Me Before You

Oh, wow, this filmmmm!

I've been wanting to see this since I googled Sam Claflin sometime last year and saw he was to be in a romance film with Emilia Clarke.

I thought it would be soppy and just meh okay, and I only really wanted to see it because of the cast. But, it was actually really good.

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Let's start with the cast.

Emilia Clarke, even though at first it took some getting used to (for a Game of Thrones fan) of seeing her all bubbly and smiley, she portrayed the role really really well. 

By the end of the film I was convinced that this was probably more of what she is like off screen as well. 

She was funny, had an awful eclectic taste in fashion and always managed to paste a smile onto her face and look on the bright side. 

We should all be a little like Lou if I'm honest (maybe except the fashion sense!)

Sam Claflin, although he didn't have many mobile scenes due to said accident in the film, I think he still did a grand job. 

I loved watching his character progress from a bitter, sarcastic know-it-all to an open, calmer, more loving one. 

With such a limiting role, in the sense of movement, he really did it justice and it looked very realistic!

The supporting cast were all quite good as well. 

I was surprised to see Matthew Lewis in it (!) but he plays such a different character from his Harry Potter days, that (even if I didn't think it before) he is such a talented actor to make me feel frustrated by his character in this. 

Charles Dance as always was fab. There isn't a role out there that he can't play. 

Steve Peacocke did a good job of being the on-call Doctor. 

And Janet McTeer did a wonderful job as Will's mum. The struggles over their son between her and Charles Dance's character were heartbreaking and definitely shows the friction an accident can cause and the different mindsets between even parents over what their son should do.

Now, as for the plot, I had a feeling something awful was going to happen at the end, I just didn't know how it would come about, but it was stated pretty early on in the film of what Will wanted. It was just a case of if Lou could change his mind. 

In that case, as a viewer, I had that sense of doom hanging over me for the entire film which made me not really believe all of the little happy moments. 

There were so many ups and downs with his health and with him finally trusting Lou and then the wedding moment and all (not Lou and Will's - sorry, spoiler!) 

I loved watching the pair blossom into friendship and then a little more, it was just so sweet.

An all over the place with emotions kinda film! 

But definitely a great watch, albeit a sad one.

If anything came out of it, it's that it made me want to rush home to A even more and never let him go. 

You really do have to appreciate every moment you have with someone.

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Rating:
★★★★★



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Man Crush: Sam Claflin

I can't remember which film I first saw Sam Claflin in, I think it might have been Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but I didn't really take notice of him until The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and I didn't realise it was some sort of a crush until The Riot Club.

It's not that he's the typical good-looking actor, it's more that there's just something about him that intrigues me, that pulls me in to watching a film, even if he is the only reason why I watch said film.

Thinking back to Pirates of the Caribbean, I didn't particularly like his character. I thought he was a goody two shoes Christian that relied too heavily on his faith to get him out of a bad situation and once the film was over I never gave a second thought to William - his character (obviously Mr Johnny Depp overshadows anyone else).

Then I realised he was playing Finnick Odair in Catching Fire, I thought somebody else, somebody more attractive could have played him - considering the description given to him in the novels. Although Claflin definitely portrayed the cheekiness and charm well, I wasn't completely sold the first time I watched it - although I am now.

After that, I think the events themselves within The Riot Club overshadowed any of the protagonists possible strengths because they were just so horrific, but I don't really remember him being any sort of character you would pine over or admire due to the stuff he got caught up in. Same with Douglas Booth.

It was in Love, Rosie that I really warmed to him. He played the best friend/love interest character so well that, even though the film wasn't particularly groundbreaking, I still often catch myself wanting to re-watch it.

Considering this and the loveable character he plays in at least two of the films I have seen him in, I am hugely looking forward to seeing the upcoming film Me Before You where he plays a recently-paralysed man being taken care of by a beautiful young woman - none other than the stunning Emilia Clarke. Due to release in June, I cannot wait to see it this summer - even if it is a classic chick flit that I'm not usually a fan of!

p.s. I don't remember him at all in Snow White and the Huntsmen as I thought it was a particularly poor film but The Huntsmen: Winter's War does look particularly good so I may have to have a little looky out for him in that!

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

It's been a long time coming - but I have finally seen the final Hunger Games. Hurrah!

Spoilers ahead (if you haven't seen it yet!)

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Personally, from start to finish, I was trying to work out what was coming next in each scene because of having read the trilogy last year. I can't decide whether this was annoying or not, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless.

It surpassed all of my expectations, nailing every scene - the loss's, the war, the down moments for characters to reflect or grow. It was brilliant. I think Jennifer Lawrence is a wonderful actress, she really gets stuck into each and every role she plays, portraying a whole array of emotions perfectly. There wouldn't be anyone else to play Katniss Everdeen so well.

Johanna and Finnick continued to amuse throughout, relieving some of the building tension. I also thought Peeta's constant struggle against himself was extraordinary. I really felt for him. I wasn't so convinced by the harsh goodbye between Katniss and Gale though - if he'd been her best friend throughout, could you be so cold in the goodbye?

I think parts of the film were definitely predictable, even for those who hadn't read it (scene below for sure), although I still think it was great. The scene below was so tense, you knew she wasn't going to kill Snow, but a part of me almost thought she would. I also had hoped (a lot) that the director wouldn't want to kill off Finnick, but my hopes were dashed as soon as I saw the scene unfold. Heartbreaking - it's always the characters that have just achieved their "happy ending" that get killed. Boo.

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The most emotional scene - for me - was when she returns home and sees Prim's cat in the kitchen. I felt torn - grief for Katniss's loss, but also worry for the poor cat getting struck repeatedly by all those flying objects Katniss was throwing! I'm so glad she picked it up and made a fuss of it, it was such a beautiful scene.

My possible only issue with the film was the ending. As with the novel, I don't think the final scene was necessarily needed. It was only okay. It was nice though to see Peeta and Katniss's life after, but kind of an anti-climax after all of the action.

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Rating:
★★★★★


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