Blade Runner 2049 (Villeneuve, 2017)

  For starters I want to say that I have seen the original in a few of its many forms, and I have really loved it for a while. But oh my gosh this film, the sequel set 30 years after the event of the original film is amazing. Ok, brief synopsis time. As I said previously Blade Runner 2049 is set 30 years after the events of the original film and centres around Blade Runner officer K (Ryan Gosling). It's very much still the world of the original film as K retires replicants from the original batches that were being sent out into the world in the first film. However, the first replicant K 'retires' sets the narrative in motion as it reveals the secrets of the original film.

  This film is an absolute beauty for starters. You should all go see it if you haven't already just to look at the stunning visuals that this film has to offer. For the most part, Star Wars perhaps being the only reboot I'm ok with, I dislike the very idea of reboots and when I heard this was a thing I was somewhat intrigued but also disappointed that they couldn't leave Blade Runner alone. However, I was wrong to have set this way. Blade Runner 2049 is an amazing continuation of the original narrative and does justice to its predecessor but in addition to this it easily stand on its own two feet as a magnificent sci-fi film in its own right. I am conflicted to say the least as to whether I think this is better than the original, I've been thinking about it for over a week and the more I think about it the more I think that I do prefer this one to the original (and I cannot believe I just admitted it). Visually it is just stunning, and I think that is an understatement but I can't think of another word. The music and sound design creates the perfect atmosphere throughout the film and makes the film have an even bigger impact on the viewer. The performances of everyone in the cast are superb especially Ana de Armas, who's character evolves so much and you really get attached to her because of this. I don't think that I can actually explain everything that I love and appreciate about this film through words because I have none.
  Overall, you should go and watch this film because it is an amazing sequel but not only that as it is also an amazing sci-fi film in its own right. It doesn't matter if you have seen the first one or not because they do explain it enough that you won't be confused, but to anyone reading that has seen the original film you do not need to worry either as it isn't explained over and over and make annoyingly clear to those who already know the past narrative. This film is honestly a piece of art and the best reboot to have come out of Hollywood in the last few years!

Rating: 5 out of 5 (duh....)

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you return next week for another blog post talking about all things film and TV related.

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The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004, Shinkai)

  Review Time! I know I said that this week would be a review but I literally just watched this film and it is perfection in an earthly form so I have decided to push my Disney Favourites instalment back a week so that I can convince you twitch this film because you should!
  In a world where Japan has been separated into two halves by Russia and the US three teenagers want to find out what is going on a tower on the Russian side of the country. As the film progresses time jumps occur (as with every Shinkai film), as the teens plans progress. After a three year jump it is revealed that they haven't seen each other in that time and one of them has seemingly just vanished into thin air.
  The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a sci-fi film with a very strong romance theme running all the way through it (as with every Shinkai film). It isn't your run of the mill science fiction with a hint
of romance. At its core the film is about relationships and how time and distance has an impact on those relationships that mean the world to you one minute and haunt you the next. Shinkai explores this theme in all of his films, he seems to have a deep interest in how relationships dwindle through time and how distance can put a strain on relationships that were previously so strong.
  The animation in this film is much like Shinkai's short film Voices of a Distant Star. It has the same character design which is very much his style unlike the recently released Your Name which is the only one to seemingly have lost this look. The background and settings that Shinkai animates are truly where he shines in an animation perspective, they are simply stunning. They are brightly coloured but not out there or strange. He animates lens flares into these scenes which gives the animation this essence of realness in a world that is so different from our own yet so strangely familiar.
  From style to story this film is breathtaking. The animation will have you wishing that everything was still 2D animated (which to be honest I already do) and the story will pull on your heartstrings just enough to get a few tears out of you. Even if you don't like anime films, or reading subtitles, find a dubbed version because even though this film is set in Japan I think it has the capability to connect with everyone no matter where they are from. The theme of relationships is one that everyone can relate to, and the theme of war and nations fighting for things that aren't truly theres is something so relevant in this day and age that it can't help but resonate with an audience today.

Rating: 5 out 5 (obviously, no?)

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What Are You Watching? (September, 2017)

Sorry for missing last month, fully blame DisneyLife for that one but this month I am back and have been watching a lot of stuff.

TV

• Red Oaks (season 2) - A fun second season to accompany the first season. It's a series set in the mid 80's summertime in New Jersey. It follows the character of David Myers, played by Craig Roberts, as he (in this season) figures out what he wants to do with his future after dropping out of NYU. A good, easy watch with relatable characters that are fun and lovable. Obviously watch the first season before you watch this one, it is available on Amazon Prime video (it's an amazon original).
• Game of thrones (season 7) - Along with most of the world I watch Game of Thrones and of course watched the most recent season. Although I am not without my complaints for this most recent season I still enjoyed watching it and will definitely be tuning in to the final season of the show. 
• Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun - A very funny anime with lots of chibi scenes about a 'clean freak' who is very talented at soccer. It's quite simple but very enjoyable and just super fun to watch. It's kind of like a jokey version of sports animes, it has the seriousness about Soccer being life but cleanliness tops that in every episode and even in the matches. I would highly recommend this anime if you want an anime that is super easy to watch and you want a good laugh. 
• Love and Lies - An adorable little anime about true love and forbidden love in a world where your marriage is chosen for you. Honestly, it's just so cute!

FILM

• The Dark Tower - This was an interesting film, it was enjoyable and fun to watch. I've written a blog post all about it if you would like some more info and opinions on this film. Click here to read it: http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/the-dark-tower-2017-arcel.html …
• Logan Lucky - Enjoyable and very funny but missing a little something that would make it amazing. Still worth a watch. If you would like my full interpretation of the film check it out here:http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/logan-lucky-soderbergh-2017.html …
• Mother! - I wasn't very interested in seeing this film after seeing the trailer, but my boyfriend was interested after reading a review so we went to go see it. Honestly, it was better than I thought it would be after hearing so many bad opinions about this film. The message is quite clear, it isn't spelt out but it isn't all too hidden. If you want more info then a review is available here: http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/…/mother-aronofsky-201…

Thank you so much for reading my post this week, I hope you enjoyed and want to return next week for another instalment in my Disney series. 

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Mother! (Aronofsky, 2017)

This may be one of the only positive or just not completely negative review of Mother! out in the world right now but let's get on it with anyway. I have quite a few thoughts about this film, it's definitely an interesting one. It's a captivating thriller that tries to send a message about humanity, mother nature, and god. The only thing is that that is all it does, it doesn't hide this within another story like most films that are trying to say something similar, the message is the story and the story is the message.
  A newly(?) wed couple are alone yet seemingly happy in a much to large home (earth) for just the two of them. The house had been in a fire but is being renovated by Jennifer Lawrence's character (Mother Earth). She seems happy enough with it just being the two of them but Javier Bardem's character (god) does not feel the same way as he continues to invite people/strangers into their home much to the dismay of his new wife. This inviting people in quality gets out of hand and drives J Law insane. Eventually, it gets to the point where the people he has invited in start to destroy the home she has worked so hard on and it just keeps going downhill for J Law from there really.
 The worst thing about this film is that it's message is very there, they don't try to hide it in any way within another story like most other psychological thrillers specifically, but even just most films that have a message about society in some way. It's not badly done, the message is quite clear from about half way through the film. The ending definitely makes what it is trying to say abundantly clear if you didn't quite get it earlier on in the film.
  The acting isn't bad, and the story isn't bad. It's kind of like something is just a little bit off with the whole film. It's not bad, but it isn't good either. Ok, no that isn't right. I personally thought that it wasn't as bad I thought it would be and that it was quite good (although I do question whether I think it's good just because I don't think it's as bad as reviews made it out to be). It isn't an easy watch at all, and it certainly isn't enjoyable in the way that the last few films I have watched are. I personally enjoyed it because it is putting out a message that I thoroughly believe in and I like that a film is putting it in peoples faces and attempting to make it clear without hiding the message within something else. But past that I didn't enjoy it.
  One could argue that this film is trying to be arty and express something loudly and make people think and question it and themselves. After reading many reviews I don't think Mother! accomplished that very well at all to be quite honest. Overall, I don't think that I can give this film a fully positive review because I don't feel positively about it. It kind of is a fail at trying to say something since a lot of people didn't get it at first (or so it seems), the acting is bad but it isn't great. The story is interesting but has its issues. Basically, if you're intrigued go and see it as it probably won't be around for that much longer but if not then I wouldn't bother.

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Logan Lucky (Soderbergh, 2017)

  Another review coming your way any minute. Trying to up my film watching game before uni starts up again. This week I have watched one new film so that is what I shall be reviewing today even though I'm sure no one wants to read a review about anything at the moment apart from IT I'm going to go ahead and write this one anyway.
  This film is about two brothers whom believe, or at least one of them does, that their family is
cursed with bad luck because something bad has happened to basically every member of their family at least once including themselves. One of the two brothers, played by Channing Tatum, puts forward a plan to rob a vault at the Charlotteville motor speedway in order to get a lawyer so that he can fight for his right to see his daughter whom may move away soon. The other brother, played by Adam Driver, doesn't like the sound of this but goes along with it anyway because their family and he trusts his brother. As the story develops, so does their team and their plan. The Logan's curse does seem to crop up on occasion but it doesn't stop them from going through with the plan.
  Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Out of this and The Dark Tower I would definitely watch this one again out of the two. It's funny when it tries to be funny and has a well thought out twist that I honestly didn't see coming. The acting by everyone is well done. The stand out performance would be from Daniel Craig whom honestly if you did not know who he was you would think he was southern American and not English at all. There's no essence of Bond about him in this film. As well as Adam Driver whom you'd never think is also Kylo Ren in the newest Star Wars trilogy. This film really proves how talented these guys are, and how they can perform whatever character you ask for. It's a rather lighthearted comedy that has some stand out moments indeed but I'm not sure how above average it truly is. Logan Lucky probably won't be a film that I would run out to buy on DVD because I need it in my collection but if I spy it on Netflix or Amazon Prime in a few months time I will definitely be giving it another watch if I'm in for an easy comedy that I know will make me laugh. I don't really have anything picky to say about the film overall, just that there are better films out there. However, being serious now thank goodness for an original film that truly is very good, although missing something that I can't put my finger on. It just needed like an extra sprinkling of something to make it really outstanding. Although saying that it is unique and I don't think I've ever seen a film quite like it, very enjoyable indeed.

Rating: 4 out of 5. It's just missing something to push it into outstanding but definitely worth a watch or two.

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The Dark Tower (2017, Arcel)

  I've been wanting to catch this film for a while now, and as it is probably leaving the cinema soon I thought I better see it sooner rather than later. I was kinda disappointed to be honest, it just wasn't what I expected it to be from the trailers I've seen. I was expecting fantastical thriller and got Percy Jackson.
  The film is about a young boy that is having dreams about an alternative reality where a tower that holds the darkness of the universe at bay is trying to be destroyed. His family think that the dreams and how shaken he is by them is mental strain from losing his father at some point before the timeline  of the film. He soon realises that his dreams are not just that, as he finds his dreams becoming reality.
  I was disappointed by this film, not because it's a bad film but just because it wasn't what I thought it would be through having watched the trailers. It's much more kid orientated than I thought it would be. The story is interesting and so are the characters. There are moments when it is a little more intense but nothing major. The trailer is more intense than any of the film is. Idris Elba is always good so can't really go wrong with casting him, and same with Mathew McConaughey. Tom Taylor plays the main character of Jake Chambers, he is kind of over shined by Elba and McConaughey though.
  Overall, I don't have an awful lot to say about this film after I was disappointed but it's not a bad film. Honestly, for kids and teens I think that this would be really enjoyable much like the Percy Jackson film series is. However, the trailers are really misleading as to who the audience for the film is supposed to be, which ultimately lead to my disappointment.

As always thank you for reading, although I doubt that this review is going to help anyone that much. But still thank you for reading and I hope you come back next week.

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My experience with DisneyLife

Just a little update on my usual end of the month post, I just haven't been watching a lot of new stuff. Films especially (which is so bad I know) and the TV series I've been watching haven't finished or are insanely long (talking about you One Piece). I very much blame DisneyLife for this month's lack of new stuff that I have been watching. So, I'm going to do a review of DisneyLife instead. Ok, let's get started!

  DisneyLife is basically a Disney only Netflix. Anything Disney you want to see (excluding the most recent releases, pre-zootopia pretty much) is on this streaming service. From Disney animated films, to films just distributed by Buena Vista (Disney's distributing company) it has a lot of stuff. The streaming service also houses Disney channel films and TV series' both new and classic. It has animated shorts, PIXAR films, basically if you love Disney and streaming services there is a lot of stuff on there that is exclusive to DisneyLife so probably worth it for £4.99 a month. Especially if you have kids.
  However, I being a person that is brought joy by seeing all my DVD's especially Disney company specific DVD's (including PIXAR...obviously) DisneyLife is probably not something that I will continue to use past my free trial. I love it, honestly I do, however it just isn't suited to my preferences when it comes to films. From a nostalgia point of view, in reference to Disney Channel specifically, it has been a dream. I don't think I have watched this much Disney Channel in like over five years. I may have a Kim Possible overload by the end of my free trial. I love the ability to just go on an absolute nostalgia fest, and I think that this would be good for kids. Obviously, it is aimed at families so the whole kid friendly thing is somewhat obvious but just thought I would put it out there. For people at my age that had Disney Channel growing up it may be worth it just for the nostalgia, also if you watch Disney films a lot and don't like DVD's or don't want to buy anymore DVD's because some people are like that then DisneyLife may be for you. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to continue with DisneyLife simply because I have a lot of the films on there on DVD already and any that I don't have I want because I'm a Disney Fan girl that loves film and having DVD's.

So, overall I would recommend but don't think I'll carry on with it just because of my personal preference over DVD's to streaming services.

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