Change Your Image
morganamelle
Reviews
La sociedad de la nieve (2023)
A triumph!
Someone mentioned the last 30 minutes of the film are what really pull you in and I have to agree. The film is a slow burn but by no means does that make it hard to watch. But when those last 30 minutes hit you, you realize what the filmmakers were building up to. The choice of narrator, I found very brave and very smart. This is an emotional roller-coaster of heartbreaking proportions. These people never gave up and to see their story laid out on the small screen, the actors put in the same location as the crash (I've read this fact in interviews), you are transported. I don't know if I could watch it more than once due to the sheer emotion, but it is something everyone should watch at least once. A very well-made film, indeed.
All the Light We Cannot See (2023)
This my favorite book
...and I will be writing my review, for the most part, in relation to the book. That said if you have not read the book, I believe you'll find this mini-series 9/10 or even 10/10 worthy. Now for the cons and pros as I still did enjoy this series.
Cons: One thing I haven't seen in reviews that I want to call out to the book readers is that they did not end the series as Doerr ended the books and I'm honestly very surprised he would allow for such a poetic ending (I'm speaking of Werner here in particular) to be marred. They didn't change the ending, but instead ended it early before the scene I'm referencing ever had a chance to occur. Additionally, one reviewer said it failed to capture the warmth of the book, which I agree. Marie's love of shells and other tangible things is mostly gone if not completely. The love of radio Werner has is never really explained either but is still there as it moves the plot along. This series was 4 episodes and easily could have been 8 to add the details. I also found it very odd that there were almost no accents among the actors. They were there for some but completely gone for others. If you're going to tell a story set in another country and you want to use English to convey it, at least give us some accents to set us up in a WWII France. My last con is that Etienne was so tame in the show compared to the novel, I found that an odd choice on the director's part.
Now, for the pros: someone called out that the actor playing Marie was boring and I wholeheartedly disagree. She was captivating. As was Hugh Laurie, even as a tame Etienne. But one review claimed he was scarcely seen. That may be true in episode 1, but he is heavily present throughout the rest and he is an absolute treat. Mark Ruffalo was one of the characters who did have a slight accent and perhaps that's how folks from Paris spoke in that time, I'm not the leading expert, but it sounded like he was trying very hard for the accent. That said, he is wonderful otherwise. The way the attic is captured in the novel is almost exactly how I pictured it in my head, which was lovely to see. And for the most part (other than what I mentioned above in reference to the ending), they kept pretty true to the novel. Some changes here or there to move along plot or make it more dramatic for a viewing rather than a reading audience.
Finally, I gave this a 7/10 because honestly it was well done and by far a better book to film adaptation than others I've seen in years past. But it failed to give us the love, tenderness and vulnerability with which Doerr is able to write -- perhaps he should have written the screenplay. I almost wanted to give it an even lower rating than 7 just due to the fact the ending was cut short, but I do really think a 7/10 is fair. You, of course, should be the judge. This is still my favorite book and if it's yours too, I think you need to give it a try.
Extraordinary (2023)
Watch this
I've never relt the need to rate a show before but...
I see it has an 8/10 on IMDb, but a lot of the people rating it highly are not writing reviews. So I wanted to write one in defense of this show. I love that almost all the actors are newbies, and they're almost all the exact age of their characters which is a rarity in Hollywood. But even if that weren't the case, the plot line and scripts for this show are extraordinary. It is certainly NSFW dialog, but it is deadpan funny and honestly a lot of fun. Give this show a try if you like offbeat comedies. Or even if you don't, just give it a chance. I mean, it was already renewed for a season 2. Try it out. Maybe you'll be surprised.
The Kitchen (2019)
Why the bad reviews?
I don't understand why the reviews for this movie are so bad, honestly. Is it because women are doing what we're used to seeing men do? Women are perfectly capable, as the movie shows. Maybe it's hard for people to see so they chalk it up to bad acting. Based on these reviews, I did not go into the movie with high hopes, but I came out of the theater confused because it reminded me of a female Goodfellas (a watered-down, slightly comedic version, but still). I enjoyed it. I don't think it was meant to be like an oscar contender or anything in that realm. It was just supposed to be an enjoyable movie. I'm giving it a 7 because it is not without its flaws, and there are very few things I deem an 8-10. But you should do yourself a favor, ignore the reviews, make up your own mind and go see it.
The Lion King (2019)
Billy and Seth are the real heroes
The script was exactly the same as the animated version. CGI-wise, it was an achievement, and had it not been for Billy and Seth being the comedy heroes we needed, this would have gotten a much lower rating from me. They saved the damn thing.
The Handmaid's Tale: Heroic (2019)
It had its moments
I do not usually write reviews on here, but I felt the 5s and lower were not justified. Though I do agree all the close ups of June's face and the slowness of certain scenes has been getting on my nerves as well. Still, this story was not without its merit. Another user wrote that an episode does not have to contain mass amounts of drama, violence, etc. in order to be important. While this was not the best episode ever, I saw its worth. I think it was necessary to push the story forward and to finally give us a fully weak June, which we have never seen before. She was the Janine of the episode and it was important for us to see she is a person just like everyone else and she can be beaten down at times, too. The ending is what is most important in the episode, so, if you feel like skipping this one, at least watch the last 5 minutes.
Single Parents (2018)
Lighthearted Comedy Worth Watching
Okay, this isn't the smartest, funniest comedy on the planet. But I think it's what we need right now. We could all use something lighthearted to get us through the day now and then and Single Parents delivers.
The child actors are magnificent, and possibly funnier than the parents. Brad Garrett's twins, Emma and Amy are laugh out loud funny.
Give this comedy a chance, I think you'll be glad you did.