The Lobster: To Love Or To Transform?

The Lobster is an absurdist dystopian dark comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. The plot follows David (Colin Farrell), a man who moves to a special singles hotel once he finds out that his wife is cheating on him. Said hotel gives singles a set amount of time to find ‘the one’ or face being killed and turned into an animal.

This is truly a bizarre sort of film and I mean that as a compliment. The dystopian ideas herein, I have never seen imagined before and as a result of that this film feels wholly fresh and original, praise that I can’t give to many films these days.

This film has a wonderfully off-kilter sense of tension and threat that seems to reveal itself at the most unexpected of times. It can be quite a mild breakfast scene, that yes is a little strange but is not that out of the ordinary, but then someone gets their hand burnt in a toaster for touching themselves, just out of nowhere.

Farrell is strong here his performance easily makes the film. His David is a character who is hard to form a mind on, sometimes he is the stereotypical protagonist, a rootable figure that you want to see do well, but then sometimes he seems to far darker and more loathsome than that.

My one complaint of this film would be that the second act, when David runs away, stretches out for a bit too much and feels poorly paced. This isn’t helped by the fact the second act of the film also stuffs in a lot of information that somewhat ruins the genius simple premise.

Overall, a must watch for the sheer originality alone.

Pros.

Colin Farrell

The premise

The originality

Olivia Coleman

Cons.

The second act has far too much going on and also far too much bloat.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Little: Proud To Be Generic

Little is a fantasy comedy film directed by Tina Gordon. The plot sees mean boss Jordan (Regina Hall), get turned into a kid again to teach her some kind of lesson. As a result of this Jordan has to go back to school and face her demons once again, gaining some life lessons in the process.

So, if that feels familiar to you, it is because it is. There have been so many films that have either had this premise or some slight variant on it, and frankly it is getting tiring. I won’t even get into the plot hole of why or how she is turned into a kid, because the film doesn’t care about that, but I will say the lesson’s this film preaches are the most obvious, lazy, samey ones that a million other films have promoted better in the past.

That is the crux of the issue with this film, it is not trying to be ‘good’, or even original it is just trying to repackage the same old same old and claim that is new. All of the characters feel like cliches, and the level of development they get is so minuscule that it might be none. The film wastes most of its cast and has some only be on screen briefly for the purpose of an ill time gag and then just abandons them.

Regina Hall is mildly funny whenever she is onscreen, but this film reduces her to short bursts at the start and end, clearly they couldn’t afford her rate.

Overall, this is only watchable as easy mindless dross if there really isn’t anything else on. It is nothing new and it seems almost proud of that.

Pros.

It is watchable

Hall

Cons.

It is proud of being a retread

It is not funny

The child actor is bad

The premise is incredibly generic

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Delivery Man: Don’t Trust The Banks, Sperm Banks

Delivery Man is a comedy drama film directed by Ken Scott based on 2011 Canadian film Starbuck. The plot follows David (Vince Vaughn), a meat delivery driver whose life is going nowhere fast, that is until one day he finds out he is the father to over 500 kids as a result of an incompetent sperm bank. He then has to decide whether he wants to be part of his kid’s life or not.

So, the biggest complaint I have seen levied against this film is that it is too sentimental. Now that is a non-issue for me because I like mushy films, but I have to say after seeing it that it is no mushier or more sentimental than most other feel good comedies.

Personally, I found this film to be quite touching. I enjoyed seeing Vaughn play a soft kinder role, rather than his usual jerk guy kind of persona. I thought he had a few good scenes here where he was able to flex his dramatic chops and he was quite good in them. I have often said that Vaughn is a deeply underrated dramatic actor.

The comedy of the film also worked for me. I thought that Chris Pratt was the star on this front, his weary life beaten dad character worked nicely against a more optimistic Vaughn. There were several jokes that made me laugh out loud and I was often smiling; both of which are good signs.

Overall, I found this to be quite a pleasant watch both Pratt and Vaughn were good, and the film made me laugh, would recommend if you’re looking for an easy watch.

Pros.

Vaughn playing a slightly different type of characters

Vaughn’s few dramatic moments, that he nails

The jokes and Chris Pratt

The feel-good wholesome message

Cons.

Outside of Vaughn and Pratt the film wastes most of its cast

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sputnik: The Realities Of The Russian Space Program

Sputnik is a Russian horror film directed by Egor Abramenko. The plot retells the events surrounding the Sputnik USSR space mission, this time when the cosmonauts return to Earth they bring with them, unknowingly, an alien parasite.

