My Son: James McAvoy Doesn’t Need A Script

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A man, James McAvoy, goes on the hunt for answers after his son goes missing. Based on the French film Mon garcon.

My, my this is a bleak film. This is certainly one that you will need to watch something happy after to wash away that sense of despair and hopelessness.

I enjoyed my time with this film, maybe enjoyed is the wrong word. McAvoy was magnificent here truly. Rumour has it that for the shooting of this film McAvoy did not have any lines and instead just responded to the other characters on screen, if this is true it is a testament to McAvoy’s skills as a performer as you truly believe him as this manic, panicked father who would move heaven and earth to see his son home safely.

I found the final reveal, which I won’t spoil here, to be chilling and frightening in a very real way which stayed with me for days after watching it. I think what makes the reveal so impactful is the truth of it and how that kind of thing probably does happen in our world under our noses.

Overall, not a film for everyone the subject matter and the reveal will make this one hard to watch for some but if you do find yourself watching it you will be rewarded with a masterclass in acting from McAvoy.

Pros.

McAvoy

The ending

The reveal

The tension

Cons.

The bleakness

Clare Foy should have been given more to do

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Four Weddings And A Funeral: The Funeral Would Be More Fun Than This Charmless Affair

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film revolves around Charles, Hugh Grant, and his circle of friends as they navigate love and life during a number of social occasions.

This one might be an upset, however this film did nothing for me.

Though I like the other Grant films from this era there was just something about this that didn’t quite work for me. I found the central romance to be clunky and not make a whole lot of sense narratively: having Grant’s character end up with his friend, who clearly has a crush on him, played by Kristen Scott Thomas would have made much more sense and yet they didn’t go with it.

Moreover, unlike Notting Hill I did not find any of the characters particularly likeable or charming. As the film progressed if anything I found myself becoming more and more uninterested in the characters and I cared less about what was happening to them as a result. Likewise the humour here also missed the mark for me, maybe making me laugh once or twice throughout but for the most part it left me cold.

Overall, though for many this is a classic it did nothing for me.

Pros.

Grant

One or two funny jokes

It is watchable

Cons.

The characters aren’t likeable

It is boring

The central romance is flawed

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The Card Counter: Scorsese Was Too Busy Watching Marvel Films To Help This Film Be Good

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

William Tell, Oscar Isaac, is a man fresh out of prison. In a past life he had been a torture specialist in the armed services and now he counts cards and is a fairly successful gambler.

That premise drips with promise, couple that with the fact that Martin Scorsese himself has taken a minute from attacking superhero movies to be involved with this film and you have me intrigued. However, sadly despite all that seems to be in this film’s favour it ends up as a classic case of style over substance.

Oscar Isaac does his best and tries to give the character an air of mystery, but it just doesn’t come together. Fundamentally this film is ruined on a script and plot level early on. You don’t care about the characters or their journey because they don’t really seem to have one. There is some back ground noise about Isaac’s character killing his former torture instructor but that feels as though it has come from nowhere.

Furthermore, the supporting cast also help to hold back any potential this film could have had, with Miles Teller wannabe Tye Sheridan and Tiffany Haddish impeding the film at every turn. Haddish is painfully miscast and then given nothing to do. I don’t buy her in a serious dramatic role, and her romance with Isaac’s lead is painful to watch. Sheridan on the otherhand is a nothingburger and fails to start.

Overall, I find it surprising that a film with this premise, with Scorsese’s involvement and Isaac in the lead could be this much of a disappointment- yet here we are.

Pros.

Isaac is trying

Aesthetically this film is interesting

Cons.

Haddish

Sheridan

It is hollow

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Together: A Lecture About Covid

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An on the rocks couple, played by Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy, have to endure lockdown together.

Personally this film wasn’t to my taste. I enjoyed McAvoy and truth be told he was the only reason I stook with it till the end, however even then it was hard to get through. I found this film to be sanctimonious and preachy throughout not only constantly referring to how people should be during the pandemic, but also giving long drawn out to the camera rants about the failings of the Government.

Horgan’s whole character came off as annoying and only proceeded to get worse as the film drew on; she was the main one lecturing the audience. I found the character arcs of both the characters to be incredibly obvious and trite. McAvoy’s character went from someone who didn’t care about other people to someone who breaks down in tears and tells a shop worker they are a ‘hero’, and Horgan’s from a perfect compassionate human being into less so. It was all so obvious.

Finally, a lot of the points being made politically felt shoe horned in and cringe. It felt like those writing the film had a set list of points they wanted to make and that was how they structured the dialogue. Lazy.

Overall, unless you like being talked down to don’t watch this.

Pros.

McAvoy

It has a few funny lines

Cons.

Horgan

The character arcs are obvious

It is preachy

It is cringey

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The Guilty: Jake Gyllenhaal’s Best?

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A police officer, Jake Gyllenhaal, facing criminal charges finds himself in the middle of an abduction case as he is stuck behind a desk, all he can do is talk to the victim over the phone and try and resolve the situation.

This film is brilliant and possibly one of Gyllenhaal’s best. The journey this film takes you on whilst for the most part just showing you a man at a desk taking calls is truly magnificent. The emotions this film is packing will certainly take you through the wringer.

Gyllenhaal is electric in this role his character is volatile and damaged and you see every minute of it. From the inhaler scenes in the toilet, the fits of rage throughout, to the vomiting scene and acceptance again in the toilet. Gyllenhaal is able to really flex his muscles as an actor and give a layered striking performance.

I thought the mystery was also very strong, there is a twist three quarters of the way through, which I won’t spoil, but one that recontextualises the film in the most heart-breaking way so be prepared for that as it will hit you like a ton of bricks.

Overall, a terrific thriller film and one of Netflix’s best.

Pros.

Gyllenhaal

The ending

The twist

The emotions

Cons.

A slow start

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Lady Of The Manor: Forcing In A To Catch A Predator Scene Derails The Whole Film

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Down and out Hannah, Melanie Lynskey, gets a job giving tours at a manor house. Whilst there she also befriends a ghost, Judy Greer, of one of the dead residents.

In many ways I found this film to be needless. For example there is a big joke at the beginning that Hannah is caught up in a to catch a predator bit and is then a registered sex offender despite not being one. Now my issue with this is firstly why? There is no need for this plot wrinkle, and also that it makes no sense the police wouldn’t have convicted her as they had the wrong person and had no evidence- yet the film says they do.

This film seems to exist separately from any form of logic and often things just happen which make no sense and we the audience are just supposed to go along with it. This wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the fact of how dumb this film is.

Personally I found most of the characters deeply unlikeable. There is having a flawed character and then there is packing your film with questionable icky characters and asking us to like them. I liked Hannah, I thought that she made several good points about being a woman in modern times, but I also think her behaviour is suspect. She was prepared to perform oral on a man who was clearly out of it, yet we are supposed to like her.

Judy Greer was a lot of fun; she was the stand out of the film for me in a lot of ways.

Overall, this felt very much like a made for TV sort of film and had so many uncomfortable and problematic elements that I lost count.

Pros.

Greer

The feminist messaging

Cons.

The icky questionable characters

None of it makes sense

It feels like an edgy made for TV film

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Child’s Play: How Not To Do CGI

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Chucky is reborn in a new world of tech and online interactivity.

This film is a travesty on multiple levels.

To be bluntly honest with you it took me three sittings to finish this film as each time I watched it I couldn’t stand more than about half an hour of it.

The only reason this film has a 1 is because of Aubrey Plaza as the mum, she is great as always, but she could do so, so much better than this. Honestly this film is just so terrible that no matter how good a performance any of the actors give it is quickly overshadowed.

I strongly disliked the new high tech Chucky. I thought the idea of modernising him and drastically changing what his powerset is to be stupid. It felt like a jaded executive being like ‘oh what do young people like today? Lets make him do that’. I think this film truly sullies the character. Both in terms of personality, as they don’t bring back the original voice actor, and in terms of appearance as he now just looks like an awful CGI mess. Nothing against Hamill of course but he can’t hold a candle to Brad Dourif.

