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jenaphile
Reviews
Jessica Jones (2015)
Sci-Fi Lite
As a non-Marvel fan, I caught the first episode at a friend's house and decided to finish the season on my own. Surprisingly, I found myself hooked and looking forward to each episode.
I do enjoy a good sci-fi based program if there's more non-sci-fi elements within it, which is probably why I've always been drawn to The Twilight Zone. A storyline is more compelling and creepy when it's grounded in reality (like Contact) than fantasy movies (like Avatar). When everything is too unreal, nothing is real. Which is fine if that's what you're going for.
Krysten Ritter plays Jessica Jones. You may remember her from Don't Trust the B in Apt 23. I had watched a few episodes of that when it was new, but it seemed to jump the shark pretty early into the season. However, I did think Ritter's dry humor and unconventional good looks made her perfect for the role.
However, not so much for Jessica Jones. While she nails the look and feel of the jaded superhero with her mournful big eyes and acerbic delivery, she lacks a real feeling of depth, especially in comparison to Carrie-Ann Moss (Jeri Hogarth) and David Tennant (Kilgrave). Even Rosario Dawson, who only has a handful of lines in one episode, wipes the floor with her. With Ritter's wiry frame in her standard faded jeans, tank top, motorcycle jacket and combat boots, tossing back bottles of bourbon like water, residing in a dumpy New York City apartment, her persona is more caricature than sympathetic character. However, this being Marvel, that was probably done by design.
The villain of this story is Kilgrave, who can control people with his mind. Being a villain, he must be British. And he's bloody well scary. Shut up. Go over there. Put the bullet in your head. His victims cannot help but carry out all of his orders, which makes watching each scene so very tense because you don't know who's under his control at any given time. He is very dangerous for humanity, which Jessica would know, having been under his spell before breaking free of him. Although she presumed him dead, she was wrong, which is why she must kill him before he creates more havoc.
The story is interesting and fast paced enough to hook you after the second episode, and while it does contain some unnecessary lesbian undertones (unnecessary because it does nothing to forward the plot and seems only there for show), a solid series worthy of binge-watching.
Le divorce (2003)
I'm In the Minority...
...because I LOVED this movie. I read the other reviews and I'm astounded. I think this is a great movie. I received the DVD for free, and was so pleasantly surprised by the acting, the scenery, the humor, the exaggerated French snobbishness. I thought Kate Hudson glowed, carrying most of the movie. I loved the lingerie store scene, where the French women giggled over Isabel being "le petite" when she showed them her chest. I loved how Naomi Watt's character was perpetually scowling until she met the handsome divorce lawyer, and visibly fell in love at first sight. Glenn Close was wonderful as the graceful, well-aged American writer, clearly bitter about her being dumped by Edgar, but over-compensating with sarcasm. I loved the scene in the police car, where they were going to investigate a murder, and got side-tracked by the police women's perfume. There are so many wonderful nuances that make this movie great, I don't even care that the plot was muddled and non-existent. It's visually wonderful to watch, and the acting is superb. It's the kind of movie girls like to watch on a weekend, doing their nails, just relaxing. It moves slow, but it's additive and I've watched it more than I'll admit...
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Sad
...because it tried desperately to copy Dead Poet's Society, and failed miserably. Julia Roberts is no Robin Wlliams, and director Mike Newell is no Peter Weir. The irony is that Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts' character) kept stressing the girls to break out of conformity, while the movie itself conformed to every Hollywood formula. The only notable performance was by Maggie Gyllenhaal, a quirky newcomer, and of course, the bonus of seeing a cameo of Tori Amos.