Reality: The US’s Further Edging Towards Fascism

Summary

The story of Reality Winner, here played by Sydney Sweeny, and her arrest.

This film made me angry. It so perfectly points out and captures the American hypocrisy with their love affair with free speech only ever extending out to what they agree with. I think the film wants you to be angry at what happened to Reality, who at the end of the day was leaking information that was in the public good, not selling nuclear secrets to the North Koreans.

It is a thoroughly uncomfortable watch from start to finish as the film ramps up the tension and the claustrophobic nature of the raid. You like Reality within the film feel the walls closing in and increasing escalation.

Sweeny is terrific here and really gives a layered and nuanced performance, I think there is something so heart breaking about the fact that her life is over essentially and she just wants to make sure her animals are okay. Perhaps it is because I am not American and am fairly detached from their news cycle, but this film made me feel bad for Winner in real life and think that the US government want to bully their own citizens into maintaining this image of them being infallible when that just isn’t true.

Overall, this is a great anti-US protest peace illustrating the US’s increasing slip into being an authoritarian fundamentalist nightmare.

4/5

Pros.

Sweeny

The tension

The emotion

The core of the story and the message it has

Cons.

It is unpleasant to watch at times

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Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant: Can You Put A Price On Heroism?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After a botched mission an Afghan interpreter, played by Dar Salim, must bring his commanding officer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, back to base and save his life. Some time later it is the mission of the commanding officer to save the interpreter and get him out of the country.

I think this was a beautiful film in many ways, and reminded me of the good of humanity and how there are some real heroes out there, and by heroes I mean people who will go the extra mile no matter the cost to do what is right. I like that this film breaks from a lot of Ritchie’s recent output and tries for a more serious tone, the mature feel of this film is needed.

Moreover, I thought the bond of brotherhood between Salim and Gyllenhaal’s characters was palpable to see across the film and in many ways was the beating heart of it. Both Salim and Gyllenhaal bring strong performances to the film that highlight the cost of freedom and the extents people will go to in order to help their friends.

In my opinion the best thing about this film was how well it deals with tension. By this I mean the sequences involving dragging the commanding officer back to base wherein it seems like any minute the Taliban fighters will catch them. During these sequences things feel incredibly tense and you are biting your nails with anxiety to see if they will make it out alive. It really gets the blood pumping.

Overall, a powerful and weighty film from Ritchie.

4/5

Pros.

The bond

The performances

The message of never giving up on the people that help you when you need it

The tension

Cons.

Some slight pacing issues

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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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The Boston Strangler: Boston Has Never Looked So Washed Out And Grey

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The story of the Boston Strangler is rebirthed yet again to fit within the modern fad of true crime.

This film is serviceable, that is probably as much of a pro as I am going to give it. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with it, but if you view this alongside films like From Hell or Fincher’s Zodiac then you will see where it falls down.

Keira Knightley does all she can to save this film and her American accent is a thing to behold all its own, but it simply isn’t enough. The film takes what could be quite an interesting true crime story and drags it out and pads it until it is boring and you have long since stopped caring.

The film tries to address the sexism of the period, which we would all just assume is rampant anyway, but again doesn’t go anywhere with it beyond the standard, it was bad back then narrative. Although you can understand why the film does it, the more time it takes out to show us the homelife of Knightley’s character the more you tune out as people are hear for the grizzly crimes and the murder investigation not to learn more about Knightley’s characters strained relationship with her mother.

Overall, a crime thriller without any real bite. Bland at best.

2.5/5

Pros.

Knightley is trying her best

It has some good chills

When it is showing the actual investigation it is interesting

Cons.

Too much filler and padding

Brutal pacing issues

A wasted supporting cast

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I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Hollow And Soulless

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A musical biopic of the life of Whitney Huston, played by Naomi Ackie.

There isn’t much wrong with this film but nor is there anything right with it, once you put the fantastic body of work of Huston to the side there really is nothing left underneath. In many ways this film milks the songs of Huston as much as they can because they are aware that without them they have an incredibly boring biopic that feels just the same as all the other recent musical biopics. Everything happens as if on a checklist and obvious this film tries to stick to real events, I would assume, but it is the same narrative we have seen time and again, the rise to fame followed by the drugs phase leading into a downfall and then attempted comeback ending on an optimistic note. It is just so play by numbers.

Ackie was fine as Huston, her performance wasn’t anything particularly special and I do feel like many other actors could have played the role with more vigour and have fallen into the person more, at no points whilst watching did I think she was Huston just someone playing here and sometimes not particularly well.

My final gripe with the film which I promise will be quick as it is my usual is, why the hell is this film on for over two hours? I know why because they stretch out the musical numbers for every drop they can get out of them, but I guess my real question is when did it become the norm for films to be on for this long? It feels like everything that comes out these days is passing the two hour mark whether deserved or not and that is becoming a real problem for me.

Overall, a deeply forgettable biopic.

2/5

Pros.

The Songs

It is watchable

Cons.

It is incredibly familiar

The acting is so so

It is on for far too long

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Dahmer-Monster, The Jeffery Dahmer Story: Netflix Should Be Ashamed And The Victims Families Should Sue

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A dramatic retelling of the life and crimes of Jeffery Dahmer, played by Evan Peters.

I think this series would have been a lot better if Ryan Murphy hadn’t been involved in it. Murphy brings his trademark soft core porn feel to this series and we have a lot of scenes of Jeff touching himself or of him and his victims, sometimes during and sometimes after death. To say this show fetishizes the crimes committed by Dahmer for cheap thrills would be an understatement. There was no need for half of the intimate scenes we got, in the context of the show and considering as well that Dahmer’s victims families are in some cases still alive it felt to be the height of bad taste.

I think Evan Peters fit well in the role, he brought the right level of detachment and coldness to it. However, in many other ways his performance was quite limited and felt very reminiscent of Peters’ performances elsewhere. I think very much like Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson and Michael Cain Peters is a one note actor.

Overall, a good and at times very compelling series, however, after watching it you will feel like you need a shower and be angry at Netflix for sexualising a series of brutal murders.

Pros.

It is compelling

Peters

It is watchable

Cons.

It fetishizes events

Peters hits his limits

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The Greatest Beer Run Ever: Friends Are Worth Risking It All For

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The true story of John ‘Chickie’ Donohue’s, here played by Zac Efron, efforts to support his friends fighting in Vietnam.

This film really wasn’t what I was expecting it to be, I thought based on the name and comedy work that Efron has put out that this film would be raunchy, dumb and more than a little gross out, but in actual fact it is actually quite emotionally engaging and complex. Whilst it is hard to call this film a comedy as it isn’t funny, it is a film with a surprisingly big heart.

I thought Efron was on great form here, this film gave him a number of ample opportunities to flex his dramatic muscles and he pulls this off nicely, conveying the horrors going on around him and the anguish he feels for all to see. In that vein I think this film really does show us the undercurrent of the Vietnam war and doesn’t hold back in its brutality.

Russell Crowe and Bill Murray make supporting turns here to varying degrees of success. Crowe is a very welcome presence and plays off of Efron well when on screen together whereas Murray is seemingly pigeonholed into the old timer who thinks things should go back to how they were in his day. Though it is always nice to see Murray pop up on screen, here he is very much not utilised.

Overall, a surprisingly sweet film.

Pros.

Efron

The message

Showing the horrors of the war

Crowe

Cons.

It wastes Bill Murray

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Jerry And Marge Go Large: Bryan Cranston Is The Ultimate Dad

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After retiring from this job Jerry Selbee, played by Bryan Cranston, and his wife Marge, played by Annette Bening, decide to take advantage of a mathematical flaw in their local lottery and win money to help the town to stay afloat.

This film is deeply forgettable. Clearly this film wants to be the feel good film to cheer us all up in these dark times, and that is admirable, however really it is just incredibly generic. I think the acting weight of Cranston and Bening really do help to pull it up, without them giving deeply earnest performances I would have scored this film lower, much lower.

I understand it is based on a true story so there is only so much they can do with creative license, but this film feels like about a hundred other all American films, where the nice humble small town Americans get rewarded. In many ways without even watching this film you can accurately predict where the plot is going and how things will end up.

Moreover, I have looked into the true story this film is based on and can’t see any mention to the entitled college kids who become the villains to these simple down to earth folks. The whole narrative is so cliched and laughably bad, I don’t know why the film needed to include it in the first place.

Overall, fine. Cranston and Bening do a hell of a lot of good work, without them this film would just be forgettable schlock.

Pros.

Bening

Cranston

It is watchable

Cons.

The evil college kids

It is incredibly cliched and generic

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The Silverton Siege: What The Mummy Gets Up To On His Off Days

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Loosely based on real world events, this film sees 3 young South African self-described freedom fighters hold a bank hostage whilst demanding the release of Nelson Mandela.

I thought for the most part this film was quite strong. It had good stakes and never let the tension slow down, by not having any respites or lulls in side stories or God forbid comedic relief this film allowed itself to be constantly engaging and intriguing.

Moreover, I thought the performances across the board were strong, I would not say there was a single weak performer. Thabo Rametsi was a compelling lead who really sold the struggle and inner turmoil of the character he was playing. Arnold Vosloo was also magnificent in his role and really brought something to the film.

I thought the social commentary of the film worked for the most part, however, in some areas it was laid on pretty heavily and as such felt a little clumsy. It certainly raised awareness and made me think a lot more about that time and place in world history, but I do think the writing could have been a bit stronger in this regard.

Overall, an above average Netflix film but certainly not something that will set the world on fire.

Pros.

Rametsi

Vosloo

The tension

Cons.

The social commentary is a bit too in your face and obvious

Pacing issues

The Phantom Of The Open: Aim For The Bunker, Then Hit The Green.

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The true story of the worst golfer of all-time.

This was an unexpected treat, made doubly so by the fact that this film was directed by Craig Roberts one of the most underrated talents working today, until watching this I was not even aware that Roberts had moved into directing but I can now say it suits him.

This film was the perfect balance of trippy abstractness and British working class values, never fully leaning to one or the other and though that might sound strange or even paradoxical it works well. Moreover, the film is incredibly uplifting and feel good which after the couple of years we have all just had gives it an extra point from me, there were multiple times whilst viewing that I had a smile on my face.

Mark Rylance is outstanding in the lead and really sells both the character and his journey, as such I think it would be nigh on impossible to watch this film and not be rooting for Flitcroft as he is incredibly affable.

Overall, one of the best films of the year so far, certainly check it out.

Pros.

The abstract scenes

Rylance

The feel good aspects

The ending

Cons.

A few slight structural issues

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