Tag: film review

The Mother – Film Review

As someone who loves watching films at the cinema, I have been impressed by the number of movies made for streaming services too. Lately there have been some really entertaining ones such as Boston Strangler and The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (which I should have reviewed by now). This week I want to share my film review of ‘The Mother’ – a thrilling new movie starring Jennifer Lopez.

A wolf and her pack play a part in The Mother.

‘The Mother’ had an exciting trailer showing J-Lo doing pull ups in the Alaskan forest and readying her rifle for battle. It suggested that she had a daughter who she was determined to protect at all costs. As far as trailers go, it definitely made me look up and take notice.

So when it was released on Friday on Netflix I quickly started watching. Here are my thoughts about this Number One Netflix film.

What’s It All About?

The funny thing about this movie is that we don’t really hear Jennifer’s character’s name spoken. In fact, the subtitles and IMDB refer to her simply as THE MOTHER. This made me chuckle but as you watch the movie, it kind of makes a lot of sense.

J-Lo literally is THE MOTHER of this film, dominating every scene with her likeable but tough leading role. I have always been fond of Jennifer but even my friends who don’t normally watch her films have warmed to her in this.

The Mother gets caught between two moguls in an arms deal and tries to inform the police. At the start she is pregnant and we can only guess that one of these bad guys might be the father. Joseph Fiennes plays Adrian who is one of these deadly characters who is constantly in hot pursuit of J-Lo and eventually the daughter too.

The Mother helps an FBI agent who later makes it his job to keep an eye out for the daughter. He becomes an ally to J-Lo and does a lot to keep her informed and defend her too.

The daughter is adopted for her own protection. Zoe, played by Lucy Paez, has no idea about who her mother is but soon is put in danger and comes into contact with The Mother.

Will The Mother reveal her identity or can Zoe guess? Can The Mother keep her safe from the militia? Is Adrian the dad or Hector? You will have to watch to find out.

Positive Points

– Niki Caro did an excellent job of directing this fast paced story. She followed the live action Mulan movie with this juggernaut.

– There was a heart to this story. Stripped down, it was all about a relationship between a mother and her daughter. It brought a tear to my eye.

– The parts of the film based in Alaska at winter were breathtaking and the cinematography was great.

– Jennifer and Lucy had good chemistry and you believed J-Lo’s motivations for going to extremes.

– At 1 hour 55 mins the film still flew by as it was thrilling, intriguing and well acted.

Shortfalls

– Perhaps there could be slightly less violence and more dialogue. The script is great but I would have liked a little more balance.

Final Thoughts

This film is jam-packed with thrills. It is well written and has a good story arc. Jennifer is incredible in this role, where she obviously had to do a lot of physical preparation. The actress playing the daughter will no doubt appear in more high profile movies as she was excellent too.

Definitely check out ‘The Mother’ on Netflix and let me know what you think about this film in the comments.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my film review of ‘The Mother’. Perhaps also consider following my blog for future similar articles about movies, TV, books and climate change.

Boston Strangler – Review

Disney Plus have recently released a movie about a famous murderer. Having seen the trailer, I was intrigued to see that Kiera Knightly played a journalist for the American Record, who took it upon herself to hunt him down. My Boston Strangler review is all about thoughts on this under-publicised film.

In A Nutshell

This movie is a true story of how a woman working for a prominent US newspaper wrote about a string of vicious murders. She had to convince her boss to let her deep dive into the killings and keep reporting on the continued investigation.

With many of the attacks involving a tell-tale signal, Loretta (Kiera Knightley) was starting to notice potential linkages. Despite being advised to leave it to the male reporters, she continued to push to see the evidence for herself and join the dots.

Set in the 1960s, this narrative was well told. The dim lighting and stylish cinematography make this an easy watch. The subject matter, however, is disturbing. Having said that, you see very little gore but mostly watch the lead up to each murder.

Positives

– The movie is well written with a good pace.

– Quality acting from Kiera and others.

– I felt intrigued and surprised throughout.

– The cinematography made it feel like you were taken back to 1960s America.

Point to improve

– If I am honest I was totally satisfied with this film but I do feel it would have made an excellent TV series. It deserved wider advertising and more credit.

Final Thoughts

With an audience score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, this film is definitely well received. Kiera plays the lead cleverly and you really get a feel for what it must have been like working at a newspaper during a very traumatic time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my brief review of ‘Boston Strangler’. For another of my film review articles check out my thoughts on the recent Dungeons and Dragons movie.

Dungeons and Dragons – Review

When I was a kid I used to love the cartoon version of Dungeons and Dragons. Dungeon Master with his white hair and red cloak, was filled with mystery. I used to totally immerse myself in the adventures of a random group of people who were transported to a magical world by a roller coaster. My Dungeons and Dragons review is taking a look at the new Hollywood movie, ‘Honour Among Thieves’.

It first caught my attention when I saw the cast being interviewed on daytime TV. It was interesting to see a varied cast, including Rege-Jean Page from Bridgerton and the always funny but slightly arrogant Hugh Grant.

What’s It All About?

A gaggle of characters had been getting paid big bucks to steal things from unassuming rich people. Led by Edgin (Chris Pine), the group were about to do their last challenge when some of them were trapped in a chamber and taken off to jail.

Our story begins with Edgin and Holga (a feisty Michelle Rodriguez) pleading their innocence in some kind of monster court. Without giving too much away, they end up on an adventure together. High Grant’s character is no longer their ally and has, in fact, taken Edgin’s daughter to bring up as his own.

As you can imagine, there is a lot more to this but I don’t want to get into spoiler territory.

Things I liked

– The heart of the story was good. I felt the connection and warmth between the characters. You don’t always get that with an action movie.

– The storyline made sense and was a mix of adventure and comedy. I found lots of parts very funny due to the witty script.

– I actually came out wanting more. That is very rare for me when it comes to fantasy movies like this.

– The stunts were good and there was a good balance between drama and action. Not too much action but just enough.

A Few Considerations

– I felt there could be more dragons involved as they only popped up briefly.

– Where was the Dungeon Master? I was kind of looking forward to his bit.

– Although Rege’s character was important he was very much a guest. I would like to see his role embellished in future.

Final Thoughts

As a throwback to my youth I found myself wanting to try out this cheeky film. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It is fair to say I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

I found the movie funny, entertaining and satisfying in terms of full circle story. My Dungeons and Dragons review covers some of the positives but there are many more. I would recommend having a look at this film if you get the chance.

If you like this kind of fantasy film you may also be interested in my The Last Of Us Review. This was another action drama that had me hooked. Please comment your thoughts and consider following my blog for future book, TV and film reviews.