Movies
The final part in the Fifty Shades trilogy. It's better than part 2 and on par with the first film. Great cinema this is not, but as thriller filler, it does a pretty solid job. Bonus points for shaving about 15 minutes off of the runtime, so it doesn't drag as much compared to the first two films. Our lovely couple is married now, and they're going through some classic marital issues. Less typical is the fact that someone from their past is out to hurt them. Grey becomes very protective of Ana, but she doesn't want to be caged in. The more Grey tries to clip her wings, the more resistant Ana becomes. The performances are a bit flakey, the plot is generic and a tad ridiculous and I really didn't care too much about the outcome, but the production is decent and the pacing is okay. Not a film I'll be remembering for long, and I'm glad I'm done with the trilogy now, but I've seen much worse.Read all
The sequel. While I could understand the first film making a good buck (the book was immensely popular after all), I was way more surprised this sequel actually landed on its legs. The first film was pretty bland, yet people still turned up for this equally uninteresting follow-up. Remarkable indeed. Anna and Christian are separated, but not for long. Christian can't live without her and he vows to break with his old life. It will take time and some adjusting, but Anna is willing to give him a second chance. Things get tricky when demons of Christian's past return and complicate his relationship with Anna. This is like watching a Takashi Ishii film for American housewives. It tries to be a kinky romance, but it's all very cheesy and dull, the leads in particular. Anna and Christian are truly dumb characters, and their relationship is laughable. That's now something a romantic film can survive. Not good.Read all