#moviestosee

[attentionspoilers]

Jane or John? /Predestination

PlotPredestination, film del 2014 diretto dai fratelli Michael e Peter Spierig, racconta la storia di un agente governativo (interpretato dal magistrale Ethan Hawke), il quale viaggia nel tempo per dare la caccia a un terrorista, Frizzle Bomber. Il criminale gli è sfuggito più volte nel corso ed essendo questo il suo ultimo incarico, l’agente è costretto a tornare nel passato per cercare di…

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[jayrobertsbuildingmyempire]

Three awesome movies. Do you agree or haven't you seen them? Comment below. Do you agree with this list or would you add to it? #movies #moviefacts #filmfacts #movies2020 #moviestosee #moviestowatch #top3movies #shawshankredemption #thedarkknight #batman #thegodfather https://www.instagram.com/p/CDOeoLFpEwe/?igshid=o2uoucu0n9mt

[seeko82]

Making a list of upcoming movies and I feel like I’ve forgotten a bunch of intriguing previews. . . . . . #movielist #movielists #moviestosee #whatmovietowatch #happyplanner #minihappyplanner #imahappyplanner #happyplannernotes #happyplannernotespage #happyplannerlist #happyplannerlistmaker #happyplannermini https://www.instagram.com/p/B822GwdHEQx/?igshid=mfaajokqo3lh

[jshsouthstreet]

Spent a lot of time around New Year catching movies I should have seen last year. First example: Booksmart 😮 Loved it!!! Awesome performances by Kaitlyn Dever & Beanie Feldstein & a great directorial debut from Olivia Wilde. If you haven’t seen it - get on it! #booksmartmovie #awesome #moviestosee #filmstowatch https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Jc8H4gcbR/?igshid=rxyk9r2llkgb

[oliviabellafontaine]

Friends, go check out Portraits on Amazon. Directed by the one and only @stephanieclariceparis Rent it or buy it now. It’s her first film, and it was a pleasure to work on. It’s visually beautiful. 🖤 👁👁Portraits follows the story of Mira, a fledgling photographer, who inherits a building from an unknown relative. It isn’t long before fate draws her deeper into her family’s secret past, and an attraction to a mysterious new friend, Madeline, slowly reveals itself. A string of brutal murders besiege those around her. Do her series of re-occurring nightmares point to the unknown killer, or are they a link to Mira’s dark ancestral history? #portraits #amazonfilms #amazon #film #moviestosee #portraitsfilm https://www.instagram.com/p/BvS3pK3lv9t/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=y0ujsi8cm8lt

[holameamigo991-blog]

A Cure for What Ails Ya: A Review/Impression of Kumail Nanjiani’s “The Big Sick”

Before I begin, I figure it’d be a nice time to explain one thing about myself: I am that guy you see in every “loser rom-com”. I think I’m funny, sociable and maybe even sweet in some awkward, nerdy way. And, truthfully, I relate quite a bit with these main characters and their struggles to win the heart of a significant other, and maybe learn a little something about themselves along the way. I’ve never been lucky, or brave, or confident enough, to pursue romance, but I’ve watched a helluva lot of these amazing/boring/derivative/original stories. Because, truthfully, the rom-com is a simple formula: person meets person, and the two go on a journey of love and growth. There have been dozens of variations of the simple formula of two characters who, at their core, are in love with each other, and through this love, go on a journey. Sometimes the journey leads to a happily ever after, with kids, successful career, white-picket fence...pets. Sometimes, it ends with both characters separating and becoming better people, only to eventually reunite. Sometimes, they don’t even reunite and go on to live completely different lives. And sometimes, amidst all these formulas, these tropes and archetypes, you find a winning recipe. A unique take, a unique perspective on something that has been trod across for decades at this point. It is good to know that there is still world-record recipes to be discovered out there in the world, and The Big Sick is one of the best I’ve seen. You should see it, too, if you’ve been in love, or had friends, or, well, a beating heart. Anyway! 

The Big Sick tells the story of Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistani-American who immigrated to the big U.S. when he was a teenager with his family. Right off the bat, you are introduced to Kumail and his life (Uber-Driver, Stand-Up, Slacking Son all with dreams of one day succeeding in the cut-throat world of stand-up comedy), his family and their habit of introducing him with arranged marriage candidates, his friends, also struggling stand-ups, and one-night stand turned girlfriend, Emily. All of this is done to introduce us to a roster of lovable, unique and relatable supporting characters that revolve around Kumail’s life of struggle and uncertainty. The movie takes its time to truly live in Kumail’s life and takes a focus on two avenues: his blossoming romance with Emily, and his family’s expectations of him to remain faithful to his culture, his heritage and his religion, all of which Kumail struggles with. The movie does an excellent job of displaying and explaining Pakistani customs, including history, pass-times, culture and even main exports (cotton and cement), while blending it with the life of the American single: a life of apartments, struggling to pay bills and build a life and friendship serving as both support and comfort. These two cultures, American-Single and Traditional-Pakistani do a wonderful job of breathing life into Kumail’s stand-up and observations, providing both story and evidence to something often relegated to background or a brief joke. Never in the movie does it come across as window dressing or sub-plot: these cultures are infused and displayed proudly, embraced and criticized and ruminated upon throughout, and even used to further develop a rapport with audience and character.

So, while this is definitely a movie about culture, it is also a movie about something that transcends culture: love. Kumail meets Emily, a young woman attending grad school in hopes of becoming a therapist. Immediately, the contrasts between the two are presented: male to female, slacker to career-mind, Pakistani to American, but prove to be little in the way of love. Despite protests and jokingly made decisions to never see other, the two fall in love. A beautiful, simple and often adorable love, the two are not without flaws, and these flaws are never shunned or dressed up, but presented straight. Kumail lies and is often silently agreeable to his parents demands to attend arranged marriage dinners, while Emily is often in denial about their relationship. Still, their love wins out for the most part, until the movie takes a turn for the dramatic: breakup, recovery, and then, the title of the movie, The Big Sick arrives. Emily is rendered comatose after an infection, and Kumail meets her parents, something that was a point of contention between the two. Emily’s parents, portrayed amazingly by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as nervous, passionate and concerned and confrontational, are complex humans who, nonetheless, start to build a relationship with Kumail. Things spiral out from there. Characters grow. Plots thicken. Sickness pervades the story. Dreams rise and die. But to get further in would be a spoiler, and honestly, I’d be doing a disservice to the film to spoil it for you: instead, take solace in that the movie does not pull punches in drama or comedy, and instead, binds the two into a tale of love and all the complexities that come about from culture clash, awkward situations, and perceptions.

The movie, I feel, does an excellent job at portraying what all movies try to do, or at least, the ones that care about their audience: tell a story that is both human, and extraordinary. Characters reveal deep-seated complexities and beliefs that paint a full picture of each cast member. We learn of Kumail’s insecurities with connecting with his parent’s culture, of Emily’s struggles in high school and with her illness, of Terry and Beth, Emily’s parents, and the struggles they’ve faced in raising a daughter, marriage in the modern age, and with their own tumultuous romance. And it is through these different facets that the movie reveals a simple truth: history, culture and family all help create who we are, who we will be, and who we were, but truly, we are all united by these factors. Kumail and Terry, in particular, display a bromance for the ages, with both reaching catharsis through communication and comedy. Kumail and Beth, meanwhile, close the gap from open disdain and reluctance, to mutual assistance, to friend and beyond. And through their struggles in dealing with the stress, terror and pressure of the Big Sick, they come together and draw strength from each other. It is in these scenes of communication and earnest, open honesty that truly sets “The Big Sick” apart from rom-coms, which often times skirt the surface of human romance to focus on saccharine-sweet montages and pointless drama about he-said, she-said or “who has the meaner parents”.

Of course, like anybody, the movie also thrives in its depiction of the complexity of family. Beth and Terry are portrayed as loving parents and good people, who aside from an initial stand-offish appraoch to Kumail, are people I would love to have in my family. While flawed (Terry is a timid man and Beth is fierce and overly-judgmental), neither of them come across as insufferable, shallow or prejudiced. The hostility they show is portrayed as a human reaction to  a perceived harm done (In this case, Emily’s romantic relationship and the abrupt end of it), rather than an outright disdain for those different from them. It is in this strange, but sweet, situation that “The Big Sick” carves off a new, unique territory. Kumail’s own parents are also portrayed as strict and burdened with high-expectations, but nonetheless love and support their son. And while their is a scene with them that comes off as overly harsh and, in a way, heartless, it is resolved with humor and humanity and love, as the movie accomplishes in stride. The role of parent, and the relationship with children, is best summarized by a quote from Terry, spoken in Romano’s deep, nasally tone that lends both sincerity and humanity to the statement: 

“Loving someone this much, as a parent, is terrible...it sucks. Love isn’t easy...that’s why they call it love.”

And, honestly, that’s what “The Big Sick” is about: for all its humor, drama, commentary and struggle, it is a story about love. Love for family. Romantic love. Love for friends. Love for what one does. Self-love (Not that kind, silly) and even the anger and hate that comes from love. And not only is this a story about love. It’s a GREAT story about love. And honestly, in the political and social climate that, as I write this, pervades and suffuses itself into every aspect of American culture, it is nice to a see a movie about love that transcends borders, cultures, beliefs and hate. And does it with style, grace and humor. If you are looking for a deep, earnest and complex depiction of love and human interaction, then look no further: The Big Sick is the cure for what ails ya (See what I did there? I worked the title into the ending paragraph. Nice). 

Thanks for reading!

TL;DR: The Big Sick is a great movie and this gif above summarizes my opinion on it quite accurately. Hopefully, this won’t be the last movie Mr. Nanjiani pens with his wife, because if they can tell this extremely personal and intimate story, I look forward to whatever other stories they can create together.

[geekeryandcoffee]

Can't sleep, so I'm working on my new bullet journal. #bulletjournal #bujo #moviestosee #614 (at North Linden, Columbus)

[geekeryandcoffee]

Trying something new in my life. #bulletjournal #moodtrackerspread #moviestosee #showstowatch #bookstoread