Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Blinded by the Light - A movie dedicated to The Boss already has my heart. The trailer looked super cute, and overall I think it turned out exactly how I expected. The highlight is obviously the "Born to Run" scene. I smiled for pretty much the whole movie, even though it's a little bit cheesy. It makes it better that it's based on a true story (and the pictures at the end almost made me cry). I think everyone can relate, especially as a teenager, to finding salvation in music. I think the film does a great job at showcasing this, and also the joyous experience of being a "fan" of something. There's a lot of serious stuff going on in the background regarding racial tensions in England in the 80s (that are probably exactly the same now), but I think the point of the film is finding an "escape". I don't think the movie needed to be 2 hours - a solid 90 minutes would have sufficed. I loved the end, though, when they are so excited to go to Bruce's hometown. I've been to Asbury Park once, and it's not my cup of tea (I'm a beach snob having grown up with West Coast beaches. I'm sorry, but the Jersey Shore is fucking disgusting and no-one has been able to convince me otherwise, and believe me they've tried). Sometimes I'm tempted to go, though, just for the off-chance that Bruce will show up as he often does.

2. Toy Story 4 - I've quickly mentioned the Toy Store franchise a handful of times on this blog in the past, but I try not to because, honestly, I just don't understand its popularity, but I also don't enjoy shitting on things that people love. It's not like I hate these movies, but I just don't understand the intense love for them. They are decent - Cute. Funny. Sweet. But also - Repetitive. Simple. Boring. The fourth installment is exactly that - cute, funny, sweet, repetitive, simple and boring. There's really not much else to say, which is always my biggest disappointment when watching a movie. I love trying to figure out who all the voices are though - like Christina Hendricks, Louise from Bob's Burgers, and Murray Goldberg. I can't believe it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, though. I haven't seen a lot of animated films from last year, but really? This was the best one? The only good thing is that maybe this is the last one? Hopefully? Please, God, let this be the last one.

3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire - I didn't love it, but there is still a lot of good stuff to talk about. It's beautiful, the acting is wonderful, but my favorite aspect is that is openly discusses or depicts "taboo" women's topics that are not usually shown onscreen - especially in a story about women in the 18th century. First, and most obvious, is that it's a love story between two women. Second, there are a few scenes depicting at-home abortion attempts. Third, the one that stood out to me most, was the open discussion of menstruation. Maybe it's because just the day before I watched this movie, while at work one of my managers walked over to the CVS next door and was pressured into buying a bag from the store clerk because she was buying sanitary napkins (in the town I work in plastic bags are banned - so if you want a bag you have to purchase it, and yes we are still working a few days a week to fulfill online orders because over-priced yoga pants are a must during a global pandemic). He was like "don't you need a bag?" and she said "no, I'm just going next door" and he looked at her with disgust, so she purchased a bag. This woman is 40 years old and still embarrassed by her period. It's just absolutely ridiculous. I'm not blaming her, I'm blaming society (but honestly, if that happened to me I would have told him to fuck off). Wow - epic sidetrack! Anyway, the rest of the movie is pretty dull. Nothing happens for the first hour. The final painting is shown in the beginning (and it's even the poster), so it's very anti-climactic. I also didn't think it was very erotic either.

4. Jumanji: The Next Level - I unexpectedly enjoyed the first one (wait, not the "first" one, but the "first" of the reboot). It was super fun and unpredictable. Sadly, the sequel is a little disappointing. I'm not sure if it's because I went in with different (higher) expectations than with the first, or if it's just not as good. The biggest misfire is the switching of the characters - it was a highlight in the first one, but in this one it went so wrong. As soon as they switched into their original characters, it was like a weight was lifted from the film and it suddenly became fun again. I mean, just picture The Rock trying to do an impression of Danny DeVito. It's beyond awful. It doesn't get much better to have Awkwafina doing a Danny DeVito impression, but it's not as painful. Karen Gillan remains the highlight. Even though I was disappointed, I still had fun watching it. It has some really funny moments, is cute, moves pretty quickly, and overall just a great family movie.

5. The Kitchen - I didn't really know much about this movie going in, which is always nice. I was really happy that "The Kitchen" referred to the infamous "Hell's Kitchen". I will never not think of Sleepers when someone refers to "Hell's Kitchen" (one of my favorite movies of all time - and what a fucking cast). Also, there was a really great short-lived television drama called The Black Donnellys that was set in "Hell's Kitchen" (fun fact both Sleepers and The Black Donnellys featured one of my favorite actors growing up, Jonathan Tucker). As you can see, I'm avoiding talking about this movie because it fucking sucks. I don't like Melissa McCarthy in serious roles (actually I think she did a good job in that one movie with Bill Murray and I haven't seen Can you ever Forgive Me yet). I don't like Elisabeth Moss at all. I'm going to decide now, that Tiffany Hadish is just not my cup of tea (I haven't seen her in much, but her line delivery is so cringe-worthy). The only highlight is Margot Martindale (obvi), but she's not in the movie very much. I think it's supposed to be seen as empowering for women (or as they call it "all Gloria Steinem and shit" - you know, because Steinem fought for women's rights to lead organized crime and murder people just like men do! What a fucking joke.). I honestly stopped paying attention for a full half-hour and I don't feel like I missed anything. I did enjoy all of the fantastic sunglasses. I have a bit of an obsession with over-sized sunglasses, and have an embarrassing amount of them. And yet, I need every single one that is featured in this movie.