The Blackening: The Racist History Of The Board Games Industry

Summary

A group of friends come across a racist board game when they meet at a cabin for a friends reunited weekend.

I was looking forward to this film and after having seen it I can say that it was fine…. Well perhaps a little better than that as far as horror comedies go, which as you know I have very mixed feelings on, it was serviceable but it was certainly nothing to write home about.

The cast do work well together and have a number of good moments, but I found there was far too much backstory and interpersonal drama and that distracted away from the main story. I wanted to hear more about this game and see other people it had hurt not learn about two of the characters’ strained relationship.

The comedy had its moments, but these are far too few and far between to be considered a strong point of the film. The horror does play on a number of interesting themes and does a lot to address the tiresome tropes surrounding black characters within horror cinema, this is probably the film’s greatest strength. I would, however, say that the game itself, central to the film’s horror, is underdeveloped and could do with more to bulk out the idea.

Overall, mildly entertaining but soon to be forgotten.

3/5

Pros.

It has a few funny moments

It does a lot to buck tropes and stereotypes

It has a good pace

Cons.

Quite a number of misses from the joke department

Again the central horror idea is very underdeveloped

If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next, bespoke film recommendation to fit you as a person and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Joy Ride: A Tattoo You Won’t Soon Forget

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends set out on a Chinese road trip to discover one of their member’s lost history only to later find out she is South Korean.

I think this film is carried by Ashley Park, I think my main takeaway at the end of the film is that she is an incredible actor and will go on to do big things. She is both the heart of the film as well as being the funniest member of the cast, I know this has been very gushing but I think that without her this film would easily fall apart.

The humour of the film is a mixed bag, it both at times works and can be funny but at other times feels crude and just like things done for shock value. Again it is worth noting that male centric comedy films such as the Hangover, which this shares more than a little DNA with, do the same thing, however, in both cases I find it unfunny as it feels like the films cannot actually think of a good joke set up so just throw something random or shocking in to try and compensate, again this makes it feel forced.

I think that the surprisingly soulful turn the film takes in the third act bringing in Daniel Dae Kim as a father figure for the lead is really well done and helps to balance some of the more crude and tasteless aspects of the humour and gives the film a wider nuance.

Overall, a sweet film brought up by Ashley Park and let down by its comedy at times.

3/5

Park

The surprisingly soulful third act

Some of the jokes work really well

Cons.

The jokes can feel a little forced at times, they are not all hits by any means

The supporting cast outside of Park feel annoying

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Asteroid City: Are We Alone In The Universe

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of people end up trapped out in the dessert where they are visited by an alien being.

As many of you know I am a big Wes Anderson fan, and as such there are things in this film that I can overlook especially as after The French Dispatch Anderson’s last and probably worst film I was in dire need of a good Anderson film again.

For the most part I thought the cast worked well and Anderson’s trademark quirk and charm was there in abundance for all to see. There are a number of good moments peppered in throughout the film, some cheer worthy even, and Jason Schwartzman anchored the film perfectly.

However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this film feels very messy at times and I think Anderson tried to do too much, especially with the play inside of the film aspects of it, again this crossed back into stuff he was doing in The French Dispatch that didn’t work there or here. The film as a whole would have been better if Anderson had just tried to tell a linear story rather than trying to go for a more meta textual approach.

Overall, better in many ways than The French Dispatch but there is still some modern Anderson issues here, it is understandable for a filmmaker to want to try and shake things up, but these new changes can’t help but make you miss Anderson’s older films.

3.5/5

Pros.

An interesting narrative

Back to form

Anderson’s charming quirks

Solid performances across the board

Cons.

It comes across as a little smug at times

Pacing issues

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iFaked It

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

One of Carly’s old enemies begins a deep fake campaign against her.

I thought this was a good episode but not as good as some of the other episodes this season. The Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, A plot had a few funny moments and it was nice to see some old characters return to the show again, but it couldn’t help shake the fact that it felt like a filler episode after the multi episode run of the Carly/ Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, relationship arc. I suppose more of these one off episodes are what I should expect from the show.

The b plot with Harper, played by Laci Mosley, wasn’t as entertaining as last week’s. I found it to be very traditional sitcom, which I am not saying as a compliment, with Harper’s girlfriend’s best friend seeking out to destroy her. It felt very forced at times and the conclusion of the episode felt pre-determined, we all knew how it was going to end.

Overall, a good episode but not of the recent quality the show has been putting out.

Pros.

Miranda Cosgrove has a few funny lines here

The premise is interesting

It is watchable

There is fun to be had

Cons.

It feels a bit outdated

The b plot feels very sitcomy

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iMake It Offical

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, and Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, finally make it official online.

So I do like Carly and Freddie as a couple, but I’ve got to say this episode wasn’t a good showing for Freddie. Rather than care what his partner wanted or was comfortable with at that time he had to make everyone aware online that they were dating, this makes Freddie looks small and super insecure. In a sense I guess you could write it off as relationship hijinks within the sitcom like structure of the show, but I hope going forward they write Freddie as a better boyfriend.

Meanwhile the b plot has Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, Harper, played by Laci Mosley, and Millicent, played by Jaidyn Triplett, face off against an evil animatronic. I thought whilst mostly a time filler, the b plot had some funny lines and at times gave me a bit of a Five Nights At Freddie’s Vibe.

Overall, a good episode but not one of the best of the season.

3.5/5

Pros.

A few funny lines in the b plot

The ending

It is nice to see Carly and Freddie as a couple

The evil animatronic

Cons.

It makes Freddie into an insecure and inconsiderate boyfriend

It struggles to rise above just fine

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Human Resources: Season Two Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The hormone monsters are back in the office.

So I wasn’t a big fan of the first season of this show as I thought it was confused and overly busy. However, I am a fan of Big Mouth, as many of you will know, as such I wanted to like this show and I can say that I did enjoy this second season far more.

This is mainly because the show really crafts a key group of monster characters and sticks to them, it is not like the first season wherein we were constantly being barraged by new characters in every scene. Moreover, by focusing on a smaller group of characters it allowed for each to get some meaningful development over the season. The quality of this development is somewhat questionable as whilst each character does get progressed this season it at times feels like they are just running through names trying to give each character a scene to show where they are at now and then move on.

Building upon the issue of hollow character development, this season also tries to give a different character focus per episode which in an off itself isn’t a bad idea. However, the issue that then comes with this is that you might care about Rochelle or Maury and Connie and as such want to see their storylines get developed rather than being thrown into another character’s world, who you may not care about, for an entire episode. It slows things down a lot and causes you to stop paying attention in these other storylines.

Overall, the characters shine a lot more this season and it does right a lot of the wrongs of the first, however, the uneven character work and segmented approach to who the series is following on an episode by episode basis mean the series isn’t perfect.

4/5

Pros.

It is funny

The characters are better and more developed

It stops forcing in new characters

It rights a lot of the wrongs of the first season

Cons.

The character work is uneven and the segmented episode approach focusing on different characters takes you out of it at times.

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iMake New Memories

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After an accident fries her hard drive Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, and Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, try to retake old lost photos.

I thought this was a sweet episode and one that paid quite a bit of lip service to the series lore, which again I appreciate. I like how this episode really focused on the bond between Carly and Freddie since the early years of the show and thought that the climax of them becoming a couple felt both earned and needed. This episode hits hard on the romance front so much so that Carly and Freddie really do feel like a believable couple by the end.

However, the episode is let down by a poor and unfunny b plot involving Marissa, played by Mary Scheer, wearing a horrible wedding dress. The joke is that all the other characters think it is awful but that she can’t see it for whatever reason, that on its own isn’t very funny but then when it is repeated over and over throughout the duration of the b plot it becomes a whole lot more irritating.

Overall, a sweet episode that does Carly and Freddie’s love story justice.

4/5

Pros.

Freddie and Carly’s love story

They finally get them together

The respect this episode has for the show’s lore

The sweet ending

Cons.

The b plot is just the repetition of a dumb, unfunny joke.

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iLove Your Shoes

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, tries to contend with her feelings for Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, as he is in a relationship and she doesn’t want to ruin that.

