Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

The sequel of ‘Happy Death Day’, I was quite excited to see what there was in store. Now I really enjoyed the first film of Tree (Jessica Rothe) waking up on her birthday over and over again ending with her death each time. Therefore, when a sequel was announced, I did want to see it. My summary: the first film is soooo much better, the second? It wasn’t amazing, it wasn’t horrific, I quite enjoyed watching it.

‘Happy Death Day 2U’ brings back the original storyline but with a twist; when Tree goes back to her birthday, the day doesn’t set out how she knew it would. There’s a definite need to watch the first film or a lot of the comedic elements would be lost on the audience. Originally, it seems that the story might reflect away from Tree to Carter’s friend Ryan (whose acting really isn’t great). Instead, we pull a full circle back to Tree herself and back to her birthday (happily, because she is a much better character). Her anger is hilarious (and understandable). Tree is the centre of the film. It feels like they were trying to finish a lot of elements from the first film in this sequel. A lot goes into the background of Tree’s history.

The weird twist seemed to follow a science-related aspect, where Ryan and his friends have built some sort of time machine (I really don’t know). This aspect was poorly executed and didn’t make much sense. It didn’t have the same fluidity or reasoning of the first film. I thought the film was going to go down the route where all of the friends end up in the same time loop, waking up every day to be killed. But instead, once again it was just Tree on her own. I think they could have done a lot more with the plot. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the mystery element of who is behind the baby mask this time. And besides, Tree does come up with some hilarious ways of killing herself to restart the day.

There are ups and downs with this film – as I said before, the first is a lot better. I enjoyed the development of the mystery and the slight changes to the original wake up call. But overall, it lacked in the random science department which didn’t make much sense. I suppose you watch it for the character development of Tree, because she’s brilliant! Her sarcastic and passive aggressive attitude, but her movement into a different time loop is more revealing to her true character.

Fractured (2019)

This mystery thriller follows a family of three on their return home from Thanksgiving with the in-laws. However, they never quite make it home when an accident occurs at a pit stop construction site. Instead, they spend their next few hours at the nearest hospital, Kirkbride Regional Hospital, where six-year-old Peri Monroe (Lucy Capri) will be treated for her perhaps fractured arm. As a precaution the young child is sent with her mother, Joanne (‘American Horror Story’s Lily Rabe), to get a scan. The father, Ray (Sam Worthington), waits in agony for his family to return, but when hours pass, he becomes impatient. However, the two have seemed to have gone missing from the hospital leaving the father desperate to find his family once again.

This is a very good mystery thriller. You’re never really certain of what is going on until the very end. You think one thing, then doubt hits, then you second guess, thinking an opposite extreme, to return to the original thought to again think ‘hmm maybe not’. It is a constant circle of ‘what is happening?’. You do become very absorbed into this mystery, trying to read into every hint on screen to discover what is going on. You may think you know the ending of the whole film and fully get it correct during the film, but you’ll back down on your thoughts as you hesitate becoming uncertain over everything.

The acting is very good, particularly as the main character, Ray Monroe. His character becomes very believable on screen as you see his agony and desperation with his confusion and determination. More plots seem to unravel on screen as the film continues, making the film only more intriguing. You do become very captivated by the mystery. Every character does seem very eerie.

‘Fractured’ follows a classic old-styled thriller. It’s a simple plot with unnerving potential. The only issue with these sorts of films is that once you’ve seen it once, it becomes difficult to watch again knowing the ending. Although saying this, I did watch it twice and it still held some potential, it just didn’t feel the same as I knew what was going on; instead I tended to read more into the clues and watch some parts of the film that I hadn’t noticed before. After two, I would say that I wouldn’t watch again: there’s only so many times you can watch something when you know the surprise ending. Nevertheless, I would recommend this mystery thriller. It does become very intriguing and everything escalates more and more, the reminder of being in a hospital and the potential of damaged minds is in constant play. Where do you think his family could have gone in this sinister hospital?

Hot Fuzz (2007)

One of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s iconic duo films. I remember watching this film when I was younger, however I couldn’t actually remember what it was about at all. And to be honest, it wasn’t as good as I remember, even though remembering was little. ‘Shaun of the Dead’ tops this one, by far.

