The King Of Comedy: King For A Night

The King Of Comedy is a satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese. The plot follows Rupert Pupkin (Robert DeNiro), a man who is by all means a failure in his life, but dreams of being a big-time late-night host. When it looks like Rupert is going to get that chance, only for it to be taken away from him, he decides to take drastic action and kidnap a late-night host to try and blackmail people into giving him is big break.

*I had never watched this film before, but as I was watching it I couldn’t help but think of Joker the plots of these two films are very similar, the director of Joker supposedly said it was a homage to The King Of Comedy, but it feels more than that to me. Watching this made me like Joker less.

I believe this film deserves more praise than it gets, is it Scorsese’s best? No, it isn’t. Is it in his top 5? Again no, but I still think this is an above average good film.

One of the things I liked most about it was how the world Rupert saw and the actual world around him seemed to be constantly at odds. The TV producers would entirely ignore him and not give him the time of day, but in his head Rupert see them inviting him to their house as an old friend. What’s more I like how Rupert is slowly shown to be more and more crazy over the course of the film, this is handled in a subtle way which I appreciated.

DeNiro gives a good performance, as he always did before 2010, he plays Rupert will a sort of tragic presence that can’t help but make us emote with the character despite him being a bad person on multiple levels. He also imbues Rupert with a quiet sense of dread, he makes him into a ticking time bomb, as you are fully aware, he could slip into fully manic insanity at any minute.

The comedy in this film, as this is after all a comedy film even if it doesn’t feel like one a lot of the time, is well done especially Rupert’s set when he actually gets to go up on stage and deliver it. There are a good number of chuckles peppered in here and there.

My two main issues with this film are the fact that it goes on for two long and that other than Rupert I didn’t care about a single other character on screen; though maybe that was intentional. I believe these two issues go hand in hand, as the film devotes time to some of these supporting characters you just don’t care about; they feel like an unwanted distraction away from the A Plot.

Overall a very solid picture, and not one I can hugely fault. I think it could be edited down to a more bearable length, one in which my mind won’t wonder as a result of boredom and the long runtime, but other than that this is another interesting DeNiro Scorsese project.

Pros.

Interesting story.

DeNiro.

Good dark comedy.

Cons.

Pacing issues.

Boring side characters.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Bling Ring: Crime, Fashion And Celebrity

The Bling Ring is a satirical crime film, written directed and produced by Sofia Coppola. The film tells the tale of the real-life Bling Ring a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of famous Hollywood celebrities when they were out of town, their victims included Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Orlando Bloom.

I have to say for years I had no interest in this film, but when someone told me recently that it was directed by Sofia Coppola, the person behind Lost In Translation and The Beguiled, I decided to give it a go. To describe this film in a sentence, it is the very definition of style over substance. I understand that might have been an intentional choice on the part of the director, but it works to the film’s detriment.

The cinematography and editing of the film of the film is all very flashy and looks pretty, but overall it feels incredibly dated. There is a slow-motion sequence of the gang walking down the street to the song Power by Kayne West and it feels incredibly 2013. However, some of the film’s elements like the random inclusion of interviews here and there do a lot to breakup the film and keep it engaging.

The story itself is interesting, we are invited into the world of these selfish self-absorbed teenagers who think there is nothing more important than being rich and famous, they are the epitome of the words vapid and vain. We root against these characters and want to see them fail, though the film makes you think is it really the characters fault or is it the culture they have been raised in?

The social commentary elements add some depth to this film, but not as much as you would like. It still feels very shallow.

The cast is fine and serviceable, but they are nothing special. The main characters, I can’t remember their names, are entirely eclipsed by Emma Watson’s character who is a supporting character at best. Watson is basically playing herself, if a slightly bad version, because as I often say she can’t act. Her character is very hateable, and the ending really hits that home.

Overall, this film feels like it has ideas of grandeur, of being an art house film that has something to say about society, but instead it feels hollow and lacking, which is a shame as this film had potential.

Pros.

Interesting story.

Social commentary.

Sofia’s style.

Cons.

Emma Watson can’t act.

It feels dated.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Dracula: How To Destroy Potential In One Episode

Dracula is a three-part horror TV series developed by Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. The story is yet another retelling of Bram Stoker’s seminal novel Dracula this time with a twist. This time around the Harker family take up a new position in the narrative, and the struggle between Dracula and Van Helsing is shown to exist across multiple lifetimes and members of the Van Helsing family.

This series left a bitter taste in my mouth. I love Dracula and I’ve read the book several times and consumed most media related to it and my issue with this iteration of the story wasn’t the changes or the fresh take, but how they chose to end it. That third episode was woeful, and that seems to be near universally accepted. Not only do they have Lucy Westenra, and the rest of the characters as 20 something club goers, which is painful to see, and informs me that Moffat and Gatiss haven’t ever actually talked to a young person in their lives. It is beyond cringey. Worse so, they decide to have Van Helsing and Dracula die together almost as lovers, which is not only a slap to the face, but also a kick in the balls.

It is such a shame that the third episode is as bad as it is, as the other two episodes were nothing sort of terrific. I liked the changes to the established story in the first few episodes as they made sense, and the direction the story took was fresh and interesting. I liked most of the stuff they were putting down, it had just the right amount of good horror mixed in as well. What’s more the new Dracula Claes Bang is magnificent; he is my favourite on-screen iteration of the character so far. He plays the character with just enough humour to be likeable and just enough menace that you never want to let your guard down. I would love to see more of his interpretation of the character, but sadly we will never get that.

Overall, the first two episodes of this show had it set to be something special, but the horrific, cringey mess that was the third episode not only shot the series in the foot, but also put a stake through its heart and set it on fire. The first two episodes would have been 5/5, but that third episode ruins it all.

Pros.

Claes Bang Is Great.

The First Two Episodes Are Magnificent.

Some Of The Changes Work.

Cons.

The Cringe Inducing, Lore Destroying, Baffling Third Episode.

The Idea Of Having Dracula and Van Helsing Romantically Linked.

3/5 and that’s being generous.

Reviewed By Luke

Parasite: A Chain Of Trust Must Never Be Broken

Parasite is a South Korean dark comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-Ho. The film revolves around a poor family (The Kim Family), that one by one infiltrate the services of a rich family (The Park Family), to live the high life as well as to benefit financially. The Kim family uses fake documents to pose as well-trained professionals as well as a series of underhanded tactics, which grow in seriousness across the film.

This film is a dark comedy done right. The tone perfectly straddles the line between comedy and tragedy as all good dark comedies should do. There were moments of hilarity such as when Park Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun) and Yeon-gyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) are engaging in some sexy role play, which to them involves them being poor and dealing drugs, all the while the actual poor members of the Kim family are all hidden under the table. This scene amused me, but also made me think, it furthers the theme of a class divide which is pivotal to this film. It paints the Kim family and the Park family as drastic opposites, almost different species.

The idea of this class divide is best shown in one of the film’s final scenes when Kim Ke-jeong (Park So-dam), gets stabbed by the crazy guy from the basement, more on that later, and no one seems to care. She has been a good friend to the Park family, or at least she appeared that way, but when the time came they didn’t give her a second thought; yes an argument could be made that they were preoccupied with saving their own son, but they could have still done something.

There are parts of this film where it veers into strange and crazy ideas, these are the best bits. As the film escalates it gets more and more manic, the world becomes unstable, with some films especially films that are supposed to be realistic like this one, venturing into this kind of territory can be disastrous, but in Parasites case it works really well; it thrives in the chaos.

Overall, this is a very entertaining film it had great moments of tension and comedy and it even managed to make me think. The ending even had a tear in my eye. A beautiful film.

Pros.

A Perfect Dark Comedy.

Great Performances.

A Superb Ending.

Embracing The Crazy.

Cons.

Maybe A Little Too Long.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Velvet Buzzsaw: An Exercise In Pretension

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is a satirical supernatural horror film written and directed by Dan Gilroy. The plot of the film revolves around a collection of painting that is both captivating and deadly; there is something alive within the paintings that either kills people or makes them kill themselves. The film also serves to lambast and spoof the art world.

Before I get into this review, I want to say that ‘Nightcrawler’ Gilroy’s other work with Jake Gyllenhaal is a masterpiece, being able to really show off its dark sensibilities and mustering a fantastic performance from Gyllenhaal. There is something about ‘Nightcrawler’ that makes it alarming every time you see it, even though by that point you know how it ends.

The same can’t be said for ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’. My main issue with this film is how up its own arse it is, it seems to think it is the best film that you will see all year; which it isn’t. The satirical elements of the film fail so much so, that I wasn’t even aware it was supposed to be that way until I sat down to research this review. The only thing that might clue you into the fact that this is supposed to be satirical is the fact that all the characters are deeply unlikeable; though I thought that was just bad writing.

Rene Russo and Gyllenhaal try their best and give good performances, which serve as a saving grace for this film, but only barely. The rest of the cast are terrible, Toni Collette’s performance has zero energy and feels like she is trying to give a bad performance for whatever reason. Zawe Ashton has one facial expression for the whole film and to call her wooden would be generous and ‘Stranger Things’ own Natalia Dyer feels like she is only in the film on Netflix’s behest to try and get more people to be like, “oh she was in Stranger Things I should probably rewatch that”.

The horror concepts of this film are interesting and there are a few good scares peppered throughout. However, they just aren’t enough, this film is 20 per cent inspired horror and then 80 per cent lost up its own arse as to how good it is; which is a terrible shame as I was excited to watch a film from the writer-director behind Nightcrawler and his strange, but always excellent muse Jake Gyllenhaal.

Overall this is an exercise in pretension that falls flat whilst also being incredibly hollow.

Pros.

Jake Gyllenhaal Is Always Fantastic.

Some Good Horror Moments.

An Interesting Concept.

Cons.

The Terrible Cast.

The Smug Sense Of Self This Film Has.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Creep 2: Netflix, Give Mark Duplass All Your Money Please

‘Creep 2’ is a found footage psychological horror film directed by Patrick Brice. The plot this time sees online personality Sara (Desiree Akhavan), answer serial killer Josef (Mark Duplass), here called Aaron’s online ad, to film him for the day. He has lost his drive as a serial killer and is stuck in a rout: as such he wants Sara to make a documentary about him to try and relight the spark, he once had for killing.

This film does something very few other films can do, it manages to one-up its fantastic predecessor. ‘Creep 2’ plays up the more comedic elements of the film this time around and it makes for a hilarious experience that also has some great chilling moments: managing to not only do justice to these two elements but do them fantastically well.

Duplass is terrific once again, proving that comedians do horror really well, he manages to make this evil serial killer likeable and to an extent sympathetic. It turns out midway through the film that Aaron plans to kill himself at the end of the day and have Sara carry on his work, this is genuinely shocking and you don’t see it coming. The relationship between the two is simply fantastic it has shades of mentor-mentee, but also shades of a serial killer couple. The ending of the film is highly suggestive that there will be more for these two in the future.

From a dark comedy perspective, this film is a masterclass it compares being a serial killer to being a director who is on a downward spiral and to me that is incredibly funny. The humour works really well and meshes with the tone perfectly, both Akhavan and Duplass have moments of comic genius.

Akhavan is amazing, she has a fantastic repour with Duplass and the two do great things, I would like to see her come back in the future and maybe become a serial killer herself. She meets Duplass’s crazy and raises it.

Overall this film is a triumph and manages to one up a magnificent first entry, the relationship between Sara and Aaron is great and something I want to see explored more in a third film. If you like ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ you will like this, I guarantee it. By playing up the more comedic aspects ‘Creep 2’ is elevated to a whole new level.

Pros.

Akhavan Is Amazing.

So Is Duplass.

Serial Killer Couple?

The Ending.

Cons.

I Want More.

4.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

The Favourite: Gaining The Queen’s Favor

‘The Favourite’ is a period black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. It revolves around two cousins Sarah (Rachel Weisz), and Abigail (Emma Stone), who are both vying to be the court favourite of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), there is no extreme these cousins/ rivals will not go to in their quest to oust the other.

This is a pitch-black comedy film and it knows it, if you have that sort of comedy sensibilities then you will think that this film is hilarious. Both Weisz and Stone are hilarious proving that they both have great comedy chops. The film takes how bleak and depressing life was in this period and makes a joke out of it at every turn. Everything in this film is played up to an almost manic degree, an example of this would be the two rival factions that run the government that both want the Queen’s attention. One of these factions is lead by Harley (Nicholas Hoult), who is a delightfully over the top hammy sub-antagonist.

There are some moments in this film where the comedy ends and there are some moments that really tug on the heartstrings, an example of this would be when Queen Anne tells Abigail about all the children she has lost. This shows how ‘The Favourite’ can shoot on both fronts and do well, both in comedy as well as in drama. A lot of this drama is done to perfection by Colman, but more on here later.

My one issue with this film is that the ending isn’t very strong. The ending is quite introspective and almost trippy in a way which doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the film, but this didn’t really affect my overall enjoyment of the film.

Finally, I just want to say about the phenomenal job that Olivia Colman does, this is after all the film that won her an Oscar. Colman plays Anne as a broken soul, a person that has lost a lot and just wants to be loved, she has almost has a childlike innocence to her performance that makes it so tragic.

Overall, this film is a masterclass in dark comedy and if you like things like ‘The Death Of Stalin’ or ‘The Thick Of It’ you will find something to like here, the film is let down by it’s ending, but is fantastic in every other respect.

Pros.

Genuinely Funny.

Also Has Great Emotional Stakes.

Weisz And Stone Are Both Fantastic.

So Is Colman.

Cons.

The Ending Is Disappointing.

3.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Creep: Another Comedian To Horror Maestro Success Story

‘Creep’ is an independent found footage psychological horror film directed by Patrick Brice. The narrative follows Aaron (Played by Brice), as a camera man who answers an online ad, to go and film Josef (Mark Duplass) for the day. As the day plays out Aaron quickly realises that Josef is not who he claims to be, and things take a turn for the worse.

I had heard praise for this film for quite some time, but for one reason or another I hadn’t got around to seeing it and now that I have, I can tell you it is terrific. Found footage as a genre as been done to death, no argument can be made that will convince me otherwise, with the likes of the Blair Witch revival and the continued Paranormal Activity franchise, I believed there was nothing left in this genre that could shock or perhaps scare me, I was wrong.

The reason why ‘Creep’ is scary is all down to the writing and the characterisation of Josef. When we are introduced to him, we are told he is a sick man with only a few weeks to live, this get us to feel sorry for him, as the film progress we see that he is a little odd, but crucially we still like him. Even in the films third act when everything has become very manic Josef is still treated like a sympathetic character that’s why Aaron goes to see him one last time.

The complete shifts in mood that Duplass so perfectly brings to the screen wherein we see Josef go from Sad to Manic to Evil are chilling. With the final reveal showing us that Aaron is not the first victim, but instead one of many, making you as an individual, question how you could be so wrong about a character as for the most part of the film you thought he was a likeable sympathetic character.

As I have said before in other reviews, I find mental illness and the threat humans poses to each other and man-made evil, much more frightening than a demon or a ghost. I believe 100% that it is this focus on a threat that is very real, something that could realistically happen to any of us at any time, that makes this film so scary.

A genuinely shocking horror film that showed me there was still some life in the found footage genre.

Pros.

The Novel Approach To Found Footage.

Duplass.

The Excellent Tension And Scares.

Making You Question Which Characters You Trust In Future.

Cons.

It’s A Little Bit Goofy At Times When It Shouldn’t Be.

Uncut Gems: Sandler’s Standout

‘Uncut Gems’ is a crime thriller film directed by the Safdie brothers. The plot revolves around a jeweler called Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) who due to his gambling addiction get in debt over his head to a loan shark and has to rely on a precious gemstone to pay off his debts.

This film has more in common with a tragedy than anything else, things always seem to go from bad to worse for Howard and though he is a despicable character in a lot of ways you still want to see him win- even if it is just once. As the film progress, Howard becomes a pathetically sympathetic character and you can’t help but root for him; this makes the abrupt and depressing ending both heart-breaking and unexpected.

‘Uncut Gems’ is a testament to Sandler as an actor. Yes, he is often the butt of the joke, but this film proves that when he is trying and has something good to work with, he can deliver a magnificent performance. Sandler loses himself in the role and other than one moment with a brief crass joke, that didn’t fit the tone, I viewed him as the character rather than Adam Sandler the actor playing a character.

Some sequences in this film possess a hypnotic dreamlike quality to them, which feels like something from a Nicolas Winding Refn film, whenever we get a sequence like this we are in for a treat. These sequences add a sense of very light fantasy to what is otherwise a deeply gritty film; they hint at a higher mythology.

The greatest asset of this film is its ability to create tension which it uses often and to great effect. There are some scenes where you will be on the edge of your seat, to use that rather trite bit of hyperbole. You will feel yourself tighten up as you know something bad is about to happen it is just a matter of what and when.

Overall, this film is a triumph of filmmaking, it is a damn shame it wasn’t nominated for anything at the Oscars as this film is truly deserving. Hopefully, this film will convince Adam Sandler to dedicate more of his time to serious film project rather than films where he talks about poo; admittedly these can be good look at ‘Big Daddy’, but they are also typecasting him as an actor. I think this film should be seen as it is a joy to watch- prepare to cry at the end though.

Pros.

The Direction.

The More Dreamlike Sequences.

Sandler.

The Great Sense Of Tension.

The Heart-Breaking Ending.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Mr Right: A New Type Of Killer Clown

‘Mr Right’ is a romantic comedy, action film. The plot follows Martha (Anna Kendrick), a recently single women who meets Francis (Sam Rockwell), a man who seems perfect for her, until she finds out that he is a hitman. From there the story goes down the lines of Francis’s old partner wants to get him back in the game, a gang hires Francis, but then tries to kill him; as Francis has a rule of killing those that hire him after a shift in his morals, as well as the will they wont they romance of Martha and Francis.

I have to say this film was far more enjoyable than I thought it would be, this is mainly due to the fact that Rockwell is a terrific and naturally charming lead. There is a real heart to this film that prevails all the killing and the shooting and at the end of the film you are glad to see the pair end up together.

The action scenes of the film are mostly fun there are some good moments that have strong choreography, but the rest are just either Rockwell or Kendrick shooting someone which after a while gets boring.

I’m not saying Anna Kendrick can’t act but, she is playing the same character she always plays the loveable goofy oddball. The opening act of this film that sees her crying in a closest and being drunk rambling about her ex could be from any of her films. That is not to say she isn’t good in this film she is fine, but it would be interesting to see her play a different type of character.

The humour of the film I found to be a mixed bag, at times it made me smile and elevated the scene it was used in, other times it made me groan and felt like bad cringe. I would say that a lot of Rockwell’s comedy lands as he has very good delivery and timing and seems to know when to play it straight and when to crack a joke. The same can’t be said for everyone else, however.

Finally, it is nice to see Anson Mount in something, it has been too long, and he always gives a good performance even if he is only on scene for a matter of minutes.

Overall, this film is on the better side of average this is owed wholly to Rockwell. He elevates this film past the mediocrity that it could easily have fallen into. Kendrick is serviceable and the romance is sweet, it’s good but, you won’t remember it.

Pros.

Rockwell.

Some Of The Action Sequences.

The Humour.

Cons.

The Humour.

Kendrick Is Playing The Same Character As Always.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke