The Harder They Fall: Who Is The Quickest Draw?

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Wild west outlaw Nat Love, played by Johnathan Majors, rides again to take down the man who killed his parents when he was a child.

I thought this was the most interesting western, both visually and plot wise, that I have seen in a long time. The cinematography is beautiful here, the shot composition is both reflective of classic western tropes whilst also trying to reinvent and do something new with how the western looks. I thought it did a number of very interesting things that worked well in the context of the film and really made me take notice of the cinematography.

Moreover, the film was expertly paced which is a big help for me considering it is on for more than two hours. The film never slowed down to have a dull moment, instead moving along at a healthy pace making the most out of every second it had; honestly I can’t think of a wasted scene.

The performances across the board were great, I would say Idris Elba really stuck out in the latter portion of the film and did a lot of strong facial acting, as well as delivering an incredibly strong emotional twist at the end of the film. However, everyone was strong. The one thing I would draw attention to is that this film did cast Lakeith Stanfield, which I find in bad taste after the whole anti-Semitism thing, though I tried to ignore that whilst watching.

Overall, I thought this was one of the best Netflix original films I have seen in a long time.

Pros.

Strong performances

Well-paced

Engaging and fun

The emotion

Cons.

The ending wrap up feels a bit rushed

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Army Of Thieves: Once You Have Seen One Heist Film You Have Seen Them All

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ludwig Dieter, played by Matthias Schweighofer, returns in a prequel to Army Of The Dead, in which Dieter finds himself at the centre of a series of international heists revolving around famous safes.

I enjoyed Ludwig Dieter in Army Of The Dead, but this film felt excessive. I don’t know why you go from having it be a heist story in a zombie apocalypse, to suddenly just a heist film. I thought the whole point of this universe was the fact that it featured a zombie outbreak? Yet this film almost goes out of its way to hide it, only showing us brief scenes on news broadcasts, and telling us about it in throwaway dialogue.

By doing this and having it just be a heist movie the film cripples itself. This film feels indistinguishable from any other heist film, was that the point? Though we have the same character from the other film back, it couldn’t feel further apart. Rather than manic zombie action we get the same set of generic heist characters we have seen hundreds of times before, with the same backstories. We see the same twists and turns, and the same ending as well, there is nothing new here. You will only find this film original if you have never seen a heist film before.

The only reason this film is not getting lower is because there are still a few good laughs to be had here, Schweighofer is still funny. Moreover, Nathalie Emmanuel has a great presence on-screen and she really brings something to this film. I liked the romance between Ludwig and Emmanuel’s Gwendoline over the course of the film as I found it to be genuinely effecting.

Overall, a needless follow up made better by Emmanuel.

Pros.

It is watchable

It has a few funny moments

Emmanuel is on strong form

Cons.

We have seen it all before

It does nothing with the zombies

The ending feels far too tided into the first film

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Attack Of The Hollywood Cliches: Saying What We Are Thinking

4.5 /5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A gathering of famous faces and critics get together to rip apart some of the silliest but most pervasive cliches in Hollywood.

I thought this was one of the most spot on and funniest pieces of content I have watched in a long time. You can feel Charlie Brooker’s hand silently influencing events as the show progresses despite his entire lack of involvement, and that is the biggest compliment I could give this film.

Anyone can watch this and understand what they are talking about, but for anyone who has ever studied film this takes on a whole new dimension and almost feels like it is speaking to you. The thoughts and notions all these critics and famous people are having are in-line with our own and you feel like saying ‘thank you’, as someone has finally said it.

I think the strongest element with this is of course Rob Lowe. As anyone who has frequented my reviews will know I do like Rob Lowe quite a bit, he is always good in pretty much any role: this film proves that more than any other as Lowe has the time of his life as host and brings everything together with such fantastic timing and showmanship that quite frankly you are in awe.

Overall, a very funny stand up to film.

Pros.

Lowe

It points out things that you have always thought

It insightful

It feel Brooker esque

Cons.

Not for everyone

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Borley Rectory: Animation Makes Everything Creepier

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An animated documentary telling the history of ‘the most haunted house in Britain’.

I found this to be quite the frightening watch, the fact it was animated rather than the standard live action documentary really helped to give it a leg up over the competition. In that vein the film offers a number of striking visuals through this medium that stick with you after watching, my favourite and the one I found to be the creepiest would be the ghost man sitting on the little girls bed and turning to look into the camera.

