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Reviews
Jane the Virgin (2014)
How to ruin a perfectly nice show
The show had all the qualities to be incredible -lightheartedness, humor, romance, drama, all of these in the exact dose for the genre -, but now I can't help but feel that the writers just literally threw in the trash a beautiful love story that felt so genuine and had the potential to be one the most beautiful and endearing in the history of series. And worst of all: they traded it for an unconvincing and insincere story from the beggining (Jafael...bleh!) I cannot understand if it was a matter of preference for the actor, or what exactly led them to take this strange path, but the truth is that the show totally lost the appeal to me after Michael's death, and more so after his reappearance followed by his sudden dismissal in the fifth and last season. Honestly, it was so frustrating that after that I really gave up on the show for good.
Jane and Rafael's relationship is so forced that I did not put faith in it for a second since the first season. There is not even a single spark or chemistry there. I understand that the actors are super friends off screen, but the chemistry inside the screen equals zero. Actually the moments they share on screen romantically are painfully embarrassing to watch. I really, really, really will never understand the writer's choice...
Not to mention Jane's final decision about Michael on the final minutes of last season's 7th episode is so untrue to her forever-romantic nature that it's like the character was abducted and replaced by a totally different one. I don't believe for a second real Jane would dismiss Michael like that, ever. Yes, people do change - but not in their essence.
At last, my opinion is that writers would have done better had they given Rafael and Jane's affair a shot in the first seasons, then make them understand once and for all that they would never work together and saved the "happily ever after" for Jane's one and only true love.
Jane the Virgin: Chapter Eighty-Eight (2019)
HOW TO RUIN A PERFECTLY NICE SHOW
To me the show ended on the last minute of this episode. And it's not about being #TeamMichael or #TeamRafael, it's about how Jane's final decision was utterly untrue to her nature. It is like they abducted her and replaced with a totally different person. She is an incurable romantic for Christ's sake, and would never EVER dismiss the love of her life like that, like he meant nothing anymore. There was no closure AT ALL, so really: what was the whole purpose of bringing Michael back from the dead?! And yes, people do change - but not their essence. Not to mention the absolute lack of chemistry between Rafael and Jane that befalls since 1st season. And note that I am a Justin Baldoni fan, though that doesn't change the fact that Jafael is just... blah!
I don't think ever in my life as a series fan I had become so frustrated with a show. It is completely ruined to me. I stopped at episode 16 and won't even watch the remaining 3 episodes tbh. And I would unwatch this season if I could. Such a pity.
Third Person (2013)
That kind of movie that you love more when you get it.
I loved the plot and also the actings, and I truly don't understand the low reviews. I mean, of course it is not an easy film to watch, sometimes it fails to keep your attentions because it does develop slowly and most parts you don't get it right away... But it is a great movie, intelligent and with amazing actings. I confess I didn't get all the points right away and had to do a little research afterwards, but when I got it all, the story became even more beautiful. I gathered some of those points I found important to understand to be able to evaluate the movie properly, so if you don't want spoilers DON'T READ BELOW HERE.
*******SPOILER ALERT*******
1. The writer was NOT in Paris writing his book; he was in Rome. Maybe some people missed this detail (as I did), but when his wife calls him, in the final scene, she asks him, "How's Rome?". And also you can clearly see he's sitting in a café in an Italian city.
2. Everything that happens between the starting scene, when he hears his son's voice on the hotel room "Watch me," and the same voice "Watch me" in the final scene of the film, is part of his book -- including the story about the writer in Paris with his lover. Probably his mistress name was not Anna, and we can notice that she is fictional by how idealized (at least partially) she is: young, pretty, and with sense of humour, and perfect.
* Remember that he always writes in Third Person (not by chance, the name of the movie).
** Perhaps Paris did happen, but not during that time space we are watching the movie. Maybe months ago... Note that his wife calls him twice and both times she asks: "Is she there?", and he always answers "No" -- in the final scene, he still adds "She left me two months ago".
*** Note the references to white in each story: Anna's dress in the final scene is white, the glass of milk the child gives his father is white, and the car in which the American drives away with the gypsy lady is also white. "White the color of trust. And the color of the lies he tells himself" -- says the end of the book.
3. As he atones for his sins through the characters from his book, we know what really happened going from there:
- In real life, he loses his lover when she learns that it was because of her call that his son drowned; in Paris' story, his mistress ("the only true love of his life") comes back to him.
- In real life, he loses his son; in Italy's story, the American saves the gypsy lady's daughter (note that inside the car they look back and smile, and as the camera goes away you can see the silhouette of a child in the back seat of the white car).
- In real life, he never wins back the trust of his ex-wife; in the story with Mila Kunis, James Franco trusts her again after the incident in the elevator.
* Also note the references to bad fathers in each story:
- In Italy, the American also lost his son.
- In New York, the boy's father is absent and always working, and they do not have a close relationship.
- In Paris, the father used to abuse of Anna, probably since she was a child.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
50 Shades of Prejudice
Yes, I found the movie kinda silly. Yes, I found the acting a bit mediocre. But my biggest disappointment, much bigger than with the film, was with some extremely sexist and misogynist comments (which were supposed to be critical to the MOVIE) that I found on this page. Comments such as "you women are all ridiculous for liking this kind of movie", "if that is what women like, then I lost faith in humanity" and "you deserve to be raped for liking man like Christian Grey ". For you, sexist and fascist men who live in a bubble of prejudice, I'll tell you something: you know absolutely NOTHING about what women like. How dare you judge a woman because she enjoys reading books/ watching erotic movies? Have you by any chance ever seen any woman say to the winds that "men are all a disgusting and ridiculous for watching porn since the dawn of humanity"? Do you judge your (men) friends for watching porn movies? What do you think gives you the right to curse a woman by the films she watches or books she reads? I'll tell you one more thing, in case you do not know it already: you're a big of a coward, that's what you are. A coward who is afraid because women are taking charge of their sexuality without fear of talking about what they like and don't like. You're a coward and a fool because you think women have to be what you want them to be rather than what they really are. Because women are taking control over their own bodies as THEIRS, not as objects belonging to the men around them or to the society. You are a big coward, that's what you are. And I hope in my heart that one day you marry a silly, submissive and dull woman that doesn't question your coward and sexist attitudes because you do not have the balls to be with a woman who is determined and knows what she likes (in sex and in life). And no, I'm not an old unloved ugly with-no-sex-life lady (before you come up with your typically sexist and ridiculous comments). I'm (very well) married, thank you, and with a feminist and wonderful husband that yes, TAKES ME to the movies to watch 50 Shades of Gray because he knew I liked the books a lot.
And regarding the film (now down to business), although I found Jamie's acting mediocre, I was positively surprised with Dakota. She brought a graceful and delicate air to Anastasia that maybe in the book had not been so well portrayed. I loved her performance! I do think though that the writer could have taken the plot to the next level, making it better than the book and a more fluid history. They had the tools to do so. But I believe that the directing also had it share of blame. I read some professional reviews that the director was very inexperienced, and maybe that explains some flaws in the movie in general.
Overall, I found it an entertainer film. For me particularly lacked some scenes from the book that I missed, but I think it is a good program for a Friday night with the girlfriends or the boyfriend.