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Reviews
Bel Canto (2018)
Not as impactful as the book
I recently read the book and just loved the author's style and the world she creates--a "what if" between hostages and captors that takes place over months and in which understandings and attachments develop. The last few scenes touch on the connections made that were beautifully described in the book but meagerly developed in the film. This film just doesn't hit the emotional mark as the book. I get it that the filmmakers needed a name actress for the lead, but Julianne Moore's lip synching just didn't make it in my book. The actress who played Carmen wasn't a beauty as depicted in the book. Check out this wonderful book.
The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023)
Love in the time of apocalypse
This episode gives us a bit of a break from jump scares and was very moving. It's all about the power of love prevailing in an insane world. The acting was fabulous, though I wanted a little more backstory on Frank's character. One quibble: If noninfected, murder-prone humans were unsuccessful in breaking in one time, wouldn't word get out and a greater offensive ensue at some later point? (Though maybe it did and Bill's incredible security measures thwarted all.) Also, Bill must have had quite a stash of good wines that lasted 20 years. I'm glad the producers used Linda Ronstadt's incomparable voice and I hope that a new generation discovers her. As the song says, I'll remember this episode for a long, long time.
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
A huge disappointment; read the book
I'd read the bad reviews when this film first came out and decided to avoid it but last night decided to give it a go. "A Wrinkle in Time" is one of my all-time favorite books. Having first read it as an adolescent it was a watershed experience for me as I fell in love with it--the characters, the ideas, the thrilling plot. It's considered a YA book, but I've read it numerous times over the years and still love it and its message. Those ideas and images certainly would be very difficult to capture in a film and this one, as many others have said, is a real misfire. Storm Reid seemed to be sleepwalking; the same with most of the other actors. While the book was published in 1962 and contained that time's sensibility, it is erudite and also charming. The updated, PC flavor/characters in this depiction was sometimes laughable and even embarrassing. And that black thing is just "IT," not "The IT."