Author: Mark

Ranked

RANKED: Best Horror Films of the 2000s

Post author By Mark
Post date October 29, 2020

The spooky season coverage continues with the top 10 horror films of the 2000s! In a decade full of excellent remakes and bold new genre favourites, it was tough to whittle it down to just 10 – but these are the best of the best, representing the scariest, goriest and straight out terrifying films of the decade. While there may be a few notable omissions (sorry American Psycho, we still love you) these are the films that continue to haunt us, making us check under the bed and in the closet for chainsaw wielding maniacs and mutant cannibals. We’ve even snuck a few hidden gems in that might make their way into your annual Halloween rotation, just make sure to see them on an empty stomach!

10. Final Destination (2000)

Fans of the Saw and Wrong Turn franchises owe a lot to Final Destination for raising the bar in Hollywood horror deaths. An extension of the teen slasher films popularised during the 90s, the film adds an intriguing spin on the genre, by making Death itself the killer; picking off the cast in increasingly complex and clever ways. After witnessing a vision of the plane he has boarded crashing shortly after takeoff, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) and several of his classmates are unceremoniously thrown off the flight, shortly before that vision becomes a reality and the plane explodes. As the few survivors are slowly taken out through a series of “accidents”, Alex begins to suspect that Death is catching up to them as punishment for missing the flight and must team up with his friends to circumvent their gruesome, untimely demises. While the franchise went on to have some truly spectacular and over-the-top death scenes in future instalments, the original film remains the best, giving the characters real depth as they struggle with their different approaches to the grief and guilt they feel after surviving the plane wreck. That isn’t to say that the deaths aren’t incredibly engaging; long, slow sequences that ratchet up the tension and keep you guessing with multiple red herrings before dropping the final hammer. The music also adds immensely to the film, giving the invisible Death its own eery musical cues that make the hairs on your neck stand up as you start scanning the room for instruments of doom. More than anything, Final Destination is a fun horror film, filled with enjoyable characters and deaths that will make you scream and wait with bated breath for the next inventive fatality.

9. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Strike Entertainment/Universal Pictures, 2004

Before they were tackling two of the biggest super-hero properties of the modern age, writer James Gunn and director Zack Snyder were in the somewhat unenviable position of remaking the definitive zombie movie of all time for modern audiences: George Romero’s 1978 masterpiece Dawn of the Dead. The duo retains the core narrative of survivors of the initial zombie outbreak sheltering in an abandoned shopping mall but they wisely update it for modern audiences, adding in a larger and more diverse cast of characters that play off your classic horror stereotypes in fun and interesting ways (look out for Modern Family’s own Phil Dunphy in a completely different type of role). The late, great Ving Rhames steals the show here as badass security guard Kenneth, a tough-as-nails fighter who has no time for anyone else’s problems at first but who comes to tolerate and respect these people once the gravity of the situation reveals itself and their shared predicament bonds them. Like the original, Dawn of the Dead is at its best when the zombie’s gory goodness is on full display with flesh being torn apart and heads popping off in spectacularly over-the-top fashion that rivals original makeup and effects artist Tom Savini’s work. It doesn’t quite reinvent the genre, but it does provide a fun update to one of the greatest horror films of all time that respects the source material and keeps you engaged by throwing new zombified problems at our characters at every turn. Forget the zombie dogs, all hail the rise of the zombie baby!

8. House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Rob Zombie’s films can be somewhat divisive amongst horror fans. The man certainly commits to his heavy metal roots with a distinct style that borders on an experimental film. Colours flash and images fade in and out of negative as we cut randomly to scenes of the backwards hillbillies dancing, and linger on scenes long enough to make even the most hardened horror veteran slightly uncomfortable. House of 1000 Corpses remains Zombie’s best film due to its utter commitment to the madness; a 2000s update of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with more creativity in its kills and some absolutely bonkers twists in the second half. When two young couples travelling across America in search of the country’s greatest roadside attractions come across Captain Spaulding’s (Sid Haig doing his best attempt at a demented Colonel Sanders) Haunted House, they jump at the chance to learn more about the local legend of Dr Satan, leading them to a literal house of horrors, filled to the brim with psychopathic rednecks hell-bent on inflicting all sorts of horrific torture on their victims. The first hour of the film deftly weaves together Zombie’s twisted sense of humour with graphic, almost fetishised violence, but it is the final thirty minutes of the film that are pure slasher pulp, filled with excellent practical effects and edge of your seat chase scenes. Once you lay eyes on that legendary doctor though, I dare say you may never forget it; I know I’ve had plenty of nightmares featuring the macabre man himself.

