Assorted Movie + TV Reviews, Pt. 2
(Published: 2020/07/09)
Even though we may not be able to go to the cinema right now, there are still so many movies out there waiting to be given our love (or not..) so I thought I’d try a few more! Featured genres: Comedy, romance, drama, historical drama, action, musical, independent, and a sitcom! Hopefully there’s something for everyone! First up..
Almost Famous
It’s as if this movie was made for me to enjoy it. Honestly, being a 15 year old touring with a band and writing the cover story for Rolling Stone magazine in the 70s would be an absolute dream. I am obviously ever so slightly biased (cough) but it was a great movie. I really recommend it if you’re in the mood for a good comedy that still has heart.
9.5/10.
Sing Street
This is so good. So, SO good. John Carney, you didn’t disappoint. Sing Street is a film about this Irish teenage boy who decides to start a band to impress a girl but it’s not nearly as cliche as it sounds. It is such a beautiful ‘happysad’ (watch the movie and you’ll get this wonderful reference) movie. I think my favourite type of film might be ‘happysad’, honestly. Anyway, apart from that, Sing Street is full of glorious 80s references, actually good music, and great actors (especially Ferdia Walsh-Peelo who I am excited to see in other films). I have watched a few Irish films lately and I think I’m going to watch quite a few more. I don’t know if it’s just the Irish films I’ve seen lately, but they are of a marvellous standard.
10/10 – did I forget to mention that Sing Street has made it into my favourite films of all time list?
What if?
Ehh, it was entertaining. That’s about as much as it was. To be honest, I didn’t really care about the characters or think that the storyline was particularly special but it was a funny enough flick to make me laugh out loud at times. If you want a very light romantic comedy, this wouldn’t be the first film I would recommend, but it isn’t bad.
6.5/10.
The Guard
I warn you, this is definitely a midday movie. I watched it at night and I have to admit that I didn’t get into the movie for about 3/4 of it. But, I stuck with it and it turned out to be a very intelligent movie and it was altogether satisfying at the end. It isn’t really the exciting buddy cop movie it is made out to be, but it’s certainly good. Also, on a slightly unrelated note, I didn’t make the link that Brendon Gleeson (the lead actor) is Domhnall Gleeson’s father! (I think they’re both great actors)
9/10.
Identity Thief
This movie was hilarious. Sure, it isn’t going to win any awards, but I was laughing out loud for 90% of the movie. Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman are certainly a good comedic duo. To be honest, I don’t see why it deserved a terrible critic and audience rotten tomatoes score because it was so entertaining! Don’t listen to the reviews!
7/10.
Once
Oh my gosh. What is the fascination with this movie?! I’ve read people saying that it is the better version of Begin Again but I just found it to be irritating. Don’t be fooled by the quirky, witty opening scenes. I sound like I’m being really harsh, but the 90 minutes of my life that I spent on this movie felt like double that. And I do have a lot of patience for movies. For goodness sake, I watched Paterson, a film about a bus driver going about his daily life for a whole 2 hours and didn’t (completely haha) dislike it. But Once just felt like it went nowhere and achieved nothing. It wasn’t even a sweet love story because I felt like the leads had little to no chemistry! I appreciate that the film was really low budget and I liked Markéta Irglová as the female lead but I just couldn’t honestly recommend it to anyone… I went into it with such high hopes too, having loved all of the John Carney films I had seen thus far. Sorry, John Carney. Your other films still remain on my list of favourites.
3/10.
Marriage Story
If this is even comparable to Once, this is Once done right: a realistic sort-of love story that tugged at my heart strings. Marriage Story was simply beautiful. The emotions of Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver were so believable and in one particular scene towards the end of the film, Adam Driver’s superb acting actually made me cry and smile simultaneously. The film was shot on 35mm film and the warm-toned colour palette of the cinematography reminded me of films like When Harry Met Sally and It Could Happen to You. I feel like Marriage Story is the sort of film that hasn’t been made for a very long time, or maybe I just haven’t seen films like it recently, in which case, point me in the right direction in the comments below. Anyway, I love everything about Marriage Story (well, maybe I’d make the exception of Adam Driver’s singing solo which I understand the purpose of, but I was kind of cringing for his character) and I can’t recommend it enough. If you like Lost in Translation (my favourite film), you will definitely like Marriage Story.
10/10.
The Duchess
Yikes, poor Georgiana. The Duchess was quite a dark film and as usual, Keira Knightley was very good in it. But while it is a pretty appalling look into the true story of Georgiana Spencer’s life with the Duke of Devonshire, there are so many areas of Georgiana’s life that weren’t covered in the film that could have helped us better understand her world and add more depth to her character. The film is based on Amanda Foreman’s biography and though I haven’t read the biography myself, I do know that Georgiana had a huge impact on British politics which was largely left out of the film (her brief moments of campaigning really don’t count). She was also a chemist, mineral scientist, and author. The film touched on her gambling but also did not inform us that she was actually a compulsive gambler and had a troubling amount of debt for most of her life. I understand that a film can only include so much content in a reasonable runtime but I feel as if there was so much more to Georgiana Spencer that could have been explored. Maybe they didn’t want it to become a feminist film, as it well could have become, had they not sidelined her achievements.
7/10.
Frances Ha
A strange film, but a really good one. I had been very interested in watching it for a while now because I haven’t watched enough arthouse films and I was interested to see Greta Gerwig acting. I was unsure about whether I would like the fact that the film is in black and white but I actually felt that it really added to the film. Watching Frances Ha was like being in another universe and I was so absorbed in Frances’ world. The film meandered along without being dull and I also really appreciated its ending. It felt so strangely satisfying. I thoroughly recommend it and am loving Noah Baumbach films. I really love his style, especially his experimentation with using actual film and shooting in black and white. (Marriage Story was also a Noah Baumbach film)
9.5/10.
Grease
I don’t think I can even review this! Imagine how many times the legendary Grease has been reviewed. I enjoyed it and can see what most of the fuss is about. It definitely isn’t one of my favourite movies but I am not a fan of musicals so it is probably a miracle that I enjoyed it at all. I would have liked a little more storyline among the singing which I think is going to result in my giving it a lower rating, but I thought the musical numbers were pretty cool.
7.5/10
Fargo TV Show
I watched the first episode of Fargo yesterday and it started well and became increasingly dark as the episode went on. It is definitely a very good show but I am not sure if I will continue with it. I’m only in the first episode and there’s already a super creepy psychopath guy and an extremely gruesome murder. I won’t rate this tv show as I think that I am not old enough (or generally too squeamish) to enjoy it properly.
(two gifs, this time…for good measure)
Suits
On the opposite side of the tv show spectrum, I started watching Suits from Ep. 9 of season 1 last week. I guess it’s not really a testament to the show that I knew exactly what was going on without the first 9 episodes, but I am enjoying it. It’s just some good old non-brain-consuming entertainment and although I’m very late to the Suits party, it’s fun to binge it. I’m also quite entertained by all the lightbulb moments that Mike keeps having. I mean, come on, I get the show isn’t meant to win any awards, but who does that?! I’ve never seen anyone have so many Eureka moments. I have no idea how the show is still going at ten seasons. I am very confused at how they are going to sustain this storyline for that many episodes, but I’m keen to find out!
7.5/10
Lovesick
My gosh, this is such a good showww. Yes, that deserved three Ws. The dialogue and character development in Lovesick is honestly a goal. It has become one of my favourite shows because it is so well written and seriously laugh out loud funny (hahahaha seriously laugh out loud funny..). I know they shouldn’t make another season of it but deep down, I wish they would. This is a must-see.
10/10.
And that’s all. Being back at school, movie review posts do take a long time to finish because I have to find the time to watch enough movies to have enough for a post, but I’m enjoying writing these reviews so I’m going to try my best to keep them coming.
Ps. I look like I’m giving out a lot of 10/10s but really I have just happened across some great movies recently. I don’t give out 10/10s very easily!
Until next time,
– Charlie B.