Tag: movie review

Where The Crawdads Sing – Movie Review

As a movie geek, I love any excuse to pop along to my local Showcase cinema and take in a good film. Having bought the book, ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ a while ago I still have it on my TBR but have read wonderful things about it. Nevertheless, the movie came out and I just couldn’t wait, especially after seeing such a great trailer and knowing that Reese Witherspoon produced it. So, here is my ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ movie review.

The Lowdown

A girl is left by her family as they run away (one-by-one) from her abusive father. Living in the marshlands of North Carolina, Kya is treated as an outcast when she attends school, hoping for a good school meal. ‘The Marsh Girl’ – they called her.

Set in the 1960s, the story follows a mysterious death, where a guy is found at the bottom of a fire tower. Was he pushed or did he jump? One thing they know is that he used to spend a lot of time with Kya.

A court case starts the movie off and we then go into extensive flashbacks of her upbringing and romantic past. Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) is endearing as the Marsh girl and held my attention well throughout this two hours and five minutes picture.

My Thoughts

The rotten tomatoes critics’ score is low but the audience score is 96% and I agree with the viewers. This is a stunning film with talented actors and a believable timeline. Whether or not it is true to the book, I will have to tell you later, when I finally get round to reading it. In this case the critics were being too pompous.

I was totally engrossed in this narrative and felt that it was carefully written and well paced. The fact that ‘Hello Sunshine’ produced it gave it added credibility and Reese Witherspoon is well known for making great films out of best selling books. She did a brilliant job this time, for sure.

I was very happy with this beautiful movie and would totally recommend going to see it. Thank you for reading my ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ movie review. If you enjoyed it please consider following my little blog. Also drop a comment if you have read the book or seen the movie. I’d love to know what you thought. For another great movie, check out my recent write up of the Elvis Movie.

Coda – Film Review

Although I do watch an awful lot of movies, there is one that seemed to pass me by… until recently. Coda was originally shown on Apple TV Plus and I have finally got around to watching it. With Bafta nominations and a real buzz about the film, I wanted to see if it deserved the widespread commendation. My Coda film review should open your eyes to a new film that is both fresh and captivating.

Sitting down to look at it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew the main actress from ‘Locke and Key’ but didn’t recognise any of the other actors. With an open mind I lapped it up and all I can say is it was totally magical. Absolutely captivating!

In a nutshell (Coda film synopsis)

The main character is a teenage girl called Ruby (played by Emilia Jones) who lives with a fishing family in a US coastal town. Ruby is passionate about singing and the actress has an incredible voice. It is something that seems to run in the actress’s family as her dad, Aled Jones, is known as the voice of the Snowman movie and the beautiful, ‘We’re walking in the air.’

Ruby has grown up as a translator for her parents and brother who are all profoundly deaf. Although she loves her family dearly, they are not keen on her interest in music. Her mother suggests that she chose that hobby to spite them, as she knew they couldn’t understand or enjoy it. The interesting fact here is that Emilia had to spend six months learning American Sign Language before she was able to take on this brilliant role.

The conflict between keeping her family fishing business together and driving forward with her dream of studying music is immense. CODA means Child Of A Deaf Adult but it also means ‘a passage of music’. So even the title is very clever by having a double meaning.

Thoughts

It was interesting to see the fishing storyline as the family were earning less and less for their catches due to quotas and taxes. They also had to pay 800 dollars to have an auditor onboard, who wasn’t able to communicate with them, causing all sorts of difficulties. We hear a lot about the fishing industry and its struggle so this topic seems very relevant.

Ruby shone a torch for another guy who happened to be in the school choir. The eccentric music teacher had her back and encouraged her to train to get into Berklee Music College in Boston. Torn between love, music and family reliance, Ruby had a lot of juggling to do.

Summary

I have to say that I was totally enamoured with this film. It highlights the important issue of lack of access for deaf people to elements of daily life. It also showcased Emilia’s incredible singing voice, which I hadn’t witnessed before. The Coda film storyline is neat, well written and emotional. I laughed and cried in equal measures. It takes a lot to make me feel so involved in a movie’s plot.

Hopefully you enjoyed my Coda film review and will consider checking out the CODA movie some time soon. Here is my recent review of the Belfast film. Please consider joining my email list for future articles about books, movies and the environment.

Dune – Quick Movie Review

Sometimes movies turn out even better than you expected.

Visiting the cinema on Monday, for the first time in ages, I was really in need of a visual treat. Knowing very little about the ‘Dune’ movie other than the fact that it came from a classic book and had a Star Wars vibe, I was intrigued but not yet excited.

It was Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya appearing on Radio 1 last Friday that finally convinced me to go and try this longer movie. Usually I go for movies under two hours long but I make exceptions and this was worth breaking the rules for. Also it had Rebecca Ferguson in it, which was a win/win for me as I loved her in ‘The Greatest Showman’.

Harvesting ‘spice’ in the deserts was where the film began and however you analysed this story, it definitely linked well to environmental issues and overusing natural resources. Just like with oil these days, spice had become an invaluable resource that different entities fought over. The Emperor had implored Paul’s (Timothee’s character) dad to look after the spice fields and you soon got the impression that things were not going to be easy.

Take homes

– Timothee was amazing in this role. He had a lot of screen time and held the camera well.

– Zendaya wasn’t in it much. Often she was a vision and therefore didn’t speak. I suspect she will be in the second movie much more.

– A lot of it was filmed in a desert setting. Not too much dark space. Let’s face it, space backdrops get boring.

– It was two and a half hours long but felt like two. I was drawn in and it maintained my interest because it had a heart to its narrative. I do feel that it stopped at the right time, before it started to drag its heels.

– Paul being obsessed with a vision of Zendaya, despite her being from an enemy group, gave a continued intrigue to the story.

– The cinematography was grand and exhilarating.

This film was pleasantly satisfying and made me want to watch the next two parts as soon as they arrive. For a review of a ‘lighter’ film click here. Please also consider following my blog for future similar content.