Tag: movies

Ladies First

Yesterday, I logged in to watch something I’ve been holding off on, on Netflix. And what actually caught my attention was Rosamund Pike.

I was wondering how she was in a comedy. Not like she doesn’t do comedy, but I’m used to seeing her in roles like Gone Girl and I Care a Lot, where her character is… I don’t know how to put it, very strange.

So I was curious to see what comedy Rosamund Pike was in. I watched it and I enjoyed it.

What I took away from it is how amazing the whole idea was portrayed, and I give kudos to whoever came up with it. It’s a movie about a parallel world where women are in charge, and the men are in second place. The men have to work hard to be appreciated, to achieve something, and to prove themselves.

So this more or less just goes to show us what women go through. A man finds himself in this parallel universe, and suddenly he has to navigate a world where everything is the other way around.

I really liked it. I like the message. I hope people get to see it. It’s nice. It’s really nice.

I don’t want to spoil it by saying more, but it’s Rosamund Pike, and it’s reverse roles.

Have I Read This Movie?

I started watching Voicemails for Isabelle on Netflix this evening. I was in need of a calm romcom and a few hours of entertainment. What I didn’t expect was the nagging feeling that I had somehow read this story before.

A few scenes into the movie, I found myself mentally flipping through the shelves of books I’ve read over the years. I kept asking myself, “Where have I read this before?”
I didn’t have to go too far. The book sat in my recent reads.

Wrong Number, Right Guy by Elle Casey.

Now, to be clear, Voicemails for Isabelle is not an adaptation of Wrong Number, Right Guy. The plots are different. The characters are different… But the emotional experience of the two stories feels remarkably similar.

Both stories revolve around a connection that begins indirectly. In Wrong Number, Right Guy, a mistaken text message opens the door to an unexpected relationship. In Voicemails for Isabelle, voicemails become a bridge between two people. In both cases, words create intimacy before life catches up.

There is something uniquely romantic about getting to know someone’s thoughts before fully knowing the person. Messages strip away appearances, distractions, and first impressions. They allow vulnerability to arrive first.

That is what I recognized.

Both stories capture the anticipation of waiting for the next message. The curiosity of wondering who is on the other side. The comfort that comes from being understood by someone you haven’t fully met. The emotional connection develops through conversations, not circumstances.

As readers and viewers, we’ve seen versions of this trope many times, but when it’s done well, it still works. There is something timeless about two people finding each other through words.

The more I watched Voicemails for Isabelle, the more I realized that what felt familiar wasn’t the storyline itself. It was the emotional rhythm. The same rhythm that made Wrong Number, Right Guy so engaging.

The movie wasn’t a book I’d already read. It simply reminded me why I love reading them.

Have you ever watched a movie that felt so familiar you were convinced you’d already read the book?

People We Meet on Vacation

When this year began, somewhere around the 5th of January, I got tired of waiting for People We Meet on Vacation and so I started watching The Diplomat… Just a little something to hold me till the 9th of January. I enjoyed The Diplomat so much that I decided to finish it up even when the long awaited movie dropped.

Today I finally saw the movie.

People We Meet on Vacation is an adaptation of Emily Henry’s novel with the same title.

I had jumped on the novel the moment I learned that the adaptation was in production. It was in fact my second Emily Henry read, just after Book Lovers. I always love to do that; read a book and then see what film makers will make of it.

What did I think of this one?

It was nicely done. I had been worried about how well they could fit the back and forth of ten years as written in the book. They managed just fine… Not leaving too much from the book out of the film.

It’s a story about two longtime friends who take yearly trips together, they slowly realize that the person who feels most like home may also be the one they’re afraid to choose.

I have left details of the story out so as not to create any spoilers for anyone.

It’s a good movie and an excellent book.

Passing Time

Movies are made for fans and I get really excited when I read comments where fans are really invested in a movie.

I slept too early last night and so around 3am I found myself awake. I contemplated journaling the last novel I read for a  booktok post but I decided on a movie instead.

I settled for Picture This, a British Romantic comedy released on Amazon Prime Video in March 2025.

When I was done, In my usual way, I went online to see what people were saying about it.

I had a good laugh…majority of the comments were on about how it felt like the couple in the movie was cheating on their actual partners… Anthony and Tessa.

Long story short, the couple in the movie is played by:

  1. Hero Fiennes Tiffin: he’s grown on fans over the years from his performance as Hardin in the After Series. Tessa is the love of his life in this series and it feels weird to see him with someone else.
  2. Simone Ashley: she captured hearts in her fascinating performance as Kate in the second season of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series; The Viscount Who Loved Me. She marries Anthony and later falls in love him.

They did really well with “cheating on their actual partners”.

I loved the film, it’s a simple feel-good film. I’m glad I picked it to pass time. I would recommend it.

Zoom in

“You are just a funny woman”, my husband said as he laughed at me. You could see so much amusement in his eyes. He was really amused.

It’s not like I actually said something funny, I only stated a fact.

“I think Tyler Perry tried to please us with a happy ending in his new movie but it’s still just another sad story”…that’s what I said.

I love Tyler Perry, I think he is a very talented and ambitious man. He has good looks too and I love good eye candy.

I just don’t feel particularly excited when I watch some of his movies. The endings usually leave me quite low. So when his new movie ‘Divorce in the Black’ was recommended by a colleague, I didn’t hesitate to give it a try. The motivation was what he said as he recommended it, he said “You will love it, it ended well for the woman”.

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but “ended well” for him still feels sad to me.

It actually did end a tad better than the others though.

At the end of the movie, I realized I had zoomed in on Rona and Jim. Somehow, the couple was best friends with the main couple of the movie. What drew me to them was the way they addressed the issue(s) that came up in their marriage.

It’s two days since I saw the movie and I woke up with thoughts of Rona and Jim… I think Tyler can write a good and happy story about this couple based on the conflict they had in the movie ‘Divorce in the Black’… after all, we never really saw how or if it was properly resolved.

Taylor Polidore and Shannon Wallace as Rona and Jim

Daddio

I had a little thought and I risked waking my husband up just to scribble it down.

“what’s going on” he says when I turn on the lights in the bedroom at 11:34pm, just twenty six minutes to midnight, I should be asleep… It is Monday in the morning after all…another new week for the hustle and bustle.

…but I sit up and I’m writing this.

Earlier in the day I had a conversation with my cousin. She wanted to know if she should see the movie I had just put up on my WhatsApp story.

Her exact words were “Is it a must watch?”

I’m going to say exactly what I told her:

“It Depends…I loved the chemistry between the characters…it wasn’t romantic but they clicked.
The conversation is top notch.
The expressions are on another level…they take you deep into their thoughts with them.
It’s just the two of them…
…No one else…
1 hour and 39 minutes.
Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson.
I love it”.

We talk a bit more and she wants to know:

“Do I need a drink for it?
Do the girls need to be sleeping to concentrate?”

She’s got two girls under ten years of age.

I tell her “You don’t necessarily need a drink… but it’s not a bad idea…and yeah, you need full focus…no distraction….some of the stuff they talk about may get you thinking about some of your own stuff and decisions”.

It sure got me thinking about my relationship with my dad…and a few other stuff…

This is more or less a review of the movie Daddio.

I’m a lover of movies with conversations…so you bet I love this one. It’s a beautifully written script.

It left me with a lot of questions though, and no answers …I guess we can’t always have the answers to our questions… life’s questions.

The Idea of You…2

Yesterday, the long awaited movie dropped.

I planned to see it as soon as I got the notification but I couldn’t make the time. As soon as I woke up this morning, I got some pop up news on my phone from different blogs and sites I had subscribed to.

I saw different headlines for reviews… I refused to read them. I wanted to see it for myself first. To decide for myself.

Two headlines caught my attention though… The first one was the exact same title I had planned to use for my post-movie review… The big differences between the book and the movie; The Idea of You.

The second one got me thinking a lot  and wondering if I agreed with the poster… It read “The Idea of You is basically about bad parenting“. Right now, I don’t agree.

Today I paused everything in the middle of the day and gave a hundred and ten minutes to the movie.

I’m not going to juxtapose the book with the movie. It would not be fair to the movie.

Standing alone, It was a lovely movie.

I loved the boy band nostalgia I felt with all of August Moon’s performances. The memories of Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and others. The songs… The songs were and are beautiful… I got goose bumps when they performed Closer at Coachella.

I loved the choice of characters for the roles of Solene and Hayes. They had great chemistry.

I love that he was still singing about her, 5 years after they said goodbye.

The Idea Of You

Never have I wanted to interview a person more than I want to interview Robinne Lee right now. If only I would be that lucky.

I recently became aware of her book, The Idea of You. I am wondering why it took me seven years to learn about it. I guess I have got to thank whoever decided to make a movie adaptation of the book. The movie trailer got my attention a few weeks ago and then in my curiosity I found the book.

The novel is about a thirty nine year old divorced mother of a thirteen year old girl and how she falls for a twenty year old member of a very popular/successful boy band.

You see, I’m glad I found the book because I love what it did to me. It made me argue with myself and my feelings and my ideas and beliefs. Lee succeeded in making me question my stereotype of not only a younger male with an older female but of huge age differences in relationships as a whole.

I want to sit with Lee and pick her brain. I wonder, did she have an experience close to this? Why did she come up with this and how did she portray it so perfectly…it felt so real.

I was moved by the conversations and how easy it seemed. The way they were able to understand each other and spend quality time together in spite of their age difference. One would assume it would be basically for sexual benefits, but no. Lee makes us follow them around the world as the band goes on tour and their love blossoms. It is an amazing ride until we get to the end… but the ending leaves you hurting.

…but what was I expecting? I wonder.

In the end, I took two things from the book.

  1. We love who we love, we don’t get to choose.
  2. Sometimes we have to leave that love behind and move on, even when it feels like we could die when we do.

I will see the movie when it drops. I can’t wait. I just need viewers to know that it is just an adaptation. Judging from the trailer, it is almost completely different from the book… it looks interesting, but the book is the real deal.

Maybe I will write a comparative review once I get to see it.

Not a review

Sitting in Bars with Cake

When I lived with my Aunty 14 years ago, she observed and stated that “Mimi bakes when she gets depressed”.

I wasn’t sure but many years down the road I found that statement to be true.

I love to try out, tweek and also create my own recipes. I also love the decorative aspects too.

Baking makes me happy…

That’s why I couldn’t wait to see this movie.

It is based on a true story, initially told in a book with same name by Audrey Shulman.

I loved the story… it’s a much deeper story than one about sitting in bars with cakes.

The following details from the movie stayed with me and remain true;

  • Guys love cakes
  • Everyone loves free cake
  • Most things in life are deeper than we present them to be.
  • There are still very genuine friendships out there.