Bria Lou Reviews

  Mismatched colleagues Russell (Eddie Murphy) and Travis (Pete Davidson) are forced to work together when their truck is ambushed by criminals. The only thing that drew me to this film was the cast. The plot seemed really generic, but the fact that one of the main roles was played by Eddie Murphy meant that there was a good chance it would at least be funny, even if it wasn't good. This movie was fine. There were some funny moments here and there, but I wouldn't say it was either good or bad, it just exists. The characters are really fun. We get to know them and we enjoy being around them. The actors have good chemistry, which again makes it fun to be in their presence. Eddie Murphy is the best thing about this film and his comedic moments are as good as always. Some of the other performances in the film don't quite ring true, and are a bit over the top. It's all in good fun, as this isn't a film you're taking seriously anyway, but it just makes things feel fak...

  This was a re-watch, and I'll be honest, it wasn't one I was particularly looking forward to. I watched this film for the first time a couple of years ago, and while I didn't dislike it, I'm okay with admitting that I didn't understand it at all, and it wasn't one I was particularly interested in trying to decipher once the credits rolled. So when I saw it on the list, I was intrigued to see it again, but I didn't think I'd understand it any more than I did the first time. And I was right, I didn't understand it any better this time around. Though as with the first time, I did enjoy it. The cast is phenomenal. Of course, that's a given for a Nolan movie, but even so. Everyone was fully committed to the idea, they played their characters really well and made it so that even if you don't understand what's happening, you don't care because you're invested in the characters. There are some really interesting ideas here, mostly surro...

  Andy's (Michael Keaton) life is upended when his wife goes to rehab, leaving him to care for their 9-year-old twins alone. While struggling to become the parent they need, Andy finds himself leaning on his older daughter Grace (Mila Kunis) for support. I hadn't heard of this movie when it came out on Prime Video, so I was surprised by the cast! But it seemed like it would be a sweet story, so I was interested in seeing it. I liked this film. You get to know the characters right away, and they're all really easy to love. You're instantly rooting for them and you continue to root for them until the film ends. The premise is really interesting. It's not the most original movie you'll ever see, but it's really interesting to see the different dynamics between the characters - in particular, Keaton and Kunis had great chemistry and played father-and-daughter really authentically. You truly believe in their relationship. However, the film spent way too much time...

  I'd heard of this film, but didn't really know what it was about and had no real desire to watch it. I was surprised to see it on the bucket list though - I didn't know how well liked it was! I knew some of the actors that were in the film, but it's really interesting to see them together, and then to think about their careers outside of this. A lot of the guys in the film have gone on to do really interesting things, and this film definitely helped them to be more visible to the general public, which is great. And all of them did a really good job with their characters. Although the world is important, the characters are why we're watching. Having not read the book, being thrown in the deep end like the main character felt a bit jarring. You have to get to know the characters and the world as he does. But ultimately this worked against me because it took me a really long time to care about the characters or their predicament. I believed their danger, I believed i...

  A one-night stand turns into a serial killer's murder spree. I've seen this poster so many times since the film came out, but I never really had any desire to see it and didn't really know what it was about. So when I decided to watch it, it was completely on a whim. I really liked this film - it was so much better than I expected! The story is told in a really interesting way. The non-linear narrative reminded me of the film 'Weapons' in showing how successful it can be to tell stories in a different order. Both of the films make it work really well, and it definitely helps to sustain the audience's excitement. The actors have a really unique chemistry; it's not exactly romantic or scary or dramatic, but for some reason it works really well. They play off each other well, it's really fun to watch them together, and the audience immediately believes in the authenticity of their relationship (or lack thereof). Speaking of fun, the whole film is a fun wa...

  This is one of the films on the bucket list that I was saving because I love it so much. I was so happy to see it on the list because it definitely deserves to be considered a classic. The best thing about this film, without a doubt, is the cast, who all need to be named. It stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Qin Shaobo, Carl Reiner and Julia Roberts, and they were all amazing in their roles.  The reason the film is as good as it is, is because of these actors and the way they work together. Plus I loved that the chemistry they created here was present for all three movies. Especially because the characters have completely different chemistries with each other. It's so fun to see the different combinations of people interact, and we learn something new about them each time. But another great thing about this film is the writing. The dialogue is so fun and quippy, and differs perfectly...

  I was a big Harry Potter fan while the original movies were coming out. And while I still love the first 5, I lost interest in everything else about it. So when these new films came out, I never really paid attention and had no interest in seeing them. I don't really know what to make of this movie. I liked it more than I thought I would, but I didn't think I'd like it at all so that's not saying much! Although this is rooted in an familiar world, it's set in an unfamiliar location for these movies, which I guess is supposed to put a new twist on what we already know of Harry Potter. For me, this didn't work that well. I feel like I needed more familiarity to really like the story. This is just personal preference but what made me like Harry Potter wasn't the magic system or the world, but the characters and their relationships. I didn't feel anything for these characters. I wasn't interested in them at all, and because of that, I didn't really...

When long-time partners Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) move to the countryside, they encounter a mysterious force that seems to be pushing them closer and closer together. I was looking forward to this one a lot! I'm a big fan of Alison Brie and Dave Franco both individually and together, so I'm always interested to see what they're doing next, and this looked particularly interesting and original. Unfortunately I didn't like the film as much as I wanted to. The concept was weird, really weird, and I loved that. But the film itself didn't push this weirdness as far as it could. If you're going into a film with an odd concept, it's really fun when the filmmakers take this to the max and let things get really crazy. That didn't happen here, which was a shame - especially because it would have been really easy to push things further. The actors have great chemistry, which they always have, and may be helped by them being a couple in real life. B...

  I had probably heard of this film in passing but not enough to really know anything about it. Even after reading the description it still felt like I was going in a bit blind. It begins in an interesting way, giving us the exposition we need to understand the point of the film in a way that's fun and easily digestible. A lot of the movie involves the characters breaking into things and finding things out, and although this isn't a spy movie, it's really reminiscent of one. The characters don't have fancy gadgets, but they get to do some really interesting and inventive things to find out the secrets they're uncovering, and that's fun to watch. Then again, the whole thing is a really fun watch. For a start, you care about the characters and their cause, so you're immediately engaged with everything that happens, and you're rooting for them from the beginning. And the reason you care about them is because they're actually likeable and fun. You want t...

  An insomniac musician (Abel Tesfaye) meets a mysterious fan (Jenna Ortega) who causes his life to spiral out of control. I heard that this film was bad - before I watched it I didn't see one good review. And that made me really curious about it. Not only to see if everyone was actually right, but because sometimes it's really fun to watch bad films. And the reviews were right, because this was not a good film. The music portions of the film lasted way too long. I know that the movie ties in to an album by The Weeknd, but as someone who doesn't listen to his music, I didn't need those scenes, and they didn't add anything to the film for me. It's clear that the flashing lights and bright colours are meant to portray the character's disoriented state of mind, but they're actually just distracting. It's unpleasant, and while it gives an insight into his mind, it doesn't make you want to keep watching. The film never tries to make us care about the ...

I'd heard of this film in passing before seeing it on the bucket list, but I knew nothing about it.  I didn't want to do too much research on it before I watched it, but I did see it being compared favourably to Gladiator, so that gave me an idea of what it would probably be about.  The score of this movie is stunning. From the overture you already get the entire tone and feel for what the film will be, and moving forward the music underscores every scene really well.  The way this was filmed really stuck out to me. There are a lot of really interesting and inventive shots, definitely for a 1960s movie but also by today's standards. The fight scenes are some of the best scenes of the film, visually and narratively. It's really interesting to learn more about the characters through these scenes. Their fighting styles, and their actions throughout the fights tells us a lot about who they are, and how their characters have been written.  One of my favourite things about...

  After a horrific incident, Agnes (Eva Victor) has to work out how to navigate her new world. I hadn't heard much about this film before seeing it, other than seeing some really positive reviews. But I didn't know what it was about so I went in blind. I liked this film. It took me completely by surprise, but that was definitely a good thing. This is a good film to go into completely blind. One of the things that makes the film work so well for me is the chemistry between Agnes and her best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie). The actors have such a lovely, believable chemistry that instantly authenticates the characters' friendship. And the fact that the friendship didn't take long to build allowed the audience to accept this friendship instantly and move on to what the film was actually about. The performances were amazing and the cast is great. I particularly like seeing Lucas Hedges in anything he does, and I hadn't seen him in something for a while, so this was nice! Th...

  I don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard of this film. As far as classics go, this would be high on the list of most revered movies ever made.  So while I hadn't seen it, I was looking forward to seeing it and finally getting to tick it off this, and virtually every other bucket list imaginable. The first thing that struck me about it was the score. It has the kind of score that makes you feel nostalgic for a time you never experienced. Scarlett O'Hara is a really interesting character to centre this story around. She is generally considered an unlikeable protagonist (with good reason), and yet you're completely drawn to her throughout the film. Even though we don't like her or the things she does, even though we can't relate to her or root for her, she is so endearing that the audience can't help but be in her corner - even while we're hating her! It's also really fun to follow her through this time period, to see the way she develops...

  In this reimagining of Peter Pan, Wendy Darling (Megan Placito) risks everything to rescue her brother Michael ( Peter DeSouza-Feighoney)  from the evil Peter Pan ( Martin Portlock) . I've made no secret of my love for the Twisted Childhood universe. As a lover of all kinds of horror movies good or bad, there's definitely a place for these smaller, independent, nowhere near critically acclaimed movies, and I'm here for it! I had varying feelings about the two Winnie-the-Pooh movies, and I was excited to see how similar or different this one would be. I never expected this to be good, and it wasn't, so it met my expectations! But first of all, I love the concept. I love the general idea of the TCU, and each film so far has had an interesting idea for their chosen characters. For this one, I wish they'd have stuck closer to the source material in terms of Peter's styling and appearance. While watching this it's really easy to forget that it's a Peter Pan...

  I hadn't really heard of this film before I saw it, and had no idea what it was about. Other than seeing the poster and knowing it fit into the sci-fi genre, I went in completely blind. It was odd to research the film after watching it and see that it won both positive and negative film awards - it seems like a film people either really love or really hate. But for me, I didn't have strong feelings about it one way or the other, though I did like it. At the beginning I wasn't that into it, but it definitely got more and more interesting as it continued. It starts in a really interesting way. Even though you don't really understand what's happening, you immediately get a feel for the tone and the characters, and you can even see how high the stakes are. There are some great actors involved in this. It's always good to see anything starring Bruce Willis, but the fact that this also stars Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker and Luke Perry among th...

  When the girl he likes is kidnapped, Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) goes to extreme lengths to get her back - putting his inability to feel pain to the test. This is a film I heard a lot about in the lead-up to it being released, and then once it came out I didn't hear anything about it at all. I liked the basic premise, but I didn't really know what to expect. I was a bit disappointed with this film. But as I've said, I liked the concept. It was really original and interesting. Having a character with this ability (or inability) is something that could be used in a hundred different ways. The film is mostly character-based, and it works because the characters are so entertaining and endearing - which is mostly down to how good the actors are. Quaid, in particular, is completely perfect for this role. The soundtrack was also great - it was so much fun and contributed to the overall fun tone of the film. But as I said, I was disappointed. For a start, it took a while for things...

When all but one child from the same class vanish on the same night, the community is left searching for answers. Where did the children go? Will they ever come back? Who is behind their disappearance? I was looking forward to this film, but I was also a bit apprehensive. I heard so many amazing things that I was a bit worried I wouldn't like it as much as the general public seemed to. Thankfully, I absolutely loved this film! I thought it was amazing. I don't even know where to start. It's such an original and unique concept. The description itself could lead to so many different outcomes, but when you actually see the film and understand exactly what's happening, it's such a creative, inventive idea. The more you understand it, the more amazing it is. The performances were great. The cast includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan, and they were all amazing in their roles. They brought the r...

