Get Duked: DJ Beatroot Takes On The British Aristocracy

Get Ducked is a British black comedy film directed by Ninian Doff. The plot follows a group of boys as they’re doing their Duke of Edinburgh award in the Scottish highlands, the twist of course is that they’re being chased by someone who is dressed as the real Duke Of Edinburgh who seems intent on hunting them down and killing them all.

So, as a comedy film I feel mixed about this. One the one hand some of the jokes feel quite cringe, especially all the Rap based jokes, they didn’t do anything for me. However, as I always say humour is subjective. On the other hand there were a few good jokes that did make me laugh out loud, I enjoyed the Alice Lowe cameo, and the rabbit poo induced battle at the end.

Where this film shines is as a rather extreme take on social commentary. The classist message of the film is clear from the off, the film does not mince words in this regard and is very straight forward and direct about it. A Duke (Eddie Izzard) hunting down a group of working-class Scottish boys calling them vermin, is very in your face.

Usual I don’t like overt political messages, but I found the speech at the end about how these boys can never hope to have the good life and no matter how hard they work the system will always be against them, to be quite moving and poignant and work on multiple levels.

Overall, a hidden gem that you need to see. A cult classic in the making.

Pros.

The message

The horror and the tension

Alice Lowe

The comedy that worked

Cons.

The comedy that didn’t work.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Oath: A Very Mixed Message On Political Extremism

The Oath is a dark comedy thriller film directed by Ike Barinholtz. The plot revolves around a family that comes together to celebrate Thanksgiving, however, in the political background citizens are being asked to sign a loyalty oath. This adds to the divisions of the family and leads down a dark path.

So, the first 45 minutes of this, before things got really crazy I thought were well done. It was a biting look at both political extremes, mocking both and showing how dedicating your life to any political belief is not a wise thing to do. I thought that a lot of the comments the film was making were incredibly current and on the money, frighteningly so; this is definitely an uncomfortable watch.

However, after the 45-minute mark things start to fall apart. When the government agents arrive at the home and Chris (Barinholtz), decides to take them hostage after a dust up thing get laughably dumb, and the smart edge that the first half of the film had is gone as the characters are turned into cartoonish caricatures. Also the ending of the film that sees Chris, who by the end of the film has become a true villain, get away with everything rather than face any kind of consequence almost feels like it is condoning or glorifying his behaviour, which feels counter to the point of the film.

Another issue with this film and others like it is that by focusing so much on the current political landscape the film feels dated and will not stand the test of time. It might feel worlds removed watching it in 2025.

Overall, it had something great when it started, but then it proceeds to ruin it over the last half of the film, making the lead unlikably evil and laughably dumb.

Pros.

The first half

The biting commentary

A very uncomfortable watch

Cons.

The second half ruins the film completely

The end feels like a justification when it shouldn’t be

The character goes from a relatable everyman to a political extremist

It will feel dated quickly

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Life After Beth: Whats Love Without A Bit Of Cannibalism?

Life After Beth is a horror comedy romance film directed by Jeff Baena. The plot follows Zach (Dane DeHaan), a young man who has just lost his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza), however, before Zach can spiral into grief he is reunited with his girlfriend: something is different, however. Beth is now a zombie.

So for many years this has been amongst my favourite romantic comedies, it is so wholesome and has so much to say. When first reunited Zach is so glad to have his girlfriend back, but as time goes on he starts to see it as more of a curse, it begs the question would you want more time with your dead loved one if they weren’t really the same person you knew anymore and were instead something darker.

Plaza is perfectly cast and Baena seems to know how to get the best out of her as the duo would team up years later for The Little Hours, she is great in that too. She is tragically hilarious and her and Zach are a cute horror couple. DeHaan is doing his usually brooding routine, but it fits the film, so it works.

Overall, the definition of a hidden gem, not many people know about this delight of a film if you’re one of them right your wrong. It also has a truly comedic awkward cameo from Anna Kendrick, what is not to like. Check it out!

Pros.

The romance

The horror elements and implied zombie apocalypse

The awkward comedy

The commentary

Cons.

It has a very pacing issues and some sections are weaker than others

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Gentlemen: Ritchie Is Back

The Gentlemen is a crime film directed by Guy Ritchie. The plot details the British criminal underworld and one man’s fight to stay on top of it against rising factions.

I enjoyed Ritchie’s foray into blockbusters, they were enjoyable enough, but I am glad that he has returned to his roots in the crime genre. No one and I mean no one makes a stylised crime drama film like Guy Ritchie and this film proves that.

My one issue with the film is the way it is structured, there is a lot of jumping around in the timeline and a lot of the film is set to a conversation between gangster Ray (Charlie Hunnam) and tabloid creep Fletcher (Hugh Grant). Now all this jumping around does have a great pay off at the end that brings everything together nicely, the time jumping is not my issue. What I think the problem is, is that the interacts between Ray and Fletcher get boring after a point and feel repetitive, they weigh the film down.

Fletcher is by all means the worst character in the film, incredibly one note and annoying and Grant is given the least to work with of all the cast.

However, this is offset by the fact that most of the other characters are great and leap off the screen at you. Hunnam is magnificent and has a few very memorable scenes, but the two that really steal the show here are Matthew McConaughey as the man who has it all Michael and Colin Farrell as Coach. Farrell’s performance is easily the highlight of the film and he is the most interesting and intriguing character by far; his fight scene in the kabab shop is also fantastic.

Overall, this is a return to form for Ritchie in a big way. The pay off makes the film and solid performances from most of the cast back it up. A must watch for genre fans!

Pros

Farrell, Hunnam, McConaughey

The style of it

The pay off

The kebab shop scene

Cons.

It doesn’t make the most of all of its characters as Grant and Golding’s characters are cut short.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Downhill: Never Has A Title Been More Accurate

Downhill is a black comedy film directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. The plot sees a dysfunctional family head to a ski resort to try and reconnect, things slowly descend. It is an American remake of the Swedish film Force Majeure.

The words an ‘American remake’ should have been a red flag. This film is not terrible, but it is pretty bad. I found it very hard to finish.

The key issue with this film is that it is trying to do two things. Firstly it is trying to replicate the darker Swedish sense of humour, but crucially it does not understand it and so fails. Secondly, it is also trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience and have some more obvious jokes, this also fails. So the issue this creates both of these failures serve to make the other worse and more blatantly off-putting.

Furthermore, this film has a very talented cast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell as co-leads. Sadly it wastes them, it does not just waste them it also makes them incredibly unlikable and irritating; Dreyfus especially. Dreyfus’ character becomes so neurotic and annoying that you just want to mute her when she comes on screen, she is no way likeable, was that the point? Ferrell isn’t much better, but we have come to expect bad things from him.

Overall, this film fails on multiple levels and has no redeemable qualities. Don’t watch it.

Pros.

The brief scene with Kristofer Hivju

Cons.

The tone doesn’t work

It is not funny

The characters are hateable

It is a waste of time

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Zombeaver: Creepy and Gross

Zombeaver is a creature feature film directed by Jordan Rubin. The plot sees a group of scantily clad teens head off to a lakeside cabin after one of them breaks up with their boyfriend. Their weekend is interrupted by a pack of murderous zombie beavers that seems hell bent on killing them all.

This film is gratuitous for all the wrong reasons, that is my one-line summary of this film.

Before I get into the thousand and one reasons why this film is trash, I want to talk about the one scene that I enjoyed. One of the very first scenes is a conversation between the girls and their landlady for the weekend, said landlady played by Phyllis Catz had me in stiches. She was the best part of this film.

Yes, it truly did peak at the 10-minute mark everything after there went straight down the toilet. So first off the bat the nudity is excessive, even for a film like this, it goes beyond the point of awkward and cringe and borders the tasteless.

Secondly, the main girl (the one who is cheated on), is vilified by the other characters and all of them seem to hate her by the end of the film. Also the cheater and the person he cheated with are also pushed as the real heroes of the film in a move that is simply baffling. All of the characters are firmly unlikable.

Overall, this is trash, its not even dumb fun it is just mean spirted, voyeuristic and soulless. You might have noticed I didn’t name the characters for the most part, that is because they’re so underdeveloped I couldn’t remember any of their names.

Pros.

That one funny scene with the landlady.

Cons.

Twisted morals.

Needless Nudity.

Stereotypes and other harmful clichés

It couldn’t make killer beavers fun.

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Extra Ordinary: Meal For One?

Extra Ordinary is an Irish horror comedy film directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. The plot sees reluctant medium Rose (Maeve Higgins), forced back into the game when Satanists steal a virgin to sacrifice to their dark lord. She must believe in her gifts once again and stop the growing evil.

I actually thought this was rather good, the comedy didn’t always hit the mark for me, but it did make me laugh several times and when it didn’t, I still had a smile on my face. I was surprised to see Will Forte pop up, I was unaware of who was in it when I put it on, but he played a failed musician turned master of the darks arts with a real sense of flare that I enjoyed, he was delightfully over the top.

Moreover the dynamic between Forte’s Christian and his wife Claudia (Claudia O’ Doherty), was priceless. They had a really great back and forth and the chemistry between the two of them was palpable for all to see. O’ Doherty has been popping up in some really heart stuff recently and is really making a name for herself as a comedic actor; she practically stole the show in The Festival.

My one complaint would be the lead, while Rose is likeable enough, I found her to be a bit too bumbling, a bit too awkward, it felt forced and I didn’t really buy it. I also thought that her jokes were by far the weakest, as a lead she was a disappointment.

