Death Wish: America’s Love Affair With The Gun

Death Wish

0.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I have long defend the films of Eli Roth, a lot of people don’t like them or his style, but I defended him. Yet, this film is too much even for me. I think this film is symptomatic of everything wrong, with both modern action films as well as with gun culture in the States. There is nothing cool about a man who gets some weapons by iffy means and runs around and plays judge jury and executioner- those days have long past.

This film plays as somewhat of a wet dream for gun nuts, showing the ever present fear of what if it was your family? Asking the samey and egotistical question would you be ‘man enough’ to get the people who hurt your family, that whole idea feels deeply toxic and problematic now.

The gun violence/ vigilante stuff is fetishized to a point of being obscene, and with the rash of school shootings, and other shootings in the USA this feels more than a little icky and in bad taste. With something like the Punisher the violence is shown to be grim, unpleasant and crucially not glorified, whereas this goes the other way with it and ventures fully into bad taste.

Bruce Willis doesn’t care and isn’t trying, but then would you ever expect him to?

Overall, a far right fantasy and a stain on Roth’s career.

Pros.

It is at times laughably bad

Cons.

Its message

Willis

How it portrays gun culture

The violence

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The Voices: Family Trouble

Written by Luke Barnes

The Voices is a horror thriller film directed by Wesley Alley and Bradley Fowler. The plot sees a young woman escape to a family member’s remote home where she must deal with her own and her sisters worsening mental health.

I found this film scary in that you never quite know what is going on in someone else’s head or what they are going through. Mental health issues can and often do affect us all at some point in our lives which makes the horror of this film have a personal feel to it.

I think the scares of the film are quite well done, yes there are quite a few jump scares which I found off putting, but there is also a strong horror atmosphere to the film that greatly enhances the ultimate impact of the film and is able to make you feel unsettled after the credits roll.

The appearance from horror icon Lin Shaye is greatly appreciated, she adds a lot of credibility to the film and sells the scenes she is in.

My one negative of this film would be that it feels almost like a stigmatisation of people with mental health conditions, the characterisation of the sister and how she is put across almost feels like a demonisation of those suffering with mental health, which is not on. Of course, this could be me reading into something that isn’t there and be how I took it- it may not be deliberate.

Overall, a few good scares in a passable horror film.

Pros.

The atmosphere

Lin Shaye

A relatable horror

Cons.

It approach and depiction of those suffering with mental health

Jump scares

Quite uninspired

2.5/5

Happily: That Couples That Annoys You With How Perfect They Are, Aren’t So Perfect

Written by Luke Barnes

Happily is a dark comedy thriller film directed by BenDavid Grabinski. The film follows a perfect couple (Kerry Bishe and Joel McHale), who never argue, always agree and never cease to irritate those around them. However, one day a stranger (Stephen Root) arrives at their door to tell them that they are genetic abnormalities, and that he won’t leave until they take a syringe of fluid that will make them just like everyone else. Naturally they kill this man and then go on a staycation with their friends.

This was a bizarre film, and you only begin to understand and appreciate a lot of its subtler details if you watch it a few times as there is a lot going on. I think this is a bold stylistic piece with all kinds of visual influences on display, and a plot that defies genre categorisation; I gave it a try, but it is so much more.

That is not to say this film is perfect, as it isn’t, the ending didn’t ring true to me and felt like an anti-climax; especially after the emotionally charged scenes that lead up to it. Furthermore, the tone frequently clashes as the film struggles to find how to approach its narrative. There will be scenes with levity in them that really don’t need it, and then scenes that do need a line to lighten the mood go without; it is an odd mishmash a lot of the time. Tonally this film is a quagmire.
I thought the wider world of this film and its concepts were riveting and I would love to see a follow up film, or other films set within this same universe, to explore these ideas in further detail. The idea of this agent, or god like character, who can’t die and who works for a higher authority is very tantalising and is begging for further exploration.

Overall, a hell of a concept and an idea, sadly the execution is lacking. However, a follow up in this universe could fix a lot of this films ills.

Pros.

The concept

The world

The characters

Cons.

The inconsistent tone

The ending

3/5

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The Vault: Uncharted Meets Oceans, But Without The Charm Of Either

Written by Luke Barnes

The Vault is a crime heist film directed by Jaume Balaguero. The plot sees a group of thieves try to break into Spain’s most secure vault during the World Cup.

What is it with Freddie Highmore? As a young actor he had such promise and now he seems content in playing the same role over and over again: the role in case you were not aware is odd ball, intelligent characters with a bad streak. From Bates Motel to this film, that character type sums up Highmore’s career, and if anything is starting to get a little repetitive.

