Tag: AnneHathaway

The Idea Of You

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Adapted from Robinne Lee’s acclaimed novel The Idea of You, follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a forty year old single mother who meets Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), lead singer of the most popular boyband on the planet August Moon, while at Coachella. Their undeniable chemistry develops into something more, but Hayes’s celebrity status and Solène’s age threaten to come between them.

I read the book earlier this year in anticipation of the film. It instantly became one of my all time favorites. I didn’t think anything would be able to come close to its perfection. Overall I was pleased with how it turned out and felt like it stayed true to the source material.

Hathaway has never been better. This woman does not age; she is not only gorgeous, but her interpretation of Solène was so on point. As you get to know her, you just want her to get her happy ending. Galitzine, on the other hand, has shown that he is a dynamic actor who is up for pretty much everything that is thrown his way. He was the perfect choice for Hayes. Harry Styles comparisons aside, he made Hayes his own complete with the British accent, dark smouldering look and tattoos to boot. The two flickered brightly when they were on screen together and made me feel all the feels.

There have been a few instances portrayed on screen where the woman is older than the man in the relationship. She’s often shown as being in the wrong whereas if it was the other way around, the man would be patted on the back. The fact that these two individuals just want to be together regardless of what society expects from them was refreshing. It didn’t come without its backlashes and these were hard to watch, but it was extremely realistic and I appreciated how the film explored it like it did in the book.

The Idea of You is one of the better book to film adaptions that I have seen. Thanks to the incredible casting and sizzling attraction between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, the characters that I fell in love with in the book were able to come to life. While I wasn’t a fan of the changes they made to the ending, this is a film that I will happily revisit in the future. Until then, I will be singing along to all of August Moon’s hits.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Armageddon Time

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A coming of age story based on the life of director, writer and producer James Gray, Armageddon Time chronicles the life of a Jewish American family. The son in particular, Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), is a kid who dreams of becoming an artist. He struggles to understand the expectations not only within his family but society too, especially when he befriends the rebellious Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb).

Where this movie really did well was in its performances. To have big names such as Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong star along aside each other was something in itself. And to think that they were all supporting roles who still managed to shine whenever they were on screen. This does not take away whatsoever from the acting chops of Repeta and Webb. As the story is primarily told through the eyes of both children, we see them most of all. I was worried I wouldn’t able to relate to them, but I have to say that the contrary happened.

Paul is different from those around him. His two favorite things in the world are drawing and his beloved grandpa. He doesn’t understand why he has to go to school or why he can’t be friends with the only African American in his class. The fact that he always tried to stick to his guns and stand up for what he believes to be true, at his age, was something I admired.

Unfortunately the story itself gets a bit muddled throughout. There is no clear direction or incident that moves the pace along. It is very much a character driven story and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I kept waiting for something big to happen. The same could be said for the way in which the film ended. It was left open for interpretation and I’m not sure I liked that too much.

At the end of the day, I’m very glad to have seen Armageddon Time. While not originally on my radar, it was an interesting portrayal of a time gone by, but still held true to how life is today.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5

Locked Down

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Not going to lie, I wasn’t sure I was going to be up for watching a movie about a pandemic especially when we are knee deep in one. Movies, to me, are for escaping, not to be reminded of what is is I am already dealing with every single day. That being said, Locked Down looked fun and it starred some really well known actors so I decided to give it a shot.

When London goes into lockdown to help curve COVID-19, Linda (Anne Hathaway) and Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor) had just made the decision to separate after many years together. With no other choice but to cohabit during this time, they try to make the best out of an inconvenient situation. Then, a chance of a lifetime opportunity presents itself. Linda and Paxton must work together one last time if they want to change their lives forever.

If I’m being honest, I was both highly amused and kind of taken aback at how realistic this was. It perfectly embodied what life is like today complete with zoom calls, social distanced meet ups and the wearing of masks (though there wasn’t nearly enough of that). To be fair, it seems as though this had been filmed at the beginning of the pandemic and a lot has changed since then.

I did like the premise of the film, but I expected more. I had gone into it thinking I was about to watch a comedy and while I did laugh out loud, there were a lot more serious moments than I had bargained for. I also felt like some parts were slow and while I appreciate the need to set up the story, not much happened until the end.

There were some fun cameos by some very famous people which I thoroughly enjoyed. Ben Stiller, Lucy Boynton, Mindy Kaling and Ben Kingsley rounded out the cast and made for great side characters. I loved it whenever one of them would pop up.

If you are looking for a different sort of heist movie, I’d say give Locked Down a go. Just prepared that it hits very close to home these days.

Rating: ♥♥♥