Starring: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Meloni, Abby Wait, Miranda Bailey, Carson Mell
Plot: A teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother’s boyfriend.
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Diary of a Teenage Girl starts when teenage girl Minnie (Powley) is delighted to have started to have sex. Leading her to record her experience with her mother Charlotte’s (Wiig) boyfriend Monroe (Skarsgard).
As Minnie gets involved in the steamy affair, she starts to want to experience more, as we get to see how this teenager enters womanhood.
Thoughts on The Diary of a Teenage Girl
The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a coming-of-age romance following a teenage girl. Who is learning about herself after first starting to have sex with her mother’s boyfriend. This is a movie that doesn’t hold back and will show how one encounter will change a teenage girl’s life. Showing how important that moment will be for starting the next chapter of her life.
Bel Powley is amazing in the leading role, showing the happiness and sadness of everything she is going through. This is a movie that doesn’t hold back or try and sugar coat anything. It is the real deal, raw and in your face, just like the original novel would expect it to be. The film being set in the 1970s will show a different time, when everything was seen as freed as the character dive into the world of drugs to help make their lives more relaxed.
Final Thoughts – The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a raw coming-of-age romance.
Plot: Pressured by their parents to find spouses, Asha and Ravi pretend to date during a summer of weddings, only to find themselves falling for each other.
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Wedding Season starts as career-driven Asha (Sharda) is being pressured into finding a man by her parents. Laidback Ravi (Sharma) is trying to find himself in life and is also feeling the pressure from his parents to find a wife. This leads the pair’s parents to play matchmaker for the pair.
Asha and Ravi meet, and they don’t get along too well. They agree to pretend to be dating to keep their parents off their backs and attend the wedding season. As the pair start spending time together they start to fall for each other in real life, despite the futures they are after.
Verdict on Wedding Season
Characters
Asha has decided to give up searching for love to focus on her career. She is trying to figure out a plan to help women get start-up loans in Southeast Asia. Asha is tired of the pressure placed on her by her parents, leading to her creating a fake relationship to cover her through the wedding season. This changes her life forever as she starts to fall for Ravi at the same time, she is in her biggest career pitch of professional life.
Ravi has all the qualifications to let him achieve anything, but he has never followed through with them. He works as a DJ with a world-renowned reputation. Ravi agrees to attend the weddings, where he does try to get to know Asha along the way.
In the supporting roles, we have the parents that are putting pressure on their adult children, still stuck in the traditional ways of their past. Despite raising their children in western culture.
Performances
Pallavi Sharda is great as a career-driven woman, she shows how her character is hard to break down, despite expectations from her family. She brings a character that will show her strong independent nature.
Suraj Sharma is great too; he brings the laidback guy who hasn’t found himself yet. He shows us the typical early-30s figure that hasn’t figured life out, despite getting lucky with own path he made.
The supporting cast is entertaining, getting most of the laughs along the way. From the two sets of parents, Asha’s co-workers and her sister.
Story
The story follows two Indian people that find their parents putting pressure on them to get married. To keep their parents happy, they agree to pretend for the wedding season, only to fall in love with each other.
This story explores the change in culture different beliefs have once they start mixing together. It shows how the world has changed for everyone and you should be encouraging your family. This might well follow the same typical beats that we see in most romantic comedies, showing how people can fall in love with people they never expected.
Themes
Wedding Season is a romantic comedy that shows how cultures can change in a generation. It has the typical beats of a romantic movie, showing how secrets can how people back and real feelings can be found in the person you least expect in life. The locations used in the film show the different lives the pair have.
Where to Watch: Wedding Season is available on Netflix
Final Thoughts – Wedding Season is a nice entertaining romantic comedy.
Plot: When her younger sister and high-school crush get engaged, Sara must find out whether her alleged bad luck is the real culprit behind her misfortunes.
Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Don’t Blame Karma starts as Sara (Derbez) looks back on her life, when she stole a wish from her sister Lucy (Notni). Ever since that moment, Lucy has had all the luck in life. Lucy has gone on to become a massive celebrity model and returned to Sara’s life with a new fiancée Aaron. Who happens to have been Sara’s best friend and crush at school.
As Sara starts hanging out with Aaron she starts looking back on what might have been. Only her own boyfriend, Roberto surprises her with a visit and the added pressure Lucy puts on her for preparing a fashion festival.
Verdict onDon’t Blame Karma
Characters
Sara once stole her younger sister’s wish and has found herself living in the shadow of her sister ever since. She has a quiet life working in fabric designs. Sara sees her life turned upside down when her sister surprises her with a visit and her new fiancée, who happens to be her first love from high school. She gets given added pressure by her celebrity sister, something she isn’t prepared for as her memories of her previous love still haunt her.
Lucy is Sara’s younger sister, who has gone on to become a model known around the world. she promised to steal all of Sara’s wishes after she stole her and ever since, she has been the most popular and successful. Her success has created isolation she found in fame, even feeling distant from her own fiancée.
Aaron was Sara’s best friend in high school, a musical genius that went on to a successful music career. He returns engaged to Lucy, despite still having a strong connection with Sara. Aaron encourages Sara to find success too, knowing the talent she has.
Roberto is Sara’s boyfriend that lives away and surprises her with a visit, adding more pressure to her life suddenly. He gets caught up in the middle of the close friendship Sarah and Aaron have.
Performances
Aislinn Derbez is great in the leading role, bringing a character who is unsure of how talents to life. One filled with insecurities and left feeling like she lives in the shadow of her sister.
Renata Notni is great as a celebrity figure filled with confidence, she can walk into a room and turn heads.
The supporting cast is great too, all getting laughs along the way.
Story
The story follows a woman who believes she has been living with bad karma her whole life. Her life is turned upside when her celebrity model sister gets engaged to her high school crush and best friend. This throws memories at Sara, once she wished she didn’t have and the pressure of helping her sister for her wedding.
The story is a series of events that show that one small mindset can control life, leaving someone believing they have caused all their bad luck. It also sees someone put in an impossible situation of being left in the middle of a love triangle with her sister and first crush.
This will bring everything to life with a strong comedic effect that sees the people thrown into difficult situations.
Themes
Don’t Blame Karma is a romantic comedy that uses the concept of bad karma controlling a woman’s life. She believes bad luck is following her own mind that has trapped her. The romance comes from seeing the two understand love despite not being able to be together because of the situation.
Where to Watch: Don’t Blame Karma is available on Netflix now.
Final Thoughts – Don’t Blame Karma is a fun romantic comedy.
Plot: After a break-up, a young woman decides to start a gallery where people can leave trinkets from past relationships.
Tagline – There’s an art to letting go
Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Broken Hearts Gallery starts as we meet Lucy (Viswanathan). A young woman that has been struggling with love in New York city for years. Collecting objects from her relationships with her latest relationship leaving her jobless.
With this breakup Lucy randomly meets Nick (Montgomery). Who had his own problems with his attempts to build his own bar in the city. One that Lucy will get a chance to create ‘The Broken Heart Gallery’. A place where people can leave objects from bad relationships, which will become a social media sensation.
Thoughts on The Broken Hearts Gallery
The Broken Hearts Gallery looks at how difficult love can be in New York, or anywhere in life. How people will approach relationships and breakups differently. We get to explore how dating and relationships will cause happiness and pain. With the changes that happen in life. The idea that we can all celebrate the changes in life no matter how hard they are. Works to show how people could learn from and will always have a story to tell people to get to know each other.
Geraldine Viswanathan is excellent in the leading role, carrying the film with the confident side throughout the film. Dacre Montgomery is the strong silent type, someone different that Lucy meets in life. With his ambitious character who has his own goals in life. The supporting cast of Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo and Arturo Castro will give us the extra laughs in the film. Finally, as I say in many of my reviews, New York is just such a beautiful fairy tale like environment that could be used for love.
Final Thoughts – The Broken Hearts Gallery is an enjoyable romantic comedy about learning about how to deal with love and loss.
Plot: After a summer prank goes awry, a teenage boy falls in love while grappling with his guilty conscience.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: All Summers End starts as an adult Conrad (Schreiber) sees his son go on his first walk with a girl, sending him down memory lane. A teenage Conrad (Sheridan) looks back at when he met Grace (Dever). His first love over a summer where life took a sudden turn for him. When he is involved in a chase that will see her brother die in an accident.
As Conrad is feeling guilty, he starts to move away from the other friends around. While getting closer to Grace, as he gets his first summer love, even if he knows what the consequences could be if the truth come out.
Thoughts on All Summers End
All Summers End is a coming-of-age romance between two teenagers. Who are caught in the middle of a tragic loss for one and the guilt for the involvement in the accident from the other. It shows how a summer can change everything in life for teenagers. From a reckless moment to the first love in life. These are moments that can define lives for the ones going forward.
The performances from Tye Sheridan and Kaitlyn Dever are wonderful, showing the talent the pair both hold, while bringing the young lovers to life, as they show how both are going through a difficult time. The story will bring to light plenty of problems teenagers must go through, be it friendships changing, early loves, mistakes they can’t face along with the adult side of things, showing parents struggling after loss, causing problems within their own family.
All Summers End is a brilliant coming-of-age love story.
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Michael lands, Shereen Reda, Karim Saleh, Ahmed Talaat, Janie Aziz
Plot: When British aid worker Hana returns to the ancient city of Luxor, she meets former lover Sultan. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile the choices of the past with the uncertainty of the present.
Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Luxor starts see British Aid Worker Hana (Riseborough) return to Luxor for a break. When she meets up with her former lover Sultan (Saleh). Meanwhile she gets to experience the past once again, looking back on her life and where it is now.
She is left in an impossible position of being proud of what she did with her life and lost about what could have been with Sultan and her life in general.
Thoughts on Luxor
Luxor is a reflective movie that will look to show the struggles life offers, when you start to wonder if you made the right choices or not. The pace lets everything take its time looking back through life. Showing what could have been and what should have been for the best, might not have been what they wanted.
This pace will hold the film back, because it will end up with not much happening. Leading us down a path of everything just dragging along. The romance never feeling as genuine as the film would like it to be and leaving us wanting a lot more from the film. The performances are solid enough, without them needing to do anything to make anything standout on any other levels for us.
Plot: After making a pact to break up before college, Claire and Aidan retrace the steps of their relationship on one last epic date. Revisiting familiar and unexpected places as they question: stay together or say goodbye forever?
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between starts as Claire (Ryder) moves back to her old town. Getting back into the social mindset with best friend Stella (Edebiri), she meets Aidan (Fisher) at a party.
The pair strike up a relationship, and with a deal in place, they will go their separate ways once they go to college. Making this last day together, seeing family and friends before walking away, deciding whether it is the right decision.
Verdict onHello Goodbye and Everything In Between
Characters
Claire has been forced to travel around as a youngster, not letting people get close to her. Seeing this old town as her last time like this before college, meeting Aidan. Sparks fly between the two of them, but she is hesitant into getting too involved before college. She agrees to have a relationship until college. Spending one day with him, questioning whether it is the right choice.
Aidan is a musician with plans to become a doctor like his parents. He understands that college will make things hard for the pair, agreeing to the deal. He plans to make the last night extra special for Claire because deep down he doesn’t want it to end.
In the supporting characters, we get to meet friends and family, who have seen the magic between the two over the years. Some are good for laughs, but deep down they don’t get to do much more than the leading pair.
Performances
Talia Ryder brings plenty of personality to this character, becoming the complete opposite of the previous movie of ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’. She is the heart and soul of the movie here, making us feel like she is a big part of the world of teenage romance.
Jordan Fisher has all the charm in this role. He shows the young man dealing with conflict in his life, not only his professional life but his love life.
The supporting cast will bring a few laughs along the way. Here for the most pivotal moments in the final day for the couple, a nice balance of seriousness and comedy.
Story
The story follows a young couple who have made a deal to break up before college, with today being their last day together. This story gets to reflect on their high school romance and how much it meant to the pair of them. Showing how one night could change everything for the pair, making them question this decision.
This is a story that shows the difficult side of high school romance before college could be. Putting the concept of deciding to go their own separate ways once they go to college being beyond their years. Even if the story shows how both feel this might not the right decision.
The story does point out the increased pressure college is on teenagers. Only for it to only be put on the backburner for the romance which felt so magic for the pair. it will give the bittersweet love storyline which will work for the movie without being overly new.
Themes
Hello Goodbye and Everything In Between is a teen romantic comedy. One that shows how important teen romance can be before college and how hard first love can be to walk away from. Balancing the idea of whether the pair will split or will decide to try and make something work out for them. The comedy in the film comes from the special moments and friends, who support the pair of them.
Where to Watch: Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between is available on Netflix Now.
Final Thoughts – Hello Goodbye and Everything In Between is an enjoyable fun romance, filled with plenty of charm.
Cast: Susanna Skaggs, Owen McDonnell, Anjelika Washington, Valentina Lodovini, Alex Boniello, Tera Hendrickson, Saul Nanni, Tobia De Angelis
Plot: Lina makes a promise to her sick mother that she’ll spend the summer before college in Rome, where she falls for the city, the people – and the “gelato”.
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Love & Gelato starts as Lina (Skaggs) says her final goodbye to her mother. Setting out to complete a wish of her mother’s spend the summer before college in Italy. Lina heads off alone, spending time with her mother’s friend Francesca (Lodovini) and Howard (McDonnell). It doesn’t take long before she meets a handsome young man Alessandro (Nanni).
