Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is every bit a seventeen-year-old… she’s attached to her laptop and loves her best friends. But unlike most teenagers, she spends much of her time living in a hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control – all of which is put to the test when she meets an impossibly charming fellow patient named Will Newman (Cole Sprouse).

There’s an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction. Further complicating matters is Will’s potentially dangerous rebellion against his ongoing medical treatment. Stella gradually inspires Will to live life to the fullest, but can she ultimately save the person she loves when even a single touch is off limits?

– Official Website

The number of times this trailer made people teary-eyed can be said to be in the high digits. With the promise of star-crossed love and the demise of a life too young, who can say they weren’t prepared to see this movie?

CF. Stands for Cystic Fibrosis, a medical condition that limits a person’s ability to breath and causes infections in the lungs. Learned something new. Anyone else? Good. Then, Justin Baldoni achieved his goal.

Stella’s OCD, excessive organization skills and neurotic behavior toward her health, seems to be just another Hollywood ploy. A character trait to highlight the romanticized differences between the two CF patients. However, her personality is actually justified by a scene that reveals more of Stella’s past, in particular regarding her family. A conversation in the meditation room pushes the development of her relationship with Will, without sacrificing its integrity with exaggerated flashbacks or cut-scenes outside the present story, and explains Stella’s desperate need to survive not only for her sake, but for all those involved. Who would agree?

Overall: Two Thumbs Up

“THE UPSIDE is director Neil Burger’s heartfelt comedy about a recently paroled ex-convict (Kevin Hart) who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston). The film also stars Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies and Aja Naomi King.” – Official Website

Official Trailer

Witty, charming, and remarkably human. A feel-good movie to follow the holiday joy and start the new year. The trailer showcased the movie’s lighthearted script with a few stirring, grim scenes. Nothing too detrimental until the later half. Did the trailer do its job, do you think?

The development of Hart’s character, Dell Scott, was enjoyable because the trailer already deemed him less than the spectacular candidate for such a precarious job of taking care of Bryan Cranston’s character, Phillip Lacasse. So viewers get to sit back and simply enjoy how these two strong-willed will individuals mesh.

Surprisingly, the relationship between Phillip and Yvonne struck a chord as the movie progressed: first being impasse about Phillip’s (seemingly) wanted demise without burdening Yvonne and then becoming more respected as their romantic feelings rise to the surface.

Overall: Two Thumbs Up.

“In this sci-fi thriller, neuro-scientist William Foster (Keanu Reeves) is on the verge of successfully transferring human consciousness into a computer when his family is tragically killed in a car crash. Desperate to resurrect them, William recruits fellow scientist Ed Whittle (Thomas Middleditch) to help him secretly clone their bodies and create replicas. But he soon faces a “Sophie’s choice” when it turns out that they can only bring three of the four family members back to life.” Official Website

Official Trailer

While the trailer led this viewer to believe that the screenplay would have the story begin with the family already “replicated”, the truth is the story begins with Reeves’ character struggling to create a successful clone all together. That was a difficult surprise to make of, does anyone agree?

Cinematically, the movie was good, perhaps leaning too far into the futuristic sci-fi department towards the end. To set the story in Puerto Rica made for pretty outdoor scenes. Oddly contrasting to the chaos happening behind closed doors at the Foster home.

Another bit of turmoil was watching Reeves’ acting chops as he launched himself into what the director highlighted as an immoral venture of bringing his dead back to life, as illustrated by the family friend, Ed Whittle (Thomas Middleditch). First, Foster putting aside his emotional grief to think clearly of what he would need to operate the whole act. Second, his choosing which three of his four family members would he resurrect. Third, transforming his whole family’s death into nonexistence and perpetuating a fabricated life after the accident. Anyone else struggled to watch that first half of the film?

Overall: One-Thumb Up.

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