Author: Mark

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Post author By Mark
Post date June 15, 2021

The Conjuring series may very well be the best horror franchise chugging along today. Sure it has had its misfires, with The Nun and The Curse of la Llorona, but for everyone of those (which are still admittedly better than half the big studio garbage pumped out today) you get a true horror classic like Annabelle: Creation or the first two Conjuring films. It’s safe to say the franchise would not exist if it weren’t for one James Wan, the best working horror director today. His rising star may have prevented him from helming the third instalment in the mainline series –The Devil Made Me Do It – but that hasn’t stopped Warner Bros from surging ahead anyway, with la Llorona director Michael Chaves stepping into the directing shoes.

How does he do? Pretty damn well if you ask me. The Devil Made Me Do it never fully recovers from Wan’s absence, but Chaves wisely moves the story into new territory, centering on real-life demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) as they not only battle unholy forces again but the judicial system, in a frantic race to find crucial evidence that will spare a possessed young man from a murder charge. It’s a story that is, perhaps to what some will consider its detriment, less focused on scares and more so on the relationship between Ed and Lorraine. This is Wilson and Farmiga’s fourth time playing these roles and they get better every time, with such a natural chemistry and believable love for each other that it is just impossible not to root for them against evil. By throwing new, very human hurdles at the Warrens (Ed is in constant fear of suffering a heart attack following an incident) Chaves plays on our fear of losing one or both of these characters to terrific effect. It isn’t so much scary as it is unbelievably tense at times, and you fully believe that the couple could perish at any minute despite their headlining status.

Where the story falters is in its characterisation of the supporting cast. In the previous two Conjuring films the Warrens were used almost as a device to stitch together a broken family, revealing their bond and endearing themselves to the audience as they help some truly damaged people. Here however, the victim in question, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) just isn’t given enough screen-time or things to do to ever truly make you care. Once he arrives in prison following the demon-driven murder of his housemate, that is pretty much it for his character, who acts more as a visual ticking clock to remind you of the stakes for the Warrens rather than his own fully fleshed out character. There are attempts made to flesh out Arne through his devoted girlfriend Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook), with Hook giving a fine dramatic performance, suitably distraught at her boyfriends predicament but nothing we haven’t seen before from the franchise. By not having the Warren’s thoroughly interact with Arne and learn about him the whole affair becomes a bit deflated. We only really care because we have a pre-existing care for the Warrens and no half-baked attempts to assert Ed’s confidence in Arne’s innocence because he caught a look in his eyes is enough to fully bring the audience on board.

Then there are the scares, which by most people’s assessment will make or break the film. Nothing here is as iconic or instantly impactful as the Nun’s arrival in The Conjuring 2 or the game of hide and clap in the original, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some incredibly well shot and paced scares. The highlight is undoubtedly an all-too brief water-bed scene, which puts child actor Julian Hillard’s skills on full display. It’s a slow burn of a scare, but when it hits it hits like a shot-gun blast to the face. Everything else… not so much. It’s a hard thing to dance around without spoiling things but sufficed to say Chaves places so much focus on the mystery of the demon and its origins – replacing the simple terror of a demon unleashing hell of the previous films with something more manipulated- that the premise just inherently some of the fear factor. What we’re left with are a series of pretty stock-standard jump scares that, whilst predictable, are still done better than 90% of the horror competition out there, with Chaves always achieving the desired jolt through slick and measured camera movements, demonstrating far more control over the scares than on la Llorona.

The Devil Made Me Do It marks a continuation of the shift in tone set by Annabelle Comes Home to less conventional horror storytelling, this time in the form of a demonic-leaning murder-mystery. The lack of James Wan’s flair with the camera is sorely felt at times but Chaves does a commendable job stepping into his shoes; furthering the bond between the Warrens and ensuring the audience has a fun time while he does it, even if the scares don’t quite measure up to the franchise’s best. We may never hit the nightmare inducing heights of those first 2 films again (unless Wan makes a miraculous return) but if this is the direction that the Conjuring universe is heading in going forward, then the future is anything but boring.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hillard, Eugenie Bondurant & John Noble – In cinemas now and streaming on HBO Max in the US.

Tags Eugenie Bondurant, John Noble, Julian Hillard, Michael Chaves, New Line Cinema, Patrick Wilson, Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, The Conjuring, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Vera Farmiga, Warner Bros

Movie Reviews

Cruella

Post author By Mark
Post date June 11, 2021

Ask anybody who their favourite Disney villain is and odds are eventually you’ll get to that one wild card who thinks 101 Dalmatians Cruella De Vil reigns supreme above all the Ursulas and Scars. The puppy-killing monster certainly does make an impression within her own film but, as with almost all of Disney’s endless live-action films, the question remains: is this story necessary to tell? The answer is more mixed than you might expect. Cruella is easily the most original offering from the Mouse House in a long while; with a focus on a hyper-stylised world of fashion and a darker, revenge-driven plot. It often feels like director Craig Gillespie tries a bit of everything throughout the film – often all at once – leaving you overwhelmed and confused at times, but the performances from the whole cast, particularly Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, are top-notch and ultimately serve to carry you through this very bumpy ride.

Born Estella (Stone), the eventual villainess is turned onto a life of crime as a young girl when she witnesses her mother plummet to her death at the mansion of The Baroness (Thompson), a fashion tycoon with a penchant for narcissism who harbors more than a few dark secrets. Now an orphan, Estella escapes to London and takes up with local street thieves Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and Jasper (Joel Fry), quickly becoming the leader of their gang as they scam and grift their way through life. When Jasper lands Estella a job at the Baroness’ fashion house years later, her chaotic alter-ego Cruella threatens to ruin the life she has created for herself, launching a vicious fashion war with the Baroness. As tensions heat up between the pair, long-buried secrets bubble to the surface, threatening to permanently warp Estella into the demented, dog-despising menace as we know her.

