The Lost King: A Love For The Past

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The story of how one woman with a passion, played by Sally Hawkins, found a lost British King.

I think in many ways this film was very needed, it gave a voice to a story that is mostly unknown to a lot of people and where it is known it is known by the University of Leicester’s false narrative that they were behind the whole thing, which as this film proves they weren’t. In that respect this film gives us Phillipa Langley’s true story and that is important.

Moreover, the film really does go out of its way to make the academics of Leicester Uni into quite hateable villains, and whether in reality this was earned or not personally I don’t know enough to comment, however, here it nicely work to show Phillipa’s underdog struggle.

My main issue with the film is that it is widely depressing. I know that this film is based on real events and that the film is just trying to retell them sad, happy and everything in-between, but for the most part we are shown just how bad Phillipa’s life is and whilst that makes her incredibly easy to root for it also doesn’t make for pleasant viewing. Prepare to watch something happy after this one.

Overall, an important film, but also a depressing one.

Pros.

Giving a voice to the voiceless

A strong underdog story

Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan are both really strong

Cons.

It is depressing

Pacing issues

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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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House Of The Dragon: Driftmark

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Things come to blows at a funeral.

I think this may have been the best episode of House Of The Dragon yet. The tension throughout the episode was palpable, and the coming war is just screaming out at this point. Through out the whole of the episode you feel as though you are on a knife edge just waiting to fall over the other side, but that never comes which in my mind was disappointing.

I liked that Alicent, played by Olivia Cooke, finally made her feelings for Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy known openly and I thought the scene where she tried to stab her was, pardon the overused phrase, edge of seat viewing. However, my issue with this scene was that it felt anticlimactic, as though the show knows what we all want and told us to wait till after dinner. The fact that nothing was done about Alicent trying to kill a princess is shocking, and I for one was screaming at the TV ‘are you really going to let her get away with that’.

In other developments House Of The Dragon much like its forbearer Game Of Thrones is again pushing another incestuous pairing front and centre, but unlike with GOT here you are actually rooting for the couple far more. Matt Smith’s Daemon is great here, as always, and I really enjoyed his sneaky cloak bad scene towards the end of the episode; it is always fun to see him get into mischief.

Overall, I came damn near close to giving this 5, but I felt the ending was just a little anticlimactic.

Pros.

The tension

War is brewing

It is edge of seat viewing

The ending

Dameon and Rhaenyra finally get together

Cons.

It is a little anti-climatic

Halloween Ends: On A Par With The First Film

5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Halloween finally ends

Spoilers

A lot of people have not liked this film, and most of the critical reviews of the film out so far have been deeply negative, I however enjoyed this film a lot. A little context before we get into it, firstly I really disliked Kills and everything it did to the franchise, secondly I went into this film with incredibly low expectations.

Lets get right to the end and start there. I enjoyed that this film killed off Michael Myers, played by James Jude Courtney, I thought the final showdown with Laurie, played by Jamie Lee Curtis was perfect and liked that they threw his body into a crusher just to make sure. In that same category I liked that the film didn’t kill off Laurie as I always thought the idea of both of them having to die for Halloween to end was dumb, I thought it was sweet they let her character be happy.

I also thought thematically this film worked a lot better with the idea of letting evil in and locking it out and protecting yourself being poignant frames for the film. I liked that the narrative of Laurie’s book intensively fed into the plot and direction of the film. Likewise I thought the idea of generational evil with Corey Cunningham, played by Rohan Campbell, being somewhat of the new Michael Myers was a nice twist. I thought unlike other passing the torch narratives this felt a lot more earned and a lot better structured, we see Corey be tortured by the town and finally break and then join forces with Michael even taking the mask from him at one point. However, I also liked that in the end Michael reclaimed his mask.

Lastly, I also really enjoyed how the film played with the idea of Michael being a supernatural entity. The franchise has kind of set Michael up to be almost unkillable, as he is evil itself, however, here we still see that he has regenerative powers seemingly gaining strength from killing but we are also confronted by his age and the fact that he can’t keep going forever. I think these two contrasting elements work really nicely together to give us a whole new side to Michael Myers.

Overall, a fitting end to a beloved horror series.

Pros.

Generations of evil

Killing off Myers

Laurie finally gets closure

The meta narrative of the book feeding into the themes and plot of the film

Giving Alison, played by Andi Matichak, a much bigger role then what she got in Kills

Cons.

None, I thoroughly enjoyed by time with it.

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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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Chucky: Halloween II

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Continuing on from the end of last season Andy, played by Alex Vincent, seemingly perishes destroying the last of the Chucky dolls. However, a few months later the original group of teens from the first season start to find themselves under attack again.

I still do like this show, even if I think this opening episode is quite weak. I think Brad Dourif’s Chucky is still al lot of fun and the show can really master tension when it wants to. I enjoyed the Chucky scenes we got in this episode.

However, my issues with this season premiere is that the writing feels quite contrived. Andy is seemingly killed off even though it is super obvious that he will be coming back, and the kids all find themselves sent to a Catholic boarding school at the end of the episode, can you get anymore cliché. Furthermore, this idea of a school for troubled kids reminded me a lot of the military academy setting for Child’s Play 3 so it seems as though the series is just recycling ideas from the films.

In addition to that I thought this episode really went out of its way to sexualise Alyvia Alyn Lind’s Lexy, which is extra creepy when you realise that the actor is only 15. This is not just a one off incident either as there were scenes in the first season that again put her character in very revealing and sexualised scenes. I understand that the show wants to tackle teenage sexuality, but it could have at least had an older cast playing younger rather than having minors play out sex scenes, it feels very inappropriate.

Overall, the season will need to do a lot more to keep me around, also stop sexualising a 15 year old it’s weird.

Pros.

Dourif’s Chucky

It is watchable

It can still deliver the scares and the tension

Cons.

It is creepy towards a minor

It feels deeply cliched

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Dead Again: The Neo-Noir Really Is Running Out Of Road, Let It Rest

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A private investigator, played by Kenneth Branagh, and a hypnotist, played by Derek Jacobi, help a mute woman, played by Emma Thompson, with Amnesia to regain her memory, sadly it is of a horrible murder.

Honestly I can’t shake the feeling that I have seen this film somewhere before. I haven’t actually seen it you see but the plot is very familiar.

I think widely it is the performances that save this film, at its core you have three very talented actors delivering good performances, which make up for the film’s drawbacks. However, the good acting does not carry between the performers as I found the romance to be very stiff and unnatural feeling.

Branagh really does have a knack for the cinematic, however, I don’t think at this point in his early career he has really worked out pacing as this film has quite a lot of issues on that front. The film often ends up feeling like a slog in which you can’t wait for it to end.

Overall, the performances save it from mediocrity or worse, but the film does have noticeable issues.

Pros.

Thompson

Branagh

Jacobi

Cons.

The romance angle doesn’t work

Pacing issues

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Emily The Criminal: April From Parks And Rec Breaks Bad

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Emily, played by Aubrey Plaza, turns to crime after not getting anywhere in life.

I was very excited for this film before I had seen it, and after watching it I am decidedly more mixed on it. The one thing I can tell you up front is that without Plaza in it the film would have been a lot worse.

I think this film clearly highlights Plaza’s skills as a performer, but more specifically her dark side and dramatic sensibilities. Mainly before this role I have seen Plaza in a lot of dark and or quirky comedies and I think outside of the God awful remake of Child’s Play this was the first time I had seen her tackle something more or less straight with no jokes and I think she nailed it.

My main issue with the film as a whole was that it was a fairly generic breaking bad premise. Person turns to a life of crime, person makes money and doesn’t want to stop, and then they encounter negative consequences and either die or get arrested. For the most part this film was fairly generic only lifted above average by Plaza, however, I did appreciate that the ending didn’t skew the way I was expecting it to with Plaza’s character escaping and for the most part winning.

Overall, the film is been there and done that, but it does have a good ending and it also highlights Plaza’s skills as a performer.

Pros.

The ending

Plaza

It is very watchable

Cons.

It is generic

A lot of the plot is very predictable

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Out Of Office: A Real Work Family

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Eliza, played by Milana Vayntrub, quickly comes to realise that the key to her new job is keeping her boss’s marriage alive, no easy task.

Whilst I didn’t think this film was a laugh out loud hit a minute I did think there was enough charm and heart to make it well worth watching. I mainly watched this film as I am a big fan of Ken Jeong, who plays Vayntrub’s characters boss, and he certainly is the main selling point of the film, he manages to be both quite funny whilst also being vulnerable and emotionally layered. Vayntrub is a capable lead and brings a lot of warmth to the role, you quickly warm to her character and feel some kinship towards her, I would have liked it if the film had taken more time to fully explore her character.

My main criticism of the film would be that it was too breezy. Though the film is very watchable and mostly entertaining you will be hard pressed to note anything that happens in it because nothing really does it is just a series of characters having chats and then that’s it. They try and develop out some character arcs but it most cases these feel underdeveloped it wouldn’t be so bad if it was the start of a TV series or multi movie arc, but as it is it feels shallow at best.

Overall, very watchable but also quite forgettable.

Pros.

It is very watchable

A few good jokes

Jeong and Vayntrub

Cons.

It feels too breezy

More character development is needed

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Dumbbells: Anyone Can Be A Reality Star

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A former basketball star, played by Brian Drolet, now working at a gym has to face change when said gym is turned into the setting for a reality show.

This is an entirely new cut of Dumbbells which is apparently reimagined, I have not seen the first film though, so this was my first time viewing it in any form.

I thought for the most part the comedy worked, Eric Andre is always funny and the rest of the cast do try to give him a run for his money to mixed results. I would say the comedy of this film is more hit than miss, I often found myself laughing which is a good sign.

Though I found the film more broadly as a whole quite easy to relate to, I would say that the lead character is in no way the same. I would argue it was more a scripting issue, but Drolet’s lead never really comes across as someone audiences can warm to or even like, the character feels very vapid and irritating and this hurts his journey as by the end you are just happy that you don’t have to spend anymore time with the character.

Overall, for the most part I enjoyed my time with this film.

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