LateToWatchAMovie

Hi! I’m CJ and this is where I’m going to review and (amateurishly) critique films I watch years after their original release date (Sorry horror lovers, horror is just not my thing). Enjoy!

[latetowatchamovie]

Cats (2019)

 Oh boy... Lets go

Plot: A tribe of cats must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.

Rating: 2/5

I’m just going to start this off by saying I love the musical. Cats was one of my favourite musicals growing up, alongside The Phantom of the Opera. But, my God this film was a mistake.

Now. These ‘cats’ have become my new sleep paralysis demons. Rebel Wilson especially. That was horrifying. For the love of god, either make them look like cats or make them look like humans, not some nightmarish middle ground that is genuinely traumatizing. 

There were a few people in this that were way better than this film, Idris Alba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. The rest were perfect for the film and that is not the complement it sounds like. 

I was disappointed because Old Duteronomy was originally male but out of anyone who could’ve played genderbent Duteronomy, I’m glad it was Judi. Ian McKellen has a habit of making me cry every time I see him, the absolute legend. J.Hud could sing a cake recipe and I’d love it and Idris deserves so much more than what this film was.

Ok so... On to T.Swift. It was a bad casting choice. I’m not saying she can’t sing, I’m saying she can’t act. I am fully aware that Taylor Swift auditioned for the role of Éponine in the Les Misérables film and lost out to Samantha Barks and so Tom Hooper gave her the role of Bombalurina in Cats without audition but in my opinion that was a bad move.

Taylor Swift trying to act sexy as a cat that looked like... that did not work and quite frankly I’m scarred from it. She’s also really bad at a British accent. As a Brit, that was despicable, never do it again. 

The vocals weren’t that bad to be very honest. I mean, J.Hud was in it, she’s nothing but fantastic vocally. I do think James Corden should stick to his Late Night show and Carpool Karaoke though. And Rebel Wilson should never, ever, under any circumstances, sing. I was also pretty disappointed in Jason Derulo’s performance.

The role of Rum Tum Tugger is a very flamboyant role itself but Jason overplayed it which I wasn’t aware you could do. I’m not a fan of Jason’s but I do know he was better than that. 

To end on a lighter note, Jenifer Hudson hitting the ‘Touch me’ climax of ‘Memory’ gave me goosebumps and I’d die for her.

This film will never beat the stage version. Never in a million years will it be better than the stage version recorded with Elaine Paige. Sorry not sorry.

All in all, if you’re thinking of watching this as an introduction to the world of musicals, take my advice. Don’t. It’d be much better for you to watch the stage recorded version from 1998.

Until next time, CJ signing out. Wear your masks. 

[latetowatchamovie]

Ms Purple (2019)

Plot: A karaoke hostess reconnects with her estranged brother, forcing them to enter a period of intense self-reflection as their single father who raised them nears death.

Rating: 4/5

Ok. Don’t let the plot fool you, this film is so much more. This film is about two adult siblings who had to grow up too fast in different ways and for different reasons. This film touches on the subject of a mother abandoning her children for what she believes is a better life without looking back once. This film touches on the subject of abuse and neglect, losing all just to gain some and it is so poignant.

Starting off there is very little monologue, but it works. It brings in the feeling of monotony, the same thing day in, day out, over and over again until you’re living on autopilot the whole time. Kasie (Tiffany Chu) played her role very well. You could see in her eyes that this was not where she wanted to be in life, that the responsibility of taking care of her dying father was dragging her down and the hostess job she works that she subconsciously might find shameful is beginning to slowly suffocate her. 

There is a scene where it seems she is made to take drugs, not forced per se, but pressured by the environment. Say ‘No’ to drugs kids, you’re better than that. 

When her father’s carer abruptly leaves, Kasie has no other option but to ask her estranged brother, Carey (Teddy Lee), for help as she doesn’t want to put her father into hospice care. As flashbacks have already shown us the mother who ran off when the siblings were little, and the wounds her abandonment left on the family I feel that Kasie see’s this as an opportunity for her to remember and reconnect with her brother. 

