Baby Done: Climbing Trees Whilst Pregnant

Baby Done is a New Zealand comedy drama film directed by Curtis Vowell. The plot follows the life of reluctant soon to be Mother Zoe (Rose Matafeo), as she has to deal with the fact that her life is changing beyond her control.

Taika Waititi’s (the executive producer) finger prints are all over this film. I mean no criticism by this, rather I am saying that Vowell has managed to recreate than sense of outsider charm that Waititi is know for. Watching this I was reminded of early Waititi ventures such as Eagles Vs Shark, both feel tonally very similar and that is a good thing.

I enjoyed this films atypical look at motherhood, and how not everyone is thrilled with and into the whole mum idea. I think this film speaks to what a lot of women might feel but not vocalise and it is nice to see this type of motherhood represented on screen as it provides a nice contrast to stereotypical Hollywood I wanted to be a mum all by life types.

The characters are wonderfully quirky and delightfully funny, this is a particularly true of Matafeo, but it also applies to Matthew Lewis and some of the supporting cast. Though this film might not be a laugh a minute, it does make you chuckle here and there, and you are smiling constantly throughout.

My favourite thing about this film is the way it handles Zoe’s emotions, it shows her confusion, fear and frankly anger towards being pregnant as well as the joy when the child is born, this provides a perfect emotional nuance to the film that helps to further its impact.

Overall, a film that manages to do both heart and comedy well.

Pros.

The nuanced take on motherhood

Straying from the standard

Matafeo

Lewis

The Waititi quirkiness

Cons.

A few slow moments

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The 100 Candles Game: Blowing Out The Light

The 100 Candles Game is a New Zealand horror anthology film. The plot sees a group of people play the 100 candles game which basically involves sitting in a circle and telling each other spooky stories and then going to look in a mirror after blowing out your candle and seeing if you can commune with the spirits.

I have mixed feelings about horror anthology films, as very often they end up not being very good: indeed often one bad sequence can ruin the whole film, especially in terms of tone. So, I went into this with cautiously low expectations and I am please to say that this film far exceeded my expectations.

All of the segments in this anthology work, and work well at that. They are all scary and smarty written it is nice to see the consistency maintained over the whole film rather than just have one or two good stories surrounded by bad. A lot of the segments really did scare me, and I don’t scare easily at this point, I think personally for me the black-eyed children segment was the best as it was the most tense, but that is subjective.

My one criticism of the film would be that the ending is a bit cheap and comes out of nowhere, deeply unimpressive.

Overall, ignoring the final moments this is an incredibly strong horror anthology.

Pros.

Consistency

Genuinely scary

Smartly written

Good twists

Cons.

The ending is bad

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Gemini Man: Technology So Good It Takes You Out Of The Film And Makes You Ask For A Refund

Gemini Man is an action film directed by Ang Lee. The plot sees best mercenary in the world Henry Brogan (Will Smith), go up against a younger version of himself, for reasons.

So, lets get a few things out of the way. Firstly, the writing is a mess (one of the guys who wrote Game Of Thrones wrote this, so I am not surprised), things just kind of happen and there is no real reason for it. Does it make logical sense to create an army of young Henry’s who are all inevitably going to rebel against their creator Clay Verris (Clive Owen), no it does not and that’s only the beginning of it. To think too hard about this film gives you a headache from the stupidity. Secondly, the visuals which were the big thing about this film are not all that impressive, they are fine that is about as far as I would go.

However, the de-aged CGI Will Smith does not look as horrible as I was expecting, yes the appearance is initially jarring and a bit too uncanny valley, but you get used to it over the course of the film until by the end it doesn’t really bother you anymore.

This film is made bearable by the charisma and charm of Will Smith in full on dad mode. Much like The Rock, Smith just has something about him that makes all of this films better (when he is trying), it is this special something, this spark that makes this film watchable and fun to a dumb degree.

Moreover, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is in this film continuing her action hero trajectory and plays Smith’s side kick/ back up. I enjoyed seeing Winstead she always makes her roles memorable and I thought she brought a great physicality to the role: she easily held her own in the fight scenes and was a believable action hero. I thought she also had a great partner chemistry with Will Smith and the journey their characters go on together feels genuine.

Also very quick side note, Benedict Wong only has a minor role in this film, but he is awesome and steals every scene he is in. He is a magnificent performer in anything.

Overall, though it makes no sense and the gimmick tech adds nothing, there is still a lot of dumb fun to be had here and Smith and Elizabeth-Winstead stop it from being all bad.

Pros.

Wong

Smith

Elizabeth- Winstead

It is dumb fun

Cons.

The tech gimmicks don’t work and maybe even backfire

It is dumb and poorly written

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Donna: Hope Triumphs Over Despair

Donna is a drama film directed by Jaret Martino. The plot sees Donna’s (Kate Amundsen), life become a living hell as she becomes the victim of domestic abuse, however one day she listens to her inner voice and decides to change her life to save herself and her child.

This film is both heart-breaking and also empowering. Heart-breaking in the sense of we see this woman have her happiness and joy taken away in a very personal and upsetting way, whilst being reminded of the worst in society and how easily isolated and vulnerable we can become. However, it is also empowering to see this woman seize control of her own life and fight back to reclaim it.

Now, this film will not be for everyone as it can be incredibly bleak, but if you do stick with it you will find it to be very emotionally enriching. I thought the journey that Donna as a character went on was simply superb, the character growth and bond we form with her as a character are the by-product of clearly master storytellers.

The ending, which I won’t spoil, feels very genuine and very satisfying. It doesn’t wholly tie things up there are still a few things to mull over when the credits role, but it does leave you feeling satisfied and better for having watched it. I cried.

Overall, a magnificent tale of empowerment and hope triumphing over despair.

Pros.

The ending

The emotional journey

The connection the audience forms to the characters

The empowerment

Cons.

It is very, very bleak at times

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Running With The Devil: Nicolas Cage Is Cooking Up That Good Shit

Running With The Devil is a crime film directed by Jason Cabell. The plot follows an internal investigation of a drug gang by its own members, as the Cook (Nicolas Cage), searches out why his recent batches of product have been sold at a lesser quality, whilst also being hunted down by government agents.

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I was going to. Firstly, I thought the style and presentation of the film was quite fresh and novel, there were a number of scenes that felt fourth wall breaking and almost like we were being told how to run a drug business that I thought were quite entertaining.

Moreover, the premise as a whole was interesting as they take a well-worn idea, the idea of the cheat within the drug cartel who is trying to steal from his employers and take it in a fresh direction as we see the investigation happen from the cartel’s point of view.

Furthermore, I thought Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne were both terrific and really made the film through there performances, the sequence with the two of them hiking into the frozen Canadian wilderness is a particularly high point. Conversely however, Leslie Bibb’s FBI character is very bland, as the films antagonist we would want to know more about her, but she just seems to be someone who really hates drug dealer, which is understandable, but also someone who has no issue breaking the law herself to string them up and torture them. I don’t think the performance it self is bad, just that the character as a whole is underdeveloped.

Overall, this is an interesting new flip on the crime genre.

Pros.

Cage and Fishburne

The style

Showing the investigation from the cartel’s point of view

Cons.

The villain needed further expansion

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Funeral Home: Sleeping Amongst The Dead, Never A Great Idea

The Funeral Home is an Argentinian horror film directed by Mauro Ivan Ojeda. The plot sees a family of morticians have to deal with the strains of running a funeral home, whilst something else, something far more sinister is also going on in the background.

This is an incredibly strong horror feature. This film builds its scares so well over the course of its runtime and they feel scarier for it. The atmosphere is key to all good horror films as you have heard me say before and this film nails that, as the familial tensions rise so to do the iffy not quite right goings on- till both reach a fever pitch.

I personally, though it is subjective, found the film to be scary. I think part of that comes from the originality of the film, in that the scares did not happen where and when I thought they would, and that it kept me guessing about the mystery. However, also part of this fear comes from the very real very personal struggle and infighting of the family.

I only have two slight issues with the film, one is that there were a few jump scares in there, which is a shame as the horror works so perfectly on its own it really doesn’t need them. Also, I thought more could have been done with the family yes, the drama and the friction helps to build tension and does make for some very tense scenes, but they feel a little underdeveloped as a whole.

Overall, a near perfect horror film that is brimming with fresh blood and memorable scenes.

Pros.

A strong atmosphere

Genuinely scary

It kept me guessing

The personal and often unsettling family drama

Cons.

A few jump scares

The family as individuals rather than the unit as a whole could have been better developed

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Dig: Get Out The Shovels And Dig Up Your Back-Garden Now!

The Dig is a drama film directed by Simon Stone. The plot serves as a reimagining of the Sutton Hoo dig of 1939 from the point of view of pushed to the side excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes).

I remember the other day seeing a tweet from Netflix (possibly Netflix UK), saying something to the extent of this is one for the tweed lovers, and that is true, but there is also so much more to like about this film besides from its nice country esque wardrobe.

I was surprised to find how much I ended up caring about this dig and those involved in it. Fiennes and particularly Carey Mulligan really manage to develop these characters out into real flesh and blood people who you care about and become emotionally invested in; Lilly James struggles to the same with her character, she is a little out of her depth here.

This film is unrelentingly bleak, you can tell right from the off that it will not end happily, this is real life after all or a ‘true story’ version of it. Yes, the ending is bleak but in a way that serves to strengthen the emotional significants of the film and the discovery itself. The ending serves to enrage you for reasons that will become clear if you watch it.

Overall, I think this is another win for Carey Mulligan, after Promising Young Women see really is one a marvellous streak.

Pros.

The emotional beats

Fiennes

Mulligan

The ending is infuriating but also perfect for the film

Cons.

Lilly James sticks out for all the wrong reasons

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Happy Cleaners: A Film That Will Make You Hungry

Happy Cleaners is a drama film directed by Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee. The plot follows the Choi Family as they navigate life, and the hardships therein. Their relationships will be tested, and their bonds strained, but can the Family survive its American Dream?

This film made me hungry, it then warmed my heart; but I was still hungry. This is one of the sweetest most genuine films I have seen in a long time, it feels so painfully true to life that you almost forget it is fiction and think that it is a documentary at times. This film speaks so much to the life of a lot of people that falls far beyond the glamorised Hollywood ideal, and shows it like it is for a lot of people, in a never-ending struggle.

The heart and by extension the emotional impact of the film were exactly where they needed to be to leave a lasting impact. The scene between the Father (Charles Ryu), and The Son (Yun Jeong), that follows on from the heated argument, where they manage to understand where the other is coming from without physically saying it is magnificent there is so much said without words in this scene it truly is a work of art; and it made me cry a little bit.

The acting is all very strong, not just from Ryu and Jeong but from the whole family. Hyang-hwa Lim as the matriarch of the family who just wants what’s best for her kids, despite them not agreeing with her assessment of what best is, is also very strong. I think her character has a near perfect arc, and the health scare really helps to add further perspective into the film and the scene and deepen the emotional takeaway.

Overall, a magnificent film that speaks to you to tell you of a shared life and experience, one that will be both different and familiar.

Pros.

The acting

The relatability

The food scenes are great food porn and do make you hungry

The few jokes that there are work well and make you laugh

The emotional pay off

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Outside The Wire: Captain America Has Changed

Outside The Wire is a science fiction action film directed by Mikael Hafstorm. The plot imagines a future were the Russia Ukraine crisis has spilled out and become an international war being fought by both human and machine soldiers. We follows drone pilot Harp (Damson Idris), as he is sent into this theater of war to help Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie), stop nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists.

All of these futuristic action films are starting to feel the same in my mind and I am finding it hard to tell them apart. There is nothing unique or particularly new or interesting here to sink your teeth into most of what we see is just recycling ideas from other works.

The plot as a whole is very eh, again it has been done better before. Furthermore, the twist (that I am not going to spoil as it is a fairly recent film, is obvious and predicatable and is utterly underwhelming they could have done so much more with it, but they settle for mediocrity.

The only pro I will say for this film is that the interplay between Mackie and Idris is on strong form. The two have a great rapport and the banter between the two of them is easily the highlight of the film; it made me smile several times.

Overall yet more bland, generic science fiction that even genre die hard will struggle to like.

Pros.

Mackie and Idris

Cons.

It is generic

The twist isn’t good

It is poorly paced

It is dull

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hush: A Killer Who Can’t Get Through Glass Windows

Hush is a home invasion horror film directed by Mike Flanagan. The plot sees deaf mute writer Maddie (Kate Seigel), become terrorised by a masked killer and in order to survive she is forced to fight back.

I have heard people talk about this film for a while, it has been recommended to me several times over the year, yet it has remained in my Netflix que. However, that changed the other night as I finally decided to give it a go, and meh it was exactly what I was expecting it to be and nothing more.

I thought this was just going to be a run of the mill home invasion slasher film and it was just that, honestly it was just deeply average. As, someone who has seen a lot of these types of films I really found nothing of note about this film, nothing that made this film interesting or stand out from the rest of the subgenre; frankly I think the only reason it is even talked about is because the director also did The Haunting series for Netflix and they are popular.

The only real positive I can find with the film was that Seigel was a good lead. She is clearly doing the best with what she has to work with, but she makes the character rounded and interesting. We buy into her fight for survival as it feels genuine and relatable. It is also nice to see more deaf representation in the horror genre, even though the actor herself is not deaf.

Overall, if you like home invasion films and want to see the same old formula repeated again then you will enjoy this film, if you want something fresh that has an original idea, stay clear.

Pros.

Seigel

Cons.

It is more of the same

I’ve seen it done better before

It is boring and predictable

It lacks any kind of freshness

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke