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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Mid90s (2018) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
At 1 hour 25 minutes you'd be forgiven for thinking this would be a brief affair, but if you're not into it then this 85-minute film is agonisingly long.
Going into this the only thing I knew about this film was that it was directed by Jonah Hill, and I like him so that felt like something positive.
31 people had booked to see this preview at my Cineworld, I think there were maybe 10 of us that showed up. I have to say that there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm from any of us until it was time to leave.
Kudos on going with the 4:3 look on the screen and the grainier quality on the filming (I'm sure there are technical terms for that but I don't know them!) That combined with accurate costumes and settings to really take you back to the 90s. I found the smaller aspect to be rather distracting on the big screen though. I watch 4:3 a lot at home on my widescreen TV without it seeming odd, perhaps this is just one of those things, I go so often that I'm probably just expecting it to fill the whole screen.
The film starts with a particularly jarring scene, and while I don't have an issue with that shock impact I don't like that there's no context. You can infer things later on, but at no point do you explicitly find out the reason behind some of the shocking scenes. The film feels much more like we've been plonked down into his life rather than learning about it.
It's difficult to sum up how I feel about the characters.
Sunny Suljic is fine in the main role but there wasn't anything that wowed me from the role. That's no slur on the acting, I just didn't feel that the dialogue or story gave us more than a glance at his life.
Ray came across as the strongest out of all the skaters, we see a few different aspects of him and he gets a proper chance to open up. Had all the characters had this opportunity then I think we'd have had something much more interesting... but then teenage boys aren't notoriously fans of opening up emotionally on screen unless we're in a romantic film.
Those of you who read my reviews will know how I feel about Lucas Hedges, that is to say, I don't really get it. This role offers little backstory apart from the fact that he clearly has a long passion for beating the crap out of his brother, Stevie. Despite my growing indifference for him I feel like Hedges wasn't given enough time in the movie. I can see why he wasn't, Ian is hyper-aggressive and a very threatening presence so having more of him would have changed the dynamic a lot. Having more of him though might have allowed us to understand him a little bit more and take away some of the unanswered questions at the end of the film.
There are a lot of scenes with drug use and alcohol, and I can see those being relevant to the story, but the "sex" scene was uncomfortable and really didn't feel like it fit in at all. From the moment you see it coming to the point where the boys are prying out details of the encounter I sat there wondering why. Why it needed to be there and why the script was just so bad through it.
The ending was the only part of the film that actually made me feel anything for the characters and the events. That in itself is quite an achievement being that you can tell exactly what is coming. The way the final event is handled was visually striking and leads us into a moment where all the characters get to show something that finally feels like genuine emotion. I think it says a lot that the most effective bits of the film had no dialogue in them. The events at the end of this film saved Mid90s from getting one of the lowest ratings in my reviewing history.
I'd say that had they given over an extra 20 minutes to better character development then this would have been better, but I worry that an extra 20 minutes would just have made the event even more excruciating.
What you should do
I'm sure this has it's audience somewhere, after all, people seem to be raving about it. Sadly I am not that audience and I really can't recommend this to anyone.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I love the idea of making customer skateboards.
Going into this the only thing I knew about this film was that it was directed by Jonah Hill, and I like him so that felt like something positive.
31 people had booked to see this preview at my Cineworld, I think there were maybe 10 of us that showed up. I have to say that there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm from any of us until it was time to leave.
Kudos on going with the 4:3 look on the screen and the grainier quality on the filming (I'm sure there are technical terms for that but I don't know them!) That combined with accurate costumes and settings to really take you back to the 90s. I found the smaller aspect to be rather distracting on the big screen though. I watch 4:3 a lot at home on my widescreen TV without it seeming odd, perhaps this is just one of those things, I go so often that I'm probably just expecting it to fill the whole screen.
The film starts with a particularly jarring scene, and while I don't have an issue with that shock impact I don't like that there's no context. You can infer things later on, but at no point do you explicitly find out the reason behind some of the shocking scenes. The film feels much more like we've been plonked down into his life rather than learning about it.
It's difficult to sum up how I feel about the characters.
Sunny Suljic is fine in the main role but there wasn't anything that wowed me from the role. That's no slur on the acting, I just didn't feel that the dialogue or story gave us more than a glance at his life.
Ray came across as the strongest out of all the skaters, we see a few different aspects of him and he gets a proper chance to open up. Had all the characters had this opportunity then I think we'd have had something much more interesting... but then teenage boys aren't notoriously fans of opening up emotionally on screen unless we're in a romantic film.
Those of you who read my reviews will know how I feel about Lucas Hedges, that is to say, I don't really get it. This role offers little backstory apart from the fact that he clearly has a long passion for beating the crap out of his brother, Stevie. Despite my growing indifference for him I feel like Hedges wasn't given enough time in the movie. I can see why he wasn't, Ian is hyper-aggressive and a very threatening presence so having more of him would have changed the dynamic a lot. Having more of him though might have allowed us to understand him a little bit more and take away some of the unanswered questions at the end of the film.
There are a lot of scenes with drug use and alcohol, and I can see those being relevant to the story, but the "sex" scene was uncomfortable and really didn't feel like it fit in at all. From the moment you see it coming to the point where the boys are prying out details of the encounter I sat there wondering why. Why it needed to be there and why the script was just so bad through it.
The ending was the only part of the film that actually made me feel anything for the characters and the events. That in itself is quite an achievement being that you can tell exactly what is coming. The way the final event is handled was visually striking and leads us into a moment where all the characters get to show something that finally feels like genuine emotion. I think it says a lot that the most effective bits of the film had no dialogue in them. The events at the end of this film saved Mid90s from getting one of the lowest ratings in my reviewing history.
I'd say that had they given over an extra 20 minutes to better character development then this would have been better, but I worry that an extra 20 minutes would just have made the event even more excruciating.
What you should do
I'm sure this has it's audience somewhere, after all, people seem to be raving about it. Sadly I am not that audience and I really can't recommend this to anyone.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I love the idea of making customer skateboards.
Anand Wilder recommended Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse in Music (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated How to be a Perfect Christian in Books
May 26, 2018
Perfection is Within Your Reach
This book does just what the title says. In ten chapters, it tells you exactly how to live like a perfect Christian. Oh, we aren’t worried about the fruit of the spirit or holiness or anything hard like that. We are talking about finding the perfect church (one that is focused on you), “doing life together,” serving without ever lifting a finger, looking spiritual online (I’m sure they left out reviewing this book in that chapter), and quarantining your home from non-Christian culture.
And if you aren’t familiar with The Babylon Bee, it is a fantastic satire site that looks at Christian culture and the world from a Christian perspective. I’ve become addicted to their articles, so when I saw this book was coming out, I had to get it. I’m not kidding when I saw there is a laugh on every page as the book mercilessly mocks what many Christians in modern day America focus on. And there were times that the book convicted me since I live a little too much like the person they are mocking. At least some portions of this book have appeared in shorter form on the site, but everything here blends together perfectly for a comprehensive and very funny whole.
And if you aren’t familiar with The Babylon Bee, it is a fantastic satire site that looks at Christian culture and the world from a Christian perspective. I’ve become addicted to their articles, so when I saw this book was coming out, I had to get it. I’m not kidding when I saw there is a laugh on every page as the book mercilessly mocks what many Christians in modern day America focus on. And there were times that the book convicted me since I live a little too much like the person they are mocking. At least some portions of this book have appeared in shorter form on the site, but everything here blends together perfectly for a comprehensive and very funny whole.
Weirdo is about Sophie, muddling along through her unfulfilling life, in jobs she doesn’t really like, and with a man she doesn’t really like either.
There are some funny parts, and I did feel sorry for Sophie at times, but my overwhelming urge was to give her a good shake and tell her to get some self respect. But then, Sophie seems to be one of life’s loners, and she doesn’t have a friend to steer her in the right direction. She seems to latch on to people who aren’t quite right for her, and whilst that gives the reader some laughs (and I DID laugh), I actually came to realise that I was uncomfortable with that - I was laughing AT her, not WITH her.
She’s immature, getting herself into ridiculous situations, and thinks that everyone should just know how she feels, even though she doesn’t tell them.
I was frustrated for a lot of this book, and if I hadn’t been listening to it, I would have put it down and walked away. I’m glad I listened to the end though, because I promise you, she does improve. This may well be a spoiler, but I like to think that if you’re going to read it, there’s a good reason to carry on!
