Book v Film: A Simple Favor

“Some men lash out and leave marks, the black eyes and broken noses that send women to the emergency rooms and from there to the kindly social worker and the battered women’s shelter. But the real devils are the ones who hide the traces, who practice constant psychological abuse until the woman is all but destroyed.”

Directed by Paul Feig and based on Darcey Bell‘s 2017 book of the same name, A Simple Favor follows widow and stay-at-home Mommy blogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), who is asked a seemingly simple favour by her best friend, Emily (Blake Lively). Emily asks her to pick up her son after school one day, but when Emily never shows up to collect her son from Stephanie’s house, Stephanie knows that something is terribly wrong – Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, Emily reaches out to Emily’s husband, Sean (Henry Golding), offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. But then, she and Sean receive shocking news: Emily is dead. As Stephanie seeks to uncover the truth, she must dig deeper into Emily’s secret past. Things aren’t as simple as she once thought.

Film Review: Pitch Perfect 3

Directed by Trish Sie, The Bellas are back in Pitch Perfect 3 for a second encore. After the highs of winning the World Championships, the group – Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Chloe (Brittany Snow), Aubrey (Anna Camp), Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) – finds itself split apart with job prospects thin on the ground. They get the chance to reunite for an overseas tour “supporting the US troops in Europe”, but their opposition play instruments and regard the Bellas as nothing more than a karaoke outfit.

DVD Review: The Voices

(Written for Filmoria)

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Ryan Reynolds is an actor known for his versatility… and by that, I mean that he’s had a handful of decent roles, one iconic role in a great high school comedy, a known passion for his role as Deadpool, and then some very poor role choices in between.

His role in the horror-comedy The Voices, however, is one of the best performances that you will see from him. Starring as a troubled, med-addicted (although seemingly normal looking from the outside) factory worker, The Voices sees Reynolds play the role of Jerry, a young bachelor who is dedicated to living a normal life and succeeding in his new job at the Milton Bathtub factory.

Film Review: Pitch Perfect 2

Directed by Elizabeth Banks and after a humiliating command performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won. The group – Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Chloe (Brittany Snow), Aubrey (Anna Camp), Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) – have a new addition, Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), and will do whatever it takes to regain their status and right to perform.

New Poster For Disney’s ‘Into The Woods’ Arrives

(Written for Filmoria)

This week we have a brand new poster for Rob Marshall’s highly anticipated upcoming family musical, Into The Woods. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the new poster sees a sinister Meryl Streep creeping out from the darkness, luring audiences in to find out exactly what her story is.

Based on the Tony Award-winning musical play by legendary composer Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, with Lapine also penning the screenplay and Sondheim providing the music and lyrics for the film, Into The Woods is a humorous and heartfelt musical that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel – all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.

DVD Review: End Of Watch

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Written and directed by David Ayer, End Of Watch follows the daily grind of two young LA police officers – Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) – who are partners and friends, and documents what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves. As the two discover a secret that makes them the target of the country’s most dangerous drug cartel, their skills, courage, and friendship are put to the test as we see the daily risks they take, and the price they and their families are forced to pay.

Film Review: Pitch Perfect

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Directed by Jason Moore and loosely adapted from the novel of the same name by Mickey Rapkin, Pitch Perfect follows Beca (Anna Kendrick), a freshman at Barden University who is tempted into joining her school’s all-girl a cappella group The Bellas, which includes the popular faces of Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Rebel Wilson. Whilst Beca attempts to modernise and inject some much-needed energy into the group, The Bellas must take on their male rivals, the Treblemakers, in a campus competition.

Captain America 2 Seeks Leading Lady: Anna Kendrick, Felicity Jones & Imogen Poots In The Running

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

With Antony Mackie recently announced to be playing the role of Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, in Marvel’s upcoming Captain America sequel, the attention has moved on to finding a female lead, which is now down to three frontrunners – Anna Kendrick, Felicity Jones and Imogen Poots – it has been reported this week.

Let’s Remix This Business: New TV Spot for ‘Pitch Perfect’

(Written for HeyUGuys)

I like the way you work it, no diggity.

This week we have the new TV Spot for Jason Moore‘s upcoming comedy musical, Pitch Perfect, and it’s sure to get you singing along.

Adapted from Mickey Rapkin‘s non-fiction novel of the same name, the idea came from the senior editor at GQ magazine when he followed a group of acapella groups in America and wrote about the singing, groupies, partying and rivalries that were all part of the experience.

Film Review: 50/50

(Published in Issue 4 of my publication In Retrospect)

Directed by Jonathan Levine, 50/50 is a comedy-drama loosely based on the life of screenwriter Will Reiser. When 27-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) goes to the doctors about back pain, he finds out that he has a rare type of spinal cancer, and must undergo chemotherapy in order to reduce the tumour. His best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) attempts to take his mind of his life-threatening illness with alcohol, medicinal weed and sex, whilst his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) slowly starts becoming detached. As part of his recovery, Adam must also see an inexperienced psychologist Katherine (Anna Kendrick) and befriends two older chemo patients receiving treatment alongside him. But will his struggles overpower his determination to beat cancer? Or will the help of a seemingly irrelevant part of his treatment convince him to stop being selfish?