Day 261: Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)

There was a time in the world when I looked forward to seeing a film that starred Renée Zellweger, but that was a long time ago. It has been six years since we had seen anything with Renée and she returns with today’s film Bridget Jones’s Baby which is the third film in the series. In this film, Bridget (Zellweger) is all alone on her 43RD birthday because one of her former loves is dead and the other (Colin Firth) is marrried. After the advice of a friend, she goes away to a music festival where she has a one night stand with a internet dating sight mogul (Patrick Dempsey). Once she is home from that, she ends up having an affair with one of her former loves (Firth). The next thing you know she is pregnant and she doesn’t know who the father is. Will she find out and what does she tell the both of them? The film also stars Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary) as Mum, Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas) as Dad, Sarah Solemani (Hector) as Miranda, Sally Phillips (Mean Machine) as Shazzer, Julian Rhind-Tutt (Rush) as Fergus, Joanna Scanlan (Stardust) as Cathy, Kate O’Flynn (The Palace) as Alice, Emma Thompson (Love Actually) as Dr. Rawlings, and the film was directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’s Diary).

I thought I had promised myself that I was never going to see a film that was a sequel without seeing the films before it. Apparently that doesn’t matter with the people you care about, but it definitely would have helped so that I could understand the dynamics. I couldn’t help, but notice how bad I thought Renée Zellweger looked in the film because she used to be super cute until she had the work done. One of the reasons I became attracted to wanting to see this film was simply for the fact that Patrick Dempsey who was one of my favorite actors from the 80’s was starring in the film. I am being totally honest in making that statement because it’s absolutely true. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have cared about that. The film had some really funny moments to it that even had me laughing despite the fact that this is a total chick flick. Patrick Dempsey was well Patrick Dempsey in where he was charming on screen while Colin Firth’s character was robotic, but that is actually how his character is apparently. Seeing Renée in this film reminded me of exactly what it was we loved from her, but I have noticed that she always looks ready to cry. If you are a fan of the previous films, then I suggest that you check it out. If you are not a fan of chick flicks then do not check this out. I kind of enjoyed it, but the film didn’t really end the way I wanted it to. Nonetheless, I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.

Day 36: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (2016)

It’s been a little while since I went to the movie theaters to see a film and so I decided to check out one of the new films. A lot of people remember the Jane Austin book Pride And Prejudice which takes place in 19TH century England. In 2009, Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the parody book Pride And Prejudice And Zombies which combines the elements of the original book with Zombie fiction. When I found out they turned it into a movie, I had to see it and here is my review. The story follows Mr. and Mrs. Bennett (Charles Dance and Sally Phillips) and their five unmarried daughters who love in 19TH century England which is plagued by Zombies. When a new eligible bachelor named Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) and Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) move into town, things that may lead to a zombie revolution begin to unravel as soon as Bingley falls in love with Jane (Bella Heathcote). Meanwhile, Darcy struggles with the eldest daughter Elizabeth (Lily James) who is tough and struggles with the idea of marriage. The film also stars Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as George Wickham, Suki Waterhouse (Insurgent) as Kitty Bennett, Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Parson Collins, and the film was directed by Burr Steers (17 Again).

The film overall wasn’t that bad of a film because it had the zombies, cool action scenes, but it felt more like a romance movie most of the time. It was the courting of Elizabeth which I understand was a big part of the original story, but I just felt like they could have done more with it. It’s basically like a 19TH Century Victorian aristocratic zombie movie with the fancy old English talk. Some of my favorite parts of the film had to be when my favorite Doctor Who Matt Smith comes on screen as the bumbling Parson Collins. He had some of the most hilarious scenes in the film as he was in my opinion the comedic relief that was needed. I probably should have read the book because while a friend of mine called a certain scene, it would’ve been nice to know some of the details that are eventually revealed in the film. I was pleased with the acting in the film to the point I wouldn’t mind seeing more with Sam Riley, Lily James, and Jack Huston. As I said before, the film wasn’t bad, but I probably should have read the book first to know what I was getting into when I chose to see this film. With that being said, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade. It’s in theaters as we speak so go out and see it for yourself.