Copshop: Balloons Make A Great Shield To Mask Your Identity

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A fixer, Frank Grillo, and a hitman, Gerard Butler, find themselves locked together in a police station, with a rookie police officer, Alexis Louder, trying to figure out what is going on and why everyone wants the fixer dead.

Very much like with Joe Carnahan’s other work this film is very stylised, moreover it benefits from being this way: having a very distinctive visual pleat that draws on grindhouse and exploitation elements whilst keeping things fresh.

Surprisingly following Carnahan’s Boss Level, I find Frank Grillo not in best shape here. I understand the script wants us to view Grillo’s character as an unfeeling cold escape artist, but the film does not do enough to set that up, rather it just makes leaps in character development that just assume the audience is already viewing the character that way, which they most likely aren’t.

It is because of this that Butler really becomes the star of the show and manages to outperform Grillo seizing the lime light and the potential sequel. The only threat to Butler in this regard is Toby Huss, as the secondary hitman sent in to clean up Butler’s characters mistakes. Huss steals the show and has sone of the most memorable lines of dialogue I have heard in a long time, I know the film kills him off but if they do do a sequel he needs to come back in some way. Maybe a twin brother.

The crime thriller elements were engaging if a little generic at times, however they were elevated by the quirky personality of the film and some of the more out there comedic moments that strangely not only land but work.

Overall, the style and the humour elevate what could otherwise be a by the numbers thriller.

Pros.

Huss

Butler

The personality

Cons.

A generic plot

A few issues with character development

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I’m Your Man: A Human Robot Love Affair Is The Next Stage Of Human Evolution

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Scientist Alma, Maren Eggert, is tasked with completing a three week trial with a humanoid robot, played by Dan Stevens, who is designed to be the man of her dreams. When the three weeks are up she is to write either in favour, or not, of giving these robotic beings rights based on her experiences.

I enjoyed this film quite a lot. I thought it had such a huge heart that it was almost impossible not to like it. The film tries to further the questions of what does it mean to be human and can love transcend all bounds, in this case can a human woman love a robot man, is the robot man even capable of feeling love? I feel it does an admiral job of this and gives us a response to these questions that is deep and multi-layered, the response the question deserves.

I also found this film to be quite funny, there was a lot of humour situated around how Steven’s robot character responded to Alma’s initial rejection and also his day to day life, which is odd by human standards. Most of this humour landed for me and made me chuckle, it was not a laugh out loud sort of film, but there were plenty of chuckle worthy moments.

Overall, a sweet film that has a lot to say about life, love and robotics.

Pros.

Eggert

Stevens

The sweet love story

Trying to answer the big questions

A number of funny moments

Cons.

The beginning is initially confusing as the film doesn’t do a good job explaining early on what is happening.

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Attack Of The Hollywood Cliches: Saying What We Are Thinking

4.5 /5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A gathering of famous faces and critics get together to rip apart some of the silliest but most pervasive cliches in Hollywood.

I thought this was one of the most spot on and funniest pieces of content I have watched in a long time. You can feel Charlie Brooker’s hand silently influencing events as the show progresses despite his entire lack of involvement, and that is the biggest compliment I could give this film.

Anyone can watch this and understand what they are talking about, but for anyone who has ever studied film this takes on a whole new dimension and almost feels like it is speaking to you. The thoughts and notions all these critics and famous people are having are in-line with our own and you feel like saying ‘thank you’, as someone has finally said it.

I think the strongest element with this is of course Rob Lowe. As anyone who has frequented my reviews will know I do like Rob Lowe quite a bit, he is always good in pretty much any role: this film proves that more than any other as Lowe has the time of his life as host and brings everything together with such fantastic timing and showmanship that quite frankly you are in awe.

Overall, a very funny stand up to film.

Pros.

Lowe

It points out things that you have always thought

It insightful

It feel Brooker esque

Cons.

