Change Your Image
avanhauser
Reviews
The Book of Clarence (2023)
An Alternative Perspective
Let me start by saying I am not black or religious. I expected this movie to be a comedy, and indeed in parts it was funny, but it had a lot more to say than jokes.
Where it got complex was understanding what Clarence's purpose was or what his story was trying to say. What I understood is that Clarence was a man, not a God or a Messiah, but he can find his true purpose through learning and growing. Through that, he can find his own faith or beliefs. It's a refreshing alternative to "tricks" as a way of getting people to believe in something larger than themselves that religions tend to do and I liked that.
I loved that it was black centric and made parallels with Black Lives Matter. I love that it pulled stories and events that are well known from the Bible, simultaneously making them believable and dare I say, a bit silly. It instead refocused on a more realistic sense of what could have been if the real teacher was just a man but with a twist of the supernatural.
It was funny and entertaining and thought provoking with incredible acting. The tone was sometimes hard to nail but not if you knew what it was trying to say in that moment.
The Circle (2017)
What a waste of incredible acting talent
Yikes. I'm sure this was written and then rewritten but it is absolutely unbelievable in any context. Not the tech (we get it, we need privacy), but the main character has zero background, history and experience with technology before she was hired. In fact, she was only hired because of her friend's referral. And then, within what I gather is weeks or months, she's coming up with massive whole company concepts and presenting them to the entire Company. And, suddenly she's very interesting and has incredible ideas and ONLY she can fix things, no one else. Insert giant eye roll.
Also, if you've ever worked anywhere with more than 500 people you never meet the CEO unless you have worked there for a very long time or are very senior in rank - yes, her friend gave her access, but why would the CEO have an interest in the main character after their first introduction? She's new like hundreds of others and while her scores were decent she wasn't a standout. In fact, she didn't do the social things that most new hires did. It would be very unlikely for a huge tech company with lots of legal liability to let a new hire run with things like what happened in this plot.
What a shame that the only character that is the least bit mysterious and interesting, "Ty" played by John Boyega, is very involved in the middle of the film and then, poof, he was gone. I got excited for a minute that The Circle was up to something devious or sinister and they were going to cleverly shut it down but instead, he had two lines at the end and then the big reveal is that Tech Executives are shady and don't follow their own rules? Ummmm, yahhhh. I was hoping for a plot twist not a reveal that I already live. What a shame.
Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (2023)
Divine
I read reviews before I watched. I expected to be mildly entertained and extremely bored. I wasn't.
We are taken on a pilgrimage to discover if something you cannot see exists. There is magic, faith and self discovery in this story that I just love. The idea that something exists beyond what we can see and explain is as old as humans telling stories and this was an amazing new way of telling it.
I loved it all. Simon Pegg rarely disappoints and Minnie Driver brings class with levity. I hope there is another with the pair of them. The time set in the 30s is gorgeous - plus, you get to really focus on the story without the burden of technology in the way.
Watch with an open mind and you will find something very exciting.
Painkiller (2023)
Thank you for telling this story
Not so much a review but thank you for telling on big Pharma. People make fun of all those ads that dazzle you with families and people having fun selling drugs that have horrific side effects. The industry that this company founded is still very much alive and well. People should be aware that prescription drug manufacturers and sellers do not care about them, they only care about money.
It's so hard for a few trying to rise up against wrong doing. Most of the time they fail or get crushed in the process. But when people educate themselves and stop buying, stop putting money in the pockets that are harming and killing them, that's the biggest power possible. I hope many take time to watch and learn about this industry. It is one of many billion dollar American industries designed to keep people spending money they don't have on things they don't need or that make them sick.
Thank you for telling this story and featuring a small few who lived it. Well done.
Shirley (2020)
Sizzling and Scintillating
First off, Elizabeth Moss' performance is complicatedly brilliant. The intertwining of her character and Odessa Young's character is beautiful and sensual. In my opinion this is a mouthpiece for what exists in women's lives both in the past and in the present. Controlled by what they "should be" in the eyes of others - society, spouses, acquaintances but never allowed to be who they really are. Always suffering and expected to do so.
I loved this story. I loved the female characters figuring out themselves through writing a tragic story of another together. Filling themselves with the exciting danger of death and dancing outside the lines of what is "acceptable" for women to do. Truly well done and inspiring. Don't expect it to tell you what to think (thank you to the screenwriter and director) - it takes you on a journey and makes you read between the lines and complete the gaps yourself. Inspiring and thought provoking. I think the real Shirley Jackson would have loved it.