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Jennifer's Body (2009)
Jennifer's Body (2009)
2009 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
7
6.4 (17 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The best way to describe Jennifer's Body is that it's pretty middle of the road. Nothing spectacular, but still pretty entertaining, and a would-be standard demonic posession horror-comedy if it wasn't for some good turns from the cast.

The plot revolves around popular high school teen Jennifer (Megan Fox) becoming possessed after a satanic ritual goes awry. Her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) is caught in the crossfire as she tries to find a way to stop Jennifer's murderous Succubus ways.
The movie misses a trick in its titular character. Megan Fox is good at the whole evil schtick, but Jennifer is possessed for about 95% of the runtime, and for that entire duration, she's an absolute douche. We don't see enough of Jennifer beforehand to feel much sympathy towards her. A flashback sequence dealing with how she ended up possessed starts to lean in that direction, but it's an opportunity that's not explored enough. It feels like there's a message in here about the pressures put on women in today's culture to always look the part. An important message indeed, but it's gets lost somewhat in this oversight.
Amanda Seyfried is the real lead here, and her character is wholly sympathetic, and a huge bonus for the overall film. The relationship between her and her boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons) is believable and often humourous, and together, they add so much to this movie.
It's also worth mentioning that Adam Brody and J.K. Simmons are both great, and definitely provide the best comedic moments.

The scares are spread pretty thin, but there are a few creepy moments here and there, and some decent gore for good measure. A lot of it seemed practical as well which is always a plus. The little CGI on display is a bit dodgy, but a minor gripe.

Overall then, Jennifer's Body is an imperfect, but solidly entertaining splatter film that tries to capture the struggles of being a teenager, and kind of succeeds, and is certainly worth a watch.
  
Love, Simon (2018)
Love, Simon (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A teen angst rom-com for the modern age. It follows formula plot points well trodden except that Simon (played charmingly by Nick Robinson) is gay. This was a big step forward for a major studio such as 20th Century Fox to give it the mainstream film treatment it deserves.
There's some great music and a likeable cast, and plenty of humour.
On first watch you're kept guessing on who the mystery love interest Blue is and end up just as relieved/pleased as Simon when the truth is revealed.
Jennifer Garner as Simon's Mum gives a perfect speech at one point that makes me well up each time I see it. It stands up well to repeat viewings. A recommendation for anyone to watch, not just for teens.

Thanks to Smashbomb for the dvd!
  
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Jennifer's Body (2009)
2009 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
6
6.4 (17 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Devil's Kettle is a small town where everyone knows everybody. The story revolves around the relationship between Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer (Megan Fox) and other than having similar interests, the two are polar opposites. Needy is more of the quiet, girl next door type that is a bit of a bookworm with a heart of gold whereas Jennifer is more spontaneous, mean spirited, and the stuck-up, hot cheerleader type that every high school boy seems to dream about being with. One night, Jennifer drags Needy to Melody Lane, the one bar in town, to see a new flavor of the week indie band called Low Shoulder. When the bar catches on fire and most of the people inside are crushed or burned in the destruction, Needy thinks that's where this horrible night gone wrong would end. That is until Jennifer decides to go off with the band in their van and Needy has to make her way back home alone. After that night, a demon is transferred into Jennifer's body with an unquenchable hunger for high school guys. As Needy begins to accept what's happened to her BFF, she realizes that she's the only one that has a chance of stopping Jennifer once and for all.

Other than Megan Fox, the other factor that was pushed really hard in the advertising campaign for Jennifer's Body was the fact that Diablo Cody, the screenwriter for Juno, was attached to this film. To be honest, I think Cody's contributions are what I enjoyed most. The dialogue and humor of the film are both witty and laugh out loud funny at times. The writing, in general, made what otherwise would have been your average horror film worth watching and fairly entertaining in the long run.

This is probably the best we've seen acting-wise when it comes to Megan Fox. She isn't much other than eye candy in the Transformers films and was just an egotistical tramp that just so happened to be a rising star in How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. Other than the demonic possession part, her role in Jennifer's Body isn't too different from her role in How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. I'd give most of the credit to Cody's great writing, but Fox is actually able to display a bit more of her acting range this time around. While it probably isn't much compared to, you know, actresses with talent and she sounds like she has a cold most of the time, it's more than what we've seen from the actress in the past and everyone has to start somewhere.

The storyline doesn't offer much fresh material when it comes to horror films, but it gets the job done. The ending offers a bit of a different take on what would otherwise be an ending that would leave room for a sequel. With the conclusion to Jennifer's Body, however, it's more open ended. They could stop here and it would be a fine stand alone film, but it leaves enough questions unanswered that a sequel could see the light of day. Since the movie only made around $18 million worldwide, a sequel seeing theatrical distribution seems unlikely. A direct to DVD sequel with B-actors is definitely a possibility though. Aren't they always with horror films?

Jennifer's Body is superbly written on one hand, but feels like a run of the mill horror film on the other. The high point is definitely the screenplay by Diablo Cody, who manages to make Megan Fox's acting abilities look better than they ever have. But it seems the films enjoyment will rest solely on the shoulders of how much you enjoy horror films that don't shy away from blood. If you're not a fan of horror, I'd recommend staying away from this one. But if you're a fan of great writing, quite a bit of blood, horror, or Megan Fox's sex appeal then you should definitely give this one a go.
  
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Lenard (726 KP) created a post

Jan 12, 2020  
Final Oscar Nomination Predictions
This has been a weird year where it seems like you cannot base the BP noms on an equitable studio split or traditional metrics. I do not think there will be 10 and there is a good chance that only 8 will get nominated again, but I have no idea which film will be snubbed so here are the predictions for 2020.

BEST PICTURE
1917 (Universal)
Ford v Ferrari (Fox)
The Irishman (Netflix)
Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight)
Joker (Warner Bros)
Little Women (Columbia)
Marriage Story (Netflix)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Columbia)
Parasite (Neon)

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit

BEST ACTOR
Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Lupita Nyongo, Us (here is where preferential balloting is good)
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renee Zellweger, Judy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (His speech solidified his nom)
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell (my longshot, but ScarJo is not respected in Hollywood)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won, Parasite
Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
People talk about a lack of female direction nomination, but screenplay is just as void.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Joker
Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
I wish there was room for Lorene Scafaria.
     
The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer (Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees #1)
The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer (Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees #1)
Jennifer Cody | 2022 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE TROUBLE WITH TRYING TO DATE A MURDERER is the first book in a new series by Jennifer Cody, Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees.

Told from Romily's point of view, we find out he had his vocal cords removed as a child, and lived through two mass murder attempts. For someone who is mute, he has a lot to say! And he manages just fine - so long as he has his trust mobile phone to hand, plus his attitude - he is able to get his meaning across.

I wasn't too sure about reading this book as Rom-Com isn't really my thing, due to the very personal nature of humour. However, I would say that Ms Cody has pulled this off brilliantly. The story keeps moving along, helped by Romily's sass, and you will be swept away by it.

I do wish it had had more in the way of world-building and relationship-building. The world wasn't so hard because I just simply saw it as contemporary and that was it. But I do like some build-up to the relationship side. I read more about who and what a Harbinger is and does than I did about how Romily and Fox went from being attracted to so much more.

Still, this was a thoroughly enjoyable, wacky, crazy book that I have no hesitation in recommending.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 10, 2022