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Reviews
Summer in February (2013)
George Sand could have written the protagonist
Rarely do I rank movies so harshly but rarely do annoying protagonists emerge in a movie unless written by Hardy or Sand and generally they are toned down from their respective books. I did not realize this was based on a true story until the end (probably fetching popcorn for the opening credits). The movie opened up promising enough, and it quickly devolved. I found myself wondering when the two older women from early on in the movie would make an appearance. To sum it up: Casting: All pretty characters but with no chemistry at all. Screenplay: Forced, stilted dialogue. Subject matter: Spoiled, dull, talentless woman wants to take over a talented artists life once she marries him by trying to sabotage his career, withhold sex, and give her virtue away to his best friend while trying to alienate him from his other friends . Oh yeah, she's a charmer. Vibrant, witty, fun-loving artist falls in love with her virginity, good looks, and family background and marries her one can only imagine because he was unable to paint her face correctly. Enter best friend of both and confidante of all Gilbert usurper of AJs virgin bride. Rarely have I been less interested in seeing two people fornicate, who sides completely on virgin brides side and is alienated from his friend.
The only surprise in this movie is that the two men didn't commit suicide. And although the ending was a blessed relief, I only wished it was at the beginning and the lives of the two shocked older women were used for the movie instead.
Acting: everyone's acting was fine, there is no believability in anyone being who they are though, except the two older women from the beginning of the film, who seemed like they could be friends.
A case could be made for a cult film, in that the audience could be rooting for not opening the door to Florence, asking periodically where's the two older ladies, and booing Florence when she tries to manipulate all the people around her. Perhaps with a bit of a cheer when she finally departs the action, and a few "gah's" when the over the top ending is finally concluded in the most melodramatic and uninteresting way possible.
The Last Keepers (2013)
Different perspective movie.
The Last Keeper began for me as something to have in the background while I was making breakfast. I soon found myself watching it from the beginning. Applying Bechel's rule for a watchable movie for women this movie is rated 10+. Excellent cast. Olympia Dukakis, Aidan Quinn, Zosia Mamet, and Virginia Madsen. I was on the fence about the bf for a while but then I realized that people really are like this in real life. The characters were not cookie cutter, and there was a variety of people in the cast so I did not have to remember what people were wearing to tell them all apart. This is not a movie for people who are comfortable with men having the central role or a Jolie wannabe being the main female role. Kudos to everyone for breaking the mold, I hope to see more movies with women taking control of the action, dialogue, and physical diversity in the casting. I recommend this to all beleaguered film goers and stamp it good enough for a Sundance award.