Movie Review: *** The Lady in the Van (2015)

 The Lady in the Van has Maggie Smith portraying, Mary or Margaret who is on the run from the law, and goes off grid and parks her van in a driveway, for 15 years.  She lives in the van and takes advantage of the restroom in the home of Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) who is torn between empathy and taking advantage by writing her story.  He is a playwright.  He often does one person shows talking about his mother.  He is wanting to add a new show about the homeless lady.  Jennings actually plays this character twice, the generous man and the take advantage man.  We often see him talking to himself.  Smith does a great job of portraying the cantankerous old lady who lives in the van, and often grumbles.  But then there is Mr. Bennett who actually cares for her.  She has a brother (Jim Broadbent) who visits on occasion.  It isn't until after she has died that we learn why she is living in the van and she has changed her name.  She is actually a pianist who has played with the symphony.   

Movie Review: ****Chicken Run (2000)

This is stop-motion animation from Aardman Animations Studio in England.  It features the voices of Mel Gibson as Rocky and Jane Horrocks as Babs.  Babs has a bad habit, she wants to escape the coupe.  Her efforts get her in solitary confinement, over and over.  But when a rooster comes flying in the the chicken yard, a new scheme is born.  Rocky does not tell that he was shot out of a cannon, and gets the hopes of the other chickens up as the feed him and keep him away from the farmer.  He is nursing a broken wing.  In the end, his fraud is exposed, and he runs away without saying goodbye.  But the dream is still alive.  It's escape or be turned into a chicken pot pie.  The chickens build a plane, and away the go.  Rocky redeems himself in the end, and just in time.  This film was fun.  I don't know if I like the stop-action animation, which is sort of like clay.  I know I don't like that the chickens all had teeth in addition to beaks.