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Paula57
Reviews
The Magic Pill (2017)
The folks who say the evidence is"anecdotal" don't get it
Scientific research looks at a large number of test subjects to look at overall trends. Yes, some people lose weight calorie counting, on low fat/high carb diets, on vegan diets. But that doesn't mean each individual person does. While I think the title "The Magic Pill" is misleading, the evidence that the ketogenic diet works for some people is irrefutable. Considering most people try low fat or calorie counting diets first and fail, a ketogenic diet is worth trying, especially if you have any brain or nervous system issues. The "one size fits all" approach to dieting makes as much sense as "one size fits all" clothes.
28 Hotel Rooms (2012)
28 Hotel Rooms is about gray
Normally I'm not a fan of infidelity in films. I think monogamy is ideal and my feelings haven't changed. But 28 Hotel Rooms brings up the question "Can you be in love with more than one person at the same time?" What if you're a happy relationship and unexpectedly meet a person who MIGHT be your soulmate? Do you stay in your stable relationship while you pine for someone else? Do you leave that relationship for the new person that you have known for a much more briefly? Maybe it's not black and white.
Thoroughbreds (2017)
I guess I just didn't get it
This film has been compared to "Heathers" but there's one difference. "Heathers" was funny."Thoroughbreds" isn't at all. Also, without going into detail, there is a scene where animal cruelty is discussed, IN DETAIL. I came very close to walking out. You've been warned.
Blame (2017)
I'm looking forward to more from Quinn Shephard
"Blame" treads on some risky territory, but Quinn Shephard handles it with maturity and nuance far beyond her 22 years. The acting is solid from all involved. Kudos to Chris Messina for working with this young filmmaker and portraying a man who is certainly flawed, but is not evil.
Some reviewers have thrown around the word "pedophilia" and I suggest they look up the word in the dictionary. While the relationship between the teacher and the student is inappropriately close, it is mostly an emotional affair between 2 lonely souls.
The Accidental Husband (2008)
The sum is less than its parts.
I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth and Uma Thurman. When I found "The Accidental Husband" for $3.99, I figured it worth a shot. I was so wrong.
This is just a mess. A romantic comedy should be funny and romantic. This film is neither. It also makes no sense. What a disappointment.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
Not so divine to me ...
I really, really wanted to like this film, and before you read the rest of this I will say I can't explain why I don't like it without spoilers, so you've been warned.
This film is being sold as a feel good, female bonding, mother-daughter, chick flick. While it's all those things, it's also about a mother, Vivi (Ellen Burstyn in the present, Ashley Judd in the past) who drank too much and beat her kids. Yes, she lost her true love in the war. Yes, she had a nervous breakdown. And yes, she really, really feels bad about beating her kids. But when daughter Sidda Lee (Sandra Bullock) goes public about her abusive childhood, Vivi doesn't apologize, she pitches a fit and has another Bloody Mary.
Don't get me wrong. There were some good times in Sidda Lee's childhood, and her father reminds her that she should remember those instead. Because it is the adult child's responsibility to understand and forgive the abusive parent. Yes, that strange sound you hear is my blood boiling.
So with the help of the (mostly) drunk Ya-Ya Sisters, kidnapped Sidda Lee comes to understand that her mother was heart broken and sometimes the kids all got sick at the same time and that's why she drank and beat the crap out of them. So Sidda forgives Vivi, even though Vivi still never apologized. Then the band plays and everyone is happy.
Were there times when I laughed? You bet. There are some great lines. But the movie is slow, jumps around in time far more than necessary, and handles serious issues like alcoholism and child abuse far too lightly. I have no idea why this film was championed by Bette Midler, Bonnie Bruckheimer, Callie Khouri and Sandra Bullock. Surely they could have found a better women's story to film.