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Tobe Hooper’s iconic 1974 classic is a film held in high regards by many horror fans, bringing audiences face to face with the chainsaw wielding maniac Leatherface for the first time. Marcus Nispel’s 2003 film is a surprisingly competent remake, recreating that same sense of dread as you hear that chainsaw slowly whirring to life in the distance while expanding on the original’s lore with some cannibalistic new additions to the skin-wearing baddie’s family. Heroine Erin (Jessica Biel) almost outdoes Marilyn Burns’ original lead performance in fact, with more intelligence in those tricky situations and the ability to run in a straight line instead of flailing about as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) steamrolls after her. Speaking of Leatherface, there’s more than enough of the big guy here to satiate series fans, with all the gore and carnage that you’d expect to come from his deadly weapon. The real star however is R. Lee Ermey’s Sherriff Hoyt, a chilling presence who is completely unhinged and whose motivations slowly come to life as his penchant for violence increases. It may not be as good as the original (rare few remakes actually are) but this is still an incredibly fun ride through those familiar Texas backwoods, and one of the best horror remakes ever made.

6. Saw (2004)

Before James Wan was helming the action movie madness of the Fast & Furious franchise, he was the fledgling young director behind a 2004 sleeper hit that altered the landscape of modern horror. With a budget of $1.2m, a small cast and a young director, the film really needed to bring something special to the table to cut through the crowd. Wan struck this sweet spot with Saw, a twisted psychological thriller that explored the limits of desperate survival and its gruesome consequences. Before a series of increasingly gory sequels left the plot behind, the original filmplaced strangers Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Lawrence (Cary Elwes) in an abandoned basement with (what appears to be) a recently murdered third man. Chained to the wall with a deadly time limit in place, the pair’s only means to escape was left on the floor between them – a rusty handsaw. It’s a very simple setting and concept that represents the film’s small scale and budget, yet Saw set itself apart with a chilling atmosphere, constant intensity and a series of creative twists. In a genre where so many half-baked ideas and low budget efforts fall by the wayside, Saw was the hit the industry needed to bring this type of horror into the mainstream in the early 2000’s. Releasing in the following two years, Saw II and Saw III capitalised on this success with more gruesome traps and last-second twists before the series inevitably grew stale as instalments kept coming. Despite this, the initial outing is still one of the most infamous horror releases of the decade – just be sure not to fire up a series marathon over dinner.

5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Well here’s an entry on the list that isn’t quite like the others. As one of the most critically acclaimed films of the decade, 2004’s Shaun of the Dead is not the first movie most would think of when horror is the subject. Netting a modest sum in cinemas, the film grew to become a cult hit in the years since its release as one of the best comedy-horror mashups of all time. The decidedly British tale follows average-joe appliance salesman Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his unemployed layabout best-friend Ed (Nick Frost) as they attempt to outrun a quickly unfolding zombie apocalypse. Desperate to save his under-appreciated girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) and naïve mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton), Shaun plans a route through the suburbs to what he believes is their last safe haven – the local pub. What ensues is a series of hilarious events as the well-meaning Shaun is constantly running into the shambling dead, all while trying to manage a crew of onlookers who are quick to provide criticism whenever his plans go up in smoke. While there are a number of physical setups that drive the laughs, the real magic comes from director Edgar Wright’s writing. The lines are instantly quotable from characters that are refreshingly relatable when compared to most other zombie flicks – plus there’s a few genuinely bittersweet moments that cut through both the laughs and the scares to give the film some much-needed heart. While it certainly doesn’t have the terrifying scares of other films on this list, Shaun of the Dead is a horror movie painted thick with smart, well-written and wholehearted comedy. It conquers a genre mix that has never been done as well again and, unless you can find another movie in which legendary British actor Bill Nighy is struck in the head with a cricket bat in his lounge room, you’ll be hard-pressed finding anything quite like Shaun of the Dead.

4. The Strangers (2008)

Few things are as frightening as the possibility of intruders. People lurking within your house, invading your privacy and completely shattering your illusion of safety. For young couple James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) that nightmare has become a reality as they find their isolated holiday home beset upon by three masked individuals who want nothing more than to torment their victims for as long as possible before ending it all. A taut, high tension game of cat-and-mouse from beginning to end, the film is at its best (and scariest) when the attackers are stalking their prey, fading in and out of the shadows within the house unbeknownst to the occupants; a white mask that is there one minute and gone the next. It’s horrifying stuff that will have you checking every corner of the room before heading to bed. Once the couple begins to realise what is happening, the film puts the pedal to the metal as the trio of intruders prove to be not just good at hiding but also extremely clever (a rarity for the horror genre); thwarting escape attempt after escape attempt, constantly getting your hopes up and dashing them. Perhaps scariest of all is the lack of motivation. There is no complex reason for wanting these people dead nor any particular reason they were chosen to be attacked; it was simply a matter of the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite only being very loosely “based on true events”, that opening line seeps into your brain and gives The Strangers true staying power, implanting a terrible thought in your mind that will have you thinking about it long after the credits roll: could this happen to me?

3. The Ring (2002)

Hollywood has a history of bastardising their attempts at remaking foreign films (Oldboy anyone?) which makes director Gore Verbinski’s interpretation of the 1998 Japanese classic Ringu all the more impressive. Led by a pitch-perfect performance from Naomi Watts, The Ring is less of a through and through horror film and more of a mystery with horror elements. While that might sound like a bit of a cheat to include on the list, the creepy atmosphere that it builds is so haunting and infecting that it gets under your skin better than most “pure” horror films. The Ring crosses that barrier into a truly excellent film regardless of genre, telling the tale of Watts’ Rachel, a single mother whose niece is found dead one week after watching a mysterious video tape. As Rachel’s investigation into her niece’s death goes deeper, she enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend Noah (Martin Henderson) and the pair begin to uncover a terrifying tale of ghostly spirits and child abuse as they race against the clock to avoid their own grisly demises within the week. Watts and Henderson’s chemistry is excellent; subtle and moving in all the right places, with a side-story of Noah reconnecting with his son and the possibility of the family unit reuniting working to ground the characters and provide the audience with an easy way to get invested. Once the ghostly occurrences become more frequent and the mystery begins to reveal itself, The Ring becomes a non-stop ride of tension right till the very end; a chilling tale that will surely become an annual favourite come spooky season.

2. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

20th Century Fox/Craven-Maddalena Films, 2006

The Hills Have Eyes is a disgusting film. A remake of seminal horror director Wes Craven’s sophomore feature, the film follows a particularly unfortunate American family who make a detour through the New Mexico desert on their way to San Diego, only to be waylaid by a family of hideous cannibals, mutated generations earlier by atomic bomb testing in the area during the 70’s. There’s a certain uncleanliness to the film that comes across in every aspect, whether that be the barren, filthy desert setting, littered with bones and viscera, or the make-up and effects work on the cannibals to make them look truly nightmare inducing. However by the time the hour mark hits, the whole affair takes a shift into truly unsettlingly disgusting territory, and boy does it do it well. The RV attack scene will have you reaching for the nearest bucket to throw up in, shielding your eyes from the horrors you are seeing. This is not one for the weak stomached and even less for the easily frightened. Scenes and characters from The Hills Have Eyes have haunted me for almost 15 years since I first laid eyes upon them. They’ve kept me up at night and stopped me from eating. If you consider yourself a horror aficionado then give it a go, but don’t come crying to me when you can’t sleep for a month afterwards.

1. The Descent (2005)

Few films capture the terror and crushing isolation of claustrophobia as well as The Descent. The film, which follows five women trapped on a spelunking adventure into a cave system in the Appalachian Mountains, would be horrifying enough even without the addition of Gollum-like creatures lurking in the depths, ready to rip apart anything foolish enough to enter their nest. What separates The Descent from your typical monster movie is director/writer Neil Marshall’s commitment to creating fully fledged, well rounded characters, led by a fantastic performance from Shauna MacDonald. MacDonald truly shines as the traumatised Sarah, a year on from losing her husband and daughter in an accident and still grieving as she joins her friends in an attempt to recapture her adrenaline-fuelled former life. The interplay between these women is at the centre of this horrific journey and they are all intelligent characters with genuinely useful skills in escaping the cave, whether that be through fighting skills, medical training or situational awareness. No one ever feels like they are there simply to add to the body-count which makes it all the more horrifying when they start getting picked off one by one in increasingly gruesome ways. The creatures that stalk them are engines of pure death, existing only to feed, and the violence they inflict is extremely gritty and confronting, catapulting them to top-tier movie creepy crawlies. The Descent is something of a hidden gem in the horror genre nowadays but this a masterfully executed, tight-wire walk of tension and violence that deserves a bigger following and your attention now.

Tags Best Horror Films of the 2000s, Dawn of the Dead, Final Destination, House of 1000 Corpses, Saw, Shaun of the Dead, The Descent, The Hills Have Eyes, The Ring, The Strangers, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

TV & Streaming Reviews

The Boys – Season 2

Post author By Mark
Post date October 21, 2020

Amazon struck gold with the breakout success of The Boys; turning the superhero genre on its head with a unique blend of balls-to-the-wall violence, extremely crude humour and stark social commentary. If you thought it would be impossible for Amazon to improve on their winning formula then I’m happy to report that you’re dead wrong. The sophomore season of the superhero satire proves it has not lost any of its edge or shock factor; moving from strength to strength as exciting new characters are revealed, the extensive, twisted history of the villainous Vought corporation is laid bare and the relationships between that core band of loveable misfits are tested and strengthened time and time again. The writing continues to be razor sharp as the show dives into a myriad of timely political and social issues, offsetting it all with some truly insane set pieces and jokes that push the boundaries of what a television budget can produce.

Picking up right where Season 1 left off we find Hughie (Jack Quaid) and the rest of the Boys laying low after their climactic confrontation with A-Train (Jesse T. Usher); directionless without Butcher (Karl Urban) to lead them and fearing their imminent death at the hands of the Vought corporation. Once Butcher returns from his solo mission the crew set out to expose the recently discovered “Compound V” – the serum secretly used to create all superheroes – encountering obstacle after obstacle on their way to deliver the truth and disband the superhero system once and for all. Meanwhile we find Homelander (Antony Starr) struggling to maintain his place as leader of the Seven after the death of his former handler, Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue). The unannounced arrival of new hero Stormfront (Aya Cash) not only shakes up Homelander’s world, but the larger American community; with her outspoken, unfiltered speeches radicalising a large portion of the community (remind you of anyone) and tipping the country towards the implementation of a full scale super-powered military force commanded by Vought. Stormfront’s presence only further complicates things for the Boys, and the violence once again gets dialled to eleven as they attempt to infiltrate Vought and bring the organisation down once and for all, leaving a mountain of bodies in their wake.

Let’s get one thing straight. The Boys had a great first season, with excellent character development and some solid world-building that really ingratiated you into this universe of corrupt superheroes being held accountable by a bunch of scoundrels. This season, however, vaults it into the conversation for best show currently airing, worthy of Game of Thrones level hype (hopefully they can stick the landing better). Everything comes together here in a much more compelling package, with a tighter narrative focus that expands and twists and turns towards an unexpected, yet on-brand finale that not only gets the ball in the goal, but blows the whole goal up. Sure no show is perfect, and there is room for improvement with some fat to trim. The Deep’s (Chace Crawford) storyline never really gets going and fails to hit that payoff it constantly seems to be building towards, with the late inclusion of A-Train into his arc suggesting that the show-runners don’t really know what to do with Jesse T. Usher’s disgraced speedster. Yet when a show juggles as many characters as this one does, it is hard to begrudge them a few flaws.

The highlight of the season is undoubtedly Aya Cash’s star-making turn as Stormfront. She is absolutely phenomenal in the role, crafting a chilling portrayal of someone so tapped into the cultural zeitgeist and able to play off the country’s fears to such a convincing degree that she ultimately surpasses Homelander in popularity and threaten’s to overthrow his leadership of the Seven. Her interplay and scenes with the Superman stand-in are equal parts hilarious and terrifying with her wise-cracks and crude social media references disguising a level of cunning so advanced and calculated that she is playing in another mental league to the child-like Homelander. Subtle things like the glint of fear in her eyes when she has sensed she has pushed the big man too far do so much to flesh out the performance and when things get truly unhinged towards the finale Cash goes all-out, rivalling the supervillain hissy-fits of the likes of Loki and Lex Luthor.

That’s not to say that the original cast are outshone, all delivering stellar performances that further their respective arcs with moments that give the audience an insight into their personal lives and what makes them tick. The fleshing out of Frenchie’s (Tomer Capon) backstory is a particular highlight, transforming him from slightly unhinged, weapons obsessed maniac to a tortured soul who buries himself in his work to disguise the terrible guilt he feels over past mistakes. The bond Frenchie develops with Karen Fukuhara’s mute, face-smashing Kimiko is one of the more endearing relationships I have seen in the superhero medium in a long time, with each episode deepening their connection as the two uncover each other’s past and share intimate details, often without any dialogue at all. Kimiko presents the guilt-ridden Frenchie with a path of redemption, by helping someone recover from a terrible tragedy, whilst Frenchie represents a new start for Kimiko, free from her past mistakes and away from her life of violence. It’s these powerful and quiet moments and connections which completely contrast the insanity of the violence and jokes that make you feel like you’re watching something with a voice, a message that goes beyond the sometimes shallowness of other superhero projects.

As with the first season that message is loud and clear this time, with a particular focus on the current commander-in-chief and his recent associations with certain white supremacists. Whilst this might induce a certain weariness from some audience members (Alec Baldwin and his SNL pay checks not withstanding), The Boys presents it in a way that is both fun and easily digestible. You know exactly what the show is alluding to and they all but use the man’s name in pointing out his stupidity, but it never feels heavy-handed and the humour of the situation always lands, even when it is simply a roll of Homelander’s eyes at some absolute rubbish Stormfront is spewing. The social commentary isn’t isolated to Trump roasting though, with side story-lines touching on everything from Scientology-like religious institutions for disgraced super-heroes (AKA #MeToo aggressors) to get their careers back on track to equal rights for the LGBTQ community. It’s all dealt with with a steady stream of curse-word and very NFSW jokes, with a hell of a lot of blood and gore when the action hits to boot. A scene involving a speedboat and a whale is a particular favourite, just make sure you have a strong stomach.

The second season of The Boys not only surpasses the first, but really anything that Amazon has put onto their streaming service. This is an absolute must-watch show and something that absolutely warrants you picking up a subscription ASAP. From the jokes and violence to the social commentary to the powerhouse performances from the entire cast, this is a superhero show that feels so utterly and completely fresh; uncompromising in its commitment to over-the-top, unrelenting entertainment where other big studio superhero shows and films can seem hamstrung by their commitment to bringing in the biggest possible box-office return. What other superhero show have you seen that features heads popping like candy, 20 foot super-powered penises and speedboats punching wholes through aquatic mammals?

The Boys – Season 2 stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Aya Cash, Chace Crawford, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Jessie T. Usher & Giancarlo Esposito – Streaming on Amazon Prime now.

Tags Amazon Studios, Antony Starr, Aya Cash, Chace Crawford, Erin Moriarty, Giancarlo Esposito, Jack Quaid, Jessie T. Usher, Karen Fukuhara, Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, The Boys, Tomer Capon

Ranked

RANKED: Best Horror Films of the 2010s

Post author By Mark
Post date October 13, 2020

It’s October which means that the spooky season is officially upon us! We’ve put together the 10 best horror films of the 2010s to kick things off, including some of the goriest, most nightmare inducing entries to ever grace the genre. So sit back, grab some popcorn or a nice bloody steak and enjoy some or all of the entries on the list; you’re guaranteed to have a blast… or ongoing psychological trauma.

10. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Not in the mood for a really heavy horror film? Feel like something a little light? Then look no further than The Cabin in the Woods, a horror comedy that blurs the two lines between those two genres so perfectly that you’re never without a giant grin on your face. The genre stereotype of a group of teenagers partying together at a secluded house in the woods is given a new lease on life with an added big brother twist that sees a shadowy government organisation attempting to kill our heroes by dropping all manor of nasties into the cabin and surrounding forest. While it is a little light on genuinely scary moments, majority of the fun in The Cabin in the Woods comes from the sense of anticipation it creates as you try to guess what new horror is about to drop into the mix; leading to an absolutely insane and gory finale that might not deliver a satisfying conclusion for some, but sticks to its guns in defying expectations. Look out for one of Chris Hemsworth’s earliest pre-Thor performances, as well as hilarious, scene stealing turns from veterans Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford.

9. IT (2017)

What a monumental task it was to adapt the behemoth of a novel that Stephen King’s IT is and make it palatable for modern audiences. Andy Muschietti did just that with his two-film opus and, while the second film might be a bit too bloated in sections and lackluster in the scare department, the first is absolutely superb in establishing an atmosphere of pure tension and terror upon our seven main children protagonists and the iconic Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard). The film straddles the line between drama and horror, giving you plenty of time with each of the main protagonists to really understand their interplay within the group and what makes them tick; drilling down to their core fears that feed the evil Clown preying on the otherwise peaceful rural town of Derry, Maine. The attachment the film gives the audience to these children means when the scares hit, they hit hard, with particularly powerful performances from Jack Dylan Grazer and Sophia Lillie highlighting just how much more scary things can be to children, sometimes helpless in the world around them when adults turn a blind eye. What knocks the film down a few pegs is its over-reliance on jump scares, particularly in the sound mixing, with a burst of harsh strings blaring out anytime anything remotely chilling happens. It knocks you off balance and lessens the scares considerably as they repeat the trick right throughout, which is particularly disappointing given how utterly terrifying these scenes are without these tricks. Some of the scenes in IT are so ingrained in my brain at this point that I can see them when I close my eyes at night (a particularly annoying bedtime routine) and if that isn’t a testament to how truly frightening the core idea of this film is, then I don’t know what else is.

8. Evil Dead (2013)

When talks began of a reboot of Sam Raimi’s beloved horror comedy The Evil Dead there was a resoundingly mixed response. This was one of the last of the iconic 80’s horror franchises to get the remake treatment and by dropping the comedy aspect entirely to embrace the horrific nature of its story it also becomes one of the best. Gone is franchise star Bruce Campbell, replaced by Jane Levy’s Mia; a college student struggling with addiction who is brought to her family’s secluded cabin by her brother and friends in order to detox from the cocktail of drugs in her system. When the group stumbles upon the ancient “Book of the Dead” and (in typical horror fashion) start reading, all manner of ancient ghouls and evil entities arise to torment the group. Fede Alvarez’ debut English language feature may just be one of the goriest films ever made. We’re talking arms dismembered with bread knives, faces cut open with shards of glass; truly horrifying stuff. Yet everything moves at such a fast pace and the film draws on the audiences fascination with the “Book of the Dead” and the new horrors that are unveiled with every new passage read that you never really get too tied up in any one scene to the point where the violence feels like overkill. Don’t get me wrong – this is definitely not for the squeamish and you should proceed with caution, but those that finish will be rewarded with a completely different take on the original source material that respects what came before while overhauling it for modern horror audiences to terrific results.

7. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Before he burst onto the mainstream scene with blockbuster’s like Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, Academy award-winning director Taika Waititi was making low-budget horror-comedy gold in his home country of New Zealand with What We Do in the Shadows. The vampire comedy, framed as a mockumentary in the style of The Office, is a masterclass in subtle, nuanced humour that only gets better on repeat viewings as you uncover more and more of the mile a minute jokes that are impossible to uncover on a single viewing. We follow vampire flatmates Viago (Waititi), Vladislav (Jermaine Clement) and Deacon (Johnny Brugh) as they take us on a tour of New Zealand’s vampire hotspots and give us an inside look into the day-to-day activities of vampires. It’s a truly hilarious introspective into what would otherwise be mundane but, when looked at through the eyes of a vampire, take on so much more life. Something as simple as opening the curtains becomes a life and death gamble if the sun is out and a pile of uncleaned bloody dishes in the sink becomes a major hassle when you’re trying to seduce new victims to your house to suck their blood. The core cast are all fantastic, with the witty back-and-forth banter never stopping and the introduction of a colourful cast of supporting characters like recently turned vampire Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) and leader of local werewolf group Anton (Rhys Darby) to flesh out the hilarious supernatural underworld of New Zealand. If you haven’t seen What We Do in the Shadows yet and find you can’t handle the scary stuff, then this is the film for you. Do yourself a favour after and dive into the excellent TV show of the same name currently airing. Thank me later.

6. The Witch (2015)

Production designer turned director Robert Eggers’ debut film The Witch is an enthralling slow burn period piece that seeps into your brain as you watch and quietly takes you into its clutches, building your connection to a struggling New England family before ripping the rug out from under you and sending your expectations hurtling away. Made with an impeccable attention to detail – from the costumes and sets to the true to the time period dialogue – the film transports you to 1630’s New England, where a young family exiles themselves from their Puritan colony to live a devout Christian life, setting up a farm on the outskirts of a forest. If you’ve seen any horror film you can probably guess that there is something not quite right about the forest but that is where the genre staples end for The Witch. Once we arrive at the farm we rarely leave, with Eggers homing in on the hardships of daily life for the family as they toil away simply to make ends meet. This slow build in tension is only compounded once family members start disappearing and accusations of witchcraft start flying, leading to an absolutely nail-biting, balls-to-the-wall conclusion which will have you transfixed and eager to immediately dive in again to uncover the myriad of secrets Eggers has sprinkled throughout the film.

5. The Conjuring (2013)

Big budget studio horror often misses the mark by placing an over-reliance on the tropes of the genre; mistaking loud telegraphed jump scares and disposable paper thin characters for some sort beloved genre element. It’s understandable to a degree, as these films cost significantly more than typical cheap horror and therefore have to appeal to the broadest possible audience to make their money back. With 2013’s The Conjuring director James Wan showed studios and audiences alike that it was possible to make big budget horror with real, lived-in characters that felt authentic and who the audience could really invest in while also delivering bone chilling scares and sequences simply dripping with tension. Demonologist duo Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are excellently fleshed out characters whose motivations to help those experiencing the occult are inherently good and don’t require convoluted explanations, leaving plenty of time for spooks. Wan wisely spends a significant portion of the film with the haunted Perron family, showing the loving and caring relationship between siblings and parents and slowly tearing that away as the fear of living in a haunted house slowly chips away at everyone’s happiness and resolve. Once the film hits its stride and the scares start hitting there is really no stopping, with sequence after sequence demonstrating Wan’s excellent understanding and control of the camera and timing of scares. It’s no exaggeration to say that The Conjuring is one of the most genuinely chilling pieces of mainstream horror in recent years, with some of the most unforgettable sequences in horror. I guarantee you’ll never look at “Hide and Seek” the same way again.

4. Midsommar (2019)

The vast majority of horror films thrive on the darkness. It creates an instant element of dread and foreboding, hiding creatures that lurk in the night and confusing those classic teenage characters stumbling around the haunted house. Ari Aster’s sophomore feature flips that idea on its head, spending almost the entirety of its mammoth runtime in complete, almost blinding light as we follow a group of college students on a trip to an idealistic Swedish colony on the eve of their Midsommar celebrations. Aster’s ability to wring every drop of tension out of the otherwise peaceful situation and slowly build an atmosphere of pure dread is incredible; creeping from mild issues with translation and misunderstandings in cultural traditions to full on cult death rituals and murder plots as the bonds between the group of travelling friends are slowly unwound. Unlike most films of its ilk, Midsommar’s characters are all extremely well written, with interesting interactions and various sub-plots that set them off against each other at a time when the worst thing they could be is divided. Aster plays into the horror trope stereotypes with your typical assortment of characters – the jock, the jerk, the nerd and the final girl – but never dips into the clichés of those characters within the genre, instead poking fun and giving the characters a respectable amount of street smarts that won’t have you yelling orders at the screen. Let’s not forget the absolutely phenomenal performance from British newcomer Florence Pugh, who gives a hauntingly somber performance as Dani, a young girl who has experienced incredible trauma and is slowly coming undone, only to be thrust into this fresh nightmare scenario. It’s a star-making turn that warrants a viewing of the film alone before you even begin to mention the incredible supporting cast, directing and cinematography. Add this to your watch list and let the festivities begin!

3. Halloween (2018)

Another classic horror franchise got the Evil Dead reboot treatment here with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as the most iconic final girl of all time – Laurie Strode – in a new instalment of the Hallloween franchise. Wisely side-stepping the myriad of varying quality sequels, this reboot picks up 40 years after the events of the original John Carpenter classic, with notorious killer Michael Myers safely incarcerated at a mental institution while Laurie deals with a particularly bad case of PTSD. When a pair of prodding podcasters upset the big man with an investigation into the Haddonfield murders, Michael decides to escape his bonds and go on a repeat killing spree in his old neighbourhood; slashing his way through Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson’s (Andi Matichak) friends on the way to a final confrontation with the one that got away herself. Fan service can derail a film of this type by throwing too many Easter eggs and camera winks at the audience, but David Gordon-Green’s film toes the line just right, giving you those moments you’ve come to the expect from the franchise – like a particularly awesome tracking shot that follows Michael through a series of houses on the quest for his weapon of choice – whilst also building the character of Laurie in a meaningful way. This is a woman who was completely traumatised as a young girl and has lived her entire life out of fear and in response to the idea of Michael returning. That’s a fascinating angle that allows Curtis to play with the character and redefine her for a modern age, which she absolutely does as a total badass, ready with all manner of weapons and booby traps to torment her tormentor. This is a prime example of a reboot/sequel to a major franchise done perfectly right; chock-a-block with scares and gore whilst completely justifying its existence by bringing a meaningful and impactful story to these beloved characters. Bring on the rest of the trilogy!

2. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

A follow-up to one of the most successful original horror franchises in recent memory was never going to be an easy win. The history of horror franchises was stacked against director James Wan in that regard. Nevertheless the horror veteran rallied and crafted a perfect follow-up to the demonic hit, following an all new family in Enfield, England experiencing some truly spooky things, who are once again helped by Demonologist duo Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). Wan, admittedly, doesn’t change his style too dramatically and the film has something of a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, but when your first film was as successful and genuinely terrifying as The Conjuring was you can’t blame him. Where Wan improves upon the original is in the effectiveness of the scares. They alternate between elaborate, camera shifting anomalies – like teenage girl Janet (Madison Wolfe) sinking through the floor and appearing on the ceiling in the room below – to simple yet extremely effective spooks that rely on camera angles shifting back and forth until something goes bump in the night. The characters are all once again incredibly well fleshed out and the dynamic within the Hodgson family is instantly recognisable and relatable, to the point that they become our main characters more so than the Warrens. That isn’t to say that the Warren’s aren’t key players here and Farmiga in particular is excellent as Lorraine begins to experience visions of future calamities and is slowly unhinged and tormented by a sinister entity. What makes The Conjuring 2 so chilling and memorable is the imagery. There’s a now instantly recognisable iconography of “The Nun” (before the crappy spin-off) and the leather armchair in the Hodgson residence that will make the hairs stand-up on your head whenever you hear the squeak of a leather seat. There’s a reason that the film spawned a myriad of spin-offs on the strength of two of its key scares alone and while those may vary in quality, there is no denying that The Conjuring 2 is one of the most terrifying and memorable films of the decade.