Moreover, I found this to be a good documentary both in the sense that it was entertaining, the learning was fun, but also because it helped me to better understand the haunted geography and landscape of my own country a bit better. Before this I had a base understanding of why Borley Rectory was supposed to be haunted, now I know enough to confidently converse on the subject- as I am doing now.

My one issue with this film would be that it jumped around in time a lot. Now quite a lot of documentaries jump around with time but normally they do it in a linear way as in this happened then this then this, however this film doesn’t abide by that rule and jumps backwards as well as forwards which quickly becomes confusing. This is certainly not the sort of film you can ‘half’ watch as you will soon be lost with it.

Overall, a good creepy documentary.

Pros.

It is scary

The animation gives it an edge

A few good scares

It is interesting

Cons.

It can be confusing

It ends rather abruptly

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Intrusion: Are Netflix Even Trying Anymore

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film follows a couple in the aftermath of a home invasion, focusing on how it affected each personally.

My, my we are back to the boring era of Netflix thrillers. This film was so dull and hard to get through. Indeed many times I almost turned it off. I found there to be nothing new about this film during its runtime and everything it said or was trying to say had been said better elsewhere.

The emotional impact it was trying to put across again feel puddle deep. The film seems to think it is a lot deeper and more intelligent in its observations than it actually is, try as it might it can’t seem to come up with anything interesting or fresh to say.

Furthermore, the acting was also very mediocre. Normally I find Logan Marshall-Green can do no wrong, but he was just given nothing to work with here and it really shows in his performance, in truth his character is little more than a cliché. Freida Pinto’s lead is likewise uninspired, her character reads as a discount version of various other better written characters over the years which is a shame as Pinto is a very good performer normally.

Overall, uninspired.

Pros.

It is watchable

It is short

Cons.

It is dull

It is predictable

The performances are weak

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Here Comes The Boom: I Never Knew It Was So Easy To Be A UFC Fighter, Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Biology teacher Scott Voss, played by Kevin James, decided to get into cage fighting in order to save the schools musical department.

Honestly, I just put this on because I wanted something easy to zone out to and unwind- in that respect it didn’t disappoint.

Moreover, in terms of Happy Madison fare this isn’t the worst by any means, as though it is dumb and lazy as you would expect it to be, there is also a really strong heart and soul to this film that makes it feelgood even if you don’t particularly like the main character. To that Henry Winkler really shines here, Winkler is the heart and soul of this film and plays the character with such an innocents and sweetness that you can’t help but root for him-sadly he is only a side character.

Kevin James is fine, his character isn’t particularly likeable and is more often than not creepy or nasty to those around him, however he does have his moments. James is clearly playing the character as an everyman sort and that carries, even if the concept doesn’t. A man with no fighting experience couldn’t suddenly become a cage fighter, though why am I looking for logic here?

I was surprised to not see a cameo from any of the Sand Pack, my name for Adam Sandler and his friends, I thought for sure that someone would pop up but no, or maybe I missed it? They didn’t even force in Rob Schneider.

Overall, a watchable if not very funny comedy.

Pros.

Winkler

The heart

It is watchable

Cons.

Kevin James

The leering at Selma Hayek by the camera

The plot holes

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The Witcher Nightmare Of The Wolf: Netflix Needs A New Animation Style

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Vesemir, voiced by Theo James, becomes wrapped up in a frightening series of monster attacks that seem different to anything he has ever encountered before.

Why do all of Netflix’s animated offerings look the same? I am not saying the art style doesn’t work, but I am saying that I want more diversity and variation within their animated output. I don’t like the fact you can’t tell this apart from Castlevania.

Moreover, the storyline here is so trite that I question anyone’s need to watch this film as they have seen it all before. Hated group has to work with those that hate them and then those that hate them turn on them it is so played out. I am a big fan of the Witcher books/games/TV show and as such I know that this storyline could have been done better. The evil mage who is anti-Witcher is so clear cut the twist reveal of oh actually she is evil doesn’t work as you already knew it, and it feels like the film gives it away early on.

Whatsmore, the tag at the end that showed Geralt felt ham-fisted. We all know where the story is going, we all know that Geralt is coming, however stuffing him in here feels like badly done fan service.

Overall, deeply bog standard.

Pros.

The fight scenes

A deeper look into Witcher lore
Theo James as Vesemir

Cons.

The end sting

The animation style and its overuse

The bland story

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Kate: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Strikes Gold Again, Is There Anything She Can’t Do

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An assassin, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, finds herself fatally poisoned whilst on a job, so with mere hours to go before she dies she decides to go on a quest for revenge.

