Well, hello there, kind folks. If you’re visiting this blog of mine, I presume that you have a certain interest in the cinema. As for me, even since my early childhood, I have had a deep love of everything related to movies and television. As far as I can remember, I have been more at ease in front of a screen than in the yard, outside, playing. It is a great way to travel, though other people’s stories, without having to foot any kind of steep bill. Over the years, I feel that movie-watching has even fuelled my own creativity.

All that being said, I welcome you in my Cinephile’s Nest. I hope you enjoy it here, feel free to come back at any time. Here you will find reviews of current movies and older ones. TV shows also. Some classics that have remained some of my favourites, some that have disappointed me. I will use a very basic star (*) system to grade them from 1 to 5 (5 being sliced bread level). Remember, these are just my tastes. I will try to explain in each review what I liked about these particular movies, without giving spoilers.

Il y aura aussi des critiques en français pour les films francophones, car j'aime également le cinéma dans ma langue maternelle. Avant d'apprendre l'anglais, plus jeune, je louais des tonnes de films traduits en français, surtout ceux de Bud Spencer et Terrence Hill. Ma mère a eu le choc de sa vie lorsqu'un jour, dans la boîte d'un de ces films, Deep Throat avait malencontreusement inséré. Une expérience formatrice pour le jeune cinéphile que je suis.

Bienvenue à tous, amusez-vous bien.

I welcome you all here, enjoy yourself.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Instant Family (2018)


Genre: Comedy 
Directed by: Sean Anders
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner
Time: 119 minutes



When Pete and Ellie Wagner, a couple who make a living renovating and flipping houses, decide that it may be time for them to start a family, the idea of adoption through foster care seems to be the avenue to choose for them. They end up fostering three siblings, Lizzy, Juan and Lita, the kids of a single mom who is a drug addict that was sent to jail.

The subject of adoption is one that hits close to home for the wife and myself, so we went to the movies last weekend to see it. It does a good job of showing how difficult it can be to care for foster children. Most of the acting was okay, though I found Rose Byrne’s performance a little over-the-top and exaggerated in the role of Ellie Wagner.

The biggest problem for me was in the writing. A lot of the characters, from the social workers, to the parents interested in foster care, to the nosy neighbor played by Joan Cusack, they were so big and clichéd. There was a definite lack of subtlety there. I get the idea of comedic effect, but it was not that funny. And most at the attempts at verbal comedy, through the script, felt awkward.

That being said, some moments still made me laugh, some made me smile and some others were quite touching. It was a decent film, not without its definite flaws.
Rating: «««

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