Space Force: The War For The Moon Has Already Begun

Written by Luke Barnes

3/5

There is definitely shades of The Office here: American not British.

I think if anything this show is a testament to the likeability and the warmth of Steve Carell, the other characters in this show are quite underdeveloped, yet luckily the entire focus is on Carell and he sells it and makes the series as good as it is.

The major issue with this series is that it will/has age horribly. There are a lot of references to then current American politics, which feel dated and stilted even now, and it has only been a year. Also a perhaps more importantly I didn’t find this series funny, charming yes, but funny no: most of the jokes didn’t land for me.

Though the characters were underdeveloped, I still ended up caring for them by the end of the series and am excited to see where next season takes them.

As far as the series ideas go, I think the premise has a lot of potential and the actual execution is also quite strong, I enjoyed the one-ups Manship between the US and Chinese Space Forces and thought it was well built during the series.

Overall, though the characters are a little thin you still end up caring about them, with a strong lead performance and an interesting idea that helps this series to get at least part of the way to the moon.

Pros.

Carell

You end up caring about the characters

The US Vs China storyline

Cons.

Dated references

The jokes don’t land

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Army Of The Dead: A Zombie Tiger, Now I Really Have Seen Everything

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This film was billed as the restoration of the zombie genre bringing it back to popularity- it is not that. Really, this is more of the same zombie killing action that you have seen done to death over the last ten years across all forms of media. Yes, there are some funny moments and some good knowingly cringe moments like playing the Cranberries song Zombie at the end, but even still it can’t make up for the fact that you have seen it all before.

The cast of characters are mostly forgettable, the only two who inspired any real interest were Lily and Martin and yet, they got killed before they had any real chance to grow into interesting characters- the same can be said for the rest. Not everyone needed to die to make this film feel dramatic.

I thought Bautista was fine as the lead, serviceable but not in any way memorable. Moreover, I found his daughter character to be extremely annoying and poorly written: she’s angry at her dad so she will willingly put her own life at risk to spite him, when the zombies are gearing up for an attack she runs outside, it is bafflingly dumb.

Additionally, I didn’t like the reveal that the zombie queen was pregnant when she died, I thought it was needless and in bad taste: more so when they cut her stomach open and pulled out her dead zombie baby. It left a bad taste in my mouth that is still taste as I am writing this review.

Finally, the runtime of this film makes it a slog. There is no reason this film needs to be over two hours, none, and yet it is.

The action and the cinematography are for the most part well done and visually pleasing, however I found that a lot of the concepts were not fully realised: there is a zombie tiger who other than killing off one character does very, very little and which could have been so much more.

Overall, the zombie genre is played out.

Pros.

The action

The cinematography

Cons.

The dead zombie baby

The runtime and staggering pacing issues

It is repetitive

None of the characters are allowed to be interesting

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The Woman In The Window: Close The Curtains

The Woman In The Window

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Netflix original films really can’t seem to catch a break. For the most part originals fall into the beige category and are quickly forgotten about, with even once in a while a film coming out that is either really good or really bad, but for the most part the film’s turn out average; this is the issue of having a machine/algorithm making your decisions for you.

This film is definitely more of the same generic content the service is littered with, it shares a lot of the issues that plague other Netflix originals and it sadly wastes what it could have been.

Amy Adams and Wyatt Russel are the shining stars of the piece, their performances are the ones that stayed with me, for the right reasons, and the ones that were convincing. Sadly a lot of the other big name performers here such as Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman are wasted in a big way, and just feel around for the sake of it; don’t even get me started on Anthony Mackie.

Whilst watching this film with my girlfriend we both had different interpretations of what was wrong with the film as a whole, she thought the film was deeply predictable and guessed the twist early on. I however, thought the opposite true and thought the film was so convoluted, trying ridiculously hard to prove its own intelligence, that it became illegible about halfway through.

The one thing we could agree on however, was that this film was depressing. Oh boy, get a happy film lined up for after this, or hug your pet, this film is the opposite of the sort of thing you want to be watching in lockdown, and will make you sad by the time it ends.

Overall, Netflix needs to realise that not all their films are deep, thoughtful looks into the human condition and that some of them are just pretentious.

Pros.

Adams

Russell

Cons.

It is depressing

It is convoluted

It wastes most of the cast.

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Behind Her Eyes: The TED Talk On How Not To Do A Twist

Written by Luke Barnes

Behind Her Eyes is a supernatural thriller series directed by Stephen Lightfoot based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Pinborough. The plot revolves around a love triangle at a local doctor’s clinic that becomes more dangerous due to the fact that one of the trio can astral project.

This was billed as Netflix’s most recent must binge series and I did, and honestly I have to say it is kind of a mess. The first few episodes start the show off on a strong note, there is a keen sense of place and characters and the hint of something more at play- a supernatural element. However, as the series rushes to its end, things quickly start to come apart.

The last two episodes of the series feature a number of twists that I believe ruin the show. The generic erotic thriller themes of the first few episodes are made more interesting by the tease of something more supernatural going on, and boy do you get that in the last two episodes. Sadly, when we do start dealing with the ideas around astral projection it is boring, poorly thought out and leaves more questions than answers.

Overall, the series does have moments of promise, but it throws it all away at the end.

Pros.

Some early intrigue and the tease of something more

Cons.

It quickly becomes generic

The twist is not very good

The astral projection stuff is riddled with issues

It derails itself

1/5

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His House: Stranger In A Strange Land

His House is a horror film directed by Remi Weekes. The film revolves around a pair of South Sudanese refugees, Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Supe Dirisu), who flee their home for a supposed ‘better’ life in England. However, once they settle into their new lives they soon come to realise that you can’t run from your demons, they just follow you.

This has been in my Netflix que, for quite some time and honestly I am angry with myself for not watching it sooner. It is one of the freshest horror films I have seen in a while and I think it is a must watch.

Firstly, the horror is multi layered, yes you have the supernatural threat, but you also have all this threat coming in from the outside world; the locals are not welcoming to the pair and the whole asylum system seems rigged against them. Unlike something like Get Out wherein you had these layer of horror that were obvious and on the nose, here it feels far more refined and subtle and less slapping you in the face.

The scares are all very well done, I would say that this film is genuinely scary and that is coming from someone who is no stranger to the genre and who likes to think he does not scary easily. I enjoyed again the focus on African folk magic and mythology, it is nice to see a more diverse horror focus and less of the same Christen angles and demons that over populate the genre.

Overall, a real gem make sure you check it out!

Pros.

The multi layered horror

The performances

The focus on African mythology

The scares

The ending

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Princess Switch, Switched Again: Wait What? I’m Confused

The Princess Switch: Switched Again is a Christmas set romantic comedy, drama film directed by Mike Rohl, serving as a follow up to the previous Princess Switch film, as well as taking place in the wider Netflix MPCA shared universe. The plot this time around see Princess Margaret (Vanessa Hudgens), go into crisis as she is soon to be sworn in as the new Queen of Montenaro. Never fear a switch with her double will save the day.

This film becomes incredibly confusing, as we now have three Vanessa Hudgens’ character that at points in the film all look identical; it borders on high concept filmmaking trying to keep track of them all in your head, let alone remember each’s storyline and arc.

The plot for the most part is trash, it is a cliché wrapped up in a trope; there is nothing new or innovative. However, surely you already knew that. I will thank the screen writer for not making this plot as predictable as I thought it was going to be, my first assumptions for where it was going where proven wrong and dare I say it I was somewhat surprised with where it went.

The film is really made by the delightfully over the top performance of Vanessa Hudgens who serves as a likeable lead and is different enough in all her characters for it to never end up feeling samey.

I also enjoyed the Rose McIver cameo from A Christmas Prince, it is nice to see the shared universe grow, it was a nice touch.

Overall, still fun, but a weak sequel by far.

Pros.

Vanessa Hudgens

All of the Hudgens characters feel separate and unique

The wider MPCA Netflix shared universe

Cons.

It is overly confusing

The plot is garbage

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Operation Christmas Drop: Army Porn

Operation Christmas Drop is a romantic comedy Christmas film directed by Martin Wood. The plot sees congressional aid Erica (Kat Graham), travel to a US Army base in Guam to decide whether keeping it open is cost effective. Whilst there she falls in love with handsome, saintly, soldier Andrew (Alexander Ludwig). The two then help to give all the native islanders a great Christmas.

The biggest issue with this film is how into the army it is. I am by no means knocking the armed forces in America or anywhere in the world, but at the same time you don’t want to watch a film that sucks up to them for too long either, to a point this is basically an enlisting advert.

