Tag: Woman Writer

Booksmart: A High School Film, but Different

3SMReviews: Booksmart

The review:

Olivia Wilde’s movie Booksmart isn’t just about two studious high school students who go to a party; the reason they attend the party is the crux of the film. There are hijinks along the way, and standard movie stuff happens* but the realization that drives the need to attend a party is what sold this movie for me. There were a couple of scenes I adored and the movie is also populated with a variety of interesting types** and some excellent markers of how high school looks different from my own experience.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater with Matt, who also liked it.

Consider also watching:

*It’s the same list I had for Wine Country (hijinks, things not going according to plan, fights, personal realizations, a happy ending) and because it’s a raunchy comedy you can add vomiting.
**Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are great as I knew they would be, but I also loved Skyler Gisondo as the kid trying to buy his way into everyone’s heart, Molly Gordon as the girl known by an unfortunate nickname, Bille Lourd as the weird girl who is everywhere, and Michael Patrick O’Brien’s short turn as Pat the Pizza Guy.

3SMReviews: Booksmart

Favorite IMDB triva item:

In a May 24, 2019, interview on National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered,” director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” as it is used by the two best friends Amy and Molly as an inside reference between them: “‘Malala’ is their code word for unconditional support. So what ‘malala’ means is that what I’m asking you to do now with me you must do….Malala [Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest-ever Nobel laureate] is one of their great role models. And I think that’s why she holds the most significant place in their friendship, the idea that if you call ‘Malala,’ you must really mean it.”

Wine Country is Light-bodied, Dry and Crisp. And Amusing

3SMReviews: Wine Country

The review:

Director Amy Poehler has assembled an amazing cast for Wine Country and that cast is key to the success of this amusing and enjoyable film. It follows the standard “weekend away” movie plot* and makes for a great Sunday Afternoon Film.** There were some great cameos, many conversations that women will find amusing, (and perhaps men will too) and a good soundtrack, especially if you are of a certain age.

Verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Hijinks, things not going according to plan, fights, personal realizations, a happy ending
**Those films you watch that are pleasant and are your last gasp of freedom before it’s time to start gearing up for the coming work week.

3SMReviews: Wine Country

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Poehler said on the Busy Tonight show that one of the film’s funniest props (the CPAP machine her character uses to help her sleep) actually belongs to her. “You know how Bradley Cooper used his real dog in A Star Is Born?” Poehler said, “I used my real CPAP machine.”

Juliet, Naked: Still a Delight on Second Viewing

3SMReviews: Juliet, Naked

The review:

This was a re-watch to catch the boyfriend up. He liked it. Original review here.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home with the aforementioned boyfriend.

3SMReviews: Juliet, Naked

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

To create the “classic” album that the character Tucker is best known for, director Jesse Peretz turned to previous collaborator Nathan Larson who worked with him on Our Idiot Brother (2011). Over the course of three years, they wrote songs and requested demos from about 35 artists such as Conor Oberst, Robyn Hitchcock and Ryan Adams. Nathan Larson’s inspiration for the music was Big Star’s “Third/Sister Lovers” album as well as friend Jeff Buckley.

Disobedience: The Performances Are Not to be Missed

3SMReviews: Disobedience

The review:

Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience has an overly long sex scene,* but other than that, it’s a movie worth watching both for nuanced performances** and for a short visit to the Orthodox Jewish world of London. Rachel Weisz is fast becoming one of my favorite actors to watch and her performance as the woman who left her community but has returned for her father’s funeral is fantastic—sorrowful and resigned. This falls into the slow drama category, but becomes quite tense in places.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free view Kanopy, Multnomah County Library’s streaming service
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences

*In some alternate universe, there exists this scene filmed by a woman. I bet it doesn’t feel as gratuitous.
**Everyone is not saying very much which means more stuff needs to come through nonverbal means.

3SMReviews: Disobedience

My Life Without Me Confronts End-of-Life in a Different Way

3SMReviews: My Life Without Me movie review

The review:

I’m not sure how I missed Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me as I’m usually all in on anything Sarah Polley, anything Mark Ruffalo, and I’m a fan of movies that explore complexities in relationships.* Though there were times that I felt like the slower-than-usual speech patterns of Ruffalo and Polley were distracting, there was a lot to like in this film. Plus, I feel like the ratio of upper-middle class/rich people stories to grinding poverty is about 7-to-1 in the movie world, so the living situation in this was an interesting change.

