40. Blade Runner 2049

First of all, congratulations to me! Last year I saw 40 'new' films, and here we are, October, and I've hit that figure. This weeks film review comes from Costa Coffee, in Derby Train Station, where due to a uni open day, the bus got me here 30 minutes before my train is due. Where am I blogging from can become a new feature. Chances are it'll be either on train, near train, or in bed, but there we go. 

I was super excited to see Blade Runner 2049. The reviews I'd seen had been great, and obviously Ryan Gosling is great, Harrison Ford is great, it was all set to be great. The film starts with a handy synopsis of the original film, which was clearly helpful as I've obviously not seen it. The premise of the film is that K (Ryan Gosling) is an artificial human programmed to follow orders, working for LAPD. His mission is to retire the older, less obedient models of himself. 

The film follows K as he tries to retire the replicants, but also explores his emotion and feelings around being an artificial human. He lives with a hologram type female robot whom he is not able to love (because she's a hologram), which leads to quick an interesting/strange/bizarre subplot. He also struggles with memories, as an artificial human, he was never a child, but he still experiences flashbacks to his childhood. This is another theme throughout the film, looking at where these memories come from. 

As expected, there is also lots of action in the film, coming to a head at the end with a really intense and quite exciting action scene. Throughout the film, the action kept me hooked and interested in where the plot was going. 

Unfortunately for the film, it clocks in at a grand total 2hrs 45mins, and for me, as we know, I just don’t think this sort of the length is necessary for a film. Although I could keep my attention due to the exciting action parts, I think it’s hard to maintain the focus on the plot over such a long period of time. As mentioned before, there are many subplots, and these start to get confusing and tangled over time. There are parts where Jared Leto is the main character, but I’m still trying to work out who exactly he is, and with my understanding of the plot, I don’t think some of the parts are truly integral (not that Jared Leto was bad in the film, mind).

I also got about 2 hours into the film, wondering where Harrison Ford was. Again, he wasn’t bad in the film, but was he necessary? It felt like he was more of a cameo, and he could have been integrated more into the plot. That said, I haven’t seen the original so what do I know? 

Overall, the film is enjoyable, and if you are a SciFi/Fantasy fan you will really enjoy it. For me, not the biggest fan of things that aren’t realistic, it isn’t my film of the year, but I still think it is worth a watch. I wouldn’t say it lived up to the hype, but I’ll give it a solid 7.5/10 for the effort. Someone needs to give the movie industry the heads up that films only need to be 1.5-2hrs long. 

4. La La Land

La La Land is my first 'real' post of 2017. The film has had lots of attention recently, both winning and receiving nominations for a plethora of awards at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and talk of Oscars in the upcoming Academy Awards Nominations, on the 24th January. This may have contributed to the fact I was desperate to see La La Land on its opening night.

I'm going to cut to the chase... I completely loved every second of this movie. From the underlying story line, the way it made you think, the fact the songs are actually good, to the fact it stars Ryan Gosling, all of these score high in my book. One of my favourite romantic comedies has to be Crazy Stupid Love, and it's undeniable that Emma Stone and Gosling work more than well together, and are both great actors.

I loved the production of the film, and how it worked with the story. The fact that our characters are actors and musicians made the whole set up work, in a way that didn't seem cheesy. Lesser known fact, but I danced from age 4 - 18, and I loved the choreography. I have a love hate relationship with Musical Theatre, but even these elements I fell in love with. I was especially enthused by the tap routine!

The story was actually really believable, and I felt invested in both Gosling and Stone's characters. The plot isn't traditional in that they get together, something happens and then everything works out, it's far more realistic, and I was a big fan of the ending (NO SPOILERS!).  I liked the use of humour in the film, and the fact that it was contemporary. I think sometimes musicals are too try hard and end up being a bit forced, or out of date, but this was just perfect. Perhaps it is similar to a modern day Grease (or am I the only person who loves Grease?) You really end up routing for the leads, and I left the cinema feeling like I loved jazz and that I wanted to be on the stage (and that I wanted to marry Ryan Gosling). I don't think a film has made me feel like this in a long time.

Another thing you will probably guess from my reviews is that I love a film with a good message and moral. La La Land certainly does that, and it really made me think about who I am, and who I want to be. But that's a story for another day.

I think if you go to see La La Land with an open mind, you won't be disappointed. It's a film with laughs, songs, love, dances, jazz and Chicken on a Stick, what more could you want. I'm going to go in with the big dogs and give this film a 9.5/10. I really honestly loved it, and could watch it again now! I tried to think of how I would improve the film and the only answer was to feature some puppies, so perhaps I'll come back and edit this post and give it the 10/10 it deserves. Everything can be improved with puppies.