Wish: Disney Wanted This To Bomb

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Disney fires a massive blast on their side of the culture war, sadly it has blown back on them in a big way.

I went to see this opening day, there were three other people there that is the strength of the Disney brand these days. Anyway, where to begin with this film that made me turn to my girlfriend and go no more Disney animations ever again.

Firstly the plot is beyond simplistic, like really there is no plot beyond an incredibly ham-fisted social message that everyone is special and unique and if life is ever even slightly unfair it is your duty to totally Karen out about it and that only through revolution can anything ever be achieved.

I mean I may be reading it wrong, but personally seeing how two of the only white male characters were evil and how it was the duty of everyone else to punish them it just felt like yet more preaching and like I was being told this film was not for me. If they had made the King look exactly like Donald Trump I would not have been surprised as that as clearly what they were going for, and this might play in America but outside of America audience’s don’t care for their social justice messages. As you all well know, if you have read my reviews for some time, I don’t mind a progressive message at all but when they decide to lecture and force it down the audience’s throat then it becomes clawing quickly.

The songs were not great either, which seems like an easy thing they could have gotten right, the only one that was catchy was Chris Pine’s song about how ungrateful people are. The rest aren’t terrible but they all come off feeling the same which is fine but it doesn’t do anything to sell the film.

I had heard that the ending of the film basically set up a Disney animated films shared universe, and after having seen it I question whether I was lied to. There is some implication of it but I thought it would be clearly shown, that was half of the appeal to me.

One thing I did like about the film that I will give it a half point for was the absurdity with the chickens that was a lot of fun, but sadly that was all the fun on offer in the entire hour and a half ish runtime.

Overall, another lecture from Disney

0.5/5

Pros.

The chickens

Cons

It is preachy

The real world parallel is right there for all to see and it’s irritating

The songs bar one aren’t good

It isn’t fun to watch

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Oppenheimer: The Man Behind The Bomb

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The life of Robert Oppenheimer played by Cillian Murphy, and the people who destroyed him.

This film is not one for the faint of heart, it is long and very exposition heavy. However, if historical epics are your kind of thing you will find more than enough to like here.

The film did a very good job at making you invested in Oppenheimer’s life and connecting to and understanding his stresses and his shortcomings, the film didn’t sugar coat any aspects of his life and rather showed the good with the bad which is always nice to see from an epic/biopic.

The cast across the board were strong, Murphy anchored the film well but I think the supporting cast really brought this film to life with terrific turns from Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh as the loves of Oppenheimer’s life and very much highlighted the personal destruction of the man himself.

It was an interesting choice to give more focus and screen time to the quasi legal battle between Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr’s character, then the journey to the bomb, but I think it is one that pays off.

4/5

Pros.

Murphy, Blunt and Pugh

The emotions

The man himself and the focus on his inner demons

It is excellently paced

Cons.

It has too many characters

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Barbie: Ken Meets the Manosphere

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, comes to the real world and learns about the manosphere.

I was excited for this film for months before it came out and I have to say it delivered in every way I could ever have wanted it to. This is probably my film of the summer if not film of the year.

I think this film did everything right it was funny but also soulful, it was very timely and relevant but also not overly preachy, though plenty will disagree with that, it had the idea of Barbie be silly but also mean something in terms of the world of the film. In terms of tonal balance this film was sublime.

I thought the trip to the real world was inspired, and I thought seeing Barbie have to deal with becoming in a sense defective and seeking out a journey of self-exploration was a very relatable concept for a lot of people. I liked the sheer horror that Barbie had when she came to the real world and saw how women are treated and had her naivety shattered, the manosphere stuff with Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, was perhaps the film at its most grating but even then it saved it with good jokes and commentary. I do believe that the Andew Tate esque manosphere stuff will age the film horribly in years to come, but I can excuse it as it worked really well to give the film a villain that felt earned rather than doing oh the evil toy company is now going to invade Barbie land and enslave them or some contrived thing like that.

Overall, I genuinely think this was a treat of cinema this year.

5/5

Pros.

It is funny

It is timely

It is surprisingly deep

Robbie is fantastic

It is well paced

Cons.

None

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The Blackening: The Racist History Of The Board Games Industry

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends come across a racist board game when they meet at a cabin for a friends reunited weekend.

I was looking forward to this film and after having seen it I can say that it was fine…. Well perhaps a little better than that as far as horror comedies go, which as you know I have very mixed feelings on, it was serviceable but it was certainly nothing to write home about.

The cast do work well together and have a number of good moments, but I found there was far too much backstory and interpersonal drama and that distracted away from the main story. I wanted to hear more about this game and see other people it had hurt not learn about two of the characters’ strained relationship.

The comedy had its moments, but these are far too few and far between to be considered a strong point of the film. The horror does play on a number of interesting themes and does a lot to address the tiresome tropes surrounding black characters within horror cinema, this is probably the film’s greatest strength. I would, however, say that the game itself, central to the film’s horror, is underdeveloped and could do with more to bulk out the idea.

