News Of The World: Read All About It, And Get Mad

News Of The World is a western drama film directed by Paul Greengrass. The plot follows newsman Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks), as he travels town to town reading the news. Along his way he meets a young girl (Helena Zengel), who has been living with a Native American tribe for some time but has now become lost.

Right off the bat I will say this is not a western film in the way you might be thinking of. There are only one or two shootouts over the course of the film’s runtime, really this film is far more of a drama with a western setting. The relationship between the two characters is the central focus, with the film acting more as a character study than anything else.

Moreover, this film will not be for everyone and wears its politics clear for all to see. It has a lot to say about certain parts of the American South and parts of the internet who are still hung up on a war that happened over 100 years ago will find it offensive. I will say the political message of the film does become a bit much at times, but I never found it put me off the film.

Personally, I thought the relationship between Hank’s character and Zengel’s was beautiful, and the final reunion scene almost brought me to tears. The heart of this film is well developed and masterfully constructed over the course of the two-hour runtime.

Overall, if you approach this film as a drama about two lost souls finding a reason to carry on together and saving each other then this is a beautiful film that packs an emotional punch.

Pros.

The father daughter relationship

The emotion

The drama and the stakes

The beauty and the setting

Cons.

It has a few pacing issues

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

White Lie: The Personal And The Private

White Lie is a Canadian drama film directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas. The plot follows Katie (Kacey Rohl), a university student who fakes a cancer diagnosis for attention and financial gain and then gets caught up in her lie.

This is one of the tensest films I have seen in a long time, the idea of the lie being found out has you on the edge of your throughout, as more and more people get closer to the truth you are left with this dread that borders on excitement as to when the game will be found out.

The performances are strong all round, Rohl makes the character of Katie sympathetic even though she is without question a bad person. The film lives in an area of nuance, as it does not make a moral judgement about its characters rather allowing instead for the audience to make up their own minds about Katie.

I enjoy how this film plays with what we see and what we know in a digital setting. This film is very tech savvy and it makes the most of its contemporary means available to it, by analysing the media environment and how we exist within it, the idea of the public and the private, the real self and the artificial.

Overall, a very interesting film that poses a lot of nuanced ideas and allows us to form our own mind, we are torn.

Pros.

The tension

Rohl
It makes the most of its digital times setting

It does not make moral judgments about its subject

Cons.

A few light pacing issues

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hope Gap: The Secret To An Unhappy Marriage Is Flipping The Breakfast Table

Hope Gap is a drama film directed by William Nicholson. The plot follows a couple who have been married for going on 30 years, however, one day it ends abruptly after Edward (Bill Nighy), finds someone else: this leaves Grace (Annette Benning), at an end as she has to try and figure out who she is without her husband.

So this film was very ordinary, and I mean that as both a positive and a negative. As a negative, nothing really happens it is just a film about a divorce there is no dramatic flair that can be seen in similar films like Marriage Story.

However, as a positive it feels deeply personable and relatable. I and many others have been in this situation before or known someone who has been in that situation; many of us are children of divorce and separation. In that way this film caught a nerve, at least for me, as it reminded me of my own life.

Bill Nighy is always a delight to see on screen, and he is balanced perfectly with Annette Benning. The two have great chemistry on screen and even in the smallest scenes can generate a well of emotion and resonance. The performances from the two of them were tip top. However, Josh O’ Conner as Jamie (the son), was less convincing. I think if anything Nighy and Benning do a lot with a little in terms of their performance whereas O’ Connor is overacting like his is on a soap opera and he lacks any kind of reserved passion or subtlety.

Overall, definitely not one for everyone but it is worth a watch I took away some resonance from it, some emotion, even a remembrance and maybe you will too.

Pros.

Nighy

Benning

It feels very ordinary and as is very relatable

Cons.

Not much happens

Josh O’ Conner overacts

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Savage: Hello Darkness My Old Friend

Savage is a crime drama film directed by Sam Kelly. The film follows the story of Damage (Jack Ryan), at three different points in his life as an enforcer for a New Zealand biker gang.

This is not like most of the crime films that you see that regardless of ending, glamorise the life of violence and excess and almost become works of romantic fantasy by the end. No, this is a film about desperate people with nowhere else to turn forced into a cycle of violence as a means of dealing with the abuse they have endured.

