Bria Lou Reviews

  We're a couple of days away from December, which means that it's almost Blogmas! As I have for the last 7(!) years, I'll be doing Blogmas this year. I'll be doing Blogmas the same way I have for the last two years - I'll be uploading a Christmas movie review every day from 1st December to Christmas Eve, so 24 Christmas movie reviews. I'm writing this a week in advance and I'm already behind! So I need to hit the ground running, but I'm looking forward to properly getting started. I'll be reviewing films from Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky, with a few Hallmark/Lifetime movies included too. As I've done for the last two years, I'll be ignoring my usual star rating for Blogmas. Instead movies will be rated on: Originality  (self explanatory) Christmas Spirit  (i.e. is Christmas integral to the plot, or could the events of the film have happened at any time of year?) Christmas Music   (again, self explanatory)     So that will be my Blogmas. I...

  I can't believe that this is my penultimate Round-Up post. 2021 has gone so quickly! But before we get to December, here are my November posts!  Book Review #95: Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh  - This was a book that I absolutely loved, and I can't wait to read more of Steve Cavanagh's novels. Candyman (2021) | Film Review - I had looked forward to this film, but it ended up being really disappointing. After We Fell | Film Review  - The third 'After' movie wasn't great, but surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Dear Evan Hansen | Film Review  - I was looking forward to this film so much and I absolutely loved it. I've seen it twice now and it was even better the second time. September Post Round-Up | 2021 - A round-up of my September posts. Where Rainbows End vs. Love, Rosie | Film and Book Review - I did a comparison of 'When Rainbows End' by Cecelia Ahern, and its film interpretation 'Love, Rosie'. Overall I enjoyed ...

  This is a Netflix original that came out recently. The premise seemed quite generic, but I was mainly interested in the cast. In fact, the cast was definitely the most important thing in the promotion of the film. An FBI Profiler (Dwayne Johnson) and an art thief (Ryan Reynolds) work together to catch an evasive criminal mastermind (Gal Gadot). I started off disliking this film, and while there were enjoyable moments in the middle and end, overall it just wasn't that great. For a start, the beginning feels like it was written to be really exciting, but I actually lost interest really quickly (about 8 minutes in). In fact, I was never made to care about the characters. The beginning of the film is also really sporadic. There are 4 location changes and time jumps in the first 22 minutes and it's almost exhausting to watch. There are moments when the comedy slips into parody. There was never a time when I truly believed these characters or their situation. The film rests on the ...

  I saw this film on Netflix's schedule and added it to my list, mainly because it stars Tessa Thompson, who I'm a huge fan of. But I never really thought about the premise of the film, or how profound it could be. In the 1920s, a black woman's (Tessa Thompson) life is changed when she reconnects with a childhood friend (Ruth Negga) who is passing as white.    I liked this film so much more than I thought I would. I often find that films like this with a profound message can sometimes miss the mark, but I liked the direction this took. I went into this expecting it to be black and white, and I like that it was. Having said that, one thing that it did was obscure the skin colours of the two main actresses. And while this may be the point, it didn't really work for me because neither of these women look like they can reasonably pass as white. If the film were in colour, this would probably easier to understand.   This is a really interesting story with really comp...

This is a Netflix movie that came out a few weeks ago. I didn't know much about it, but the premise was intriguing. Feeling stuck in all aspects of her life, Jenn (Kate Siegel) turns to a Hypnotherapist (Jason O'Mara) for help. But once Jenn lets someone into her mind, she discovers just how much danger she's in. I enjoyed this film more than most of the reviews I've seen. It's not an amazing movie, but it definitely kept me entertained. I immediately loved the character of Jenn. Even when the audience knows nothing about her, she is likeable and we warm to her really quickly. I actually found all of the characters really interesting. I particularly loved Detective Wade Rollins (Dulé Hill) and Gina (Lucie Guest), because they didn't feel like the typical detective and best friend characters. Of course, some of their moments fell into cliches, but overall there was something more real about them. The film itself is a really intriguing concept, particularly becaus...

  I've just written my September Round-Up, and I'm going straight into October! Wonder Woman 1984 | Film Review  - The month got off to a disappointing start. I was really excited for this movie after loving the first one, but unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Film Review  - I had been really excited to see this film, and as much as I enjoyed watching it, I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. Book Review #92: The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne  - I had mixed feelings about this book. Ultimately I didn't love it, but I recognise that it's an important story. Intrusion | Film Review   - This is a Netflix movie that had potential, but ended up falling flat and being really disappointing. A Quiet Place Part II | Film Review  - I loved the first A Quiet Place movie, so this one would have to do a lot to match that. And while it was entertaining, it definitely wasn't as good as the first one. Book ...

