Tag Archives: family drama

Magic in the Moolight

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Magic in the Moonlight
Magic in the Moonlight was an okay film. The plot was simple enough and it started very well. A family close ranks when they believe a girl who’s getting closer through a family member might be passing herself off as a clairvoyant but is actually a fraud.

Colin Firth plays Stanley, who’s revealed fakers before as he also has a stage persona magician Wei Long So. So he knows the tricks of the trade. Is the girl Sophie (Emma Stone – The Amazing Spiderman 1&2) all that she appears? Does she have any special gifts?
Brice Catledges (Hamish Link later – Fantastic 4) is head over heels about her.

But his family think Brice is being taken for a ride. It’s imperative that Stanley finds out the truth. However the more he spends time with Sophie, the more Stanley likes her. More and more he becomes convinced that she has a special gift. And then he realises he has fallen for her.

Then the film turns tail, with his aunt’s car crash, which makes him disown the supernatural inkling he has had. Whilst Sophie is found to be in league with his rival Howard!

What started off as a charming film became somewhat lost and disjointed. Colin Firth was great but even he could not save this offering once it went off the track. It would have been nice if Sophie actually had a gift. But the film world never does anything different. No, she has to be a fraud. And Stanley battles whether to expose her or forgive her.

I think the script suffered because, for me, it was like it was written by two different people. So one part was the meeting of Sophie and believing she was real etc. Then suddenly she’s not and the second half was very different in tone to the first.

The thing I did like was the scenery, there was some great footage particularly when Stanley took Sophie to see his aunt. But great scenery can only do so much.

Emma Stone did well with the role of Sophie, but it wasn’t her best role. The other members were okay and maybe this didn’t help the film either. OK won’t win Oscars.

So I will give this 5/10. Not the worst I’ve seen but far too predictable with no dazzle or shine to sustain it. Maybe this might work as a Sunday night film but if this was a DVD I’d wait till it was on sale £3!

Image reproduced from wikipedia.com
Trailer reproduced from CBM Trailers.

This is Where I Leave You

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This Is Where I Leave You
This Is Where I Leave You is basically about family dynamics. From betrayals to secrets revealed. Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) not only has to contend with his cheating wife but his whole family when his father dies.

Their father requested in his will, his family live together for one week in the same house! Now there’s a challenge! What happens is a series of personal disasters as things they’ve been trying to keep secret, all come tumbling out.

This was okay, there were enjoyable moments. I think the cast worked reasonably well together. That being said, I think some things seem to be quite repetitive in American comedies. Drug use featured and I didn’t really how it was relevant.
Lesbians, punch-ups and the like, it’s almost like the writers can’t think of anything new.

Rather than the Brady Bunch, it was Kooky House Rules OK! Every cliché was run through the mill. There was more family affairs than you could shake a stick at. And I didn’t really get the bonding signal with the heads either. Did the writers come from Star Trek and think these oddballs were Klingon rejects?

Jane Fonda plays an unusual mother and I didn’t really get her at all. Instead of a direction, it was no direction. I was very disappointed in her role. I was expecting more from her. I recently saw her in another film Monster-in-Law. I thought she was much better in that.

Adam Driver continues to do projects that don’t really stretch his acting ability. A very lacklustre performance and if he’s not careful I might just go off him. He’s like the class clown, but you know there’s a brain in there somewhere and he do could do better. Very frustrating!

All I could possibly say, this is a very unique family and I think you’ll either like them or not!

It was okay but there could‘ve been more originality in the plot lines, a better main plot altogether, so I’ll give 6/10.

Image reproduced from Wikipedia.com
Trailer reproduced from Movie Trailers