Tag: GemmaChan

Don’t Worry, Darling

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Welcome to Victory, an experimental living community, where the sun is always shining, the houses are vast and the lawns manicured. Young couple Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) have the perfect life. When he goes off to work every day, she tends to the housework and prepares a nice dinner for him. But Victory isn’t as it seems and as the cracks start to show, Alice questions everything she thought she knew.

One of the most anticipated films of the year, Don’t Worry, Darling is the second film in Olivia Wilde’s directorial portfolio. Even after all the controversy, I knew I had to put that out of my head in order to focus on the bigger picture.

Everyone has been saying that Florence Pugh carried this movie on her back and they aren’t wrong. She is a force to be reckoned with. Her performance as Alice was absolutely captivating. You felt for her the whole way through. I can’t say the same about her male counterpart in Styles though. He was decent enough, but his fluctuating accent was distracting and it was as if he couldn’t keep up with Pugh.

The rest of the cast members were interesting enough though I wish we could have had more time with some of them. Frank (Chris Pine) was the most fleshed out. There was something charming yet sinister about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. I missed a lot from Bunny (Olivia Wilde) and her husband Dean (Nick Kroll) who are Alice and Jack’s neighbors. Addiotionally, Shelley (Gemma Chan), Frank’s wife clearly had more to tell.

I was one of those people who did not see the big twist coming. While not at all original, I did like the reveal. The explanation was too quick and that hindered the shock factor, but it didn’t take away from the movie for me. This is definitely one that left me thinking.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5

Eternals

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Sersei (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan) and Gilgamesh (Don Lee) are Eternals, aliens that have been sent to Earth by Celestials to defend humans against the Deviants. Learning to balance a normal life, they must reunite after years apart to defeat the Deviants once more.

I honestly had zero desire to watch Eternals at first. The storyline just did not interest me in the slightest. Eventually I caved and figured I’d probably be missing out on something if I didn’t give it a go, not to mention the fact that it is all part of Phase 4. The early critics weren’t great and so I went into it hesitantly.

The movie was better than I expected it to be. It wasn’t groundbreaking by any means and it’s not up there with my favorite Marvels, but because I went in thinking it would be awful, I was pleasantly surprised. One positive was the introduction and exploration of the characters. We really had a proper backstory and that was much appreciated. However, there were some that I still would have liked to know more about, such as Makkari and Druig, and felt that some definitely had more screen time than others. I also couldn’t help but notice many similarities in these individuals to those from the DC universe and I’m not really sure how that made me feel.

As usual, the cinematography was stunning. I don’t think I will ever watch a Marvel movie and not be in awe at the way it was filmed. I was curious about Chloé Zhao and the direction in which she would take things. She had a great approach and I hope that for future Eternal films, she will be onboard for them.

In addition to some characters being overshadowed by others, I also felt like the runtime was too long. A lot of the scenes dragged and I found myself checking my watch for the time. Not only that, but it seemed like there wasn’t enough build up to the climax of the movie which resulted in it happening too fast.

Overall, Eternals is not a bad Marvel movie, it’s just different. I believe that it will take some time before we really learn to appreciate how these superheroes will fit into the bigger picture. Does it deserve the negative reviews it’s been getting? No, I don’t think so. It was fine for an introduction film, however, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Rating: ♥♥♥

Raya and the Last Dragon

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Raya and the Last Dragon is the latest Disney masterpiece. I say this confidently because I loved absolutely everything about it. It doesn’t happen often that I dislike something by Disney, however, over the more recent years, I feel like they have really stepped up their game in regards to modernizing their stories. Before it was standard procedure for a princess to sit around and wait for her prince to come and rescue her, but now these princesses are bad asses and don’t take shit from anybody. It’s amazing! Because of that, this latest addition was a stand out.

Many years ago in the land of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together harmoniously. However, when a group of monsters called the Druun threaten everything, the dragons sacrifice themselves to save the people. In the aftermath, Kumandra split up and became separate kingdoms, sparking a rivalry between one another.

Five hundred years later, the Druuns are back. Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) must embark on a journey to find the last dragon. By doing this, she can save humanity and hopefully put Kumandra back together in the process.

Everything about this story was flawless. There were twists and turns, ups and downs and never a dull moment. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

Raya herself is a feisty young lady warrior. She is the perfect role model for girls everywhere. Her determination to bring Kumandra together once more and save the people is truly inspiring. Kelly Marie Tran really helped bring her to life. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Raya now. Similarly, Gemma Chan was brilliant as Namaari. The misunderstood antagonist made you root for her and her chemistry with Raya was off the charts. Other standouts included Izaac Wang as Boun, Benedict Wong as Tong and Thalia Tran as little Noi. Without these three, the movie would not have been what it was. I have to say though that the best part of all for me was Sisu, the infamous last dragon. Voiced by Awkwafina, she brought a new dimension to the role and stole the show.

Raya and the Last Dragon was everything I hoped it would be and more. I am simply stunned by the world that was created for this special story. I cannot sing it’s praises enough.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