Bria Lou Reviews

  Two men (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) kidnap a CEO (Emma Stone) when they become convinced that she is an alien trying to destroy Earth. This one was on my radar before I knew the premise, purely based on it's Oscar potential. So I was really surprised to see what it was about. But because the premise is really interesting, and I liked 'Poor Things' by the same director (and starring Emma Stone) I was looking forward to seeing it. I had to let this film sit with me for a bit because I wasn't sure how I felt about it, it's a really odd mix. I've come to the conclusion that I did like it, but it wasn't on the top end of the Best Picture nominees for me. It had a slow start. Given we know the basic premise, we're looking forward to getting into it, but it takes way too long to actually start. And an argument could be made that it's good to get to know the characters first, but I don't think we get to know them that well. There were scenes that ...

  I was looking forward to this one. I must have watched it years ago but I had no memory of it before this re-watch so it was like watching it for the first time, which was fun. I liked this film. The first thing I have to say about it is that it popularised found footage movies, and that alone makes it iconic. Even though it wasn't the first, it paved the way for so many amazing modern movies, some of which are favourites of mine, such as most of the Paranormal Activity franchise. One of the best things about the film is the commitment to realism. The actors were playing versions of themselves and their dialogue was improvised, which makes everything about the film feel really real. You believe everything that's happening because so much effort was put into making it authentic. The dialogue is one of the best things about the film. The actors do a really great job with their characters - not only do we get to know them despite only seeing them in this context, but we feel lik...

  The story of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger whose life takes many unexpected turns in the early 20th century. I'd heard great things about this film, but it's probably not one that I would have chosen to watch had it not been for the awards buzz. The premise was vague and not particularly intriguing. That being said, I'm glad I watched it because I did like it. I went in blind, which I'd definitely recommend, as the less you know about a story like this, the easier it is to become truly invested. It takes a while to get used to the characters and their world. For me the voiceover that's throughout the entire film took me the most time to get on board with. There was great chemistry between the actors. This was most obvious between Edgerton and Felicity Jones, who played Gladys, but it's present in all the relationships Grainier makes. Speaking of the actors, while I'm not surprised that the film received the nominations it got, I was surprised t...

  I've seen this film twice and hated it both times, so here's hoping third time's the charm! Unfortunately I still didn't like it. It had been so many years since I'd seen the film that I didn't really remember much, which was good because it almost felt like coming to it fresh. One thing I absolutely didn't remember was how, for want of a better word, annoying the character of Sam is. Noah Wiseman plays him really well, but I never felt as much sympathy for the mother, Amelia (played be Essie Davis) as I did on this re-watch. That being said, there's not one likeable character, or one that you can really connect with. And in the case of the mother it's completely clear why, but whatever the case, it makes it harder to engage with the story. Every time an ad came on, I was happy to just have a break from this family. I couldn't wait for the film to be over! Not much happens during the film, which was probably why I didn't like it the first t...

  A year after the incident at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Abby's (Piper Rubio) desire to reconnect with her animatronic friends sets into a motion a series of events that put her, Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) in grave danger. I liked the first film. It wasn't a masterpiece, but I had a good time with it. So even though I was apprehensive about this one due to the bad reviews, I did want to see it. And I'm glad I did because I had a great time with this one too! I thought the opening scene was really well done, and honestly scarier than the entirety of the first movie. I liked the characters more this time around - now that we know who they are and what their pasts were, we're able to just enjoy the film rather than trying to figure them out, which makes way for more fun and scares. There were some great additions to the cast, though all of them were completely underused. The kills and scares were really fun. I really loved seeing Skeet Ulrich and...

  Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) are best friends who go on vacation together every summer. But after two years of not speaking, Poppy has one chance to connect with Alex again, before they lose their friendship for good. I've owned the book this film is based on for years but only read it a few weeks before the film came out. I was interested enough in the book to look forward to the film, but I didn't love the story as much as I wanted to. I enjoyed the movie as much as I thought I probably would. I have to admit, I was sceptical about the casting based on the book, but I really loved these two together! The chemistry was good and the actors work well together. Their friendship was lovely to watch and the best thing about the film. The romance was okay, but it only really worked because of how strong their friendship was. And actually, their chemistry worked much better for a friendship than a romance. As with all adaptations, there were fundamental changes from the...