Bria Lou Reviews

  I wasn't particularly excited to see this film. I didn't love the first Kenneth Branagh/Hercule Poirot film, 'Murder on the Orient Express', so I didn't have high hopes for this one.  A couple's honeymoon on a luxury cruise is cut short when someone is found murdered. My expectations were low, and somehow I still managed to be disappointed. The film begins with a backstory that feels unnecessary not only in and of itself, but with the rest of the story. It doesn't give any necessary information, it doesn't aid in the telling of the story, and honestly just felt like a waste of the first 10 minutes. Some of the performances in the film felt like parodies, which felt odd considering that all of the main cast of the film are (or have in the past been) respected actors. A lot of the acting didn't work for me and made the film hard to watch without laughing. This also goes for some of the accents in the film - not only did they not feel necessary, but s...

I had no idea what this film was about when I started watching it, and that's the best way to watch it because... it's a crazy ride. When Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) takes a chance and gives Steve (Sebastian Stan) her number, she becomes trapped in a nightmare that she never could have anticipated. I hope that's vague enough! I really enjoyed this film. I didn't know what to expect, but that works in the film's favour and made it so much more entertaining. My first impression was that I really liked the couple and their meet-cute. They had an innocence about them that was sweet to watch. And after seeing the film, you'll know why this opinion is laughable. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan and the rest of the cast (which includes Jonica T. Gibbs as Mollie and Andrea Bang as Penny) are amazing in their roles. The idea of the film is almost too crazy to exist, which is exactly why it should. It is reminiscent of a certain type of horror movie that I love, while still ...

I heard quite a lot about this film before seeing it, mainly the general opinion that people really enjoyed it. I’m a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds, so I was always going to watch it, but the positive reaction to it made me excited to see it. Time-travelling pilot Adam (Ryan Reynolds) teams up with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) to save the future. I enjoyed this film a lot more than I initially thought I would. One of the things about Ryan Reynolds is that all of his movies contain his signature humour. And fortunately, this humour was replicated by Walker Scobell, who played his role amazingly. I loved that the film didn’t take too long to explain things, and the characters didn’t take a long time to work things out. It just accepted time travel as a real concept, and then moved on, which was perfect. There were moments where the film tries to be heartfelt, but a lot of the emotional things felt very surface-level. The film told us that this character was sad/hurt/affected by some...

  The Steve Martin 'Cheaper by the Dozen' films are two of my favourite films from my childhood. I re-watched them at the end of last year and still love them. But even though I loved them so much, for whatever reason, I was really onboard with a reboot, so I was really looking forward to watching this modern update. Two parents (Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff) struggle to raise their blended family of ten children while navigating past relationships, moving home and expanding their breakfast restaurant. I enjoyed this film. It isn't the best film in the world, and it's not necessarily better than its predecessors, but I thought it was fun. For me the major problem with this film is the name. If the film reduced the number of children and changed the name, not only would it have felt original and interesting, but there would be no ties to the 'Cheaper by the Dozen' films. It would just be an interesting drama about a blended family. I liked the characters, and l...

I was really looking forward to seeing this film. Not only am I a huge fan of Ben Affleck, but this film was being talked about a lot while the actors were in a relationship in 2020, so I was intrigued about it for a while. A married couple play dangerous mind games that threaten the lives of the people around them. That isn't the most accurate description of the film, but because I went into it almost completely blind, I didn't want to give anything away whatsoever. I liked this film. It has definite flaws, and I can see why others might not like it, but it was more interesting than I assumed it would be. Though I have to say, it is advertised as an erotic thriller, and I didn't really get that from it. Unless just the idea of sex makes a film erotic? Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas work well as a couple and have great chemistry. But the characters that they play, while interesting, don't always feel real. The film has a very specific tone and vibe. There is so much tens...

  This is one of the first thrillers that I had on my 2022 TBR. Not only are thrillers my favourite genre, but this one looked especially interesting, so I was really excited to read it. Adam and Amelia are in the Scottish Highlands for a remote weekend getaway that could make or break their marriage. But Adam and Amelia are both keeping secrets that, if revealed, could destroy their relationship. And soon, it's not only their marriage that's in danger.  I really wanted to love this book. It had an interesting premise, and could have gone in so many different ways. Unfortunately, it went in a direction that didn't really work for me. The opening line of the book was the thing that intrigued me enough to get the book in the first place. The character Adam in the book suffers from face-blindness, and does not recognise the people closest to him. I found this really interesting, particularly for a thriller where there is so much that can't be trusted. From the first page, ...

I had been looking forward to seeing this film for a while. I am a huge fan of the director, James Wan, and would probably watch anything he made, so this was always going to be in my 'to watch' list. When Madison (Annabelle Wallis) is plagued by dreams of gruesome murders, she is terrified to discover that her dreams are, in fact, a reality. I appreciate the overall idea for the film more than I liked the execution of it. What first threw me off was that I couldn't tell whether the film was supposed to be modern or old-fashioned, particularly because of the architecture. It takes a really long time to figure anything out, and even when you think you understand something, 10 minutes later you find out that you never really understood it at all. This could be seen as either a good or bad thing - the film is mysterious, but it does become frustrating. At times the film felt a bit like a parody - especially because of the stupid decisions the characters make. The story is inte...