I Like Movies

I loved this little Canadian-made film! It's a great nerd-coming-of-age story. Even though I'm way older than any of the characters in this movie, it still somehow connected with me on the emotional level numerous times. The script is great and the acting is excellent, performed by a well-cast ensemble group. Isaiah Lehtinen did a great job in the lead. I now have a huge crush on Romina D'Ugo! The washed-out suburban no-name locations were a perfect fit for that particular story. Writer-Director Chandler Levack has a great future ahead of her. I would recommend this film to anyone who loves movies!

Another coming of age movie, nothing sensational here, but I found the characters to be way more likeble then in Lady bird or Funny pages.

Amazing detailing for those who pay attention: Canadian lore, movies references, really fitting soundtrack and costumes down to elaborated accessory and so on.

But the thing that earned my 9 stars rating is cast acting. Every one of them, even the smallest roles like school teacher or second guy in the Sequels, are real, not boring, not flat, they are interesting to watch! Such a great job! Definitely should take the Best cast in whatever award they have this nomination.

Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D'Ugo and Percy Hynes White amazed me, made me do some revaluation of my youth and "moved me, emotionally, which I think is the highest compliment".

That's a lot to get from any movie 👏

Watching this film, I couldn't help but forgive its shortcomings. It was clearly made on a shoestring budget, with unremarkable locations and occasionally amateurish performances. However, the story's universal appeal overshadowed these flaws. As a film lover and someone who struggles with socializing, I found myself deeply moved and able to relate. The film tackles the theme of moving on and growing up, a familiar territory in cinema. Despite lacking groundbreaking elements, it exudes a nostalgic charm that captivates. The writing, direction, and acting are surprisingly strong, which adds to its merit.

It's a Canadian comedy-drama set in 2003, primarily in Burlington, Ontario, with a few scenes at the end in Ottawa. It follows a teenager in the last year of high school obsessed with Saturday Night Live and commercial movies but is socially inept.

Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) is a pudgy, smart-mouthed teenager who attends a large high school in Burlington, Ontario (a suburb of Hamilton, Ontario, on the Toronto side). He lives with his single mom (Krista Bridges); his father's absence is explained partway through the film. His best friend, Matt (Percy Hynes White), and Lawrence spend every Saturday night (Rejection Night) watching Saturday Night Live. They've agreed to produce the school's yearend memory movie but have trouble getting started and get in trouble with their teacher (Anand Rajaram). Nevertheless, Lawrence dreams of getting into the film program at New York University, despite the cost being far beyond his family's means.

The film follows Lawrence's efforts to make money for university by working at the local outlet of a big-chain video store. He becomes enamored with his manager, Alana (Romina D'Ugo), who is attractive but pushing age 30. His friendship with Matt changes because of his work schedule and Matt's decision with an accomplished female classmate (Eden Cupid), who is an experienced film editor. The film climaxes with a crisis at the video store and Lawrence's ultimate post-secondary decision.

"I like Movies" was more drama and less comedy than I expected. The dialogue was well-done, and Lawrence's personality was a teenager with whom you could develop a real love-hate relationship. Isaiah Lehtinen, Krista Bridges, and Romina D'Ugo were excellent. Eden Cupid was outstanding in a minor role. However, I found the film's ending too facile to be believable and the film's opening a bit jarring. The core storyline was good, though Lawrence was more naive about university than someone knowing the details of NYU's film program would be.

This is a charming project in theory, but as the film goes along it becomes harder and harder to like the protagonist. Sure, his dad died, but he's a total jerk to everyone around him without any provocation whatsoever. He should show much more character development much earlier in the movie.

Frankly, i understand the type of stress he's going through, but i don't like the stereotype of a mentally ill person behaving chaotically while everyone around them is trying their best to be nice. This is a hollywood stereotype that basically never happens in real life, and the reality is that people don't keep acting like this unless others are bullying/abusing them, and that's really not happening.

The film in general would be much better if there were real pressing reasons for him to act these ways, because i don't think leaning on/fetishizing teen angst is a good way for the script to fill itself out.

The climax of the film is just a bunch of arguments and bad behavior when it should have been nice, and by the time we get to the uplifting segments. It's too little too late, because the protagonist still has not experienced any character development. The only thing that's changed is his haircut and the people around him, and it's utterly implausible that these pretty girls would be talking to him. This isn't because he's overweight, in fact i think his appearance is generally fine, but his personality in this film is just utter trash.