Life in a Year

The majority of the user reviews focuses on bad acting performances and although the acting performances truly are a great component to the integrity of a movie, it still can not be the main reason to judge whether the movie is good or bad. So first of all the acting sure is not this movie's greatest virtue, but neither it's worst one. Let us just stay with saying that the casting is debatable.

When you read Life in a year's summary of a plot you know exactly what to expect. You know there is going to be a romance between a boy and a dying girl with a sad ending. You know that. You go with that. You are in a mood for that sort of a movie, or you need some low-brain activity relaxation. Movies like that purely entertain and that is great, we need those kinds of movies.

One movie critic once said that romance movies are the hardest to write. Why? Because the audience knows what is going to happen, yet a screenplay writer still has to come up with a script that in some way is going to differ from other romcoms. This movie could not fail more in this aspect. There is nothing wrong with a few cliches in a romantic movie because you expect them. They are comforting, they are relying upon that the audience just excepts them, the audience won't judge them, they just feel them. But if the movie is stringing them up one after the other the outcome is a bad movie.

You have a wild and lively parentless girl Isabelle with a terminal disease, you have Daryn, a nerd kid who needs some unruliness in his life, but his strict and controlling father gets in the way. You have a loving mother who loves and supports her son's romance and sees a bigger picture. You have two friends who help Daryn to reach his goal. Now imagine a plot. Write down scene after scene (some of them look like a music video - you know driving on a road 15 km/h so the actress' hair is not flattering in the wind), add a few cringes. Then you watch Life in a year. You probably guessed the majority of the scenes in this movie. This movie is begging writers for some sort of creativity but it gets none.

Beware, there are several "10" reviews by people who just recently have established their accounts, most likely studio shills to get the rating up. This is becoming more and more routine on the IMDb. You'd best ignore them.

My greatest disappointment with this film is casting Jaden Smith as the boyfriend. If you do a search on the terms "can't act" you might well get a photo of Jaden Smith. He drags the movie down.

A few years ago he was featured in "After Earth" with his dad, on that role I wrote, "This is a very plain story, and relies on young Jaden Smith to convince us he can carry an action movie. He showed us he can't. He is not a good actor, and he enunciates so poorly that we often had difficulty even understanding what he said."

Other than that it is a decent story, although told many times before, and Cara Delevingne is really good in a challenging role. See the movie if you will, just don't expect too much. It is available FREE on Amazon so you are only out a bit of your time.

Life in a Year is predictable in a way, like most of these movies , but it tried to put its own spin on this story.

Jaden Smith is growing on me. You can tell he's talented and will keep growing as a performer. Cara is great like normal.

So don't listen to the overly negative reviews on here. That's just 2020 internet troll stuff. Most of these clowns on here just need something to do so they b-tch about everything. If you hate a certain type of movie, don't watch it. That's easier than watching it and then complaining about it. Me? I hate musicals. So I don't watch them and then blame the cast for me hating it. Get a life people.

Romantic/Dramatic movie. Surprisingly, it is a very good movie in the genre that many will love! Despite some similarities to other ones, this film has its own character, its own style and shows us important messages beyond its dramatic style. Cara Jocelyn Delevingne is excellent in her role as many of the protagonists. Very nice presentation of the script combined with the messages for the most important things in life. Some slightly stupid elements could have been excluded, but as a whole it is very good without giving a strong dramatic element except for emotion at the end. One of the best films Jaden Smith played. It is recommended to all fans of the genre! I will definitely watch it again!

Cara was the reason why I even bothered to look into this film. The initial premise sounded a lot like "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)" - but it was a new take on it. A young couple from different sides of the track get to know each other and make it work; against parents, against odds and also against their own initial doubt.

The two develop enough chemistry to come across as a believable, albeit unlikely, couple. The lead actors are fine, the supporting actors were not my favorite. The plot itself plays itself out around half-time and then fizzles out from there.

Was it a worthy watch? Since I had nothing else to do on Black Friday, yes. Would I waste valuable time for it instead of doing something else - No.