Bria Lou Reviews

This was another first-time watch! Not only that, but this was one of the few movies on the Bucket List that I'd never heard of before and went into completely blind. I only really picked it because it had a short runtime. Thankfully I thought the film was great! The dialogue was really funny and quippy. It did a great job of telling the audience exactly who these characters were and made the film a really fun watch. And this completely comes down to the characters. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson worked really well together and helped to create characters with such an interesting, complex relationship not only because of the way they delivered their dialogue, but also in their natural chemistry. The film itself is really well-written and, having no idea what it was about, I loved seeing where it went. Even though this is considered a crime comedy, I thought it was really sweet and heartfelt.  In terms of its classic status, I've never heard it mentioned when classic movies a...

When a murder takes place during a high school reunion, a group of old friends find themselves trapped in a mansion, knowing that one of them is the killer. I hadn't heard of this film before seeing it was available, but I was enticed by the fact that it was a murder mystery, and the fact that it has an amazing cast!  Unfortunately, despite the amazing cast, the film itself falls flat. I liked the beginning, the characters were great and the dialogue was actually funny. The film has a lot of comedic actors who do a great job, but even the actors not known for comedy do it really well. I love the idea of a murder mystery completely rooted in comedy. Movies like Knives Out balance the comedy and mystery well, but something like this, being much more comedic than mysterious, was an interesting change. In fact, the film starts to lose its way once it leans more into the mystery than the comedy. Once the tone changes, not much happens for a really long time and we start to forget the gr...

A long-awaited re-watch! There are a few films on the Bucket List that I've been saving because I know I love them and I don't want to watch them all too quickly. This was high up on the list of favourites, maybe in the top 4, so as much as I was saving it, I couldn't wait to watch it, which is why I only lasted until June! One of the reasons I love the film so much is obviously because it stars two of my favourite actors in the world, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who also won an Oscar for writing it. I'm not sure if this is the film that introduced me to them, but it's one that I definitely love because of them. The performances in the film, Matt and Ben aside, are amazing. There's a few iconic lines of dialogue, and Robin Williams completely steals the show whenever he's on screen. It's also written really well, which is why it has the Oscar. We get to understand these characters so well just through their interactions. We know them, we love them, and I...

When a pool cleaner (Chris Pine) is approached by a mysterious femme fatale (DeWanda Wise), he becomes involved in uncovering a shady business deal. I have to admit that I only watched this film for two reasons. One, because I'm a huge fan of Chris Pine and this is his directorial debut, and two, because of the negative reviews. The film has been panned so harshly that I had to watch it to see if it could really be that bad! While I think it didn't need to be panned as harshly as it was, I didn't like the film, and there are definite problems with it! For a start, what is it about? At 30 minutes in I made a note that I had no idea what was going on or what it was about, and after watching it in its entirety, I don't think much changed! The characters were somewhat interesting, but very odd, and not particularly fun to watch.  This is especially true of the main character, Darren Barrenman, who I never really understood and definitely didn't like. The dialogue is goo...

Another first-time watch! There are a few movies on the Bucket List that are a bit intimidating, either because of their length or their reputation, and this one was a bit of both.  I had put off watching it for a while and eventually decided to do it in snippets, just to get over that intimidation. So I ended up watching a bit at a time until I finished, over about a week (it's 3hrs 47 mins). But it also has a reputation of being amazing, which was another reason for the intimidation! And honestly, I didn't get it. I think it just wasn't for me, because I never really enjoyed it, and every time I put it on, I was never looking forward to watching it. If anything, I forced myself to keep watching so I could finally tick it off. I've done a bit of research into why the film is so popular, particularly at the time it came out, and I do understand why so many people consider it a classic. For me, though, I just wasn't interested or invested enough to really enjoy it, a...

  A man posing as a contract killer (Glen Powell) breaks protocol when he finds himself falling for a client (Adria Arjona). I'll admit, this film wasn't on my radar at all until I started seeing positive reviews. I knew it was a new Netflix film, but had no interest in watching it. But as I kept seeing the reviews, I thought I definitely needed to see it. But unfortunately, I don't really get the overwhelming reviews because I didn't like the film that much! The concept is interesting, and while the idea of someone falling in love with the wrong person isn't the most original premise, the character being a hitman (or posing as one) definitely makes it more original! By the time I was 30 minutes in, I didn't really care about these characters or their story. I was never enticed. I think the thing that threw me off was that I had initially assumed the film was a comedy. And as much as there are funny moments, it definitely has a more serious tone that I wasn'...

This was another first-time watch! I had heard of this film once or twice but never knew what it was about, and I'd never been particularly interested in seeing it. I kind of don't know what to make of the film, but it was very different to what I thought it would be after reading the description - in a good way! The characters were really interesting and, while I didn't find myself getting completely invested in the story as a whole, there were definitely characters I liked and wanted to see more from. There were also a lot of recognisable actors who made their start in the film, which was really interesting to see. The acting was amazing! I also liked that nothing was shied away from. The film is about heavy drug use and also features a lot of scenes and themes that could be seen as controversial. This was done in a way that felt really authentic, and even with harrowing scenes, nothing is sugar-coated or diluted. So all in all, I thought this was good! Will I watch it ag...

Delilah Green swore she'd never go back to Bright Falls, but when the lucrative offer of photographing her step-sister's wedding comes up, she can't afford to refuse. Once home, Delilah reconnects with the people she wanted to leave behind, including her sister's stuck-up best friend Claire. But after all this time has passed, Delilah discovers that Claire isn't as stuck-up as she used to be. In fact, the more time she spends with her, the more Delilah finds that being back home might be better than she ever expected. I found this book really hard to describe for some reason! But anyway, I was looking forward to reading this one. I'd owned it for a while but never felt in quite the right mood for it. But after finishing something a bit darker, it felt perfect. I liked this book. It's not the best romance I've ever read, but I had a good time with it. For a start, I really liked the way it was written. From the first page I sunk in straight away and reall...

After their car breaks down, a couple who are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin find themselves at the mercy of masked assassins. I was really looking forward to this one! Initially I didn't love the first two movies, or the premise in general, but I've seen them both multiple times since then and have really grown to love them, so I was really glad to hear that more were being made. Unfortunately, this one wasn't as good as either of the other two. But it started really well. The tense, sinister atmosphere was present from the very beginning, and we got to know the characters right away. In saying that, though, the characters themselves quickly became frustrating to watch. They didn't really have distinct personalities and the unrealistic, bad decisions they made left me rooting more for the masked assassins. Because of this, when the characters actually start being terrorised, I didn't care too much what happened to them, which made me less interested in...

  I watched this film for the first time last year and really liked it, so I was happy to see that it was included on the Bucket List. It's such an interesting story, but ultimately what makes it interesting is the characters. Javier Bardem plays such an iconic villain! Even before I'd seen the film, I had seen the image of him in this film because the character is almost bigger than the movie. But in addition to him is an amazing cast that includes Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson, who all play their roles amazingly well. Another thing about the film is the way it transcends genre. I'm not usually a fan of Westerns, but in a film like this, you're not even thinking about the genre. From the second it starts, you're truly engrossed. I'll admit I was a bit surprised to see the film on the List, because it's not one I often hear about when classic movies are discussed, but it absolutely deserves its place! If you haven't seen this movie bef...

When a woman moves to Rome to begin life as a nun, she uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that makes her start to question her faith. This film wasn't particularly high on my 'to watch' list. I like the original Omen movies, but not enough to be excited by the previous remake or this prequel. This was okay, but as expected, I didn't really love it. It was better than the remake, but not better than the original. For a start, I am so tired of horror movies about nuns and/or set in convents. I feel like I've seen so many of them in the last couple of years and they have become a genre that immediately puts me off. A lot of the first half of the film felt completely unnecessary when it comes to moving the story forward - some of it could have been cut out to bring down the running time. There's no reason this film needed to be 2 hours long. I never really cared about any of the characters, and found that there wasn't really anyone to root for. I was never investe...

  This was another first-time watch from the Bucket List. The reason that this was a first-time watch was because the premise has never really appealed to me. I know it's a really popular Disney movie, but for me it was never something I was looking forward to watching. And even though I knew how well it had been received, it was still really surprising to see it on the List, especially considering there are only a small handful of animated movies on there. I thought the film was sweet, but I knew I wouldn't like it that much so it wasn't a surprise that I didn't. I think the message was interesting, and the love story was cute, but I never connected to it. And because I'd never seen it, I didn't have the nostalgia that I get from most other Disney movies. So, while I'm glad I've seen it, it's probably not one I'll rush to watch again.

After suffering an injury on set, stuntman Colt (Ryan Gosling) returns to work to find the star of the movie has gone missing, and while trying to find him, ends up being involved in a sinister plot. I saw the trailer for this film a while ago and thought it looked interesting and fun. And after hearing many positive reviews, I was really excited to see it! But unfortunately, I ended up being really disappointed with it. It took a really long time for the film to get going, and to spark my interest. I kept waiting for the main plot to start and then realised that it already had. The opening section that sets up the characters and their relationships was way too quick - I never felt like I got to know them, and I think the film could really have benefitted from letting the audience spend more time with the characters before the one-year time jump. It definitely wasn't as funny as it was trying to be. I can't remember now if I actually laughed more than once or twice throughout. ...

Despite being a huge comic book movie fan, Batman is one of the characters that I connected with the least. Because of that, I had never seen any Batman movies outside of Ben Affleck's. I had always had Christian Bale's and Robert Pattinson's on my list, but never got around to watching them. So I used the Dark Knight spot on the Bucket List to watch the whole trilogy, and I'm so glad I did! I absolutely LOVED these movies! I went in blind, knowing nothing about the specific movies and having only limited information about Batman as a character, and I completely fell in love with the characters and the world. Of course, if we're focusing on The Dark Knight specifically, Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker has to be mentioned. I've always known that this performance is commonly regarded as one of the best villain performances in film history, and it certainly didn't disappoint! He was amazing in the role! And Christian Bale is an incredible Batman. He...

  When a group of friends play with a cursed deck of tarot cards, they each soon find themselves in danger of facing the fate the cards described. I was looking forward to this one. It seemed fun, original and like something that could be light while also providing a good few scares. Unfortunately this wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It doesn't start off in the most original way - a group of teenagers/young adults doing something they shouldn't, ignoring the warning signs and getting themselves into trouble. It's not unique, but it works for me! The jump scares are done well, especially in the beginning. There were also some really creative death scenes and scares. But the film suffers from odd pacing. The audience barely gets time to process the first death when the second death occurs. But then after this, it takes a while for anything to happen. The explanation around this cursed deck of cards not only doesn't quite make sense, but the characters believe eve...