So this film is far from perfect, but it does do a few things right. Firstly the look of the alien itself is really convincing, though it is only used sparingly, the CGI on it looks top notch. I was honestly shocked by how good it was. Secondly, the horror and the tension is effective when used and there were multiple moments that had me in a cold sweat.

My main issue with this film is the staggering pacing issues. There are parts of this film that feel so slow that you almost want to give up with the film all together. These might only be ten-minute segments, but they feel like hours of your time. Moreover, I wasn’t really sold by any of the acting, it all just felt very average to me; no one blew me away.

Overall, though there are good elements and the CGI is strikingly good, it just isn’t enough to keep your attention during the slow parts. The acting doesn’t invoke anything and the scares though effective are spread too thin.

Pros.

A few good scares

The alien looks quite good

An engaging story when it is moving a quick pace

Cons.

Patchy acting

Painfully slow at times

It needed a few more good scares

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

West Is West: Cultural Identity

West Is West is a British comedy drama film directed by Andy DeEmmoney. The plot follows up on the events of East Is East several years later with Sajid (Aqib Khan), now fully grown and in a full-on rebellion against his and his father’s culture. So in an effort to straighten out his final son George (Om Puri), takes Sajid to Pakistan with him, to try and get his son to embrace the culture and become what he wants him to be.

So, normally I am adamantly opposed to belated sequels I find them to be needless and serve no purpose beyond exploiting a vaguely known IP for some quick cash. That, I am happy to report is not the case here. This film feels like a genuine follow up to the first film that furthers the characters and the arcs set up, allowing us to see these characters more clearly.

I found this film to be quite touching at times. I liked that it explored George’s two identities, showing how both can’t exist and that he is basically a man of two lives or two worlds. I thought George having to confront the family that he has left for thirty years made for a genuinely brilliant emotional scene that worked on multiple levels. Puri of course shines in the role.

I think this film does really interesting things with the idea of cultural identity. Suggesting that it might not be a fixed concept, more so an adaptable ideal.

Overall, a very worthy follow up that carries the first one on nicely

Pros.

The focus on George

Showing George’s first wife and the emotion of their scenes together

A legacy sequel that justifies it existence

A beautiful concept and message

Cons.

A large amount of George’s family from the first film do not return for this.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bottle Rocket: Anderson Before He Became His Quirky Self

Bottle-Rocket is a comedy crime film directed by Wes Anderson. The plot follows a trio of Texan friends who try to pull of a series of crimes to disastrous all-around results.

I find Wes Anderson films are at their best when they full embrace the kitsch eccentric Anderson aesthetic, and this one doesn’t do that. It is by far the most straight lace of all of Anderson’s filmography thus far. I found it to be a little rough around the edges, though I did find that added to the charm as the film progressed.

The Wilson Brothers were on top form here and I found them both to be quite compelling, I thought the interplay their characters had added nicely to the film and created a believable bond. Of the two I would say that Luke outperformed Owen, as Owen’s character is a little overdone, he is played up to a ridiculous extreme.

I thought the side stuff and world building elements were used well, and clearly set a pace for what we come to see of Anderson in the future. I enjoyed the romance between Luke Wilson’s character and Lumi Cavazos’ Inez, I found it to be a good emotional core for the film as well as his character. The two had believable chemistry and you want to see them end up together.

Overall, it is a rough start, but still a film that shows a lot of promise

Pros.

The Wilson Brothers

The world and the dialogue

The romance

Cons.

Lacking the Anderson eccentric

Owen Wilson’s character is a little overplayed

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

On The Rocks: The Most Bill Murray

On The Rocks is a comedy drama film directed by Sofia Coppola. The plot follows Laura (Rashida Jones), a woman going into midlife who begins to think that her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans), might be cheating on her. She recruits her philandering father Felix (Bill Murray), to help her get some answers: the investigation is on.

This might be the most Bill Murray film ever made, if you have ever seen any of Murray’s films or are a fan of him generally then you will know what I mean. The eccentricities that normally colour Murray’s various performances are turned up to eleven here, resulting in a glorious performance.

The film has a lot to say about aging gracefully, finding new drive in life, and asking for forgiveness all of which are touched on and beautifully developed over the course of the narrative. The relationship between Laura and her father, who left when she was young after cheating on her mum, is strained and turbulent and their arc together is beautifully resolved.

My two complaints with this film are both of a similar vein. This film is far more into the drama aspect then it is the comedy aspect of its premise. Yes, it has a few jokes and comedic situations, but the drama and the comments on life take centre stage. As a result of that we see more of Jones’ dramatic chops which are strong, but we don’t get to see much of her comedic side. Which is a real shame as Jones can be and has been very funny in things in the past before, sadly here she is playing the straight woman to a zany Murray. Moreover, Jenny Slate also features in this film, more as a recurring bit than a characters, and is also underused.

Overall, not a film that is going to set the world on fire, but a very enjoyable film with a surprisingly large amount to say.

Pros.

Bill Murray

Marlon Wayans

Rashida Jones (In a dramatic sense)

The comments on life and parent child bonds

Cons.

It doesn’t let Jones be funny

It underutilised Jenny Slate

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek 2: Making A Hero Out Of A Cold Blooded Serial Killer

Wolf Creek 2 is an Australian horror film directed by Greg McLean. We again follow Mick Taylor (John Jarrett), the tourist killer extraordinaire as he cleans up his part of Australia once again from those evil invading backpackers. This is vaguely based on a true story, incredibly loosely though.

So yeah basically this time around Mick is the hero, or at least the main focus of the film. We don’t really get a protagonist (maybe the English dude), we just get a series of characters for Mick to pick off over the course of the film. None of them seem to have any shred of personality or character development, but I’ll get to that.

Maybe the executives realised that no one really cared about the boring vanilla survivor characters from the first film hence the Mick focus this time around. Also this film plays up Mick’s craziness a lot more, making him way more manic and almost strangely a lot more comedic too. Though I didn’t like the first film, at least the way it portrayed Mick was accurate to the cold-blooded killers that his character is based on, here he is a one liner cracking, goofy, pain sponge that can get up from any hit with minimal damage. They turned their villain into somewhat of a joke.

Jarrett is again the best part of this film and is clearly having fun and you can tell that throughout, sadly it does not translate to audience enjoyment.

Pros.

Jarrett is having fun

Cons.

Sadly it is not fun to watch

They don’t have characters just victims

They make Taylor less scary

The jokes don’t work

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

All Joking Aside: Finding Your Start

All Joking Aside is a comedy drama film directed by Shannon Kohli. The plot follows young stand up comic Charlene (Raylene Harewood), who has repeat run ins with faded former comic Bob (Brain Markinson), leading to an emotional journey.

This film feels very raw, it knows what it is and what is trying to do, and it achieves that. We see Charlene as she struggled to survive in this new big bad world of comedy and comes out kicking on the other side. Charlene might be my favourite lead character of a 2020 film so far, as she is so incredibly relatable. Everyone has been in her position at some point in their life, starting something new, being unsure of yourself, she is a good audience standin.

This film feels very similar to Funny People. Which is both a compliment and a critique. The critique I would hope is fairly obvious, similarity is not a sign of originality. Though the compliment is a little more abstract, I found the balance between comedy and drama to be managed to a perfect degree much like the aforementioned Adam Sandler film. It has a tragic sense of whimsy to it that really leaves and impact on you as you watch it and that stays with you long after.

Overall, though this film might feel a little over familiar at times it is also funny, touching and crucially well done. Well worth a watch.

Pros.

The heart

The comedy

The journey

Harewood

Cons.

A little too similar to other films

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Intrusion: Disconnected: The Final Girl After The Final Showdown

Intrusion: Disconnected is a horror thriller film directed by Kyle Cates. The plot sees Holly (Katie Stewart), a survivor of horrific violence, become convinced that the man who tried to kill her has returned from beyond the grave as the local unexplained death toll starts to rise around her.

This is an unsettling watch, there is just something about it that made me uneasy. We are never quite sure as to Holly’s mental state, and as such we get sucked up in her own paranoia with her. The killer almost becomes a mythical figure as he stalks her every waking moment, very much like a more real version of Freddy or Jason.

I thought Stewart did a great job here. She was a very rootable lead, she was easy to cheer for and it was an inspired choice to focus on what happens to ‘the final girl’ after the showdown; with regard to the mental tole and effect that has on their life. We see Laurie Strode after Halloween, but her mental state and the effect her life or death confrontation had on her life going forward is glossed over.

I found this to be a harrowing watch through and through.

Overall, I enjoyed the performances and the very real threat of the killer that also felt somewhat mythic. It is unsettling to watch; My only issue is that this film has some pacing issues and some parts of it drag on and on and make you lose interest.

Pros.

Katie Stewart

The real sense of threat

It is unsettling

I enjoyed the mental health focus

Cons.

It has pacing issues throughout; it could have been structured a lot better

4/5

Reviewed by Luke