Blacklight: The Battle Against Retirement

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Liam Neeson continues to refuse to retire and stars in yet another disappointing action film.

Folks we are a long way from the days of Taken.

I remember when a Liam Neeson action film used to be a sight to see, there was a time when almost all of the films Neeson, wherein he was staring, were golden. Sadly those days seem long over. I admit as a Neeson fan there was still a little of that old Neeson charm to be found here, but it is wearing thin. That said if this film didn’t star Neeson I would have turned it off early and not reviewed it, he was the one thing that kept me going.

The plot of this film is deeply generic and familiar to the point of parody. All of the threads have been well tread by other better films, and the attempts at social commentary never seem to come together, it can’t seem to decide what it wants to say.

The rest of the cast outside of Neeson might as well not exist as they are given so little to do it would have made more sense to simply have Neeson just doing things and not interacting with anyone for the length of the film as they add nothing.

Overall, it is sad to see Neeson reduced to this.

Pros.

Neeson

It is watchable

Cons.

The plot

The wider supporting cast

It is boring and generic

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King Knight: Finding Your Flock

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Leaders of a Wiccan coven Thorn, played by Matthew Grey Gubler and Willow, played by Angela Sarafyan go through trial and tribulation as seeks from Thorn’s past seek to unseat them.

This is a bizarre film in the best way, there are so many out there, illogical things that happen that you can at times be baffled by, but in that strangeness comes the charm. Certainly this is one of the most original films I have seen in a while.

Moreover, I also think this film has a really lovely message about finding your flock and being accepting of other people. In many respects its themes of social isolation and living in a gilded cage really bleed through, hitting home and resonating .

I thought the cast was terrific across the board though I would say that Gubler was the stand out for me. I really bought the emotion of his performance and I thought the narrative about him being uncomfortable dancing really allowed for his character to go on a wonderful journey that had a very satisfying pay off.

Also this film featured Ray Wise, who is a personal favourite of mine, so that is a big win for me, any film with Ray Wise gains favour with me.

Overall, certainly one that will fly under a lot of people’s radar but one that is a must watch if you can find it.

Pros.

Wise

Gubler

The strangeness

The originality

Cons.

Mild pacing issues

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No Exit: No One Cared About This Film So Why Should You?

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Yet another deeply generic, thoughtless thriller that you have seen one hundred times before, maybe more.

Is this the standard of films coming out these days? Honestly whilst watching I found it quite hard not to go on my phone, or just do something else, there really was nothing in this film that kept me engaged or even remotely interested.

The performances all reek of a group of people brought together by a need to get another hot tub rather than by anyone caring about the project. Most of the cast keep one look on their face consistently throughout the film, such is the standard of acting on display here.

Some other reviewers have been angered by a scene in which a character snorts some cocaine as a means to gain strength, now I am not bothered by this because in a film as poor as this with a script and screenplay that both scream of being written over a weekend with the idea to crank something out I would not expect anything more.

Overall, clearly no one on the production side of things gave a damn about this film and it shows.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It is generic

It is way too familiar

The acting is awful

So is the writing

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Family Squares: Grief In The Time Of Covid

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of people gather together on zoom after the death of their Grandmother.

I thought this film was surprisingly effecting, there were a number of moments I had a tear in my eye or could feel myself welling up. On first appearance this film is sold as a comedy film and yes there are jokes, a few of which even make you laugh, but in my mind this film is far stronger as a dramatic piece about people dealing with life changes and loss.

The cast is all fairly strong across the board, all are able to be both light and affable and also to bring out the dramatic big guns when required, if I were to single one person out for special acting commendation it would probably be Judy Greer, I thought there were a number of scenes here where Greer really shined and stood out from the crowd through her dramatic work.

My one issue with the film is that the teams/zoom setting will quickly date it, as will all the copious references to Covid, I understand the desire to be topical, but it does become a crutch after a while narratively.

Overall, a warm, touching, sometimes funny film.

Pros.

The cast

Greer specially

The drama and the emotion

The pace

Cons.

The format as well as mentions to covid will quickly date the film

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The Family Stone: The Most Cringe Film Ever Made

0.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The very worst form of the meeting family for the first time plot.

This film was just awful, I know I complain a lot about films being cringe, but this film was so horribly, uncomfortably cringe in its character interactions that honestly I had to look away at times such was the awkwardness. I will stress to you that it was not good cringe, no, it was the very worst kind.

Moreover, this film has some deeply warped values as it portrays it to be perfectly normal for someone to be considering marrying someone else after knowing them for just one day, as well as saying it is fine to get bored of your current partner and then go out with their siblings whilst the two of you are still together. Not only does the film push this message it also acts like its normal, which last I checked isn’t the case.

In addition, most of the cast struggle to act and almost every single one of the interactions feels painful and stilted.

