Like most people during the pandemic going on right now, I’ve recently gained a lot of free time. During this time I’ve been spending time with my family, sleeping, and, most importantly, watching a bunch of the movies I’ve been wanting to see. Without further ado, here are some of the movies I’ve watched so far during quarantine, along with a rating and short review. :)
Emma.
2/5
Emma. was one of my most anticipated films of 2020 as it is one of my favorite classic novels. Unfortunately though, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. While I found the cinematography and costumes beautiful, I felt that as an adaption of the novel it felt a bit unorganized. There were certain aspects to the storyline that didn’t seem to be fully developed, such as Emma’s motives behind her relationship with Harriet Smith. Since I had an understanding of the plot before watching, I understood what was going on, but I’m not sure if I would have been able to enjoy it as much without this knowledge. A better adaptation in my opinion is the 2009 mini-series Emma from BBC.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
5/5
This was another movie that I had been dying to watch, but this time I was better gratified. To me Portrait of a Lady on Fire felt very similar to the movie Call Me by Your Name in it’s aesthetically pleasing shots and the thoughtfulness of each exchange between the main characters. It also similarly left me heartbroken yet satisfied once the credits started rolling. Overall, this movie is beautiful in every aspect and deserves to be watched over and over again.
Sorry to Bother You
3/5
I’m going to attempt to give this review with no spoilers, but I definitely suggest possibly skimming over this if you want to watch Sorry to Bother You. Or if you really love it and don’t want to hear me talk bad about it. I went into watching Sorry to Bother You with absolutely no knowledge of it beforehand, which I’m still not sure yet if this aided or hindered in my viewing. At times it felt surreal in the best way possible, using it’s surrealism to further the sort of statement the movie was making, while at other times it began to feel like a little too much. While it wasn’t exactly my taste, I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a bad movie in terms of storyline and cinematography. Basically, what I’m suggesting is if you want to watch it, do so, and if you’re not interested in it, then it’s probably best skip out.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3/5 As someone who grew up loving books and movies like The Fault in Our Stars, it’s pretty shocking to me that I just now watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower for the first time. It’s a quintessential coming-of-age teen drama that I definitely feel like middle school me would’ve loved if I had watched it then. Unfortunately, it now doesn’t have the same sort of nostalgic quality that I know it holds for a lot of other people my age, so, instead of loving it, I ended up cringing a bit while watching it. While I loved the storyline and the characters, and even more so the soundtrack, there were lines like “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite” that reminded me too much of Tumblr in 2012. This isn’t to discredit how raw the movie is in its depiction of high school, just personally it no longer feels applicable, so it’s lost a bit of it’s charm and appeal for me.