Night Teeth: Driving Miss Bloodsucker

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Benny, played by Jorge Lendeborg Jr, finds himself in the middle of a vampire turf war after he covers his brother’s, played by Raul Castillo, shift as a driver.

I enjoyed this film and thought that it had enough uniqueness to it that it stands out within the vampire sub-genre. It is very stylised and this again helps to give it flair with an almost comic book esque aesthetic, the action again reflects this with a lot of the big fight scenes feeling straight from the page.

Lendeborg Jr is a fine leading man, but he is greatly outdone by Debbie Ryan as Blair, one of the two vampires being driven around. Lendeborg Jr and Ryan have an undeniable amount of chemistry together on screen and their romance is very believable. Moreover, Ryan’s character is also the most complex with her being this killing machine but also longing for more, with the idea that she has been forced or conditioned into this life never too far from the viewers mind.

The two areas where I felt the film was lacking was its villain and its originality. In terms of villain we have Alfie Allen as victor the big bad vampire boss who is making a play for the whole city, now the issue with Allen’s character is that we really aren’t shown him doing very much yet we are expected to believe he is a threat. This becomes a big issue when you get to the final part of the film where he is supposedly super powerful and unbeatable yet we hadn’t got a whiff of that before as it is not well set up. Moreover, in terms of originality, though I said the film is fairly unique it is also quite reliant on past tropes which serve as a disservice to it.

Overall, a strong vampire film that benefits from casting Debby Ryan.

Pros.

Ryan

The romance

Some interesting new ideas

Cons.

A little too reliant on tropes

Alife Allen is wasted

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Only Murders In The Building: Series Overview

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Three residents in an apartment building, played by Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez, start a true crime podcast in the hopes of solving a murder in their building

This will act as a review of the series as a whole rather than as a review of a single episode.

For the most part I thought this series was delightful, the characters were warm and likeable, the series really managed to nail the emotional side of their personalities as well helping them to feel like well-rounded characters.

Moreover, the central whodunit mystery is explored well and kept interesting. The answer to who the killer is is unexpected and sets up further questions for the second season to explore. My only issue in this regard is that there are a few too many red herrings and storylines that lead to nowhere during the investigation that start to feel increasingly like the writers trying to fill time, as such the narrative could have feel done with being cut down and maybe even being one or two episodes less.

I think Steve Martin and Martin Short are on good form here as you would expect them to be, it is nice to see Martin in something again as it has been a while and he and Short have terrific on screen chemistry together. Though both men are outdone by Gomez. Selena Gomez is underused if anything in the series but when she does get screentime she often steals the show, there is so much going on underneath with her character and we as an audience get the feeling the show hasn’t even really scratched the surface, she is easily the breakout star of the series.

Overall, a fun murder mystery series that if anything is too ambitious and as such suffers in a few places.

Pros.

The mystery

The characters

The ending

The return of Steve Martin

Cons.

A few too many subplots

A lot of needless characters

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The French Dispatch: Too Much Wes Anderson?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A series of stories making up the final issue of a well respected fictional news publication.

I have been a fan of Wes Anderson for some time, and for the most part I enjoy his style and his noticeable eccentricities, however, here I find he has gone too far into himself. This film embraces Anderson’s filmmaking philosophy to the Nth degree, serving as a series of barely connected skits with constant movement and a loose connective whole, this is not a good thing as it makes the whole piece very hard to follow.

Each tale and indeed each scene within seemed to jump from one thing to another with such speed as to make it impossible to know what was going on.

Worse yet, of the four pieces the only one that is enjoyable, the first featuring Owen Wilson, is incredibly short and then that’s it we don’t see Wilson again until the end of the film. The other three features suffer from the opposite problem, which is to say they drag on, and on- to the point of boredom.

That is not to say this film is bad there are moments of enjoyment to be found whether that is a chuckle, or a delightfully off beat Anderson character. The best amongst these is Timothee Chalamet’s Zeffirelli. Other than in The King Chalamet has never impressed me in the way he has other people and I have long viewed him as overrated. This film counters that as Chalamet fits in perfectly and easily captures the essence of a Wes Anderson character easily becoming the best character in the whole film, as such I am hoping that Chalamet becomes Anderson’s new muse and the two keep making films together for a long time.

Overall, though there are good elements to the film, it suffers from terrible pacing and a feeling of indulgence on the directors part, it could be said this film is too Wes Anderson for most Wes Anderson fans,

Pros.

Chalamet

A few funny moments

Owen Wilson’s segment

Cons.

Three of the four segments are only okay

The pace is awful

The lack of a coherent larger narrative

Most of the actors are wasted

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Copshop: Balloons Make A Great Shield To Mask Your Identity

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A fixer, Frank Grillo, and a hitman, Gerard Butler, find themselves locked together in a police station, with a rookie police officer, Alexis Louder, trying to figure out what is going on and why everyone wants the fixer dead.

Very much like with Joe Carnahan’s other work this film is very stylised, moreover it benefits from being this way: having a very distinctive visual pleat that draws on grindhouse and exploitation elements whilst keeping things fresh.

Surprisingly following Carnahan’s Boss Level, I find Frank Grillo not in best shape here. I understand the script wants us to view Grillo’s character as an unfeeling cold escape artist, but the film does not do enough to set that up, rather it just makes leaps in character development that just assume the audience is already viewing the character that way, which they most likely aren’t.

It is because of this that Butler really becomes the star of the show and manages to outperform Grillo seizing the lime light and the potential sequel. The only threat to Butler in this regard is Toby Huss, as the secondary hitman sent in to clean up Butler’s characters mistakes. Huss steals the show and has sone of the most memorable lines of dialogue I have heard in a long time, I know the film kills him off but if they do do a sequel he needs to come back in some way. Maybe a twin brother.

The crime thriller elements were engaging if a little generic at times, however they were elevated by the quirky personality of the film and some of the more out there comedic moments that strangely not only land but work.

Overall, the style and the humour elevate what could otherwise be a by the numbers thriller.

Pros.

Huss

Butler

The personality

Cons.

A generic plot

A few issues with character development

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I’m Your Man: A Human Robot Love Affair Is The Next Stage Of Human Evolution

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Scientist Alma, Maren Eggert, is tasked with completing a three week trial with a humanoid robot, played by Dan Stevens, who is designed to be the man of her dreams. When the three weeks are up she is to write either in favour, or not, of giving these robotic beings rights based on her experiences.

I enjoyed this film quite a lot. I thought it had such a huge heart that it was almost impossible not to like it. The film tries to further the questions of what does it mean to be human and can love transcend all bounds, in this case can a human woman love a robot man, is the robot man even capable of feeling love? I feel it does an admiral job of this and gives us a response to these questions that is deep and multi-layered, the response the question deserves.

I also found this film to be quite funny, there was a lot of humour situated around how Steven’s robot character responded to Alma’s initial rejection and also his day to day life, which is odd by human standards. Most of this humour landed for me and made me chuckle, it was not a laugh out loud sort of film, but there were plenty of chuckle worthy moments.

Overall, a sweet film that has a lot to say about life, love and robotics.

Pros.

Eggert

Stevens

The sweet love story

Trying to answer the big questions

A number of funny moments

Cons.

The beginning is initially confusing as the film doesn’t do a good job explaining early on what is happening.

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Attack Of The Hollywood Cliches: Saying What We Are Thinking

4.5 /5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A gathering of famous faces and critics get together to rip apart some of the silliest but most pervasive cliches in Hollywood.

I thought this was one of the most spot on and funniest pieces of content I have watched in a long time. You can feel Charlie Brooker’s hand silently influencing events as the show progresses despite his entire lack of involvement, and that is the biggest compliment I could give this film.

Anyone can watch this and understand what they are talking about, but for anyone who has ever studied film this takes on a whole new dimension and almost feels like it is speaking to you. The thoughts and notions all these critics and famous people are having are in-line with our own and you feel like saying ‘thank you’, as someone has finally said it.

I think the strongest element with this is of course Rob Lowe. As anyone who has frequented my reviews will know I do like Rob Lowe quite a bit, he is always good in pretty much any role: this film proves that more than any other as Lowe has the time of his life as host and brings everything together with such fantastic timing and showmanship that quite frankly you are in awe.

Overall, a very funny stand up to film.

Pros.

Lowe

It points out things that you have always thought

It insightful

It feel Brooker esque

Cons.

Not for everyone

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Charlies Angels: Elizabeth Banks Is Not A Good Screen Writer

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A female empowerment reboot of a beloved property sees a new group of Angels act in order to save the world.

This is why you should keep identity politics out of films, or if you are going to force it in at least do it well. A lot of films are strongly political and have a message to them, but for the most part they do it well and make it feel organic to the narrative, they don’t force it down your throat and then call you names for not enjoying it. This film does just that.

Nearly every line in this film has some jab about current politics, or should I say the politics of the year this came out, which now feels incredibly dated and old. What makes this worse is that it comes off as preachy in the worst way, as the out of touch Hollywood millionaires telling you what to think, do and say.

The only reason this film gets a one from me is because Kristen Stewart is having so much fun it is infectious. Stewart really is the shining light and saving grace of this film, if it were not for her this film would be unbearable to stomach for more than a few minutes at a time.

Overall, maybe for her next film Elizabeth Banks should let someone else do the writing.

Pros.

Stewart is having fun

Cons.

It is preachy

It forces its message and its politics down your throat

It is dumb

It is cringe

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Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn: The Sex Tape You Need To See

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A school teacher, Katia Pascariu, must face a tribunal after her sex tape makes its way onto the internet.

This is one of the most refreshing films I have seen in a while. Not only is this film not afraid to take risks and cross the line, but it is also incredibly novel in a number of ways regarding storytelling that really help the film to feel unique and unlike anything else you would have previously seen.

This will not be for everyone as there are unsimulated sex acts on display which may make some people feel uncomfortable. However, it is not done in a creepy way rather the opposite, the nudity and sex in this film is used to remind us of our humanity and criticise the way the world is structured into a prudish sense of shaming anyone for enjoying sex.

I am not from Romania so I can’t confirm or deny how on or off base this film was in its comments about life in the country but I can say a lot of the points this film made about life, society and people felt true to me about my country miles away. I found this film to be incredibly insightful. There is a section of this film that is just graphics for about half an hour, the plot stops and it is random bits of text set to footage, now this doesn’t sound like it would work but it really does.

Overall, this is just what I needed a breath of fresh air.

Pro.

The originality

The comments about society

The humour and the absurdity

The way the story is told

The ending

Cons.

It may make some uncomfortable with how graphic its sex scenes are

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Queenpins: Kristen Bell Stopped Trying

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We follow Connie, Kristen Bell, and Jojo, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, as they create the biggest fake coupon ring in US history, supposedly based on a true story.

This one was a disappointment. I had been eagerly awaiting the release of this film as the trailer looked good, however, it turned out to be just another silly crime story. By that I mean its formulaic, the unlikely criminal becomes a criminal then becomes successful and then from an equally unlikely source they are brought down- it has been done a lot before.

Moreover, the leads don’t really bring much to the table. Howell-Baptiste is never really given much to do and basically gets to play side kick to Kristen Bell the whole film which is a shame as of the two I think Howell Baptiste shows the most promise here. Bell on the other hand doesn’t even seem to be trying she is playing a version of the same character she has played time and again before, the slightly naïve do gooder with a dark streak- see the Bad Moms films for more of that. Paul Walter Hauser is also playing the same character he has done before but his relationship with Vince Vaughn’s Simon does end up giving him a nice little character arc. Vaughn is the saving grace of the film, and he does provide the laughs if it were not for him this film would be much worse.

The feminist messages in the film are at best weak and pointless and worst awkward. Referring to themselves multiple times as ‘Queenpins’ felt cringe and then having the female character being motivated to act because she wants to get pregnant feels almost inherently sexist, women can want more than a child you know Hollywood. The whole cake line was also very needless, if you have seen the film you will know what I mean.

Overall, if it were not for Vince Vaughn this film would have been even worse.

Pros.

Vaughn

A few laughs

Cons.

Bell

The forced in feminism

They don’t give Howell-Baptiste anything to work with

It feels too familiar

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Nacho Libre: The Greatest Wrestler Of Them All

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A Friar, Jack Black, dreams of becoming a luchador.

Before this viewing I had never seen this film all the way through before. Upon finishing it for the first time I found it to be enjoyable if not overly impressive.

Black is always very likeable and that is true here, his character of Ignacio is very easy to root for and you do develop a bond with him over the course of the film. Additionally he also gets several funny lines, I would say he was the only character in the film that made me laugh. Not all of the jokes landed, especially with the side characters, but enough of them did that it kept me engaged; Black has fantastic comedic delivery.

I enjoyed the look into the world of Mexican wrestling and luchador culture and think that more films should focus on it. Admittedly, I think the story would have been better served by having a Mexican actor in the lead rather than Jack Black as there was an element of white saviour to the film that I really didn’t like.

Overall, though the casting is troublesome I found this film to be enjoyable and even funny at times, not perfect but entertaining.

Pros.

Black

The comedy

The look into luchador culture

Cons.

The white saviour aspects

Not all the jokes land

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