Bria Lou Reviews

Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), a 64-year-old swimmer attempts to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida. I have to admit, I probably never would have watched this film if the lead actresses weren't nominated for Oscars for their performances. The premise doesn't necessarily appeal to me. As expected, the film is exactly what it says, so you'll probably already know if it's for you or not. While the story is inspiring, it isn't the most interesting thing to watch. I have wondered whether it suits the movie format at all, because there is so much about the film that didn't work for me. And as much as I understand why stories about personal triumph and never giving up are important to tell, there were probably better ways to do it. I'm not sure if Diana Nyad ever wrote a book, but that would probably have been a more interesting way to tell the story. It seems to me that to really enjoy this film, you either have to have an interest in Nyad herself,...

Activist Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo) tries to change the course of the Civil Rights movement by organising the March on Washington, fighting both racism and homophobia along the way . I didn't know anything about this story before the film, which is a shame as Rustin should definitely be a more well-known figure when it comes to learning about the Civil Rights movement. But without understating the importance of the real-life man who did these things, the film itself falls a bit flat. The opening scene is really powerful, and seems to be giving a small taste of what's to come. I think if the film had been able to keep the tone it set here, it would have been great. The writing, for the most part, was great. When looking at the story as a whole, it is powerful, but while watching it, there was so many moments where it felt like we were just watching a combination of great movies that we've already seen multiple times. It wasn't as compelling as it needed to be. I foun...

I'm so happy to be back writing Oscars posts! I took a break for the last few years, mainly due to the pandemic, and then found it hard to get back in the groove. But this year I decided to get back into it and I'm so glad! So as I've done previously, I'll be going through some of the categories (only the ones where I've seen most (if not all) of the nominated movies) and going through what I think will win, what I hope will win, and why. And as usual, I'll start by ranking the Best Picture nominees according to my personal preference. Click each nominee to be taken to my review of the film. 10. Barbie 9. The Zone of Interest 8. Maestro 7. Oppenheimer 6. American Fiction 5. Anatomy of a Fall 4. Past Lives 3. Killers of the Flower Moon 2. The Holdovers 1. Poor Things This year has been a bit of a weird one in that I gave so many of these movies the same, or very similar, scores, so many of these rankings are interchangeable. It's definitely been a great year ...

The commandant of Auschwitz tries to build a life for himself and his family while living next to the Concentration Camp. This was the last film I needed to watch to have seen all of this years Best Picture nominees. I didn't really know what the film was about, but knew I'd be watching it regardless. I didn't like the film as much as I wanted to. However, what I did love was the use of sound. It is so important! Being able to hear the sounds of the camp as the backdrop to this family's domestic life is really powerful. Everything that happens, and everything about what the film is saying, is done really subtly. The performances, the writing, the sound, nothing is too much or 'in your face'. And the subtle nuances are what makes it work. The horrific nature of what is happening hits you multiple times as the film continues, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because, as I've mentioned, the film is subtle. However, for me this didn'...

Frustrated with the way Black entertainment relies on harmful stereotypes and tropes, novelist Monk (Jeffrey Wright) writes an outlandish book to prove his point. But when the book unexpectedly becomes a best-seller, Monk has to navigate the publishing world while keeping his involvement a secret. I didn't know much about this film and only had it on my to-watch list because it was nominated for Best Picture. But after watching the trailer, I couldn't wait to see it! I really liked this movie! It's a satire, so I expected it to be funny, but I didn't expect it to be that funny! It was such a pleasant watching experience for the humour alone. The film has a lot to say about the presence of Black people in the media, and it's a good point to make. Black media can often seem like it's entirely trauma because it's rare for films about Black joy or happiness to make it to the forefront. The film lays this out in an interesting way and really makes you think about...

After being catapulted to fame, conductor Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) begins a relationship with Felicia  Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) that changes both of their lives forever. I had been putting off this movie for a long time. Ignoring all the press and the Oscars and everything else, I just didn't think it would be something I'd like. If it wasn't nominated, I'm not sure I ever would have made myself sit down and watch it. As expected, I didn't love the film. There were things about it I liked, and things I didn't like, but overall I found it just okay. The first thing that stood out was the cinematography. If nothing else, the film is great to look at and shot in a really interesting way. Cooper and Mulligan have great chemistry. But as good as they are together, the characters often don't feel like real people. In some scenes, they feel almost like caricatures. The story is told well, but it isn't particularly interesting. In fact, I hate to s...

When a woman (Emma Stone) is brought back to life by a scientist (Willem Dafoe), she decides to leave her oppressive home to discover who she wants to be in a new world. This was probably my most anticipated watch in the run-up to the Oscars. The way people were talking about it, I just knew I had to see it as soon as possible. I loved this film! It was wild in the best way possible. For a start, hopefully this isn't a spoiler, but I love the way the film approaches sex - both the idea of it and the actual scenes. A lot of the time, usually with American productions, violence is seen as much more palatable than sex. The European approach to this is often the other way around and I think that makes a lot more sense. So I'm really glad the film approached the sexual liberation of the character in this way. It was so well written - the humour doesn't ever feel like it's trying.  Speaking of the humour, it was so smoothly woven into the story that I often didn't find th...

A disliked teacher (Paul Giamatti) at a boarding school stays behind during Christmas break to look after a trouble-making student (Dominic Sessa), with the help of the school's head cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph). What starts off as an annoying obligation becomes a life-changing experience, as the three form a bond they never expected.   We are now into Oscar season! At the time of writing this, the nominations came out last week, and thankfully I guessed correctly that this film would be nominated for Best Picture. I loved this film. So far this is probably my favourite of the Best Picture nominees (though there are some key movies I haven't seen yet). For a start, just to get this out of the way, if I was in charge of the Academy, all of the main actors would walk out of that ceremony with an Oscar - especially Dominic Sessa, whose performance is extremely underrated. I was completely entertained throughout the movie. It's not particularly long, around 2 hours 13 minute...

When a woman (Sandra Hüller) is accused of murdering her husband (Samuel Theis), their blind 11-year-old son ( Milo Machado Graner) faces a dilemma as the only witness. When the Best Picture nominees were announced, this was one of the ones I was most looking forward to. Not just because of the interesting plot, but because of the way people spoke about it. I knew it would definitely be one to watch. I really really liked this film. It's so compelling from the very beginning and you become engrossed in the story really quickly. I found that at some points it was hard to look away from the screen. The film was really interesting throughout, but my favourite scenes were definitely the ones in the courtroom. The camera movements were great, there were so many unique shots. If the plot wasn't interesting enough by itself, it was definitely an interesting watch visually. The way the story is told, going back and forth between the present and the past, is really well done. I really l...

  Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) are childhood best friends who are torn apart when Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later they reunite and are forced to confront what their relationship means. I really wanted to see this when it first came out, but I missed it at the cinema. So I'm really glad I've finally seen it! I loved this film. I liked it instantly upon seeing the opening scene. Not only is the dialogue voicing what the audience is also thinking, but there's a really interesting contrast between seeing the characters across the bar, and then being directly transported into their childhoods. Speaking of which, the child actors were fantastic. The younger versions of the characters were played by Seung Ah Moon and Seung Min Yim and they were both amazing. I really wanted to see more of them! But the acting all around is great, and the main actors are also great as these characters. The acting across the board feels really real and aut...

  During World War II, J. Robert Oppenheimer and a team of scientists create the atomic bomb that leads to the world's first nuclear explosion. I wanted to see this back when the whole Barbie vs Oppenheimer thing was happening in the summer, but only got around to seeing Barbie. But Oppenheimer was always on my radar and I'm glad I've finally seen it. Honestly, though, because of all the hype surrounding the movie, I was a bit disappointed. I liked it, but I wasn't as invested as I wanted to be. The cast was great. Every time you look up there's another unexpected recognisable face on the screen. I thought I knew everyone that was in it because of social media, but there were still some surprises. The cinematography was the thing that really stood out for me. Of course it's not unusual for a Christopher Nolan film to be beautifully shot, but this is no exception. I was interested in the story, and stayed engaged for the whole three hour runtime, but I wasn't...

Twenty years after their romance captivated the nation for all the wrong reasons, a couple's relationship changes when an actress (Natalie Portman) researches them for a movie about their lives. I heard so much about this movie that I watched it as soon as I could. I had no context, and no idea what it was actually about. I liked this film, though 'like' is a really trivial word when you know what it's about. This is a really interesting story, told in a unique and intriguing way. I didn't know what to expect and was more invested than I thought I would be. The characters are fascinating and complex. They are coming from three very distinct points of view, and it's really interesting to see the story through each of their eyes. The acting is great from all three of the main actors, but Charles Melton is a definite standout and played his role so well. The film moves slowly but is never boring. At times I found that even though there wasn't much happening, I ...

I was really excited to see this movie. I think it was a combination of becoming a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan this year; this being a new Scorsese movie; and wanting to get back into the Oscars for next year (because I assume this will get a few nominations), but I went to see it as soon as I could. In the 1920s, the FBI investigates a series of murders that take place within the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County. I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear that this is a really good movie. Just hearing about the story is really powerful, so seeing it on screen completely amplifies that. Everything that happens is so meaningful, every line has power. One of the major criticisms of the film before it came out was the 3hr 26min runtime. And while I would have probably liked it to be shorter (I was definitely getting uncomfortable by the third hour), there was nothing that I'd cut. Everything that happened moved the story on and felt like it needed to be there. So I ...

  I can't remember the last time I was so excited to see a film. And with the way people on social media have been talking about it, my expectations were really high. Barbie (Margot Robbie) is having the time of her life living in Barbie Land, and Ken (Ryan Gosling) is also there, vying for Barbie's affection. But when Barbie has to travel to the real world to fix some problems, she and Ken discover the truth about a world they've never really known. I hate saying this, and it feels like I'm one of the only people who feel this way, but I was really disappointed with this movie. I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would. For a start, I felt like too much was shown in clips and trailers before the film was released. Watching the film almost felt like deja vu, especially in the first 30 minutes. I had already heard most of the jokes and knew exactly where the story was going up to a point. I loved the inclusion of the mother/daughter relationship and the way ...