Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. - I know that this received mostly good reviews, but I was a little skeptical going in. I thought it was going to be a little too cheesy and "feel-good", but I was wrong. It definitely does justice to the book by Judy Blume. I think Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, is probably her most famous book, but I LOVED Blubber - I genuinely think that it made me be a better person. I did not have the typical family dynamic, and I think in a lot of ways, I raised myself, with the help of books like this. I did connect to this book though, especially the religious stuff, as my mom is Episcopalian and my dad is Jewish. My mom did the same thing as the parents in this book did and that's to let me decide my own religion - I'm not sure if this is what caused me to not only be an atheist, but fairly anti-religious. I just find them all to be pretty cult-like and corrupt. I do think that there are aspects of different religions that are useful in raising children, though (like there's a lot of stuff that one learns in church school that you don't learn in regular school). My paternal grandmother was a lot like the one portrayed in this movie, and I did go to Shabbat with her a few times (she was relentless in trying to push me into being Jewish), although I would not have cast Kathy Bates in this role (again, not necessarily a problem for me, but this role is very specific in her being Jewish - why not cast someone actually Jewish??? It makes no sense). But, the girl they found for Margaret is perfect. And Rachel McAdams is INCREDIBLE. She made me cry! Like actual tears while I was IN PUBLIC (I was on a plane). How embarrassing! I didn't realize that this book also has the same message as Blubber (probably because my brain fused the two together), but I like that it teaches young girls to think for themselves and not follow the "mean girl" mentality (which is also an ironic genius move to cast Rachel McAdams in this - not sure if that was on purpose, but I LOVE IT). In this, it's sort of inverted because her group of "friends" make fun of a girl who they are actually jealous of because she's developed early (where in Blubber they bully an overweight girl). Like I said, I do feel like these books had an impact on my young brain because I've always been adamantly against bullying and cliques. Even now, I think working with mostly women, I see a lot of "mean girl" stuff and I always call it out and refuse to participate. I also had major flashbacks during the "I must, I must, I must increase my bust" scene. I can not express to you how important this scene was to me - not only did I do that exercise regularly (and no, it does not work, LOL), I had a t-shirt with the phrase on it that I wore all the time (I was not allowed to wear it to school though because it was apparently "too tight" and it "distracted the boys". I was sent home for wearing it, and my mom called the school and got in a fight with the administration and basically told them to go fuck themselves. I remember her screaming at someone over the phone "my daughter is in all honors classes and she has perfect attendance, I don't give a fuck what she wears and you shouldn't either!" I loved that she stuck up for me. They also sent me home for dying my hair blue. And again she called them yelling.). Anyway, if I haven't made it clear - I really, really liked this movie. It's very funny, well-told, and full of so much heart. 

2. A Good Person - So after getting really emotional over Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, I mistakenly watched this movie right afterwards. And I cried like 4 times. ON A PLANE. It's not even that good of a movie, but I was really moved by Florence Pugh's incredible performance. I feel like this role is often so obviously "Oscar bait", that it almost becomes a detriment to ones performance, but Pugh's performance is quiet, stripped-down, genuine, and incredibly relatable. It's so weird to me that Pugh has given several Oscar nomination worthy performances (Midsommar, The Wonder, and Don't Worry, Darling) at the young age of 27, but the one nomination she has is for a mediocre performance in Little Women. I don't think she'll get recognized for this, either, which is a damn shame. I think Zach Braff tried to do something a little different with this - because it's not the downfall you expect. *some spoilers ahead* While a lot of people end up addicted to opioids after an accident, I don't think a lot of stories focus on the "accident" and the aftermath of such an accident. The story is that the accident kills two people and she was driving. She is adamant through the whole thing that it was the other driver's fault, but in reality she looked down at her phone to check the map (something every single driver has done) causing her reaction time to be delayed. The story is more about her accepting this truth - and it's heartbreaking. I always think about how when I was hit by a car at 10 years old, the driver was a 17 year old kid who had *just* got his license. The one thing that I vividly remember about that day is him in the waiting room with his parents and he was crying hysterically, and I was so confused because I was like "ummm...he hit me, why is he so upset?". But then when I started driving, and especially as I got older I always think about how traumatizing it would actually be to hit a child with your car. Or in this case have people die because of one careless moment - I do think that would be the thing that caused me to numb the pain with any and all drugs I could get my hands on (and I don't do drugs - I'll barely take an advil for a headache). But there is a lot to be said for forgiveness, of yourself and of others that may have caused you pain due to a mistake. The story weaves in this story of forgiveness very effectively. Braff is definitely a story-teller; I just don't necessarily think he makes good movies - they feel a little made-for-television for me. There's a lot of contrived plot points, and unrealistic dramatic moments that feel too forced. I think Garden State is made the same way (but it's been a while since I've seen it), and the style just isn't for me. But, Florence makes this a must-see. 

3. Sanctuary - I like this movie, mostly because it's very different. I had no idea what it was about going in, and I was hooked from the very first minute. It's weird because it's actually kind of...boring - once you get that it's a role play scenario and that she's a sex worker, the story starts to drag. But I was still also somewhat invested and interested. Margaret Qualley is a very strong actress (i.e one of the good nepo babies!). And Christopher Abbott really proved himself with both Black Bear and Possessor in 2020 - I've been interested in his career ever since. They are both so engaging that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and then it really pulled me in when she starts to dance around with her big hair (side note - I LOVE her big, wild hair, I don't feel like that is a popular hairstyle among celebrities anymore - everyone has pin straight, silky smooth hair and it's so boring) and he starts searching for a hidden camera. The camera work is SUBLIME, and she does full psychopath so fucking well. The powerplay and the psychological manipulation that switches back and forth is so interesting, and I honestly could not figure out who was going to "win". And then I started to question whether the whole thing was part of the initial role play scenario??? It's all very fascinating. I do wish it had a bit of a quicker pace, and some of the dialogue is a little cheesy. But overall, there are some really strong moments and I think it's a movie that is going to stick with me. 

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - I'm definitely a big fan of the TMNT franchise - I used to watch the cartoons as a kid and I LOVED the movie that came out in the 90s. Or were there multiple ones? I think the one that I was obsessed with was subtitled Secret of the Ooze if my memory serves me right. I also didn't mind the one that came out about a decade ago with Megan Fox, but I just realized that there was also a sequel to that and I don't think I watched it? It must have been really terrible for me to not even be aware that it existed. Well, I liked this one too. I really like the animation style - it fits with the feel of the original cartoons. I also really love the updated version of April. Haters can suck it. This new version looks like the teenage version of a work friend of mine - seriously, same hair - beanie and all, same style, same glasses. When the ads were airing for this, my husband said "Holy shit, did they base April on Jamika???" and it made me laugh so hard. I don't think she gets to see herself represented in films like this very often, and that's what Hollywood is attempting to fix. It seems like a slow process, and I think sometimes they overdo things or change things for the sake of change instead of genuine reflection. But this was a perfect update. And I love Ayo Edebiri - and I love that she seems to be in everything. It's always funny when someone comes out of nowhere and then has like 5 big projects within a span of a year. I also like that they got kids to voice the turtles. There are some really funny moments and I LOVE the songs featured. "No Diggity" is one of my favorite songs - I listen to it all the time because it puts me in such a good mood. And then they ended with "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest, which is funny because I just watched the documentary that Michael Rapaport made about them and it put me into a 90s hip-hop spiral. 

5. Guy Ritchie's The Covenant - Is it for real called Guy Ritchie's The Covenant??? Ritchie really thinks highly of himself for someone whose most recent movies include the live-action Aladdin, which was horrible. I do admit, that I am a Guy Ritchie fan, but I just think he lost himself (perhaps because he was attempting to expand his efforts, which I can appreciate, or, perhaps it was for a big paycheck *grumbles*). I think Jake Gyllenhaal is such an interesting actor, and he just keeps getting better. He's excellent in this, as is Dar Salim. And it's an amazing story that I assumed was based on a true story, especially with all of the photos at the end. But it's not, it's just an amalgamation of several stories of American soldiers in Afghanistan and the local translators that assisted them during the war. In this story, this translator goes to incredible lengths and puts himself in a very dangerous position in order to save this American. When I started to look up the truth behind it, I saw articles that described it as "not based on a true story, but it could have been" and LOL...what does that even mean?? Every movie in existence can claim the same thing. ANYWAY, there's some really intense and memorable scenes, but I think the score is really mind-numbing and it almost put me to sleep! I also think the whole "I want them alive" thing is really stupid (and obviously happens in a lot of films), but in reality - they would just instantly kill him - just like they killed everyone else. The end. Maybe they would want the translator alive and torture him as an example of what will happen to traitors. There's also an interesting supporting cast with Jonny Lee Miller (I used to have such a big crush on him) and Anthony Starr - I don't think I've ever seen him in anything other than The Boys, and he looks good all scruffy and exhausted looking. Overall, I think the story will stick with me, mostly because of the real-world implications of the effects of the U.S pulling out of Afghanistan (we really just left a lot of innocent people that helped us, to fend for themselves). And it's very well-made and acted. It's a little shy of hitting that 4 star excellence, but it's still great. Definitely one of Ritchie's better films.