Yes Day: Edgar Ramirez’s Time To Shine

Written by Luke Barnes

Yes Day is a comedy-drama film directed by Miguel Arteta. The plot follows a couple (played by Edgar Ramirez and Jennifer Garner), who used to say yes to life, however, since having kids no has become their word of choice. After a parent teacher night proves illuminating, they decide to give their kids a yes day: this is a day in which the parents have to say yes to whatever their kids ask of them.

When I put this film on I was expecting it to be bad, I wanted something mindless to switch off to yet still be happy enough to keep me entertained in the background. However, what I got was a surprisingly sweet film that made me smile quite a few times.

First off I want to say that this is Edgar Ramirez’s movie, he has made a few misses in recent years, but he is the life and soul of this film and his characters emotional arc spoke to me. I actually found myself becoming invested in his character throughout the film, I felt the same towards Garner though less so in terms of relatability.

I think the premise is comically inventive enough to be interesting whilst not being novel enough to shake the boat. Though it is always fairly obvious where the film is going, it is quite wholesome along the way and has a number of good messages and supporting characters; Arturo Castro was a particular delight.

In terms of the film’s comedy, I didn’t find myself laughing really at all, I had the odd chuckle here and there but for the most part I was smiling. I wouldn’t say this film is funny, but I would say it is entertaining.

Overall, a surprisingly good time.

Pros.

Ramirez

Garner

Castro

Wholesome fun

Cons.

Nothing you haven’t seen before

4/5

Case 39: The Most Upfront and Blatant Twist In All Of Cinema History

Written by Luke Barnes

Case 39 is a horror film directed by Christian Alvart. The plot sees dedicated care worker Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger), save a young girl from a brutal death at the hands of her parents. However, one thing leads to another and the rescued Lilith (Jodelle Ferland), begins living with Emily and Emily soon realises that there is something off with her.

Spoiler warning for one of the most obvious twists in cinema history.

Ok last chance.

Lilith, as the incredibly on the nose name would suggest is in fact a demon. Yes, to make it even more obvious she is a succubus demon- they are really hitting you in the face with it. She can make those who go against her see horrible visions and meet grisly ends, it is all fairly generic and nothing that you haven’t seen better before.

This film felt to me like the producers and creatives behind this film had watched Orphan and seen the great twist in that film and been like ‘let’s make something similar but dumber’.

The film has quite an all star cast as well, landing Zellweger at the waning peak of her Bridget Jones fame, Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane and manages to waste all of them. The acting in this film is the usual collection of horror movie cliches with little to elevate it beyond mediocrity.

Overall, one of the worst and most obvious twists I have ever seen in a film, and yes to a degree I applaud the film for being so blatant and up front about it, but at the same time it is still an incredibly weak film.

Pros.

Some dumb fun to be had

Ian McShane is trying his best

Cons.

The cast excluding McShane either don’t care or are being sorely underused

The twist

The ending

They repeat plot elements over and over again

2/5

Friday The 13th Part 3: Jason’s Gap Year

Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th Part 3 is a horror film directed by Steve Miner. The events of the film take place directly after Part 2 and sees a defeated and hurt Jason (Richard Brooker), taking a moment to heal up before getting back out their to slaughter more camp councillors.

Of the film’s I’ve seen so far on my rewatch of the series this is definitely the worst so far. That is mainly because this film feels like filler, it is the middle film between Jason being hurt and then being ‘killed’ in Part 4. In terms of moving the franchise forward, this film just feels like more of the same.

Honestly when thinking about this film to write my review, it just blends in with the other films and all the moments I think ‘oh wait that was pretty cool’ were in fact from other entries in the series and not this film- literally nothing interesting happens here.

The teens are generic, and so are the kills. The original idea to have Amy Steel come back as a scarred Ginny Fields would have worked so much better for this film, sadly Steel didn’t want to come back, so they just made the film generic instead.

Overall, there is not a lot to say about this film it is definitely a low point in the series and is also deeply generic maybe skip over this one.

Pros.

It is still mindless fun to watch

Cons.

It is bland

It is forgettable

The new teens are painfully one note

Jason’s story is not furthered in any meaningful way

1/5

SAS Red Notice: Ruby Rose Finally Gives A Good Performance

Written by Luke Barnes

SAS: Red Notice is a British action thriller film directed by Magnus Martens, based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab. The plot sees the British government turn on a family of mercenaries in their employ when one of the many atrocities committed runs the risk of being traced back to senior figures. A cat and mouse game ensues.

This seems to be a week of humility for me, first I was wrong about the Snydercut and now I am wrong about Ruby Rose- well partially. So, as some of you may know I have strong doubts about Rose as an actor, in that she can’t act or emote with her face. However, the one thing she can do is be a convincing action star and this film proves that. She commands the screen as the unhinged psychopathic villain intent on making the world pay and manages to sell herself as an action presence.

However, Rose is easily out acted by veteran performers such as Noel Clarke and Andy Serkis. By and large the acting in this film is good. The lead performance from Sam Heughan is a little weak, but maybe that was on purpose as the film reveals his character to also be a psychopath and to struggle with emotions.

The film does focus a lot of its time and energy especially in the third act on psychopaths and how they differ from everyone else, and whilst I think it is a fascinating aside that I would love to see more explored elsewhere, it does steal focus away from the film and derail it a little bit.

Though for the most part I enjoyed this film my main issue with it would be that it reduced Hannah John- Karmen, a very gifted actor (who has appeared in Netflix’s The Stranger, as well as playing Ghost in Antman And The Wasp), down to basically a damsel in distress/ girlfriend character, which feels incredibly reductive.

Overall, a strong action film with a few interesting asides, sadly these asides derail the plot and from that position the poor performances are even more visible.

Pros.

Rose as an action star and not as an actor

Some good action/ thrills

Clarke and Serkis

The ending

Cons.

Derailment

Poor acting from some of the cast

4/5

Don’t Listen: Talking To Daddy From The Otherside

Written by Luke Barnes

Don’t Listen (Voces, the original Spanish language title), is a Spanish horror film directed by Angel Gomez Hernandez. The plot sees Daniel (Rodolfo Sancho), lose his son. After the death Daniel becomes a wreck and becomes convinced he can hear his son’s voice trying to communicate with him through electronic means. As such Daniel enlists the help of German (Ramon Barea), an established paranormal investigator to try and make sense of the goings on.

I have to say as far as ghost stories go this film is chilling. I did not expect too much for the film going in, as the premise seemed quite generic, however, I can say after watching it that I was pleasantly surprised as the scares and the atmosphere definitely make an impact and are both very effective.

The scares themselves are the standard haunted house, Conjuring esque scares, grabbing’s and night time shenanigans. However, here it feels more real and raw. I can’t quite put my finger on why that is, but what would feel played out in other films actually works quite well here. As such, I am pleased to say this film made me jump several times and left me feeling uneasy after watching.

There is a twist at the end of the film, that I won’t spoil, but this twist works wonders for the film and not only feels natural and needed but also helps to bring the whole film together to strengthen it as a whole.

Overall, a creepy ghost story with a clever twist.

Pros.

The scares

The performances

The twist

The atmosphere

Cons.

You have seen similar films before, slightly contrived.

4/5

Friday The 13th Part 2: The Sweater With The Power Of Mind Control

Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^thPart 2 is a slasher film directed by Steve Miner. The film takes place 5 years after the events of the first film, except for the opening or at least that is the implication, and sees yet more camp councillors head down to Crystal Lake to try and reopen the summer camp once more. The wild parties and near constant sex soon turns ugly however, as a new killer begins killing councillors once again.

In my mind this is superior to the first film. Firstly, we get to see Jason not as a little zombie kid but as the killing machine we all know him as, yes in the space of 5 years Jason goes from a little kid to a huge fully grown man- don’t question it. Admittedly, he is minus his signature hockey mask, but it is still nice to see him in action.

Moreover, this film confirms the ending of part 1 was in fact real as Mrs Voorhees’ (Betsy Palmer), head is shown in the fridge of the final girl from part 1, she is then quickly killed by Jason. It is nice to get the closure, and finality to this plotline as it was a detriment of part 1.

Moreover, the teens of part 1, even Kevin Bacon, are all fairly forgettable and meh. However, Amy Steel’s Ginny Field is a terrific final girl; easily contending with other genre greats like Nancy and Sidney. The final showdown scene when Ginny becomes Mrs Voorhees, at least in Jason’s mind, is so well done and is actually quite creepy. On that note I also like how this film adds to the wider magic of the series and showcases the voodoo that is at play, again during this showdown scene in the form of dressing as we can see Mrs Voorhees’s severed head on top of a voodoo alter.

Overall, an improvement on the first film with an interesting final girl, a strong showdown and everyone’s favourite mask wearing zombie making his first proper appearance.

Pros.

Jason proper

Tying up the ending of the first film

Amy Steel

The showdown

Cons.

The ending feels a bit weak and too open ended.

4.5/5

Friday The 13th: Pitching Your Tent At The Cite Of A Brutal Murder, Because Why Not?

Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th is a slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham. The plot sees a group of teen camp councillors head down to Crystal lake, the site of a grizzly murder years ago, to reopen a summer camp. However, as they do someone starts picking off the campers one by one.

So I have visited Elm Street and played a game with Jigsaw and now it is time to go camping at Crystal Lake and explore the Friday the 13^th series. So, in the past I have seen many of the films in this series, but I’ve never really taken them in, or looked at the series as a whole.

I think of all the slasher film franchises this series might be the most fun, sorry Freddy. There is something so campy and almost silly about this series, and this film, that just cant be ignored. Whether it is the camera angles and editing techniques that seem straight out of the modern youtuber playbook, or the preposterousness of the villain.

This is the only real entry in the series, apart from V, that doesn’t feature Jason as the villain and instead has Mrs Voorhees (Betsy Palmer). Mrs Voorhees makes for an interesting antagonist, and her motivations make her a believable threat.

Personally, I don’t think the end scare of having zombie Jason coming up out of the lake to attack the final girl works, and I think her surviving it, and it being played off as ‘oh maybe it was just a dream’ work even less.

Overall, a fun slasher film that benefits from being a little goofy, albeit unintentionally, and from having a strong antagonist.

Pros.

Mrs Voorhees

The goofier elements

It does slasher horror well

The kills are well executed

Cons.

The teens are very forgettable

4/5

The Tangle: Bleak Visions Of An AI Future

Written by Luke Barnes

The Tangle is a science fiction thriller film directed by Christopher Soren Kelly. The plot sees two agents investigate the death of one of their own in a futuristic setting.

I admire the worldbuilding of this film, they really do paint a picture of their version of the future; despite the fact that we don’t actually see a lot of it. I thought the story as a whole felt rich and ready to be explored with enough depth to keep you engaged throughout. I would say an issue on the writing side of this film is that a lot of the twists and turns were fairly easy to guess, and I could easily predict what was coming next.

However, despite this I still found the ending satisfying. I thought the ending of the film, that I wont spoil here, answers a lot of the films questions in an interesting way and opens up the door for a lot more fun in sequel films, that I would be very here for. Personally I enjoyed the characters and would like to see them come back in future films either prequels or some kind of sequel.

Overall, a very interesting high concept science fiction film that could have done with tighter writing.

Pros.

The concept

The world

The characters

Cons.

The predictability

A little cliché

3.5/5

Hostiles: A New Draw For Westerns

Written by Luke Barnes

Hostiles is a revisionist western film directed by Scott Cooper based on a story by Donald E. Stewart. The plot sees Captain Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale), and his squad of soldiers escorting a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their home in Montana during the final months of the Indian Wars.

This film really does feel different within the western sphere. It has familiar genre constructions that will be easily recognisable, but it also has a lot more nuance and depth going on under the surface.

The thoughtfulness of this film is best shown in it’s characters, we see Blocker start the film as a racist who hates Native Americans based on his own experiences from the war, right from the off he is not portrayed as a good or a bad character rather as a grey reflection of reality. As the film goes along Blocker forms a begrudging respect with the war chief he is protecting and the relationship furthers, and we see it from another dimension. Though this storyline has been done before, here it is used in a way to contextualise the western as a genre and show the evolution.

Moreover Rosamund Pike plays Roselee Quaid, a frontiers woman who loses it all. Through Quaid we are presented with the lived reality of frontiers life rather than the romanticised version we often see in westerns. Bad things happen to Quaid fairly regularly, and they are treated with a normality that becomes more and more troubling progressively, this causes you to think about other western films and characters therein and view them in a new light.

The film itself is very, very bleak, but the ending does bring with it a degree of hope that I think nicely compliments the film.

Overall, a pallet cleanser and recontextualised form for the western genre that feels incredibly honest and fresh.

Pros.

Bale

Pike

The character work and ambiguity

The ending

Cons.

It is incredibly bleak

4/5

Thirteen Ghosts: The Devil’s Fun House

Written by Luke Barnes

Thirteen Ghosts is a horror film directed by Steve Beck. It serves as a remake of the sixties film of the same name, and sees a family move into a house they gain through inheritance, only to realise that the basement is housing angry spirits.

I love the creativity of this film. Each ghost feels unique and has an established backstory to go along with them, which creates this feeling of love towards the monsters of the film that really runs throughout. Likewise the creature design of each ghost is also terrific, not only is each distinct and memorable in its own way, but the look of these characters gives off a sense of personality without them even having to say anything which further enhances the world and the wider lore.

The performances are also fairly good, Matthew Lillard plays the rogue with a heart of gold well and has several moments that feel like peak early noughties gold. Similarly F. Murray Abraham, is milking the hell out of his role as the main villain, getting every single ounce of evil fun out of the character that he can.

In terms of horror I would not say this film is all that scary, yes there are some strong horror moments, but as a whole it feels a bit light. Maybe suggestive of tonal problems, as there are comedic moments and scary ones trying to compete against one another for our attention here.

Overall, a fun thrilling ride with an excellent performance from Matthew Lillard.

Pros.

Lillard

Abraham

Elizabeth

The care, love and strong design work that goes into the ghosts

Cons.

Slight tonal inconsistencies

4.5/5