The Witches: Be Careful What You Eat

The Witches is a family comedy film directed by Nicolas Roeg. The plot follows a young recently orphaned boy Luke (Jasen Fisher), and his grandmother (Mai Zetterling), as they become wrapped up in a Witches plot to turn all the children in the UK into rats. The film is based on the Roald Dahl children’s book of the same name.

This film terrified me as a kid, so did the book for that matter. The way this film sets up witches with the mythology it creates is incredibly well done, the witches of this film are both terrifying and also hilarious. You can tell the creators of the Muppets were involved with this as the creature design is both distinctive and memorable. You will not see anything else like when the grand high witch (Anjelica Huston) takes off her face for the first time.

I think as far as family films go this film has some genuinely scary moments, maybe it is the crazy late 80’s early 90’s drug fuelled feel of it all, but the first time a kid gets turned into a rat will scare any child and maybe even some adults, for sure.

I think there is a lot to enjoy about this film, it is good fun, and quite a great whimsical adventure. If you enjoy fantasy, then you will definitely enjoy this. It is also a really great adaptation of Roald Dahl’s seminal book, so if like me that book has a special place in your heart then you will really enjoy this film.

I feel like as far as Roald Dahl based films go this is incredibly underrated and is often overlook in favour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this is actually a better film. Check it out!

Pros.

Great monster design.

Genuinely scary.

The best Roald Dahl film.

The madness of it all.

A feel-good adventure.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rushmore: Anderson’s Best?

Rushmore is a coming of age comedy film directed by Wes Anderson. The plot sees young student Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman), be expelled from his private school and have to begin again at a local public school. The film details his life and struggles and the friends and enemies he makes along the way.

As I have said in my previous reviews, I have recently become a Wes Anderson convert and I have to say of all of this films that I have seen so far this is by far my favourite. The comedy was pitch perfect for me and made me laugh a lot. I also thought the emotional stakes were really well done, they are nuanced and mature and the characters are rich and deep.

Jason Schwartzman is magnificent in this film. This character is just a kid that wants to have a better life no matter the cost, yes, he does some bad things along the way, such as the way he pursues his teacher, but fundamentally he is still a good character that you root for. The emotions that Schwartzman puts out are more than convincing they’re transcendent; it is easily a career best for him.

Bill Murray plays Max’s elderly friend Herman. Murray plays the same character he always plays, the cynical middle-aged guy that you root for. He is really sympathetic in this and you really want his character to be happy, his friendship with Max is one of the most feel good, wholesome things I have ever seen. I really enjoy the thoughtful nature of Murray’s character in this as he comes across as more of a real person rather than a movie star.

Overall, I think his is a must-see film! This is by far Wes Anderson’s best film and is as funny and it is touching.

Pros.

The friendship.

The characters.

It’s approach to life.

The humour.

The pranks.

Cons.

The icky relationship between Max and his teacher.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Kubo And The Two Strings:Familial Legacy

Kubo And The Two Strings is an animated action and adventure film directed by Travis Knight. The plot revolves around a young boy called Kubo (Art Parkinson), who must go on a quest to find his deceased fathers mystical armour set after his mother is killed on the Moon King’s (Ralph Fiennes) orders.

This is a delightfully charming animated adventure, that really packs an emotional punch as well. The animation is beautiful and is easily the highlight of the film, you can tell that every scene was painstakingly put together, and you can see the amount of thought and care that went into every scene. The Sisters (Rooney Mara), are especially well done, they are incredibly creepy every time they’re on screen and look straight out of Japanese mythology.

The voice cast are all doing a magnificent job, with Theron and McConaughey being of course the standouts. When it is revealed that Monkey (Charlize Theron), and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), are actually Kubo’s parents there is a real emotional weight to it. The film is not afraid to go dark with these emotions as well, as both of these characters sacrifice themselves for Kubo by the end of the film.

As a result of this, the film has a bittersweet feeling to it, the kind of feeling that makes you appreciate what you have. It takes your preconceived notions that ‘a kid’s film will have a happy ending’ and leaves you with Kubo being an orphan; and for that I applaud them.

This film feels like a love letter to Japanese Cinema as well as to Samurai movies of years gone by, it is a beautiful homage and one I can’t recommend enough!

Pros.

Beautiful animation.

The characters.

The emotion.

The choice to have a sad ending.

The adventure.

Cons

None.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Victoria & Abdul: Friendship Transcends Borders

Victoria And Abdul is a biographical historical drama film directed by Stephen Frears. The film revolves around the friendship between Queen Victoria (Judy Dench), and her servant turned friend Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a friendship that pushed boundaries and set the social world of 19^th century London ablaze.

With historical biopic films there is always a danger of how characters are represented, they can go either way, but this one airs of the fluffier side for sure; especially when it comes to Dench’s Queen Victoria. I feel like because audiences like Dench we can’t see her Victoria do even one slightly bad or less progressive thing, as the real Queen would have done for sure.

The ending is heart wrenching, The Queen dies, which is the first blow, and then Abdul get stripped of everything. Normally, I don’t like sad endings, but with a film like this you need to stick to the truth and in this case, I thought the ending was poignant and meaningful. It will make you cry a little bit.

I think it is nice to see a film like this that covers a relationship that isn’t often talked about during a time period that is often covered. It is nice to see this because it reminds you of the diverse nature of our Isles, people from all over the world have a hand in where we are now.

I am glad they included the blow back to their friendship in the film, so we can see how far we have come now as a society and where we need to improve still. It is importantly for films like this to keep being made and spreading a positive message.

Overall, this is a nice feel good film for the most part, the ending is brutal, but that is what was needed as you can’t change history.

Pros.

Feel good for the most part.

It is not afraid to get dark.

It covers a mostly forgotten part of history.

Cons.

It is a bit too long.

Dench is phoning it in.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

All Hallows Eve: Creepy Clowns Are Back!

All Hallows Eve is horror thriller film directed by Damien Leone. The plot sees a babysitter finding a video tape that features a series of grisly murders committed by a sinister looking clown. As the film progresses the murders featured on the tape start to spill over into the real world and the babysitter becomes the clowns next target.

Despite being quite the low budget affair, this film is scarier than any horror film I have seen in recent memory and shows that talent trumps big budgets any day of the week. This film is consistently menacing from start to finish, the clown is by far the creepiest thing about this film and only becomes more frightening as the film goes on; he put Pennywise to shame.

The one thing I didn’t understand about this film was how it all fit together. At first, I thought all three of the tales on the videotape were connected and it was all part of a larger narrative, but then the second feature has an alien in it and really has very little to do with the other two segments. So, I don’t understand what it was meant to be because surely if it was an anthology film the third segment would be unrelated to the first. I thought that was a strange decision.

I liked the ending when the clown broke out into the real world, I thought this was for sure the scariest moment of the whole film.

Overall, I think this is one of the best hidden gem horror films I have seen in a long time, it is terrifying and bone chilling to watch. The clown is the scariest I have ever seen in cinema and I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up in my nightmares. If you’re a fan of horror, then this film is a must see!

Pros.

It is terrifying.

The clown is hellish.

There are some great jump scares.

The ending breaks the fourth wall in the best way.

Cons.

I don’t understand if it was supposed to be one whole feature or an anthology.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Aquaslash: Blood In The Water

Aquaslash is a horror film directed by Renaud Gauthier. The plot sees a group of recently graduated high schoolers head to a waterpark to celebrate, however once they get there, they realise that there is a killer on the loose and heads and torsos then begin to role.

In a world where never everything possible has been turned into a film I would have thought a slasher set at a waterpark would have been done before, but I have never seen quite anything like this film. This is a strange film of inconsistencies; the tone goes from light and jokey to dark and menacing in a split second this happens often and is bizarre. However, where in other films tonal issues can break the film, in this they confusingly work.

However, it does take things a bit far a few times. An example of this would be that the character of Tommy (Paul Zinno), right from the beginning we see that he beats his girlfriend and is just a terrible person, yet in the third act he becomes somewhat of a hero and we are supposed to root for him? It is an odd character turn and I for one was happy when he got sliced into little pieces.

The gore in this film mainly comes from the fact that the killer has placed blades inside one of the parks three waterslides and then people start going down them; you can imagine what happens next. I found the gore to be just to my taste, it was grisly, but never too much.

The plot of this film is nonsensical and the late in the game reveal of who the killer is only serves to stretch the already thin plot thinner. However, you are not watching this film for a tight, insightful story, you’re watching this film to watch a gory, slasher film set at a waterpark, so does it matter?

Overall this is a bizarre film, if it was something else this would almost certainly be a bad review, but Aquaslash works in a way I can quite put my finger on, the gore is well done, and it is nice mindless fun.

Pros.

The gore.

The premise.

The laughable plot.

Cons.

Making a hero out of a domestic abuser?

If you want more than just mindless gore, then you might be disappointed.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Isle: Lost At Sea

The Isle is a British mystery thriller film directed by Matthew Butler-Hart. The plot sees a group of sailors become stranded on a remote island. As they begin to recover and start to explore, they soon realise that something is very wrong. The island is haunted by a ghost hell bent on revenge.

I genuinely don’t think there are enough films about seafaring and sailing as such I found this film to be refreshing. In many ways this film had a similar vibe to Robert Eggers excellent The Lighthouse, crucially we need more sea-based horror films.

I think the thing that is the most striking about this film is how original it is. It has such a strong sense of personality and is truly unlike many other horror films. The horror is a slowly built over the early part of the film, a lot of the horror focus is placed on atmosphere and creating this unpredictable sense of mystery; where you aren’t quite too sure what is going on.

I think the acting is all superb and is refreshing to see such well done performances, my one note would be that the backstory of the sailors could have been explored more. I understand that the island and its residents are the main focus, but the sailors do get a little short changed. The backstory of the haunting is interesting if a little disappointing, as the film teases the wife of Hades and I was hoping that was where it was going, but it wasn’t.

