Month: April 2019

My Cousin Rachel: See it With a Friend

My Cousin Rachel movie review 3SMReviews.com

The review:

It’s probably best to watch Roger Mitchell’s My Cousin Rachel with a companion as there is much to discuss afterward and you might find yourself stuck with your own back and forth as to what you think the situation was. The indomitable Rachel Weisz plays the titular Rachel, and Sam Clafin* is the man who is not so sure about his cousin’s motives. Daphne Du Maurier knew how to write a shifting story, and there is much to puzzle out, plus usual historical drama perks of costumes, and furniture and life with servants.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Additional sentences:

*With English accent, because I know that some people are fans of that

My Cousin Rachel movie review 3SMReviews.com

Kissing in the D A R K, D A R K, D A R K darkdarkdark

So many things have been done to support me having a better sleep experience. Today’s thing: a room darkening shade.

Here we have the blurry before picture. The curtains didn’t really do much to block the light and this is especially a problem in June and July because the sun starts to come up before 4:30 am.

Here is the blurry “after” picture. It’s still quite light outside, but that room-darkening shad is blocking that light!

Here’s hoping it will help improve the sleep patterns.

Shazam! is Super!

Shazam! movie review 3SMReviews.com

The review:

I think the one-two punch of David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! is Asher Angel’s depiction of an abandoned kid searching for his mother plus Zachary Levi’s grown-man youthful exuberance. Add in Jack Dylan Grazer as the guy who’s super excited to suddenly be friends with a superhero and you have a sweet-natured comedy with more than the usual amount of feels.* While some plot points fall apart upon reflection, it’s an enjoyable and does not feel overly long 132 minutes.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $8.00
Where watched: St. Johns Twin Cinema with Matt (who rarely watches films from the DCEU, but who also enjoyed it.)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Which is not to say that some Red Shirts (a.k.a. minor characters) don’t die in some ways that might be overly gruesome and/or scary to the under 13 set.

Shazam! movie review 3SMReviews.com

Someone Great: Not So Great.

Or: There’s a Difference Between a Romantic Comedy and a Comedy

(That difference, as you might guess, is the presence of romance.)

Someone Great movie review

The review:

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has crafted a nice duel portrait of (1)female friendship and (2)the end of a relationship, and there are things to like about Someone Great.* But it doesn’t really have a lot going for it, and it pretty easily slid into that category of movie I recommend for people to watch when they have the flu. There were way too many flashback—all more or less framed in the same way—and I think the forgettable title name** sets the stage for the forgettable nature of the movie.***

The verdict:

Skip. Unless perhaps you have the flu?

Cost: Netflix monthly charge ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*The easy friendship between Gina Rodriguez, DeWanda Wise, and Brittany Snow, the montage of getting ready to go out, the zany last day scenario.
**True story: I made all the visuals for this post using the name Someone Like You, which is a 2001 Ashley Judd comedy that I found forgettable, but which is based on a book called Animal Husbandry which is a MUCH better title and which I quite liked.
**It’s another one of those movies called “romantic comedies” but which is not actually a romantic comedy, but a comedic female friendship movie. Ibiza (also a Netflix film) was similar, except it did have some romance. This was all breakup, no romance. I’m all for comedic female friendship movies. But don’t call them romantic comedies.

Someone Great movie review

The Great Race: Avoids Many Pitfalls of Aging Movies (and is funny)

The Great Race movie review

The review:

I’d not seen Blake Edwards’s The Great Race since I was a child; it was interesting to see the scenes I remembered in context* and I was happy that this managed to have aged almost 55 years and yet is nearly totally free of cringe-worthy moments.** It’s also hilarious (Jack Lemmon is the main carrier of this torch) and though its nearly three-hour run time means it does eventually drag, it has an overture and intermission included in those 160 minutes.*** Overall, it’s a fun intergenerational film, especially if your generations tilt toward the advanced ages, though kids would probably like parts of it too.

The verdict: Good

Cost: free via White Elephant Gift Exchange
Where watched: at home with the mothers and aunts

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Tony Curtis’ teeth and eyes sparkling in a “dream boat” way and the best pie fight in the history of cinema were the most prominent, but some of the landscapes felt very familiar, too.
**It’s not overtly racist (though that Indian-chase scene is a bit iffy), Natalie Wood playing a suffragette means that it doesn’t come off as terribly sexist (though I’m sure some of the suffragette stuff was “funnier” in the original) and though there’s a drunken crown price who veers dangerously close to a “light in the loafers” stereotype, most of his behavior can be chalked up to alcohol consumption and not same-sex proclivities.
***Unlike, say, a certain seminal superhero movie released in April, 2019.

The Great Race movie review

An unusual thank you

I wasn’t really sure what was going on with this window display near my work.

But then I got closer and discovered it was made from…

…many, many envelopes that hold parking tickets. And then the message was clear. The cat was a reference to Parking Kitty which lets people pay for parking from their phone.

I don’t drive to work, so I don’t have to pay for parking, but ever since Parking Kitty has appeared, the days of my coworkers running up and down the stairs to feed the meter have ended.

Vox Lux: Very Displeasing

Vox Lux movie review 3SMReviews.com

The review:

I’d seen a preview for Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux and I thought I knew what it was about, so I was utterly confused when the movie opened with a brutal school shooting* and the main character was not Natalie Portman, but Raffey Cassidy. It’s a story told in two parts, the first as 13-year-old Celeste is on the precipice of fame, the second as 31-year-old Celeste is preparing for an important hometown concert. I can see Natalie Portman giving it her all,** but it comes off as scenery-chewing, plus the pacing is off and the movie ends with an endless concert performance that adds nothing.***

The verdict:

Skip unless you are super into Natalie Portman, or are looking for reasons you don’t want to be famous.

Cost: $5.99 (a lot for a not-good movie) via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*And also, some end credits that ran backwards. They were very confusingly art-y and subtracted more than they added to the film.
**Raffy Cassidy is also quite good. Plus Willem Dafoe was the narrator and that worked.
***It’s great those backup dancers got some work, I guess, but after about five minutes, it’s like “I get it, I get it, move on.” Unfortunately, there is no resolution. Those end credits return. But rolling in the normal direction.

Vox Lux movie review 3SMReviews.com

T-minus 9 days. Time for a Re-watch of Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Though I remembered a lot about this movie, I thought it best to do a quick re-watch* before the sequel appears. It was still very, very good, and as we were watching it at home we could pause for bathroom breaks.**

My original review is here.

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home with Matt

*Although with a 149-minute movie, there’s no quick re-watch.
**Inadvertently, we paused 10 seconds from halfway through the movie. For those curious, it comes during the scene where Thor, Rocket and Groot visit Eitri.

The Way He Looks: Worth Looking At

3SMReviews: The Way He Looks

The review:

For people willing to read subtitles, Daniel Ribeiro’s The Way He Looks is a teen romance treat.* Leonardo and Giovana are best friends and somewhat outcasts whose friendship is interrupted by Gabriel, an attractive new student. There’s great stuff in the shifting friendship department, the first love department, and the department of Other Teenagers Can be Really Mean.**

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Free via Kanopy, the Multnomah County Library’s streaming service
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s one of those movies I spent a lot of time smiling through
**I did not smile through these parts.

3SMReviews: The Way He Looks