This is one that I was really looking forward to. I'd never seen the film but I had read the book, so it's been on my to-watch list for years! I loved this film. I'm annoyed it took me so long to watch it! For a start, because I read the book I had so many moments that I was looking forward to, and all of the moments were exactly like I wanted them to be.  I thought the actors were all great. Comparing to the books, the filmmakers made great choices.  But taking the book out of the equation, I loved every single actor and every choice they made. They all played their respective characters really well and made the audience feel invested. But another great thing about the actors was their chemistry, and the character relationships that were able to develop.  The length of the film was great - we get a good amount of time in each stage, we get to know the characters, and by the time things really start we're so engaged and invested that we can't look away until it ends...

  The story of an ordinary man called Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) and the multitudes contained within him. I was looking forward to seeing this film because of the actors involved, but I had no idea what it was about. Every description was vague, and in promotional interviews, the actors spoke about profound things like the meaning of life, so I went into it a bit apprehensive. I absolutely loved this film. I can't stop thinking about it. It starts from a really interesting point. The story is told in reverse order, and I loved this. You really get to know the world first, before the characters or anything else, so by the time we actually do get to know the characters, we're already invested and locked in. 20 minutes in and I'd already felt like I'd watched a whole movie, in the best way. You become so connected to this world so quickly that you feel like you're living in it with them. And this is because everything came together perfectly - the writing, direction...

  After tragically losing his wife in a terror attack, CIA decoder Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) uses everything at his disposal to find the people responsible. This film wasn't particularly high on my 'to-watch' list. The plot seemed quite generic, and other than the actors involved, I didn't have high hopes. I actually liked this more than I thought I would, especially at the beginning. For a start, the filmmakers did a great job of creating a full character and a full relationship really early on in the film with not much to go on. We get to know Charlie really quickly, we get to know his relationship with his wife (played by Rachel Brosnahan), and by the time we lose her, we actually care because it feels like we know them. I wish we saw more of them together. But while Charlie is a great character to follow, he's the only one. All of the other actors in the film are used sparingly, where they could have brought so much to the story. What's the point of castin...

  I hadn't heard of this film before, and deliberately went into it knowing as little as possible. I have to admit I don't always love films set in this period of time - in fact the ones I've liked are few and far between. So when this started, I was definitely apprehensive about it. And honestly, I can't say I loved it. But one thing I did love was the acting. It's really interesting to go back and watch Tom Cruise films outside of Mission Impossible and other completely action-based movies. It's easy to forget that he's a great actor as well as being a great action hero, and films like this remind you of that. And the film is filled with great actors who do a great job with their respective characters. Everything they say feels authentic and believable because they are all committed to embodying the people they're playing. The story itself didn't grab me. It definitely had some really interesting parts, but the overall product wasn't something ...

Two years after M3GAN, a new AI robot has gone rogue. To stop her, Gemma (Allison Williams) and Cady (Violet McGraw) will have to do the unthinkable - resurrect the robot who tried to kill them. I thought the first M3GAN film was great, so I was glad when a sequel was announced. I couldn't wait to see the different direction they would take a new film in. While this one wasn't as good as the first, I still think it did a good job of continuing the story. For a start, there were interesting developments for all the characters between movies, but especially Gemma, who became an even more interesting character than she was the first time around. There were also some really cool advances in technology, and it was great that the film explored both the positive and negative consequences of this. The film joins an interesting conversation about the use of AI and regulation, rather than just being an 'AI gone wrong' movie. It's a conversation that will be ongoing and I thin...

When five friends accidentally cause a fatal car crash, they decide to take the secret to their graves. But a year later, their past comes back to haunt them. I was looking forward to this one! I'm a fan of the original and sequel, despite how campy and at points outright bad they are. They're bad in a fun way, so I figured that even if this one was bad, it would still be fun. Unfortunately, this one was bad without being fun. For a start, I have no idea why there were so many characters. There were two that I couldn't tell apart until one of them died and ultimately most of them weren't even that important to the story. One of the best things about the first film was the chemistry with the group of friends. They felt like actual friends and you really believed in their relationships. In this film, if you told me the cast didn't meet until the second they stepped in front of the camera I'd believe you. There was absolutely no chemistry between any of them, espec...