Limbo: The Struggle To Start Over

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Limbo tells the offbeat story of a refugee’s experience in rural Scotland.

I think this film needs to be seen. It should be mandatory viewing for just about everyone, as it shows the horrors that refugees have to go through once they arrive in the country: everything from the uncertainty of their asylum status to visits from the police to be deported back to the country they fled. It is heart-breaking and moving.

However, I don’t want this review to make the film sound too dower and serious, there are also a number of light hearted moments that provide some much needed respite and allow us to feel a sense of hope for proceedings again. I thought the ending of finally having Omar, Amir El-Masry, play his oud again was a wonderful choice as it highlights this enduring sense of optimism that maybe everything can be okay.

I think this film is incredibly timely and will open your eyes to something you may perhaps have never thought about before. I think it’s message is needed, now more than ever.

The performances across the board were all terrific with every single member of the cast having their own time to shine and individual moments that really help to make each character standout and be memorable.

Overall, I can’t recommend this film enough and though it might not always be the easiest of watches it is very needed.

Pros.

The message

The performances

The ending

The powerful emotion

Cons.

It is bleak at times, truly bleak

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Zola: The Twitter Film

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Based on the infamous twitter thread, Zola tells the story of a road trip gone wrong, highlighting how easy it is for people to end up in dangerous situations.

I had no expectations for this film going in, I didn’t really keep up with the thread when it was viral, though I was aware of the story itself.

I found the film to be on the better side of average but nothing to write home about.

On the positive side I thought the film managed to perfectly nail the tension and produced several scenes that were captivating as they feel so unexpected and threatening. You could feel the danger these women would have been in, and honesty it is both terrifying and heart-breaking.

Moreover, Colman Domingo was magnificent as X, the pimp who runs the girls through the later stages of the story. Why the character works so well and why Domingo’s performance is so good is because it is unpredictable, one minute he is cool calm and collect and the next he is knocking someone through a wall, the character works as they are seemingly very spontaneous and that is reflected in the performance. Furthermore, the character represents the moral ambiguity of our tale as we don’t know who to trust or believe, none of these characters are morally good and each do good and bad things throughout the film complicating them further.

Switching gears, what didn’t work for me at all was the dialogue. I understand that the way the main two characters speak is based on the real life tweets, you even get the tweet sound here and there, but I would have preferred it if they could have written it as actual dialogue for the film rather than just inserting tweets. Not only is it hard to understand but it quickly becomes annoying and grating as you watch.

Overall, it has its moments, but the dialogue really brings it down.

Pros

Solid tension

An interesting premise

Domingo

Cons.

The dialogue

The performances from everyone other than Domingo

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Tuca And Bertie: The Moss

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Tuca and Bertie’s building gets new management which causes a crisis for all the residents.

This is Speckle’s episode. Speckle is often there on the side-lines supporting Bertie and waiting for something to do, this episode finally gives him that. Honestly I didn’t like this episode for a lot of reasons, that I’ll get into later, but the one thing that worked well was Speckle- honestly he was hilarious. Speckle’s descent into madness was always very entertaining, and I thought his rants were standout.

I also enjoyed Tuca’s storyline as she was fighting to prevent change, which is very in keeping with her character, and to keep everyone together. I thought the scenes with her, and he ghost were interesting and I would like to see more of Tuca’s bonds with other people who aren’t Bertie.

Bertie here is simply awful; she would rather stay in a moss riddled flat with her friend that live with her boyfriend who has never done anything other than support here. If this episode proved anything it is how much of a toxic relationship they have and how Speckle and could and should be with anyone else. Why does she not want to live with him? Because he made some design choices she didn’t like……… Really? Worst of all we are supposed to still like her after this.

Overall, the episode until the final decision to revert was good, but the ending spoils everything, perhaps even the series.

Pros.

Speckle

Tuca

Cons.

Bertie

The ending

The morals of the show at this point

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Pig: Food Is The True Window To The Soul, One Of Nicolas Cage’s Best

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A former chef goes on a quest to reclaim his truffle pig after it is kidnapped.

Pig is not the film you’re expecting. The trailer played on John Wick vibes and tried to turn it into something it is not, this is not an action thriller film, really quite far from it. This is a soulful reflection on life, love and loss, told often through the facial emotions of the actors rather than through dialogue.

