clairelu60 Reviews

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Story and art are fantastic, beware of cliffhanger

[10/10 · 26 July 2023]

This is the most stunning, beautiful movie I've seen in ages, and the story is just so good. I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen from the beginning and I had a ton of laughs. Everything was perfect, and interesting. The visuals, the story, the moral dilemmas, the complex characters and relationships. This movie was so much fun, even more so than the first. It just goes off with its' craziness, with both its story and art style.

Just be aware there is a cliffhanger, this movie is only part 1. That was disappointing, but I still wouldn't change a thing - the movie is way too good to be cut down to make room for a full story.

Bridgerton (2020– )

Not bad but a complete abomination compared to the books

[8/10 · 3 January 2021]

After viewing this show I rated it 7/10 and while I usually doubt naysayers who compare a three show to books, I have to agree with them here. When reading the incredible source material, the passably good show becomes awful. It was predictable, some of the characters were cliche and dull, and the ending was uninteresting, but overall I still found it to somehow be fun. Between a few decent actors and all the drama, as predictable as it was, the show itself was believable and there were a few, emphasis on few, enthralling moments.

But then I felt the need to pick up the books. Every single interesting second in this show is taken out of the book and made worse. The dialogue in the books is always funny, quick witted and interesting, whereas the show did not have a single such moment. The parts of the show that were added were all so strange yet boring that they actually detracted from the experience. The characters are so much more complex, with many more problems that are specific to them, directly affecting their personalities, yet the show rarely shows any of these problems, instead focusing on their own added "modern" problems that add nothing to the stories, instead sucking all the personality from the characters, giving them little to like. The show is still fine, with the gossip lovers and the pretty good acting from several, and the costumes that match the character descriptions alright.

I do note that this show had to cram 8 romantic novels, with different stories taking place over the course of many years or at different times, all into one show with one timeline. I can see how they tried to make things fit and it somewhat worked. The show itself may not be very good, but the fact that it is passable is an accomplishment; perhaps not a great one but an accomplishment nonetheless.

Free Dance (2016)

No story, it's a dance and music complication not a movie

[4/10 · 27 July 2020]

I agree the music was breathtaking and the dancing incredible but that's all there is: a compilation of songs and dance numbers with some cliché drama thrown in to trick viewers into thinking it's a movie. The acting wasn't bad but I'm an attempt to show character growth, so many events occurred that made each of the characters confusing and messy rather than complex. Relationships between characters were either unrealistic and cliche or difficult to understand because of all the problems that were never solved. Not one couple ended up together, the whole movie just built up to a show, with no payoff at all.

The pianist didn't get the girl, the star singer got injured, the girl got only part of the gig and nothing that was brought up was resolved. The performance itself showed way too many scenes, it was enjoyable to watch but felt more like filler than something that belongs in a movie: none of the songs could move the plot forward or reveal a characters emotions, or show us something new, they were just dance numbers. Even the made for TV movies have more story in the first few minutes than this entire movie does.

On Body and Soul (2017)

Beautiful work of art, boring movie

[6/10 · 25 July 2020]

This feels like a work of art, so many shots are unique and convey tonal changes. There are slaughterings of animals and the fact that the characters dream of being deer definitely has some significant metaphors. But as a movie, it's quite boring. To show the beauty and every moment wonderfully, the plot develops extremely slowly. Notice most of the positive reviews titles include the word film, and rarely movie. This may just be a linguistic difference but it sums up reactions well: if you view this as a film, something of an artwork that is an experience in itself, then you very well may enjoy this. If you are looking for a movie, in a more general sense, not necessarily a film but something entertaining, you may find this boring. I'll admit it wasn't putting me to sleep but it would have if I wasn't invested in the actors. The acting is quite good, characters are well developed, plot is interesting. Maybe this is my opinion as someone watching this movie a few years after it's come out, or not being European myself there are cultural differences in films, but I feel it was a decently enjoyable movie that just had events occurring extremely slowly.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

So touching and good

[10/10 · 30 June 2020]

Howls moving castle is great! I really like it and it is so touching! Other of my family members agree!

Just My Type (2020 TV Movie)

Incredible ....for a hallmark movie

[7/10 · 5 May 2020]

I love a good hallmark movie; even with the cheesiest lines, the awful acting, and plots so simple a 5 year old could predict them, hallmark movies always have that feel good, sweet essence. This movie is worlds above most other hallmark movies. The actors must've had a great time with this, as it's playful and fun, so much so that it doesn't feel manufactured or bland like so many other hallmark movies do. The actors were actually believable and had decent chemistry. The writing was not always bad. There were moments, especially when characters talked about themselves for a while, that went on and felt cliche or unreal (almost as if it were a speech or monologue), but there were other very well written parts that felt organic. I even laughed out loud a couple times, which I rarely do when watching all the cheesy hallmark movies. In fact, unlike most others, I don't think this hallmark movie had a single pun in it! As much as I love good puns, they're so overused and over emphasized in hallmark movies that it's refreshing to not have a pun. Even though there were a few tropes that this film followed, many of the usual cliches were left out, which made this feel almost like a real movie. The sets were just as bland as others, there was "another woman" and there were a few spots with long, weird speeches, making it a hallmark movie in both the best ways and the worst, but if you can ignore that this is a pretty good movie.

System Crasher (2019)

Beautiful story, great acting but no ending

[8/10 · 14 March 2020]

The story is so excellent, so real. I was skeptic all at first, thinking that the movie might over-antagonize Benni, making her far too manic to root for. But the way the film clearly illustrates why she's acting out allows for her extreme reactions to seem real and makes the audience empathize with her. This actress embodies the character so well and brings out many subtle nuances that make the character feel loveable rather than unrelateable. However, a movie with no real satisfying ending leaves me wishing I hadn't rooted for her, I was watching in anticipation, waiting to see what would happen and when the answer is nothing (or that it's left to my imagination) I feel so unsatisfied and empty. That would be like leaving a review that wasn't

Late Night (2019)

Funny, enjoyable movie, better suited for a TV show

[7/10 · 1 February 2020]

This movie is legitimately good. It may be overly predictable for some, but it's not a soap opera, it's a drama-dy (drama comedy), it doesn't need plot twists. And for what it is, it's good. It's very funny, not in the way that a sitcom is where they throw joke after joke at you, but there are a lot of good comedic moments and good jokes that hit. The drama and acting is great, Emma Thompson is obviously incredible, but the supporting cast is also great: John lithgow can do anything of course and everyone is good at playing their character.

The only thing is that (as Let Me Explain on YouTube said) this could've been incredible as a TV show because there would be more time for character development. Aside from Emma Thompson's struggles at the end, there isn't much emotional payoff. A lot of the drama doesn't hit as hard since most of the characters have very little time for us to understand how they change or have changed. There is a reveal to Emma Thompson that would've worked better if we'd known what she was like when she was younger. The character of Tom, was the definition of entitlement the last time we saw him, and after sharing a short story we see him in a different way, but it would be a lot more moving if we could see more changes.

AJ and the Queen (2020)

Uninteresting show, not much story

[5/10 · 11 January 2020]

There's nothing wrong with this show but there's nothing great about it either. The acting isn't noticeably bad but it wasn't good enough that I really believed the character's emotions. The plot is predictable, characters have some charisma and there are a few decent moments, but overall nothing too memorable or important happens. The finale doesn't even have any ending, no loose ends are tied up, no justice is served, nothing won, nothing learned. In many shows, even if nothing happens, it was the journey that changed the characters, but here, no journey was even taken. This show is just a series of random events and musical numbers.

Flashdance (1983)

Nothing special

[6/10 · 17 December 2019]

This movie is fine. The acting isn't bad, the characters are bland but not enough to distract, there's a nice payoff at the end. Nothing that angers me, nothing that interests me, no extraordinary dance moves. An okay movie if you have nothing else to do.

Also there's a few sexual innuendos, this may have been PG in the 80s but it probably wouldn't be today.

Bad Teacher (2014)

Worst than a waste of ti

[1/10 · 12 September 2019]

I've seen movies/shows with worse acting than this, shows where actors don't even know who their character is, shows with plots so generic than a toddler could predict the premise of every episode. And I've loved many of those movies/shows, just from the charm and the feel-good atmosphere. They're a guilty pleasure, something you love despite the fact that you know it has zero substance.

This series has all the bad acting, lack of chemistry and boring plot with but none of the charm. The main character, Meredith, bribes her students to act like they're learning with fake money, she stalks a guy two minutes after meeting him, and takes her class of children with her, she goes to a child's parents workplace and makes a false, public claim of sexual assault (simply because they were worried about her teaching style, which is warranted since she never worked a day before lying her way into the job, let alone get a teaching degree). Had any of these things been explained at all, by some tragedy in her life, the show might not have seemed so awful, but there was no explanation. In fact multiple characters laughed it off and after watching this woman hit on a rich guy solely for his money in every episode, we are expected to believe she is a good person.

Good Girls (2018–2021)

An excellent comedy series with some crime, NOT a crime drama

[8/10 · 7 February 2019]

This show is not only extremely funny, the plot is un predictable, the characters are very likeable. I started watching because I like Mae Whitman and I did love her in this , she has great timing and is always relateable, but I was very surprised to like almost all the characters, even the criminals, just as much. The most surprising thing: the plot. I watch a lot of crime shows but this show still managed to surprise me time and time again.

All the negative reviews seem to point towards the crimes not being executed well, but that's the whole point of the show! These characters are suburban moms not criminal masterminds; their ideas are supposed to be ridiculous. From the first episode, where they come up with crime ideas based on tv shows, then try to comfort and befriend a hostage, you can tell they're not experts.

The Mistletoe Promise (2016 TV Movie)

Boring "romantic" movie

[4/10 · 7 November 2016]

As a lover of the "feel-good", slightly cheesy hallmark movies, I was very excited to watch this movie. I was, however, extremely disappointed by the quality.

I never really expect any giant plot twists or any excellent writing; the hallmark movies are known for their stories that just make you feel good. This movie had no story.

The plot is extremely boring, as it follows the premise of the summary exactly. The whole movies follows this one "couple" pretending to be in love. Nothing interesting or even believable happens. In fact, I can't believe that either of them hated Christmas in the first place because the second they spend time together, they start loving Christmas.

The acting in his film is not great and nothing happens to these two characters. They don't even fall in love until the very end, when they are suddenly so in love, after having stated about a million times that their arrangement was just a business arrangement.

If you have a few hours to kill, I suggest another hallmark Christmas movie.