Tag: AnneHathaway

The Devil Wears Prada 2

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The original Devil Wears Prada is one of the most iconic films of all time. Since its release in 2006, it has become a cinematic staple. Twenty years later and we finally have a follow up. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is now a renowned journalist, reporting on important stories like she has always wanted to do. When she is unceremoniously laid off from her job, a chance to return to Runway, and once more working with Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) presents itself. Together with Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), they join forces to combat the decline of traditional magazine publishing.

Legacy sequels are all the rage these days. Most of the time they aren’t necessary. I really thought that The Devil Wears Prada 2 would be a senseless cash grab to add to the endless pile. You could therefore imagine how pleasantly surprised I was by how much I enjoyed the film. I would have been fine without it, but since it needed to happen, I’m glad that they delivered a story that actually mattered.

This film wouldn’t have worked without the return of Hathaway, Streep and Tucci. Emily Blunt was also back as the incomparable Emily Charlton. Having the gang back together was a pure treat and they were better than ever. While they’ve grown up a bit, they were still the lovable characters we grew to love two decades ago. Miranda and Emily had some epic one liners that had me giggling throughout though obviously the tone had to shift slightly due to the changes of today’s society.

Our fearless foursome were joined by some new faces for this outing. Kenneth Branagh starred as Stuart, Miranda’s new beau, Justin Theroux and Lucy Liu were Benji and Sasha Barnes respectively, a former famous power couple, B.J. Novak was the new owner of the magazine publication while Simone Ashley starred as Miranda’s first assistant Amari and Patrick Brammall was Andy’s new love interest Peter. Although some of these supporting characters were one sided, I did appreciate their inclusion. There were also some really cool cameos that featured throughout.

One of the best parts of the film is without a doubt the beautiful clothing that is featured. The level of fashion this time around is upped to the max with so many garments that I could only ever dream of owning myself. Andy had some brilliant costumes, but I was also a big fan of Emily’s various Dior looks. Another selling point are the sprawling locations from New York City to Milan and Lake Como, I was instantly transported to each and every spot. And then there was the soundtrack which featured some banging numbers by Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga and Olivia Dean to name a few that perfectly set the scene.

But as I mentioned already, this sequel actually had something important to say. Journalism, and print journalism in particular, isn’t the same as it used to be. A lot has changed over the years and with the looming threats of artificial intelligence etc., this will only escalate more. Having this be the main storyline was a smart choice as it’s extremely topical and the way in which it was depicted was well executed.

Overall, I may have initially been on the fence for The Devil Wears Prada 2, but I actually really liked it. From the very beginning it knew was it wanted to do and I’m glad that it wasn’t trying to outdo its predecessor. Instead it managed to stand on its own feet. As much of a nostalgia trip it was to be reunited with these characters and to be able to revisit this world, I do think that this was a proper conclusion and believe it should end here.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

The Idea Of You

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Adapted from Robinne Lee’s acclaimed novel The Idea of You, follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a forty year old single mother who meets Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), lead singer of the most popular boyband on the planet August Moon, while at Coachella. Their undeniable chemistry develops into something more, but Hayes’s celebrity status and Solène’s age threaten to come between them.

I read the book earlier this year in anticipation of the film. It instantly became one of my all time favorites. I didn’t think anything would be able to come close to its perfection. Overall I was pleased with how it turned out and felt like it stayed true to the source material.

Hathaway has never been better. This woman does not age; she is not only gorgeous, but her interpretation of Solène was so on point. As you get to know her, you just want her to get her happy ending. Galitzine, on the other hand, has shown that he is a dynamic actor who is up for pretty much everything that is thrown his way. He was the perfect choice for Hayes. Harry Styles comparisons aside, he made Hayes his own complete with the British accent, dark smouldering look and tattoos to boot. The two flickered brightly when they were on screen together and made me feel all the feels.

There have been a few instances portrayed on screen where the woman is older than the man in the relationship. She’s often shown as being in the wrong whereas if it was the other way around, the man would be patted on the back. The fact that these two individuals just want to be together regardless of what society expects from them was refreshing. It didn’t come without its backlashes and these were hard to watch, but it was extremely realistic and I appreciated how the film explored it like it did in the book.

The Idea of You is one of the better book to film adaptions that I have seen. Thanks to the incredible casting and sizzling attraction between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, the characters that I fell in love with in the book were able to come to life. While I wasn’t a fan of the changes they made to the ending, this is a film that I will happily revisit in the future. Until then, I will be singing along to all of August Moon’s hits.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Armageddon Time

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A coming of age story based on the life of director, writer and producer James Gray, Armageddon Time chronicles the life of a Jewish American family. The son in particular, Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), is a kid who dreams of becoming an artist. He struggles to understand the expectations not only within his family but society too, especially when he befriends the rebellious Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb).

Where this movie really did well was in its performances. To have big names such as Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong star along aside each other was something in itself. And to think that they were all supporting roles who still managed to shine whenever they were on screen. This does not take away whatsoever from the acting chops of Repeta and Webb. As the story is primarily told through the eyes of both children, we see them most of all. I was worried I wouldn’t able to relate to them, but I have to say that the contrary happened.

Paul is different from those around him. His two favorite things in the world are drawing and his beloved grandpa. He doesn’t understand why he has to go to school or why he can’t be friends with the only African American in his class. The fact that he always tried to stick to his guns and stand up for what he believes to be true, at his age, was something I admired.

Unfortunately the story itself gets a bit muddled throughout. There is no clear direction or incident that moves the pace along. It is very much a character driven story and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I kept waiting for something big to happen. The same could be said for the way in which the film ended. It was left open for interpretation and I’m not sure I liked that too much.

At the end of the day, I’m very glad to have seen Armageddon Time. While not originally on my radar, it was an interesting portrayal of a time gone by, but still held true to how life is today.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5

Locked Down

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Not going to lie, I wasn’t sure I was going to be up for watching a movie about a pandemic especially when we are knee deep in one. Movies, to me, are for escaping, not to be reminded of what is is I am already dealing with every single day. That being said, Locked Down looked fun and it starred some really well known actors so I decided to give it a shot.

When London goes into lockdown to help curve COVID-19, Linda (Anne Hathaway) and Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor) had just made the decision to separate after many years together. With no other choice but to cohabit during this time, they try to make the best out of an inconvenient situation. Then, a chance of a lifetime opportunity presents itself. Linda and Paxton must work together one last time if they want to change their lives forever.

If I’m being honest, I was both highly amused and kind of taken aback at how realistic this was. It perfectly embodied what life is like today complete with zoom calls, social distanced meet ups and the wearing of masks (though there wasn’t nearly enough of that). To be fair, it seems as though this had been filmed at the beginning of the pandemic and a lot has changed since then.

I did like the premise of the film, but I expected more. I had gone into it thinking I was about to watch a comedy and while I did laugh out loud, there were a lot more serious moments than I had bargained for. I also felt like some parts were slow and while I appreciate the need to set up the story, not much happened until the end.

There were some fun cameos by some very famous people which I thoroughly enjoyed. Ben Stiller, Lucy Boynton, Mindy Kaling and Ben Kingsley rounded out the cast and made for great side characters. I loved it whenever one of them would pop up.

If you are looking for a different sort of heist movie, I’d say give Locked Down a go. Just prepared that it hits very close to home these days.

Rating: ♥♥♥