Friday Flicks: Wonder

Wonder
Rating ★★★


What It's About
We have this cute little boy (yes I said cute. Because he is!) who was born with a facial abnormality. His mom has home schooled him but, starting with 5th grade, he'll be going to real school. Here he'll struggle to make friends and face the world, face first, and learn the true meaning of friendship.

I read the book this movie was based on back in 2015 and, while I wasn't blown away by it, I thought it was cute. I was very interested in how the movie would be and thought the previews looked adorable. So me and my friends went to check it out.

As often happens, the movie was just so beautiful and fun to see. The characters were perfectly cast. Each kid did such an amazing and cute job with their parts.

They also stuck very closely to the book, if I'm recalling right, and I appreciated that. It's always annoying when they go way, way off from the book.

The kid that played Jack Will was so freaking cute! I know, I was supposed to be in love with Auggie but I couldn't help it. This kid was so cute and did such a great job with his part. They all did.

Much like my review of the book, I felt that this one was cute with an important message but not anything life altering. I did get a little choked up at one point but that was it. Meanwhile I know my friends cried through most of it so maybe I just have a stone heart.

Let's Talk
Do you like when movies follow the book or do you like when they take their own twist?

Recommendation 
Redbox or Netflix. It was cute but maybe not full price at the theater good.

Mini Movie Reviews #12

Oi! I've fallen behind in movie reviews. Life is not going so great for me right now and blogging is becoming a last priority.  Still, I'm seeing movies so I thought I'd do my old style Mini Movie Reviews to catch you up.

Flatliners
I'm not sure why they felt the need to remake this one. There's not some amazing story here that's worth retelling but since I never saw the original I figured what the hell. I was more entertained than I thought I'd be. It was creepy and enjoyable enough but nothing special...or memorable.

Victoria & Abdul
I was really excited to see this one. It seemed like it would be cute and fun. And it was...to a point. And then it just got weird. I don't know how accurate this was to real history, I'm guessing not very. And while I wanted to just watch and appreciate the relationship between these two it just got a little "what's-the-point" and I was left slightly disappointed.

Made in America
This one was the husband's pick. I had no desire to see it. And, as usual when I don't want to see it and he convinces me, I ended up liking it. I know Tom Cruise isn't anyone's favorite anymore but I thought he did a great job. It was very entertaining to watch this guy's life. It does end sadly but you know it's coming. I'd actually recommend this one. I guess I should listen to the husband's recommendations a little more often, huh?

 The Mountain Between Us
Why I didn't realize this one was going to be a romance I'll never know. I thought it was going to be about these two completely different people surviving some horrible stuff together. And it was but...then romance came into it. And the romance wasn't bad but when you're not expecting it and have to adjust your perception mid movie it can be a bit jarring.  It was still very entertaining and emotionally investing, though. I'd recommend it.

Review: A Reliable Wife

Title A Reliable Wife
By Robert Goolrick
Genre Adult drama
Pages 305
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
It's 1909, Ralph Truitt places an ad in the paper. He's looking for a wife. Someone to come out to rural Wisconsin and share his home but he has an ulterior motive. Catherine Land answers the ad. She seems like the perfect humble, reliable wife but she too has secret.



First Sentence 
It was bitter cold, the air electric with all that had not happened yet.

• Wow, that book was a New York Times Bestseller? And it had a readers guide in the back. Sometimes I'm quite baffled by books like this. How and why is this a New York Times Bestseller? Why is it being read in book clubs? Is it really worthy of having a readers guide included? 
• Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't loathe this book or anything. I just wasn't blown away by it. The writing was lovely at times. Check out that first sentence. Very lovely. But this whole book was like watching a soap opera. The characters were terrible people. They were meant to be but it was painful to read about. 
• So, the whole point of the book was about how nobody is perfect. We're all pretty awful people; flawed and imperfect but that we can change. While I appreciated the message and the symbolism of Catherine's obsession with the garden I thought the whole thing was pretty heavy handed and more than that, it wasn't subtle at all. We all got the message. There was nothing left to interpret on our own. Nope! We had to just take the slap in the face message from the author and accept it. 
• So, yeah, I didn't hate the book but it was blunt and dull and just plain weird. 
• Maybe in another mood I might have loved it. But right now at this point in my life it just didn't work for me. 

Should You Read It?

I wouldn't shut this one down completely but I would warn those that might consider it to be warned. There's a lot of sexual talk and descriptions. Nothing gratuitous like erotica but, yeah.