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The Fast and the Furious | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I have no experience with the Fast and Furious franchise. I know the actors, but I've never seen any of the movies and had no idea what they were really about before watching this one. Despite this not being a long film, it took me a while to get into it. That being said, I really liked that it doesn't start off with introductions or context. You learn about the characters and this world as you go. The more the characters learn about each other, the more you grow to like and care about them. The story was actually a lot more compelling than I expected. At the beginning I was feeling apprehensive and a bit uninterested in the whole thing, but it took a couple of interesting turns that kept me invested.  And that's not to say that the plot was great - this isn't the best-written film in the world. It had some good ideas and great scenes but either ended them too quickly or didn't commit to them. It focused more on fun and fast cars then telling a great story, and th...

28 Years Later | Film Review

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  25 years after the rage virus first began to spread, a group of survivors find that the virus has begun to mutate both the infected and other survivors. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who isn't particularly keen on the 28 Days Later franchise. I didn't really like the first movie, and I thought the second was okay but nothing special, so I wasn't hugely excited to see this one. This one was better than the first two, and better than I thought it would be, but again I didn't love it. However, the first thing I need to praise is the production design. The designers did an amazing job of creating this world and making everything look authentic. The entire film is visually stunning. Every location is beautiful and obviously created with a lot of thought and care. This was an interesting expansion to these movies because it kept enough the same to make things feel familiar to the audience, while also changing enough to keep things completely fresh and new...

Scream | 100 Movies Bucket List

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I rewatch this film, and almost the entire franchise, at least once a year, so I was looking forward to this year's watch. This film is iconic in the truest sense of the word - it created something really special for the slasher genre, and horror movies in general, and brought in new audiences and ideas that changed the world of horror forever. First of all, the opening was amazing. It was a brand new idea, it messed with the audience by killing the most famous cast member first, and it spawned so many spoofs and parodies, including the Scary Movie franchise! It was a perfect way to begin the story and it's become iconic in its own right. The cast was great. Not only did the actors do such great jobs with their characters that the characters themselves have become iconic too, but some have gone on to do great things with this film as a springboard.  Even the ones who were already household names  are still forever associated with the franchise because of how iconic and well-kn...

The Home | Film Review

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  Forced to complete community service at a retirement home, Max (Pete Davidson) uncovers a horrifying secret. I hadn't really heard people talking about this film before it came out, but I'm always down to watch an original horror and the plot seemed somewhat interesting. This movie left a lot to be desired. For a start, it had a really odd tone that took me a while to get used to. Everything the characters did just had an undercurrent of inauthenticity, and you can't really tell if this is because of the film's plot, or because the acting choices don't really work. The dialogue in particular was very inauthentic and stilted. Though I do have to shout out John Glover, who did a great job, and who I just love seeing in anything since Smallville! While the story is somewhat interesting in the beginning, it moves so slowly that any interest you had is drained. It did a good job of investing time and attention into the characters we're supposed to like, but because...

3 Month Favourites | July - September 2025

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 Time for another Favourites post! Favourite Film (1): Weapons Of course this one was the first on the list. I reviewed it HERE , and it's my favourite film of the year so far - don't be surprised to see it on my favourites list for the whole of 2025! I loved it so much, and after three watches, it just gets better and better! Favourite Film (2): The Life of Chuck And here's my second favourite film of the year so far! I reviewed it HERE and I loved it in a completely different way than Weapons. Weapons is an awesome, original, creatively unique horror movie. The Life of Chuck is a stunning, life-affirming, powerful drama. And while I gave Weapons a slight edge here, The Life of Chuck had a much deeper impact on me, and it was a joy to watch and recommend. Favourite TV Show (1): Shameless (US) After starting The Bear and loving it, I wanted to see the whole cast in some of their other projects. I'd heard of this show due to the UK version, but had never watched it. I p...

Goodfellas | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  This was a first-time watch, and one that I'd been expecting and highly anticipating! When I hear the phrase 'classic movies', my mind goes to Scorsese almost instantly. And as I've seen quite a few Scorsese movies now, this was one I was really hoping would be on a bucket list (not that I wouldn't have watched it anyway!). I really liked this movie. It was interesting to see this world from an outsider point of view. We are aligned with Henry from the very beginning, we learn things as he does, and we feel a connection to him that carries through the entire film. The cast is amazing. Scorsese tends to use the same cast for multiple movies and it works really well, especially in similarly-themed movies. Ray Liotta was perfect in this role (as was Christopher Serrone who played the younger Henry), and the supporting cast does a great job of assisting in the telling of this story. Everyone feels so authentic in their roles, which adds to the realism of the film as a...

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I probably saw this film around the time it first came out in and then never again, so this felt very much like a first watch. This isn't a series I kept up with, or one I was particularly excited to go back into, but I was intrigued to see it again having no memories of what it's actually about. The first thing that stuck out to me was how iconic the score was. Even though I didn't remember the plot of the film, I absolutely remembered the score. It gave me a sense of nostalgia and fit perfectly with each scene it was used in. It adds a sense of excitement to fight scenes and really makes you feel like you're in this world with these characters. I got into the story quicker than I thought I would - mainly because I didn't think I'd like or care about the characters as much as I did. They all have great introductions, we get to know them really quickly, and when we become invested in who they are, we also become invested in the story. I really really loved the...