Overall, a subpar lead doesn’t slow this film down much as it has enough laughs and charm to keep you happy and satiated until the end.

Pros.

The comedy

The world/ the world building

Forte.

Claudia O’ Doherty

Cons.

An unpolished lead.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Addams Family 2019: The Horrors Of Animation

The Addams Family (2019), is a computer animated family film directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, inspired by the classic cartoon. The plot sees the Addams Family having to adapt to life in the 21^st century, whilst still keeping their old-world traditions alive as they become the target of a home renovator and her suburban horde.

When I put this on, I was expecting the worst, I was expecting a film that fundamentally didn’t understand the characters and in the process of making them appeal to a modern market ruined what made the franchise special. I was expecting another Scoob, yes that’s right I am still not over it, however, while this is far from good it is not terrible either.

The two positives I’ll give it are that the villain of the film Margaux Needler (Alison Janney), is incredibly hateable and that Oscar Isaac does a good job voicing Gomez; that’s it. Even these compliments highlight the issues with the film.

Janney’s Margaux is hateable because she is irritating and constantly in your face. Is that the reason your villain should be hated, surely it should be because of their evil actions? Furthermore, the only reason Isaacs’ vocal performance draws any praise is because of how bad the rest of the cast are. Each member of the Addams Family sounds wrong, especially Nick Kroll doing the same voice as one of his Big Mouth characters.

Moreover the animation is not easy on the eye, rather it is horrible to look at and is frequently off putting, not because it is showing you anything grotesque, but because of the way the characters look and the way they move. If you like quality animation this is not the film for you.

Overall, while this film is not offensively bad, it does nothing to resurrect the Addams brand and instead feels like a very blatant attempt to force an old franchise back into the public eye with very poor results. Next time hire a better cast and animators.

Pros.

Isaac

A hateable villain.

Cons.

Miscast.

Hateable for the wrong reasons.

Poor cheap looking animation.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Suburbicon: Not All Actors Can Or Should Direct.

Suburbicon is a crime black comedy film directed by George Clooney. The plot sees tensions mount in a small suburban town after robbers brutally kill a wife/ mother. However, as the film progresses it is shown that there is much more afoot, sinister things indeed and they only escalate.

This should be the last film Clooney directs. That is how I will open this review. Going into this film I had heard mixed things, but the trailer looked good, so I pressed on and my god I wish I hadn’t.

The biggest flaw of the film is the script and the story, really just all the writing in this film is terrible. It is written by the Cohen brothers, who personally I believe are incredibly overrated, and this film proves that not everything they touch turns to gold. There are so many random plot threads all happening at the same time and none of them fit together. It is confusing and poorly structured.

The second biggest flaw is how on the nose it is. Now I have no issue with a film getting political, hell if done right it can be a thing of beauty, but this film did not do it right. While we have the murdered mum storyline, we also have the story of a black family that moves in down the road, they’re abused and humiliated and then later in the film attacked in their home. This plotline does not feel needed or done well it feels stitched together to try and make a point. The ending sees the sons of each family playing catch over a shattered fence, as thought the metaphor is supposed to mean something; all it meant to me was that I have wasted my time. It is not deep or clever and it has about as much finesse and nuance as a festering animal carcass.

Overall, this film proves that not all actors are cut out to direct. Stay in front of the camera Mr Clooney please.

Pros.

The cast are trying, it is just a shame they have nothing to work with.

Cons.

It fails spectacularly to be deep.

The metaphors are ham-fisted and tiresome.

The writing stinks.

None of it makes sense.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Addams Family: A Friend To The Outsider

The Addams Family is a comedy fantasy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld; it is based on the cartoon of the same name. It revolves around a strange quirky family that goes on dark often monstrous adventures; the humour of these film comes from how different the family are from the rest of the world. The plot this time around sees Fester Addams (Christopher Lloyd), return to the family after a 25-year absence, only is that really Fester Addams?

The Addams family are almost an oddball institution, most everybody knows who they are and has seen them in one form or another. This film was my first introduction to them when I was younger and watching it again now, I am pleased to say it stands the test of time in so many ways.

Each of the characters are iconic in their own way, each stands out and grabs your attention; especially Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams. This film highlights the important of getting the casting process right: because these actors so perfectly encapsulate the characters that you can’t seem them played by anyone else. There is a reason they chose to do an animated follow up.

I think the reason these films speak to people so much is because they embody outsider culture, they’re something that anyone who has ever felt a bit different or a bit alien can relate to and find some companionship in. That at least is the enduring appeal as I perceive it.

Overall, I think as far as family movies go, this has some nice messages, some great characters and a few good cheer worthy moments. A nice film to watch for everyone!

Pros.

The message.

The characters.

The goofy fun.

The early 90s charm.

Cons.

It could be shorter.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke