Downhill: Never Has A Title Been More Accurate

Downhill is a black comedy film directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. The plot sees a dysfunctional family head to a ski resort to try and reconnect, things slowly descend. It is an American remake of the Swedish film Force Majeure.

The words an ‘American remake’ should have been a red flag. This film is not terrible, but it is pretty bad. I found it very hard to finish.

The key issue with this film is that it is trying to do two things. Firstly it is trying to replicate the darker Swedish sense of humour, but crucially it does not understand it and so fails. Secondly, it is also trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience and have some more obvious jokes, this also fails. So the issue this creates both of these failures serve to make the other worse and more blatantly off-putting.

Furthermore, this film has a very talented cast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell as co-leads. Sadly it wastes them, it does not just waste them it also makes them incredibly unlikable and irritating; Dreyfus especially. Dreyfus’ character becomes so neurotic and annoying that you just want to mute her when she comes on screen, she is no way likeable, was that the point? Ferrell isn’t much better, but we have come to expect bad things from him.

Overall, this film fails on multiple levels and has no redeemable qualities. Don’t watch it.

Pros.

The brief scene with Kristofer Hivju

Cons.

The tone doesn’t work

It is not funny

The characters are hateable

It is a waste of time

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Princess Diaries 2: Formulaic Isn’t A Good Thing

The Princess Diaries 2 is a fantasy romance family film directed by Garry Marshall. The plot sees Mia (Anne Hathaway), searching out someone to marry so that she can become Queen, once her Grandmother (Julie Andrews), steps down from the throne or dies.

So this is just more of the same from the first film, if you liked that you will like this, that’s it.

However, I didn’t like this very much, in fact I thought it was painfully average. I thought that the jokes and charm of the first film are gone and the gimmick of the American girl who is not like everyone else in a foreign country gimmick gets old fast. This film really needed some new material, but fatally it doesn’t have any and sticks too closely to the first film.

The romance plotline doesn’t help matters as it feels a bit too mushy and sickly sweet, I rolled my eyes more than a few times. Usually, I believe a good romance side plot or main plot can save any film, but here it proves to be its undoing.

The actors Hathaway, Andrews and Pine are trying their best, but sadly they have nothing to work with from a script the feels cobbled together from a child’s fairy princess tea party material.

Ultimately this film can’t shake the feeling that it was solely made for the money and no one on the creative side really cared about it; those two things are painfully apparent.

Pros.

The actors try

It is more of the same

Cons.

The romance is too cheesy

The script is a train wreck

It is one of the most cynically made for the money type films I have ever seen

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rio: Feeling Blu?

Rio is an animated family film directed by Carlos Saldanha. The plot sees nervous Blue McCaw Blu (Jessie Eisenberg), go on a trip to Rio to save his species. One he is there; he is kidnapped by poachers and must fight to return to his owner as well as save the other birds.

This film worked for me in a lot of different ways, right from the beginning when we see Blu as a little baby bird I was on board; it was so cute. Couple this with the fact that two of my favourite actors provide their voices to this film (Eisenberg and Jeamaine Clement), it was always going to be a hit for me.

I think the story of his wild animal learning to be wild again was really well done and I think the role was cast perfectly with Jessie Eisenberg. He has the shy, timid, neurotic nerd who will rise to the occasion and save everyone vibe down to a tee and it was perfect for this role. His Blu was loveable and relatable despite being an animal. He also had a lot of on-screen chemistry with Anne Hathaway who voiced the other Blue McCaw Jules.

Clement was everything that I would want him to be in this. He was the villain and evil Cockatoo with a chip on his shoulder and evil in his heart. Clement was wonderfully hammy and milked the role for everything it was worth, my one complaint would be that he only got one song; said song was excellent though.

Overall, this is a sweet film that really appealed to the animal lover in me, the voice cast did a really great job and I ended up really liking it!

Pros

Blu himself

Eisenberg

Clement

Eisenberg and Hathaway have great on-screen chemistry

Cons.

It just needed a little bit more

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The High Note: That Is Inaccurate

High Note is a music romance film directed by Nisha Ganatra. The plot follows Maggie (Dakota Johnson), a personal assistant to a former worldwide star who dreams of more. Then one day she meets David (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a young talented musician who might be her big break. A romance follows.

To me this is A Star Is Born but without the chemistry. We have seen this before, similar films that show a romance blossoming to the backdrop of the music industry and I don’t know why, but I expected more from this film, the first half an hour told me to expect it, but it just feel apart.