 One of my favourite characters is Octavio (Octavio Pizano), who worked at the same karaoke bar as Kasie as a valet parker. He is clearly interested in Kasie but he has a tendency to come across as creepy in his awkward flirting. He’s cure in a dorky way.

My least favourite on the other hand was Kasie’s boyfriend, Johnny ( Jake Choi), who is rich and entitled. To Johnny, Kasie wasn’t his girlfriend but property, a sex partner and a compliant plus-one and he shows this as much when she refuses his offer of her moving in with him and subsequently insulting her in front of his like-minded friends. His character really rubbed me the wrong way and I just wish Kasie was strong enough to stand up to him. 

Carey has some lovely, impulsive moments in the film being unable to tolerate staying cooped up, trundles his father’s hospital bed around town with casual but not unkind disregard for its oblivious occupant. 

Oftentimes, sibling relationships on film often ring slightly false. You rarely believe that these people grew up together, were three and four years old together but Chu and Lee are so believable as siblings that "Ms. Purple" just wouldn't work as well as it does without it. There are moments when the cares of their lives fall away, and they start laughing about something from the past, or just go out to get some ice cream. 

I would’ve liked it if they had gone more in-depth as to why Carey ran away at 15 and why his relationship with his father was as strained as it was. There was very little backstory regarding that and it would’ve been nice to have that knowledge while watching the film. 

There is a lot that I have glossed over in this review, simply because of spoilers and I do think people would benefit from watching this film. 

Until next time, CJ signing out.

[latetowatchamovie]

Gook (2017)

Plot: Eli (Justin Chon) and Daniel (David So), two Korean American brothers who own a struggling women's shoe store, have an unlikely friendship with 11-year-old Kamilla (Simone Baker). On the first day of the 1992 L.A. riots, the trio must defend the store while contemplating the meaning of family and thinking about personal dreams and the future.

Rating: 3.5/5

I won’t lie, I had higher hopes for this film, simply because I’m such a big fan of both David So and Justin Chon. But it fell short in places. Don’t get me wrong! It was enjoyable enough to watch but it was lacking in places. 

First of all I didn’t expect it to be greyscale, not that greyscale is an issue, I guess my millennial ass is so used to watching things in colour that greyscale was shocking to me. Amusingly, the first thing I picked up on, after the greyscale thing, was the amount of times Mr. Kim (Sang Chon) said “fuck you”. That lil old man said it so much I lost count. He was easily one of my favourite characters for that alone. 

One thing I love abut this movie was Daniel and Eli’s relationship with Kamilla. At first I was like “uh... why are two grown men handing around an 11 year old girl?”, but looking closer revealed how wholesome the relationship was. Looking back on it they were probably a surrogate family to her since her own family weren’t the nicest to her, nor were they in the greatest living situations. 

The relationship between Eli and Daniel on the other hand was toxic as heck. I would’ve liked to of seen that explored a little bit more so I could come to an understanding as to why their relationship was so strained. I know that they always had each others backs when it was needed but what made their day to day relationship so tense and sour?

Jumping back a little, there were so many instances of Daniel and Eli getting beat up in this film. Eli got beat up within the first 5-10 minuets of the film and Daniel, the poor guy, got beat up around 3 times, once by Kamilla’s brother, Keith, and BOY is he a piece of work, we’ll get to him in a minuet though. Daniel thought there was gonna be a fourth beating instead it was Mr.Kim pulling up to give him a ride and let me tell you something, I don’t think I’d be able to get into a car with Mr.Kim behind the wheel. I love him but he scares me. 

Now onto Keith (Curtiss Cook Jr). In summary, Keith is a dick, screw Keith. Kamilla’s sister, Regina (Omono Okojie), stunning, we love her. But Keith, no. We don’t stan him. 

Ok so this is where I was disappointed most. Here the storyline gets a bit confusing. Its all good... up until guns come out and then I’m lost. All of a sudden Keith is threatening to shoot Eli and Daniel, and then Kamilla has a gun from somewhere I dunno and then she’s shot. I don’t even know where she was shot and then Keith and Eli is at a hospital and Keith is just losing it at Eli but excuse me sir, it was Keith’s fault she was there in the first place cause Keith has a tendency to lose his shit a lot. If Keith hadn’t of lost his shit, she wouldn’t of gone to warn Eli and Daniel about her crazy big brother. 

And then Kamilla’s dead?! And I’m crying?! And Eli is burning the shoe store down?! WHAT?!

One thing’s for sure, Kamilla should NOT of died. She was sweet innocent angel she didn’t deserve that. BUT SHE WAS STILL DANCING so I smiled through my tears. You won’t understand the dancing unless you watch the film so like... watch it bro.

All in all, I respect the topics this film tackled. 1992 was a very difficult for black and Asian minorities in America for similar reasons we are facing today. I think this film is very relevant in 2020 and the battle people are facing even as I type this. Please. Go watch it. 

Until next time, CJ signing out. Stay safe guys.

[latetowatchamovie]

Ocean’s 8 (2018)

Plot: Five years, eight months, 12 days and counting -- that's how long Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) has been devising the biggest heist of her life. She knows what it's going to take -- a team of the best people in the field, starting with her partner-in-crime Lou Miller (Cate Blanchett). Together, they recruit a crew of specialists, including jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), street con Constance (Awkwafina), suburban mom Tammy (Sarah Paulson), hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), and fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham Carter). Their target -- a necklace that's worth more than $150 million (The Jeanne Toussaint necklace)  .

Rating: 3/5

This film left me pretty unsatisfied. For something that was meant to be a comedy, it really lacked... you know... the funny. The film itself is extremly forgettable with very little rememrable scenes. I think the funniest part was Debbie and Lou finding Rose crying and depression eating after a fashion show gone wrong and even that failed to pull more than a pity scoff from me. 

I won’t lie to you, characterization was good. Helena Bonham Carter played her role as a slightly frazzled fashion designer brilliantly, Awkwafina’s role as a light handed pickpocket was played in a way that i found somewhat endeiring and Anne Hathaway as a smart celebrity playing the overdramatic bitchy celebrity was somewhat brilliant as well.

The plot however left something to desire. As a heist movie you expect it to be thrilling and exhilirating, something to keep you on the edge of your seat. Instead it was dull and had me dozing. As a comdy you expect it to make you laugh... it didn’t. I find that films these days use the word comedy in the loosest term posible and that is truly saddening.

I also found the whole reason behind why they were doing this heist terribly confusing. Yes, I understand that her (Debbie’s) ex put her in jail but... How? Why? When? Give us some back story please!! 

As you can probably tell from the length of this review, I don’t have much to say on this film and thats because there isn’t really anything to the film itself. They only focus on the stealing of the necklace and beleive me when I tell you, that was NOT enough to keep me interested. I feel like I’m being incredibly generous giving this a 3 out of 5.

At least RiRi looked amazing

Until next time, CJ signing out

[latetowatchamovie]

Next Review

𝙼𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝙾𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝙴𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.

𝙻𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚝, 𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚜.

𝚄𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝙲𝙹 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝! 

[latetowatchamovie]

Innocent Steps (2005)

Plot: Former acclaimed dancer Na Young-sae attempts to make a comeback after his opponent, Hyun-soo, purposely injures him at a dance competition. At the suggestion of his dance studio manager Ma Sang-doo , Young-sae then brings to Korea Jang Chae-ryn, an ethnic Korean from China whom he presumes is a renowned, talented dancer. To his surprise, Young-sae learns Chae-ryn knows nothing about dancing and her soon-to-be married, older sister, Jang Chae-min, is the talented dancer. With only three months until the national dance championship, Young-sae trains Chae-ryn, vowing to turn her into a world-class dancer.

Rating: 5/5

Damn. Just. Damn. No one does a movie like South Korea. I can’t remember the last time I cried at a film. Innocent Steps had me snivelling like a newborn. I have points in my notes that just says “Oh shit. Its sad” and “Why AM I CRYING?!”. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. It certainly didn’t seem like my cup of tea, but I shrugged off my doubts, and rightfully so because I do not regret watching this one. Although slow paced it drew me in from the very beginning. As someone who isn’t a mushy, lovey-dovey sorta gal, this film was perfect for me with a sweet, innocent, slow burn love.

It was harsh in places, especially where Hyun-soo (Yoon Chan) purposely injures Na Young-sae (Park Gun-hyung), not once but twice. Like, it ain’t that deep, bub. There was also a part where Young-sae’s dance studio manager, Ma Sang-doo (Park Won-sang) beats Jang Chae-ryn (Moon Geun-young) for not being who she says she was and my jaw dropped. From the very begging I thought that Ma Sang-doo was shady and I was right (More on that later).

There are some comedic elements like the two inspectors who lowkey stalk the main couple in the dumbest yet most hilarious ways. They had me wheezing occasionally which wasn’t great since we all know my dumbass decided to watch this film at like 4am.

The two leads had great chemistry and I found myself believing their relationship even before they fell in love which, like, A+ for achieving that. The female lead Jang Chae-ryn  is like super adorable in this and one thing I did notice about   Na Young-sae is that he had one nice butt and overall the film was cheesy but in a cute and endearing way.

BACK TO MA SANG-DOO, I said he was shady and I was right, he’s a money-grabbing greedy shit in this and i don’t like him. Like he practically sells Jang Chae-ryn to Hyun-soo and I almost rioted.. Until i remembered I was watching a film that is.

Because Na Young-sae is injured once more, Jang Chae-ryn has no choice but to dance with Hyun-soo at the dance competition but its all good cause she fuckin nails it lads. AND NA YOUNG-SAE WATCHED and I cried, cause I’m a pussy. And then my wifi cut out like a lil bitch, BUT I GOT IT BACK and saw the end but I won’t spoil it cause you need to watch it.

Watch it

Im begging you

Watch this film

W A T C H  I T!!!

Until next time, CJ signing out!

[latetowatchamovie]

Easy A (2010)

Plot: High school student Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) finds herself the victim of her school's "rumor mill" when she lies to her best friend Rhiannon (Alyson Michalka) about a weekend tryst with a fictional college freshman. Word quickly spreads of Olive's promiscuity and, much to her surprise, she welcomes the attention. When she agrees to help out a bullied friend by pretending to sleep with him, her image rapidly degrades to a more lascivious state and her world begins to spin out of control. As she helps more and more of her classmates and her lies continue to escalate, Olive must find a way to save face before the school's religious fanatic Marianne (Amanda Bynes) gets her expelled and she loses a shot at attaining her own happiness.

Rating: 4/5 

Wowie. That was a wild ride. I just wanna say that I adore comedy. I love to laugh and although this film was funny, it did fall a little on the short side in terms of comedy in my opinion (although nowhere near as unfunny as Bad Teacher. I watched that and didn’t want to waste my time reviewing it). But I’m a sucker for a film that uses cliche’s and acknowledges that fact. And this one does exactly that. I’ll be completely honest with you, I didn’t even know this film existed until a few days ago and I’m so glad I found it.

I was also glad that they had a little LGBTQ+ representation in there as I myself am a member of the LGBTQ+ community (Hi to all my fellow pansexuals). Although it could've been handled way better I am conscious of the fact that stuff like that does happen so I could understand why it was done in such a way (I realise I’m making no sense but not everyone would’ve seen this movie and I ain’t one to give out spoilers).

