Beef: Season One Overview

Summary

Two random strangers, played by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, get into a road rage incident that changes their lives forever.

I think this is one of the best shows Netflix has made in years. Why can’t we get more like this and less angsty teen shows that get cancelled after one season?

The show works so well as a series of escalations wherein each episode tops the drama of the last, and does so in a way that both makes sense and feels organic. At no point in this series did I think it strayed into the territory of the unbelievable.

Adding to this Wong and Yeun both have really great chemistry together and deliver fantastic performances. I particularly liked Wong’s performance and how it comments on depression and past trauma and shame, speaking off the monster that speaks to her as a little girl in one of the last few episodes is genuinely quite terrifying. It was clear to me from the off that the show was going to end up with Wong and Yeun’s characters getting together and in a sense it did that, but it just works as they are so good together.

Moreover, some of the more abstract elements of the show such as the previously mentioned monster and the crows that talk to one another in the final episode really add a nice different dimension to the realism of the rest of the show and perfectly juxtapose it.

Overall, if you haven’t already seen it you should binge this show the next time you have time to spare.

4.5/5

Pros.

Wong

Yeun

The drama and the escalation

The fun abstract elements

The ending

Cons.

The pace of the show is a little off and could be cut down by an episode which would also help to reduce the Netflix bloat.

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Inside: Is He Trapped Or Are You?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Willem Dafoe goes crazy after being locked in an apartment during an art heist.

I will give the film praise for its premise, the idea of a man having to survive trapped in someone else’s apartment with minimal food and water and no way out is an interesting idea. Seeing Dafoe’s character have to try and find ways to stay alive was fascinating, at first.

In a way this film would have made for a great short film, it has a strong premise and a good performance by Dafoe to anchor it. However, by stretching to feature length this film quickly becomes tedious, the pacing is so egregiously slow that you begin to feel like you too are being held prisoner, but in this case by a film that just won’t end.

Moreover, in a effort to try and pad out the runtime the final act of the film tries to go deeper and branches out into some pretty abstract territory, which I suppose reflects Dafoe’s characters descent into madness but also feels like art house twaddle masquerading as plot.

Overall, an interesting idea but one that should never have been stretched to feature length.

2/5

Pros.

Dafoe

The premise

Cons.

The pacing is awful

The art house third act really doesn’t come together

It is frustrating to watch

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Tetris: The Downfall Of The USSR

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The story behind bringing Tetris to Japan and also the Gameboy.

I do think there is an interesting story here, I think that the scenes in which the dialogue is quick paced and things and moving nicely along are engaging and that the wheeling and dealing aspects about this story are interesting. It is just that these aspects of the film are sandwiched in-between a hell of a lot of filler, exposition and needless asides.

I think that this film is really brutally paced, and could have done with being about half an hour shorter. I do think there is promise here but that it gets lost amongst a sea of needless scenes. This bad pacing makes the film hard to watch and engage with.

I think that Taron Egerton is doing his best to anchor this film, and does the whole plucky thing well, but he doesn’t show much range at all here and his performance is fairly one note. A plucky businessman who needs to make a deal happen. His character was somewhat hard to tell apart from any number of other characters he has played recently that have followed a similar role.

Overall, an interesting story but one that gets way too bogged down to be fun.

2.5/5

Pros.

The story itself is interesting

The wheeling dealing scenes are fun

The story of friendship is nice as well

Cons.

It is boring at times

Egerton

The pacing is brutal

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Servant: Series Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Turners, played by Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell, have their lives turned upside down when a nanny, played by Nell Tiger Free, turns up on their doorstep and performs the impossible.

This will be a review of the entire 4 season run of the show as it is intended as a series overview.

There was a time when I couldn’t stop watching this show and watched the first few seasons back to back over a number of days, the supernatural mystery and not being able to guess what would happen next kept me on my toes and kept this show as being a must watch. The chemistry between the cast was really quite hard to look away from and I don’t think there was a single bad performance in the show’s whole run, additionally it may be this series that saved the career of Rupert Grint, Ron from Harry Potter.

However, then came the final series and the cracks began to show in a massive way. An argument could be made that if the show had stopped after season 3 it would have been much better, as the final series didn’t seem to know how it wanted to end things and this then resulted in a deeply disappointing finale that felt frankly like a cop out, with character behaving in ways that made no sense to how they had been previously.

The central question of the show was, who is Leanne, played by Free, what is she and ultimately will she win. Over the course of the show these questions had been given slight answers but never anything concreate and the final series tried to address them more but ended up ruining the character. It made no sense for Leanne who was embracing her cult leader status just a few episodes earlier to set herself ablaze in the final episode, it reeked of convenient writing to me.

Overall, the high score I have given this show reflect how good it was in the earlier seasons, if the last season hadn’t ruined the character of Leanne and missteped so badly on the ending then it may even have gotten higher.

3.5/5

Pros.

The chemistry

The mystery

The supernatural tease

The world

Cons.

The answers we got made no sense

The series ruined itself by the end

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The Last Of Us: Look For The Lights

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, reach the end of their journey.

So this episode wasn’t shocking for me as I knew it was coming, when Ramsey took to social media to say the final would be divisive I was expecting something shocking but in reality it was just the ending of the game most people picked, to save Ellie.

When Joel goes on his rampage and guns down most of the fireflies in order to get Ellie out the show clearly wants to frame it through the lens of look at what a brutal, and possibly even unjust, thing he is doing, however, this doesn’t work for me as I agree with Joel and picked this ending in the game. A parent would watch the world burn as long as their child was safe.

I also question the merit in having the season finale be one of the shortest episodes of the show, if not the shortest. I think the episode does have somewhat of a rushed feel to it and could have gone into more of the life of Ellie’s mother, played by Ashley Johnson, or could have shown more of Joel and Ellie in the aftermath of the hospital bloodbath as they deal with what happened.

Overall, whilst still good this was probably one of the weakest episodes of the show.

PS. I think this might be where I leave the show, as if they do a second season that adapts the second game I don’t want to watch it unless they make some pretty major changes.

3.5/5

Pros.

Joel rampage

The emotions

Pascal’s acting throughout

Saving Ellie

Cons.

It was too short

I disagreed with how the show framed things

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Interview With Director/Writer Jamison M. LoCascio: 7×7

Written by Luke Barnes

I recently had the chance to interview Writer/ Director Jamison M. LoCascio about their new anthology film 7×7, which depicts a series of disasters and dark moments and the tales of survival and hope which exist within them. In this interview we discuss, the human spirit, hopefulness and the genuine sense of panic that comes about when you think you might miss your train.I hope you enjoy.

What was the thought behind making this film?

JML: We had done 8-12 years of short film work and we were starting to see a striking similarity between the headlines of today and the work we had done years ago. We realize that sometimes the short film format can be limited so we decided to bring them together into one feature length (82 minute) collection called 7×7, the unifying element being the human condition or connection between these characters in crisis.

What was the message you wanted to get across?

JML: Each film has its own message but mainly it was to try to tell a truthful story about normal people in difficult and sometimes unbelievable circumstances.

When focusing on such dark events how do you manage tone to not have the film feel bleak or depressing?

JML: It is ultimately up to you as a filmmaker to leave people satisfied and entertained, in the end every single audience member sees the story differently so you cannot hope to have everyone on the same page. The idea then is to try to tell a story that feels satisfying from start to finish for you as the filmmaker and people will join the camp of supporting that feeling or not.

Your film suggests that even in the darkest of times there is always some form of hope, do you agree with that and would you describe this film as fundamentally optimistic?

JML: I think there is always a sense of hope in our films though sometimes it is harder to define but we feel that is true to life.

How did you decide on the anthology approach?

JML: It was the hard work of many people over 12 years, these short films specifically needed to be further seen. Now, with a company called FILM HUB, who encouraged us to make 7×7, they had that new opportunity to be seen by people-so we delivered them!

Do you have any funny stories from production?

JML: There are tons but the best one is probably on “Track 3” the entire shoot was done in between people rushing to their trains and with announcements coming over the loudspeaker- every 20 minutes or less! Wow! Some people out of focus in the background look like they are panicking due to the scripted Pandemic in the film but the true story…they were just late for their trains!

What is your favorite moment from the film?

JML: The resolution at the end of Midnight Catch is an important moment in the movie and my favorite in some ways because it was my first film and it is the last film in this anthology. I am proud it was chosen to be there in that final position after all the years since I have made and learned to make better films. It was kind of like the producers had decided that I was on “the right track” all along and in the filmmaking business of insanity and uncertainty, those little things add up to be positive moments for you as a filmmaker.

8. Future plans/ what comes next for you?

JML: We are already working on a new feature film screenplay in the horror genre and Adam Ambrosio and myself are about to release a book called “The Script is Not Enough” about how we made our first four feature films and the lessons new filmmakers can take from them, I hope it can help somebody!

9. Do you have any words for aspiring filmmakers who might be reading this?

JML: Stay with it and don’t get too caught up on one “big” movie idea, it is easier to wait too long and fail this way. Instead, make as many films as possible and learn from each one, even if you fail along the way, people will admire your courage to persist onwards in your craft. After that, people will graciously lend you a hand and want to be a part of your momentum forward, making that process easier and ultimately closer to what you originally wanted it to be. One day, suddenly your body of work becomes “valuable” or maybe even “inspiring” to some as tough, painful, and slow as it may be, but really your expectations mainly need adjustment, always be grateful you have the opportunity to make any film ever, it is a rare gift and I’ve decided to never lose sight of that fact myself. The truth is that you can always take a blank page and write/finance/shoot/deliver a feature film that is well within anyone’s budget – just look at things differently, don’t worry about Hollywood’s rules but instead make the best films you can with the hand you’ve been given. Study the craft, study films you love, try to find the joy in every bit of it because it is at the end of the day, it is very challenging but worthwhile in the end. It is important to remember that no one will hand you anything. You must go out and create the films you want to make and see for yourself, you need to find a way to make your films come into existence or develop the kinds of films that can be more easily made, stop worrying about how you are perceived in terms of budget, cast, etc and instead – make the best damn film you can. People will notice this type of passionate work much more so, you can feel a person’s passion for something translate to their results, I believe especially in filmmaking.

If you would like to check out 7X7 for yourself it is currently out now on Tubi https://tubitv.com/movies/722406/7×7

If you enjoyed this interview, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

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7X7: Tales From The Darkness

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Stories of survival told during some of the darkest times imaginable.

As many of you will know, my thoughts on anthology films are often mixed, when the narrative is split between a lot of different stories and characters there tends to be an issue with over stretching and becoming convoluted, this is coupled with the fact that one bad story can sink an anthology easily. I want to say that these issues don’t happen here but that would be untrue, at least to a small degree.

The latter doesn’t occur, all of the stories are good and make you feel deeply but when looked at more closely even some of the best stories start to become increasingly hollow with too many characters that you know very little about. This creates quite a catch 22 as though the emotional writing is good it is offset by a dull and sparse feeling world.

The actors do there best to try and breathe some life into these rather shallow characters, and for the most part do manage to improve them with their performances but I think it still isn’t enough.

Overall, not a bad film by any means and with a strong core of emotional writing, however by trying to be everywhere and tell every story the film quickly begins neglecting its characters which feel at best like an afterthought.

3.5/5

Pros.

The premise

The emotions

The actors are trying their best

The pacing is okay

Cons.

The characters and world feel undeveloped

It tries to do too much

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Godfather Part III: The Odd One Out

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, dies.

Many people have a real sour taste in their mouths when it comes to this film and to an extent that is understandable as this is definitely the worst film of the trilogy, however, I also think it isn’t terrible and in some ways I actually liked the film.

Let’s get my most controversial opinion on the film right out of the way now, I thought Sofia Coppola was good in this and I liked her romance with Andy Garcia’s character. I thought they had good chemistry together and I was hit emotionally somewhat as her character died.

However, I think the issue with Coppola’s character and Garcia’s is that they are underdeveloped. They could have done with having been introduced in the second film maybe as an epilogue, as it stands we don’t feel like we know them very much at all. This is especially troubling as Michael hands over the family to Garcia’s character, this should be a big moment but instead feels rushed and underwhelming.

I also thought though the international Vatican murder plot had a few interesting moments, the film gets bogged down far too much in this idea of Michael seeking forgiveness and redemption. In many senses the heavy religiosity of this film only serves to slow it down, which in turn creates pacing issues. This is the only one of the trilogy that I found to be dragging on, which is saying something as I think it is shorter than the others.

Overall, not terrible by any means but certainly not in the same league as the other films that came before it.

3.5/5

Pros.

Garcia

A few interesting twists and turns

It is nice to see Michael’s story wrapped up

Coppola

Cons.

Pacing issues

Underdeveloped characters

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The Last Of Us: When We Are In Need

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, is kidnapped by a group of cannibals, and a recovering Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, must fight to try and save her.

I think this may have been the best episode of the season yet. The emotion in the final ten minutes of the episode is so powerful that you can’t help but be effected. Whether it is the scene of Ellie hacking apart the leader of the cannibals and the look into her soul we get during that scene, or the moment where she meets up with Joel again and he finally accepts her as his daughter. Truly it is incredibly powerful.

I thought the character work within this episode was great, both of the characters go to some really dark places but it is interesting to see them hit that edge and to consider their reactions to the darkness within the show. It is through this that the morality and the complexities of the world are better realised and played with. Once again the performances from both Ramsey and Pascal are fantastic.

Overall, perhaps the best episode yet.

4.5/5

Pros.

Pascal

Ramsey

The emotional journey of the episode

The dark places the characters go to

The ending

Cons.

There are some light pacing issues especially around the first act of the episode that really do slow it down

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The Last Of Us: Left Behind

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, now looking after a seemingly dying Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, remembers a time when she lost someone else who was close to her.

I think this was the best episode yet for letting us understand the character of Ellie. She goes through so much in this episode and Ramsey really takes us on a journey through the character, we see the highest highs and then the crushing lows and as we are so invested we feel these emotions along with the character.

I thought the central romance was quite good, not as good as Bill and Frank from a few episodes ago, however. I think Ramsey does a lot of the heavy lifting in this department, which I suppose is because until fairly near the end Riley, played by Storm Reid, isn’t aware of Ellie’s feelings but still. In my opinion, Ramsey’s performance across the whole episode is quite a bit stronger than Reid’s who really doesn’t do a good job of emoting.

Personally, I would have liked a bit more time with Ellie and Joel so that we can understand how long has passed and more about their situation but I guess that is being saved for next week’s episode with the cannibals.

Overall, another good episode but not one of the show’s best, mainly due to a weak performance from Reid and a lack of Joel and Ellie development. This weeks episode does very much feel like DLC.

4/5

Pros.

Ramsey really has a chance to show off here

The romance

The emotions

Really doing a lot with character growth

Cons.

Reid

Not enough Joel and Ellie time

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