King Knight: Finding Your Flock

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Leaders of a Wiccan coven Thorn, played by Matthew Grey Gubler and Willow, played by Angela Sarafyan go through trial and tribulation as seeks from Thorn’s past seek to unseat them.

This is a bizarre film in the best way, there are so many out there, illogical things that happen that you can at times be baffled by, but in that strangeness comes the charm. Certainly this is one of the most original films I have seen in a while.

Moreover, I also think this film has a really lovely message about finding your flock and being accepting of other people. In many respects its themes of social isolation and living in a gilded cage really bleed through, hitting home and resonating .

I thought the cast was terrific across the board though I would say that Gubler was the stand out for me. I really bought the emotion of his performance and I thought the narrative about him being uncomfortable dancing really allowed for his character to go on a wonderful journey that had a very satisfying pay off.

Also this film featured Ray Wise, who is a personal favourite of mine, so that is a big win for me, any film with Ray Wise gains favour with me.

Overall, certainly one that will fly under a lot of people’s radar but one that is a must watch if you can find it.

Pros.

Wise

Gubler

The strangeness

The originality

Cons.

Mild pacing issues

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No Exit: No One Cared About This Film So Why Should You?

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Yet another deeply generic, thoughtless thriller that you have seen one hundred times before, maybe more.

Is this the standard of films coming out these days? Honestly whilst watching I found it quite hard not to go on my phone, or just do something else, there really was nothing in this film that kept me engaged or even remotely interested.

The performances all reek of a group of people brought together by a need to get another hot tub rather than by anyone caring about the project. Most of the cast keep one look on their face consistently throughout the film, such is the standard of acting on display here.

Some other reviewers have been angered by a scene in which a character snorts some cocaine as a means to gain strength, now I am not bothered by this because in a film as poor as this with a script and screenplay that both scream of being written over a weekend with the idea to crank something out I would not expect anything more.

Overall, clearly no one on the production side of things gave a damn about this film and it shows.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It is generic

It is way too familiar

The acting is awful

So is the writing

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Family Squares: Grief In The Time Of Covid

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of people gather together on zoom after the death of their Grandmother.

I thought this film was surprisingly effecting, there were a number of moments I had a tear in my eye or could feel myself welling up. On first appearance this film is sold as a comedy film and yes there are jokes, a few of which even make you laugh, but in my mind this film is far stronger as a dramatic piece about people dealing with life changes and loss.

The cast is all fairly strong across the board, all are able to be both light and affable and also to bring out the dramatic big guns when required, if I were to single one person out for special acting commendation it would probably be Judy Greer, I thought there were a number of scenes here where Greer really shined and stood out from the crowd through her dramatic work.

My one issue with the film is that the teams/zoom setting will quickly date it, as will all the copious references to Covid, I understand the desire to be topical, but it does become a crutch after a while narratively.

Overall, a warm, touching, sometimes funny film.

Pros.

The cast

Greer specially

The drama and the emotion

The pace

Cons.

The format as well as mentions to covid will quickly date the film

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The Family Stone: The Most Cringe Film Ever Made

0.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The very worst form of the meeting family for the first time plot.

This film was just awful, I know I complain a lot about films being cringe, but this film was so horribly, uncomfortably cringe in its character interactions that honestly I had to look away at times such was the awkwardness. I will stress to you that it was not good cringe, no, it was the very worst kind.

Moreover, this film has some deeply warped values as it portrays it to be perfectly normal for someone to be considering marrying someone else after knowing them for just one day, as well as saying it is fine to get bored of your current partner and then go out with their siblings whilst the two of you are still together. Not only does the film push this message it also acts like its normal, which last I checked isn’t the case.

In addition, most of the cast struggle to act and almost every single one of the interactions feels painful and stilted.

Overall, the only saving grace of this film was Luke Wilson and even he was wasted here.

Pros.

Wilson

Cons.

The cringe

Parker

The cast either can’t be bothered or are wasted

It has terrible morals

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Fun With Dick And Jane: The Struggles Of The Middle Class

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

When husband and wife duo, played by Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni, both find themselves unemployed and with the wolves at the door they take to committing a series of robberies to keep the lights on.

There is some fun to be had here, let it not be said that this film is entirely without charm or entertainment. However, I definitely think it is in the lower end of Carrey’s filmography, as he is strangely dialled back here and doesn’t ever go as fully wild as we would expect him to. Leoni fairs far better and her character is the more complete of the two, she also has more funny jokes than Carrey which is another red flag.

Though I enjoyed the earlier heists, as they wore silly costumes and the focus was far more on jokes than anything else, I thought as things progressed the heists got more and more boring. To that effect, the final heist where they try and steal from Carrey’s characters old boss, played by Alec Baldwin, just comes across as dull. Baldwin doesn’t make for a very interesting villain and the whole plotline between the two feels incredibly dated, as such this makes it hard to care about the ending which in turn damages the film as a whole.

Overall, not terrible, but not great either. Middling Carrey.

Pros.

Leoni

A few funny jokes early on

It is watchable

Cons.

Carrey is off form

Baldwin

It feels dated

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Meet The Fockers: One For The Family

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After meeting her parents, now it’s time for them to meet his.

In some respects I thought this was better than the first film but in other ways it was worse. As a sequel I would say it finds it hard to progress beyond what the first film did and instead doubles down on it, this is both a blessing and a curse.

In regard to what I enjoyed I thought the new parents played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand both added a lot to this film, heart and laughs respectively. Moreover, I thought the ending of this film was more fun than the last and felt less cliched.

