DiNovi Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Line Cinema,
Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard, Stacy Keach, Jamie Blackley
Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a young woman who has a tremendous talent for the cello. She dreams of attending Julliard, but fears she’s just not good enough. Her family is composed of rock and roll fans, but Mia feels like a stranger. She meets an up and coming rock star Adam (Jamie Blackley) and sparks fly, but a life changing accident finds Mia in a coma, and she faces the daunting decision of whether to stay or whether to go on to a seemingly better life, as a loving nurse whispers into her ear that the choice is hers.
This is not an overwhelmingly religious film. In fact, there is no preaching of any kind, nor is there a specific mention of any type of religion. But the movie does assume there is some kind of afterlife, and the mysterious out of body experience she faces is handled as if it’s absolutely normal. I’ve seen Chloe Grace in a number of films lately, but this is by far her best performance to date. She is wonderful in this film, and plays it perfectly. She handles the emotions of the scene with a wisdom seldom seen in someone so young, and the technical skills in playing the cello are in place as she looks as if she really is a master at the instrument. The parents are also excellent, as are the friends and extended family. But Jamie Blackley pulls of the “struggling to grow up” boyfriend with all the grace and stupidity of a true teen. His performance is really well. I struggled hard with whether to give this film 4.5 or 5.0, and I had a really hard time not giving it a 5.0. But this is an extremely emotional film, and though the theater was fully packed, it was silent at the abrupt ending finding a lot of wet eyes in the house. In fact, in L.A. it’s usually a rush to get out of the theater before the first words of the ridiculously long trailer comes up. But in this case, the theater silently sat for a long time after the film was over. It was easy to see everyone was touched. Yes this is mostly a “click flick” for sure, but I don’t think guys will be disappointed with taking the lady out for a movie she wants to see, mostly because of the excellent soundtrack. Between classical music of top quality, there’s a lot of rock as well, and it’s a perfect mix of the things going on in Mia’s life. I can’t say anything but good things about this movie, and I highly recommend it as a worthwhile experience, but I fell back to 4.5 on this one as I don’t want to be called too sappy, so I chickened out. Call it a 4.74 if you wish, it’s a darn good little film.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
Author: EdG
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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 26, 2014
- Aftermath
- Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlaas
- Belle
- Blended [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
- Blood Glacier
- The Double
- Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
- The Love Punch
- The Normal Heart
- Trust Me
- Young and Beautiful
Author: EdG
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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 19, 2014
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2
- Fading Gigolo
- Only Lovers Left Alive
- The Quiet Ones [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
- Rosemary’s Baby
- The Sacrament
- Toy Story of Terror
Author: EdG
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Fidélité Films, Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Wild Bunch,
Catherine Deneuve, Nemo Schiffman, Gérard Garouste, Camille, Claude Gensac, Paul Hamy, Mylène Demongeot, Hafsia Herzi, Evelyne Leclercq, Valérie Lagrange
Bettie (Catherine Deneuve) is the owner of a restaurant, but it’s having financial difficulties. She’s just gotten out of a failed relationship and the pressure is building. Then she finds herself out of cigarettes and heads out on the road to buy some, but it’s Sunday and most of the places where she would get them are closed, but since she really wants a pack of cigarettes, she makes the snap decision to keep driving and never look back. She decides along the way to pick up her grandson to try to patch things up with her daughter, and he joins her as sets out to deliver him to his Grandfather. As in most road trip films, it’s all about the journey and the experiences as Bettie tries to pull it back together. This film is in French with English subtitles.
I can remember Catherine Deneuve from way back in the 70’s when she was young and beautiful. I haven’t seen her for years, but it was nice to see an old friend. She’s definitely older, and she does a brilliant job of playing the struggling restaurant owner who just can’t seem to catch a break and is just fed up. This is a very French style film, but it was a pleasure to watch. Denueve’s character was played very well, and she really knows how to pull the feelings out of us along the way. From ditzy and air headed to sullen and sad, she goes through a range of emotions, and we want her to succeed if for no other reason than she deserves it. Her grandson Charly (Nemo Schiffman) is also well played. He is rotten one moment and really caring the next. The play between these two characters is what makes this film interesting. The beginning is a bit slow for my taste, but if you keep with it, it picks up as it goes along. I really hoped for a better ending, but the do try, really hurriedly, in the end to tie up all the loose ends, but it certainly could have been better ended. It’s too much like a “let’s give this thing a realistic ending instead of a story book ending” which is more like life (which is usually pretty boring) and not really what I wanted, but it was a well done road picture and well worth watching, if for nothing else, but for the culture. I think it’s a good experience to watch a film with subtitles once in a while, and I think it does us good. This was one I was not blown away by, but it was worth my time, and I’m glad I got re-acquainted with one of the royals of French cinema.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
Author: EdG
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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 12, 2014
- Batman: Assault on Arkham
- Breathe In
- Bears (Disneynature)
- Filth
- Frankie & Alice
- Hateship Loveship
- A Haunted House 2
- Heatstroke
- Locke
- Muppets Most Wanted
- Rage
- The Railway Man
- Summer in February
Author: EdG
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