Wildland: What Would You Do For Your Family

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An orphan, played by Sandra Guldberg Kampp, moves in with her aunt, played by Sidse Babett Knudsen, and her sons only to later find out that they are a crime family and that she is now in over her head.

For the most part I enjoyed this film. I thought the film plays with the meaning of family in an interesting way, dissecting the ideas around how far you would go for them and what would you do if the threat came from within the family unit? I found multiple scenes to be incredibly tense and I think that is one of the film’s great strengths, it can turn fairly innocuous dialogue scenes into uneasy experiences where you know something bad is just about to happen and you’re on edge waiting for it.

I thought the actors all gave good performances and you believed that they were indeed a family. Moreover, you also believed they were all gangsters as they carried the roles well and had the right level of menace and coldness to pull it off.

My only real complaint with this film would be that I didn’t like the ending, to me it felt rushed and out of place with the rest of the film. I was left at the end of the film thinking ‘wait what, is that it?’ as it just ends without a satisfying conclusion to the events of the film, but maybe that was the point?

Overall, an interesting crime film that digs a little deeper than most, however the ending could have been better structured and executed.

Pros.

Good performances

A strong sense of threat and tension

Trying to do something different with the gangster genre

Questions around the meaning of family

Cons.

The ending is weak

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The Eyes Of Tammy Faye: Preaching To The Converted

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film details the rise and fall of televangelist preachers Tammy Faye Baker, played by Jessica Chastain, and Jim Baker, played by Andrew Garfield. Based on true events.

For the most part this film is an interesting look into the world of televangelists, showing a behind closed doors look into their world of power, abuse and infighting. It also has a few strongly emotional scenes that do land well, and strike chords within you. However, that is not to say this film is great by any means, there certainly are issues with bias and pacing throughout.

The performances are strong from the central duo, with Chastain giving one of the best performances of her career, and Garfield having some really strong moments of quiet intensity. Moreover, Vincent D’Onofrio steals scenes as Jerry Falwell and is incredibly menacing whenever he is on screen, he is well cast in the antagonist role to the Bakers.

Something I noticed whilst viewing it is this film is very favourable to Tammy Faye, so much so that I was expecting it to have been produced by some of her relatives. I find it hard to understand why the film is so content to go after everyone else involved in this greedy story yet leave her blameless. I think by making her into this blameless angel the film risks losing any kind of realism and instead becomes an effort in aggrandisement.

Moreover, the pace is quite off here. There is no real reason for this film to be on for over two hours, as it could be wrapped up nicely in a tight hour and a half, the only reason I can see for this bloated runtime is because the film likes to indulge itself. A good example of this is the botched ending that sees Tammy sing again for the first time in years, and we see how in her head there is a backing bad and a flag and various other elements, and the song just goes on and on. The film doesn’t know when to end.

Pros.

Chastain

Garfield

D’Onofrio

Cons.

The ending

The bias

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The Meyerowtiz Stories: Adam Sandler Can Act

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film tells the story of three children, played by Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel who are brought back together after the sudden illness of their father played by Dustin Hoffman.

I genuinely do think that when he is trying, and not just trying to goof off with his friends and call it a film, Adam Sandler is a talented dramatic actor. You can see my point here as the film is far more of a character study and drama rather than a comedy film, there are jokes thrown in here and there but for the most part it plays it straight and Sandler excels. Sandler plays the often overlooked and taken for granted son well and you buy his complicated relationship with his dad, you can see the conflict going on within the character. Likewise, I think Ben Stiller also really rises to the dramatic mark here and nails the performance.

I appreciated what this film tried to do in an emotional sense, I thought it was very resonant and that the struggles and situations shown will ring true for a lot of people. I thought the film did justice to the bond between parent and child, showing just how messed up it can be, but that ultimately you can’t change it and can only make peace with it. I found the film to be effecting and it certainly knew how to work my heart strings and make me feel something.

Overall, a strong film proving that Adam Sandler can be a good actor when he wants to be.

Pros.

Nailing the emotion

Sandler

Stiller

Marvel

Cons.

Pacing issues

Hoffman’s father character is a bit one note

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Lamb: Don’t Think About The Origins

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A farming couple in Iceland are blessed or cursed when one of their lambs gives birth to a human/sheep hybrid that they take in, in place of their dead child.

This film is being mismarketed. Everything you have seen saying this film is a horror film is a lie, even with the creature antagonist, which turns out to be another hybrid sheep person, it is still not a horror film. A more apt genre assignment would be an off kilter drama, or perhaps something within the science fiction genre?

That aside I thought this film had major pacing issues. It feels double the run time and doesn’t use any of that time to do anything of note. Instead of giving us answers to any of the film’s various mysteries it instead just gives us yet another artsy shot of the landscape. Art house horror isn’t for everyone and yes often it can feel pretentious which I believe is the case here. The film only actually has about half an hour worth of plot, yet they stretch that out and out.

Noomi Rapace is perhaps the only silver lining of this film and her performance is strong. You believe the motherly relationship her character has with the sheep-child, and she is the only character you end the film caring about.

Overall, if people knew what this film is actually about rather than what the marketing is saying few would watch it and for good reason.

Pros.

Noomi Rapace

The ending

Cons.

It is not a horror film

It is stretched out and dull at times

It feels pretentious

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Women Is Losers: Societal Anger

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The plot follows a young woman, played by Lorenza Izzo, as she deals with issues surrounding poverty and opportunity, whilst raising a child.

Generally I find the use of fourth wall breaking to be tired and played out, it hasn’t been cool or novel in several decades, yes Deadpool had some fun with it, but even then that got repetitive. However, here I found the film actually benefited from directly addressing the audience as it can better communicate its message, which is effectively that life for women in the Sixties was hard, and even now it is not wholly better. To this aim it draws attention to a number of issues and conversations that still need to be addressed in our own society, every day predatory behaviour or sexism.

I found the film to be very moving. Lorenza Izzo did a great job in the lead role and I really felt connected to her plight, I felt angry for her, angry at the men in her life, angry at the situation she was put in, angry that she was always put down. In many ways I think this film encourages us the audience to reflect on our own lives and makes us question our privilege.

Overall, a strongly topical and relevant watch, let down by a weak supporting cast and an ending that feels unsatisfying.

Pros.

Izzo

The message

The use of fourth wall breaks

Cons.

Simu Liu and the rest of the supporting cast are deeply underwhelming

The ending feels too nice and lacks authenticity

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Language Lessons: A Friend When You Need One The Most

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam, played by Mark Duplass, begins taking Spanish lessons after his husband Will, played by Desean Terry, gets them for him as a gift. Little does he know they will become a vital part of his life.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a quirky off beat comedy, as that is Duplass’s usual fare, however whilst that is a true assessment in part there is also a lot more going on beneath the surface with this film and it almost morphs into a character drama as it continues.

The film focuses on the relationship between Adam and Carino, played by Natalie Morales, his Spanish teacher. After the death of Adam’s Husband early in the film things shift dramatically, and though there are still comedic moments it becomes far more serious. However, I enjoyed that the film did not become dower at this point, and that there was still fun to be had.

Both Morales and Duplass give it there all here and though most of the film is just them talking into the camera, as the film is set over a series of online calls, each give powerhouse performances. The film really makes us the audience question our preconceived notions, and is not afraid to head into dark and possibly uncomfortable territory. There is a lot in this film that is implied but not shown, mentioned but not dwelled on, and in that aspect I find this film captures life.

I found the ending to be incredibly heart-warming even if the larger implications might not be so good. It was nice to watch this friendship grow over the course of the film and in many ways it felt natural and real, as though the film was actually a reflection of the two actors friendship in real life.

Overall, this is one of the sweetest and most true films you may see this year.

Pros.

Morales

Duplass

The genuine feeling of friendship

The emotion

The ending

Cons.

It can be hard to watch at times

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The French Dispatch: Too Much Wes Anderson?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A series of stories making up the final issue of a well respected fictional news publication.

I have been a fan of Wes Anderson for some time, and for the most part I enjoy his style and his noticeable eccentricities, however, here I find he has gone too far into himself. This film embraces Anderson’s filmmaking philosophy to the Nth degree, serving as a series of barely connected skits with constant movement and a loose connective whole, this is not a good thing as it makes the whole piece very hard to follow.

Each tale and indeed each scene within seemed to jump from one thing to another with such speed as to make it impossible to know what was going on.

Worse yet, of the four pieces the only one that is enjoyable, the first featuring Owen Wilson, is incredibly short and then that’s it we don’t see Wilson again until the end of the film. The other three features suffer from the opposite problem, which is to say they drag on, and on- to the point of boredom.

That is not to say this film is bad there are moments of enjoyment to be found whether that is a chuckle, or a delightfully off beat Anderson character. The best amongst these is Timothee Chalamet’s Zeffirelli. Other than in The King Chalamet has never impressed me in the way he has other people and I have long viewed him as overrated. This film counters that as Chalamet fits in perfectly and easily captures the essence of a Wes Anderson character easily becoming the best character in the whole film, as such I am hoping that Chalamet becomes Anderson’s new muse and the two keep making films together for a long time.

Overall, though there are good elements to the film, it suffers from terrible pacing and a feeling of indulgence on the directors part, it could be said this film is too Wes Anderson for most Wes Anderson fans,

Pros.

Chalamet

A few funny moments

Owen Wilson’s segment

Cons.

Three of the four segments are only okay

The pace is awful

The lack of a coherent larger narrative

Most of the actors are wasted

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Interview With Writer Director Robbie Walsh: The Letters

Written by Luke Barnes

I recently had the chance to interview writer/director Robbie Walsh about his new film The Letters which shows three women from different walks of life be given incorrect cancer diagnosis. We discuss issues of medical failure, injustice

Q: What inspired you to make this film?

A: The film is inspired by actual events happening in Ireland today

Q: What was the message?

A: This happened and continues to.

Q: How do you think this film reflects on society, health care and the experiences of women?

A: I hope we gave a fair and thoughtful representation, and hopefully people who watch will think about change going forward.

Q: Who were your influences?

A: In this film it was, Shane Meadows, Ken Loach, Fredrico Felini, Jean-luc Goddard, Ben Wheatley.

Q: How did you manage to balance the tone of the film? Bleakness to happier moments and beauty?

A: There aren’t too many happy moments in the film and it is a very tough watch, some of the more delicate shots are based on famous paintings I admire.

Q: Any thoughts for filmmakers looking to get into the industry?

A: Just start! but know the art form and be passionate about it, always remember your love for cinema.

Q: Future projects?

A: Just working on this for the time being, self-distribution takes up a lot of time.

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The Letters: The Power Of Words

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film sees a trio of women receive misdiagnosis of cancer. It explores the aftermath and impacts of this event.

This film hits like a ton of bricks and doesn’t let up. There is something so poignant and beautiful to this film as it really highlights the human experience and our collective pain. Furthermore, it illustrates the importance of information as one word can make or break a life.

Honestly I think this film is a triumph. The directing is superb, the acting is strong and never dips, and the themes and emotions are incredibly powerful. I won’t lie this film had me in tears at quite a few separate moments. I felt a strong connection to the characters and their respective journeys over the course of the film finding myself really caring about what they were going through.

I think this film speaks a lot of very important truths about the world and our society that need to be heard.

Overall, an incredibly emotional film that will take you through the wringer.

Pros.

The emotion

The acting

The directing

The message

It moved me

Cons.

A few slight pacing issues

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The Last Duel: The Horrors Of The Female Experience

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two medieval feudal lords come to blows over a series of injustices.

This film is incredibly hard to watch. It is deeply hard to get through as it features a number of rape scenes which are increasingly graphic. Though I don’t know the need to be as graphic as the film chooses to be with them, I do think that using them in the narrative this film creates is a good thing as it sets up an important conversation about accountability and the mistrust of female victims when they come forward.

In many ways the film is incredibly powerful as it makes us reflect on the female experience and at how throughout time men have abused their positions and powers within society. There are some lines in this film particularly during the third chapter which is the truth of events from Marguerite’s, played by Jodie Cormer, point of view which are incredibly harrowing and show just how deep the injustice goes.

I thought Jodie Cormer was terrific here and her performance carried serious weight. Sadly, however she was let down by her co-stars, who ranged from underused to miscast. Yes, I am referring to Matt Damon who is by far the worst performer in this film. To make matters worse this film is set in France yet everyone has an American or British accent which is not only distracting but irritating and feels done because an executive thought ‘oh American audiences can’t understand a French accent or won’t read subtitles. With the idea that the actors also didn’t want to have to either learn French or try and do an accent also a likely possibility.

Overall, a powerful film in many ways but one that you would never want to watch twice.

Pros.

The conversation it starts

Addressing male abuses of power

The female perspective

Cons.

Matt Damon

The American accents

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