The Heat: Paul Feig Pulls Off The Impossible Again

The Heat is a buddy cop comedy film directed by Paul Feig. The plot follows uptight FBI agent Ashburn (Sandra Bullock), as she is forced to work with unsavoury, unconventional beat cop Mullin’s (Melissa McCarthy). You guessed it, the two polar opposites learn a little from the other and become more rounded people and friends along the way.

So, yes the premise is uninspired and has been done one million times before, there is very little about this film that feels truly original. The plot is predictable and goes the way you would expect it to, there are no surprises, but this was never going to be that kind of film.

What impress me about this film is that Feig managed to do the impossible twice, the impossible being making Melissa McCarthy funny. Here McCarthy actually has quite a lot of funny moments and jokes that seem thought out, rather than just oh look she feel over, or oh look something about poo; maybe McCarthy should stop making films with her husband and only make comedy films with Feig, cleaning up her poor filmography.

The buddy cop dynamic between Bullock and McCarthy works well and they are each a good foil to the other, Bullock particularly handles the comedy well and manages to keep pace with McCarthy.

Overall, Paul Feig manages to make McCarthy funny which is no mean feat. If the plot was a little more original and a little less familiar I would be giving it top marks, but as is, it is okay.

Pros.

The dynamic between the leads

McCarthy and Bullock are both funny

The jokes are funny and smart

Cons.

It is so familiar

It is too long

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Tax Collector: One To Clutch Your Pearls At

The Tax Collector is an action thriller film directed by David Ayer. The plot follows local crime duo David (Bobby Soto), and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf), who collect money from all the little gangs and pass it on to those higher up. One day a rival from the past arrives and threatens the duos way of life, rather than surrender they go to war.

This film is painfully unpleasant, to the point where I actually almost turned it off several times; watching it depressed me too much. I am no stranger to gore, being a big horror fan, but I don’t need to see a man getting nails hammered into his legs whilst also having his face stomped on, call me old fashioned, but it seems a tad excessive. I understand what Ayer was trying to do, making it as realistic as possible, but he didn’t stop to think just how off-putting that might be. The film is unrelentingly grim.

The acting is strong and is probably the high point of the film, Soto is good and carries the film well even if he is upstaged at times by the other performers. LaBeouf is like a man possessed here, he fully sinks into the role in a way that is almost scary, he is terrific. Sadly his role is only quite small. There is also a nice cameo from Jimmy Smits at the end of film that sets up a potential sequel.

Overall, a strong action film that has a lot of good tension and keen stakes, the issue is the violence is a little too graphic and feels done for nothing more than shock value disguised as accuracy.

Pros.

Soto

LaBeouf

Smits’ cameo

The tension and the final showdown

Cons.

The violence is off-putting

3.5/5

An Evening With Beverly Luff Lin: The Sensual Art Of The Grunt

An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn is a comedy crime film directed by Jim Hosking. The plot follows Lulu (Aubrey Plaza), as she runs away from her husband with a hired hitman (Jermaine Clement), to a hotel where her old flame (Craig Robinson) is singing.

So, this was a weird one, I had no idea what this film was about going into it, I was not familiar with Hosking or his other works beforehand, so I was not aware of what to expect. I mainly put this on because it had three of my favourite actors in it, Matt Berry, Jermaine Clement and Aubrey Plaza, and hey it was one hell of a trip.

This film does take some getting used to, as it is unlike most other films that I have ever seen, Robinson’s character mainly communicates in grunts for most of the film, it is bizarre. Think David Lynch, but a little less cerebral.

Plaza is terrific she is giving the character her all and it really shows. She standouts here and proves that she is one of the best young actors currently working. Clement is my personal favourite and I think he is the scene stealer of the film his character has all the best lines and manages to be both threatening and sweet at the same time.

Overall, a very hard film to describe if you haven’t seen it, well worth the watch.

Pros.

The performances

The humour

The building sense of mystery

The ending

Cons.

It is very strange

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Moonwalkers: Faking The Moon Landing

Moonwalkers is a comedy film directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet. The plot follows CIA agent Kidman (Ron Pearlman), as he travels to London to get acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick to fake the moon landing for the American government. However, rather than meet the actual Kubrick Kidman meets two local losers.

