March - Short Reviews

I'm going to start a new tradition, because I'm watching a lot of movies, and I'm not writing about all of them. So during the month I'll gather movies and other important events from my life here and make a some sort of list. (Also I tried to schedule this post but apparently it didn't work so I guess the joke's on me.)

• Bad Teacher (2011) - 6 / 10

Funny, witty and dirty. Cameron Diaz plays a bitchy main character, but no matter how bitchy she is, the viewer prefers to root for her than the annoying goody two-shoes teacher

• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) - 7 / 10

Classic B-movie. It's crappy but that's what makes it good. That scene with Salma Hayek is incredibly sexy.

• Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - 4/10

It's hard to keep track on where they are, and the humour is typically forced for a Marvel movie. Only Marvel movies get something out of this film.

• Home on the Range (2004) - 4/10

Fun for kids, adults get tired after one or two views.

• No Strings Attached (2011) - 5/10

Entertaining, yet doesn't stand out too much, apart from it's slightly weird structure compared to the usual movies of this type.

• Reservoir Dogs (1992) - 10/10

I made my friend watch this and she loved it.

• R.I.P.D (2013) - 3/10

An interesting plot and fun action scenes are wasted on this mindless whack.

• Spectre (2015) - 2/10

A horrible attempt of making all the movies connect. Only Bond fans can enjoy a crappy action movie like this.

• The Hateful Eight (2015) - 10/10

First half of The Hateful Eight is extremely boring, second half is extremely violent. There is no balance, but let's be honest, people watch this for one reason. Also I've seen this movie four times and got sick three times.

• Twilight (2008) - 2/10

This movie is embarrassment to vampires and the dialogue makes you cringe. If you want to watch this, watch it with your friend so it's fun because it's frustrating. If you watch it alone, it's only sad. 

The World's End (2013)

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Written by: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright

20 years ago Gary King and his friends tried and failed to do an epic pub crawl by visiting 12 pubs in one night. Now Gary wants to gather his old pals and this time succeed and go all through the pubs to the final destinasion. The World's End. But soon they realise their hometown has changed surprisingly lot.

---

Like with Hot Fuzz, The World's End has a similar twist that you don't see coming - except you do, because it was shown in the trailer. At least I think that's how I knew about the robots. The only thing I knew about The World's End was the plot - very roughly - and the robot thing. Still The World's End manages to surprise me and a lot of other viewers, I'd reckon. 

I like the way this movie starts. It starts immediately, Gary King telling about his youth and his friend. It's fast, sure, but it's effective. It's risky, because it might alienate the audience. Who are they? Why should we even care about these people? But if it works, it grabs the audience, and the viewers are with them right from the start. And in The World's End it does work.

What's the greatest difference between The World's End and the rest of the Cornetto trilogy? The World's End pays more attention to the characters before the action starts - and yet manages to make the characters stand out even during all the action. It's like a well-written drama with the charactes. You almost analyse in your mind why Gary King wants this so bad, even though it's quite clear to the viewer from the start. To the other characters? Not so much. But there just is so much to the characters, it seems like an improvement. And in a lot of other ways also, The World's End seems much deeper than Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It's different, but let's be honest, all of these movies are very different. 

After Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz I was already quite impressed with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, but after The World's End I can truly see their skills. Of course The World's End is a comedy, but they manage to keep some seriousness in the characters. It's admirable. And there are times when in a comedy the seriousness of the characters feels fake, but in The World's End I believe it whole-heartedly. Frost and Pegg and the other cast members of course do one hell of a job!

Like in Shaun of the Dead, the weird robots are terrifying. The movie manages to make you wonder if they are even going to get out of it. Those thrilling scenes are extremely well done!

One amazing detail is how the main characters are drunk. You notice obvious things and they don't, and it's so frustrating! 

So The World's End is different from the previous two, but if there's anything you can expect from The World's End it's exactly that. The World's End is funny and filled with action, but they haven't left out important deep stuff either. It's a film worth watching, like the whole so called Cornetto trilogy. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Written by: Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg

Police constable Nicholas Angel is too good for London - literally. He is promoted sergeant but also reassigned to the little quiet village called Sandford and paired up with a witless partner. But when two actors are found decapitated, it seems Sandford may not be as quiet as previously assumed.

