Lansky: Even Mass Murdering Gangsters Have A Sensitive Side

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

In many ways this is a deeply average crime/biopic film. There is nothing about the rise to infamy story told here that you have not heard before. However, there is something of an emotional nuance here that really takes the film in an interesting direction. We see the character as not just a cold blooded gangster but also as a man who cared deeply for and ultimately was unable to help his disabled son. There is a duality here, the film allows us to see outside the black and white and see a more accurate grey in regard to the situation.

Sam Worthington has not been in something in a while, or at least that’s how it feels to me, the last time I remember seeing him on screen in a big way was Avatar. However, this is not the comeback film or performance fans of his would want. Worthington is entirely forgettable here, and just about anyone could have played his role. Harvey Keitel fares better as the titular Lansky, it is nice to see him on our screens again and he does manage to leave an impression with his performance: proving once again why he is such a big force in the genre even now.

Furthermore, the film has pacing issues but not the ones you would expect. Indeed, the issue with this film is that it feels rushed, there is a lot going on and then bang it’s the credits. It all just feels rather abrupt and skipped over, there are a lot of unanswered questions left behind and the whole thing feels sloppy pacing wise.

Overall, Keitel and some nuance manages to push this film into being a slightly above average gangster affair that fans of the genre will fine pleasing.

Pros.

The emotional nuance

Keitel

The ending and the emotion

Cons.

Worthington

It feels rushed

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Black Widow: The Young Live To Right The Mistakes Of Their Parent’s Past

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Natasha Romanoff, Scarlet Johansson, returns to fix the mistakes on her past and finally undo the red in her ledger.

The first Marvel release back in cinemas had a lot riding on it, and I think it delivered.

Spoilers ahead.

The first thing I will say about this film is that it is very personal. If you are going in looking for the film that will set up the next Avengers this is not it. There is some connective tissue thrown in, but more or less this is quite self-contained. Which I feel is both a good thing and a bad thing, it is good as it allows for Natasha, her story and her world to stand on their own, but it is also bad as it can feel underwhelming at times especially if you go in with crossover expectations.

Moreover, those that did not like Falcon and the Winter Soldier because it was topical and was heavily influenced by racial issues will almost certainly not like this either- but who cares what they think? The beating heart of this film is an angry comment on women’s place not just within the MCU but also in the wider world to, the widows in this film have their literal free will taken away by the villains, they are entirely controlled by the evil man in charge. The commentary isn’t subtle, but it is strikingly accurate, and it does make you aware to how some men/parts of society treat women.

I felt as a swansong for Natasha within the MCU the film works well and gives her ‘final story’ a lot of power and impact to make sure the character goes out on a high. To that end I enjoyed her ‘family’, I thought Florence Pugh was terrific, I don’t like the notion that this is her breakout film as she has been doing great things for a while, but she really knocks it out of the park here and is a scene stealer. Furthermore, David Harbour’s Red Guardian is also a lot of fun and he gets the best jokes in the film. If I had to pick an odd one out of the family quartet it would be Rachel Weisz’s Melina who really doesn’t get much to do and spends a lot of the film as a glorified side character.

Additionally, the film does feature Taskmaster as the film’s sub-villain and though I won’t spoil the identity reveal here, I will say the film flips the character on it’s head and it does not go the way you are expecting. Personally, as someone who is a fan of the comics Taskmaster character I found the new version this film gives us to be sorely lacking, but you know what they say about villains in the MCU.

In terms of the wider big bad of the film that role goes to Ray Winstone’s Dreykov. As a sleezy tough guy type the role is perfectly cast, Winstone doesn’t get a huge amount to do when he is on screen beyond generally being evil, but he does manage to leave an impact. In that regard I just want to say that this may be at times one of the darkest films in the MCU so far, and the opening sequence of the sisters early days in the Black Widow program is particularly troubling, child friendly? I honestly don’t think so.

There is a post credits scene at the end of the film, and it sees Julia Louise Dreyfus’s character from the aforementioned Falcon and the Winter Soldier return to recruit Pugh’s Yelena to go after ‘the man who murdered her sister’, as I predicted setting up for a clash between her and Hawkeye in his Disney + series later this year.

Overall, a strong return to the cinema for Marvel though one that is not without issues.

Pros.

The social commentary

The poignant emotional goodbye

The new characters established

The post credits scene

Cons.

Slightly underwhelming at times

Taskmaster and the return of Marvel’s issue with villains

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Ant-Man: The Hero Who Turned Thomas The Tank Engine Into A Weapon

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cat Burglar Scott Lang, Paul Rudd, has his life change in ways he would never expect when he steals a suit that allows him to shrink down to the size of an ant on one of his jobs.

When I first watched this in cinemas years ago, I remember being unimpressed. This feeling is reflected on my ranking lists for best films of the MCU with this film always coming near the end. However, the other night I decided to give it another go to see if it was as lacklustre as I remember it being, and I found myself feeling entirely changed on it. I like this film a lot more now, it is no Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is one of my all-time favourite Marvel films, but it is good all the same.

I found this to be the beating heart of the MCU, the relationship between Scott and his daughter is touching and sweet and I also enjoyed the romance building between Scott and Hope van Dyne, Evangeline Lilly. There are enough warming character moments and interactions in this film to make it worth watching on its own without all the Marvel goodness thrown in as well.

Speaking off, I found this to easily be the most fun to rewatch of the MCU films as its light and breezy tone made it fun to watch and it was okay if you missed something here or there as you don’t really need to pay attention. Moreover, I found myself laughing quite a lot at the jokes as well as at some of the more silly slapstick action such as the Thomas the Tank Engine fight sequence.

Furthermore in terms of acting everyone is on top form, and the only thing I would say critically in this regard is that Yellow Jacket, played by Corey Stoll, is perhaps one of the weakest villains in the MCU and the film gets just a little bit worse whenever he is on screen. Stoll is trying his best he just has nothing to work with.

Overall, a rewatch greatly changed my mind on this film and made me see it for the breezy, funny, charming film it is.

Pros.

Rudd

The back and forth between Rudd and Lilly’s characters

The emotion

The jokes

Cons.
It has some pacing issues and a very bloated first act

Yellow Jacket is an awful villain

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Castaway: The Love Between A Man And His Ball

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I had never seen this film before, this was my first time watching it. I knew that it was a big deal and seen as one of Tom Hanks’ best films, but I couldn’t comment on it myself until now. After watching it I found this film to be fascinating, it ran the gambit of emotions, it moved me, it annoyed me, it made me cheer.

At times I found the character’s decisions to be woefully stupid, and that annoyed me, however reflecting on it now I am left asking maybe that was deliberate and done to show that the character wasn’t a natural born survivor and so of course he would make mistakes maybe even laughably dumb ones.

I found the performance from Hank’s to be the one of his best. I quickly warmed to his character and felt invested in his journey as he tried to get off the island. I found the actual process of him getting off the island to be incredibly tense, seeing him almost get washed away with the waves multiple times. However, I found the double tragedy of Wilson’s death and his wife moving on to be the most effecting part of the film- truly heart-breaking.

Another thing I noticed was a similarity in the music here with Hanks’s other late nineties project Saving Private Ryan. At first I found the similarity in music choice to be jarring and even a little insulting to what it was used to symbolise in the other film, but as the film went on I found it to be fitting and even well picked.

Overall, a very entertaining film that moved me multiple times.

Pros.

Hanks

The music choice

The fight for survival

The comedic moments/ Wilson

Cons.

Pacing issues, it is on for slightly too long

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Ritchie Rich: Kevin McAllister’s Adventures After Home Alone

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This film almost feels like a spiritual follow up to Home Alone. That is not just because Culkin is basically playing the same character, but also because it continues America’s fascination of stopping those who are after their wealth, and the idea that if you’re rich you will have to defend your fortune at least once.

I felt that this film was sweet and heart-warming, not Home Alone charming but still fairly feel good. Though the film can feel overly sentimental at times, it also still feels fun to watch. For the most part I enjoyed the story, I found it entertaining to watch this little kid use gadgets to defeat an evil corporate man intent on stealing his families fortune: it really is Home Alone.

We do manage to feel some sympathy for this incredibly privileged character and though he could have felt somewhat unrelatable or even cold if it were an adult in the same role, Culkin makes the character easy to like and we do root for him to befriend the local children and be able to be a normal kid just like everyone else.

I found the plot of the film to fall apart the more I thought about it, but I won’t overly analyse this as it is a kids film, and they are not known for their air tight logic or quick wits.

Overall, fun and breezy, but not something that you will think about again once it is over.
Pros.

Culkin

The fun

It is basically Home Alone all over again

Cons.

The plot falls apart

It is insanely predictable

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Gaia: Keep Those Mushrooms Away From Me

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

It is nice to see the horror genre become more diverse with us now seeing films like this wherein we get to see more of an African influence. This film’s horror is eco centric, and its messages are clear and chilling.

We are never really clear what is going on, or what sort of state the world outside this jungle is in, but the implications we hear throughout dialogue over the course of the film doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Moreover, this film imagines the battle for climate survival, that we are currently fighting, as more of a literally war between two sides: the Old Gods of nature and the industrially demanding modern human.

The monsters of this film will be familiar to anyone who has ever played The Last Of Us before. The film manages to have its monsters feel and look very real which adds to their menace, moreover, the virus we know they spread makes every confrontation with them even more tense and thrilling.

However, where the film starts to let itself down is with the human characters, who never truly feel realised and there are a lot of odd or missing details about these characters that makes their story hard to understand. I understand the desire for ambiguity, but I also refuse to believe that the rangers would not have been aware that there was something going on in the woods prior to going on the survey. In short the plot holes and contrivances hold this films narrative back.

Adding to the description of this films horror as eco centric, I would say it does not feel scary rather disgusting and skin crawling. This film taps into the fear of eggs under your skin or worms burrowing inside you that words fail to describe but it does elicit a physical response.

Overall, though not entirely scary it does make you feel uncomfortable and the acting across the board is quite strong.

Pros.

The African influence on the horror

Tapping into a skin-crawling sense of fear

The acting

The design of the creatures

Cons.

Pacing issues

Plot holes and narratives fumbles

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America The Motion Picture: Free Bird

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mash up origin story for The United States Of America.

I want to preface this review by saying I am a big fan of Archer the animated series. Though many who are involved in that series clearly lent their hand to this project, the charm, wit and nuance of that show is woefully abandoned to produce one of the dumbest films I have ever seen.

Netflix animation is clearly betting on some of the big name talent involved with this film to sell it, as their animation studio is far behind the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks. The animation itself is good, that is not the problem, the issue is the non-sensical, lets throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks approach to storytelling that makes this film feel like a fever dream.

The voice cast is made up of some talented people, sadly not one of them is given anything memorable or interesting to work with and instead they just spout garbage that almost makes being poorly informed and unintelligent seem like the preferred way to be, almost as if it is trying to bash people who will be smart enough to see this film is bad.

The one moment of the film that I enjoyed that I gave the film one whole bonus point from what I was going to give it was having Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd be America’s nation anthem: that scene was very enjoyable.

Overall, this film proves once again why Netflix shouldn’t let a machine green light its projects.

Pros.

Free Bird

I liked Benedict Arnold being a werewolf

Cons.

It is so dumb

None of it makes sense

The characters are unlikeable

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The Boss Baby 2: My My Dreamworks Is On The Decline

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The brothers from the first film are now grown up and now there are new talking babies.

This film is only slightly better than the first. The only reason I have given it a half mark improvement is because they don’t go into the secret world of babies in as much tedious detail as the first film did. We are not subjected to exposition scene after exposition scene this time around.

However, what we do get here is not much better.

The film goes out of its way to show how after the first film, even though they were friends at the end of it, that the two boys have now grown apart as adults and have nothing to do with each other. As such the film spends a lot of it’s time showing them bonding, for some odd sense of sentimentality that never really comes together.

Moreover, the film never really justifies it’s own existence. That is probably because there is no reason for this film to exist. The new threat is laughably dull, and surely the secret baby organisation could have had any number of their agents deal with it, there is no reason why it has to be the boys from the first film.

Furthermore, the new female boss baby, voiced by Amy Sedaris, is totally needless as she adds nothing to the film and is really just there to be the new talking baby for the film. It is just gimmicky.

Overall, this film is entirely needless and is only very minorly better than the first film.

Pros.

Less exposition

Two funny jokes

Cons.

It is needless and doesn’t need to exist

It forces sentimentality for the sake of it

The new boss baby has nothing to do and no reason to be there

It is boring

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Fear Street Part One: Nothing Is More Of A Turn On Then Being Hunted Down By Undead Serial Killers

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A long dead witches’ curse turns mild mannered residents of the quiet town of Shadyside into vicious killers.

I remember loving the books of R.L Stein when I was a kid, I must have read them all hundreds of times over. This film not only manages to capture the spirit, but also does a much better job of being a ‘Goosebumps’ esque film that the one staring Jack Black that came out a few years ago.

I found the film to not only be scary, but also surprisingly well done. The scares were built through atmosphere and tension rather than through forced jump scares. I found the wider mystery of all these small town serial killers to be quite unnerving, and I think the film does a good job exploring that: with the answer given feeling satisfying and making sense.

Though usually I find teen characters, especially in a Netflix film, to be grating, vapid and deeply unlikeable I didn’t mind the line up here and almost warmed to them by the end of the film. The one thing I would comment on though is the asinine and cringe story choice to have the kids hook up whilst having the killers chasing them, there is a time and a place guys. I understand that the higher ups at Netflix clearly wanted some form of titillation put into the film, but this just feels forced in.

Moreover, the dialogue is cringe as hell and often there are lines where you’re baffled that someone actually got paid to write that.

Overall, a good film that suffers from a lot of familiar Netflix teen cliches and draw backs, but manages to overcome them in the long run.

Pros.

The mystery

The scares

The ending

The world and the characters therein

Cons.

The forced-in needless teen romance scenes

The dialogue

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The Tomorrow War: More Emotions Less Bland CGI Shootouts

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A high school science teacher is conscripted to fight a war against aliens in our near future that could spell the extinction of the human race.

Chris Pratt usually brings a certain level of charm and likeability to his roles: his role here however was devoid of this. Indeed, any number of actors could have played Pratt’s part, some to a far better result as honestly Pratt seems bored for most of the film.

For the most part this film is a deeply average science fiction film. There is nothing here that you haven’t seen before and the premise feels a little overly familiar. Even the aliens look like a retread.

Although the occasional moment of pure and very real feeling emotion in this film helps to elevate it beyond mediocrity. The moments between Pratt’s character and his daughter feel very impactful, they effect you and if you are anything like me they make you well up a bit as well. Moreover, there are also moments between Pratt’s character and his estranged father played by J.K Simmons that also bring a tear to your eye. For an action film this is surprisingly emotional.

The cast, with the exception of Pratt excel here. Yvonne Strahovski, Simmons and Betty Gilpin all have scene stealing moments that really help to make the film and to standout against all the CGI shootouts.

Overall, a rare misfire for Pratt, but one that is slightly elevated beyond mediocrity by a strong heart.

Pros.

The emotion

Strahovski

The ending

Cons.

It is overly familiar

Too much of the film is just generic CGI shootouts

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