Nutcracker And The Four Realms: Stay In The Uncanny Valley, Please

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms is a fantasy adventure film directed by Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnson. The plot sees troubled outsider Clara (Mackenzie Foy), venture into a strange world in search of a key to one of her late mother’s possessions.

This film is bizarre, it is like it too a good look at Alice In Wonderland and decided to copy it but make it even more convoluted and odd. There is an underlying sinisterness to this world and this film in generally that I can’t quite put my finger on, but there is definitely something off about it.

The CGI does not help the film at all, it ends up looking all a bit too obviously fake and the uncanniness of it all becomes jarring and off-putting the more you are exposed to it.

The only positive I have for the film is that its basic premise and world feel interesting, like there is a fascinating tale to tell there. However, the film as a whole fails to delivery on this and instead churns out yet another mindless, soulless, big-screen CGI fest. The acting is likewise as wooden, with several big-name actors clearly only here for the money.

The big third act twist where one of the key characters turns out to be evil is one of the most obvious reveals I have ever seen in all my years watching films, and I understand the audience for this would be mostly children but come on Disney have some respect for your audience. They are not all mindless and as the final numbers show they refuse to eat your off brand, out of date, cliché riddled, fantasy slop anymore. Do better!

Overall, though there is a sliver of promise here, it is quickly crushed under a mountain of awful CGI, pay check performances and disturbing feeling. Utter trash.

Pros.

There is some promise

It is watchable

Cons.

There is something wrong with it

The CGI is overused and off-putting

The performances are awful

The plot assumes that the audience are brain dead

The twist

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Scared Stiff: How Many Faces Does Your Husband Have?

Scared Stiff is a horror film directed by Richard Friedman. The plot sees the spirit of a slave owner posses a man in modern times. The spirit then forces the man to try and kill his family.

This film could have been incredibly generic if not for the 80’s charm of the effects and the storytelling. Said charm makes this film hilarious, yes it is not scary in any way but it is funny and that counts for something; at least for me.

I thought the flashbacks were actually quite eerie and unsettling, the opening scene where the slave master murders all of those defenceless slaves is harrowing and it gives the film a very solid horror opening.

The mythology of the mask is quite convoluted and seems to change around as the film goes on, I gave up trying to understand the plot somewhere around the 50-minute mark. After that point it just became a wild ride of odd effects and character moments, which aren’t as bad as you might expect.

Overall, if you want a horror film this is not it. If you want a hilariously 80s horror comedy film that will make you laugh, albeit unintentionally, then this is the film for you.

Pros.

The 80s aesthetic and effects

The campy charm

It has a strong opening

Cons.

It is not scary

The story doesn’t make sense

It wastes the mythology it tries so hard to create

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolfwalkers: Never Cage Something That Is Wild

Wolfwalkers is an animated fantasy film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. The plot sees a girl and her father move to an Irish hamlet in the 1600’s to kill wolves and to start a new life. However said girl Robyn (Honour Kneafsey), finds that there is more to the wolves than any of the towns people know and that the pack is being controlled by a mother daughter Wolfwalker duo, who she soon makes friends with.

This film is a heartbreaker, the plot won’t leave a dry line in the house. It has so many layers to it many of them deeply sad it makes for a very melancholic watch. The later scenes between Robyn and her Dad (Sean Bean), are particularly hard to watch, when he keeps making the situation worse and worse before he realises the error of his ways.

I enjoyed the friendship between Robyn and Mebh ‘Og Mac Tire (Eva Whittaker), I thought it was nice to see their friendship develop over the course of the film and to watch them grow up during such a difficult time period, I’m sure there was a metaphor in there somewhere. I thought this part of the story and its innocence nicely contrasted with the more adult moments.

Finally, I thought it was nice to see a return to 2D animation. It has been too long, and it looked really beautiful throughout, you could tell a lot of work had gone into it and it really helped the film to standout amongst the 2020 animation landscape.

Overall, a beautifully thoughtful and heart breakingly sad animated film that you owe it to yourself to see.

Pros.

A return to 2D animation

The friendship between the two girls

The emotional beats

The father daughter relationship

The look at Irish/Celtic mythology

Cons.

It is desperately sad

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Horns: Where Brooding Meets Teen Angst

Horns is a fantasy horror romance film directed by Alexandre Aja, based on the Joe Hill book of the same name. The plot sees Ig (Daniel Radcliffe), have to clear his name after the brutal death of his girlfriend, aiding him in that effect is the fact that he has started to grow horns. These horns allow people to be completely honest with Ig and tell him their darkest thoughts and desires.

