Made In Italy: Who Knew Renovating Old Houses Could Be So Emotional

Written by Luke Barnes

Made In Italy is a comedy drama film directed by James D’Arcy. The plot sees an estranged father and son bond whilst renovating their derelict Italian home for sale.

I enjoy Liam Neeson, I think he is great as an action hero, he is great in his rare comedic roles and he is great as a dramatic actor- this film proves that last point. This film is so passionate and raw that it simply has to hit a nerve in those watching it, and Neeson is a big part of that.

The dynamic and bond between the father and son is so moving and beautiful that it brought a tear to my eye. The relationship is more than a little relatable, and I am sure many can agree on that point, and the scene when the two finally open up to each other and talk about their issues is particularly heart-breaking.

There are a few different romance subplots sown into the film, but where in other films this could prove to be an unwelcomed distraction here it only serve to boost the emotion of the film and at times provide some much needed comedic relief.

Overall, a beautiful and thoughtful film that reached me on an emotional level.

Pros.

The father son dynamic

Neeson as a dramatic actor

The emotion

The ending

The score is also very strong

Cons.

None

5/5

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Shiva Baby: You’ll Cringe Harder Then You Have Ever Done In Your Life

Written by Luke Barnes

Shiva Baby is a dark comedy film directed by Emma Seligman. The plot sees Danielle (Rachel Sennott), attend a Shiva which is packed with her family and people from her past, including her ex-girlfriend, if that wasn’t bad enough her sugar daddy is also there.

I’ve seen some people imply that this is a social horror film, and I can see where they are coming from, as I was watching this I was getting stressed especially as the drama escalated and escalated- my social anxiety was not thanking me for watching this film I’ll tell you that.

I think this film perfectly executes what it sets out to do, moreover, I think this film manages to capture the horror of the day to day, and weaponizes awkward cringe to the point of it being terrifying.

The characters are all perfectly formed, layered and deep and as nuanced as any person you would meet.

Overall, one of the most stressful and cringe (in a good way), films you will ever see. Definitely worth the watch.

Pros.

The characters

The interaction

The awkwardness

The premise and the execution

Cons.

It may be too awkward for some

4.5/5

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The Secret Life Of Pets: Its Better Not To Know

Written by Luke Barnes

The Secret Life Of Pets is an animated family film directed by Chris Renaud. The plot of the film answers the age old question, what do our pets do all day when we are not there?

Recently, I have been exploring Illumination Animation, I have gone through the Despicable Me films, check the site for those reviews, as such this film was next on my list.

I have to say though I had issues with the Despicable Me series there were still some redeeming aspects, here however, that is not the case. Never before in my history of watching films have I witnessed a more mismanaged and outrightly unlikable voice cast: there are some talented performers working here, but for the most part they are working with cliches and one note characters, so they are hamstrung from the beginning.

Moreover, when I realised that Louis C.K voiced the main character that made the film hard to watch for me. For those of you who don’t know C.K was accused of sexual harassment and abuse several years ago, as such hearing him in this film made me feel uncomfortable. Obviously the filmmakers couldn’t have known at the time when they cast him, but it does make the rewatch hard

Finally, the humour did nothing for me at all. To say it was juvenile would be an understatement, I have no issue with a good fart joke, but these just felt lazy.

Overall, a deeply average film made worse by a troublesome lead.

Pros.

The animation looked good

Cons.

The characters are lazy cliches

The humour doesn’t work

Louis C.K

It has no soul or charm

1/5

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Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: Turning Willy Wonka Into A Sociopath

Written by Luke Barnes

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a fantasy family film directed by Tim Burton, based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. The plot sees a group of lucky golden ticket winners get to explore a mysterious chocolate factory that is beyond imagining.

When people ask what is the most needless remake? I don’t see this film’s name come up nearly enough. It is a step down from the original Gene Wilder version in nearly every way, and I truly do believe that Burton was the wrong choice to direct this film- the book is really the anthesis of his standard mo.