There is some interest to this film when it first starts, Liam Cunningham is very interesting as the rich treasure collector and has a good screen presence, however, the film soon taints that. The ending of this film which in my mind is the worst part and the thing that seals the ultimate fate of this film for me, feels like a less charismatic, less thought-out spoof of one of the Oceans films; serving to be so unbelievably ridiculous and dumb that you are left saying “wait really”.

The one thing I will give this film credit for is the way it ties the event of the World Cup into the setting and the world of the film. This to me made the film feel unique and is just different enough to distract me from how generic this film actually is.

Overall, a waste of time. Liam Cunningham is giving a good performance and he almost makes this film worthwhile, but not even he is that good.

Pros.

Cunningham

The use of the World Cup

Cons.

Highmore

The ending

How generic it is

2/5

SAS Red Notice: Ruby Rose Finally Gives A Good Performance

Written by Luke Barnes

SAS: Red Notice is a British action thriller film directed by Magnus Martens, based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab. The plot sees the British government turn on a family of mercenaries in their employ when one of the many atrocities committed runs the risk of being traced back to senior figures. A cat and mouse game ensues.

This seems to be a week of humility for me, first I was wrong about the Snydercut and now I am wrong about Ruby Rose- well partially. So, as some of you may know I have strong doubts about Rose as an actor, in that she can’t act or emote with her face. However, the one thing she can do is be a convincing action star and this film proves that. She commands the screen as the unhinged psychopathic villain intent on making the world pay and manages to sell herself as an action presence.

However, Rose is easily out acted by veteran performers such as Noel Clarke and Andy Serkis. By and large the acting in this film is good. The lead performance from Sam Heughan is a little weak, but maybe that was on purpose as the film reveals his character to also be a psychopath and to struggle with emotions.

The film does focus a lot of its time and energy especially in the third act on psychopaths and how they differ from everyone else, and whilst I think it is a fascinating aside that I would love to see more explored elsewhere, it does steal focus away from the film and derail it a little bit.

Though for the most part I enjoyed this film my main issue with it would be that it reduced Hannah John- Karmen, a very gifted actor (who has appeared in Netflix’s The Stranger, as well as playing Ghost in Antman And The Wasp), down to basically a damsel in distress/ girlfriend character, which feels incredibly reductive.

Overall, a strong action film with a few interesting asides, sadly these asides derail the plot and from that position the poor performances are even more visible.

Pros.

Rose as an action star and not as an actor

Some good action/ thrills

Clarke and Serkis

The ending

Cons.

Derailment

Poor acting from some of the cast

4/5

The Tangle: Bleak Visions Of An AI Future

Written by Luke Barnes

The Tangle is a science fiction thriller film directed by Christopher Soren Kelly. The plot sees two agents investigate the death of one of their own in a futuristic setting.

I admire the worldbuilding of this film, they really do paint a picture of their version of the future; despite the fact that we don’t actually see a lot of it. I thought the story as a whole felt rich and ready to be explored with enough depth to keep you engaged throughout. I would say an issue on the writing side of this film is that a lot of the twists and turns were fairly easy to guess, and I could easily predict what was coming next.

However, despite this I still found the ending satisfying. I thought the ending of the film, that I wont spoil here, answers a lot of the films questions in an interesting way and opens up the door for a lot more fun in sequel films, that I would be very here for. Personally I enjoyed the characters and would like to see them come back in future films either prequels or some kind of sequel.

Overall, a very interesting high concept science fiction film that could have done with tighter writing.

Pros.

The concept

The world

The characters

Cons.

The predictability

A little cliché

3.5/5

Body Brokers: The Human Trade

Written by Luke Barnes

Body Brokers is a crime thriller film directed by John Swab. The plot revolves around the for profit drug rehabilitation system in the United States, and the various predatory tricks and cons people within the industry are using to stay rich.

This film serves to do for the drug rehabilitation system what The Big Short did for the stock market. Providing us the audience with an in-depth, albeit it fictionalised, view into the world of body brokers, characters who prey off junkies going in and out of treatment centres to make their money through various contracts.

Honestly, the fact that this is a thing in the real world is terrifying, and it’s the same kind of terror that you had when you realised that I Care A Lot also has a lot of grounding in reality. Our systems are deeply flawed.

I thought the performances were all very good here, Frank Grillo was the stand out, but he was supported nicely by Michael Kenneth Williams and Jessica Rothe, who is definitely the scene stealer of the film. My one complaint on this front would be that the main protagonist Utah (Jack Kilmer), is fairly bland and predictable

Overall, this film is harrowing, and it opens your eyes to just how easily corrupted our systems are- filling you with even more existential dread and terror of the world around you.

Pros.

The premise

Exposing the injustices and the wrongs of the drug rehabilitation world

Making a few strong points

Rothe, Williams and Grillo

Cons.

Kilmer

The ending is manically depressing

4/5

Todd: The Life Of A Budding Killer

Todd is a thriller film directed by Aaron Warren. The plot follows the titular Todd (Hans Hernke), as we see his decent into becoming a budding madman/ killer, due to intense social isolation and abuse.

I appreciated this film not taking the easy road, they could have made a film that used all the evil kid, budding serial killer cliches for Todd and made him out to be an unsympathetic, obvious monster. However, instead the film explores the character further and takes a more nuanced approach to the discussion, showing that he has layers and that his situation has driven him to do what he does.

I thought the tense stalking sequences of the later film were also well done, too often is the term ‘on the edge of your seat’ used, but here I would describe a similar feeling. There is a lot of great suspense around how far will Todd go, when will he be caught. As such the cat and mouse game that escalates from it is very fun to watch.

Overall, the writing really helps to elevate this film beyond mediocrity and make it memorable and dare I say it, impactful?

Pros.

Layered writing

A lens towards society

A strong sense of tension

Cons.

The character’s other than Todd are all quite weak and poorly fleshed out

A few pacing issues

3/5

Mechanic Resurrection: The Most Pervy and Exploitative Film Of 2016

Written by Luke Barnes

Mechanic Resurrection is an action thriller film directed by Dennis Gansel. The plot follows Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham), a very effective assassin who gets roped into pulling of a series of puzzling murders, after someone from his past kidnaps his girlfriend (Jessica Alba). Apparently this is a sequel to the 2011 film The Mechanic though I wasn’t aware of that until I started writing this review.

From that brief description of the plot you can see how this film is furthering the sexist damsel in distress stereotypes but hold on dear reader- it is far worse than that. Not only does this film want to carry on old cliches and stereotypes, it also takes every opportunity, and I do mean every, to ogle Alba’s body. This film seems averse to Alba wearing many clothes at all and frequently objectifies her, including in quite a icky sex scene; honestly after watching this film you need to take a shower.

The film is made better than some other subpar, Statham flicks by the fact that it is mostly played for laugh, or at least that is how I took it, and it never tries to be too serious. Though this does not translate over into Statham’s performances and he plays the role deadly serious, without even a hint of charm in the entire film.
Overall: I guess my takeaway from this film is that the days of Statham being in good action films like the Transporter series, or Crank are long over, and now he seems content to just make mediocre, sexist action fare and collect a pay check.

Pros.

The film doesn’t take itself too seriously

The dumb and over the top kills

Cons.

Statham plays it far too serious and has no charm

The way they treat Alba’s character throughout

Everything to do with Tommy Lee Jones’ supporting role

2/5

Six Minutes To Midnight: Peak Britishness

Six Minutes To Midnight is a British spy thriller film directed by Andy Goddard. The plot sees Thomas Miller (Eddie Izzard), a British spy sent to infiltrate a boarding school for the daughter of the Nazi high command operating on British soil mere weeks before the onset of WW2.

There is something so British about a period piece, set around the war, and featuring Judy Dench; it is almost like a Britishness trifactor.

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I thought it was going to be a very tense spy film. However, when I watched it my expectations were met, though they were also a little underwhelmed at the same time. Yes, there is some spy thriller elements, but the film could do with losing a few of the slower sequences in favour of more sustained prolonged tension. Like honestly, I don’t care that one of the girls clearly feels left out from the rest, this is not a coming of age film, I want spy thrills.

Izzard handles most of the dramatic heavy lifting and manages to have quite a few strong character moments. I would dare say she is the strongest performer in this film, yes even out performing Dench and veteran actor Jim Broadbent. However, that might not be that hard as neither is given much to do, and Dench is just playing the same character she always plays, a sassy old woman.

The villainous reveal in this film also receives a portion of my ire, it is so painfully obvious. I won’t spoil it for you, but from the opening few minutes you will be able to guess it.

Overall, Izzard is trying to keep this film together and just about manages thanks to some strong tension and character moments. However, the film could do with being trimmed down and with having Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent being given far more to work with.

Pros.

Izzard

Some strong tense sequences

The ending

Cons.

Wastes a large amount of the cast

The identity of the villain is painfully obvious

3/5

Reviewed by Luke