As a character study this film is exquisite, we see Damage as so much more than a rough tough biker type and we see why he is the way he is. The film raises a number of interesting philosophical and moral questions as well, which leaves you with plenty to think about once the film is over.

Ryan is terrific in his performance. He plays the character as a deeply troubled man who has turned to violence as a means to fit in and be accepted. The character and the performance are the very definition of the word nuanced, and despite the character doing a lot of deeply unlikeable things Ryan still makes him sympathetic.

Overall, this is a very strong drama film that will break your heart. It is definitely not the typical form of crime film either. Bear in mind that this film is incredibly depressing and should not be watched without having a happy animal video on stand by to cheer you up once the depression sets in after the film.

Pros.

It is powerful

It leaves you with a lot to think about

It deviates from the standard crime drama film

Cons.

It is very bleak

It is often hard to tell what is happening when with the later timelines

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Pieces Of A Woman: The Pain Parents Bare

Pieces Of A Woman is a drama film directed by Kornel Mundruczo. The plot follow the fallout of a disastrous home birth that resulted in the death of a child. The film examines grief from both the mother’s (Vanessa Kirby) and the father’s (Shia LaBeouf) points of view.

So before I get into this review, I just want to condemn LaBeouf who is an alleged sexual abuser and batterer. His involvement with this film did but me off it, but I managed to separate my feelings and watch it with an unbiased eye.

This is a film that you need to be emotionally ready for. You will need some form of emotional support to get through this film, at least I found that to be the case for me. I think this is a needed film, and I think even though it is an uncomfortable subject, it is something everyone needs to see so that we can better understand the troubles that some mothers have to go through.

The upsetting thing about this film is just how real it feels. This is a bleak film for many reasons and as a viewer you can separate yourself from that bleakness as it is just something happening on the screen; however a lot of people can’t escape it and this is life for a lot of people.

I think Kirby is terrific here and this should be the film that finally nets here both mainstream attention, as a serious actor, and also awards. Her performance is so raw and powerful that I challenge you not to feel anything from it. LaBeouf is also good and has his dramatic moments do shine but this is defiantly Kirby’s film.

The one negative I would say about the film is that it feels too neat. By that I mean the film feels a bit too rehearsed, a bit too much like a stage play. I think that some of the scenes border on overacting and seem to steam from an overly broad approach to the film as a whole. To be blunt, a lot of the scenes feel like actors acting not real life.

Overall, though the acting feels a little overdone at times and a bit removed from reality, this is still a much-needed piece of film that breaks down a taboo that should never have been there in the first place.

Pros.

The emotional impact

Breaking down taboos

Kirby

The ending

Cons.

It feels too rehearsed

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Mr Holmes: The Old Man And The Bee

Mr Holmes is a mystery film directed by Bill Condon, based on Mitch Cullin’s 2005 novel A Slight Trick Of The Mind. The plot centres around an aging Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen), as he struggles with his memory whilst trying to remember the real outcome of an old case.

This film was bleak. I don’t watch to Holmes like this old and at the end of his life, where his inactions lead to more harm than good, multiple times in this film I felt depression creeping into my mind and by the end I was truly saddened. I think ultimately this was not what I was expecting it to be, I thought it was a mystery film as it has been categorised, but it is not, more aptly it is a drama film.

Another thing that bothered me about this film was the timeline, I understand the jumping around and the unannounced flash backs and asides were probably a deliberate choice to mimic Holmes’ decaying mind, yet I still found them off putting and confusing.

Overall, a believe this film is mismarketed and miscategorised, as such if you, like I did, go in expecting a mystery film then you will be sorely disappointed.

Pros.

McKellen is trying

It manages to nail the emotional beats and makes you feel

Cons.

It is not a mystery film by any means

It is depressing

The timeline jumping and the constant swapping between storylines is jarring and confusing

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Milkrun: The Horrors Of The British Corner Shop

Milkrun is a dark comedy, drama film directed by Alexander Jeremy. The plot sees one brave soul brace the wilds of outside of his bubble to venture down to the shops to get milk, in the age of Covid19.

This was just what I needed. As the new lockdown was announced recently in the UK and we were all sent back into our own isolated worlds to wait out the storm. I was feeling a little blue, however this film put a smile back on my face.

It pokes fun at Covid and social distancing without feeling disrespectful or done in bad taste, looking at you Songbird. The jokes are darkly comedic and feel funny through a shared experience that everyone on the globe can relate to. I was smiling and chuckling to myself as I was watching it.