My other issue is with the design of the ghost herself. She is essentially just a woman in makeup there is nothing wrong with that it could be done creepily, however when she starts using her powers, especially during the final sequence, it looks terrible. The effects themselves are not well done, I don’t know whether it was a budget problem, or a technical one, but they look almost laughably bad and really serve to take you out of the final battle scene.

Overall, this film score points for originality and strong performances, but is short of glory because of its side-lined sailors and terrible effects.

Pros.

Originality.

Creepy.

Strong performances.

Cons.

The effects.

The sailors feel side-lined.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Dog Soldiers: Howling At The Moon

Dog Soldiers is a British horror film directed by Neil Marshall. The plot sees a group of soldiers come under attack by a pack of werewolves while doing a training exercise in a remote part of Scotland. The two groups must fight to the death as only one can walk away victories.

I watched this film again recently and have to say it hold up far better than I thought it would based on my childhood remembrance. I think the thing that works so well about it, and lasts the test of time, is the practical effects of the werewolves themselves; they are people in costumes and makeup rather than CGI. Across the course of the film we get a good look at these creatures and they are impressive, they look big and intimidating; they look like how you would imagine werewolves would look.

The cast features some great performances from familiar faces. Sean Pertwee plays Sargant Harry G. Wells, the fierce but loveable leader of the group of soldiers; Pertwee brings his usual roguish charm to the role and has a number of memorable lines and funny movements. We also see a hateable turn from Liam Cunningham as special forces solider Captain Richard Ryan; Cunningham plays the villain surprisingly well and the mystery around his character is really well done.

This film very much has a B movie sensibility to it that it uses for all the pulp fun it can. There are moments of comedy in the film as well that are surprisingly effective, they don’t take away from the horror or the tension rather they add to it in a strange, but also cool way.

Overall, this is a very strong debut for Marshall, who is by all means one of the most underrated directors in the horror genre today, well worth checking out if you can get your hands on it.

Pros.

The tone and also the dark humour.

The B movie feel.

Sean Pertwee.

Liam Cunningham.

The werewolves themselves. Practical over CGI.

Cons.

The beginning is slow, too slow.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou: Exploring The Ocean Blue

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is a quirky comedy film directed by Wes Anderson. The plot sees famous ocean explorer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), set out on an expedition to kill the shark that killed his friend many years ago; hoping to regain the fame and importance he once had. His ‘maybe’ son Ned (Owen Wilson), accompanies him on his journey and the two men try to bond, to little avail.

I had recently become a convert to the Wes Anderson crowd so I went into this with high expectations and it was a fine film, maybe even good, but it was not up to my expectations; nor did it meet the standards set by The Darjeeling Limited.

I once again enjoyed the Wes Anderson sense of quirkiness; I enjoyed the wider mythology of the world and when the film took time to explain the backstory between the characters. I thought the story was fascinating; in my humble opinion there are not enough films about deep sea exploration.

I also enjoyed the cast, again it wasn’t as good as The Darjeeling Limited, but I thought Bill Murray and Owen Wilson do a great job. Both of them play the same characters that they always play but are so charming and likable that their lack of variety isn’t off-putting. The supporting cast are also superb especially Willem Dafoe as Klaus, one of the members of Zissou’s inner circle, who steals every scene he is in.

My overall issue with the film is that it feels too indulgent, too unsupervised, there are a few scenes in it that go on for far too long and really feel like they could have been shortened. Also the humour doesn’t really work for me at all. I feel like with a tighter edit and more focus this could have been perfect.

Pros.

Bill Murray and Owen Wilson

The backstory/ lore

The Andersoness of it all.

Cons.

It is too long.

The humour doesn’t work.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Kill List: A King To Be

Kill list is a British crime horror film directed by Ben Wheatly. The plot follows two ex-soldier hitmen Jay (Neil Maskell), and Gal (Michael Smiley), who’s job soon takes a turn for the strange as they become entangled with a cult, though they don’t realise it at first.

I think this film is excellent, truly excellent. I think if any film could be the Wicker Man equivalent of our modern times it is this; and that is not just because they share some similar plot threads. The reason why I think so highly of this film is because of how subtle it is, you don’t realise that you’re watching a horror film, most of the film is more crime focused, until the last 10 minutes; but then when the film ends you see how it was really a horror all along.

The performances are superb and so are the characters. Jay and Gal are not written to be likable, right from the off we see Jay through a negative lens, but that is the point. This film achieves something few others do, it takes characters that are fundamentally bad/unlikable and by the end it makes you care about them. In the final sequence of the film you want Gal and Jay to be okay, you really do.

The folk horror aspect is also really well done, as I mentioned before a good comparison would be The Wickerman, but there is also some Hereditary in there too. I think the ending is fascinating and it makes all of the events of the film take on a whole other meaning; a rewatch is a necessity. I loved how all the actions of the two main characters had been mapped out by the group and everything was leading up to that moment.

Overall, I think from a writing and structure point of view this film is a triumph and I think from a horror point of view this is also incredible. I think more people should see this as it seems to be quite unknown to some. One of the best films I have recently.

Pros.

The folk horror.

The crime thriller aspect.

Making you care about awful people.

The ending.

All of the little details.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed By Luke