Movie Review - It Ends with Us

Director: Justin Baldoni
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 130 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Kevin McKidd, Hasan Minhaj
 
Description: When Lily’s (Blake Lively) first love (Brandon Sklenar) reenters her life, her relationship with a charming, but abusive neurosurgeon (Justin Baldoni) is upended and she realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 51: A FILM FROM A GENRE YOU DON’T WATCH THAT OFTEN
 
Review: With more than twenty-million books sold, Colleen Hoover is one of today’s best-selling authors. No wonder Hollywood is eager to adapt her books into films. The first one is “It Ends with Us”.

Meet Lily Bloom, who decides to move to Boston after a traumatic childhood. There, everything seems to be going for her. Not only does she open her own flowe shop, on the roof of an apartment building Lily meets Ryle with whom all the boxes really can be checked off. Ruggedly attractive, sweet, solid job. The two start a romance that makes the sparks fly. But then Ryle turns out to have a dark side. And just then Lily runs into her childhood sweetheart Atlas.

If I have to believe Colleen Hoover fans, director Justin Baldoni (and also the actor portraying Ryle) was very faithful to the book. I never read it, nor will I ever read it. And after seeing the film, I’m sure I never will.

Even though I have nothing but praise for Blake Lively’s performance, the story just felt off. Somehow I saw red flags with Ryle from the start (not knowing the details of the plot yet). I have never experienced any form of physical abuse myself, but somehow I don’t believe that someone suffering from it herself, or at least witnessed it up close, would see signals of it earlier on in their relationship. And I don’t feel like Ryle is such a catch, even before his dark side really surfaces. I found him very creepy from the moment Lily met him. It’s also very clear from the start, that Atlas is actually the man Lily is supposed to be with. And even though I like Lily’s friendship with Allysa, the way they become friends feels very unrealistic.

Fans of the book will love this movie, and I’m so happy for them. It’s always a wonderful thing to see a favorite book being turned into a movie, that is actually following the book closely. I’m not the right audience for this film. I know Baldoni tried to make a film with such a heavy theme with a lot of respect. And it’s not his fault that the story feels so wrong, because it’s the source material. Which follows a very toxic relationship, a relationship you know is wrong. And this film was marketed poorly, selling it as a romance to go see with your girlfriends, when it’s actually a drama about domestic violence. The film hints at a sequel, since there is also a second book. But it does not look like there is going to be one.

Rating: 2/ 5

10s Movie Review - A Simple Favor

Director: Paul Feig
Genre: Crime/ Comedy/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Rupert Friend, Henry Golding, Linda Cardellini

Description: Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a single mother with a parenting vlog who befriends Emily (Blake Lively), a secretive upper-class woman who has a child at the same elementary school. When Emily goes missing, Stephanie takes it upon herself to investigate.

Review: Director Paul Feig is known for his comedies, like “Bridesmaids” and “Spy”, but also gave us the reboot of “Ghostbusters”. He decided to exchange the comedy for thriller. But he never manages to completely lose the comedy/ slap stick element, which changes the dynamic of this crime thriller.
Stephanie is a widow, taking care of het son Miles all by herself. To earn money, she makes ‘mommy vlogs’. When Miles wants to have a playdate with his school friend Nicky, Stephanie meets Emily. Emily is an upper-class woman with a sharp edge and a mysterious vibe. The two become friends. When one day, Emily asks Stephanie to pick her son from school, Emily disappears. Together with Emily’s husband Sean, Stephanie starts her own search for het new friend.
The best things about the film are actresses Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. They shine in their roles and are perfectly cast. And they work very well together and apart.
The sloppy script and strange directorial choices make you forget about all that, sadly. The film is set up as a crime film, about a missing friend. But in between it has some comical touches here and there. Towards the end, it feels strange, especially because there was a very serious plot twist before. I don’t think Feig really knew where he wanted to got with the tone of the film, he couldn’t find a balance. He tried to much at once. And because of that it sometimes feels like a parody on the thriller genre. But without convincing comedy. I actually feels more like a very long episode of “Desperate Housewives”, only less enjoyable.
The film had a great set-up and a good start. And two fantastic actresses filling in the main roles. But sadly that wasn’t enough to save the film.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 117: The Shallows

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Blake Lively

Description: A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.

Review: When it comes to shark movie, there is only one masterpiece: “Jaws”. Hollywood has made many terrible films featuring this animal, some even more ridiculous than others. It looks like “The Shallows” is a more serious try again, and it does succeed for most of the runtime.
Medical student Nancy traveled a long way to visit a secret beach in Mexico, the place her mother once visited and told her about. Because her friend is in bed with a hangover, Nancy decides to go surfing by herself. When she is knocked off of her surfboard and is wounded, she discovers she intruded the territory of a great white shark. She manages to climb upon a rock formation, but high tide is kicking in soon and Nancy has to find a way to survive.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra realizes it’s scarier to not show the shark. This works and makes the movie thrilling and a real nail biter. Later in the movie, the shark gets shown more often and it looks pretty good. “The Shallows” is a pretty scary film and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Towards the end, the film loses its credibility.
We get to know Nancy a little bit, we know her backstory and I really sympathized her. And that’s where “The Shallows” doesn’t fit into the B-movie category. Although the story may not be the most genius, the character is interesting and the film looks really good. Collet-Serra’s directorial style is beautiful, he uses a bright color palette and slow motions. The images under water are stunning. And the director managed to make Blake Lively look at her absolute best. Lively does a very good job by the way. Solid performance.
“The Shallows” is pure summer entertainment. And it’s an actual good shark movie, Hollywood needed that. Although the credibility is lost towards the end, the film is overall better than I expected it to be. And who didn’t love the sidekick Steven Seagull?

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 27: The Age of Adaline

Director: Lee Toland Krieger

Genre: Drama/ Romance

Runtime: 110 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Ellen Burstyn, Kathy Baker

Description: A young woman (Blake Lively), born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man (Michiel Huisman) who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.

Review: Many people wish to stay young forever, but by watching movies about immortality you know it’s never the life you dream of. When young Adaline gets into a car accident and hits the water, she gets into a coma. When lightning hits the water, she is brought back. The side effect: she will never age a day. This all happens in the 1930s and we meet Adaline again in the twenty first century. Because Adaline is technically 107 years old, she is forced to move around and take on a new identity.

For a young actress like Blake Lively it’s a challenge to portray an elderly woman. She succeeds, because even though she looks very young, she often makes us realize she is actually an older woman. We get some flashbacks, so we understand Adaline’s life more. This is narrated, like a children’s movie. It somehow bothered me.

Michiel Huisman (Dutch like me) plays Adaline’s love interest Ellis in the 21st century. He has charisma. But from the moment his character enters the story, the film turns into a more standard romance movie. Here it’s immortality, but it could easily be replaced by fear of commitment. Harrison Ford, who plays Ellis’ father, is surprising in the film. His role is much warmer than we are used to see him in these days. He was sadly introduced way too late into the story.

“The Age of Adaline” is a solid romantic drama, which is a bit more standard then I had hoped for. But overall it’s a nice film to watch if you like the genre.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 109: The Town

Director: Ben Affleck

Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller

Runtime: 125 minutes

Year: 2010

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, John Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper

Description: As he plans his next job, a longtime thief (Ben Affleck) tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager (Rebecca Hall) connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent (John Hamm) looking to bring him and his crew down.

Review: Since his directorial debut “Gone Baby Gone” everyone agrees that Ben Affleck is a better director than actor. The crime thriller, based on a book by Dennis Lehane, showed us he had a sense of timing and he knew what he wanted his actors to do. Wisely he let other actors do the work on camera. For his second film “The Town” he decided to give himself the lead role. Again the movie is based on a crime thriller, this time written by Chuck Hogan. “The Town” is definitely a good story and film, but sadly there isn’t the depth that “Gone Baby Gone” did have.

The story is set in Charlestown, a neighborhood in Boston. It’s a criminal town. Doug MacRay leads a gang of masked robbers, who often strike in the better parts of the neighborhood. During a bank heist, Doug’s aggressive partner Jem decides to take the bank manager hostage. They find out that the woman, Claire, lives in their neighborhood and to make sure she doesn’t tell on them, Doug accidentally meets her in a laundromat. Claire obviously doesn’t know Doug and the two go out. Doug also starts doubting his life as a criminal.

With “The Town”, Ben Affleck proofs again he is an excellent director. It’s a good crime thriller and it’s definitely worth watching. But a deeper layer is missing. There are scenes with more depth, like when Doug visits his father in jail, the introduction of the drug lord, played by Pete Postlethwaite and the FBI agent played by Jon Hamm. Off course, people love seeing car chases and flying bullets, but the lack of depth makes this movie not as good as it could have been.

The acting is great. Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper only have small roles, but manage to impress in the few scenes they have. Jeremy Renner is the one to watch, because his character is very interesting and his performance strong. Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively are good as well. Jon Hamm’s character hardly has an interesting thing to do, he was underused. And Ben Affleck is overshadowed by most of the actors. His character is interesting, his acting mediocre.

“The Town” is a solid thriller, but don’t expect too much depth. Ben Affleck should keep on directing, but maybe with someone else in the lead. (In “Argo” it didn’t work that great either)

Rating: 3/ 5