Alessandro wants to show Lina the city, help her breakout of her shy ways. Until she meets friendly chef Lorenzo (Angelis), another person to show her around. Lina starts to fall in love with the city, a place that she can see why her mother loved.
Thoughts onLove & Gelato
Characters & Performances
Lina has been an honour student her whole life, preparing for college. She loses her mother and heads to Italy to spend the summer there, her mothers final wish. Alone in a big city, she is scared of the journey, but amazed by the beauty of the city. Meeting to young guys, she learns about love for the first time. Getting to following in her mother’s footsteps, of falling in love in Italy for the first time. She has always lived her life behind a safety net, with the trip seeing her break down the barriers in her life.
Alessandro is the rich heir in Rome that takes a shine to Lina. He is heading to America for college, given a bad reputation around the city. From the playboy lifestyle he was thrown into, getting caught in his family’s demands. He wants to prove to Lina that he is different to his reputation, showing her a different side to Italy.
Lorenzo is a chef that offers to help Lina. He knows plenty of secrets about the city. Being the perfect host to show someone around the city.
Addie is the best friend who has been on social media, using the reality of it to tell her stories. She has always wanted her best friend to have more from her life. Always there for a call from the other side of the world.
Susanna Skaggs is a lot of fun in the leading role. Getting to let loose in a role that will show the confusion of the next step in life. Saul Nanni and Tobia De Angelis show the two different types of men that are around in Italy.
Story
The story follows a college student that spends the summer alone in Italy. Following in her mother’s footsteps, where she first found love in her life. Here, Lina will learn the importance of explore a new culture and enjoying life. Giving her a chance to learn about her future and her mother’s past.
In what is a beautiful story about finding yourself. We get to see how much life can take you in a way you never imagined. You need to go out there to experience the world. Create the stories of your own life to define who you are in life.
While certain parts of the story will leave us wondering why certain people act the way they do. The journey Lina goes on, is one that many people go on. Getting to learn life’s lessons has never felt better despite how hard this journey is.
Themes
Love & Gelato is a romantic comedy that sees a young woman learning about life. Heading off on her own journey to understand life, the same way her mother did. Enjoying a beautiful city, with Rome being the backdrop of this movie. We do also get to see the beauty of other parts of Italy along the way. The romance will feel like something we don’t see sparks flying. As we get to learn how meeting strangers is the driving force of the journey.
Final Thoughts – Love & Gelato is a fun, enjoyable journey to create stories.
Cast: Boran Kuzum, Pinar Deniz, Yigit Kirazci, Musa Uzunlar, Seda Turkmen, Gurhan Altundsar, Zeynep Tokus
Plot: After his ad agency goes bankrupt, an indebted Firat falls for a singer at a yoga retreat and joins her on a journey of self-realization.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Doom of Love starts as Firat (Kuzum) see his ad agency go bankrupt. Lost with where to go next in life, his two taking him on a yoga retreat. Firat meets one of the singers Lidia (Deniz) at the yoga retreat, where sparks start to fly.
Returning to his life, he is looking to rebuild his life, in a new career. This sees him running in Lidia once again, as he looks to continue his journey of self-realization.
Thoughts on Doom of Love
Characters & Performances
Firat is a man that has spent his life building up his reputation. His business falls apart he gets taken to a yoga retreat. Meeting a beautiful woman, with a different view on life, he starts seeing life a different way. Becoming free to take a step back, enjoy life and relax.
Lidia is the singer in a double act travelling the country. She invites Firat to join the pair on the journey. Being someone who stepped away from the busy lifestyle in the past. She is seeing the family consequences who don’t support her choice.
When it comes to the supporting cast, we have another travel companion. A man that has seen bad things happen to him that Firat could learn from. We also have the friends that have tried to support him after his life went wrong.
The performances are filled with charm, as Boran Kuzum and Pinar Deniz show the type of characters searching for more in life.
Story
The story follows a man who sees him life turned upside after his business goes bust. Feeling lost, he finds someone who will help him see life in a different way. A way he never imagined before. As he joins the adventures she goes on each day.
The story will put an importance on finding yourself in life, not being held down by anything around you. It shows us that you can have a great life being free on constraints that hold you back. Most importantly it tells us that time is precious, and you should make the most of it.
Themes
Doom of Love is a romance movie that sees a man that finds love in a place he never imagined. Not just romantic love, but a new love for life. The journey takes us through some of the most beautiful landscape Turkey offers. Proving that if you take a step back in life, you can enjoy life for that much more.
Final Thoughts – Doom of Love is a nice, sweet romance about finding yourself.