This episode felt to me like a further attempt to drag out the will they won’t they nature of the Carly Freddie relationship. As you might have recalled from my last iCarly review, I suggested against the series doing this as it becomes irritating after a while as you know the show is going to go there it is just a matter of when.

That said I did think this episode had some good comedy with Carly trying online dating and then the person she matches with just does not get her at all, this mismatch leads to a few funny lines which lift up a fairly skippable episode otherwise.

The b plot of the episode focuses on Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, trying to give up all his money after being labelled as out of touch, this predictably goes badly. I didn’t care for this side story as I found it made Spencer a lot less likeable, seeing him try to guess what it is like to be ‘the common man’ felt reductive and almost mean spirited.

Overall, just above serviceable but still a step back from the first episode of the new season.

3/5

Pros.

It is watchable

A few good laughs

Cosgrove

Cons.

The will they won’t they is being dragged out for too long

Spencer comes across as a jerk here

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Fool’s Paradise: Mocking The Disabled And Using Sexual Assault As A Punchline

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Charlie Day plays a modern day version of a Charlie Chaplin character

There was a lot wrong with this film. In many ways it felt like the sort of film that Adam Sandler would put out say a decade ago, crude, stupid and very mean spirited. There is perhaps an assumption on Day’s part that because he is playing the character that is the butt of the joke and he is the one that put the film together then it makes it okay and less mean spirited, but I disagree.

The plot wants you to be entertained by, and find funny, the mistakes and misunderstandings of someone who clearly has learning difficulties, the film even clearly states that this man has the mind of a child. So right off the bat this film feels like it is mocking the disabled, but it gets worse, there are a number of scenes where this character is sexually assaulted and it is played for laughs. At no point across the film does this character show any knowledge of what sex is let alone a form of consent, yet these female characters force him into performing and that is supposed to be funny. It is seriously messed up and damaging.

It is a shame the film ends up in such a puerile place as it does have some good celebrity cameos, said cameos often steal the show and are funnier than anything else happening on screen. In terms of pacing a lot of these cameos are clustered together rather than being peppered in throughout the film which leads to them going a bit underappreciated as you don’t really have time to notice them all.

Overall, a horrible film that belongs in the bin of history.

1.5/5

Pros.

The cameos

A few funny jokes

Cons.

It makes fun of someone who clearly has disabilities

It features frequent sexual assaults and frame them as funny jokes

It is toxic

The cameos are not spread out well within the film

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Book Club The Next Chapter: The Sequel No One Needed

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of old friends head to Italy for a bachelorette party.

I was in two minds about watching this film at all, the first was fairly abysmal and was nothing other than a cynical ploy to cash in on the Fifty Shades fad that was popular when the film was greenlit. However, I must say that this film faired better than the first and was watchable and even charming at times, now there were some pretty big issues with the film don’t get me wrong but it was at least more passable than the first film.

In a sense I applaud this film for trying to be a sex comedy film at times with older women. Within the landscape and our broader culture old women are far too often seen as sexless and grandmotherly ceasing to have needs of their own, so it was nice that this film tried to address that. Although it must be said that it does so with the grace of a wrecking ball, and rather than have a mature conversation about the sexuality of older women the film instead just crams as many groan inducing, in a bad way, sex jokes as it can into its runtime. It just feels a little juvenile, though it must be said it is handled with more class than something that Al Pacino or Robert De Niro would do wherein they would be doing gross physical comedy as well.

Something that hit me early on with the film and that opened things on a sour note was how much this film is a covid film. By that I mean that this film within the first few minutes must have mentioned covid at least twenty times, and again I feel like this is done as when the film was being made the pandemic was a big news item, however, now upon release it just serves to date the film.

Both of those issues exist alongside the various technical issues that plague this film such as convenient writing, a generic plot, pacing issues and over sentimentality, but you would expect those sort of issues with a film of this nature so I won’t spend time addressing each in turn, just trust me they are there.

Overall, hopefully this is a closed book now.

2/5

Pros

It is watchable

It opens a much needed conversation on the taboo of older female sexuality within media

Cons

It turns an important conversation into a series of sex jokes that are never funny

It is generic, dull and at times the pacing is trying

The reminder of the pandemic

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer