South of the Border, West of the Sun was not at all one of my favorites. After reading so many glowing reviews, I must confess I was genuinely disappointed. That said, I didn’t stop reading. Not even once. And that, in itself, says a lot about Haruki Murakami as a writer. I didn’t enjoy the book until very close to the end, but Murakami’s prose kept pulling me forward. He has that rare ability to make you continue reading even when you feel, deep down, that the story might be going nowhere. Beautiful Writing, Distant Characters Murakami writes beautifully—there’s no denying that. His sentences flow effortlessly, scenes are carefully composed, and everything feels precise and intentional. But I felt no empathy for Hajime, the main character. I couldn’t identify with him, nor did I particularly care about what happened to him. And it’s hard to love a story when you don’t care about the people living inside it. This emotional distance reminded me, at times, of ...
It Ends With Us is, unfortunately, not a good movie. The execution is weak, the pacing uneven, and the emotional payoff often missing. While the story aims high, the film never fully reaches the depth it needs. What could have been a gripping, emotionally complex drama ends up feeling shallow and, at times, unintentionally artificial. Flat Characters and Weak Relationships One of the film’s biggest problems lies in its characters. They are not particularly interesting, charismatic, or well-developed. Ryle (Justin Baldoni) is a major flaw. As a character, he is emotionally flat and offers very little to explain why Lily (Blake Lively) would be so drawn to him. There is no real chemistry or depth to justify such intense involvement. Blake Lively delivers a committed performance and does what she can with the material she’s given. She brings sincerity and vulnerability to Lily, but even her performance isn’t enough to carry the film. The emotional reactions...