Tucked among the redwood trees of Northern California and surrounded by her grandmother’s roses, 17-year-old Lennie Walker, a radiant musical prodigy, struggles with overwhelming grief following the sudden loss of her older sister, Bailey.
The Sky Is Everywhere I was excited for especially after Josephine Decker’s previous film Shirley which was one of the best films of 2020. Although this movie isn’t as good it still has a lot to like about it, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous combined with Grace Kaufman who gives such a great performance that will definitely go on to star in several other films. When the film tackles the topic of grief and and loss it hits very very hard and feels sort of relatable, in that department Josephine Decker does an incredible job. What’s holding The Sky Is Everywhere back however is the young adult type drama thrown into it, those parts aren’t very well written sadly and just aren’t engaging enough, there’s enough character moments in there that help minimize the young adult drama. But it really holds back the film from being so much more, Josephine Decker is a talented director who does engage the audience with her direction so it’s a shame to see some of the writing feel extremely weak. Despite the issues The Sky Is Everywhere is still a good movie, it’s themes of loss and grief are very strong with a very likable lead!
An intimate look at the singer-songwriter’s journey, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home, while creating her debut album.
Billie Eilish is currently one of the biggest stars, I’ve been a huge fan of her’s since she started. This documentary is unlike any documentary about a celebrity it’s a coming of age story from when Billie was at the age 16 (when R.J. Cutler started filming her before her success) to where she is now as one of the biggest stars in the world. I feel like what I have always liked about Billie Eilish is that she comes off as one of the most real celebrities, she genuinely cares for her fans and audience and when you actually sit down and listen to her speak it’s quite impressive. That documentary proves that point even more, it shows a very human side to Billie, as I said earlier it’s a coming of age story and a truly beautiful one as well. You learn almost everything about Billie to the point where it feels like you are having a conversation with someone you listening to her tell you about her life. Billie talks about her Tourette’s syndrome and how she has suicidal thoughts but she expresses that through words rather than actions. One of the strongest things aspects is Billie’s beautiful relationship with her family, each of her family members taught her something for instance her mom taught her about songwriting, her dad taught her how to play the ukulele and the piano finally her brother produced her and was her songwriting cohort. The interactions between her and her family is seriously some of the most beautiful interactions I’ve seen in a long time, they all are there for each other no matter what and it’s truly a beautiful thing. As the documentary goes on you learn more and more about Billie and how she got to where she is now and you as the viewer get completely invested into it. A lot of things a lot of documentaries about celebrities don’t really do at all is show a human side to the celebrity they are talking about, a lot of the time it feels like we don’t learn much about their personality or how they are as people. Sure we are given information and told they are “nice and incredible” but we never see that at all. With Billie Eilish The World’s A Little Blurry we get to see Billie’s actions, how Billie is as a person, how Billie reacts to certain situations and how she thinks and feels, it’s truly refreshing to actually see something completely different. And by the end of the film it feels like you know every single thing about Billie, her personality is truly beautiful, her determination is very inspiring, and her love for her fans and family is truly a beautiful thing. The documentary made me cry at least 3 different times it’s mostly due to Billie’s journey as an artist and just how beautifully made this documentary is, this is the type of filmmaking that really gets me the most. Seeing the life, or lives of a certain person or group of people is truly amazing and inspiring. You also start feeling like you can relate to Billie given how much information you are told, any documentary that can get you to feel relatable to a celebrity and to bring out a human side of them I feel is successful. Overall Billie Eilish The World’s A Little Blurry is masterful, I absolutely recommend you check this one out. It’s definitely one of the highlights so far this year!
An ex-convict strikes up a friendship with a boy from a troubled home.
Palmer is a beautiful story about a man trying to move on with his life after being in jail for some time, for starters Justin Timberlake does a fantastic job in the leading role! This is by far his best performance in quite some time, it was very refreshing to see him do something a lot different from his other recent roles, he put so much heart and soul in his role and really made you connect with him. Ryder Allen is quite fantastic as well, he does a fantastic job in his role especially for a child actor. In fact he gives quite possibly gives one of the best performances from a child actor I’ve seen in a very long time. He really captures his role quite well and gives a very raw performance as well, the writing is smooth and is actually straightforward! It tells a beautiful story that has bumps in the road that Timberlake and Allen have to go through, the writing also has a lot of powerful moments as well! Especially towards the end, Fisher Stevens does a great job at directing the film. Keeping as authentic as possible and makes the audience feel connected to Timberlake and Allen! Overall this is definitely something I recommend watching!!
A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.
Wolfwalkers is such a beautiful film, everything from the message of the film to the animation it’s quite breathtaking. The writing is absolutely fantastic, with griping emotional moments from the characters. Plus you have such a simple but fantastic story that manages to expand throughout the film, the animation is absolutely impressive the style they went for was spot on and I don’t think the animation would have been nearly as effective if they went with computer animation. The details give so much life to the characters and the film, everything pops out and drags you into the film! The movie has a very familiar premise but it does so much to that premise to the point where the film makes it it’s own, Wolfwalkers really gets to you towards the end with several emotional moments and with some really interesting character development that makes you appreciate the characters. Overall Wolfwalkers is a fantastic film that I seriously recommend, I can definitely see this winning best animated film at the Oscars!
Jerome Reviews... 