Tag: reviews

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.

Death on the Nile – Film Review

Last week I was able to nip to the cinema to watch yet another Kenneth Branagh film. Isn’t it funny how movies involving the same people seem to come out close together? This is his second time directing an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. Having seen the first one, I knew that I was likely to have a great time watching the new Death on the Nile film when it came out.

What’s it all about?

In this detective story set in 1937, a group of mainly wealthy people were on a cruise down the River Nile when murder struck. The well known Hercule Poirot just happened to be on board ready to investigate events.

Branagh played Poirot brilliantly yet again and his accomplice Bouc (Tom Bateman) also came along for the ride. Alongside them were Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as a rich god mother of the woman celebrating her marriage (Wonderwoman Gal Gadot) and a nurse maid. Russell Brand appeared as a doctor who used to date the bride. The cast were incredible and all of the characters had clear motivations for murder.

Best Bits

The storyline felt even stronger than the first movie. (I half expected it to be less interesting.) It started with Poirot witnessing a love conflict, while watching a musical act in a London club. Soon they were all in Egypt and the backgrounds looked grand (although no doubt mainly CGI – not that I can tell the difference any more). Before long they had decided to take a wedding celebration onto the water with a stunning cruise.

With a clever script and some funny one liners (especially from Jennifer) this film was well paced and kept me guessing right till the end. I went with two friends and we all changed our minds about who had done it about three times as the story progressed. This movie was definitely unpredictable and I was impressed by that.

Being a fan of the original Poirot actor (David Suchet) I felt like I was cheating him by being equally impressed by Branagh in this role. He was charming, humorous and drove the story forward well.

Summary

I would say go and check out this film. It has been widely successful and deserves to be reviewed positively as it had just the right amount of intrigue, pace and plenty of twists and turns.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2022 – ‘Death on the Nile’ film. I have also recently reviewed Belfast Movie which was directed by Kenneth Branagh too. Please consider following my blog for future similar content.

Marry Me – Movie Review

I know it has just been Valentine’s Day and romance was in the air but that wasn’t the reason I decided to try the new Jennifer Lopez film. Being someone who likes comedy, dramas and big budget movies, I still have a soft spot for a cheeky Rom-Com now and again. My friend and I have gone to see almost every single J-Lo movie in the past and have never come out complaining. So, we were going to watch this film, no matter what! The Marry Me movie awaited us and here is my analysis.

Normally I like really deep and clever scripts, so this may seem a departure from the bookish films I often talk about. However, I also like cheesy stuff. For point of record, this movie stemmed from a comic book which was popular ten years ago. Going back to the cheesy bit, this picture feels like it is going to be oozing cheese sauce, but it has some brilliant nuances. I would go as far as to say it yielded a strong message.

Overview

Jennifer played a pop star (Kat) who was going to publicly marry another singer at a huge event, screened across the world. A twist caused her to find she had different options, mainly the appearance of a charming teacher (Charlie), played by the brilliant Owen Wilson. The chemistry between these two was lovely and very funny. Owen seems to have bounced back onto the screen recently, with a starring role in the Loki series on Disney too.

The story is about trying to go against expectation. A situation leads to a marriage which is unwanted but also creates great publicity. Kat was a believable character who was fed up with being used. She was starting to see beyond branding, selfies and non-stop documenting of her daily routine.

Thoughts

One thing that stood out was the soundtrack, which I later found myself downloading. The songs were catchy and modern with J-Lo showing off her voice and talent. The script was unpredictable (although one key idea was easy to see through to its conclusion) with funny elements and plenty of self-reflection by the characters. Supported by John Bradley (Game of Thrones) as her manager, Kat really explored what is actually important and what’s facade.

Apparently it was the most watched movie on Valentine’s Day but I went the day after. This movie was just the right amount of sweet, with a twist or two to make it worthwhile. If you want something to make you feel good, then try this. For a review of the last film I saw, click my write up of Belfast.

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