Andor: Narkina 5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Andor, played by Diego Luna, goes to prison.

I think this was probably the worst episode of the season so far, mainly this was because nothing really happened. At least in last week’s episode, which I also didn’t hugely like, they set up fun stuff for down the line in this episode we get precious little. On the one hand we get Andor serving his prison sentence, which other than meeting Andy Serkis’s character who does have a few good moments, is fairly dull we know it is just a matter of time until he breaks out, but it doesn’t happen in this episode. On the other hand we have yet another dinner party scene with Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O’Reilly, which is just more of the same that we have seen before.

We do get some interesting scenes even if they are far between such as the Empire cracking down on Cassian’s friends, which the episode ends on, as well as Vel, played by Faye Marsay, returning on the hunt for Cassian. Plus added Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whittaker.

Overall, a fairly boring episode with a few brief moments of excitement here and there.

Pros.

The Empire finally coming after Cassian

The return of Vel

Saw Gerrera is back

Cons.

Cassian’s storyline is boring

So is Mon Mothma’s

It feels like killing time

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Andor: Announcement

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian, played by Diego Luna, faces some of the consequences for his actions and things are set up for later in the season.

Certainly this won’t be anyone’s favourite episode, very little of interest happens here it is mostly just a lot of set up for later on, that is not to say that set up isn’t interesting or without promise, but there is only so much excitement you can have for teasing things to come.

I think Luna gives a great performance when he is talking to his character’s adoptive mother, played by Fiona Shaw, it is so raw and full of emotion that for a moment you forget that you are watching a TV show and question whether or not these are real people. I do think that Luna has been such a boon not just for this show but for Star Wars more broadly as he is capable of giving such excellent performances.

Where this episode falls down for me is with the ending. For plot reasons Cassian is accused of a crime he had nothing to do with and sent off to prison. Basically that sums up the whole scene for you there is nothing more to it then that he is just sent off to prison for no reason other than the show needed to do something with him next week as he seemed a bit at an end after the events of last week. It reeks of lazy writing and plot convenience to me.

Overall, a fine episode but one that is very much filler.

Pros.

Luna

Exciting things to come

It is watchable

Cons.

There is only so much excitement you can have for set up, defiantly a filler episode

The ending is stupid and clearly just done for plot reasons.

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Andor: The Eye

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian, played by Diego Luna, and co finally rob the Imperial base.

I thought this was a strong episode, I liked that we got to see the native people who lived on the planet it helped the world to feel more realised.

I think rather predictably we got several deaths here and more than a few loose ends. Nemik’s death was the most obvious and when it happened I thought finally, however, it also packed an emotional punch and feels like it will be important to Cassian’s wider journey. Skeen’s turn to the dark side is again not particularly surprising, however, what is surprising is just how quick Cassian puts him down- pretty dark for a Disney + show. There are several other characters that just seemingly walk off into oblivion for no real reason, to me these are irritating loose ends but hopefully the next few episodes will explore what happened to them.

I do appreciate that this show continues to play with moral ambiguity and go a lot harder than we have seen any other Star Wars property go in a long while. I am curious to see where the show will go from here as nothing particularly has been set up, but I do hope they don’t bring Kyle Soller’s Syril back again as I feel he would be a weak villain for the series on the whole.

Overall, a strong episode but one that also raises the question where do we go from here?

Pros.

The tension

The stakes

Luna

The darkness and moral ambiguity

Cons.

Too many loose ends

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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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Andor: The Axe Forgets

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The crew further plan for the heist.

I would say this episode was good and watchable but was certainly the filler episode before next week’s heist. We get a lot of slow character interaction scenes, which don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed, but for those expecting weekly action this week would have been somewhat of a turn off.

I appreciated the focus this episode had on building out its world and its characters. It was nice to see Cassian, played by Diego Luna, interacting more with the other members of the heist team, I feel like bonds are being established before no doubt a bunch of them die in next week’s episode.

I didn’t much care for the Syril, played by Kyle Soller, subplot about him being dressed down by his overbearing mother, it felt far to obvious and generic in terms of character motivations for him to then renew his search for Cassian. Widely this section of the episode felt like it was stalling for time.

Overall, a good episode but certainly a lot more slow and filler like.

Pros.

Luna

Cassian and his fellow rebels

The ending of the episode

Wider exploration of Mon Mothma as a character

Cons.

Some parts of it feel like filler

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Andor: Aldhani

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Andor, played by Diego Luna, embarks on a heist and the embers of the rebellion begin to form.

I think this was a very good episode and way better than a lot of the other Disney + Star Wars shows we have had so far, however, I would say that it is a step back from what we got last week. This is very much a talking set up episode, which by no means is a bad thing as we will get to, but it does mean that the episode suffers with pacing issues. I think the worst thing about pacing in this episode is where it leaves off on, as the ending of the episode just feels like a random cut to black in the middle of a scene.

I enjoyed the scenes with Stellan Skarsgard’s Luthen, it is nice to see that he is a man of many faces. I have no idea where his story is going but I am excited to find out. Moreover, I thought his scenes with Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O’ Riley, were really strong, and I thought that O’ Riley was really starting to shine in the role.

I also thought the heist planning scene was a lot of fun later in the episode, I liked the fact they built a model diagram and that yet again it seems like Cassian will be doing a suicide mission. I thought the two stand outs of the Cassian scenes were Faye Marsay as Vel and Alex Lawther as Nemick, both instantly created memorable and likeable characters who I want to see more off.

Overall, a slower episode but still one that is a lot of fun.

Pros.

Seeing more of Luthen

O’ Riley’s Mothma

The heist planning scene was a lot of fun

Seems like there is a lot to be excited for later in the season

Cons.

Pacing issues, mainly where they choose to end the episode

Not a lot happens

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Top Gun Maverick: Men And Their Feelings

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, returns to teach the next generation.

That premise sounds generic and lame but actually proves to be quite entertaining. I think by using just the right amount of nostalgia whilst also tying in elements from the first film in an interesting way that felt like it benefited the story and drove things forward rather than just being used for cheap member berry moments.

I think Tom Cruise was good here, though I would not say he was the star of the show as he was upstaged by both Miles Teller, playing the son of Maverick’s old friend Goose, as well as an also returning Val Kilmer. Cruise plays Maverick in much the same way he does all his other action movie characters, see Ethan Hunt or Jack Reacher, so if you like that then you will be entertained, but if you were hoping for something new then you will be disappointed.

Personally, I found this film to be enjoyable and very watchable but I don’t understand why it is so big right now or so critically beloved. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch the first film as a kid or maybe it’s because I often find Tom Cruise starring in a film to be an off-putting factor, however to me this really was a case of the film being good not great.

Overall, a fun movie but by no means a must see.

Pros.

It is a lot of fun

It uses nostalgia sparingly and well

It is well paced

Teller is terrific

Cons.

Cruise is just playing the same old same old

Jennifer Connelly’s character is a big bunch of sexist cliches

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Operation Mincemeat: The Most Shocking Hand Sex Scene In The History Of Cinema

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A daring tale of WW2 espionage is ruined by a ham fisted love triangle that becomes distracting.

Before seeing this film I was excited the event this is based on is fascinating. For those of you who don’t know Operation Mincemeat was a British military plan whereby a corpse was floated ashore in Spain carrying false papers in an effort to convince the Axis powers that the Allies were going to attack Greece instead of Sicily. At the time the plan was deemed incredibly risky and is now viewed as one of the greatest feats of espionage ever. That premise sets this film up to be a good war time thriller, however, the focus is not on the operation itself really at all instead it focuses on the personal lives of the characters.

Colin Firth, Kelly MacDonald and Matthew Macfadyen, the three sides of the love triangle, all give good performances. The performances of those involved is not the problem, what is a problem however is the fact that the love triangle between these three actor’s characters becomes of greater importance to the plot than anything else. I thought it was entirely needless.

Moreover, during the Spain sequence there are these incredibly random sex scenes that just sort of come out of nowhere and feel weird. I don’t know if they are done in reference to real things that happened and were included for authenticities sake, but if they weren’t what are they doing in the film? The hand-job scene in particular had everyone in my showing of the film looking at each other in shock and confusion asking why this was happening?

Overall, though the film was very watchable and had good performances for the most part, the focus is in entirely the wrong place.

Pros.

It is watchable

Strong performances across the board

When they actually talk about the plan it is interesting

Cons.

The love triangle

The sex scenes

It has awful pacing

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Warhunt: Beware Strange Women In The Woods

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of American soldiers are sent deep into the Black Forest during WWII in order to receive a mysterious package, after they arrive they start to realise that there is something supernatural a foot,

This was dumb schlocky fun in the vein of Wolf Soldiers. For the most part the film is benefited by not taking itself too seriously, however when it does shoot for tension or even scares these also land with surprising effectiveness.

I thought the evil witches were interesting villains, the monster design was good and gave them a distinctive other worldly feeling. Moreover, I bought them as a credible threat to these experienced soldiers, which was nice as it turned the tables on standard tropes.

Furthermore, I thought the film addressed the relationship between men and women, in this case witches, during war time well. In many films we see soldiers taking advantage of women in war zones and often the women are powerless against them, here however that is flipped the witches go on the offensive and flip the paradigm as it is now the males soldiers powerless to really stop them. Maybe I red into it too much.

Overall, a fun horror war movie that fans of the genre will enjoy.

Pros.

It is fun

It nails the scares

The witches are threatening and well designed

The ending

Cons.

Pacing issues

Mickey Rourke doesn’t get much screen time

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Hacksaw Ridge: Mel Gibson Should Make Films For PureFlix.

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film follows the life of army combat medic Desmond Doss, Andrew Garfield, as he serves during World War II without ever using a gun.

This was an incredibly uplifting film. Yes the violence and the death of war are grizzly and are on full display here, but underneath that is a story about a young man just doing what he thinks is right and saving lives, even when those same people call him names and abuse him for his beliefs.

I could have done without the constant religious framing of everything in the film, but hey it is a Mel Gibson picture so what do you expect? I understand the real life person this was based on was deeply religious and it is fundamental to the story, that is not what I am complaining about. What I am complaining about is the use of shots, to give an example the final shot of the film before it cuts to credits sees Doss being carried away on a stretcher, the camera is below and zooming out giving the impression that the stretcher is rising into the heavens- a saint ascending. This bothered me for two reasons one, the character doesn’t die and two, it is far too on the nose.

Moreover, the writing in this film is not good at all. The opening scenes, not the ones when they are children but the ones which show Doss’s early courtship before he went overseas, are so painfully cringe that I almost had to skip through them. The line delivery is off by such a huge margin that I can’t place the blame solely at Garfield’s feet clearly something must have been bad in the script or even the direction.

That aside the performances for the most part were great across the board. I enjoyed Vince Vaughn as a drill sergeant and I thought once again Andrew Garfield shone brightly, proving his clear talent with ease.

Overall, a solid and uplifting war film.

Pros.

Garfield

It is inspiring

It doesn’t shy away from showing you the horrors of war

The ending

Cons.

The heavy handed religious metaphors

The dialogue and line delivery during the courtship scenes

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