Bria Lou Reviews

I knew absolutely nothing about this film before watching it. It came out on the Sky Premiere channel, and had a somewhat interesting, definitely surprising premise, so I watched it on a whim. A father (Patton Oswald), desperate to connect with his estranged son (James Morosini), poses as a woman online, causing the young boy to form a bond with his new 'girlfriend'. But soon he wants to meet her in person... I was sceptical about the film because of the premise. I thought it would be really weird, and a bit gross honestly, so I was surprised that I actually liked it. My first thought while watching it was that it would be a great episode of Catfish! The concept is funny/weird, but it's also quite sad. There are a lot of layers to the story, which is why it works as well as it does. I like the way the 'catfish' scenes are filmed. They are really creative and obviously try (and sometimes succeed) in making the scenes, and general concept, less creepy. The story is ea...

I remember the reaction to this when it initially came out. I had no idea what it was about, but people had really strong, either positive or negative, reactions to it. So when it finally became available, I watched it as soon as I could. Maren (Taylor Russell) is trying to escape her past when she meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), trying to do the same thing. The pair quickly discover how alike they are, and continue to travel together to escape the darkness they share. This is a weird one. I can't say I enjoyed, or even really liked, the film. But I didn't find it as disturbing or abhorrent as others might have.  Going in blind is a bit jarring - I'd definitely recommend reading up a bit on what it's actually about before watching it. It is weird in the same vein as 'Fresh' or 'The Menu' to an extent, but I feel like even if you're a fan of that weird genre, this is still weirder than you think it might be. Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet and und...

I've seen quite a few people talking about this book and it never really felt like something I'd enjoy. I never really read horror or fantasy, and I didn't fully understand the plot. But nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. The Hollow sisters have always been strange - ever since they went missing for a month when they were younger. None of them know where they went or what happened to them. But 10 years later, when the oldest sister, Grey, goes missing again under the same mysterious circumstances, Vivi and Iris have to decipher their mysterious pasts to save their sister, and themselves, once and for all. I loved this book! I went into it kind of blind, and I'm really glad I did because everything was a surprise in the best way. The prologue was interesting, but it was so necessary that it really should have been part of the first chapter. What made me immediately take to the book was that it was modern. I had just assumed that it would be set in the distant past...

I wasn't really planning to see this film. I haven't really tuned into the DCEU since Justice League, so as much as I loved the movies in the lead-up to that, I wasn't interested in what came after. But I found myself unexpectedly free one afternoon, this was on, so I thought why not. When Barry Allen/Flash (Ezra Miller) goes back in time to save his family, he drastically alters the future, causing defeated enemies to return and alternative heroes to save the day. I liked this more than I thought I would, but I definitely still have problems with it. I loved the continuation of the Justice League story. It was nice seeing a familiar face or two, and knowing that there's still at least a tenuous connection to the other movies. It really reminded me of how much I loved the Justice League cast/characters. The time travel aspect of the film isn't really explained and doesn't actually make that much sense. It's easy to suspend your disbelief, but it is something...

  I said this when I reviewed the film version of this book, but I started this book, put it away (for reasons I'll mention later in the post), watched and loved the film, and ended up finishing the book in two days. So I've had a lot of thoughts about this book! Lucy and Josh hate each other. When they both decide to go for the same promotion at work, the competition reaches boiling point. But as the game starts to have real-life consequences, Lucy and Josh discover that sometimes, hate feels a lot like love. So, when I started reading this book, I really didn't like it.  My notes at that time include the characters feeling juvenile, childish and unlikeable. I put it down with no real intention to finish it, and didn't even think about it again until over a year later, when I watched the film and finally decided to finish it. The chemistry between the characters wasn't great at the beginning, but after a while, it really begins to show. There were times when it was...

This is a weird one for me. I told myself I wasn't going to watch the film until I finished reading the book, but the beginning of the book put me off the film. So it took me a year to see the film, and at the time of watching the film, I had completely given up on the book. So you could say my expectations weren't high. Lucy (Lucy Hale) and Josh (Austin Stowell) hate each other. When they both decide to go for the same promotion at work, they make a deal - whoever doesn't get the promotion must resign. But as the competition reaches boiling point, Lucy and Josh discover that sometimes, hate feels a lot like love. I was really surprised by how much I liked this film. The characters and actors have genuine chemistry, which makes them compelling to watch. I only really enjoy the 'enemies-to-lovers' trope if the 'enemies' part is done well; if the characters are truly enemies. For this film, it worked quite well. The characters definitely genuinely hated each o...

I was really looking forward to seeing this film when I first saw the trailer. It looked fun and original, and I was really intrigued to see how the premise would be executed. Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) are preparing to get married, dealing with their entire families merging as well as their own cold feet. But when the wedding party are taken hostage hours before the wedding, it seems this pair may never make it down the aisle. I didn't like this movie as much as I wanted to. I still love the premise, but it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. The cast was amazing. In addition to Lopez and Duhamel, the film stars Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Cheech Martin, D'Arcy Carden and Lenny Kravitz, and they were all amazing in their roles from the very beginning. It was a lot funnier than I expected it to be, especially at the beginning. The threat of the wedding party being taken hostage didn't feel particularly threatening. I never worried about...

It always feels like these posts come around so quickly - I can't believe it's already July! But I found some great things to love over the last three months. Favourite Movie (1): Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves I reviewed this film HERE  and completely raved about it. I won't repeat that here, but if you haven't seen it, I definitely, wholeheartedly, recommend it. Favourite Film (2): Missing I reviewed this film HERE  and like the film above, I raved about it, and would 100% recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. It's definitely worth a watch. Favourite Film (3): The Little Mermaid This isn't one I've reviewed, but I went to see it a few weeks ago and I loved it. I'm a fan of the animated version anyway so I knew I'd like the story, but I really loved this updated version. The music was perfect, the new songs fit right in, and the cast was amazing. Definitely one to watch if you like the original! Favourite TV Show (1): Mayor of Ki...

This film wouldn't have been on my radar if it wasn't directed by Ben Affleck or starring Matt Damon, both of whom I'm a huge fan of. The premise wasn't that interesting to me, but after seeing the positive reviews, I definitely wanted to see it. In 1984, Nike tries to pursue a partnership with basketball player Michael Jordan. I actually really liked this film, which was surprising to say the least. Despite generally not being interested in Nike, basketball or Michael Jordan, I quickly became invested in the story. The main character, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) was a great character for the film to centre around. He was very likeable and really easy to root for. The soundtrack of the film is great. Not only does it set the scene/time period well, but it also makes the story more entertaining. What I liked most about the film was that it could have been about anything and would have been just as good. The story is compelling because it is a classic underdog story. Whet...

This is a Spanish Netflix movie. The plot seemed really cute, and felt like it would be a mix of 'When We First Met' (another Netflix movie) and 'With This Kiss' by Carrie Hope Fletcher. Because of that, I was really looking forward to watching it. Javier (Álvaro Cervantes) has a special gift - kissing someone allows him to see his future with that person. After a few kisses, he finally finds the love of his life - the only problem? It's his best friend's girlfriend (Silvia Alonso). While the premise was interesting, it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. Javier isn't the most interesting character to base this story around. He was easy to warm to, but he didn't have enough personality to carry the story. The film is made of two main themes, Javier's work, and Javier's 'gift'. The former is never really interesting, and while the latter is interesting at first, it soon becomes dull. You never really care about any of the ch...

I was really looking forward to seeing this film, so I was really glad when it finally came out on the Sky Premiere channel. Two commitment-phobic men, Bobby (Billy Eichner) and Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) are repeatedly drawn together despite neither wanting a relationship. I'd seen quite a few negative reviews before finally getting to watch the film, so I'm actually a bit surprised that I liked it as much as I did. At first, I didn't like it that much. I had trouble connecting to, or even liking, Bobby as a character. And even in some of the funny scenes near the beginning of the film, Bobby seemed like the least funny character. But after taking a bit of time to warm to the characters, the film became so much more enjoyable. The two main characters had great chemistry, and I found myself rooting for them from really early on. They were fun to watch, as well as being really sweet. At about 50 minutes in I did a complete 180 and fell in love with the film and characters, whic...