Bria Lou Reviews

  I think everyone has probably heard of this movie before, but I'd never seen it so I was glad it was on the list. Despite being on the bucket list, the film wasn't really on my radar to watch until I saw a video recently where someone commented on how amazing the ending was. So after I saw that, I wanted to watch it as soon as I could. I loved this film. The premise is such an interesting one. The audience has an outsider's perspective, which makes things that much more intriguing because we have no idea who these characters were before the film started. We have to take everything at face value. It's so well written - a lot of the horror elements of the film come directly from the dialogue. The idea in itself is scary, but seeing and hearing the reactions of the characters makes it even scarier. The pacing is great - at 1/2 an hour in, so much has already happened. Things are teased out really slowly, and the situation escalates in a way that has you completely glued ...

  Ella McCay (Emma Mackey) struggles to balance her family relationships and marriage with her job as governor. I heard really bad things about this film when it came out, which felt weird for a film that seemed quite simple and inoffensive. But it definitely made me more intrigued to see it. In fact, I don't know that I would have seen it without hearing the negative reviews. I thought the film was fine. I didn't love it, but it definitely wasn't as bad as the reviews suggested. I was surprised by the cast, though - there were, oddly, some great people in the film, and I do wonder why they all said yes to it. It's not exactly original or ground-breaking. I found the time jumps at the start of the film too significant, considering that all of the actors looked exactly the same in all time periods. The biggest problem of the movie for me was that it was more a collection of scenes than an actual movie. Some of them didn't even feel connected to each other. The charac...

  This was a first-time watch. I'd heard of the film in passing, but not enough to know the general public consensus of it, or what it was actually about beyond the one major plot point. This was a weird one for me. I liked the film, but I also had a hard time engaging and connecting with it. It took a little while for the film to grab me. I was interested in what was happening but I felt like I was having to force myself to be interested, rather than this happening naturally. It also could be that I just wasn't in the right mood to watch it, which isn't something I experience that often. Because while I could enjoy what was happening, I struggled to stay engaged. The relationship between Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) and Eli (Lina Leandersson) is the best part of the film. The actors play their parts amazingly well, especially because they were so young when they made the film. And it's the thing that makes the film stand out from other vampire movies - there's something ...

  American actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser) takes an unusual gig with a Japanese agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. But he soon finds himself becoming too invested in his clients' lives, building relationships that blur the lines between personal and professional. I really liked this movie. The concept is really really interesting. I didn't quite get what it would be based on the description alone, but seeing the idea play out is fascinating, and I'd love to know if the job really exists. Brendan Fraser plays this character perfectly, and with complete authenticity. You become invested in the story so quickly because of this character, and how connected you feel to him. I really empathised with him and loved following him on this journey. But all of the actors are so great and play their parts so well. They have great chemistry, in particular, Fraser and Shannon Mahina Gorman, who plays Mia - their relationship was so special and powerful. One underrated thing that...

  When Win and Bo bond over their limb differences at a party, they don't expect things to go any further than a one night stand. But suddenly there are new challenges to face, and they have no choice but to get to know each other before their lives change forever. I'd heard really good things about this book. I really liked the premise, it seemed original, which is something that I particularly look for in romance books. I liked this book. One of the notes I wrote was that this was the quickest I'd liked a book so far this year and that's true, I was locked in almost instantly and my interest never waned. Though at the beginning, as much as I liked it, it definitely moved a bit quickly for me. The turn from chapter 4 to 5 made my head spin! I loved being in Win's head, but I really loved all of the characters, rather than just the main couple. They're all written really well, and in particular, their dialogue is great (except for the sex scenes, where the dialo...

  I'd never heard of this film before seeing it on the bucket list, but the premise looked interesting and vague enough that it could be terrible, amazing or anything in between, so I was looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately I didn't like the film. The score is the first thing you notice while watching it. It really changes the tone of the film, and at times can become overpowering. The sounds are as prominent as the dialogue, which is really interesting. And similarly, the soundtrack, particularly at the beginning, makes the film feel like anything but horror. It takes a little while for this to feel like a horror film at all, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it's interesting getting to know this world before the horror kicks in. It's shot and edited in a really unique way. It takes a while to get used to, if you get used to it at all, but it's definitely original! I don't know yet if the style was for me, at times it felt like my screen wa...

  I can't say this is a re-watch I was looking forward to. I saw this film a couple of years ago, bearing in mind I'm usually a bit iffy about elevated horror anyway, and from what I remembered, I just didn't like the film. But I tried to go into this re-watch with an open mind. So imagine my surprise when I started watching, getting into the story, and ended up feeling completely different about it this time around. I actually liked the movie and had a good time watching it, which really wasn't the case the first time around! I liked where the film started. Not only do we understand really quickly what these dark forces want and are capable of, but we also get an interesting exploration of grief that carries through the film. The actors in this film are all so great. The child actors play their parts so well, and the adults are fantastic as these characters. Not only do they make the world feel really believable, but they are also good enough that they all feel authent...

  Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up in space with no recollection of how he got there. As he starts putting the pieces of his life together, he soon discovers his mission to save the world. But he also discovers that he doesn't have to do it alone. I had heard great things about this film. I went into it completely blind, I had no idea what it was about, but because of all the positive reviews I was looking forward to it. Thankfully I loved the film. The story itself was a great one. It's genuinely interesting and is told in a great way. It moves backwards and forwards in the right places, it lets us get to know and love the characters, and it forces us to become truly invested. It was much more emotional than I expected it to be. Even when you start to understand the direction it's going in, I didn't expect to care as much as I did by the end. One thing about space-based sci-fi movies is there can be a lot of technical jargon that the audience doesn...

  There are a few movies on this year's horror-themed bucket list that I've seen before and written posts on in the past, but this is the only one so far that I've wanted to write a second post on. Before I started watching the film I re-read what I wrote about it previously, and not only was it a really short post, but I didn't like the film that time as much as I had when I first saw it. And I assumed that this re-watch would be the same. So I was really surprised by how much I loved the film this time around! So much that I think it definitely deserved a proper review. My main reason for not loving it before was that not much happened, but for some reason, I completely disagree with that now, upon this third (or fourth) re-watch. There is a sinister undertone the entire way through, every single thing that happens in tinged with a feeling of unease and apprehension. Before anything even happens, before Rosemary is even pregnant, the audience is on edge, even though w...

  After a surprise confession causes chaos a week before their wedding, Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) wonder if they can still make it down the aisle. I'd heard really mixed things about this movie before seeing it, on polar opposite scales, so while I was looking forward to it, I didn't have exceptionally high hopes. I liked the film, but all-in-all it felt quite average. There were things about it that I really liked but I didn't love it overall. But I have to start with the confession that kicks everything off. For me the whole situation felt a bit weird. Without spoiling anything, the confession was based on something that hadn't actually happened, mixed in with other confessions from people who actually had done things. So while I understand why that might give you slight pause when thinking of marrying someone, it felt like a lot of what happened as a result was a bit dramatic and based on a character's own issues than the confession itself. Th...

  I'd never heard of this film, and the premise was vague while still being interesting, so I was looking forward to seeing it. The opening score, before the film even starts, really sets a tone. It's creepy and unsettling, and even though you have no idea what you're in for, you already know the feeling the filmmakers are going for. The first 10 minutes of the film are so well done. It's really powerful to hear the sounds of the murders while seeing the end result. It shows us exactly who this character is, even though we've barely seen him on screen. We feel worried for characters we don't (and will never) know, and this alone makes us really invested in what's to come. And from here, whenever we actually see a character killed on screen, it seems to carry less weight. It's much scarier to imagine what's happening than to actually see it. Michael Rooker, who plays Henry, is great in the role. Everything about the performance, from the way he speaks...

