Concrete Cowboy: Would You Rather Be A Cowboy Or A Criminal, The Choice Is Obvious

Concrete Cowboy

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

If nothing else this film made me aware of something I hadn’t been previously- the Fletcher Street Urban Cowboys of Pennsylvania. Reading into the organisation and the cause after the film, I am heartened by the fact that even though the film itself is very average maybe it can draw some attention to the youth outreach programs the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club provide and maybe make a difference for the community.

Anyway, the key issue with this film is that it is slow, there is a lot of emotions and interpersonal drama, but in actual events that move the plot forward there is a shortage. By the hour mark of the film I was finding myself bored and starting to switch off, the characters had not really progressed much from the opening few minutes despite over half the film being gone. The ending furthers this problem, as any growth that can be seen feels rushed to.

The acting is a mixed bag Caleb Laughlin, of Stranger Things fame, is very good and throws off the child like confines of his performance on that show to give a rousing dramatic performance that clearly bares both heart and soul. However, Idris Elba who plays Laughlin’s characters estranged father is not as strong. I am a big fan of Elba, I even enjoyed Turn Up Charlie which many didn’t, but he is not on good form here, his accent is patchy at best and noticeably fake at worst and he is frequently distracting.

Overall, though Laughlin gives one hell of a performance this film is destined to be forgotten about.

Pros.
The cause

Laughlin

Cons.

It is incredibly slow

Elba

The ending

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Pride: Fight For The Change You Want To See In The World

Pride

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This film made me both happy and sad, as paradoxical as that might be. On the one hand it was hopeful to see the miners embrace the LGBTQ+ activists, but on the other, seeing the horrible homophobia made me sad. I left the film feeling conflicted towards humanity.

This film can beautifully play with your emotions, as it did to me, and that is a testament to the writing, but also the real events that inspired the film. The film feels empowering to watch, inspiring you to make a change for the betterment of society.

The acting talent on display here is undeniable, Joe Gilgun, Dominic West, Andrew Scott and an always reliable Paddy Considine all perform well and leave an impression long after the film ends. George McKay is a little less strong and does drag down some of the scenes he is in, but thankfully he is not given much of the heavy lifting to do.

Furthermore, Pride does struggle with pacing and ends up feeling overly long and a little indulgent, by the time we reach the end the film is already starting to outstay its welcome.

A final note before concluding, Faye Marsay is terrific and should be cast in more films- a staggering young talent.

Overall, a good film that suffers with pace.

Pros.

The acting, bare McKay

The message

The empowering tone

Cons.

The Pace

George McKay

The Seventh Day: The Devil In The White Collar

The Seventh Day

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

A lot of possession or exorcism films play a lot of lip service to the Church, as such it is nice to see a film that takes a different approach and asks the question what if the monster/demon was the priest? It is an interesting idea as yes, if a demon was possessing people why wouldn’t they possess priests, figures that are trusted by thousands of people. It reminded me a lot of Robert Kirkman’s terrific comic Outcast.

That said, despite the twist being interesting it is not executed well. It is clear which of the priests is evil almost from the get-go, and the film does not subvert your expectations in anyway, the one you think is bad is.

I thought the ending was a little too sequel baity for my taste, and I don’t think this film is really good enough to warrant sequels. The horror was very iffy, some moments were strong and had real promise and other moments were painfully by the numbers and played out.

Guy Pearce brings a lot to the film, but even he cant save this film from mediocrity.

Overall, a few good moments but for the most part very average.

Pros.

Guy Pearce

A few good scares

Cons.

It is painfully obvious

The ending teases an unearned sequel

More than a few bad/ generic scares

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Thunder Force: Seal Is Overplayed

Thunder Force

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

The team-ups between Melissa McCarthy and her director husband Ben Falcone, have so far produced bad film after bad film. Many would tell you that this film is yet another in that line, however, I have to say it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The world of the film, and the characters other than McCarthy’s lead, are all entertaining and fun enough that you happily watch them for the duration. Jason Bateman as the likeable sub villain turned hero has a lot of great moments on screen and steals the show ultimately. Likewise Octavia Spenser as one of the founding members of the Thunder Force brings a lot of class and presence to the role and makes the most out of it.