Johnny Depp is trying his best as Willy Wonka, but he doesn’t play the character in the way we would expect or want, instead he plays Wonka as a cold, almost vindictive at times character who is drawn off and eccentric. Again this is very typical for the Depp-Burton dynamic, but it is not what anyone would want for a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film.

Freddie Highmore is meh as Charlie, and really adds very little to the film.

The worst bit about this film is just how keen it is to explain away the mystery behind Wonka and his past, creating a social outcast, daddy issues, sub plot because why not.

Overall, it is as if Burton and the executives who signed off on this film had never read the book before.

Pros.

A few minor unintentional laughs

Cons.

Depp is miscast

Burton and his style don’t fit the film

There is a crucial misunderstanding of the source material

They demystify Wonka

2/5

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Chaos Walking: Yet Another Miss For Tom Holland

Written by Luke Barnes

Chaos Walking is a science fiction coming of age film directed by Doug Liman. The plot envisions a soul astronaut (Daisy Ridley), survive her spacefaring expedition to a previously colonised world that has gone dark. Said world is heavily gender skewed as all the world’s women have seemingly been killed, and the males are inflicted with something that allows their thoughts to exist outside of their body, being able to be heard by anyone.

This film will be historic, it will be remembered. Why? Well as the film that proved that the YA genre is well and truly dead. This film reminded me of the worst parts of that cinematic movement, on a par with Divergent and The Fifth Wave.

Both of the leads in this film Ridley and Tom Holland, are unlikeable and milk toast to say the least. Neither of them seem to have a personality and they have even less chemistry together on screen together.

The plot is pap that you have seen before in other better YA and Science Fiction films- here it is at its most generic.

With this and Locked Down in his recent filmography it might be time to start worrying about Liman’s skill and stop handing him 7 figure deals, less we end up with more mediocre nonsense.

Overall, a very weak YA film that reminds you of the worst the genre has to offer.

Pros.

Mads Mikkelsen

Cons.

Holland

Ridley

The plot and where it goes

The cringe

1/5

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Bad Trip: The Worst Of Tiffany Haddish

Written by Luke Barnes

Bad Trip is a hidden camera comedy film directed by Kitao Sakurai. The plot sees two best friends (played by Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howley), go on a quest to escape their boring lives and chase love in New York City.

I am split on this film. On the one hand it had several funny moments, mainly from Andre, that made me laugh out loud. However, on the other there were also a fair few jokes and stunts that were in deeply poor taste: such as one where Andre’s character gets his hand caught in a blender, now the reason why this is in poor taste is because those around Andre’s character think it is real and respond as such- this could be potentially traumatic.

Moreover, I didn’t find either of the main characters particularly likeable, however, of the two Andre’s is by far worse, he is a selfish jerk, and it is hard to root for him. I don’t know if this is a deliberate character decision or not, but it does taint the film to a degree.

Furthermore, Tiffany Haddish is unbearably unfunny as the films villain. Haddish has films were she shines, and films were she is the worst part, and this is definitely the latter. Her character has one trait that this film is interested in and that is that she is tough, and the film doesn’t bother to explore her character beyond that.

Overall, though it has a few laugh out loud hilarious parts, the film runs the gambit of bad taste and doesn’t have characters that you can even remotely root for.

Pros.

A few really funny jokes

Cons.

Haddish

Bad taste

Not all of the jokes land

The ending

1/5

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Coast: Running Away

Written by Luke Barnes

Coasts is a drama coming of age film directed by Jessica Hester and Derek Schweickart. The plot revolves around a young woman whose life changes when a traveling rock band is forced to stay in her small town for a while.

This film was a very stirring coming of age tale. It struck me as very personable and relatable, we have all been there before, we have all faced the reality of our small town life or grown board with our city if we are not from a small town, the urge to roam and be free is something that every human being can relate to.

I thought the drama of this film was very impactful. The idea of do you stay with what you know and what is comfortable and familiar, or do you take a chance that might never come again and go and be wild, I thought this premise raised a lot of philosophical questions and makes one reflect on their own life.