  While trying to raise his children following the unexpected loss of his wife, a man (Benedict Cumberbatch) has to deal with the physical manifestation of his grief. I heard about this film a while ago but it took me way too long to actually see it! That said, I'm glad I finally saw it because I liked it. From the first second, it feels really authentic. You never doubt that the characters are going through exactly what is being shown. Depicting grief in this way is really powerful. Even before the grief becomes physical, we really get to understand the characters through the way they grieve. The actors are great. Cumberbatch is fantastic in the role, and the child actors, Richard and Henry Boxall, are perfect and very authentic. There are times when the metaphor feels heavy-handed, particularly when the crow makes a speech. I don't think things needed to be spelled out for the audience like this. In fact, it took something away from the overall idea to make things too obvious...

  Like a few movies on the bucket list this year I've seen the remake but not the original, so I was looking forward to this one! I liked this film. It's great when a mystery film can get the audience invested right from the beginning, and this film does it well. Not only are we interested in solving the mystery, but we're instantly as wary of the residents of the town as the Sergeant is. One way I'd describe this film is 'odd'. It's a major plot point, every character acts a bit weird, the setting is a bit off, everything is off kilter. It straddles the line of being fantastical and grounded, and that makes it a really interesting watch. I can't say this is the most entertaining movie. You're interested in the mystery, but from here, most of the film is about the town and seeing the odd way they live. So after you get over the weirdness, your interest ebbs and flows. For me, I was still interested in solving the mystery, but the eerie nature of the ...

  When five ballerinas find themselves trapped in a roadside inn with the dangerous inhabitants, they have to use all of their skills to save themselves. I'd heard mixed things about this film before deciding to watch it. The plot was kind of vague so I wasn't completely sure what to expect. I really liked this film. For a start, the cast is great! The film stars Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika, Millicent Simmonds, Iris Apatow and Uma Thurman, and all of the actors do a fantastic job portraying their characters. It's engaging from the very first moment to the moment the credits roll. The beginning of the film feels very odd, it's hard to know what to make of it. But once the real plot gets going, you're completely locked in.  The dialogue is probably the thing that lets the film down a bit. It takes a while for the characters to actually sound like real people, even when the acting is great. This is particularly true of the villains, a few of which just felt l...

  I've seen the 2005 remake of this film but I only have a vague memory of what it was about, so this is definitely like a new watch entirely - one I was looking forward to! I really liked this film! It took a while to actually start. The credits were still coming up after 12 minutes when it felt like we should have been actually getting into the story, especially because the film is only 90 minutes. I really liked the characters. There's a lot of time in the beginning of the film where we're entirely focused on the characters with the fog being just an ominous presence in the background, and it's great to get to spend time with them. Not only do we really get to understand the world, but when the fog does hit, we're more invested. This also added to how close the town felt. We see the different ways people are affected, how their stories come together, and it's great to see their connections. I really liked the visuals. The film is shot in a really interesting ...

  After the events of the first two chapters, Maya ( Madelaine Petsch)  faces off against the masked killers one last time. I don't know why I keep doing it to myself with these movies, but at least the franchise is (hopefully) over now. As expected, this was not a good film. I have no idea why the writers went down the route of giving the killers a backstory, because in all of horror history, these are the killers that least need an explanation. The only reason the first two movies outside of this trilogy worked so well is because there was no reason! I actually liked the way the film began, maybe I was just hopeful that they would move on from Maya's story, because that's exactly what the movie needed. New characters, fresh blood, another new start. But that's where the good things started and ended. There were way too many characters in this one. But in addition to that, they're all dull and badly written. Maya as a main character is one of the issues - I barely ...

  After picking up a hitchhiker on a deserted road, young newlyweds April and Eddie soon find themselves haunted by a string of unsolved murders. The premise of this book was such an interesting   one that I really couldn't wait to get into it. Before I opened the book, I thought it would make a great movie or series based on the description alone. I really liked another of the author's books, The Sun Down Motel, so this was on my list immediately! Unfortunately the actual story was a bit disappointing. But it was great that we get into things right away. The characters are picking up the hitchhiker in maybe the first chapter and that first section is really intriguing and genuinely creepy. Then from here, things start to go downhill. Rather than staying with the scares and creepiness, the story pivots to 'the police think our heroes are the killers', and it stays here for way too long. I get why it went in this direction, it definitely made the story feel more authenti...