Bria Lou Reviews

 Hey Guys x I feel like it's pretty universal that 2020 is a year nearly everyone wants to see the back of, for many understandable reasons. 2020 has been a weird one for me - while it definitely hasn't been easy, I also haven't been as worse off as other people, and for that I'm grateful. But as usual at the end of the year, here are my 2020 stats: Movies Watched: 381 TV Shows Started: 21 TV Shows Finished: 8 Books Read: 28 Blog Posts Written: 100 Creatively, this year has taken a toll on me, so some of these numbers aren't as high as they usually are. But I've also given myself the space to do nothing when I don't have to do anything - rather than forcing myself to watch a movie or start a TV show, and taking this pressure off of myself has been really helpful. I'm also really happy that I managed to read 28 books this year, which is double the amount of last year. I have read some great books this year, and I can't wait to start making my way...

 Hey Guys x If you read yesterday's post, you knew that this was coming. I love doing these posts, mainly because I get a snapshot of everything I've been watching, reading and doing over the past year. I have quite a few favourites this year, so let's get into it! Favourite Movie (1): Rocketman I have spoken about this film so much on the blog that I don't think I have anything left to say! But it's the film I've watched the most in 2020, and it's a film that I still love. I won't go on, but this list wouldn't have been right without it. (2): The Trial of the Chicago 7   Again, I've spoken about this a lot since I saw it, so I won't say too much. But this is a Netflix film that I saw back in October and loved. If you want to know my full thoughts, you can read my review HERE . (3): Parasite It feels like the Oscars happened a million years ago! But of the Oscar nominated films I saw this year (I saw most of them last year), this was the best...

 Hey Guys x I was going to combine my 3 Month Favourites and my 2020 favourites, but at the last minute decided to do two separate posts. So here's a slightly shorter 3 Month Favourites, and tomorrow I'll be uploading my 2020 favourites!   Favourite Movie (1): Host I got a subscription to 'Shudder' for my birthday a few weeks ago. Shudder is a subscription service that specialises in horror movies and shows, and it is much more fitting to my taste in movies than most other services out there. But this is a Shudder original movie, and I was recommended it by two different people, so I decided to give it a try and was so pleasantly surprised. It's not even an hour long, but it packs so much into that 56 minutes. It goes down the line of 'Unfriended' (taking place over a computer) and is set during the Pandemic, which just makes it feel so much more real. It's one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time, so definitely watch it (preferably on ...

 Hey Guys x Happy Christmas Eve! I deliberately saved this movie until Christmas Eve. I had no idea what it was about, but strangely it was the one that I was the most excited to see. Who doesn't want a Christmas musical? Regina (Christine Baranski) plans to sell a small town despite the anger of the town's inhabitants. But can a Christmas Angel (Dolly Parton) show her the true meaning of Christmas, and save the town, before it's too late? First of all, how camp is too camp? Is there such thing as too camp? Because I definitely feel like this is flirting with the line of being too camp. The basic premise itself isn't anything extremely new. What makes this story so fresh is the original music, written by Dolly Parton. The music elevates the film. Even if you don't like the film, there will be a song that speaks to you. However, I found that some of the songs went on for a bit too long. There were times where I was listening to one of the songs, and by the time the s...

 Hey Guys x Happy Blogmas day 23! This is a Hallmark movie that I found myself interested in. When looking at the descriptions of a list of different Hallmark movies, this is the one that stuck out. One of the things that interested me the most was that it was a true story. When Heather (Aimee Teegarden) is told that she needs a liver, Chris (Brett Dalton), a stranger, immediately offers his. And what comes out of this is a connection that will change both of their lives forever. I think this is the first movie of Blogmas that's a true story, and I could immediately tell this when I started watching. The film doesn't have magic or unnecessary drama or anything particularly unrealistic - it is a true story about two people who managed to forge an amazing connection from this extraordinary gift. I found that this story would have been interesting even without the backdrop of Christmas, but the fact that it did take place at Christmas made it even more interesting. It added a fest...

