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claudineharper
Reviews
This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024)
Give more respect to JLo - she is multi talented
This is in some form what Daft Punk's Interstella5555 did with Discovery. It's a great idea to make a film of music videos from an album. It means her songs are visual and have meaning. I grew up in the golden era of music videos so I love this idea.
And JLo did it well. So much so I rewatched the first song again, and I would rewatch it all just to experience it again. It stays with me and I listen to the album differently now.
It's starts really strong with a Doctor Who-like-visual of a petal factory breaking down, the song is brilliant and the action really cool. It made my hair stand on end. The film ends really sweet with JLo finally happy with herself, dancing to a homage of Singin' in the Rain, one of my favourite films of all time.
In the middle are other funny, self-deprecating, heartfelt, visually stunning dances and songs and interludes, showing how she just wants love and didn't realise she had to love herself first. Trivial, cliché, trite it maybe but it is a simple musical on her thinking of her love life. To be honest, in the era of over-thinking, too much info, and socio-political topics, this is really refreshing to just enjoy music and dance and have it be about something simple.
Not sure why people are so angry at JLo making something about her experiences/ feelings, when she's an actor (she's not the best actress but she's acceptable completely) , a dancer, and a singer (yes she can sing - listen to other singers from around the world, not just massive rarities like Mariah Carey powerhouse voice, JLo can still sing). Of course, if she can, she would. She would want to express this most personal album using her 3 talents. Not sure why everyone is surprised or angry. Why can't she express herself through a musical?
I have been a fan of the golden era classic musicals since I was a child, fan of Streisand, and I can say this has more heart and brilliance than LaLaLand. I have been a fan of JLo from the start, drifting off a little since the 2010s, dipping back in to check out what she's doing, so I am not even a hardcore fan.
I don't find JLo pretentious actually, even if she sells loads of her own brand, shows off her body a lot (but if you've got it...)I think she's passionate, she wears her heart on her sleeve, she's ambitious, fearless and brave. This is all this is. Totally JLo. And if anyone is surprised or disappointed then they clearly don't know JLo (and i don't mean personally) but they also don't know music.
Ore no Ie no Hanashi (2021)
Surprisingly bittersweet and well written
It starts out looking like a silly show , in a good way, with wrestling, jokes and brilliant use of a fantastic Yumi Matsutoya song, which was the key to me sticking to it! My husband loves wrestling so that worked for him. Eventually, forget the pop song, forget the wrestling - it becomes a heartfelt and introspective drama about dementia, mistakes, regret, infidelity, discovering things are not what you thought they were, the behaviour of the elderly, divorce, life deadlines, father son relations, and family overall.
The ending is very shocking and a real left hand turn but somehow works, if just to show life doesn't always turn out the way you think and you could lose the one thing you thought was the only thing you couldn't lose.
Really well made and written and very sweet and funny.
Elvis (2022)
Intense, sad, beautiful looking.
I am a massive Baz fan, also grew up on Elvis music because my mum was an obsessed fan from her teens when he was around. So was very excited to see this!
This is a classic Baz L film, with his signature style: excessive, exhilarating, intensity, bittersweet moments, sweeping movements, artistic hyperealism computer effects, tabloid art, beautiful colour, musically driven and musically spectacular, creative montages, like a golden era Hollywood musical on acid. That's what I love about Baz.
Actually the opening moments made me cry. I don't know what it was but it was so tender and sad, with the echoing sound of Elvis' voice, it affected me suddenly. It's the American Trilogy part, the end of Elvis, the exploitation of him, which we know of anyway, given to us suddenly first of all. Classic Baz, he hits you hard with the end tragedy and explains how we got there.
The first third is thrilling, cool, fun but of course it eventually becomes sadder and darker for Elvis' life in ways I knew of but never fully appreciated until now.
How the film replicated the stage shows, and the photos and footage we've all seen before but in a dramatic, artistic way was thrilling and impressive.
You really understand how he shook the industry up and why he's still an icon because of that but mainly because he has an excellent voice and presence.
Austin Butler holds that style, the presence and the voice and he is god-like in this film. He's definitely the best thing about it.
Tom Hanks was obviously Tom Hanks made up with a strange accent which still sounded an awful lot like Hanks was distracting at times. This is the only criticism. But it doesn't ruin things and I know Baz loves a kooky "villian".
The whirlwind of Elvis' career and personal life really is intense and fast and the film shows that whole atmosphere and how he really opened up the music we now know and enjoy from the conservative music we were given.
