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One Night Only | Film Review

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  On the one night of the year when singles can legally have sex, Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro) seem to be the only people in the city looking for something that lasts longer than just one night. There was a lot said about the premise of this movie before it came out, most of which pointing out how ridiculous it sounded and how many logistical problems it would cause. So I don't think anyone was really looking at this with any element of seriousness. And as someone who was also sceptical, I was surprised that I actually liked it! For a start, even though the concept does feel a bit stupid, it's also original and interesting, so you have to give it props for that! It has a really fun soundtrack and makes music an integral part of the story. You instantly like the characters - though the cast feels odd. The film is full of people that you wouldn't expect or choose for the roles they play. Much of the movie tries to go in a more comedic direction, but it'...
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A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I've mentioned before that I'm wary of vampire horror movies, as it's not a sub-genre I love. All I knew about this film before watching it was that it was a vampire movie, so I wasn't particularly excited for it. I thought the film was fine. I didn't love it but didn't hate it either. It starts in a really grounded way. We really get to know the main character from his first moments on screen, and we're immediately invested in his story. It's set in a world that feels really authentic and real. So much so that you almost forget you're watching a vampire movie, or even a horror at points. What makes this film original is the categorisation of the vampire. She's so many things wrapped up into one. At times she's the villain, and then she becomes a saviour. We don't know whether we should be scared or her, intrigued by her, enamoured with her or all three. I didn't find the story as engaging the whole way through as it was at the begi...
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Suspiria (2018) | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I'd heard of this film and seen the poster before it was on the bucket list, but I had no idea what it was about and had no desire to watch it. When I saw it on the list I assumed it was referring to the 1977 version, so I was really surprised that the modern one was considered a classic. I have mixed feelings about this film - there was more bad than good. The dance studio setting is really interesting. We get the chance to see the characters at different levels of intensity; it's an intimate, almost claustrophobic setting, and we feel like we're in the studio with the characters. It gives us the opportunity to really get to know them. Tension is created really well in the film. From the very beginning the audience is immediately on edge, and the tension doesn't let up for almost the whole runtime. The actors are really great in these roles. They all bring a different but complementary performance that hugely impacts the overall tone of the movie. Speaking of the ton...
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The Love Hypothesis | Film Review

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  When Olive (Lili Reinhart) accidentally kisses Professor Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman) in an attempt to make her best friend believe that she's dating someone, the pair begin a fake romance that begins to unearth real feelings. I was really looking forward to this movie. I read the book a few years ago and loved it, so I was hoping that I'd love the movie as much. And while the movie wasn't as good as the book, I did really enjoy it. I loved the premise of the book, and was really happy to see that it works in movie form. The cast was great. I tend to really like Lili Reinhart's performances, and I'm a fan of Jaboukie Young-White and was so excited when he was announced as Malcolm. I loved the introduction to Olive and the fact that the audience could get to know her and some of the other supporting characters before the story even really begins. In terms of Olive and Adam, it was great to see the way their chemistry developed as the film went on, and for the most p...
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Book Review: Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan

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  When architect Tate Donovan moves to Cape Cod to design a home, he meets Wren, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past. As they begin to build a connection, Tate discovers that in order to free Wren, he has to discover the truth about her past, and the dark secrets of the town, before it's too late. I was actually quite sceptical about this book. Despite liking works by Sparks and Shyamalan, the idea of a 'supernatural love story' could either be great or terrible, and I hadn't seen many great reviews. So I was really surprised by how much I loved it! For a start, I got into the story right away. From the moment I opened the book I felt like I really knew the characters and their world and was so invested in their story. I really loved the characters, including the surrounding ones that didn't have as much time on the page. There is a little twist to the story that comes out maybe a quarter of the way through. This was spoiled for me as I was reading the book whe...
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The Devils | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I hadn't heard of this movie before the bucket list, but after seeing what it was roughly about, I was a bit apprehensive. I find horror movies rooted in religion a bit hit or miss (and probably more miss than hit). Coupled with seeing that it had been banned when it came out for how controversial it was, I didn't really know what I was getting into! I didn't love this one. I found this film really hard to follow, especially at the beginning. Not only do you not really get the opportunity to connect with the characters, but the story itself was hard to get your head around. At least, it was for me. Either way, the story didn't grab me. And it got to a point in the film where I knew that it probably wouldn't. The actors are great, and do a great job with the characters. I can definitely see where the controversy comes in, particularly for an audience of the time. By today's standards I wouldn't describe it as controversial, but it is interesting to look at ...
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Ice Cream Man | Film Review

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  An ice cream man (Ari Millen) sells treats to children, with murderous consequences. Sometimes hearing bad things about a movie makes me more excited to see it than positive reviews, and this was definitely one of those times. I'd heard so many terrible things about the movie that I couldn't wait to see it for myself! And the reviews are right, this isn't a great film. Though for the most part I did enjoy watching it. From the beginning it's clear that the acting isn't going to be great. I think the majority of the kids did a good job, but generally speaking this isn't an acting masterclass. But the thing that lets it down majorly is the writing. For a start, the characters are caricatures, particularly the child bullies. It's like someone wrote down the traits of a typical bully, mixed them up and threw them into the script with no accounting for individual personalities or anything that could have been used to develop the characters or push the story for...
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