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He's All That (2021)
Trip down memory lane
Nobody expects this one to win an Academy Award. It's cheesy and predictable. But also, I'm wrapped in a blanket recovering from covid and this movie is precisely the right amount of substance for me to handle at the moment, 23 years after 'She's All That'.
He's All That doesn't take itself too seriously, poking fun at Gen Z (sorry guys) and the influencer culture.
It's cute. A feel-good movie.
Apparently Rachel Leigh Cooks stars in both the original movie and this one, but I'm terrible with faces, so I couldn't tell. I did love the fact that Kiss Me 's been reused in this one as well.
Looking forward to the next remake in 20 years: "They're All That"
The Kissing Booth 3 (2021)
This is what happens when you try to please everyone
Elle tries to juggle waaaay too many balls in a summer where she's trying to keep everyone happy - Noah, Lee, her father, her boss.
First, the bad. Noah. Oh. My. God. The guy is just such a total jerk. And childish like hell. Elle literally doesn't do anything wrong and he keeps blaming her for stuff. Like... yeah, it's cool that you surprise your girlfriend with a dinner, but can you seriously blame her for not wanting to let down the people she's already made some serious plans with? He says he'll keep fighting for her, but all he does is whining and making her life dififcult. Half the time I wanted to strangle him.
Lee is somewhat better, although I honestly don't understand how he spent any time at all with Rachel (we don't see a lot of her in this movie) since most of his time is spent with Elle, even when she's working.
When Elle finally makes her choice for college it comes pretty much out of the blue (spoilers alert here). Listen, I get that she loves *playing* video games, but designing them is something else entirely and when throughout these three movies have we ever seen her do anything related to design?
The ending. Not much to spoil here, 'cause it's not entirely clear where it's headed. I would have preferred a bit more closure in one way or the other. On one hand, Noah is terrible, but on the other hand it feels a bit weird to have this huge romantic plot line for 3 movies that just... doesn't work. So yeah, maybe the writers couldn't decide which way to go either.
But... having said all of this, there's a lot of good in this movie, too.
First of all, it touches on a very important aspect of coming of age, as it should. Elle realizes - at a pretty early age actually - that it's impossible to be happy when you're trying to please everyone else. The end of their summer is happening as it should, in a pretty healthy way.
Second, Chloe. She's amazing, honestly I'd totally watch a spin-off about her life. She's smart and kind, even as her world starts crumbling. Watching her I found myself thinking: "This is the kind of friend I want to be, too."
The guys' mom. I don't know her name, but I love the thing she has going on with Elle. You can really feel the bond there.
All in all, definitely a coming of age story I enjoyed. It's an easy watch that still manages to sneak in some really decent ideas. Would be even better if Noah wasn't such an idiot and there'd been some buildup to Elle's college choice.
The Greatest Showman (2017)
What's the rush?
I was so ready to love this movie. First of all, I love 'Rewrite the Stars', I could listen to it on repeat (and I have been). Second, the entire concept of 'Dare to live a different life' just resonates so deeply. I stocked up on tissues and prepared myself for a treat.
And was mildly disappointed. The movie is packed with storylines, but in the process any depth is lacking. It would have made for a wonderful mini series. Now, the entire thing just lacks credibility. Particularly the love story between Zac Efron and Zendaya leaves me wondering. Why did they fall for each other in the first place? Apart from the shallow obvious (looks) there is very little to support their romance.
Speaking of Efron... His turnaround to decide and join the circus is very sudden, as he actually boasts of the life he has. Sure, we as the audience can excuse him knowing such an existence can't be very satisfying, but once more - there is little to support this decision.
Then there's Phineas entirely abandoning his crew and there are basically zero repercussions (well, there are tons, but none from the crew). When he shuts them out at a party they simply decide to join anyway and there are literally no consequences. Not for Phineas, not for the crew, not for the other guests. In fact, the movie doesn't deal with his shame of them at all. I don't even think he apologizes at any point. His character loses any likeability.
Charity - what an apt name - is charming and in my opinion did a great acting job (I was slightly surprised she hasn't been nominated for any awards). Her anger is credible and her facial expressions are enough to convey her feelings and thoughts. I simply love the look on her face when Phineas runs into the burning building. Her eyes really say it all. She's the redeeming quality of the movie.
In fact, when I started this review I rated the movie as a 7, but having put my thoughts on paper I really can't go higher than a 6. Yes, the songs are great and the setting is lovely (the scene on the roof early on in the movie is magical). The acting is decent, sometimes excellent. But with so many plot holes, I unfortunately found this movie impossible to love.
