20s Movie Review - I Still Believe

Director: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Genre: Drama/ Music/ Romance
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Nathan Parsons, Gary Sinise, Shania Twain

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 CHALLENGE MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 45: A MOVIE ABOUT MUSIC
 
Description: The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp (KJ Apa) and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.

Review: Jeremy has finished high school and is all set to go to college. With his guitare and his enthusiasm, he moves to California, where begins his studies. Because of his interest in music, he is soon noticed by Jean-Luc, a successful artist who also studied at the university. However, he gets the most attention from Melissa, a young girl with whom he quickly becomes very close. Jeremy works his way I in the music industry and is on the verge of becoming a star. But just then fates strikes Melissa. She has cancer and it spreads rapidly throughout her body. Jeremy hoes his utmost to deal with her illness and involves hundreds of thousands of fans.
“I Still Believe” is based on the life of Jeremy Camp, a pop star fairly unknown to most but has a huge fan base in the United States. That alone will make you interested in the film. But when you are about fifteen minutes into the film, you know that the movie by the Erwin brothers is far from impressive. While the story certainly looks touching and captivating, the film’s creators by no means succeed in making you really sympathize with the characters. The large jumps in the story and the implausible twists make it difficult to stay interested as a viewer. In addition, the film’s message I excessively Christian, something that doesn’t really work for a lot of people. I’m very respectful towards people and their religions and find it admirable that people have faith and believe there is a higher power. I’m just not that person, I’m not religious and do not like it when it’s forced on you. That’s probably the reason why I didn’t like this movie.
The screenplay doesn’t allow you to actually sympathize with Jeremy or Melissa, an on-screen couple who look believable. That’s extraordinary, especially knowing that this film is based on true events. The problem is by no means the actors, the characters have not been given enough background.
Overall, “I Still Believe” is not a movie I would recommend, only if the theme really interests you or if you are a Jeremy Camp fan.

Rating: 2/ 5 

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 33: Mother's Day

Director: Garry Marshall
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Shay Mitchell, Sarah Chalke, Jon Lovitz, Hector Elizondo, Larry Miller, Jack Whitehall

Description: Three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother's Day.

Review: Mother’s Day is the day that we celebrate all the great mothers on the planet. They deserved their own film, but this is not really the tribute I was hoping for.
We follow several stories revolving around mothers a week before Mother’s Day. Jesse has to solve a fight with her mother, but also kept it a secret that she married an Indian man and together they have a son. Her sister also hides something, the fact that she is gay. Kristen is adopted and wants to meet her biological mom: career lady Miranda. Sandy has to share mother’s day with her ex-husband’s new wife, who is much younger than her. And Bradley and his daughters are still struggling after their wife/ mother’s death.
We had “New Year’s Eve” and “Valentine’s Day”, which weren’t all that great to begin with. “Mother’s Day” isn’t either. I liked Jennifer Aniston, but I always like her. But the rest of the cast is a bit bland. And that story of Jess was just oo ridiculous. She and her sister kept such a big secret, because their parents are pretty racist and not very open minded. And everything is forgiven and forgotten in literally one second. Not believable at all.
I don’t think “Mother’s Day” is film that would make a lot of mothers happy. It’s hardly funny, super cliché and predictable. Out of all the assemble films with multiple storylines, that eventually cross paths, there is only one film in this genre that wins. And it’s not by Garry Marshall (it’s “Love Actually”, in case you were wondering). So if you want to watch a film with your mom on mother’s day, don’t watch this.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 70: Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction

Runtime: 129 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Micahel Key, Chris Bauer, Thomas Robinson, Pierce Gagnon, Matthew MacCaull, Judy Greeg, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Michaell Giacchino

Description: Bound by a shared destiny, Casey (Britt Robertson) bursting with scientific curiosity and former boy-genius inventor Frank (George Clooney) embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Review: The world isn’t doing so well, according to “Tomorrowland”. War, natural disasters, neglecting our nature. Leading scientists have created an utopia: Tomorrowland. It’s a futuristic location, in a parallel universe. There they are trying to find solutions to help planet Earth.

We meet young Frank Walker. He build his own jetpack and wants to show it at an exhibition. If someone his age can make it, anything is possible, so he says. He meets Athena, a recruiter for Tomorrowland. She makes him part of the project.

Many years later, earth hasn’t changed much. People are selfish and pretend not to see all the bad things happening in the world. Except for Casey Newton. While on a mission to prevent rocket base Cape Canaveral from shutting down, she is arrested. When she is released, a mysterious pin is handed to her. This pin brings her to Tomorrowland. But why was it given to her?

There is a clear moral in “Tomorrowland”. We should take care of our planet. This is typical for Disney. That nostalgic perfection of the opening scene is also very Disney, just like the rest of the film is pure magic and fantasy. But “Tomorrowland” has much more to offer. The movie shows us that we all make our own future.

“Tomorrowland” is visually stunning. The movie all together is an exciting rollercoaster ride. It’s a great movie experience. George Clooney is really good in this film. He has humor and I enjoyed his performance. Same goes for Britt Robertson, an upcoming star in Hollywood. Raffey Cassidy was probably the biggest surprise. The young girl was the star of the film.

“Tomorrowland” is definitely a movie worth watching.

Rating: 4/ 5