Greed: A Rare Misstep

Greed is a comedy drama film directed by Michael Winterbottom. The plot details the rise to power of self-made billionaire Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan). Part of the film highlights the set-up for his 60^th birthday bash, which is the main event of the film, with flashbacks showing moments from his life to paint a picture about the sort of person he is.

I was very excited to watch this film; I have been looking forward to it for a while. The cast is a who’s who of British comedic talent, aside from Coogan you have David Mitchell (Peep Show), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), and Sarah Solemani (Him and Her); a stacked cast. With all this the stage was set for a great British comedy, however it was not followed up; it all feel apart.

The cast apart from Coogan is wasted, not a single one of them has anything interesting or meaningful to do other than tell the story. A lot of them are comedic actors/ comedians and they weren’t even funny. What makes this worse is that Coogan himself isn’t that good either, now normally I think the sun shines out of the man, but this is for sure a misstep. His character has no warmth, no personality, nothing. What he is, is a stand in for any number of big business CEO’s that this film goes out of its way to target.

That dear reader is the cardinal sin of this film, it preaches to you rather than entertains you. This whole film is an hour and a half on the evils of capitalism, I am not going to get into the topic too much, believe me I have no love for these cold corporate CEO’s, but I also don’t want to watch a film that reads as a list of base level talking points about how we all need to be better and stop people like this. This film feels whiney, all the way through, that is the best way I can describe it.

Overall, if you want a lecture on the evils of capitalism you might like it, if you want anything else like a fun film maybe look elsewhere.

Pros.

Coogan is doing his best.

The ridiculous ending.

Cons.

The preaching.

The lack of any kind of subtly.

Wasting talented comedians.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Assault On Precinct 13: Hold The Line

Assault On Precinct 13 is a neo-noir, action, thriller film directed by John Carpenter. The plot sees a group of local drug warlords swear a blood oath against the Los Angeles Police Department as well against the citizens of LA. This culminates in an intense shootout at the titular Precinct 13, between the police and the gang.

This film is John Carpenters take on 70’s era exploitation movies. It has a very urban, very lived in world, which is added to by the way it is filmed with it having a rough around the edges look to it. As such a lot of the scenes, especially the violent ones, feel eerily realistic; the scene when members of the gang are driving down the street looking for people to kill will send chills down your spine as it is all too real.

My one complaint about this film is that the initial 20 minutes are quite hard to follow. I don’t know if it is because a lot of things happen in a short space of time, or because of the way it is structured, but I found myself at the half hour mark not really having a clue what was going on. However, the rest of the film reminded that.

I think this film has a lot of iconic moments and characters that are destined to leave an impact on you after you have watched. The final showdown between the gang and the police at the end of the film is really well done and very tense, however I think the best scene in the film is the initial storming of the police station; Carpenter at his tension inducing best.

Overall a classic for a reason, though it might have a few storytelling issues especially when looked at through a modern lens; despite this it holds up.

Pros.

A great feel to it and sense of atmosphere.

The tension.

The final showdown.

Cons.

It is quite slow.

It is hard to tell what is going on in the beginning.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Skinwalkers: Hollow To The Core

Skinwalkers (Skinwalker Ranch outside of the UK), is a found footage horror movie directed by Devin McGinn. The plot sees a team of scientist and researchers go to a ranch in Utah to investigate reports of strange goings on and the disappearance of a young boy.

This is your bog standard found footage film, right now before reading this review, before even watching the film, you can tell me beat for beat what is going to happen and you will be mostly right. It is painfully average in a lot of ways.

I have written a bit about my issues with the found footage genre, my fatigue with it and this film encapsulates everything I am talking about. It is just so damn formulaic it is in no way scary or shocking. It is supposed to be about Aliens, so it does have so cool extraterritorial stuff in it, but mostly it is the same things that you have seen a million times before. The moment when a creepy little girl showed up and then her face distorted and her eyes turned black was the moment I gave up; there is nothing new here, nothing of substance.

The characters are generic, as you would expect them to be in something like this, they try and set up a wider world, but you just don’t care.

The only real pro I can give this film is that it is on for an hour and 17 minutes, so it is mercifully short. Overall, it is not aggressively bad by any means there are plenty of worse films out there, but it is painfully average and mind numbingly dull. Avoid unless you’re desperate.

Pros.

It is not terrible.

It is only on for an hour and 17 minutes.

Cons.

There is nothing to like about it.

Clearly it has been made with no real effort or consideration.

It is a waste of your time.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bigfoot, The Lost Coast Tapes: The Adventures Of Discount Tom Cruise

The Lost Coast Tapes is a Bigfoot centric found footage film directed by Corey Grant. The plot follows a group of people who go out into the wilderness to meet with a man who says he can prove the existence of Bigfoot. Once the group get their things start to go wrong, and the threat is all too real!

When I first put this on, I was expecting the worst, I was expecting a cheap, low rent, bargain basket esque film. However, I am pleased to say I actually enjoyed it a far bit and would recommend it. I love the focus on Bigfoot, and I think it added a nice bit of variety to the usual found footage dross. I liked the exploration of what a Bigfoot would be like and what it could do: alien or not.

Although, never before in all my time watching films have I ever met a lead character more unlikable than the lead in this, Sean Reynolds (Drew Rausch). I came to call the character discount Tom Cruise and I feel like if you watch the film you will see why. There is just something so obnoxious about him, I don’t know if that is how the character is suppose to be, or if the actor if just unbearable, but in nearly every scene he is the worst character in the room; taking the idea of a ‘dude bro’ to the extreme.

I thought the Alien or possible demonic suggestion at the end was a nice twist and left you with something to think about. I personally enjoyed the ambiguity and the fact that we never got a good look at what a Bigfoot looked like; it keeps the mystery alive.

Overall, I think this is a surprisingly good found footage movie cursed with one hell of an unlikable lead, but if you can get past him there is a decent film waiting for you.

Pros.

The handling of Bigfoot.

The ambiguity.

The ending.

It is very interesting.

Cons.

The lead is utterly hateable.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Howling: Wellness Retreat Ends In Werewolf Attack

The Howling is a werewolf themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. The plot sees local news anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace), go to a mountain retreat after a near fatale run in with a serial killer. However, while there Karen does not find herself or her inner power, rather a colony of werewolves that have been living amongst us for years.

I am a huge Joe Dante fan, as many of you may know I have a huge love for Gremlins 1 and 2 as well as for some of his other projects like Burying The Ex, so I will try and remain impartial while I am writing this review.

Truth be told, I did not love this film as much as I was expecting to. In fact I found it to be boring at times and a little hard to follow. I think from a narrative perspective a lot of the ideas don’t come together, they are fine on their own, but don’t make sense when viewed as a whole. I found the beginning particularly bad for this, but it does improve as the film goes on.

I think the best thing about this film is the creature design. The werewolf costumes are of course practical, and I am a big believer in practical effects over CGI, they look very convincing and even hold up to our modern standard years later. I also thought the transformation scenes were well done, not American Werewolf In London good, but still terrific.

I also loved the ending, I thought it was bold and striking; shame about the sequel baiting at the end though.

Overall, a little boring and rough around the edges, but if you like werewolf film there is still something to enjoy!

Pros.

The creature design.

The ending.

Dante’s direction.

Cons.

It is boring and hard to follow at times.

The sequel baity ending

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Borderlands: Sometimes The Old Ways Take Over

The Borderlands/ or as it is otherwise known as The Final Pray is a British found footage horror movie directed by Elliot Goldner. The plot sees a team of Vatican Investigators descend upon a small English town after a local priest claims to have witness a miracle, or at least something unexplainable. The team soon start to notice odd things going on and suspicions grow.