The thing that lets this film down is Melissa McCarthy. As many of you know I am no fan of McCarthy or her humour, she is frequently the worst part of the films she is in, and this is a near perfect example of that. Her dated references aren’t funny, the jokes aimed at her being fat or odd aren’t funny and feel needlessly mean, and don’t even get me started on the slapstick.

Overall, not as bad as you have heard, but I still can’t recommend it.

Pros.

Bateman

The world

Cons.

Melissa McCarthy

The humour

The plot/premise and the over familiarity

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Held: After The First Hour Turn It Off, That Way You Might See A Good Film

Held

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

If I was just reviewing the first hour of this film I would give it higher. The first hour of this film poses an interesting concept, a married couple is forced to do the bidding of an omnipotent stranger- with the goal of purifying their marriage. However, after the hour mark this film falls apart.

With the reveal of what is really going on in the third act, the film ceases to be anything good or original and instead becomes a very blatant and obvious attempt to rip off The Stepford Wives into an inferior product. Moreover, you are annoyed with your self for liking the first hour of this film and feel almost tricked for not having seen the similarities before.

I think the subject matter and ideas that this film discusses are very important, however, the way the film conveys these ideas is in the least subtle and most tasteless way you possibly can. There is a heavy Me Too aspect to this film that translates into their being a constant rape threat throughout that I found uncomfortable, and thought could have been handled a lot better.

Overall, this film is lazy and in your face- a very off putting combination.

Pros.

The premise is interesting

The acting is serviceable

Cons.

The constant rape threat

The reveal and the fact that this film is a discount Stepford Wives

It is annoying at times

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Rams: Shaun The Sheep’s Depressing Cousin

Written by Luke Barnes

Rams is an Australian comedy drama film directed by Jeremey Sims. The plot sees two ram breeder brothers, long estranged, come together to save their way of life when all of their livestock catches a deadly disease.

I think once again this is a classic example of miscategorisation, I don’t know if it is a national sense of humour that I just don’t get but this to me is in no way a comedy film. If you find scenes of animals being put down and then a mass burning grave of said animals anything other than wildly depressing then I am worried for you.

As such the film did not meet my expectations but viewed as a dramatic piece then it is a different conversation. I think as a drama film about the plight of farmers and how easily they can lose it all, this film has real merit. The film goes out of its way to really highlight the bond between these men and their animals as well as the bond between them as people. I found myself caring a lot about the characters as the film went on.

I thought Sam Neil was damn near perfect in the lead role, and this film proves to be yet another impressive feather in his cap.

Overall, miscategorised, this is not a comedy film, but it is a surprisingly emotional drama.

Pros.

Sam Neill

The emotions

The cinematography

Cons.

It is distressing

It is deeply depressing

3/5

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The Lego Batman Movie: The Worst Batman

Written by Luke Barnes

The Lego Batman Movie is an animated, superhero, family film directed by Chris McKay. The plot sees Batman (Will Arnett), have to beat his greatest fear, personal intimacy, to beat the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) latest plan.

Personally, I don’t see why Batman was such a huge breakout character of the first Lego Movie, this character was deeply unlikeable there and it is only turned up here- to the Nth degree. I understand the point of his character in this film, and by extension the Lego Movie is that he is unlikeable and that he is working on himself to become better, but honestly it is not fun to watch. Arnett’s Batman quickly becomes irritating and as a result the film is a slog to get through.

Any comparison to the Lego Movie is deeply unfavourable for this film, as it really can’t compete. An example of what I am talking about, the Lego Movie has charm, and you care about the characters, this film has no charm at all, and the characters all come off as annoying.

