Gone Girl: Movie Review

Speculation of this adaptation began when word spread of Ben Affleck's casting as the mysterious and easy-to-blame Nick Dunne in Fincher's Gone Girl. As a huge fan of both Flynn's writing and Fincher's work, I was uneasy as to how Affleck would settle into the role I knew and loved (and yes, I am one of the minority that have more than minimal empathy for Nick) - but he quickly, and pleasantly, surprised. With just the right amount of shifty suspicion in the air as he drinks his morning whiskey at aptly named 'The Bar,' he emits the perfect mixture of arrogance and nonchalance that causes Nick to become the epicentre of distrust.

On the morning of July 5th, 2012, Nick and Amy Dunne are set to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, when events are soon shaken by her sudden disappearance. With what seems like a staged crime scene in the Dunne's living room, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and professional partner Jim Gilpin set out on a mission to catch the husband out. With a very literal 'Clue' at various locations around town - red panties here, a Punch & Judy doll there - feeling grows that they may be dealing with a murder case. And we all know how that story goes.

As Nick tries and fails to portray his innocence to the public (cue creepy grin at a press conference), he recruits the help of twin sister and all-round sarcastic wonder Margo (Carrie Coon), as well as the renowned 'wife-killer-lawyer' Tanner Bolt, played by the equally wonderful Tyler Perry, to get the world on his side. Which proves more difficult than they initially thought - even Nick's rather raggedy moggie avoids his supposedly deceitful presence.

Rosamund Pike gives an unmissable performance as 'Amazing Amy,' the inspiration for her parents' wealth of children's novels and always 'one step ahead.' Pike encompasses everything that fans of the book, and Gillian Flynn herself, could've hoped to see in every element of Amy Elliot-Dunne's 'cool girl' character, as well as her meticulous and methodological side. 

With the first half of the film culminating in a surprising twist of fate, it's no wonder David Fincher was attracted to the story. While it's no Gwyneth's-Head-In-The-Box or "Tyler Durden Who?" moment, the narrative unfolds to the true heart of Fincher's art, making us question and wonder everything we've seen for the last 90 minutes. Such a twist acts as a catalyst for events that intertwine and unravel with the remaining hour-or-so of screen time, capturing our breath and refusing it to return.
   Told artistically through flashbacks and present-day story-telling, we are wrapped up in the world that not only Fincher and Flynn, but the characters themselves, have expertly created for us.
   

Kingsland Road X Factor Performance Review 26/10/13

As an almost-18-year old Briton, I have spent over half my years on this Earth watching the infamous X Factor on my Saturday nights; this year being no exception. 

As a huge fan of boybands, (what can I say?) I was quickly intrigued to see how they would fair with the likes of One Direction, JLS, and other international successes of the show. 

In the beginning, the common critique was how their synchronised dance moves may overshadow their slightly "weaker" vocals in comparison to their competitors. After being put through to the live shows earlier this month, they have proved to everyone that this is not a title they wish to live up to, and have come out fighting harder each week. 

This week's theme was Movies, and what better way to escalate their popularity with a classic 80s number? 

Kingsland Road took to the stage to perform "(Oh,) Pretty Woman" from the iconic Hollywood hit. 

While at first sceptical of where the upbeat performance might effect their vocals, they pleasantly surprised their star-studded audience; where previous winners Little Mix expressed their fondness towards the boys. 

 

With their hairspray out in full force, their vocals were stronger and their dance moves were slicker. And that gravity defying hair of theirs didn't move an inch. 

I was thouroughly impressed with their improvement, and can't wait to see how the next weeks unfold for the five piece. 

Insidious 2: Review (no spoilers)

As a huge fan of a good scare fest, I jumped at the chance to see my favourite pair team up for a much-anticipated sequel - Inisdious 2 - on Friday the 13th. 

James Wan and Leigh Whannell found huge success when they teamed up for the smash hit Saw, which proved revolutionary in terms of the storylines in the horror genre; keeping you guessing until the final music plays. 

In 2010 the pair set out on yet another promising project - Insidious. Again, the movie kept twisting and turning until the credits rolled. With the ending finding the family in a deeply rooted cliffhanger, a sequel wasn't even an option, it was a necessity. No more than 3 years later, and picking up from only moments after we left the original movie, we find ourselves back in the Lambert family's home where the same unwelcome entities are taunting and tearing at the very fabric of what is left of Renai's sanity. 

Without giving away the very twists that make the Writer-Director pairing so intriguing to see working together, I can honestly name this one of the most well-planned, and well-executed sequels for a long time. And with a name so haunting it had to live up to its prequel, it definitely did its duty. 

Patrick Wilson, who plays broken and 'possessed' Josh Lambert, portrayed some groundbreaking and utterly haunting acting in a horror movie, that is incredibly difficult to find in such a genre. 

Now You See Me : Film Review

Just last month I was at my local cinema waiting to watch a wonderful Robert DeNiro and saw an advert for a intriguing new piece of film called Now You See Me.  I'd been interested in the concept and practically counted down the days until it finally hit UK cinemas, and finally my time came to see it. 

With one of the largest star-studded cast, stars such as Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg of The Social Network fame, budding newcomer Dave Franco, the timeless Morgan Freeman, and various other wonderful cast members, all took to the stage upon the screen to perform one of the greatest cinematic illusions I've ever seen. 

Set across 3 different US states to perform 3 different tricks, The Four Horsemen magicians take Las Vegas and the authorities by storm with deceit and slide of hand, to perform a bank robbery 5000 miles away in Paris, rewarding their personally chosen audience members with the money. 3 million Euro of it. 

With Hulk star Mark Ruffalo on their case as an FBI detective, we follow the story through both sides of the magic; the disbelief and the detailed planning. 

Each scene pulled a new twist from up their sleeves and pushed me back into my belief in magic.. where the magic itself is believing. The final twist concluded what I felt throughout the full 2 hours, that this is truly glorious, gripping, and utterly groundbreaking. 

Oz: The Great and Powerful - Film Review

Having left the cinema only half an hour ago, I can't get this film out of my head, I just have to write something about it.

Setting aside my newly emerged love for James Franco, the format of the film was something I couldn't ignore. Every twist and turn pushed me back into the nostalgia of seeing Judy Garland emerge into Oz every Christmas while huddled in front of my television with my family. The black and white into the vivid colour of Oz, the delicate detail of the costume and makeup design and the humour of animated sidekick Finley, voiced by the timeless Zach Braff, I was hooked.

The casting kept me thoroughly intrigued by the characters' individual stories and lives and made me feel like a munchkin in my rather fetching 3D glasses; I was rooting for the good and booing at the bad! The film brought modern character to the classic tale and gave the story life before what we already knew from the 1930s film.

I can't give away much without spoiling the film for you, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loved the original Wizard of Oz; whether you were around for Judy Garland's original performance or are parents with a young child who will be gripped by the colourful scenery and the charismatic animals, you will all find great love and laughs in this film.
And I totally didn't fall a bit in love with that cheeky Franco grin... okay, maybe a bit.. but I'm only human right?

Lawson: Changing the Laws-On Boybands

Ok, cheesy jokes and puns aside, can we take a moment to appreciate how Lawson are such a breath of fresh air in the industry? I may be a little bias in this situation but I really think Lawson are what we need right now; not really conventional in "boyband" terms (apart from maybe the product in that gravity-defying hair of theirs) and more associated with the likes of live bands such as The Script and even Coldplay.

Lawson's Chapman Square tour hit the snowy South Coast last night and of course, I was there to witness the event in all its glory.

Belting out hits such as When She Was Mine and Standing In The Dark, the foursome kept the entire crowd on their toes all night, with a mix of up-beat dance songs, and powerful love ballads, even throwing out an incredible cover of Swedish House Mafia's "Don't You Worry Child"; not to mention the epic Andy Brown taking a solo song on stage, wrenching our hearts with an acoustic rendition of The Girl I Knew that, if it didn't completely pull on your heartstrings until you were swooning for England, you probably weren't doing it right.

With it being drummer Adam Pitts' home-coming show, the atmosphere coming from the crowd and the boys on stage was completely electric. Every song was accompanied by thousands of girls (and a few dads and boyfriends I spotted trying to hide their fan-boy ways in the upper tier) singing in unison, everyone was having the time of their life, and it was obvious no-one wanted it to end.
But like anything great, it must come to an end. Finishing their set with top 10 hit 'Standing In The Dark', the band took out their in-ears, stopped playing their instruments and allowed the silence to be filled with the crowd's chanting of the opening lyrics. Goose-to-the-Bumps!
And with that, they threw their drumsticks and their plectrums into the air for fans to catch, leaped from the stage to the barrier at which I was standing and took in the girls screams and reaches. Finally, they climbed back to their podium, stood in a line, arms around eachother, gave the appreciative crowd a thumbs up and smiles that no-one could hide.

The entire night was full of fun, laughs, love and just an incredible atmosphere; and if post-concert depression isn't a thing, I'm making it a thing. It's definitely a thing.