Bria Lou Reviews

Hey Guys x I bought this book ages ago and forgot I had it until I saw the trailer for the Netflix movie (which I reviewed HERE ). After I watched the movie, I immediately started reading the book. Violet and Finch meet at their lowest, and literally highest, moment, and this meeting is a catalyst for these two people to change each other's lives. But while Violet discovers a life outside of her grief, they both learn that love isn't always the answer. I liked this book so much that it actually made me dislike the movie. Not that I think the movie was bad at all, but the book was so full that it made the movie seem empty. Like we were watching people say the words without actually feeling them. But the book completely captured everything that it needed to to tell this story. For a start, I loved the character of Finch. Of the two, I think he was the hardest character to create, and the hardest to get the reader to understand. But Niven did such a good job with this ch...

Hey Guys x I watched this as soon as it came out without really knowing it. It was the first thing I saw when I opened Netflix, and I happened to not be in the mood for anything in particular. The plot was interesting enough that I thought that, even if it was bad, it would be a fine way to kill an hour and a half. Katie (Camila Mendes) is a carer who is pulled into the middle of a dark secret when the man in her care suddenly dies. But are Katie and her husband Adam (Jessie T. Usher) as innocent as they make out? This film had so much potential. The potential that it had was actually frustrating, because it wasted everything that it set up by being so disappointing! At the beginning, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. It starts off really fast-paced and exciting. But once it settles into itself, it slows down to the point where it kind of loses everything that it sets up at the beginning. In addition to that, after the first five minutes, it does take a really long ti...

Hey Guys x I think my review will be marred with the fact that I know nothing about the previous Charlie's Angels works. I've never seen the films or the show or anything, so I went into this completely blind - maybe if I had something to compare it to, I would have liked it less than I did? Based on other reviews I've read, that's true. Two female secret agents (Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska) are tasked with exposing an international conspiracy to weaponize an extremely powerful device, with the help of an engineer who knows the device all too well (Naomi Scott). I really enjoyed this film. I didn't really know what to expect going into it, so I was pleasantly surprised. For a start, even though I didn't see the previous movies, it was nice that this film didn't completely erase them. What I find about movies with a plot similar to this is that the full purpose of the mission is always a bit hard to come to, and for this one I didn't rea...

Hey Guys x This is Karen Gillan's feature film directorial debut (she had previously directed two shorts), and I was really excited to see it. Not just because I'm a fan, but also because I thought the film had a really interesting, unique premise. It has been almost a year since Liusaidh's (Karen Gillan) best friend Alistair (Matthew Beard) killed himself, and she still isn't coping. But after a chance encounter with a man that she never expects to see again (Lee Pace), and multiple phone calls to someone that she'll never meet (Ralph Riach), can Liusaidh find a way to live while her best friend is dead? I don't think my description did the film justice, but it's a really hard one describe without basically just spelling out the entire plot. While watching the film, I went through stages of really liking it, and stages of not liking it that much. For a start, while it's not boring at all, it does move frustratingly slowly, particularly in th...

Hey Guys x This is probably the first book that I've ever bought solely based on someone else's review of it. I was not familiar with the author, I didn't really know that much about the story, but when a review popped up on my twitter timeline, based on what they said, I bought the book and ended up reading it in about four days. Steffi doesn't talk. Rhys can't hear. But this means that they can communicate perfectly. And suddenly, Steffi finds that her once-small world has completely opened up. But can Steffi really fit into Rhys's world if she doesn't even fit into her own? This book was a weird one for me. On the one hand, I loved it. I love love stories, and this was one with a difference. It spoke about a lot of issues that aren't talked about a lot, such a deafness, anxiety and selective mutism. But it did this in such a way that not only made you interested, but it made you as the reader want to learn more about all of these issues. O...

Hey Guys x This is a Netflix original movie that came out a little while ago. I first heard of it because I was trying to search for a film with a very similar name ('Love, Wedding, Marriage' - starring Mandy Moore and Kellan Lutz. Not great. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime) and this came up instead. So I made a mental note to check this one out too. It's Jack's (Sam Claflin) sister's (Eleanor Tomlinson) wedding, and he wants to make sure that the day goes off without a hitch. We see alternate versions of the day, complete with a late maid of honour, an annoying ex, a wedding crasher and the one that got away. But can any version of this day go perfectly? This was not a great film. I can completely get where the filmmakers were going with it, but I don't think it was executed in the best way. Having said that, it is completely clear from the start that the film doesn't take itself too seriously. The sense of humour that it shows is almost unden...

Hey Guys x When I went to see 'The Invisible Man', this film was advertised before it, and it looked so interesting that I immediately wanted to watch it. Twelve strangers are kidnapped and wake up with no knowledge of their surroundings, when suddenly they are forced to fight for their lives against a group of people hunting and killing humans for sport. However, one of the twelve is ready to fight back. And when she does, no one sees it coming. Based on the premise above, I thought that I was going to end up really liking this film, and I ended up not liking it at all. I really liked how it started. Both the plane scene, and the scene in the field were a really good way to begin this story. It was a good introduction, and it sets up where you think the rest of the story is going. Right off the bat, I loved the death scenes, and the fact that the deaths didn't discriminate. And by that I mean that, it doesn't matter if you know these actors or not - everyon...

Hey Guys x I'm a fan of Sarah Hyland, so I heard about this film a while ago, but didn't notice until recently that it was available on Amazon Prime Video, so of course I watched it as soon as I got the chance. Mara (Sarah Hyland) and Jake's (Tyler James Williams) new relationship is put to the test when they decide to attend seven weddings together over the course of a year. But will these weddings make or break their relationship? I enjoyed this movie, though didn't love it. For a start, the character of Mara isn't someone that you can easily warm to. If anything, because of how likeable Jake is, you end up putting up with her despite the fact that she isn't that great a person, or a protagonist. It felt like Mara was supposed to have some kind of epic character development by the time the film ended, but nothing significant about her actually changed. The film is quite cliche, particularly in the beginning. But for me, the only reason I noticed h...

Hey Guys x I'm a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds, so I've wanted to watch this film since it first came out. But  while it was on my radar, it was never at the forefront of my mind, so I didn't end up seeing it until recently - however, I'm so glad I finally did! Six people make the choice to give up their lives - faking their deaths and becoming ghosts, using their specialist skill sets to complete missions that make the world a better place. But when the group face their biggest mission, and risk losing members of their team in the process, they discover that six people who don't exist can be exactly what the world, and each other, needs. I loved this film. I didn't have high expectations for it, but it exceeded every one of them. While watching this movie, the first thing I wrote in my notes was that the first 20 minutes of the movie were everything I wanted the entire film to be. It was funny, fast-paced and exciting. You find out so much about these cha...

Hey Guys x I've already reviewed another of Foley's books, 'The Guest List', which you can read HERE . But based on how much I absolutely loved that book, I couldn't wait to read this one. A group of old friends get together to spend New Years in the remote Scottish Wilderness. But soon, the group discover that they no longer have anything in common. As tensions grow, friendships break down, and secrets are revealed, things feel like they couldn't get any worse. Until a body is discovered. I really wanted to love this book. Based on the description, it sounded exactly like 'The Guest List'. And while I didn't want to read a repeat of the same book, I was fine with it because I liked the concept. And while I did like the concept, I didn't really enjoy the book that much. I'm really going to try not to spoil it, but I feel like one or two of my criticisms might give a bit of a clue. But I'll try to be as vague as possible. For ...