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Reviews
Carol (2015)
Every change from the book makes it a worse film
I'm not even finished watching this film and I already hate it. Every single time they make a change from the book it makes it a worse film.
As soon as I finished the book, famed for being the first lesbian book that had an even remotely happy ending, I decided to watch the film right after, expecting that it would be worse, but willing to hold it on its own merit. But with perhaps the only exception of changing Therese's profession to something more modern, every change made from the book to the movie made it a weaker story.
I won't get into the details to avoid spoiler tags, but honestly, there are better, older lesbian films. This one doesn't deserve the acclaim it received.
TiMER (2009)
Ending Utterly Spoiled it for Me
I was actually genuinely enjoying this film. It was challenging notions of true love in a way that was actually challenging - if you met someone and fell in love, would you give up true love for them?
Steph isn't going to meet anyone any time soon and has decided to take a chance with Dan. Oona is delaying living her life because of the possibility that at any moment, her time could suddenly change. They both decide together to get their timers removed, inspired by someone who is absolutely certain the person she is with isn't her "one" and simply no longer cares.
I think the movie should have ended there. Mikey even says it: our lives should have a little bit of mystery. Everything suggested that the movie was going to end there.
And then Prince Charming comes waltzing in and devastates three people's romances. But it's okay, because they're "destined to be together."
This movie fails on a comedy level because of the serious twist ending, it fails on a romance level because there is nothing romantic about the meeting of any person with a timer we see. I as an audience member was rooting for Mikey and Oona, I was rooting for Steph and Dan. And then to have those relationships shunted to the side just because that wasn't the true path means I just wasted my time watching these people waste their time.
I have a lot of questions that this movie throws in the air and then doesn't answer. How many people's timers have suddenly stopped working because the other person got the timer removed? Is there just a craigslist out there of people looking for people who got their timer's removed? What happens if someone's "the one" has died before they met? Do they qualify to be a "the one" then? What about the fact that Oona is a child of a "doomed" relationship? If Oona had never been born because her dad had never been with her mom, would Dan have wound up with Steph instead? Or would he just have never had a "the one?"
All the couples we see are roughly the same age, but if this is based just on chemistry, isn't it possible there could be some really uncomfortable pair-ups? People with language barriers? People with age differences? What's gonna happen when her dad meets "the one?"
This movie could have said something really progressive about the problematic nature of serial monogamy. Instead, as far as this movie is concerned, you really are wasting your life on every romantic encounter you have until you meet "the one" and no matter who they are or whether your sister is also in love with them, you have an obligation to yourself to chase after them.
I feel hollow and frustrated and disappointed now.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Disappoints
Spoiler-free review below:
Given the diverse cast, I was expecting a Star Wars without the problematic racism and gender exclusion of the Star Wars of the 1970's. This is where I was disappointed. Yes, it was a very Star Wars movie. J.J. Abrams did a fantastic job of keeping in the spirit of the original Star Wars. So much so, in fact, that I literally feel like I went to the theaters to watch A New Hope. Yes, one of the main characters is a girl, but she's constantly reminded that she's a girl. Yes, one of the main characters is black, but this caused problems that appear not to have been there in an earlier version of the script. I get the sense that the part was written for a white character and was changed for this particular actor -that his blackness was a problem to be worked around, not a point of pride. And the bit players were as problematic as ever. There were just as many examples of racism and sexism -barely subverted by the technically diverse cast. Hint: ironic racism and ironic sexism are STILL OFFENSIVE. It was flashy and fun, but progressive it was not. If you're expecting Star Wars, you'll have fun, but if, like me, you were hoping for progressive Star Wars, then you might want to lower your expectations.
Maleficent (2014)
Doesn't Live up to the Hype
The premise was phenomenal. So phenomenal, in fact, that I don't think anything could have come up to par. The idea of Maleficent - legendary super-villain Maleficent, the baddest of the bad -being turned into some kind of anti-hero was so appealing that no matter if Angelina Jolie herself materialized through the screen and kissed me on the mouth, I would still find myself mildly disappointed. Nothing could have matched the hype.
I still think the movie was very good. But it wasn't the sort of movie that could become a timeless classic, and that's what I went in hoping for. Had the main character been anyone but Maleficent, the story-telling would have been enchanting, engrossing, encapsulating. It would have been a joy to watch and I could easily see myself rating it 8 stars. But because it was Maleficent, I found myself wanting. They could have done better, and they should have done better, to honor an already great legend.