All I See Is You…If You Like…

If you like…artsy sound and visuals, mystery, love stories run amok, getting a bird’s eye view of Bangkok, then you will…no, Cee cannot bring herself to say “you will like All I See Is You.” Kay has not seen it yet, and given her busy schedule, Cee advises that she doesn’t bother. Having said that, though, Blake Lively and Jason Clarke are really good in their roles.

Gina-Blake is blind from a car crash that we experience in flashbacks. Suddenly she’s able to get a cornea transplant and she can see again. Her new sight changes her into a completely different person. From plain and simple and in love with her husband, she becomes a wild, sexy teenager, chafing against James-Jason’s desire to tame her. She begins to lose her sight again and therein lies the mystery. Except that it’s solved in five minutes and what follows is so cliché that it’s boring. And the end…oh my.

So…watch this movie if you want to see Bangkok, if you like artsy, unconventional film directing (by Marc Forster of World War Z and lots of other very good films), and if you like the two main actors. Otherwise, Cee is afraid she must agree with some of the remarks on Rotten Tomatoes. Susan Granger – “This tepid psychodrama suffers from a weak script with an absurd conclusion.” John Lui: “While this has interesting moments, Forster seems unable to follow the story into as deep or dark a place as it should go and the ambiguity in the storytelling is unwarranted and frustrating to witness.”

ALL SAINTS – IF YOU LIKE:

KAYCEE’S MOVIE JUNKIE CRITIQUES: ALL SAINTS – IF YOU LIKE…

If you like stories about real people who face a challenge and conquer it with faith, love and community, you will like ALL SAINTS. It’s a true story and many of the “actors” are the actual people involved in the task to save a church. Slated to be demolished and made into condos, the building and the land have become a safe haven for a few refugees and other people who have been forgotten. The new pastor (John Corbett) decides he doesn’t want to close this sanctuary, but he has to create a miracle to save it. Heart-warming, endearing, character-driven movie.

Details: The film trailer states: “ALL SAINTS is based on the inspiring true story of salesman-turned-pastor Michael Spurlock (John Corbett), the tiny church he was ordered to shut down, and a group of refugees from Southeast Asia. Together, they risked everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all.” It’s a slow-moving story in some ways, but could be a film for the whole family (though not very young children, due to its unhurried, quiet style). Pastor Michael Spurlock decides the way to save the church is to use the land. Plant essential crops, sell them, and pay the mortgage with the profit. The Pastor and the community that surrounds him experience a great deal trying to make this plan work and they are all tested in different ways. In the end, faith and love prevail.