Bria Lou Reviews

  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...