My Big Fat Greek Wedding Three: Once More Into Greece

Summary

For a series of contrived reasons we need another trip to Greece.

Again this is one of the most unnecessary sequels I have seen in a long time, who thought this was needed and so long after the fact as well. There is a part of me that believes this film was only made as a way to justify a holiday to Greece by one of the studio executives.

Again a lot of the charm from the first film and partially the second was lost here, yes there were still moments of what made the first one so easy to warm to but by and large it was just gone, hollow and empty.

Also whoever thought that the way to sell this third film no one wanted was by making it super topical and timely was again way off the mark. Whilst I agree with a lot of the things the film is saying about society and the European migrant crisis, I think that it is tonally inconsistent with the rest of the relatively lighter fare and isn’t mixed in in a way to makes it feel anything other than forced. Also I get that films are filmed usually a year or two before release but because of this some of the points they were trying to make about the migrant crisis feel a little outdated, again good sentiment but terrible implementation.

Overall, an incredibly unnecessary sequel.

2/5

Pros.

There is some fun

The vistas look nice

Cons.

There is no need for this film

The timely messages are several years out of date

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Barbie: Ken Meets the Manosphere

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, comes to the real world and learns about the manosphere.

I was excited for this film for months before it came out and I have to say it delivered in every way I could ever have wanted it to. This is probably my film of the summer if not film of the year.

I think this film did everything right it was funny but also soulful, it was very timely and relevant but also not overly preachy, though plenty will disagree with that, it had the idea of Barbie be silly but also mean something in terms of the world of the film. In terms of tonal balance this film was sublime.

I thought the trip to the real world was inspired, and I thought seeing Barbie have to deal with becoming in a sense defective and seeking out a journey of self-exploration was a very relatable concept for a lot of people. I liked the sheer horror that Barbie had when she came to the real world and saw how women are treated and had her naivety shattered, the manosphere stuff with Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, was perhaps the film at its most grating but even then it saved it with good jokes and commentary. I do believe that the Andew Tate esque manosphere stuff will age the film horribly in years to come, but I can excuse it as it worked really well to give the film a villain that felt earned rather than doing oh the evil toy company is now going to invade Barbie land and enslave them or some contrived thing like that.

Overall, I genuinely think this was a treat of cinema this year.

5/5

Pros.

It is funny

It is timely

It is surprisingly deep

Robbie is fantastic

It is well paced

Cons.

None

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The Blackening: The Racist History Of The Board Games Industry

Written by Luke Barnes

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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