Hacksaw Ridge: Mel Gibson Should Make Films For PureFlix.

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film follows the life of army combat medic Desmond Doss, Andrew Garfield, as he serves during World War II without ever using a gun.

This was an incredibly uplifting film. Yes the violence and the death of war are grizzly and are on full display here, but underneath that is a story about a young man just doing what he thinks is right and saving lives, even when those same people call him names and abuse him for his beliefs.

I could have done without the constant religious framing of everything in the film, but hey it is a Mel Gibson picture so what do you expect? I understand the real life person this was based on was deeply religious and it is fundamental to the story, that is not what I am complaining about. What I am complaining about is the use of shots, to give an example the final shot of the film before it cuts to credits sees Doss being carried away on a stretcher, the camera is below and zooming out giving the impression that the stretcher is rising into the heavens- a saint ascending. This bothered me for two reasons one, the character doesn’t die and two, it is far too on the nose.

Moreover, the writing in this film is not good at all. The opening scenes, not the ones when they are children but the ones which show Doss’s early courtship before he went overseas, are so painfully cringe that I almost had to skip through them. The line delivery is off by such a huge margin that I can’t place the blame solely at Garfield’s feet clearly something must have been bad in the script or even the direction.

That aside the performances for the most part were great across the board. I enjoyed Vince Vaughn as a drill sergeant and I thought once again Andrew Garfield shone brightly, proving his clear talent with ease.

Overall, a solid and uplifting war film.

Pros.

Garfield

It is inspiring

It doesn’t shy away from showing you the horrors of war

The ending

Cons.

The heavy handed religious metaphors

The dialogue and line delivery during the courtship scenes

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Old School: Turns Out Todd Phillips Wasn’t Funny Even Before Woke Culture Made Him Quit Comedy

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Three middle aged men decide to relive their youth and go back to their partying days before they had kids- shockingly original I know.

Much like with my Wedding Crashers review where I pointed out how the film liked to make fun and trivialise male rape, I know this one is also going to be controversial. As you can see from my score I did not enjoy this film very much at all, it was charmless and worse still not even slightly funny.

Now before I get into it I just want to say comedy is subjective so what makes me laugh might not be the same for you.

Within the first ten minutes of this film you had a random character busting out the F slur because it was the early noughties so why not right? It is disgusting and clearly just used to be edgy. This film is made by the same man who said you can’t do comedy anymore because everyone is too PC and it shows in nearly every scene. Not only does this film have a particularly strong homophobic undertone, but it also views all of its female characters as either nagging wives or sexual objects and nothing more.

I like Vince Vaughn so I gave the film an extra half a point, but even he can’t save this film. None of the characters are particularly likeable and each ‘comedian’ is doing the worst version of their usual shtick, Ferrell is screaming rather than talking, Wilson is melancholy and broody, and Vaughn is a sleezy party boy- which of those sound likeable? I’ll answer for you, none.

We also get a supporting performance from alleged sexual predator Jeremy Piven, which almost made me turn the film off.

Overall, maybe the reason Todd Phillips stopped doing comedy is because no one finds his sexist, creepy, homophobic jokes funny anymore.

Pros.

Vaughn is trying

Snoop Dogg

Cons.

The jokes

The homophobic comments

It is wildly sexist

None of the characters are likeable

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Vacation Friends: Crashing A Boat Isn’t A Big Deal

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Whilst on holiday in Mexico Marcus, Lil Rel Howery, and Emily, Yvonne Ori, meet a strange eccentric couple, played by John Cena and Meredith Hagner who end up changing their whole outlook on life.

I want to preface this review by saying that though personally I dislike John Cena for saying Taiwan isn’t a country and grovelling to the despotic Chinese government, he is actually funny here. I struggled with it a lot whilst watching, but I managed to put my feelings about Cena to one side and enjoy his performance in the film without reflecting on him as a person. Cena does do comedy really well, and here is no exception he gets a lot of funny lines.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film as I thought it was going to be a silly crude comedy, but in actuality there is a lot of heart, warmth and genuine human emotion to be found here. I found myself becoming sentimental at several scenes, said scenes do not feel forced in but rather organic and well used. I particularly like Cena in this aspect.

I think my issue with this film is that it does not give Ori’ Emily much to do at all and she is just the caricature of the girlfriend/wife stereotype. This is not true for all the female characters in the film as Hagner’s Kyla gets to have a lot of fun and break from traditional gender roles.

Overall, a sweet comedy film boosted by John Cena.

Pros.

Cena

Lil Rel Howery

It is sweet

It is funny

Cons.

Ori’s Emily is given nothing to do

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Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings: Now We Have Dragons In The MCU

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Shang Chi, Simu Liu, must confront his past and his family in order to save the planet. A world of martial arts, dragons and family drama is explored.

Sadly Fin Fang Foom is not in this movie, I even waited till the very end to see if we were going to get a tease, we don’t. However, that is not to say their aren’t any dragons in this film we get two: The Great Protector and The One Who Dwells In Darkness, or something like that. Can I just pause for a moment and say how cool it is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has dragons in it. I very much enjoyed seeing this new magical world being explored and opened up, I can’t wait to explore it more in a sequel.

In terms of acting I think Simu Liu makes for a very capable leading man being both funny and charming throughout. Ben Kingsley returns to reprise his role of Trevor Slattery from the third Iron Man film and easily makes up for the sins of that film and lands some of the best jokes in the entire MCU. Continuing on that note this is easily one of the funniest films in the MCU and the comedy really enhances the film and adds a lot to it.

My one complaint of the film would be that the fight scenes aren’t very impressive. Watched in a vacuum without other films, without all the hype, someone might think these fight scenes were cool and impressive. However, in context of the genre, or at least the genre they are trying to emulate they are about five years out of date. Whilst the fight scenes are more intense and better structured than most in the MCU, when compared to something like the IP Man films, The Raid or even John Wick they feel like poor copies of other fight scenes done better elsewhere, and that is a big disappointment.

The breakout star of this film is easily Meng’er Zhang, she manages to out-badass Shang Chi himself and the final post credits scene promises something very exciting for the characters future. I personally found myself connecting more with her emotional journey and family baggage than I did with Shang Chi but that is not to say both weren’t well done.

Overall, a good Marvel film but an average martial arts film.

Pros.

The mystical side of the MCU is expanded further

Meng’er Zhang

Simu Liu

The comedy

Cons.

Pacing issues

Average fight scenes

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The Nest: If Someone Who Lives In The American Suburbs Can Suddenly Afford An English Manor House They Are A Con Man

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An entrepreneur, Jude Law, and his American family have their lives drift off course when they move into an English manner house.

This film is a mixed bag.

On the positive side the film is helped along greatly by strong performances from its two leads, Jude Law and Carrie Coon. Both give strong emotional layered performances that are effecting on multiple levels. I would say Coon is the real star of the show but not by much, her scene with the dug up remains of her horse is incredibly powerful.

However, on the other side of things the plot is incredibly predictable and deeply overly familiar. Truly you have seen this film before, I accurately guessed several key elements of the film early on as it was blindingly clear. What threw me however was the odd mentions to the supernatural here and there, that lead you to believe that this might be more of a classic British manner ghost mystery: it is not, and these lines are just throw away.

If you simply want a character drama about a family’s life falling apart set of a decaying English manner house then you will be happy enough with this.

Overall, the acting helps to push this film forward, but the incredibly familiar narrative holds it back.

Pros.

Jude Law

Carrie Coon

A strong emotional resonance

Cons.

It is overly familiar

You can easily predict what is going to happen next

The character journey’s don’t seem to lead anywhere

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Snatch: Brad Pitt’s Best Performance?

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A couple of young gangland thugs, Jason Statham and Stephen Graham, must recruit a traveller boxer, Brad Pitt, to fight for them after he puts their other fight in the hospital over a caravan dispute.

I think this film really shows the best of Guy Ritchie. It is snappy, brutal and comedic in a snarky dark sense. Moreover, it highlights some of the best British acting talent at the time, Graham, Lennie James and Jason Flemyng; not even I will make a case for Statham being an ‘acting’ talent.

However, the clear standout of this film is easily Brad Pitt. Pitt sinks into the role so well you begin to question whether he might actually have been an Irish traveller all along. He entirely leaves behind any Hollywood airs and graces and truly becomes the character, this may be one of his best performances for sure.

The best thing about this film is how well it flows; the pacing simply is top notch. All of the separate stories are woven together in such a way where they all end up at the same point and nicely compliment each other along the way. Furthermore, the film never inflicts a slow moment upon us it is go, go, go keeping us entertained and giving us a few good laughs along the way as well for good measure.

The only thing I could criticise it for is that the ending is too neat, and I would have preferred a little bit more ambiguity or perhaps even a few unanswered questions, though that is just my personal taste.

Overall, an incredibly strong British crime film and maybe the best film of Brad Pitt’s career.

Pros.

Brad Pitt

The best of British’s talent

A few good jokes

Incredibly well structured and paced

Cons.

The ending was a little neat for my taste

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The Bronze: Does Anyone Really Care About Third Place?

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Hope Ann Gregory, Melissa Rauch, is a former Olympic bronze medallist who now spends her days in an American small town with her adoring public. However, after her life reaches a breaking point she ends up coaching the next generation of Olympic talent, much to her annoyance.

Usually I enjoy films under the Duplass Brothers Productions banner, but this was a rare misfire for me.

My problems with this film begin and end with the central character. There is nothing likeable about Hope, though in the beginning that is kind of the point even by the end of the film when the character journey is supposedly complete she is still a trash person and that makes her very hard to root for as a character. She does have a few funny lines, but it really doesn’t make up for how nasty the character is considering we are supposed to like her.

Moreover, the comedy of the film didn’t really work for me either. As I said Rauch has a few funny lines that work, but widely most of the jokes aren’t good and end up falling flat. A few are particularly bad eye rollers.

The ending also didn’t work for me. This is mainly due to the fact that it did not feel earned, the character does not feel like she has gotten to a place where she would do what she does in the end, frankly I find it unbelievable and that proves poor writing.

Overall, a weak comedy film.

Pros.

It is watchable

Rauch has a few funny lines

Cons.

Most of the jokes don’t land

Hope is a deeply unlikeable lead

The ending

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The Protege: Mid Fight Scene Sex, Is This Shoot Em Up?

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Assassin Anna Dutton, Maggie Q, sets out on a path of revenge after her father figure/ assassin mentor is killed.

This was a surprise treat, at first I was worried that it would just be a boring and generic action thriller, however as it went on I found the film to have far more personality, humour and charm than I was expecting it to.

This is not the most original action movie in the world, the plot has been done countless times before and no doubt better. Moreover, it is also insanely predictable, and it is clear from a mile away when all the twists and turns are coming.

However, where this film rises above its rather average station is in its performances. I have loved Maggie Q as an action star since I first saw her in Nikita, not only does she pull off action well, but she also has really strong cocksure energy and plays a badass well. A large part of my enjoyment with this film is from watching her interact with the other characters on screen.

In that regard Q is joined on screen by Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, both provide strong support though I would give the edge to Keaton. I enjoyed the romance/rivalry between his character and Q’s I thought the dynamic was funny and well used, leading to several great scenes.

Overall, a charming action film that whilst not reinventing the genre does prove to be entertaining and very watchable.

Pros.

Keaton

The charm

Cons.

It is obvious

It is a little too familiar

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Reminiscence: This Is Why Westworld Isn’t Good Anymore

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Nick, Hugh Jackman, analyses his memories of the one who got away, Rebecca Ferguson, and realises that he has been played. Nick then sets out to track her down to get answers.

My this one was bad.

Before I slate it I’ll say this, Ferguson and Jackman have great chemistry together, really its electric, and they need to make more films together and carry this thing on as their seems to be a real passion there between the two, they play off each other really well.

Ok, moving on to the bad.

This is what happens when you have everyone praise your deep intellectual show, Westworld, for years and you have a brother who is known by some as one of the best working filmmakers in the game, and you try to rip-off his style. To be blunt, you make pretentious tosh that is about as deep as a puddle and is laughably bad.

The narration throughout the film is the best example of this, it asks all these deep philosophical questions about humanity and the self with all the intellectual sincerity of a teenager going through an emo phase. The writing is really bad.

The mystery is passably okay, however the longer it goes on for you realise all the ways it doesn’t make any sense and how the memory tech writes the film into a corner. Almost everything Nick does in this film is superfluous by the rules and laws set up by the tech, he didn’t need to do anything, yes he would have lost the memory card, but would that really have changed much?

Overall, bad science fiction.

Pros.

Jackman

Ferguson

Cons.

It makes no sense

It is so utterly pretentious

It is poorly written

The ending

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Respect: Musical Biopics Have Been Done To Death

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We follow the life of Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, and see the highs and lows of parts of her career.

Since release this film has been much maligned, and my review is decidedly in the middle.

Do I think this is a good film? No not really, average but certainly not good. There are positive aspects to this film, the story is interesting, and it keeps you hooked for about two thirds of the film. Moreover, Hudson and Forest Whitaker both grace us with terrific performances, that really help to bring these characters to life and elevate the film.

However, that is where my list of pros runs out. There are many issues with this film, the most glaring of which is the run time. There is no reason for this film to pass the two hour mark, none. Earlier I said, the film keeps you entertained for two thirds and that is very true as by the final third you have already lost interest and are ready to leave or turn it off if you are watching it at home.

Moreover, try as it might this film can’t escape the fact that at its core it is just a very average biopic film. There have been many, many musical biopics over the last few years, but truly this one feels the most soulless and lifeless. There is so much more the film could have done with it’s subject matter, but instead decides to settle for mediocrity.

Additionally, for as good as Hudson and Whitaker are Marlon Wayans is bad. Seeing Wayans appear as a serious actor is always a gamble, more often than not a bad one. That is proven thoroughly by his performance here where he stands out for all the wrong reasons.

Overall, Franklin deserved better than this.

Pros.

It is interesting at times

The songs are still powerful

Hudson and Whitaker

Cons.

Wayans

It is generic

It has huge pacing issues

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