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The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Sweet, romantic, and enjoyable movie.
I love time loop movies, they make up one of my favourite sub-genres. This was a surprisingly nice, fresh take on the trope.
The opening sequence is fantastic, so much so it would be interesting to watch it with somebody who didn't know this was a time loop film.
The two lead performances were good, I'd be interested in seeing both of them in more stuff in the future.
The only reason I refrain from giving it a 9/10 is that it feels like it is over 2 hours. I only looked at the runtime after finishing, and was quite surprised to see it is under 100 minutes. The pacing of the film is off, it feels a lot longer than it is.
Don't get me wrong, still very fun movie, and I would watch it again, but I think the script probably could have gone through one more draft.
The Prom (2020)
Conflicted
I am a massive fan of the Broadway show, and I was looking forward to this movie since it was announced. I didn't think it would be fantastic, but I knew it would be fun to watch, especially as a fan already.
And fun it was. As expected, Ryan Murphy really did Ryan Murphy, with all the glitz and glamour, colour, and vibrant look of his work. I do wish it wasn't a Netflix film so I could see it in a cinema (if this was a normal year), because a bigger screen would certainly benefit it.
However, it wasn't great. Yes, I had a lot of fun with the film, it was certainly enjoyable. I wanted more Andrew Rannells, and the fact they cut almost all of "The Acceptance Song" makes me annoyed, because that is one of my favourites in the show.
Additionally, the auto-tuning and overly done pitch correction of many of the actors is hard to listen to. I didn't know Keegan Michael-Key could sing, but the rest of the main cast all can.
Love him or hate him, but James Corden can sing. His accent isn't great, overly done in some scenes, but he can sing. He was probably the one I noticed the least editing done on his voice, him and Meryl Streep. Andrew Rannells was in "Book of Mormon" on Broadway, he doesn't need his voice altered, nor did Ariana DeBosse, who was in "Hamilton."
As mentioned, the severely shortened "The Acceptance Song" was annoying, as well as cutting Emma and Alyssa's verse from "You Happened." I can take changing some lyrics, and while a great joke is removed in one change ("Just Breathe"), it ultimately isn't a big deal. Luckily, no full songs are cut (though I wouldn't have minded the removal of "Zazz").
The pacing of the film is good, with songs coming in reasonably quick succession. It helps that the musical creators wrote the screenplay, they can make sure the film follows their show from a script perspective. The ability to change scenery a lot mid-song helps at times, but it makes you question Murphy's choices a bit (like, why does part of "Just Breathe" take place while Emma is swimming backstroke? Why is she singing then?)
Everyone does a fine, competent job, but it isn't a movie that is going to win any Oscars. I had fun watching it, and I went back and watched a few performances again. I would watch it again, but unless I want to hear a little Andrew Rannells, I am sticking with the Broadway cast.
A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016)
Not great, but a fun watch
This movie is bad. But it is bad in a way that makes it good to watch.
I watched this not expecting much but was laughing most of the way through, around 50% of that was laughing at actual jokes (a fair few of them aren't bad) but the rest was laughing at how stupid the action is (For example, Reed has his hand conveniently stop covering his mic backstage when he announces he loves Tessa).
Thomas Law does a good job despite everything, and the two girls who play the step sisters are funny to watch consistently. Sofia isn't amazing (she isn't as bad as some think in my opinion though). She certainly holds her own against the other Cinderellas in the series as she is good.
The soundtrack is a generic pop soundtrack, which works with the setting but isn't quite what I like (especially considering the nice acoustic 'Stuck on the Outside' get turned into a poppy mess in the soundtrack). As poppy as it is, it works when watching, but if you listen out of the movie, it sounds like any generic pop song out there.
The plot is predictable (as it is A Cinderella Story) but it has a nice story all the same, with the best thing being that Reed (the pop star) falls in love with the seemingly ordinary Tessa instead of her glamorous (and British) 'Hannah Montana' style disguise Bella.
The choreography in the movie is actually quite impressive at times (Reed and Tessa/Bella dancing during her audition is actually a good scene. Other times it cuts to much to really be able to tell, but not as much as a Marvel fight scene for example.
A good story, but in a bad plot. Quite a shame as with their talent, the Cinderella tale, the general musical-ness, some of the jokes the writers have, the choreography (especially with the director being a choreographer) they could of made a good movie (difficult but a potential 7.5-8)
It is worth watching once, but only if you need a laugh would I recommend watching it again, and you don't have anything else. A 6/10 as it is not quite 'good' standard if you take it seriously, but if you take it lightly then it automatically seems a lot better.