99% on Rotten Tomatoes
Okay, at the time of posting, this currently is 100% on Metacritic. Whuuuurt.
I saw the advanced screening of this without expecting much, but it was surprisingly good!
So the basic premise of this film is not the plot, but in the actually process of making the film. The film was made over 12 years, as they casted a 6 year old boy and every year they would film a 15 minute segment, so you could actually see him (and the rest of the cast) age over 12 years, ultimately seeing his boyhood, hence the title.
The reason I wasn't too sure about this was because I didn't understand what sort of plot could go with this. Any plot would seem secondary to the ultimate aim of just seeing the cast age over time.
Fortunately, the plot was still pretty good; there were fun moments and there were intense moments.
I think the most surprising thing, though, was that the actors were actually so good! I mean it's hard enough to cast a 6 year old, let alone have them keep up their acting skills when they get older, because you simply can't foresee how well they would be. But the main boy and his sister (who was actually the director's daughter) were surprisingly amazing.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this movie. The plot was good and just seeing them age over time and seeing their characters develop was amazing. I'd definitely rewatch it.
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
I loved this movie. Honestly, it was amazing. Obviously I had my reservations, seeing as the first film was... not the greatest (to say the least), but they really upped the ante on this one.
The plot was great, notable characters ended up actually DOING stuff, and Captain American is so much more pro-er than before. They had some great elements, a far-from-typical car chase and some surprising turn of events. But I think that some of the stuff that they included didn't seem to be very logical, or at least the explanation was really rushed, so there were a few gaps that didn't really line up. I was also really confused about why there was sexual tension between Captain America and Black Widow... but regardless of that, it was really great.
HOWEVER.
The thing that truly got me excited was the mid-credits scene. Honestly, that hyped me up sooooo much! The very very last scene (which was actually post-credits and not mid-credits) wasn't too spectacular though, so you can afford to skip out on it, but definitely stay for the mid-credits scene!
85% on Rotten Tomatoes
Last, but definitely not least, one of my favourite books was turned into a movie. And to be honest, I only read Pride and Prejudice like this year so I didn't even care so much about it before then, but I loved this film adaptation! I was going to save this for a later post but I just love it so much I couldn't help it!
The characters were pretty spot on, the plot was followed quite closely, and the actors were amazing.
I was so happy to see Jena Malone (who played Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) as reckless and wild Lydia, and also to see Donald Sutherland, who is definitely nothing like what I pictured him to be like when reading the book, as the father.
But honestly, Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen stole the show as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy respectively. Keira Knightley was so great at being Elizabeth since, despite being pretty, she was able to bring an air of unattractiveness into her character. In the books, while she is still pretty, Elizabeth isn't the prettiest of her sisters, making her a less viable target for suitors. Add to this her witty comebacks, great intellect and ability to not care what others think of her and you get a girl who's not very attractive at all. Keira Knightley was so good at showing these two aspects of Elizabeth, and I think most of it came from her extremely wide smile and the way she speaked. Matthew Macfadyen on the other hand was so different to what I had seen in Death at a Funeral, I couldn't actually believe it was him! I think it was so clever that, at the beginning of the film, when Elizabeth hates Mr Darcy, Macfadyen actually looks somewhat unattractive, but then once the film starts warming up to his character, you realise that he looks more and more handsome with every passing scene. I don't know how they managed to do that (or whether it's just me being crazily invested in the storyline), but I loved it.
I also loved the ending scene that they added in. While it wasn't in the books, it had great great great dialogue. I actually didn't watch the American version, I watched the UK version, which didn't have any kissing at all because, let's face it, back in those days you didn't kiss someone you hadn't married yet. So anyway, I watched the American ending separately, and to be honest I actually was quite uncomfortable when they started kissing because it was just out of character and weird to see.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment though, was the fact that the didn't try to slide in the most famous quote of all time,
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
I thought they would at least give the line to the mother, who's craziness can cover pretty much anything you want to include in the film, but alas, they didn't.
But the film was so good it has reignited the spark within me and I'm super eager to rewatch it, as well as reread the book!
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