I will give Netflix props for this one. Finally they have managed to produce an action film that pushes beyond their mould of generic, forgettable punch them up fare and actually manages to be a solid genre film.

I enjoyed the stylistic choices present within this film; I think you can feel the Leitch influence here clearly: there are many scenes in this film that reminded me of Leitch’s Atomic Blond from a few summers ago now. The choice of setting and how Japanese culture impacts on the film also goes along way to shaping it into having a personality. Despite being Western this film does feel at times like a love letter to Japanese martial arts films.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a tremendous action lead and does a lot to make this film as good as it is. Winstead plays the character with just the right level of warmth to get you to care without sacrificing any of the badass moments or threat. As the film progresses you begin to care about her character and you become connected to her story, which is a big achievement for an action film and an even bigger one for a Netflix action film.

My one criticism would be that they waste Woody Harrelson. Harrelson is a mentor of sorts to Winstead’s character and does end up having a fairly important role in the narrative, however, despite this he is not given much to work with and often only has sort scenes of him sitting or talking, which doesn’t correlate to making us think of him as a badass assassin like Winstead’s character. We needed more of him in action.

Overall, The best Netflix action film in years.

Pros.

Winstead

The Japanese influence

The Leitch influence

The action and the comedy

Cons.

Harrelson is wasted

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Father Of The Year: Join The Army Today, A Propaganda Film

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two young men try to find out which of their fathers would win in a fight.

Yes, this is lowest common denominator stuff, it is a post-Netflix deal Happy Madison production after all. However, unlike some of the more Sandler centric fare I found myself laughing.

I think a big part of this is due to David Spade who does a good job here, he is the right amount of stupid, annoying and endearing to create a character that works across multiple levels as the film progresses. In the beginning there is something funny about watching him fall naked out of a truck pool into the street, at this point you are decidedly laughing at him not with him, and then as the film progresses you find yourself warming to his stupid brand of comedy and by the end you actually like him, or at least I did. There is a whole audience/character journey there.

I thought the relationship herein were sweet and gave the film a nice sentimental edge that makes up for some of the more mean spirited gags. I thought the father son relationship between Ben, Joey Bragg, and Spade’s father character was actually quite well done and heart-warming over the course of the film. I also thought Ben’s relationship with Meredith, Bridgit Mendler, was sweet. Mendler has a lot of fun when she is on-screen and often ends up stealing the scene, however it would have been nice if the film had given her more to do beyond just being Ben’s love interest.

Furthermore, this film has a weird fascination with the American Armed Forces that I didn’t care for, this is not just a little aside but instead becomes a whole B plot. It feels at best like a paid advert at worst like propaganda. Stop trying to condition people to join the army. Moreover, and this might just be my interpretation, but have you ever noticed in how a lot of Sandler related films he casts his real life wife in negative roles. Yes, if you watch a lot of these films she is usually given the domineering, mean or controlling roles, just look at her character here, a wife who treats her husband awfully until the moment he swears at her kid. I won’t make any comments on this trend, but I will ask this, is Sandler and Co trying to tell us something here?

Overall, at times a funny and endearing film however some of the more overt themes drag it down.

Pros

Spade

The jokes

The relationships

Cons.

The army propaganda

The female characterisation

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Sweet Girl: Netflix Has Given Up Trying To Make Good Films

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A father daughter duo, played by Jason Mamoa and Isabela Merced, decide to take on big pharma after they raise the price of a lifesaving drug which leads to the death of the family matriarch.

All of Netflix’s action thrillers are the same. Bland confused and poorly written: it almost feels at this point like they are allowing a machine to write these films using a very basic formula for inspiration. Needless to say it is holding these films back.

I didn’t really feel any sort of emotional connection to the characters, though I did feel the film going out of its way to try and make me care. If anything I would say we don’t get enough time with the happy family unit to grow attached to it before it gets ripped apart.

As a thriller or ‘statement film’ this film has nothing new to say. The message of ‘geez isn’t big pharma bad’ has been one that is often spouted and less often used in an interesting and crucially fresh way. The whole conflict of the film feels played out before it has even begun.

Mamoa is playing the same character he always does, and Merced adds nothing and is simply along for the ride.

Overall, this is so by the numbers it becomes irritating.

Pros.

It is watchable

The opening is mildly interesting

Cons.

The acting isn’t very good

The story feels incredibly generic

It has nothing to say

It is boring

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