The Testament Of Ann Lee: Shaking Your Way To The Lord

Summary, Ann Lee, Amanda Seyfried, believes herself to be the female reincarnation of the Messiah during the period of the Great Awakening.

This film will be divisive, it was an art film in the truest sense, it is pretentious and it likes symbolism. That will put people off. It is a musical about a very depressing subject matter, and has uncomfortable sexual moments throughout, this will put off people. Then there is the fact that it’s about the Shakers, a Christian sect, and other types of Christians might find some of the things in this film to be heretical, which will put people off. If you make it through all that you’ll find an interesting and original film.

Yes the accents were God awful, but the film tried to do something a bit different, and take what could have been a very heavy and depressing story and make it more engaging and compelling.

The music also oddly works.

Overall, this is a win for Ms Seyfried.

3.5/5

Pros.

It does something different

The music

It is an interesting story

The sheer art-cinemaness of it

Cons.

The pacing

There are a lot of things that can put you off the film

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How To Get To Heaven From Belfast Season Overview: Like Derry Girls But Older

Summary: A trio of women are brought together over the death of their friend and decide to investigate it.

The only reason many people will watch this show is because it is from the woman who created Derry Girls, which was one of the better comedy/sitcom shows of the last decade. Anyway, this is the follow up.

In many ways the lineage is both a pro and a con, it is a pro in that the show is funny, it mimics Derry Girls’ sensibilities and the banter between the women is strong. However, it also feels like a rehash and feels overly familiar to Derry Girls’ at the same time. It feels as though they are trying to replicate Derry Girls just with older characters and one self contained storyline.

The storyline around what happened to their friend, and then as the series progresses is the friend alive, and where is she etc, feels like a very generic sort of detective drama plot line that has been done before. The more the series tries to lean into the mystery aspect the more generic it feels.

There is also an incredibly needless will they won’t they romance sub-plot which takes time away from the bond between the women which is really the key focus of the show.

Overall, watchable if generic.

3/5

Pros

It’s funny

Some good performances

It is well paced

Cons.

It feels too familiar

The mystery is generic

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The Trip 1-4 Overview: Life On Earth

Summary: Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play fictionalised versions of themselves and go on holiday together.

So we are trying something a little different here, this is the first time a writer on Another Millennial Reviewer has tried to review multiple films at the same time in one piece. It is not the first time a TV series has had multiple seasons reviewed in one piece with that rubicon being crossed last year with the Strangers Things 1-4 retrospective.

In some places the Trip came out as a series in others it was a series of films.

That said on with the show.

The Trip is a strange mix, it is a dramedy that thinks of itself as a comedy. There are funny moments in it and the two men are clearly trying to be funny doing impressions and being silly, however there is also a layered sadness to the show. This is there right from the first episode and hangs over the show. This sadness comes from loneliness and increasingly the personal circumstances of both men it makes for uncomfortable viewing at times.

One questions the appeal of this show/film outside of the UK market as if you do not have familiarity with the two men there is a number of jokes and bits that would go right over your head. For example the a-has’ that follow around Coogan due to his time as Alan Partridge may be met with glassy stairs from the American audience.

A thing to note about the series/films is that unlike other films/TV shows that revolve around the action of travel this does not show you much of the world and the locales do feel similar as the Trips go by. The only one with a real difference is the first season that travels around the north of England that has more of a gothic feel that the others really don’t. That is a key difference between something like this and say something like The Long Way Home, which does feature more travel related content and where the locations feel different, although the latter is presented as real whereas the Trip has Brydon and Coogan playing versions of themselves.

Overall, if you enjoy Coogan and Brydon then you may get something out of this, however if you’re looking for a travel show or even something that is consistently funny then this might not be the show/film for you..

3/5

Pros.

Funny references to Coogan and Brydon’s past work

Good chemistry

Easy viewing

Cons.

Depressing at times

The locations aren’t explored much

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Wuthering Heights: Hollywierd

Summary where to start with this

So before we get into it, let’s point out two things this film does firstly, it normalizes and fetishizes abusive relationships, and secondly it decided to promote itself by implying an affair between the two leads despite Robbie having a husband and small child. Already deeply toxic.

The first scene of the film, which was not in the book, is a man being hung with an erection and Robbie’s character and her friends being noticeably turned on by it. So in the first scene we are seeing men being objectified even in death and a nod to necrophilia.

Not to be outdone Cathy then watches a BDSM party in the barn and then masturbates. Do you remember that being in the books? No because it wasn’t. It is more of this Fifty Shades depravity, yes women are sexual, yes women masturbate but this is just crude smut. It reads as a fan fiction porn version of the original book.

In the book Heathcliff psychologically abuses Isabella and rapes her, here that is normalised saying that they are in a BDSM relationship. Which again shows you the twisted morality at the core of this film.

Honestly there is nothing wrong with sex in films, there is nothing wrong with films being erotic but when they are encouraging necrophilia, watching people have sex without their consent, and normalising abuse through BDSM, you have to have a series of questions about have things gone too far.

Very much a film for the female gaze, but remember if a film was released where a man was turned on by the dying body of a woman and masturbated watching people have sex, folks would call it sick and demand it’s removal. It is not okay just because it is a woman.

Overall, this is depraved smut for the over 40s bored housewife who needs extremes to feel anything anymore.

0/5

Pros.

None

Cons.

This isn’t a book adaption

It encourages and normalises deeply problematic behaviour such as watching people have sex without their consent and necrophilia

It normalises abusive relationships

It uses sex for shock value

It has pacing issues

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My Submission: The Quest For Fame

Summary: A young woman spends her evening sending out self tapes in the hopes of getting work in the industry.

In many senses this is an industry film, that is not to say you wouldn’t like it if you don’t have industry experience, but it is to say that you would gleam more from it by having been part of the machine. The relatability of the protagonist her struggle, her wanting to be part of it, her persistence all rings more true if you have experienced it yourself.

I thought the film was one of the rare sort of films that work as a comedy and as a drama, as there were moments of comedy that land in a real human way, but also the struggles and the self doubt come across as earnest. It would have been very easy for these struggles to just feel generic or cookie cutter but there is enough personalisation to it that it comes across as genuine and again relatable.

Relatable is the key word I would use to describe this film above all others.

I think the found footage style helped add a little flair of the different to this film and helped set it apart as a framing device and that it was used to great effect. I would say there are a couple of moments where the use of found footage is slightly limiting in terms of storytelling, but that is a formatting trade off ultimately.

Overall, a painfully earnest film that also has some sparkling comedic moments.

4/5

The earnest elements

The found footage angle

The comedy

The relatability

Cons.

Slightly format constraints

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Hamnet: Upstart Crow Did It First.

Summary: the death of Shakespeare’s son.

Whilst the title implies that Upstart Crow, a British TV show did it first, I would argue that where the difference comes is in the framing. Within Upstart Crow the focus is very much on Shakespeare’s point of view this is more so from the point of view of his wife Agnes/Anne.

This is Jessie Buckley’s film, she should win best actress for it, her performance is likely a career high, though the Bride is coming soon. Her performance is not only the emotional core of the film but also the life force for everything else that happens.

The subject matter is handled in a way that is depressing yes, a child dies, but you would argue that there is a more optimistic feeling by the end of the film. If you cannot handle depictions of grief or child mortality this might not be the film for you as it goes go to some dark places.

I appreciated the hyper real aspects to the film such as the stuff with the cave and the hawk and think that it provided a nice respite from being too depressing.

Overall, a strong emotional film.

4/5

Pros.

The performances

The emotion

The ending

The impact

Cons.

Pacing issues

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Nuremberg: Russell Crow Still Has It

Summary

This was a surprise.

I enjoyed the film and the serious approach it took not just to the subject matter but also to assuming that audiences could understand a more dense and intelligent script.

I thought the performances across the board were good but I thought Russell Crow was the clear standout for his role here. He managed to be both evil and terrifying whilst also being somewhat sympathetic at times. You could believe him as a master manipulator.