The comedy was something of a mixed bag for me, as I did find myself laughing harder when there was a joke that resonated with me, but I also found myself laughing less than I did in the previous film. I appreciated the fact that the comedy of this film was far less cringe than that of its predecessor.

Regarding what I didn’t like, I found this film went too far with DeNiro’s character making him too over the top and ridiculous. The narrative of this film implies the character learnt nothing from the first film and continues to distrust Greg, played by Ben Stiller, which makes no sense. Moreover, the means by which he tries to prove that Greg is a bad guy are way more sinister than they were in the first film which makes the character far more unlikeable. I can see why the film chose to take this character in this over the top direction yet I am left to question did no one see this as an issue at the time?

Overall, two steps forward one step back.

Pros.

Hoffman and Streisand

A few good jokes

The ending is a lot better

Cons.

DeNiro

The funny jokes were few and far between

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Sundown: Tim Roth In All His Topless Glory

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A rich man, played by Tim Roth, deliberately stays behind, abroad, after his family holiday is suddenly called off so that he can enjoy single life.

This one will be a hard one for a lot of people to get into, it is doing something quite specific and it doesn’t go where you are expecting it to. Often the pace and the way the film is structured can also be quite off putting as it is slow and at times seemingly random. When the narrative reveal comes late into the film that explains why Roth’s character is doing what he is doing it both allows you to understand the film but also depresses you at the same time. The ending is a real downer.

The only reason this film gets half marks from me is because Tim Roth manages to make what would otherwise be quite a boring and sad film somewhat watchable. Roth seems to be having fun and that translates into you having a bit as well, this film truly owes a debt to Roth as without him it would be scoring much lower.

Overall, certainly not for all, only people with a certain disposition will enjoy this.

Pros.

Roth

It doesn’t go where you expect it to

It is watchable

Cons.

The pacing

The ending

It is dull

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Talladega Nights, The Ballet Of Ricky Bobby: A Real American Hero

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

NASCAR hotshot Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell, is brought low after a humiliating defeat and must regain his former glory.

I think this film mostly still holds up, yes there are one or two yikes moments by today’s standards but for the most part this is still a good film.

I think at the heart of that is the fact that this is probably, in a broadly comedic sense, Will Ferrell’s most earnest film. Yes, in his dramatic work he has done more of this kind of thing but I am coming at it from a place of comedy, and within that genre Ferrell tends to play incredibly over the top characters that scream a lot, he doesn’t do that here, not really. I think though Ferrell’s Bobby is an eccentric out there character at his core he is likeable and that is why this film works, because of this his fall from grace and then resurgence become engrossing as you care about the character and become invested in his journey.

Moreover, I also think this film has a surprisingly strong supporting cast with John C. Riley, Leslie Bibb, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amy Adams and Jane Lynch all giving incredibly strong performances that are both memorable but that also add key dynamics and elements to the film.

Sasha Baron Cohen’s villain is were some of the film’s more problematic elements come out. However, I think for the most part the film errs on the side of comedy and avoids bad taste issues. Cohen for his part is on top form and delivers a number of solid laughs.

Overall, despite a few troublesome moments this film still holds up.

Pros.

The wider cast

The more earnest performance from Ferrell

The ride it takes you on

Cohen

Cons.

Pacing issues

A few troublesome jokes that haven’t aged well

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Meet The Parents: Cats Do The Darnedest Things

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young male nurse, played by Ben Stiller, meets his partner’s, played by Teri Polo, parents. Trouble ensues.

To some this film is a classic comedy, and whilst there are some solid and memorable gags, there are also some incredibly painful jokes that make you cringe so hard you almost turn the film off.

This film really is the origin story of Robert DeNiro as a comedy actor and he actually manages to be quite funny here. A lot of the jokes centre around misunderstandings and issues that he has with Ben Stiller’s character, but of the two he probably steals the show the most. Stiller has the everyman factor but DeNiro has the charm.

In terms of narrative this film is very, very familiar to the point of cliché. The plot beats head exactly where you think they will go, and the ending feels not only expected but also overly sentimental. I think with regard to the wider tone of the film, the sentimentality comes across as a little bit convenient and forced in.

Overall, a comedy film that has its moments but doesn’t fully hold up.

Pros.

Robert DeNiro

A few funny moments

Owen Wilson

Cons.

Ben Stiller tries his best but a lot of his jokes don’t land

Overly sentimental

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Cyrano: Dinklage’s Best Performance

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cyrano, played by Peter Dinklage, loves from afar and is confined to do so for the rest of his life, until his romantic words find a vessel in the form of Christian, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr, sadly Cyrano finds loving someone through the guise of another is not the same as real love, and so a tragic love story is born.

This film is a deeply mixed bag, on the one hand you have a series of very good performances from Haley Bennet, Harrison Jr, Mendelson and Dinklage, with the latter being especially good perhaps even a career best. However, on the other side you have musical numbers that don’t feel needed, that often aren’t very good and that are bafflingly choreographed.

The tale is a classic one so of course the narrative felt familiar, yet for the most part I felt like the film kept me guessing. The ending was particularly bleak, so make sure you are ready for it because I wasn’t expecting such an ending and it really hit me hard, it depressed me for the whole afternoon.

Overall, a lot of strong performances especially from Dinklage, however it is ruined somewhat by the songs.

Pros.

Dinklage

Bennet

The emotions

Cons.

The ending

The songs

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