I was on the verge of not watching found footage films anymore, films like Found Footage 3D and the second Blair Witch film had led me to lose faith in the genre with film after film feeling like samey, boring, repetitive trash. However, after a few people on Twitter recommended this film to me I decided to have one last hurrah and give it a go and I am pleased to tell you I enjoyed it.

For a start it is nice to see a found footage horror film set in the UK, in a quaint little village no less, rather than some endlessly expansive wood somewhere Stateside. Another thing I appreciate about this film is that it does not drag things out. We all know how it goes, first you get some bangs, then maybe something falls off the wall, then they put up cameras, then they hear something etc; it is at this point formulaic and obvious. However, before the first 20 minutes are over in this film a group of the local youth have set a sheep on fire to scare the priests and their associates, there is no boring, drawn out built; this film gets right to it.

Another thing I will applaud this film for is you’re never quite sure what the monster is. Even in the final moments of the film you are none the wiser as to what is killing the men. A Pagan God seems like the most logical suspect, but nothing is ever confirmed, and the ending is deliberately ambiguous.

The one thing I will bring the film up on, is the use of camera effects such as cutting out and distortion. Whenever something paranormal happens the camera picture starts to break up, obviously so they didn’t have to find a practical way to show what was happening, and normally I wouldn’t mind this, but here it felt a little overused.

Overall, a marvellous found footage film that might have reignited my interest in the genre.

Pros.

It is nice seeing it set in the UK for a change.

The ending and the ambiguity.

It gets right into it.

The scares.

Cons.

The camera trickery is overused.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Red Dragon: Replacing Clarice Again

Red Dragon is a crime thriller film directed by Brett Ratner; serving as a prequel of sorts to the Hannibal films. Obviously, Ratner is a very troubling person for a lot of reasons, but I will try to look past that for the purposes of this review. The plot this time around focuses on the man who caught Hannibal Lecture (Anthony Hopkins), Will Graham (Edward Norton). Once again, an FBI agent needs Hannibal’s help to catch the latest twisted serial killer; they really need to start paying him to consult.

I would rank the Hannibal films I have seen so far in this order, descending in quality, Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon. I don’t by any means think this is a bad film, far from it in fact, I just think it can’t hope to compete with the others. The relationship between Norton’s and Hopkins’ characters is interesting, but it is no will they Clarice and Hannibal; though I did enjoy that little tease at the end.

My thoughts on the film’s villain The Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes), are the complete counter to what they were when I reviewed Hannibal. I think unlike in that film, where Gary Oldman’s character was pushed to the side in favour of Hannibal, this time it is the other way around. For a Hannibal Lecture film we get surprisingly not a lot of him, Fiennes is definitely the main focus. Hopkins gives his all when he is onscreen, which is commendable as always.

The balancing act between Hannibal and whatever serial killer him and his FBI associate are trying to catch is always the crucial thing with these films and it goes both ways, neither good, with the only film in the series to get the balance right being The Silence Of The Lambs, but that is a hard film to follow.

Overall, it is still good, just not as good than the film that proceeded it.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek: The Australian Micheal Myers

Wolf Creek is an Australian horror thriller film directed by Greg Mclean. The plot follows a group of tourists that become targeted by a demented xenophobic serial killer who hunts them down with the intent to kill them. This film was based on a series of real-life backpacker murders that happened in Australia a few years before the film was released.

In horror circles, this film has a reputation, it is held up as being a great slasher film and one of the best Australian horror films. However when I put it on I was incredibly disappointed with it. I thought it was boring and that it couldn’t hold a candle to other Australian horror gems like The Babadook and Boar.

I thought the only redeemable thing about this film is John Jarrett. Jarrett is an Australian national treasure and his involvement with this is the thing that got me excited for it. He plays the evil killer Mick Taylor and he gives the best performance he can, he is manic and off the wall and his character is the only really memorable part of this film.