There are some funny parts, and I did feel sorry for Sophie at times, but my overwhelming urge was to give her a good shake and tell her to get some self respect. But then, Sophie seems to be one of life’s loners, and she doesn’t have a friend to steer her in the right direction. She seems to latch on to people who aren’t quite right for her, and whilst that gives the reader some laughs (and I DID laugh), I actually came to realise that I was uncomfortable with that - I was laughing AT her, not WITH her.
She’s immature, getting herself into ridiculous situations, and thinks that everyone should just know how she feels, even though she doesn’t tell them.
I was frustrated for a lot of this book, and if I hadn’t been listening to it, I would have put it down and walked away. I’m glad I listened to the end though, because I promise you, she does improve. This may well be a spoiler, but I like to think that if you’re going to read it, there’s a good reason to carry on!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Serenity (2019) in Movies
Mar 7, 2019 (Updated Mar 7, 2019)
Not what I expected
I really don’t see what they were trying to do with this film. From the trailer it looks like it should be a dark and gritty thriller with a fantastic cast, and it all honesty it probably should have stuck with that. Instead it has such a bizarre and unexpected twist that really throws off the balance of the entire film. It’s unpredictable (which is unusual for a twist), but it is just so odd and out of place that I spent the rest of the film trying to figure out whether I actually liked the twist or not. In the end, I decided I didn’t.
And as great as the cast are, some of the acting felt a little too over the top and some are a little underused (Djimon Hounsou and Diane Lane). There are also parts of this film where Matthew McConaughey is driving past corn fields in a pickup truck that made me feel like I was watching Interstellar. I really wish I had been watching that instead.
And as great as the cast are, some of the acting felt a little too over the top and some are a little underused (Djimon Hounsou and Diane Lane). There are also parts of this film where Matthew McConaughey is driving past corn fields in a pickup truck that made me feel like I was watching Interstellar. I really wish I had been watching that instead.
Erika (17789 KP) rated The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) in Movies
Nov 10, 2018
For starters, I haven't bothered to read this book, or the next book that weren't written by Stieg Larsson... If this film is any indication of how the book was... I'm glad I didn't waste the time.
There's nothing really wrong with the film, per say, it's an interesting thriller. It really wasn't the Lisbeth Salander I remember, she's been changed into just a bland, strong female character with an edgy look.
It was a strange move for Sony to skip the rest of the original trilogy. I thought Rooney Mara was a fantastic Salander, and I thought Daniel Craig did alright.
Claire Foy did alright, I guess, if that was the script she was given. Still, I couldn't help but compare her, and I don't think I'm the only one that will do that. I did really like Sverrir Gudnason as Blomkvist.
The opening credits tried so hard to be like GWTDT, but failed, and it kind of annoyed me that they even attempted it. Sorry but, you can't compete with a Trent Reznor and KO cover of the Immigrant Song.
There's nothing really wrong with the film, per say, it's an interesting thriller. It really wasn't the Lisbeth Salander I remember, she's been changed into just a bland, strong female character with an edgy look.
It was a strange move for Sony to skip the rest of the original trilogy. I thought Rooney Mara was a fantastic Salander, and I thought Daniel Craig did alright.
Claire Foy did alright, I guess, if that was the script she was given. Still, I couldn't help but compare her, and I don't think I'm the only one that will do that. I did really like Sverrir Gudnason as Blomkvist.
The opening credits tried so hard to be like GWTDT, but failed, and it kind of annoyed me that they even attempted it. Sorry but, you can't compete with a Trent Reznor and KO cover of the Immigrant Song.
Kristina (502 KP) rated The Wife Between Us in Books
Dec 7, 2020
Let me start by saying this: That was unexpected. I usually write notes when I read, jot down theories and emotions, express suspicions or ask questions. While reading this book, that same sentence, "that was unexpected", was repeated over and over. So many people have raved over The Wife Between Us, I was curious. Not to say I'm highly disappointed, but I suppose I feel as if the book didn't live up to the hype. Granted, there were several twists and turns - some I was able to guess correctly and others I could never have predicted - but, overall, it was pretty good. The most intriguing part, for me, was trying to figure out if Vanessa was actually crazy, like her mother, and if I was falling for her altered reality. I would read and read, painting Richard as the villain, then she would say or think something that would make me pause and wonder just how like her mother she really could be. That ending, though, was a total bombshell!
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