Having for once read the book, before viewing, I can honestly say that this film is a pale imitation. In the process of turning a novel into a film obviously a lot of things will be left out, there has to be some degree of translation, but this film misses out keys themes and plot lines from the book whilst also shoe horning in moments to act as a kind of fan service to book readers.

The obvious demonic metaphor is more easily conveyed here, as we can see his transformation. Though said change is interesting initially, it soon becomes a bit repetitive. Ig is surprised that people don’t seem bothered by his horns, this makes sense the first time not the 30^th. The final devil design is okay it is a little underwhelming as I was hoping for something grander.

The acting is okay, Radcliffe manages just about to keep an accent for the entirety of the runtime, but he is not as strong an actor here as he is today. For me this film just felt a bit too teen angsty, trying too hard to be edgy, I don’t know maybe I have just outgrown it.

Overall, it is perfectly serviceable, but it does not fully embrace the concept of the book and it feels too broody which becomes cringey the longer the film goes on.

Pros.

A few strong moments

The transformation

Cons.

It beats plot points over the head

It leaves key details out

It feels very teen angsty

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Over The Moon: Emotionally Prepare Yourself For This One

Over The Moon is an animated fantasy film directed by Glen Keane. The plot sees Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), struggle with her father moving on after the death of her mum, so she ventures to the moon to prove that love is eternal and forever, based on the notion of the Chinese Folktale of the moon goddess and her lost love.

Comparing this to Pearl Studios other recent feature Abominable, this is the worse of the two. My main complaint of the film is that it is just too sad, it is depressing especially for a kid’s film and I left it feeling bummed out. I understand a lot of kid’s films deal with dark themes but this one fails to balance the tone; the songs and the bright colourful characters aren’t enough.

That said the songs are probably the best part of this film, moon goddess Chang’e (Phillipa Soo), has a number of great songs that are really fun and lively; and also impossible not to dance along to. Chang’e is probably the best of the supporting cast, who are mostly wasted in forgettable minor roles. This film has people like Sandra O, Ken Jeong and John Cho in it, but it barely uses them.

Also there is something about the animation style that I just don’t like, I think the character models look a bit too CGI, a bit too clean, there is something quite uncanny about them that I found disconcerting over time.

Overall, quite an emotional story that will connect with some more than other, though it doesn’t balance its tone and ends up feeling depressing. Likewise it wastes its talented cast and has some iffy animation.

Pros.

The songs

Chang’e/ Philippa Soo

Trying to have a mature conversation in a kid’s film

Cons.

The animation is off

It is depressing

It wastes its talented cast

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Witches (2020): Suitable For Kids?

The Witches (2020) is a family fantasy horror film directed by Robert Zemeckis. The plot follows a young boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno), who discovers that Witches are very real after he and his Grandmother (Octavia Spenser), become targets.

This is not like the other film version in a number of ways, there is a clear effort to set this one apart from the other adaption as well as the book version, there is a lot of added material that is not in the book or other film. While not all of this new stuff works, I am glad they added new scenes and plot lines as it allows this film to feel like it stands on its own rather than just being another remake.

There are also a lot of things in this film that I question whether they are appropriate for a children’s film. There are mentions to things like suicide, which is used as a sort of joke, as well as the arms scene which I would specifically draw light to. The arms scene is actually quite scary, there is something about the uncanny valley nature of the scene that adds to it and makes it scarier, it looks like something out of the recent IT films only better done.

I didn’t like the ending, I thought having them all stay mice doesn’t really work and pushes the film into a ridiculous territory that makes it end on more of a jokey note, which cheapens the entire experience.

Octavia Spenser is terrific and makes the film as well.

Pros.

Spenser

The new additions

The arms scenes/ some genuine scares

Cons.

Not really suitable for kids

The ending is laughably bad

The supporting cast, namely Tucci is given nothing to do.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Prophecy: Viggo Mortensen Is Under Your Bed

The Prophecy is a fantasy thriller film directed by Gregory Widen. The plot sees angel of death Gabriel (Christopher Walken), seek to find an evil soul and use it to wipe out mankind. It is set to a backdrop of a centuries long angelic civil war.

This is pulpy good fun, will it win awards no, but it was solidly entertaining for an hour and a half and it made me want to check out its sequels, stay tuned for reviews of them. I enjoyed the deeply 90s aesthetic of the film it reminded me a bit of films like The Crow. I thought the world building was incredibly on point, they create a huge world with a lot going on, but don’t spend big parts of the film spouting exposition which is appreciated.

