Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

 

Puberty sucks!

Yes, it’s been more decades than I’d like to admit since I’ve had to deal with it, but growing up in general and puberty specifically was rough.  The awkwardness, insecurity, changing body, and so much more.  Judy Blume captured it brilliantly in her 1970 book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Kelly Fremon Craig has picked up the mantle and delivered the movie adaptation brilliantly.

As previously stated, it’s been more than a minute since I was a pubescent girl, but Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret still hits and hits hard.  Throughout the hour forty-five-minute film I not only believed every moment Abby Ryder Forston’s portrayal of Margaret Simon, but I also felt it.  Felt it and had literal flashbacks of going through the same experiences.  The laughter, the tears, the embarrassment, and the friendships. Forston nailed it all with razor sharp precision that grounds the story and brings the film to life.

Rachel McAdams shines as mom Barbara Simon, but for me it’s Kathy Bates’ grandma Sylvia Simon that really lights up the screen and steals every scene she’s in.  The warmth, the comedic timing, the drama!  Bates is perfect, loveable, and fun no matter how exasperating.  

The set design, costumes, and music bring the 70s to life for better or worse as the case may be and the resulting nostalgia/familiarity serves as another warm hug.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret doesn’t do anything new or extreme.  The story remains the same and has just as much impact as ever.  Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret stays true to its roots and therein lies its perfection.  I laughed. I teared up. I remembered. I was thankful, entertained, and left the theater thoughtful and happy.  

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret gets a 10 from me.

#areyoutheregoditsmemargaret

Guy Ritchie's The Covenant

 

The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and I’m not really in the mood for anything too heavy in a number of ways, including on the big screen.  However, the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s new film The Covenant looked too good to pass up, so that was this weeks’ movie adventure.

Let me start by saying, DAMN!

A feeling and sentiment that I felt and expressed repeatedly throughout the 2 hour and 3-minute film.  Along with some accompanying F bombs.   

The Covenant isn’t really a war movie in the typical sense, it’s about the covenant, the bond, the commitment between a solider (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his interpreter (Dar Salim) toward the end of the US War in Afghanistan and honoring your debts.  

To put it mildly, The Covenant is intense, stressful, anxiety inducing, impactful, and thought provoking.  My anxiety/stress level didn't subside until I was back in my car headed home.  With the sudden and often brutal action "The Covenant" reminds me a bit of Lone Survivor and left me without a shadow of doubt that I would be totally worthless in any capacity in the situations the characters find themselves in.  The was a great deal of breath holding and butt puckering.

The pacing in this one is a bit unusual in that over half the film is devoted to the setup for the ambush and heroic escape with comparably little focus on the rather brisk conclusion, but it actually services the film beautifully.  A true example of it's about the journey not the destination if ever there was one.

The Covenant is well written, beautifully shot, the directing is amazing, and has an incredible pulse- pounding musical score that resonates, amplifies, and elevates the film perfectly. 

Fantastic acting.  

Gyllenhaal delivers spectacularly which is no surprise.  But Salim (Game of Thrones) is the real surprise and delivers a riveting performance that’s breathtaking. The scene following the initial escape when his Ahmed wants/tries to say something to Kinley (Gyllenhaal)...DAMN.  I felt everything and it just broke me.  And his performance just gets amplified from there.    Couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen is I wanted to, which I didn’t.

The Covenant is a gripping, gritty, and at times hard to watch fictional story that ties into recent history and is most definitely worth viewing.  I sadly can’t truly convey just how intense a movie going experience this film is, so you really need to see it in a movie theater on a big screen with a killer audio system to get full appreciation.  

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant gets a 10 from me.

#guyritchiethecovenant

Renfield

The premise of Renfield is pretty straightforward.  Nicholas Hoult’s Renfield has the suckiest boss ever, literally, in Nicolas Cage’s Dracula, and wants to break the cycle of co-dependence between them.  Sounds like a good time so I ventured forth and checked it out.

With a runtime of a mere hour thirty-three minutes, Renfield is the rare movie that feels longer than it is but that’s actually a good thing.  It neither feels too long nor does it feel rushed so you’re missing out overall.  

I say overall in that I definitely left the theater wanting more of Cage’s over-the-top, campy, Bela Lugosi-esque performance.  Cage leans in hard and the result is deliciously ridiculous and purely delightful to behold. Nicolas Cage is dead and loving it and so was I. 

Not to be out done, Hoult’s hangdog Renfield is the perfect foil in this wacky, ultra-violent gorefest. You can't help relating to what the poor guy is going through and feel for him every step of the way. The chemistry between the two makes the entire film.

Sadly, a little less engrossing is the buddy cop dynamic with Awkwafina’s Rebecca.  Awkwafina gives it her all, but her character drags down the film and dampens the joy of the film.  The self-righteous angry cop on a mission doesn’t quite gel with the rest of the film. There are some nice moments, but truth be told the film suffers from the character’s presence. The tonal disconnect is too much and the sub-plot doesn’t get explored enough to really make you care.

Great, frenetic action sequences.  Fantastic makeup and effects.  Good music and direction.  And gore.  Lots and lots of gore.  Think Tarantino rivers of blood, guts, and sinew. Be warned.  Not as humorous as I hoped, but Renfield does deliver the funny, especially during the therapy group sessions.

While I wish the sub-plots and characters were better integrated into the film and packed more of a punch overall, there’s still plenty to enjoy in Renfield and it was certainly worth the trip to the movies.  The two Nicks are perfectly cast and their performances/dynamic more than makes up for any of the film’s shortcomings.  If you do check this one out, do stay and watch the credits.  No, there’s no bonus scene(s) per se, but there is bonus footage the credits roll over that’s fun to watch.

Renfield gets a 7 from me.

#Renfield