Demonic: The Fight Against Demons Has Evolved

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, Carly Pope, has to meet her mum after years of cutting her out after she committed a series of murders. As she enters her mum’s mind, literally, she begins to see things were far darker and more supernatural than they first appeared. A battle for Carly’s soul soon follows.

For full disclosure here, I am a big fan of Neill Blomkamp so bare that in mind throughout this review.

After Chappie, which I have a soft spot for, but a lot of people didn’t like, Neill Blomkamp had a lot of bad luck. Both his Alien and Robocop projects were passed on and it wasn’t clear what was next for the director. However, then I saw the first trailer for this and knew he was back.

There is a lot of demonic possession films out there, I have seen, and reviewed for this blog tons and tons of them. After a point all of these films start to feel similar and you start looking for something new and different enough to bring you back to the genre again, this film did that. Whether it is the black ops army of priests hunting demons, or the new tech that allows said priests and others to venture into the mind of the possessed to fight demons in cyberspace, there are a lot of new ideas here and they mostly work.

Moreover, I enjoyed that the demon looked distinctly different from what we usually see in these type of films, which is either a human with glowing eyes or a red skinned horned entity. I thought the look of the demon with the bird head was distinct enough to be memorable and crucially scary.

In terms of scares this isn’t the scariest film in the world, but it did give me a few good scares throughout.

Overall, it is nice to see Blomkamp back in the game and bringing something new to the genre.

Pros.

The demon costume design

The new tech focus

The army of black ops exorcists

A few good scares

Cons.

It could do with being scarier

A few pacing issues

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Sweet Girl: Netflix Has Given Up Trying To Make Good Films

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A father daughter duo, played by Jason Mamoa and Isabela Merced, decide to take on big pharma after they raise the price of a lifesaving drug which leads to the death of the family matriarch.

All of Netflix’s action thrillers are the same. Bland confused and poorly written: it almost feels at this point like they are allowing a machine to write these films using a very basic formula for inspiration. Needless to say it is holding these films back.

I didn’t really feel any sort of emotional connection to the characters, though I did feel the film going out of its way to try and make me care. If anything I would say we don’t get enough time with the happy family unit to grow attached to it before it gets ripped apart.

As a thriller or ‘statement film’ this film has nothing new to say. The message of ‘geez isn’t big pharma bad’ has been one that is often spouted and less often used in an interesting and crucially fresh way. The whole conflict of the film feels played out before it has even begun.

Mamoa is playing the same character he always does, and Merced adds nothing and is simply along for the ride.

Overall, this is so by the numbers it becomes irritating.

Pros.

It is watchable

The opening is mildly interesting

Cons.

The acting isn’t very good

The story feels incredibly generic

It has nothing to say

It is boring

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Attack The Block: Aliens Should Have Thought Better Than To Attack Inner-City London

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Aliens land in a London council estate during Bonfire Night, a gang of youths are the only thing standing in their way to world domination.

Personally, I think this film is a little overrated. It is a mostly good film sure, but it is not a classic as some seem to view it as.

I dislike the way the characters in this film talk, the street slang sort of language is quickly overdone, and worse yet it perpetuates stereotypes about the youth of the working class; there will be plenty of people in the same situation that don’t talk like that and that aren’t in gangs. So presenting the majority of the tower block being criminal in some fashion feels a little off to me.

Moreover, the film lacks the charm of an Edgar Wright picture, if you will pardon the comparison. The characters feel hard to root for or care about because they don’t really do or say anything to make you like them. The only two that I felt any kind of positive feeling towards are Luke Treadway’s Brewis and Nick Frosts Ron, the latter of whom I only really like because Wright has conditioned me to always find him charming whenever he is on screen.

The thing I will give this film credit for is the scale and spectacle of it. For a modestly budgeted film they do a lot with the effects and the way they build tension. So much so that even though you only ever see the aliens for a moment here and there it feels like more, and enough is left to the imagination to make it interesting.

Overall, as a one off I think this film is a fine watch, it doesn’t need a sequel though, however.

Pros.

The scale and spectacle

Treadaway and Frost

The aliens

Cons.

None of the characters are particularly likeable

How it portrays working class youths

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Stillwater: Intro To How To Ruin Character Drama

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bill Baker, Matt Damon, goes to inner city France to try and get his daughter, Abigail Breslin, released from prison after she is accused of a crime she did not commit.

So, I hated the twist ending, I hated what the film did to the Bill character- I thought it ruined the character for the sake of more drama.