The performances are really a conversation about two actors Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen. So, Walken played the menacing angle of death well, he was a very believable badass and managed to seem worse than the devil himself. Speaking of, Mortensen’s Lucifer is only in the film briefly, but he is a scene stealer while he is there, he is so manic and unhinged it is truly chilling; the performance has become one of my all-time favourite Devil performances.

Overall, if you want a schlocky good time with a surprisingly deep world and a few great performances then give this a try.

Pros

Walken

Mortensen

The deep lore

Not overcomplicating things and being a lot of fun

Cons.

It is quite dated now

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Casper: Addams Family Shared Universe?

Casper is a fantasy family comedy film directed by Brad Silberling, based on the Harvey Comics character of the same name. The plot sees single father James Harvey (Bill Pullman), and his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci), move into an old mansion only to find that it is full on ghosts, some more friendly than others.

This film feels like a good accompaniment to Ricci’s Addams Family films, a natural triple bill if ever you were so inclined. Stylistically, again quite similar.

I enjoyed the friendship between Casper (Malachi Pearson), and Kat I found it to be sweet and deeply endearing, likewise when they shared that dance together at the end of the film, I found that to be a cheer worthy moment. I think the biggest asset of this film is its hopeful tone, it really makes it a joy to watch.

As far as child actors go, I think Ricci gives a good performance, you buy her as the sad little girl. Bill Pullman is very believable as the failing single father who is in mourning but is trying to keep things together for his daughter’s sake, I enjoyed his arc and thought his reunion with his dead wife was a sweet moment.

Overall, if you don’t mind the dated effects, which to me added to the charm, this is quite a sweet endearing seasonal watch.

Pros.

Pullman

The emotional character works

The friendship between Casper and Kat

Cons.

It has some pacing issues

The non-Casper ghosts are overplayed

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Tell Tale Heart: Look What You Made Me Do

The Tell-Tale Heart is a horror short film directed by McClain Lindquist. The film serves as a modern reimagining of the classic Edgar Allen Poe tale of the same name. The plot sees a man (Sonny Grimsley), be driven to madness and murder and we the audience are left to put the pieces together.

Sonny Grimsley might be my favourite performance of the year so far, or at least in my top 5. This narrator character perfectly capture the sense of the original tale and is so wonderfully disconcerting throughout, you never want to turn your back on him. There is an elements of mania to the performance that really heightens it into being something special.

I really enjoyed the practical effects in this film, I thought they had a great retro feel to them and the horror as a whole reminded me of classic 80’s pieces; I will admit I am a sucker for a good practical effect.

I thought the film itself was quite scary and threatening and had many moments in its short runtime that sent a chill down my spine. I would easily recommend this to any horror fan. You don’t need to be familiar with the Poe original to enjoy this either which is helpful for newcomers.

Overall, an incredibly strong horror short that is reminiscent of early Sam Raimi or Joe Dante which is high praise indeed.

Pros.

Sonny Grimsley

The scares

Being friendly to newcomers as well as a good adaption of the Poe original

The effects

Nicely paced and perfectly edited

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Little: Proud To Be Generic

Little is a fantasy comedy film directed by Tina Gordon. The plot sees mean boss Jordan (Regina Hall), get turned into a kid again to teach her some kind of lesson. As a result of this Jordan has to go back to school and face her demons once again, gaining some life lessons in the process.

So, if that feels familiar to you, it is because it is. There have been so many films that have either had this premise or some slight variant on it, and frankly it is getting tiring. I won’t even get into the plot hole of why or how she is turned into a kid, because the film doesn’t care about that, but I will say the lesson’s this film preaches are the most obvious, lazy, samey ones that a million other films have promoted better in the past.

That is the crux of the issue with this film, it is not trying to be ‘good’, or even original it is just trying to repackage the same old same old and claim that is new. All of the characters feel like cliches, and the level of development they get is so minuscule that it might be none. The film wastes most of its cast and has some only be on screen briefly for the purpose of an ill time gag and then just abandons them.

Regina Hall is mildly funny whenever she is onscreen, but this film reduces her to short bursts at the start and end, clearly they couldn’t afford her rate.

Overall, this is only watchable as easy mindless dross if there really isn’t anything else on. It is nothing new and it seems almost proud of that.

Pros.

It is watchable

Hall

Cons.

It is proud of being a retread

It is not funny

The child actor is bad

The premise is incredibly generic

1/5

Reviewed by Luke