Psycho Goreman: Children Are Brats

Psycho Goreman is a science fiction horror film directed by Steven Kostanski. The plot sees two small children unwittingly reawaken an ancient evil. However, lucky for them they also find the gem that controls said ancient evil, which means they know have a world ending new toy.

I’m mixed on this one, for what it is worth before we get into it I don’t think you should watch the trailer before you see this film as it is misleading, and makes the film look like something it is not. Firstly, this is not a horror film it could be called a horror comedy but would be more likely fit under the science fiction comedy heading and there is no real horror in the film.

I enjoyed the campy pulpiness of this film and thought it definitely had a lot of B movie charm to it. I thought the humour also worked, at least to my tastes, as I often laughed at how off the wall and downright odd a lot of the jokes were.

The emotional plot beats and the bond between the kids is nice to see develop, they do put a lot into character work here and it does pay off as the final transformations feel earned and satisfying. The child acting was ok, they were annoying at time as child actors often are, but I have to say I have seen worse in other films.

My main issue with this film is the lack of action, I understand it is a comedy film more so than anything so we are not going to get these big intense battles, but a little more action would have been nice. We get these teases across the film of PG’s (Matthew Ninaber) past which elude to huge battles, but then cut away right before things get interesting which I found to be disappointing.

Overall if you are looking for a niche comedy you will enjoy this film if you are looking for horror or action look elsewhere.

Pros.

The B movie charm

The humour

The ending

Cons.

The child acting wasn’t good

The lack of action

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

White Tiger: America Is The Past

The White Tiger is a drama film directed by Ramin Bahrani, based on the novel of the same name written by Aravind Adiga. The plot tells the life story of Balram (Adarsh Gourav), as he goes from a lowly slum dweller to king of the business jungle.

On my shortlist for best films of 2021 this along with Shadow In The Clouds and Spree are up near the top. There is something wonderfully fresh about this film, that I just can’t put my finger on. I think my favourite part of the film is the fourth wall breaking dialogue, wherein the narrator asked us to not judge him harshly for the life he has led: throughout the film whilst doing this is he making wonderfully quippy but also insightful statements that stay with you after the film.

The narrative takes you on an emotional roller coaster as you go from cheering, to crying, to being infuriated and then back again. The film really understands how to play with the audiences’ emotions to make us really care about Balram and his struggle, this in turn makes the pay off at the end feel all the more deserved.

Moreover, and I don’t talk about this enough in these reviews, the soundtrack is absolutely first class. Not only does the score perfectly reflect the emotion and the sense of place on screen but it also gives a vibrancy and liveliness to the film that really helps to keep you engaged throughout.

Overall, one of the best films I have seen so far this year, don’t sleep on it.

Pros.

The soundtrack

The fourth wall breaking asides

The emotion

The performances

The ending feeling earnt

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Voices: A Human Body Takes A Surprisingly Large Amount Of Tupperware Containers To Hold

The Voices is a black comedy horror film directed by Marjane Satrapi. The film follows the life of Jerry Hickfang (Ryan Reynolds), a mild-mannered office worker who is just trying to live his best life. However, Jerry hears voices particularly the voices of his cat and his dog and sometimes these voices lead him astray, such as when they encourage him to become a serial killer.

I have tried to watch this film before but watching it this most recent time I decided that I would stick it out until the end. Now, before I get into it I just want to say that I know comedy is subjective and black comedy even more so, however this film was just a bit too much for me in two regards.

Firstly, the cringe, there are multiple scenes in this film that are crawl up into a ball and die kind of cringe. Any scene when Jerry is trying to hit on women is particularly bad cringe to a point where it made my whole-body cringe, I think they over did it a little bit.

Secondly, this film is depressing, and you will leave it feeling bummed up. I understand that this is a dark comedy about a morbid subject but damn, this film is hard to get through. It made me laugh once or twice but for the most part it just made me feel sad. Particularly the ending.

The performances from Reynolds, Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick are all okay, I cant fault the acting though I will say no one blew me away with their performance.

Overall, this may just come down to comedic sensibilities for me this film was a bit too much, you might disagree with me and think it is hilarious: comedy especially dark comedy is very hard to judge.

Pros.

The premise is interesting

The acting is okay

Cons,

The cringe is too much

It is depressing

It feels familiar

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Baby Done: Climbing Trees Whilst Pregnant

Baby Done is a New Zealand comedy drama film directed by Curtis Vowell. The plot follows the life of reluctant soon to be Mother Zoe (Rose Matafeo), as she has to deal with the fact that her life is changing beyond her control.

Taika Waititi’s (the executive producer) finger prints are all over this film. I mean no criticism by this, rather I am saying that Vowell has managed to recreate than sense of outsider charm that Waititi is know for. Watching this I was reminded of early Waititi ventures such as Eagles Vs Shark, both feel tonally very similar and that is a good thing.

I enjoyed this films atypical look at motherhood, and how not everyone is thrilled with and into the whole mum idea. I think this film speaks to what a lot of women might feel but not vocalise and it is nice to see this type of motherhood represented on screen as it provides a nice contrast to stereotypical Hollywood I wanted to be a mum all by life types.

The characters are wonderfully quirky and delightfully funny, this is a particularly true of Matafeo, but it also applies to Matthew Lewis and some of the supporting cast. Though this film might not be a laugh a minute, it does make you chuckle here and there, and you are smiling constantly throughout.

My favourite thing about this film is the way it handles Zoe’s emotions, it shows her confusion, fear and frankly anger towards being pregnant as well as the joy when the child is born, this provides a perfect emotional nuance to the film that helps to further its impact.

Overall, a film that manages to do both heart and comedy well.

Pros.

The nuanced take on motherhood

Straying from the standard

Matafeo

Lewis

The Waititi quirkiness

Cons.

A few slow moments

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The 100 Candles Game: Blowing Out The Light

The 100 Candles Game is a New Zealand horror anthology film. The plot sees a group of people play the 100 candles game which basically involves sitting in a circle and telling each other spooky stories and then going to look in a mirror after blowing out your candle and seeing if you can commune with the spirits.

I have mixed feelings about horror anthology films, as very often they end up not being very good: indeed often one bad sequence can ruin the whole film, especially in terms of tone. So, I went into this with cautiously low expectations and I am please to say that this film far exceeded my expectations.

All of the segments in this anthology work, and work well at that. They are all scary and smarty written it is nice to see the consistency maintained over the whole film rather than just have one or two good stories surrounded by bad. A lot of the segments really did scare me, and I don’t scare easily at this point, I think personally for me the black-eyed children segment was the best as it was the most tense, but that is subjective.

My one criticism of the film would be that the ending is a bit cheap and comes out of nowhere, deeply unimpressive.

Overall, ignoring the final moments this is an incredibly strong horror anthology.

Pros.

Consistency

Genuinely scary

Smartly written

Good twists

Cons.

The ending is bad

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Gemini Man: Technology So Good It Takes You Out Of The Film And Makes You Ask For A Refund

Gemini Man is an action film directed by Ang Lee. The plot sees best mercenary in the world Henry Brogan (Will Smith), go up against a younger version of himself, for reasons.

So, lets get a few things out of the way. Firstly, the writing is a mess (one of the guys who wrote Game Of Thrones wrote this, so I am not surprised), things just kind of happen and there is no real reason for it. Does it make logical sense to create an army of young Henry’s who are all inevitably going to rebel against their creator Clay Verris (Clive Owen), no it does not and that’s only the beginning of it. To think too hard about this film gives you a headache from the stupidity. Secondly, the visuals which were the big thing about this film are not all that impressive, they are fine that is about as far as I would go.

However, the de-aged CGI Will Smith does not look as horrible as I was expecting, yes the appearance is initially jarring and a bit too uncanny valley, but you get used to it over the course of the film until by the end it doesn’t really bother you anymore.

This film is made bearable by the charisma and charm of Will Smith in full on dad mode. Much like The Rock, Smith just has something about him that makes all of this films better (when he is trying), it is this special something, this spark that makes this film watchable and fun to a dumb degree.

Moreover, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is in this film continuing her action hero trajectory and plays Smith’s side kick/ back up. I enjoyed seeing Winstead she always makes her roles memorable and I thought she brought a great physicality to the role: she easily held her own in the fight scenes and was a believable action hero. I thought she also had a great partner chemistry with Will Smith and the journey their characters go on together feels genuine.

Also very quick side note, Benedict Wong only has a minor role in this film, but he is awesome and steals every scene he is in. He is a magnificent performer in anything.

Overall, though it makes no sense and the gimmick tech adds nothing, there is still a lot of dumb fun to be had here and Smith and Elizabeth-Winstead stop it from being all bad.

Pros.

Wong

Smith

Elizabeth- Winstead

It is dumb fun

Cons.

The tech gimmicks don’t work and maybe even backfire

It is dumb and poorly written

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Donna: Hope Triumphs Over Despair

Donna is a drama film directed by Jaret Martino. The plot sees Donna’s (Kate Amundsen), life become a living hell as she becomes the victim of domestic abuse, however one day she listens to her inner voice and decides to change her life to save herself and her child.

This film is both heart-breaking and also empowering. Heart-breaking in the sense of we see this woman have her happiness and joy taken away in a very personal and upsetting way, whilst being reminded of the worst in society and how easily isolated and vulnerable we can become. However, it is also empowering to see this woman seize control of her own life and fight back to reclaim it.

Now, this film will not be for everyone as it can be incredibly bleak, but if you do stick with it you will find it to be very emotionally enriching. I thought the journey that Donna as a character went on was simply superb, the character growth and bond we form with her as a character are the by-product of clearly master storytellers.

The ending, which I won’t spoil, feels very genuine and very satisfying. It doesn’t wholly tie things up there are still a few things to mull over when the credits role, but it does leave you feeling satisfied and better for having watched it. I cried.

Overall, a magnificent tale of empowerment and hope triumphing over despair.

Pros.

The ending

The emotional journey

The connection the audience forms to the characters

The empowerment

Cons.

It is very, very bleak at times

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Running With The Devil: Nicolas Cage Is Cooking Up That Good Shit

Running With The Devil is a crime film directed by Jason Cabell. The plot follows an internal investigation of a drug gang by its own members, as the Cook (Nicolas Cage), searches out why his recent batches of product have been sold at a lesser quality, whilst also being hunted down by government agents.

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I was going to. Firstly, I thought the style and presentation of the film was quite fresh and novel, there were a number of scenes that felt fourth wall breaking and almost like we were being told how to run a drug business that I thought were quite entertaining.

Moreover, the premise as a whole was interesting as they take a well-worn idea, the idea of the cheat within the drug cartel who is trying to steal from his employers and take it in a fresh direction as we see the investigation happen from the cartel’s point of view.

Furthermore, I thought Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne were both terrific and really made the film through there performances, the sequence with the two of them hiking into the frozen Canadian wilderness is a particularly high point. Conversely however, Leslie Bibb’s FBI character is very bland, as the films antagonist we would want to know more about her, but she just seems to be someone who really hates drug dealer, which is understandable, but also someone who has no issue breaking the law herself to string them up and torture them. I don’t think the performance it self is bad, just that the character as a whole is underdeveloped.

Overall, this is an interesting new flip on the crime genre.

Pros.

Cage and Fishburne

The style

Showing the investigation from the cartel’s point of view

Cons.

The villain needed further expansion

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Funeral Home: Sleeping Amongst The Dead, Never A Great Idea

The Funeral Home is an Argentinian horror film directed by Mauro Ivan Ojeda. The plot sees a family of morticians have to deal with the strains of running a funeral home, whilst something else, something far more sinister is also going on in the background.

This is an incredibly strong horror feature. This film builds its scares so well over the course of its runtime and they feel scarier for it. The atmosphere is key to all good horror films as you have heard me say before and this film nails that, as the familial tensions rise so to do the iffy not quite right goings on- till both reach a fever pitch.

I personally, though it is subjective, found the film to be scary. I think part of that comes from the originality of the film, in that the scares did not happen where and when I thought they would, and that it kept me guessing about the mystery. However, also part of this fear comes from the very real very personal struggle and infighting of the family.

I only have two slight issues with the film, one is that there were a few jump scares in there, which is a shame as the horror works so perfectly on its own it really doesn’t need them. Also, I thought more could have been done with the family yes, the drama and the friction helps to build tension and does make for some very tense scenes, but they feel a little underdeveloped as a whole.

Overall, a near perfect horror film that is brimming with fresh blood and memorable scenes.

Pros.

A strong atmosphere

Genuinely scary

It kept me guessing

The personal and often unsettling family drama

Cons.

A few jump scares

The family as individuals rather than the unit as a whole could have been better developed

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Dig: Get Out The Shovels And Dig Up Your Back-Garden Now!

The Dig is a drama film directed by Simon Stone. The plot serves as a reimagining of the Sutton Hoo dig of 1939 from the point of view of pushed to the side excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes).

I remember the other day seeing a tweet from Netflix (possibly Netflix UK), saying something to the extent of this is one for the tweed lovers, and that is true, but there is also so much more to like about this film besides from its nice country esque wardrobe.

I was surprised to find how much I ended up caring about this dig and those involved in it. Fiennes and particularly Carey Mulligan really manage to develop these characters out into real flesh and blood people who you care about and become emotionally invested in; Lilly James struggles to the same with her character, she is a little out of her depth here.

This film is unrelentingly bleak, you can tell right from the off that it will not end happily, this is real life after all or a ‘true story’ version of it. Yes, the ending is bleak but in a way that serves to strengthen the emotional significants of the film and the discovery itself. The ending serves to enrage you for reasons that will become clear if you watch it.

Overall, I think this is another win for Carey Mulligan, after Promising Young Women see really is one a marvellous streak.

Pros.

The emotional beats

Fiennes

Mulligan

The ending is infuriating but also perfect for the film

Cons.

Lilly James sticks out for all the wrong reasons

4/5

Reviewed by Luke