 Hey Guys x This was one of the last movies that I decided to include in Blogmas, and the thing that struck me the most was the original premise. When Hallmark fatigue was setting in, it was nice to find something a bit different. When DJ, Rush (Romany Malco) is fired, he and his four spoiled children have to move in with his aunt. But with no money, will Rush be able to show his children the true meaning of Christmas? So, just because a film has an original premise, doesn't mean that it'll automatically be great. The film takes a really long time to get started. We know where it's going from the description, but it takes ages to actually get there. I liked the fact that, as well as being unique, the film seems quite realistic, and it is also modern, which almost feels rare for a Christmas film.  My main problem with this film is that I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be about. The tone was all over the place. One minute there was a lot of forced levity, the next ...

Hey Guys x So far this year, my Blogmas has been lacking in two areas - alternate universes, and Lacey Chabert. Enter - Family for Christmas!  Hanna Dunbar (Lacey Chabert) is a driven career woman. However, after making a wish to Santa at a work Christmas party, she wakes up to find herself married to her college boyfriend, Ben (Tyron Leitso). I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't my favourite of Blogmas, but it definitely wasn't one of the worst. The story is quite predictable, but films with this premise are always interesting because they could go in so many different ways. The film itself is really easy to follow. It's nice to watch when you want to relax, or when you're wrapping presents, or anything else that doesn't need your full attention. It's hard to miss anything because it's laid out in a generic formula. The main problem I had with the plot was that it took a long time to get started, and then it stayed in the same place for a really long time. As ni...

 Hey Guys x I watched this film, and gave it a mini-review, about two years ago. This year, as Christmas movie fatigue was setting in, I was searching for something familiar, that I already knew I liked, and out came this film. Because I only gave it a mini-review last time, I decided to include it in Blogmas. When Julie (Emily Hampshire) sets herself up on a dating website, looking for a platonic Christmas date, she meets Rob (Joey Lawrence), who is looking for the same thing. So the two decide to be each other's dates for the entire Christmas period, telling their families that they're a couple. But will they catch real feelings along the way? I'm so happy that I still love this movie as much as I loved it when I first saw it. And that love has grown now that I know Emily Hampshire from Schitt's Creek. Stories with this plot are always unrealistic, but with this one, the reasoning behind them needing fake dates kind of makes sense. You might not do it yourself, but yo...

 Hey Guys x This film only came out on Amazon Prime Video this month, right when I was looking for some Blogmas additions. So of course I had to review it. Jules (Olivia-Mai Barrett) tries to find her widowed father (Jeremy Piven) a date for Christmas. This film was average. It definitely isn't a bad movie, but it's also nothing to write home about. The premise of the film was interesting, and if done well, could have been really poignant. For example, there are the beginnings of a really interesting portrayal of grief that could have been explored more.  The lack of dialogue at the beginning of the film is really effective in terms of allowing the audience to understand the relationship between these two characters. Speaking of characters, all of the characters are really likeable, and it's nice to watch them. It's also really nice to see the intricacies of these relationships. Even though the relationship between Jules and her father is strained, you can always see th...

Hey Guys x I saw this a few years ago, but never reviewed it - I actually couldn't remember much about it. But I saw that it was on Netflix, and thought that Blogmas was the perfect reason to watch it again. The Coopers are having their annual Christmas celebration. But with unexpected guests, hidden secrets and a hospital visit, will anything go as planned for this eccentric family? I don't really know what to make of this film. It has an amazing ensemble cast that includes Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Amanda Seyfried, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Anthony Mackie, Olivia Wilde and Jake Lacy. It seems like a film with this cast would be amazing no matter what it was about, and I wish that they had utilised all of them more. Because without this story, these characters are great. They're all so distinct and three-dimensional, and it was fun at the beginning of the film to work out how they were related, and what their relationships were. But for me, the film fell apart ...

Hey Guys x This is the third instalment of the 'For Christmas' series. There are two more movies after this, but for now I'm stopping with this one. Maybe I'll get to the other two next Blogmas? A year has passed since Marci (Malinda Williams) and Blair (Karon Joseph) got married, and now they're having a baby. But everyone in the Chandler family is having problems this Christmas. This was the worst of the three films for me, and one of the contributing factors for me not watching the other two movies yet. This film has forgotten why we watched the first two movies, and I wasn't really sure what, or whose, story it was trying to tell.    For me, these movies are all about Marci and Blair. But this film focused way too much on the lives of the other family members. We like them because they're interesting characters, but we don't want to watch a whole film about them. And because there are so many members of the Chandler family, to get everyone in, the fi...

Hey Guys x This film is a sequel to the film that I reviewed yesterday, 'Marry Me for Christmas'. It follows the same characters exactly a year on from the last film - on a side note, if you don't want the first film to be spoiled, don't read this review. After getting engaged last Christmas, Marci (Malinda Williams) and Blair (Karon Joseph) are in the midst of planning their wedding. But with business, moving and work deadlines, they decide to bring their wedding forward - to Christmas! I actually think that this movie was better than the first one, even though it was a lot more predictable. First of all, where I found no chemistry in the first film, I found it in the second. The chemistry between Marci and Blair was so present, even through video-chat. I really like when Christmas movies show what happens after our main couple fall in love, so it was nice to see this here.  I found that the entire Chandler family are a lot more endearing this time around. I didn't...

 Hey Guys x I randomly found this movie on Amazon Prime Video, watched it, and then found out that there are four sequels! I'm not going to subject you to reviews of all 5 movies, but I did watch the next two (to make it a trilogy a la The Christmas Prince). So, spoiler alert, you'll be seeing marriage and babies over the next two days. Marci (Malinda Williams) goes home for Christmas with her employee, Adam (Brad James) in tow. To appease her family, the pair pretend to be engaged. I didn't love this film, but I did find it interesting. For a start, I've seen this premise in a few different ways and it never feels realistic to me. There are other ways to keep working without bringing your employee to your family home for Christmas. There are other ways to appease your family than faking a relationship. And also, so many of these movies involve bringing someone unexpected home for Christmas. How does the family have the space to accommodate them? How comfortable are the...

 Hey Guys x I found this film on Netflix and kept it on the backburner in case I ever got tired of the Hallmark tropes. I'm not quite tired yet, but I definitely need an injection of something different! Cassie Claus (Jennifer Stone) is Santa's (Barry Bostwick) only daughter. He wants her to take over the family business, starting with an arranged marriage. But before that happens, Cassie wants to fulfil one wish of her own - going to college. I went into this movie with really  low expectations, and because of that, I actually ended up really liking it. From the premise, it's clear that this is a unique idea. In the grand scheme of Christmas movies, it's not like we've never seen a premise like this (it definitely reminded me of Elf), but it is unique compared to the movies that I've been reviewing (and the ones dominating Netflix and Amazon Prime). It's hard to work out what age-group this is made for. Movies set in university are usually geared towards te...

Hey Guys x Happy Blogmas Day 13! This is a Hallmark film that was on Amazon Prime. The premise seemed interesting, and I'm a fan of the main actress, Maggie Lawson, so I was excited to watch it. Charlotte (Maggie Lawson) is a struggling actress looking for her big break, when she finds it in the form of a modern retelling of 'A Christmas Carol'. The catch? She already knows the director. Total honesty - I thought this film was going to be a musical. or at least feature music in some way. At the very least, I thought we would get to explore their play in more detail. So it's safe to say I was very disappointed with the end result. The film starts off by introducing too many characters too quickly. It's really hard to work out who's important and who isn't because we don't get the chance to know who anyone is. The film should only really focus on Charlotte, at least until the main characters meet. From the description of the film, we know exactly what will...

 Hey Guys x Blogmas Day 12 is my birthday, so I always try to review something significant. However, for this year, I had nothing. So I ended up going on Amazon Prime and picking a film that sounded interesting, that I'd never heard of before. And funnily enough, it's ended up being one of my favourites so far! So I'm very happy with my Birthday Blogmas choice. Dax (Drew Lachey) is a rock star in need of some inspiration, and a serious need to repair his public image. So, on his manager's request, he grants a fan's wish of going to stay in a town that he's never been to, with a family he doesn't know. But will Dax find more than he bargained for in Cedar Grove? As I made clear from the intro, I loved this film. Of course, it's a Christmas film, not a masterpiece, but it gave so much more than I expected. For a start, the idea was original, and had a lot of potential to go in a few different, equally interesting ways. I found that it didn't take me a ...

