Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Elemental - Well, this is really cute. I like a lot about it. I really like the love story, which I think is rare for me, but these two are just so super cute together - and it's a nice story about two people from completely different backgrounds/cultures (i.e "elements") learning about each other and figuring out how to use their differences as complimentary instead of as an obstacle. It's also genuinely laugh-out-loud funny (I died at the sponge joke - almost cried from laughing so hard). I'm not really the biggest Pixar fan - I still think Brave is the best one, although I liked Coco and Onward. I think the rest of them are okay, but nothing above average (I know I'm upsetting a lot of people - Toy Story fans, Inside Out fans, The Incredibles fans, Cars fans....wait are there Cars fans?? I actually haven't seen any of those ones!). Most of my problems is the actual animation - they are just very busy movies, oversaturated and generic looking (with some exceptions, of course). This one is very beautiful though - it's difficult to anthropomorphize concepts like "fire" and "earth", but I think the animators did a really brilliant job at creating this world. I do kind of have some problems with the rest of the story - first as soon as Ember jumps for excitement at working in her father's store I said out loud to my husband "no young woman is excited about working in retail!" and lo and behold, that's what the story is about - how she is actually not excited about the prospect of taking over her father's store because it's not her passion, but she feels the responsibility of doing so because her parents sacrificed so much for her. I get it, and since it's a message to kids - sure, kids, follow your passion. But, in reality, and in, like a real adult world, you have to realize how incredibly lucky you are if you have parents that work hard so that you have a better life - and they give you a gift of a successful business. Maybe I have a personal bias about this because my husband is in this exact situation. His father is a political refugee from Cuba and worked his entire life to now own multiple successful business (liquor stores and now opening a pot store soon!). My husband has ZERO interest in liquor or retail but he now owns two liquor stores and he is so FUCKING LUCKY. And not just because of the money, although it's nice. I'm just talking about the comfort level of not really having to do much and be automatically successful. He went to school for electrical engineering and his "passion" would be to work for NASA or something similar - building new technology. But, if he really analyzes what he wants from life - do you know how fucking stressful working for NASA would be? How little life he would actually have? Instead he bought a house at 28 years old (!!), works 9:30-4, comes home and spends a few hours working on his own projects in his workshop, and has a hot wife (me! LOL, I'm kidding). Plus, we can travel wherever, whenever we want (and that's also a big passion of ours). I'm just saying it's a fucking GIFT. I've told him many times that if he ever wants to quit and follow his passion, I would support him but he always says that he has no regrets, and I believe him. This feels like I'm on a tangent, but it's very related to this movie. And it just kind of irks me that there are so many younger people who have this idea of following their dreams, but complain about not being able to afford to live. I think we can teach the younger generation about a happy medium, maybe? Plus, personally, I did do the whole follow the dream thing and then I realized that it was actually ruining my dream (working in film was making me hate film - now I do it as a hobby and I'm a lot happier). Anyway, that's enough of my ranting. Overall, I think this movie is really cute and I quite enjoyed it. 

2. Champions - This is exactly what I was expecting - a feel-good underdog sports movie with solid performances. It reminds me a lot of that Ben Affleck one (although I think that one was slightly better). I like when Woody Harrelson actually tries to act - I think a lot of times he just shows up and reads his lines. But he shows a little emotion here which is nice. Kaitlin Olsen is hilarious, but I definitely looked up the age difference because I feel like Woody could be her dad - but I didn't realize that Olsen is 48! I thought she was my age (42) and that she also looks really good for her age (could definitely pass for mid-30s). I guess the age difference isn't that bad, but the woman who plays her mom is probably the same age as Woody, so my point still stands. Anyway, I got a little bored with this because it's all very expected and cliched, but still cute. I also just really hate basketball - I don't really see the skill of running back and forth and shooting a ball in a hoop (and the fact that the scores are always like 116 to 84 prove my point - scoring is way too easy). 

3. Joy Ride - Not as funny as I was hoping for, but it's definitely an entertaining movie. It's like Bridesmaids and The Hangover minus the wedding stuff, and it's not as laugh-out-loud funny. There are some really funny parts, but I would mostly describe it as...cute? There's really only a small handful of more explicit jokes (like the vagina tattoo - "it's on the inside too" I laughed so hard), but it's mostly just a cute story of friendship and self-discovery. There is a little twist that I was not expecting, but I think it's a really good twist and I'm assuming that a lot of Asian Americans can identify with it, especially those adopted by white parents. It definitely provides a lot of depth to this need for self-identity relating to ones ancestry. I really, really love Stephanie Hsu (she should have won the Oscar Goddamnit!!), and Ashley Park is having a fantastic year with this, Beef and the current season of Only Murders in the Building. I also think Sherry Cola is hilarious!! I don't think I've seen her in anything before, but she feels like what Awkwafina tries to do, but Cola is more authentic (I'm not trying to be mean, but Awkwafina comes off as very fake and trying too hard, to me. Many disagree and find her hilarious. To each their own, I guess). The cast work together really well, and it feels like an authentic friendship (jealousy included). The K-pop scene is very funny, and I LOVE the Daniel Dae Kim appearance at the end (he's so hot!). It's also kind of stupid, because how do they have no luggage, but yet they have an outfit change in every scene?? How did they get out of the country without passports? They never really explain it? I hate when a big plot point is just dropped at the end for convenience. But overall, it's a cute movie. 

4. Theater Camp - I do NOT understand the love for this movie - it is beyond average and mostly annoying (just like theater kids! I kid, I kid...I'm allowed to joke about this because I am technically a theater kid *sad face*. I was a drama studies major in college and I also did show choir as a kid all the way until high school. I was far too cool for it once I got to high school! Hahaha, I'm kidding again...). I had really high expectations for this going in - it received fairly decent reviews and I saw a lot of people say that it's very funny. Plus, it has both Molly Gordon and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear reunion for the WIN!!). I didn't realize until afterwards that Gordon co-wrote and co-directed this, which makes me wish I liked it much more, because I really love her. It's just not very interesting and I don't care about the characters at all, and most of the dialogue is grating. And not very funny at all - although there are a few funny moments that I laughed at ("tear sticks are doping for actors" and his misunderstanding of "your boy has the BDE" are two lines I laughed at). It feels like it's trying too hard to be a mix of a Christopher Guest mockumentary and Wet Hot American Summer. I think my biggest problem is probably Ben Platt - I felt really bad for him with the whole Dear Evan Hansen fiasco, but I also just don't think I like him. I think the supporting cast is a little under-utilized because Jimmy Tatro is the clear highlight (and he's hot!). And there are some really talented kids featured - that's probably the nicest thing I can say about it. I wish they were given more time to shine. 

5. Fast X - I can not believe that there have been 11 installments in the Fast & Furious franchise in the span of 12 years. It's just so absolutely ridiculous, but I've seen every single one of them - and I've pretty much enjoyed them all. I couldn't tell you the plot of any of them because it all runs together in my head, but overall it's a fun series. But, after 11 films, it's hard to even think of something to say - the action scenes are obviously great, it's incredibly stupid, Vin Diesel can't act, etc. So here are my random thoughts about this one - first, I'm glad Charlize Theron doesn't have that awful haircut - you would think someone that stunning could have any haircut, but apparently not. Second, what in the fuck is Brie Larson doing in this??? And why do they always get like Oscar nominated/winning actresses to star in these films (Theron, Larson, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno) but the men can barely act?? Larson is severely miscast in this (and I think she's been miscast a lot lately in these blockbuster movies. She's not a blockbuster actress, but she blew me away in Room and Short Term 12). Her line delivery is somehow worse than Vin Diesel and that says A LOT. Third, this feels very long - I'm sure the length is probably in line with the previous movies (I'm too lazy to look into it), but it drags a lot at the end and there's a lot of unnecessary stuff thrown in. BUT, as many people have said, Jason Momoa makes this film. He's the logical next person to join this franchise, but he just revels in this villain role and just absolutely smashes it - he's sadistic and unpredictable, but also shuns gender norms in such an unexpected way considering how hyper-masculine and testosterone fueled these films tend to be. It's so refreshing. I read some gossipy articles that said how Diesel was upset that Momoa stole the movie and that he "overdid" it, which I think is hilarious if true. What a man-baby. His performance is overdone, but it makes the whole movie entertaining - if it were a basic villain performance, the movie would have been...nothing.