Bria Lou Reviews

Next up for the Bucket List was another first-time watch! I'd seen the original 1932 film years ago and really liked it, but I never got around to watching this (undoubtedly more popular) version, so I'm glad it was on the list. I really really liked this movie. I'm not sure if I like it more than, or the same as the original, but I definitely had a great time with it. One thing about finally seeing all these classic movies is seeing how much impact they've had on pop culture, and this film is definitely no exception. It's so quotable, there are so many iconic images, and it's one that everyone should watch if they haven't seen it before. The most talked-about aspect of this film is probably the violence, and that's so interesting to see. Not only the way it's spoken about, but also the difference between violence in older films like this and newer releases. I personally thought the violence was done well, and while probably not all of it was strictl

When ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse, he soon finds that his past is quickly catching up to him. I've never seen the original Road House, and when I put this one on I wasn't really planning to review it, but I found myself really getting into it. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Both the characters and the story were a lot more engaging and compelling than I thought they would be. The story sucked me in right from the beginning and I was interested the whole way through. The cast is great, but Jake Gyllenhaal completely carries the film and plays the character of Dalton really well. Again, I can't compare his performance to the original, but I really like the character. The fight scenes, which are pretty much what the film is about, are done really well. They're entertaining, but they also do a good job of moving the story forward. I think the reason I liked the film so much was because I didn't take it

  Next up for the Bucket List was a first-time watch. This is one that I had obviously heard of but knew next to nothing about. I found that it took a long time for me to connect with the story, and even then, while the film was interesting to watch, I never felt particularly invested in it. There were a lot of recognisable, iconic moments that I appreciated, and I get how much of an impact it had on sci-fi (and probably movies in general), but I don't know if it was for me. I somewhat enjoyed it, I understood everything that happened, but never felt connected, and didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It could just be that I need to re-watch it, and I probably will, but for a first watch, I didn't take to it as much as I wanted to. But that being said, I'm glad I finally watched it!

A former movie star and a group of her family and friends take a spontaneous trip to a private island. By the end of the vacation, one of them has been murdered.  I've read Michaelides' first two books, and I didn't love either of them. I rated them a 2.5 and 2 respectively, out of 5. I pre-ordered this book because I wanted to give the author one more chance, and this seemed like the perfect way to do it. The premise was reminiscent of 'The Guest List' by Lucy Foley, which I loved. But I was completely aware going into this that, if I didn't like it, it would probably be the last Michaelides book I pick up. So yeah, I hate using the word 'hate' to describe the entirety of how I felt, but I really really didn't like this book. The only thing I really liked was the length of the prologue. I'm not a huge fan of prologues, but this one was the perfect length.  My first gripe is with the narrator. I hated his voice from the very beginning, as it was

Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is an author who writes spy novels featuring secret agent Argylle. But when the plots of her books begin to mirror events in the real spy world, Elly finds herself in grave danger. I saw the trailer for this movie while watching another film and wasn't particularly interested in it. But after hearing and reading all the (mostly negative) reviews, I wanted to see what it was all about! I didn't hate the film, but I didn't really like it either. There's definitely more bad than good about this one. But one good thing - I really liked how it began. The beginning reminded me a lot of 'The Lost City', and I liked seeing the transitions from Argylle to Elly and back. However, one of the first problems I had was that Elly seemed like the least interesting character in the film she leads. I wanted to see more of everyone else and a bit less of her. But that being said, none of the characters are great, and none of them feel like real pe

  Another first-time Bucket List watch! I had been meaning to see this film for such a long time, years, and I'd never gotten around to it, so I'm really glad I've finally seen it! I really really liked the film. Honestly, I feel like I would have loved it if there wasn't so much of Bruce Willis's storyline. Because everything else I loved, but that dragged on a bit for me. But even then, that storyline would be great in an average film - it just wasn't as strong as everything else that happened. One of the main things that highlights a Tarantino film as being a Tarantino film is his signature writing style, and it's on full display here. I loved every piece of dialogue. You could watch this film with your eyes closed and understand these characters and who they are, because the writing explores them so fully. It was really interesting watching this film after seeing Reservoir Dogs, not only because of the crossover of actors, but because of how similar they