Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Sing 2 - Please excuse this upcoming rant about my love, Taron Egerton. He is, without a doubt, the Love of My Life (I'm kidding! Maybe...). And he is super, duper extra fucking hot, but...he also has, like, the dreamiest voice in the world. I watched the first Sing movie because I got stuck in a YouTube hole of videos of him singing in interviews, and I was not disappointed. He has such a great voice for animation. There's something about his accent, too. It's Welsh, obviously, but I've listened to others with Welsh accents and it doesn't hit me the same way (I also remember being surprised by his actual accent - I assumed he just sounded like Eggsy sounds. I truly thought Matthew Vaughn lucked out by finding this kid off the streets who is hot, charming and could act. But no, he's like a trained actor. Which is funny because when I was upset that he didn't get the Oscar nomination for Rocketman (a literal travesty), my bf said "well, if you think about it, he really should have gotten an Oscar nomination for Kingsman because he's a performer naturally, like Elton, but he's nothing like Eggsy". Makes you think, right?). Anyway, my point is that this movie is worth sitting through just to hear his voice. Johnny is obviously the best and least annoying character (and I would definitely watch a spin-off!!! Make it happen Illumination). I've been listening to the soundtrack since it was released back in December - just Taron's two songs, really, but he's featured in a lot of the group songs too. "A Sky Full of Stars" is so good, and faaaaaarrrr better than the original (and I say that as a Coldplay fan, but he destroyed them for real). I liked the drumming, and his angry singing at the end, but I didn't know the context. And let me tell you, the context almost made me cry! It makes the song even better, which I didn't think possible. I'm a bit disappointed that "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" is a duo on the soundtrack featuring Taron and Tori Kelly. She's lovely, but her voice is too screechy for me and she's not even in the scene in the movie?! Doesn't make any sense. I think they underestimated Taron's popularity, which is weird considering how popular his Sing version of "I'm Still Standing" is (it has 145 million listens on Spotify!!!). "A Sky Full of Stars" has over 23 million listens on Spotify and the next song from the soundtrack is only at 1/2 of that. If they gave us the film version of "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" it would definitely be a bigger hit. I don't have a whole lot to say about the rest of the movie - it's very similar to the first. Just super cute, but not much substance. The whole thing felt like it was trying to make Bono cool to a younger audience, which is...weird. The main message was about overcoming your fears, but the whole Bono thing is really shoved in your face. Again, Johnny has the best storyline because it's not just about overcoming your fears/learning new things, but it's also about doing it your own way (and not putting up with bullies). Also, I cheered when his bank robbing gangster father shows up to help them (sorry, but it's so funny that this is part of a kids movie). 

2. The Batman - Honestly, this was such a chore to sit through. Just absolutely pointless. It's not all bad - there are some stunning shots and overall, it's very well-made. But I'm just getting exhausted by the barrage of "well-made" movies that are just that. Like, where is the excitement? The innovation? The surprises? Something? I have a friend who is someone I would describe as "the ultimate Batman fan" (he is even covered in Batman tattoos - like head to toe) and he LOVED this. And, for that, I'm happy. If it satisfied core fans, then that's great! I'm not sure why he loved it yet because the last time I saw him I had not seen this yet (he was so upset when he ran up to me and was like "YES someone I can talk to about The Batman! And I felt so bad to tell him I hadn't seen it. I'm just not in any rush to see movies nowadays). But he, himself, is someone I would describe as a bit "emo", so I feel like he probably felt more of a connection to this iteration of the character, someone who is more of a depressed recluse than a playboy billionaire. For me, though, it just feels so overdone. As beautiful as the score is, I just WILL NEVER get behind a giant blockbuster movie using a Nirvana song as its core theme. I get the parallel that Matt Reeves was trying to point out (Cobain's struggle with fame, etc.), but NO THANKS I HATE IT. Hearing it over and over again, made me want to burn this movie to the ground. Sad emo Batman is fine, but I didn't find the story particularly any darker than previous Batman movies/shows. The Riddler is obviously darker, but also kind of boring - I feel like he blends in with every other villain now. I just feel like the film focuses more on a "vibe" than on story and character development, and in the end I won't remember a thing about. I like Robert Pattinson, BUT, he's NOT good when the dialogue is this bad. There are actors that can make cheesy dialogue work and there actors who can't. He can't (which is why he was sooooo awful in the Twilight films). I like Zoe Kravitz, too. But, again, nothing memorable. The Penguin transformation is legitimately insane, but seems unnecessary. Sorry, but if Colin Farrell is in your movie, I would like for him to look like Colin Farrell (and talk like Colin Farrell). The tiny snippet of Joker was intriguing (and I watched the longer clip that was circulating online). I wish they would focus on literally any other villain, but...I guess we'll see what the sequel brings. 

3. The Weekend Away - This is the worst movie I've seen since last year's False Positive. It's poorly made, the acting is dreadful, and it's the dumbest plot I've seen in a while. I watched this for Leighton Meester - I thought she was someone who would just always be her Gossip Girl character (I still quote her "leggings are NOT pants" tirade to this day), but she surprised me in the show Single Parents (a show that I really liked, but was cancelled too quickly). She has great comedic timing and she's really charming. I also like her for more personal reasons - she genuinely seems like a good person who understand her privilege (and she didn't come from a "normal" life - her mom was in prison when she gave birth to her), plus she is married to Adam Brody and he is a doll. I'm a fan of both of them. Unfortunately, this movie does not do her any favors. It's not really her fault, but it's hard not to blame the lead actress. Everything about her situation seems *off*, like huge red flags flying everywhere - the way her husband reacts to her best friend in the background of her video call, the overly friendly taxi driver, the best friend insisting they talk to two complete strangers, the creepy building manager guy, the cop who tells her he can't help her. It was very easy to guess the outcome (although there are two outcomes - the first one is a little unexpected but mostly because it doesn't make sense, but the second one is the one that I guessed from the beginning). 

4. Needle in a Timestack - The sci-fi premise for this is excellent. It's too bad the final product is such a drag. The cast is (mostly) fantastic - Cynthia Erivo is sure to be a household name soon enough (especially after Wicked comes out), Freida Pinto, and ORLANDO BLOOM! It's been SO LONG! Since the last PotC movie, I think? I've missed him and he looks so fucking GOOD in this. I sort of hate how much better men look as they age. It's really annoying that they peak (looks-wise) between 40-50. I'm not the biggest fan of Leslie Odom Jr., but mostly because of his singing voice. I actually don't mind him in this at all, as the acting is probably one of the few redeeming qualities of the film. And like I said, the premise is really, really cool. Set in "the near future", it's about if time travel really existed and how it would be used. And they nailed it! Used almost exclusively as something to entertain the wealthy, while the rest of the world are forced to suffer the consequences of some rich person's "time jaunting". There are some great ideas within the story about relationships, destiny, free will, the circular nature of life and love (and I really love the idea that "one relationship negates other possibilities"), it's just such a shame that it's so damn boring. The characters have very little charisma or depth at all, so I don't really care about the outcome. And I don't even think the story cares about the outcome? The characters just feel like props within this really cool idea. 

5. Licorice Pizza - Well, this is a big NOPE from me. PTA has made two of my favorite movies (There Will Be Blood and The Master. I also loved Inherent Vice), but I haven't always been a fan. In fact, I absolutely loathed Magnolia and Boogie Nights when I watched them (as a teenager - I do intend to watch them again as an adult, but who know when that will actually happen). My biggest issue with this film is the characters - just absolutely annoying and completely unrelatable. And there is just no way I would ever root for a 15 year old KID to end up with a 25 year old woman (who might actually be 28? Was that a mistake in the dialogue or did she lie?). I saw some people making a big deal about it, but then others being like "they are overreacting", which led me to believe that the couple in question were one of those grey areas where one is 15 and the other is 19. BUT IT'S NOT GREY. She is an adult taking advantage and manipulating a CHILD. What the fuck is wrong with people who think this is ok? The movie, itself, doesn't really cross any lines - there's nothing sexual about their relationship (other than a quick "here's what my tits look like" and the kiss at the end), but I feel like the audience is supposed to root for them and that's troublesome. But I don't necessarily have to root for a couple to like a movie, or appreciate the story, this just does nothing for me though. I think it would have been a stronger story if they focused on this woman's stunted maturity - maybe explained why she feels comfortable hanging out with 15 year olds (she does call herself out at one point - I believe she calls herself "weird" or something to that effect) and also still lives with her parents (which I know was a more common thing for women to do at that point in time - living with your parents until you're married), and then gets super jealous when he starts showing interest in someone his own age. I actually ended up hating her completely. She has zero redeeming qualities. I'm also not really sure about Alana Haim as an actress. It's hard to tell because with this because I hate the character, but I think a lot of that has to do with the writing. I'll certainly give her another chance. I'm also not the biggest fan of Cooper Hoffman in this role - I think he's supposed to be more charming than he is, instead he comes off incredibly obnoxious. I also just think the movie is super boring. I found myself distracted by other things, and then looking back at the screen only to have them running. Just lots of running. Every time I looked up they were fucking running again.