Emily In Paris

Emily In Paris (2020)

IMDB: 7.4

Cast: Lily Collins (as Emily Cooper), Lucas Bravo (as Gabriel), Ashley Park (as Mindy Chen), Camille Razat (as Camille)

Emily Cooper, an American from Chicago goes to Paris to work for a French marketing firm when her boss cancels her own trip and sends Emily instead. It is centred around the struggles and the joys of being an American ex-pat in Paris. Emily's workplace, daily life, romantic struggles increase immensely when she's dropped into the firm all of a sudden, and it seems to increase the struggles of the ones around her as well. It's a light-hearted rom-com for anyone who wants to escape their own reality.

Personal Thoughts: Escaping from reality comes with its price and Emily In Paris reflects this in the most comedic/American way possible. If you've seen Sex and the City, you would know what I'm talking about. The creator of the show Darren Star also created Sex and the City, which is something that instantly wants to make you watch it as it indicates it will be a light-hearted show with a mostly relatable main character.

The critics have pointed out that there were a few inaccuracies in the way life in Paris was portrayed and maybe this bothers the Frech more than the other viewers as they are known to be realists, however, that might also be one of the things that were exaggerated in the show. The negative opinions usually centre around the fact that Emily isn't as charming as some might think since she doesn't know French and living in France, and perhaps isn't making the most effort to learn.

However, I personally don't think that's very important in terms of a romantic comedy. I am an ex-pat living in Budapest at the moment and I've lived in Rotterdam before. I've tried learning the local languages but it is proving to be more struggling than I thought. Emily didn't know beforehand that she would be spending the year in Paris, which explains why she doesn't know French. I don't think there's much point in being harsh on the character and the show in total. She continuously apologises to people for not being able to speak French, which is very realistic from an expat's point of view. Learning a language takes time, you have to invest all your hours into it to be good at it.

Despite being very clishé in general, it was made that way on purpose. It is (at times) mocking the clishés while letting people enjoy them. There is something we love to hate about clishés and Emily In Paris nails it. For me, it was a bit too much and the American attitude can get a bit too tiring to watch but still, I must've liked the show because I've finished it in one day.

The sense of humour wasn't always the best for me but most romantic comedies nail the romantic part more than the comedy part. Some things I enjoyed were Emily's outfits, the charming cast, and lastly, the fact that it was a mixture of American romantic comedies and at times French realism. The American part is definitely more noticeable but the complications in Emily's relationships felt a little too real to be considered a complete American romantic comedy.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Emily In Paris. It's s pretty fast watch especially if you don't have much to do because of the pandemic and all. The only things I didn't enjoy so much were Emily's reactions sometimes, like her being too over the top sometimes, and the clishés of cultures being too much sometimes. It doesn't show you anything you haven't seen on TV before, like how Sex and the City didn't show anything new, but it makes you watch. It's easy to relate to Emily especially if you're an ex-pat. She's just a girl who arrived in Paris with no friends and co-workers are giving her a hard time and I find that pretty relatable. In addition to that, we root for Emily when it comes to her love life. I really liked watching this show, and judging by the replies I got to my Instagram story which was a scene fro Emily In Paris, a lot of people did.

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Locke and Key

Locke and Key (2020)

Cast: Jackson Robert Scott (Bode Locke), Connor Jessup (Tyler Locke), Emilia Jones (Kinsey Locke), Darby Stanchield (Nina Locke)

    The series is an adaptation of a cartoon about the Locke siblings and their mother moving into the Locke house which was the house that belonged to their father's family before their father was murdered. While they're staying there, they are trying to build a new life while also discovering things about the house, their father's past and trying to get past their trauma. Without spoilers, I can only say that it is worth a watch especially if you're into fantasy as a genre.

    Personal thoughts: First off, this is my first review of a Netflix series and I haven't quite finished watching it so I'll just comment on the bit that I watched. I thought it is interesting and raises questions as to where it's going and what it's about. It portrays the struggles of the teen characters and uses the two other characters, their mom and their little brother Bode, to deepen the plot by finding the function of the keys and finding out more about their father's past which will probably become more relevant in the future episodes considering the name of the show. I liked how the settings looked which plays a big part in why I like it and recommend it. I looked up the settings and found out that they're all towns in Canada. The town is actually in Lunenburg which is a small town in Nova Scotia. Another thing I liked was the functions of the keys. It's pretty interesting how each of them has its function whether it's good or bad. I also liked that there was imagery that supported the siblings' trauma, like the scene where Kinsey is supposed to play the girl that drowns in blood and the guilt that Tyler feels when he's about to have sex. These kinds of scenes did help to convey the message of their traumatic past.

