A Perfect Ending (2012)

Title: A Perfect Ending
Year: 2012
Director: Nicole Conn
Genre: Romantic comedy
Category: #12 A romantic comedy

Okay, so I piecked this thinking maybe it was going to be a great lesbian romantic comedy. It was listed alongside my favourite rom-coms on Netflix so you can see how I would think that.

Unfortunately I was wrong, I’ve left it as that category because it’s what I thought it was going to be. There was certainly some romance but mostly this movie was incredibly sad. Certainly more of a drama, and next to my favourite lesbian movies it was incredibly underwhelming. There were some cute moments but that was really about it. Honestly if you’re after a good lesbian movie to watch don’t pick this one. Try out Imagine Me and You, But I’m a Cheerleader, D.E.B.S or my personal favourite I Can’t Even Think Straight.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

Title: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Year: 2016
Director: Kirk Jones
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Date Watched: May 6 2017
Category: #17 The last film in a series

There is nothing more true about this movie than the tagline – People change. Greeks don’t. It’s the perfect summation of the movie, aside from the age of the characters very little has changed since the original movie.

I loved the original movie, it had jokes and transformation and the merging of families, so I expected to like this movie too. Except, what I find is more of the same stuff from the original movie, nothing has changed. This time it’s their daughter who is feeling embarrassed by her family rather than Toula and for some completely unknown reason John Stamos appears sporadically but otherwise it’s just a rehash of the same jokes and the same tensions and it’s just not funny the second time around.

It’s rare for me to watch a movie and think it’s awful, I even liked Grease 2 but this movie is truly forgettable, I don’t really have anything nice to say about it except that it’s nice to see the cousin coming out with his family being happy for him.

Rating: 2/5 stars

La La Land (2016)

Title: La La Land
Year: 2016
Director: Damien Chazelle
Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical
Date Watched: February 14, 2017
Category: A film in the cinema

I’ve been pretty excited about this one for a while. Ever since I heard that Emma Stone was teaming up with Ryan Gosling again (I’m a huge fan of Crazy, Stupid Love). So finally as a Valentine’s Day outing I managed to get my fiancee to come along with me.

I had really high hopes for this film and was the tiniest bit disappointed, but I think that was more a result of how different it is from Crazy, Stupid Love and also how many awards it has won. Let me be clear though. I really loved this movie. The use of sound in particular was just beautiful and so perfectly on point, almost as if it were a character itself. It truly feels like a movie that would have been at home several decades ago if it wasn’t for the use of mobile phones. Somehow they’ve perfectly blended clothes and sets that look like they belong in the past but at the same time don’t look out of place in a movie set in the 2010’s.

My only criticism of this film is also somewhat of a merit. There were parts of the film where the tension was just so palpable that it was uncomfortable to watch. I could feel everything they were feeling as if it were happening to me. Which is surely the mark of a great film, but at the same time an uncomfortable experience particularly when those emotions are anger or sadness. It felt like watching my parents fight, always a little awkward to say the least.

I left the cinema feeling like something had changed but not sure what it was. It was like I’d walked out of a dream.

I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it but the ending of this movie was just, completely amazing.

Rating: 4/5

Descent – Julie Cannon

Title: Descent
Author: Julie Cannon
Genre: Romance/LGBT
Pages: 208
Category: 4. Read a romance and/or erotica book
Format: Ebook

Date Started: February 11th 2017
Date Finished: February 14th 2017

Okay, yes, this is a trashy romance book. And yes, the only difference between this and any other romance book you pick up is that it’s the story of two women. But let’s be honest, sometimes what you want is a trashy romance book.

I wouldn’t say that Descent is the best I’ve read in this genre, or even from this author but it certainly follows the formula one would expect from the category. Two women meet, in this case they had met many years earlier and dated at school. There’s tension between them because of their past relationship but also because they’re two of the best mountain bikers in the world.

Honestly, for me at least this is a genre that is still somewhat in it’s infancy and Bold Strokes Books who published this book is one of the more established publishers out there. As a lesbian it’s refreshing to pick up a book with a relationship that’s more reflective of my own experiences even if it’s never going to be a bestseller so I really do hope that people continue to support authors in this category especially as ebooks make it a lot more accessible for everyone.

Sadly, the quote at the top of this article continues to be true. We still live in a world where there is a great deal of inequality. I live in a country where it is still illegal for me to marry my partner, many others experience much worse discrimination. Books like this normalise our experiences and can hopefully bring a little peace to those who have no one to show them their experiences are nothing to be ashamed of. My hope is, that one day there will be so many LGBT characters in books that young people will never need to search for them like I had to growing up.

Unfortunately, there’s absolutely nothing to make this book stand out within the genre as either better than it’s counterparts or worse. I probably won’t be able to tell you anything about it in six months . But if you’re looking for a nice easy read with some enjoyable tension and cuteness then this will do the trick.

Rating: 2.5/5