Author: Jeff Mitchell

‘I Want You Back’: Day and Slate are heartbroken troublemakers in this light, likable rom-com

Jeff Mitchell

“I Want You Back” (2022) – Have you ever been dumped?  Everyone has at one point.  Wait, everyone?  Okay, Gisele Bundchen probably has avoided that particular emotional turmoil, but for mere mortals, it’s an unfortunate “wrong” of passage for anyone putting themselves “out there” in the dating world.  Director Jason Orley’s rom-com “I Want You Back” squarely focuses on two specific dumpees, Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day).  About seven minutes into his film, Orley features a montage of our heroes with Jimmy Durante’s “The Glory of Love” playing…

‘Death on the Nile’ treads water

Jeff Mitchell

“Death on the Nile” (2022) – The Nile.  It’s the second-largest river in the world, trailing only The Amazon by 200 miles.  The Nile begins at Lake Victoria (located in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya), runs north, and then spills into the Mediterranean Sea.  The said waterway runs 4,130 miles, and to splash around some perspective, that’s as long as a drive from Seattle, Wash. to Miami, Fla. and then a plane ride to Jamaica.  Grab your passport. Yes, this natural water wonder stretches longer than Marvin Gaye’s “The Star-Spangled Banner”…

Movie of the Week: ‘Defending Your Life’

Jeff Mitchell

“Defending Your Life” (1991) – Albert Brooks directs, writes, and stars in his surreal, thoughtful comedy, where he plays Daniel Miller, a man defending his life! Unfortunately, Dan’s life is cut short by an auto accident, and he ends up in Judgment City, a type of purgatory that looks like suburban Pasadena.  He’s on trial, although it’s not really called one, where his defender, a prosecutor, and two judges review nine days in Daniel’s time on Earth, which are like snippets from VCR recordings that are made by who knows…