Blake in Bloom: A Review of IT ENDS WITH US

***1/2 out of ****

It was completely by accident that I saw It Ends with Us. In a confusing back-and-forth with my fellow moviegoer, I booked tickets to the wrong movie. Since I had assumed they had chosen it (they actually wanted to see something with much worse reviews), I was intrigued as I’ve been waiting a long time for a movie that would let Blake Lively’s obvious talent shine. Perhaps booking the wrong tickets was the best decision I’ve made all year.

Based on Colleen Hoover’s New York Times best-seller, It End with Us follows Lily Bloom (Lively) as she returns to her hometown in Maine to deliver a eulogy for her father, a wife-beater for whom she can find no positive words at all. From the very beginning, you can see Justin Baldoni’s direction is leading to something explosive, but you rightly cannot tell what. Lily returns to Boston to open a florist’s shop. Even the obvious silliness of her name is handled in such a way to belie the often too-on-the-nose words of a popular fiction bestseller.

We learn her name through a rooftop discussion she has with the neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (played by the director). Bloom, a free spirit with a deeply hurt soul but a smile that was infectious even to me, has a rooftop spot where she likes to look out on the city. The issue is the apartment complex is not her own, but Ryle’s. Our first introduction to Ryle foreshadows much to come later, but their pleasant conversation sets up what you think is going to be a run-of-the-mill romantic dramedy, but It Ends with Us is far from that.

While they are almost certain they will never meet again, this plan is foiled when Lily hires Ryle’s sister Allysa (a rare dramatic part for Jenny Slate) and Ryle drops by to see where she has been working. Through a series of nights-out that eventually become double dates, Ryle and Lily do form a relationship much to the surprise of Allysa, who sees her brother as a perpetual womanizer. Intercut with all of this is Lily’s backstory. The perfectly cast young Lily is newcomer Isabela Ferrer. The likeness and behavior between the two actresses is one of the small marvels of the movie. Lily’s backstory is not only full of dealing with living in domestic violence, but also her first relationship—one with a young man named Atlas (Alex Neustaedter)—who is homeless and living in an abandoned house across from the Bloom family.

We are doled out the right measures of the past and present as we discover a creeping instability in her adult relationship with Ryle and the catastrophic way Atlas left her life. On one double date, Lily, Ryle, Alyssa, and her husband (Hasan Minhaj), try out the hottest place to eat in Boston—a new restaurant owned by none other than the grown-up Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) who has turned out well despite his upbringing. Bloom’s emotions flounder when they re-connect, and Ryle’s suspicious nature becomes more acute.

To give away much more would ruin the experience of the film to those who haven’t seen it, even though the novel has been out for eight years. Suffice it to say, the early moments of the film remain in the back of your mind as you try to make out whether Ryle is the real deal or not and the resolution of the following plot machinations are superbly rendered. For those who haven’t read the book (like me) it was a roller coaster that left me a bit weepy, with fullness of heart, and enraptured as I left the theater.

The film has received mixed reviews, but audiences love it, and I have to side with the audiences on this one. We sat in front of a young woman already seeing the film for the second time and recommending the book even higher. I have never been much of a fan of popular fiction, but such books often make better movies than highly regarded literary novels. For example, if The Godfather has been shot the way Mario Puzo’s potboiler was written, it would be not a masterpiece, but an embarrassment. It’s a crapshoot. Pop fiction writers often come up with better stories and more interesting characters (think Thomas Harris, Stephen King occasionally), but lit fiction writers are more concerned with style and their novels, like Snow Falling on Cedars, make turgid films, despite that author, David Guterson, being one of its few admirers.

Lively is magnificent in the part of Lily. This is a grown-up part for an actress who has been underutilized in most of her efforts. The other actors are equally at home in their roles, though Skelnar doesn’t rise to more than a Netflix series level of acting and seeing Jenny Slate doing something other than sketch comedy felt a bit off-kilter. It is not that she’s bad in the part, it’s just a change for me. One, perhaps, I’ll have to get used to.

