May Movie Madness! (Pt. 2)

Everything, Everything
7/10
Leitersburg Cinema

A teenager who's spent her whole life confined to her home falls for the boy next door

SE got me this book for my birthday, and I started reading it as soon as I got home for the summer. I really liked the book, and there were even some things about it that I liked more, dare I say, than The Fault In Our Stars. It's kind of like a more colorful, creative version of that type of story, and I really appreciated it. I feel that the movie lived up to the book for the most part--it was pretty faithful to everything that happened in the book, and I think they picked the perfect girl for the main role (Amandla Stenberg). I will say, however, that while the book felt like it was targeted towards my age group, the movie definitely felt targeted towards girls younger than me. Like the book is appropriate for high school-college age girls, but the movie felt more like something I would have swooned over in middle school. It was still quite enjoyable, and I would watch it again. Also, can I just say how much I LOVED Amandla Stenberg's hair in this movie? It. Is. So. Pretty. I think I kept my eyes on her absolutely gorgeous hair more than her face, and I'm okay with that.

Gran Torino
8.5/10
DVD

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

Once again, my parents' taste is on point. They've talked about this movie a lot, but I'd never actually seen it before, so in my mind all it was about was some guy who stole Clint Eastwood's car and Clint Eastwood had to avenge him or something?? And like, that did NOT sound like my kind of movie at all. I really thought it was some dimly lit action-drama with lots of Eastwood's token breathy quips. Boy was I wrong. This movie was so unique and different than anything I've ever seen before, and it dealt with race in the most gentle, realistic and heartfelt way I have ever experienced in a movie. I don't even know how to describe it other than this: imagine one of your racist elderly relatives having to come to terms with their ethnic neighbors. How would it all go down? Would they learn to respect and understand each other? This movie gives a really earnest glimpse into that dynamic that isn't explored that much-- if at all-- in popular media. Some people might think Clint Eastwood is past his prime, but I beg to differ. In fact I think it's quite the opposite. The films he's making now in his old age are so thoughtful and evocative. I think I may like Gran Torino even better than I liked Million Dollar Baby, and that movie made me bawl like a--well, like a baby. Something else I really liked about this movie were the performances by the young girl and boy. They were stellar! I haven't seen either actor in anything else, but I hope they have fruitful careers because they were so so good. Also Clint Eastwood's son's cameo was hilarious.

A Holiday Engagement
6.5/10
Netflix

Afraid to tell her family she's been dumped, Hillary hires an actor to play her fiancé during a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend at her parents' house.


Yes I'm watching a Hallmark Christmas movie in May, why do you ask? Yes it's one I've seen several times before, what's it to ya? This movie doesn't have a whole lot to recommend itself, but I will say it's better than plenty of other Hallmark movies I've seen: the guy is cute and has an actual personality, the girl isn't a total bimbo, they get to actually spend time together and fall in love through that time, there's a family aspect which is fun, and it's Christmas so there's some automatic points! Sure, it's the same old Fake-Fiance-For-The-Holidays plotline that Hallmark has been using (and will continue to use) for years, but I liked this take on it much better than some other ones I've seen. (And admittedly, not as much as others)...

Precious
8/10
DVD

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.



At the end of the school year when I actually had some time to read a book, I read the book Push by Sapphire which this movie is based on. It was a really unique read, the type that I think deserves the "classic" status that it has accrued over the years. Then the other week when I was yardsaling with my grandparents, I saw this movie for sale for $1. I obviously snatched it up right away. This movie isn't on Netflix or Hulu or YouTube, so I'd exhausted all legal and semi-legal options for watching it outside of straight up purchasing the DVD, so when I saw it for so cheap I didn't even give it a second thought. I'm glad. It was every bit as good as the book. The cast is absolutely perfect for the roles, (I can't believe the main girl had never ever done any professional acting before! And I love Monique and thought she did such a moving job as the mother!) and it doesn't stray from the book at all (at least not that I can remember). I mean it leaves some stuff out, which is understandable, but it doesn't add anything. The one thing about this story as both a book and a movie that I have a problem with is the fact that it's marketed as a story of hope, but by the end, I didn't feel very hopeful. I just felt completely heartbroken and gutwrenched and provoked. And those are all really powerful feelings for a story to make you feel, but I wish I could understand what about this I was supposed to find hopeful. I do so love the conversations that this story brings up, and I think it's the type of story that should be read (and then watched) in school. It's so much more relevant and necessary than Shakespeare.

Fill the Void
8.5/10
STARZ Free Trial on Amazon

A young Hasidic Jewish woman is pressured into an arranged levirate marriage to an older widower.



I think sometimes filmmakers forget that we have imaginations. They almost show us TOO much, make the feelings of the characters too obvious so that we don't have to think about anything. But the makers of Fill the Void didn't fall prey that that mistake at all. In fact, the more I think about this movie, the more I like it, because it was all so implicit, so implied, that I have to create large chunks of the story for myself in my head. Which for some people might be an annoyance, but for me I really liked it because it made me have to really think about and analyze what I was watching.

The pacing was slow at parts, and some things were probably dampened a bit through translation. (the whole movie is in Hebrew..I think Hebrew...whatever it was it's a beautiful language). Because of these factors, it's one of those movies that I'm probably the only person I know who could get through it. I'm glad I did. I like it more and more the more I keep thinking about it!

I love love love that this is a movie that doesn't use religion as a joke or a prop or a trope. It just uses religion for what it is: a way of life that shapes the choices the characters have to make. Granted, I could have done without those weird locks of hair all the guys were sporting (they were Hasidic Jews) but luckily the main dude Yochay was good looking enough that it was a little easier to look past them. Can I just pause for a moment and show you how crazy this is?? Here's a picture of Yochay in the movie:

And here's a picture of the actor who plays him:

Like, um, are you kidding me??????? He's such a babe without that weird fur hat and the curls!! No disrespect to Judaism at all, but just think about how there are probably tons of honeys out there in the Jewish community but you'll never know about it because of the way they dress! I guess that kind of goes for any religion that dresses a certain way. There are probably some super-fine Amish guys but we just can't see the forest for the trees (or rather the hotness for the bowl cut) as "outsiders". Anyway, that was an odd tangent. Let's get back on track. 

A lot of the other reviews and summaries I read for this movie compared the style and story structure to that of Jane Austen, and I can definitely see that influence. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Because it makes the simplest, tiniest moments seem incredibly romantic, and it allows women to be feminists and still enjoy romance and love. ALSO, the director of this movie, Rama Burshtein is the first Hasidic Jewish woman to direct a movie EVER. How stinking awesome is that??? I just think that's so cool. And makes the entire world of the movie that much more believable. 

Anyway, I stayed up way too late watching this movie and I"m going to regret it in the morning, I just know it. Also, the main girl, Shira, looked so much like the girl who sat next to me in CCC that it almost makes me wonder if maybe she has a secret Hebrew acting career tucked away on the side...

Love at First Fight
10/10
Strand Releasing Free Trial on Amazon

Usually I hate IMDb's summaries, but I actually really like this one:


Between his friends and the family business, Arnaud's summer looks set to be a peaceful one. Peaceful until he runs into Madeleine, as beautiful as she is brusque, a concrete block of tensed muscles and doomsday prophecies. He expects nothing; she prepares for the worst. He takes things as they come, likes a good laugh. She fights, runs, swims, pushes herself to the limit. Given she hasn't asked him for anything, just how far will he go along with her? It's a love story. Or a story of survival. Or both.


OH MY GOODNESS THIS WAS SO CUTE! I loved this movie like crazy. I guess I'm in the mood for foreign films or something, because these last two movies I watched have been absolutely hitting the mark for me! (This one was in French). I think there are a lot of things that foreign films do that American films would never try. Plus when you watch an American movie you usually recognize at least one of the actors which, whether you like it or not, does take you out of the story a bit. Plus it's easy to not pay attention to a movie in English because you talk yourself into thinking you can watch it or listen to it while doing something else. But a movie in another language you have to be completely engaged and able to read all the subtitles in order to understand what's happening at all, so you have to be invested and committed to a foreign film which is just a really immersive experience.

About the movie itself: It was so different than anything I'd ever seen before! Neither of the main characters were typical tropes i'd seen before anywhere. And they really really gave all the characters personalities without it feeling like "and now for the part of the story where we explicitly show you the characters backstory and all of their quirks and interests". It felt very organic.

I love that the romance wasn't the main focus of the movie. I mean it kind of is, but they dealt with it so gently that it didn't feel like a romance movie at all. It felt more like a coming of age movie maybe? Honestly, I can't even categorize it because like I said, it was totally different than anything I'd ever seen before. The kissing scene was adorable and perfect and the opposite of cheesy. And the scene with the ferret???? Melt my heart why don't you! And the gas station? And the beach? Y'all just gotta watch it, trust me. It's SO. GOOD.

Other things I liked (no, loved):
-There are tons of little scenes that are probably unnecessary but just make it more rich and interesting
-It's about two people who are in their twenties, dropped out of college or never went to college at all, and still live at home. I just feel like that's an age that's not explored much in film, even though it's really really common!
-The main guy is really cute in an unassuming way, and reminds me a ton of the guy from Tramps. In fact, much of this movie reminds me of Tramps style-wise, and I love them both.
-The main girl knows she's a tough BA and doesn't need anybody to tell her that
-I love how they just leave the military camp with the compass so that the rest of their "platoon" is basically stranded hahahahaha.
-The ending was delightfully weird and ironic. I quite liked it.


Well there you (finally) have it folks. Sorry this is coming so late!
-VaughnDL