The verdict: Recommended

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

Consider also watching:

*But thanks to Josh Larsen’s Filmspotting recommendation, I caught up with this film!

3SMReviews: My Life Without Me

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

It Had to be You: A Rom-com About Not Wanting to Get Married

It Had to Be You movie review

The review:

As a person in a long-term relationship who does not want to be married, I was interested in Sasha Gordon’s It Had to Be You, a romantic comedy about a woman who freaks out when her boyfriend proposes. Cristin Miloti is laugh-out-loud funny in parts of this film and there’s a lot of sadness, what with all the trying to figure out what to do with a relationship where two people want different things. I could feel the movie hitting its beats* and I still found that watching it was a good way to spend my Sunday evening time.

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Which isn’t great, but is much better than the movie not hitting its beats and me wondering when this endless film will be over.

Unicorn Store: Brie Larson is a steely candy confection

The review:

Unicorn Store is Brie Larson’s directorial debut, and much like Chris Evans’ directorial debut, it’s fine way to pass the time. Larson walks the line between steely and fantastical and Samuel L. Jackson looks like he is having a lot of fun. It’s also required viewing for people who are fans of whimsical costuming as it is packed full of candy-colored couture.

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching*:

  • Other Avengers with directorial debuts**:
    • Before We Go (Metascore 31, Chris Evans)
    • Sympathy for Deliciousness (Metascore 44, Mark Ruffalo)
    • Miles Ahead (Metascore 64, Don Cheadle)
    • Shelter (Metascore 43, Paul Bettany)
    • Of note: the Metascore for The Unicorn store is 45.

The caveats:

*Note that I can only vouch for the film I’ve watched. Report back to me if you have something to stay about the others.
**That would make a fun bar trivia question. Which of the Avengers have directed movies? Of course, you would have to define who the Avengers are.

Unicorn Store quote

3SMReviews: All About Nina

3SMReviews: All About Nina

Eva Vives takes a chance in All About Nina, giving us a character who, being female, is easily slotted into that female-dominated category of “unlikable.” Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives it her all as Nina, a stand-up comedian ready to take a chance to leap to success, while also trying not to let her demons get the worst of her. While the movie eventually illuminates the source of Nina’s demons, there wasn’t enough along the way to have me rooting for her,* plus Common (playing love interest Rafe) drove me batty with his line delivery.**

Verdict: Skip, unless you want to do a compare/contrast

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

Consider watching instead:

*This is actually a great movie to watch as a contrast to Can You Ever Forgive Me?, who also has an unlikable protagonist, but one I was rooting for from the beginning despite not knowing, or ever knowing what shaped her into that very prickly person.
**Abusive, stalker ex-guy she slept with, Joe is played by Chace Crawford, who I spent time with while watching Gossip Girl. This movie also has a treasure trove of recognizable actors I don’t see much of: Camryn Manheim, Jay Mohr, Mindy Sterling, Beau Bridges.

3SMReviews: All About Nina
This quotes comes from possibly the most delightful scene. But one scene does not a good movie make.

3SMReviews: Five Feet Apart

3SMReviews: Five Feet Apart

I’ve had a good run of Haley Lu Richardson and director Justin Baldoni’s Five Feet Apart continued that trend. While on one hand, it’s your standard teen love drama (of the illness subset), on the other hand it’s got Haley Lu Richardson who is really good at making standard things much better.* Aside from good acting, I really liked how, as the story progressed, the hospital transformed from a dreary place of healing to something a bit magical.

Verdict: Good

Cost: $8.05 (the bargain Sunday price has officially tripped back into too expensive and I’m crossing Sunday movies at this theater off my list.)
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12

Consider also watching: Miss You Already, Everything, Everything, the book version of The Fault in our Stars (I do not recommend the movie)

*Plus, she had the help of Kimberly Hebert Gregory as Nurse Barb who should probably be getting more roles because she was also quite good. Oh! And Moises Arias, so good in the Kings of Summer, was in this.