Thoughts on 5 Films

1. El Camino - Like many people, Breaking Bad is my favorite show. Ever. I've actually been too nervous to do a re-watch, because I'm so terrified that I've built it up bigger in my head and what if it's not as good as I remember it? I think I would be devastated. Watching the first episode was sort of a fluke for me. I do tend to watch every show imaginable - eventually, but I watched the very first episode of this as it aired, for one very odd reason - I saw a commercial and thought it was a new show with the hot guy from Weeds and The Invisible and I was instantly IN (took me a while to realize that I thought Aaron Paul was Justin Chatwin...). I watched the first episode simply for a hot guy, and then was BLOWN AWAY by what I watched. Jesse was always the heart of the show, and I knew during the finale that they left his story open...for a reason. This was a really convenient way to continue the story. The movie is satisfying - I don't think it ever hits the brilliance of the series, but I enjoyed it. They creatively bring back all of the important characters, and it never feels forced. There are some really suspenseful moments (the scene with the "cops" is wonderful), and of course, Jesse is given the best one-liners imaginable ("only an asshole doesn't like pineapple". Just brilliant.). Overall, I was completely entertained. I miss these characters so much (side-note - What happened to Better Call Saul? I feel like it's been so long since the last season?).

2. Yesterday - Kind of an amazing idea, but definitely not explored to its fullest capacity. It's quite delightful and sweet, but it left me with so many questions. The plot is that this guy is a struggling singer/songwriter who gets hit by a bus, when he wakes up he discovers that The Beatles (and Coke) never existed - so he steals their entire catalogue and becomes a world-wide phenomenon. I mean, if I'm honest, I would probably do the same thing. On the surface- I think it's a highly entertaining rom-com. Himesh Patel does a wonderful job with The Beatles songs, and Lily James is as lovely as ever (the film is at its strongest when she is on-screen). However, I think if you go deeper than the surface, the film is an absolute mess. The Beatles weren't just famous because they wrote great songs - they were a force of nature, changing Rock music forever. If The Beatles didn't exist, then so many other bands wouldn't exist either. This guy, while he sounds nice, has NO presence whatsoever (which is why he wasn't successful to begin with). Also, I think we're supposed to think that Ed Sheeran is our modern day version of The Beatles? Is that for real? I have nothing against the guy (and according to my mother, he "has the voice of an angel"), but he's certainly not changing the course of music history. Also, I laughed really hard at the Coldplay joke (and I like Coldplay!).

3. Bumblebee - I'm a big fan of the Transformers franchise (suck it, haters!), but I was not really looking forward to this. It seems like a sappy, nostalgia-filled, charming movie, and that, to me, is just not a Transformer movie. I think the creators *think* that they are doing something different with Hailee Steinfeld's character, but they are sorely mistaken. It's actually kind of hilarious because she's pretty much identical to Mikaela from the first Transformers (played by Megan Fox). She's super attractive, and totally into cars. BUT, Steinfeld's character is different because she has a "boys" name (Charlie), and she doesn't care about her appearance (but just happens to have the thickest fucking eye makeup on for the entire movie - eye makeup that takes at least 10 full minutes to apply, but we are just supposed to believe that she just rolls out of bed like that and doesn't give a fuck what you think...). It's just so dumb. And, wait for it..., it's incredibly fucking sexist (but this was written by a woman, so it can't be sexist...right??). Anyway, the movie is ok, it just feels unnecessary - and it's all been done before in a much better way, in my opinion. The best part of the whole thing is PAMELA ADLON! I just absolutely adore her. 

4. Arctic - The only way these types of movies work is if the acting is really, really strong - and you just can't go wrong with Mads Mikkelsen, can you? He's incredible. Why hasn't there been Oscar talk for this role? It's definitely one of the best performances I've seen this year. The movie, though, is just about average. It feels a bit like The Grey, but that movie is far superior. Sometimes it's difficult to watch films with very little dialogue - you really have to be in the right head-space. It's never quite boring, but I just didn't really find it interesting either. *slight spoiler alert* I also didn't really understand his thought process of taking the girl with him? Wouldn't he have been able to travel further without her? And wouldn't she have been safer? Or was he scared that she would get eaten by a bear or something? It's questions like that where I feel dialogue would have helped. Anyway, as disinterested as I thought I was, the ending is a freaking killer. I sat at the edge of my couch and bawled like a fucking baby at the ending. It's so tense, and emotional - just filmed and acted to perfection.

5. The Upside - Ok, I was a pretty big fan of the original film, The Intouchables. It almost made it into my Best Films of 2012 list, but that was such an incredible year for movies - it had some tough competition. I loved the original because it was just so charming and heartwarming, but it didn't feel cheesy at all. This updated (i.e American) version is super cheesy. The biggest failure is the chemistry between the leads, and also, the chemistry that Hart has with the audience is lacking as well. In the original, I adored this character because Omar Sy was just so loveable. Kevin Hart is fucking grating (I'm glad he's okay after that horrific car crash, but that doesn't mean I have to like his comedy or his acting). He's been good in some things (I laughed hard at him in Jumanji), but he seems angry in this movie - and that's just not the character. Just everything about it felt...off. It's too serious, too cliched, and just unnecessary. If you're going to remake a wonderful foreign film into an American version - you better make it just as good, if not better, otherwise what's the fucking point?