The Revenant (2015) Review

The Revenant is the film everyone is talking about – the film that has finally won Leonardo DiCaprio his well-deserved Oscar. But is it everything that it has been hyped up to be? In a nutshell; no.

I don’t know whether my expectations were set far too high or this film just didn’t have the WOW factor it was made out to have but I found it long, dragged out and for the most part, uneventful.

The Revenant is based on true events and revolves around fur-trapper, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is left for dead  after a vicious bear attack in the early 19th century. Barely alive, Glass journeys through the wildness in the quest to find the “friends” who betrayed him.

I found the first 60 minutes or so of this film very gripping. It had a lot of potential and I was hooked as the fur-trapping expedition were attacked by Native Americans and a bloody, intense fight broke out on screen. I could see why this film had so much attention directed at it. And when DiCaprio battled it out on screen with a very realistic looking CGI bear, I had pretty much decided this was going to be a great film. But then things began to go downhill; the fur-trapping group tried to carry Glass for the rest of the trip but finally decided to abandon him after being convinced by a very conniving John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Glass was left on his own to fight for his life and here the movie begins to slow down to a snail-like pace.

DiCaprio is of course fantastic; he manages to portray Glass brilliantly and shows the true determination of his character. The film however, is not very dialogue driven and the majority of the film involves DiCaprio huffing, puffing and heavily breathing. He has a handful of lines and when he does speak, its only ever delivered in a hoarse, croaky voice that is barely audible. The person who gave this film life however was the ever brilliant, Tom Hardy. Hardy grips the audience and adds darkness to this already intense film. He kept me interested and managed to capture the evilness of his character, whilst still being believable. He was definitely my favourite out of the two characters.

The Revenant also includes Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Harry Potter) and Will Poulter (The Maze Runners, We’re The Millers), joining Hardy as the fur-trappers.

This is essentially a film about one man’s battle with nature and here we see DiCaprio gutting a horse and climbing inside to keep warm, catching fish to eat, and scrapping marrow out of a bone. It is DiCaprio’s most challenging role yet and here we see the actor push himself to the limits in a bid to finally win that Oscar.

Maybe my expectations were set too high but after the fast paced battle scenes at the beginning of this film, the film took a whole new turn and the 156 minutes running time dragged out. The Revenant is worth a watch as it is the film that finally won Leo his Oscar but don’t be surprised if it isn’t what you expected.

As for me, I’ll take The Wolf of Wall Street over The Revenant any day of the week.

Overall Rating: 3/5

The Hateful Eight (2015) Review

Film writer and director, Quentin Tarantino never fails to create something extraordinary. He is always pushing boundaries and manages to go to places other filmmakers wouldn’t dare to go. I have always been a fan of his work and some of my favourite movies are Tarantino films (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) and so I had very high hopes for The Hateful Eight, especially after Tarantino’s last movie, Django Unchained, blew me away. The Hateful Eight was never going to be as good as Django but that’s not to say it wasn’t a much beloved Tarantino film.

The Hateful Eight has everything a Tarantino film should have – glorified violence, lengthy dialogue, shocking twists, and Samuel L Jackson. It’s artsy and well thought out, and includes everything you would expect from a Tarantino film. Its stunning and has beautiful visuals, there’s plenty to see and absorb, and the movie has a way of gripping its audience and holding on until the very end. And this film was shot with a 70mm lens to give it the perfect Western atmosphere and making every scene much more intense.

This Western themed whodunnit movie runs at three hours long but for me, it flew by. The movie is broken up in to chapters and this helped break up the movie and constantly kept the storyline moving. Before I knew it, the three hours were up and the credits were rolling whilst I sat in awe absorbing what I had just seen.

Bounty Hunter, John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), are travelling to Red Rock in a snow storm when they decide to find shelter for the night. After making acquaintances with another bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson) and the claimed sheriff of Red Rock, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) during their travels, they lead their carriage to Minnie’s (Dana Gourrier) stagecoach lodge where several other people are sheltering for the night. And here things start to get interesting, although I won’t go in to detail as I hate posting spoilers.

Tarantino manages to capture each scene beautifully and adds humour to an otherwise intense movie. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and even a short appearance from Channing Tatum.

The Hateful Eight is Tarantino’s eighth feature film and it does not disappoint. It includes all of Tarantino’s trademarks but it still appears fresh and exciting for the audience. If you’re a fan of Tarantino’s other work than I suggest you watch this ASAP.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) Review

Its been 10 years since our last Star Wars movie and I, like many others, had hard-to-reach expectations for The Force Awakens. It did not disappoint however and, dare I say it, this might possibly be the best Star Wars movie yet. The original trilogy will always be the most iconic, creating a world beyond our imagination but The Force Awakens managed to create outstanding visible effects, something the older movies simply could not do due to the lack of technology available at the time.

Its not just the visible effects that make The Force Awakens so great however but the storyline and characters are also strong, and of course we are reunited with our most beloved characters from the original trilogy; Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), to name a few. With the original cast joining the Force Awakens, this is every nerd’s wet dream. And we are also introduced to some new and exciting characters; Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and the guy everyone loves to hate – Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The actors have great chemistry and that is clear to see on screen. Ridley and Boyega make a great double team and unlike other Star Wars movies, the acting comes across much more natural and less wooden (sorry, Hayden Christensen).

The star of the show however has to be BB-8, the cutest droid ever imaginable. After losing his way, BB-8 soon becomes the trusty sidekick to Rey and Finn. Move over R2-D2, there’s a new droid in town.

So, what is The Force Awakens about? Well, we have fast forwarded three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire in The Return of the Jedi and now The First Order are attempting to rule the galaxy.

I have never been a die hard Star Wars fan – when the originals came out, I wasn’t even born and when the prequels were introduced to us in the late 90s, I was more interested in Barbie’s rather than Jedi’s and lightsabers. Sci-fi has never really been a genre I have had any interest in and to me, Star Wars was always very boyish. Having recently given all six movies a rewatch however (yes, even the dreaded The Empire Strikes Back), I could see the appeal but they were still not my all time favourite movies. The Force Awakens changed my whole perception on the Star Wars movies however. The movie contained lots of references for the loyal fans (lightsaber battles, The Force, original casts, a bad guy in a cool costume…) whilst also giving us a fresh outlook for the newer fans. There’s something for everyone in The Force Awakens and it manages to deliver and keep us engaged from start to finish.

The Force Awakens does not disappoint the Star Wars fandom. It makes a great addition to a fantastic franchise. J.J Abrams delivered to even the most skeptical fans and has set the bar for the Episode VIII.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) Review

Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy and co are back for the fourth and final time in Mockinjay – Part 2.

The big finale of the franchise and the most action-packed of the lot, right? Well, not exactly. After the slow build up of Part 1, I had higher hopes for Part 2 but it did not live up to my expectations. I found myself losing interest halfway through the film and I thought it was dragged out when they could have cut a lot of it out. Personally I think they could have made Part 1 and Part 2 in to one film but of course, like all big book-turned-blockbuster franchise, they knew they could make a lot of money going for the classic 2 part ending.

Part 1 ended with love interest, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), retrieved by the rebels but he is now brainwashed and despises Katniss (Jennifer Lawrance). After trying to strangle her to death, he is now confined to a room where he is strapped to the bed. Part 2 begins where we left off with Katniss struggling to talk after Peeta’s attack. But the girl on fire has to recover quickly as she still has a battle on her hands with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in a bid to rebel against the Hunger Games and stop it from taking place ever again.

The emotional parts however felt rushed. I will try to avoid spoilers but there were a possible 2 or 3 big dramatic key points in the film that had no real feeling to them. A lot more could have been done to create a bigger impact for the audience and made us walk away remembering the film afterwards. Mockingjay – Part 2 was highly concentrated on the visuals and whilst some scenes looked fantastic, that took away from the deep, heartfelt moments that could have been.

I also found there wasn’t enough Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) throughout the film. In the book, he is such a big character but I found he didn’t have much screen time in Mockingjay – Part 2. And we can never see too much Liam Hemsworth. Jennifer Lawrance was flawless however and once again gave a wonderful performance of Katniss Everdeen.

Overall, I found Part 2 to be at best mediocre. It wasn’t a bad film but it was neither memorable or exiting either.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Spectre (2015) Review

The name is Bond. James Bond.

He’s a lover of flash cars, hard liquor, and beautiful women – it’s no other than 007 cruising back on to our screens in the long anticipated Spectre.

Daniel Craig returns for the fourth (and rumoured final) time as our cool, stylist, and slightly arrogant James Bond. With a license to kill, it’s not long before buildings are being dramatically blown up and intense fighting scenes are breaking out. This is a fast paced, action packed movie that is full of amazing visual effects from beginning to end.

The film begins with Bond in Mexico City at the Day of the Dead festival, a popular Mexican festival that honors the dead. Bond calmly takes a woman back to a hotel suite but he is soon jumping out a window and sliding himself down to a building where his victim awaits and after firing a few shots at the windows, the building blows up and soon Bond is chasing a baddie through the city which ends in a dramatic fight scene in a helicopter. All in a day’s work for our beloved agent.

In the first five minutes we can see that the cinematography is beautifully thought out and constructed to make it as visibly astonishing as possible. Everything we love about Bond is reinforced in the opening scene; he’s slick, cool, calm, and nothing seems to phase him. And it only gets better from here.

After the fast paced scenes in Mexico City, we soon find ourselves back in London where we find out that MI6’s Double-0 program is under threat due to surveillance agent, C (Andrew Scott). There’s no rest for our Bond however as he zooms off to Rome, Austria, and North Africa, accomplished by Bond Girl, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) in a bid to kill assassins, terrorists, and all round bad guys who are all run by  Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).

The action scenes in Spectre are fantastic, each one had me on the edge of my seat as I watched Bond wind up in a plane chase in Austria, a car chase in Rome, and beating up bad guys at every given opportunity. Spectre is a film full of action scenes that makes it impossible for you to tear your eyes from the screen for even a split second. And Daniel Craig brings in the humour, giving us a lighthearted Bond, whilst still oozing his cool and collected attitude.

With a running time of 148 minutes, Spectre is a long but enjoyable watch. At times I felt like not a lot was happening however and although it was entertaining to watch, I feel like they could have edited the film down without any real effect to the plot.

Good film? Certainly! But it wasn’t on the same level as Skyfall, and Casino Royale will remain my favourite Daniel Craig Bond film. Nevertheless, for all Bond fans out there, you will not be disappointed with this latest addition to the franchise.

Overall Rating: 4/5

The Sound of Music Review

The von Trapp family have come singing their way to Liverpool this week and I was lucky enough to see the show on Wednesday (16th September).

‘The Sound of Music’ is centered around Maria Rainer, a young woman who desires to become a nun however when Maria returns late to the Abbey, the Mother Abbess and the other nuns decide to send her to a widowed Navel officer’s house to become a governess to his seven children. There Maria is expected to have some time away from the abbey and to consider whether she is truly ready to be a nun and devote her life fully to her religion.

At first Maria is reluctant to go but she soon develops a strong bond for Captain Georg von Trapp and his seven children. Although at first Maria disapproves of the Captain’s strict military upbringing of his children, she soon tears down the layers of the family and teaches the children how to laugh and be children again through music.

As Maria gets closer to the von Trapp family she soon realises she in in love with the Captain but like any love story, it doesn’t come without complications.

In this stage production, a chirpy Danielle Hope plays Maria. She sings every note perfectly and her performance throughout the show was phenomenal. Hope delivers an uplifting atmosphere to the performance and it is hard not to love her character as we see she is full of good intentions and has a big heart.

Even the younger cast members delivered flawless vocals throughout the show however, each holding their own on stage and capturing the audience. Every one of the von Trapp children offered charisma to the show, as well as adding a big of cuteness to the otherwise semi-serious production.

Jan Hartley as the Mother Abbess stole the show however with her powerful voice and managing to sing ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ perfectly. And she managed to hold a note for what seemed an entirety without her voice breaking once. She sang perfectly and with grace, delivering the best vocals of the day.

The set and costumes were beautiful and everything came to life on stage in this production of ‘The Sound of Music’. I found it to be very realistic and above all else, believable. The actors were all very convincing and performed impeccably and not a single note was missed.

The cast put on an excellent show that was enjoyable from beginning to end. I would definitely recommend everyone to go and watch this stage production.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Legend Review

Tom Hardy takes on the role of the Kray twins in ‘Legend’, the true life story of the gangster twins who once ruled London in the 1960’s.

Tom Hardy had a difficult task on his hands as he played not just one but both of the Kray twins, however he managed to do it so effortlessly and there was a clear differentiation between the two characters. We have Reggie, the cool and collected twin, the one who fires the shots and keeps his more outrageous brother in line. And then we have Ronnie, the mentally ill brother who lives for danger and destruction. I loved how there was a clear divide between the two characters and Hardy played them so differently that it was hard to believe the two twins were being played by the same actor. I was particularly fond of Hardy’s take on Ronnie; we could see that he was clearly mentally unstable and yet his lines were delivered flawlessly and I even found myself chuckling at some of the things he said. Despite the Kray twins being possibly the biggest gangsters of the 1960’s, I couldn’t help but like them and be drawn in to their world. We know they are the “bad guys” and yet we are made to see things from their point-of-view and be in awe of their lifestyle, something that potentially could have been very hard to achieve.

The Kray twins likability could have been down to the fact that the story was narrated by Frances Shea (Emily Browning) who is drawn in to their world from a young age and later becomes Reggie’s wife. Her narration of the Kray twins life gives us a biased view of the twins and here we see her fall in love with Reggie and desperately tries to make him go “straight” and give up his gangster lifestyle for a better life with her. However, Ronnie craves his brother’s attention and soon he draws his brother back in to the gangster lifestyle, something that we later see that Reggie actually loves being part of.

The Kray twins lifestyle is clearly very glamorised in this latest retelling of their lives but it has a way of engaging the audience and making us understand their social status in the 1960’s. Everyone seemed to be in awe of the brothers. Reggie was also the owner of many large and exclusive clubs, where we saw him lust for his glamorised lifestyle.

‘Legend’ explores the Kray’s life and shows the audience the brothers at the peak of their game, all the way to the bitter end. It is a movie loaded with violence, glamour, fame, wit, and sarcasm and it will have you locked on to the screen for the duration of the film.

‘Legend’ is a fantastic film and Tom Hardy exceeds in his role, with Emily Browning being a very impressive leading lady, making us understand what is was like to be a part of their glamorous but violent lifestyle. This is an incredible story with phenomenal acting that exceeded my expectations.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Poundland’s Make Up Gallery ‘Colour Story’ Eye Shadow in Galaxy Grey Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with eye shadow but seeing as I have dabbled around with the majority of products in the Make Up Gallery range available at Poundland, I thought it was about time I indulged in the ‘Colour Story’ eye shadow too.

Next month I am going to ‘The Bran Stoker International Film Festival’ in Whitby and as it is a Gothic event, I went for a Gothic looking eye shadow colour. I fell in love with this ‘Galaxy Grey’ colour as it is dark but as it is grey instead of a bold black, it won’t give me massive panda eyes or look too intense, something which I feel a black eye shadow would have done. I found this grey colour was slightly more subtle and would give me a softer colour than black would have.

I love the name of the eye shadow range, ‘Colour Story’ and the ‘Galaxy Grey’ name gives me connotations of the night sky. The product comes in a small square container which is small enough to pop in to my bag to carry out and top up on the go. I bought an eye shadow brush from New Look to apply this product.

I really love this eye shadow but as you can see, it made my eyes look very bold and intense looking. Although it is very dark however, I do think it is a lot more subtle than a black eye shadow would have looked. I think it is great for drawing attention to the eyes and can also be used to create a smokey eyes effect.

This is a soft powder matte eye shadow product that contains Vitamin E. Overall it is a great product that will last throughout the night.

Make Up Gallery ‘Colour Story’ Eye Shadow comes in a variety of 20 different colours so you are sure to find one suitable for your needs. And at £1 each, they are hard to resist. I found the quality of them were just as good as other eye shadow products I have used for a much dearer price. If you are looking for cheap but good quality make up, Poundland is the ideal place to go.

Overall Rating: 4/5 

Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb from Lush Review

I got a couple of bath bombs from Lush for my birthday and last night I decided to give the super cute ‘Ickle Baby Bot’ bath bomb a try. To tell you the truth, I am not much of a bath person and I much prefer to have a shower instead but the bath bombs at Lush always look so relaxing and so I decided to have a mini-pamper night to myself and test out this gorgeous smelling bath bomb.

The ‘Ickle Baby Bot’ bath bomb is a cute little blue robot that is largely aimed at children to relax them before bedtime (although we could all do with something to help us wind down before bedtime and this is sure to help for those stressful days). It smells amazing too! There’s a lot of sweet scents with hints of lavender which make it smell almost too good to use. It’s quite small in comparison to the other bath bombs available at Lush but for the price of £1.95, it’s a pretty good deal.

The lavender contained within the bath bomb is great for achieving soft, silky smooth skin and it also helps with irritated skin, including sun burn and inset bites.

As soon as I dropped the bath bomb in the water, it started fizzing up and it didn’t take long to dissolve completely. I loved watching it fizz away in the bath water and watching the lovely pastel blue colour change the bath water.

The bath turned this lovely pale blue colour and then it was ready to get in.

I loved the colour; it looked really pretty. The aromas of the bath bomb were very subtle however and at times it was hard to smell it at all but it was quite soothing although I would have preferred for the scent to be a little bit stronger.

It made my skin feel really soft and smooth and overall, it made my bath quite relaxing.

The only downfall was the scent was too subtle for my liking and I struggled smelling it but I did enjoy it and for my first Lush experience, it made for quite a nice one.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Ant-Man Review

When we watch any Marvel film, we are made to take ourselves away from reality and live in a fantasy “beyond the impossible” world and that can definitely be said for the viewers of Ant-Man where our protagonist in no other than an ant-sized superhero with inhumane strength. It is a bizarre story-line in a world where we know superheros like Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America but once you get your head around the concept of a miniature superhero, the film itself is full of excitement and adventure, with the odd funny moments (I’m talking about you, giant Thomas the Tank Engine).

I was skeptical about this film at first but having heard many good reviews about it, I decided to finally watch it and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. A lot of thought has been put in to the production of this film to make it as exciting as possible and the special effects team has pulled out all the stops to make this as thrilling as possible for the viewer. Simple objects become an obstacle for Ant-Man; from running tap water in the bath, people walking, a maze of grass – everything seems so much more frightening when you’re the size of an ant.

Funny man, Paul Rudd, plays our protagonist, Scott Lang, an ex-con who is ready to turn his life around after a small stint in prison. Lang is battling between holding down a job and maintaining his relationship with his daughter, Cassie, however when he hears about a potential large score at Dr. Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope’s (Evangeline Lily) house. Lang feels like he has no other choice but to break in and steal what is inside the high-tech vault in order to gain some money and afford child support for his daughter but once inside the vault, he realises nothing is in there except for an odd-looking suit. Deciding to take it anyway, Lang gets home and tries it on which is where we first get to see the power of the suit.

The suit, created by Dr. Hank Pym, has the ability to shrink the body whilst magnifying the strength of the person wearing it. Dr. Hank Pym and Hope make themselves known to Lang and informs him they allowed him to steal the suit and want him to put a stop to antagonist, Darren Cross’ (Corey Stoll) plans and stop him from creating a replicate of the Ant-Man suit, called the Yellowjacket.

So of course, Ant-Man and co train together and go on a mission to stop Darren Cross. And as always there’s an epic fight scene at the end of the film!

Ant-Man gives us everything we want in a superhero film and there’s even an appearance from an Avengers who Lang apologizes too before beating up, creating many laughs in the process.

Paul Rudd may possibly be one of the most likable superheroes yet and he proves that not all Marvel films need to be dark and intense but he has fun with his character and creates a lot of light-humor within the film.

Ant-Man may possibly be one of Marvel’s strangest superheros but he is also one of the most enjoyable to watch.

Overall Rating: 4/5