6 Years (2015)
A glimpse into a dysfunctional relationship
This is a movie that surprised me on many levels. I think the acting was decent. The plot wasn't very fast-paced, but in my opinion it was very, very real (personally, I could fully relate to this relationship minus the physical aggression part). It's not a story about partying, or love, or careers. And nope, I also don't think it's a movie about abusive relationships. In the end, it's a story about two children, who are suddenly faced with grown-up decisions and fully unable to deal with them (Spoiler: towards the end, Mel reaches that conclusion, saying she's scared to grow up, and at the end she actually makes the grown-up decision to let Dan go). Mel is deeply insecure (it's all over the movie, like her acting really insecure when he says he doesn't like kissing her after she smokes, then later with the porn, and so many other moments), acting out on her fears and regretting it just moments later. I don't think she's even really aware how much of a problem her anger issues are. Dan is much less insecure, but he's not a great communicator. He says little things that make Mel even more insecure. He has a new life, one that doesn't suit Mel well (his new friends and work), but instead of trying to resolve their differences, he just does his own thing. The circle of doom is easily born from this: her acting on her insecurities triggers him becoming more distant and focusing more on his work and co-worker, which in turn triggers her insecurity, which causes her to act less reasonable, which triggers him becoming more distant etc. Their problems could be resolved, but it requires them to act like grown-ups. Him, to talk about her aggression issues (and not in the middle of a fight) instead of cheating and lying about it. Her, to tell him about her insecurities in an open way and talk with him, instead of keeping looking for confirmations that he loves her. But they are still kids, not mature enough to take a step back and solve the problem, rather than wrapping op in their own frustration.
Eat Pray Love (2010)
Horribly miscast Julia Roberts enforced by lacking script
Now the worst thing is I don't think the story sucks. I read and reread the book and I LOVED it. Liz, the protagonist, isn't perfect. And she has a lot of humor. To me, she is someone I could identify with easily. And then there's Julia Roberts. Who is just completely wrong for the part. Liz is supposed to be this *don't want to mature* *just somewhat over thirty but so many plans* girl. Seriously, no way an actress of 43 could pull that off. Especially not the way too serious Julia Roberts. Whenever the woman smiles it's sad. That's not Liz! What's worse is that the script screwed up the story badly. And no, not because the story is different, but because the feel of the story is altered. (In the book Liz didn't want to be stuck in the *American dream* with her *so-called perfect* husband. In the movies? Her husband actually would fit her love for adventure. Look at him, loving education (one of Liz's major treats as well). It's hard to sympathize with Liz in the movie, because the script made her a self-obsessed bitch. But Julia Roberts took lack of sympathy to a new level, being so serious about herself. I didn't even finish the movie, it's that bad. However, I can tell you this: don't give up on the book because of the movie. It's way, way better.
Three stars, because there are decent actors in the movie who make it somewhat more bearable...
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Decent, but Kirsten needs to practice her smiling
To be honest, I didn't expect much of this movie. I've seen several Twilight movies (which disappointed me mostly because of the way Kirsten played Bella) and Thor (where Chris Hemsworth was completely unbelievable as Thor, he did a better job in Avengers though). After I've seen this movie, I'll have to adjust my opinion, though only slightly. First of all, let me say this movie has an epic story. So it was quite a disappointment this whole story was compressed into a two- hour movie. As far as I'm concerned, it would've been better with 6 hours, splitted in two parts. The problem arising from the short amount of time this movie lasted, is that character development was not quite believable. The prince appeared rather sudden and the connection between him and Snow White was not quite clear to me. The evil queen was a delight, looking stunning in both looks and performance in every single scene. While I'm at it, I'll have to say the whole movie surprised me with stunning graphics. Chris Hemsworth was surprisingly good, portraying the Hunter. Somehow, I saw a slight similarity with Viggo Mortisens' Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. My boyfriend, who went to see this movie with me, didn't like him though, he thought Chris had few expressions. I think I have to disagree - he did really well. Now, the "bad" part: unsurprisingly, that's Kirsten Stewart. Throughout the movie I've been watching her closely and I now realize what's the part that annoys me. It's not that she can't act. She does an alright job and I have to say I quite enjoyed her in the beginning of the movie. It's also not what other say her lacking facial expressions. She has them alright. Yet: they are ALL dramatic. Which is great when she plays the pained soul, but at certain moments where she was supposed to smile, she didn't. I actually counted 2 more or less genuine smiles throughout the whole movie. Several times when she was supposed to smile, I actually saw the corners of her mouth come up - ever so slightly! And then they fell again. I don't know what's wrong with her, but it appears to me she's just not able to smile really well? Also, I find it a huge stretch to even suggest she's more pretty than the Queen. She looked al right, but she's just not that beautiful. We discussed it later with friends, and Emma Watson would've probably done better on this one (also because of her innocent looks). Go see the movie (or better: rent it). It's not half bad, but it's certainly not great.
Thor (2011)
The good thing is Natalie Portman...
I've read some good reviews before watching this movie so I really looked forward to it. When the movie was half way I thought: hmm... it probably won't get any better. That was true. However, it actually got worse! It wasn't all bad though. Judge for yourself. The bad things: * The plot was 100% predictable, as were the dialogs. Some moments were meant to be touching or even dramatic, but they were so predictable and cliché they were just very funny. Dialogue (okay, maybe not literally but still pretty much): "Oh dad, I just wanted to make you proud!" "Oh son you already have!" Drama moment: Natalie Portman running in slow motion to Thor as he dies. Drama, drama. * The plot didn't make any sense. Okay, so Loki hated his brother (or was at least psycho jealous). Why?! No part of the movie even hints at this in their childhood! Thor was arrogant and violent in the beginning and then overnight he's this great guy who sacrifices himself for others? Jane (played by Natalie Portman) suddenly re-deciding on giving Thor a ride? Why? * Some parts made even less sense than the parts that didn't make any sense: Thor making toast with egg. Yeah, I'm sure they had a lot of experience with that in Asgard. Thor suddenly getting his hammer back. Okay, that was cheesy, but why was he alive again anyway? Wasn't he dead? * Some of the actors were really lousy, especially Thor's friends. They made some dialogs sound really enforced. Pity. * The 3D animations were plain ugly. Especially in the "Earth" world.
So... why a 4 and not a 1? Because... * The movie was so bad we're still talking about it. It was actually so bad it was funny. * There ís quite some humor in the movie. Not gonna spoil them for you, just wait and see. * Some of the actors: Jane, Thor, Odin and Loki are well cast and make the movie manageable to watch. * The animations of the other worlds (Asgard, the rainbow bridge and such) were pretty.
Overall, it's not a terrible movie as long as you don't take it seriously AT ALL. Unfortunately, the plot and some moments and dialogs do hint at a serious movie, and in that respect this movie is really bad.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
Better than Twilight
I really didn't like the second book because of all the drama and depressing thoughts and all that. But the movie was quite good actually. The acting was much better than in Twilight. Especially Kirsten did a better job (I really didn't like her acting in Twilight :)). The movie spent only a little on Bella's pain, but more on Jacob. Also, there was more action. I can't recall Harry being caught by Victoria, but it did look good in the movie. The Volturi-part could've been better. The fight was not only unnecessary, but it also completely ruins the image of the Volturi as peace loving and of Aro wanting Bella & Alice for himself because of their talents. Which is quiet important with regard to Breaking Dawn. About those not-sticking-to-the-book parts some of the people complain about: it's a movie. It's not the same as the book. It's based on the book. There's a difference between those two things. Yeah, some things were changed, but it did make the movie better. Also about the cliffhanger: I loved it. It's a much better ending for a movie than the talk between Jacob and Edward in the book. The only thing is it's too bad Jacob didn't give Charlie Bella's bike because it does play a part in the third book. Overall: a movie very much worth watching. It's not a masterpiece, which to my opinion a fantasy movie rarely is, but the fans should be more than content.
The Proposal (2009)
A lot of jokes with an easy plot
Marriage is hot. Last years, it's all about marriage-movies. Made of honor, 27 dresses, the hangover and now the proposal (I left out a few). The proposal is not bad. It's predictable though. At first it's all just fake, then they fall in love, she runs off, he comes after her, and they live happily ever after. There are some mistakes in the movie as well, quite noticeable. For example, when the two tell the story of the proposal, they say they were just about to celebrate their first year together. But later they say he asked her when they were approximately 6 months together. No, it's certainly no high quality. But it is very feel-good and the jokes are quite funny. Also, there are some parts in the movie, that basically every couple will recognise. That adds up to the fun. Conclusion: yeah, it's OK, yet not even close to a really good movie.
Twilight (2008)
Great cast, great views
I didn't really know what to expect of this movie. I never read the books, but knew most people liked them, so thought it might be worth checking it out. I simply loved it. It's not one of those regular Hollywood-feel-good-movies. But the landscapes are incredibly beautiful and the pain and desire of both Bella and Edward stay even after the film stops. The cast is brilliant: both in play and in appearance. The Cullens are great, Alice being my personal favorite. If you like fast movies, with a lot of action and stuff, you'll probably be disappointed. But for those who love great views and great play: you should definitely see this one.
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Seen better
Just got home back from the cinema... Don't really have a whole lot to share though. The story is kinda cliché, but I hoped Jackie Chan would make things good. In my opinion a movie with Chan simply can't fail. He's just too good. To be short: I find the sparrow-girl's and Jason's acting rather poor. The dialogs are a bit static, very unreal. The surroundings looked a lot like a fairy tale. The fighting and special effects were fun to look at... Chan was great as always and I loved the Monkey King... It's a good movie to sit back and relax without doing any thinking, but in my opinion it does not even come close to a masterpiece.