Although a comedy film, I do believe that this film is teaching a valuable lesson and that’s people are too quick to judge. Every high school has their mandatory rumour mill churning out that gossip whenever something even remotely note worthy happens. It deals with not only slut shaming but sexuality, weight, religion, nationality and morals. All done in a pretty humorous way.

I again had a problem with infidelity (COME ON IS IT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT TO JUST STAY LOYAL!) But thankfully it was only a minor point in the plot that didn’t really affect anything.

Olive (Emma Stone) was a very relatable character. Not overly popular, a little nerdy with a good sense of humour. I had a bit of a problem with something that happened near the end but its a bit of a spoiler so I won’t share.

Overall it was a good, enjoyable film. I do recommend.

Until next time, CJ signing out!

[latetowatchamovie]

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Plot:  After eight months' treatment in a mental health facility for bipolar disorder, Patrizio "Pat" Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper) is released into the care of his father Patrizio Sr. (Robert De Niro) and mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) at his childhood home in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. His main focus is to reconcile with his ex-wife, Nikki (Brea Bee). She has moved away and obtained a restraining order against him after Pat found her in the shower with another man and badly beat him. During his time in the clinic Pat befriends Danny McDaniels (Chris Tucker), an easygoing man who is embroiled in a legal dispute with the clinic on whether or not he is eligible to leave.  At dinner with his friend Ronnie (John Ortiz) and Ronnie's wife Veronica (Julia Stiles), Pat meets Veronica's sister Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence). They connect over dinner talking about different drugs they have taken to manage their mental illnesses. Sparks fly between Pat and Tiffany and she tries to connect by offering casual sex, but Pat keeps focusing on getting Nikki back. Tiffany tries to get closer to Pat and even offers to deliver a letter to Nikki—if, in return, he will practice dancing (which she does as a therapy) with her and partner with her in an upcoming dance competition. He reluctantly agrees and the two begin a rigorous practice regimen over the following weeks.

Rating: 4/5

Wow. This was better than I expected to be. I’ll be very honest, I never really had much interest in this film. I mean it came out when I was 12 and even at that age, I never truly enjoyed watching films (which btw is the whole reason I started this blog. I want to learn how to enjoy films). Although fast paced it worked for this film. I’ve never been much of a mushy romantic, but even I can admit that this was done in a very classy way. They didn’t hyper-focus on the romance nor did they shove it down your throat and force it on you.

The one problem I had with it was that some scenes are very choppy and done way too fast but I also understand that it was to show either Pat (Bradley Cooper) or Tiffany’s (Jennifer Lawrence) frame of mind in those situations. Lets be honest, both of them were mentally ill. I don’t exactly agree with how their mental health issues were portrayed, but I’m also aware of the huge stigma that surrounds illnesses such as bipolar disorder and DID, so it didn’t exactly come as a shock.

I’m not entirely sure why but the whole dance competition scene was incredibly anxiety inducing. I found my heart beating painfully in my chest and I was violently shaking. Whether or not that was me having a panic attack out of the blue or they played the characters so well that I felt their nerves, I don’t know but I did find myself very impressed with the camera work during that scene.

As for plot, I found myself invested in it. I found myself wanting to know what put Pat in the mental institution, why he lost his job etc. (I was a bit pissed when I learned it was mainly because Nikki (Brea Bee) was cheating on him amongst other problems he was having with himself. Like why can’t there be one loyal marriage? Why is someone always cheating?) and why Tiffany was having problems herself.

Some parts were a bit predictable like the parts with the letters but what’s a film without a bit of predictability? Boring, that’s what. The parlay was actually ridiculous as was the illegal bookmaking (now remember kids, if your friend enables your gambling habit, he ain’t a friend) but overall I found myself to be very taken by and impressed with this film. I would recommend it to people who haven’t seen it before.

Until next time, CJ signing out

[latetowatchamovie]

Madame Bovary (2014)

Plot: The film begins as Emma (Mia Wasikowska), a young woman not yet 18, is packing up her belongings and preparing to leave the convent to marry the man her farmer father has arranged as her husband: country doctor Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). But she becomes bored and miserable in the small, provincial town of Yonville. She spends most of her time alone, reading or wandering in the garden while Charles tends to patients. Even when he's home, he either bores or neglects Emma.Emma longs for more—excitement, passion, status, and love. She shows restraint at first, when smitten law clerk Leon Dupuis (Ezra Miller) skittishly professes his affections for her. But she is intrigued by the dashing Marquis (Logan Marshall-Green), who makes more overt advances. Their affair emboldens her as she believes it gives her glimpse of the good life. She spends money she doesn't have on lavish dresses and decorations from the obsequious dry-goods dealer Monsieur Lheureux (Rhys Ifans), who's all too happy to continue extending her credit.

Rating: 2/5

Ok so don’t get me wrong, it was an ok film but in no way will it be anything better than ok. I think for the lack of time he spent in the film, Ezra Miller played a brilliant role (then again I am rather whipped™️ for him). It was very, for lack of a better word, lacklustre in terms of plot. To me it felt like they were trying too hard to make us sympathise with Emma (Mia Wasikowska) which in all honesty pushed me to do the opposite. It was also extremely fast paced which made everything feel like it happened over a matter of days instead of over a matter of months which in some cases works. But for me it didn’t this time.

Moving on to the characterisation. Like I said, we were being pushed too much into sympathising with Emma that it was rather off-putting at times. It felt like I was being pushed into completely opposing my own moral compass. I found the character of Emma to be impossibly selfish in many cases, even going as far as completely ruining a stranger’s life simply for her own materialistic wants. And when it all came crashing down on her, she lies and when that doesn’t work yeets tf out by drinking some poison (although that left me wondering why a doctor carries poison in his medical bag. Desperate times?).

And that’s not even mentioning her infidelity. Being completely unloyal to a loyal husband with not one but two of his friends (and an attempted third if we’re counting the dry-goods dealer) simply because she’s bored (personally, I’d prefer knitting). 

Then there’s her husband Charles (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) who quite honestly didn’t get the credit he deserved in this film. But due to a lack of screen-time all I can say is that I wish they’d expanded on his character more but that he deserved a lot better than what he got. Sure he was rather inattentive and didn’t pick up on the atmosphere around him (i.e Emma’s facial expressions cause good lord they were THERE) but that doesn’t mean he deserved to be cheated on by a woman he was loyal to and may of even loved. And now the man of the hour. Leon (my man Ezra Miller).

I do declare that I love one (1) man. But no in all seriousness again, LACK OF SCREEN-TIME. But from what I could gather from while he was on screen was that the character had stepped right out of a Gothic romance novel. He was very romantic, the type to want to marry for love instead of business opportunities like the rest, who enjoyed the simple things in life. I’m biased but I can’t blame Emma for falling for his charm. Then again, I also know that it was opportunity she saw and not a person that loved her (*shakes fist in anger*). 

And last but not least Marquis (Logan Marshall-Green). No offence to Logan but I found this character rather forgettable. Perhaps because we saw him for all of about fifteen minuets. Blink and you’d miss him. But yet another man Emma tried to seduce of material things (I’m sensing a pattern).

Looking back on the film, a lot of it is very easy to forget and I think that’s because it felt very rushed, It felt as if the creators had run out of time and just threw what they could at it, crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. I don’t know. Maybe its because I watched it five years after it was released and the film just hasn’t aged well but it fell short for me. I could sense the potential for what could’ve been a very good film and it just didn’t happen.

(Loved seeing Ezra in a historical piece though. He looked like a young Severus Snape. But again, I’m whipped™️)

Until next time, CJ signing out