Much has been made of the film’s publicity not giving appropriate “trigger warnings” for the grown-up children posing as adults we have now, but to do so would have been to betray how the story is told and what it is trying to say. Lively was bullied into making an online statement that she had no moral responsibility to make. Our modern bullies think they’re the good guys. Really, they are proof that adolescent thinking has now persisted in many people well into their 40s.

It Ends with Us

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom

Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid

Brandon Skelnar as Atlas Corrigan

Jenny Slate as Allysa

Hasan Minhaj as Marshall

Directed by Justin Baldoni

Screenplay by Christy Hall, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover

Produced by Alex Saks, Jarney Heath, Blake Lively, and Christy Hall

Photographed by Barry Peterson

Edited by Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan

Music by Rob Simonsen and Duncan Blickenstaff

Columbia Pictures

"Top" 10 Worst Remakes

A version of this list appears in my collection Everyone Else is Wrong (And You Know It): Criticism/Humor/Non-Fiction. Click the link to purchase the hardcover or paperback edition along with some of my other published work.

This list runs the gamut from unnecessary remakes of movies that weren't all that good to start with (Ocean's Eleven) to remakes of masterpieces that make a mockery of the original (The Jazz Singer) to the mundane and humdrum. We live in an age of continual reboots and remakes and to get into some of the newer flicks would be disingenuous of me as I no longer go to see remakes (or many movies at all). Still, it is interesting that my original list includes so much from the late-'90s and early-00's. Perhaps this was the time this madness began, but there were also original and innovative movies during that time period making the films on this list that much worse.

Please like this post and, in the comments, include the films from 2010 to the present that should be on this list. As with the last three posts, below I give explanations which do not appear in my above-mentioned book. Happy reading?

10. Ocean's Eleven–(2001)

I'm rather vocal about my hatred of filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, a prolific director with maybe a handful of watchable films (among them Magic Mike, Erin Brockovich, and the film version of Spalding Gray's monologue Gray's Anatomy), his films range from unwatchable (Full Frontal) to empty-headed Oscar-bait (Traffic). This one goes in the empty-headed category. While the cast is impressive, one wonders why one needed to dust off the dreadful 1960 Rat Pack heist film in the first place. While successful, with two follow-up films (also directed by Soderbergh) and an all-female reboot that serves as an example for why such endeavors never work, there is nothing to the movie except a suave George Clooney and a fair performance from Brad Pitt. I guess that's all most people want most of the time.

9. The Truth about Charlie–(2002)

While I have personally never been a fan of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn's Charade, it is beloved by many film buffs. Needless to say, Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton (as wonderful as they are) are no comparison to the Hollywood legends who led the original. Another tepid film by the once-talented Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), the real truth about Charlie is it's a dud.

8. The Jazz Singer–(1980)

While making a profit, this 1980 update of the first "talkie" The Jazz Singer is well known as one of the most misguided remakes ever attempted. Neil Diamond, as a songwriter, is the poet of loneliness. As a performer, he is an original with no parallel (it grieves me he is mostly unable to sing due to Parkinson's disease). As an actor–well, let the movie speak for itself. Overblown, with plenty of misused actors (including Sir Laurence Olivier), The Jazz Singer is mostly known for the song "America" which, admittedly, is not Diamond at his best.

7. Alfie–(2004)

1966's Alfie brough Michael Caine international fame. The 2004 remake (a curious choice even then) would be most unwelcome in today's world. Not just for its poor quality, but for its Casanova-lite lead character. Jude Law is always fun to watch–he is a great actor–but only with the right material. Thankfully, he has made more brilliant films than stinkers.

6. Last Holiday–(2006)

While the original 1950 British film was no great work of art, Last Holiday is perhaps the dumbest film on this list. While it has an impressive cast, you might just wish this upcoming Labor Day would be your last holiday if you were forced to sit through it. A grating mixture of slapstick, unfunny dialogue, and melodrama, it brings nothing to the table of interest except how far your eyes can roll to the back of your head.

5. You've Got Mail–(1998)

While Nora Ephron has been much praised after her death, her films are professional, but wearisome. Indiscriminate fans of rom-coms will hate me for including this on the list, but I've seen Sleepless in Seattle. I enjoyed Sleepless in Seattle. You've Got Mail, you're no Sleepless in Seattle. If it weren't crass enough, the fact that it's a remake of the wonderful, charming, tender James Stewart film The Shop around the Corner makes it all the more miserable.

4. The Lake House–(2006)

Written by playwright/screenwriter David Auburn (Proof), this is another in his incredibly bad filmography (including contributing the story for the 2019 remake of Charlie's Angels). A remake of the South Korean film Il Mare, it is utterably unwatchable. While Reeves is a actor of limited talent, Sandra Bullock is not and it is a shame to see her in this murky time-bending tale that's only effect on time is having you consistently check how much longer it could possibly be–perhaps the longest 99 minutes you'll ever sit through.

3. Flubber–(1997)

Incredibly, 1997 saw Robin Williams give a performance in Good Will Hunting that would win him the Academy Award and starring in this kinetic and busy remake of Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor. No one will call the original a masterpiece–most of the early Disney live-action films are incredibly boring. The old-fashioned visual effects are replaced with CGI (and not in its heyday) and the comedy is almost non-existent. After this, Williams' career veered off into milquetoast dramadies not worthy of him–a shame for a personality so beloved and talented.

2. Vanilla Sky–(2001)

This remake of Alejandro Amenábar's Open Your Eyes gives the word "pretentious" new, deeper meaning. Directed by Cameron Crowe (best in his early years) and starring Tom Cruise and a wasted Penélope Cruz is remarkable only in its way of wasting the viewer's time with whisps of half-thought-out ideas and a fleeting attempt at something philosophical among the debris.

1. Planet of the Apes–(2001)

While we all have high expectations for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, in my opinion Tim Burton's great creative period ended with 1999's Sleepy Hollow. Everything since has been a lot of garbage beginning with his remake of 1968's Planet of the Apes based on the 1963 Pierre Boulle novel. A garbled embarrassment from a director with no flair for action/adventure, this cumbersome and laughable remake deserves the top spot although the original was campy. But, hey, at least it's watchable.

Top 10 Best Sequels

Two versions of this list appear in my collection Everyone Else is Wrong (And You Know It): Criticism/Humor/Non-Fiction. Click the link to purchase the hardcover or paperback edition along with some of my other published work.

Since we delved into my picks for the worst sequels of all time last week, it felt appropriate to revisit a list I've been working on since I began film criticism a long time ago. This edition differs from my two original lists (which were published together in my book as my taste had evolved from the first and second drafts). The following is an amalgamation of those original efforts. As far as my criteria, I concentrated on sequel films that were significantly better than the first efforts, with the possible exception of Aliens, which is a film equally on par with Ridley Scott's original Alien. You will notice typically highly-ranked sequels like The Godfather Part II are not below. This is based completely on my personal taste. I am in the minority of folks who believe The Godfather needed no sequel although there are things I admire about both parts 2 and 3. Also, I give explanations below which do not appear in my book to justify my choices.

Please like this post and, in the comments, include your top picks or films you think I criminally excluded. Happy reading!

10. Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011)

Brian DePalma's 1996 original mostly baffled audiences when it first appeared, Mission: Impossible 2 had some wonderful campy material, and the third film was admired mostly for its villain (played by the immortal Philip Seymour Hoffman). With this one, former animator Brad Bird crafted a mini-masterpiece of action/adventure and gave the series the sea legs it desperately needed to continue in (so far) three more films which continue to impress both discerning and non-discerning viewers.

9. Hot Shots!: Part Deux (1993)

Just because it's a silly comedy doesn't mean it doesn't warrant a place on this list. The 1991 original shows Jim Abrahams' (Airplane, The Naked Gun series) top-notch skill at parody, slapstick, and deadpan humor. But, the follow-up surpassed the original in the number of laughs. With homages to Apocalypse Now, the Rambo films, and strong performances by Charlie Sheen and Lloyd Bridges, this is the one I can't stop watching once I've started.

8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

The first two films in the Harry Potter series were professionally made, certainly: the first was maybe a little turgid and the second overlong but full of charm. But, with the choice of director one of the finest filmmakers working, Alfonso Cuarón, the series took a major step forward in quality of storytelling and visual magic. Cuarón is equally adept at films for adults and children (see his A Little Princess) and he was the first director in the series to illicit fully watchable performances from its young cast. On a more basic level, the time-travel plot is one of the best rendered in the series making this one the first one we could call a classic.

7. Aliens (1986)

Say what you want about James Cameron's excesses, the man knows how to make a good popcorn movie. Taking over from Ridley Scott, he created an imminently quotable film with perhaps the strongest performance of Sigourney Weaver's career. It is rare for a sequel to match the original even if the strengths are very different. Scott's is more cerebral, but Cameron's is more moving and definitely more fun to watch.

6. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

1977's The Rescuers was born out of the malaise of the animation unit of Walt Disney Studios as it was searching for a direction after Walt's demise. The original has its fans, but I found it boring as both a child and adult. With beautiful computer and cel animation, The Rescuers Down Under beats it in every single way. This is one of many Disney films that does not get the credit it deserves. As the first animated sequel the company produced (and coming nearly fifteen years after the original), it is unique and, in my opinion, sublime entertainment.

5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)

There is a longstanding argument that the even-numbered films of the original Star Trek film series are the best and you'll find no argument from me. I admire Star Trek: The Motion Picture for its attempt at a kind of epic ambition, but The Wrath of Kahn and its stellar performance by Ricardo Montalban, remains the best Trek film of them all. Most might argue it should go higher on the list, but this list is an embarassment of riches as you'll see with the final four choices.

4. Flirting (1991)

Australia has given us many great actors, but few pay attention to the quality of Aussie directors and screenwriters. The strongest of both was John Duigan who, because of this film, had a brief moment directing Hollywood fare. Flirting is a sequel to 1987's The Year My Voice Broke, a tender look at adolescence and, apparently, autobiographical as representative of Duigan's childhood of desolate landscapes and loneliness. The sequel, though, is the best kept secret in the cinema of the 1990s. With arresting performances by Thandie Newtwon and Noah Taylor (and early performances by Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts), this tale of two youngsters (one from an all boys' school and one from an all girls' school) discovering love and lust in 1965 is a true masterwork. It manages to be evocative of adolescence, wryly funny, and somehow a distillation of the Australian experience.

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Peter Jackson's original Tolkien trilogy serves as three of the best films of the 2000s, especially in their Extended Editions (which is the only way I watch them now). The Fellowship of the Ring may be a perfect movie, but The Two Towers never feels like its own film, but instead a piece of tape conjoining the first and last installments. While we can whine about the multiple endings in this one, they are well deserved after such an epic story. It keeps our attentions rapt from beginning to end.

2. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

George Lucas cannot be said to be a great (or even) good director or screenwriter. His strengths are in his creative and visual imagination. He did the right thing by handing off the directing reigns to his former teacher Irvin Kershner who crafts the most perfect film of the original nine-part saga. Both darker and more entertaining than the first, it also overshadowed everything that came later (strictly from a filmmaking point of view).

1. The Dark Night (2008)

While Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is a gripping element, The Dark Knight remains the finest superhero made regardless. How Christopher Nolan does what he does, I have not yet been able to pin down. His films are intelligent, moving, packed with action (or visual daring), and exceptionally well written. While the other two films in this series have strengths and weaknesses, I've yet to find a weakness in this one. While comic book franchise films were already becoming predominant in the industry at that time, this is the one that made people sit up and realize they can be great art as well (in the right hands). Everything else, including everything film from the MCU, would be lucky to lick the boot of this Batman adventure.