The Holiday: A Christmas Classic?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two women, played by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, swap houses and in the process find love.

It goes without saying that this film is incredibly predictable in nearly everyway and is so chocked full of cliches that it is rare to see something other than them in the film, however that is not to say the film is bad. Certainly not. There is more than enough charm here to make up for the film’s misgiving.

I would say Diaz, Winslet and Jude Law, who plays Diaz’s characters love interest, are all well cast and fill out the rom-com architypes fairly well. Each is charming and Diaz and Law have good chemistry together, however Winslet and her pairing with Jack Black fairs worse. I really like Black and have since a young age I think the man can do no wrong a lot of the time, although here proves an exception to that. Firstly, the man has no business being a romantic male lead, he doesn’t fit the sensibility for it and as such his performance is far too big, and secondly though Winslet is really trying there is no chemistry between the two and that seems to be mainly Black’s fault as his performance is fairly wooden and could be played by anyone.

Overall, this rom-com is predictable but charming and could have scored higher if it was not for an incredibly miscast Jack Black.

Pros

Law, Diaz and Winslet

The charm

The ending

Cons.

It is predictable and cliched

Black

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Encounter: The Strangest Father Son Roadtrip Ever

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Malik Khan, played by Riz Ahmed, a decorated marine must go on a daring rescue mission to save his sons from an otherworldly threat, however as the film progresses the alien threat seems to become more and more farfetched and Malik’s own traumas and fractured mental state start to become the real threat.

I thought this was easily one of the best film’s I have seen in a while. Ahmed was really good and sold both the crazed paranoia as well as the love for his sons really well, you both empathised with his character as well as felt slightly threatened by him. I thought Ahmed balanced both of these sides of his character really well and kept him complexed and nuanced.

The emotion in this film is powerful and resonant. Especially towards the end of the film when Malik starts to realise what he has done it breaks your heart, I would have liked the ending to be a bit more polysemic however, I do think there is some wiggle room for what if Malik was actually right all along.

Overall, a compelling film boosted by a magnificent performance from Riz Ahmed.

Pros.

Ahmed

The emotion

The threat

The twist

Cons.

The ending is a little too clear cut for my taste

They wasted Octavia Spencer

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Spider-Man No Way Home: Who Is Coming Through That Portal

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, finally faces some consequences for being Spider-Man.

Spoilers ahead.

This was a good Spider-Man film and probably the best of the Holland run so far, but was it the best Marvel film of the year….. No that to me is still The Eternals. I know…. I know….

I will get the things I don’t like about this film out of the way first, they really aren’t major, the first thing was I didn’t like that Aunt May, here played by Marisa Tomei, was given the great power great responsibility line, because that means the chances of seeing Uncle Ben in the MCU are shot. Secondly I didn’t like that the film went out of its way to make the villains likeable, of course in the end they broke bad, but for the early parts of the film it genuinely felt like the film didn’t have stakes as Peter easily beat them and then they were fairly nice with him, however this changed midway through.

Now on to everything that worked. I liked, though it will make me sound like a sadist that Spider-Man was finally broken in this film, in the Maguire and Garfield runs both of their Peter Parker’s had already faced major traumas by this point in the run so it was nice to see Holland be given that. I think this added to the emotional impact of his performance and really gave him something to work with, the ending of the film is fairly glum yet it feels earned and it fits with the character and I think that is something to be praised.

Moreover, the film did indeed bring back Matt Murdock, played by Charlie Cox, which was brilliant to see and made me very excited in the cinema. However, what I think people will be more excited for is the fact that yes both Garfield and Maguire return in this film, to varying degrees of goodness. Honestly I think Garfield is outstanding here, he steals the scene every time he is in it, his version of Peter Parker shines the brightest in this film and the broken, angry and deeply emotional Spider-Man that he plays here is a nice take on the character.

In terms of the wider MCU this film does a lot of expanding, however I do wish the film had left it more open ended. In the end all of the multiversal collapse is reversed, or at least so we think, and things seem neatly tied up, I thought it would have been far more interesting if the film hadn’t gone this way.

Overall, a strong film and one that is bound to be a crowd-pleaser.

Pros

Cox

Garfield

Maguire

The emotion and suffering of Peter Parker

Cons.

Making the villains a bit too likeable

Aunt May’s with great power line

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Deadly Cuts: Hairdressers Take On Gangland

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of Irish hairdressers kill someone and then enter into a hairdressing competition.

The marketing for this film is a lie. It markets itself almost as a thriller with comedic elements, I thought going in that these unlikely heroes were going to become vigilantes and face off against the Irish underworld in a Shaun Of The Dead esque dark comedy. However, that was not what we got, instead they kill one gang member, and the rest just conveniently leave until the end of the film when they kill one more all whilst competing in the most boring and cliched competition ever. Yeah not good.

I found this film to be a tonal mess and not really knowing what it wanted to be, on top of that it wasted most of its cast and gave them nothing to work with, as a result the central foursome feels at best bland and at worst cliched. The story is uninspired and feels like a retread of many better films, with the stakes and drama not coming together at all and presenting us with an ending that feels entirely unearned.

Overall, watchable but weak.

Pros.

It is watchable

It is short

Cons.

It is not funny

The competition angle feels played out

There is no drama or real stakes

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House Of Gucci: Can The Kids Look Up From Their Phones To Watch This, Honestly Probably Not

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The infighting within the Gucci family

I will preface this review by saying I am exactly the sort of person that Ridley Scott doesn’t like, one of those kids today that will happily watch a film on their phone, however I showed up to both of his film’s this year and I have to say honestly The Last Duel was better.

I think the biggest thing that didn’t work for me here were the performances. Far from being worthy of award both the leads were fairly awful. Lady Gaga’s character was supposed to be likeable and then get progressively worse over the course of the film in terms of morals, at least that’s what I got from the trailers, but that wasn’t the case she started out deeply unlikeable and clearly badly intended from the beginning and only got worse, her character was deeply one note. Worse yet, Adam Driver plays two completely different characters here, yet you would never know. The first half of the film his character seems nice and fairly unassuming and then bang.. he just changes at the midpoint to be cruel and mean and entirely unlike how we have seen him so far, why? Because the story needs him to, it reeks of bad character work.

Jared Leto isn’t as bad as you might have heard, but that is not to say he is good either.

The only reason this film didn’t get lower is because it has a strong soundtrack of memorable hits and good performances from Al Pacino and Jeremey Irons, those three things are enough to keep the film watchable if nothing else.

Overall, a disappointment also there was no need for this to be on for well over two hours it was in no way an epic.

Pros.

Irons and Pacino

The soundtrack

Cons.

Gaga

Driver

The runtime is oppressive

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Hawkeye: Partners, Am I Right?

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kate, played by Hailee Steinfeld and Clint, played by Jeremey Renner, are assaulted on all sides and must fight for survival.

I do think this episode is continuing the trend of the last and is heading in a better direction for the show, that is less tied down with teen angst and dysfunctional families and is more interested in expanding the adventure and seeing how that connects to the wider world.

In that regard this episode finally brings back Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, after months of rumours and leaks. Sadly, Pugh isn’t given much to do before quickly being rushed off screen, I suppose she will be developed more in later episodes, also for those of you waiting for Vincent D’ Onofrio’s return as the Kingpin you will be waiting a while longer.

I thought the high point of the episode for me was seeing Kate and Clint bond. We get several nice scenes between the two of them that do land in a satisfying emotional way and that do make you feel warm inside.

I think the series needs to do something better with Echo, played by Alaqua Cox, as right now she is not in anyway likeable and is if anything actually quite annoying, they need to do something to make her more empathetic towards the audience, otherwise she is going to become another Captain Marvel.

Also the start of this episode is quite slow as it returns Kate to her family and has them have a long drawn out scene which honestly is the worst part of the episode. As has been a constant during my reviews of this show I will say again they need to move away from the family drama because honestly it is dull.

Overall, a better episode that marks continued progress in the right direction however I do wish they would leave the family drama out of it.

Pros.

Bringing back Yelena

The heart

Kate and Clint bonding

Cons.

Echo

The family drama

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Drive My Car: Listening To Tapes From Your Dead Wife

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film follows Yusuke Kafuku, played by Hidetoshi Nishjima, who after the death of his wife Oto, played by Reika Kirishima, tries to continue on living his life and begins trying to organise a play.

I thought this film was more good than bad. Certainly there is no getting around the fact that this film wont be for everyone, the run time alone is enough to put most off: clocking in at almost three hours and there is no real reason for this long runtime. However, those that stick with it are in for a deep dive into the human soul that in many ways is rewarding.

The characters are all strong and well developed, a pro for the long run time is that many of the characters get explored and are given plenty of focus. I also think the thematic exploration is where this film really shines as it has a lot to say on relationships and grief, most of which is quite insightful. I truly do think the strong point of this film is the writing.

Overall, this film will not be to the taste of many and the long run time will prove testing but there is something worth seeing here.

Pros.

The writing

The themes

The performances

Cons.

The run time

The ending is a little vague

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Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Disney Coming In To Ruin Another Franchise

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A new animated take on the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.

Where to begin on what went wrong with this film.

I think the most obvious place to start is that this film is a carbon copy of the much better live action version, it lifts scenes and lines of dialogue from that film and that just serves to remind you how needless this film really is, it is an animated reskin of a better product that came out just long ago enough for kids today to not remember it.

Speaking of the animation there is something noticeably off with it. I can’t quite put my finger on what is wrong, but there is certainly something going wrong with the lighting and the framing of it a lot of the time throughout the film. The animation style itself is fairly ugly, I understand they have chosen it to look closer to the books however it looks cheap and low rent.

The voice cast for the most part is doing their best to mimic the performances from the beloved live action films, and whilst in a few cases the effort is valiant, it never really rises to the occasion and lacks a lot of the charm and the warmth that made the performances in the live action films what they were.

Overall, entirely needless.

Pros.

It is short and if you close your eyes at times it feels like you are watching the live action version.

Cons.

The animation is off

It feels wholly unneeded and unoriginal

It is unfunny

It lacks any charm or warmth

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Click And Collect: Would You Steal From A Sick Kid?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Steven Merchant and Asim Chaudhry must go on a cross country road trip in order to get Merchant characters’ daughter a toy for Christmas.

I thought this film was honestly just pretty average, it had a few laughs but at the end of the day it wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before. It was an odd couple pairing that initially grate on one another and then eventually become friends, like I say nothing new.

Merchant plays it a little too straight and almost becomes unlikeable for big parts of the film, I understand being neurotic but that doesn’t make you a dick. Chaudhry on the other hand has a much better showing and is the heart and soul of the film, you really do end up caring for him by the end.

The comedy is fairly missing. I would say I chuckled maybe once or twice during the runtime of the film and that was probably about it. It’s not funny really, however it is watchable.

Overall, fairly average.

Pros.

Chaudhry

It is watchable

The ending

Cons.

Merchant

The odd couple pairing feels played out

It wastes Sophia Di Martino

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Office Christmas Party: A Room Full Of Regret

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The wacky goings on at an office Christmas Party.

My, my. How could they get a cast together with this many comedic actors and produce such a dud?

This film reeks to me of a corporate comedy. One made by a focus group at the behest of a room full of executives trying to guess at what people find funny, as such it is both overly tame and weak whilst also trying to force in edginess that doesn’t naturally lend itself to the film at all.

As you might assume this doesn’t lead to the film being funny at all. Most of the cast are wasted, or are used in ways that don’t produce any laughs, a good example of this would be Kate McKinnon who is just doing her usual shtick but this time has turned it up even higher. I would say Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston are serviceable but nothing more than that and that rather surprisingly Olivia Munn actually ends up being the comedic standout of the film and the only one who had any funny lines.

The film also features T.J Miller before the sexual abuse allegations came out, and he is just awful here. His jokes range from creepy to irritating and I think we can all agree that it is a good thing his face won’t be darkening our collective door anymore.

Overall, a weak, tame and factory produced comedy.

Pros.

Munn

Bateman and Aniston are trying to keep it together

Cons.

It is overstuffed

It isn’t funny

T.J Miller

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