Blind Spot Series: A League of Their Own

Whenever I would see A League of Their Own pop out in a list, it's usually associated with the film being primarily about sports. In a way, it is a sports film - women playing baseball during the throngs of war to keep the country's morale and interests up. However, it really isn't a sports film. Sport films are usually those where everything is concentrated on the said sport, and that the sport is the central axis of the plot. This isn't about women trying to overcome adversity against women in sports because while the film addresses the sexism about it, it doesn't show any step going for it. Rather, the sport played as a circumstantial point in where a vast array of characters connected.

Double Feature: To All the Boys I've Loved Before / Our Times

(in participation to Girl Week hosted by Dell on Movies)

I have been on a romance movie kick since the summer, and these were the two movies that started it all. Both movies have a similar vibe: cute teen romance and chemistry between the two leads that lead to their rise in stardom. Both movies also became popular in their respective countries, and as a plus, were written and directed by women.

Meet Me In St. Gallen

Meet Me in St Gallen is set in the span of three days, but in varying years. The main characters, Jesse and Celeste meet in a coffee shop, and their conversation started when Celeste points out that they have the same names as the characters in the movie ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’. The film has nothing to do with the Andy Samberg/Rashida Jones film, but rather it focused on the connection of two people as they stumbled on in life and love.

Lady Bird

Lady Bird opens with the titular character asking her mother what she felt the first time she drove to Sacramento. It cuts to the two of them sitting inside a car, on their way home from a college tour. When her mother suggested that they ponder on about what they listened to, the atmosphere of the car turns sour and they end up arguing. The opening scene of Lady Bird explores what is to be expected of the film: Christine's want for something more, her relationships around her, and learning more about herself and her roots.

Maggie's Plan

Maggie's Plan has a refreshing premise. Maggie is an adviser who wants to become a mother. The film starts with her talking to her friend about artificial insemination and finding a viable candidate for what she wanted. She wanted to have a child, and she didn't want to wait for it in a traditional sense. When a mix-up at her school occurs, she meets John Harding, an anthropology professor who is renowned, but lives in the shadow of his more successful wife, Georgette. When Maggie and John strike up a friendship, culminating to a confession that they had feelings for each other. Three years later, that confession had turned to a marriage, with Maggie feeling that she may have made a mistake in entering a union with John. Seeing as how John and Georgette were still friendly to each other, she concocts a plan to get the exes back together.

I, Tonya

Tonya Harding was a known name in the world of figure skating. Her name was familiar even if I wasn’t sure what her story was. This film tells the story of Harding’s life, and the events that led to her peak and eventual lifetime ban in figure skating. This retelling should be taken with a grain of salt, as the film stated that the contents are based on interviews given, and that the statements are contradicting.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is the third installment in the Thor franchise, and has a much different tone from its predecessors. The movie has Thor facing the biggest battle known in Norse mythology – Ragnarok, the end of the world. In this case, Ragnarok meant the end of Asgard, the place getting engulfed in flames. This isn’t a spoiler; the events of Ragnarok have been explained in the opening credits. In this installment, Thor faces Hela, Goddess of Death. The viewers find out what happened to Hulk, and more of Norse mythology comes to play in the form of Valkyrie. Ragnarok is an entertaining installment in the Marvel universe, but it doesn’t really have much working for it. *spoilers ahead*

Rough Night

Rough Night deals with a group of friends having a supposedly fun bachelorette weekend, only to find themselves in trouble when they accidentally kill a guy. It is headlined by a bunch of comedic stars and some well known names to give it star power. By the way the trailer looked, it should have been a lot of fun with hijinks, but the movie either missed its mark or didn't know where to position itself - or possibly both.

To the Bone

To the Bone follows Ellen, a 20 year old who is anorexic. She has been moving from one treatment facility to another, with her family hoping that she will get better. When she gets kicked out of a facility, her stepmother transfers her to Dr. Beckham's facility, as the doctor heading the program has a great reputation and success rate.

Mickey Blue Eyes

I think Mickey Blue Eyes can fall under one of Hugh Grant's lesser known or forgotten movies. It might have been popular at its initial release but this isn't a movie you would immediately associate with the actor. Grant plays a curator at an auction house who proposes to the love of his life. When she rejects, he finds out that it's because she belongs to a mob family. Now he has to figure out a way to keep true to his fiance while trying not to get himself involved with the mob.

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski tethers on the premise of mistaken identity when Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski was mistaken for someone else and gets himself embedded in a mess that he has nothing to do with. This movie plays a lot into pop culture, especially with the iconic character played by Jeff Bridges. This movie brought together a string of varied personalities to produce what is a hilarious comedy.

So Close

So Close was the first Hong Kong movie that I’ve seen. As I haven’t watched this for a very long time, I thought I’d go revisit it. This movie is about assassins and a rookie cop whose worlds cross when the cop investigates a death in a company.

The Edge of Seventeen

The Edge of Seventeen is a teen movie I didn’t know I needed. It was funny and relatable. There are certain things here that I positively and negatively feel strongly about. This post would contain spoilers because I nitpicked on my problem with this film.

Sherlock, Jr

Sherlock Jr is my first foray into silent film. With that said, I'm not sure how to go about this review. Are there any methods or techniques that I should be looking at? I know nothing about the silent film industry so I will be sharing my thoughts about this film at its face value. Sherlock Jr focuses on a movie theater employee who takes an interest in detective work.  His interest gets put into test when a gold watch turns missing.

Blind Spot: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of those popular movies with a huge following but I know nothing about the plot. The only person I knew in this movie was Tim Curry, and that’s because his face is usually plastered when this movie comes up in conversations. When I started my viewing, I immediately understood why this has such a big following; it was really fun.

Swiss Army Man

I wasn’t sure what to make of this movie. It’s a weird fantasy-type movie where a man encounters a dead body, which turns out to be more than a dead body. This body can produce drinking water, and limbs that can be used as cutting tools. But more than the surrealism of the whole thing, the movie’s events speak a lot about the character’s self-actualization.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

A movie built on conversation isn't unusual anymore, nor does a city playing a role in the movie's atmosphere. This is the case for Emily Ting's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong, starring real life couple Bryan Greenberg and Jamie.Chung. The film spans out in 2 separate days, and follows two people around the city of Hong Kong.

Amelie

I was clearing out my drafts folder (I'm one of those people with impossible inboxes) when I unearthed this old review of Amelie I wrote a few years ago and never got around to publishing. I did end up editing this a bit, but I wanted to preserve my original thoughts on the film, so here is a slightly updated version of the review.

The Family Fang

The opening sequence immediately throws the audience in the middle of the story – the disappearance of Caleb and Camille Fang, two artists known for their eccentric experimental art. The movie is then partly told in a series of flashbacks and interviews in order to understand the world that Caleb and Camille have perpetuated, and the kind of world their children, Annie and Baxter have tried to distance themselves from.

Our Little Sister

When the father of sisters Shachi, Yoshino and Chika passed away, they went to the funeral despite having not seen their father for ages. They also meet their half-sister, Suzu, his daughter from his second marriage. On a whim, they ask Suzu to live with them, which she agreed to.