This film was one of the best I have seen recently, it was charming, endearing and the action scenes worked surprisingly well and didn’t ruin the tone of the film.

The drug trip look this film goes for works really well and captures the decade of the 60’s really well. It also compliments nicely the plot of the film that is in and of itself more than a bit ridiculous. I for one really enjoyed the absurdness of this film and I think it made standout.

Kidman is perfectly cast as a vet who doesn’t fit in with the world around him. As are Rupert Grint and Robert Sheehan (the two con artists that Kidman falls in with), who perfectly capture the loveable loser angle. Sheehan really gives it his all and gives a very spacey and far out performance that shows why he is one of the best Irish actors currently working.

Overall, this is a hidden gem and definitely worth your time.

Pros.

Perfectly cast

The plot and the setting reflect each other superbly

Great performances

A fun out there premise

Good action scenes

Cons.

It has a few minor pacing issues

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Mickey Blue Eyes: Sleazey

Mickey Blue Eyes is a romantic comedy with a crime twist directed by Kelly Makin. The plot follows auctioneer Michael (Hugh Grant), who finds out his fiancé’s family is heavily involved in the Mafia, he then becomes tangled in a web of lies and half-truths which culminates in a shooting at his wedding.

I enjoyed the premise of this film, I thought it had a lot of good potential and to a degree I was right, but there is also a lot wrong with this film, including said premise losing its charm after about twenty minutes in.

So, one thing I loved about this film was the number of cameos from Sopranos actors, I took great delight in pointing out each one as they came on the screen. In my mind I like to think the film is set in the same universe as the show, it makes it a hell of a lot better.

The big issue with this film at least to me is that it is a Hugh Grant rom com, but Grant doesn’t have any of that bumbling British charm that made him so popular. Not only does Grant not have any kind of charm, but his character is often downright dislikeable and to be honest by the end of the film you really aren’t rooting for him anymore.

I feel like that is the problem, this is more trying to put rom-com star Hugh Grant in a crime film than it is trying to put crime elements into a rom-com. The two tones don’t work and what you’re left with is a forgettable mess.

Overall, this film has no charm.

Pros.

The cameos

The premise

Cons.

It doesn’t make the most of the premise

Hugh Grant is charmless

The two tones don’t work well together

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Kitchen: McCarthy Mob Boss

The Kitchen is a crime film directed by Andrea Berloff. The plot sees three women single handily take over the Irish Mob, however problems soon arise, and things start to get messy.

This film achieved what I thought to be impossible, it showed me a good Melissa McCarthy performance. McCarthy is often cringey or outright embarrassing to watch on the big screen, but here she stood out, she was commanding, it seems playing it straight suits her.

My main issue with the film is how in your face with its message it is, from the very second the film opens you’re bombarded with agenda. Now I am not saying a film with a very clear message is bad, I am saying the way you deliver that message is everything. For me I appreciate a more subtle nuanced approached, whereas this film chose to whack you over the head with it.

My other issue is Tiffany Haddish. The central three performances are central to the narrative of the film and its believability, I bought McCarthy as someone who would do anything for family, and I bought Elizabeth Moss as a stone-cold killer, Haddish however was thoroughly unconvincing. This is by no means a comedy film, but she plays her role like it is; personally I think she was woefully, and I do mean woefully miscast.

Overall, if you can get past being slapped in the face with politics, this is a surprisingly strong crime drama, Moss, McCarthy and Gleeson are also terrific, sadly Tiffany Haddish is miscast.

Pros.

A good Melissa McCarthy performance

Tense and gritty

A great crime film

Cons.

It is far too preachy

Haddish is miscast

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Gentlemen: Ritchie Is Back

The Gentlemen is a crime film directed by Guy Ritchie. The plot details the British criminal underworld and one man’s fight to stay on top of it against rising factions.

I enjoyed Ritchie’s foray into blockbusters, they were enjoyable enough, but I am glad that he has returned to his roots in the crime genre. No one and I mean no one makes a stylised crime drama film like Guy Ritchie and this film proves that.

My one issue with the film is the way it is structured, there is a lot of jumping around in the timeline and a lot of the film is set to a conversation between gangster Ray (Charlie Hunnam) and tabloid creep Fletcher (Hugh Grant). Now all this jumping around does have a great pay off at the end that brings everything together nicely, the time jumping is not my issue. What I think the problem is, is that the interacts between Ray and Fletcher get boring after a point and feel repetitive, they weigh the film down.

Fletcher is by all means the worst character in the film, incredibly one note and annoying and Grant is given the least to work with of all the cast.

However, this is offset by the fact that most of the other characters are great and leap off the screen at you. Hunnam is magnificent and has a few very memorable scenes, but the two that really steal the show here are Matthew McConaughey as the man who has it all Michael and Colin Farrell as Coach. Farrell’s performance is easily the highlight of the film and he is the most interesting and intriguing character by far; his fight scene in the kabab shop is also fantastic.

Overall, this is a return to form for Ritchie in a big way. The pay off makes the film and solid performances from most of the cast back it up. A must watch for genre fans!

Pros

Farrell, Hunnam, McConaughey

The style of it

The pay off

The kebab shop scene

Cons.

It doesn’t make the most of all of its characters as Grant and Golding’s characters are cut short.

4/5

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

Suburbicon: Not All Actors Can Or Should Direct.

Suburbicon is a crime black comedy film directed by George Clooney. The plot sees tensions mount in a small suburban town after robbers brutally kill a wife/ mother. However, as the film progresses it is shown that there is much more afoot, sinister things indeed and they only escalate.

This should be the last film Clooney directs. That is how I will open this review. Going into this film I had heard mixed things, but the trailer looked good, so I pressed on and my god I wish I hadn’t.

The biggest flaw of the film is the script and the story, really just all the writing in this film is terrible. It is written by the Cohen brothers, who personally I believe are incredibly overrated, and this film proves that not everything they touch turns to gold. There are so many random plot threads all happening at the same time and none of them fit together. It is confusing and poorly structured.

The second biggest flaw is how on the nose it is. Now I have no issue with a film getting political, hell if done right it can be a thing of beauty, but this film did not do it right. While we have the murdered mum storyline, we also have the story of a black family that moves in down the road, they’re abused and humiliated and then later in the film attacked in their home. This plotline does not feel needed or done well it feels stitched together to try and make a point. The ending sees the sons of each family playing catch over a shattered fence, as thought the metaphor is supposed to mean something; all it meant to me was that I have wasted my time. It is not deep or clever and it has about as much finesse and nuance as a festering animal carcass.

Overall, this film proves that not all actors are cut out to direct. Stay in front of the camera Mr Clooney please.

Pros.

The cast are trying, it is just a shame they have nothing to work with.

Cons.

It fails spectacularly to be deep.

The metaphors are ham-fisted and tiresome.

The writing stinks.

None of it makes sense.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Capone: Bronson, The Krays and now Al Capone.

Capone is a biographic crime drama film directed by Josh Trank. The plot details the final years of notorious gangster Al Capone (Tom Hardy), as he battle with multiple health issues and slowly loses himself. There is also a subplot about trying to find some money Capone hid when he was a younger man; which still remains hidden to this day.

This is a testament to Tom Hardy as an actor, he manages to do a lot with very little. Some of Hardy’s lines are just gurgles or incoherent babbling and with a lesser actor it would just be dumb and strange, but Hardy manages to sell it. I think this is going to be a divisive performance from Hardy some people will like it and others won’t; it is very much like his Mad Max performance.

If you go into this thinking it is going to be a gangster crime film then you’re going to be disappointed. This is far more of a drama film. It shows us the decline of this once feared gangster to a point where he is a stranger even to himself, in a lot of ways this film is very sad, it makes you care about Capone despite all of his evil deed and it makes you sad to see him like this.

I think for sure this film can act as redemption for Josh Trank, one day I will write about my thoughts surrounding the treatment of Josh Trank during the Fantastic Four years, but for now I will just say that this film much like Chronicle proves him as a strong director with a keen eye. Both Trank and Hardy are on top form.

Overall, I think this might not be what everyone is expecting, but it is still a fantastic film that you will find hard to take your eyes off. A must watch.

Pros.

Josh Trank.

Making you care about Capone.

Tom Hardy.

The mystery around the money.

The flashbacks and the dreamlike feel.

Cons.

There are some unpleasant sights and I am not talking about the blood.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke