isla s
This is a reasonably sinister film. The plot became a bit predictable maybe half way through but I still found it a good watch all the same. The performances are quite good. Its very much a psychological drama/thriller, rather than a horror (or other genre). I liked the sinister sounding music used in the background of some scenes. Its also a bit atmospheric at times as well. Overall this is a mostly decent watch - not a bad film, not a great one either. I suppose its worth a watch if it sounds really interesting but don't expect it to be entirely original. Its better than it could have been mainly thanks to the special effects, music and performances. Its a little cheesy once or twice but other than that and the predictability issue, there's little to complain about.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
Left me with a cloud of emotions you rarely feel... unless having watched a powerful movie
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
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Audience Member
I was hoping for a bit more psychotic behavior from one or more of the characters.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
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Audience Member
Real, demanding and truthful. Painful most of all.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
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Audience Member
The Truth About Emanuel 2014. This is a good film and had the soundtrack been different it could have been a horror movie. This is an easy watch that is also easy on the eyes with three women in varying degrees of crazy. I think movie pays off in the end so viewers aren't left with a big WTF like so many other films of this kind.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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jesse o
I don't know why, but this felt like a Lifetime made-for-TV movie to me. I went to this film's Wikipedia page expecting for it to have actually been commissioned as a TV movie. And I don't mean that in a derisive manner, the last Lifetime-esque TV movie I saw, which was actually a Lifetime TV movie, Big Driver, wasn't a half-bad movie. And this is the same way, this ends up being average at best. I don't know, while there's certain parts of the film that I liked, like Emanuel and Linda complimenting each other, Linda being the mother that Emanuel never got to know and Emanuel sort of acting as Linda's daughter after her own baby died in an accident. But there's also a part of me that feels that the movie is a little shallow and it stretches scenes longer than they technically should've gone. I get the whole Linda using a baby doll as a coping mechanism, but how much mileage can you really get out of that? Like they literally went over an hour with this and you just wanted them to get the point by, like, the 45 minute mark. Sadly, however, there's still 30 more minutes until they actually do something about it. And I sort of get why did what they did. Emanuel kept coming over to take care of Linda's 'baby' because Em loved spending time with her. If she bursts her bubble and tells Linda that it's actually a doll, then Em wouldn't be needed around. I get that. But it just takes way too long to get to the point. And when it does, it's not really satisfying. They're only confirming what you've known all along, pretty much. The character of Linda has some intrigue until you find out that she's pretending that the doll is her real daughter and that's about it. After that, you pretty much fill in the blanks on you're own and, really, 99.9% of you will hit the nail right on the head with your guesses. So there's nothing wrong with predicting how everything's gonna play out and being right, but the problem comes in the fact that the movie just really isn't that enjoyable to watch. Like I said, it's average at best, but I just didn't enjoy watching this very much. The character of Emanuel, to me, just isn't that well-written and she comes across more as unlikable as opposed to being just another troubled teen. Those two are really close to each other and it's really easy to think you're writing a troubled character when you really are writing an unlikable one. They're definitely gonna share a lot of the same traits, but, somehow, I just didn't like the character. And this is the character itself, because I thought Kaya Scodelario did a really good job in this movie. Jessica Biel, as well, did a fantastic job here, but I didn't find the movie to be that emotionally satisfying. This, essentially, builds to the moment where both Linda and Emanuel learn to let go and attempt to move on. It's supposed to be this touching, emotional moment, but it just didn't do anything for me. I have no idea why. Maybe it's cause the characters themselves don't feel fully formed, or because they waited so long to get to this point, but I felt nothing. Shame too because, while a bit hokey, there's something that you could've done with these two grieving characters and how they help each other live their lives and move on. But it just didn't reach a great level. Hell, it didn't even reach a good one. Disappointing, since the acting from Kaya and Jessica is so strong. Maybe the events surrounding them are a little dramatic, but the acting is still really strong. The writing is a little bit underwhelming, but not terrible, it's just shallow and dramatically hollow. There's a certain disconnect, since the review makes this movie seem worse than it is. It really is an average movie, but there's average movies that I've enjoyed. This isn't one of them, so, therefore, I can't exactly recommend this. Strong acting, nothing else.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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