getting all philosophical about Guy and how he radically changed game play. I liked that so much of the game economy was about silly skins, just like a real game, and how that completely confused the NPCs. I liked the fight between Dude and Guy and its resolution, it managed to stay very on theme. The item cameos were fun, like seeing the Portal gun, or the Fortnite piƱata. I liked guy finding the med kit and building up an inventory.  What I didn't: I am not be a lawyer but I am suspicious that there maybe more efficient ways of obtaining evidence of copyright violation than playing 12 hours of a computer game every day. With that in mind I think the evidence points to the heroine enjoying the game far more than she lets on. On the top...