Tag: JenniferLawrence

Die My Love

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Grace (Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson) are young and in love when they move to a rural house in the middle of nowhere in Montana. After the birth of their son, Jackson goes back to work while Grace is stuck at home looking after him every day. Slowly Grace descends into madness, questioning every single she thought she knew and worrying those around her.

Directed by Lynne Ramsay, this film is a slow burn character study that uniquely portrays postpartum depression. A topic that is usually overlooked, the way in which it was approached here was unlike anything I have ever seen and I have to commend all who were involved. It was raw and intimate and gave me a lot to think about.

This is hands down Lawrence’s film. She steals every single scene she is in and gives it her absolute all. From making me laugh one minute to being concerned the next, I never knew in which direction she would take Grace. The lines are often blurred throughout – it is hard to determine exactly what is real and what is happening in Grace’s mind, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a wild ride that I never wanted to get off of and I’d be surprised if she didn’t get an Oscar if nomination for this.

Pattinson didn’t have the easiest task of selling the distressed husband, but it came across well. The choices he makes along the way aren’t the best though they can be understood to an extent due to everything that is going on at home. Sissy Spacek stars as Jackson’s mother Pam. Not only was she present for her son, she was also there for Grace whose own parents are no longer around. While she’s going through her own type of heartbreak, she still stands as a pillar of support.

The way in which the film was shot really adds to the whole dreamlike state that I felt while watching. The house served as some sort of limbo where whatever happened between the walls would just stay there while life carried on outside of it. This made it all the more isolating. I already mentioned that the pacing was slow which was necessary for the story. At times it was even repetitive, but then something crazy would happen that would snap the audience back to attention. It was kind of like whiplash, but in the best way possible.

Die My Love is not a film for everybody, but I really enjoyed it. With career best performances and stunning cinematography I was swept up into the lives of these two flawed characters from the very beginning. While I do think the runtime could have been just a bit shorter, I appreciated the daring way in which they dealt with the heavy topics and weren’t afraid to push the boundaries.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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Sixty four years before Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), there was another victor in town. Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) wasn’t always a tyrannical dictator. Wanting what is best for his family, he sees a chance at improving not only their future but his own when he is chosen as a mentor for the tenth annual Hunger Games. Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) is everything that Coriolanus is not. Somehow he still find himself drawn to her.

The grand return to Panem was one I wasn’t sure how to feel about. I remember being hesitant about this prequel because Snow wasn’t a character I cared for in the first four films. Why would I want to read about him? I did become curious, however, when I heard they were adapting the novel for the screen.

While I cannot speak as to whether or not they stayed close to the source material, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the film. There was a lot to fit into its two hour and twenty seven minute run time, but I think it flowed moderately well. The first two parts were jam-packed. Unfortunately the momentum was lost in the final act and we were left with a rather abrupt ending.

The casting was pretty spot on here. Blythe was a great choice for our lead. I’d not seen him before and appreciated that he was able to keep things going. Zegler, on the other hand, is an actress that I have grown to love over the years. She is so talented and I love that she was able to show off her incredible singing voice in this role. Other standouts include Viola Davis as the creepy Dr. Gaul, Hunter Schafer as Corio’s devoted sister Tigris and Peter Dinklage as Dean Casca Highbottom.

With brilliant set design and special effects that totally transported me back to the Capital and the Districts, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is definitely one of the stronger entries of the franchise. It had constant high energy that had me gripping my seat, a diverse cast of characters and a touching love story that I couldn’t help rooting for. Of course I wish we’d seen more of Snow’s downfall, but I still had a good time.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

No Hard Feelings

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No Hard Feelings follows Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) who has recently been down on her luck. She’s behind on payments for the house her mother left her and her car is towed right when summer season is ramping up and she’d otherwise be making bank driving for Uber. Stumbling upon a Craigslist ad placed to hire a date for socially awkward Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), Maddie thinks her prayers will be answered. Turns out she couldn’t be more wrong.

This is hands down Lawrence’s film. She is magnetic as our leading lady. I don’t think I have seen her in a comedic role before, but her timing was so on point and I also thought the physical comedy was well done too. She should explore this avenue more in the future.

What makes the film work so well is the friendship that develops between Maddie and Percy. Though it may start off as a business deal, it doesn’t stay that way for very long. As the two get to know each other, the layers are peeled back and they begin sharing tidbits no one else knows. The arcade date was one of the cutest movie montages I’ve seen in awhile. It really helped that Lawrence and Feldman had such natural chemistry.

This type of humor usually isn’t my cup of tea, but even I couldn’t hold back my laughter. All the jokes landed thanks to a well executed script. Some of the scenarios were also over the top and while that would usually bug me, it did the opposite here.

I walked into No Hard Feelings thinking it’d be an average at best raunchy comedy. What I got instead was a story that wasn’t afraid to go deep when it needed to while perfectly balancing the laughs. I’m glad I gave it a chance!

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Don’t Look Up

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When Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student and her professor Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) discover a comet within the solar system, they can’t believe their eyes – until they realize that it is on its way to Earth. Upon embarking on a media tour that takes them to the White House, it seems that nobody really cares that they are all going to die. With only six months until the comet makes impact, Kate and Randall will do whatever they can to get the world to just look up.

Don’t Look Up seemed so promising. The cast, which boasted big names such as Meryl Streep, Cate Blancett, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande, was one that grasped my attention as soon as the trailer hit Netflix. And I almost hate to admit it, but this movie was just such a miss for me. I guess I can’t really say I’m surprised since it’s not a subject I am very familiar with, however, I still wanted to give it a go.

Films with so many famous people in it are not always successful. This was one of them. Some characters had more screen time than others and some were also not very likeable (though I think that was kind of the point?) I must admit that Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence had good chemistry together. I also loved seeing Meryl Streep portraying The President.

While this was pegged to be a comedy, I did not think it was very funny. Sometimes humor tends to go over my head and I found myself missing out on the various supposed jokes.

Overall, I understand what Don’t Look Up was trying to achieve, I’m just not sure it landed all too well. I expected much more from the movie and can’t help feeling disappointed since it was my last film review of the year.

Rating: ♥♥