Not for everyone

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Charlies Angels: Elizabeth Banks Is Not A Good Screen Writer

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A female empowerment reboot of a beloved property sees a new group of Angels act in order to save the world.

This is why you should keep identity politics out of films, or if you are going to force it in at least do it well. A lot of films are strongly political and have a message to them, but for the most part they do it well and make it feel organic to the narrative, they don’t force it down your throat and then call you names for not enjoying it. This film does just that.

Nearly every line in this film has some jab about current politics, or should I say the politics of the year this came out, which now feels incredibly dated and old. What makes this worse is that it comes off as preachy in the worst way, as the out of touch Hollywood millionaires telling you what to think, do and say.

The only reason this film gets a one from me is because Kristen Stewart is having so much fun it is infectious. Stewart really is the shining light and saving grace of this film, if it were not for her this film would be unbearable to stomach for more than a few minutes at a time.

Overall, maybe for her next film Elizabeth Banks should let someone else do the writing.

Pros.

Stewart is having fun

Cons.

It is preachy

It forces its message and its politics down your throat

It is dumb

It is cringe

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Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn: The Sex Tape You Need To See

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A school teacher, Katia Pascariu, must face a tribunal after her sex tape makes its way onto the internet.

This is one of the most refreshing films I have seen in a while. Not only is this film not afraid to take risks and cross the line, but it is also incredibly novel in a number of ways regarding storytelling that really help the film to feel unique and unlike anything else you would have previously seen.

This will not be for everyone as there are unsimulated sex acts on display which may make some people feel uncomfortable. However, it is not done in a creepy way rather the opposite, the nudity and sex in this film is used to remind us of our humanity and criticise the way the world is structured into a prudish sense of shaming anyone for enjoying sex.

I am not from Romania so I can’t confirm or deny how on or off base this film was in its comments about life in the country but I can say a lot of the points this film made about life, society and people felt true to me about my country miles away. I found this film to be incredibly insightful. There is a section of this film that is just graphics for about half an hour, the plot stops and it is random bits of text set to footage, now this doesn’t sound like it would work but it really does.

Overall, this is just what I needed a breath of fresh air.

Pro.

The originality

The comments about society

The humour and the absurdity

The way the story is told

The ending

Cons.

It may make some uncomfortable with how graphic its sex scenes are

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Queenpins: Kristen Bell Stopped Trying

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We follow Connie, Kristen Bell, and Jojo, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, as they create the biggest fake coupon ring in US history, supposedly based on a true story.

This one was a disappointment. I had been eagerly awaiting the release of this film as the trailer looked good, however, it turned out to be just another silly crime story. By that I mean its formulaic, the unlikely criminal becomes a criminal then becomes successful and then from an equally unlikely source they are brought down- it has been done a lot before.

Moreover, the leads don’t really bring much to the table. Howell-Baptiste is never really given much to do and basically gets to play side kick to Kristen Bell the whole film which is a shame as of the two I think Howell Baptiste shows the most promise here. Bell on the other hand doesn’t even seem to be trying she is playing a version of the same character she has played time and again before, the slightly naïve do gooder with a dark streak- see the Bad Moms films for more of that. Paul Walter Hauser is also playing the same character he has done before but his relationship with Vince Vaughn’s Simon does end up giving him a nice little character arc. Vaughn is the saving grace of the film, and he does provide the laughs if it were not for him this film would be much worse.

The feminist messages in the film are at best weak and pointless and worst awkward. Referring to themselves multiple times as ‘Queenpins’ felt cringe and then having the female character being motivated to act because she wants to get pregnant feels almost inherently sexist, women can want more than a child you know Hollywood. The whole cake line was also very needless, if you have seen the film you will know what I mean.

Overall, if it were not for Vince Vaughn this film would have been even worse.

Pros.

Vaughn

A few laughs

Cons.

Bell

The forced in feminism

They don’t give Howell-Baptiste anything to work with

It feels too familiar

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Nacho Libre: The Greatest Wrestler Of Them All

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A Friar, Jack Black, dreams of becoming a luchador.

Before this viewing I had never seen this film all the way through before. Upon finishing it for the first time I found it to be enjoyable if not overly impressive.

Black is always very likeable and that is true here, his character of Ignacio is very easy to root for and you do develop a bond with him over the course of the film. Additionally he also gets several funny lines, I would say he was the only character in the film that made me laugh. Not all of the jokes landed, especially with the side characters, but enough of them did that it kept me engaged; Black has fantastic comedic delivery.

I enjoyed the look into the world of Mexican wrestling and luchador culture and think that more films should focus on it. Admittedly, I think the story would have been better served by having a Mexican actor in the lead rather than Jack Black as there was an element of white saviour to the film that I really didn’t like.

Overall, though the casting is troublesome I found this film to be enjoyable and even funny at times, not perfect but entertaining.

Pros.

Black

The comedy

The look into luchador culture

Cons.

The white saviour aspects

Not all the jokes land

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Nightbooks: We Need More Of Krysten Ritter In This Role

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young boy, Winslow Fegley, obsessed with all things horror is kidnapped by an evil witch, Krysten Ritter, and forced to write her scary stories.

I enjoyed this film quite a lot, it turned out to be much more narly and hardcore than I was expecting it to be, and it managed to create some great horror visuals over the course of its runtime. In some ways this was more scary than a lot of the adult horrors out there.

The best thing about this film is easily the performance given by Ritter. By now you should all know that Ritter is an incredible talent, but if you didn’t know it for some reason this film proves it to you. She manages to pull off so many different emotions with just her face alone without even the need for words. She captures comedy, sadness and intense anger and rage completely, and manages to make her character both sympathetic and loathsome.

Even the child actors were fairly good, that in and off itself is a big deal as child actors are never good.

Overall, a lot of fun.

Pros.

Ritter

The scares

The ending

The characters

Cons.

The Hansel and Gretel twist was a bit too obvious

The Obscure Life Of The Grand Duke Of Corsica: Madness Made Manifest

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An off kilter architect, Timothy Spall, begins working for an eccentric rich man, Peter Stormare, who calls himself The Grand Duke of Corsica.

I enjoyed this film far more than I thought I was going to. Yes, there are moments of abstractness that are so seemingly random and out of place that they don’t fit into the sequence, which becomes jarring, but on the whole the strangeness of the film really works and helps it to become something truly unique.

Both Spall and Stormare bring their A game thought I would say Stormare slightly pips it. Both men bring a lot of depth and nuance to their characters and explore them in interesting ways that makes you question your preconceived notions.

The flashback subplot, or was it a film, didn’t really work for me. I understand the parallel they were trying to create but there was not enough connective tissue there to really bring it together into a meaningful whole.

Overall, an interesting strange film that for the most part gets it right, though it does cross the line a few times.

Pros.
Spall

Stormare

The strangeness

The ending

Cons.

The flashback subplot

Occasionally the film felt like it was being strange for the sake of it

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Best Sellers: Urinating On Books, The Hallmark Of A Good Writer

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A publishing house on the edge of ruin finds solace in an anarchistic old writer, Michael Cain, can his new book be the thing to save them?

I find this film has moments of heart and genuine emotion but then it pushes too far into oversentimental territory. When the film becomes overly sentimental the problems with the script become increasingly apparent to a point where it almost feels emotionally manipulative.

However, the film does have its moments and I think Caine does a very good job here, his character is layered and multifaceted and grows on you over the course of the film. He has a good amount of on screen chemistry with Aubrey Plaza’s character and the two have excellent rapport. Plaza is as always very good; she does a lot with the little she is given, and she makes for a very relatable and likeable lead.

Overall, though this film wanders into the realm of the cliched and overly sentimental it still has enough heart and warmth to keep it on track.

Pros.

Plaza

Caine

The emotion for the most part

Cons.

The over sentimentality

A weak script

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