Mini Reviews: Two Night Stand (2014), In My Dreams (2014) & Prime (2005)

When I started these three reviews, I didn’t realise I was going to give them all the same rating, however this has ended up being a post to celebrate the mediocre those middle ground films that aren’t rubbish but aren’t good either.

Having seen Whiplash and the Spectacular Now (and before suffering Fantastic Four) I was a little bit obsessed with Miles Teller so when I clocked Two Night Stand, I had to give it a go.  I wasn’t disappointed, I wasn’t overwhelmed but I wasn’t disappointed so that’s a good thing.  It was pretty unrealistic, but what else can we expect from a romcom (before the amazingness that was Man Up!) so that didn’t bother me.  Not sure how memorable the story was, I remember most of it but the details are already disappearing (although exactly how long it’s been since I actually saw it is questionable).  I wouldn’t say its anything special but it’s the kind of film you can happily watch on a Sunday afternoon curled up on the sofa, so that’ll do for me!

Another weekend, another evening of Netflix surfing.  I was baking a cake (which took 8 hours in total) so I needed something that required no thinking whatsoever.  In your dreams was just that, a light hearted, terribly acted story of a mystical curse on a fountain.  If you throw your coin in you will dream about your true love for 7 days and you can use that to find said person.  Here’s the thing, they threw, they dreamt, they happen to be in the same place at the same time but miss each other, decide to find each other, miss each other again, then meet up at the fountain….thats it!  No twists not turns just bog standard low budget rom com.  It wasn’t terrible, it was far from fantastic but it entertained me while I was baking – I wouldn’t watch it again though.

Another find of Netflix, I like Uma Thurman, I LOVE Meryl Streep and I like that kid from One Tree Hill so this couldn’t all be bad.  It was actually surprisingly entertaining (although I’m pretty sure I realised half way through that I had in fact seen it before!) and interesting as it considers the dynamics of age gaps in relationships, particularly older women with younger men.  Streep throws in some great humour as David's (Bryan Greenberg) controlling Jewish mother, who also happens to be Rafi’s therapist but it just doesn’t quite hit the mark for me.  It’s obviously forgettable as didn’t remember ever seeing it before (although that may be my age!) and it rapidly flipped from light hearted rom com to a story of emotional heartbreak and loss leaving me a little bit perplexed as to whether it was a happy or sad ending.  Not awful but don’t rush out to see it, catch it on a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa tea!

Blind Spot: Pulp Fiction (1994)

This month marks the first time Jenna and I have been able to watch our Blind Spot film together, huzzah! Chinese food ordered, cups of tea made, fire on, the perfect Flick Chicks film night. Pulp Fiction was one of Jenna’s choices, one that I’d completely forgotten about because I had actually seen parts of it before, but couldn’t remember anything other than that couple robbing the diner!

Pulp Fiction is the telling of four connected violent, hilarious, and downright crazy stories following the lives of two mobsters, a boxer, a gangster’s wife and a thieving couple. It boasts one of the most amazing casts I’ve seen, John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth and Uma Thurman just to name a few.

Bear with me here, but man did this film drag! We paused at one point for a drink break thinking that we were near the end, but we were just about an hour in. Not quite even half way at that point. Thing is, all the scenes we had heard about had already happened, so we couldn’t work out what was even going to happen next. Kettle boiled, we were introduced to the Gimp. Oh! Traumatised is not a strong enough word!!

In fact, when the film actually finished, I was feeling pretty ‘meh’ about the whole thing. Sure, I laughed my socks off at many points, and couldn’t fault anything other than how darn confusing the whole thing was, but I couldn’t work out if I enjoyed it or not. It made Fargo seem simple!  Now although I found it really complicated I actually really enjoyed it - I am still running through the scenes now trying to put them into chronological order, i don't think i'll ever manage it.

On the drive home though, and indeed while I was trying to get to sleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about the film, and the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated it for what it was, and then I felt guilty! Did anyone else find this?

I can't really place much commentary on the storyline because i'm still trying to work out what happened, what I do know is that I really enjoyed it and I won't forget it in a hurry. Samuel L Jackson was amazing, I think he has taken a little part of this character and injected it into every character he has played since.  It's typical Quentin Tarantino, bloody confusing but so entertaining that you get over it.

There are so many jokes and memes that make sense to me now. Every time someone mentions the game, Guess Who I put on my best Samuel L Jackson impression to ask ‘Does he look like a b*tch?’ without even realising it’s a reference to Pulp Fiction. There was an episode of Community all about that suitcase that I need to re-watch now, and I’ll never let anyone order an expensive milkshake quietly.  Don't forget the Direct Line advert (for our UK readers) and The Wolf - who knew!!

Don't really know why BUT I loved it...I think I may need to watch it again though to get my head around the storyline!