Ultimately it left me feeling so sad how short a life he had, how he seemed exploited by his manager and was selfless and caring to the point of neglecting himself.
This film doesn't really breathe, it's like a heart attack that doesn't stop. If that's how it was for poor Elvis, then that's sad. I like to think he had good, happy times in his life, and was somewhat grounded, even if it was a crazy ride.
A wonderfully thrilling artistic cinematic musical achievement by Baz and co, a celebration of Elvis, a great way to explain his impact on everyone and music to a new generation, a tribute to him, a gift to his fans everywhere.
Hiyama Kentarô no ninshin (2022)
Well produced drama, it's all philosophy. It's the "what if"...
Ok, not sure why people are giving this show 1 star; that's extreme; it's well filmed, very well acted, well paced, and well thought out. If you're upset by the IDEA you need to open your mind a little...
I have to say I watch and read a lot of Japanese fiction. If you're not used to it all then you won't get this one either. Japanese fiction tends to show you a story with a "What If" idea...just like Death Note...the science and realistic ability of the Death Note is zero. But it's the PHILOSOPHY of it all is spellbinding and what makes it interesting.
I'm not even remotely a feminist but this show just highlights what women go through and what if a man went through it...and they do it without the science being a plot point and without trying to tackle that part... it's all imaginary... what would happen and how would people behave?
Just like The Memory Police (Japanese book).... it's scientifically impossible...but the idea is interesting.
It doesn't necessarily go very deep with the idea, and it ends a little anticlimactic, but the details and perspective of what a man might go through is very well done. It's entertaining, and an interesting idea to try out. I've seen better Japanese dramas but I applaud them for their idea and attempting something quite out there.
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022)
Waste of time
Basically I thought it was a modern Desperate Housewives, Stepford Housewife, Twin Peaks thing... because that's what the trailer leads you to believe...but actually it's a spoof parody and I didn't know that. Only realised at the end because the ending was so ludicrous. The parts that looked like the lead character is an unreliable narrator/witness were actually meant to be comedy. Oh dear.
It's badly written and the tone all wrong. Wasted a good 4 hours of my life. Leave parody to the Waynan brothers please.
The Ingenuity of the Househusband (2021)
Lovely to watch, funny and helpful
I don't think the point of this live action version is meant to include the yakuza character part, or the full humour. It's like a program channels show between longer shows, light hearted and mostly full of household tips.
The best part is the music, comedic timing, the actor and his beautiful home and garden. It will inspire you to take time doing chores, and do them with pride and be able to laugh at yourself for being a perfectionist and for the trauma felt when something goes wrong after being so attentive!
Nakitai watashi wa neko o kaburu (2020)
Funny and pretty, well-made and philosophical.
I really enjoyed this little gem. It's like a mix of Spirited Away and The Cat Returns and Your Name! All great films in their own right, yet this still stands on its own. Lovely animation, character development, pacing is really good and story is very interesting. I too have wanted to live like a cat and it's an interesting thing to see for real why someone would and why they wouldn't. It's very Japanese (a positive thing), but relatable to anyone. I liked how the characters learned something about themselves after it all and nothing came too easily to them. The animation of the eyes, fireworks, flowers are really pretty and found the ending really enjoyable.
Ni no kuni (2019)
Very disappointed
I watched about 30 mins and turned off because the characters reactions to what was going on did not fit at all. We are thrown into their normal world and fantasy world but with no real relationship for us with it. I was made to care too early on about the boy who has a crush on the girl his friend is dating... And then she gets murdered and when they travel to this other world their reactions don't fit to what is happening or what just happened to them.
Plus it has a weird mix of animation and real footage.
I love most animé but this want good enough.
Mirai no Mirai (2018)
Characters whom you can't like
It was not about Mirai, it was about a really awfully behaved boy whom shouts his mum and dad, hits his baby sister, craves attention rudely, and yells all the time.
The animation is amazing, but the story is not funny, not interesting, not thought-provoking, not moving. It drags and the imagination of the boy is confusing, interrupts the pacing and because the boy is so clueless that his behaviour is wrong, him being told the reality of things through imagination of his relatives is not enough to feel any sympathy for him. His parents let him act how he likes and it's tiresome to watch. The only character I liked was the father, as the mother acted selfish and rude, especially to her husband.
Such a shame because it could have been cute, with the idea, the soundtrack and animation, but the story and lack of redeeming characters fails this entirely. It was a chore to watch, I only got through it because I wanted to see if it got better. But it didn't really. The end at the station was well made but not enough to save the film.
Little (2019)
Little charm, little sense
It ain't worth seeing. The person whom made the trailer did a great job making this look funny. I should have known.
It ain't Big, for sure! That film made sense, and had real growth. It's random, full of plot holes, characters obsessed with career, money and material things and there was only like 1 or 2 laughs at a stretch. Half way through I was not interested to find out what happens, I would have stopped watching if I hadn't paid for the rental. I think the random singing in the restaurant and the lead's constant forgetting that she was 13 really silly. Direction was bad logistically and practically and a lot of things unexplained.
Don't bother. If you want an easy laugh, just go for White Chicks or Isn't It Romantic.
Nobushi no Gourmet (2017)
Funny and heartwarming
Just a simple, nice, sweet and funny little show. It's relaxing and inspiring. It will make you want to enjoy your food the way you want to, it will make you want to stand up for yourself but also be more humble. The samurai is handsome and sexy and a thrill when he appears. The 60 year old lead character is sweet and cute and almost like a very polite Japanese version of Larry David, talking to himself and realising how awkward he is in modern social situations. He tries to do the right thing but usually wimps out but it's funny when that happens because that's more realistic!
It's got a lovely setting and aesthetic and music. It's so relaxing to just watch and escape and follow his thoughts and memories and his imagination of how men or samurais or Japan used to be.
I hope there is more!
Itadakimas!!!!
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Too dark in every way
Not an expert on HP, but really liked FBaWTFT (1st film), as it was sweet, light, fun and with great characters. This however is the opposite. It was way too dark, even asthetically, the sets, the clothes, the lighting: way too dark. Paris looked miserable, which it's not and barely any beasts! Newt, Queeny, Tina and Jacob are the characters we love, but they were barely in it and Queeny and the relationship melodrama ruined the Jacob and Queeny sweetness from the first film. The sub plots about three other characters' childhood identities were boring and had to use too much time with miserable and dark-themed narrative. Johnny Depp is overrated, arrogant and too much of a face to make his evil character interesting; I wished for a different actor. Of course it had to have a twist (eye roll), but it didn't need one. It was too long and miserable and missing all the fun and sweetness of the first film. What a shame. It's just like every other movie franchise: overly dark and dramatic and unoriginal.
The X Files: Rm9sbG93ZXJz (2018)
Waste of time
I have never reviewed anything on here. I feel I want to because this revival is so bad and this episode might be the worst yet. The writers have a chance to do something deeper and take the characters to another level but they choose to waste time on this. It must have been cheap but a waste to the extra episodes.
It did nothing but have the leads act immaturely and out of character. Scully would not have a house like that, let alone anyone, and they of all people, and everyone else, wouldn't go to a restaurant like that. Nor do I need to see them on a night out for a whole episode.
I was curious by the teaser but it pretty much had no bearing on the rest of the episode.
But if you are a shipper and get entertained by seeing M and S doing ANYTHING then you'll like this, especially if they hug or rub up against eachother at the end, like the friends with benefits they are. How romantic.
I prefer the show to be an investigation of more down to earth paranormal cases about people i might relate to and have it be about interesting mysteries. Digital revenge is stupid.
We've seen these stories before on this show and in other shows enough. The xfiles did these stories when digital technology was new and more threatening and we didn't own so many digital things, so it was unknown: Ghost in the Machine, Kill Switch to name a few. It's not clever to critique the digital world. It's easy, and this is an extreme display of the world we live in to a stupid degree.
Funny they should critique the digital world when it was that which encouraged this revival to happen.
Mulder and Scully are free to choose to have as much or as little digital things in their life, so why do they act like they are powerless to today's trends.
The show doesn't know what made the original popular or what made it work. The ones that do know are off doing Homeland, or Stranger Things, far better shows than this. This is a sad parody of its former self. They could be doing the William plot, talking about how it feels to be older and where they want to go from here, what their purpose is now. But they don't. We get vibrator and giggling girl Scully with bad wig and Mulder acting younger than he did in season one.
But this is what happens to a show that panders to their shippers as if this is Cheers, or Will and Grace. This is the show with what the shippers want and ironically it's awful. It is a pale comparison to even the worst episodes of the original series, with failing ratings, no purpose, no goal, no direction. The writers have been left to do what they want because they can. And it's resulted in an exercise in money making and egotism and bad writing.
This episode was unnecessary, not funny, not clever and yet thought it was all of that.