HannahWaddingham – Credits Rolling

Based on the 2016 novel by Ruth Ware, The Woman in Cabin 10 follows Laura ‘Lo’ Blacklock (Keira Knightley), a journalist who has been invited on a luxury cruise for an assignment. When she sees a woman thrown overboard late one evening, she is told that no such thing happened. Despite nobody believing Lo’s claims, she does what she can to find out the truth.

Although I’ve not read the book, I was familiar with the story. I am also always up for a good whodunnit and this one seemed to tick all the boxes. While it was far from groundbreaking, I had a ton of fun with it and thought that it provided some satisfying entertainment.

Locked room mysteries are one of my favorite tropes because everything is heightened. The players cannot leave the premises and they are forced to coexist in close quarters. Having the film take place on a yacht was a smart choice because not only does it serve as a stunning backdrop, most is spent in the middle of a body of water with no sign of land for miles. This makes it feel even more isolating and therefore like something bad is about to happen.

I’ve been a fan of Knightley’s ever since I was a teenager. I’m so glad that she’s been coming back to the silver screen as of late. She carried the film on her back and was absolutely perfect as our protagonist. As Lo, she was fearless and never gave up despite everybody around her telling her she was crazy. With any thriller comes a slew of characters. Guy Pearce, David Ajala, Art Malik, Hannah Waddingham, Kaya Scodelario, Lisa Loven Kongsli and David Morrissey all portrayed obnoxiously rich people who were along for the ride. Some were featured more than others and that was one of the downsides. I wish each had their own chance to shine. I still have questions about some of these people!

Maybe I’m just not good at solving puzzles, but I didn’t see the twist coming. For that reason alone, I have to say that I had a great time watching the events unfold. There were many red herrings and just when I thought I knew what was happening, I realized how very wrong I was. I do wish the final act had been fleshed out a little bit more. It seemed rather rushed.

Overall, The Woman in Cabin 10 was a decent enough mystery that had me engaged from the get go. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a great way to spend a quiet Saturday night in. I doubt I’ll remember much about it in a week’s time and that’s okay. It more than served its purpose when I needed it to.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is the best stunt man around. When an on set injury results in him breaking his back, he’s hesitant to get back into the game – that is until he learns his ex fling Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) is directing her feature debut and according to her producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), he’s the guy for the job. But Colt has been brought onto the project with ulterior motives. Mega movie star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson) has disappeared and it is up to Colt to find him so they can finish filming.

Fresh off the success of two of the biggest films of last year are Gosling and Blunt. Individually they know how to do their thing and they do it perfectly. But when they are together, that is when the magic happens. The way in which Colt is determined to win Jody back despite her efforts not to give in is one of my favorite tropes. I would be more than happy for these actors to star together in many more projects to come.

Director David Leitch got his start as a stunt man himself and this is an ode to others is this part of the industry. Stunt people aren’t always given the appreciation they deserve which is crazy to me. The sequences we see throughout are unique, pulse pounding and really push the limit. I couldn’t decide which one was my favorite. I also thought it was a nice touch that the audience was able to see some behind the scenes footage of them being made.

Some have said that the comedy didn’t entirely hit the mark, but I still found myself giggling more or less the whole way through. Maybe that was more due to the circumstances that our characters found themselves in at times. For example, Colt crying in his car while listening to Taylor Swift was just so perfect! I also liked the crime parts of the story. I didn’t feel like they were far fetched and I felt like it fit with everything else that was going on.

The Fall Guy was one of my most anticipated films of the year, but I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. It made me laugh out loud, was filled with incredible action sequences and the chemistry between the two leads was some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It just left a huge smile on my face. The summer blockbuster season has officially begun!

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️