Overall, the only saving grace of this film was Luke Wilson and even he was wasted here.

Pros.

Wilson

Cons.

The cringe

Parker

The cast either can’t be bothered or are wasted

It has terrible morals

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Fun With Dick And Jane: The Struggles Of The Middle Class

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

When husband and wife duo, played by Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni, both find themselves unemployed and with the wolves at the door they take to committing a series of robberies to keep the lights on.

There is some fun to be had here, let it not be said that this film is entirely without charm or entertainment. However, I definitely think it is in the lower end of Carrey’s filmography, as he is strangely dialled back here and doesn’t ever go as fully wild as we would expect him to. Leoni fairs far better and her character is the more complete of the two, she also has more funny jokes than Carrey which is another red flag.

Though I enjoyed the earlier heists, as they wore silly costumes and the focus was far more on jokes than anything else, I thought as things progressed the heists got more and more boring. To that effect, the final heist where they try and steal from Carrey’s characters old boss, played by Alec Baldwin, just comes across as dull. Baldwin doesn’t make for a very interesting villain and the whole plotline between the two feels incredibly dated, as such this makes it hard to care about the ending which in turn damages the film as a whole.

Overall, not terrible, but not great either. Middling Carrey.

Pros.

Leoni

A few funny jokes early on

It is watchable

Cons.

Carrey is off form

Baldwin

It feels dated

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Peacemaker: It’s Cow Or Never

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The season finale sees Peacemaker, played by John Cena, and the gang go on one final do or die mission to defeat the butterflies.

This may have been one of the strongest seasons of TV I have seen in a long time, for the most part the series was pretty great, there were a couple of mistakes and slips here or there but widely it was near perfect, this is quite rare.

I thought the finale was able to deliver on everything it was setting up, it gave us crazy action and sweet character moments in just the right amount, whilst also teasing out some unresolved issues for season 2, I am glad the show is giving itself a reason to keep Robert Patrick around.

My one downside would be that the episode feels a little rushed and could have done with being about half an hour longer, I just feel like if it had some extra time could have really nailed every single emotional moment and given us more time during the big fight scene.

Overall, a damn near perfect season finale, season 2 has big shoes to fill.

Pros.

Cena

The emotions

The battle

The use of the theme song

The set up

Cons.

It could have done with more time

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Meet The Fockers: One For The Family

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After meeting her parents, now it’s time for them to meet his.

In some respects I thought this was better than the first film but in other ways it was worse. As a sequel I would say it finds it hard to progress beyond what the first film did and instead doubles down on it, this is both a blessing and a curse.

In regard to what I enjoyed I thought the new parents played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand both added a lot to this film, heart and laughs respectively. Moreover, I thought the ending of this film was more fun than the last and felt less cliched.

The comedy was something of a mixed bag for me, as I did find myself laughing harder when there was a joke that resonated with me, but I also found myself laughing less than I did in the previous film. I appreciated the fact that the comedy of this film was far less cringe than that of its predecessor.

Regarding what I didn’t like, I found this film went too far with DeNiro’s character making him too over the top and ridiculous. The narrative of this film implies the character learnt nothing from the first film and continues to distrust Greg, played by Ben Stiller, which makes no sense. Moreover, the means by which he tries to prove that Greg is a bad guy are way more sinister than they were in the first film which makes the character far more unlikeable. I can see why the film chose to take this character in this over the top direction yet I am left to question did no one see this as an issue at the time?

Overall, two steps forward one step back.

Pros.

Hoffman and Streisand

A few good jokes

The ending is a lot better

Cons.

DeNiro

The funny jokes were few and far between

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It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 15: The Gang Explore Their Roots.

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A season of two halves, one which resembles the classic structure and one that moves more towards serialisation.

I did find it odd how the first few episodes of this season were very much reminiscent of older seasons in that each episode had a standalone quality but then the latter episodes moved towards serialisation and a focus on one storyline. That is not to say it didn’t work, however I do wish the season had decided to go one way or the other with it, as it is it works but it does feel a little jarring.

With regard to continuity I liked that the series progressed the running plot lines of the show and answered a number of questions fans have been asking for a while such as who is Charlie’s, played by Charlie Day, dad, it was a shame it wasn’t Frank, played by Danny DeVito, but I thought what the series ended up doing was actually better than having that be the case.

I thought for the most part the series still maintains its quality, being able to mock things like diversity casting and covid without fear of offending people on twitter. I found myself laughing a good number of times each episode of this season with only The Gang Buys A Roller Rink falling down for me.

Overall, another good season though maybe they should have shot it all in Ireland.

Pros.

It is still funny

It still keeps an edge

The reveal of Charlie’s dad

The emotion

Cons.

The roller rink episode

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