License to Wed (2007)

I added License to Wed on my watchlist many years ago because of Robin Williams but, like it always happens, if I don't watch it shortly after, it falls into oblivion and I watch it years later, with no idea how the movie ended up on the list nor what it is about.

Well, this one follows Sadie (Mandy Moore) and Ben (John Krasinski), a happy couple who, after only six months, feel ready to get married. It's always been Sadie's dream to be married at the family church with her family minister, Frank (Robin Williams), officiating it. Before they get married, Frank forces them into a rigorous premarital counselling program to see if they are really ready for marriage.

The beginning is quite promising but as soon as the plot starts developing—I'm kidding, nothing develops in here—, it is more than clear that the writers had no idea what they were doing. The result? A story that barely goes somewhere, that is filled with clichés and couldn't get any more predictable. On top of that, it is not even enjoyable. It's a stupid and utterly boring story.

If License to Wed is so unappealing, the credits go to the characters too. They aren't even paper-thin as that would require some dimension whatsoever. They are just a bunch of people with no personality and nothing that makes them stand out. There's a moment in the movie where Ben is asked to describe each of Sadie's relatives with only a word and he's having a terrible time because he's still trying to impress the future in-laws. Well, I felt just same because of the lack of characterisation. And it's not only with the supporting characters but with the main ones too, especially them. How am I supposed to care about Sadie and Ben if they are the weakest and thinner romantic leads ever? Seriously, we know nothing about them other than they both are self-absorbed. As for the Reverend, Frank, he comes off as a creepy, manipulative psychopath.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The cast is completely helpless. I love Krasinski in The Office and Moore in This Is Us but in here they both suck. Their performances are nearly pathetic, they don't make you laugh, and they sure don't make you buy the romance between their characters as they have no chemistry whatsoever. Robin Williams is painfully ridiculous as Reverend Frank, and don't even get me started on the poor cameos from some of The Office's actors.

The biggest issue with License to Wed though is that it is supposed to be a comedy and guess which film couldn't be any less funny? Yep, this one. The humour is so bad, I'm wondering what kind of people enjoys it. I was expecting sitcom-level humour because of Krasinski and Ken Kwapis, who also directed The Office, but I was expecting it to be at least funny —I only laughed once and it was something Williams said. I'm not even sure it was supposed to be funny.

Born in China (2016)

Nature documentaries have always been my favourites, and pandas are some of the cutest animals on our planet so (and the most relatable too as all they want is to be left alone to eat and relax), as soon as I saw Born in China's poster, I watched the documentary. 

Set into the wilds of China, Born in China follows a year in the lives of four animal families --snow leopard, snub-nosed monkey, giant panda, and chiru (Tibetan antelope). 

Specifically, the documentary follows a snow leopard, Dawa, as she struggles to provide for her two cubs and protect them from predators; a young monkey, Tao Tao, who joins a group of outcasts as his baby sister steals all the attention and love of his family; a giant panda, Ya Ya, who lives in peace with her growing baby, Mei Mei; and a herd of chiru as they migrate to give birth to their cubs.

Now, for someone who loves nature and animals as I do, watching these wild animals in their natural habitats is magical and fascinating as it is interesting --except for the chiru whose storyline doesn't have a main character like the others and feels out of place because of that. 

Unfortunately, Born in China is not a BBC documentary but a Disneynature co-production and that prevented it from being a great documentary. The first problem is the narration. While it may appeal to a (very) young audience, the anthropomorphic storytelling isn't very objective nor highly informative and, after a while, the projection of human emotions and characteristics onto the animals gets a little annoying. I have, however, no complain about John Krasinski's narration as he nails the playful tone of the documentary and makes it fun (I'm sure kids will love him). The problem is that the filmmakers shouldn't have used this light tone given the material. 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Especially considering that a big part of Born in China is focused on the snow leopard, one of nature's best hunters --as well as some of the greatest masters of disguise (damn, I did learn something from this film, after all). The hunting footage is nowhere to be found which is a real bummer considering the snow leopard at the center of the story spends half of her time defending her territory and the other half hunting.

The editing also leaves something to be desired. Don't get me wrong, the film is quite beautifully edited, the problem is that it feels staged. The footage just seems to be put together in a way that it would fit the narrative and would make all more interesting and fun. There's no way the baby panda and the red panda were looking at each other like that. 

All of that being said, Born in China is still a quite enjoyable documentary, thanks to Krasinski's narration, that showcases the importance of family and how it outweighs everything else. Also, it has a stunning, breathtaking photography. 

A Quiet Place (2018)

I heard about A Quiet Place for the first time last week, when everyone on Twitter was saying how good it was. I never even saw a trailer on TV which is why I thought I would have to wait months before seeing what all the fuss was about. Turns out it's in cinemas since April 5 and my cinema didn't even bother telling me it in the weekly email. Anyway, I got there as soon as I could (yesterday afternoon) and I'm not sure words are enough to describe how glad I am I saw this movie.

Set in the near future, A Quiet Place is about a family who lives in solitude and is forced to live in absolute silence as there is something that lurks in the shadows and waits for noises to attack.

The premise is very simple, as you can tell, we get absolutely no backstory nor explanation to what is going on, and the plot isn't perfect --there are some holes and some conveniences-- but don't you dare think this is just another horror movie because it's not. And the credits go to every single person who worked on this film.

First, kudos to John Krasinski. It takes more than great skill to take a simple story like that and turn it into something that grabs your attention right from the start, keeps you glued to the screen and on the edge of the seat, literally, and makes you feel uncomfortable and genuinely fearful from start to finish. I was not expecting him, Jim from The Office, to be able to build, so slowly and cleverly, so much tension and suspense throughout the film. There isn't even a single dull moment.

Also brilliant is Krasinski's choice to make the story about the family, not the monsters/aliens like they usually do in horrors. Even though the family, just like the monsters, has no backstory whatsoever and we know very little about them --maybe they were the monsters before this sort of apocalypse happened, who knows--, they are developed in a way that you end up caring about them and make you emotionally invested in the film (I even cried, there's no point in lying). Never before I felt so connected to the characters in a horror and genuinely hoped for a positive outcome (I usually hope they all die).

Paramount Pictures

Then there's the scare factor. Unlike your average horror, A Quiet Place does not rely on blood and gore to scare you and keep your heart racing --there's some of both but they are kept at a minimum-- but on a mixture of great storytelling and astonishing use of sound. Even quiet scenes manage to be scary in this film as they leave you in fear of a sound being made. Even the sound of someone eating popcorn in the movies will scare you if anyone even dares eating while watching this film (not a single person ate or talked during this film, not even during the ending credits). And the brilliant score by Marco Beltrami, which is kept to a minimum, only adds to the film's tension and makes you feel even more like you're experiencing all that along with the characters.

At last, and I hope I didn't forget anything, there's the acting. I have to say I wasn't crazy about Emily Blunt, John Krasinski's wife, playing John Krasinski's character's wife, but I changed my mind right after seeing this. She gives an astonishing performance as she delivers a wide range of emotions. John Krasinski also does a wonderful job as the husband and father, perfectly showing desperation through his eyes, and the chemistry between the two is obviously amazing. Then there are the child actors, Noah Jupp and Millicent Simmonds, the latter being the standout. I'm sure many will say the filmmakers played it safe with the casting of a deaf actress, Simmonds, to play a deaf character, but I think this only adds authenticity to the film --and I loved that there's a complete lack of noise when the film is from her point of view.