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Flash Movie Review: Good Grief
HAVING EXPERIENCED PRETTY MUCH EVERY VARIATION for breaking up, I always found the sudden ones the hardest. There was the beginning relationship where we had around a half dozen dates and I thought things were progressing smoothly, but suddenly I was being ghosted, no responses to any of my communications. I could not understand why the dead silence. My sadness and confusion were quickly replaced by anger because I kept wondering what type of person would do such a thing. If that is how they operate then I absolutely would not want to be with them. It has always been easier for me to deal with anger and turn the painful situation around to put all the blame on the other person. Gratefully, I grew up and learned to look inside myself. I have been in relationships where we both came to the same conclusion that we would be better as friends and that has always been a winning outcome for me. One of the hardest situations is when the ending of the relationship is due to the breaking of trust; I have had a few of those and I must tell you, they are brutal. You cannot imagine what it feels like to come home to find someone else’s clothing under your bed. One of the most important aspects of a relationship is honesty. I could handle my loved one telling me they are in love with someone else instead of cheating behind my back. THERE IS ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR ME when a relationship ends. It is that mindset that went from a singular train of thought to a dual one then suddenly it must go back to singular. I have mentioned before what helps me transition back to being single is to break up the routines that were created in the relationship. There have been times where I spent hours watching movies and videos or focused harder on diet and exercise. Listening to what my friends have done; I think the breaking of routines may be a frequent practice. A friend of mine went on a trip after her relationship ended. Another friend went through her apartment and got rid of anything that was associated with her ex. In the majority of circumstances, I have heard about, there were few that involved a sudden ending of the relationship, like death; it had either been building up to such a point that things exploded, and it ended or one person noticed a change taking place in their relationship and communicated what they were feeling, having an adult conversation about where the two of them were in the relationship. As I said earlier, the sudden endings are the hardest ones in my opinion. An example can be found in this dramatic, romantic comedy. AFTER A TRAGIC ACCIDENT TAKES THE life of his husband, the widower embarks on an international trip with his two best friends, hoping to fill the void he was now experiencing in his life. He would wind up making discoveries that could change everything about the life he had. With Daniel Levy (Happiest Season, Schitt’s Creek-TV) as Marc, Ruth Negga (Passing, Loving) as Sophie, Himesh Patel (Yesterday, Station Eleven-TV) as Thomas, Luke Evans (Dracula Untold, Beauty and the Beast) as Oliver and Celia Imrie (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel franchise, Imagine Me & You) as Imelda; this movie had both a solid script and steady direction in the way it told its story. There were scenes that were sad and amusing, but mostly done in a gentle way instead of being a tearjerker or laughing out loud moment. It was surprising to see Ruth play such a character, because I have only seen her do serious roles in the past. The script offered depth in the characters, but I felt it could have gone farther. Overall, this was a good debut for Daniel in his writing and directing skills.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Finding Your Feet
I AVOID HER LIKE THE PLAGUE; that is how strong I feel about her. When I am at the grocery store and she is there, I will not go into her checkout line. Please understand I know she is doing her job; but I find it irritating that she must look at every single coupon I have cut out of the newspaper, match it to the corresponding product on my receipt before she will scan it. That is what the scanner is supposed to do; if I did not purchase the product the coupon would not work! You would think I am taking the money straight out of her pocket. One time I had words with her because I had a coupon for a free box of pasta that happened to be on a two for one sale, buy 1 box and you get a 2nd box free. So technically with my coupon I would be getting both boxes free, right? She told me I could not use my coupon because the item was on sale. I told her that did not make sense and to scan the coupon. Do you know I had to hold up the line of people behind me before she begrudgingly gave in and scanned the coupon, which the scanner took by the way. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY SOME people internalize their job position then laud it over other individuals. When I travel to other fitness centers I can immediately tell by the way the instructor walks into the room whether they think they are “special” or not. Some instructors I have met have this attitude that I find to be narcissistic; they want everyone to look at them as if they are the oracle for everything that has to do with fitness. Taking a class from a person like this is no fun for me. It is interesting because I wonder if that instructor is so wrapped up into their job label that they cannot have fun even outside the classroom. There was a summer job I had years ago where the owner’s wife walked around the company as if she was royalty. She barely spoke to any of the employees. I mean really, so she was the wife of the president/owner; where was it written that she could not be civil and polite? When I come across people who act like this I cannot imagine them ever having a good time because they are so busy putting on their façade. The same thing was happening to the wife in this dramatic comedy. IT WAS BAD ENOUGH FINDING out her husband was cheating on her, but to leave the life she was accustomed to would turn out to be even harder for Lady Sandra Abbott, played by Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter franchise). This film festival winner also starred Celia Imrie (Imagine Me & You, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel franchise) as Bif, Joanna Lumley (The Wolf of Wall Street, Absolutely Fabulous-TV) as Jackie, Timothy Spall (The Party, Mr. Turner) as Charlie and David Hayman (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Sid & Nancy) as Ted. I have to tell you the cast was over qualified in this romantic comedy. The script did okay trying not to make everything appear like a cliché, but I felt it needed more drama. This was sort of like a happy-go-lucky type of story; however, the actors were so polished it appeared as if the actors were not even acting. They were living the lives of their characters. With the style of directing and the way the script was written, this film wasn’t trying to be something it was not; it was simply being a light British comedic romance.
2 ½ stars