Rebecca Ferguson – Film Fanatic

Again, Again! Films I have Re-Watched in 2024

Hi Readers,

After using the app Letterboxd, I started adding up the films I have re-watched this year so I have had this post in the back of my mind to discuss. There are a wide range of genres listed here and many of these films I have not watched for years and wanted to revisit. There are a few, of course, such as Mamma Mia! that I watch at least once a year and Wicked which I re-watched again after a couple of weeks in the cinema as I loved it so much.

2012 (2009)

This film falls into my favourite sub-genre of film: natural disaster films. This one certainly is a disaster with practically the whole world ending and our heroes racing to find an escape. Through connections, John Cusack’s character discovers arcs designed to survive the extinction level events and with his family and ex-wife’s new partner, they journey to survive. It’s a race against time across America and the world as a whole. The group meet various characters along the way, both friends and foes.

I last watched this film a few years ago and enjoyed it at the time but there’s something about 2000s visual effects and plot lines that is so different to the films of the 2020s. The family themselves are likeable and even the characters that you are supposed to dislike, have redeemable qualities. The film itself is a wider commentary on the uber-rich in the US and further afield. Should only those who can afford it, deserve to survive?

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

This was my first re-watch since seeing it at the cinema and it was on a projector so felt similar to the big cinema experience. I enjoyed the film as much as the first time but knowing what happens did take a little of the drama and jeopardy away. Still a fun film and I enjoyed the makeover of the genre to make it more up to date in terms of attitudes but also the technology and visual spectacle.

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? (2023)

This film is such a cosy watch and the dilemmas of the teenage protagonists feel very relatable despite the film being set in the 1970s. I first saw this film at an outdoor cinema so watching it at home was a different experience. I think this is a film that I could revisit every year or so as on the whole, its very re-watchable with a great cast and nostalgic themes in terms of the period setting and also reminding you of how it feels to be a pre-teen and all the issues that one worries about.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

I wanted to re-watch after hearing about the sequel (the musical on the West End is now playing too) and I loved the fashion and characters but of course, some of the dialogue and attitudes towards dieting culture are outdated.

I’ve seen people comment that Nate is the real villain of the story because he doesn’t like that Andy is more successful than him but I think the societal pressure on women to be high-flying career women while juggling a long-term relationship, motherhood, friendships and quality time with yourself is the real enemy.

Nate was very supportive of Andy but he thought her industry was not as important as his and therefore never saw her career as more important than their relationship or events with their friends. Andy began to see the importance of her industry and enjoyed working in the exciting, evolving world of fashion in NYC even if it was not her true passion.

Miranda was a stern character but to be successful as a woman even in a female-focused industry required more of her attention than she was prepared to give her husband. He also did not appreciate the benefits that her career and lifestyle in fashion offered.

It will be interesting to see how the magazine industry will be presented in the sequel with Emily being in a powerful role and Miranda’s legacy fading into an increasingly digital world.

Life (2017)

I watched most of this film on a plane years ago when it was new and I might have finished it at some point but this year was when I properly sat down and watched it all. I enjoyed it but I think it wasn’t anything too dissimilar to other space jeopardy films. The humour and alien foe added something but what I think made it enjoyable was the cast. Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal had good on-screen chemistry while Rebecca Ferguson and the other actors provided more of the dramatic acting. During press, Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal got along really well and that came through on screen. I would like to see them in a film together again.

I don’t think I would watch this one again but I am glad I was able to sit down and watch it all through.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

This was originally going to be an honourable mention but of course I ended up re-watching it as I tend to do every year. My family have seen it many times since it originally came out. We like the music of ABBA and the cast and story work really well together. The summer setting gives it a great warm feeling and brings some sun to the winter. I love all the songs and while there are a lot of older themes in the film, it doesn’t feel too intense or adult and everyone can enjoy it. I do also like the second film but nothing beats the original. I have heard a third film is in the works so it will be interesting to see how they do that film, especially as interest in ABBA has had a resurgence with their hologram show in London.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

I re-watched this film so myself and my family could go and see the new one in cinemas. I saw the first in the cinema and enjoyed it. I have not actually seen the original Ghostbusters films so it was interesting to see it rebooted for a new generation. The cast were good and of course the visual effects and plot were updated so watching the originals may not be as impressive as they were in the 1980s. I liked the inclusion of a female Ghostbuster and that the girl character was the nerd and the older brother was trying to be popular as it is often the other way around.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023)

I actually watched this over a couple of days simply because it is very long. I saw it first at the cinema and it was a great experience and I wanted to re-watch when it became available on streaming. There were some extra songs that were not included in the cinema release and it was cool to be able to relive the concert in my own living room. This tour has been widely talked about and I hope that a new version is released including the Tortured Poets Department section of the show. I did not get to see the concert in person but the quality and camera angles of the filmed version were so good that I think I would be disappointed in person especially if I had to sit far away.

Bros (2022)

I first saw this film at the BFI Film Festival and I enjoyed it but the story was a little more complex than the average rom-com with Billy Eichner wanting to make it more authentic to the gay experience. Watching it again helped to put it together in my head and I tried to focus more on the humour and the characters than the plot and the on and off nature of the relationship. The film is the first adult gay rom-com to have the big studio backing and it is surprising that it took so long. They did sanitise it a little to appeal to wider audiences but there were plenty of gay experiences and references shown if a little exaggerated. I liked that the lead characters were gay in real life as it gave more reality to the story.

Wicked (2024)

Of course this film has been talked about widely since it came out with many audience members going to see it multiple times. I am included in this and I wanted to see it again as I loved the film and the scenes and songs. It will definitely be great to re-watch once it hits streaming but the spectacle of the film is really felt on the big screen. The second time, I knew the plot so I tried to focus more on the backgrounds and the little details but there is so much visually and aurally to take in, I think it would take a few more re-watches to fully appreciate everything. This film has set a new boundary of what can be achieved in the industry and I am excited to see what arrives next to try and compete with this film. The second film has been announced as coming out in November 2025 and I am eager to see what happens next and how it is presented.

Happy Watching,

Robyn

Film Review: Dune Part Two: Which is hotter? The cast or desert setting in this sci-fi sequel

Hi Readers,

One of the most anticipated sequels of the year has finally hit the cinema screens: Dune Part Two. It carries on the story of Paul Atreides and his various comrades and enemies as they move towards the fight for Arrakis. With the writers and actors strikes delaying the release, fans have had to wait longer than planned. Those who have read the original books will have known what is coming but nothing compares to seeing it on the big screen.

I chose to wait to see this film in IMAX and it was definitely worth it. The sound and quality of the film were amazing and the vast scenes of the desert really emphasised that the action is set on another planet despite being filmed in real life deserts.

As the film has been out a while, I will be talking about spoilers so if you haven’t yet seen the film and do not want to hear any plot details, turn away now.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

The film begins with Paul and his mother Jessica learning the ways of the Fremen. Paul fairly defeated their champion in the last film so they have now been accepted into the clan. Zendaya who plays Chani is there as his friend and mentor with romance sizzling between herself and Paul played by Timothée Chalamet.

Paul is anxious for his mother and her unborn child as they wait for the Harkonnen to hunt them down. Paul must come to terms that he could be the Fremen’s messiah – Lisan al-Ghaib, the prophet that they have been waiting for who is said to help them reclaim the planet from the Empire.

After his mother drinks the Water of Life and becomes the new Reverend Mother of the Fremen, she has the ability to speak to her unborn daughter voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy in a surprise cameo. Paul learns the ways of the Fremen including their fighting techniques, how to ride a sandworm and their rituals. Together with the Fremen he destroys the spice harvesters that the Harkonnen send to their territory. He is reunited with his old friend Gurney (Josh Brolin) who was believed to have been killed in the first film.

Elsewhere, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) suspects that Paul Atreides is still alive despite the House of Atreides falling to the House of Harkonnen. She has a visit from another Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling) who tells her of the prophecy.

On Arrakis, the Baron’s nephews compete to win more territory from the Fremen and to be elected as the next Baron and leader of House Harkonnen. Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) is a fierce fighter and when his brother does not succeed is awarded an army to bring down the Fremen. Lady Margot Fenring is sent by the Emperor (Christopher Walken) to secure an heir with Feyd-Rautha so they can stake a claim to House Harkonnen and gain control of Arrakis.

The final act comes when Jessica is revealed as a daughter of the Baron meaning Paul is both an Atreides and Harkonnen. The battle to take back the palace proceeds and when finding the Harkonnens along with the Princess and Emperor, Paul challenges them to a duel for the throne; Feyd-Rautha is chosen as the champion. After a tough fight, Paul is the champion but to Chani’s dismay asks Princess Irulan for her hand in marriage. Chani goes back to Fremen territory in the north on a sandworm.

The main questions that we are left with are:

Now that Feyd-Rautha is dead, will the Emperor use his unborn child with Lady Margot to challenge Paul for the throne?
Will Paul reveal his Harkonnen blood to make a claim for the House of Harkonnen as well?
Does he still love Chani and this was all a political move? Will she forgive him?
Will Paul still be on the Fremen’s side as the Lisan al-Ghaib and work as an inside man to give the planet back to them?

I really enjoyed Dune Part Two, I liked the first film and this definitely lived up to expectations. With so many characters and the different names and lore of the Dune universe, it could be a film that is hard to understand, but the emotions and story felt very human.

The visuals were stunning with the vast open desert scenes and clean lines of the Harkonnen compound. The colours were very basic with the Harkonnens wearing black with a pale white skin tone and the Fremen with many skin colours and dark grey outfits. The contrast with the sand really made these stand out. The planet felt very futuristic yet there was no modern technology such as phones or cars. It was as if they had evolved beyond that.

The cast were very well chosen being some of the most talented and attractive young actors in Hollywood at the moment. I thought Timothée Chalamet did a great job as Paul as always. In this sci-fi world, he is the most relatable character having a very human experience and being a fish out of water in the Fremen culture. I thought that Austin Butler was a very convincing villain with his bald cap and intimidating demeanour. You didn’t often see cracks but his most vulnerable moment was when Lady Margot was seducing him and you could see he felt empowered to be sought after in that way.

The twist at the end about Paul being part of the House of Harkonnen and then asking Princess Irulan for her hand in marriage was not something I saw coming but I am sure all will be explained in a third installment. There have been many Dune books, with the story being continued after the original author’s death.

Due to the film’s delay it missed out on being eligible for Awards Season but I hope we get it see it win something next year. The sound and visual effects definitely deserve something but the acting was up there as well.

Overall, I give this film 5/5

Happy Watching,

Robyn

2023: Summer of Cinema: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

The stunts were really amazing and the motorcycle/parachute jump that has been shared already was a real spectacle. I must say that I thought the story was a little weaker than past films maybe not helped by this being a Part One. It was still an enjoyable film but I think I will need to see Part Two before I fully make up my mind.

Hello readers,

This review is hot off the press as at the time of writing, I saw the latest Mission Impossible film last night and I am here to give my thoughts. First of all I want to say that it was a great film and everyone that worked on it should be proud. It had everything you need for a classic Tom Cruise outing complete with death-defying stunts, some romantic tension and of course bad guys.

This film has had a lot of hype, particularly as it was meant to be released last year. Bringing it forward to clash with Oppenheimer (and Barbie) was probably a decision to boost its box office figures or maybe to tweak those epic fight scenes. This review will be spoiler free for those looking forward to seeing it.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

The film starts with a seemingly irrelevant scene on a submarine but soon we see that it is setting up the main plot. There is a key in two halves that unlocks some unknown item that is the link to stopping the Entity, a sentient AI taking over all of the digital space.

AI has always been a good villain: faceless, nameless and nationless but a distant possibility. With the recent introduction of AI to create images and scripts, that is not so far away. I think it was interesting to go for something threatening the collective secret services rather than a threat to civilian life as it is a more underground but personal mission.

We see Ethan Hunt reunite with his merry band of outcasts: Benji, Luther and Ilsa in a variety of locations but culminating in Rome in an epic car chase featuring a yellow Fiat 500. He also becomes entangled with a new associate, Grace (Hayley Atwell), master thief and someone living a step ahead of the law. They begin with a battle for the key but quickly team up to go against the Entity’s human representative, Gabriel and his henchwoman, Paris (Pom Klementieff).

I won’t say more about the plot but let’s say the train scene really kept my attention. I think the cast were great: Benji was his usual self, always worrying but being dragged along for the ride; Luther was calm and collected and started a side storyline that I hope we see more of in Part 2 and Ilsa was determined but becoming a team player. We see a return from The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) trying to make a buck like usual by brokering a deal.

The stunts were really amazing and the motorcycle/parachute jump that has been shared already was a real spectacle. I must say that I thought the story was a little weaker than past films maybe not helped by this being a Part One. It was still an enjoyable film but I think I will need to see Part Two before I fully make up my mind.

Overall, I thought that this was a great film and a classic Mission: Impossible offering but the two parts may have weakened it a little. The stunts, car chases and end scene were stand outs. I give the film 3.5/5.

Happy Watching,
Robyn

American vs Turkish Cinemas: A.L Fox recalls her Summer Experiences

Hello readers,

This is another post by A.L. Fox, my talented guest writer. This time she has written about three different cinemas in two different countries she has visited this summer.

Happy Watching

Robyn 🙂

There’s more to the cinema experience than simply absorbing the themes and colours that stimulate the senses from the screen, and hopefully stir our emotions – in a good way. Many of us still visit the cinema to watch a film even though we can generally view most films from the comfort of our own homes.

So why do we continue to go out to see a film?

Often, it is to be sociable and share an experience with friends or a loved one or sometimes, that we want to be the first to see a new blockbuster release or, on occasion, to be challenged by new worlds and ways of seeing. There are many demands on our leisure time these days, and we have screens wherever we go, whether it’s a phone, a tablet, or a laptop but we still go to the cinema. In this century, around 150 million people still visit the cinema every year in the UK. Of course, this is a considerable drop from the 1.5 billion that went in the heyday of the Second World War. But now there are so many different ways of watching a film.

With so much competition for our eyes, cinemas have become much more than just a screen; they are places where you can eat, play video games – and eat mountains of popcorn. Most are multiplexes offering 3D and a very different experience from the cinemas of old. Now you book online, choose a seat, collect your ticket from a machine and don’t have to speak to anyone. It’s not quite the same everywhere in the world, though.

America is the home of cinema and there will probably be as many different cinemas as there are States but going to the cinema in New York is like stepping back in time. We were in the Big Apple when Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again opened so, naturally, we had to go. Bizarrely, the weather wasn’t as hot as we’d been led to believe; it rained and so that was another factor in our decision. The AMC chain is the biggest US cinema chain but the one on W 34th St felt as though it remained untouched since it opened in the 50s. First, we had to get to the 4th floor; there were the usual food stalls – and popcorn but also, gambling machines. We bought our tickets, and chose a seat; on the screen there were gaps between the seats – and, in the cinema, the seats were in pairs with a large table – for the food, between them. Sitting down, there was another surprise for there were acres of room between the rows. People were able to walk without asking others to move. Unsurprisingly, people didn’t stop eating throughout the film and American audiences aren’t exactly quiet; they do like to voice their opinions, or add their viewpoint to the action.

Related image

For the record, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again was enjoyable – the beginning was a little flat but once the cast hit their stride about 30 minutes in, it became more like the first film – and that’s exactly what audiences were expecting. The film delivered but it wasn’t quite a match for the original. Now that sounds like a criticism, but it’s not meant as one. It is simply that the first film was so iconic. A special appearance by Cher was successfully woven into the plot and she provided enough glitz to offset the absence of Meryl Streep, although there were some scenes featuring Streep, so she wasn’t entirely missing.

Most of the other main characters from the first film had major roles in this one with the addition of a young Donna (Lily James) and her Dynamos (Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn) plus younger versions of Sophie’s three dads (Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner).

Now, talking of original – the Regal, the second cinema we visited in New York, on W 42nd St was definitely like stepping into the 50s again. Here, the seats were black leather armchairs that extended to support your feet, almost to the point of becoming a bed. The carpets had the letter of the rows woven into it and the decor hadn’t been touched for decades. Here, we saw Incredibles 2; a film that had been on general release for some weeks so it wasn’t busy. We did get the noise of audience participation once again, and it was loud – the sound turned up to echo over the comments.

Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Brad Bird, Sarah Vowell, Eli Fucile, and Huck Milner in Incredibles 2 (2018)

As for the film itself, it was definitely worth watching. It had all the impact and colour of the first film with an updated plot to reflect changes in society. This time, it was Elastigirl or Helen Parr’s time in the spotlight. She went to save the world while Mr Incredible became a stay-at-home dad. As ever, the action was fast-paced and attention-grabbing for both children and adults. The animation was brilliant and shows that Disney Pixar is not just for kids.

Both experiences were good; if you get the chance to visit either of these cinemas then take it; a different experience but a good contrast and it makes you appreciate the relative quiet of British audiences – unless, you’re unfortunate enough to sit next to the person who never stops eating. There are people who believe calories consumed in the dark don’t count as they munch continuously for the length of the film and that can be a big distraction but then, it’s all part of the cinema experience.

And what’s still part of the cinema experience in Turkey is – the intermission. Yes, they have a break in the middle of the film! We were watching Mission Impossible – Fallout 3D – and, at a particularly tense moment in the action, the screen went dark. An electrical fault? No, it was an interval. People went out and returned with more food, it may even have been a break for the smokers but it was only one hour into the film and it did break the flow.

Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, and Simon Pegg in Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

The MI films are all fast-paced with plenty of action; there are no slow sections where a break could be achieved without interrupting this flow so it did spoil the experience – for me, at least. We didn’t mind the subtitles – some Hollywood films are dubbed but most are shown in English – but that break did upset the concentration. However, even though this is the sixth film in the franchise, it still captured the hearts and minds of the audience with a good story, death-defying stunts and enough dialogue to explain the plot points. Tom Cruise playing the lead Ethan Hunt was brilliant as always and supported by a sterling cast featuring Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin.

Three films, three different experiences; if you do get the opportunity to visit the cinema in another country then go – it may even make you appreciate what you have at home. As for costs, in the US we paid about £10/£12 for each ticket and in Turkey, we paid a bit less but, in terms of comparable costs relative to the country, tickets are much the same price.