Film Review: The Lego Movie (2014)

So I have a huge list of films I still need to see.. some that have been out for literally years but I just haven't gotten round to watching. I'm planning on watching them for the remainder of this summer and review them hence why this review is on The Lego Movie which isn't out right now but actually came out earlier this year. I'm hoping my reviews will persuade you to watch any films that you've been putting off watching too so let's get on with it!

 

So I have a little obsession going on over Chris Pratt at the moment after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy. I've always liked him after watching Parks and Recreation for a little while and also seeing him in What's Your Number so I decided to watch some of his other stuff. And I have to tell you The Lego Movie was definitely not what I was expecting considering it's primarily for children.

It's a computer animated/stop-motion comedy, adventure film. Directed and co-written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, it has an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, it is about an average, normal Lego mini figure construction worker called Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) who becomes an accidental hero. It is up to him to save the universe from the cruel Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) who plans to obliterate the nonconformist creative communities with glue and an instruction manual. Emmet teams up with Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett), Princess UniKitty (Alison Brie), Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), Benny (Charlie Day) and of course Virtuvius (voiced by the amazing Morgan Freeman).  You follow Emmet and his friends on a hilarious, adventurous, heart warming journey; all of which makes a great film.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the hell out of this film! For a film that's for kids.. it was really, really funny. I genuinely didn't think it'd be that funny and I might even go as far as to say it's probably one of the best kids films I've ever seen. Chris Pratt as Emmet was adorable because you really felt for him and connected to his storyline (even if he was just made out of Lego!). You really cheer for him when he does something awesome and also feel like hugging him when the baddies constantly remind him he's a nobody.

Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks, was totally badass. She didn't need no man to help her create stuff out of the Lego pieces and kick bad guys' ass! Her storyline is obviously predictable at the very end but it's actually nice to see a female heroine who doesn't need a man to save her every time she gets into a spot of trouble. You go, girl!

The in-jokes and gags just kept on rolling all the time. I was in tears laughing and had to rewind to watch some scenes again just because they were that comical. Some funny characters that really stood out were Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, who had some fantastic one-liners like "I only work in black.. and sometimes very, very dark grey!". Benny, voiced by Charlie Day, was hilarious with his obsession of wanting to build a spaceship every two seconds. Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius was probably the best thing I've seen. He was so hilarious and very quick witted despite his character being blind and old. He was also totally badass in a fight scene which goes to show just because you're old doesn't mean you can't still kick ass.

There were also some voices I recognised like Channing Tatum (Superman), Jonah Hill (Green Lantern) and Cobie Smulders (Wonder Woman). The banter between Superman and Green Lantern between scenes that didn't include the main characters were absolutely spot on and entertaining.

The Lego Movie was just really, really great to watch. It was very smart with its message about conformity hidden by satire and jokes while celebrating creativity and the power of imagination. It's highly enjoyable and amusing with jokes that come at lightning speed. Not only that, you will literally be left sat there singing the theme tune 'EVERYTHING IS AWESOMEEE.' Literally. That is what it's called. And it IS awesome.

Due to its massive success, a sequel is already scheduled to be released on May 26th in 2017!

If you're looking for a funny film that is light and heart warming with lots of action and jokes (that sometimes only adults will get), then this film is definitely for you.

Leave your opinions in the comments below if you've seen it!

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

Film Review: Lucy.

 

So I finally went to see Lucy sometime last week and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it alot. This review is fairly late because I've been super busy and unable to blog, so I'm sorry for that!

Direction, written and edited by Luc Besson Lucy is a French, sci-fi, action film about a young American woman (Scarlett Johansson) who is living and studying in Taipei, Taiwan. Her boyfriend tricks her into delivering a briefcase to his employer who is a Korean mob boss and drug mule called Mr Jang. The briefcase contains a very valuable bag of an artificial drug called CPH4. The bag is forcibly sewn into Lucy's abdomen and three other drug mules. She is taken into captivity and after a beating from one of her captors, the bag breaks causing the substance to flow into her system resulting in her new abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, mental time travel and the power not to feel human emotions. Morgan Freeman also stars as Professor Norman who helps her.

I have to say Scarlett Johnasson is not a favourite actress of mine, infact she often annoys me in films for reasons I don't even know why. But I can still root for her and enjoy the characters she plays, like The Black Widow in Captain America or The Avengers. In this film however she blew me away with her acting and was totally badass as the hero. To ground Lucy in the beginning, she plays the scared, hysterical woman perfectly to the point where you believe in the character so much. As she begins unlocking the potential in her brain and the new abilities, she begins disassociating with humanity and their emotions. This transition is so smooth from Johansson that you are actually a bit fearful of her because of her fading facial expressions and monotone voice.

Lucy's special effects were both stunning and absurd. As she keeps gaining every ten percent of her new abilities, the effects of the films grow bigger and more spectacular as she restructures the world around her and takes out her enemies like they are nothing.

The only two criticisms I have of this film are that I don't think the directors gave much thought or effort to the supporting cast. I love Morgan Freeman but his scenes often left me bored and wanting more of Lucy. He is charming as Professor Norman but he is only used to explain the film's scientific theories along with clarifying what Lucy is actually doing in that moment. He doesn't really bring any weight to the film and you wouldn't really miss him if he wasn't in the film.

My second criticism is that I felt the ending was very anti-climatic. I won't spoil anything for anyone who wants to see it but the scene and music really build up the idea of an explosive ending but then just leaves you hanging completely. After the fast pacing of the film, it just abruptly stops and doesn't really give a clear explanation of what's just happened.

But other than that, I did enjoy the film and will probably most likely watch it again. As I say, I don't really like Scarlett Johansson as an actress but she did surprise me in this film.

Have you seen it? Did you like it?
Please leave any thoughts you have in the comments below.

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.