Studio 666: Sadly This Isn’t A Breakout But Is More Of A Horror Pretender

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Foo Fighters, playing themselves, begin recording an album in a haunted studio, hijinks ensue.

Now I will preface this coming review by saying I am a big Foo Fighters fan and have been for many years, but even coming from that sort of place this film didn’t do much for me.

My main issue with this film was that it just didn’t work, it had no real reason to exist and didn’t bring either scares or laughs to the table. In the latter regard, the film was both trying too hard to be edgy whilst at the same time also being incredibly tame. It approaches self-parody at times, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this was deliberate, but even then it didn’t go far enough to sell it.

In terms of the scares this film was nothing new some gross out stuff and a gradual growing possession arc, mixed with a few jump scares. Not only was I not scared I was often quite close to approaching boredom whilst watching this film.

Finally, the Foos themselves just aren’t good actors, and though Grohl has been in other films before he never rises above average. It is painfully clear throughout the film that they are all trying to act but failing to do so.

Overall, this film really could have been something but as it stands it isn’t much of anything.

Pros.

It is watchable

There is some charm here

If you are a big fan of the band there are some neat references and nods to enjoy

Cons.

The comedy doesn’t land

Neither do the scares

The acting is poor

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The Adam Project: Possibly Ryan Reynold’s Best Performance

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Pilot Adam Reed, played by Ryan Reynolds, goes back in time to stop the invention of time travel, along the way he encounters his younger self, played by Walker Scobell.

I thought this was the best Ryan Reynolds performance I have seen in a long time, mainly this was due to the fact that he distances himself from his Deadpool-era quips and plays the role in a mostly straight, earnest way. There is a very believable emotional depth to Reynolds’ performance here that really resonates with you.

In that vein, I think the biggest strength of this film is the fact that it wears its heart on it’s sleeve and focuses on family dynamics and emotions between the characters. There are various different dimensions that the film approaches this from such as father-son relations as well as mother-son relations, which is refreshingly modern and fresh. There is also quite a lot of nuance and complexity to the relationship between the two Adams.

The only area wherein I would criticise this film is that its science fiction narrative feels very generic and uninspired, we have all seen this before and as such it remains unsurprising.

Overall, a very sweet and earnest film that is in some ways held back by its science fiction premise.

Pros.

Reynolds

Garner

Ruffalo

The emotion

Cons.

Pacing issues

The premise is fairly been there, done that.

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Cemetery Junction: Are The Kids Alright?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of young people come of age in 70s era Britain.

There is some charm to this film for sure, I found its final scene to be heartfelt, hopeful and warm and still a ways away from overly sentimental. Moreover, I also thought whenever Ricky Gervais was on screen the film perked up, sadly he didn’t show up all that often.

That said, I also think this film has a lot of issues. Most prominently, it feels more like the co-directors of Gervais and Merchant reminiscing about a very specific time period in recent British history rather than a film with a narrative to tell in its own right. In that regard it gave us a very fixed version of the coming of age, wayward teen story that I think we have all seen before. It felt to me as though the film was more interested in showing how life was then rather than telling any kind of story.

Further in that vein, a lot of the characters didn’t come across as real people rather as cliches or architypes used to push the narrative in a certain direction and to set up later character decisions. Moreover, when the film did try and hit on sentimentality a lot of the time it came across overly so, which is why I singled out the ending for not doing this, as it was a nice change.

Overall, not without charm but widely I don’t see the point in this film or why it needed to exist.

Pros.

The ending

The sound track

Gervais as an actor

Cons.

The writing

It doesn’t need to exist

The emotion often feels overly sentimental

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The Village: The Beginning Of The End For M. Night Shyamalan

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A township of people exist in fear of the creatures that live in the woods just outside of town.

Prior to watching I had heard very mixed things about this film, and after watching it I can say I am mixed. Do I think this film marks the start of Shyamalan’s journey into hackdom, with a brief moment of hope with Split? Yes, I would say so, all the elements that would come to form the basis of bad Shyamalan are present here, though it is not as egregious as it would get with his later works.

I think there are some good elements here, the premise is interesting and the world building is strong, couple this with good performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Bryce Dallas Howard and William Hurt and you can see the film has a lot going for it.

However, where everything is undercut is with the twist. I would say this is the first time in early Shyamalan’s work where the twist feels both needless, but also entirely predictable. The reveal that the elders were behind the monsters all along as a means to keep the town isolated from the rest of the world feels incredibly obvious from the early stages of the film. Moreover, though the climax of the film teases us with the outside world it then promptly does nothing with it and basically ignores it, which feels like a huge missed opportunity.

Overall, this film feels like a midway point in Shyamalan’s career, situated between past glories and future disappointments.

Pros.

The performances

The world building

The premise

Cons.

The twist

The ending

Turning Red: No One Fears This Hormone Monster

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young girl, voiced by Rosalie Chiang, confronts her coming womanhood through the form of an ancient curse that turns her into a giant red panda.

I will admit this film was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. In many ways I was expecting something more akin to Wish Dragon, a blatant effort to pander to the Chinese box office with a sprinkling of pro party propaganda forced in, usually as a means to secure a release. However, this film stayed well clear of that and instead stuck to what Pixar do well telling stories about parent-child strife and familial disfunction.

I thought the narrative and message of this film was beautiful, the notion of embracing change and your coming hormones whilst also trying to do right by those you love was conveyed in such an expert way that it would be impossible for you to feel nothing at it. Furthermore, I think it is highly commendable that this film tackled coming of age issues that are often not talked about, especially not in animation, I think it is vital we see more films like this that approach the same old story structures but from different, less-covered, points of view.