    What kind of felt a little clishé was the 'new people in town' trope. It's the easiest way to drop a new character in the story and widely used by writers. Even the kids themselves seem confused as to why they were supposed to be moving out but thankfully the writers supported the idea of them starting a new life specifically there with the mother searching for her husband's past life. I think I just like the idea of the main characters knowing more about their surroundings and not ending up a bit empty towards what's happening around them. Another thing I'm not very into is their possible romantic interests. I just thought the dialogues were a bit basic (especially between Tyler and the girl that says she turns into a pumpkin when it's late) I think their interaction could be made more interesting. Tyler just having the confidence to go up to a girl and not saying much was not very interesting or realistic in my opinion. What someone in Tyler's situation would most probably do would be noticing a girl they like from afar but not talking to her unless he has a reason to or anything to say considering he's emotional and not feeling talkative or confident at all.

    I also thought the fact that everyone in town mentioned their father's murder so casually to them was kind of weird and a bit too much maybe. As an example, the ice cream guy mentions it twice when he first meets Kinsey. Given that it's the first time he met Kinsey and knowing that it creates a weird environment, you'd expect him to not mention it when he's trying to befriend her but that wasn't the case. At least the pumpkin girl didn't mention their father's murder which is something to be thankful for.

    Lastly, I guess the pace is a bit slow so you have to stick to it for at least two episodes but I still recommend it to anyone who's into fantasy, teen drama, mystery etc. and doesn't mind a couple of little clishés since the parts about keys make up for a lot of the small things I mentioned. Overall, this show gives you a lot to like with it's interesting and original plotline, mystery and production.

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Little Women

Little women (2019)

Cast: Saoirse Ronan (Jo March), Emma Watson (Meg March), Florence Pugh (Amy March), Timothée Chalamet (Laurie)

IMDB: 8.2

    This movie is the 2019 adaptation of the book 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott. In the opening scene, we see a quote by the writer herself that indicates she has had a gloomy life and 'Little Women' in a way is her way of escaping that reality. It is evident in the movie that happiness is the desired element in everyone's lives and that is exactly what's delivered to us. The main character Jo March is a writer and she lives in a colourful household with the rest of her siblings and her mother. They are all striking girls at a time where girls are only meant to marry well and otherwise they're considered foolish. The movie revolves around the girls' lives, ambitions, struggles and how they're perceived by men and other women while emphasising their uniqueness. It is about how women are strong, interesting, striking beings and they can accomplish things, be strong and love, not when they have to, but when they really do.

    Personal Thoughts: This movie was something special, hence my decision to come back to actually putting a bit of effort into this blog. It inspired me to wake up and write something about it which is a hard thing to do for me these days. I do love feminism as a theme and came across many different ways of approaching the topic. Little Women does this in a very cosy and lovely way that shows how sisters have a special bond and how each of them has ambitions that are considered unrealistic by others but supported by each other. I personally loved the fact that the girls had a world of their own and it attracted others without even trying which is shown in the scenes where Laurie, his tutor and his grandfather often look at the girls admiringly when they're being all lively and care-free. Another thing I would like to touch upon is how love is approached in the movie which was very real in a way. I was one of the people who expected (and really wanted) Laurie and Jo to end up together because their friendship was something special and it was evident how he cared about her and even though it wasn't too clear if she cared about him in the same way, I guess I hoped she would. I think this is how most people feel about these two characters perhaps because it is portrayed so well how Laurie is in love / heartbroken but all these aside, it is also admirable how he gets over it as well. However, if we look into the scenes, it's all about friendship and it is still something admirable to have, maybe even more admirable than romantic love which does fit the theme of the movie. On a side note, even though I liked the movie a lot, I did feel like it was a bit out of the blue when Jo was suddenly into Friedrich and Laurie was into Amy which only feels like an attempt to make a happy ending for all. It is realistic in a way though so I'm not too against it either. It's just that sometimes the book might explain it all whereas since the movie is a compressed version of the book some events have to be shown rather shortly so as a viewer we don't prefer how some things end up being and these two relationships were one of those things in the movie for me. Overall, it's realistic, heartwarming, funny and Timothée Chalamet looks super good so it gets a 9/10 from me.

Update: I read the book and it barely mentions any romance so the movie took a few liberties in that sense

P.S: I feel like Timothée Chalamet is made to be the soft boy in love in every movie with slight alterations in the character but he just does it so well that I don't even care. Also not to be a complete fangirl here but the scene where they were in a meadow was just so good I get how it's nominated for best picture (I'm putting it below)

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To the Bone: 2017

Cast: Lily Collins (as Ellen), Keanu Reeves (as Dr. Beckham), Alex Sharp (as Luke)

IMDB: 6.9

To the Bone is about teens who have anorexia nervosa, bulimia and similar eating disorders. Ellen, who is anorexic, is an aspiring artist with a depressive attitude caused by her eating disorder and self image. Her family is separated and has different opinions on her behaviour while no one seems to really listen to what she has to say. We often see Ellen as sarcastic and aggressive. The movie shows the smallest of sparks she has when she meets Luke and how her behaviour changes according to the events in her life. It focuses on the disorder itself  with the slightest hint of dark humour.

Personal Thoughts: It's sort of educative and enlightening and it grabs the attention of teens since it is essentially a teen drama. There were contradictions between people saying that it romanticises the disorder. The thing is, it doesn't really romanticise the disorder itself, at least I didn't feel that way but I can definitely see where those comments are coming from. Lily Collins looked really pretty in the movie and her outfits and character was really impressive. Her character and the way she dresses seem to be all connected with her inner suffering which is caused by anorexia. We often see that she reflects her thoughts to her art. Of course teen girls will find themselves admiring her. But luckily, the movie includes some graphic, realistic images of anorexia. Overall, I liked the movie because it talks about taboo topics that most parents are scared to talk to their kids about. It sort of reminds me of 'the Road Within' which focuses on Tourettes. As a person who has Tourettes, I thought the movie was pretty realistic and reflective. The thing with these kinds of movies is that they focus on children's relationships with parents which is a good point to start off to understand the disorders themselves. I recommend you to watch it, although it's not really something to watch on a girls night or when you're looking for something entertaining.

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Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing: 1987

Cast: Patrick Swayze (as Johnny Castle), Jennifer Gray (as Baby)

IMDB: 6.9

Dirty Dancing starts off by presenting the whole scene of a summer vacation place for mostly families. Baby, (that's strangely what they call Frances) comes to the vacation centre with her family and coincidentally gets to see the "behind the scenes" part of the organisation and how the workers are treated there. They are obligated to entertain no matter what and money surely is an important factor on that. Other than entertaining for money, they dance in a place secretly. This kind of dance is called dirty dancing which is not the kind of dance they would want their guests to see. One day when one for the workers gets pregnant and can't dance or pay the money for the abortion, Baby helps her with both. She pays the money and she learns how to dance for her shows by the help of Johnny Castle. Even if they're from completely different social groups, they fall in love. It's about breaking the labels that the society put on us.

Personal Thoughts: I liked the whole thing but to be honest, I liked the dances more. They were absolutely awesome and it was hard not to get jealous of their skills. Even if you don't like the movie which I'm pretty sure you will, the dances are so good that it'll make up for it. Plus it's a classic and who doesn't love classics? (cough me cough) I don't actually enjoy a lot of classics for example the horrible Anna Karenina. I liked the cast and I thought I'd like it because it was a classic and all but I sometimes, well, most of the times, have a hard time liking the classics. Any way I liked this one so I think even for spending your free time it's a good choice to just go for it and watch it.

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Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet: 1996

IMDB: 6.8

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (as Romeo), Claire Danes (as Juliet)

It's the film version of the Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". I'm sure everyone pretty much knows the story so I'm going to keep it short. It's about the unapproachable love of Romeo and Juliet. The movie has similar lines to the play. Old English is used just like it is in Shakespeare's plays.

Personal Thoughts: I don't know if it was because the language or because the movie is so old but it didn't effected me as much as new movies. There were lots of romantic lines but I didn't feel like it was romantic. Maybe it's because I believe it sounded cheesy and fake. I don't know. I've learned some things about the usage of language from this movie since my first language is not English. T he only thing made this movie good was Leonardo DiCaprio. (seriously, he makes everything better) I didn't really like that they loved each other at the first sight. It seems like they only liked each other's looks. They didn't really know each other and died for each other anyway. I first thought it was a comedy version or something because the first scenes are just ridiculous to me. I don't know. Maybe someone who likes romance more than me would've liked it but I just watched it for the Leonardo scenes. (hehe)

fun fact: Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes hated each other in real life.


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