Overall, mildly entertaining but soon to be forgotten.

3/5

Pros.

It has a few funny moments

It does a lot to buck tropes and stereotypes

It has a good pace

Cons.

Quite a number of misses from the joke department

Again the central horror idea is very underdeveloped

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Joy Ride: A Tattoo You Won’t Soon Forget

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends set out on a Chinese road trip to discover one of their member’s lost history only to later find out she is South Korean.

I think this film is carried by Ashley Park, I think my main takeaway at the end of the film is that she is an incredible actor and will go on to do big things. She is both the heart of the film as well as being the funniest member of the cast, I know this has been very gushing but I think that without her this film would easily fall apart.

The humour of the film is a mixed bag, it both at times works and can be funny but at other times feels crude and just like things done for shock value. Again it is worth noting that male centric comedy films such as the Hangover, which this shares more than a little DNA with, do the same thing, however, in both cases I find it unfunny as it feels like the films cannot actually think of a good joke set up so just throw something random or shocking in to try and compensate, again this makes it feel forced.

I think that the surprisingly soulful turn the film takes in the third act bringing in Daniel Dae Kim as a father figure for the lead is really well done and helps to balance some of the more crude and tasteless aspects of the humour and gives the film a wider nuance.

Overall, a sweet film brought up by Ashley Park and let down by its comedy at times.

3/5

Park

The surprisingly soulful third act

Some of the jokes work really well

Cons.

The jokes can feel a little forced at times, they are not all hits by any means

The supporting cast outside of Park feel annoying

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The Flash: Racing Your Way Out Of The Cinema

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, has to contend with the multiverse and a massive wave of fan hate.

Honestly, I wrote in an earlier post about the MCU carrying out acts of self-harm against itself but something has to be said here for the DCEU trying to reach out and top it. There was so so much going against this film, but WBD and the higher ups over there seemed oblivious to it, with all the real world controversy surrounding Miller they should have been recast long before this film was even close to shooting, but Warner Brothers doesn’t like or bother listening to their fans hence they got this massive flop.

Now outside of that the film itself isn’t good. My main issue with it, setting to one side Miller’s involvement, is the fact that the CGI looks badly unfinished. Now the director thought it was a good idea to come out and defend the film’s shockingly bad CGI and say it was a creative decision on his part, if that was the case he should have been fired along with Miller. The CGI isn’t just bad it is distractingly so, there can be a somewhat decent scene entirely derailed as in the corner of the shot there is a CGI effect that is looking Mummy Returns levels of bad and you just can’t look away.

Furthermore, I don’t like how the DCEU’s version of the flash is portrayed, I think the geeky loser sort of works in a large ensemble but when two of the lead characters are played the same and are the central focus it becomes irritating quickly, quirky only usually works in small doses.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the cameos feel incredibly forced, I understand that maybe I am in the minority here in not liking the growing trend of multiverses but seeing them bring characters back from previous films or fan casts only really works for me if there is a plot reason for it. To give you an example of what I mean, No Way Home works because the coming together of the Spider-Men is required by the story and feels organic, whereas here I guess you can justify Michael Keaton’s returning Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl but the section near the end where it is just as many different cameos as they can just feels forced. Moreover, the George Clooney appearance at the end is the most infuriating of the bunch, not only is it a come on really sort of moment but also it immediately made me think Christian Bale said no. Why bring back one of the most disliked Batmen, arguably on a par with Kilmer?

Overall, this is what WBD gets for ignoring fans, burying their head in the sand about backlash and real world controversy, and fundamentally misusing the multiverse concept.

1/5

Pros.

Micheal Keaton is having fun

Cons.

It waste Calle’s Supergirl

Miller should have been recast

The CGI

The aggressive and never justified running time

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Doctor Who, The Star Beast: The Day The Doctor Died

Summary

Doctor Who is dead.

The warning signs were there, the ending of the Whittaker era and the direction the show was heading in, bringing David Tennant back in a desperate attempt to win back old fans, the way Russell T. Davies has been treating the fans online, which in case you didn’t know was to attack them and tell them Doctor Who isn’t for them anymore.

I don’t know why I put it on, maybe I like to hurt myself. Anyway, I decided to give it a go after falling off early into the Whittaker era after the show stopped being about aliens, science fiction or fun and started being about preaching and the wider message of the BBC. Now I am not one of those people who hate the BBC out of hat, but I think that they have lost their way and are so keen to appear progressive that they have alienated all of their audience and now only appeal to a very slim group of people. Again though the term is loaded in the context of the culture wars the identity politics of the Whittaker era was the thing that killed in, according to insiders the show had such bad viewership that the BBC considered cancelling it twice. Yet the BBC in their infinite wisdom decided to double down. With the Doctor discussing his preferred pro nouns, and having to make every scene a soap box to preach out the very same things that killed the Whittaker era. This isn’t Doctor Who anymore.

The episode itself had one of the weakest plots I have seen from Who in a long time and felt far far worse than anything from the original Tennant era. Honestly if I wasn’t reviewing it I would have turned it off very early on. I think it is fitting Russell T. Davies was the person who brought Doctor Who back from the dead and now he is going to be the man to kill it. I don’t imagine it living much beyond the first season with the new Doctor, the one after Tennant, but again I am sure I will be told that the series isn’t for me anymore and I will be yet another fan driven away from the series forever.

When you have a creative for a show getting into arguments with people on X calling them all the names under the sun and being the exact opposite of professional you know you have a series the fans will love and support, not.

Overall, if you didn’t like the Whittaker era this is not the place to return to Who. Let’s wait for an era that undoes Whittaker and all this activist Who and goes back to how it used to be when it was fun to watch.

Pros.

Tennant tries his best

Cons.

It is preachy

It is too long

It isn’t fun or interesting

It is irritating

1/5

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Sous Le Courant: An Emotionally Harrowing Trip To Brighton

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An escapist weekend away to Brighton becomes the start of a powerful emotional journey for two friends.

The French New Wave lives strong within the bones of this short, if that is your kind of thing then you will find a lot to enjoy here. It highlights the fleeting nature of life and the human condition and how one can never run too far away from their troubles before they come back to them. It has a perhaps downbeat feel to it though I would say ultimately there is a hopefulness there even if it is one that is born from the grim.

The acting from the two main characters is very powerful and I think both leave quite the impression. They feel real in a way that a lot of characters in films never do, they feel like people you could meet, people who you might see out and about, there is no element of Hollywoodization here.

My main critique of this film would be that it is not for everyone, for some who like moody reflective pieces then this will have an appeal but for others then they will be put off by the gritty realism at times. Also for me I would have liked a little more detail plot wise I understand it is a short but I would have liked to have gotten to know the characters more.

3/5

Pros.

The realism

The emotions

The ending.

Cons.

It is quite grim

It will not be for everyone

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Asteroid City: Are We Alone In The Universe

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of people end up trapped out in the dessert where they are visited by an alien being.

As many of you know I am a big Wes Anderson fan, and as such there are things in this film that I can overlook especially as after The French Dispatch Anderson’s last and probably worst film I was in dire need of a good Anderson film again.

For the most part I thought the cast worked well and Anderson’s trademark quirk and charm was there in abundance for all to see. There are a number of good moments peppered in throughout the film, some cheer worthy even, and Jason Schwartzman anchored the film perfectly.

However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this film feels very messy at times and I think Anderson tried to do too much, especially with the play inside of the film aspects of it, again this crossed back into stuff he was doing in The French Dispatch that didn’t work there or here. The film as a whole would have been better if Anderson had just tried to tell a linear story rather than trying to go for a more meta textual approach.

Overall, better in many ways than The French Dispatch but there is still some modern Anderson issues here, it is understandable for a filmmaker to want to try and shake things up, but these new changes can’t help but make you miss Anderson’s older films.

3.5/5

Pros.

An interesting narrative

Back to form

Anderson’s charming quirks

Solid performances across the board

Cons.

It comes across as a little smug at times

Pacing issues

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Secret Invasion: Another Act Of MCU Self Harm

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Nick Fury, played by Samuel. L. Jackson returns to earth to try and stop a Skrull terrorist network. This will be an overview of the series.

Deary me, after all the talk of Marvel’s decline they decide to bring this out. Now I am not one for saying that if you adapt a comic storyline you have to do so faithfully and with due reverence, however, this feels like spitting on the face of the comic and replacing it with something that can only be described as hot and steaming.

I think my major issue with this is that rather than be a big epic event like in the comics it is so small scale that you question the budget for the show. One has to ask could they not afford Brie Larson’s salary to get her to appear, as Captain Marvel is deeply tied to the Skrulls. They dredge out the idea that this is person for Fury and this is his last go around, and then are too afraid to kill him off, making it all null.

The new characters added are pretty rancid, I will give the show that I am interested to see more of Olivia Colman’s British secret agent character only really because I am a fan of Colman and also I hope it leads to Excalibur. However, outside of Colman the rest are non-entities. We have a new American president, who is an obvious Trump parallel, because that is what the MCU really needed, another group of terrorists where the show tries to be sympathetic and goes oh but actually they were let down by an MCU hero so that makes them complex and nuanced, when they are just terrorists. Then there is Emilia Clarke’s G’iah, yet another overly power CGI hero because we don’t already have enough of them, there is nothing likeable or interesting about her character, hopefully she will be one that Marvel just lets drop off the grid and quietly die.

Overall, another milestone in the decline and death of the MCU.

1/5

Pros.

Colman

Cons.

It ruins Nick Fury in a pretty big way

It spits on the comics storyline

It is boring and awfully paced

The budgeting concerns were readily apparent

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