 Hey Guys x Happy Blogmas day 11! Like a few of the other films that I'm reviewing, I wasn't sure if this was a Christmas film before I started watching it (and to be honest, I'm still unsure). But while watching, I found that the small link to Christmas has led people to treat it as a Christmas film, so I can definitely review it in Blogmas. Maggie (Natalie Hall) and Jack (Evan Williams) are best friends who host a radio show. However, when their respective partners break up with them right before an important event, the pair decide to pretend, to their listeners and their families, that they are a couple, in a bid to get their show syndicated. But will they catch real feelings along the way? I still don't really know what to make of this film. The premise isn't generic in terms of Christmas movies, but it is something that's been done a lot. However, I found that the basic premise made it sound a lot more cliché than it is. Maggie and Jack are good characters,...

 Hey Guys x This is a movie that premiered on the Sky Premiere channels, but it's a Hallmark movie that actually came out last year. The premise of this one isn't particularly unique, but it looked like a light, easy to watch movie, so I thought I'd give it a try. When Lauren (Candace Cameron Bure) leaves her life behind for a new job, she ends up being delayed in Grandon Falls - a town that's closer to home than she thinks. I actually enjoyed this a bit more than I thought I would. It is generic, but I really liked living in this world for 80 minutes. Movies about people leaving town never really get started until the person leaves. Thankfully, this one doesn't waste any time. Speaking of which, seeing so many versions of stories like this makes me wonder how people find it so easy to just up and leave their lives behind with no warning.  The film is filled with 'coincidences' that have no explanation, making everything feel unrealistic. I found that it too...

 Hey Guys x Happy Blogmas Day 9! This is a Hallmark movie that I found on Netflix. The premise looked cute, so I thought that it would be a good one to include in Blogmas. An architect (Jonathan Bennett), who is hosting Christmas for his family for the first time, hires the help of a holiday decorator (Alexa PenaVega) who is trying to get her business off the ground. As expected, this probably isn't the best Christmas movie you'll see, but it also won't be the worst. The first thing I noticed while watching the film was that, all of the characters' reactions to everything seem so huge and over-the-top. Everything seemed like a bigger deal than it was because of their expressions and the way they spoke. Because of this, it takes a while for these characters to settle down and start to feel like real people. At points, it feels and sounds like we're watching the actors reading from their scripts. As much as I love these generic rom-com Christmas movies, I am slowly bu...

 Hey Guys x Happy Blogmas day 8! Can you believe we're already over a week into December? This isn't a film that was on my original list, but I ended up catching it halfway through on the UK's version of the Hallmark channel, and liked it. Then, by chance, it popped up as a recommendation on Amazon Prime Video, and I knew I had to review it. Elizabeth Bennett (Jessica Lowndes) is an event planner who is planning a Christmas festival for a small town. But when her chosen venue caves in, and a beautiful estate is about to be sold, she has to convince the owner to let her hold the festival.  This was a really cute movie, and it's definitely great viewing in the run-up to Christmas. All of the characters, main and supporting, were 3-dimensional characters with personalities that seemed at least somewhat realistic. Even though the story is generic, I found it interesting. For some reason, I really wanted to see how the festival would come together. One of the gripes that I h...

 Hey Guys x It's Blogmas day 7!  I reviewed the first 'Princess Switch' movie last year during Blogmas, so of course I had to review this one too! Duchess Margaret Delacourt (Vanessa Hudgens) is preparing for her Christmas Day Coronation. When Princess Stacey De Novo (Vanessa Hudgens) comes to visit, with a special guest in tow, can Margaret repair her broken relationship before her Coronation? Of course I liked this movie. If you liked the first one, there's no real reason not to like this one. It's nice that the film picks up in a place that feels familiar. You know these characters, and can jump right back into the story. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously. It knows exactly what it is, and exactly what its viewers want to see. So many Christmas movies should follow this rule. The characters that we already know are warm and familiar. But I also have to give a shoutout to Ricky Norwood, who plays Reggie. I've been a fan of his since he was in East...