Overall, I am glad the sequel to this film got cancelled.

Pros.

Michael Cera is trying as Robin

Cons.

Everything about Arnett’s Batman
It has no charm

The characters are annoying

It feels gimmicky

1/5

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Boogie: Shooting Hoops And Quoting Classic Literature

Written by Luke Barnes

Boogie is a drama film directed by Eddie Huang. The plot centres around the titular Boogie (Taylor Takahashi), a young man with only one dream, to become a professional basketball player. We see Boogie, deal with life, family and growing up all whilst trying to improve his game and stay in control of his life.

I am fairly mixed on this one, on the one hand I thought that its quieter moments of character drama were excellent, especially when the film was focusing on Boogie’s parents relationship or how each try and control who he is. However, I thought the premise and the wider execution of the film let it down as it ended up becoming just another generic sports film.

Both Huang and Takahashi intrigued me, I think both have a lot of potential which is shown within this film and I am excited to see where both go next. Takahashi especially, managed the emotional weight of the film well, whilst still feeling relatable and human.

Overall, if you are prepared to dig beneath the generic sports movie premise there is some solid drama and character work to be moved by here.

Pros.

The character drama

Takahashi

The ending

Cons.

It is very generic

It is predictable

2.5/5

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Bernie: Jack Black Proves He Can Nail Drama As Well

Written by Luke Barnes

Bernie is a dark comedy film directed by Richard Linklater. The plot follows the events surrounding the death of Marjorie Nugent at the hands of Bernie Tiede.

Jack Black plays the titular Bernie and I think he does it perfectly. This killer in real life was adored by a large majority of people in the Texan town of Carthage, and with the way Black plays him you can see why. Black sells the likeability of his character, but also eludes to a hidden darkness, he plays the character mostly straight, though he does manage a few laughs in some darkly comedic scenes.

I think it says a lot of Black’s performance that he can comfortably go toe to toe with Matthew McConaughey, who plays the lawyer who sent Bernie away for life, who is known for his dramatic prowess; I think in terms of dramatic acting this is a career best for Black.

I also thought the film had a lot of great eccentric moments to it, such as having one of the opening scenes be Bernie giving a lecture on how to prepare a dead body for burial as well as a number of interviews with real towns people who would have known both the victim and the murderer in real life: these touches add character to the film.

Overall, a lot of fun and a great performance from Jack Black

Pros.

Black

McConaughey

The quirks

It was fun to watch

Cons.

The pacing could have been tighter

4.5/5

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Dawn Of The Beast: People Should Know By Now That Nothing Good Ever Happens In The Woods.

Written by Luke Barnes

Dawn Of The Beast is a horror film directed by Bruce Wemple. The plot sees a group of graduate students head out into the woods in search of Bigfoot, however, what they find is far more terrifying.

There is only one truly good horror film about Bigfoot and that is the Lost Coast Tapes, the rest of them are frequently terrible. I am pleased to say that though this film has issues, this falls into the category of good Bigfoot horror, and does provide a nice entry into the subgenre.

I think the creature design on both Bigfoot and the Wendigo is very well done, and though we only see brief amounts of them over the course of the film they do leave an impression and look suitably scary or perhaps monstrous.

In terms of scares, the film isn’t scary, it has a few tense sequences and attempts a few jump scares but to limited success.

The issues with this film are all structural and fundamental. The pacing in this film is way off and what is a relatively short film ends up feeling far longer to watch then it actually is- developing a bloat. Moreover, the acting from the human characters is incredibly weak: yes I understand that most wont be watching this to see how layered and well written the human characters are, rather instead to watch monster carnage, but it did impact on my viewing experience.

Overall, a good Bigfoot horror film that is brought down by several glaring issues.

Pros.

Using its monster well

The creature design

A few tense sequences

Cons.

The pacing

The acting

3.5/5

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