The romance is sweet, not to a sickening point, but it is also nothing special. You have seen this love story before, a lot of times before and believe me it hasn’t gotten any fresher. The odd thing about this film is how conservative it is with the romance, opting to not even have the characters really kiss. I get it is trying to be family friendly but come on.

Overall, this is passably watchable, no Knight Before Christmas or a Christmas Prince, but still worth your time if you have nothing better on.

Pros.

It is watchable

It is fairly upbeat

Cons.

The romance is predictable and familiar

It feels like an army recruitment ad

It is too safe and family friendly

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

6 Underground: Bay’s Explosions Have Lost Their Boom

6 Underground is an action film directed by Michael Bay. The plot sees a team of highly skilled covert operatives try and overthrow the brutal dictator of a far away country.

So, at this point I am starting to see a lot of similarities with Netflix’s action movies, they aren’t all exactly the same, but they have a very distinct feel to them that makes them all kind of blend together. The issue with this almost formula is that it gets repetitive and feels done before, this film definitely suffered from that.

Bay is not really known for character or dialogue, so I won’t go on about how standard if a little subpar it is here, but he does waste the comedic talents of Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds does have a few jokes here and there that mostly fall flat because the film takes itself far too seriously. That raises another issue, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously all the time just some of the time, sometimes the film will be silly and Reynolds will play it straight and then the film will be serious and Reynolds will be silly, it is a strange off kilter kind of thing that leads to a very jarring experience.

The explosions and action that I would expect from a Bay film are here, but again they feel run off the mill, I feel like I have seen better elsewhere he needs to up his game.

Overall, a very by the numbers kind of film that doesn’t do much of note beyond being incredibly tonally inconsistent.
Pros.

The action is serviceable

It has a few cool moments

Cons.

The comedy doesn’t work

Ryan Reynolds isn’t funny here

The tonal mismatch

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Triple Frontier: Money As A Motivator

Triple Frontier is an action film directed by J.C Chandor. The plot sees a group of former soldiers who are hard up for cash, head down to Brazil where they plan to rob and kill a local drug lord that one of their member has spent years tracking.

Netflix’s action films are a mixed bag, with more bad than good, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this. The thing I liked most was the classic rock soundtrack, right from the off when I heard it I knew what I was in for and I think it was a great accompaniment.

The performances are all faultless, Oscar Issac, Ben Affleck and Charlie Hunnam all do a great job and are convincing soldiers. Affleck is probably the weakest of the main trio, as there are moments where he looks like he is just there to get paid, however when it gets to the more emotional moments he shines. There is a scene when they’re trying to escape by helicopter, but the cash is going to weigh down the chopper, so they need to ditch and Ben Affleck’s character won’t give up even a single dollar, the emotion in this scene made me stand up and take notice.

The action was all fairly standard there was nothing that blew me away or really impressed me hugely.

Overall, a surprisingly strong action film with great performances from its trio of leads.

Pros.

The soundtrack

The leads

Ben Affleck’s helicopter scene

The tension

Cons.

The action itself was very by the numbers

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Eurovison Song Contest, The Story Of Fire Saga: Embarrassing

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is a parody spoof comedy film directed by David Dobkin. The plot sees Icelandic duo Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), dream of winning Eurovision despite being considered a joke by many.

I want to open this review by saying that as a kid I was a huge Will Ferrell fan, I enjoyed at lot of his 2000’s work and one or two of his post 2010 roles, but I have to say this film coupled with Downhill is a damming indictment on his career. It seems as though he has given up trying to make anything good and is now content to make trash and honestly it is becoming embarrassing for him.

He is too old to be playing the man child character now and this film shows it, his characters relationship with Sigrit feels icky and the whole film has that tone. Ferrell’s character seems old enough to be her father and when they finally kissed at the end it made my skin crawl a bit.

What’s more the Ferrell style of comedy that worked about ten years ago no longer does. Watching a middle age man fall over and shout at things isn’t funny, the what would be called comedy, I guess, is about as juvenile as you would expect, it makes Adam Sandler’s films look like beacons of refinement.

Overall this film is just bad don’t watch it. For me personally, it is sad to see an actor that I once loved sink this low. He needs to hang it up, or try a different type of role.

Pros.

The songs are mildly catchy

Cons.

It feels icky

Ferrell is too old for the role

The humour is mindless and childish

The heart fails to connect

1/5

Reviewed by Luke