Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Personal Shopper - I had high hopes that this movie would disrupt my current Top 10 list from last year. I saw it on many critics/people I trust lists, and some of the production stills are stunning looking. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with it. It is very beautiful, and a well-made film, but the plot is extremely stupid. I thought it was about a Personal Shopper (which it was), but it was really about a woman who thinks she can connect with dead people - more specifically, her dead brother. The second she starts to receive texts from a stranger - and answers them - it just lost me completely. Who in their right mind answers texts from a stranger??? I mean, really, WHO? I figured it would lead to something, anything, interesting but nothing happens for about an hour and 15 minutes. Then, exactly what you expect to happen, happens. Then, I guess to be "artsy" or innovative, it ends in a really confusing way, where you really have no idea what the point to any of it is. There is also a really awful amateurish fade out scene that I actually thought was an error in my DVD. I will admit that this is a great vehicle for Kristen Stewart, but she seems to just be continuing the same role from Clouds of Sils Maria (which she was great in).

2. Patriots Day - Pretty much exactly what I was expecting. I can't believe this movie is from 2016. I try to only write my thoughts on movies that I see that are from the previous year or newer, but I'm so behind on movies now. I also think it's really weird to make a movie about the Boston Marathon bombing so soon after it happened. There is such a thing as "too soon", in my opinion. It was interesting, though. I think most of the events of capturing the bombers happened at night so I just read recaps of the aftermath, but it must have been so terrifying living there - having it all unfold like right outside your house. I think the movie does a disservice to the actual people who lived through this event by introducing too many characters. I didn't really get to know anyone - it was just like this is A, B, and C, and this is their part in this tragic event. It just felt really unfocused. The cast is great, but I wish Michelle Monaghan had a bigger role. Same for Rachel Brosnahan. Oh and I didn't even recognize Supergirl until the end! Talk about diversifying your roles! Also, as expected, the ending with the real people, fucking destroyed me.

3. Good Time - I have been a fan of Robert Pattinson post the Twilight movies. Dudes been pretty great (if you don't believe me then watch Cosmopolis, The Rover, Maps to the Stars). He's great in this. However, the movie is not nearly as good as I was led to believe. There's some great stuff mixed in, but overall, I was bored. There are some questionable plot points - like ***spoiler*** how he didn't recognize that guy was clearly not his brother - they have completely different builds, and how he tries to seduce a 16 year old. I know we're not supposed to like him exactly, but aren't we supposed to root for him in some way? Once that happened, I was done. I did like that it had this Go vibe to it (which is one of my very favorite movies from the 90s). I also really enjoyed that it was a modern re-telling of Of Mice and Men (which I assume was intentional?). And the ending is perfect.

4. Fifty Shades Darker - Oh man, the torture (unintentional pun). I thought the first one was dumb and dull - not controversial, not sexy or hot, just fucking dull. I could get angry about a lot of the plot points of this sequel (as I could with the first one) - like the whole "Christian was abused as a child so we should feel sympathy for him" angle, or how when he tries to win back Anastasia (how do I not remember her having that name?) he says "I don't want strangers gawking at you", or how he becomes "heroic" by saving her from getting raped by her boss (because he is LITERALLY the same person as her boss), but I just don't take these movies seriously enough to get angry. I still maintain that Christian is a serial killer, so I was a bit disappointed that her male bff is still alive (didn't he disappear in the first one?). The guy who plays Christian (nope, still don't know his name, but he was great in The Killing and he is so fucking hot), is so bored in this role - he looks like he hates every second of his screen-time and every line of his dialogue. The two nice things I can say about this movie is that at least this one has a lot more sex in it (the first one was surprisingly tame), and it's not really dull - there are like 10 subplots. None of them make any sense, but at least they tried?

5. Game Night - Much better than it has any right to be. I actually remember reading surprisingly good reviews when it came out in theaters, but then it was cricket sounds from the box office, so I assumed it was dumb. I was highly entertained for all of it. Rachel McAdams is terrific - and I don't say that often because she is usually miscast, but she is GREAT in comedic roles like this. The movie is consistently funny, the cast have a great chemistry (kicked up a notch by Lamorne Morris' uncanny Denzel Washington impression), and it's very stylishly made (super cool tracking shots galore). The plot is crazy - and the ending twist does not make an ounce of sense, but it doesn't even matter. Although, without the "twist", the movie probably would have been even better (like if they just skipped that part and continued with the original plot). The *killer* cameo at the end is perfect - I had no idea he was in this. I could totally see a sequel (although I don't know how that would even work, but I would love to see more from these characters). It's a shame that it didn't do well, but maybe more people will watch it on home release and realize how funny it is.