Dallas Fisher

    Tag: books

    • Eleanor the Great

      How far would you go to tell your story?

      Well, Eleanor (June Squibb) would go a long way to tell hers*. Squibb is absolutely the perfect casting for a role of a 94 year old woman that moves to New York City and does anything she can to fit back into the world. She is feisty, sarcastic, but still so sweet. She reminds me very much of my grandma, or at least a grandma I wished I had. After a long wonderful life, Eleanor makes this move to be closer to family and along the way she meets a young girl Nina (Erin Kellyman). Together they form a friendship through beautiful storytelling, a particular story that feels very close to home for first time director Scarlett Johansson.

      Johansson’s directing style is what I would unfortunately call a little basic. The camera’s view is looking at the world with glossy eyes that are maybe a little too light hearted for something that feels too serious. Now I’m not saying Scarlett didn’t break out some emotional moments, because there’s one particular monologue within a story that just broke my heart and it was profoundly acted by Rita Zohar. She also builds that unexpected relationship between Eleanor and Nina that carries that movie through all of its stages. Chiwetel Ejiofor is typically on a level of his own so we didn’t have to worry about his presence, even though I do wish he was more involved.

      Emotionally this movie will take you on a journey and that is what it’s going to be remembered for. There’s deception through necessity, humor within Squibb’s perfect nature, and sadness that will hit you from every direction. I say all that but when you circle back to the way this is directed, its pace is slightly all over. Big chunks are not super impactful, especially in the aspects that feel like they would have been revealed in real life at a much earlier time. Some story points hit in a way that only feels convenient for a movie plot, but you’ll still feel for these characters that bring out the most from within themselves.

      Sometimes in life you need to be selfish and this movie doesn’t downplay the rights and wrongs of that, because all stories deserve to be told in one form or another.

      6.6/10

    • The Thursday Murder Club

      Chris Columbus has finally made his way back across the pond to direct a film, does it have the same magic as before?

      The Thursday Murder Club is a crossover of true crime and British comedy that fans of each should find something to latch on to. With a stacked cast of Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, and Pierce Brosnan there’s a lot of grand personalities to enjoy. There’s a whimsical nature to this cast that makes this a lot of fun. The never aging Kingsley is a delight plus Mirren and Brosnan are just playing themselves, which is all you need from them at this stage in their careers. Celia Imrie is the bright eyed newcomer to the club and Naomi Ackie is the helpful rookie cop, together these five make for a great team of “professional” and “retired” detectives. It cleverly uses its characters to misdirect and keep up the intrigue.

      Having a murder club set in a retirement home was such a fun idea, that it’s pretty much Hogwarts for old people. Set in a beautiful castle, this set defines what type of story this is going to be. The story and its characters are so polite that it almost doesn’t feel like a murder mystery. It was a pleasure to see characters in this realm still find joy in something and not get complacent with where they are, it gives me hope for my future. There’s a lot of fight in the outcome, evidence to joyfully unfold, and refusement in abundance that adds amusement to the conflict.

      The story does become convoluted and could have benefited from being a quicker film. I get wanting screentime for everyone, but a lot of that screentime is wasted on painfully added circumstantial ploys. The seriousness was overdone and worked better when played like an ukulele instead of a bass. Also, like Alzheimer’s, this tells similar beats multiple times just in different ways. Chris Columbus still knows how to direct a funny and entertaining story, but it is missing a stand out role or a more fantastical story.

      It can’t be denied that this cast is quite possibly the best ensemble on the year. They make me wish I knew more of the work indiviually. This solves the problem on how to get reasonable chemsitry out of your cast but doesn’t add too much to the thriller genre. This is bloody decent while also not being fully original with its murder plot.

      This falls somewhere between Murder Mystery and Knives Out when compared to other Netflix whodunits.

      6.1/10 

    • Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

      Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is very much in a meta universe of its own. In fact, the screening I attended was mainly filled with women from the Jane Austen Society of North America – Minnesota. So, this movie and its audience really knows how to immerse you in the world.

      Inside and out this movie is a romcom that is almost “word” for “word” copies of its source materials. Said source materials are all of Jane Austen novels and if you haven’t read them, or seen the movie adaptations, you might be a little lost throughout. Referencing character names and utilizing those beats to humor that audience could hold a lot of people hostage. If you can get beyond that, you’re in for a decent time.

      This is a very cozy film. Using an old world romance in modern times actually quite works because of the down to earth characters. It may be a fantasy for them, but mainly just feels like the UK to US. Camille Rutherford as Agathe was quite stubborn to watch but she makes sense for the story to unfold in the way that it does. The comedy comes first, sometimes at a fault because of the out of tone feeling it brings and I wasn’t too fond of the “code switching”. If there would have been more situational comedy instead of spit, puke, and tripping humor, I would be saying this is one of the better comedies of the year.

      The contrast of this being rated R to the setting was actually a pleasant surprise. I’m glad it wasn’t shy in many aspects because some romcoms can be way too tame. You can tell The Shining was a reference point (no I won’t expand) and the sticky situations held my attention when the romantic spark began to decline. 

      This won’t be long lasting for most but if you’re in a book club or over the age of 55, this is the perfect 2025 move for you.

      6/10