Review: Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

I have been absent from the blogging world for a while due to some family issues but luckily for me I have the best blogging buddy who completely takes the lead and looks after the whole thing – without complaining once!!  My blogging buddy is better than yours….. Aww :)

So, here I am back ready to write up the masses of films that I have seen while I’ve been away and do you think I can remember a single one – nope!  So instead I will be reviewing the latest film I saw just a few days ago, because that’s about as far back as I can remember!!

Bridget Jones is back, and this time she’s having a baby!!  Bridget (Renee Zellwegger) has spent the last 10 years on and off with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and is now in a definite off position as he is married to someone else.  Until one week of ‘living life to the full’ leave Bridget pregnant with no clue who the Dad is, Mark Darcy or the McDreamy Jack (Patrick Dempsey).

I didn't know how excited I was about this movie until the day came along and I was planning an outing with a few friends. I got so pumped, but then I started to worry. Teenage me would say Bridget Jones's Diary was one of her favourite movies ever, but this was pre-blog when I didn't watch much, and didn't know what made a good or bad movie. What if the original was actually awful, and this latest installment would be too?

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I questioned whether I'd even seen The Edge of Reason. After reading the plot on Wikipedia I realised that yes, I had, but I'd pushed it out of my memory completely. Those little workers in my long term memory tossed it out along with Bing Bong!

I never have high hopes for a sequel and I wasn’t even that bothered by the first two Bridget Jones movies but my heavily pregnant best mate desperately wanted to see this before she dropped so I went.  I’m so glad I did, I laughed constantly and cried on more than one occasion.  The scene with the hospital rotating doors and the countertop, well I had to look away because I nearly wet myself!!  The story was great, I was expecting to be very judgmental of Bridget for getting herself in the situation but I couldn’t, she just worked it so well. 

This is a movie I'll have to re-visit when it's out on DVD, because I had such an amazing cinema experience. The screen was fully sold out, and we all laughed, 'oooh'd' and 'ahh'd' with each other throughout, it was incredible. For the revolving door scene, we all laughed so hard we missed the next five minutes of movie!

The highlight of the show however, was Emma Thompson.  She stole every scene she was in with witty one liners and feigned horror at Bridget’s little ‘situation’ – she absolutely nailed it.  I had forgotten how much I loved Thompson, she is now well and truly back on my radar – more Emma please top movie boss people!!!

Sometimes, all you want from a movie is an escape from reality, and that's what Bridget Jones's Baby was all about. Of course the story is over exaggerated, it's campy, and no, I highly doubt Mark Darcy would really throw his phone out the window and carry Bridget all the way to the hospital, this is London, there are cabs everywhere, but would a taxi scene have been as funny? I didn't think so.

Minus Hugh Grant (kind of), the entire original cast came back, which gave me so many nostalgic feelings, and it wouldn't have worked without them. The addition of Emma Thompson was a brilliant move, she was funny in the trailer but in the movie itself she really shined. This might just be a rare instance where a sequel is just as good (if not better) than the original!

Highly recommend even if you don’t think you want to see it, go and see it anyway!!

Review: Magic in the moonlight (2014)

Found this random little gem on my Sky Go app, I was bored doing my housework and wanted something to watch on my iPad so I could move it around with me while I was cleaning.  This was a great choice...

Colin Firth plays Stanley, a magician who appears to be able to solve any spiritual trickery he casts his eye over.  To that end he is brought to the South of France to meet Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), an American clairvoyant with powers to seemingly see into the past and the future without breaking sweat.  Stanley, initially adamant she must be a fraudster, quickly becomes infatuated with her and believes she is in fact telling the truth.

I have not watched a Woody Allen film before, not sure whether it is by choice or just chance but I'm glad this is the first one I watched.  I love Colin Firth and Emma Stone anyway so it already had good standing but the story was great, I loved the over dramatics (not unlike a magicians act on stage).  It had the opening, the confusion and the reveal at the end. 

I feel like there is some history in the casting that I should no about, the way some of the smaller parts that were cast almost had a cameo feel (Stanley's Aunt for example) so I think I'm going to have to do some reading up to see if they have prominence in Woody Allen's previous movies.

I think this may have given me food for thought on watching Woody Allen movies, any recommendations?

Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Around Christmas time in 2014, the cinemas were shoving trailers for Kingsman: The Secret Service down our throats, and although it looked pretty funny, I had no intentions to see it in the cinema, because it was a film for High School kids. Then, in the new year, some of my friends saw it and wouldn’t stop raving about it, and once I read into some reviews I realised. This is possibly the most mis-marketed film in history.  Whereas I saw the trailer an knew immediately that I had to see it (this probably says a lot about my mental age!!)

Kingsman is a secret spy organisation ran by true gentlemen. When disaster strikes and the service loses a key member, a group of new recruits are chosen to be put to the test. One of these new recruits is foul mouthed, street-smart Eggsy (Taron Egerton), who despite his upbringing, is a good lad and simply wants to do what’s best. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) mentors Eggsy in the hope he makes the cut, while the world in under threat by the film’s villain, Valentine (Samuel L Jackson).

I didn’t realise how crazy the plot actually was until I sat down and finally watched the film last night. Think Hot Fuzz meets James Bond, that’s the best kind of comparison I feel I can make. This is absolutely not a kid’s film. It’s age 15 restriction, bad language and violence puts it firmly in the adult category, but fun-loving adults only. Don’t expect a serious, realistic plot from this, because it’s just not that kind of film.

Despite my hatred of ‘chav’ characters, I really warmed to Eggsy right from the outset and found him highly likeable. It was the posh jerks training with him that really wound me up. The whole cast did a really good job though, I thought, especially Samuel L Jackson as the bad guy, with his eccentric clothing and lisp.

The action was awesome and the CGI elements would have been brilliant on the big screen. The scene with Harry fighting in the church was a great example of this. This will probably give the wrong impression now but my fiance and I laughed out loud during that scene. It was just so intense, and so crazy, but done so very well. That was a scene without many fancy Kingsman gadgets too.  Me and Lou were laughing in the cinema too so you're not completely bonkers ;-)

This was a great 'impression' of a classic spy movie that almost takes the piss out of itself.  I fully agree with Allie that Eggsy is a truly likable character (although the nickname sounds more like the actors nickname that the characters, just me?!) and you are willing him to succeed.  Colin Firth is brilliant as Harry and the months of training that he went through for the role is apparent, I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.

My only niggle (and that is all it is) is that I found Samuel L Jackson's character really irritating, I am aware that he was meant to be completely over the top as with everything in the movie but he just grated on me somewhat - I'm sure many will disagree with me!!

The story is completely far fetched, the gadgets ridiculous and the one-liners hilarious, everything required for a highly entertaining two hours. 

Kingsman: The Secret Service is just an all-round brilliant film, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s so easy to watch, and would be just as perfect with a group of friends on a Friday night just as much as watching it in bed on a lazy Sunday morning.

This is definitely a re-watcher for me, in fact I've already seen it 3 times since the cinema ;-)