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 Regina Reviews, Rambling about films trying to sound clever. |
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 22nd January 2017, 06:36 PM
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#41
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 Raining Shitter
Joined: 9 March 2008
Posts: 63,090 User: 5,572 
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 The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016) Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt In a nutshell: Set before and after Snow White & The Huntsman, we are introduced to Freya, Ravenna's icy sister and the woman behind the hunstman and his skills. The magic mirror goes missing and a race between Freya and Eric ensues. Let's start off by saying that this film had a lot to live up to after the first one. It was perfectly paced, visually stunning and flipped the classic fairytale on it's head. So did this prequel/sequel meet these standards? Yes and no. Chris Hemsworth suits these roles well, playing strong, warrior like powerhouses. He's a fine actor but outside of these genre movies has yet to find a worthy role of his talents. He was in his element here and his Scottish accent was pretty spot on, he never noticeably broke out of it. Jessica Chastain is a dynamo actress but I never pictured her in a role like this, but she smashed it. Again, spot on accent and she totally sold me on being the badass female warrior. The two of them have solid chemistry and sold all of their emotional scenes and the lighter moments flowed well and never seemed too forced. Emily Blunt was EVERYTHING in this movie. Much like Elsa in Frozen, you are meant to view her as a villain but the reasonings behind her actions kind of justify them I felt, You can't help but secretly root for her and find it hard to hate her. She manages to strike the perfect balance between cold bitch and caring mother figure. Despite not having as much screentime as others, her story and character felt fleshed out. Seeing her cut loose with her powers was a sight to behold, sadly not enough. And as for her polar bear, epic. I actually felt really sad when she died at the end, but seeing her watch her past self was a touching way to say goodbye to her. Nice to see Charlize back but not taking over too much. She looked gorgeous when she appeared and was every bit as evil as before. As with the first, the visuals, especially anything to do with Freya, were spot on, as was the music. Now, onto the bad. The dwarves. Fine in the first one, necessary even, but here, they felt too forced. Rob Brydon is a pain in the arse and I hated him so much. Everything with them felt so shoved in that it ruined a lot of the movie. They did help move the plot i guess, but that's all they had going for them. I also felt it a bit odd that in the first one, there is no mention between Ravennaand her brother of Freya and in this, there is no mention of said brother. A little niggle. Best Scene: HAS to be the battle at the end. Might be on a smaller scale than the one in the first but IMO it packs much more of a punch. Everything is spot on here; the contrast of black and gold in Charlize's outfit, Emily having that burst of rage and emotion after finding out the truth about her sister, the huntsmen coming together, the ice, the final few scenes. SO GOOD. *spoilers ahead* Rating: 
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23rd January 2017, 06:57 PM
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#42
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 c:
Joined: 12 March 2014
Posts: 13,152 User: 20,692
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I adored Hunstman too and Emily Blunt was my huge highlight too, she was so cool to watch and the ice powers never fail to be old. I loved seeing Charlize Theron back too because she is wicked in the right role and she really suits Ravenna *-*
Looking forward to more Regina! |
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12th February 2017, 12:53 AM
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#43
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Raining Shitter
Joined: 9 March 2008
Posts: 63,090 User: 5,572
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 Nocturnal Animals review coming tomorrow.  |
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12th February 2017, 02:47 PM
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#44
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Raining Shitter
Joined: 9 March 2008
Posts: 63,090 User: 5,572
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 Nocturnal Animals (2016) Director: Tom Ford Starring: Amy Adams, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Jake Hyllenhaal, Michael Shannon In a nutshell: After receiving a manuscript from her ex-husband, a woman is thrown into a world of terror and mystery while also being forced to confront her past. There's a lot to cover here, so I'm gonna split it up into acting, visuals and plot. Okay, let's go. As I write this I'm brought back to 2013 when Amy also had two awards worthy roles in awards worthy movies (Her and American Hustle) but unlike then, it's the more meatier role that is getting overlooked by the more subtle one. Despite the fact that she spends a large chunk of the movie reading a book on her own, Amy manages to outact every other person in this movie, bar Aaorn, more on him later. The way she so effortlessly manages to convey her emotions in a few movements is a true testimony to her acting skills. Amy goes from being a somewhat closed off woman, to a more happy younger woman, to a woman on the verge of an emotional breakdown seamlessly. Susan is not the most sympathetic character but you still manage to feel for her as the movie goes on, much like Syndey in American Hustle. Also gotta admire how Amy manages to have a rapport with Jake and Armie, you can believe that she loved them and was in turmoil at certain points. She is amazing in Arrival of course, but on repeated viewing, this performance stayed with me more and she is really convincing in every scene. I was totally heartbroken at then end in the restaurant when it looks like she realises Edward isn't coming and she finally knows what he went through and she has a new start.. Again, she doesn't say anything, it's all in her face. Her looks in this movie too, stunning. Especially the dark lips and eyes in the present. One of my favourite moments was near the end when that "mask" is taken off, as if she is ready to move on. Jake is a great actor, no denying, but there was sometihng about Tony and Edward that I really disliked. Even after everything he goes through in the movie, I still found it hard to feel anything for him and most of the time he kinda annoyed me. There's a lot of ways to interpret why Edward did what he did to Susan, for me he was just wanting her to feel the kind of emotions he went through when she left him. The ending of the book also kinda made me think that once Susan messaged him, he knew his plan had worked and so killed himself after replying to her. Michael Shannon is also a fab actor and he plays his role well, but for me, it's kinda Michael by the books. Every movie I've seen him in he's bene this tough, badass kinda guy with something of a heart. Only difference being that this time he was a "good guy". Worthy of praise, but not an Oscar nod. Aaron. My god. What a performance. I've recently gone back through his filmography and he's a damn underrated actor, or he was till this. At no point did I ever see Aaron, he was Ray all the way through. Totally psychotic, yet oddly charismatic. Even after all he does, I came away finding him my favourite character in the movie. He is so unhinged, you never know what he could do which makes his scenes even more entertaining to watch. Certain little movements or noises add to the whole character and made him worthy of the Golden Globe and makes me bitter about the Oscar snub (moreso than Amy) Isla and Armie, what little they were on for, both really did well to support the cast and story. Never seen Isla do serious roles before so this was a nice change. Perfect casting since she looks and acts a lot like Amy. Visually, a stunning movie, but with Tom at the helm that was expected. I loved the rich colours used, and the use of red, the colour of passion/love/rage. A nice touch. Susan always looked gorgeous and the grunge look for the novel portion really added to the tone of the story. Stunning soundtrack too, so eerie and emotional. Plotwise, there were a few little niggles, two scenes stuck out for me. The board meeting came out of nowhere (although the way Amy delivered the change isn't good line had me in stiches) and the whole Ray on the toilet scene, nice as it was to see Aaron naked, was odd. My take on the meaning is probably way off, but I think the story is about revenge, the giant sign in the gallery suggest that. Isla and Ellie represnt Susan and their child (even though we see her at the clinic, I think maybe she didn't go through with it and her daughter we see in the movie is Edward's who he never got to raise) so their murder was a metaphor for how he felt when she left him. The rape might signify the fact that Susan moved on with Hutton who loves Susan and raises their daughter, thereby currupting them in a way. The whole gang thing and revenge is a ploy to break Susan and make her see how much she hurt him. Whether he intends for her to have regret and change her ways remains to be seen, I think maybe he wanted that for her, a part of him still cares. The way Tony dies in the novel makes me think Edward kills himself, as mentioned. Best scene: SO much to choose from, but for me it's the openeing scenes of the novel, it sets up the story so well, and the cut backs to Susan and her reaction show how much it's affecting her. No youtube clips yet obv, but here's a gif. Aaron's laugh haunts me here, so full of mad joy Rating: Yes, 6 out of 5. Deal. This post has been edited by Regina: 14th February 2017, 01:45 PM |
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12th February 2017, 03:42 PM
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#45
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 The Lady Said Go Home!
Pronouns: He/Him
Joined: 20 April 2014 Posts: 22,030 User: 20,835
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I desperately need to see Nocturnal Animals I have heard amazing things about it
Reading your review (Avoiding the spoiler parts ofc  ) multiple people have said Amy's acting is amazing in this film so i have no idea why she didnt get an oscar nom for it likewise Aaron Taylor Johnson pretty strange  I will watch it at some point and let you know what I think! I hope it is a gripping drama as those are my favourite type of dramas.
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