Early Man: The Origins Of Man United

Early Man is a British stop motion animated film directed by Nick Park. The plot follows a group of stone age people as they are challenged by a bronze age civilisation to a game of football to decide the fate of their valley home.

I will admit I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Aardman and their animations, I really didn’t like Chicken Run and I enjoyed Wallace and Gromit when I was young, but I have not thought about those films in years. So, going into this I had low expectations that were lowered even further when I heard the mixed reviews, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this film.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit and found that the time period leant itself quite well to Aardman’s signature animation style. I thought the characters all had a great deal of rootability, and you really wanted to see them win the game. This film manages to capture the plucky underdog spirit to a tee.

The voice cast didn’t add much to proceedings as I feel like anyone could have played those characters, the voice actors themselves were not memorable, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint. Out of the cast I thought Maisie Williams shone the most, her character of Goona was fun and memorable and Williams managed to pull of an accent for the full run time somewhat convincing; much more convincingly then her GOT co-star Sophie Turner in the last X-Men film, however.

Overall, a fun film that really made me consider Aardman that bit more, maybe it has converted me to their cause- time will tell.

Pros.

Fun and accessible

The setting leant itself well to stop motion

Maisie Williams

Capturing the underdog spirit

Cons.

The voice cast weren’t very strong

It felt a bit bloated

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Daddy’s Home 2: Mel Gibson As His Arsehole Self

Daddy’s Home 2 is a comedy film directed by Sean Anders. The plot this time around focuses on Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty’s (Mark Wahlberg) dads. As both grandfathers come into town to spend Christmas with their families, but can they all get along?

I want to preface this review by saying that I think Mel Gibson is an awful human being, the comments he made to Winona Ryder (which if you don’t know, I advise you to look them up), are nothing short of sickening. I personally don’t think he should still be getting work. That said I tried to ignore my feelings about him whilst writing this review.

The one thing I will give this film credit for, because this film is hot trash, is the fact that they made Mel Gibson’s character an asshole. It is done in an almost knowing way to real life, and it is implied that because he is such a terrible person that he screwed up Dusty, showing where being an asshole gets you.

The main reason I dislike this film, just like I disliked the previous film is the comedy. It is a mixture of too safe family friendly fluff that isn’t funny, painfully repetitive slapstick that boils down to oh look Brad has hurt himself again and mean-spirited hurtful jokes. Said jokes make even the nastiest most cynical Adam Sandler joke look happy and well intentioned, they make fun of things that just seem needless and in poor taste why?

The dynamic between the actors is fine, weaker than the last film and a world away from The Nice Guys, but it really isn’t enough to sit through this.

Overall, don’t touch this with a ten-foot pole avoid at all costs.

Pros.

They make Mel Gibson’s character an arsehole

Cons.

It is worse than the first film

The jokes aren’t funny

It either feels too safe or in poor taste

The chemistry between the leads is basically non-existent at this point

It doesn’t justify its own existence

0/5

Reviewed by Luke

Chill Out Scooby Doo: Casual, Seemingly Random, International Abduction

Chill Out Scooby Doo is an animated family mystery film directed by Joe Sichta. The plot sees the Mystery Gang’s holiday in Paris hijacked when Shaggy (Casey Kasem), and Scooby (Frank Welker), get kidnapped and taken to the Himalayas to act as bait for someone looking to trap the abdominal snowman.

So, I will admit I love the yeti/abdominal snowman so yes I might view this film a bit more favourably that I otherwise would have, though I have tried to control my bias of course for the purposes of this review.

This film feels like a return to the old ways of Scooby Doo, there is just one monster, there are no attempts to be meta (though in moderation those are a good thing), and there are no needless cameos. It is just the gang hunting a monster and then demasking it at the end.

Hell, I’ve reviewed quite a lot of these at this point and I have to officially say I have gone full circle. I started off apricating the Scooby Doo formula, then I grew sick of it and now after seeing how badly a lot of the Scooby Doo films turn out that don’t stick to the classic structure I am back to apricating it once again.

An issue I had with this film is the side story stuff. The High Lama felt crammed in to pad out the runtime, if done well this could have been like an extended version of one of the classic episodes, but no they had to stuff more in. Furthermore, as has been a recurring complaint, the Tibetan characters are little more than stereotypes and character cliches, which just feels irritating and lazy.

Overall, it has strong parts and weak parts, at its best it is a return to the classic formula and its worst it is still using the same old stereotypes and can be consider a bit offensive.

Pros.

The yeti

A return to the classic form

An interesting and not obvious mystery

Cons.

The stereotypes

The side story and characters

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ride Along 2: Even Angrier

Ride Along 2 is a buddy cop comedy film directed by Tim Story. This time around the ‘Brothers In Law’ are heading to Miami to try and take down a big time criminal.

My issues with the first film are magnified here. It seems as thought the creatives behind this film learnt the wrong lessons from the first film and doubled down on all their mistakes, it is not fun to watch.

Once again Hart’s Ben is funny, though less so, this time around more of his jokes don’t land. There are only so many times they can play up the fact he is a hopeless gamer before it starts to become unfunny. This film does seem to like driving its jokes into the ground, to a point where they just become irritating.

Ice Cube’s James is even more angry this time around because that is a personality right? I thought maybe they would soften him a bit in this film so we could see the man behind the angry front, but hey why worry about characterisation when you just rely on cliches.

Ultimately, the main issue with this film is that nothing is done to further either of the characters if anything this film feels like a retread of the film.

They also put Oliva Munn in this film for some reason, her character is not given much to do. The only reason she seems to be around is to fill the ‘eye candy’ role for the male gaze and for James to have a love interest. She has no agency of her own and does not really advance the story and is not developed in anyway either, once again this feels cheap and shows how reliant the film is on cliches.

Overall, this film feels needless and like a retread of the first that is afraid to break any new ground.

Pros.

A few funny jokes

It is watchable

Cons.

It is painfully average

A lot of the jokes don’t land

It doesn’t seem to know what character development is

Oliva Munn’s character is objectified and underused

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hosts: An Easy Way To Ruin A Christmas Dinner

Hosts is a horror film directed by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes. The plot sees a sinister race of being possess people in an effort to take over the world. We follow two such possessed people who are invited round to their neighbour’s house to have Christmas dinner with murderous consequences.

This may be the best horror film that I have seen all year, as soon as you finish this review immediately watch it, it is that good. The reasons for this extreme compliment are as follows.

It is utterly engrossing; I couldn’t look away while I was watching it. I had to know what was going to happen next. In the beginning you have no idea what is going on, but as the film goes on more and more little details are revealed and then it all becomes clear. I would recommend a second watch with this one as you get a lot more out of it the second time.

The acting is superb the entire cast are terrific, but the two leads steal the show. Neal Ward as Jack perfectly captures a sadistic edge with such menace that it is a little unnerving. Moreover, Samantha Loxley is haunting and nothing short of demonic. The quiet family dinner scene that quickly turns into a bloodbath is propelled into being so much more by her performance.

I enjoyed the fact that this film builds an atmosphere rather than have cheap jump scares that everyone can see coming from a mile off. I thought the film’s scares were done well and used effectively to great result.

Overall, maybe the best horror film of 2020 don’t sleep on this one.

Pros.

The violence is brutal but effective

The ending

The performances

The atmosphere and the scares

Very hard to look away from

Cons.

None.

5/5

Would give higher if I could

Reviewed by Luke

Scooby Doo Abracadabra Doo: They Fight A Griffin In This One, The Continuation Of The Oddly Sexual Age Of The Scooby Doo Franchise

Scooby Doo Abracadabra Doo is an animated family mystery film directed by Spike Brant and Tony Cervone. The plot sees the Mystery Gang go to a magician’s college to check in on Velma’s (Mindy Cohn), younger sister Madelyn (Danica Mckeller), who is training there. Once there things quickly take a turn for the sinister and the gang has to face off against a griffin.

So, much like Camp Scare this film marks a change in animation style from the late 2000’s Scooby Doo films. Personally, I don’t mind both styles, I think both are of a similar quality and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. One thing I will note about this film about Camp Scare is that they go out of their way to sexualise Daphne (Grey Delisle); it is very noticeable.

This film had a warmth to it that a lot of the other more rushed together Scooby Doo films don’t have, there were songs made for it and it had a title sequence and all over it felt like more effort had been put into then a lot of the other films, which I appreciated.

I enjoyed the irony of having the Gang, whos’ main purpose is to solve mysteries and debunk the supernatural go to a magic academy. Sadly, they didn’t do much with the concept.

Overall, though clearly more thought had been put into this when contrasted with a lot of the other Scooby Doo films coming out around the same time, it still does not fully utilise the premise and it is again a bit too sexual for a kid’s film.

Pros.

The effort that had been put in

The mystery wasn’t obvious

A few good laughs

Cons.

Oddly sexual again

It doesn’t do much with its premise

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ride Along: The Angriest Man In The World

Ride Along is a buddy cop, comedy film directed by Tim Story. The plot follows Ben (Kevin Hart), an avid gamer who dreams of becoming a police officer and making his fiancé proud. One day said fiancé tasks Ben with winning her brother’s approval, so they can wed. The issue is that her detective brother James (Ice Cube), doesn’t think Ben is good enough for his sister. In an effort to see what Ben is made of James invites him on a ride along.

So, I have recently been going through the filmography of Kevin Hart, this is the third movie of his I have seen to date. Sadly unlike Night School and Get Hard, this one isn’t very good.

The issue with this film doesn’t lie with Hart however, he is mostly funny throughout. It is his on-screen foil that I find weakens this film. The buddy cop formula works when both characters are very different and are at odds with each other but are forced to work together, and though that is the case here it just doesn’t work.

Yes, James is the antiphrasis of Ben, but other than that he doesn’t feel like a character. The only emotion Ben seems to feel for the whole film is anger, I get that is the bit, but even still it makes the character feel very one note and cliché. He is the brother in law cliché, as well as the overprotective brother cliché to a tee and not much beyond that. Even when he is supposed to be happy, he comes across as angry- though maybe that is the result of Ice Cube’s lack of acting ability.

Overall, good for a few laughs, but the dynamic just doesn’t work.

Pros.

Hart

The videogame stuff

A few laughs to be had

Cons.

Most of the jokes don’t land

The buddy cop dynamic doesn’t work

Ice Cube feels miscast

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Enola Holmes: When In Doubt Dress As A Yard-worker

Enola Holmes is a mystery film directed by Harry Bradbeer; it is based on the book series of the same name written by Nancy Springer. The plot focuses on the youngest of the three Holmes siblings Enola (Millie Bobby Brown). Enola’s world is turned upside down when her mother disappears suddenly, as such Enola ventures out into the world to find her, becoming tangled up in a conspiracy to kill a young lord.

Before, I had watched this film I thought Millie Bobby Brown was a one trick pony, I thought she was good in Stranger Things and serviceable enough in Godzilla, but she hadn’t convinced me of her acting ability. Now after watching this film I can say she is incredibly talented, and is destined for big things, my change of heart is the result of her performance here.

I found her performance and her character to be the perfect encapsulation of female empowerment. She is self-determined and driven, she is always in control of her own fate, she is a badass, but crucially she evolves over time. If you look at something like the recent Mulan (review on site), that fails as an act of empowerment as she starts off great and becomes superhuman, this does not reflect reality. Whereas Enola in this film trains, she constantly strives to better herself and that can be seen throughout the film, she is rootable and believable as a result.

I found Henry Cavil to be a bit bland as Sherlock, they could have given him more to do, as is he is basically just a Victorian version of Geralt from The Witcher. That said his interactions with Sam Claflin’s Mycroft are perfect and the two play off each other well and are always a pleasure to watch.

Overall, a terrific start to a series and proof that Millie Bobby Brown is more than just the girl from Stranger Things.

Pros.

Female empowerment done right

Millie Bobby Brown

Sherlock and Mycroft

The mystery

Cons.

Some of the feminist talking points are a little on the nose

The romance is quite weak

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Scooby Doo In Where’s My Mummy?: A More Adapt Question Would Be Where Is The Villain?

Scooby Doo In Where’s My Mummy directed by Joe Sichta. The plot follows the Mystery Gang as they head to Egypt to meet up with Velma (Mindy Cohen), who has been restoring the Sphinx, however as they arrive they realise that something is a foot and they find themselves in the centre of a century’s old supernatural mystery.

I have to say this might be the only Scooby Doo film that didn’t have a clear-cut monster, or a guy in a suit. Yeah they have a generic villain, but they are side-lined and ignored so much that you forget the film even has a villain. In the end when you have the big reveal scene you are left confused with only a vague remembrance of who the baddie even is.

Though I am impressed they didn’t go the generic route and have the monster be a mummy, I feel like the film as a whole might have been better served if they had gone that route, rather than have this confusing conspiracy angle that really doesn’t come together.

The only real positive I can give this film is that it does not make the Egyptian characters stereotypes, they feel like actually characters. This is hollow praise as this should just be standard, but some of these Scooby Doo films do like to throw out cultural stereotypes here and there.

Overall, a very confusing, bland mess.

Pros.

They didn’t go for the obvious

Cons.

The obvious might have been better than what we got

The villain is forgotten about and ignored

It is dull

It is not fun to watch

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo: Bang Bang Bang, The Dumbing Down Of Today’s Youth

Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo is an animated family mystery film directed by Maxwell Atoms. The plot sees the Gang’s Halloween become interrupted by evil mutant pumpkins. Can they solve the mystery and salvage the night.

This film is not a Scooby Doo film, there should not be explosions and battle scenes in a Scooby Doo film, maybe Atoms wanted to make a different animated film, but they gave him this instead. Either way it does not understand what Scooby Doo is at all and it shows at every turn.

The mindless action lacks all the plot and story of previous Scooby Doo films that gave us memorable character moments that last the test of time. I knew something was up when they put in Scarecrow (the Batman villain), in for no real reason at all. I know Scooby Doo (Frank Welker), has teamed up with Batman in the past but this just feels random and done for no purely for fan baiting. I also disliked immensely how the film felt the need to reference as many Justice League characters as they could- Warner Brother you really need to get better with this in film product placement.

Likewise, the pandering to Bill Nye is obvious as hell. He was mildly in the popular culture a few years ago, but because executives don’t understand what kids like and are always out of date, he is all over this film and it is painfully cringe whenever he is on-screen. It feels like one of those bad Simpson’s episode when they centre the story around a trendy celebrity for a slight boost in relevance.

Overall, a badly thought out film that doesn’t seem to understand what a Scooby Doo film is, what the kids want, or who is trendy in the year of 2020.

Pros.

It is good background noise

Cons.

It is not a Scooby Doo film

It is dumbed down

It tries to hard to be trendy

It relies wholly on a celebrity cameo that most of the kids watching won’t know

Why is Scarecrow in this?

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke