Bria Lou Reviews

While I absolutely love the Conjuring universe, 'The Nun' was the weakest of the franchise for me. So while I wanted to see the second one, I didn't have high hopes. In 1956, when mysterious events lead to a priest's violent death, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) once again has to face a demonic entity. I didn't like this film, further cementing 'The Nun' movies as the worst in the Conjuring franchise. It's worth re-watching the first movie before seeing this one, because I was really confused about who everyone was and what was happening for a long time. A lot of scares are there for shock value rather than moving the story forward. This is fine, and actually normal for a horror movie, but the issue for me was that I didn't understand what was happening anyway, so I would have liked the scares to help provide some information. I didn't care about the characters, even the ones I knew from previous movies. There were times when it was a bit boring -...

I had no idea what this was about when it came out on Prime Video, but I'm so glad I took a chance on it! When an infamous killer returns 35 years after their first murder spree, 16-year-old Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) accidentally travels back in time and must team up with her teenage parents to stop the original murders. I really liked this movie. I liked it instantly. The concept of the film is great. Yes it's not completely original when compared to films like 'Back to the Future' (which is referenced), but adding the slasher element is what makes it original. Speaking of BTTF, I absolutely loved the similarities and connection. The first death scene is great and really sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It was genuinely quite funny, which I didn't expect. Slasher films usually rest on their reveals - this had a great reveal. The reasons behind the original and current murders made sense and were somewhat realistic. I love the characters, and the actors did a g...

I finally made it! This is the last in the After Franchise and after reviewing the four movies before this one ( After , After We Collided , After We Fell  and After Ever Happy ) I obviously have to review the last one! After the events of the first four movies, Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) can't get over Tessa (Josephine Langford). With the deadline for his second book looming, and the wrongs of his past catching up with him, Hardin goes to Portugal to try and fix some of his mistakes. As with all the other movies, this wasn't good. I didn't dislike it as much as some of the others, but it feels like they're being made to not be great on purpose at this point. For a start, the film focussed on the least interesting of the two main characters. For me, when I'm watching these films, Tessa without Hardin is a lot more interesting than Hardin without Tessa. And if possible, Hardin became even more insufferable. The film spends a lot of time reminding the audience how a...

Saw is one of my absolute favourite franchises, so of course I was always going to see this. Knowing it took place around the 1st and 2nd movies was exciting because it had the possibility of bring back some old characters - most excitingly, Jigsaw himself. In search of a cure for his brain cancer, John Kramer (Tobin Bell) travels to Mexico for an experimental procedure. But after discovering that the company behind this procedure is actually running a scam, he uses his old tricks to stop the con artists once and for all. I liked this film, but I didn't love it, and I hate that I didn't love it! It had a better story that a lot of the other Saw movies. Rather than the audience having to figure out the connection between the group of characters as we go along, we see this connection from the beginning and know exactly why Jigsaw has chosen these people, which I liked. I could have definitely watched more of it - by the time it finished it felt like it was just getting started. I...

I reviewed the book this film was based on HERE , so I wanted to watch and review the TV show too. News of the show coming out was what made me start reading the book in the first place, so even though I didn't love the book, I was looking forward to seeing how it would be interpreted. Nella (Sinclair Daniel) is tired of being the only Black girl at work, so when Hazel (Ashleigh Murray) starts working at the publishing company with her, she's thrilled. But as Hazel rises quickly within the company, and Nella starts receiving threatening notes, she begins to suspect that the new girl isn't what she seems. Now because the story is mostly the same as the book, I thought I probably wouldn't like it, but surprisingly I liked the show a lot more than the book! The first episode felt a bit rushed. Compared to the book, which had time to slow things down, the show went through a lot of events really quickly without giving things time to breathe. But while there was too much in...

I was really looking forward to reading this book. Not only did it look like a really interesting concept, but it was also really unique. I'd had it for a while, but when I heard it was adapted into a Disney+ TV show, I wanted to read it ASAP so I could watch the show too. Nella is tired of being the only Black girl at work, so when Hazel starts working at the publishing company with her, she's thrilled. But as Hazel rises quickly within the company, and Nella starts receiving threatening notes, she begins to suspect that the new girl isn't what she seems. I loved the concept but, unfortunately, didn't really like the execution. I really liked the prologue. I liked the voice that part of the story was told in, and I liked the direction I thought the novel would be going in. Unfortunately it kind of went downhill from there. Nella's inner dialogue didn't always sound realistic, and sometimes felt like it was for the audience's benefit rather than being the c...

This film was on my radar as soon as it came out in the cinema because I'm a huge fan of Adam Driver and will pretty much watch anything he's in. But I also love monster movies and creature features, so I always knew that I'd probably like the movie. I missed it when it came out but it has been released on the Sky Cinema Premiere channel, so I finally got to see it. An astronaut (Adam Driver) crash lands and soon discovers that he has landed on Earth 65 million years ago. Now he must protect his young companion (Ariana Greenblatt) and find a way to get them home before it's too late. I really really liked this film. I was actually surprised that the reviews were so negative because I had a really good time! The film took itself a lot more seriously than I thought it was going to, but that was a good thing because it made me take it seriously too. I liked the premise. It merges a few well-known concepts to give us something somewhat original. Like 'The Last of Us...

I heard about this film when it first came out but I was only mildly curious about it and didn't know the concept before watching. I'm always wary of A24 horror movies because I tend not to like them generally, but I still wanted to see if I'd like this one. A group of friends discover how to conjure spirits with the help of an embalmed hand. But when one of them goes too far, will they be able to stop the spirits from being unleashed? Unfortunately, this is another A24 movie that I didn't really like as much as I wanted to; which I was somewhat surprised about because of the plethora of positive reviews. I didn't hate the film, but I thought I would like it a lot more. It's an interesting and original concept, and the idea itself is captured really well on screen. The characters were non-descript and didn't really have personalities. In fact I'm struggling to remember what anyone other than the main character was called. My major issue with the characte...

I'm not the biggest fan of 'Exorcist' movies. I enjoy demonic movies that feature exorcisms, but other than the original 'The Exorcist', I've never seen an Exorcist movie that I've really enjoyed. Nevertheless, this one being very recently made/released, somewhat based in truth, and starring a well-known actor, made me think that I might enjoy it more than other similar movies I've seen. The Vatican's leading exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) investigates the possession of a child and, in the process, discovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep hidden. So unfortunately, again, I didn't really like this movie. The first scene is fine but felt a bit overdone. We have seen exorcisms begin movies many times and this one didn't offer anything particularly special or original. Although the story centres on the priest while most exorcism movies centre on the family being possessed, it still didn't feel very original, or l...

This movie came out on Netflix a few weeks ago. I didn't know much about it, but because I like both of the main actors I was interested in seeing it. When Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver (Ben Hardy) meet on a flight, fall for each other, and then get separated, what are the chances of them ever seeing each other again? I liked this film. It was essentially what you'd expect from a plot like this, but it was still really enjoyable.  I really like the characters, both separately and together. Together they're fun and have good chemistry, but apart they are both well-written and feel authentic. The stakes aren't high, but it's fun to watch them fall in love. It's much more heart-warming than I first expected. The film definitely makes you care about the characters more than you think you will.  The film has more substance than the average rom-com, but it doesn't pack the emotional punch it wants to. You can understand why the characters are affected, b...

I have to admit, I judged this film completely on the poster. I had no idea what it was about before watching it and only clicked on it because I thought it would be a fun coming-of-age movie with cake. Unfortunately, I was very wrong! Corinne (Odessa A'zion) convinces her bake-loving best friend Jane (Yara Shahidi) to bake cakes and bring them to bars as a way to meet people. I don't want to give anything away, but the film takes a huge turn away from this theme. I thought the idea of them baking and bringing the cakes to bars was weird but fun. But even with this, I didn't care about the characters. There was no reason for the film to be 2 hours. I'm not against long films at all, but there wasn't enough material for this to be so long - the length made it become boring and it started dragging on. Though I will say it was sweet. The two main actresses have great chemistry and their scenes together, especially more towards the end of the film, were really endearing...

It's crazy how fast this year is going - how is it already October?! But anyway, here are the things I've been loving for the last three months! Favourite Movie (1): The Blackening I reviewed this movie HERE , and from reading that, it's no surprise that this film ended up in my favourites. I absolutely loved it and think more people should be talking about it! Favourite Film (2): CODA I missed this when it first came around, but remember how praised it was and that it was nominated for a few Oscars, so it was on my radar. I finally got around to watching it and I really really loved it. It's about a girl who is the only hearing member of her deaf family and, amongst other things, her love of singing. It's a really powerful story beautifully told. Favourite Film (3): A Man Called Otto I reviewed this HERE , and you can tell from the review how much I loved it. I was sobbing by the end, so that tells you something. I haven't read the book it's based on yet bu...

I've watched a couple of the Netflix interactive movies and have found that, so much went into the choices you could make, but not enough went into the actual story. So I was hoping this one would be different! When Cami (Laura Marano) has to choose between three men in her life, she enlists the viewer's help to make some tough decisions. As soon as I saw this, I was excited because the romance genre is the best genre for an interactive movie, in my opinion. If you're a fan of romance (especially love triangles), wouldn't you love to choose who the main character ends up with?! If done well, a film of this style could be really great. However, once again, the story was sacrificed for the choices we had to make. Without the interactive feature (and sometimes even with it), the film has no plot and is quite boring. I didn't care about the characters, and that goes for our main character as well as all of her love interests. The love interests were one of the reasons...

I only remember seeing one trailer for this film ages ago, so while it was always on my radar, I wasn't thinking too much about it by the time it came out. But I was glad it finally did! To cope with the loss of her fiancé, Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) texts his old phone number, not knowing that her messages are being received by a stranger (Sam Heughan). I liked the premise of this film a lot more than the execution. I really liked the characters, and the cast (which includes Sofia Barclay, Russell Tovey, Nick Jonas and Celine Dion) did a great job with their respective roles. The thought definitely crossed my mind that I would love to see a Celine-based Mamma Mia-esque musical! My problem with the film was that, after the novelty of the original idea, it pretty much just becomes a generic rom-com, and while this was what I wanted in some ways, the story wasn't interesting enough. Towards the end of the film the writing becomes a bit too cheesy for me. Now, some cheese in a r...