Tag Archives: Emily Blunt

My 2 Cents… The Jane Austen Book Club

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Would you prefer to watch the video review, instead of reading it? CLICK HERE

JaneTitle: The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) 
Director: Robin Swicord 
Writers: Robin Swicord (screenplay) and Karen Joy Fowler (book) 
Stars: Maria Bello (Jocelyn), Emily Blunt (Prudie), Kathy Baker (Bernadette), Amy Brenneman (Sylvia), Maggie Grace (Allegra), and Hugh Dancy (Grigg)
Genre(s): Comedy/Drama/Romance

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Cinematography: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Acting: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★ (4)

Buy it HERE! 

BLURB:
Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships – both old and new – begin to resemble 21st century version of her novels.

STORYLINE:
The Jane Austen Book Club explores Austen’s adage that general incivility is at love’s essence. Sylvia’s husband dumps her for another woman, so Bernadette and Jocelyn organize a book club to distract her. They recruit Sylvia’s daughter Allegra; Prudie, a young teacher whose marriage may be on the rocks; and Grigg, a sci-fi fan who joins solely out of his attraction to Jocelyn. The six book club members read and discuss one Austen novel per month. While Jocelyn attempts to peak Grigg’s interest in Sylvia, she fails to see her own interest in him rising. Allegra falls in love with a woman she meets skydiving. Then, after unexpected heartache she is able to mend her heart through a new relationship. Prudie contemplates an affair with one of her students and may take things a little to far. Sylvia’s ex-husband keeps popping back into her life and eventually tells her he still loves her. By the end of the movie, the truth about each of our characters is revealed.

MY 2 CENTS:
I’m not going to lie, this is a chick-flick. I love a good romantic comedy chick-flick every now and then, but they are not my typical go-to movie. With that said, as an author and an avid reader, I LOVED THIS FILM!

The cast is amazing… In fact, I really can’t image a better cast. With Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, and Kathy Baker taking the lead, this movie was destined to be a success. And a story line that manages to infuse the characters’ lives with pieces of Jane Austen’s fictional world is just plain fun.

Like most chick-flicks, this film isn’t about wowing the viewers with amazing cinematography and extraordinary special effects. This film relies solely on the dialogue and the actors’ abilities to communicate their emotions to the audience. The character development within each relationship as well as individually gives the viewer so much to watch, explore, and relate to. Of course, not everyone will be able to relate to every character… but that is the beauty, there is a character for everyone.

I believe that if Austin were alive today, she would be proud of the way this film utilized her themes and wove them into the lives of the characters beautifully.

Watching the film, you get a sense that Karen Joy Fowler, author of the book ‘The Jane Austin Book Club, truly has a passion for and understands Austin’s books. Although I have not yet read ‘The Jane Austin Book Club’ I do intent to add it to my ‘To Read’ list. I think that anyone who admires Austin’s books will enjoy this film.

If you have watched this movie (or read the book) please comment below and let me know what you thought of it. If you haven’t seen the movie, but are intrigued enough to watch it, then I challenge you to watching and then come back and let me know what you thought.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.” ~ Bernadette

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

You can watch the official trailer here:

My 2 Cents… A Quiet Place

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A Quiet Place

Movie: A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski
Writer(s): Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski
Stars: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe

Blurb:
In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.

Storyline:
Two parents do what it takes to keep their children safe in a world full of creatures hunting every sound they can hear. Not a sound can be heard from the family hiding in silence, but all it takes is one noise and everything can go wrong.

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Acting: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (5)

My 2 Cents:
Oh my goodness… This movie was incredible. Husband and wife team John Krasinski and Emily Blunt both star in this amazing, sit on the edge of your seat, thriller.

The concept of this movie is simple… be quiet or you’ll die. I’ll be honest with you, when I clicked play on this one I was expecting a horror film, nothing more. I thought there would be some pop-out-at-you thrills and an interesting concept. I had no idea the acting would be so unbelievable.

There is very little dialogue, which meant that the story had to be strong and the acting even stronger. The film, directed by John Krasinski, relied heavily on the use of visual cues and ACTING. In reality, I walked away knowing it wasn’t just a horror/thriller film, it is a piece of art.

Watching Emily Blunt, in the “delivery scene” – I won’t say more – was intense. I was holding my breath the whole time.

Blunt and Krasinski have amazing onscreen chemistry, not surprising, and the family dynamics between them and the two young actors that play their children is breathtakingly believable. As the movie begins, we are thrown right into the story, with little to no backstory, you are immediately immersed in the love, pain, and fear these people live with day in and day out. I was on the edge of my seat – in a good way – from the time the movie started until the credits rolled.

Have you seen A Quiet Place? If so, what did you think? Comment below and let me know.

You can watch the official trailer here: