The Stranger: One Little Lie

The Stranger is a British mystery thriller series released on Netflix based on the novel by Harlan Coben. The plot follows a group of people who are all approached by a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen), who tells them a secret, either to expose a lie or for blackmail purposes. From there the lives of these towns people descend into a mixture of chaos and a search for answers.

This series is one of the most underrated new releases on Netflix, it is both an excellent drama series and an excellent mystery series. The reason for this is because there are so many levels to the mystery just when you think you understand it another layer gets added, it keeps you guessing right up until the final 5 minutes. Moreover, there is a moral ambiguity to this series that adds to the overall story, the characters have good and bad qualities, Detective Katz (Paul Kaye), is an objectively bad person he kills a woman in cold blood, but when he finds out that his wife has been poisoning their daughter you feel for him.

There is a wide cast of characters, but very much to my surprise they all feel well done, developed and interesting. Richard Armitage’s Adam is the main character and his search to find his missing wife is the central plot line, but all the other characters are given a moment to shine and have great sub-plots of their own. Particularly Hannah John-Kamen’s Stranger, she is easily the most intriguing character in the series and when her identity is finally revealed it is genuinely surprising and a great twist.

My issues with this series are only very small, firstly I didn’t like that the stranger just left again at the end, when it turned out that Adam was her brother, I was hoping she would become a part of his family, but sadly she didn’t. My other issue is that there is a lot of stuff going on at the same time, which can be hard to keep track of at times, but it is handled very well and never becomes confusing so I can’t complain.

Overall, this is a great thriller/crime series to binge on Netflix the next time you’re looking for something, it has endless amounts of tension and suspense and a great mystery that keep you guessing right up until the end. A surprisingly solid show!

Pros.

Hannah John-Kamen.

Richard Armitage.

Paul Kaye.

Great mystery.

Hard to take your eyes off.

Cons.

The ending could have been better.

4.5/5

Horse Girl: One Of Netflix’s Worst

Horse Girl is a drama film directed by Jeff Baena. The plot follows Sarah (Alison Brie), a woman whose normal life starts to unravel, and she becomes more and more unhinged; the later parts of the film get into things like alien abduction, cloning and mental health, with a lot of the film being up to your interoperation of events.

When I sat down to watch this on Netflix the description for it made it sound like a horror film, that is what I was expecting and my oh my it is not that. Well it isn’t in a literally sense, but it does show the horrors of mental health and how someone can easily slip into a manic episode and that is a pretty terrifying thing to think about.

That said thinking about this film is more fun than actually watching it. Large sequences of this film are dull and drawn out, most likely in an effort to make you care about the main character which you never actually end up doing. What makes this worse is that a lot of the film’s abstract elements, come across at best as confusing and at worst as a deluded sense of self; as this film seems to think it is far deeper than it actually is. This is an art film in very much the worst way.

Alison Brie gives a good performance, especially with what she has to work with, she makes Sarah both a vulnerable and frightening character at the same time and easily carries a lot of the film’s dramatic scenes. However, everyone else in the film with no exceptions are the most unlikable group of human beings ever assembled. By that I mean none of the characters have any warmth or likeability, maybe that was a conscious choice who knows; Debby Ryan’s character perfectly captures my point.

It is films like this that have given Netflix the reputation that they will make anything, Horse Girl adds yet another weird unpleasant title to Netflix’s already growing stable of bad films. Though I think this film has some good elements and Alison Brie is okay overall it is tripped up by its huge ego, that is clear in near every scene, as this film isn’t deep it’s pretentious.

That is an hour forty-five minutes of my life I am not going to get back.

Pros.

It is neat to think about.

Alison Brie is okay.

Cons.

It is the worst type of Art film.

It’s not deep it just thinks it is.

It’s dull.

You end up hating most, if not all, of the characters.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bohemian Rhapsody: The Man Behind The Band

Bohemian Rhapsody is a musical biopic drama film. The plot revolves around the life of Queen front-man Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), his rise to fame, his years with Queen and then his death. This film pulls no punches where that latter period is concerned, I have heard people criticise it, but I think it deals with his aids diagnosis and death in a dignified way.

Before I get into the review, yes, I know this film was directed by a prolific abuser, but it can still be enjoyed as a film in spite of that fact.

My first impression of Malek’s Freddy was that I didn’t like him, I didn’t like what Malek was doing with him, I thought it was cheesy and over the top. However, over the course of the film, especially towards the end, I had a drastic change of heart and Malek really won me round with his performance: he particularly excels in the film’s emotional moments.

What’s more this film reminded me how much I like Queen and their music, each one of their most famous songs were used and in a way that made them feel relevant, rather than in other musical biopics when they feel forced in for the sake of it. I particularly thought ‘We Are The Champions’ was done beautifully in the context of the film.

My one issue with the film is that it has too many characters. This film is supposed to be a Freddy Mercury biopic and for the most part he does get centre stage, but at the same time there are a lot of needless sub-plots and side characters that I found to be distracting. In that same vein I found the moments of the film where the focus shifted to the other members of Queen to be dull, this is after all a story about Freddy Mercury, this to me felt like the surviving members of Queen forcing themselves in, as they were heavily involved in making this film.

Overall, I think this is a great musical biopic, it did everything you would want a biopic about Freddy Mercury to do, it gave you a look at his life and at him as a person. The songs I thought were used to good effect and my only critique is that it could have been more organised and focused.

Pros.

Malek.

The Songs.

A good look at the man behind the band.

Didn’t stray away from darker areas.

Cons.

Too many characters that stole focus.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Current State Of Doctor Who: Please Someone Put It Out Of It’s Misery!

*Bonus Content

Doctor Who is a British institution it has been so far decades, but what I want to talk about today is how the series has been since it’s 2005 revival, the steady decline. I have watched Doctor Who since I was a kid, I loved Eccleston and Tennant’s Eras, I stuck around during the Smith years, I skipped Capaldi and I came back for Whittaker.

For me what makes Who Who is off world adventures, unique and memorable aliens, and story lines and characters you care about, these I would stay are the staples of good Doctor Who that feature in most iterations of the show. However, New Who seems to have an identity crisis it is so hellbent on being new and different that it is hemorrhaging viewers like it’s going out of style.

Remember what I said a few lines up about what makes good Who? Well let’s look at some of the recent episodes of Doctor Who and see if they stack up. Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor seems to have a fear of going off world as most of the episodes of these newer series are set on Earth, that shouldn’t be a bad thing in and of itself as there are plenty of cool things they could do with it, but oh my they don’t.

Then you have memorable aliens, New Who seems to like to have most of it’s villains be humans, so it can make overt and blatant political points, but to it’s credit when they do have new alien villains they do work well such as in the Nicola Tessla episode. Although something that New Who seems to do, most likely to play on audiences’ nostalgia is bring back classic monsters and I’m sorry but it is just cheap. You can’t have your cake and eat it; they want so badly to be new and fresh and yet they still play up the nostalgia to get people to stick out the new series. What’s more when they do bring these classic monsters back, they ruin them, here’s looking at you Dalek New Year’s Special.

Finally we have characters and storylines that you care about, now I have no issue with Whittaker’s portrayal for the most part, I think she can shine when the writing is good, but the issue here is that it very rarely is and this leads to the new Doctor having a sycophantic personality. Moreover, the companions are fine, but there are too many of them, this stops anyone of them from getting meaningful development outside of tropes and clichés. In terms of storylines, we might have one good storyline such as ‘Fugitive of the Jadoon’, followed by a never-ending wave of trash like ‘Praxeus’. The writing is horrific and often far too on the nose, yes before you say it I know Doctor Who has always been a political show, but it was done in a subtle way, now it has become a weekly lecture about the evils of humanity and how we are terrible and for me that just isn’t fun.

So across my criteria current year Doctor Who is a failure.

I hope the BBC end this before the ratings drop much lower, current Who is already an embarrassment of what it used to be, but surely it can’t get any worse.

I will be back to do a review of the new season when it ends!

Luke

Narcos Mexico Season 1: A New Era Of Narcos

Narcos Mexico Season 1 is a crime drama series and spin-off to the Netflix series Narcos. The new series as the name would suggest shifts the focus of the program from the cocaine fields of Columbia to the weed fields of Mexico, though some familiar faces do make a return. The series chronicles the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel and Felix Gallardo’s (Diego Luna), kidnapping of American DEA Agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Pena).