---

Last night I said how the only thing I knew about Shaun of the Dead was it has zombies in it? Well, the only thing I knew about Hot Fuzz was how it has cops in it. And I think that's less defining than zombies. For some reason I also thought Hot Fuzz would be the most boring out of the "Cornetto trilogy", but I was proven wrong. I enjoyed Hot Fuzz at least at much as I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead.

I assumed Pegg and Frost playing pretty much the same characters in every movie, but they were surprisingly different. It was hard to imagine Simon Pegg as a plausible bad ass cop, but he rocked that part. Nick Frost's character had some similar qualities to his character in Shaun of the Dead, but he was able to make too slightly similar characters appear distinct on the screen. 

The cinematography in Edgar Wright's movies is amazing to watch. It's pretty typical in general, but there are a lot of those really short face paced shots of certain details. They may be annoying to the eye, but they are extremely effective, even when used so excessively.

Compared to Shaun of the Dead the plot of Hot Fuzz is surprisingly clever. It deceives the viewer, so they focus on the certain character, who seems obviously guilty, and the viewer can't even think of the true nature of the crimes. The whole movie in general is slightly absurd, slightly extravagant, but it works! And the true murderer's identity... It's even more absurd, which is why it goes so well with the story in general! It makes the viewer go "What the hell did just happen?" What the hell was just revealed? It's absolutely, astonishingly clever writing.

Hot Fuzz is an amazing action comedy, one of the best there is, considering how unique the location for this kind of movie seems. It's hilarious and exhilarating! I feel like I shouldn't have expected anything else after Shaun of the Dead, but boy, you just can't expect this. Hot Fuzz truly deserves nine out of ten.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Written by: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright

Shaun has plans to get his girlfriend back and go visit his mother. The zombie apocalypse isn't helping.

---

I've seen one movie by Edgar Wright before, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It's a great movie, but I didn't expect this movie to be anything like that, of course. Well, to be honest, since I am so used to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it was a surprise for me how violent this movie turned out to be, even though that should be obvious when we're dealing with a movie of this genre. I didn't know much about this film before seeing it, apart from it having zombies in it, and that really doesn't tell anything. Still, I assumed this would be like Zombieland, except a few British spices.

Of course this movie is quite similar to Zombieland, or rather Zombieland is similar to Shaun of the Dead. However, Shaun of the Dead has several things that make it better than Zombieland. The humour is very different in Shaun of the Dead. It seems more... British. And Shaun of the Dead has a lot scarier moments. While Zombieland is funny action almost all through the movie, Shaun of the Dead has situations that feel almost hopeless, and you are actually terrified for the characters. With Zombieland that doesn't work, because it's such a typical movie you don't really even bother to think something would happen to the characters. It's just not that type of movie. But something about Shaun of the Dead makes you think there's no certainty anyone will survive. 

The funniest thing about this movie is how slowly everyone notices that there are zombies. The audience can of course see it, and it's almost annoying how the characters ignore everything happening around them. It's funny because it could really happen. Come on, how long would it take from us to see what's happening?

Shaun of the Dead is now probably my favourite zombie movie. The plot might be typical for a zombie themed film, but that doesn't matter. It's violent, it's funny and while it might be slightly predictable, it's still entertaining to watch. This might be tied with Jennifer's Body as my favourite horror comedy I got on this ship too late, but if there's someone out there who still hasn't seen this film, watch it! If you're not put off by violence and zombies, you won't regret it.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

Jawbreaker (1999)

Directed and written by: Darren Stein

A birthday prank goes horribly wrong when three most popular girls in school accidentally kill their friend.

---

Jawbreaker gave me the feeling of high school comedy meeting a exploitation b-movie, kinda like Mean Girls meets Death proof, or Heathers meets Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I wasn't entirely wrong, even though I don't think I can compare Jawbreaker with either Death Proof of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Heathers is such a cult movie on its own, it's easy to compare Jawbreaker with it. Both involve bitchy high school girls, murder and dark humour.

I find myself loving these kind of movies with black humour. They are stupid, absolutely, but for some reason they are absolutely hilarious. You just know people are going to hate the movie, and it's just part of the fun. 

The story is horrible yet so absurd it's almost funny. Of course the kidnapping gone wrong seems highly unlikely, yet it also feels plausible. I feel like I should be telling my friends not to try to kidnap me for my birthday. The characters aren't written so well, but they are fun. They are the typical archetypes of high school movies. Rose McGowan plays the most devious high school bitch I've ever seen in a film, and Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz and Judy Greer all pose as different kind of characters of the same type. I would've loved to see more of some characters, especially Vera Cruz portrayed by Pam Grier. When I saw her, I thought her part was going to be bigger. I was disappointed.

The dialogue in Jawbreaker was just as good as in Heathers. It isn't actually realistic, because the language is extremely colourful, and no one would say several lines from this movie out loud because it wouldn't sound good in any context. But it works in a movie. 

There are so many details in this movie I love, but one thing I have to mention is the effects when the scene changes. Like the whole movie, they are stupid, but that's part of Jawbreaker's charm.

If I had to recommend few songs from the soundtrack of Jawbreaker, I'd say Bad Word For A Good Thing by The Friggs and (Let the) Good Times Roll by The Cars. All the songs were well chosen and they worked. And some of the songs (especially the two mentioned) are like they could be straight from my music library. I love it when this happens while watching a movie.

Jawbreaker is stupid but in a funny way. It's obviously dark, so if you have the tendency to get angry at the jokes being too dark for you to enjoy them, then don't bother. I love this film and I want more!

Am I horrible if I wanted this to be more violent?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10

Kung Fu Killer (2014)

Directed by: Teddy Chan

Written by: Teddy Chan & Ho Leung Lau (original story), Ho Leung Lau & Tin Shu Mak (screenplay), David Chan (script consultant)

When someone starts killing all martial art masters, Hahou Mo - former martial art instructor, currently in jail for accidentally killing a man in duel -  wants to help the police to catch the killer.

---

I added this movie to my list on Netflix and finally managed to watch it. Lately I have been really wanting to watch an Asian movie on martial arts, and Kung Fu Killer hit my eye because of the name and because the plot actually seemed more intriguing than what I was expecting for movies of this type.

The plot might have been intriguing, but the way it was carried out was closer to some kind of TV show, especially in the start. It developed into something that no TV show could achieve - at least not in one episode. First the killer is introduced and he's very distanced from the viewer, but the more is revealed about him, the more interesting he becomes. The same goes with the main character Hahou Mo, and pretty much every character, who shows more sides of themselves as the story progresses. While the story is simple, it keeps the viewer interested and entertained, and the main characters are more than a tool for the story.

Kung Fu Killer is visually astonishing. It's colourful and every shot looks great. The set is well designed, and many of the locales are so detailed I'd just want to go there to have a look around for the details. 

The fight scenes are well choreographed. They look amazing and differ from each ohter - especially how the killer searches for masters in different fields: boxing, kicking, weapons, etcetera. Every fight is different, considering the people taking part in it use different styles. It's also easy to see what the fighters are doing. In short, the fights are extremely enjoyable, even though they are of course violent.

From the kung fu films I've seen so far, I really like Kung Fu Killer. Of course there are many ways to improve the plot, but the characters, fight scenes and the visual side of the film all work well. It's worth watching, if you like martial arts themed films of course, otherwise you might feel watching this would be a waste of time.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8/10

"He wants more than he has. I want precisely what he already has."

Year: 2015

Directed by: James Ponsoldt 

Written by: Donald Margulies (screenplay) & David Lipsky (book)

The story of the five-day interview of acclaimed author David Foster Wallace by a Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky.

---

I used to like this movie, where the main character loves this one specific book, and so does another character. The author is praised, but his name is never said, neither is the name of the book. But based on everything said in said movie, that book was apparently Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. And all my knowledge of David Foster Wallace came from that movie, until I saw another one: The End Of The Tour. It's not my choice not to know more. I want to read Infinite Jest, but it's not in the local library, and also my dyslexia would make reading that 1,000 page book hellish.

There was one thing I was mostly worried about this film. Is there enough content for a movie? I know it works as a book, but when the whole thing mostly runs on dialogue between too characters, is there a movie? A dialogue itself isn't the problem, it's the nature of that dialogue that was concerning. An interview isn't necessarily mutual interaction. But in the case of The End Of The Tour it was surprisingly mutual. David Foster Wallace, or at least this version of him, asks the same kind of questions from the reporter. He gives his answer, and asks: "You?" That's a relief, it's not just a question and an answer, but there's a proper dialogue going on, even if we get to know more about David Foster Wallace than the reporter. But still, even if the dialogue works, there's still so many things that could go wrong with a film like this. It is biographical, but a film usually needs some sort of a conflict, disagreement, tension, something like that. Luckily The End Of The Tour has some structure to the story. 

This movie gives an interesting image of David Foster Wallace, which is the main reason for the tension. If anyone is interviewed they might try to have a certain role, and David Foster Wallace might've had something like that going on as well, but what we see is the nature of introversion. There isn't some major conflict between Wallace and Lipsky, even if they have a disagreement, but we see how an introvert reacts to people. Introverts need some time for themselves. Also David Foster Wallace describing his life as a writer and as someone suffering from depression was excellent. It wasn't glamorized, quite the opposite. While Lipsky might've been trying to find some poetic reason for the depression, it was mostly said how he just had depression, that's it.

And since this film is mostly dialogue, I have to write about that for a bit. The text, the dialogue in this film has several sides. Of course David Foster Wallace says several serious, deep things, but a lot of the dialogue is also very much fun. And when things aren't exactly serious or fun, the dialogue has the feeling it's trying to sketch a sort clearer, more complex  portrait of David Foster Wallace, since only the material for the interview isn't going to show us what David Lipsky saw. Every piece of the dialogue serves a certain purpose, no matter what subject they are talking about.

I've loved Jason Segel since I first saw him on the screen, which was the first time I ever watched How I Met Your Mother. That show might not be the greatest, not after the finale after all, but Segel shows true talent even in that show. Segel can be funny, he can be serious, he shows emotions well. Still, he was better as David Foster Wallace than I assumed. He's believable, at least to someone who isn't familiar with the author.

Visually this movie is basic. The music is also quite bland - weirdly light at many points, but it still doesn't stand out much. But it's not like those were that important in this case, because this film is mostly about the text and the people than any other cinematic look.

The End Of The Tour is an interesting piece of cinema. It's not something you can watch just for one, there's no any kind of action. Even if there is tension it's nor entirely cinematic. There seems to be only one reason to watch The End Of The Tour, and that's to get to know at least the idea of David Foster Wallace, even though it can't be certain how real the character in the film is. The End Of The Tour is an astonishing film, and if you didn't know much about David Foster Wallace, you want to learn more. Which means the film has reached its purpose. Is it worth watching twice? Maybe, but not too soon, because otherwise you just learn the dialogue by heart, and you're not able to actually hear it again.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10

"When you forge a weapon, you need three things: the right metal, temperatures over fourteen hundred degrees... and someone who wants to kill. Here in this village, we got all three."

Year: 2012

Directed by: RZA

Written by: RZA & Eli Roth

"On the hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier descend upon a village in feudal China, where a humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers."

-Summary Written by anonymous

---

I remember finding this film in a store like a year or two ago. I didn't get it, put when I saw it in the rental store,  I had to rent it. It was mostly because it seemed absolutely ridiculous, but in the way I'd totally love this film. I was right.

First of all, the story is way more interesting than what it might sound in any summary. It was intriguing, just like all the actually Chinese kung-fu films I've seen. They are a weird mixture of violent action and some sort of low-key fantasy. The plot structure is interesting, because at first it introduces a several characters, whose stories intertwine with each other and the main plot. That doesn't work unless the characters are as interesting as they are in The Man With The Iron Fists. Of course the story isn't the greatest one out there, but it's surprisingly good. It's better than I expected, but it's very typical for an action film, apart from few details. But then again, almost every movie plot has those few details to make it different from the mass, but what is now very typical for the mass.

If I could choose one thing I love the most about this film, it would absolutely be the soundtrack. There's no reason for hip hop to work in a kung-fu film, but it did, and I was in love since the opening credits because of the weird contrast between the picture and the sound.

And now that I'm talking about picture, wow. Visually this film was astonishing, and I don't just mean the cinematography in general. This film definitely had some astonishing shots, but mostly I love the choreography of the fight scenes. Now I read that someone said that the fight scenes were too ridiculous, now absolutely there was some dark humour mixed in there, but it made them even more fun to watch. And during several fight scenes I just was astounded by how clever some of the fighting techniques were.

The Man With The Iron Fists is absolutely worth seeing, even if it won't become your favourite film. It's worth seeing even if you might not like it. The thing is, it's violent and it's definitely very marginal, but it has a weird combinations you'd never expect from a movie like this.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

"I just killed two people!" "That's awesome."

Year: 2015

Directed by: Nima Nourizadeh

Written by: Max Landis

Small-town stoner Mike Howell has no clue he actually has been trained by CIA to be a lethal killing machine, until he's targeted to be eliminated.

---

I saw a few GIFs and screen-caps of the trailer for American Ultra when it came out. It seemed amazing, but unfortunately it wasn't shown in local theatres so I had to wait until it was published on a DVD so I could rent it.

This movie takes the audience with it from the first scene. It's well shot, and it's interesting. The first scene is chronologically speaking closer to the end, and those kind of beginnings are always interesting, if they are of course written well. We know where the character or characters are going to be, but how do they get there? It's an excellent way to start a film. It's risky in it's way, but if it's written and shot well, it's 100 % effective.

I love the story of this film. Of course it's stupid in it's way, come on, it's an action comedy. Usually you can't expect a lot from an action comedy. But while the story of American Ultra is absurd, filled with conspiracies and experiments and secret identities, it has some weirdly, almost sadly serious moments. And yeah, the idea of this story - a guy who thought he was normal verging on boring is actually some weird experiment - has been used over and over again, but American Ultra gives it something else. The characters are different from the typical archetypes of this kind of story. For example, Mike is a useless stoner. Not even a guy who has a regular boring job but who feels out of place, no. Mike is someone who is definitely useless and hasn't done anything. He's worse than the average hero in these stories before the hero realises what he really is.

And while the characters of this story are interesting, the cast is even more interesting. Jesse Eisenberg doesn't look like an action film hero, he looks like a nerd yet he rocks this part surprisingly well.  And Topher Grace (who I mostly remember from That 70's Show) as a weird CIA villain? Who thought that would work? And who else was in this, Tony Hale (Arrested Development) and Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight) and Kristen Stewart, who I never dreamed to see in a film like this, but oh my god this genre suits her... This ensemble is unbelievable, it's like they just chose random actors and actresses from whatever movies and shows and threw them into a same project. And they all work so very well together. Weird casts are a thing that makes a film even more interesting, and had I known about the cast (other than Eisenberg and Stewart) I would've been even more interested in this film.

Yesterday someone asked me to describe my aesthetic, and almost everything I mentioned was in this movie. This movie may be bloody and violent, but it is visually very good. It looks astonishing all the time, no matter how gruesome it might be. And the soundtrack, oh, it's on Spotify. It's not special, it's pretty regular, but it is enjoyable to listen to.

I liked American Ultra just as much as I thought I would. It has everything I look for a movie: comedy with weird deep moments, violence and adrenaline, interesting characters, amazing cinematography and a ridiculous plot that shouldn't work but somehow they made it work. I just wish American Ultra won't be forgotten, even if its genre suggests that it might be. This film has potential to be some kind of cult classic.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10

"...the Internet and dreams are similar. They're areas where the repressed conscious mind escapes."

Year: 2006

Directed by: Satoshi Kon

Written by: Yasutaka Tsutsui (novel), Seishi Minakami & Satoshi Kon (screenplay)

All hell breaks lose when a machine used by therapists to record and watch their patients' dreams is stolen. Three scientists, a police inspector and a sprite named Paprika must try to find the thief and not submit to the mind tricks created by the machine and dreams.

---

What did I learn while watching this film? From now on I will always, always read some kind of summary of a film. For like most part of this movie I had no clue what was going on. And I still have no idea what Paprika really was. And I watched this film with my sister, and she too was super confused during this film. Usually not reading the summary doesn't affect me one way or the other, but this time I realised that there still are very confusing and complex movies that require some form of research before actually watching it.

There's one thing I'm certain of Paprika: it's a very creepy movie. It's creepy in a weird way, and I can tell you that music playing when the weird dream parade marches on the streets will probably haunt me forever. And because the biggest theme of the film are dreams, many of those creepy, terrifying moments make absolutely no sense, like dreams usually don't. That what makes it resemble a nightmare and why you feel like you're going to have nightmares, even if you're not actually scared during the film. I mean nightmares are terrifying when you're sleeping, but once you are awake, they seem ridiculous. So that goes with Paprika. Naturally you are awake while watching the film, and it makes no sense like nightmares don't once you are awake, but it still creates that weird nightmare like feel to it.

Even though this movie is mostly about dreams, I love how they were able to bring movies into it.

But yeah, let's be honest, this movie is visually so beautiful! The characters are drawn very well, so are the backgrounds and all the weird dream things. Even when this movie gets so very freaky, it still looks amazing.

Paprika is an interesting film and I wish I could write more about it, but unfortunately I think it would need a second watch - at least. Because during the first time I just felt like I was trying to get what was going on. But it's visually beautiful, the music is amazing and the plot and the dream theme are very complex and astonishing. Still, Paprika is definitely the weirdest film I've seen so far.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

6 / 10

"Sometimes you make choices in life, and sometimes choices make you."

Year: 2014

Directed by: R.J. Cutler

Written by: Shauna Cross (screenplay) & Gayle Forman (novel)

An aspiring musician Mia is faced with a tough decision. She wants to go to Juilliard and follow her passion, but she also wants to be with the love of her life, Adam. But then she and her family get into a car accident. Mia's torn between life and death and stands helplessly seeing what happens to her family and how people come see her and talk to her. Mia has one decision left, and it will determine her future and her fate.

---

I learnt about this movie in school in English class that was all about movies. Two girls made their analysis on this film. I only saw the trailer, but it was enough to convince me to see this film if I ever had the chance.

But boy am I disappointed! I expected something way more from this film. Of course it's deep, it has important meaning. Mia is an amazing characters many people will see themselves in. But the thing is, no one can truly, truly feel like they are Mia, if they haven't been in a life or death situation before. So it feels like a waste of character. There could've been another story about Mia, amazing Mia with her talents, who doesn't even know how amazing she is. There are other stories you could put her in so people could truly feel her. But having her in weird ghost fantasy was kind of a waste, especially when this kind of story seems so typical. Has this been done before because I feel like I've seen a similar movie but with less interesting main character?

One of the things I hate about this film is the dialogue. Almost immediately when Adam talked with Mia I had to sigh and roll my eyes. No teenage boy talks like that! That pretentious dialogue is so annoying to listen to. It suits with some romantic sappy novels you read in rainy day, hoping you'll meet your significant other, not in a movie. I don't know if I can excuse it if the dialogue was that bad in the novel. It's like some unrealistic fantasy, and it bothers me. Does someone actually watch a movie like that and then hope they'll meet a guy who talks in poetic pretentiousness? Ugh!

And I really expected this to be the kind of movie you could watch and cry so long you're kind of cleansed, but no. That's the thing I'm most disappointed about. This movie didn't move me at all! I'm mostly blaming the writing for that. 

I can't really judge right now, but usually I'm very impressed by Chloe Grace Moretz. She's a talented young actress. She was very convincing as Mia, she was astonishing. She displays emotions well, no matter how "bad" they might look in front of a camera. That's what I love about her acting.

I loved the music in this film, but if it's a movie about music then... Then it's kind of obvious you have to have good music there. There was both classical music and punk rock. It's the same kind of contrast that was between Mia and Adam. 

As I said before, this movie is very deep and it has an important meaning. It struggles with several themes that may not be important in general, it's not like this movie has a political message. No, the message is mostly for individuals. And even if the horrid dialogue makes you shiver, If I Stay really makes you think about several things the movie mentions. You don't have to agree with the message, but at least you think about it.

If I Stay was definitely not for me. If you love movies about teenagers that are actually deep, this is for you. If you don't care about writing too much, this movie might be for you. Obviously If I Stay has an audience that loves it, and it's definitely meant for someone. If I stay is deep, the message is amazing and it's probably even emotional movie when it hits the right person. If you are sure you won't like it, don't bother. But if you think there might be a chance you'll love this movie, take that chance.

☆☆☆☆

4 / 10