Bernie: Jack Black Proves He Can Nail Drama As Well

Written by Luke Barnes

Bernie is a dark comedy film directed by Richard Linklater. The plot follows the events surrounding the death of Marjorie Nugent at the hands of Bernie Tiede.

Jack Black plays the titular Bernie and I think he does it perfectly. This killer in real life was adored by a large majority of people in the Texan town of Carthage, and with the way Black plays him you can see why. Black sells the likeability of his character, but also eludes to a hidden darkness, he plays the character mostly straight, though he does manage a few laughs in some darkly comedic scenes.

I think it says a lot of Black’s performance that he can comfortably go toe to toe with Matthew McConaughey, who plays the lawyer who sent Bernie away for life, who is known for his dramatic prowess; I think in terms of dramatic acting this is a career best for Black.

I also thought the film had a lot of great eccentric moments to it, such as having one of the opening scenes be Bernie giving a lecture on how to prepare a dead body for burial as well as a number of interviews with real towns people who would have known both the victim and the murderer in real life: these touches add character to the film.

Overall, a lot of fun and a great performance from Jack Black

Pros.

Black

McConaughey

The quirks

It was fun to watch

Cons.

The pacing could have been tighter

4.5/5

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Dawn Of The Beast: People Should Know By Now That Nothing Good Ever Happens In The Woods.

Written by Luke Barnes

Dawn Of The Beast is a horror film directed by Bruce Wemple. The plot sees a group of graduate students head out into the woods in search of Bigfoot, however, what they find is far more terrifying.

There is only one truly good horror film about Bigfoot and that is the Lost Coast Tapes, the rest of them are frequently terrible. I am pleased to say that though this film has issues, this falls into the category of good Bigfoot horror, and does provide a nice entry into the subgenre.

I think the creature design on both Bigfoot and the Wendigo is very well done, and though we only see brief amounts of them over the course of the film they do leave an impression and look suitably scary or perhaps monstrous.

In terms of scares, the film isn’t scary, it has a few tense sequences and attempts a few jump scares but to limited success.

The issues with this film are all structural and fundamental. The pacing in this film is way off and what is a relatively short film ends up feeling far longer to watch then it actually is- developing a bloat. Moreover, the acting from the human characters is incredibly weak: yes I understand that most wont be watching this to see how layered and well written the human characters are, rather instead to watch monster carnage, but it did impact on my viewing experience.

Overall, a good Bigfoot horror film that is brought down by several glaring issues.

Pros.

Using its monster well

The creature design

A few tense sequences

Cons.

The pacing

The acting

3.5/5

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Made In Italy: Who Knew Renovating Old Houses Could Be So Emotional

Written by Luke Barnes

Made In Italy is a comedy drama film directed by James D’Arcy. The plot sees an estranged father and son bond whilst renovating their derelict Italian home for sale.

I enjoy Liam Neeson, I think he is great as an action hero, he is great in his rare comedic roles and he is great as a dramatic actor- this film proves that last point. This film is so passionate and raw that it simply has to hit a nerve in those watching it, and Neeson is a big part of that.

The dynamic and bond between the father and son is so moving and beautiful that it brought a tear to my eye. The relationship is more than a little relatable, and I am sure many can agree on that point, and the scene when the two finally open up to each other and talk about their issues is particularly heart-breaking.

There are a few different romance subplots sown into the film, but where in other films this could prove to be an unwelcomed distraction here it only serve to boost the emotion of the film and at times provide some much needed comedic relief.

Overall, a beautiful and thoughtful film that reached me on an emotional level.

Pros.

The father son dynamic

Neeson as a dramatic actor

The emotion

The ending

The score is also very strong

Cons.

None

5/5

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Shiva Baby: You’ll Cringe Harder Then You Have Ever Done In Your Life

Written by Luke Barnes

Shiva Baby is a dark comedy film directed by Emma Seligman. The plot sees Danielle (Rachel Sennott), attend a Shiva which is packed with her family and people from her past, including her ex-girlfriend, if that wasn’t bad enough her sugar daddy is also there.

I’ve seen some people imply that this is a social horror film, and I can see where they are coming from, as I was watching this I was getting stressed especially as the drama escalated and escalated- my social anxiety was not thanking me for watching this film I’ll tell you that.

