KaitlynDever – Credits Rolling

Rosaline

Published on October 15, 2022 by DanielaLeave a comment

We all know about Romeo and Juliet’s doomed love, right? But did you know that before Juliet, Romeo was in love with a maiden called Rosaline?

Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever) and Romeo (Kyle Allen) were the perfect couple. They dreamed of running away together, their families be damned, if it meant they could be together forever. When he meets Juliet (Isabela Merced) at the masquerade ball, Romeo falls head over heels in love with her. Suddenly jilted by the love of her life, Rosaline will stop at nothing until she finds out who this new woman is. Who she didn’t expect it to be is her cousin.

A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Rosaline was actually pretty cute. Dever shone as the lead, captivating me from the get go. Her comedic timing and meddlesome ways made for some great scenes that had me giggling. I’ve seen her in a variety of projects now and I must admit that she always surprises me.

The other cast and characters were fun to get to know too. I thought it was brilliant to dumb down the role of Romeo; the way in which Allen did this added a different element to the story and made it somewhat unpredictable. Merced did a fine job as Juliet, though I would have liked to see more of her. Bradley Whitford portrayed Rosaline’s father and Minnie Driver who played Rosaline’s nurse Janet didn’t have nearly enough screen time, but who were still welcome additions. And then there was the gorgeous Sean Teale who starred as Dario. His chemistry with Dever was palpable from the very first moment they laid eyes on each other and I just couldn’t wait until they got together.

With costumes that had me truly believing I was born in the wrong century and a soundtrack that gave me major Bridgerton vibes, Rosaline was a much better film than I gave it credit for. While it wasn’t perfect all the way through and at times seemed to drag on a bit, I really did enjoy it.

Rating: ♥♥♥

Ticket To Paradise

Published on October 7, 2022 by DanielaLeave a comment

Julia Roberts and George Clooney back together again. Somebody pinch me.

Georgia (Roberts) and David (Clooney) are divorced parents who have been struggling to get along ever since they split up nineteen years ago. When their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) announces that she’s engaged to Gede (Maxime Bouttier), an islander she met while on vacation, they fly to Bali in hopes of stopping her from making the same mistake they thought they did.

There was nothing special or groundbreaking about this romantic comedy, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. We’ve seen a similar formula play out many times before and when it works, it works well. This was one of those instances. While the jokes didn’t always land and the comedic moments felt slightly wooden, I didn’t bargain for all those emotions that came about.

At its heart, this film is about the bond of a family. Regardless of Georgia and David’s issues, I love the relationship that each of them had with Lily. You could tell that both parents really cared for their daughter and only wanted what was best for her just as you could tell Lily looked up to them. It was so great seeing Roberts and Clooney back together again. Such seasoned actors, they were in top form here and played their roles perfectly.

Overall, Ticket To Paradise is not a movie that I would rush back to see again anytime soon, but I am very glad that I had the chance too see it at all. With its great cast and stunning locations, I was transported away into another time and place for an afternoon.

Rating: ♥♥♥

Dear Evan Hansen

Published on September 25, 2021 by DanielaLeave a comment

Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is a high school senior with a severe social-anxiety disorder. As an assignment from his therapist, Evan is required to write letters to himself. But when his latest one lands into the hands of Connor (Colton Ryan), Evan’s life unravels, especially when he learns that Connor has taken his own life a few days later. What follows is a journey of self discovery as Evan is finally accepted by those around him, allowing him to live out the life he always wanted.

To say I was looking forward to this movie was an understatement. I think this was probably THE most anticipated movie I had on my list this year. Based on the Tony Award winning musical of the same name, I was thrilled to finally have the chance to check it out for myself as I never got around to seeing the stage adaption. I can’t lie though, as soon as the critics started coming in for it, I got scared. It was…not what I had expected. Still, I went into the film with an open mind and hoped for the best.

It has been hard putting my thoughts down on paper. The story is certainly polarizing and hard to make sense of sometimes. It’s not black and white at all. Despite knowing the overall premise, there were a lot of details that were brand new to me, though I have to say that the actual plot was nothing groundbreaking or exciting. If anything, it was decent at best and at times it even dragged a bit.

I was hoping the soundtrack would be a smash. Even before seeing it, I had You Will Be Found on repeat and couldn’t wait to watch that scene unfold. One thing is for sure: Ben Platt has the voice of an angel. I have always thought so and okay, he doesn’t look at all like a high school student, but I am glad that we had him for the sake of these songs. He was the standout, everyone else’s singing chops weren’t as good as I was expecting.

The rest of the cast were fine. I like Kaitlyn Dever, but I didn’t think she had any chemistry with Ben. Their scenes together felt hollow and like they were missing something. Julianne Moore and Amy Adams, two household names who are usually amazing in everything they do, were just after thoughts. I particularly wish we had had more with Amy Adams because at least we know she can sing (thank you Enchanted). Out of them all, Nik Dodani was the breakout star. He brought some laughs which was appreciated.

I feel like the movie really wanted to do its best to raise awareness for mental health. It’s such an important topic, one that is still not talked about as freely as it should be and as somebody who struggles with depression and anxiety, I was curious to see how this would be done. While at times they exceeded in this, I felt like it could have been explored and fleshed out even more than it was. Some aspects were dealt with at a surface level or open ended which was just not enough. That being said, I still sat there in tears while the credits rolled because some of it had touched me.

Yes, Dear Evan Hansen has probably become one of the most talked about films of the year. It hit many marks and wasn’t what people were expecting. But I don’t think that should deter anybody from watching it. I hyped it up so much and felt a bit disappointed with the turn out, but I also didn’t hate it. Everyone should give it a go and decide what they think about it themselves.

Rating: ♥♥♥