Tag: ChiwetelEjiofer

The Life Of Chuck

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Based on the 2020 novella by Stephen King and directed by Mike Flanagan comes a life affirming story about a man called Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay and Benjamin Pajak). Told in backwards chronological order, we get to know Chuck through all the important moments of his life.

King and Flanagan are usually known for their various horror projects. People don’t think that they are behind other, more contemporary stories too. This was one that I went into mostly blind and I’m glad that I did. I knew that this was going to be an emotional roller coaster and in order to completely absorb it, I needed to be completely open minded.

Deciding to tell the story in reverse order was a bold choice. It won’t work for everyone and it certainly threw me off at first. As a result, the audience may think they’re watching a different film from what it actually ends up being. The pieces of the puzzle only really come together in the final act when Chuck is a child that we get all the answers. The little nuggets that help tie it together are really smart too.

The cast are absolute standouts, delivering solid performances. While Hiddleston may be the titular Chuck and features on the film’s poster, he isn’t actually featured that much. Still, his scene and the dance sequence that occurs during it is probably one of the best in all of cinematic history. Karen Gillan and Chiwetel Ejiofor are a divorced couple who spend the last day on Earth together. Mia Sara and Mark Hamill are brilliant as Chuck’s grandparents Sarah and Albie. Matthew Lillard, Rahul Kohli, Violet McGraw, Kate Siegel and Samantha Sloyan all had small but important roles in the story of Chuck’s life. It was nice to see some familiar faces from Flanagan’s previous works.

Overall, The Life of Chuck is a peculiar film that packs quite the emotional punch. The storytelling was well done and I love how it drove home the importance of appreciating the smaller moments in life because they are what truly matters. Just because the film focused on Chuck doesn’t mean he’s any more special than anybody else. He contains multitudes like we all do and that was quite something to take away.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy

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Our beloved heroine is back for one last hurrah. After the loss of Mark (Colin Firth), Bridget (Renée Zellweger) finds herself navigating life as a widow and single mom. With the help of her friends and family, Bridget slowly starts to get back out there. She returns to work and even signs up for a dating site with some surprising results.

It has been nine years since we last saw these characters on screen. Everyone was back on board and I loved being able to dip back into Bridget’s world. Zellweger eased back into the titular role effortlessly. I’m glad that Firth was back, even if it was in a smaller scale. Hugh Grant stole the show as former flame Daniel Cleaver; he’s so cheeky, yet you can’t help but love him. Bridget’s friends played by Sally Phillips, Mark Lingwood and Shirley Henderson were along for the ride as well and just as supportive as ever.

Of course there were some newcomers too. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mr. Wallaker starred as a teacher at the school Bridget’s children attend and Leo Woodall portrayed Roxster, a young man who happens upon Bridget and instantly becomes enamoured with her. The romance was A+ and at times I simply did not know who I wanted Bridget to end up with. One moment I was swooning over a shirtless Roxster and the next I wanted to geek out on science and play the piano with Mr. Wallaker.

What I loved the most about Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, however, was that it was the perfect send off for these characters that we have grown to love over the past twenty years. In some ways, I feel like I grew up with Bridget and I’m sad to be saying goodbye. There were so many brilliant callbacks to the original (like the reindeer jumper and the scene in the snow) which were genius. I loved how I went from laughing out loud during one scene and then crying my eyes out in the next. I will miss this universe so much, but I am so glad that we had the chance to revisit it one last time.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️.5

Venom: The Last Dance

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In the final instalment of the Venom trilogy, Eddie Brock and Venom (Tom Hardy) find themselves on the run. The world is convinced that Eddie is a murderer while Venom is being hunted. The symbiotic alien has something that a new foe wants and they will stop at nothing to get it – even if it means devastating circumstances for the duo.

One would expect the last film in a franchise to go out with a bang. Unfortunately I can’t really say that that was the case. The storyline was all over the place and didn’t always make sense. There were three different ones going on at the same time. When they came together, only two of them really came together. I didn’t think the other was needed. It took a really long time for anything exciting to happen too. Luckily it paid off in the final act.

Hardy makes this worth watching. You can tell that he’s had such a blast in both these roles. He always gives it one hundred and ten per cent and I will miss the unconventional friendship that was formed between Eddie and Venom. I do think that the rest of the cast were underused though. I was excited when I discovered that Juno Temple was attached to the project. Her character of Dr. Teddy Paine had potential, but we didn’t really get to see her take off. I feel like the same happened with Chiwetel Ejiofer’s Strickland and Rhys Ifan’s Martin. They were side characters who never had the chance to shine.

The Venom franchise is one that has never been high on the list of Marvel fans’ favorites. I personally have always found them to be a ton of fun. They don’t take themselves seriously which is refreshing and it doesn’t take a lot to understand what’s going on. While Venom: The Last Dance could have been a much stronger send off, I am glad that we got to see Eddie and Venom one last time.

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: ♥♥♥