Mini-Reviews: Black Narcissus, Cheerful Weather For the Wedding, Laggies

Movies, movies and more movies! I definitely love to watch a lot of them in the winter. I'm spending quite a bit of time watching things I had meant to see years ago, and occasionally re-watching some comforting old favourites. So, here's what I've been watching recently!

slantmagazine.com

Black Narcissus
I remember watching this movie as a teen, and remembered liking it...but I didn't really recall all that much about it, and kept mixing it up with A Nun's Story. I watched it again recently, and oh boy...wow. Honestly, I was totally in love with it. Now yes, there are a few things where it is clearly a product of its time (such as some racist depictions - although nowhere near the worst I've seen), but the storyline, cinematography, and mood are incredible. It sort of has a similar feeling to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca to me, so if you like the feeling of that story, I was check this one out. It is based on a book, but I've never read it.

npr.org

Cheerful Weather For the Wedding
I love Felicity Jones, and had wanted to watch this one for several years, but to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting this to be cute and sweet, but it really wasn't. There were some lovely moments, and I thought and hoped things would go a certain way, but overall the ending was rather lackluster. The plot twist and climax occurs, but then too much film is left afterwards that it just feels a bit awkward. I appreciated the twist, and, although I was looking for something different when I picked up this film, I don't think it was bad. Basically, long story short, it wasn't a bad film, but it's definitely a one-room, character-driven sort of piece. I usually enjoy these, but, with different expectations, I found this to be a let-down. I may rewatch it in the future to get a new perspective.

theplaylist.net

Laggies

Listening to Keira Knightley do an American accent is a bit jarring. She isn't bad at it, but it takes quite a bit to get used to. This is one of those movies where I will probably forget I've watched it at some point - there just isn't really a lot about it that is memorable. I don't think Keira does a bad job, and neither does Chloe Grace Moretz, but every other person is rather lackluster. There isn't enough relationship development to make the romances work, but the sense of confusion and wanting to separate from the past is clear enough. This movie was a decent enough time passer, but I wouldn't recommend actively seeking it out.

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Fun fact: two of these movies involve people with pet tortoises.