Jen Reviews Stuff

Maybe I should change careers.  I kind of like watching movies and then doing reviews.  It's fun.

Anyways - that's what you are getting today.  Movie Reviews.  I had a pretty lazy Saturday.  V and I had a nice long depressing movie marathon.  We didn't plan on watching a bunch of depressing movies - it just kind of worked out that way.  I guess going to see Remember Me Friday night put us in a reflective mood and made us want to keep with the trend.  

So the thought to take away from this post is this:

 "You cannot do a kindness too soon,
 for you never know how soon it will be too late"  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

So without further ado...my movie reviews

Remember Me

I thought this movie was really, really good.  And no, I'm not being biased.  I wasn’t expecting some happy-go-lucky movie – but even going in knowing that, I was still floored by the emotions I felt leaving the theater.  The story itself is good.  You become interested in what happens to these characters because they are well written and well acted.  It felt more like you were watching real life people living their lives instead of some action packed, angst filled rollercoaster.  I liked that.  Finding out bits of information of the characters’ pasts throughout the movie also made it interesting all the way through.  I loved the sweet, developing romance parts.  Even though I could barely watch the water fight that ended up in the tub - b/c *shudders* that tub/shower was *gags* too much.  Ugh.  I don't know that I'm going to be able to step foot in my own CLEAN shower for a while after that atrocity.  *shudders again*  I mean you know how I am with bathtubs anyway - I think I might have nightmares about that for a while.  Sorry - got sidetracked... Back to the Review...  The ending floored me to an extent that I am still shocked by the impact this less than 2 hour movie had on me.  I think the underlying message is this:  sometimes terrible things happen and there is nothing we can do to stop them.  They change your life and make you change into a much different person than you ever thought you’d be.  The key is to not give up – even when that’s all you want to do.  The only option we have is to keep living and to celebrate the life we have regardless of what we thought our lives would be or should have been.  Live while you can, love while you can and forgive while you can.   Because truthfully – there are millions of things out there that could happen at any second that could change your world forever.  You don’t want to be that person, trying desperately to say "I love you" or "I’m sorry", if you suddenly only had seconds left.  

The sad thing – is that I KNEW how this movie would end or better yet – WHEN – this movie would end.  I didn’t know details – I just stupidly read a review that mentioned it.  Which I kicked myself for (hard) because I completely stayed away from reading anything about this movie b/c I heard there was a bit of a shock ending.  I figured reading an "official" review wouldn’t give away any major details.  I was wrong.  Although the anxiety was building throughout the entire second half of the movie for what I knew was to come – I still felt the dread and shock when everything finally clicked into place and you knew, without a doubt what was coming. 

Point is – I knew what was coming and I still found myself completely filled with sorrow, pain, sadness and despair because this movie allows you to see things from a first person point of view instead of an outsider looking in and feeling shock and pain for what happened and the aftermath.

It will never seize to amaze me how we can remember things in our lives like they were yesterday.  How we can remember what we were doing at a specific time, exactly where we were, what we were thinking, what we felt.  It will also never seize to amaze me how those feelings can come back as strongly as we felt them at that specific time.  [You’ll understand what I’m talking about after you see the movie or hear about the ending.  I’m not being random.  ;)] 

I would recommend this movie to anyone.  It’s sad.  It’s going to leave you in a contemplative mood instead of a romantic comedy or action movie high.  But this movie makes us remember something two things we should never forget.  A tragic event.  And also that we should never take the certainty of tomorrow for granted. 

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Yet another sad, depressing movie.  I wanted to see it for a while because I love love love Rachel McAdams.  But then I heard that the book was hard to follow and the movie was confusing so it was put to the back burner until now.  I did however, like the movie.  It didn’t try to explain why or how he was traveling through time which I kind of would have liked.  But then again it probably would have been lost in translation and bogged the movie down.  I thought it was pretty neat how they advanced the love story between the two leads and enjoyed their progression through life’s hardships and tragedies.  I also learned from this movie that it is probably better to not know when you’re going to die.  Too much pain to know that your days are running out – even though this is something we all know, we don’t necessarily need to know exactly how few are left.  It hurt too much to watch the time run out and to watch them try to say goodbye.  Again, this is one of those movies that makes you realize that you need to say and act on how you feel now.  Don’t hold anything in or anything back.  Life is simply too short and unexpected.  So all in all – it’s good.  But bring tissues. 

At this point I knew we needed a happy movie.  I could barely even say ‘we need a happy movie, I can’t take another sad one’ without bawling. 

Post Grad

I loved this movie.  Kooky, random and silly at times – but so heartwarming and loveable.  And all too real at showing how frustrating it is to think you have life planned out only to find that life is never quite what we planned.  It was too cute even if it was predictable.  I think I called the ending not even halfway through the movie.  I thought it was worth watching if you’re looking for a light, silly comedy.  Which I was.  Trust.  Definitely worth watching on a lazy Saturday afternoon. 

My Sister’s Keeper

Okay – I blame Veronica for this one.  I’d already seen it.  And cried.  A lot.  So why I watched it again… I don’t know.  I almost even decided that I wouldn’t be having children after seeing this (and reading the book).  Because it’s just too much to bear.   Watching the family struggle with a lifelong illness that everyone knows is going to kill her in the end.  Kate hit the nail on the head with her insight about dying– “I don’t mind my disease killing me, but it’s killing my family too.”  I would imagine you would come to that – if you spent your entire life slowly dying of a disease and you watched your family give up everything for you.  I think the hardest part is finally accepting your inevitable fate when no one else is willing to.  Because I can see both sides of that – being the one who is able to accept what is happening and becoming ready to let go, and being the loved ones who will never be ready to let go.  See you’re crying reading this aren’t you?  Try watching the movie.  Another thing about this movie that struck me was when Anna realizes that Cambell is epileptic and has seizures induced by stress or not taking his medication at exactly the right time or a multitude of other reasons.  Anna says that she finally understands why he took on her legal case for medical emancipation – it wasn’t for the notoriety or press – it was because he could understand what it’s like to live in a body that he doesn’t have control over.  For some reason this struck me when I watched it this weekend.  I guess it’s because she has a point.  It sucks to be stuck in a body that doesn’t work the right way.  To have things happen that you have no control over.  To do everything you should do and still have it not work the right way.   It’s frustrating.  Maybe no one has "control" over their bodies – maybe it’s as simple as some work and some don’t.  Either way I can empathize.

Crazy Heart

This movie was equally as depressing.  Watching an alcoholic try to overcome a lifetime of mistakes and bad decisions isn’t all roses and sunshine.  But this movie gives us hope.  Hope that it is not always too late to make amends and get your life on track. I know this kind of goes against the theme of the other movies but still.   Having a conversation with a friend after a failed attempt to contact his long lost son stood out to me as they discussed both sides of redemption.   One side is that 25 years of mistakes is simply too much to forgive.  It’s too little too late.  Too many years of wrong.  The other side is that – no, just because it is the first ‘right’ in too many years doesn’t mean it’s not right. 

"You were wrong 25 years ago, you've been wrong since then, but you called him.  Now you're right.  You just gotta keep after it.  It's never too late"

Okay - enough movie reviews.  I definitely think I'll be finding some lighthearted comedies for a little while.  But srsly - go check out these movies if you want a movie that will make you think (and feel).  

P.S.-  Iron Man 2 was a preview for Remember Me!   Holy Crap!  I can't wait!  Love Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark!