Film Review Club

La La Land follows two characters with a dream of making it in La. Mia, an aspiring actress and Sebastian a talented Pianist and Jazz enthusiast. But just as they’re dreams start to appear within reach, they find themselves torn between their love for each and their careers. La La Land is ultimately an authentic exploration into the concept of love, the idea that you want what’s absolutely best for that person, even if that best possible outcome doesn’t necessarily involve you. Meanwhile it also touches upon the cruel world of Hollywood and ‘La La land’ both from the typical actors perspective but also an aspiring musician. Going in I always expected a high quality film, after all the director Damien Chazelle was at the helm for the masterpiece that is Whiplash. But I thought that might actually hinder my experience, a high bar set that maybe the film couldn’t live up to? Fortunately this was not the case, I was captivated by the story and the concept of these two amazing characters. S

The Rings of Power is a prequel series set over a 1000 years before the events of The Lord of The Rings. Following a variety of existing and new characters from Middle Earth and beyond, exploring how the Rings of Power came into existence and how Sauron rose to power. Unlike many Lord of the Rings fans, I was actually super excited about The Rings of Power. I for one wanted to explore this universe further and what better way to do that, than exploring how the rings themselves were formed, especially if we get origin like stories for existing characters along the way. I am so pleased that it lived up to my expectations, Amazon have created a visual and audible masterpiece and although the story does lack in some places it’s still enough to hook audiences back into this amazing world. From the very first episode until the very last, the cinematography is outstanding! Now of course, with the amount of investment in the show you would expect nothing less but it doesn’t mean we can’t appre

Avatar follows former marine Jake Sully who is a paraplegic sent to replace his deceased twin brother on a scientific mission on Pandora, a distant planet home to the indigenous species called the Na’Vi. James Cameron certainly utilised advanced CGI technology to create the most vibrant and creative landscapes, illuminating the screen beautifully for the audience. There is no doubt that in terms of creating scenes entirely made up of computer generated imagery, Avatar broke completely new ground. However, I believe the promises for the ‘film of the century’ that would have a widespread cultural impact on cinema, created unrealistic expectations that were impossible to meet. That being said, this is still a great film that I loved having the chance to watch again on the big screen in its latest rerelease in theatres. The amazing cinematography, combined with the storyline surrounding the impressive Na’Vi culture, is both mesmerising and captivating and that’s a recipe for a great film,

Set directly after the events of chapter 2, John Wick has now been made excommunicado and must escape the endless waves of assassins attempting to retrieve the bounty on his head. He calls in old favours in an desperate attempt to stay alive and of course utilises his unique combat skills in the process. John Wick Chapter 3 continues to illustrate its unadulterated action sequences through elegant and almost poetic choreography. It was always going to be hard to improve upon the first two instalments but it did so tremendously, I was shocked, impressed and blown away by just how well these sequences were pulled together. Now in addition to that, they created beautiful cinematography that ensured every scene was bursting with life and was full of colour and detail. I have been critical of Keanu Reeves’ acting range in the past but if there is one thing this man is elite level at, it’s action films! He leaves no detail unturned and it’s clear the dedication to his craft pays off because