Confess Fletch: Who Doesn’t Need A Whole Bunch Of Fake Identities

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Retired investigative journalist Fletch, played by Jon Hamm, explores an art world mystery.

I will open this review by saying that I have no fondness for the Chevy Chase Fletch films. They were before my time and upon watching them in a more modern context the humour just didn’t land for me at all. However, I am pleased to say I enjoyed this film much more than the older Chase films.

I thought all of the performances across the board were great most noticeably Lorenza Izzo and Jon Hamm, but all of the characters were very easy to warm to. I thought this film had a lot of old school charm and reminded me of comedy crime films of yore, the sort that someone like Steve Martin would have made. However, unlike those movies a lot of the more toxic and problematic elements of those films were cut out here, much to the betterment of the film.

Moreover, the central mystery is pretty solid I did not guess it which is a sure sign of quality. In addition the humour of the film was more hit than miss for me and quite often made me laugh, I think Hamm in particular has great comedic timing.

Overall, a fun and enjoyable film that won’t set the world on fire.

Pros.

Hamm

Izzo

The humour

The mystery

Cons.

A few pacing issues

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Rick and Morty: Bethic Twinstinct

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Beth, voiced by Sarah Chalke, begins an affair with her clone and the rest of the family try and process it.

I think that for a while now Rick and Morty has become more and more mean spirited and depressing, I know there has always been an element of it in the show, but now it is getting hard to watch. The way non-space Beth treats her husband her is really quite unpleasant and makes the whole thing hard to watch.

I enjoyed the Summer, voiced by Spencer Grammar, and Morty, voiced by Justin Roiland, b plot slightly more. I thought the idea of hyper realistic videogames was cool and I enjoyed how the episode showed them reacting to their mum’s affair. I thought they became great stand-ins for the audience here.

Overall, mostly just a depressing episode.

Pros.

The videogame stuff was interesting

Summer and Morty had some good moments

There were a few funny jokes

Cons.

It feels mean spirited

It is quite uncomfortable viewing

It isn’t enjoyable

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Andor: The First 3 Episodes

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, searches for answers in the early days of the Empire.

This review will be a little different from my standard pattern, rather than review the first batch of episodes individually this will instead review them all together.

I think if you compare the first episodes of this show to Obi-Wan Kenobi or God forbid The Book Of Boba Fett then it is night and day. Where they felt cheap and low rent, with a seeming fear of anything approaching moral ambiguity, this show feels cinematic and asks some hard questions making us reflect on whether Cassian is a hero or not. In truth he is what modern Lucasfilm seems terrified of, an anti-hero.

I heard on a Youtube review on these opening episodes that some people are annoyed that within them there is no mention of the Force or of the Jedi/Sith. However, I for one think that is a great thing, I want to see what the wider Star Wars universe looks like, I am bored of the same old same old and would like to see other aspects of the Rebellion.

I also really appreciated the moody tone of these episodes with their being an almost Peaky Blinders esque feel to it at times. I think that Luna is already doing a terrific job and I can’t wait to see more from him as the series progresses.

Overall, the best thing Lucasfilm has done since The Mandalorian

Pros.

The moral ambiguity

The tone

Luna

The wider Star Wars universe

It feels fresh

Cons.

A bit slow in places

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Leakers And Scoopers: The Battle For Expectation

Written by Luke Barnes

I want to use this piece to talk about leakers and scoopers on the internet, especially when it pertains to big franchise films like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Recently Disney had their latest expo and I went online after the fact to check out what had been announced, whilst there I was met with a sea of disappointed videos from various pundits and scoopers saying how they were disappointed with what Marvel brought to the convention. These people expected full casting for the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and a whole lot more besides, and whilst this piece won’t be saying how bad scoopers are, it will examine their impact on expectations.

Within the modern film coverage landscape whoever has the latest scoop or reveal is king, especially when it comes to video content. This can lead to all sorts of things including people just making stuff up. A lot of the people who cover Marvel claim to have insider sources, but often never have to prove they actually do, and as such say their sources have told them x and people jump at it being true. However, the issue is that the source may not be real, or the source might have bad information, or the film and or project might have been changed since the source saw it meaning what they say is false. As such you can’t trust these insider’s sources.

Now for most people they accept that these leakers and scoopers might get the odd thing right here and there but that they make mistakes just like everyone else and as such don’t take each one of their scoops as gospel. However, there is a loud subset of people who seem to take everything at face value and believe it all, and these are the ones complaining when Marvel doesn’t reveal their X-Men cast 5 years before the actual film is likely to come out. If you think about it, it is not in Disney’s interest to release any of that information any time soon as they need something to keep people tuning in for the various conferences.

Like with other things on the internet people need to practice greater critical thinking. A lot of the time users online are not able to see through fake news or clearly misleading information because they want it to be true, the same thing is happening here and then folks are saying oh Marvel suck now or that their latest showcase was disappointing. Use your brains and think about things from Disney and Marvel’s point of view.

My takeaway point here is that leakers and scoopers are cool but they are rarely completely right on everything and people need to temper their expectations when it comes to things like this otherwise they are in for a bad time.

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Goodnight Mommy: Kids Are Freaky Man

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two young boys, played by Cameron Crovetti and Nicolas Crovetti, begin to suspect that their mother, played by Naomi Watts, isn’t actually there mother. Based on an Austrian film of the same name.

Before watching this I hadn’t seen the Austrian original, I had heard of it but not seen it, as such I went into this not knowing the twist or where it was going. However, a short while into the film I guessed the twist completely correctly and the rest of the film then proceeded exactly as I was expecting it to. My point is that the film is predictable, the twist has been done frequently before and done better at that.

The horror elements work to an extent and there are a few creepy sequences but by and large they are few and far between meaning that you spend more of your time bored than scared. Watts is trying her best but I would say the film really doesn’t give her much to do and that is a crucial missed opportunity.

Overall, generic and done before, but watchable in a pinch.

Pros.

It is watchable

A few good scares

Cons.

It is predictable

The twist has been done better before

It has pacing issues

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House Of The Dragon: We Light The Way

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Rhaenyra, played by Milly Alcock, gets married and battle lines are drawn.

I think this was another great episode of House Of The Dragon. The opening of Daemon, played by Matt Smith, killing his wife was absolutely chilling and reminded us of the monster that he really is. Couple this with the marriage brawl murder later in the episode and we really get quite a lot of violence and mayhem here.

I thought the courtroom intrigue was possibly stronger here then it was last week. I like that the show is very clearly laying down roots, you can see the future planning happening. I think the character work here is also really strong and several characters get a nice amount of development.

If I had one criticism of this episode it would be how much focus they give to Alicent, played by Emily Carey, and her fixation on Rhaenyra’s virginity. I feel like in GOT the character would have used this information to their advantage and not acted shocked for the whole episode, which came across almost as a mixture of naivety and slut shaming. It made Alicent very easily hateable.

Overall, the show is really hitting its stride.

Pros.

The opening Daemon scene

The wedding sequence

The future set up

The ramping tension

Cons.

The way they write Alicent

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The Invitation: If There Is One Thing I Hate About The Aristocracy It’s All The Damn Vampires

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ancestry.com leads to a young woman, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, becoming the love interest for an evil vampire lord, played by Thomas Doherty.

This was barely a horror film, honestly after a point this film just becomes a superhuman action movie. The horror elements are fairly thin on the ground, the early parts of the film seem to be heading in the standard creepy British haunted house fare but then takes a drastic turn that really doesn’t help the film much at all. However, really the issues come in the final third when all the horror trappings are dropped and Emmanuel starts fighting vampires, this really takes out all the scare potential.

Also the final scene forces in a sense of girl power which leaves the film off on an eyeroll which is not what anyone wants. The more filmmakers and writers try and force in hamfisted political commentary into films the more I will criticise it, unless it is done well.

In terms of the vampire sub-genre this film struggles to do anything original, it inserts in its own version of Dracula who never really comes across as any kind of threat.

Honestly, the only thing I liked about it was the fact that it featured the legendary Sean Pertwee, and he is a saving grace but really isn’t given much to do.

Overall, a flawed horror film that makes a series of bad mistakes.

Pros.

Sean Pertwee

Unintentionally funny at times

Cons.

The forced in social commentary

The weak vampire content

It makes a series of bad creative choices

It has pacing issues

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Bodies Bodies Bodies: Hello Fellow Kids

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends gather together to wait out a storm and play some party games, once there things take a turn for the worst and one by one people start getting murdered.

Spoilers Ahead

I thought this film was pretty entertaining, but it was not without its issues. Most obviously, you could tell that this film was written by someone who isn’t Gen Z as though they use some correct vernacular it never really feels authentic and genuine. Moreover, with the expectation of Amandla Stenberg the cast are not members of Gen Z either, these might only be little nit picks I know but as the film has been labelled a Gen Z murder mystery it deserves to be pointed out.

The mystery was well used for the most part, however, it is ruined by the end of the film. Where it turns out that there never was any murderer just a series of accidents and misunderstandings leading to all these deaths then it just feels like a cop out. Honestly I didn’t find the ending funny I found it to be infuriating.

For me the performances were a mixed bag, I thought Maria Bakalova, Lee Pace and Rachel Sennott all gave strong performances whereas Myha’la Herrold’s Jordan felt cliched, Stenberg’s Sophie underdeveloped and Pete Davidson’s David to be totally unlikeable.

Overall, whilst it has some enjoyable moments for the most part this is a decidedly average film.

Pros.

A few funny moments

It is a good mystery until the ending ruins it

Bakalova really shines

Cons.

A lot of the supporting cast are wasted

It feels clearly like someone older trying to write for Gen Z

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When Did Cinema Get So Tame: Quantity Over Quality, A Modern Cinema Issue

Written by Luke Barnes

I write this piece as I look ahead to what is coming out over the next few months and think to myself that there are precious few films that look good on the horizon. When did cinema become so average? Or am I just jaded?

So the idea that there was ever a great period in cinema history where nothing but fantastic films were coming out is a fallacy, a romantic idea that never held any weight. Even in great years for cinema where we would get several films that would later be called classic there would be a titdlewave of garbage as well. However, these days it seems that the ratios are becoming ever more extreme we are getting fewer and fewer modern classics and more and more trash, and the question I am asking today is why is that.

Some say that audiences are dumber and like less the idea of being challenged at the cinema, therefore studios have pushed filmmakers to make easier films, obviously there are still changeling films coming out but these are rarely in the multiplexes. Another argument is that Hollywood has become obsessed with brands and doesn’t want to take a chance on original ideas anymore, this has more than a grain of truth to it, with studios cranking out sequels, prequels and reboots all the time. Within this school of thought there is the idea that if the audience comes out for a certain IP then it doesn’t matter if the film is good, maybe this is why there is so little quality these days. There certainly is a safety in a perceived sure thing.

A final idea to ponder is that making good films is no longer the aim for some studios and filmmakers. Through this idea the notion of making a good film that is held up on its technical merits is less important than completing another objective such as getting across an idea, political point, or an element of social commentary. Certainly a good film can include these ideas they aren’t mutually exclusive, however, if pursued ham-fistedly enough they can take over the film and make it bad. All things in moderation.

I suppose there is no clear cut answer for why there is so few truly excellent films out these days and more trash by the week, perhaps it is a little of all of the above, but one thing is for sure if cinema continues in this odious manner it will destroy itself before our very eyes.

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