‘Hot Fuzz’ follows a by-the-book police officer, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg). Everything is morally right or wrong and if wrong is done you’ll be arrested right off. He’s an officer who never turns off, he is an officer by name and by life – never relaxing, never not seeing wrong or right. Therefore, his excellence was putting the other MET officers to shame, so he was sent off to the quiet town of Sandford noted as one of the perfect towns where nothing bad happens. But, when a series of murders happens in this small town, officers claim them flukes and just “accidents” leaving only Nicholas believing differently.

In one of these Edgar Wright films starring both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, what is loved most is the relationship between Pegg and Frost. But this seemed a bit lacking in ‘Hot Fuzz’. The iconic hilarity seemed to be missing in this film. I think that was due to the personality created by Simon Pegg, as in his character of Nicholas Angel. It wasn’t a welcoming protagonist that invites other characters to become friends as the newcomer. Nick Frost of Danny Butterman held his usual comical remarks and was definitely enjoyable to watch.

‘Hot Fuzz’ does have quite a slow beginning. As Nicholas Angel moves to Sandford, it takes a while to generate the setting and characters of this new town. A bit unnecessarily slow in my opinion. Although, when it finally kicks into the mystery of the film, the solving of the murders, or accidents as the others claim they are, the film becomes considerably better. Simultaneously, this is when the comedy and action arrive. When the plot finally kicks in, it is really good. Comical, in the usual satire or reminiscing of cinema we know well.

As I said ‘Shaun of the Dead’ is better. The whole beginning of ‘Hot Fuzz’ did feel unnecessarily long and slow. Nicholas Angel as a character was very rigid and I felt there weren’t as much comical elements in his personality, however Danny Butterman did hold the comedy. When the mystery kicks off, the action does get wild and enjoyable to watch in its mad explosions and crazy gun fights. One of the classic Simon Pegg and Nick Frost films – not as great as it’s original, but still good to watch with a few faults.

Nerve (2016)

The advertisement around this film was screaming excellence, best mystery thriller of the year, so of course I had to watch it and put my own opinion on it. Plus it’s got Dave Franco and Emma Roberts, who’s going to say no to that?

Emma Roberts and Dave Franco as Vee and Ian, find themselves being forced to pair up when it comes to a game of Nerve. “Are you a watcher or a player?” Vee has been a watcher, until Sydney (Emily Meade), her best friend, who is a player, pushed Vee to do something with her life. Taking life through dares, Vee, paired with Ian, seems to be getting the worst dares. Something Sydney becomes quite jealous of. From watching the trailer, to be honest I thought it was going to be a bit more of a thriller from the start than it was, but I felt that it built up characters much more than I thought it would. Not saying this is a bad thing.

The way tension was built was extreme. There were parts of the film where I couldn’t watch, too much stress all at once. This was all because of the camera angles, they were very clever in creating this tension and making it extremely stressful for the audience. Literally, times in the film where I had to turn away, worried for what might happen. This made the film crazy and a clever thriller. I felt the film was all building up to the ending, and it was a very good ending at that. Mix of shock, unsure what will happen, unsure what just happened. Very clever. I also loved the excellent use of technology in this film. This is what the film is revolved around as Nerve is a game on the internet, the aspect around technology had to be good and it was. There is a constant unknowing of what is going to happen.

As Vee and Ian start to become more famous with their stunts, the mysterious watchers watch and the game only gets more dangerous, more risky, more deadly. They had no idea what it would build up to but now they have to win.

Murder Mystery (2019)

Nick and Audrey Spitz are expecting an ordinary honeymoon to finally celebrate their 15 years of marriage – instead they end up wrapped up in a rich murder mystery where they end up as the prime suspects.

Starring Adam Sandler as the husband Nick and Jennifer Aniston as wife Audrey, I did feel it was natural to have high hopes for this film. A comedy, murder mystery, with crime and classic Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, surely to make a film of success and brilliance? Maybe not. I’m not saying the film was terrible, it wasn’t at all. It was just a bit flat…

First of all, I expected a lot more from the murder mystery side, especially as it is called ‘Murder Mystery’. It seemed to have a classic Poirot ending where all the suspects are brought together for a big reveal, which I thought was great. However, this film couldn’t really bring the elements David Suchet brings to his TV show. Instead, I was a bit underwhelmed by the reveal, I mean it was ok and I hadn’t pieced it all together, but it wasn’t as great as it could have been.

Secondly, the film is incredible fast pace. Which isn’t exactly a problem, it definitely keeps you watching throughout the whole film. Death after death after death. Maybe the reveal wasn’t as intriguing as I didn’t feel I was hooked into actually wanting to know because it was so fast pace. I didn’t really become intrigued or care… I’m more intrigued in a ‘Criminal Minds’ episode than I was in this film.

The film seemed very surreal from the beginning. Kicking off with this odd invitation to the new holiday journey for the couple, it seemed so fake and random. I thought there would be a little more build up to the understanding, but nope it is kept as random as inviting two strangers on a boat party with an upper-class family. The character the invitation was from, Charles Cavendish (Luke Evans), could have been explored so much more. Giving the audience a reason for this invitation, even if it was just simply to annoy the host of the party – that would have made more sense. Saying this, hardly any of the characters got an explanation. I don’t really understand any of them as a presence on screen.

Finally, I wasn’t a big fan of Adam Sandler’s character. I didn’t find his awkward comments that funny, but rather just that, awkward. It seemed to miss the mark compared to his other films. Jennifer Aniston however was fab; she was great in the film and I did like her character. Plus, she is amazing anyway!

‘Murder Mystery’ wasn’t a great film. I enjoyed it for what it was, but don’t think I’ll be racing to watch it again. It was just a bit underwhelming. Saying this, I did like the action elements and there were parts that put a smile on my face, although I wouldn’t class it as a ‘comedy’ as such. Last point, David Walliams in the film was not my cup of tea, but rather awkward… sorry.

Red Sparrow (2018)

I’ve actually been struggling on what to say with this film, because with the mystery of it all it’s hard to explain the story without giving anything away. There’s also a lot going on in this film, which adds so much depth. But I think I’ve finally sussed an opinion on it to explain to you all. You may think the trailer says a lot, but it’s quite the opposite, it does say some things, obviously as it wouldn’t be a trailer, but it also kept many things a secret, which just embedded with the mystery of the film.

‘Red Sparrow’ is a film of Russian spies. The organisation declares tensions between Russia and America have come to an all time high. The Red Sparrow programme teaches young adults to use their bodies to extract information from anyone. In particular, to use sex to decipher what’s happening over in America. Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in this programme when she has no other option, one mission, she’s told, one mission and she’ll be free, but once she’s in she discovers more than she’s supposed to, becoming even more entrapped in this hostile, emotionless scheme. Dominika’s mission is one to discover the mole in the government, she has one lead, an American CIA agent (Joel Edgerton).

There are some hard scenes to watch, the extremity of limits this programme goes to can be hard to process, although I think it is supposed to test your limits on the horrific things happening in Dominika’s life. There are some horrible scenes. Additionally, it is a very complex film, it’s not an easy watch and not something you can watch just in the background. You do have to pay attention and follow everything that’s happening. Furthermore, there are some awkward sex scenes, some of them felt a bit unnecessary and rigid, but happily there wasn’t many. The whole sex element of the film was very strongly driven and it didn’t seem that necessary, it just created a very negative view throughout the whole film. Ultimately, I do think the threat of rape was one too dominant, but I guess that was to add to the tension, but instead just tested the audience in something so horrific to happen repeatedly. While on this topic, this is a film for older ages if you hadn’t of guessed, some of the difficult moments to watch are sex-related or gory, there is also swearing and nakedness. I would say this should be an 18, rather than a 15 in my opinion.

The stand out of this film does has to be the acting of Jennifer Lawrence, she is amazing. I don’t understand the negative views on her in this film, because I think she played the haunted role extremely well. ‘Red Sparrow’ presents Jennifer Lawrence in such a completely different role from anything else I’ve seen her in, a Russian spy with a complex mind in a hideous position. We all know she can do a variety of films, from ‘The Hunger Games’ to ‘X-Men’ to ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, or ‘House at the End of the Street’ and ‘Passengers’; ‘Red Sparrow’ just adds to the colossal of films she’s in. Summing up, she is definitely an actress of more serious films, rather than comical or romance to say the least. Jennifer Lawrence’s character in ‘Red Sparrow’ is one of difficult judgement, what I mean by this is that she becomes a very untrustworthy main protagonist. I spent the whole film having no idea what was going on in her mind and what she was thinking, instead you follow her in the film, knowing she is a victim and trying to do everything to survive in her situation, but never knowing her next unpredictable move. She would say one thing to someone and something else to another, but who was she telling the truth to? I had some inklings of what she was thinking, but her irrational behaviour made me doubt everything. Dominika does become a character of constant torture and a body of sadistic violence, she couldn’t suffer more in this film, so don’t expect a Jennifer Lawrence like in other films, because this one is physically and psychologically damaged in so many dark ways. I really believe Jennifer Lawrence was brilliant in this film, she played the character amazingly. The acting of everyone else in the film was also brilliant, all the characters carry some darkness and bring more depth to the film. Flawed, real characters played extremely well, I could not fault the acting at all!

The Sparrow programme is extremely negative, one which extended to horrific limits to serve the country, one very demeaning and brutal. The thrilling tension in the film is very well done because the audience is unknown to so much. The film does become much more talky than action, and brutality in violence is dominant, but that’s the sort of film it is. It is also quite a long film, but it all builds up tension and discovery of the mission itself. This is definitely a film of certain preference. To say I enjoyed the film seems a bit overestimated as there were so many moments I was worried for the characters on screen. I thought it was a good thrilling mystery with discovery points I didn’t expect. Overall, it wasn’t a dreadful film, it wasn’t one awful in all it’s rights, it’s far from that, it’s challenging in areas, but I thought acted well and intriguing from the beginning as you just want to know what is going on. It builds up tension well and definitely becomes a film to try to come to grips with everything that is going on. Dominika becomes a character, even if unpredictable, strong in so many ways, tortured yet all that is wanted is for her to be safe and not in the situation she has fallen into. The ending also becomes one of discussion and brilliance. It is definitely a different thrilling film, good in its own ways.

Happy Death Day (2017)

Another repetitive film, this time as a horror, or so the trailer assumes. In fact, this isn’t much of a horror to me, and trust me I scare easily. There are moments of horror, obviously, because that’s what we see in the trailer, however that’s about it. Because of the other elements of the film, I would say this is more of a mystery, discovering who is trying to kill her, rather than the kills themselves. Just because I’m saying it’s not the genre it advertises in doesn’t mean it’s not good, because it’s far from that! It was a great film, thrilling in moments and I was definitely warped into trying to find out who was killing this girl over and over again.

So the main character, Tree (Jessica Rothe) wakes up on her birthday, hanging from a heavy night out. But she doesn’t wake up in her own bed, instead in a dorm room, Carter’s (Israel Broussard). Her day continues with small occurrences, a woman petitioning to save global woman, a car alarm going off, sprinklers spraying students, a student falling to the ground and finally Tree bumping into a previous date. Once at her own sorority home, after a confrontation with one of her ‘sisters’, Danielle (Rachel Matthews), she finally ends in her own room where her roommate Lori (Ruby Modine) is quick to mention her rolling in at this early hour. Her day still continues and towards the end of the day a masked hooded figure stalks and kills her. Only then, she wakes up back in the dorm room with Carter on her birthday once again. On her death day.

Tree is great in this film, Jessica Rothe plays her amazingly. She is realistic in how she reacts, for example, she presumes the second time it’s her birthday is just deva-vu. On the first day we get a feel for what sort of person she is, one to say the least is not the nicest… But as the days pass she slowly becomes a character more understood. She even becomes a source of slight comedy in a section of the film, surprising in a film that’s supposed to be a horror right? Just want to clarify, she’s not a source of comedy through her dying, it’s more how she reacts to it all. She definitely goes through all the emotions. And it’s played really well.

I would definitely recommend this film, it’s not a frightening film. But there are of course some thrilling moments, which are brilliantly executed and definitely creates suspense. Throughout you are always wary of where the killer is going to turn up next, behind the shower curtain, in a car? There’s some great songs that represent the dramatic suspense or the confidence Tree has recovered. You become warped into Tree’s suspect list trying to figure out why someone is doing this to her. It is really a good film. Also, one of the greatest things, it’s a repetitive film that doesn’t actually get repetitive, because even though all days end in death, they are all different. I would definitely watch it again. Aren’t you a little curious?