Cruella is a strange film to pin down tonally. The melodramatic, almost Dickensian opening gives way to what appears to be a heist film, as we follow Cruella and the gang pull off a series of low-level cons. In retrospect, this might be the most enjoyable part of Cruella, free from the complicated world-building that comes in the second half. Once Estella comes to work for Thompson’s Baroness the film essentially becomes Disney’s take on The Devil Wears Prada, with Estella idolising the Baroness and her place within the fashion world she has long wished to be a part of. Emma Thompson is pitch perfect casting here outside of Meryl Streep herself, with a gleefully vicious performance skewering everything and everyone around her. The definition of a true narcissist, she cares for no one but herself and Thompson rules the screen, with some terrific costuming adding to the intimidating air she carries herself with. Some dark late game revelations rob her character of some of the fun factor – going where very few Disney films dare – ultimately to the detriment of the story, prioritising wrapping things up in a hurry over solid character work.

While the tone may shift the one thing that manages to stay consistent is the incessant use of popular 1970’s punk and pop songs. It isn’t understating things to say that the opening 90 minutes don’t contain a single scene that isn’t soundtracked by a song you’ve heard, from The Clash all the way to The Rolling Stones. Whilst it does give the film a certain madcap energy, it becomes incredibly tiresome as you begin to feel as if scenes have been plotted out around the song rather than their place in the story. One such scene involves Cruella arriving at a fashion gala in a truly punk rock fashion, with her posse performing The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” live as she steps out to the red carpet before… the scene ends. That’s it. In the context of the film Cruella’s arrival serves to upset the uptight Baroness but the scene also plays after a montage of her doing precisely that in a variety of other ways, so why did we need this scene? Thankfully things settle down in the second half of the film as Gillespie realises he can’t score every emotional scene with a loud rock song but it comes as too little too late after all the time wasted flashy music videos that could have been spent on meaningful character development.

Then there’s Cruella herself, who starts things off as something of an anti-hero; a Robin Hood swindling the rich to fund her poor self. In a bizarre but interesting take on the character, she actually becomes more unlikeable as the film progresses, hinting at her eventual turn into full-tilt, Dalmatian-skinning madness. That madness takes the form of a type of split-personality syndrome, with the normal, fundamentally good-hearted Estella constantly at war with the mean-spirited Cruella inside of her. As far as metaphors between good and evil go, it isn’t exactly subtle; especially when the film makes a point of highlighting the warring colours in her hair as some kind of high-concept exploration of that metaphor. Nevertheless Emma Stone commits entirely, giving a ridiculously over-the-top performance in the best way, right down to a somewhat ludicrous British accent that somehow just… works. The schtick may get tiring at times, Stone herself is never boring, constantly making strange choices that lend themselves to the unhinged nature of the character.

There is no doubt that Cruella is the strangest of the live-action Disney films to date; with a distinctive style all its own as Craig Gillespie and Emma Stone delve deep into the psyche of one of the most iconic Disney villains. The breakneck pace and quality performances all around help to keep the film together despite the myriad of forces trying to tear it apart; be it the barrage of music, jarring tonal shifts and a need to conform to the Disney formula in the moments where it should be embracing Cruella’s punk spirit and dissenting. Those who have grown tired of the same old retread of classic animated fare (and who hasn’t at this point?) will likely enjoy a somewhat refreshing take on a now ancient property which will, if nothing else, keep you entertained for its monstrous two hour runtime, even if it never quite answers the question: why do we need this?

Cruella stars Emma Stone, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Mark Strong, John McCrea, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Kayvan Novak & Emma Thompson – In cinemas and streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access now.

Tags Craig Gillespie, Cruella, Disney, Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser

Movie Reviews

Army of the Dead

Post author By Mark
Post date June 1, 2021

You could argue that Zack Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead way back in 2004 was one of the first projects to spark the renewed craze in the undead. Now 17 years and what feels like that many DC projects later Snyder returns to the genre that put him on the map with Army of the Dead, an original story of his own creation that sends a muscled up team of mercenaries into a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas swarming with zombies to pull off the ultimate heist. It may not hit the same terrifying highs of Dawn, but Snyder should be commended for his willingness to experiment within the zombie genre, bombarding the audience with a deep and (mostly) interesting lore that is ultimately overshadowed by the fairly rudimentary story within. The man may need to learn that less is more when it comes to his new favourite technique, but Army is ultimately an engaging and, above all, fun addition to the zombie canon.

If you thought an abandoned mall was a big playground for zombie shenanigans then prepare to be impressed, as Snyder transforms the adult equivalent of Disneyland into the goriest place on Earth, complete with Sigfried and Roy’s zombified pet tiger. The opening few scenes paint a gruesome and surprisingly humour-infused picture of the beginning of this particular zombie uprising, with flesh-eating Elvis impersonators and showgirls ravaging the town and devouring the population. Only once the city has been fenced off by the Government do we find ourselves face to face with Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), a former soldier tasked with the initial evacuation of Vegas who is now whiling away the hours flipping burgers and reflecting on his brutal past. When wealthy CEO Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) walks into his diner and offers him the chance to make 200 million dollars, Scott’s ears perk up and he begins to assemble a crack team to break into the vault deep within the Strip. Joining him are fellow veterans Maria (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderhoe (Omari Hardwick), cowardly safe cracker Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), helicopter pilot Peters (Tig Notaro), YouTube zombie hunter Guzman (Raúl Castillo), Tanaka’s right hand man Martin (Garret Dillahunt) who may or may not have his own nefarious motives and Scott’s daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), who forces herself onto the team in order to rescue a friend from the zombified wasteland.

Once the team enters that wasteland is when Snyder’s true vision for the world takes shape. Alongside the traditional slow-moving “Shamblers” and more modern fast-moving, frenetic zombie are the Alpha’s, high-functioning undead generals within the literal army of the dead. Led by patient zero Zeus (Richard Cetrone), the zombies maintain an almost medieval hierarchy, serving their king and his queen as they defend their territory from intruders. When they enter, Scott’s team must leave a sacrifice for the undead as a sign of respect and this is just one of the fascinating deviations from the zombie norm that Snyder takes. Zeus is a legitimately intelligent and fierce adversary, strategically manoeuvring his subjects to intercept Scott’s team and leave no survivors. It isn’t exactly Game of Thrones in terms of the interactions within this hierarchy of zombies but it is different enough to be a whole lot of fun. Also did I mention the zombie tiger? Because yeah, there’s a zombie tiger and it’s just as awesome as you would think it is.

What isn’t as awesome unfortunately is the interaction between the humans. With the exception of the genuinely touching bond formed between the odd-couple of fierce soldier Vanderhoe and timid Dieter, no single character really gets much of an arc to fulfil. Bautista is excellent as Scott, and is the obvious choice to be leading these sorts of action-heavy films into the future, but he also packs a lot of emotion into his performance. Scott’s past is harrowing and has clearly left him with some serious trauma that has damaged the relationship with his daughter. When he senses this might be his only chance to reconnect with Kate, Scott tries his best, which boils down to offering her his share of the money and constantly quipping about opening up various sorts of food trucks. Great performance but not so great dialogue. This holds true for all of the supporting characters, who either have their own mini, incredibly predictable arc – like the obviously insidious Martin – or are assigned an intriguing character trait that defines them instead of their actions – like the immediately interesting Guzman, who seems to offer a hilarious commentary on modern gaming and streaming culture but never really does anything.

It’s worth mentioning Tig Notaro’s inclusion in the film as well, who replaced Chris D’Elia at the last minute after unsettling (to say the least) revelations emerged about the comedian’s private life. Having been superimposed into the film through some CG trickery, her scenes feel strangely disconnected from not only the rest of the cast but the movie in general, with a distractingly obvious change in background and the general feel of the film whenever we cut to Peters. Her performance isn’t bad, just not as noteworthy as the behind-the-scenes of her appearance. Fortunately the CGI is a great deal better in the realisation of Snyder’s vision of Las Vegas. The dilapidated ruins of Sin City are a visual spectacle, with all the recognisable landmarks in various stages of decay alongside their debaucherous inhabitants. There is a great deal of visual storytelling on display in the design of the city, with the walls keeping the undead in hastily constructed from shipping containers, wordlessly telling a narrative of the panicked response to the outbreak without the need for annoyingly overdone exposition.

In recent releases Snyder has a habit of picking a filmic technique that he is particularly enamoured with and plastering it all over his latest film. In Zack Snyder’s Justice League it was the comically overdone use of slow motion (which does return here, thankfully in smaller doses) but in Army of the Dead it seems as if the veteran director has just discovered focus. Perhaps it was a particular lens he took a shining to but almost every shot in the film messes around with focus to a degree, blurring in and out to maddening results. Entire scenes are often played out with a background blurred to such a ridiculous degree that it actually draws attention away from what is in focus. It doesn’t help a particularly emotional scene if the viewer is trying to discern if the background is a choice or if their TV is broken, in fact it detracts a great deal. He even goes the opposite, even more frustrating route of shooting a scene with the action out of focus, begging the question: why the hell am I watching a window frame in stunning 4K resolution whilst I can barely figure out if the zombie behind it is killing Dave Bautista or on a hot streak in a game of craps in Caesar’s?

After what seems like a terrible journey to releasing his much improved version of Justice League Zack Snyder has been turned loose on an original story with no interference from the studio behind him and it feels good to see him shooting for the moon. Not everything is a slam dunk in Army of the Dead, with some weak character interaction and strange editing choices but Dave Bautista’s casually cool and kick-ass presence and the exploration of a hierarchical zombie society and all the weirdness that brings is well worth your time. If Snyder chooses to keep playing in this sandbox, which it looks like he will judging from his multi-year deal with Netflix, then I’m excited to see how much further he can expand upon this universe’s lore and that of the zombie genre as a whole, as well as whatever animal he chooses to zombify next. Zombie crocodile please.

Army of the Dead stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Omari Hardwick, Matthias Schweighöfer, Theo Rossi, Nora Arnezeder, Tig Notaro, Garret Dillahunt, Raúl Castillo & Hiroyuki Sanada – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Ana de la Reguera, Army of the Dead, Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Netflix, Omari Hardwick, Theo Rossi, Tig Notaro, Zack Snyder

Movie Reviews

A Quiet Place Part II

Post author By Mark
Post date May 28, 2021

If the first A Quiet Place film was a declaration from John Krasinski that he can do much more than comedy then consider the sequel his putting everyone in Hollywood on notice. It wasn’t a fluke, in fact A Quiet Place Part II is one of the best horror sequels ever made. The film not only cements Krasinski’s status as a bonafide AAA director who can create genuine Spielberg-ian magic from behind the camera, but – in a rarity for sequels in the horror genre – it also feels like a natural progression of the Abbott family’s story, who after having gone through so much already now find their struggles truly beginning as they venture beyond the borders of their farm home. While Krasinski’s character may be gone, his presence lingers over every character in the film, including standout newcomer Cillian Murphy, leading to a fascinating dissection of grief and strength that gives the film some real emotional depth while continuing to deliver tension-filled scares courtesy of the ferocious sound-stalking monsters.

Now that their patriarch is out of the picture, the Abbott family is forced to flee the compromised farmhouse compound where they have lived for the 400 days since the apocalyptic arrival of the monsters, setting out on a journey to find aid and shelter. Each family member responds to Lee’s (Krasinski) demise in their own way and the exploration of their grief and response to it is the most fascinating aspect of the whole film. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is thrust into survival mode, desperately seeking a safe abode for her teenage children and newborn infant. Blunt’s character was already a tough-as-nails fighter – albeit with a softer touch when it came to her children – but now, armed with the knowledge to dispatch their foes and dealing with the unknown, she adopts more of Lee’s divisive tough-love practices in order to ensure her family’s survival. She may get the least to do in the second instalment, but Blunt makes sure you never feel as if Evelyn is on top of things, with worried expressions hidden from her children hiding a real fear which permeates the entire film: that they might not make it out alive.

Once again, the Abbott children prove to be the MVP’s of the film. Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who clashed with her father over his protective ways in the first film is let loose now in the new world, desperate to impart her knowledge of killing the creatures to as many survivors as possible. Where before there was resentment lingering over Regan for her father, now there is pride and the notion of living up to his standards drives the young girl on her journey. Through a largely wordless performance, Simmonds is able to demonstrate great strength and bravery through physicality and facial expressions; you can see the pain this girl is living with having lost her father just as she truly reconnected with him. Pairing the grieving girl with Cillian Murphy’s Emmett – who was a friend of the Abbott’s in the time before the event – makes for some extremely emotionally resonant scenes, as she initially judges the man as a coward, hiding away in a bunker and refusing to help her family.

Emmett has been through the ringer in his own rights and Murphy does a lot to show you what he has been through with only his eyes, tired but terrified; wanting to help but afraid of going the way of everyone he has held dear. When Emmett is coerced into joining Regan’s quest to find an island radio tower, the two initially clash, with Krasinski wringing a new type of tension out of the constant fear that Emmett has become morally bankrupt in this new world and will betray Regan. It goes a long way towards differentiating this new film from the first and expanding the scope in ways other than just size of the world or the number of monsters. Krasinski is more confident and drawing from a bigger filmmaking toolbox now, with everything he touches turning to gold.

That’s not to say that the impact of the monsters isn’t felt just as much as the first film. Quite the opposite in fact, with an explosive opening scene detailing the first arrival of the monsters in a small town dialling the action up to eleven and previewing the carnage to come. Setting this scene in a normal bustling town allows Krasinski to throw it all on the screen as we see what these creatures are truly capable of when surrounded by a cacophony of sound; ripping everything that moves apart in a violent rampage. This scene alone is enough to rekindle a fear of sound in the audience, as the characters on-screen discover the attraction to sound just as the audience makes a commitment to not make any out of pure fear. Nowhere is that fear expressed more than in the character of Evelyn and Lee’s son Marcus (Noah Jupe). Jupe is terrific here, extremely expressive in his facial expressions and the perfect vehicle to drive the slow-burn scares that drip with tension. His side story makes for some of the most armrest-gripping moments in the franchise yet, and one particular scene involving a baby and a vault will have you unknowingly holding your breath and shaking with unbearable tension.

A Quiet Place Part II is a masterful sequel to one of the most celebrated horror films of the last decade. With careful attention to character and meticulous crafting of an underlying sense of tension through pitch-perfect editing and sound design, John Krasinski and company have crafted a virtually flawless film that improves upon its predecessor in every way possible. Newcomer Cillian Murphy is excellent and slots into this world perfectly alongside the Abbott family, with Blunt, Simmonds and Jupe all upping their game for the sequel. Krasinski has well and truly earned his place among the top directing talent in Hollywood and as far as I’m concerned can keep churning these movies out forever, I’ll keep coming back. Don’t miss the experience of seeing A Quiet Place Part II in a cinema, you won’t be able to keep quiet about it.

A Quiet Place Part II stars Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, Scoot McNairy & John Krasinski – In cinemas now.

Tags A Quiet Place Part II, Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounsou, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Scoot McNairy

Movie Reviews

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Post author By Mark
Post date May 26, 2021

There’s something to be said for the appeal of the 90 minute movie. Why waste time on a 2 hour epic of you can get in and out, telling your story in a focused and efficient way? This is very much the case for Taylor Sheridan’s new thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, a tight, well paced story of a traumatised firefighter forced to push her personal demons to the side to help a young boy on the run from assassins. There’s not a surprise in sight of the predictable storyline, but Sheridan aims to entertain and he does that by cutting most the fat around Angelina Jolie and company, with only a few ham-fisted metaphors distracting from their journey. It also doesn’t hurt that the supporting cast is phenomenal, with Jon Bernthal, Aiden Gillen and Nicholas Hoult injecting energy into characters that would otherwise have bored rather than excited. Those Who Wish Me Dead doesn’t aim to do a lot, but what it does it does well.

Jolie’s jaded firefighter Hannah is something of a blank slate, thanks to a lifeless performance that never manages to bring the audience onside in any meaningful emotional way despite the life-or-death stakes. With a rebellious streak and a past trauma established early on, it isn’t long before our heroine is confined to a fire-watch station far above the trees for a significant chunk of time. From there everything that possibly could go wrong does; from lightning storms to shootouts, and Jolie barely manages a look of mild shock let alone terror at having her quiet shift descend into anarchy. Fortunately she is paired for most of the runtime with Finn Little’s escapee Connor; frightened and on the run after narrowly escaping a violent clash with assassins Patrick (Hoult) and Jack (Gillen). Little is giving it his all in his performance; a sympathetic but not entirely helpless kid who is clearly rattled by the recent events that cost him his father (Jake Weber), putting on a brave face to deliver the message entrusted to him. The chemistry between the pair doesn’t exactly send sparks flying even if Little is trying his heart out, but Connor’s presence softens Hannah’s rough exterior just enough for a few genuinely touching moments.

Hoult and Gillen’s meticulous assassins are a breath of fresh air in a genre often populated by hapless goons in pursuit of the heroes. They are genuinely intelligent people – Gillen especially, who slips right back into his Game of Thrones character’s villainy with ease – thinking strategically to capture their targets and leave as few traces as possible. Alas, this is a movie, so that antiseptic approach to crime soon goes out the window when Connor escapes and Jon Bernthal’s police chief Ethan arrives on the scene, forced to assist the hitmen in tracking down the boy. Ethan is more than a match for the two and the constant battle of wits and survival between the two sides is far more engaging than Hannah and Connor’s storyline, to the point that when they finally do intersect you’ll almost wish you hadn’t, as the film descends into a clichéd third act confrontation; undermining the intelligence of its characters in favour of wrapping everything up neatly. It is also where a lot of those heavy-handed metaphors are shoehorned in -particularly that of fire, which feels like an afterthought and a device to drive Hannah into battle rather than the examination of the firefighter lifestyle that the opening 20 minutes wastes time having you believe.

While its story isn’t going to win any awards for originality, Taylor Sheridan’s thriller succeeds in telling its narrative in a taut and streamlined way, with characters that demonstrate genuine smarts. The script (also co-written by Sheridan) wisely recognises that it doesn’t need to give you tons of backstory to these characters and that simply presenting them as capable people in harrowing situations will bring the audience on-side, extracting all the tension it can before it overstays its welcome. Jolie’s rigid acting doesn’t ruin the film thanks to an excellent supporting cast, with a special mention to Finn Little’s powerful performance. Those Who Wish Me Dead may not burn up the box office, but it should be enough to brighten a lazy Sunday afternoon once it hits streaming.

Those Who Wish Me Dead stars Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Aiden Gillen, Finn Little, Medina Senghore, Jake Weber, Tyler Perry & Jon Bernthal – In cinemas now and streaming on HBO Max in the US.

