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Odd Thomas (2013)
Don't pay attention to the average rating
I haven't read the book, but I did read a different novel by Dean Koontz recently which is what got it in my head to watch this movie. I'm regretting that I didn't look any deeper than the name and the rating. This is not a nearly 7 star movie. It's a B movie with a couple of good actors in it.
I'll start with the good. Anton Yelchin. Without him this movie would be utterly useless. He plays Odd with the perfect mix of humor, strength and self deprecation. Willem Dafoe brings some credibility to his role so we at least have 2 actors who can act, but doesn't do much more than that. The special effects are cool in some places.
The bad: everything else. From poor acting performances to showing skin for no reason (do we really need a slow motion running scene?) to unconvincing dialog. Maybe if I was a teenager or liked B movies. But no, neither of those is the case. Skip this one.
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
Meryl Streep? Say no more.
Meryl Streep is great in this movie. I'm always amazed at how she can become ANY character and has such top notch performances in every movie that I've ever seen her in. Even if the movie sucks, she is great. Luckily that isn't the case here. This movie does not suck. Indeed, it's quite a good movie.
As for the other actors, Hugh Grant is surprisingly likable and fits well into his role, while Simon Helberg (who I find to be one of the funniest actors on The Big Bang Theory) has a passable one-note performance.
The plot doesn't quite go the way you expect, in a good way. I was expecting the main "gag" to get increasing creditworthy and unfunny as the movie went on, but no, of course that would never happen with Meryl Streep. The movie hits some emotional notes along the way and all in all is a satisfying watch with a lot of heart.
En man som heter Ove (2015)
Good movie, but not as good as the book
I recently listened to the audiobook version of the novel by Fredrik Backman (narrated by George Newbern) so I went into the movie knowing what was going to happen. While this did give me a "comparing" perspective that I wouldn't typically have, I was still able to settle in and enjoy it.
The main actors are terrific and carry the movie. While he's not exactly what I pictured when listening to the book (Ove is characterized as appearing more physically imposing and less "soft"), Rolf Lassgård really nails the most important role in the film. Bahar Pars, while less is asked of her acting-wise, is equally wonderful in the role of Parvaneh. Other than Sonja the rest of the other actors are forgettable in their roles.
This movie held up to my expectations for most of the way through, but the ending fell short of the impact that I felt with the book and due to that I'd consider this more of a "good" movie than "great" one.
In directly comparing to the book there are a number of details outside of the main Ove/Sonja narrative that had to be left out, which of course is expected. What I do feel that the movie lacks is being able to explain the relationships that Ove has with the other people in his life (outside of Sonja and Parvaneh). Some of those are equally powerful in showing Ove's strong moral compass and at the same time explaining why he acts the way he does.