The Addams Family 2: Still Trying To Live Up To The Live Action Version

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Addams Family are back once again, and this time they are going on a road trip.

Whilst this is not a great film, it still pales deeply when compared to the live action version, it is better than the first animated film which did not seem to understand the IP. This film at least seems to understand the characters better and uses them in a way that feels truer than what we got the last time around.

There are a number of wonderfully weird moments sprinkled in throughout this film that I feel enhance it, they help to tap into the odd sensibilities of the franchise and play on its macabre sense of humour to a great degree. Some of these moments are better than others of course, but most are at least somewhat entertaining.

My issue with this film is that the central story of Wednesday, voiced by Chloe Grace Mortez, not fitting in with her family and then believing herself to be adopted, being kidnapped, only to then be rescued and reassured by her actual family, the Addams, is contrived. How many times will we have to repeat the same stories over and over again in Hollywood before writers come up with something new? Honesty it is getting to a point where I can accurately predict the endings of films within the first few minutes, please freshen up your story telling.

Overall, a slightly better version of the previous film though the story focus does hold it back.

Pros.

It understands the characters more

There are some deeply strange moments

The sensibilities are there

Cons.

The whole Wednesday story

Fester’s side arc

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Queenpins: Kristen Bell Stopped Trying

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We follow Connie, Kristen Bell, and Jojo, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, as they create the biggest fake coupon ring in US history, supposedly based on a true story.

This one was a disappointment. I had been eagerly awaiting the release of this film as the trailer looked good, however, it turned out to be just another silly crime story. By that I mean its formulaic, the unlikely criminal becomes a criminal then becomes successful and then from an equally unlikely source they are brought down- it has been done a lot before.

Moreover, the leads don’t really bring much to the table. Howell-Baptiste is never really given much to do and basically gets to play side kick to Kristen Bell the whole film which is a shame as of the two I think Howell Baptiste shows the most promise here. Bell on the other hand doesn’t even seem to be trying she is playing a version of the same character she has played time and again before, the slightly naïve do gooder with a dark streak- see the Bad Moms films for more of that. Paul Walter Hauser is also playing the same character he has done before but his relationship with Vince Vaughn’s Simon does end up giving him a nice little character arc. Vaughn is the saving grace of the film, and he does provide the laughs if it were not for him this film would be much worse.

The feminist messages in the film are at best weak and pointless and worst awkward. Referring to themselves multiple times as ‘Queenpins’ felt cringe and then having the female character being motivated to act because she wants to get pregnant feels almost inherently sexist, women can want more than a child you know Hollywood. The whole cake line was also very needless, if you have seen the film you will know what I mean.

Overall, if it were not for Vince Vaughn this film would have been even worse.

Pros.

Vaughn

A few laughs

Cons.

Bell

The forced in feminism

They don’t give Howell-Baptiste anything to work with

It feels too familiar

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Howl: Somehow British Public Transport Is Made Even Worse

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A train breaks down in the middle of nowhere and to make matters worse werewolves begin to terrorise those on board.

This is a fairly strong British werewolf film, is it Dog Soldiers good? No but few films can be. There is something so intimately familiar to the British experience within this film, the grubby train packed with angry people that breaks down; I have been there many times. Well maybe not recently in these Covid times.

Speaking of Dog Soldiers I enjoyed seeing Sean Pertwee appear in this film, he is always a very welcome presence as far as I am concerned. However, they kill him off almost immediately which is of course a huge missed opportunity. The cast we do get more time with are all serviceable though no one is particularly stand out.

The werewolf makeup effects and design were interesting, and we do get several good looks at them over the course of the film. I liked that this film felt like it was creating a fresh take on the creatures rather than trotting out standard genre cliches, the glowing eyes I thought were particularly effective.

Overall, a passable film that is fun to watch but one that won’t blow you away or stay in your mind long after watching.

Pros.

The werewolf design and makeup

The very British scenario

The ending

Cons.

Killing of Pertwee early

Pacing issues

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Anna And The Apocalypse: The Version Of High School Musical That The Disney Channel Rejected

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A Scottish highschool finds itself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

I had heard lots of positive things about this prior to watching, however I did not end up liking it. The people I spoke to about this film prior to watching it had left out one key aspect, namely that it is a musical. I really didn’t like that part of the film.

The songs in this film aren’t good. Yes, that is a personal taste thing on my part but every time someone started singing in this film I started to cringe. It felt like a knock off High School Musical clone without the talent, zombies aside. I understand what they were trying to do merging horror and musical elements is a novel idea, accept Sweeny Todd did it about ten years earlier and then there is Rocky Horror so maybe not so fresh an idea after all.

The horror elements are okay but again nothing game changing. For me the best part about this film was seeing Paul Kaye get to have some fun as the evil schoolmaster. Kaye is a tremendous actor, and he was the only reason I kept with the film.

Overall, Paul Kaye is always fun but everything else just doesn’t work.

Pros.

Kaye

It is unintentionally hilarious

Cons.

The songs are Disney Chanel reject quality

The elements don’t come together well

It is cringey

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Nacho Libre: The Greatest Wrestler Of Them All

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A Friar, Jack Black, dreams of becoming a luchador.

Before this viewing I had never seen this film all the way through before. Upon finishing it for the first time I found it to be enjoyable if not overly impressive.

Black is always very likeable and that is true here, his character of Ignacio is very easy to root for and you do develop a bond with him over the course of the film. Additionally he also gets several funny lines, I would say he was the only character in the film that made me laugh. Not all of the jokes landed, especially with the side characters, but enough of them did that it kept me engaged; Black has fantastic comedic delivery.

I enjoyed the look into the world of Mexican wrestling and luchador culture and think that more films should focus on it. Admittedly, I think the story would have been better served by having a Mexican actor in the lead rather than Jack Black as there was an element of white saviour to the film that I really didn’t like.

Overall, though the casting is troublesome I found this film to be enjoyable and even funny at times, not perfect but entertaining.

Pros.

Black

The comedy

The look into luchador culture

Cons.

The white saviour aspects

Not all the jokes land

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Intrusion: Are Netflix Even Trying Anymore

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film follows a couple in the aftermath of a home invasion, focusing on how it affected each personally.

My, my we are back to the boring era of Netflix thrillers. This film was so dull and hard to get through. Indeed many times I almost turned it off. I found there to be nothing new about this film during its runtime and everything it said or was trying to say had been said better elsewhere.

The emotional impact it was trying to put across again feel puddle deep. The film seems to think it is a lot deeper and more intelligent in its observations than it actually is, try as it might it can’t seem to come up with anything interesting or fresh to say.

Furthermore, the acting was also very mediocre. Normally I find Logan Marshall-Green can do no wrong, but he was just given nothing to work with here and it really shows in his performance, in truth his character is little more than a cliché. Freida Pinto’s lead is likewise uninspired, her character reads as a discount version of various other better written characters over the years which is a shame as Pinto is a very good performer normally.

Overall, uninspired.

Pros.

It is watchable

It is short

Cons.

It is dull

It is predictable

The performances are weak

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Nightbooks: We Need More Of Krysten Ritter In This Role

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young boy, Winslow Fegley, obsessed with all things horror is kidnapped by an evil witch, Krysten Ritter, and forced to write her scary stories.

I enjoyed this film quite a lot, it turned out to be much more narly and hardcore than I was expecting it to be, and it managed to create some great horror visuals over the course of its runtime. In some ways this was more scary than a lot of the adult horrors out there.

The best thing about this film is easily the performance given by Ritter. By now you should all know that Ritter is an incredible talent, but if you didn’t know it for some reason this film proves it to you. She manages to pull off so many different emotions with just her face alone without even the need for words. She captures comedy, sadness and intense anger and rage completely, and manages to make her character both sympathetic and loathsome.

Even the child actors were fairly good, that in and off itself is a big deal as child actors are never good.

Overall, a lot of fun.

Pros.

Ritter

The scares

The ending

The characters

Cons.

The Hansel and Gretel twist was a bit too obvious

The Obscure Life Of The Grand Duke Of Corsica: Madness Made Manifest

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An off kilter architect, Timothy Spall, begins working for an eccentric rich man, Peter Stormare, who calls himself The Grand Duke of Corsica.

I enjoyed this film far more than I thought I was going to. Yes, there are moments of abstractness that are so seemingly random and out of place that they don’t fit into the sequence, which becomes jarring, but on the whole the strangeness of the film really works and helps it to become something truly unique.

Both Spall and Stormare bring their A game thought I would say Stormare slightly pips it. Both men bring a lot of depth and nuance to their characters and explore them in interesting ways that makes you question your preconceived notions.

The flashback subplot, or was it a film, didn’t really work for me. I understand the parallel they were trying to create but there was not enough connective tissue there to really bring it together into a meaningful whole.

Overall, an interesting strange film that for the most part gets it right, though it does cross the line a few times.

Pros.
Spall

Stormare

The strangeness

The ending

Cons.

The flashback subplot

Occasionally the film felt like it was being strange for the sake of it

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Best Sellers: Urinating On Books, The Hallmark Of A Good Writer

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A publishing house on the edge of ruin finds solace in an anarchistic old writer, Michael Cain, can his new book be the thing to save them?

I find this film has moments of heart and genuine emotion but then it pushes too far into oversentimental territory. When the film becomes overly sentimental the problems with the script become increasingly apparent to a point where it almost feels emotionally manipulative.

However, the film does have its moments and I think Caine does a very good job here, his character is layered and multifaceted and grows on you over the course of the film. He has a good amount of on screen chemistry with Aubrey Plaza’s character and the two have excellent rapport. Plaza is as always very good; she does a lot with the little she is given, and she makes for a very relatable and likeable lead.

Overall, though this film wanders into the realm of the cliched and overly sentimental it still has enough heart and warmth to keep it on track.

Pros.

Plaza

Caine

The emotion for the most part

Cons.

The over sentimentality

A weak script

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Comes A Day: Never Go To A Jewellery Shop They Just Aren’t Safe, Learn From Films

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of people become trapped in a jewellery shop during a robbery.

This film doesn’t seem to quite know what it wants to be, on the one hand it wants to be a dark comedy and on the other a pure crime film. However, the film brings over elements of each which end up complimenting each other nicely to produce a comedy crime film that will bring a smile to your face.

I have been a big fan of Craig Roberts for a while now, ever since I first watched Young Dracula on CBBC, and he continues to impress me across his career. I found his lead to be likeable and more than a little relatable, he feels human and reflects how most would be in that situation: I thought it was a masterstroke to have him not be the action hero sort as it would have thrown off the whole vibe of the film.

Furthermore, he is also supported by a very strong cast with Imogen Poots and Timothy Spall shining in every second of screen time. I appreciated the amount of character development Roberts’ and Spall’s characters get and think it was well done, however, it needed to be applied to Poots’ character who remained underdeveloped throughout. The same can also be said for the villains.

I think this films greatest weakness is that it is overly ambitious: it starts a lot of ideas and themes that it then doesn’t finish which cheapens the impact.

Overall, a very enjoyable crime film that could have just done with stronger villains and more development for Poots’ character.

Pros.

Spall

Roberts

The ending

Cons.

Poots is underserved

The villains need more personality

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