Hearts Of Stone: Gal Gadot Is An Action Star

Summary

Gal Gadot continues to be the best female action hero.

So a lot of people will dislike this film, because a lot of people dislike folks from Israel right now, antisemitism is rampant, but if you can put down your flags and your angry banners for a minute, then you’ll see this was actually a Netflix gem that far too many people slept on.

The plot is standard action fare, nothing much new, but Gadot approaches it with such charm and charisma that you remember why Wonder Woman worked so well. It is incredibly hard not to warm to her and root for her, moreover, unlike other wannabe action stars, looking at you Millie Bobby Brown, Gadot has the moves and the physicality to be able to pull off the fight scenes and make it look real.

I think that for an action film the pace was quite good, we didn’t waste time with too much exposition, we just got straight into it which was positive. From there we got some action, which I’d say it was a good, pretty great by Netflix standard, and then we were out. It made other Netflix action fare like Atlas look like sluggish messes.

Overall, Gal Gadot will always be an action hero.

3.5/5

Pros.

Gadot

The pace

The action

The charm

Cons.

The plot is dumb

The wider cast are mostly wasted

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Hijack: Another Reason For Your Fear Of Flying

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Idris Elba has to talk his way out of a plane takeover.

Very much like In The Long Run this series is made by Elba’s sheer charm, if he wasn’t so charismatic then this series might get dull, but no.

I found the idea of the plane takeover to be a good one to base a series around, in creates high stakes very easily as there is no way off. In many senses this show reminded me a little of 24, very high stakes and a constantly ramping up of tension. If you will pardon the cliché as I was watching this I was on the edge of my seat and I did feel very tense so I guess the series did what it set out to.

I would say that apart from Elba the rest of the cast are either phoning it in or are underused, some I believe wanted to give better performances but could only do so much with the material they had been given. Even the villainous role left me cold, this was mainly because they were incredibly one note and not really fleshed out beyond what could only be described as cliches.

I can see how the series has been picked up for a second season though I would still alleged that it is better as a one and done journey, they could keep it going but will they be able to match the level of suspense that has already been done here, it is hard to say but I would guess not.

Overall, a good and fairly tense series but not one that is crying out for a season 2.

3/5

Pros.

Elba

The tension and the stakes

It has a solid premise

Cons.

A wasted wider cast

It has some pacing issues around the midpoint

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Civil War: Guess Who The Bad Guy Is

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A civil war breaks out in the US but the thing that will kill you is not the air strikes or the bullets but the incredibly obvious message that is being beaten into your face until it’s a pulp.

What shocks me the most about this film is that it was made by a British director, normally it is the American’s that put their politics front and centre and think that the Red vs Blue struggle makes for interesting viewing for those far from their shores, it doesn’t we don’t care, but no here it was a Brit.

Alex Garland as far as I am concerned is a hack, Ex Machina was okay but really nothing to write home about, then came his messy and pretentious foray with Netflix, then Men another statement film that came and went without anyone caring about it and now this. There is talk that he is going to give up directing after this and all I can say is thank God.

Before I get into it, can you guess what the message was, go on I’ll give you a minute though you won’t need it……………

If you guess that the clear Trump stand in right wing American’s are bad for the sheer fact of existing, and that it is as much a comment on how divided America is right now as it is that the right wing should just go away and everything will be better. Believe me I am no fan of Trump, I am as a non-American who has no interest in US politics thought the guy was a bad joke that shows what happens when you underfund your schools, but this strawman argument is beyond ridiculous. The whole point of the film is to be controversial but not in the sense that it is going to take shots at the left and the right, no in the sense that it goes oh look at how extreme the MAGA crowd is boy aren’t they bad, an obvious statement to make, and then takes a victory lap to bask in how profound that message is.

Overall, the film industry will be a better place without Alex Garland in it.

1/5

Pros.

The action is interesting

Cons.

The message is so obvious

It is pretentious and smug

It is incredibly obvious

No one cares about an election that happened 4 years ago now serving as the very obvious inspiration for a film

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The Beekeeper: Burning Down A Call Centre Has Never Been So Efficient

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jason Statham is just a man that likes to make honey at the weekends and then in the weeks burn down call centres.

This film was hilarious, I would imagine intentionally so, Statham’s character would commit a grave act of violence and then make a bee pun or comment and you couldn’t not burst into laughter.

Moreover, this was a good role for Statham as he got to be his usual tough guy persona but also have a little fun with it, I think in many ways this could be the start of a new franchise for him as it has the same charm as something like The Transporter did all those years ago.

The world of the Bee Keepers is also quite interesting and rife for exploring in the same way the world of the Continental was when John Wick first came out. I definitely think any sequel should lean more into that direction.

Overall, a good dumb action film.

4/5

Pros.

It is funny

Statham

It has many cheer worthy moments

The world of Bee Keeping

Cons.

The villains are fairly one note

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In The Land Of Saints And Sinners: A Shoot Up Down The Local

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Liam Neeson is a small town hit man in Ireland

I thought this film was quite good, bear in mind I am a big Neeson fan so I am more than likely being a bit forgiving if only unconsciously.

The premise of a hitman taking out the wrong person and drawing the ire of a larger group is nothing new, but the build here is what makes this film more. As the trio of IRA members circle the small town looking for Neeson you know a conflict is coming, and the film holds out on you until the very end, and when the shootout in the pub does occur it happens with such grandiose brutality that the whole film becomes worth it then and there.

Increasingly I see things about Neeson retiring or at least giving up action films, but I think there is no need for that I still think he’s a believable action force even now, after all Schwarzenegger continued with action rather later into his life than Neeson so I still think he has a few more action films in him.

Jack Gleeson gives a great performance here as well easily living up to his twisted character in Game Of Thrones though here he is supposed to be on the side of the angels. Kerrie Condon is also a good villain for the piece who you can both hate but also understand why she is doing what she is doing. A strong cast all round.

Overall, another solid Liam Neeson action film

4/5

Pros.

Neeson

Gleeson

Condon

A great third act

Cons.

It is slow getting to the action

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Marionette: Are You Real?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A therapist, Thekla Reuten, begins taking sessions with a boy, Elijah Wolf, that can seemingly see the future, however, as their time together grows stranger it becomes clear that something far more grand is going on.

This is one of those films that has a twist that you will never guess, now whether that is down to just how outrageously out of left field it is, or because it is well done will be a matter for you to debate after watching it, personally I lean more into the former than the latter.

I will say that the scares regarding the boy and just what is going on are quite well done, and it was nice to see a relatively recent film not have to rely upon jump scares but instead use atmosphere, the bleakness of the remote Scottish village and the menacing weather really add to the whole aura of the film. I think my issue with jump scares is just how obviously they often are and how you can see them coming from a mile away if you know the signs to look for.

Overall, a good thriller with a twist that is either genius or ridiculous it is hard to tell.

3/5

Pros.

The tension and scares

The atmosphere and how the environment informed the film

The ending

Cons.

The ending

The child acting isn’t good

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Sax X: Jigsaw Or Jesus?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, heads south of the border.

I’ll admit I liked seeing Jigsaw back in a big way. I think Bell’s character is just so compelling that he makes the films a damn sight better just by being in them. I think the franchise really did shoot itself in the foot by getting rid of him from the timeline so early, though there is promise in the apprentices. Personally, I thought Spiral didn’t work as well without either a proper apprentice or Jigsaw in it.

I thought the story here was a little thin, they really had to pad out the opening of the film just to kill time because they knew they didn’t have enough material. Once the trick is revealed and the deaths start then things pick up and become far more interesting. It is in this frame we come to know Cecilia Peterson, Synnøve Macody Lund, who comes to be somewhat of an antithesis for Jigsaw himself. She too has a murderous rage but she doesn’t believe in helping people to get better and as such she becomes the final victim of Jigsaw’s game, only to escape. It is in this new character that I think the series has new life, Cecilia is easily the most interesting new character coming out of this film and I think to not have her be a big part in at least the next film would be a massive mistake, she could hunt John aka Jigsaw down with a rag tag group of survivors from early games that we haven’t seen or met yet, probably ending up in a champion of champions sort of contest in one of Jigsaw’s warehouses.

I thought Amanda, Shawnee Smith, was fine here but I would have liked to have seen more from her, I think her character keeps getting undercut by the franchise at large, though I must confess that I was hoping some of the other apprentices might have shown up at least at the end.

Overall, it’s another fine instalment made better by Cecilia but also one you could easily miss.

3/5

Pros.

Cecila

The return of Jigsaw

The traps

Cons.

The opening is slow

It does nothing special

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The Equalizer: La Dolce Vita

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Robert McCall, played by Denzel Washington, becomes a man about town in Italy.

I enjoyed this more so that the previous Equalizer film, and a damn sight more than that horrible gender swapped TV show, and would go so far as to say it was on a par with the first film. Again I think where these films shine is when it is just McCall going on a rampage against massive groups of guys, it works in very much the same way the John Wick movies do and I think that this film was able to capture that well.

I would say the film was a slog at the beginning and spent far too long in the little Italian town with McCall getting to know everyone and all this, I can see they did this to make it feel more personal later as the villains then try and destroy the community and life McCall has built in Italy, but I just think it went on for too long.

I think that Dakota Fanning’s interesting new character added something to the film and that the narrative as a whole did enough to make us care about her, though I would have liked to see her have a more active role in the action vs essentially getting taken off the board early into the third act. However seeing as she survives the film maybe she can come back later on in the franchise and be more proactive.

Overall, a better than average action film, better than the first sequel and the tv series probably on a par with the first film.

3/5

Pros.

Denzel

The action

The film makes you care about the characters

Cons.

It spends too long setting things up

It does Fanning’s character dirty

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A Haunting In Venice: A Macabre Puppet Show

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Poirot, played by Kenneth Branagh, is back this time to face off against the paranormal.

I think this film was a much needed return to form after Death On The Nile or as I call it Gal Gadot’s vanity project. The decision to forgo some of Christie’s other better known works and to pivot into the supernatural was a strong way to make this film feel fresh. As an ardent fan of horror I thought that the scares here were actually quite good and worked.

I liked the friendship between Poirot and Tina Fey’s character, Poirot is at his best when he has someone to work off and is part of a duo, that was what worked so well in the first film. It was sad to see that in the end Fey was a baddy and had to go away but I would quite like to see Poirot have an assistant, ward or mentee in the next film.

The mystery itself was okay, it was better than Death On The Nile where it was painfully obvious early on what was going on, but I would still say it was not as good as the first film. The fact that they are all being poisoned and that explains away the spooks is fairly obvious from the jump, but the reveal about who was the murderer was better concealed until the end of the film.

Overall, a return to form.

3.5/5

Pros.

The horror aspects

The cinematography

The cast

The gothic feel

Cons.

The mystery is so so

Having Fey turn out to be a villain

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The Dive: The Depths Of The Abyss

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two sisters, played by Sophie Lowe and Louisa Krause, go on a diving trip and then get stuck deep underwater.

This film did not go where I thought it was going to go, I thought it would follow in the footsteps of other recent survival films and be more action thriller in terms of tone but no, this film really is a drama. Yes there is some thriller aspects with the sisters battling for survival but for the most part it is a deep and quite depressing reflection over the sister’s lives, childhood and bond. It is important to bare this in mind before you go into it as it certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Personally, I thought the film worked quite well as an atmospheric drama with the vast emptiness of the sea an apt setting for these weighty themes and ideas. Certainly by setting so much of the film in this incredibly isolating space it really helps to hit home these ideas of loneliness and how the sisters have drifted apart. My point is that the central metaphor of the film works very well.

I thought both Lowe and Krause gave good performances, I would edge it to Lowe as I think she shows the greater range of emotions over the course of the film, but Krause can pull of the intensity her character needs well.

I would say the highlight of the film for me was the ascension scene at the end, as there is a real tension there, you can feel that sense of dread and threat and really do fear that the characters will meet an untimely end through the bends.

Overall, an interesting film that does a lot with themes of isolation and abandonment but one that is perhaps too dark at times and that will put a lot of people off.

3/5

Pros.

Both of the leads

The ending

The themes

Cons.

It is not for everyone

It is at times too depressing

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