Mini Movie Reviews | Call Me By Your Name, Happy Death Day, Paddington

Hi everyone and welcome back (or to!) my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be doing some movie reviews. And maybe your seeing this and thinking "Another set of movie reviews?" But I have an answer! I LOVE movies. Just like reading, they transport me to another world and I love how movies can make me feel. Movies are a close second to the passion I have for young adult fiction, and I'm either reading or watching movies in my free time now.

So there will be more movie reviews this year! I hope you like them, because I want to share my passion and I love talking and reviewing them!!

Without further ado, here are some reviews of the three movies I saw this January weekend. (I saw three movies in the span of two days, and it was amazing)

Call Me By Your Name
Release Date: November 24, 2017 (limited) January 19, 2018 (wide)
Run Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Genre: Drama/Romance (Coming of age gay romance!)
Rating: R

I've been wanting to watch Call Me By Your Name since it's release, and once the movie got Oscar nominations, it started to play at some local theaters in my hometown! So when I went home for the weekend, I knew I had to watch it, and I'm so happy and thankful I did. 

If you don't know what Call Me By Your Name is about, it takes place during the summer of 1983 somewhere in Italy. Elio (a 17 year old) and his family go to Itlay for the summer and holidays, and during the summer his father brings a graduate student to help with his research. This year, the graduate student is Oliver, and a love story ensues between him and Elio.

When I came out of the theaters, I knew I liked the movie. It took me until the next morning though to realize that I loved the movie. Since then, I cannot stop thinking about it and I've been replaying the movie in my mind. Every person I have seen today, I have somehow brought this film up. I probably won't have the opportunity to see this in theaters again, but I cannot wait to to own this! The romance is done so well, and it builds so slowly to the point where even a brush of hands meant something. There was so much tension and I was completely invested in their relationship.

Call Me By Your Name is achingly beautiful. The location of the film, a small town in Italy, perfectly encapsulates this finite and perfect summer. Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer are marvelous as Elio and Oliver, and so was Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays Elios father. This movie and everyone working on it deserve the praise and awards they receive. Honestly, I have no words to encapsulate how much I love this movie.

I give Call Me By Your Name an A+.

Happy Death Day
Release Date: October 13, 2017
Run Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Genre: Mystery/Slasher
Rating: PG-13

I've heard pretty good things about Happy Death Day, and so I decided to get this on Redbox. The premise is essentially Groundhog Day meets a slasher film. The film is about how Tree, played by Jessica Rothe, gets killed on Monday. However, she keeps waking up on Monday, giving her the opportunity to find out who her killer is and save her life.

What I didn't expect from this movie was how funny it was. The audience sees Tree keep coming back to life, and Tree does something every day. Unlike Before I Fall, which I felt became a bit monotonous at times, Happy Death Day is not. Rothe's performance is great. She's able to bring life (pun intended) to her character, and her character growth seemed genuine.


Happy Death Day has all the tropes of a standard slasher film, but it feels fresh given the rewinds.  I loved coming home from college, sitting down, and just watching this movie with my mom and laughing. The movie doesn't touch me like Call Me By Your Name, but it's not meant to. The point of the movie is to entertain and immerse you, and the movie achieved both.

I give Happy Death Day a B.

Paddington
Release Date: January 16, 2015
Run Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Genre: Adventure
Rating: PG

Like Happy Death Day, I have also heard great things about Paddington, but from critics rather than my friends. I decided to give this a go, considering that the sequel (and this) has gotten stellar feedback. Though I didn't love Paddington, I can definitely see why this movie is so well-received. 

Paddington is about a talking bear, named Paddington, that goes to London after his home in Peru was destroyed. He tries to find a home, and is temporarily taken in by a family while they search for an explorer that once visited Paddington's aunt and uncle in Peru. Unbeknownst to Paddington or the family, there is another character determined to kill Paddington and stuff him. And no, this is in no way scary, but rather leads itself to humorous situations!

Whether it be because I just got home from the movies or that I was just tired, I began to fade in the second act of this film. I was completely entranced in the first and third act, but the movie didn't have my complete attention for a good 10 minutes. However, when the movie did have my attention, I loved it. I laughed at Paddington's antics, and I truly cared for his well being!


What is great about the movie is the animation. Paddington looks so realistic, and all the disaster and accidents that ensue were not only hilarious, but looked real. There are also little homages to action movies in the third act that my family picked up on, and for those of you who watch movies often, it's fun to try and get them all! Paddington is endearing, and a movie I'd happily see again. Hopefully I'll be watching the sequel this upcoming weekend, since it's playing in a theater close by. 

I give Paddington a B+. 

As you can tell, I enjoyed all these films, but for different reasons! Depending on the audience, I would recommend all three of these. Want to watch a marvelously shot, edited, acted, and scored film? Look no further than Call Me By Your Name. But if you want to watch a movie at a sleepover or not have to think too much? Then Happy Death Day it is. If you want a movie that you can watch with a younger crowd and not be miserable, then Paddington is perfect.

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!