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Anyone But You | Film Review

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After a great first date that quickly goes bad, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) despise each other. But when they are both invited to a destination wedding, they decide to fake date to stop their animosity from ruining the wedding celebrations. I didn't pay much attention to this film until I started seeing the reviews. I haven't seen a really good rom-com in a while, so hearing that this was quite a good one made me excited to see it! I liked this film, but I didn't love it. The meet-cute was really fun and unique, and a good way for the audience to get to know the characters. The cast is great, and the characters are all played really well. The main characters in particular are really fun to watch, especially when they're arguing. The dialogue is written really well and it's an enjoyable watch, but I never felt like I really got to know them, and so I never felt 100% invested in their stories. And with that, while I enjoyed their interactions, I never r

Book Review #127: The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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After the events of 'The Inheritance Games', Avery still doesn't know why Tobias Hawthorne left her his entire fortune. All she knows for sure is that she isn't a Hawthorne. But when she discovers something that suggests she's closer to the Hawthorne family than she ever imagined, Avery, along with the mysterious Hawthorne brothers, try to find the truth once and for all . I reviewed the first book, 'The Inheritance Games', HERE , and said that because I didn't love it, I wasn't really interested in reading the sequels. I picked this book up on the spur of the moment, because while I didn't love the first, I was kind of curious about what came next. I'm so glad I decided to pick this up, because I liked it a lot more than the first one! One of my criticisms the first time around was that I felt Avery was quite juvenile and childish. This time around was entirely different - I really liked being in her head, and she definitely seemed more matu

Snatch | 100 Movies Bucket List

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I'd never heard of this film before last year, when I watched it for the first time, so this time around was my second watch. Guy Richie's movies tend to be a bit hit-or-miss for me. This is one of the only ones where I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. I didn't love the story, it didn't hold my interest the whole way through. But one thing that I absolutely loved was the dialogue. It was smart, quippy and made the film a much more fun watch than the plot itself would suggest. Another thing I absolutely loved was Brad Pitt's performance. This was probably one of my favourite roles of his. He did a great job with the character, and it was really different to everything else I've seen him in. But that being said, all of the performances were great. For me, if I had to guess why this film is considered a classic, it would 100% be because of the script and performances, rather than the film as a whole. It was the script that kept me locked in and

Miller's Girl | Film Review

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A creative writing assignment complicates the relationship between a teacher (Martin Freeman) and his student (Jenna Ortega). I heard about this film maybe once and remember being interested in it, but then I never heard anything about it again. So when I saw it was available to rent/buy on Prime Video, I decided to give it a shot.  I don't know what to make of this one. I didn't hate it, but there wasn't a lot to like. The only thing I did like was that Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega worked really well together and had good chemistry. I'd love to see them work together again, in a film with a better plot and a less weird (platonic) relationship. The characters are written really weirdly. There were many moments when they said things that were just so unbelievable, especially Jenna Ortega's character, Cairo. Another odd aspect of the film was the tone - I could never tell if things were supposed to feel sinister or not because the film couldn't decide how it wa

American Psycho | 100 Movies Bucket List

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This one was a re-watch. I'd seen this film once before watching it for the Bucket List. My memories of it weren't wholly positive - I didn't love the first watch, and while I didn't hate it, it wasn't a film that I was itching to watch again. Though saying that, I knew that I probably would watch it again eventually, because I knew how much of a classic it was. Like a lot of films I've watched for the Bucket List, I liked it more this time around than I did the first time, though I still didn't love it as much as I wanted to. But that being said, I did really enjoy it. The writing was great and Christian Bale was amazing in the role, as were the supporting actors. For me, though, the most iconic thing about this movie is its soundtrack. The songs used are amazing and fit the movie so well. They're used in such a unique, original way, that it feels like this alone makes the movie a classic. The film is really well made, and even though I don't love i

Wonka | Film Review

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Young Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) tries to follow his dreams to become a respected chocolatier, despite opposition at every turn . This film was never particularly high on my 'to-watch' list, but it was always on my radar, so I'm glad I've finally seen it. I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would, but I still definitely had problems with it! For a start, while I love the fact that it was a musical, I didn't actually like any of the actual songs. None of them really stood out (except the one that's already known) and having only seen the film yesterday, I can't remember any of them. In fact, while the songs didn't hurt the film, I also don't feel like they were completely necessary. I would have liked the film the same amount if it hadn't been a musical. Wonka is a really charming character, and Chalamet plays him really well. In fact, the entire cast is great - definitely the best thing about the film by a mile. The relationship b

Scarface (1983) | 100 Movies Bucket List

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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