Band Aid (2017)

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie is actually not as typical and usual as i thought it would be. my expectations when i decide to watch this movie is that it would be somehow corny with a predictable ending. and i must say i am wrong and right. let me explain okay, i will start off by saying everything i really appreciate about this movie. first, that this movie could go wrong at some point. it could be just like another typical comedy romance movie but it's not. i really like how this movie handle and focus on just the one subject that is a broken marriage. the band is just a way to fix the broken marriage and i'm happy that they didn't went off rails from the one big theme. when they brought up the record deal i could see how they could go that way and end this movie with them having the record deal and them finally figure their passion and it fixes everything and i hate if that happens, which to be honest happens in a lot movie. but i'm so thankful that they didn't and i actually love the ending. i also love how it doesn't shove things right in your face. it expect you to pick up the little things the characters said and behave for the audience to acknowledge something and it unravels pretty greatly in this movie. now, my main problem about this movie is how it's so held back. this movie want the audience to believe that it's a broken marriage, and they constantly have big fights but i don't get that, really. their fights are tame and very held back. the performances are generally great, but i think if they let loose and just have the fights in a better, more realistic way, it would be better. like, when i watched the fights i don't feel any tension except probably the last big fight, which doesn't impress me because it's supposed to be the big climax of the story and it's just okay. and it's affecting me throughout the entire thing because the fight is the main problems, right? but the fights are so underwhelming and it's very scripted, and look like it's scripted which doesn't make me really believe in the characters' pain which is such a shame because i think the two main characters are already great and somehow likeable.

This adorable little movie is a good, light watch on Netflix that stars some pretty great actors that make you laugh throughout the movie. Zoe Lister-Jones is actor, writer, director and producer of the film and also wrote some of the songs for the movie (how adorable right!?). The dynamic between Lister-Jones and co-star Adam Pally (who plays Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project, which is amazing) is funny, quirky and ultimately a good representation of a realistic relationship in current day. The movie starts with a simple "music will save our marriage" plot but as you discover more about the underlying issues the couple faces, the simple/unrealistic solution is avoided and a "more accurate" resolution of feelings becomes more pronounced. The drama/conflict in the movie, although realistic, is not all that dramatic (I mean this as it is not an over-the-top problem that you see in some rom-com's) so it does not make you HAVE to watch the movie. Corny and quirky at times, but has a cute, adorable nature that will have you enjoying the 91 minute story.

Anna (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) are a couple fighting about everything. They are struggling. She suggests turning their fights into songs. They start a garage band with their sex-addict neighbor Dave (Fred Armisen).Anna and Ben have some fun back and forth with Hitler jokes. I don't particularly like anybody else nor do I truly hate any of them. It's a lot of quirky hipster Hollywood and not necessarily that funny. It's especially true for Fred Armisen. He's trying too hard for my taste. I also don't like the songs. I struggle with that whole side of the movie.I like Zoe and Adam. The movie hints quite forcefully early on about a great lost. It's revealed later on but an earlier reveal would have been better. It's not that shocking and it hung over the movie for the first half. Once revealed, the relationship has some terrific emotional scenes. There is something in this pairing but the surrounding elements don't always work.

Greetings again from the darkness. "Where words fail, music speaks." Danish author Hans Christian Andersen wrote those words more than 150 years ago, and he surely never imagined a 21st century California couple would prove true the adage. Zoe Lister-Jones (a regular on TV's "Whitney") has been acting regularly since 2004, and this is her first "all in" film project where she is writer/director/producer/lead actress. Her talent as a writer is evident in a topic assumed close to her heart: thirty-something angst.Ms. Lister-Jones stars as Anna, a disenchanted Uber driver who is married to super slobby slacker Ben played by Adam Pally (Slow Learners, 2015). These two seem perfectly matched – or would be, if not for the constant bickering over anything and everything. Before you assume this is a remake of the ultra-depressing Revolutionary Road (2008), please note that the two leads are incredibly funny people and masters of witty one-liners. They make marital squabbles quite entertaining, once they decide to form a band with the sole purpose of singing their arguments.Admittedly, it's a shaky premise, but these two manage to pull it off with help from neighbor/drummer/sex addict "Weird Dave" (Fred Armisen). Along the way, they take shots at their friends' exuberance over babies, the Holocaust, a kid named ISIS, pizza, dirty dishes, a mousetrap, sex, drugs, and art. They even bring levity to a marriage counseling scene featuring Retta ("Parks and Recreation").Just as impressive as the humor is how the film balances the drama associated with lingering depression tied to the trauma of a miscarriage. This and the couple's inability to communicate their emotions are what drive their marital challenges. For a short time, the 'argument music' seems to improve their relationship, but it's obvious that the real issue must be dealt with. Enter Ben's mom (Susie Essman), whose only scene serves the purpose of explaining women to Ben and all the dumb guys in the audience.There are actually quite a few familiar faces (many with ties to "Life in Pieces") that appear in only one or two scenes: Chris D'Elia, Ravi Patel, the aforementioned Retta, Majandra Delfino, Jesse Williams, Colin Hanks, Brooklyn Decker, Erinn Hayes, Jamie Chung, Hannah Simone, and Angelique Cabral. These quick hit scenes serve as a dose of reality, as "moments" are what make up life … even if many interactions are "crazy" (D'Elia) or creepy (Williams).The film was well received at Sundance, and it immediately marks Zoe Lister-Jones as a filmmaker to watch. Her comedic presence is a rarity, and is complimented nicely by her musical talent, and her willingness to hit serious topics head-on. Here, she offers a woman's perspective on having kids, being questioned about having kids, and traditional women's roles within society and marriage. Her inspired observations (a spontaneous jam session at the kid's birthday party) are a welcome addition to today's cinema, while also offering a west coast contrast to east coast indie film.