Instant Family: Wahlberg Is On His Best Behavior

Instant Family is a comedy drama film directed by Sean Anders. The film follows a couple, Pete, and Ellie, (Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne), who decide to adopt three kids. The film follows the life of the new family and explores what the word family really means.

Right off the bat I will say that you have seen this before, the storyline has been mined for all it is worth and you know exactly what is coming right from the first minute: it is insanely predictable. However, despite this the film still manages to nail its core emotional beats and as such you become invested in the story and the lives of these characters: the final showdown in the court room is rather moving.

You can see that Wahlberg is struggling to deviate from his tough guy persona here, unlike Byrne he struggles more with the emotional scenes and is less believable as a result. However, he does have a few good moments that warm the heart, such as the scene he scares with teenage wild card Lizzy (Isabela Moner), when they smash things up together.

With that in mind I would say Moner is the star of the show here, she nails both the comedy and the heart and hers is the character that feels the most realised and explored. Moner brings more to the role that just the usual teenage moodiness and actually makes the character compelling, even managing to upstage Wahlberg and Byrne at times.

Overall, though this film is nothing new its huge heart is enough to win you over.

Pros.

The heart

The ending

Isabela Moner

Cons.

Wahlberg feels out of place

It is very obvious and predictable

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Green Book: Driving Don Shirley

Green Book is a comedy drama buddy film directed by Peter Farrelly based on the real-life friendship of jazz pianist Don Shirley (here played by Mahershala Ali), and bouncer Tony Lip (here played by Viggo Mortenson). The film covers their initial meeting, and how through a tour of the American South the two bonded and effected each other’s lives.

Best picture winner? No. Good film? Yes. So, I went into this film expecting it to be very, very good considering the awards it has won and it is good there is no doubt about it, but it is not Best Picture good.

My main issue with this film is that it is often a bit too overly sentimental. Emotion within film is a fine thing, there are times when this film gets its emotional tone just right and the scenes feel weighty and important without feeling overdone, but there are also times when the emotional beats are just a little too much, a little forced and in those instances they feel cringey.

The friendship between these two characters is the crux of the film, and in that regard I can say that this film is a smashing success. Both Done Shirly and Tony Lip feel like well rounded and fleshed out characters, and the friendship between the two feels explored and nuanced; it is nice and heart warming to see this friendship feel like it is organically growing over the course of the film rather than feel forced.

Mortenson and Ali are both terrific and both have many dramatic scenes were they shine, and also a few comedic ones too, though Ali steals the show in those.

Overall, a nice heart-warming film that reminds you of the power of humanity and friendship, though it should not have won Best Picture.

Pros.

The friendship

The characters

The emotional journey

Good heart and a few laughs

Cons.

Sometimes feels a bit too overly sentimental

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

One Night In Miami: The Struggle To Come

One Night In Miami is a drama film directed by Regina King. The plot sees Malcom X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammed Ali (Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), all meet up to celebrate Ali’s titleship win and discuss his conversion to Islam.

I have been waiting on this one for a while and I have to say now that I have seen it I was not disappointed. This film is raw and passionate and is brimming with things to say (all of which important), this film left an emotional impact on me after I saw it and has never left my mind since. I think this is a very gutsy but also impressive directional debut for King and shows that she is a multifaceted talent.

This film tackles its messages and politics head on, it opens a very important set of conversations that will hopefully resonate in the minds of the viewing public. I enjoyed that this film was as much about the friendship and relationship between these four men as it is about its themes. The dialogue and the writing really shone in the scenes of quiet conversation between the actors, making the film feel engaging throughout.

The performances were all very strong, the main one I would pick out as an arbitrary best would be Ben-Adir as Malcom X, his performance was truly brilliant on a number of levels.

My one complaint would be the final quote, said quote talks about martyrdom, and as is itself a quote from Malcom X, I understand the meaning behind it and its place within the film’s narrative, however it left me feeling uncomfortable.

Overall, a powerful film and one you should all watch!

Pros.

The acting

The writing

The dialogue scenes

The emotional impact

Cons.

The final quote

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The Best Comeback In Hollywood History

You Cannot Kill David Arquette is a documentary film directed by David Darg. The film follows Scream actor David Arquette as he attempts to return to the world of wrestling after winning the championship belt in the early 2000s, to much condemnation from the fans.

I enjoyed this film a lot, and part of the beauty of the film is that you can really enjoy it and get something out of it regardless of whether you are into wrestling or not. I personally, don’t really follow wrestling but I still appreciated the character journey and the raw emotional value. My friend who I recommended this film to is very much into wrestling, and he also really liked the film for entirely different reasons (namely, the amount of famous wrestlers who appear in it in one form or another). So anyone can enjoy it.

There is this hyper-reality surrounding the film that is quite hard to describe, certain parts of it almost feel larger than life and you question whether this is actually a documentary or is something else, something more in the vein of a mockumentary. However, it is all real and genuine and this larger than life aspect to the film really helps some of its more personal themes to land.

On that note this film makes you feel bad for David Arquette to an almost heart-breaking extent. Yes, he is not the traditional underdog in that he has the money, the house, the wife and the career, but despite all that you can see the scars he has from his time in the wrestling community and how desperately he wants to come back. Before watching this film I had almost entirely forgotten about Arquette, but now he is back on my map in a big way and I want to see him cast more.

Overall, this is the deserving winner of Best Documentary.

Pros.

The emotional journey

Fun to watch regardless of how into wrestling you are

A well-done underdog story structure, that really does make you feel something

The ending

David Arquette

Cons.

None

5/5

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