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Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
Flawless vibes, terrible adaptation
Ok so having finished the show now, if I was going to review this as a lover of 70s music and fashion and Fleetwood Mac I'd be giving it a 10/10. The whole atmosphere and aesthetic is perfect.
The costumes are incredible, with each character having their own unique style, I will be saving half of the outfits to my Pinterest for sure.
The music is also great, the songs are catchy and a particular shoutout to whoever wrote the guitar parts, if you'd told me that those parts were written by Lindsey Buckingham himself I'd have believed you.
However, as a fan of the book, I'm so disappointed. I'm usually very chilled about them making changes in adaptations. I get that you have to change things to make things fit for TV. And I will say that the casting was amazing, all the actors were fantastic and exactly how I'd imagined them in the book, a lot of things were taken word-for-word from the book and for the first 5 or 6 episodes I was absolutely loving the show!
But if felt to me like there was just a fundamental misunderstanding of the point of the book and that's what makes it fail as an adaptation for me. The book is a story about addiction that uses a romance as a metaphor for temptation, whereas the show is a generic romance plot about people who do drugs.
And the worst crime of all, what did they do to Camila?? Camila in the book is a stabilising force, a quiet strength that acts as the glue to keep everyone together where in the show they've turned her into a cheaply written jealous wife. Where is her trust for her husband? Where is her belief in Daisy? Where is the scene that acts as emotional climax of the book?? I'm so baffled by what they decided to do with this narrative. Can we have a do-over that does justice to the book's most interesting character please?
Amsterdam (2022)
Wanted to be quirky but couldn't quite commit.
This film showed a lot of promise but just missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the story and the characters and there were some really great moments of comedy. I thought the main 3 actors were great, as they always are. It is only very loosely based on history but they did basically say that at the beginning so I didn't mind that but if that's going to bother you I'd give this a miss. I enjoyed the focus on the way that black American soldiers were treated in the war, feel like that's something I don't often see discussed. And whoever was in charge of the set design for this film did a great job, some of the set design was stunning.
So it had a lot of potential to be great but there was just something missing. The main thing was that I felt like this film was desperately trying to be quirky but didn't want to fully commit which meant it just felt a bit like a mediocre Wes Anderson rip-off. The first half of the film was like a string of celebrity cameos like they were trying to show off the fact that they spent their whole budget on casting. The costumes were not as good as they could have been for the time period, there was no particularly interesting cinematography, the soundtrack was unmemorable. There was just nothing about this that made it stand out which is unfortunate because of how good it could have been.
Disenchanted (2022)
An easy, fun time
The reviews for this make it sound like it's awful but I thought it was fun. It's definitely not as much of a comedy as the first film and a bit more of a standard Disney film but it does that well. It was fun seeing the characters again and where they've ended up, the songs were decent, the visuals were suitably magical and I thought the message was lovely and heartwarming. And they actually gave Idina Menzel a song in this one which is the greatest flaw of the first one imo. I'm not sure what people are expecting from this but if you go in expecting a fun Disney film that you don't have to think too much about I think you'll be perfectly satisfied.
Almost Famous (2000)
Impeccable vibes, not much substance
I know this is like a classic but it's a pretty standard MPDG set up. None of the characters are particularly well developed. But I liked it anyway. If you love the 70s rock scene as much as I do then it's an enjoyable watch, just be prepared for the story to have not aged particularly well.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
I'm ... Conflicted
There were aspects of this a really enjoyed but it was just so dark that it changed the whole experience for me. I think if you're like me and dislike horror films I would give this a miss, it was just too much for me, especially for what I expect from a marvel film.
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
I usually love pretentious art trash but this...
I started this film so sure that I would love it, I love quirkiness and stuff that's open to interpretation and there were moments in this that were truly stunning but like I just had no clue what was happening or what the message was supposed to be, it just seemed nonsensical... I don't know maybe the film's just too smart for me but if a significant portion of your audience are finishing your film saying they didn't understand it it probably means you didn't do your job well enough...
The Dig (2021)
Well done but unnecessary
This is the type and style of film that I normally love but this one just didn't connect with me.
To start with the positive, the casting was great, Carey Mulligan is fantastic as always. The cinematography was beautiful, the dialogue was well written and felt really believable.
Now to my issues with the film:
To start with, a lot of my criticisms are just things that irritate me personally in films and they're to do with editing. The main ones being:
a) when the music is more dramatic than the scene warrants. The score for this was nice but just like these big, dramatic, orchestral pieces for like most of the film when there was not all that much happening.
B) the overuse of the thing where there's dialogue playing over a different scene. This works when the scene happening is relevant to the dialogue or if there's a clear connection or dramatic irony at play or if it's used for like a few seconds as a scene changeover. But this was like long bits of conversation playing over like a bit of a scene that was completely unimportant. Like we're hearing a conversation but seeing the characters walking to the place where they're having that conversation for a really long time for no reason... that just bothers me when it's used frequently in a film, I'd much rather see the conversation that's actually happening
But my actual main criticism of this film was that I just didn't feel like there was enough story to fill a film. The story and the characters just weren't particularly interesting for me. I don't really feel like I learned anything or took anything away really. I didn't connect emotionally with any of it really and there wasn't really the highs and lows of tension that you expect from a film.
And don't get me wrong, I usually love a slow film when it's well done but this just felt like a bit of a waste of time to me so I was disappointed, I was so sure I was going to love this film but...never mind!
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)
Was it good? No. Was it fun? Sure
I had a fun time with this, especially considering Suicide Squad is maybe my least favourite film ever. It was fittingly absurd and over the top for the character, the action scenes were actually really cool, the soundtrack was cool and I loved the costuming. I was very glad this was not directed by a man!
It did obviously have some glaring issues. It had the classic ensemble film problem of not having time to develop either the characters or the plot, would've been far better as a Harley movie rather than trying to shoehorn the other characters in for like one scene at the end.
Also while he may be a classic comic villain, choosing a white guy who has a collection of African masks and art who wears a black full face mask when he's in "villain mode" was... a choice...
So I'd say it was generally entertaining if you decide not to overanalyse it and refreshing to see a comic book film with a cast of women who aren't continuously sexualised throughout so that's a plus...
Plus One (2019)
A romcom that actually feels genuine
I don't know why the rating on this is so low, I found this to be both a heartwarming romcom but it also just felt really real to me. The couple have great chemistry, it wasn't full of the stalker behaviour that you get in a lot of romcoms, the drama was a little predictable but not over the top or unbelievable and there were some really lovely moments and great quotes and exploration of love. I really loved this film and you should definitely watch it
Ginny & Georgia (2021)
Like Gilmore Girls with the angst turned up to 100
This show was super dramatic with a bunch of angst and most definitely entertaining.
There were some attempts to approach deeper topics but they were never actually really explored. The mother/daughter dynamic is basically a rip off of Gilmore Girls which they do joke about but it was quite obvious.
The topic they do the best job of actually exploring was the experience of growing up as a mixed-race girl in a predominantly white area. There was some interesting discussion and it felt quite genuine (although I am white so I guess I can't really speak on that with any authority).
Overall it was entertaining if you want something with a bit of drama and angst but that isn't super heavy.
Tws: self-harm, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, sexual/physical abuse
The Mandalorian (2019)
I'm a huge Star Wars fan but this was... meh
As someone who has grown up adoring Star Wars and the whole SW universe, I felt this show was lacking in most of what I love about Star Wars.
It was lacking that SW banter between characters, in fact, I didn't care at all about any of the characters since we didn't have a chance to actually get to know any of them. We were following the most lifeless and and overdone trope of the "tough guy" protagonist who is unable to show any real emotion throughout the show due to the fact we don't see his face (he did a good job considering but it's a tough gig). The side characters were pretty generic and uninteresting, as was the plot.
I feel as though I could have just watched the first episode and the last two and I'd have been satisfied, the rest seemed like it was just filling time and not achieving anything. It felt more like it should have been a video game than a tv show.
Anyway, I didn't hate it and I'm holding out hope that season 2 is better and expands on the story more but with all the hype this has received I was quite disappointed.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Authentically "Star Wars"
I thought that this film was a great addition to the franchise. It had enough references to the original films to be filled with nostalgia for those of us who grew up with Star Wars and I thought that went a long way in explaining why Han Solo is the way he is. It had humour, emotional moments, adventure and suspense.
I thought that the cast was superb. Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover both had big shoes to fill but it was clear to me that they'd put a lot of working into studying the performances of their characters in the original trilogy. You could see this in the way they moved, their mannerisms, even the inflections of their voices at times.
The film did well to avoid some cliches that would have made it extremely predictable and still felt authentic to the tone of the original films (my main criticism of The Last Jedi was that it lost this tone completely).
At its core, Star Wars is all about the unlikely hero breaking the rules a little to save the day and this film definitely fulfilled that. Overall I think that it was probably my favourite of this "third wave" of Star Wars films so far.
Black Panther (2018)
Best Marvel Film since Winter Soldier
I saw Black Panther yesterday, having not seen any trailers and not really knowing much about it, and I absolutely loved it! I've been a little disappointed with most of the recent Marvel films so I wasn't sure what I'd think of this one but I was pleasantly surprised.
Black Panther follows the story of King T'Challa of Wakanda, a hidden African nation filled with advanced technology, and his battle to protect his country.
This film was obviously a huge step forward in diversity. The cast is mostly black and the women are refreshingly not stereotypical and not over sexualised. It's so nice to see women portrayed as smart, political, and strong but with complex emotions and ambitions rather than being portrayed simply as the romantic interest or the warrior.
I thought that the story was brilliant. In the past, Marvel has not shied away from making political statements in their films and this was no different. There were moments that moved me to tears, the characters were likeable and well-developed, and the plot was clever, believable and well paced.
The visuals in this film were absolutely stunning. The use of colour, in particular, really helped to establish the beauty of the country of Wakanda. The costumes were vibrant and the special effects were amazing.
It did have a bit of a different feel to a lot of the Marvel films. This was potentially due, in part, to the fact that it was mostly separate from the previously established world of The Avengers. Most of the recent Marvel films have included cameos of various members of The Avengers or other well-established Marvel characters whereas Black Panther did not. Since T'Challa had already been introduced in Civil War, there was no need to connect this too strongly with The Avengers. To me it felt enough like it was part of the univere but a little secluded, like Wakanda.
My only real issue with Black Panther was that the humour fell a little flat. It felt like an awkward dad trying to be "down with the kids". This was particularly disappointing as Marvel films often have the perfect balance of action, emotion and comedy whereas it just didn't work in this film.
Overall though I immediately fell in love with this film and I cannot wait to see how it links in to the rest of the Marvel universe in Avengers: Infinity War.
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Had so much potential to be amazing but didn't live up to it
I was really excited about seeing this film. I had heard good things about it and I knew that it was the same songwriters that were involved in La La Land which is one of my favourite films and so I went in to this with high expectations. And I was extremely disappointed.
The Greatest Showman is a Michael Gracey film starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron and Zendaya. It follows the story of P.T. Barnum and his journey with the circus and show business.
Let's start with the things I did like.
I thought that the cinematography was beautiful, the vibrant colours, the moments of slow motion and the visual effects were stunning. If you are a particularly visual person when it comes to films, I would recommend this film to you.
I also liked the dance routines throughout the film. There is a particular moment with Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams on a rooftop that is really lovely choreography and a routine with Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron that I thought was very well done.
The acting was generally not bad, it was well cast and I thought that the actors all fit the roles very well.The story was generally entertaining, though fairly simple.
Now onto the things that I didn't like:
As a musical, I was expecting the music to be good. However, I felt that the lyrics were reasonably uncreative and the general sound of the music felt, almost, too polished for the context of the film. The thing that makes musicals like La La Land so good is that the songs feel a little rough around the edges (although obviously still well performed) and that's what makes them believable and vulnerable.
Also, my first thought about the music in this film was that the songs all sounded kind of the same to me. I figured that was just me not quite paying attention in the moment, but going and listening back to them now I still feel as though there's not much variety in the dynamics of the soundtrack. I feel like they needed some quieter, simpler moments to contrast the big, powerful numbers so that they have more impact.
I was expecting this film to explore topics like equality and being proud of who you are. And while they sort of touched on these, they were never really explored properly. In particular, the romance in the film that could have easily been an exploration of racial segregation preventing the couple from being together, but it was just never really developed and was instead just a very shallow, half-hearted romantic sub-plot with no real impact.
I spent the whole film feeling as though it was missing something stylistically and it took me a while to figure out what that was. It was missing an element of madness in the way that it was filmed. When I think of the circus I think of garish colours, loud noises and a bit of chaos. However I didn't feel chaotic to me. It was as if they needed to take some inspiration from Baz Luhrmann's style in films like Moulin Rouge where it does feel a bit mad but it fits the setting so well. But everything felt too polished and nice and it just made it seem unbelievable.
Overall it wasn't terrible but I felt as though it had the potential to be so much better.