The one thing I would note was that when the character was hugging people and took off his mask and gloves I was waiting for the inevitable comedic comeuppance that he had caught the virus. I feel like the ending delivered on that, at least in how I interpreted it, but it was not hugely clear.

That is not to say I did not enjoy the ending; on the contrary, I think it was nice that the film ended on a more dramatic and personal note as it reflected the bleakness of existence under Covid.

Overall, bravo to all involved I enjoyed this, and it made my dad to watch it.

Pros.

It is funny

The power of shared experience

The powerful ending

The musical score/accompaniment

Cons.

Did the character get punished for breaking the rules? Perhaps a little too open ended

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Into The Storm: Man Vs. Tornado

Into The Storm is a disaster film directed by Steven Quail. The film recounts the devasting effects of a tornado on a small town in America, thriller seekers, researcher and horny teens all get caught up in its destructive wake.

In many ways the disaster move genre is very like the shark attack sub-genre in horror, you know what you are getting, they all play out pretty much the same barring a few details, and they are all as predictable as hell: in short they are junk food, you know they aren’t enriching in any way yet you still watch them as they’re easy.

My issue with this film compared to others in the genre like The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, is that a tornado is fairly simplistic. There is spectacle to it sure, but it gets old after about half and hour and has nothing new to pull out of the bag. There is only so many times you can watch a car get sucked into a hurricane.

The acting is what would expect nothing spectacular, just a bunch of b and c listers trying their best to be serviceable and for the most part they do a decent enough job. I would say the cast could have done with being smaller, as at times it felt like there were too many people on screen and as such I couldn’t remember who everyone was let alone form emotional attachments to them.

Overall, if you like disaster movies this is passable enough, if you want something above average or god forbid fresh then yeah maybe give this one a miss.

Pros.

It is watchable

The tornado is neat for the first 20 minutes

Cons.

It is nothing special

You have seen all of this film before several times over

The effects don’t look good

It is boring after a point

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Midnight Sky: Stick To Acting George, Oh Wait

The Midnight Sky is a science fiction drama film directed by George Clooney based on the novel Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. The film revolves around a lone scientist (George Clooney), who together with a little girl must venture into the artic circle to deliver a warning to a deep space mission.

This film was a slog to get through. Of the positive comments and reviews I have seen most praise the score and the visuals, and yes whilst there are some nice artic shots and vistas that is not enough to make up for the paper-thin characters or the lack of anything original from the story.

When I began this film I had moderate to high expectations, however, as it went on I kept comparing it to other ambitious science fiction films like Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar or last year’s Ad Astra as a result of these comparisons I saw how much this film was trying to be like them but failing hard along the way.

Even if you only watch a few minutes of this film you will see that it clearly has a high opinion of itself: by that I mean it thinks it is far deeper and far more intellectual with its themes then it actually is. What it actually seems to be is a pale imitation of better science fiction films, whereas of itself this film seems to think it is competing for Oscars.

Overall, the two words I would use to describe this film are boring and smug.

Pros.

It has some nice visuals

Cons.

The characters are so thin you can see right through them

The story feels done better before

There is an ever-present air of smugness

It is far too drawn out and badly paced

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

A Street Cat Named Bob: One For The Cat Lovers

A Street Cat Named Bob is a biopic, drama film directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The plot tells the real-life story of recovering homeless drug addict James (Luke Treadaway), and the cat that gave him a new lease on life.

I loved the book this was based on, so I went into the film with high expectations. The film seems far more down beat than the book, though the friendship and eventually turn around is inspiring and uplifting a lot of the moments along the way are deeply, deeply depressing. I have to say when the film ended I was left feeling bummed out.

I enjoyed seeing the bond between James and Bob (the titular street cat), I thought their relationship was very endearing, as someone who has had many cats over the years I can say that it is very effecting and will strike a cord with any cat owners.

Treadaway seemed convincing in the role, I enjoyed him and his characters emotional arc. However, I would say his Australian accent was inconsistent, it came and went sometimes you could hear it and it was believable but other times he seemed to forget to do it.

Overall, this film packs an emotional punch, if you can bare some of the more intense moments of despair then there is a beautiful film here.

Pros.

The James/Bob relationship

The ending

The emotion

As a cat lover I found it even more impactful

Cons.
It is very sad

Treadaway accent comes and goes

4/5

Reviewed by Luke