Overall, I am glad this film did poorly enough to kill any chances of spawning sequels, this version of Chucky should be taught in writers rooms so that people know what not to do with the character.

Pros.

Plaza

Cons.

The child actor

Everything about Chucky

The story is dumb and convoluted

It does not need to exist

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Prisoners Of The Ghostland: Nicolas Cage Strangeness Taken Too Far

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A drifter, Nicolas Cage, is tasked with venturing out into the haunted Ghostland in order to bring back a local officials daughter.

As many of you know I am a big fan of Nicolas Cage, I am a big fan of the aesthetic of this film, but as a whole it just doesn’t work- at least for me. There is far too much genre mashup going on here, so much so that none of it works. The western elements are offset by the Samurai elements and the more cerebral parts made lesser by the gory realities. This strikes me as a film that couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.

Moreover, Cage is used minimally here. There are a few experiences that get close to what some refer to as ‘full Cage’ but that is never nurtured into anything of substance, he achieves far more in Willy’s Wonderland in which he barely says a word.

Also I found this film to be oddly and needlessly vulgar. There is a moment when one of Cage’s testicles gets blown off, why? Other than a gross out thrill what does that achieve? Weirdness within a film can work but weirdness for weirdness sake is never good.

Overall, an interesting concept executed poorly

Pros.

The concept

The visual aesthetic

Cons.

It underused Cage

It doesn’t make a lick of sense

The mismatch of ideas hurts the film in the long run

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Black Mass: The Comeback That Never Quite Panned Out

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

This film recounts the life of ‘Whitey’ Bulger, here played by Johnny Depp.

This film always feels like a shame to me. Not because the film is bad but because it could have been the start of a big comeback for Depp and yet it never panned out.

I think that this is one of Depp’s finest roles, he manages to capture the ruthless killer whilst also making us somewhat like/understand him. The character that Depp brings to life in a nuanced and multi layered way reminds us that no character is simply good or bad but shades in-between.

Moreover, this film is also strengthened by a terrific supporting cast with Benedict Cumberbatch, Jessie Plemons and Joel Edgerton all giving terrific performances and really helping to bring the film together. Cumberbatch in particular steals the show here.

I also think the score of the film adds a lot and serves to nicely compliment the film and reflect the emotion of the scenes. I would say of all the gangster films I have seen this one’s soundtrack was the only one to stick with me after watching.

My main criticism of the film would be the pace, the film takes a long time to get where it is going. Though his early life is interesting the film spends far too much time there and not nearly enough time on his later life.

Overall, a strong Johnny Deep fronted gangster film.

Pros.

Deep

The supporting cast

The score

The ending

Cons.

The pacing

A very slow start

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Rampart: The Film Known For One Disastrous AMA

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A crooked police officer, played by Woody Harrelson, finds his various crimes catching up with him.

I found this film to be quite hard to get through mainly because Harrelson’s character was so utterly loathsome. I understand that the character is supposed to be bad, you are not supposed to root for him or warm to him, but he is so unpleasant that it becomes hard to follow him. If anything maybe the film does too much of a good job in making his character hateable, which then backfires of them.

Harrelson himself was fine, personally I don’t understand all the praise he gets for this role- I have seen him be better elsewhere. I think another issue this film has is that it is so dedicated to Harrelson’s character that it ignores the rest of the supporting cast and gives them nothing to do. This is a huge issue when said supporting cast has the likes of Brie Larson and Robin Wright. A huge missed opportunity.

I would have liked for the ending to be a little bit more conclusive rather than as ambiguous as it is. Though that is a personal taste thing on my part.

Overall, Harrelson is trying however the character is so unlikeable that the film is hard to watch.

Pros.

It is an interesting premise

I enjoyed the escalation

Cons.

Harrelson

An incredibly off-putting lead

Wasting a great cast

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