To briefly describe this series, it is more of the same, if you liked Narcos and enjoyed seeing the DEA slowly busting drug dealers over a period of years than you will enjoy this. As usually there are some cheer worthy monuments (in this season it is the burning of the weed fields), some sad moments (Kiki’s death), and a hell of a lot of frustration as the corrupt system gets in the way of these agents doing their job.

As someone who loved all of that in previous seasons, I fully enjoyed Narcos Mexico Season 1, I found it to be both captivating and thrilling and it proves the creative team behind the show still has it.

Michael Pena plays against type here, he has done some dramatic work before (End Of Watch, Fury), but he is mainly known for his more comedic work. He played Kiki as a man on a mission, much like characters of past seasons his whole life revolved around bringing the drug lord to justice. My one issue is that the character could be annoying at times and do reckless and dangerous things without thinking about his family, who had moved down to Mexico with him.

I thought Luna’s Gallardo was a villain on the same level of Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), this is exactly what the series needed and was the issue the final series of Narcos was disappointing: because the villains were lacking. My one issue on this side of things was that I would have preferred to see Gallardo’s rise and fall within one series as opposed to two, it just feels more dragged out. A lot of episodes have plot points that go nowhere and feel put into pad out the 50+ minute runtime.

Overall, Narcos Mexico Season 1 is good, the characters are working and that is what made the first two series of Narcos feel so special, I still have a few issues with it, such as I feel like it didn’t need to be spread over two seasons and that I found Kiki’s character annoying at times. Ps. Don’t even get me started on Raffa or more adeptly the worst character ever written.

Pros.

Back to basics in a good way.

Interesting new villain.

It feels fresh again.

Cons.

It is too dragged out.

Some of the characters are annoying.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Full Monty: Bearing It All

The Full Monty is a comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo. The plot follows a group of unemployed men in Sheffield who turning to striping to make money. This film isn’t afraid to touch on some very real, very dark themes, such as the rights of a father, body image and sexuality, but it handles them all in a thoughtful and mature way.

This is one of those late 90’s early 2000’s films that were social realist with a twist of fantasy in there. It tries to show the world in a realistic way, not in a Hollywood happy ending sort of way, there is a touch of happiness at the end, but the fate of the guys if left relatively ambiguous. It is in the same sort of vein as Trainspotting.

Robert Carlyle does a great job as Gaz, he plays him as a man who has made a few mistakes, his life hasn’t turned out the way he wanted it to, but he always tries to do right by his son. I liked this angle for the character and thought that the relationship between father and son worked well and was affecting, especially when it looked as though Gaz wasn’t going to be able to see his son anymore.

Another thing that I thought worked really well was Mark Addy’s Dave. Dave has body confidence issue that deeply affect him, we the audience don’t realise this right away, however throughout the film we see how his issues are controlling and ruining his life and his marriage and it breaks your heart. Like I said before this film doesn’t pull any punches it hits you in the face with these unpleasant truths about life and they make you think. I think Dave and the way he is represented on screen is so important for cinema as a whole, as it shows people who are suffering from similar issues that they are not alone.

Overall, I think this film doesn’t really work as a comedy film it didn’t make me laugh once, but it works incredibly well as a drama film. It has a strong message about loving yourself and how there is always hope for tomorrow as well as highlighting a lot of the struggles people have to go through on a day to day basis. Dave’s struggle with body confidence has stayed with me since I saw the film a few days ago and I think that proves just how powerful it is. Half a really important social commentary, half an unfunny comedy film.

I’m mixed.

Pros.

Robert Carlyle.

Mark Addy’s character works on so many levels and the struggle he has to go through is one that so many people can relate to, as such it is deeply impactful.

The social commentary and darker themes.

Cons.

It is not at all funny.

It does drag on a bit at times.

3.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Rocketman:A New Blockbuster Star Is Born

Rocketman is a musical biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher. The film shows the troubled life of world- famous musician Elton John (Taron Egerton), his rise to fame and the trouble he had once everyone new his name.

This film is one of those films that came out in the middle of the Musical Biopic fad, that saw the likes of The Dirt and Bohemian Rhapsody be released to various levels of success. What’s more it also marks a return for Egerton to working with Fletcher as his director; after they worked together on another biopic Eddie The Eagle.

Egerton has proven himself over the last decade to be one of the best up and coming actors. He possesses not only an easy-going charm that makes him near impossible to root against, but also a great versatility of emotional range. He brings all of these considerable talents to his take on John. No punches are pulled here, John is shown as a broken and self-destructive character, but also the victim of a hard life and a cruel family. John’s desire to entertain and be loved bleeds through into every scene and it is all thanks to a magnificent performance from Egerton.

Not only can Egerton act, he can also sing. Unlike Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody Egerton is actually singing and performing all of the songs and he does a really good job of it; if the acting doesn’t work out, which it will, he always has a back up career in music, which he proves here.

This film also strikes a nice balance between comedy and tragedy, as there are good laughs to be had, but also real emotional stakes. Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton John’s mum is haunting, her toxic relationship with her son can’t help but make you feel uncomfortable.

My one criticism with this film is that some of the songs and more fantastical elements feel forced in. With many musicals the songs are the highlight and to an extent that is true here, but there were a few times when I was like “another song really” because I felt like the scene didn’t need it. This is especially true in the beginning of the film where it feels like they have a musical number every 5 seconds. Moreover, the fantasy elements like when John converse with a younger version of himself at the bottom of his swimming pool feel strangely out of sync with the rest of the film, which for the most part feels like a grounded realistic affair.

Overall, this is a very entertaining musical biopic that has heart and laughs. Taron Egerton once again delivers a masterful performance that was deserving of wider acclaim.

Pros.

Laughs.

Heart.

A Great Elton John.

Cons.

Some Of The Songs Feel Forced In.

As Do The Fantasy Sequences.

4/5

Reviewed By Luke

BoJack Horseman: Back In 2014 Netflix Made The Best Animated Show

BoJack Horseman is an adult animated comedy series, which along with Big Mouth and a few other series make up the bulk of Netflix’s original animated content. The plot revolves around BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), a past his prime actor that still likes to pretend he is relevant. Over the 6 seasons of BoJack so far, we have seen him be plagued by his demons and then try to overcome them. As well we have been introduced to a wide cast of characters that are all rich and varied, in many ways the supporting cast help to make the show what it is.

BoJack Horseman is known for being deep and mature, the show often goes to the darker side of life and has a lot to say while it is there; often times having a very nuanced take on said topics and themes. Part of what makes this show so special is how well it works as a character study, the character of BoJack has been broken down and rebuilt time and time again as such we feel like we, the audience, know him; he is a three dimensional character which is nice to see in an animated show. The other characters that appear in the show get as much development as the titular horse if not more, characters like Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), have whole episodes dedicated to their characters as such we care deeply for them all.

What’s more the writing of the show present Hollywood, here called something slightly different, in a very realistic way, it does not sugar coat it. BoJack Horseman shows the ugly side of Hollywood, the side that can drive a person to drugs or alcohol or many other vices; it handles this in a very mature way. This is a show that can make you think/feel just as much as it can make you laugh.

Overall BoJack Horseman is one of Netflix’s best shows, it is one of the most widely praised as well, the writing is nothing sort of superb and does a lot of things that you wouldn’t expect to see from an animated series let alone an animated comedy series. It has made me personally consider things about my own life and has had an emotional connection with me, it is a real shame that the series is coming to an end tomorrow, as of the time of writing, I just hope that the series can end on a high note and becomes one of the best series of modern times.

I can’t rank the series as a whole yet, as it hasn’t ended and this is an overview of the show as a whole, as opposed to an individual series review, I can’t make a final judgement, but if I was ranking the seasons so far it would have to be a 5.

Reviewed By Luke

Dragged Across Concrete: A Pulp Fiction Novel Done In 159 Minutes

Dragged Across Concrete is a Neo-noir action thriller film, directed by S. Craig Zahler. The plot revolves around two cops, Brett (Mel Gibson), and Anthony (Vince Vaughn), who are suspended after an excessive force incident. However, for various reasons both men need to make money, so they decide to rob a group of criminals that have robbed a bank.

