I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Hollow And Soulless

Summary

A musical biopic of the life of Whitney Huston, played by Naomi Ackie.

There isn’t much wrong with this film but nor is there anything right with it, once you put the fantastic body of work of Huston to the side there really is nothing left underneath. In many ways this film milks the songs of Huston as much as they can because they are aware that without them they have an incredibly boring biopic that feels just the same as all the other recent musical biopics. Everything happens as if on a checklist and obvious this film tries to stick to real events, I would assume, but it is the same narrative we have seen time and again, the rise to fame followed by the drugs phase leading into a downfall and then attempted comeback ending on an optimistic note. It is just so play by numbers.

Ackie was fine as Huston, her performance wasn’t anything particularly special and I do feel like many other actors could have played the role with more vigour and have fallen into the person more, at no points whilst watching did I think she was Huston just someone playing here and sometimes not particularly well.

My final gripe with the film which I promise will be quick as it is my usual is, why the hell is this film on for over two hours? I know why because they stretch out the musical numbers for every drop they can get out of them, but I guess my real question is when did it become the norm for films to be on for this long? It feels like everything that comes out these days is passing the two hour mark whether deserved or not and that is becoming a real problem for me.

Overall, a deeply forgettable biopic.

2/5

Pros.

The Songs

It is watchable

Cons.

It is incredibly familiar

The acting is so so

It is on for far too long

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The Amazing Maurice: The Pied Piper Was A Cat

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A cat called Maurice, voiced by Hugh Laurie, and his human companion, voiced by Himesh Patel, travel town to town working a racket wherein they pretend to rid each town of their rats when in fact they have brought them.

I thought this was quite a charming animated film, what’s more the setting in the wider world of Terry Pratchett opens it up for all manor of possibilities if there ever was to be a sequel. I found the film to be fairly easy to watch with some likeable characters, but that is not to say everything about it was great.

The film certainly has some lulls wherein it slips into being boring and this is made worse by the pacing of the film. Furthermore, this issue is compounded by the fact that Patel’s Keith is never given much in the way of personality and is fairly bland so any section focusing on him on his own away from Maurice drags on. This is somewhat alleviated by Emilia Clarke’s Mallica who serves as both the narrator of the tale as well as the female lead and is in every respect the stand out character of the film. Clarke makes the character have so much life and charisma that it is hard not to be excited when the film is focusing on her.

Hugh Laurie as the titular Maurice is fantastic but then again you always knew he would be.

Overall, a fun animated film though one that could have worked better if the pacing was tighter.

3.5/5

Pros.

Clarke

Laurie

It is a lot of fun

The world of Pratchett

Cons.

The pace

It drags at times

White Noise: I Had To Check Whether Hitler Studies Was A Real Thing, That Is The State Of The World

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A family cope with the after effects of a toxic chemical leak.

I don’t really know what was going on with this film, there were so many disparate plot elements happening here that meant any kind of meaningful story simply couldn’t be found. One second they will all be in the town shelter talking about the effects of the airborne toxin, and the next they were back in the family home talking about something else entirely. I would say from a narrative point of view this film is all over the place in such a way that it feels hyperactive.

Moreover, as other reviewers have said there is a certain sense of pretentiousness here for sure, the film is clearly made for a certain type of person and that person is someone who is very much the cinephile. I would say to my own enjoyment of the feature that I found myself laughing and was genuinely engrossed in the goings on that I could make out and understand, but there were times when I was laughing at the film, unintentionally so on its part, wherein I was laughing at just how pretentious it was.

The acting is fairly good Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig steal the show, but Don Cheadle does come in with some great moments as well, so I would say it is a toss up between all three. Though If I were forced to pick I would probably pick Gerwig as her scene in which she talks about trading sex for pills is quite moving.

Overall, not quite as good as Baumbach’s efforts with Adam Sandler, but still mostly enjoyable.

3/5

Pros.

Gerwig

Driver and Cheadle

It is fun and even funny at times

Cons.

It is very pretentious in parts

It is trying to do and be too much

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The Devil’s Hour Season Overview: Life Repeated

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A kidnapping takes a turn for the strange when false memories and alternative timelines begin to intersect.

This show was the first in a long time that I binged all in one go, that speaks for itself in many ways. I thought this show was both clever and intriguing from the off, clearly there is more than meets the eye within the goings on but very much like the first season of Westworld this show gives more questions than answers, which is how you would want it to be especially considering it has been renewed for two more seasons.

I enjoyed the direction the show went in, despite it ending up in being more of a science fiction show than a horror show, which giving the title I was expecting. There are some good scares and supernatural moments, but the show later explains this all away in the final episode wherein the science fiction elements are firmly placed front and centre.

Overall, a terrific first season filled with promise.

Pros.

The acting

The original plot

It takes a lot of turns and you never quite know where it is heading

A number of good scares too

What it sets up for the second season

Cons.

It does lose more of its horror elements as the show progresses

4.5/5

Wild Men: Haven’t We All Had This Thought Before

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After being caught in a car crash Martin, played by Rasmus Bjerg, begins living out in the wilderness with the police on his trail.

I had been looking forward to this film for a while, but have to say after watching it I feel more than a little bit disappointed with it. Mainly my issue is the same one I have with many dark comedy films and that is that one part of that equation overshadows the other, in this case the dark and more dramatic stuff outweighed the lighter comedic elements and it made the film as a whole quite a depressing watch.

Maybe it is a national sense of humour that I don’t share as this is a Danish film and I am not Danish. I don’t know. I will say that the film made me laugh a few times over the course of its runtime so it was not without laughs simply it was the case wherein most of the jokes fell flat for me.

Overall, an interesting premise but the comedy didn’t connect with me and that meant that the darker dramatic elements took over and made this a depressing watch.

2/5

Pros.

The premise is interesting

The performances are mostly good

Cons.

It is depressing

The jokes don’t land

It has pacing issues

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Vardy V Rooney A Courtroom Drama: Maddeningly Stupid

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Wagatha Christie trial is brought to the screen in all of its stupid splendour.

This may be a very UK centric review, as I don’t know how well the Wagatha Christie trial is known worldwide, basically for ease it is about a defamation trial between the wives of two footballers that captivated people’s attention earlier this year.

I thought this show was terrific, within it’s two episodes it fully encapsulates the maddening stupidity of the whole thing and shows up just how badly Rebekah Vardy misjudged her lawsuit. The dialogue cut with such a fantastic degree that every line either had you gasping or laughing, truly top notch.

Moreover, this represents yet another fantastic turn for Martin Sheen who easily steals the entire show here with his cutthroat lawyer character. Though the actors playing Coleen Rooney, Chanel Cresswell, and Rebekah Vardy, Natalia Tena, are by no means slouches and do both have their moments to shine.

My one criticism of the show would be that it is too short being only two episodes. I feel if it had one or two more episodes the show could have explored things in more depth, or maybe I just want more bafflingly stupid moments from the legal transcripts to get their proper due on TV.

Overall, a fun moment from an otherwise bleak year rendered into a TV program.

4/5

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