The Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
Movie
In the epic finale to The Maze Runner Saga, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final...
Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
Album
'Serpentine Prison' is the debut solo record from Matt Berninger - front man of internationally...
Inside Ballydoyle
David Walsh and Anne Marie O'Brien
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Ballydoyle is the Mecca of thoroughbred horse training. Under the mastership of Aidan O'Brien, who...
American Assassin (2017)
Movie Watch
American Assassin tells the origin story of CIA super agent Mitch Rapp. Long before he was a...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Love and Monsters (2021) in Movies
May 10, 2021
Dylan O'Brien plays a perfect down-on-his-luck, sort of loser who everyone can relate to, and makes for a hugely likable lead. The story of Joel and his dog, Boy, wondering a post apocalyptic, monster-infested America is an engaging one, full of decent set pieces, great CG work, and colourful characters. It almost feels like a family friendly version of The Last of Us, which is absolutely fine with me whilst we wait for the HBO series to land. It's certainly the closest thing we have to a Fallout movie. The pacing is spot on, with plenty of funny moments (and a sharp script), a good dose of heartwarming inner turmoil, and well placed moments of peril, ensuring that proceedings never become boring.
Love and Monsters is a blast. I have everything crossed that it will get a sequel!
Reading the Male Gaze in Literature and Culture: Studies in Erotic Epistemology
Book
This book examines the phenomenon of 'the male gaze', a concept which has spread beyond academia and...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Maze Runner (2014) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
At Swim Two Birds
Book
Flann O'Brien's innovative metafictional work, whose unruly characters strike out their own paths in...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Love and Monsters (2021) in Movies
Apr 25, 2021
The world has been ravaged by a plague of mutated animals and the remaining humans have been in hiding for the last seven years. But Joel's life has changed and now he wants to leave the colony to find the girl he loved when the world changed. The only problem? She's 85 miles away, and he's a little inept.
I really love a good disaster/apocalyptic film, and the "how it happens" portion is usually my favourite part. There's only a small amount of that, and I think they could have gone into that slightly more (because I always love an origin story). What we do get here though leads us in well and gives us a very quick and solid summation of what we need to know.
There's a slight Lost feeling to the whole film, and that's not a bad thing, it gave it a very comfortable vibe. What the story was showing the viewer, and where it leads were wonderfully crafted... and let's move on to the next bit before I start gushing.
Dylan O'Brien plays the lead role of Joel, as well as supplying his voiceover for the film as well, and both bits were just perfect. He's humorous, sweet, courageous and a bit scared from time to time, and you see that evolve throughout the film. There are times where you might want to give him a talking to about how the real world works, but ultimately he is exactly right for this story.
Along his journey, Joel meets Clyde (Michael Rooker) and Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt, who I felt like I knew but couldn't place. If you look her up you'll discover she is Young Gamora). These two are such an entertaining duo. Bonded through crisis, they're taken their own way and when they meet Joel they form a new connection and help him to become the person he needs to be. It was so well thought-out, and honestly, they nailed the casting. I'd happily watch a sequel of those two on their adventures.
Love and Monsters combines the film and the voiceover so well that it gives you a seamless story that isn't filled with forced scenes that are trying to get necessary points across. Every scene added value for me.
Looking at the effects and design you can tell someone had fun creating the creatures and landscape. They're vibrant and inventive, and the fact that they clearly thought through everything from the environments each colony live in, to what the creatures do, is just a delight on screen. I think the crab is by far my favourite example of this.
For a film I loved this much, I'm surprised at how little I've written. Are there things I could nitpick over? Possibly. But while there are things I'd have loved to see in the film, what we were given was exactly what it needed to be. There was a bit of everything and some moments of emotion that I really wasn't expecting. I'm just so glad I saw this film, and I had absolutely no hesitation in the score I gave this film.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/04/love-and-monsters-movie-review.html