Review: Testament of Youth (2014)

It's taken me a really long time to write this post, it turns out I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this movie on my own on a Sunday night.  I had no idea this was a true story until is started watching it and it really struck a cord with me, so I've had to wait a while to write the review so i didn't sob all over my computer!!

Based on the book of the same name by Vera Brittain, Alicia Vikander plays a young Vera during some of the brightest and darkest parts of her life through World War 1.  Vera a strong willed woman determined to do everything people tell her she can't from going to Oxford, to becoming a Nurse and a writer.

This film was truly heartbreaking and the thought that its a true story just chokes me up even more.  Vera was an unbelievably strong woman for what she went through at such a young and just continues to push forward.  It almost made me feel ashamed for worrying over petty issues and not trying to do more than what people expect of you.

I loved Vikander in Ex-Machina and she didn't disappoint, she was amazing at Brittain and made every emotion so raw I was a sobbing snotty mess in the first half an hour.  Another star in the making is Taron Egerton playing Vera's much loved brother Edward, who for me steals every scene he was in (we all knew it was possible after still standing out next to Colin Firth in Kingsman).  I was a little disappointed with Kit Harrington as love interest Roland but I haven't seen him shine in anything outside of Game of Thrones so its not a surprise.

I am fully aware that I haven't really reviewed the film but if I think too much about the plot I'm going to be a blubbering wreck again!

Jenna I want you to know that I really, really tried to watch and enjoy this for you. There are only 2 types of movies I struggle with, War and Period Dramas, and this was just too much for me! I appreciated the performances by the cast, but I just couldn't deal with the story...I think I started to tidy and clean the living room for something more interesting to do...

Mini Reviews: Citizenfour (2014), Self/less (2015) & Spooks: The Greater Good (2015)

I’m back with a round of Mini Reviews! I haven’t done a post like this for a while, but there are 3 films I’ve watched recently which have either been a bit ‘meh’ or just far too mind blowing and terrifying for me to review properly. Here we go!

Citizenfour (2014) has been on my radar for a while. It’s a documentary by Laura Poitras about the findings of Edward Snowden, who has evidence of the illegal surveillance programs ran by the NSA in conjunction with other intelligence agencies around the world. It was a fascinating watch, but it was only went I went to bed that night that it really hit me, how terrifying it actually is. and I’ve been thinking about it ever since whilst using my phone or tablet. Is someone really watching me right now? Freaky! Citizenfour is a must watch.

I watched Self/less (2015) purely down to my undying love for Ryan Reynolds, but I wish he would stop appearing in terrible movies. Ben Kingsley is a dying man, but a highly successful and clever man, so he spends million on a dubious scientific program to have his mind transferred to a younger body. Only now, he can’t use his actual identity, rendering the point of the program useless. That’s just the start of the many plot holes, but it was an entertaining watch at the very least. 

I’ve never watched the TV Show, Spooks, but assumed Spooks: The Greater Good (2015) would stand on it’s own, which it did. It’s a typical terrorist on the loose movie in every sense, with the added twist of a traitor amongst the MI5 staff. My fiance and I took a stab in the dark guess on who it was within the first 10 minutes, and err, we were right. An interesting and fun watch, especially for Jon Snow fans, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Can sequels ever be better than the original??

How to Train your Dragon 2 has proved they can, what an experience...

I was lucky enough to see this on Fathers Day, when they put it on as a special before it came out properly and as my Dad is the world biggest HTTYD fan, how could I not take him.

 

I on the other hand missed the previews which felt like a year ago, and ended up watching it when Planet of the Apes sold out.

The sequel picks up five years after the events of the first film on the Island of Berk.  Every Viking now has their own dragon which are now used for dragon race competitions (Quidditch apparently?!).  Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) however, prefers to investigate new lands and find new worlds with his trusty sidekick, Toothless.  On their latest adventure, Hiccup and Toothless stumble across a gang of Dragon hunters led by Eret (Kit Harrington) who are gathering dragons for the mysterious Drago (Djimon Hounsou).  So now it's up to Hiccup and his barrage of hapless friends (and their dragons) to keep their friends and their home safe.

 

What a film! This just goes above and beyond the first one, for starters ageing the characters (which is a rarity in animation) which gives Hiccup a bit more confidence and bravery while still maintaining his geeky lovable charm.  The visuals are amazing, the dragon flying scenes in 3D had you holding onto your chair.  The detail is impeccable as with the original, I particularly like an early part in the film where Hiccup and Astrid are talking and in the background there is a whole other story happening with their dragons, plus the grass and their hair are all blowing in the wind and each leaf on the tree I moving in it's own way.  It's one of those film where you will spot something new every time you watch it.

 

Honestly, the first half of HTTYD2 really got on my nerves. How much dialogue does a film need? The reveal of Hiccup's mum was ruined for me because it was just there in the very first trailer. Why?! Honestly Dreamworks, you could have given us a trailer where nothing at all happens, just Toothless being a derp, and you would still have the same audience.

 

During the reunion scenes, there was so much repeated dialogue that I actually stopped listening all together and had much more fun watching Toothless in the background, playing chase with another dragon. Hiccup's mum had done a whole speech and I didn't listen to a word.

 

The story is great (usually a downfall of sequels) and there is a twist which keeps it interesting.  There are also some quite adult topics addressed which steps it up again from the original. 

The supporting characters that I loved in the first one are given more opportunity to develop in this outing. However, all credit has to go to Toothless, as the star of the show.  The expressions, reactions and all around lovableness has proved successful once again, he steals every scene that he is in (even when he isn't the main focus, see above) and the bond between him and Hiccup is still as epic as it was in the first one.

 

Enough ranting from me though, because the second half of the film was absolutely fantastic. It was like a switch went off and the film burst into life. The action was better, the 3D was actually utilised, and we lost the boring dialogue. I really want to point out though that this isn't suitable for young children. Two scenes in particular come to mind, one really quite scary, and another absolutely heartbreaking. One small child begged to leave because he was so distraught.

If you liked/loved the first film, make sure you see this, don't be put off by the fact that it is a sequel as I think for sure that it is better than the first!

 

Taken as a whole, I think the first was the best, but I would watch this again and again for the second half alone (and maybe Toothless because he's such a cutie)

Review: Pompeii (2014)

I try and stay away from critic reviews before I go and see a film because I like to judge things myself. However, every now and again my curiosity gets the better of me and I sneak a look. I got put off Pompeii because of bad reviews, but my brother really wanted to see it, and as a Flick Chick, I feel as though it's my duty to never say no to a film!  I hadn't read any reviews but I knew it had had a bad hit from the critics so I wasn't expecting too much, maybe my low expectations meant I enjoyed it more.

For those who know and enjoy history, forgive me but I knew nothing about the city of Pompeii for Mount Vesuvius before this. Pompeii tells the story of Milo, whose family and tribe are slain by Romans when he was a child. He is taken as a slave, and becomes a gladiator at Pompeii. There, he falls in love but disaster strikes when the volcano erupts.

This started a little slow, and the first few gladiator scenes just reminded me too much of the TV Show Spartacus, and well, nothing will live up to that and so I got a little distracted. However, I don't remember what point changed things for me but I thought the second half was fantastic. I really wish I'd seen this in 3D because the volcano section would have been brilliant.

 

Sure it's pretty cheesy in places and there wasn't much character or love interest development, but I couldn't think of any scenes that could be cut to help that, nor do I think the film should have been longer. It actually reminded me of Titanic to a certain degree, though I may have put some readers off completely with that comment!

 

I spent the entire film racking my brain for where I knew Cassia from, as soon as I opened IMDB to find out it came to me, she was in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which I didn't actually like her much in so I'm glad I didn't figure it out during the film as it may have clouded by judgement.

Here's a snippet of one of the coolest action scenes...
 



The action scenes were awesome, I found myself enjoying the fight scenes in the arena more than the volcano scenes.  The scenes during the eruption were a bit too chaotic and made it difficult to identify what was actually happening.

Kit Harington and the rest of the cast did an amazing job, and I was pleased in myself that I could watch Kit running around as a gladiator without picturing all those black furs, nor was I waiting for someone to tell him that he knows nothing! Sorry, Game of Thrones fan here...

Kit Harrington was the highlight, that man in beautiful (I think I might say this too often on this blog!) and I loved  Atticus, although I'm not sure how believable it is that when you are a gladiator you gain allies.  I would guess it's more of an everyman for himself type of situation but I also don't think anyone can outrun a volcano for 20 minutes on a horse!!  As Allie said, the character development was pretty limited but that didn't make it any less enjoyable for me, I was gripped from beginning to end. You should definitely watch the TV Show, Spartacus. It's more of a brother-hood than a friendship.

My verdict is to give this film a chance, because you may find yourself pleasantly surprised like me.

I think this is officially a guilty pleasure for me, I really enjoyed it and as you will know by now I always enjoy a good love story.