ofeksharon1996's reviews

Let me tell you something.

I'm not one to cry - really cry(not that I'm against it, just physically it rarely comes out) - from a show or a movie. I do shed an occasional tear from ones that hit hard and good. But I haven't cried from a show(/movie) in years, and this one hit me REALLY hard, but for so many good reasons!

First of all I want to say that one of the best moments of the show of not THE BEST, and perhaps evn one that's single handedly worth the watch dare I say, is Sasha's truly remarkably honest and brutally poignant monologue ending episode 9.

Now that I've let that out, let me tell you that though this show has a few drawbacks, I can without a doubt say that the highlights easily outnumber them.

The soundtrack - LOVED it. The lofi synthesizer is so up my ally and it just felt right in this show with the new life in small town, life questioning, teen drama vibes.

The acting - really solid all around. Especially Angèle Metzger(Sasha) and Saul Benchetrit(Paulin) who were the real standouts with their distinct yet clearly interconnected arcs, but also Anna(Paola Locatelli), the rest of the gang and the parents.

The writing - also really good all in all. Did I appreciate every decision each of the charachters made? Hell no. I found myself annoyed and at times even dumbfounded by how they acted. Some of their actions were awful, some were heartwarming, some were dumb, and there's a whole lot of toxicity that's clearly rooted in personal traumas and/or mental struggles. But in the bigger picture point of view, at some point the motives become clear(er) and most of it feels real becuase they had intentions that are so innocent, or slefish or selfless - motives that are humanely relatabe in one way or another. So I didn't have to decide whether I agree with it because I was given the look behind the curtains of the character's psyche that I needed to just understand that yeah it kinda makes sense that they did that. There are some actions that are left a bit confusing but the use of flachbacks , the camera work and editing relly did a good job connecting the pieces , slowly but surely. On the downside I do feel like I'm missed more from Alex and Anna and the parents which all made me wnt to get to know them more.

The show is 10 episodes, ranging from 18 to 27 each, which actually relly helped me take it in becuse they all have their weight, and the cuts - with great choice for ending and opening scenes - are a great way to pace yourself as a viewer experiencing this complex journey with Sasha and the rest of the cast. I binged it in 2 days which had a good balance for me..

I'm SO glad this incredibly important and dissapointingly culturally "fresh" topic got such a moving portrail and I urge you to watch it an talk about it in your circles, because we need MORE of this on the screen.

This is NOT another nonsense parody/blockbuster action/ tragic drama star studded movie, nor is it an against all odds love story.

This is grounded, simple, heartfelt, sad at times yet amusing story about an old woman that sets out on a quest to restore something that was taken from her and learns a valuable lesson on the way about what it means to age.

It's not at all an emotional roller-coaster, but it doesn't "attempt" at anything more than what it has to offer, and if you don't expect it to be one of the many bigger than(our) life movies that fill the theaters these days, all grasping at some kind of "wow" effect, you might just have a pretty good time.

June Squibb is a great lead, and I liked Richard Roundtree as well. I feel like Fred Hechinger could have gave more to his performance and that Clark Gregg's and Parker Posey's characters could have been a bit more flashed out and meaningful to Thelma's and Daniel's growing up arcs, but alas, June and Richard had to be the ones to carry the story, and they did.

Also, the soundtrack is really really good. I don't usually have an ear for it but this one actually made me FEEL like it's a fast paced heist movie even though it clearly wasn't which added such a great layer to the whole film.

If you want a refreshing break from all the out-there epic/dramatic pictures, this could be one for you.

My expectations were very low based on my generally negative experience with romance movies and based on the very generic and unpromising summary on netflix, but I was looking for something to watch with my sister who's mostly into rom coms and drama and than this came up on Netflix so we decided to give it a go.

Turns out the plot isn't that bad, the acting was surprisingly pretty good and there were even a few moments that made me connect with the characters.

Sure, sometimes I didn't understand the characters motives for some actions, like tha fact that Hadley's dad really wanted her to be there at the wedding but didn't invite her before or reached to her or introduced her to his new wife-to-be - it's not really clear why shethat did that.

All in all a nice movie to watch when you want to cozy up at home with the family.

Wow.

This movie is... So many things.

First of all, let me express my undying appreciation of the absolutely amazing performance portrayed by the remarkable Carey Mulligan, unfortunately only recently discovered by me.

Carey takes the lead with such ease, giving us a captivating, at times close to impressively intimidating(mostly at the first half of the movie) performance, while not being afraid of giving us reminders of her humanity - mainly her vulnerability - throughout the film.

Her acting is with no doubt the best part of this film.

And yet, fret not, for this movie has much more to show off for than its admirably identifiable lead Cassandra.

The soundtrack and directing team-up is genuinely brilliant, whether it be the opening number, the music-video-esque almost parodic Paris Hilton scene, or the classical cover accompanying us through the doors along Cassandra in the 4th act.

The tone chosen from beginning to end by Anthony Willis combined with the genius directory of Emerald Fennell creates an unforgettable experience which only enhanced my connection to Cassandra.

Fennell portrays on our screen what could seem so unrealistic in many ways, as most of these films and movies in general do, but over time becomes closer and closer to our reality, through her brilliant writing filled with plot points which truly fooled me thinking much darker than what is finally exposed later on, the realness of the characters, and of course, the endgame.

I have been excited to watch this movie from the moment I laid my eyes on the first trailer and I cannot express my appreciation for the work done by Fennell and Mulligan enough.

Be sure to watch this one.

If not for the cinematic creation that it is then for the message only too relevant to the state of our society which it delivers.

OK. I was not expecting my first review to be written on such an apparently unfamiliar, quite underrated(so to speak) movie.

And yet, here I am.

I've heard about The Invitation from Chris Stuckman who's movie reviews I appreciate and even though his mention of this film was only brief and as an example of Logan Marshall-Green's features in his review of Logan's also wonderful acting role in the sci-fi action-thriller movie Upgrade(2018), the few words he had to say about it got me quite intrigued and so I went and added it to my watchlist.

This one got me invested right from the opening scene, thanks to the great directing of Karyn Musama.

We meet our lead Will(played by Logan) and his partner Kira(played by Emayatzy Corinealdi) already on their way to a get-together, essentially jumping(or should I say driving) right to it. On their way something seemingly meaningless happens but it feels to me like it's not even though I couldn't quite put my finger on its connection to the rest of the movie. Then we meet Will's old friends followed by his ex-wife Eden - who he separated from after losing their only son a few years back - and her present partner David - with which his ex-wife disappeared for the last two years. From the moment we meet these two, and as the movie moves along, there's an off-putting sensation radiating from them, approved to the audience by Will's reactions as well as his partner Kira and his friends. This delicate interaction was, for me, the visual soundtrack to this movie. It seems Eden has somehow managed to put her loss and pain in the past, while we get more and more signs from Will - many of which are elegantly presented to us in Will's scattered moments of roaming their old house(yeah, his ex-wife stayed in the house where they lived with their son) - that he's not in the same place. This contrast between Will's and Eden's state of mind and their individual ways of coping with their shared painful past was played in such a subtle yet strong way and I found it very well intertwined in the chain of events. The tension, which is built from the start almost without our awareness, gradually intensifying as Will becomes more and more alienated(gently put) to Eden's and David's "hospitality". This only grows with the joining of Eden's and David's two mysterious friends Sadie and Pruitt, both unknown to all other guests present.

Logan Marshall-Green's performance is really good and it does the most in feeding the contrast between him and Eden as previously mentioned, and in walking the viewers through the mystery slowly unfolding before us. The rest of the cast is also worth mentioning for their performance as they all give us different parts to support this mysterious and in many ways fragile structure of events.

The soundtrack does a lot to hold the plot in a very tense, almost sealed(pun intended) mood, even though it's more of a really low undertone for the most part.

With many small breadcrumbs spread throughout the movie, we arrive at the nerve-wracking climax which is topped off with ending scene, sending us away with an unhinged jaw. One thing that bothers me about the ending is WHY, but I think that's something I'll be able to answer on a second viewing.

All in all, a must-watch in my opinion, especially if you can appreciate slow-paced thrillers(reminding me of gems like 'Blade Runner 2049', 'Get Out', 'Joker', 'Parasite').