Change Your Image
nthonglam
Crime thrillers, dramas, documentaries,... I love them all.
Sucker for a mind-bending twist and some good quotes.
Reviews
Marry Me (2022)
Would've liked it more if it wasn't a Notting Hill wannabe
Obviously choose to watch this on a Sunday night just for no-brain fun. Basically this movie was made so that JLo can sing, dance and explain her multiple engagements and marriages (the reason is, surprise surprise, she believes in love).
Don't get me wrong, I don't judge her love life, more power to her, it just annoys me how they pretty much copy pasted Notting Hill and made a much worse version.
The characters are painfully bland, the drama part is not even drama, and the chemistry is not even that good. There are random gay and lesbian side characters just because. They even tried to remake the scene where Julia Roberts wearing only the guy's shirt.
I like JLo and I like Owen Wilson, but this is a hard no.
But if you haven't watched Notting Hill and want all the cheesiness in the world, sure.
Private Life (2018)
Understated. Charismatic. Ultra-realistic.
I watched a director roundtable featuring Tamara Jenkins and decide to give this a go. Been a while since I watched a pure 'family' drama. I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, the main couple is just so natural and real. Very believable and easy to get you invested in their difficult journey to have a child. I don't like the Sadie character as much, but it makes sense to have someone like her to spruce up the energy of the film.
I can really feel the feminine touch of a woman director and I appreciate it.
I also like the camera work, subtle and quite artistic at times.
Of course there are scenes that feels like it could be shorter, or just not be in the movie at all. Like, I know the 5+ waiting room scenes are intentional, but I will still get the idea at 3, thank you.
About 7.5/10, but I will give it 8 stars.
Lion (2016)
May be I expect too much...?
Coming into this with oscar buzz and 8.0 imdb in mind, I had pretty high hopes for this one. I was hoping to see an awe-inspiring film, beautiful story and overall a satisfying cinematic experience.
Welp, the first 45 minutes definitely did the job, but the rest...quite disappointing.
The kid in the first part (the young life of the character) is absolutely great. The storytelling of this first part is captivating, with beautiful shots of India and very interesting scenarios. I was obviously expecting an even better second part, especially with Dev Patel starring.
But...it was weird. Even Nicole Kidman cannot save the day. There was many unnecessary half-naked scenes of Dev and the (rather boring) white girlfriend, who doesn't contribute much to his search after all.
Talking about his actual "search for home", it is probably the worst part. Guy just spent 4 years jobless scrolling Google Earth?! Ok I know this is based on a true story, but can you make it more climatic? Spoiler alert: He found the little dot on the map and bam, went right back to his old home! And met a guy who spoke English. And got led to his mother. All in like 10 minutes of the film (?!)
Don't get me wrong, I think it is an amazing true story, but the way the movie told the story lacks cohesion, feels redundant in some parts and weirdly rush in other important parts. I haven't read the book, but I feel like this may not does it justice.
I give a 6 for the amazing performance of the child actors, the cinematic shots, and Nicole Kidman. Always Nicole Kidman.
Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
Standard documentary about a modern singer - Nothing groundbreaking but it's fine
I come to this without too much too much expectation because at the end of the day, the protagonist of a whole documentary is a 22 year-old. Even if he's world famous, Shawn's still a pretty unproblematic pop singer so I don't expect too much dramas or surprises to come along. A reviewer said that the drama comes across melodramatic and I agree.
I think the right mindset coming to this documentary is to not to have too much expectation, to know a little bit about Shawn's personality already (sweet, hopeless romantic, drama-free). Only then you can take it for what it is - a glimpse into Shawn Mendes' year of touring, little bit of family and friends, little bit of famous girlfriend, some aesthetic coming-of-age footage and some good jamming sessions.
I do enjoy it though, as much enjoyment as you can have watching a documentary about a modern pop singer with some success.