Tags Aiden Gillen, Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Taylor Sheridan, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Warner Bros

Movie Reviews

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Post author By Mark
Post date May 23, 2021

You know the game by now. Gory kills, convoluted lore and ridiculous third act twists are par for the course in the now 9 film-spanning Saw franchise, but new entry and alleged spin-off Spiral aims to change things up a bit. With a starring turn from Chris Rock – who helped spearhead the franchise revival – and a socially aware storyline that seeks to take aim at police brutality in America, Spiral was shaping up to follow in the footsteps of the recent Halloween reboot: a return to what made the franchise great, updated for modern times with a slightly comedic edge. Unfortunately, Spiral is largely more of the same from the series that coined the term “torture porn”, a lacklustre sequel that admittedly places more emphasis on story this time around, but at the expense of the kills the franchise has become synonymous with.

Rock is Zeke Banks, a hot-headed, tough-as-nails detective whose stock at the station is at an all-time-low after informing on a corrupt colleague, isolating him from his fellow detectives. When his closest friend on the force is discovered brutally dismembered by a train, Zeke and rookie detective William (Max Minghella) are thrust into a brutal battle of wits against a mysterious, pig-masked killer channelling the behaviours and gory, over-the-top traps of the deceased Jigsaw killer. As the game becomes increasingly deadly and more and more police turn up in body-bags, Zeke is forced to turn to his father and former police chief Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) for help in tracking down their copycat killer. As with all Jigsaw games however, there is another motive bubbling under the surface, and soon Zeke finds himself confronted with some deeply disturbing personal choices to be made in order to finally bring about justice.

Spiral doesn’t need to be a Saw film. Plain and simple. The “Book of Saw” suffix and throwaway references to Jigsaw could be completely removed without any resulting effect on the story being told. None of the characters or events are tied to the lore in any significant way leaving the traps – which admittedly bear the same gruesome, handmade aesthetic of the original films – as the sole identifier of the connection to the Saw franchise. If Rock and director Darren Lynn Bousman’s intentions were to create a police procedural with a statement on brutality and its place in the current world (which it very much seems like they are), then dialling the traps down could have actually improved the impact of that message. As it stands, the traps serve as a reminder that this is, in the loosest sense possible, indeed a part of the series and the attachment to Saw seems more like a marketing ploy than anything else, luring fans into the cinema who may otherwise not turn up for Chris Rock’s gritty detective movie.

As far as those traps go, none of them are especially memorable or more gruesome than anything that has come before. The old-school editing and style choices of the 2000’s films make an unwelcome return as well, with lightning quick edits across the gore and the sharp, screeching screams punctuating each cut annoying instead of frightening. Horror has evolved in the time since these practices were at their peak and countless horror films since have shown that you can have your characters express genuine emotion and hysteria through solid acting and camera placement rather than cheap effects. Spiral is also the most ear-splittingly loud horror film since 2017’s IT, another victim of the worst modern horror trope that requires each and every jump scare to be punctuated by a sound-barrier breaking screech. On top of that Spiral is also an especially ugly film, with a grimy brown and yellow colour palette that worked in the older films within their dingy warehouse settings but robs the city of Los Angeles of any vibrance or colour that might serve as a reprieve from the dour goings-on of the police precinct.

Now we get to the interesting part: Chris Rock. He is the first big-name talent attached to the franchise since Danny Glover all the way back in the original and, along with Samuel L. Jackson, instantly adds a pedigree to a series that has long since been regarded as trashy B-movies. His performance is an intriguing one, a mix of grizzled veteran detective stereotypes rolled into one hugely unlikeable bastard. At first it seems unclear if this is meant as parody or not but soon the self-awareness of the performance comes through in the shots of humour expected from Rock. Unfortunately the character is never fully fleshed out enough to be sympathetic, even with the multiple flashbacks that give insight into his relationships with his father and fellow officers. Jackson is always great and his top-notch delivery of foul-mouthed tirades goes a long way to injecting some energy into the film, but it is far too little too late in the piece to save audiences from the all encompassing blandness of Spiral, with Jackson’s big set-piece an especially predictable affair devoid of any tension.

Spiral is yet another forgettable entry into the once revolutionary Saw franchise, albeit one that pushes itself into the middle of the pack thanks to Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson’s natural charisma (and the godawful terribleness of some of the other sequels). But the ugly presentation, lacklustre traps and middling, predictable story stop this reboot from truly reinventing, with its social commentary coming across as a hollow re-skinning of the same old Saw rather than a thoughtful examination of police brutality and accountability. If you’re a fan of the franchise you’ll likely be disappointed by the lack of any connection to what has come before but if all you’re after is a few extremely gory torture scenes, well then this has you covered I guess. For everyone else, decline to play this particular game.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols & Samuel L. Jackson – In cinemas now.

Tags Chris Rock, Darren Lynn Bousman, Marisol Nichols, Max Minghella, Samuel L. Jackson, Saw, Spiral

Movie Reviews

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse

Post author By Mark
Post date May 11, 2021

You’d be forgiven for expecting greatness from Amazon’s new Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse. After all it stars one of the finest young actors working today in Michael B. Jordan, who has consistently proven himself capable of transforming his body for action heavy roles, finally taking command of his own John Wick-style franchise. Add veteran scribe Taylor Sheridan into the mix, writer of gritty, character-focused thrillers like Sicario and Wind River and you’ve got yourself a surefire recipe for success. Unfortunately for Stefano Sollima’s film Jordan is the only redeeming quality in a big budget mess of jumbled, predictable plot-lines and barely there characters, which never manages to excite or intrigue for any longer than a few scenes at a time.

Jordan plays the typically Clancy-esque hero John Kelly, a hulking mass of special forces masculinity and muscle whose world is turned upside down when a rescue mission in Syria takes a turn for the worse as he discovers his team has unknowingly infiltrated a Russian arms den. After a brutal Russian retaliation leaves John clinging for life in the hospital and his world in tatters, he is forced to rely on his deadly training to avenge his family, cutting a bloody path through a complex web of shadowy military and underworld figures. Aided by fellow operative Karen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and with the reluctant help of CIA agent Robert Ritter (Jamie Bell) John soon discovers that there are powerful forces at play and that he is merely a pawn within the political machinations of a group hell-bent on forcing a US war with Russia. Not knowing who to trust, John must rely on only his skills and wits if he is to survive the deadly game afoot.

This is the ninth adaptation of a Clancy novel – outside of the several decades long video-game franchises – and it is fair to say that the once taut and exciting thrillers, which boldly dealt with political tensions and webs of espionage, are beginning to show their age. The opening scene sets up a conflict so muddy and unclear that the film never manages to recover, with what seems like a clear case of revenge takes on a larger and more menacing scope once Kelly decides to go on the warpath. But the reveal of who is actually pulling the strings raises more questions than it answers. How did this person not foresee John’s retaliation? How was John not dealt with sooner, given the wealth of knowledge the villain has? It all amounts to nothing of much consequence by the end, with a hasty conclusion laying the foundation for sequels at the expense of a compelling conclusion. The final reveal should be a moment of great emotional significance and release for John, instead ending in a somewhat flat scene without the expected violence that John was more than willing to unleash on the boss’s underlings.

The sequel-bait is hardly a surprise given how much Amazon appears to have spent on ensuring Jordan’s starring turn is a hit. Amazon hasn’t released any financial information but given the torrent of advertising out there and the scale of some of the set-pieces on display it’s safe to assume they have broken the bank, but for what? Splashy scenes don’t matter all that much if they aren’t compelling and these are about as unmemorable as you can get. An airplane crash scene is the only exception, grand and nerve-shattering to behold, but ultimately doesn’t serve to further the plot other than to showcase Jordan’s impressive ability to hold his breath underwater. The hand-to-hand combat is competently done but again, won’t stick in your brain any longer than the few seconds it takes to process the punches thrown.

Jordan is expectedly great at being gritty and menacing, and the physical transformation is truly commendable – the man could snap his enemies in half just with a cold stare – but the character is so one-note and underdeveloped, his relationship with his family barely shown before it is ripped away. It’s almost as if the writers simply expect you to root for Kelly off the weight of the crimes against him rather than out of any actual attachment to the character; a shame considering the glint of solid chemistry we see between Jordan and on-screen wife Lauren London all too briefly.

Amazon’s attempt to bring another Tom Clancy hero to our screens in pursuit of an eventual shared universe falls short with Without Remorse; a bland, cookie-cutter regurgitation of the Cold-War era espionage films of the 80’s that doesn’t translate to 2021 and which fails to make use of its incredibly talented lead and writing team. The action is serviceable and it is all shot competently, but the budget is needlessly excessive and wasted, the story is short on character development or any semblance of excitement and the conclusion is rushed and hackneyed. Jordan remains a bankable superstar and there is surely another franchise out there worthy of his talents but this is still a disappointing setback and adaptation of Clancy’s work. If you’re still hanging for some Clancy, give the criminally underrated Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit a watch instead.

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse stars Michael B. Jordan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jamie Bell, Lauren London, Merab Ninidze & Guy Pierce – Streaming on Amazon Prime now.

Tags Guy Pearce, Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Stefano Sollima, Tom Clancy, Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, Without Remorse

Movie Reviews

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Post author By Mark
Post date May 8, 2021

With 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse Sony Animation Studios showcased a willingness to take risks that further animation as a genre, pioneering new technologies that gave the umpteenth film adaptation of Spider-Man a fresh perspective; blurring the lines between traditional hand-drawn and computer-generated animation styles. Having successfully reinvented the superhero genre with their first effort, the studio (with superstar producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord returning) set its sights on a more traditional animated comedy: a cross-country family road-trip… derailed by the robot apocalypse. With a gleefully anarchic energy and endless amounts of creativity on display, writer/director duo Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe deliver the first truly great animated film of 2021; a heart-warming and hilarious skewering of humanity’s dependence on devices in the digital age that rivals Pixar in the “grab the tissues” department and which never fails to bring a smile to your face.

The Mitchell family are different. None more so than daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson), whose love of making weird and whacky short films has long been misunderstood by her quirky mother Linda (Maya Rudolph) and practical, nature-loving father Rick (Danny McBride). When frustrations boil over the night before Katie’s departure for film school, Rick takes it upon himself to organise a cross-country trip to deliver his daughter to her dorm, in a last ditch effort to reconnect. Joined by dinosaur-obsessed little brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) and the family dog Monchi (Doug the Pug), the group’s trip is quickly interrupted by the arrival of robots hell-bent on capturing the human race; a product of Apple-like tech giant PAL and its phone-bound AI leader (Olivia Colman). As the last free humans and the only people that can defeat PAL, the Mitchells must put their differences aside and band together, relying on each of their unique strengths to save the world and their family.

What strikes you almost immediately is the vibrant and relentlessly unique style of The Mitchells. It isn’t overstating things to say that this is animation unlike anything you’ve seen before; an unorthodox combination of Family Guy style cutaway gags combined with a kind of digital scrapbook, with doodles and scribblings constantly appearing on-screen to heighten the energy of any given scene – all touches designed to represent one of Katie’s frenetic DIY short films that are often referenced. Combined with Abbi Jacobson’s bubbly, energetic voiceover and a litany of blink and you’ll miss them sight gags, the film never gives you a second to be bored, in the best possible way. It also creates excellent pacing that ensures that the substantial runtime (for an animated feature) of almost two hours flies by without ever dragging.

Like Spider-Verse before it, The Mitchells owes a large part of its uniqueness to the gorgeous visuals on display, with new techniques being created specifically for the realisation of this film. The characters are rendered in 3D, with delightfully whacky proportions and designs reflecting each individual person’s (or robot’s) traits, but the true beauty comes in the background. Beautiful watercolour art populates the background of every scene, making those 3D models and their movements pop against its stillness. Katie’s 2D doodles and scribblings add yet another layer, all working in tandem to create lush, vibrant environments that make the eye water. The visuals are often also used to aid the story’s focus on deconstructing the role modern technology plays in people’s lives, quickly cutting between a character and a popular viral video to terrific effect, in a way that doesn’t feel like a gimmick but a timely and hilarious sight gag

Underneath the technical wizardry and mile-a-minute comedy is a heartwarming and deeply emotional story of one family’s journey to get along, particularly a father and daughter separated by the warring desires of Rick to protect and Katie to break free and discover herself. Rianda and Rowe’s story always feels deeply personal and inspired by their own families, albeit taken to the extreme in the form of the unorthodox Mitchells. The central relationship may be between Rick and his daughter but each family member gets a chance to shine as Linda struggles to prevent Rick and Katie’s conflict from becoming unreconcilable and Aaron must come to terms to life without his best friend and big sister, coming out of his shell and bonding with neighbour Abby (Charlyne Yi).

The voice work is stellar all around, with a few notable standouts including McBride whose typical gruff and crude schtick is pushed aside in favour of a more zany yet loving father, who dotes on his children endlessly and pushes for them to fend for themselves in the big bad world. Rianda pulls triple time here as the voice of Aaron, a shy nerd with difficulty relating to anyone but his sister. He has easily some of the best lines in the whole film and the tender relationship between brother and sister is evident in the way Aaron looks up Katie, with her leaving a heavy weight on Aaron’s shoulders. In the robotic department, Saturday Night Live alumni Beck Bennett and Fred Armisen are gut-bustingly funny as a pair of damaged PAL-bots who have devoted themselves to protecting the Mitchell family, subverting typical robot clichés to hysterical effect.

It’s hard to describe in words just how wholly and extraordinarily special The Mitchells vs. the Machine is. Sony Animation have followed up their first huge gamble with an even bigger leap and it has absolutely paid off, with a film that surpasses Spider-Verse in terms of technical prowess and sheer scale. With humour and charm in spades, extremely likeable characters with real emotional depth and some of the best looking animation I have ever seen, this is an easy recommendation that you can stream right now on Netflix. If you make it through without cracking a smile, you might be a robot, but I loved my time with the Mitchell family, and I’m willing to bet you will too.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines stars Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Mike Rianda, Eric André, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Charlyne Yi, Blake Griffin, Conan O’Brien & Doug the Pug – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Abbi Jacobson, Beck Bennett, Chris Miller, Danny McBride, Eric André, Fred Armisen, Jeff Rowe, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Netflix, Olivia Colman, Phil Lord, The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Movie Reviews

Mortal Kombat (2021)

Post author By Mark
Post date May 2, 2021

Of all the sub-par video game adaptations over the years that have faded from the collective memories of audiences, 1995’s overly-cheesy Mortal Kombat remains bizarrely revered and loved by fans. Perhaps it’s due to the tongue-in-cheek tone that both does and doesn’t take itself too seriously or (and this is the correct answer) maybe the incredibly 90’s techno theme song whose mere mention will have you screaming “MORTAL KOMBAT” at the top of your lungs. However even die-hard fans can’t deny that the acting and story of that outing were atrocious, with wooden performances and non-sensical plot points souring the much anticipated film debut of the iconic video game franchise. The world of those games is a rich (nether)realm of story-telling with layered and complex lore practically begging for the for the cinematic treatment and Warner Bros has tasked first-time director Simon McQuoid with the franchise’s return: a fun if extremely messy affair that strangely respects and disrespects the franchise’s legacy at the same time.

In what marks the start of a string of odd decisions for the reboot, we follow a newly created character in Lewis Tan’s Cole Young; an MMA fighter with his best days behind him providing for his young family through cheap paycheques from lacklustre amateur fights. When his family is attacked by the ice-powered assassin Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and rescued by former military man Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Cole learns that he is part of a chosen few who have been selected to defend the Earth in a fighting tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Teaming up with Jax’s partner Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and the sharp-tongued mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) the trio set out to uncover the Thunder God Lord Raiden’s (Tadanobu Asano) temple, hoping to learn more about the battle to come and to prepare. Once there the group meets fellow combatants Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang) and come to learn that their opponent in the tournament, the evil wizard Shang Tsung (Chin Han) is not above breaking the rules of the tournament, ambushing the fighters before it has even begun in order to ensure victory.

The film comes out of the gate swinging, with an emotionally and physically brutal opening scene which sets up the conflict between bitter rival ninjas Sub-Zero and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). Taking place in feudal Japan, the scene showcases a serious tone, gut-wrenchingly ferocious violence and the exploration of the franchise’s arguably most interesting story to terrific effect, setting up an emotional core to what looks to be a grounded take on the franchise in comparison to the 1995 version. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. Scorpion and Sub-Zero are swiftly relegated to side-characters with varying degrees of presence going forward and the audience is introduced to Cole’s story. While not awful by any means, this main storyline is essentially the same as the original film; not a sin in itself, but disappointing after the superb opening. Lewis Tan is fine in the role of Cole, and his martial arts prowess helps to sell some of the more intense fight scenes, but nothing can really hide the poor writing on display. Cole is our window into the world of Mortal Kombat but he himself is something of a blank slate, lacking emotion or even surprise as he encounters fireball-wielding men and Thunder Gods, with scarcely a driving force outside of the generic cliché of protecting his briefly-seen family.

The same can be said for most of the supporting characters within Mortal Komat. Everyone from Liu Kang to Sonya Blade is extremely serious and dour throughout proceedings, constantly discussing the end of the world or how slim the chances are of survival. It all gets to be a bit much after a while, especially considering how handily our heroes dispatch their “fearsome” foes, (with the exception of Sub-Zero) and makes the contributions of the wise-cracking Kano all the more hilarious by comparison. Josh Lawson steals the film as the foul-mouthed Australian, letting loose a constant series of diatribes against everyone he comes across, dropping more F-bombs in a 10-minute stretch than Seth Rogen does in an entire film. His character is the only levity to be found in the entire film, dealing out meta jabs and insults that rip his fellow combatants apart more viciously than the series’ trademark fatalities, and the scenes without him tend to be weaker for it. After all, this is a story dealing with four-armed alien warlords, hell-bound ninjas and men with saw-blade hats; if you don’t stop and laugh at yourself every now and then it becomes ridiculous.

What you come to a Mortal Kombat film for is the fights, and there are a lot of them here to be found, with varying degrees of quality. Any scenes involving Scorpion or Sub-Zero, you may have guessed, tend to be gold, with the real-life martial artistry of the stars translating to the characters and allowing McQuoid to simply point the camera and let it roll, showcasing the skills of these talented fighters as they leave it all out there in their decades-long quest to vanquish one another. Everything else generally suffers without the skills of these real life fighters, with McQuoid editing around the action to disguise the constant cuts and piece-meal approach to constructing the scenes rather than the long, fluid choreography of the ninjas. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell what is actually going on within later fight scenes in the film and this isn’t aided by constant cuts between different fights in different locations, a montage of carnage that actually shows you less than if you had fewer bouts more carefully thought out. The expected gore is there for the vicious fatalities, but these are few and far between with barely a drop of blood outside of these handful of scenes. McQuoid also makes the divisive choice of throwing lots of characters into the film. Outside of those already mentioned, the film features franchise staples Kabal, Mileena, Nitara, Reiko and Gore, all of whom barely get anything more than a scene to really shine, which will surely disappoint fans, and whose presence detracts from the amount of characterisation able to be given to the core cast of heroes and villains.

Whilst considerably better than the two previous live-action versions of the franchise, Mortal Kombat is still something of a disappointment, sacrificing solid characterisation and action in favour of a balls-to-the-wall blowout of character appearances and carnage that ultimately lacks much substance. Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada easily outshine the rest of the cast with an emotionally engaging story and brutally excellent fight choreography, but their limited presence and the decision to focus on Lewis Tan’s Cole instead seems like a misfire from which the film never recovers. Viewers hoping for the next great video-game adaptation should look elsewhere but if all you’re looking for is a fun, mindless action film with wacky characters and over-the-top gory kills, then do what Scorpion tells you to do and GET OVER HERE.

Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang & Hiroyuki Sanada – In Australian cinemas and streaming on HBO Max in the US now.

Tags Chin Han, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Josh Lawson, Lewis Tan, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Mehcad Brooks, Mortal Kombat, Simon McQuoid, Tadanobu Asano, Warner Bros

Movie Reviews

Concrete Cowboy

Post author By Mark
Post date April 11, 2021

Ricky Staub’s debut feature Concrete Cowboy – the story of a difficult child sent to live with his estranged father in Philadelphia – doesn’t do much to drastically change the typical coming of age drama formula, nor does it seek to. Instead Staub leans into the trappings of the genre, with an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude elevated by two rock solid performances from leads Caleb McLaughlin (of Stranger Things fame) and Idris Elba. What really differentiates Concrete Cowboy from its genre counterparts is the inclusion of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club; a collection of African-American horse riders in the northern part of Philadelphia who teach important skills to black youth through the care of their horses and community at large – ultimately allowing for a deeper, more thematically rich story to be told.

Cole (McLaughlin) is in a bad way. Expelled from school for fighting and looking at police action if any future altercations arise, the 15 year-old is unceremoniously dumped at his father Harp’s (Elba) doorstep by a mother at her wit’s end. The transition to Philadelphia is rough for Cole, who immediately rejects his father’s cold demeanour and tough love teachings in favour for the renewed friendship of old pal Smush (Jharrel Jerome), a small-time drug dealer with big dreams but bigger enemies. Faced with the choice of joining Smush on the streets or adapting to Harp’s way of life, Cole finds himself drawn towards the unorthodox world of horseback riding, bonding with the other members of the club and his own unruly horse Boo. Just as Cole begins to consider his new environment home, no sooner does the law begin to crack down on the stables, risking the future of everything Cole and Harp have built for themselves.

Tropes within a genre become established for a reason: they work. Not every film or piece of media needs to constantly challenge the genre constraints and diverge in weird new ways. The job of the director and writer is to tell the story at hand in the most effective and powerful way, and for Concrete Cowboy that works largely within the confines of the tried and tested coming-of-age stories audiences know well. Understandably the story contains a few surprises that audiences won’t see coming and hits all the emotional beats you would expect but that central relationship between Harp and Cole is so well realised and acted by Elba and McLaughlin that you are locked into their struggle for the entire runtime.

McLaughlin shows remarkable promise and abilities beyond his youth as the struggling teen whose story is all too familiar, especially to those taken under the wing of the real Fletcher Street cowboys. Seeing his struggle between the world of his father and the stables and the pull of Smush into a life of crime and (in Cole’s eyes) financial success results in a far greater emotional investment when those defining moments eventually unfold, with McLaughlin’s emotional cries for help stunning in the silence of the quieter scenes. Harp is yet another phenomenal character that Elba inhabits, with the rough and tumble leader struggling to take on the weight of raising his son and juggling the problems of the club. The lessons that he delivers through the teachings of horseback riding are deceptively simple but you can feel the impact on Cole, as Harp shapes him into a young man with morals and a positive outlook on the future.

The story takes on an interesting sub-plot through its use of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. Far more than a gimmick, Staub and co-writer Dan Walter have carefully crafted the story around Cole first and foremost, but the film also acts as a showcase for the great community-focused work the club provides to underprivileged youth. It also opens the narrative up to explore the gentrification of black communities, with a significant amount of time spent expounding on the constant threat of having the stables taken away from the community. While the events that unfold to give rise to a rather beautiful and poignant moment, the discussion of gentrification never feels like it is resolved within the narrative, diverting back to Cole’s story without being mentioned again. There are hints that things have worked out well for Harp and Cole but the effect on even their circle of friends is never touched on again. Nevertheless the inclusion of the storyline does allow Staub another avenue through which to explore the father-son relationship at his film’s core; Harp has opened up Cole to a whole new lens through which to view life.

Adding a Western flavour and urban gentrification storyline to an otherwise typical coming-of-age story is Concrete Cowboy’s saving grace, providing a somewhat unorthodox and different environment to hit those familiar story and emotional beats. Staub’s script is at its best when it is really digging into the central relationship between Harp and Cole, and Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin are more than up for the task, delivering an authentic, flawed portrayal of a father and son whose relationship couldn’t be worse and which requires immense work on both parts to fix. It may not be to everyone’s cup of tea due to the familiarity of it all but there’s no denying that the message at the heart of Concrete Cowboy is worth telling and Staub’s debut feature is a competently made, heartwarming tale.

Concrete Cowboy stars Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Ivanna-Mercedes & Method Man – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy, Idris Elba, Jharrel Jerome, Method Man, Netflix