Air: Born In The USA

Summary

A film about the making of the Air Jordan

If this film proves nothing else it proves that Ben Affleck is a hell of a director. Whilst I wouldn’t say this is perhaps to the same level as Argo I would say it was a very fun film that worked on pretty much every level.

I found more than enough to like about the plot to keep me engaged even though I am not interested in Basketball. The business aspects of the film felt almost like classic Sorkin, and I thought that the scenes between Damon’s character and Davis’ character wherein they discussed Jordan’s future with Nike were easily the best of the film.

In a lot of the more dialogue heavy scenes the terrific performances that Affleck is able to get out of his cast really come through. Not only were the previously mentioned Affleck, Damon and Davis great, but I also really liked Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman. Bateman in particular had a number of really strong dramatic scenes that connected with me emotionally, in particular his scene about how his daughter only wants to see him because he can give her shoes.

However, the feather in this film’s cap is its soundtrack. All of the Eighties hits that you could possibly want are featured here at every turn and it is glorious and helps the film to feel lively and keep you engaged.

My one complaint of the film would be that, as is so often the case, the pacing isn’t good. Like with many modern films this out stays its welcome and would have been a better film if it was shortened.

Overall, bar the pacing issues a great film and a directorial comeback for Affleck, though I personally liked Live By Night.

4/5

Pros.

The business scenes are really sharp

Everyone is bringing their A game

The soundtrack

The unexpected emotion

Cons.

The pacing issues

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John Wick Chapter 4: One Man’s Ability To Fall Down Stairs And Get Hit By Cars With Barely A Scratch

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

John Wick’s story comes to a close.

Honestly, this film was a little disappointing to me. Not hugely so, but enough to be noticeable. Maybe I went in with too high expectations, or maybe the previous films set a standard so high that this film couldn’t match it.

I think my main issue with this film is that it spends a lot of its incredibly long run time, boy does this film have pacing issues, on fights. Now don’t get me wrong the fights are great as always, but instead of doubling down on the characters and the world and giving us more time with them they instead make each fight go on and on to the point where they become a little repetitive. Rather than have a ten minute long fight scene in front of a well known Parisian land mark, I would have rather it been five and we be given instead a flashback explaining how John, played by Keanu Reeves, came to know Caine, played by Donny Yen, and Koji, played by Hiroyuki Sanada.

However, it would be remiss to say that the film doesn’t give us any character/world development as it does in the form of introducing us to John’s family and also introducing a slew of new characters to the series. The film is at its best when the fighting stops and these characters are interacting, as oxymoronic as that might sound.

I thought the ending was appropriate, and gave John a fitting send off. Keanu Reeves as always was terrific and did a magnificent job with the physicality of the role, he truly is one of a kind as an actor. Going forward I could both see Wick coming back, in a faked his death sort of way, or him being gone for good. I would be happy either way. I would be quite interested to follow Akira, played by Rina Sawayama, in a spin-off and see some more new blood injected into the world.

Overall, good for sure but not as good as the previous films.

3.5/5

Pros.

The fights

The world building and the characters

The ending

Reeves

Cons.

I would have liked more character development and flashbacks

Pacing issues galore

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Kill Boksoon: Doing It All

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Gil Bok-Soon, played by Jeon Do-yeon, must juggle both the responsibilities of raising a teenager whilst also being an assassin.

I thought this film had a lot going for it. It completely nails its tones fliting perfectly between humorous and deadly serious, whilst also managing to deliver a number of great fight scenes that were both visceral as well as incredibly well choreographed.

Moreover, I also really enjoyed the world and the characters, though it may feel slightly small when compared to something similar like the world of John Wick, this film does have a lot going on beneath the surface. Whether it is the focus on single mothers, or LGBTQ+ issues within South Korea there is quite a bit of sub-text and deeper meaning to unpack.

A lot of this deeper meaning is the reason why the film is on for so long, as it goes out of its way to explore its characters. This proves to be a double edged sword as the exploration is appreciated, but it also makes the film a slog to get through.

In addition, this film is a shameless John Wick clone there is no way around that, but I have to say of the litany of films in that area this is the best.

Overall, an interesting film that is more funny than it has any right to be.

3.5/5

Pros.

The well-balanced tone

The fights

The story and the characters

It is fun to watch

Cons.