My issues start with the fact that this film is boring, there is only about 10 minutes of it that are actually interesting and watchable. This film suffers from some of the worst pacing issues I have seen in a long time, the first act is a chore to get through and makes you want to turn it off and it doesn’t pick up until the last 10 minutes; even they aren’t worth the wait.

The characters are bland and forgettable and the based on true story bent to it has been done to death and this film is not doing anything new or interesting with it.

Overall, this film is a bore and one that is a test of strength to finish

Pros.

John Jarrett.

Cons.

It is boring.

It does nothing new with the format.

The characters are paper thin.

It takes a lot to finish it.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hannibal: A Maddening Romance

Hannibal is a crime thriller film directed Ridley Scott. The plot follows Hannibal Lecture (Anthony Hopkins), as he lives as a freeman in exile, keeping close tabs on special agent Clarise Starling (Julianne Moore), who has fallen on hard times and become disgraced. As forces rise to bring the two back together again, Lecture’s thirst for blood leads him to come back out of retirement.

Firstly, if you expect me to believe Hollywood that Jodie Foster aged into Julianne Moore then you expect too much. If they had created a new character it would work better, but clearly, they wanted to carry on the Lecture/Starling relationship from the first film; and Foster wasn’t game. That I can understand, as the relationship between the two is the key piece of these films.

Moore for the most part is terrific, I prefer Foster’s performance, but Moore is giving it her all here. She has great chemistry with Anthony Hopkins and has almost a sexual tension with him whenever the two of them are on screen together; adding another twisted angle to their dynamic.

On the casting front, I feel Gary Oldman was wasted as Lecture’s only surviving victim Mason Verger. He brings a presence, but he does very little and has very little screen time. I understand why from a plot perspective his character is needed, but in every other aspect he feels unnecessary, as he fades into the background with Moore and Hopkins taking centre stage. The same can be said of Ray Liotta.

Overall, this is still a mostly good film, it has a few issues that are more noticeable when compared to the near excellent first film, however few films could live up to that. A slightly disappointing sequel, that suffers for the lack of Foster.

Pros.

Anthony Hopkins is still great.

The Clarice/ Lecture relationship is fantastic.

This feels like an ending.

It feels like a natural sequel.

Cons.

Oldman and Liotta are wasted and feel unnecessary.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ideal Home: Raising A Child

Ideal Home is a comedy drama film directed by Andrew Fleming. The plot sees Hollywood power couple Erasmus (Steve Coogan), and Paul (Paul Rudd), take in Erasmus’s estranged grandson Angel/ Bill (Jack Gore), when his father goes to prison. The couple go from clueless and careless, to deeply caring and devoted parents over the course of the film, with their very relationship being tested along the way.

I have had this film in my Netflix queue for some time. Now that I have watched it, I realise I was actually sleeping on quite a sweet, well intentioned, thoughtful comedy film. I originally decided to watch this because I was looking for an easy-going film and my love for Coogan tipped it in favour of this. I have to say though Coogan just plays a slightly different but for all intents and purposes the same version of his Alan Partridge character, he manages to be emotionally impactful.

His character and Rudd’s have a strangely large amount of on-screen romantic tension, both are incredibly convincing and the scene when Erasmus jumps in front of Pauls can to stop him from leaving will make you feel something, it is powerful. I think both men give terrific performances, Rudd again plays the character he always plays, not that there is anything wrong with that here as him playing himself seemed to fit the film.

The humour of the film worked for me and made me laugh several times, however I found that the hidden gem of this film was actually its heart. This is a surprisingly emotional film that seems to know just which chord to pull to make you feel something, it pulls on your heartstrings often and to great effect.

Overall, I thought this film was surprisingly good, both men give deeply heartfelt performances and the humour is spot on; definitely a hidden gem.

Pros.

The humour.

The relationship between the two men.

The character development.

Coogan and Rudd.

Cons.

A little to melodramatic at time, but mostly it perfectly nails the tone.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke