Spree: Never Drink The Water In An Uber, Who Knows Whats In It

Spree is a black comedy horror film directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko. The plot follows a young rideshare driver called Kurt (Joe Keery), who is trying desperately to kickstart his Youtube/influencer career. However, when his efforts don’t reap any rewards he turns to murdering his rideshare passengers to gain infamy and attention.

This along with In The Shadow Of The Cloud are my two favourite films of the year so far. This is something so darkly funny about this films critique on modern influencer culture, that humour I believe comes from truth; no doubt there are people out there who do this sort of thing for dark web fame. It makes one reflect on the purpose of it all and questions around validation, does having a large following make us better than anyone else? Are follower numbers simply meaningless? These are good questions to ponder.

Keery gives a terrific performance here, managing to convey both a deeply shy and awkward person who is just trying to get famous and also a cold-blooded killer who has no issues with poisoning people or running them over. Keery manages to make both parts of Kurt’s personality feel different enough yet whole within one person at the same time, no easy feat. Fans of Steve from Stranger Things will have a lot to enjoy here.

Overall, a very interesting film that becomes more so the more you think about it afterwards, the satire our social media society needs.

Pros.

Keery

The satire

The deeper questions

The horror and mania of it all

The ending

Cons.

Some moments are a bit too cringe

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Mr Holmes: The Old Man And The Bee

Mr Holmes is a mystery film directed by Bill Condon, based on Mitch Cullin’s 2005 novel A Slight Trick Of The Mind. The plot centres around an aging Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen), as he struggles with his memory whilst trying to remember the real outcome of an old case.

This film was bleak. I don’t watch to Holmes like this old and at the end of his life, where his inactions lead to more harm than good, multiple times in this film I felt depression creeping into my mind and by the end I was truly saddened. I think ultimately this was not what I was expecting it to be, I thought it was a mystery film as it has been categorised, but it is not, more aptly it is a drama film.

Another thing that bothered me about this film was the timeline, I understand the jumping around and the unannounced flash backs and asides were probably a deliberate choice to mimic Holmes’ decaying mind, yet I still found them off putting and confusing.

Overall, a believe this film is mismarketed and miscategorised, as such if you, like I did, go in expecting a mystery film then you will be sorely disappointed.

Pros.

McKellen is trying

It manages to nail the emotional beats and makes you feel

Cons.

It is not a mystery film by any means

It is depressing

The timeline jumping and the constant swapping between storylines is jarring and confusing

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Milkrun: The Horrors Of The British Corner Shop

Milkrun is a dark comedy, drama film directed by Alexander Jeremy. The plot sees one brave soul brace the wilds of outside of his bubble to venture down to the shops to get milk, in the age of Covid19.

This was just what I needed. As the new lockdown was announced recently in the UK and we were all sent back into our own isolated worlds to wait out the storm. I was feeling a little blue, however this film put a smile back on my face.

It pokes fun at Covid and social distancing without feeling disrespectful or done in bad taste, looking at you Songbird. The jokes are darkly comedic and feel funny through a shared experience that everyone on the globe can relate to. I was smiling and chuckling to myself as I was watching it.

The one thing I would note was that when the character was hugging people and took off his mask and gloves I was waiting for the inevitable comedic comeuppance that he had caught the virus. I feel like the ending delivered on that, at least in how I interpreted it, but it was not hugely clear.

That is not to say I did not enjoy the ending; on the contrary, I think it was nice that the film ended on a more dramatic and personal note as it reflected the bleakness of existence under Covid.

Overall, bravo to all involved I enjoyed this, and it made my dad to watch it.

Pros.

It is funny

The power of shared experience

The powerful ending

The musical score/accompaniment

Cons.

Did the character get punished for breaking the rules? Perhaps a little too open ended

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Unfinished Business: Nick Frost’s Has Got BDE

Unfinished Business is a comedy film directed by Ken Scott. The plot sees a trio of business men played by (Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, and Dave Franco), break ranks with their company and start out on their own, trying to steal the big deal right out from under their former boss.

Usually, with these sort of comedy films the message is quite hollow and there is nothing more to the film then watching people party and sort out some vague forced drama for an hour and a half. However, this film has a heart and a soul as well, the father son storyline about Vince Vaughn’s character realising that his kids need him and that at the end of the day they are more important than the big deal is touching. Yes, it has been done before and is nothing new, but Vaughn delivers it with enough warmth and feeling that you do genuinely believe it.

The comedy is fairly standard, there are a few laughs to be had but these are fairly few and far between. The thing I appreciated about this film is that the comedy is not mean-spirited, Franco’s character is clearly supposed to have special needs, but the film does not mock him for it or make him the butt of every joke; as an Adam Sandler film might.

Overall, though it might not be the funniest film it does have a good heart and a nice message.

Pros.

The father son plotline

The Nick Frost cameo

It has a few funny moments

Cons.

It has been done better before

Quite a large amount of the jokes don’t land

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Great Asphyxiations: Always Make Sure They Are Dead

Great Asphyxiations is a dark comedy short film directed by Sammy Anderson. The plot sees two murders trying to decide how to dispose of a body, whilst also lamenting on their life choices and asking whether killing is still what they want to do.

I thought the concept of this was quite novel, as it allowed the actors to take to the camera without that being a sign of lesser filmmaking. Moreover, it allowed for greater audience emersion as it felt almost like a POV experience as if you were really in the room tied up and about to be murdered.

Dark comedy is always very tricky to get right as different people have different comedic lines as to what they find funny and what they don’t. Whilst this film did not have me laughing out loud often, it did have a few funny moments and I found myself smiling throughout.

I enjoyed seeing the condensing of the character arc, it allowed the journey to feel more manic and compact. I think this film is definitely made better by being a short, as the character journey it would lose some of its frantic luster if it was stretched out over a longer feature.

Overall, an intimate crime experience- if that sounds like something you would like then check this out.

Pros.

The use of pov

The originality

A few good laughs

The condensed character arc

Cons.

Not all the jokes land, but comedy is subjective

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wedding Crashers: Aging Poorly

Wedding Crasher is a comedy film directed by David Dobkin. The plot sees two guys (Vince Vaugh and Owen Wilson), who as the title suggests crash weddings to pick up bridesmaids. However, when they crash one of the most important weddings of the season, they find out that they have bitten off a little more than they can handle.

Vaughn and Wilson have great chemistry and the comedic rapport between them is very strong and provides us with a few comedic moments. As a fan of both, I can safely say that they are in their peak with this film and that is evident for all to see.

The jokes of the film proved to be a mixed bag for me, on the one hand their were numerous funny moments that made me laugh, but there was also a nasty trend of laughing at male sexual abuse which seems blue even by mid-2000’s standards. Vaughn’s character is almost raped, and Wilson’s is subject to numerous unwelcomed advances, in both situations these events are played for laughs which is really quite bad.

Also the film has some very troublesome views about the LGBTQ+ community, with the only real representation of them being an emo sexual predator.

The romance is quite strong and is at its best between Wilson’s character and Rachel McAdams’s character. Their romance feels earnest and heartfelt, with you really wanting them to end up together. This is contrasted nicely by the romance of Vaughn’s character that feels slap dashed and a bit too neatly tied up.

Overall, this films mean spirited views towards male sexual abuse would have been a source for criticism whenever it was released, who ever wrote the script is entirely responsible for the worst parts of the film and should be fired; some laughs and a bit of Christopher Walken aren’t enough to change that.

Pros.

Walken

Vaughn and Wilson have great chemistry

There are a few laughs

Cons.

The jokes about male sexual abuse and playing off the situation and normal or kooky

They make the only LGBTQ+ character a harmful stereotype

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Possessor: A Very Different 2008 To The One I Remember

Possessor is a science fiction horror film directed by Brandon Cronenberg. The plot imagines a different 2008 wherein people have the technology to project their consciousness into your brain through and implant thereby taking over control of your body and forcing it to abide by their will. This technology is often used by high profile assassins.

This film felt like a feature length Black Mirror episode and I am not saying that as an inherent criticism, rather a note on the tone and generally aesthetic.

I will give this film props for its visuals and its concept, both were deeply unnerving in both a very real way and also in more of an existential way. The premise of the film itself is so deeply fascinating that you can’t help but think about it once the film has ended. There are sights within this film that you will not see anywhere else within the genre, such is its creativity: one of these shots is the opening when they are putting in one of the implants and it is visceral and sickening and honestly quite frightening when considering the implications.

The performances were all very strong, and I enjoyed the notion of how much of your own actions are really you if you are facing off against someone else’s consciousness. A lot of the things in this film are deep and wider reaching then your standard horror themes, and as such this might not be for everyone.

My one point of criticism would be the end. I disliked how messy and rushed it felt, it seems very much that the film is going a certain way throughout and then bang you just get a whole bunch of stuff thrown at you in the final few minutes and you are left to pick up the pieces and make sense of it. I truly do believe if this film was given even just another 15 minutes it would have fixed the ending.

Overall, very strong and very unique, a bleak look at a potential future where not even our own minds are safe from attack.

Pros.

The performances

The visuals

The concept and the execution

The horror and the existentialism

Cons.

The ending is a mess

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Shadow In The Cloud: The Next Ripley?

Shadow In The Clouds is a war time horror film directed by Roseanne Liang. The plot sees a stowaway female pilot (Chloe Grace-Mortez), board a plane with a mysterious object. During the flight paranormal forces seek to work against her and to steal what is inside the mysterious box.

Though coming out in the final days of 2020 this may be a strong contender for best horror of 2021, unless something truly exceptional comes out to dethrone it. The sheer level of creativity and originality that this film boasts is a sight to behold, I honestly don’t think I have ever seen a film quite like this.

The scares are well earned as well, whether it is coming in the form of distressing gore, such as when she has to mend her broken finger), or supernatural threat. Both of which help to add to the tension of the film as a whole and make it hard to look away from.

Moreover, I have complained about the female empowerment message in a lot of recent films for not feeling earned or for feeling forced in, but here it is spot on. Grace-Mortez’s Maude is a kickass unstoppable action hero very much in the vein of Ripley or Sarah Conner. Also much like those examples, the film does not feel overt in its messages or politics rather it all feels natural and well done. Honestly the final fight scene is a cheer worthy moment.

Overall, one of the best films I have seen in a long time, a must see!

Pros.

It is empowering

Chloe Grace-Mortez is terrific

There is nothing else quite like it out there

The supernatural WW2 mix

The ending

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Into The Storm: Man Vs. Tornado

Into The Storm is a disaster film directed by Steven Quail. The film recounts the devasting effects of a tornado on a small town in America, thriller seekers, researcher and horny teens all get caught up in its destructive wake.

In many ways the disaster move genre is very like the shark attack sub-genre in horror, you know what you are getting, they all play out pretty much the same barring a few details, and they are all as predictable as hell: in short they are junk food, you know they aren’t enriching in any way yet you still watch them as they’re easy.

My issue with this film compared to others in the genre like The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, is that a tornado is fairly simplistic. There is spectacle to it sure, but it gets old after about half and hour and has nothing new to pull out of the bag. There is only so many times you can watch a car get sucked into a hurricane.

The acting is what would expect nothing spectacular, just a bunch of b and c listers trying their best to be serviceable and for the most part they do a decent enough job. I would say the cast could have done with being smaller, as at times it felt like there were too many people on screen and as such I couldn’t remember who everyone was let alone form emotional attachments to them.

Overall, if you like disaster movies this is passable enough, if you want something above average or god forbid fresh then yeah maybe give this one a miss.

Pros.

It is watchable

The tornado is neat for the first 20 minutes

Cons.

It is nothing special

You have seen all of this film before several times over

The effects don’t look good

It is boring after a point

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Croods 2, A New Age: The Age Of Stone

The Crood 2, A New Age is an animated family film directed by Joel Crawford. The plot continues on from the first film, with the Crood family trying to find a new permanent home (or tomorrow as the film calls it). In this pursuit, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), runs into this adoptive family that took him in after his parents died, naturally the two families’ clash.

So, I was not very impressed by the first Croods film, it felt very generic and had no emotional impact. I am glad to say that I enjoyed this film a significant amount more and I think it made great strides to better the issues of the first film.

Yes, very much like the first film, the conflict is insanely predictable and cliché: where the first had a father needing to set aside, the second also has that but with the added dimension of question whether they need to change how they are and become more than just cave people. The emotional journey of this film is one you have seen done hundreds of times before and the resolution is exactly how you would expect.

This film does feel like it has more heart than the first film, that felt very much like it was trying to steal from other properties in a cold, corporate way. I felt a greater connection to the characters here and enjoyed seeing them interact on screen. I thought this was definitely Eep’s (Emma Stone), film and she was the character that kept me engaged in the plot.

The female empowerment angle towards the end of the film left me split. On the one hand it was a cool scene and came off as a nice final battle scene with all the female characters riding in on huge beasts and saving the day. However, at the same time it felt forced in and unnatural, it felt very much upon a second rewatch that the film was trying to set up this empowering moment throughout in the least subtle way possible- shoehorned in some might say.

Overall, this is a much-needed improvement over the first film and gives me some hope for the series going forward.

Pros.

Eep

The emotional connection/impact

Having a distinct set of personality

Being fun to watch

Cons.

The arc/ journey of the character is a little stale

The female empowerment sequence

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke