Movie Review - Luckiest Girl Alive

Director: Mike Barker
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Mila Kunis, Chiara Aurelia, Finn Wittrock, Connie Britton, Scoot McNairy, Jennifer Beals
 
Description: A woman (Mila Kunis) in New York, who seems to have things under control, is faced with a trauma that makes her life unravel.

Review: With “Luckiest Girl Alive”, Mila Kunis reaches out to rape victims. And her film does so quite subtly, too.

Mila Kunis is one of those actresses that needs to get more credit for her work. In “Luckiest Girl Alive” we follow Ani, a talented writer for a successful magazine, about to marry a dream guy and seems to be living her best life. Not for the fact that she is still greatly affected by a trauma, something that happened to her when she was a teenager. When she thought she had passed on from it, everything seems to be coming back to her. Most films would be overly emotional, but “Luckiest Girl Alive” tackles this drama differently.

Ani seems to care much about what others think of her, constantly trying to be the best. She is a much hated figure, because of her alleged involvement in a school shooting when she was younger. A documentary filmmaker wants to get her on camera to talk about this incident: something she has never done in all those years. In flashbacks, bit by bit, we get to see the lead-up to the tragedy and the trauma that she still carries with her.

Young Ani is excellently played by Chiara Aurelia, Mila Kunis is adult Ani, and is also very good. Aurelia has some real difficult scenes to play and Kunis has the job to show us who she became 20 years later, with that trauma ticked beneath the surface.

I don’t think “Luckiest Girl Alive” is by any means a groundbreaking or super memorable film, but it does one thing so well: Ani is a victim of victim blaming and slutshaming, which is depicted very realistically in this film. And the way Ani deals with it, is raw and might make you uncomfortable. But also very realistic. And for that reason alone, I can definitely recommend this movie.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

TV Show Review - The White Lotus (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2021
Starring: Murray Bartlett, Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Alexandra Daddario, Sydney Sweeney, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O’Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Molly Shannon

Description: Set in a tropical resort, it follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.
 
Review: Vacationing is something people like to do. To let go of everything, and in the case of many vacationers, get yourself well pampered at an all-inclusive resort. A single women, a family plus the daughter’s friend and a newly wed couple all arrive at the same time, at the Hawaiian resort The White Lotus. The staff of the hotel is awaiting their guests and everything looks promising. But it’s going to be one hell of a week.

What an entertaining series. In a satirical and humorous way, they basically take everything and everyone to task. No one is perfect and everyone has their secrets and struggles. And since all of the characters we follow are either quirky, peculiar, irritating or highly unlikeable, the perfect vacation they all wished for, doesn’t go as planned. And this creates some fantastic, uncomfortable, silly, hilarious and embarrassing moments.

Each character has a role in the story. Ten of them to be exact. First there is the Mosbacher family. At the head, mother Nicole, a successful business woman who calls the shots. Her husband Mark has a health scare, son Quinn is simply bored and daughter Olivia brought her best friend Paula, who just want to relax and read complex literature. Then there is the newlywed couple, Rachel and Shane. They married quick after meeting and are now on their honeymoon. Where Rachel is a freelance journalist who wants to make it in the world, her rich new husband believes she doesn’t need to work anymore and just be his beautiful wife. Tanya came to Hawaii to spread her mother’s ashes, she is a lonely woman who befriends the owner of the resort’s spa, Belinda. And finally we have Armond, the resort manager, trying to make sure every guest is happy and taken care of. Which is a big challenge with the new arrivals.

Talking about Armond. He’s portrayed by Murray Bartlett and he is the absolute highlight of this series. I love everything he does in this series, he is so funny. And as a former customer service employee, I know exactly how it feels like to always try to please everyone, even the ones that you actually want to strangle. Always with a smile on your face, but mentally slapping the person opposite you complaining once again. Bartlett got a well-deserved Emmy Award for his role and he lifted “The White Lotus” to a higher level.
 
The ending of the show wasn’t all I hoped for. At least not for all characters. I especially didn’t like what they did with Rachel and Shane. I did like Quinn’s ending though. But overall, “The White Lotus” was a very enjoyable series, easy to watch. And there is a second season coming, which will be starring a bunch of new characters and is set at a different location.

10s Movie Review - The To Do List

Director: Maggie Carey
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Johnny Simmons, Rachel Bilson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Andy Samberg, Connie Britton, Clark Gregg, Donald Glover, Nolan Gould, Scott Porter

Description: Feeling pressured to become more sexually experienced before she goes to college, Brandy (Aubrey Plaza) makes a list of things to accomplish before hitting campus in the fall.

Review: Brandy Klark is the smartest girl in class. Her room is filled with diplomas and awards and a brilliant career is in the works. She has a bunch of great friends and a wonderful summer job at a local pool. So nothing to complain about right? But there is. While Brandy knows everything about math and history, she knows absolutely nothing about sex. So it’s about time for extra lessons.

In order to brush up on her knowledge, Brandy makes a to-do list of sexual acts and then works through her male circle of acquaintances. Her sister has some tips and her mother brings along a tube of lubricant. All this has to lead to deflowering in the place where half the city lost their virginity, in a parking lor at Beaver Creek (no pun intended).

Those who find that Beaver Creek is funny, will have fun with “The To Do List”. The film is a string of lame jokes, flat jokes, predictable jokes and non-funny jokes. Someone pushes Brandy into the pool, Brandy loses her top, Brandy takes a bite of a fake turd that turns out to be a real turd, Brandy applies mayonnaise instead of sunscreen. The to think that these aren’t even the weakest jokes.
Since the characters barely impress either, all attention to the film quickly disappears. And it’s kind of questionable why all those well-known actors show up for this movie. And I find it kind of offensive that pressuring your friend into having sex before going to college, just to fit in. Or is that just me?
“The To Do List” is a comedy that pairs explicit sex talk with lame jokes and characters that remains as flat as a dime. I liked Bill Hader, but I always like Bill Hader. So, that’s a plus!

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Review - Bombshell

Director: Jay Roach
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Malcolm McDowell, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Mark Duplass, Stephen Root, Mark Moses, Brooke Smith, Richard Kind

Description: A group of women take on Fox New head Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) and the toxic atmosphere he presides over the network.

Review: Based on a true story. “Bombshell” tells the explosive story of the women that broke the silence and accused Fox News boss Roger Ailes of sexual harassment.
“Bombshell” takes on the scandal that many people, mostly Americans, already know about. And this film shines a light on the events that took place during the process. And it’s a typical way of telling a true story the Hollywood-way: lots of sensation but lacking depth.
If this film didn’t have such a strong cast, it would be disposable and forgettable. The film should be more uncomfortable, giving the theme it deals with. There are only a few moments where you feel this discomfort. For instance when the three main women of the story are standing in an elevator. Not saying a word you can see them questioning themselves: did you also…? Or the scene where Kayla (Margot Robbie) meets with Roger Ailes and he asks her to stand and turn around, because it’s a visual medium. But he also asks to see her legs, eventually ending in Kayla pulling up her skirt up until her underwear. This scene shows that most women at Fox News owe their careers by doing something like this or even more. Sadly these kind of scenes are a minority.
The film also, for the most part, focuses on Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), when it was Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) who blew the whistle. I found this an odd choice.
All performances in this film are great. And also a shoutout to the makeup department.
It’s an easy watch and has its moments, but overall “Bombshell” could have been a lot better.

Rating: 3 / 5

TV Show Review - Dirty John (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2018
Starring: Connie Britton, Eric Bana, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Jean Smart, Alan Ruck

Description: Debra's (Connie Britton) seemingly perfect life is disrupted as she falls for a handsome doctor (Eric Bana) who sweeps her into a whirlwind romance. But her handsome new beau pulls Debra into a sinister game of psychological manipulation.

Review: Giving love a second chance. But what if the seemingly perfect guy turns out to be a sociopath? That’s what’s happening in “Dirty John”.
“Dirty John” is based on the podcast by the American crime journalist Christopher Goffard. He takes on true crime stories. In his first podcast, he focuses on John Meehan.
We meet Debra Newell, a successful interior designer with three grown children and a beautiful house. Through a dating website she meets John Meehan, a charismatic anesthesiologist. Debra falls for him immediately. They are living together within months and married not long after. But Debra’s family doesn’t trust John. And they have good reason for it.
They rush through the beginning of their relationship, but it’s hard to fault that. Because John’s illicit intentions don’t stay hidden very long. That’s good, it has good pace. But it’s pretty hard to understand why Debra is falling for John so hard, because it all goes so fast.
Connie Britton plays Debra, and she is such a talented actress and I always love watching her. But despite Britton’s best effort to bring her character to life, there’s not much going on with Debra. In the beginning, I was hoping for a little more depth in her character, but after seeing the third episode, it was clear what the shows priority was: explore the killer’s point of view and keep the victim scared senseless. It’s not Britton’s fault, her character is just very bland.
Eric Bana plays the titular John. And his performance only pays off when John shows his true colors.
The daughters, played by Juno Temple and Julia Garner, are probably the best part of the show’s acting. Even though their characters are pretty annoying at times, they steal the show. And Jean Smart, playing Debra’s mother, is also very strong. When it comes to the story. I expected so much more. Off course John wasn’t the man that Debra thought she’d married, but what he does to Debra in the period they are together, isn’t all that shocking. I felt no danger, when Debra really was in danger. The true feeling of threat isn’t really present. When it comes to the stalker theme, “You” did a way better job.
The show does scare you in a way, that any guy could be a ‘John’ and women could be lured in easily. But overall, “Dirty John” wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 31: This is Where I Leave You

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Katherine Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Debra Monk

Description: When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review: In “This is Where I Leave You” we follow a family that comes together after the father of the family died. There are a lot of unsolved issues, frictions and relationship problems and this doesn’t make the mourning process any easier.

After Judd finds his wife in bed with his boss, he gets a call from his sister Wendy, that their father passed away. His father wants to be buried within the Jewish tradition and this means they have a ‘sitting Shiva’. Here people will visit them for an entire week, to give them their condolences. Which also means that the family has to be together the entire time.

The family is a party of five: Judd, sister Wendy, oldest brother Paul, youngest brother Philip and mother Hilary. Judd is trying to deal with his upcoming divorce and he also bumps into a woman he used to like. Wendy is married with two children, but her husband is a work-aholic and she is secretly still in love with her first love Horry, who she was in an accident with. Paul and his wife Annie are desperately trying to have a child, but nothing has worked so far. Philip, who just brought home his new girlfriend Tracey who is much older, never really grew up. Mother Hilary has to deal with all her children, while also saying her final goodbyes to her husband.

The movie is a mix of drama and comedy, but the focus is more on the drama. Although that’s very light. There are subtle jokes and especially the dysfunctionality of the family is funny. All the characters are really interesting to get to know.

The cast is really good. Jason Bateman plays a role he has played before, but he is likeable and proofs he can carry a movie. Tina Fey is also strong in a more serious role then we are used to from her. Adam Driver is solid and Jane Fonda is delightful as the mother, who sometimes overshares information that as a kid you wouldn’t be very happy with.

“This is Where I Leave You” is an excellent film about a family with problems. Dysfunctional families somehow always interest me, it reminds me of how great mine is.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 155: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 105 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cook, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, Katherine Hughes

Description: High schooler Greg (Thomas Mann), who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl (RJ Cyler), finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate (Olivia Cook) who has just been diagnosed with cancer.