I think this film perfectly executes what it sets out to do, moreover, I think this film manages to capture the horror of the day to day, and weaponizes awkward cringe to the point of it being terrifying.

The characters are all perfectly formed, layered and deep and as nuanced as any person you would meet.

Overall, one of the most stressful and cringe (in a good way), films you will ever see. Definitely worth the watch.

Pros.

The characters

The interaction

The awkwardness

The premise and the execution

Cons.

It may be too awkward for some

4.5/5

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The Secret Life Of Pets: Its Better Not To Know

Written by Luke Barnes

The Secret Life Of Pets is an animated family film directed by Chris Renaud. The plot of the film answers the age old question, what do our pets do all day when we are not there?

Recently, I have been exploring Illumination Animation, I have gone through the Despicable Me films, check the site for those reviews, as such this film was next on my list.

I have to say though I had issues with the Despicable Me series there were still some redeeming aspects, here however, that is not the case. Never before in my history of watching films have I witnessed a more mismanaged and outrightly unlikable voice cast: there are some talented performers working here, but for the most part they are working with cliches and one note characters, so they are hamstrung from the beginning.

Moreover, when I realised that Louis C.K voiced the main character that made the film hard to watch for me. For those of you who don’t know C.K was accused of sexual harassment and abuse several years ago, as such hearing him in this film made me feel uncomfortable. Obviously the filmmakers couldn’t have known at the time when they cast him, but it does make the rewatch hard

Finally, the humour did nothing for me at all. To say it was juvenile would be an understatement, I have no issue with a good fart joke, but these just felt lazy.

Overall, a deeply average film made worse by a troublesome lead.

Pros.

The animation looked good

Cons.

The characters are lazy cliches

The humour doesn’t work

Louis C.K

It has no soul or charm

1/5

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Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: Turning Willy Wonka Into A Sociopath

Written by Luke Barnes

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a fantasy family film directed by Tim Burton, based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. The plot sees a group of lucky golden ticket winners get to explore a mysterious chocolate factory that is beyond imagining.

When people ask what is the most needless remake? I don’t see this film’s name come up nearly enough. It is a step down from the original Gene Wilder version in nearly every way, and I truly do believe that Burton was the wrong choice to direct this film- the book is really the anthesis of his standard mo.

Johnny Depp is trying his best as Willy Wonka, but he doesn’t play the character in the way we would expect or want, instead he plays Wonka as a cold, almost vindictive at times character who is drawn off and eccentric. Again this is very typical for the Depp-Burton dynamic, but it is not what anyone would want for a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film.

Freddie Highmore is meh as Charlie, and really adds very little to the film.

The worst bit about this film is just how keen it is to explain away the mystery behind Wonka and his past, creating a social outcast, daddy issues, sub plot because why not.

Overall, it is as if Burton and the executives who signed off on this film had never read the book before.

Pros.

A few minor unintentional laughs

Cons.

Depp is miscast

Burton and his style don’t fit the film

There is a crucial misunderstanding of the source material

They demystify Wonka

2/5

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Chaos Walking: Yet Another Miss For Tom Holland

Written by Luke Barnes

Chaos Walking is a science fiction coming of age film directed by Doug Liman. The plot envisions a soul astronaut (Daisy Ridley), survive her spacefaring expedition to a previously colonised world that has gone dark. Said world is heavily gender skewed as all the world’s women have seemingly been killed, and the males are inflicted with something that allows their thoughts to exist outside of their body, being able to be heard by anyone.

This film will be historic, it will be remembered. Why? Well as the film that proved that the YA genre is well and truly dead. This film reminded me of the worst parts of that cinematic movement, on a par with Divergent and The Fifth Wave.

Both of the leads in this film Ridley and Tom Holland, are unlikeable and milk toast to say the least. Neither of them seem to have a personality and they have even less chemistry together on screen together.

The plot is pap that you have seen before in other better YA and Science Fiction films- here it is at its most generic.

With this and Locked Down in his recent filmography it might be time to start worrying about Liman’s skill and stop handing him 7 figure deals, less we end up with more mediocre nonsense.

Overall, a very weak YA film that reminds you of the worst the genre has to offer.

Pros.

Mads Mikkelsen

Cons.

Holland

Ridley

The plot and where it goes

The cringe

1/5

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Bad Trip: The Worst Of Tiffany Haddish

Written by Luke Barnes

Bad Trip is a hidden camera comedy film directed by Kitao Sakurai. The plot sees two best friends (played by Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howley), go on a quest to escape their boring lives and chase love in New York City.

I am split on this film. On the one hand it had several funny moments, mainly from Andre, that made me laugh out loud. However, on the other there were also a fair few jokes and stunts that were in deeply poor taste: such as one where Andre’s character gets his hand caught in a blender, now the reason why this is in poor taste is because those around Andre’s character think it is real and respond as such- this could be potentially traumatic.

Moreover, I didn’t find either of the main characters particularly likeable, however, of the two Andre’s is by far worse, he is a selfish jerk, and it is hard to root for him. I don’t know if this is a deliberate character decision or not, but it does taint the film to a degree.

Furthermore, Tiffany Haddish is unbearably unfunny as the films villain. Haddish has films were she shines, and films were she is the worst part, and this is definitely the latter. Her character has one trait that this film is interested in and that is that she is tough, and the film doesn’t bother to explore her character beyond that.

Overall, though it has a few laugh out loud hilarious parts, the film runs the gambit of bad taste and doesn’t have characters that you can even remotely root for.

Pros.

A few really funny jokes

Cons.

Haddish

Bad taste

Not all of the jokes land

The ending

1/5

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Falcon And The Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching

Written by Luke Barnes

Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 4 The Whole World Is Watching sees Bucky (Sebastian Stan) Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) hot on the heels of the Flag Smashers. Moreover, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), is pushed further to the edge.

This was a solid episode; it was better than 3 and probably on a par with 2 (the best episode so far). I enjoyed the action scenes particularly the ones featuring the Wakanda Royal Guard and the final fight between Walker and the flag smashers.

Walker’s arc is given a very interesting twist here, that will have huge universe wide implications. Despite creatives saying things to the contrary, I think you are supposed to hate Walker and this episode goes out of its way to make you do just that.

We see more of Karli (Erin Kellyman) and her turn to full on villainy, and I have to say I don’t fully believe it. The actor is doing her best, but I don’t really see her as a viable threat, moreover her motivations seem too noble for us to want to see her defeated, but this episode did make her a lot less likeable for sure.

Finally, this episode does show us some of Bucky’s time in Wakanda, but it doesn’t give us anywhere near as much as you would like and honestly the flashback creates more questions than answers.

Overall, a very intriguing cliff-hanger, plenty of solid action, but a few familiar issues drag it down.

Pros.

The action

The cliff-hanger

Walker

Zemo is great again

Cons.

The villain is weak and unbelievable

It throws away a side character that needed to be developed more

The Wakanda flashback

3.5/5

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Paradise PD: Are You Edgy Enough To Enjoy This Show?

Written by Luke Barnes

Paradise PD is an animated tv show created by Waco O’ Guin and Roger Black. The plot follows the wacky goings on in a small town police department.

Paradise PD and Brickleberry are both very divisive shows. The comedy of this show often goes very dark and tries to out edgy itself, as nothing is off limits; it makes programs like Family Guy look tame.

Usually edgy humour doesn’t bother me, if anything I enjoy it. However, the third season of this show, which is the primary review focus of this piece, took it too far and put me off. It was not a particular thing that was said, but rather the wider attitude of the show. The jokes felt lazy, they were just trying to be as offensive as possible with no wider thought than that: they point this out numerous times with fourth wall breaks, but as I have said in previous reviews pointing out bad writing or in this case bad jokes doesn’t suddenly make them good.

Continuing on in that vein I thought this season was the worst of the show as well in terms of meta-comedy. The previously mentioned fourth wall breaks are used to a point of becoming insufferable here, they have been used in the show before, but now a reference to how the world actually exists as an animated tv show every few minutes, and it really isn’t as clever as the show clearly thinks it is.

Overall, hopefully much like Brickleberry this series will only run for 3 seasons and it won’t go on to tarnish itself.

Pros

One or two good jokes

It was nice to see Gina move beyond her infatuation with Dusty

Cons.

It mostly isn’t funny anymore

It is irritating

The plot for the most part seems unable to advance and has to repeat the same points over and over again

1.5/5 (for season 3) higher for the series as a whole.

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