  I first heard about this movie maybe a year ago. I follow Claire Holt (one of the actresses) on Instagram and she spoke about it at the time, so I made a mental note to look out for it - so when it came out on Amazon Prime Video I watched it straight away.  When six co-stars find out that their TV show is about to be cancelled, they decide to make their own horror movie - and in the process, they accidentally summon a deadly spirit. This film has a great premise, though it could have been executed a bit better. Not only do I like the premise, but I like the way that this is set up in the beginning of the movie. For a moment, you're not quite sure what's real and what's not, and I loved that. I've also really come to love the virtual format for horror movies, and I hope that this sticks around. For me, one place where the film fell down was the characters. Yes, they are supposed to be vapid, but the lack of likeable characters made the film hard to enjoy, especially in...

I've just finished reading 'Where Rainbows End' by Cecelia Ahern, and immediately had to watch the movie version, 'Love, Rosie'. The reason that I've decided to talk about them together, as opposed to only reviewing the book, is mainly because I didn't have enough to say about the book on its own to justify reviewing it. Alex (Sam Claflin) and Rosie (Lily Collins) have been best friends since childhood. But when they turn 18 and their paths start to diverge, they realise how much they need each other. I love the idea of this story. Whether in book or movie form, the idea of childhood best friends realising that they were always meant for each other is something that I'm really into. The book version of this story is written entirely of notes, emails, letters, instant messages and any other type of written media, and I loved this. Not only did it make the book really quick to read, but it's almost like you're invading someone's most private th...

September and October went so quickly, I can't believe it will be December in less than a month! But before that, I have a few Post Round-Ups to do! Here's September. Book Review #89: The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent - My first post of September was a book review. I didn't love the book (I actually ended up taking a huge break from it about halfway through), but I'm glad I read it. Aftermath | Film Review  - This is a Netflix film that had a lot of potential. There was a lot wrong with the film, but overall it was enjoyable. He's All That | Film Review - This is another Netflix film that ends up exactly how you expect it to - especially if you're familiar with the original movie. Sweet Girl | Film Review  - And another Netflix original movie (the last one for September), and like the previous two, it was just okay, and definitely became predictable. Book Review #90: Saving Grace by Jane Green  - Another book review in the form of 'Saving Grace'. The story ...

  I started listening to the soundtrack in preparation for seeing this movie at least 4 months in advance and completely fell in love with the music. So when the film finally came out I was so excited to finally see it and put my favourite songs into context. Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is a socially-anxious teenager who accidentally steps into the spotlight when a letter that he wrote to himself falls into the wrong hands. I really liked this film. I had heard some negative things before going into it, so my expectations were quite low, but they were definitely exceeded. Having said that, I have never seen the Broadway version, so I'm not sure if that would change my opinion of the film. For a start, the number one criticism of the film is that Ben Platt is too old to play a high-school student, and for me, while this was glaringly (and at points laughably) obvious, after the first song, it wasn't something that really bothered me. Yes, it would have been nice to see a younger act...

So, the third 'After' movie. Of course, I was always going to review it (as I'll continue to do if more are made), but after not really enjoying the second film, I wasn't that excited to see the third.  Just when Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) are back on track, a job offer, the return of a family member, and secrets from Hardin's past threaten to destroy their relationship for good. This is a weird one for me. I would say that I didn't really like maybe 80% of the movie, but the parts that I did enjoy were enough to excite me for a possible fourth film. The first thing I noted about the film is that it feels really juvenile. The characters feel a lot younger than they're acting - how old are they actually supposed to be? I had a problem with Tessa's character development in the second movie, but I felt like in this one, the filmmakers have finally decided who she is going to be, and started working towards that, which is gre...

  I was excited to see this film. Not only did I enjoy the original, but I'm a huge fan of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays the main character, so at the very least I thought I'd at least enjoy myself, even if the film wasn't scary. Artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) explores the history of the Candyman legend, not knowing that his exploration could cause a new wave of terror. I didn't enjoy this film at all.  For a start, the story didn't feel particularly coherent. In fact, it felt like the filmmakers were more focused on connecting this story to the legend, than telling a rich, complex, coherent story, which definitely could have been done with the Candyman backdrop. So many of the story's events felt too convenient. I won't spoil the connection between this film and the original, but everything felt a bit too easy. And as there was no real explanation for why everything was so easy, it has to come down to the writing. And speaking of the writin...

  This is my first Steve Cavanagh book, but I had read great reviews before buying it. I actually got two of the books in Cavanagh's 'Eddie Flynn' series at the same time, but as this one had the more interesting plot of the two, I started here. When Frank Avellino dies, his daughters Alexandra and Sofia immediately blame each other, trying to make sure the other sister gets jailed for the murder. But as the case consumes the lives of everyone involved, and true evil is revealed, which one of the Avellino sisters is a liar... and a killer? I absolutely loved this book. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. For a start, I love Cavanagh's writing style. It didn't take long to become addicted to this story because it felt like watching a TV show. I found that there wasn't much character description, and yet I could picture everyone and everything really clearly.  But as well as the writing style, I enjoyed the way that the story was told. We see th...