Overall, a very thoughtful and thought provoking film that nearly everyone can relate to.

Pros.

The relatability

It causes you to reflect

It is entertaining and engaging

Cons.

It has a few minor pacing issues

4/5

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The Voices: Family Trouble

Written by Luke Barnes

The Voices is a horror thriller film directed by Wesley Alley and Bradley Fowler. The plot sees a young woman escape to a family member’s remote home where she must deal with her own and her sisters worsening mental health.

I found this film scary in that you never quite know what is going on in someone else’s head or what they are going through. Mental health issues can and often do affect us all at some point in our lives which makes the horror of this film have a personal feel to it.

I think the scares of the film are quite well done, yes there are quite a few jump scares which I found off putting, but there is also a strong horror atmosphere to the film that greatly enhances the ultimate impact of the film and is able to make you feel unsettled after the credits roll.

The appearance from horror icon Lin Shaye is greatly appreciated, she adds a lot of credibility to the film and sells the scenes she is in.

My one negative of this film would be that it feels almost like a stigmatisation of people with mental health conditions, the characterisation of the sister and how she is put across almost feels like a demonisation of those suffering with mental health, which is not on. Of course, this could be me reading into something that isn’t there and be how I took it- it may not be deliberate.

Overall, a few good scares in a passable horror film.

Pros.

The atmosphere

Lin Shaye

A relatable horror

Cons.

It approach and depiction of those suffering with mental health

Jump scares

Quite uninspired

2.5/5

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Doors: This Is A Closed Door For Josh Peck’s Career

Written by Luke Barnes

Doors is a science fiction anthology film. The plot revolves around alien doors suddenly appearing all over Earth, and when people walk into these doors they face their greatest fears as well as alternate versions of themselves and other such nightmarish frights.

I want to put my vote in on this being the most pretentious science fiction film of 2021 now as barring something spectacularly up its own arse, nothing is topping this film.

So where to begin with this one. Firstly, it is never made clear that this is an anthology film, you get the feeling as the film goes along that it might be one, but you can’t shake the feeling that maybe, it is all supposed to flow together and that you missed something. That is this films greatest problem, it thinks it is far more clever then it actually is, in actual fact it is a masterclass in how not to write science fiction. The structure, pacing and even the dialogue in this film serve to be off putting.

The perfect encapsulation of this point is the ending that tries to play itself off as grand and meaningful when in fact it actually just leaves you going ‘really’, it makes Annihilation’s ending look better. Disappointing is to light of a word for this.

Overall, it was nice to see Josh Peck back on our screens for one fleeting moment, sadly he hitched his horse to a stinker here.

Pros.

Josh Peck

A few interesting ideas

It is unsettling

Cons.

It is incredibly pretentious

It is boring

It doesn’t make sense

2/5

City Of Lies: Depp Back In Action

Written by Luke Barnes

City Of Lies is a crime film directed by Brad Furman. The plot revolves around the death of Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls, and the possible involvement of the LAPD.

It is nice to see Johnny Depp back on screen, it has been a while. Depp plays the detective who was investigating the case and the links to the LAPD, before he was thrown off the case as he was getting too close to the corruption, he meets Forrest Whittaker’s journalist character later on in his career and the two begin to investigate the case again.

I thought the two men had a lot of on-screen chemistry together and bounced off each other really well, true in both the banter scenes and also the more emotional and intense scenes. The emotions that Whittaker’s character has at the end of the film, for reasons I won’t spoil, feel heartbreakingly true and also reflective of how you’re feeling in that moment as well.

I think that though the story is not the most inspired, as there have been very similar plots in many other crime films, the quality of the acting really lifts it that bit beyond. Furthermore, the ideas and dialogues of this film start many important questions and conversations that will add to the ongoing introspection public towards the behaviour of the police.

Overall, a very strong crime film that overcomes a generic premise with strong performances from both of its leading men.

Pros.

Whittaker

Depp

The emotions especially at the end

Adding to a cultural dialogue

Cons.

The premise is fairly generic.

4/5

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