Change Your Image
seaspongegirl
Reviews
The Goldfinch (2019)
Head not the heart
For a film largely about how truly special art can be almost impossible to replicate, they seemed to somehow miss this point entirely in its creation. While well executed on a technical level and decently faithful to the book, they completely miss the spirit of the original. The scene in which Hobie teaches Theo about how to tell the difference between an authentic chair and a replica feels like a metaphor for this movie as a whole. Just like the replica chair, it is lacking glow. It is lacking life. It is nothing special at all.
The novel was destined to be difficult to adapt, but they could've used much more of a Hobie-like spirit in the effort. This movie is all head and no heart (just like Kitsey's relationship to Theo) and it left me feeling empty and let down.
Also, should've been a limited series.
Dinner in America (2020)
Grows on you
I turned this off twice before I got through it. There are so many unnecessary gross out moments that don't appear to be for humor or authenticity and really take away from the main story, which is ultimately rather sweet. The first half is over the top and meandering, a lot of it feels like edginess for edginess's sake, & not in a punk rock way. The portrayal of the Midwest as eternally trapped in the 80s also feels misguided and campy without intention. Like they're going for the time in a vacuum vibe of Napoleon Dynamite and miss the mark. That being said, the romance is oddly endearing and the songs are excellent.