-Directed by: Tyler Ford
Starring:
-Jaelan Petrie, Sophie Shaw, Katie Foster-Barnes
Guess what you get when LDS filmmakers go overseas? Go on, guess. I dare you. The answer is a really engaging and sweet romantic comedy called ‘Anxiously Engaged: A Piccadilly Romance’. When I was sent a copy of this film, I’ll admit I was a little less than anxiously engaged about the whole thing. I’m a big fan of romantic comedies, so I held some admittedly high standards. What surprised me about this film though was that it did deliver in all the ways that counted.
In the style of Julia Roberts’ Notting Hill, this is a film where England’s gorgeous scenery is a character along with the actual people in the film. Those people who, by the way, have credentials from some of the finest acting schools in the world are clever, charming and altogether likable as they tell the story of a young man looking for love while arranging it for the older sister of the girl of his dreams. Whoever said love was simple?
Jaelan Petrie, who plays returned missionary Carson Wells, is a engaging leading man. You feel a certain connection to him that helps carry the story. His partner in the fun is Katie Foster-Barnes who reminded me a lot of Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan. She’s the girl you want to get the happy ending, and there was a believable chemistry between Foster-Barnes’ Lucy and Petrie’s Carson. It made for a couple that sparkled in a story that had a life of its own.
Overall, I’d recommend this movie highly as a fun way to enjoy a romantic comedy that brings you the smile and the heart tugging romance you want. Get anxiously engaged, and fall in love at the same time.
-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
indigojenn at earthlink dot net
Is there a movie you’d like me to review? Let me know!
-Directed by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring:
-Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne
To celebrate movies that are edited for content and the like, I thought I’d review one of my favorites in the action/sci-fi genre because it helped lay the groundwork for movies that are being put out right now. In terms of special effects, the Wachowski brothers have this habit of making technology to fit their ideas and the viewer benefits 110 percent. But let’s get to the actual movie, shall we?
The movie offers an alternate spin on reality. It asks you to wonder what if the world was merely an illusion and all you know had been programmed by machines. A scary thought to be sure. But now, imagine waking up in the illusion. That is what faces a hacker named Neo when he goes looking for an urban legend, and finds far more than he bargained for. He’s thrown out of the illusion and into a dark world where machines control everything and mankind is either living in fear or living in cocoons. Let’s just say that when Alice fell down the rabbit hole, at least she got tea.
The movie itself is unique for an action film because there is an actual plot to it. While it does rely on special effects, there is an actual movement of the characters through the story that you can keep up with. That being said though, this is not a tame movie. There are many gun battles and martial arts duels but they are choreographed so well that you know people are getting hurt without the gore of seeing it. Past that though, thanks to the editing, you’re able to enter the Matrix and enjoy it without wincing at the language.
Overall, this is a groundbreaking movie for sci-fi fans and it’s one everyone can enjoy thanks to the presence of strong male and female leads. Reeves isn’t ever going to earn any awards for his acting, but he leads a film like this admirably. Fishburne is darkly enigmatic as Morpheus and Moss as Trinity is one of my favorite female characters of the genre as a whole. It’s nice to see a girl helping save the day instead of needing saving. However, in the immortal words of Morpheus…no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.
Picture of Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss courtesy Warner Bros.
What is the Matrix-Official Website
-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
Is there a movie you’d like me to review? Let me know!
-Directed by: Tyler Ford
Hi I'm Jen! Welcome to Jen Magazine, a modest fashion "magazine" for young LDS women. We welcome anyone who is interested in modest fashion and positive media.