This film almost certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it is not always a pleasant viewing experience there are moments of extreme grief and trauma throughout that might adversely effect those watching, but they need to be there as it is in these moments that we see the film’s true soul.

Nicolas Cage proves his vulnerability and versatility here in this role as he manages to change between intimidating, cold and detached and passionate breakdown all within the space of a few seconds, this really is one of Cage’s finest performances and proves his strength as a performer. Likewise Alex Wolff is also terrific I believed his emotional damage and his strained relationship with his father and thought his whole performance dripped with nuance.

Overall, this could have very easily have been silly, but it isn’t it is deep and soulful and perhaps one of Cage’s best. Be careful how you view this film before you see it, as the trailers are deeply misleading. Well worth the watch.

Pros.

Cage

Wolff

The emotion

The bond between man and pig

Cons.

A little depressing at times

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Tuca And Bertie: Vibe Check

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie receives unwelcomed sexual fantasies and Tuca worries if she has been ghosted by her hopefully new girlfriend.

At this point I don’t think this show is a comedy anymore. It is never funny and is more often than not depressing. That is not to say it is bad, rather to adjust your expectations with the show.

For this week’s storylines I thought Bertie had by far the stronger arc. I think the further exploration of how Pastry Pete affected her is important character work, I think the storyline is handled maturely and actually makes some great points about sex and relationships widely.

Tuca however…… The show does not seem to know what to do with her this season, we have established that she is lonely and that she pushes people away, but the show does not want to seem to explore these issues deeper, rather it just gives her character throwaway storylines such as this. For most of the episode she worries she has been ghosted, and then she hasn’t been, that is the depth of the arc here.

It seems to me this show is far more interested in exploring Bertie and her character than Tuca and if that is true that’s fine, but then it shouldn’t really be called Tuca and Bertie it should just be called Bertie.

I may give this show up as I don’t find myself enjoying watching it and if anything it often bums me out.

Overall, Tuca is side-lined once again but Bertie has some interesting, nuanced character work.

Pros.

Bertie’s storyline

Exploring the aftereffects of abuse

Important conversations about trauma, sex and relationships

Cons.

They don’t know what to do with Tuca this season

It is depressing

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Ride The Eagle: The Best Film Of The Year That You Have Not Seen

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A man must complete his deceased mother’s to do list in order to receive her cabin as his inheritance.

There is so much depth, heart and soul to this film- it is beautiful. This film made me cry and I would wager it would do the same for you, as it strikes the feels harder than ever the saddest of Pixar films. However, that is not to say this film is sad, far from it. If anything this film is a joyful embrace of life, living in the moment and chances taken.

The performances across the board are terrific. Jake Johnson excels in these intimate character driven indie comedies and he really brings a rawness to his performance here that makes it instantly memorable. J. K Simmons is also strong here though he only has a very minor role, whilst he is on screen he does steal the scenes and has a few good lines. The same can be said for D’Arcy Carden, who has a really strong chemistry with Johnson, so much so that I would like to see the two star in more things together.

The ending is both heart-breaking and also smile inducing and is almost certainly going to make you feel something. A big part of this is the wonderful performance by Susan Sarandon who plays the deceased mother through a series of VHS tapes she has left behind for her son to watch, Sarandon’s acting is powerful, and I challenge you not to cry in the film’s final ten minutes.

Overall, an indie gem that you need to see.

Pros.

Johnson

Carden

Sarandon

Simmons

The ending

Cons.

It won’t be to everyone’s taste

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Here Today: Don’t Eat The Lobster

2 /5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A faded comic with early stages of dementia struggles to come to terms with the changes in his life, until he meets a young woman who becomes a powerful friend and companion.

This film will either work for you or not based on how much you like the comedy shtick of Tiffany Haddish. Haddish is quickly becoming a Jack Black type, meaning that she plays the same character in everything. She arguably can’t act and continues on by reusing and regurgitating the same jokes and mannerisms. To go back to my previous comparison, the same can be said of Jack Black though the difference is that he is likeable.

Honestly, though I like Billy Crystal both his and Haddish’s roles could have been played by almost anyone else and it would have provided the same, if not better, results. Neither of the actors truly made the part their own or did anything to impress me.

Furthermore, the storyline seemed very familiar. There have been quite a lot of films about dementia, and other memory conditions, released over the last few years and they are all starting to get quite similar. Case in point there were scenes in this film that I am now struggling to remember whether I saw in this film or one of the others, they are all just so similar.

Overall, with different leads and a more original story this film could have been something, but as it stands it is disappointing on multiple fronts.

Pros.

One or two funny moments

The pacing is fairly okay

Cons.

Neither of the leads are particularly good

Haddish is annoying

The story is overly familiar

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Castaway: The Love Between A Man And His Ball

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I had never seen this film before, this was my first time watching it. I knew that it was a big deal and seen as one of Tom Hanks’ best films, but I couldn’t comment on it myself until now. After watching it I found this film to be fascinating, it ran the gambit of emotions, it moved me, it annoyed me, it made me cheer.

At times I found the character’s decisions to be woefully stupid, and that annoyed me, however reflecting on it now I am left asking maybe that was deliberate and done to show that the character wasn’t a natural born survivor and so of course he would make mistakes maybe even laughably dumb ones.

I found the performance from Hank’s to be the one of his best. I quickly warmed to his character and felt invested in his journey as he tried to get off the island. I found the actual process of him getting off the island to be incredibly tense, seeing him almost get washed away with the waves multiple times. However, I found the double tragedy of Wilson’s death and his wife moving on to be the most effecting part of the film- truly heart-breaking.

Another thing I noticed was a similarity in the music here with Hanks’s other late nineties project Saving Private Ryan. At first I found the similarity in music choice to be jarring and even a little insulting to what it was used to symbolise in the other film, but as the film went on I found it to be fitting and even well picked.

Overall, a very entertaining film that moved me multiple times.

Pros.

Hanks

The music choice

The fight for survival

The comedic moments/ Wilson

Cons.

Pacing issues, it is on for slightly too long

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Tuca And Bertie: Nighttime Friend

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie deals with her TV induced narcolepsy and Tuca tries to find something to do at night as she can’t sleep.

Man, I watched this back to back with the recent Rick and Morty episode and that was a bad choice. Both episodes are incredibly sad, and I came away from the viewing wanting a cry.

Considering this series is a comedy I was expecting a few laughs, however there is nothing even remotely funny about this episode. The show doesn’t have to be silly or cracking out a joke a minute, but it also shouldn’t be depressing.

I enjoyed finally getting to see Tuca have the spotlight for the episode. Often Bertie gets the focus, so it is nice to see Tuca have the limelight for once. I thought exploring the idea of Tuca and responsibility was interesting, usually the character tries to remain breezy and actively avoids intense situations, but you can’t always escape them and sometimes you have to do the grown up thing. Moreover, I thought the relationship between Tuca, and her user Aunt was heart-breaking. Seeing her Aunt use her and then turn on her when she refuses to bring her anymore alcohol is powerful and shows the uncomfortable positions of being trapped in a toxic familial relationship.

I thought Bertie’s B storyline was fine, clearly it was set up as comedic relief, but I didn’t really find it funny: though I did appreciate the break.

Overall, I don’t think this series is a comedy anymore, and that is both a good and a bad thing.

Pros.

Seeing Tuca have to deal with adult responsibility

Bertie’s B story provided a nice break

Cons.

It is sad

It is not funny

It is hard to get through

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Tuca And Bertie: Kyle

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie manifests Kyle her inner bro in order to help her combat obnoxious men at work.

This episode certainly feels the most angry of the Tuca and Bertie series so far, and that is a great thing. Red on its surface this episode takes on toxic bro culture and also treads into MeToo and sexual harassment culture as well. I thought this was a powerful episode and one that was needed to address what Bertie went through with Pastry Pete.

I think this episode has a lot to say about society and our approach to powerful people who abuse those around them. It is right to point out how often all these figures need to do is say they are sorry or say they have changed, and then certain parts of the population will forgive them leaving the victims out in the cold. It is wrong, and I am glad this show has the balls to say it.

We get more emotional development for Tuca as well here, considering she was fairly side-lined in the last episode. We further the idea of loneliness and aimlessness that has come to encapsulate her character, as she drifts around trying to make a connection and achieve something, but even when she does she still isn’t happy.

I think this show is communicating a lot of hard and often uncomfortable topics through the means of animation, these things need talking about and that is why this show is so important as no one else is.

Overall, a strong episode and one that furthers the emotional growth of our leads.

Pros

Talking about difficult subjects

Bertie’s inner bro

Strong character development

Bringing back the Pastry Pete storyline

Cons.

It is not funny

It is quite saddening

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