Movie Review Monday: One Day

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 2011 romantic drama One Day, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

The plot of this movie utilizes an interesting device. Every year, on the anniversary of their college graduation (July 15), we see where each character is in their lives. Sometimes they are together, and others they are apart.

Emma (Hathaway) is an aspiring writer, and Dexter (Sturgess) struggles to find himself and become grounded. Both acknowledge a connection, but neither allows themselves to fully commit. Emma loves Dexter, but worries about his loyalty, and Dexter can't figure out what he wants from much of anything in life. We start in 1988 and go up until 2011. While Hathaway's British accent isn't convincing for me (I just can't reconcile it with knowing she is American) she gives a decent performance. Sturgess is a bit stronger, and both are nevertheless able to carry the film.

One Day was not what I expected. I thought I was going to get a bit more fantastical elements, but regardless of this, the emotional impact of the film is not lost. While I won't spoil anything here, the takeaway is apparent of how much of an impact a single day can have on our lives. We should make the choices for ourselves to make the most of each day we have.

While it isn't the best movie around saying this sort of thing, I enjoyed how it portrayed life and it's ups and downs. While I would hope that we all have more ups than downs, life is journey and it is a long one. We can never really tell where we're going for sure, but we can decide what we make of ourselves and can decide to make ourselves happy before it is too late. One of my only complaints, probably as an eternal optimist, is some of the darker elements of the story of this movie. At times it seems to be unnecessarily grim and bleak.

You can check out One Day streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: When Harry Met Sally

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 1989 romantic comedy classic, When Harry Met Sally, starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

This movie came out the year I was born and has been referenced and given homage to many times over the years. I feel like I had seen it already but I had never sat down and watched it from start to finish. It felt like a good choice to watch on a lazy night with my partner and we were right.

The story follows the long, winding journey of the friendship between Harry and Sally (Crystal and Ryan respectively). They fall in and out of contact over the course of over ten years, sharing a special connection neither dares to speak of. Their friends all know it, but they feel as though what they have is good and they don't want to ruin it by trying to make it more.

This movie is a wholesome, fun, relatable story about love, friendship, and the courage to take a chance. It is a very timeless story (other than some of the fashion choices and the use of pay phones) and I'm sure will be a classic in the genre for many more years to come. While it isn't uproariously funny, it more than makes up for it with heart.

I definitely recommend checking out When Harry Met Sally, which is streaming now on Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: The One I Love

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film comes to us via Netflix and is 2013's The One I Love featuring Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss.

I was recommended this movie by a friend, as well as by the algorithms of Netflix so I figured it would be something I was interested in. It is a small, independent, unique, romantic comedy with some light sci-fi elements, so once I knew all that, I was in. However, after I was done watching this movie, I was very frustrated and let down. I will say as a precursor, it felt much the same way as when I finished Mr. Nobody. Still, this movie seemed to be confused about what it was and what it was trying to say, so in this muddled narrative, I think it lost a lot of its punch.

The basic premise is that Duplass and Moss (Ethan and Sophie respectively) are married and their relationship has hit a rough patch. They decide to go on a weekend retreat to a beautiful house away from the world to work out their problems. They soon realize, however, that the house is more than meets the eye. I actually would liken the strangeness of this movie to another Duplass movie, Safety Not Guaranteed, which in some ways is a far better movie. I don't want to spoil the movie, so I won't explain it any more than this, but the hook is an odd one when it is all said and done.

When I finished this movie, I had to immediately process it and find other theories of the movie's plot and what it all meant. I found some articles that shared my confusions and frustrations but also helped me understand the movie better (SPOILERS: here, here, and here). Some were a bit less contrarian to the film than I was, some even praising it for the ambiguity. They captured much of my thoughts better than I can articulate them and give some different perspectives, so I won't reiterate or repeat them. Definitely check them out after you watch the movie so you can process everything see some diverse perspectives on everything.

Nevertheless, this is a hard movie for me to recommend. It seems to fit the bill of all the types of things I like about movies as I mentioned before, especially random ones I find to stream. If you want a movie to think about and process, this can be a good one to check out. It's not too long and the pacing is good so it won't feel like a drag. I just feel like it might be a film to think about and dissect in the wrong way, since the point of it all seems unclear to me.

You can check out The One I Love streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: Beginners

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie comes to us via Netflix, and it is 2010's Beginners from writer/director Mike Mills, starring Ewan McGregor & Christopher Plummer.

The basic synopsis of the film is that Plummer plays McGregor's father, who at the age of 75, becomes terminally ill as well as comes out as gay to his son. Hal (Plummer) then seeks to makes the most of his final years, enlightening Oliver (McGregor) to some major life lessons and to reflect on his life growing up with his father and mother. This movie is a semi-autobiographical story for Mills, who father came out as gay after his mother died.

Beginners is an emotional, dry, slow, but poignant movie about who we decide to be in our lives. We see Oliver's life through disjointed flashbacks and learn of his father's life hiding his secret from his son until his final few years, where he could finally be himself. Hal then is able to enjoy this time to the fullest, never looking back and doing what makes him happy. Plummer's performance is fantastic, and quite worthy of the critical acclaim it garnered.

I had this movie recommended by a friend of mine and I never would have known of it or actually taken the time to see it if she hadn't put it forth. I'm doing that for you all now to check out this movie. It's worth your time and will make you think, as all good movies should.

You can check out Beginners, streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: The Spectacular Now

Hello and welcome to another Movie Review Monday!

This week, I'm reviewing 2013's The Spectacular Now, which is actually available to stream on Amazon Prime Instant Video (not Netflix). In an effort to include more awesome movies for you to stream at home, I'm including now some movies I've found on Amazon. You can get Prime for $99/year (which also includes free two-day shipping on products sold and shipped by Amazon, music streaming, and other benefits). That equates to $8.25/month, which is pretty comparable to Hulu Plus and Netflix, but I digress.

The Spectacular Now stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley (the latter most recently of Divergent fame). The plot is a basic coming of age tale for Miles Teller's character Sutter. Both Sutter and Woodley's character Aimee are graduated seniors trying to figure out their respective lives. Sutter is the popular kid who is lamenting the prospect of the future while Aimee is the simple "girl next door" that Sutter takes a liking to. There is a subplot of Sutter exploring his relationship with his deadbeat father that eventually intersects with Sutter's relationship with Aimee in a dramatic fashion.

I found this to be a fresh, modern take on a pretty routine story of growing up after high school. Both Teller and Woodley are great in the movie, and I look forward to seeing more great movies from them in the future, with Woodley probably taking on more Divergent films and Teller starring in movies like the new Fantastic Four reboot.

This is a good movie if you're looking for a realistic love story intertwined with a classic coming of age tale.

Check it out streaming now on Amazon Prime Instant Video! Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Romantic Comedies & The "Flawless Rescue Stud"

I just read this editorial article over at Nerdist.com about an unfortunate phenomenon in romantic comedies of late where their male characters, referred to as "Flawless Rescue Studs", are creating unrealistic and harmful portrayals of romantic relationships. The basic premise, which is elaborated on in the article, showcases the trend of male characters "saving" the women characters in these movies and rescuing the women who have basically been made incapable of solving anything themselves without a man around. It has a lot of important connections and connotations for feminism and masculinity and how they're represented in media so I recommend giving it a read. Lets support more original, creative, and realistic representations of people and their relationships. Check out my movie reviews for some great examples of this streaming now on Netflix.

Movie Review Monday: Much Ado About Nothing

This week's movie is the 2012 adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof. First off, this movie took a little catching up for me since it is literally adapted from the Shakespearean text. It is simply in a modern setting. All the characters speak the play as it was written so I was taken aback at first but I eventually caught up. The movie is also shot in black & white, which adds a nice artistic flair to the film (why, I don't know, it just does). Pretty much all the actors are from some sort of "Whedonverse" property or at least something Whedon has been associated with in the past. It has a very simple elegance to it, where the focus is on the timeless story of Benedick and Beatrice's will they or won't they romance.

I will admit, since I'm not a huge theater buff or reader, I hadn't been exposed to the story before so I came in fresh and it was a very fun ride. The bickering between Benedick and Beatrice as well as the scheming by the other characters to get them together was brilliant. All the actors really bought into the dialogue and gave great performances.

For any fans of Shakespeare, romance, Joss Whedon, or just well crafted film, check out Much Ado About Nothing, streaming now on Netflix!

Movie Review Monday: Stuck in Love

This week's movie is Stuck in Love (2012), starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, and Lily Collins. And, pardoning the pun, I just have to say I loved this movie. Stuck in Love is essentially Crazy, Stupid, Love with more drama and heart. I enjoyed CSL very much as well (and own it) but I enjoyed this movie for totally different reasons. The story revolves around different members of a family dealing with the complex nuances of love. Where CSL succeeded with comedic moments, I feel like it lost when it came to connecting more with the characters and story on a deep, personal level. I can admit I got emotional when watching Stuck in Love at times. I didn't know what to expect from this movie, so I was very pleasantly surprised.

All of the folks in this film do a great job with their characters. Each of them is going through something unique and everyone has a very real personality that deals with the conflicts in the film. I was engaged throughout the film, wanting to know what happened next to these characters I was invested in.

I highly recommend this film as a solid romantic drama that has a lot of heart. It is streaming now on Netflix!

Enjoy!