The only two good things about this film, that I almost turned off three times, are Johnson and a rare great performance from Ice Cube. Johnson and Ice Cube are both trying to make something out of what they have been given, but they can’t change the fact that what they have is cliché tripe that is so laughably predicatable you can turn it off after 15 minutes and know the ending.

It gets worse, this is one of the most melodramatic, overly mushy films I have ever seen. The filmmaker and writer seem quite set on making every little thing into a huge dramatic event, in such a way that it would put the finest soap opera to shame.

Overall, this is contrived and overly familiar with no charm or chemistry to make it worthwhile. Much like Johnson’s 50 Shades films there is no chemistry here and the romance and plot fall apart.

Pros.

Johnson

Ice Cube

Cons.

It is too mushy

It is too melodramatic

The leads have no chemistry

It feels like a retread of about 100 different rom-coms

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hotel Transylvania 3: Dead And Loving It

Hotel Transylvania 3 is an animated fantasy family film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. The plot sees Dracula (Adam Sandler), and family go on a summer cruise as a means to unwind and spend more time together as a family. Dracula himself is on a quest to find love after he realises how lonely he is, however, the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with turns out to be the great granddaughter of his worst enemy.

The Hotel Transylvania trilogy is one of ups and downs, the first film was strong and had a keen emotional arc that worked, the second abandoned this and instead decided to focus on cheap jokes and walking back the character development of the first film. The third film, however, is the best of the 3, it loses the ensemble of the previous films, they are still there just not focused on, and instead tells a very personal story focusing on Dracula coming to terms with moving on after his wife’s death 100 years ago.

The concise storytelling allows for us to really go on the journey with Dracula and connect with him. Much like the first film the emotional heart of this film is strong and powerful, it made me feel something. I also thought having Mavis (Selena Gomez), come to terms with her dad dating again, to get another perspective on the issue, was a touch of genius from a writing point of view as it brought it all together.

Overall, this film learns from the mistakes of the previous films and betters them in every way, creating a film with something meaningful to say that will hit you with the same emotional weight as a good Pixar film.

Pros

The focus on Dracula

The strong emotional connection/ message

Mavis and how they use here

Moving the character development to interesting and new places

Cons.

I wish we got more of Dracula and Jonathan, Samberg and Sandler have great on-screen chemistry

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Pirates Of The Caribbean, Curse Of The Black Pearl: Yo Ho

Pirates Of The Caribbean, Curse Of The Black Pearl is an action adventure film directed by Gore Verbinski. The plot sees a ghostly pirate crew go searching for the key to remove their curses, the only things standing in their way are a blacksmith, a lady of means and a dazzling pirate captain.

I have been a fan of the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies since I was young, I saw all the films from 2 onwards in the cinema, they were a big part of my early life. Yes, they dipped in quality after 3, rather dramatically so, but there is still a lot of quality to be found in the early entries of the franchise. I decided to rewatch the very first film and see if it still holds up; conclusion, it does.

The reason this film works so well is twofold, firstly the writing is sharp and well thought-out. Things are mentioned early on that come to be important later on and on repeat viewing this becomes all the clearer and you see the merit more. The character dialogue sparkles and the chemistry between the three leads is really built on and developed.

The other part of the reason is the scene stealing performance by Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Sparrow for better or for worse is one of the most significant pop culture characters of the last 20 years, he has appeared everywhere from spoof movies to videogames and it is all because of the fact that Depp’s’ performance stole our hearts and captivated our imaginations.

Overall, this is a great adventure film that stands the test of time, my one complaint is that there is no reason it should be as long as it is, and it really should have been cut down in editing.

Pros.

The sense of fun/mischief

Depp’s performance

It makes pirates cool again

The trio work well together

Cons.

It is way too long

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Peanut Butter Falcon: The Next Champion Of The World

The Peanut Butter Falcon is an adventure film directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. The plot follows Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young boy with down syndrome who dreams of becoming a professional wrestler just like his hero. However, in order to do that he needs to escape from the old people’s home that he has been forced into and venture into the great unknown on a voyage of self-discovery.

This is one of the most touching films I have ever seen, I kid you not there were a good few time when I had a tear in my eye. This one will hit you right in the feels. I think part of what makes this film so easy to connect to is its characters. They’re unlikely heroes, in a more simplified sense underdog.

I think Gottsagen was great throughout, he was easily the most loveable character and you will want to see him become a wrestler so much. I also thought this fatherly connection with Shia LaBeoufs’ character of Tyler was also incredibly well done. The two make a great pair and are incredibly endearing together. This was the film that made me stand up and take notice of LaBeouf as a serious actor.

Overall, I think this is a very lovely film and is the sort of film we need right now when times seem so dark. It will have you smiling and cheering throughout. A must watch for sure.

