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Lucy Buglass (45 KP) rated Marriage Story (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Divorce has been depicted many times onscreen, as it’s one of those difficult realities about adult relationships. There’s still a lot of stigma around the breakdown of a marriage, but Marriage Story deals with the topic in a very raw and unique way.
The film follows Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) as they’re going through the turbulent divorce period. The couple share a young son Henry, who naturally causes complications for the two when it comes to custodial agreements.
Marriage Story opens with two gorgeous monologues about what the two characters love about each other, both of which are enough to make you cry a mere few minutes into the film. This contrasts very well with the present day, where they’re both struggling to make their marriage work.
It would have been very easy for Noah Baumbach to encourage the audience to pick sides, leaving them to subconsciously ‘root’ for either party to do well in the scenario. But remarkably that’s not the case, as it’s a very unbiased film that lays everything out on the table for us to see. Each messy, complicated detail is shown to us, and we end up sympathising with both.
One thing I really enjoyed about Marriage Story is the way Baumbach criticises some of the ridiculousness associated with divorce, especially when it comes to legal battles. Nicole reluctantly turns to ruthless lawyer Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern), who is honest about the lies that have to be told in order to get through this.
Dern’s performance is hilarious but also highlights some of the inequalities and utterly baffling scenarios that happen when picking up a legal case. I wasn’t aware of any of them so it was quite a shock.
Watching the film is excruciating in places, but that’s a compliment on how raw and honest it is. It seems wrong for Charlie and Nicole to have to say and do certain things, all dictated by their respective lawyers. A clean break just isn’t possible when a child is involved.
It becomes even more complicated for the couple when Nicole decides to move back to Los Angeles, 2,789 miles away from New York City where she and Charlie used to reside. This creates a very literal distance between them, and causes problems with the battle for custody and Henry’s wellbeing.
Whilst there are many scenes which will reduce you to tears, Marriage Story has some comedic elements to lighten the mood, especially when it comes to Nicole’s family and how they react to the news of the divorce.
The two central performances in Marriage Story really are exceptional, and you become invested in the lives of people you don’t even know. One dramatic scene between Charlie and Nicole in particular had me openly sobbing, as it was full of contempt instead of love. Many of us can react to that exchange in a failing relationship, and it hurts.
If you want a very honest look at what it’s like to go through a divorce, then Marriage Story is just that. This isn’t the kind of film that sugarcoats anything and instead takes its audience on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
The film follows Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) as they’re going through the turbulent divorce period. The couple share a young son Henry, who naturally causes complications for the two when it comes to custodial agreements.
Marriage Story opens with two gorgeous monologues about what the two characters love about each other, both of which are enough to make you cry a mere few minutes into the film. This contrasts very well with the present day, where they’re both struggling to make their marriage work.
It would have been very easy for Noah Baumbach to encourage the audience to pick sides, leaving them to subconsciously ‘root’ for either party to do well in the scenario. But remarkably that’s not the case, as it’s a very unbiased film that lays everything out on the table for us to see. Each messy, complicated detail is shown to us, and we end up sympathising with both.
One thing I really enjoyed about Marriage Story is the way Baumbach criticises some of the ridiculousness associated with divorce, especially when it comes to legal battles. Nicole reluctantly turns to ruthless lawyer Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern), who is honest about the lies that have to be told in order to get through this.
Dern’s performance is hilarious but also highlights some of the inequalities and utterly baffling scenarios that happen when picking up a legal case. I wasn’t aware of any of them so it was quite a shock.
Watching the film is excruciating in places, but that’s a compliment on how raw and honest it is. It seems wrong for Charlie and Nicole to have to say and do certain things, all dictated by their respective lawyers. A clean break just isn’t possible when a child is involved.
It becomes even more complicated for the couple when Nicole decides to move back to Los Angeles, 2,789 miles away from New York City where she and Charlie used to reside. This creates a very literal distance between them, and causes problems with the battle for custody and Henry’s wellbeing.
Whilst there are many scenes which will reduce you to tears, Marriage Story has some comedic elements to lighten the mood, especially when it comes to Nicole’s family and how they react to the news of the divorce.
The two central performances in Marriage Story really are exceptional, and you become invested in the lives of people you don’t even know. One dramatic scene between Charlie and Nicole in particular had me openly sobbing, as it was full of contempt instead of love. Many of us can react to that exchange in a failing relationship, and it hurts.
If you want a very honest look at what it’s like to go through a divorce, then Marriage Story is just that. This isn’t the kind of film that sugarcoats anything and instead takes its audience on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
Johnny Marr recommended track Gimme Danger by Iggy And The Stooges in Michigan Palace, 10/6/73 by Iggy And The Stooges in Music (curated)
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Misbehaviour (2020) in Movies
Jan 11, 2021
Watchable but a little misdirected
Misbehaviour is a 2020 drama directed by Philippa Lowthorpe based on a true story, that follows a group of women from the Women’s Liberation Movement as they attempt to disrupt the 1970 Miss World pageant being held in London.
Misbehaviour has made a decision to follow four separate stories as they eventually intersect at the Miss World pageant, and I think this is to it’s detriment as it seemed to dilute the main issue about women’s inequality. It follows Sally (Keira Knightley), a history student wanting her place at the table, as she joins forces with Jo Robinson (Jessie Buckley), a radical feminist from the Women’s Liberation Movement who believes in taking physical action as the plot to disrupt the pageant. It also follows 3 other storylines centred around the pageant itself: Eric (Rhys Ifans) and Julia Morley (Keeley Hawes), the creators of the Miss World Pageant as they attempt to respond to controversies surrounding it; Miss Grenada Jennifer Hosten (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) as she takes part in the contest and; Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) who is hosting the pageant. All of these stories together, whilst interesting, mean that not enough time and detail is given to each individual storyline, especially with an under two hour run time.
The film begins with some fairly shocking male behaviour from Sally’s university interviewers and Bob Hope, but sadly it doesn’t carry on in this vein throughout. Had the entire film focused on the behaviour and attitudes women had really experienced during the 70s, it would’ve been a lot more hard hitting and engaging. Instead it comes across as a little too light hearted. The most disturbing scenes were those involving Bob Hope and his clearly inappropriate behaviour, and Greg Kinnear plays him very well although the prosthetic nose is a tad distracting. However the problem with Hope is that his scenes, whilst good, are entirely unnecessary when linked to the main plot and are a big contributor to the dilution of the story.
Misbehaviour looks good, the costume and sets are very in keeping with the time period and so is the music. It also has a rather stellar cast, all of whom put in performances that are very good and not to be criticised – Rhys Ifans provides some much needed comic relief as pageant creator Eric Morley. The standout of all of these is Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer, who brings poise and intrigue to a character with barely any lines and leaves us wanting more. And sadly due to the intersecting storylines, we don’t see enough of her until right at the end, which was far too late. It was also nice to see the real women that inspired this film featured before the credits and find out how they moved forward with their lives.
Overall Misbehaviour is a decent film with good performances with an important message and story to promote. I just wish that instead of trying to tell this story from the point of every key player involved, they had focused on the central subject of the inequality women experienced at the time as this would’ve made Misbehaviour a lot more memorable.
Misbehaviour has made a decision to follow four separate stories as they eventually intersect at the Miss World pageant, and I think this is to it’s detriment as it seemed to dilute the main issue about women’s inequality. It follows Sally (Keira Knightley), a history student wanting her place at the table, as she joins forces with Jo Robinson (Jessie Buckley), a radical feminist from the Women’s Liberation Movement who believes in taking physical action as the plot to disrupt the pageant. It also follows 3 other storylines centred around the pageant itself: Eric (Rhys Ifans) and Julia Morley (Keeley Hawes), the creators of the Miss World Pageant as they attempt to respond to controversies surrounding it; Miss Grenada Jennifer Hosten (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) as she takes part in the contest and; Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) who is hosting the pageant. All of these stories together, whilst interesting, mean that not enough time and detail is given to each individual storyline, especially with an under two hour run time.
The film begins with some fairly shocking male behaviour from Sally’s university interviewers and Bob Hope, but sadly it doesn’t carry on in this vein throughout. Had the entire film focused on the behaviour and attitudes women had really experienced during the 70s, it would’ve been a lot more hard hitting and engaging. Instead it comes across as a little too light hearted. The most disturbing scenes were those involving Bob Hope and his clearly inappropriate behaviour, and Greg Kinnear plays him very well although the prosthetic nose is a tad distracting. However the problem with Hope is that his scenes, whilst good, are entirely unnecessary when linked to the main plot and are a big contributor to the dilution of the story.
Misbehaviour looks good, the costume and sets are very in keeping with the time period and so is the music. It also has a rather stellar cast, all of whom put in performances that are very good and not to be criticised – Rhys Ifans provides some much needed comic relief as pageant creator Eric Morley. The standout of all of these is Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer, who brings poise and intrigue to a character with barely any lines and leaves us wanting more. And sadly due to the intersecting storylines, we don’t see enough of her until right at the end, which was far too late. It was also nice to see the real women that inspired this film featured before the credits and find out how they moved forward with their lives.
Overall Misbehaviour is a decent film with good performances with an important message and story to promote. I just wish that instead of trying to tell this story from the point of every key player involved, they had focused on the central subject of the inequality women experienced at the time as this would’ve made Misbehaviour a lot more memorable.
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Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies
Jan 6, 2018
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Return (Redemption, #3) in Books
Feb 27, 2019
This prodigal-son-returns-home story is one of my absolute favorites of Ms. Kingsbury's Baxter family books. Luke's character is the baby of the family, and she chiseled him so well in these stories. I was so excited years ago when I learned he had a book where his story was center. I loved revisiting him!
What would you feel like if everything you ever believed in was ripped away in one tragic instant? That's what Luke battles and I was so angry with him for so long in this book! I found myself on more than one occasion wanting to throw the book across the room. But, in trademark Kingsbury fashion, she weaved messages of hope, forgiveness, understanding and acceptance into her pages, and it wrapped me up instantly. Luke's story is a powerful one and I will forever love it.
This book should be able to get more than a simple 5 star rating. This book is emotional, utterly raw and absolutely breathtaking. The characters are now your family, the lessons are yours. All of it wrap up to make one unforgettable novel in a sweep-you-off-your-feet series. Ms. Kingsbury's shelf is graced with Luke's story and when someone asks me my favorites, his will always be one of the first to slip off the shelf. Well done, once again, on another amazing addition to this incredible family story.
*I purchased this book for my personal collection. Cafinated Reads was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
What would you feel like if everything you ever believed in was ripped away in one tragic instant? That's what Luke battles and I was so angry with him for so long in this book! I found myself on more than one occasion wanting to throw the book across the room. But, in trademark Kingsbury fashion, she weaved messages of hope, forgiveness, understanding and acceptance into her pages, and it wrapped me up instantly. Luke's story is a powerful one and I will forever love it.
This book should be able to get more than a simple 5 star rating. This book is emotional, utterly raw and absolutely breathtaking. The characters are now your family, the lessons are yours. All of it wrap up to make one unforgettable novel in a sweep-you-off-your-feet series. Ms. Kingsbury's shelf is graced with Luke's story and when someone asks me my favorites, his will always be one of the first to slip off the shelf. Well done, once again, on another amazing addition to this incredible family story.
*I purchased this book for my personal collection. Cafinated Reads was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
ClareR (6106 KP) rated Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy #1) in Books
Apr 2, 2019
Warning: this is not a book for the faint-hearted! It took concentration and commitment, and most importantly, time. It’s not a book to rush through, and the first 100 pages or so were particularly hard work. I’ll admit I struggled, I persevered, and I am SO glad that I did. It’s like nothing else I’ve read before. Fantasy set in African culture: its raw, and there’s a lot of reference to African myth and folk tales. It’s a fascinating and exciting book; exciting both in the sense of pace (there are lots of fight scenes) and in the sense of originality.
This isn’t an organised band of Merry Men (they’re not all men, and they’re not very merry, to be honest), and they really don’t seem to like one another very much.
Tracker, the main character, is something of an anti-hero. He doesn’t seem to really know why he’s on this quest at the beginning (but that soon changes), he has a low opinion of his fellow companions, and likes nothing better than a good fight and good sex (there is a lot of both). The characters of the Leopard and the children were there to show the softer side of Tracker, I think, although Tracker is as much infuriated by Leopard as he loves him (he wouldn’t admit to that though!)
I can’t wait to see where Marlon James takes this story in the second part of this series. I’ll most definitely be reading it!
This isn’t an organised band of Merry Men (they’re not all men, and they’re not very merry, to be honest), and they really don’t seem to like one another very much.
Tracker, the main character, is something of an anti-hero. He doesn’t seem to really know why he’s on this quest at the beginning (but that soon changes), he has a low opinion of his fellow companions, and likes nothing better than a good fight and good sex (there is a lot of both). The characters of the Leopard and the children were there to show the softer side of Tracker, I think, although Tracker is as much infuriated by Leopard as he loves him (he wouldn’t admit to that though!)
I can’t wait to see where Marlon James takes this story in the second part of this series. I’ll most definitely be reading it!
Dana (24 KP) rated Thirteen Reasons Why in Books
Mar 23, 2018
Listening to this as a audio book makes you feel like you are a part of the list as well which makes it that much more emotional.
I held off on reading this book for the longest time. From what I had surmised from people talking to me about it, I thought it was almost promoting suicide. And while it talks about suicide, there is no promoting at all.
This book is focusing on human connection and how much just being there can help change a person's plans. It fosters communication and will (since the Netflix adaptation) be able to be used more in high school settings to get people to understand the repercussions of bullying.
I can say with certainty that I very much enjoyed this book. Yes, it was hard to read, mainly because I knew how it was going to end, but I think it was necessary for me to read as well. The raw emotion that Asher is able to bring into the story was very powerful and beautiful.
The characters were all very complex. Hannah, while calling people out on their actions, still tried to give multiple sides to the story. Clay is able to stand in for the readers when he talks to Hannah through the recording. We get to see his side of Hannah, things that she cannot admit to or see herself.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it if you have not read it yourself.
I held off on reading this book for the longest time. From what I had surmised from people talking to me about it, I thought it was almost promoting suicide. And while it talks about suicide, there is no promoting at all.
This book is focusing on human connection and how much just being there can help change a person's plans. It fosters communication and will (since the Netflix adaptation) be able to be used more in high school settings to get people to understand the repercussions of bullying.
I can say with certainty that I very much enjoyed this book. Yes, it was hard to read, mainly because I knew how it was going to end, but I think it was necessary for me to read as well. The raw emotion that Asher is able to bring into the story was very powerful and beautiful.
The characters were all very complex. Hannah, while calling people out on their actions, still tried to give multiple sides to the story. Clay is able to stand in for the readers when he talks to Hannah through the recording. We get to see his side of Hannah, things that she cannot admit to or see herself.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it if you have not read it yourself.