My only issue with this film is that there are a few lines that feel quite cringe, these are particularly present in Mei’s, voiced by Chiang, introductory scene. This came off to me as an ageing writers room struggling to write for a youthful modernish voice, luckily as the film goes on this becomes less of an issue.

Overall, a sweet film that reminds us all of the power of Pixar.

Pros.

The message

The emotion

The coming of age journey

The characters

Cons.

A few cringe lines early in the film

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Ted K: Sharlto Copley Does It Again

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The plot details the life of the Unabomber, here played by Sharlto Copley, shortly before his capture.

I was quite mixed on this film. On the one hand Copley is magnetic, as he nearly always is, and does a remarkable turn as Kaczynski falling entirely into the character. However, on the other hand the film spends far too long trying to develop out art house elements and surreal sequences that neither fit the format of the film nor add anything to it.

These art house elements also end up slowing the film down a lot and lead to it having pacing issues. There are vast parts of this film where everything moves along nicely and you are engaged and then it hits you with an abstract trippy scene which takes you out of the film and slows it down a lot.

I enjoyed the ending of the film and thought that it felt suitably big and impactful and the final shot showing the prison that Kaczynski resides in achieved the chilling effect it was going for.

Overall, a good true crime biopic however it could have been better.

Pros.

Copley

The tension

The ending

Cons.

The art house elements

Pacing issues.

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Gwen: The Horrors Of Rural Wales

2/5

Reviewed by Luke Barnes

Summary

A family in period Wales must try and keep it together in the face of hostile forces, both from within and outside

In many ways, this film wants to be the vvitch, which is evidenced by a lot of thematic borrowing, but it can’t even come close.

This film’s big problem is that you are never quite sure whether it is a horror film or a drama, that shouldn’t be a question that I am still asking even after watching. The horrors of this film come from its incredibly slow pace, which is almost torturous at times, rather than anything else.

That is not to say there aren’t any good scares here, there are one or two interesting scenes that mesh old and new folk horror elements together to create something that feels refreshing, however, the issue with this is that though those scenes are good they are far too few and far between.

Moreover, the ending doesn’t make any sense at all and leaves you going ‘wait what’ which is always a red flag.

Overall, an incredibly slow film that has a few brief moments of promise.

Pros.

A few good scares

Cox

Cons.

The pace

The ending

Is it a horror or a drama

Jurassic World: The Heels That Sparked A Conversation Around The World

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Summary

No franchise is ever allowed to end anymore, as such it was only a matter of time before the Jurassic Park franchise got the soft-reboot treatment.

I remember I watched this a few times when it first came out at the cinema, I am by no means a big Jurassic Park fan, but I do find the films to be good popcorn fare. They aren’t challenging, but they never needed to be.

There is always something exciting about watching a CGI dinosaur cause havoc, however, that is offset when you force in human characters that are so bland that you can’t remember their names seconds after the credits roll.

Chris Pratt is just playing his usual cool guy action role and doing nothing even remotely close to acting, and though Bryce Dallas Howard fares slightly better her character is ridiculous in all the wrong ways, the decision to have the character run in heels is still baffling to me.

Overall, it is easier to watch and less objectionable than its sequel but it is never more than forgettable.

Pros.

It is watchable

There is fun to be had

The spectacle

Cons.

The human characters

It is very forgettable

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Bride Of Chucky: Chucky Settles Down

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Chucky, played by Brad Dourif, rekindles a romance with his ex-Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly.

This and Seed are some what love them or hate them, you either appreciate them for the darkly camp masterpieces they are, or you think they are too silly and lose the plot. I fall into the former and think that Bride Of Chucky may be one of the best comedy horror films of all time and is easily the best of the franchise.

I think a big part of the reason for this is that the domestic comedy pairs so well with the over the top kills and violence of the franchise in a surprising way. Chucky and Tiffany make for an instantly iconic on-screen couple.

Jennifer Tilly is easily a scene stealer here and makes this film entirely her own giving Dourif a fight for the limelight. Tiffany is a welcome addition to the franchise and could easily headline a film of her own without Chucky, I’d watch it.

Overall, a strong horror comedy that brings the laughs as well as everything you would want from the franchise.

Pros.

Tilly

Tiffany as a character and her chemistry with Chucky

The jokes

The kills and gore

Cons.

It could have done with more set up in the first act

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Fresh: There Is Something Worse Than Finding Out Your Partner Is Already Married

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young woman, played by Daisy Edgar Jones, finally thinks she has met a nice normal guy, played by Sebastian Stan, who she can fall in love with, this all changes when he starts selling her meat to cannibals online.

This film is both unsettling and wonderfully twisted in equal measure. There are scenes that make your skin crawl and that make you feel physically sick, and then there are scene so far out there, like Stan’s character dancing around his kitchen chopping up parts of people to send out, that they become darkly comedic. You might think these two aspects would clash with one another but they actually work really well together.

Stan really revels in the gory spectacle here and plays manic very well, he is both charming and menacing at the same time. Jones is likewise as good and becomes a strong character that you can’t help but root for, I was getting some scream queen/ final girl vibes from her and I think this could be the start of something special if Jones returns to the horror genre again.

The commentary on relationships, dating and what life is like for young women seem to be accurate, I can only speak to parts of that obviously, but as I was watching the film my girlfriend voiced her agreement with a number of the points raised so I am going to assume the commentary is fairly spot on.

The only thing that for me stopped this film from getting higher marks was that some of the elements felt repetitive, which lessened my interest in those sections.

Overall, a fun and well done horror film.

Pros.

Jones

Stan

The commentary

The originality

Cons.

A bit repetitive in places.

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