I just watched the film cause i saw it on netflix as recommended for me and i really didnt think it would be as bad as it was hyped up to be. It starts with a weird, uncomfortable, heavy handed metaphor about adam and eve on earth. Its not that bad at the start, the acting’s okay with Michelle Pfeiffer but Jennifer Lawrence does a weird gaspy thing throughout probably to solidify the fact that my God, shes just a delicate woman and we can’t take her too seriously even when shes just breathing. It then progressed and you think it might not be that bad until she gets all pregnant and God gets all dickheady. By the way, why is God a dickhead? I thought the whole point of God was that he wasn’t. Guess I missed that bit of scripture. Then there are a few more home intruders which is so fun, and then you remember why every news article was talking about a baby being torn to shreds in this film. The thought of a baby being torn to shreds hangs in your head for the last hour of the film, which isnt what a film should really be focusing on Literally Ever. Skipping to the end, after about half an hour to 45 minutes of weird chaotic drivel, she has the baby and some absolute maniac allowed their very small child to be in this film. I mean this baby is miraculously new, and then the ! in mother! happens. Baby gets thrown into the crowd by god (i.e. Jesus) and they eat it! They tear it apart, you see an accurately made carcass, and people eat it. And just to add the cherry on the cake, Jlaw gets beat up with her tits out, because thats the role of women in film folks!

(I’ve currently got my GCSEs so I won't be posting much for the next couple of weeks, but I should be posting far more regularly by July. this is mainly a note to myself so I start writing again)

Paterson is a film starring Adam Driver who plays a bus driver in a town with his same name- Paterson. He lives with his partner Laura and her bulldog Marvin, and writes poetry based on things he experiences and hears snippets of on his bus journeys.

This film sort of confused me because I still can’t decide how much I liked it. On one hand, I thought Laura was really irritating- she basically just freeloaded off of Paterson the whole time, and I know her following her many dreams was supposed to be whimsical and quirky but it just came off as lazy and childish to me. But, also, I think these character traits may have been purposeful; by the end of the movie, she is not what drives him forwards but rather (although indirectly) what sets him back. Her character could be a reflection of the pure selflessness Paterson has, and how he is willing to support the person he loves no matter what. Adam Driver is always a hit in my books, and this movie further cemented that. He’s just really lovely and I like his face, but this is a subjective view. Objectively, he played a really sweet relatable guy with a subtle depth of character being shown in his small quirks and tiny expressions which you pick up on more and more throughout the film. Deja vu was explored a lot throughout, with characters often repeating the same line or phrase. This didn't have a clear explanation, but the ones ones I can think of is either 1) a way to show how Patersons life can be very repetitive, but often not in a bad way, or 2) a way to show how personal we get with Paterson, with these strange moments of deja vu only being connected by the audience and him. The plot is basically nonexistent, which isn't always a bad thing, but I do feel that this film could have done with some semblance of an end goal because the characters had a lot of potential. however, this didn't make it too boring, and I ended up often rooting for the characters despite their flaws.

not so much as a review, just some observations i have about this movie

1) its very green.

most scenes in the film have a sort of acid green hue to them, a colour usually associated with emotions like envy or jealousy. its an evil colour, so to speak, usually applied to villians. i thought this was an interesting choice of colour to use, because it stripped the film of purity. no ones motives are ones that want to bring joy to society. Neiman himself states that his motive for fame is so he’ll be known, he’ll be more than friends and relationships. this isnt a pure goal- its selfish. and, of course, Fletcher has no purity in mind either. his goals are to make greatness, not by affirmation or support, but by brutality and hate. the colour green makes you realise that there is no beauty to the characters in this movie. they are the villains of their own story.

2) its a very quiet movie.

- in terms of dialogue. the music was cacophonous, as intended with the sharp, fast paced drum sequences. its a movie about music, so of course the music should have definition. but the dialogue was muffled. i dont think this was just my TV either, because the other noises came through just fine, but the talking was so so quiet. it made me think that the purpose of this was to make you realise that socially, Neiman can be a bit of a nerd and his true voice is heard in his music. the same would go for the rest of the cast- when Fletcher speaks, a barrage of insults is all thats heard, but when he conducts the true beauty comes through.

3) its also a very orange movie.

watched this a week ago but I was too busy to write about it, so here I am now.

this only came out about two weeks ago so I'm not gonna write a proper synopsis because spoilers but like... Brie Larson is an overpowered superhero with amnesia.

just to get this out of the way- I don't love superhero movies. I find them a bit plasticky and Hollywood and I don't tend to watch them all the time, and I only went to this because my dad offered to take me. I am not up to date with the marvel timeline, so that didn't really impact the movie for me. but, in short, I had kinda low expectations. the movie definitely surpassed them though. my main point that I was impressed by was how strong the diversity was, but the writers definitely managed to make it not very in your face. I didn't see Wonder Woman, but the standout feature of that whole movie seemed to be that the main hero was female. in this, the protagonist, antagonist, and one of the main side-kick characters are female- but you forget about it, in a way. it seemed normal, which is the best thing that a movie can do with diversity.  the acting was very strong, and the comedy was definitely there too- I don't think the jokes were all that ham fisted, which can be a problem with action films. the plot twist halfway through worked to make the film more engaging, because its not very common in movies like this for the goal to be switched entirely; there's usually a distinct motive that doesn't change.

in all, I didn't think it was at all life changing and I didn't leave the cinema in awe, but for a movie of the action/superhero genre it was well executed.

(preface: ive had my mock exams this week and have been busy as fuck revising, my real gcses are in a couple of months and after that ill be way more active)

this movie is about a black man who has 3 days left of his probation until he can return to living normally, and spends these last three days having to watch his step around his volatile (and white) best friend. after witnessing a police officer shoot and kill a black man, his outlook on the world in Oakland is realised.

this movie shook me in every single way. in the first half, its got heavy themes but is generally hilarious and creative. the way its filmed in this first half has a lot more movement and fluidity, and helps keep the scenes upbeat and fun. you get to know the characters well, but their true paths are only skimmed at the surface. then the second half comes with a complete change of atmosphere. the scenes end up being frightening and feel as though they have all the meaning that was simmering below the surface in the first half exploding into the viewers face. clever metaphors are used throughout, and (spoilers) the imagery of a white man (miles) viciously and mercilessly attacking a black man at a party makes you view his character in a completely different light, and with this change in perspective you feel understanding of Collin in a way that most films really struggle to achieve. I thought the use of rap in the scene where Collin confronts the cop who he witnessed murder the man was ingenious, because it let Collins emotions show in a way that worked with his closed off character, but also made perfect sense because (in the least stereotypical way) the struggles of many black communities are represented the clearest in modern media through music. 

I would recommend this movie so much because it sheds light on gentrification, police brutality, and black America in a introspective, unique manner, and was a rollercoaster to watch.

I've been bingeing this show like everyone else for a bit, and ive seen a lot of stuff on social media saying the show glorifies or romanticises stalking. I could not agree less. the show presents a man who is what most people would dream of- attractive, has a good job and his own apartment, has intelligent hobbies, is easy to talk to and pretty funny. on the outside, he’s a regular guy who's really above average in terms of likability. its only when he hear his narration and how he stalks her do we realise how mentally disturbed and creepy he truly is. he literally touched himself whilst peeping through her window and kills a guy for her. not very romantic if you ask me! his constant self justifying monologue show how he truly thinks he's in the right, and its not supposed to convince the viewer that he is doing the right thing- its showing them how a stalker will always take the blame off of themselves (linking to gaslighting, a huge technique used by abusive partners). the writing to make him seem so great on the outside was on purpose, I think. it shows how the most normal people can be the most dangerous, a fear that women often have today considering most rape and stalking cases are perpetuated by friends, family, or colleagues. 

the first movie I've seen in a cinema in a while! special

this movie centres around Queen Anne in the 1700s and two of her ladies of the bedchamber (Sarah and Abigail) fighting to be her favourite. in the movie, she is in a sexual relationship with both of the women, who manipulate and connive in her political affairs to secure power in the throne.  

the first thing I have to comment on in the movie is the amazing casting. I can honestly say this is Emma Stones best performance that ive seen yet, and Olivia Coleman was such a perfect choice to add comedic relief but also play out the dramatic scenes perfectly. Rachel Weisz has the perfect strong lesbian aura that fit her role perfectly, and all their portrayals made perfect sense to me. this movie also made me laugh out loud! multiple times! that's so hard to do!!! the comedy wasn't lost in the bleak undertones, and plenty of moments that would usually be quite dark were uplifted by the seamless humour (for those who have seen it, that one scene where Emma stone asks if the guys gonna rape her then goes all limp made me snort even tho it was...super sad in reality). I did think the ending was...really strange? I couldn't quite figure out if it was meant to represent the queen dying or succumbing to illness, or Abigail realising that her struggle was ultimately not something she wanted, but it felt really spooky and disjointed from the tone of the whole movie. this was definitely on purpose, but it felt awkward nonetheless. overall though, the movie flowed really well and did a great job in making you root for all and no characters at the same time- one minute you'd fall in love with them and be on their side and the next you'd root for their enemy. great movie. we love the historical lesbians.

you've seen the memes so I probably don't have to go into too much depth with the plot, but in short this movie is about a mother of two trying to escape an entity that causes people to kill themselves if they look at it. 

I watched this movie on a plane cause I was expecting it to be an entertaining but basic gory psychological horror. it did the horror job well, but actually stirred up a lot more emotion than I expected it to. it could've been a passable movie without the incredibly Sad scenes (especially the one where Tom has to fight the insane worshipper people- made me cry on a fucking plane) just because of the inventive plot and stellar cast, but these really invested me in the story and made you empathise with otherwise pretty tough to appreciate characters. this is something I also want to elaborate on- Malorie, Douglas, and Olympia (and some would even say Girl as well) are not likeable characters, but in the end they were the ones I was the most connected to. Malorie is a soulless bitch who doesn't feel a need to bond with her children or fellow survivors, but her small moments of care (giving the toy to Olympia especially) made her shine as a realistic character. Douglas was a pessimistic asshole and Olympia was a spoilt, naive idiot but through their moments of bravery and love you understood them. relatable, layered characters can be something mainstream horror really lacks, which is why I'm impressed in Netflix of all platforms for producing a movie that didn't skim over the parts that wouldn't have made it less of a viral hit. 

honestly, to nitpick, what really confused me was the title, and the open ends surrounding the film. the birds weren't even as crucial as they could've been. they were just kinda there at the end, it wasn't even explained. not much of the whole entity was explained, although its implied its some armageddon type thing- which could've been on purpose to leave mystery, but I wouldn't say enough of the mystery of it was focused on to cause any discussion. the whole cause was skimmed over by the survivors, and by most of the viewers too I imagine.