This new version of Emma is one of the best Jane Austen adaptations I’ve seen: it's both fresh and timeless, with a wonderfully irreverent tone and many laugh-out-loud-funny moments. There is a ridiculousness to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a satire of period pieces, but is also rather reminiscent of Clueless. Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn are divinely matched as Emma and Knightley. The sets and costumes are pastel confections. Bill Nighy barely has any lines, but steals every single scene he's in with his wonderful, priceless facial expressions. However, despite all of these wonderfully delightful attributes, I left the theater wanting to go watch Clueless, because we all know Paul Rudd is the very best Knightley.
This fictional romantic drama was shot on location at the athletes' village of the 2018 Winter Olympics, which helps make Olympic Dreams a truly charming and unique film – and the insularity of the setting helps facilitate the story. Nick Kroll is wonderfully soulful and hilarious as a volunteer dentist, while Olympian Alexi Pappas is relatably neurotic as she struggles to make sense of her life after reaching the one goal she has devoted herself to up until these games. I got lost in this film and found myself really caring for these two characters trying to work out their own problems while also trying to figure out how to care for each other. When I got out of the cinema, I realized that my own life had fallen away for the duration of this film, which is such a special and rare experience.
I admire this film's choice to move at a slow and measured pace in order to reflect how long it can take for a lawsuit to free a wrongfully convicted man. Michael B. Jordan has enough charisma and screen presence to keep the movie afloat and moving forward, even at its slowest moments. The racism and corruption in a small southern town reminded me quite a bit of John Grisham's latest novel, The Guardians, but of course Just Mercy's story is a true one, rather than fiction, making it all the more compelling. (Though Grisham's non-fiction The Innocent Man is well worth reading and equally as compelling!)
This is such a touching film about sacrifice and love, and I totally cried at the end. Mainly the film shows how useless the Washington bureaucracy is because our officials, elected or otherwise, are too busy worrying about what's best for them, rather than worrying about what's best for their constituents and appreciating those who have sacrificed their lives for our country. Indeed, the film does a great job showing what a huge sacrifice fighting in a war truly is – for those who survive it, just as much as for those who don't. The cast is incredible (Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer), and the performances are pitch perfect. The Last Full Measure is a wonderful tribute to veterans and the sacrifices that they make for our country.
It's so pleasing when Dakota Johnson is given a good role. She is just as delightful here as she was in A Bigger Splash. In some ways, I wish The High Note had more substance to really give its excellent cast (including Tracee Ellis Ross and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) something to sink their teeth into, but it uses that cast well enough, and gives them snappy and clever dialog to sling at each other. Of course, I also enjoy the music-industry / Los Angeles setting, and there is some great fashion as well (plus a cameo from Eddie Izzard!). I wish I had gotten to see this movie at the cinema to really do the "in concert" numbers justice, but at least the soundtrack lets me take some of the best parts of the film with me wherever I go.
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