Tag: Romance

REVIEW: ‘The Little Mermaid’ sets new bar for Disney’s live adaptations

After some rough waters with previous live action adaptations, Disney has found calmer seas thanks to an impressive remake of “The Little Mermaid.”

As the story goes, Ariel (Halle Bailey) is a mermaid fascinated by the human world and often looks for man-made items lost at sea. These actions, though, are all forbidden by Ariel’s father King Triton (Javier Bardem), who deems humans as dangerous.

This eventually leads to a conflict where Triton forbids Ariel from leaving the kingdom after she rescues a man during a sinking. Wanting to meet him again and explore the surface world, Ariel bypasses her father and goes to the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) who turns her into a human, but with a catch.

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REVIEW: Mendes’ ‘Empire of Light’ is a colossal mess of ideas

Director Sam Mendes has made films that offered audiences some magic at the movie theater. His film actually about a movie theater, though, leaves a lot to be desired.

His movie “Empire of Light” stars Olivia Colman as Hilary, a woman working at a historic theater in southern England. Hilary has worked there for some time and has made acquaintances with her fellow staff members, but usually spends her down time alone.

That is until the theater hires Stephen (Michael Ward), a young black man who is trying to go to college, but hasn’t been admitted yet, and in the meantime is working for some money. Hilary and Stephen began spending time together, and eventually form a relationship, but it becomes tested because of personal issues and racial tensions in the country.

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REVIEW: ‘Bones and All’ is a compelling movie about monsters among us

Hannibal Lecter, eat your heart, or I guess someone else’s heart out.

“Bones and All” is a love story, that just happens to include cannibalism. Taylor Russell stars as Maren in the film, a young woman who is an “eater,” a human being who has an insatiable hunger for human flesh. The film picks up with her being left by her father (Andre Holland) who tells her she must live on her own, after he spent years trying to hide what she is.

Maren decides to go on the road and find out about her mother now that her father has left, and along the way meets others like herself, including someone her own age. That person is Lee (Timothee Chalamet), a young man who decides to go along with Maren on her journey, and the two build a connection.

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REVIEW: Jumbled second half damages derivative ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

After helming the teen comedy “Booksmart” in her directorial debut, Olivia Wilde took a leap to the thriller genre in her sophomore effort.

While some of “Don’t Worry Darling” is effective, though, Wilde’s latest film doesn’t stick the landing very well.

Florence Pugh stars as Alice, a 1950s housewife who lives with her husband Jack (Harry Styles) in a small town in the southwestern United States. The town has been set up for workers who seem to work at a secretive government facility, and their families.

Alice and Jack have a comfortable life, with plenty of amenities and luxury to enjoy. Everything seems great, but Alice begins to notice some strange happenings and struggles with the restrictions around town, leading to a mystery unraveling.

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REVIEW: ‘New Era’ at Downton offers enjoyment, despite shortcomings

I didn’t always know what was going on in the 2019 “Downton Abbey” film since I didn’t watch the series. That was true again here.

However, like its predecessor, it’s still fairly enjoyable.

“New Era” has two main stories unfolding. One revolves around a new film being shot at the Downton estate, where Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Violet (Maggie Smith) are keeping watch of things. While the family is hesitant about the film industry using the building, they allow it as it will provide funding to do needed roof repairs.

Meanwhile, the characters Robert (Hugh Bonneville), Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), Edith (Laura Carmichael), Herbert (Harry Hadden-Patton), Tom (Allen Leech) and Lucy (Tuppence Middleton) travel to southern France to explore a villa Violet inherited. The inheritance was included in the will of a man who Violet met decades ago in her youth.

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REVIEW: Middling romcom is all to be found in ‘The Lost City’

This might be the most intense adventure a character played by Sandra Bullock has been on since “Speed 2: Cruise Control.”

In “The Lost City,” Bullock portrays Loretta Sage, an author who’s made a career out of writing steamy romance/adventure novels. She was once passionate about history and exploring, but she lost her drive when her husband passed away.

Loretta isn’t excited about her latest book tour, either, as she’s tired of dealing with Alan (Channing Tatum), a book cover model who takes a lot of the attention. Loretta ends up having to rediscover her passion for history, and find some courage, though, as she’s kidnapped by a billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe), who’s searching for a treasure referenced in one of her books.

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REVIEW: ‘Worst Person in the World’ is a well-made Norwegian feature

“The Worst Person in the World” is far from the worst movie in the world.

This film, from Norway, stars Renate Reinsve as Julie, a young woman who’s having trouble deciding what to do in life. The movie starts with Julie studying to become a doctor, before switching majors to psychology. Early on in the movie, she does this again, deciding to pursue a career in photography.

Her romantic life is fairly similar. Early in the picture, she meets and begins a relationship with Aksel, a successful comic artist. As their relationship is humming along, though, she meets another man, Eivind (Herbert Nordrum). Like her academic career, Julie feels herself being pulled in more than one direction romantically.

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REVIEW: ‘Cyrano’ is a sensational musical

Peter Dinklage should’ve been an Oscar contender.

Based on a 2018 stage musical, which itself was based on the 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” the film “Cyrano” tells the story of the titular character portrayed by Dinklage. Cyrano is a writer, poet, performer and even a cunning swordsman. Despite his talents, though, he can’t bring himself to confess his love for his friend from childhood, Roxanne (Haley Bennett). This is because of his own self doubt related to his appearance.

His complicated romantic situation is only compounded when Roxanne, who’s expected to marry the duke De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn), announces her love for a soldier named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Wanting to make his love happy, Cyrano decides to help Christian write letters to Roxanne, as the solider is also in love with her.

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REVIEW: ‘Marry Me’ has enough rom-com magic to win viewers over

My ears definitely perked up when I heard this film was actually based on a graphic novel, which I now want to read.

Jennifer Lopez is Kat in “Marry Me,” a pop music super star who’s preparing for a concert like no other. She plans to get married on stage in front of a huge crowd to her fiance, Bastian, who’s also a singer.

However, before the show, she learns that Bastian cheated on her. Upset and wanting a quick fix, she decides to pick a stranger in the crowd to marry instead. That stranger is Charlie (Owen Wilson), a school teacher and single father. The two at first see it as an in the moment, reversible mistake, but soon grow closer.

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REVIEW: ‘The French Dispatch’ is a delightful dramedy

Rock Chalk meets French culture in this new film from Wes Anderson.

“The French Dispatch” refers to an insert section for the Evening Sun newspaper in Liberty, Kansas. In the movie, a situation happens where the French dispatch will have to suspend production.

For the last publication, the paper republishes three important articles written by a trio of reporters. The film from there with an anthology approach, following how each reporter researched and interviewed for the stories.

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