Gifted (2017) ***

This drama about a custody battle concerning a gifted child was a lot more touching and a lot less predictable than I thought it would be. Young McKenna Grace was fantastic as seven-year-old Mary, delivering a natural performance with credible emotions, sassiness and confidence, combined with a stunning age-appropriate vulnerability. She really sold the genius intellect, and her chemistry with Chris Evans as her dad was great. He supported her performance beautifully. The script dealt with important questions such as the price of genius and the importance of a life beyond a label. I thought it was really well-presented.

The technical execution was great, too. The cast was given some long takes to work with, and especially for Grace, this must have been challenging, but she made it look effortless. The vibrant colour palette reflected a child’s world view, as did the intricate sets with lots of stuff to play with. On top of that, there was a gorgeous score.

A decent drama with a reassuringly predictable ending. 3/5

 

Gifted on Imdb

Shazam! (2019) ***

This fantasy coming-of-age drama about found family was surprisingly entertaining and heart-warming. The acting was good on all parts, particularly the kids. I just thought that Mark Strong, who is usually great, was a bit type-cast and not the ideal choice. The humour in the film was a little infantile, but that was to be expected from characters of a certain youthful age. The plot managed to be somewhat unpredictable, and that was enjoyable too. That said, it took a long time to get started. They definitely could have done something about the long runtime.

Visually, the production was pretty standard. Nothing stood out as particularly impressive. It was just solid stuff.

All in all, a pleasant surprise. 3/5 This had a lot more substance and ingenuity than I anticipated.

PS: Netflix subtitles described it as [shouts indistinctly], but I was thrilled to clearly hear "Kaioken!" at that point (I guess "Kamehameha" would have been a bit too distinctive).

Shazam! on Imdb

The ugly truth (2009) **

The trailer of this romcom looked fun: strong female character meets chauvinistic asshole and prevails. Alas, the film was something else. At first I thought this would be hilarious. Then I realised this was made by misogynists. Why else would you play a total macho’s offensive, sexist remarks for laughs, while painting an assertive and successful woman who knows what she wants as a neurotic hag? This led to some truly cringy scenes and overall annoyance on my part.

The acting was decent, though. Katherine Heigel portrayed gorgeous and strong woman. It was all the more painful to see her “tamed” by the match. Still, Gerard Butler is clearly the more talented actor. You completely buy his asshole character, but also his vulnerability. Somehow, he manages to communicated hidden depth – something that Heigel’s performance distinctly lacks.

On the technical side, this wasn’t particularly impressive. They had absolutely terrible sets and sub-par lighting. They do get kudos for the editing, though, which allowed for a few surprisingly long takes (and, despite everything, the actors managed those.)

All in all, not what I expected. This had potential, but only 2/5 for the misogynistic message.

 

The ugly truth on Imdb