It has pacing issues

It is a John Wick clone

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65: A Film Destined For The History Channel

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam Driver is a remarkably humanoid spaceman, who gets marooned on Earth in the age of the dinosaurs. It feels like something right out of the History Channel.

A lot of people didn’t like this film and have given it strongly negative reviews, and whilst I don’t think this film is good, I also think it is watchable.

The plot is fairly awful, full of needless flashbacks and plot asides that go nowhere and add very little to the wider engagement of the feature, as well as a collection of baffling science fiction jargon, but one would expect that with this sort of film.

Moreover, the father child dynamic feels like a trend that is well and truly overstaying its welcome here. We are seeing more and more of this in media these days and honestly it is okay when a new film or show can iterate on it in some way or make it engaging, but here it felt generic and played out.

The saving grace of this film is the ability to view it whilst ignoring its plot. If you do watch this film switch your brain off, don’t try and engage with it as a story, instead view it as a spectacle film. This is a film about a man with a laser gun fighting T-Rexs, if that sounds interesting to you then watch it for that, because the spectacle of the film is not half bad.

Overall, fine if you are watching it for mindless science fiction, bad if you are watching it for a story or to be engaged.

2.5/5

Pros.

It is a good premise

The spectacle delivers

Driver is serviceable

Cons.

The father child stuff is getting boring

It has awful pacing and a slow first act

The story is incredibly subpar

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Rye Lane: Finding Love In Modern Britain

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two recently dumped individuals, played by Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson, meet randomly one day and find that they have a connection.

This isn’t a new film, the idea has been done in hundreds of films before especially within British rom-coms. However what this film does is update some of the older tired cliches and to produce something modern to a reasonable effect.

I don’t think this film reinvents the form but it is a nice wholesome watch. Jonsson and Oparah have great chemistry and both are charming in different ways. The way their characters interact with each other on screen instantly makes you root for them and want them to be together, this is helped by the fact that for once the relationship shown to us in a rom-com doesn’t seem incredibly toxic.

I also liked some of the more surreal shot choices and story telling frames this film used, it was a nice break from the genre but also from within the film itself it helped to shake things up and keep them fresh,

My highlight of the film was the Colin Firth cameo as the burrito chef, which I thought was hilarious and well placed. It was nice to see a genre mainstay like Firth show up for a film like this and give his blessing to a new generation, it rooted the film so easily within this very British tradition and created an unforgettable moment.

Overall, a nice happy watch but not one that will blow you away.

3.5/5

Pros.

The leads have good chemistry

It is fun

It makes you care about the characters

The Colin Firth cameo

Cons.

It is very familiar

The conflict towards the end of the film feels forced in rather than organic to the story

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Bring On The Luigi’s Mansion Spin-Off

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two Italian-American plumbers, voiced by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, fall through a magical sewer pipe and end up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Adventure awaits.

So the initial bad reviews of this film seemed to want it to be something it was never going to be, it was always going to be silly and with a fairly predictable story that reflected a lot of game elements and that is exactly what this film is.

Yes there are some jarring elements like Chris Pratt’s accent, which drifts in and out over the course of the film, and the random song mid-way through, but on the whole there is nothing bad here. In many ways it is a very serviceable and accessible entry into the world of Mario and has a number of memorable moments and characters.

Funnily enough Mario himself was probably the least interesting character here, as he was a fairly standard main character out to prove himself, prove his father wrong and get the girl. However, said girl Princess Peach to be exact, voiced by Anya-Taylor Joy, Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogen and Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day, are all terrific. I like that the film expands each one as a character and tries to dig deeper into them rather than just presenting them in fairly obvious archetypal roles. A confusing move the film makes is having Mario and Donkey Kong be friends, which then negates Donkey Kong as a Mario antagonist later down the road, as he was in the games, though a heel turn is always possible.

I would definitely say that if you are a fan of the games you will get more out of this film, as though it is not incredibly reference heavy there are a number of nods and background character appearances that fans of the game can enjoy and which sometimes hint at future things to come in the inevitable sequel.

Overall, fun, but not perfect.

3/5

Pros.

Day, Taylor-Joy and Rogen

Expanding on the supporting characters in interesting ways

The references and nods to the games

Cons.

Pratt and his inconsistent accent

It is badly paced.

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Pinball The Man Who Saved The Game: An Unexpected Delight

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Telling the story of the man who overturned New York City’s ban on pinball.

I thought this was a tremendously fun film. I personally don’t really care at all about pinball, but this film had me rooting for the ban to be overturned. It is hard to put it into words but there is something special and winning about this film, it managed to play with my heart in a way I wasn’t expecting it to whilst also making me laugh every step of the way.

On the subject of comedy, I particularly enjoyed the meta jokes wherein the walls of the film where broken down and the narrator of the tale came in and addressed us directly. There was a good number of funny lines delivered by Mr Sharp, played by Dennis Boutsikaris, as he clashed with the wider team behind the scenes.

However, what I will say was the films strongest element was the story of Roger, played by Mike Faist [and playing within the narrative of the film a young version of Mr Sharp], and his relationship with Ellen, played by Crystal Reed, and her son, played by Christopher Convery. I think this is one of the best romantic pairings in a film I have seen in a long time and that both Faist and Reed have great chemistry together and that this is what anchors the film.

Overall, an unexpected treat which does what Tetris tried to do but bettered it.

4/5

Pros.

Faist

Boutsikaris

Reed

The humour and the heart

Cons.

It was a little rushed in places

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Inside: Is He Trapped Or Are You?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Willem Dafoe goes crazy after being locked in an apartment during an art heist.

I will give the film praise for its premise, the idea of a man having to survive trapped in someone else’s apartment with minimal food and water and no way out is an interesting idea. Seeing Dafoe’s character have to try and find ways to stay alive was fascinating, at first.

In a way this film would have made for a great short film, it has a strong premise and a good performance by Dafoe to anchor it. However, by stretching to feature length this film quickly becomes tedious, the pacing is so egregiously slow that you begin to feel like you too are being held prisoner, but in this case by a film that just won’t end.

Moreover, in a effort to try and pad out the runtime the final act of the film tries to go deeper and branches out into some pretty abstract territory, which I suppose reflects Dafoe’s characters descent into madness but also feels like art house twaddle masquerading as plot.

Overall, an interesting idea but one that should never have been stretched to feature length.

2/5

Pros.

Dafoe

The premise

Cons.

The pacing is awful

The art house third act really doesn’t come together

It is frustrating to watch

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Tetris: The Downfall Of The USSR

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The story behind bringing Tetris to Japan and also the Gameboy.

I do think there is an interesting story here, I think that the scenes in which the dialogue is quick paced and things and moving nicely along are engaging and that the wheeling and dealing aspects about this story are interesting. It is just that these aspects of the film are sandwiched in-between a hell of a lot of filler, exposition and needless asides.

I think that this film is really brutally paced, and could have done with being about half an hour shorter. I do think there is promise here but that it gets lost amongst a sea of needless scenes. This bad pacing makes the film hard to watch and engage with.

I think that Taron Egerton is doing his best to anchor this film, and does the whole plucky thing well, but he doesn’t show much range at all here and his performance is fairly one note. A plucky businessman who needs to make a deal happen. His character was somewhat hard to tell apart from any number of other characters he has played recently that have followed a similar role.

Overall, an interesting story but one that gets way too bogged down to be fun.

2.5/5

Pros.

The story itself is interesting

The wheeling dealing scenes are fun

The story of friendship is nice as well

Cons.

It is boring at times

Egerton

The pacing is brutal

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Murder Mystery 2: Adam Sandler’s Latest Holiday

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam Sandler goes on another holiday on Netflix’s dime.

As far as Sandler fare goes this is fairly passable. Whilst it is not his best film it certainly isn’t his worst either and as it stands it is quite a nice film to turn your brain off to and just space out. In a sense you could view it as the peak of escapism.

Sandler himself is toned down here, and whilst he does get into some whacky situations he is not as mean spirted as he is in some of his projects. I would dare say the earnestness of Jennifer Aniston’s performance works wonders to make Sandler more likeable. Aniston has great comedic timing here and her scenes where she is shooting people and is unexpectedly a great shot and is murdering people left right and centre by accident is actually funny.

In terms of the plot it is another convoluted mystery, but you aren’t here for that, no you just want to see Adam Sandler be Adam Sandler and the film gets that as it offers a plot that wraps up in a ridiculous way that makes little sense and doesn’t try to do anything else because it knows you don’t care.

Overall, a fun film to mindlessly watch, not much of an advance on that really.

3/5

Pros.

Aniston and her murdering skills

It does have some funny moments

It is very easy to watch

Cons.

The plot is convoluted

It feels very low energy

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