Slow West: She Is Just Not That Into You

Slow West is a western, drama, romance film directed by John Maclean. The plot sees a young boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee), travel across the American frontier to try and find and reconnect with his lost love. Whilst, traveling he meets up with an outlaw (Michael Fassbender), and the two form a bond and journey together.

This film will not be for everyone, that is really the most important piece of information that you will get out of this review. It is very niche and artsy and is almost certainly an acquired taste.

The ending of the film did a number on me, emotionally. Seeing the conclusion of his naïve young boys’ journey is nothing short of heart-breaking, and the ending is bleak and will leave you depressed: at least that’s how I felt after watching it.

Fassbender and Ben Mendelsohn (who only has a small role), both give very memorable performances and sink into their respective characters perfectly. Mendelsohn became this looming spector of death, whereas Fassbender became more of the loveable rouge as the film went on and he became ever more fatherly to the protagonist.

Despite the shorter than average runtime this film does have some pacing issues and a few scenes do feel needlessly drawn out; this put me off.

Overall, a very strange art house western that won’t be to all tastes, but there might be some niche appeal there.

Pros.

Fassbender

The emotion

Mendelsohn

Cons.

The ending

Pacing issues galore

The main star was quite weak and easily out-shined

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Let Them All Talk: Be Nice To Your Friends

Let Them All Talk is a drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The plot follows a writer (Meryl Streep), as she, her nephew (Lucas Hedges) and her two old friends (Candice Bergen and Dianne Wiest) go on a cruise together to collect an overseas award.

I think this is a very charming film, it is not huge and over the top, but rather small, compacted, and intimate. It is very much a character study of all involved as well as a reflection on life and those that feature therein.

I think the performances of all involved were strong. Soderbergh does always prove to know how to get the best out of his cast and this is no exception. Gemma Chan, who plays the main character’s literary agent is particularly strong, I will admit I fell for her romance with Hedges character I enjoyed their scenes together and wanted to see them end the film together.

My one critique of this film is that it is poorly paced, t

. Though obviously a slow film there are moments in this which I believe are created with the explicit purpose of slowing the film down further, which it does not need. There is a reveal towards the end of the film, which is very significant however, due to the way the film structures itself there is not enough time to properly unpack the new development before the credit’s role; it strikes me that this film either needed to be longer or more tightly edited.

Overall, this is a slow watch and at times painfully so, it wont be for all, but if you are prepared for the time investment then there is a lot of charm to be found here within the quite character drama.

Pros.

The performances

The intimate feel

Soderbergh’s director (for the most part)

Cons.

The ending feels rushed

The pacing is off

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Jack Frost: A New Specter To Haunt Your Dreams

Jack Frost is a dark fantasy drama film directed by Troy Miller. The plot follows the aftermath of the death of Jack Frost (Michael Keaton), a musician and family man who dies during the Holiday season. As his family tries to move on with their lives, Jack resurrects with the help of seasonal magic into the body of a snowman to see his son, one last time.

This is a horrifying film for a lot of different reasons. So, I went into this thinking it was a family Christmas film, and though it does share some of those elements: mainly the over sentimental moments and the family focus, it is actually far darker and sadder then that.

I have seen a lot of people who say that the snowman itself is nightmare fuel, and personally though I think it looks bad I would not go that far with it. I think viewed in a contemporary context for the time period it is about on par with a lot of the other CGI puppetry hybrid that existed at the same time.

I enjoyed the films focus on father and son dynamics and thought the ultimate message of the film was sweet and dearly earned, the ending was particularly touching. I think Keaton did a lot to make this freaky looking snowman feel human and allow us to empathise with him.

Overall, I think the core of this film is sweet, well thought out and well intentioned. Though the Snowman himself might not be the easiest to look at thanks to a great performance from Keaton it does touch our hearts.

Pros.

Keaton

The emotion

The ending

Cons.

The snowman itself is off putting

It crosses over into overly sentimental

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ham, A Musical Memoir: An Ode To The Past

HAM: A Musical Memoir is a biographical, comedy, musical film directed by Andrew Putschoegl. The film serves to tell the story of Sam Harris’ rise to fame.

This is a very effecting film, in multiple sense of the word. While watching it I became fascinated with this persons rise to stardom, not only was I rooting for them I also became invested in them as a person.

During my time with the film I was frequently smiling, also there were quite a large amount of laughs to be had over the run time as well; not laugh out loud sorts of laughs but definitely a few strong chuckles. Moreover, the complexity of this film’s emotion transitions comedy and becomes something more. Quite a few times while watching I could feel the film pulling on my heart strings, I found the character plight effecting, the film did not need to be overt in this, it never felt manipulative with its emotional delivery, yet it had a strong impact.
I also enjoyed the musical elements of this film I thought they worked well and added a nice flavour to the standard biopic format. I think in many ways this film seems destined to change the format of the biopic genre as a whole or at least pump some fresh blood into it, as it takes the best elements of something like Rocketman and distils them into a more refined product.

Overall, a must watch, it will make you laugh it will make you cry and most importantly it is a great way to kill a few hours.

Pros.

It is funny

It nails the emotion

I was invested in the story

The musical elements work well

Cons.

The first act is quite slow

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Stand-In: Praising And Rewarding Sociopaths

The Stand In is a comedy drama film directed by Jamie Babbit. The plot follows a disgraced Hollywood comedy star and her double switching places, both are played by Drew Barrymore.

A lot of the responses I have seen to this film have been negative, and my own was likewise inclined. I think the main issue with this film is the fact that it is mean spirited. There will be a few light spoilers here to help me make my point so be forewarned.

From how I understood the film we are supposed to root for both characters the past her prime actor and the stand in, this is hard however, when the stand in treats the real actors like trash. The stand in abuses the real actor emotionally multiple times and goes out of her way to sabotage her life so she can get what she wants, and I guess that catches up to her in the end, but it makes her deeply unlikeable.

The jokes here don’t work, but as I always say comedy is subjective. I found the film to be more of a drama than a comedy especially towards the midpoint of the film, it felt to me more like a commentary on stardom and what comes after. The jokes again feel mean spirited and at the expense of someone who clearly has problems which makes them hard to laugh at.

Finally, I don’t like seeing T.J Miller in the film, mainly because he isn’t funny at when he tries to be it goes horribly the other way, but also because he is a terrible person and should not be cast.

Overall, this is the definition of a misfire.

Pros.

Barrymore is trying

Cons.

It is misguided

It is not funny

It is meanspirited

Casting T.J Miller

0.5/5 (Close to a zero, but Barrymore saved it)

Reviewed by Luke

Couples Retreat: A Sticky And Uncomfortable Situation

Couples Retreat is a comedy film about a group of couples that go on holiday to an island resort thinking it will be fun, sand and sun. However, when they get there they realise that instead they will have to work on their relationships and reconnect, the horror.

Standard, that is the word I would use to describe this film. There is nothing particularly special about it one way or the other, it is neither good nor bad it is just very average.

The cast is okay with Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Kristen Davis getting most of the funny moments, which are few and far between. Most of the film’s jokes don’t work and fall flat there are more hits than misses comedy wise as a whole in the film.

The characters are the usual collection of cliches, the busy guy, the overly anxious guy, the couple that say they don’t want to be together any more but secretly do, etc. In terms of plot and narrative the film is nothing new either, this is the same thing you have seen before just with a different cast. Said cast are never given very much to work with and become stereotypes, which stops you from forming any kind of attachment to them.

Overall, this is a very meh film there is worse out there and if you have nothing else to watch maybe give it a go, it will go exactly as you would expect it and end in the same fashion, it poses no challenge.

Pros.

It is watchable

There are a few funny moments

Cons.

The cast is wasted

The characters are cliches

The film is mostly not funny

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Four Christmases: Just Tell Your Parents You Don’t Want To Go Home For Christmas, It Is Not Hard

Four Christmas is a Christmas comedy drama film directed by Seth Gordon. The plot sees a couple’s relationship be put to the test as they have to attend several different family Christmases.

Personally, I never viewed Vince Vaughn as a strong romantic lead. I think he is better suited to the arsehole anti hero roles, like Fred Claus, or the more action/drama orientated roles he has been getting recently, but for a while Hollywood really wanted him to be the next big romantic leading man.

Maybe I am reading this film with a 2020 viewpoint, but the romance narrative is deeply troubling here. Vaughn’s character is often a dick towards Witherspoon’s and yet he is never brought to task over it, she just passively allows him to treat her like dirt. Witherspoon’s character only moment of resistance is when she stands up to him because she wants kids and he seemingly doesn’t; the whole implication of this is deeply sexist. The message of the film is off.

Understanding that this film is supposed to be a comedy film makes it even worse, both in terms of the jokes and there implications, but also the fact of how deeply unfunny the film itself is. Usually Vaughn can make me laugh, but I didn’t laugh once here, moreover, I found the film to reliant on slapstick for its jokes which again didn’t land.

Overall, this is a failure as a comedy film and has a deeply troubling message underpinning the film that makes the ending feel bittersweet and ultimately leading to ruin.

Pros.

It is watchable

Cons.

Vaughn and Witherspoon have no chemistry

It rewards abusive behaviour

It has a deeply troublesome message

The ending is not deserved

It is not funny

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Joy: The Rather Obvious Decline Of Robert DeNiro

Joy is a biographical drama film directed by David O’ Russell, the plot is based on the real-life story of the Queen of QVC Joy Mangano and her rise from struggling poverty to take the business world by storm.

This film is a very engrossing watch, you become fascinated by Joy (Jennifer Lawrence), and her mop business and begin to form an emotional attachment over the course of the film: one that desperately makes you want to see her succeed.

Was Lawrence’s performance worthy of an Oscar nod, no it wasn’t. She was an affable lead and one that was easy to root for, but another actor could have been just as good in the part at no point did I think she made the part her own as a result of this she would be easily replaceable.

I think the best scenes in the film were between Lawrence and Bradley Cooper (who played the head of the QVC network), I think though they only had a few short scenes together over the course of the film their on-screen chemistry was so strong that it stole the show.

On a different note as much as I love Robert DeNiro, I almost found him to be a distraction her with his overly hammy performance often taking me out of the film.

Another issue I have with this film is that it is bloated and could have been better served by a tighter edit.

Overall, an engaging and interesting film, however also one that received more praise then it deserved.

Pros.

The engaging narrative

Cooper and Lawrence have great chemistry

The personal connection you develop for the character

Cons.

Lawrence is interchangeable

DeNiro is too over the top

It has pacing issues

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Man Who Invented Christmas: Lay Off The Hallucinogens Charlie

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a Christmas themed biographical drama film focusing on Charles Dickins (Dan Stevens) as he creates his classic Christmas novel A Christmas Carol, we see the trials and tribulations that lead to one of the best-selling books of all time.

I enjoyed the presentation of this film, I thought the blending of standard biopic elements and more out there fantasy elements, as he talks and interacts with his own characters, was quite an inspired choice as it allowed the film to feel fresh and not like just another biopic.

Stevens was serviceable in the role; he can convey both sides of Dickens as a character and does a good job of making the character seem whole and rounded rather than a caricature. He is the best of the cast, though that is not a tall order as a lot of the other actors are bland and forgettable.

I thought the film had pacing issues and included a number of side plots and other stories that should have been cut, I understand the film was trying to show the motivations and scars of Dickins himself, but they could have done it in a more concise and audience friendly way, as it stands certain parts are far too exposition heavy.

Overall, through the choice of how it presents its story and its characters this film feels slightly above the standard biopic and is enjoyable, however a mostly bland cast and a few pacing issues stop it of being great.

Pros.

The fantasy and reality aspects

Stevens

It feels like a well-considered Christmas film

Cons.

The wider cast are bland

It has pacing issues

It goes too far in trying to explain what drives Dickins and relies too heavily on exposition

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Girl: Never Get Between A Girl And Her Hatchet, Good Advise For Life

Girl is a thriller film directed by Chad Faust. The plot sees a girl (Bella Throne), return home to find and kill her abusive father, however, once she returns home she finds him already dead and is filled with mixed emotions. Shortly there after she decides to investigate who killed him.

So, I have been on some what of a Bella Throne binge this week, I also have a review of Chick Fight coming up. I went from knowing next to nothing about her, to being intrigued by her talent for conveying real, raw emotion so well as this film shows. It is safe to say I am a convert now.

Throne owns this film, and anchors it well. Her character is conflicted, and we can see that in Throne’s performance we can see that unknowing, that need for answers. Throne is also boosted by a strong supporting from Mickey Rourke, who plays the town sheriff serving as the antagonist for the film. Rourke is genuinely quiet menacing here and plays the villain with some form of twisted glee; this makes for a number of strong scenes between him and Throne.

There are some twists and turns in the plot in the later stage, that are strangely just blurted out in the early part of the film, but hey maybe the film thinks that you and I didn’t notice that. Regardless, when the twist does come it is delivered and executed with proper emotional weight and you do feel something, the final fifteen minutes is when this film is at its prime.

Overall, one I think a lot of people will overlook, but you need to check this one out it is a very good, very well acted, intriguing thriller.

Pros.

Throne

Rourke

The twist

The tension and the maliciousness of Rourke’s performance

Cons.

Blurting out the reveal half an hour into the film

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke