Movie Review: I FEEL PRETTY (2018)

In an age of Instagram models and Keeping Up With The Kardashians, self-worth and self-love is paramount.  So many people, both men and women, suffer from self-esteem issues from an increasingly early age, so when I first heard about this movie I was both excited and nervous.  Would this be more like Shallow Hal, where a filmmaker is trying to get a good message across, but fails at doing it well?  Thankfully it wasn’t, as Amy Schumer and directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein tell a fun story with a message that will hit home with many people.

Movie Review: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

An uncle (Casey Affleck) is obliged to return home to care for his nephew (Lucas Hedges) after his brother dies. Unbeknownst to him, he is to be the guardian of this young boy and struggles with the decision. Throughout the movie he recounts past memories that caused him to leave Manchester and distance himself from his past.

Manchester By The Sea is a highly character driven piece, an almost classical drama of present-time. Whilst keeping itself at distance from a highly-stylized approach to the story, it presents the events in a perfectly orchestrated scene weave which makes this 140 minute drama pass in the blink of an eye, almost leaving you wanting more.

Double Take: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Welcome Readers to another DOUBLE TAKE review, where two Merc writers will offer their thoughts on the same film side by side to compare and contrast their perspectives. This time we have Jonathan Youngblood and Ryan McKenna reviewing the massively critically acclaimed film and Oscar hopeful, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA!

London Film Festival: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

This week I have had the pleasure of attending the London Film Festival, and the 3rd film I had the joy of seeing was Kenneth Lonegran's excellent Manchester By The Sea. It follows a hardened handyman (Casey Affleck) who returns to his hometown after his brother (Kyle Chandler) dies, to care for his 16-year-old nephew (Lucas Hedges), but his arrival unearths a checkered history.