Pros.

Gottsagen

LaBeouf

Johnson

The relationships between the 3

A small appearance by Yelawolf

Cons

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Love Witch: Finding Love The Witchy Way

The Love Witch is a horror comedy film directed by Anna Biller. The plot sees witch Elaine (Samantha Robinson), set out to find the man of her dreams, someone who will love her as much as she loves them as well as live up to her criteria of what makes a perfect man. Sadly, the American dating scene does not live up to her expectations.

So, this one was a mixed bag for me, I enjoyed the style of it, mimicking horrors of the 60’s and 70’s and applaud it for being as out there and strange as it ended up being. However, it is not without its problems some of which really harm the film overall and stop it from reaching good film placement.

One of my main issues was how repetitive the film became after a while. It was the same thing over and over again, Elaine meets a dude, she does a weird strip show for them, she slept with them and then she killed them and on and on the cycle goes. This quickly made the film tiresome, the only reprieve from this monotony was the final act which I actually enjoyed. It was by far the most out there part of the film and had heavy Wicker Man vibes.

My other key issue with the film was the nudity, I understand Elaine’s character is all about sex magic, but she spends most of the film in a state of undress. It gets to the point where you question the need for it, I am no prude or puritan, but it almost felt like this film was a softcore porn film at times. The nudity or half nakedness also became repetitive and boring after a while.

Overall, this film has a great sense of style and a very interesting premise, but the writing ruins the film. By being incredibly repetitive you lose any interest in the film or it’s characters and a strong third act can’t change that.

Pros.

The style and the visuals

Trying to be different

Cons.

The needless nudity and half nakedness

The repetitive story structure

Immense pacing issues

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wreck-It Ralph: Win The Game

Wreck-It Ralph is an animated adventure comedy film directed by Rich Moore. A classic arcade game villain Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly), decides he wants to reform and be a good guy, when he realises that his fellow video game character won’t accept him unless he has a medal he sets out to win one.

As someone who has played video games all his life I appreciated the references and appearances in this film. I found them to be delightful and the nostalgia factor of them never really wore out.

I thought a lot of the emotional beats in this film had been done before and I wasn’t very impressed with the storytelling or the characters, that is until about 15 minutes from the end. As Ralph is about to self-sacrifice to save his friends a powerful wave of emotion hit me hard and I realised that I had been caring this whole time, I had formed attachments to these characters.

I think the message of the film about accepting yourself for who you are is really well done and is communicated in a good way. I think children need films like this as I could have a strong positive impact on their self-esteem.

Other than Ralph and his best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), I thought a lot of the other characters were weak and I lose interest when they were on screen; they took away from the A storyline.

Overall, this is a film with a good heart and a message everyone can relate to, the writing is a little shoddy in places and the side characters aren’t great, but Wreck-It Ralph still manages to be moving in its own way.

Pros.

The message

The surprising emotional payoff

Ralph and Vanellope

Cons.

The terrible side characters

The writing wasn’t good across the board

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Disturbia: The Film That Encourages Peeping

Disturbia is a crime mystery film directed by D.J Caruso and sees housebound teenager Kale (Shia LaBeouf) realise that his neighbour Mr. Turner (David Morse), is a prolific serial killer. Kale and his friends then decide to watch this killer for a few days until they have enough evidence to go to the police, however, the game is flipped, and the killer soon sets his sights on them.

This film feels like LaBeouf is just playing his character from Transformers while under house arrest. This does not show LaBeouf as a serious actor in a good light.

I have two main issues with this film firstly, it is aggressively dumb. This film is basically a remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, that would make the man himself roll over in his grave. The question I was repeatedly asking myself as I was watching this is why not just call the police, there are multiple times early in the film when they could do that, but they don’t. We are supposed to think that Kale and the police don’t get on that is why he doesn’t call them, but no it’s just because this film is ridiculously dumb and poorly written.

My second issue is the creepy sexual aspect of this film and the message it sends. So for a lot of the early film Kale spies on his new neighbour Ashleigh (Sarah Roemer), in a stalkerish way that is borderline unsettling, what’s more the film almost tells us the audience that it is okay for him to be that way. This is shown when Ashleigh finds out what Kale has been doing, not only is she not upset but she thinks it is sweet and they make out; in no way is what he did sweet, so for the film to condone it raises a lot of questions about the people behind the camera.

Overall, this is basterdised Hitchcock plain and simple, with an off-putting seediness that will make you feel dirty.

Pros.

The ending is suitably tense

Cons.

Rewarding a stalker and normalising that kind of behaviour

Poorly written and dumb

An incredibly inferior reimagining

Shia is terrible

1/5