Against the real life basis, which this film throws out the window, this film has Bill kidnap and torture the real murderer so that he can get his daughter off, only for it to turn out she was actually guilty all along simply she had hired someone to kill the person rather than do it herself.

The reason why I hate this was because up until that point I was enjoying the film. It was a personal drama about a man trying to reconnect with his daughter and finding his place in a new land. I thought all the scenes were Damon’s character got to be a family man were sweet and I really wish the film had not had him throw it all away in the end.

Honestly, the twist ending made me feel like my emotions had been played with by the filmmakers and not in a good way.

I think Breslin is never given enough screen time to make a big impact, though she does shine in her limited number of scenes. Damon is also on strong form here and has a lot of good strong emotional moments, sadly his turn towards action at the end of the film ruins it though.

Overall, what could have been a strong drama film is instead ruined by unnecessary action.

Pros.

The character drama

Damon

Breslin

Cons.

The twist

Everything about the ending

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The Wedding Guest: Nobody Needs That Many Cars

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We see a mysterious man, Dev Patel, arrive at a wedding for an unknown aim. That aim turns out to be to kidnap the bride and to bring her to his benefactor.

I will applaud this film for giving Patel and action leading role, he really nails it. Patel is easily the best thing about this film and he actually plays a professional killer quite well, I don’t understand why up to the point of this film’s release he hadn’t been cast in more leading man action type roles before, certainly after this he has proven he should be cast more for that type of role.

With that aside my praise for this film runs out. That is not to say it is a bad film, it isn’t, but it is deeply generic. Honestly bar the setting this film has been done so many times before. There is nothing fresh about the story at all, instead it is all too familiar even having the kidnapper turn out to not be a villain and for him and the victim to end up getting together.

Every step of the way you know where this film is going, and it is about as surprising as seeing the sun rise every day. I do think with a better script this could have been really something, Patel is a good actor, but he is only as good as the material he is given to work with.

Overall, a generic action thriller that wastes Patel’s talents.

Pros

Patel

It is watchable

Cons

It is generic

It is incredibly obvious

It is far too familiar

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The Night House: Nothing Is After You

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A woman, Rebecca Hall, learns, posthumously, that her late husband had a secret life. However, the further she digs the closer the threat gets.

When I heard that this film was by the same director who did The Ritual I knew I was in for a good time. By Jove I was right, Bruckner is on fine form here.

I appreciate the horror in this film as it is not always straight forward, as the credits rolled I was still left asking a lot of questions and trying to piece things together. I much prefer that to a film that is very clear cut and worse yet one that goes out of its way to explain everything. I found the film to uses jump scares quite effectively to heighten the threat posed by the entity in the house. The film uses them sparingly but to great effect.

I also enjoyed the fact that we didn’t see the entity or presence but did interact with it a number of times throughout the film. Though I am not saying that films that show the monster or demon are inherently lesser, as some use the look of the creature to great effect, I am however, saying there is something to leave the monster to the imagination.

I found Hall’s character as a horror protagonist refreshing. She was troubled and clearly burdened but that was not her defining characteristic. She had sexual scenes but was not overly sexualised or visually lusted after. Perhaps most importantly of all she solved the mystery and faced the villain on her own, she did not call in for help, she did not need a family member or friend to come round, no she faced it on her own. Though it may be a cringey thing to say I think there is something empowering about that.

My criticism would come from mild pacing issues, as there were a few scenes were the film noticeably slowed down and his worked against the tension and scares.

Overall, a strong horror film that is probably destined to be a sleeper hit.

Pros.

Hall

The monster

The scares

The mystery

Cons.

A few slow scenes

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The Last Mercenary: Daddy’s Coming

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mysterious secret agent, Jean-Claude Van Damme, must return to France after his son finds himself in some legal trouble.

I think a big part of the reason this one didn’t land for me is the humour. As I have said before humour is subjective, personally for me I didn’t find any of the jokes particularly funny, not only that but I found a few of them actively cringe. The issue with action comedies, is that often these sort of films do neither well and fail in both regards as a result of trying to incorporate the other, obviously there have been examples where it has worked but more often then not it is subpar.

I thought Van Damme was on top form here and he is clearly trying his best, sadly the film never fully uses his talents in a meaningful way. Van Damme gets all the best lines, and the film goes out of its way to make him ‘cool’. This is a good thing, but sadly one that has a knock on effect for the rest of the cast, as no one has anywhere near the presence that Van Damme has, and the rest of the actors simply end up fading into the background.

The action here is again fairly standard. You would think with a huge action star like Van Damme they would try to push the boat out a bit in what they have him doing, but this film takes it the other way and keeps things tame- much to everyone’s disappointment.

Overall, slightly below average. Watchable in a pinch.

Pros.

Van Damme is trying

It is watchable

Cons.

The action

The rest of the cast

The humour

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The Liability/ The Hitman’s Apprentice: Driving A Murderer

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young man, Josh O’ Connell, unwittingly becomes the assistant/driver to a hitman, Tim Roth, after angering his gangster step father, Peter Mullan.

In many ways this film is typical of the British crime genre, that is not a compliment. The biggest issue with this film is that it is deeply generic, it is not a bad film per say, it is just one that you have seen many times before dressed up in different skins. The plot unfolds in a way that you would expect it to, and it wraps up just the same, there are no surprises throughout you can accurately guess what will happen and when.

Moreover, I did not find Josh O’ Connell’s lead to be particularly likeable or even interesting. In many ways this film would be far more entertaining if Roth’s hitman had killed him and then the film followed him and his daily activities instead. As of right now I am struggling to see why everyone rates O’ Connell so highly as a performer, he is okay in some roles and perhaps miscast in others; maybe I am just missing that one outstanding performance.

I thought Tim Roth’s hitman was easily the best thing about this film, sadly he is mostly wasted and given a back seat to O’ Connell’s milk toast lead.

Overall, deeply generic.

Pros.

It is watchable

Tim Roth

Cons.

It is generic

It is predictable

The ending is weak

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Snake-Eyes: Working With Terrorists To Fight Terrorists, A Confused Film

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We learn the origins of one of the founding members of the Joes. Snake-Eyes here played by Henry Golding.

I will open this by saying I admire what they tried to do. However, in their efforts to create a homage to Samurai films of yore, this film really doesn’t feel like a G.I Joe film let alone one that is supposed to be setting up a shared universe. In truth those elements feel like an afterthought.

Moreover, the fights, which are clearly the most important part of the film as they take up most of the runtime are not very good at all. This is because not only is the choreography bad, but the camera is all over the place often cutting away from the action only to return with the enemy on the ground and Snake Eyes looking vaguely irritated above them. Furthermore, and compounding these issues, the distinct lack of blood in this film is a major problem as it makes the fight scenes have far less of an impact and feel fake, which obviously they are but they are not supposed to feel that way.

Additionally the coolest aspect of this film is easily Samara Weavings Scarlett, another Joe, however she is given barely anything to do here and is often pushed to the background, which makes me question her purpose of even being in this film was it simply to recruit Snake Eyes at the end? Adding to, the Joes are supposed to be the good guys, at least that is what the film says, yet they are pretty cool about fighting alongside a terrorist, and recruit Snake Eyes even though he continues to work for Cobra even after learning who they are. The Joes don’t look so good here, they look morally bankrupt.

Overall, this was a waste of my time and money. A rare misfire for both Golding and Weaving.

Pros.

Weaving

It is watchable

Cons.

Golding is miscast

The action is poorly done

The Joes don’t really feel like the heroes

It is dull and overly long

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The Green Knight: Someone Needs To Learn To Wash His Hands, Or At least Wipe Them

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Sir Gawain, Dev Patel, sets out to meet the challenge of the sinister and mysterious Green Knight in a reimaging of King Arthur mythos.

The biggest pro this film has going for it is that it is original. I have never seen anything quite like this before, it is not quite a fantasy film, not quite a horror film- it is hard to place. To describe the film in a word would be to say ‘strange’, however in the best sort of way.

I enjoyed the exploration of masculinity, heroism and religion, whereby the film questioned the value of and then further examined each. Furthermore, I liked that film did do much to explain or define what the Green Knight is, it kept things mysterious which works a lot better and allows our collective imaginations to have over and fill in the blanks.

Moreover, Dev Patel is perfectly suited to the role and the film itself extracts his best qualities as an actor and put them proudly on display. It plays off the idea that Patel may not be the traditional leading man, his character is often overlooked by the other knights and seen as lesser because he hasn’t been on gallant adventures, this need to prove himself will prove his downfall. Patel manages a full gambit of emotions here and his performance never fails to both shock and delight.

My only real issue with the film is that because of the artsy way it presents itself it can often be hard to tell what is going on. There were a number of scenes where I was slightly puzzled as to what was happening as it didn’t seem to line up with other parts of the film, this is a deliberate choice, but it wasn’t to my taste.

Pros.

Dev Patel

The Green Knight

The horror elements

The message

Cons.

The artsy confusing elements

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