My central issue with the film would be that it had too many characters and tried to do too much, it did have some side plots it handled well, but others it didn’t give proper time to.

Overall, an impactful and well acted film.

3.5/5

Pros.

The acting

The scope

The seriousness

The cat and mouse plot line

Cons.

It took on too much

It had pacing issues

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Rental Family: Someone Give Brendan Fraser A Hug

Summary, A depressed man finds meaning in playing pretend.

So I got a early screener for this film, not a common thing for me, but there you go. Going to say that upfront.

This film was terribly depressing, I had seen in the trailer it be called a feel good film, I don’t see where that element was.

It felt in many ways like a spiritual sequel to the Whale, it was more of Brendan Fraser being depressed. This time being saved by a little girl and an old man. Each of which have their own horribly depressing stories. I put off writing this review as I knew I would have to go over all this again and feel depressed.

There is some comedy in the concept of the rental family and the inherently silly goofiness of it, but by and large this is a drama film.

I suppose you could argue the ending is somewhat bittersweet, Brendan Fraser gets to continue on in a father like role to the little girl and things seems to change for the better, but at what cost. Likely for the jailbreak Fraser’s character should be in prison.

Overall, not a good way to start the year unless you want to be depressed.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is competently made

There is some novelty to it

Cons.

It is depressing

There really isn’t a lot of levity

The side characters, particularly the people at the agency don’t get much development

It’s badly paced

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The King Of Coal: Pedro Pascal’s Bad Touch Nepotism

Summary

A film that never would have been made if Pedro Pascal wasn’t the current Hollywood Golden boy, he’s the one who got his brother this work through pure nepotism.

This is why people are cancelling Netflix, who is this for, the LGBTQ+ audience are tiny as they are only a fraction of the world’s population and you better believe mass audiences aren’t watching this. It reads as Netflix burning cash to appease talent and maintain good relations with Pedro, until his non-consensual touching stuff comes out and then they’ll never have liked him.

This film feels like a sketch from a comedy film in the late 90s or early 2000s where the ridiculousness of this would be played up and laughed at. Here the film has spoof energy, feeling very much like Zoolander but then tries to be a serious film. All the way through, you are waiting for the minute they turn it into a joke but it doesn’t come. This film is an ode to gender lunacy.

The film itself tries to be aspirational and show the story of a man overcoming hardship, however, the reality the film creates is so out of touch is so unreal that it makes the film hard to take seriously. The fact this is supposed to be set in the real world, not in a fantasy land, and they expect you to believe that these things could happen in the way the film claims is just silly.

Rather than helping to reverse stereotypes or have a serious conversation Netflix makes things like this that are too goofy to even be called propaganda.

Overall, Pedro Pascal has been a net negative for Hollywood.

0.5/5

Pros.

It is unintentionally hilarious

Cons.

It is hamfisted

It is ridiculous

It is badly paced

It is lecturing

It was only made due to nepotism

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Blue Moon: Ethan Hawke At His Most Manic

This was another one that I unfortunately couldn’t see in cinemas as it simply isn’t out where I am yet. I had to find it online to watch it and be ahead for awards season.

Honestly, this film won’t be for everyone, not much happens, it is a talkie. It is mainly about Hawke’s characters with the other people around him, and him coming to terms with his own irrelevance, even if he still thinks he’s someone. It’s a character piece and some may find that slow.

There is a depressing edge to the film, as Hawke’s character is a tragic one and one that you can see the bleak future set out before him, and that gives the film a wan undertone throughout.

It is also a film that is very interested in old Hollywood and is Hollywood giving itself a pat on the back, if you find Hollywood making films about Hollywood clawing or unnecessary then you like won’t like this.

Overall bound to be divisive for it’s length, tone and subject matter, but still very watchable.

2.5/5

Pros.

There is a charm

It has a few funny moments

The pace works well

Cons.

It can be depressing

It is yet another film about Hollywood

The characters can be a little irritating

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