Film

The Favourite – film review

- TracyB Leave a comment

Ok, so I haven’t been the quickest off the mark to go and see The Favourite and obviously saw that Olivia Coleman had won the Oscar for her role as Queen Anne.

I do however, with regards to cinema, like to let all the fuss die down before going on a quieter afternoon to allow myself to fully enjoy ( or not) whatever film it is at the time, without all the residual underlying noise of a full cinema……yes I’m one of those people! There are only a few films I will book to see on the opening weekends for fear of spoilers hitting me from Twitter and elsewhere.

So, let’s get the obvious out of the way now……………Olivia Coleman is outstanding  ( no shit Sherlock!) and she is compelling to watch. She’s always been pretty underrated for my liking ( I feel the same about James McAvoy just so you know) she has a total naturalness about her in any role she plays, but it’s so much more obvious in this film. It never seemed forced in any way from her throughout.

In fact, all 3 main females are strong in this film. That said I felt that Rachel Weisz the absolute glue that stuck the film together, she was sharp, ruthless and able to switch temperaments in a split second for full effect of her character. Her character was menacing but without force, just a slight change in the tone here and there and you literally didn’t know how far she’d actually go. The director Yorgos Lanthimos has a feel for showing the strong power dynamics of relationships and I loved that all 3 characters were entangled showing the underlying skulduggery that was typically present in those times in order to keep favour in court. Read more

Trouble with the Curve

- TracyB Leave a comment

That’s the title of a newly released (this weekend) film that I had the chance of going to see.

It stars the legendary Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake and Amy Adams, and follows the estranged relationship between a father and daughter and loosely based around the sport of baseball.

Have a look at the down loadable link below:

Trouble with the Curve

This is a character based story and is a slow burner that simmers throughout enticing you to want to know what has made these characters how they are!

I like these sorts of films, you are not detracted from the story by loud, unnecessary stunts and noise. Clint Eastwood plays a fantastic ‘grumpy old man’ and actually you can almost feel his frustration as his general demeanor has changed so much from the ‘Dirty Harry’ suave days. Although he is cranky you want to slap and cuddle him at the same time. Amy Adams is a great counterpart to the dad. Successful but lonely striving for success in other parts of her life in order not to deal with the ‘father’ issue. Justin Timberlake, an acceptable eye candy, was a great fun, forward but like able character.

I’ve got to say the dads ‘old cronies’ club that seem to be at every game to are a fab bunch, showing that your sense of humour does not diminish as you get older.

Like I say, sometimes these stories are my favourites. The father/ daughter relationship keeps you captivated and it was nice that when the truth was out the relationship did not magically fix itself, but still kept you guessing if they would ever see ‘eye to eye’.

This is a heartwarming, enjoyable film great for a lovely quiet Sunday afternoon.

Here are some pics from the movie to get you wondering:

Trouble with the Curve

In cinemas now

Journey 2 -The Mysterious Island

- TracyB Leave a comment


I was sent a copy of the newly released Journey 2 The Mysterious Island to review over the half term, however earlier in the year my boys and I attended the screening for this film. Having no real expectations for this sequel to Journey to the Centre of the Earth, we were pleasantly surprised to come away having enjoyed it!!

So premise of the story if you don’t know:

Sean gets crypted messages from a ‘mysterious island’, Hank ( stepdad) helps him uncover the code and accompanies him find the island. Gabato and his daughter help them get there by using their helicopter. Long story short…….they get there by default, find Sean’s long lost grandfather (Caine) and have to find a way off the island as it’s sinking!! Cue the Nautilus/ Atlantis slant.

Anyway, all in all a great film to entertain the kids over the coming half term. Action, adventure and a splash of comedy makes for a kids film that even the parents may admit to enjoying for what it is. Michael Caine is great as the long lost grandfather and the initial strained relationship between him and Hank will have you smirking. Look out for the taut pecs and berries routine………don’t say you weren’t warned!

The film has been rated as a PG and has a running time of 94mins

Prices will vary depending on both the retailer and package ( dvd/ blueray/ or triple play)

DISCLOSURE- I was sent the DVD free of charge for review purposes only, however, all views expressed are my own.

Journey 2- The Mysterious Island

- TracyB Leave a comment

I was lucky enough to be invited to the screening of Journey 2 The Mysterious Island last weekend, we had seen the first film so generally had an idea what to expect.

However, when we arrived at the Vue in London we were taken by surprise as we were met by allsorts of snakes, spiders and lizards!! Not what you expect when you go to see a film!

Anyway, this had my youngest totally in his element. As both myself and my eldest wandered casually around eating the lovely croissants and drinking juice cocktails that had been supplied, my youngest went around trying to hold everything he could( this may have had something to do with the toys they were giving away to the kids who bravely held them)!

That's only a snippet of the lovely breakfast goodies!!

At one point a very nice lady politely asked me if I would like to try some snacks but as I looked at the plate it was true ‘Bush Tucker Trial’ stuff. I’m not kidding, she just laughed when I politely declined but asked to take a photo ( a true blogger me!).


I thought Ant & Dec were going to jump out and say I had to eat the lot!

Then it was time to go into the cinema. We got our 3D glasses at the ready and took our seats.

Now if I’m honest after seeing the first film ( that was a birthday treat if you don’t mind- funny how our birthdays always get taken over by the kids ideas!!) I wasn’t really expecting too much. However, I was pleasantly surprised. There was an element of comedy that was aimed both at the kids and the adults with a little obvious slapstick for the youngest of watchers too. The serious charm of Michael Caine as the grandfather was a great match against Dwayne Johnson ( who I expected to be slightly wooden but surprisingly wasn’t). The little one liners between them kept a great rivalry going. Watch out for Dwayne’s ‘pec’s’ talk………..hilarious.But Luis Guzman as Gabato played the comedy character you couldn’t help but like…….Bless him.

So premise of the story if you don’t know:

Sean gets crypted messages from a ‘mysterious island’, Hank ( stepdad) helps him uncover the code and accompanies him find the island. Gabato and his daughter help them get there by using their helicopter. Long story short…….they get there by default, find Sean’s long lost grandfather (Caine) and have to find a way off the island as it’s sinking!! Cue the Nautilus/ Atlantis slant.

Anyway, all in all a great film to take the kids too over the coming half term. Action, adventure and a splash of comedy makes for a kids film that even the parents may admit to enjoying for what it is.

The film has been rated as a PG and has a running time of 94mins

The 2 silhouettes are my boys trying to blend in with the poster!!

Declaration: I was given the free tickets to review this film, however all opinions are my own!

Sorry about the quality of the photos…..I stupidly forgot my camera and had to rely on my Blackberry!!!

Thank You to the lovely Emily at Think Jam for the chance to review Journey 2 The Mysterious Island.