Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Marriage Story - Very good movie, but some people are just getting a little carried away with the hyperbole. It's exactly like every other Baumbach movie - strong dialogue, slow but evenly paced, well-acted, while also being elitist, narcissistic, and self-congratulatory. It's not something I would ever want to watch again - as with all of Baumbach's movies (my favorite is probably still The Squid and the Whale), but it does currently sit at #5 on my Top 10 list for this year. I do prefer Scarlett Johansson in movies like this (she was always at her best in her collaboration with Woody Allen, and this is very similar). And I don't always like Adam Driver, but he's also very good here. Neither are ground-breaking performances, though, which is what people are acting like. People are also acting like we've never seen married people hate each other on screen before. This is not new territory, people. And, as per usual, I agree with the male perspective. You can't just take your kid across the country, you stupid fucking manipulative bitch (basically what I said in my head for the entire movie). Also, the movie should be called Divorce Story, right? What a misleading title. And my last thought on this movie - if Driver gets an Oscar nomination over Taron Egerton, I will burn this place to the ground.

2. The King - Nope, still don't get why Timothee Chalamet is a thing. He is not a good actor and he looks like he's 12. I was so absolutely bored for the entirety of this movie because there was no strong screen presence. I expected more from Robert Pattinson - but his French accent was actually just really hilarious. The whole movie is just plain dull and usually I like stuff like this, even when it is boring (Shakespeare junkie! Although, Henry V is among my least favorite, but it's been a while since I've read it). The movie is also really colorless, which was obviously a stylistic choice the creators made, but it intensified the dullness. At least give me something beautiful to look at! And back to Timothee, I really just don't understand? Like, actual adult women (and men) think he's hot? It makes me really uncomfortable. I'm not trying to be insulting because I often get told I look much younger than I do, and I've finally hit the age where people think I'm in my 20s instead of a teenager (I'm LATE 30s, people), but for most of my life people always thought I was super young. I always got really weirded out when men would tell me I looked like I was a teenager and then HIT ON ME or make jokes about if I'm "legal" (UGH...men are the worst). It's not his fault that he looks like a baby, but I think it's weird that people describe him as "hot".

3. American Woman - THIS is the role I've been waiting for Sienna Miller to take on. She's such a wonderful actress and she just keeps getting sidelined to these shit "wife" roles and it's so frustrating. She's stunning in this - probably my favorite female performance of the year (and yet, I've heard no-one talking about it. How sad.). First, I always forget that Miller is British because she's done so many American roles and her accent is perfect. Second, this is such a hard role to play - it's ugly, selfish, filled to the brim with faults, but the audience still has to sympathize with her otherwise it just won't work. Sienna made me care about her. And last, the story is really interesting - the main plot, which is that her teenage daughter goes missing suddenly, leaving her to care for her baby, is pushed to the side but is still somehow focal in every moment. You spend the film wondering if her daughter left out of selfishness - maybe she's somewhere close enough to still be watching, or was she murdered or kidnapped and still alive? It's weird to have that thought as you watch the rest of the world continue because life moves on so quickly. I'm glad they gave us closure - as the film was ending, I was a little resistant of this closure because I thought it would feel too clean, but they did it really well. And ultimately our main character needs this closure as part of her journey. There's also a great supporting cast featuring Aaron Paul and Christina Hendricks.

4. Paddington 2 - The first Paddington was super, sugary sweet and this is more of the same. Except also really devastating - I mean, watching Paddington go to prison is a hard sell for this type of movie. I just wanted to reach through the TV and give him a big bear hug. These movies are super cute kids movies, so it's a weird plot to have for this genre. Other than that, it's got some great visuals, Hugh Grant is super extra and I love it, and I laughed more than a few times. You have to be in a specific mood to watch it - like a mood for something that's entertaining and mind-numbing. It's hard to really write anything else about this movie, because it's just exactly what you expect. Super cute, family movie about a big cuddly bear getting into trouble.

5. Good Boys - Oh my God, I laughed so hard, you guys. Hands down the funniest movie I've seen this year. There were points where I was crying laughing (which I often cry when I laugh - everyone makes fun of me for it). It has the perfect combination of being raunchy but sweet. The kids have really great chemistry together, which I think really helped the film as a whole. I smiled from beginning to end (and man, that ending is hilarious - I will never be able to think of Rock of Ages again, without thinking of these kids). I know for a fact that I will watch this movie multiple times over the next few years (as I've watched its predecessor, Superbad at least 100 times - guaranteed to make my cry-laugh during every viewing. Now is a good time to mention, if you didn't like Superbad then you will probably not like this. And also, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? ). I would love to list out all of the funny moments so that I can relive them, but there are just too many! The ending and the scene with Stephen Merchant were probably my favorite though.