EmmaMackey – Credits Rolling

Ever since I heard they were doing a Barbie movie, my excitement went through the roof. I waited and waited and while it seemed everyone in the world was able to watch this movie before me, my time finally came last night. And it was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

In Barbieland, the women are in charge. There’s President Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Nobel Prize Winning Barbie. And then there’s stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) who is perfectly content with her day to day life. But when she starts malfunctioning, she starts to question why things are the way that they are. The only way to fix herself is to make the journey to the Real World to find the girl who plays with her. Along with Ken (Ryan Gosling), this will be a trip that changes not only Barbies forever, but Kens too.

There is simply not enough words in the English vocabulary to describe just how much this film means to me. It was so brilliantly done – not that I ever had a doubt with Greta Gerwig at the helm – but I’m still so pleased that it surpassed my expectations. Usually when a film is this hyped up, it can never be that good. But it was!

Robbie is absolutely perfect as our lead. Not only is she stunning, she gives a career best performance as her character starts feeling emotions she never did before. I also don’t recall her acting in such a comedic role before and I liked it! The big scene stealer here though was Gosling as Ken. All those rumours about him being tipped for an Oscar better be true because he was phenomenal. There were equal parts silly and hilarious mixed with a kind of redemption that just fit. I could go on and on about the others in this cast, but the list would be endless. So many stars in one movie is usually a mess, but that wasn’t the case here.

I want to live in Barbieland. The pastel colors contrasting with the darker tones of the Real World was well thought out, though I’d choose the former any day. And I want every single outfit that Robbie wore. Combined with a steller soundtrack, on the surface the film seemed like it would be one thing, but once the dust settled and it got down to the nitty gritty, the moral of the story became a lot more important than I ever thought possible. I went from laughing my head off one minute to crying the next.

Barbie was smart, funny, thought provoking and filled with girl power. With Robbie and Gosling leading the pack, I never had any doubts as to how amazing it would be. I can’t wait own it and watch it a million times on repeat. To Greta Gerwig: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now onto Oppenheimer!

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

When the wealthy Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) meets Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), there’s no denying the sparks between them. Ending his engagement with Jackie Bellefort (Emma Mackey) so he and Linnet can tie the knot, they think they will go on to live happily ever after. Together with their friends, Linnet and Simon embark on their honeymoon where Jackie seems to be following them every step of the way. Feeling unsafe, they enlist the help of detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) to keep an eye out on things. But when the event turns deadly, everyone is a suspect.

After being delayed multiple times due to the pandemic (and the allegations made to a certain actor), Death on the Nile finally debuted in cinema this weekend. Boasting a stacked cast with the likes of Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Rose Leslie and Sophie Okonedo, this was a must see on the big screen.

While I haven’t read the Agatha Christie novel and therefore cannot compare between the two, I have to say that I enjoyed the movie. The Egyptian backdrop was absolutely stunning and gave me major wanderlust. The storyline was intricate and kept me guessing throughout. The only downfall was the great amount of characters, some of which didn’t get nearly enough screen time or backstory as I would have liked. Additionally, I felt like the mystery took too long to get going and the runtime could have been cut down a bit.

Overall, Death on the Nile was well worth the wait. For two hours I was able to forget the outside world and become enveloped in what was unfolding around me. I can only hope that there is another Poirot story to come in the near future.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5