Craig Zahler is a very strange filmmaker to talk about as his films have a very specific style to them, if you have ever seen any of them you will know what I am talking about, said style can be incredibly polarising. I enjoyed his debut effort Bone Tomahawk but thought that his follow-up Brawl In Cell Block 99 went a little too far for my tastes and veered into vile and uncomfortable viewing. This film, however, seems to hit a sweet spot, it has moments of extreme violence, but these aren’t excessive rather instead well used.

One of my favourite bits from this film is one of those violent moments. Jenifer Carpenter plays Kelly a recent mother who is having separation anxiety as she has to be away from her baby and go back to work, can I just say here that even though her role is under 10 minutes I think this is one of the best performances of Carpenter’s career, once she is back at work she gets caught up in the bank robbery and killed. What makes this worth talking about is the fact that this is incredibly shocking as she is a recognisable actress, and had a big part in Cell Block 99, we don’t expect her to die so suddenly yet she does. This moment actually made me gasp out loud, I am being serious.

The antagonist of the film is also terrific from the moment we are introduced to Lorentz Vogelmann (Thomas Kretschmann), he is menacing. Furthermore, the choice to have him be in a mask for most of the film really adds to the sense of terror. He is the first ‘bad guy’ in a long time that has actually captured my interest.

Gibson and Vaughn are both solid leads and have a good repour, you can easily buy that these two men have been partners for some time. Moreover, the character motivations for the two are well written as well, Vaughn’s Anthony wants to propose to his girlfriend, he dies as he listens to a voicemail of her rejecting him this perfectly captures that gritty sense of reality that this film is going for. Brett, on the other hand, wants to provide a better life for his family, which in a sense he does, and this provides the film it’s happy ending.

Overall, this film feels as though S. Craig Zahler has brought a pulpy crime novel to the big screen in the best way. Usually, these sorts of films, especially with a run-time as long as this (159 minutes) start to lose my attention, but this one kept me hooked right the way through to the end. A modern masterpiece in noir cinema. A Must Watch!

Pros.

It Is Genuinely Shocking.

It Is Everything A Pulpy Crime Film Should Be.

It Is Gorey But Doesn’t Over Do It.

Great Leads.

A Career Best For Jennifer Carpenter.

Cons.

None.

5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Dolemite Is My Name: Eddie Murphy’s Masterpiece

Dolemite Is My Name is an autobiographical comedy film directed by Craig Brewer. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, real-life comedian and the filmmaker responsible for Dolemite in 1975. This film charts Rudy’s rise to fame and shows the trials and tribulations he went through with both his comedy career as well as his filmmaking.

This is a wonderful, wonderful film. I didn’t realise how much I had missed seeing Eddie Murphy on screen until I saw this film. This is a triumph for him as well as the rest of the cast easily being one of my favourite films of last year. Murphy plays Rudy with such a sense of plucky optimism that he perfectly captures the underdog spirit. Right the way through the film you are cheering for Rudy and you want to see him do great things, he is instantly likeable and relatable and that is this film’s greatest strength. Given to a lesser actor, the character might not have had these charming qualities which would have lessened the overall emotion of the film.

An example of what I am talking about is during the film’s third act as the crew are driving to the Dolomite premiere, they read some negative reviews of their film, this is quite a down note, but Murphy’s Rudy turns around and makes it positive. Later on, when Rudy realises that people will have to wait for hours to watch his film, he decides to entertain them while they wait, rather than see his own film, it is touching. This film has such a good-natured soul to it, and I believe that is all down to Murphy and his remarkably positive energy.

The supporting cast is also incredibly talented, and they all give good performances. Chris Rock, Snoop Dogg, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes and more are in this film and though a lot of them only have bit parts they all deliver memorable and important performances. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is the female lead of the film, Lady Reed, she gives a particularly moving performance as someone who conquers their inner demons and comes out on top, she overcomes her shyness and does great things and I for one found that inspiring. She also has great on-screen chemistry will Murphy which is a treat to see.

Overall, this is an incredibly strong, incredibly sweet film that needs to be seen. This is more than a comeback for Murphy this is proof of his talent both as a dramatic and comedic actor; he was robbed of a nomination for Best-Actor which I believe he deserved. This is a must-watch!

Pros.

Eddie Murphy.

An Uplifting Story.

A Great Supporting Cast.

A Good Nature.

A Near Perfect Ending.

Cons.

None.

5/5

Reviewed By Luke