Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Mini-Reviews: The Sun is Also a Star, Austenland, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

With all of the craziness going on in my life the past few months, I'm having the best time being able to sit down and just watch movies!  So over the next while, I'll probably be pumping out a bunch of mini-reviews. If there's something specific you would like to see reviewed, or that you would like to hear more in-depth about, let me know!


vanityfair.com

The Sun is Also a Star
I had been rather interested in this one for a while, but I've never read the book. The concept was one that I thought was probably a little far-fetched, but it looked cute enough that I figured it was worth a shot. Also, having a Hollywood-unconventional couple as the stars was a big plus. Now, right from the start I thought Charles Melton was going to have to convince me to like him as well as Yara Shahidi...and he didn't really succeed. I thought he was fine but I couldn't get as behind their romance as I wanted to. Yara, I think, did quite well. The movie was a decent distraction for an evening, and I liked the ending, but overall I sort of found it to be incredibly stereotypical and predictable...even for a Young Adult movie.

indiewire.com

Austenland
I avoided this movie for years. Yes, I thought it was going to be an atrocious farce and/or take itself extremely seriously. Instead, I got a mix that worked perfectly. Yes, it had several elements of farce and humour, but it was balanced with gentle teasing, romance, and everything a good rom-com is made of. Yes, I predicted a few plot elements, but there was also enough misdirection that, although I predicted them, I also forgot about my guesses by the time they happened and got enough of a surprise. Anyway, I would absolutely watch this again. It's not a Jane Austen movie, but it's fun for fans of Austen, period dramas, and simply anyone who just loves a good romantic comedy. Yes, I have been replaying clips of this one because it is so cute.

screendaily.com

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
I don't have too much to say about this one, but I wanted to share a bit about it nonetheless. The first movie really hit home for me in a lot of ways because I have some similar family members. I didn't really think the sequel was going to be a particularly good idea. However, when watching it recently, I did enjoy it. Because it takes place many years later, the characters have aged and their lives have progressed. That might sound kind of obvious, but I think it's something to keep in mind before watching. I wouldn't suggest watching this directly after watching the first movie, because then it seems sort of depressing - how did our characters get to this point from where they were in the first? But it's fitting, and lovely, and has most of the charm and humour of the first film. It definitely wasn't as good as the original, but I think it was a well done sequel to the first.

--------
Have you seen any of these films? Or perhaps you read the book The Sun is Also a Star? What did you think? 

6 comments:

  1. I’ve read The Sun is Also a Star. It was.... ok. I wasn’t crazy on the insta-love or the ending. It all seemed a bit unrealistic to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always say I can blindly accept one thing when reading a book, but when it gets to more than that, it just doesn't do it for me. Yara Shahidi was great though, so I want to check out other work of hers.

      Delete
  2. I didn't mind the book, The Sun is Also a Star- I guess the movie is probably the same amount of 'meh'
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, if you didn't care for the book, then I would probably just pass on the movie too.

      Delete
  3. I remember not loving The Sun is Also a Star (the book) as much as everyone else did but was curious about the movie. I'll probably watch it one day if it show sup on Netflix or something.

    Greek Wedding 2 was a disappointment.

    Karen @ For What It's worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know what you think!
      Yeah, I didn't put my full attention into watching Greek Wedding 2, but it didn't have quite the same magic, did it? I still liked it overall, but I had to stop comparing it to the first one (and it's been a long time since I've seen it)

      Delete