Review: The “me” in the title is Greg, a teenager with the perfect strategy to survive high school. Make sure you don’t make any real friends, but stay in contact with the different groups, without anyone else noticing it. It works for Greg, but he doesn’t have any strong connections. The only one he has known since kindergarten is Earl, who he calls his co-worker. Together they have made several parodies to famous movies like “A Sockwork Orange”, “The Seven Seals” and “Vere’d He Go”. When Greg’s mom hears that Rachel, a girl in his school, is diagnosed with leukemia, she forces him to visit her. But that forced visit slowly grows into a friendship. Greg warns us, it’s not a movie about love.

The movie is filled with humor, silly and loveable characters, unexpected situations and drama. This is a movie that a film lover like me can appreciate. Not only because of how well this movie was made and the artistic side of it, but also the awesome pop culture references.

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” manages to amaze the audience in every way. A movie from the heart, beautifully made and extremely honest. A definite must see.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 128: A Nightmare On Elm Street (Remake)

Director: Samuel Bayer

Genre: Horror/ Thriller

Runtime: 98 minutes

Year: 2010

Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Katie Cassidy, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz, Clancy Brown, Connie Britton

Description: The spectre of a dead child rapist haunts the children of the parents who murdered him, stalking and killing them in their dreams.

Review: In 1984 an icon was born. That’s when sadistic murderer Freddy Krueger started haunting dreams and killing his victims. There were a lot of sequels and spin-offs. So in 2010 it was time for a remake, because we didn’t have that yet. And I really wished we never had.

A remake, it doesn’t sound as fun as it is. Especially not when you know Michael Bay produced it.

First the casting. They are hardly credible, because they are supposed to be sixteen and look much older. And their performance is very bland as well. It’s just very uninteresting to watch them for one and a half hour. It even appears that actress Rooney Mara hated to be in this movie so much, she almost decided to quit acting.

In this film, Jackie Earle Haley plays the role of Freddy Krueger. His performance is okay. The strong point of the original was that we never completely saw Freddy, just parts and shades. Now we see him in full glory, already very early in the film. And where the first Freddy looked like an actual burned man, this one is clearly wearing make-up. With that, Wes Craven’s film was scary because of the suspense and the sinister atmosphere. Bayer doesn’t manage that at all, because he shows us too much of Freddy and even Freddy’s past. No mystery left for us. And the jump scares only come from loud sound effects, not the actual events in the film.

If you expected anything new, don’t. Some scenes were actually literally recycled. “A Nightmare On Elm Street” doesn’t add anything, a good example of an unnecessary remake.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 117: American Ultra

Director: Nima Nourizadeh

Genre: Action/ Comedy

Runtime: 99 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman

Description: A stoner (Jesse Eisenberg) - who is in fact a government agent - is marked as a liability and targeted for extermination. But he's too well-trained and too high for them to handle.

Review: Films, where the leads are stoners, can nowadays be put into its own genre. Think of movies like “Pineapple Express” and “Dude, Where’s My Car?”. “American Ultra” is also one of those films.

Mike is a nobody, who spends his days smoking weed and hang out with his girlfriend Phoebe, while working at the local supermarket. His anxiety to leave town doesn’t really help him any further either. A woman visits him at work and starts talking to him in words he doesn’t understand. Mike sends her away and not long after that two armed men try to kill him. Surprising himself, he overpowers them. How is it possible that he can do that?

The movie is meant to be a comedic action movie, but you’re never sure if this is supposed to be taken seriously or that it’s a parody on the genre of spy thrillers. The cast is good though. Jesse Eisenberg was made for a role like this and has great chemistry with Kristen Stewart. Topher Grace was funny and Connie Britton did a good job too.

Besides a few cool action scenes, the story develops slowly and the ending isn’t surprising at all. The movie is not as spectacular as the trailer let us believe.

The movie is somewhat entertaining, but I had higher expectations. The concept is great, the execution sadly isn’t.

Rating: 2,5/ 5