Peppermint Friday Review: Gone Girl #37

This is the film I just don't like and I'm happy that I'm talking about this because on here I do talk about films I love and its refreshing to talk about something I didn't like and didn't get.

Firstly I read the book before the film, which is something you should normally do, I try to do that but not always. Its with exception of Harry Potter and LOTR because I watched them when I was around 8-9 and back then I had quite bad dyslexia and those books are huge so I just didn't read them, I have now though. I mean with book to film adaptations there is obviously gonna be a difference in the film, because a director's mind is completely different to an author's and there are some things in the story that are just inherently book oriented and some things that work amazingly for film. What the story is about is Amy and Nick played by Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck a couple who have been married for 5 years and on their 5th Anniversary Amy disappears, and its the story and mystery as to what happened to Amy. 

The film goes in flashbacks to when Nick first met Amy and Amy's past boyfriends and what happened the day she disappeared. Amy is also known as 'Amazing Amy' by the public because of the popular books her parents wrote in the inspiration of their daughter. The story is so flawed and it annoys me because there is noone I can relate to in this story at all not one person is sympathetic at all. The couple are questioning what went wrong in their marriage, they were both unemployed due to the recession which led Nick to have an affair with Andie played by Emily Ratajkowski, and there were problems of whether or not Amy's pregnant. Its a whole public search as to where is Amy and her relationship with Nick, and he becomes a prime suspect that he killed her. As Amy learned that Nick was having an affair so instead of confronting him about it and going from there in their relationship, no she frames him for murder, her murder. 

I just find the whole story ludicrous and I watched the film twice because I wanted to see if I hated the story or the film itself, because there is a difference I liked the actors in the film, but the story and characters were just terrible. Nick meets Tommy played by Scoot McNairy an ex of Amy's who she accused him of rape, he also meets Desi Collings played by Neil Patrick Harris another of Amy's exs who had a restraining order against him, Amy then decides to meet him and wants him to runaway together and that Nick was abusing her. I know its so so so dumb, Amy and Desi capture there old fire in a way and have some fun and as they're doing it, she gets a knife and kills him while they're doing it..... yes you read that. Oh but it gets weirder and much more ludicrous, Amy then gets in her car and still covered in blood, drives home to Nick, while still being covered in blood, not her blood but the guy she just murdered's blood.

I'd like to let you all know that noone questions her about it, and she gets sent to the hospital for check ups I assume and yet still covered in blood and noone questions why. But she names Desi who's dead as her captor and rapist clearing Nick of being a suspect. In the end Amy says to Nick she's pregnant, Nick doesn't believe this and is willing to take a paternity test and decides to stay with Amy. I just find the whole story so stupid its annoying because the concept is brilliant I mean it sounds so juicy and like some Creepypasta that will keep you up at night thinking 'what happened to her?' 'was she killed or did she just had enough?' a million questions go through your mind and it delivers itself like a wet lettuce.

Its not just the film its the book aswell, it took me about a week to read it and it was very slow paced. This has nothing to do with the Director of the film David Fincher who I love so much, but its the story that's at fault. I don't know what the author wanted me to think, was it suppose to be a test of whether or not I have empathy/sympathy because I think most humans do. I could not relate to anyone in this story, I thought Amy was just stupid I mean if you're not happy in your relationship you talk to each other and get it sorted out, whether that'd be splitting up or staying together and working through it. I mean you don't just frame your husband for your murder and leg it? One good thing from this is that she is the third woman in stories for me anyway to make my blood boil with anger. Overall I don't like this story and I'm happy I'm not the only one as I've seen many people take a dislike to this and the book. If you want to watch it go right ahead you're not gonna miss out much from the book, if you wanna read the book then go for it but you'll be wasting a week and about 2 and half hours of your life.  

Review: Of Human Bondage

The name does sound abit dodgy, trust me its not a porn its a wonderfully modern story with the fabulous Bette Davis.

The basics of the story is what happens when you fall for the wrong girl, It's about a man called Phillip (played by Leslie Howard) who is in love with waitress Mildred (played by Bette Davis) who is this very vulgar and unlike the sort of woman Phillip would go for. Mildred shows no liking to him, as much as Phillip would show it. Mildred fell for Emil, meanwhile Phillip falls for Norah and tries to get over Mildred. Emil leaves Mildred pregnant and distraught she goes to Phillip for help. 

This story is so modern as Bette Davis as an actress at the time was so dynamic and brilliant, and usually she plays alot of cold, brass women. That's something I love and I find very modern as back then in society it was very much man can be the crazy, angry one, woman can only be sweet, and kind and thats it. So in storytelling I find it fascinating that this character felt so 3D and I just wonder how this story affected the world and women. 

I love the use of the characters like Phillip as he is so sweet and nice, for some reason he loved Mildred. Mildred throughout the film really did like him, she just released her true colours as she moved in with him. Norah said at one point how humans have bondages over people, people they just find themselves attach to, like Philip is to Mildred and that will always happen. One thing that I love about Bette Davis is her voice its so unique and different, again I wonder the huge affect she had on the world at that time in the 1930s. 

The reason I say its a story of what happens when you fall for the wrong girl, its also a case of don't be taken for a mug. Phillip is Mildred's knight in shining armour constantly, from when Mildred's pregnancy, and being abandoned twice by the same man. She is a horrible woman, but I love watching her, and yet I still want her sarcastic, twisted sense of humour, but that's down to the fantastic script writers,  

                                                                
The camera angles of the film are one of the reasons as to why I love this so much. I love how it goes from one shot directly on the face when its a dinner conversation or just a conversation. Especially for facial expressions, as it just made me love the film even more because I don't think many films do that, not even now its all about the shot being on both, capturing both expressions of the actors. Its crazy that this film was made in 1934 with it being so modern and everything, but its even crazier that its based of a book by W. Somerset Maugham which was written in 1915.

There will be a Bette Davis post watch this space, as I need to talk about her, she is just so brilliant I want to be her. Anyway sorry its a bit late but, better late than never and I shall speak to you all tomorrow! 

Review: Carrie

I'm aware on this blog each week, its sort of related to the last Film I did a review on, but you all know how varied I am with my Film taste and that I like to shake it up, and I haven't done a review on a Stephen King film on this blog I don't think, so why not. I'm gonna be talking about the 2013 version of the film, as its totally new to me and I've championed alot of the originals of films, so I thought why not.

 I have watched the 1976 version of the story, but have not yet read the book, its about a teenager called Carrie (played by Chloe Grace Moretz) who is very shy, reclusive and has telekinesis powers her mother (played by Julianne Moore) is very religious and really disturbed. Carrie has her period for the for first time, she doesn't what it is, and is bullied and made fun for it. Then the bullies at her school are banned from attending the prom.

I've heard some pretty bad stuff about this version of the film, that it was crap and it wasn't as good as the original film, or that it didn't go by the book word for word or whatever. But I liked it, and I maybe it didn't go by the book, but I don't think I've seen a film that has actually done that, used the book as a script rather drawing inspiration from it and using it as an obvious for the story and characters. Chloe Grace Moretz was just amazing, I already love her but she completely reinvented Carrie but still keeping the original character of who she was alive.

Julianne Moore was again just fantastic, she was so psychotic and in a Stephen King antagonist thats a very important and notable quality to have. Characters of the high school bullies and students are all brilliant, Tommy played by Ansel Elgort was charming and a really sweet guy. His girlfriend Sue Snell played Gabriella Wilde is again brilliant, but the character was a little too nice, as it was prom she could've been a little more selfish about it. She gave up her boyfriend so he can take Carrie to prom instead which is nice, as she felt guilty about it also she was banned as she did pick on Carrie but I don't know any teenager who was willing to do that.

The character of Chris was allow me to put it bluntly was a bitch. Then again she was the ringleader of bullying Carrie which you need in a teen film. So she did the part fantastically, and as Carrie is a nice girl just with a crazy mum and telekinetic powers, which noone knows about in the school, pouring pigs blood on her because she didn't know it was her period was a horrific way to go about it, again she missed her prom which is the most important time for a teenager but thats good character as it made me feel something.

One thing that I loved about this film and it sets it apart from the original is the technology development, with its time. Like the video the bullies made of Carrie crying over her period that was posted over the internet, as something like that would happen in the modern world. It also made the bullies even meaner and gave more of a reason for the teachers to punish them. The effects of the film were unbelievable, the killings in the film all happen in a matter of 5 minutes or so. For me I love that as it even the balance out instead of some horrors where its just 'blood, killing, and death' everywhere. 

I mean I loved this film, did I like it more than the original? For the reasons of the actors, the effects and the modern age of technology I'd say yes, and I had much more stronger feelings for the characters. Whereas in the original film I related to them and liked them, but I guess I just hated the bullies in this one for some reason. Definitely give this film a go as, I loved it and its not as scary as some people think the real villain is the teenage girls, as Carrie's mother is so broken she snap. Even if you didn't watch the original or read the book like I did you will still like it.