1.Hereditary (2018)

Watching Hereditary in a packed theatre was a simply surreal experience. This may be the singularly most unsettling film that I have ever seen, slowly establishing a feeling of unease that creeps over you and seeps into your bones as you witness the horrifying story of the Graham family unfold. Ari Aster delivers one of the best debut features, maybe ever, in this tale of overcoming grief which follows Toni Collette’s Annie on a journey to discover more about her estranged, recently deceased mother who she keeps seeing appear in the shadows of her home. As horrific events after horrific events begin to befall the family, Annie finds herself on a downward spiral to insanity as she struggles to balance the discoveries she is making with a crumbling family structure, leading to a propulsive final few minutes that you will not forget anytime soon. Aster displays such a mastery over the camera here, fading shapes in and out of the shadows and playing with the intensity of the blackness in scenes to the point where you constantly second-guess if what you are seeing is on-screen or simply a product of your imagination. It’s an incredibly effective way of establishing that primal sense of uneasiness – if you can’t trust yourself and your own mind then who can you trust? – and ensures that when the scares do hit they hit like a blow to the head. There is a scene so truly shocking and unexpected that I found myself physically disgusted and unable to shake that feeling for at least the next hour; it sets the tone for what is to come in such an effective way that you never truly feel safe again until the credits roll. If all that isn’t doing it for you then perhaps the fact that the performances are absolutely incredible will, with Toni Colette putting in a criminally-overlooked, award-worthy performance that belongs in the pantheon of great horror performances. Hereditary is not only the most terrifying and shocking horror film of the 2010’s, it may be one of, if not, the most horrifying film ever made. If you consider yourself a true horror fan, then you really can’t skip out on Hereditary any longer. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Tags Best Horror Films of the 2010s, Evil Dead, Halloween, Hereditary, IT, Midsommar, The Cabin in the Woods, The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Witch, What We Do in the Shadows

Movie Reviews

The Devil All the Time

Post author By Mark
Post date October 7, 2020

On paper the cast of Antonio Campos’ new film The Devil All the Time is a slam dunk. A who’s who of up and coming talent and recently established superstars alike featuring Spider-Man himself Tom Holland in the lead, surrounded by Robert Pattinson, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen and Bill Skarsgard. The ridiculousness of the cast is understandable when you realise it’s a Netflix production, who can’t resist splashing their cash around these days, yet it can’t be understated when the performances within are as good as they are here. Performances alone don’t make a film work however, and The Devil All the Time is a prime example of how elements of a novel don’t necessarily translate to the movies, undermining the excellent work of the cast by attempting to cram too much into an already complex film and relying on narration instead of its actors to tell the story.

Let’s start with the main character here, who oddly enough is never actually on screen: the narrator and author of the original book Donald Ray Pollock. It is barely an exaggeration to say that his voice is heard on-screen more than any of the actors, with his husky Southern drawl explaining just about every plot development in the film. Granted this is a fairly complex film with an ensemble of characters and various interweaving storylines, but if your story doesn’t work without the need to explain each and every scene, then maybe you should take another look at the screenplay. Explaining someone’s emotions right before the moment of death is never going to be as engaging as simply watching the actor express those emotions through their movements and facial expression and the narration puts the audience on the outside, never allowing for any interpretation of a scene because everything is unpacked and told directly to you. It’s a strange device that seems to show Pollock’s overprotectiveness over his work and distrust in the actors, made even more annoying by the fact that majority of the things he is describing are being portrayed excellently by the A-list cast.

Performance wise this is a masterclass in dramatic character acting, with every actor fully committing to their character and the embodiment of some sort of evil. The Devil All the Time is a story about truly horrific people. This is not an easy watch in any sense of the word but it is a fascinating one that digs into the depths of human depravity and the manipulation of others through social constructs like gender roles and religion. While it won’t be for everyone, those that stick it out will be rewarded with a rich exploration of the violence of the human condition. Tom Holland leads the ensemble as Arvin, the son of tormented and fervently religious World War II veteran Willard (Bill Skarsgard), whose traumatic upbringing has left him a hardened, good intentioned man with an unwanted penchant for violence. Arvin’s desire to protect those around him, particularly adopted sister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen), inadvertently puts him on a collision course with a host of despicable people including depraved pastor Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson), husband and wife serial killers Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy (Riley Keough) and Sandy’s corrupt lawman brother Deputy Lee Bodecker (Sebastian Stan).

Everyone in this West Virginian backwoods town is damaged and has been broken in some way by the world around them, giving Arvin’s character an almost anti-hero quality; he is not above these people but simply desires to leave this place and ensure those he loves are looked after. The violence is simply a bi-product of his desire to do good and Holland does an amazing job of portraying this internal struggle in Arvin. It may seem almost impossible to separate the young actor from his role as Spider-Man but Holland manages to shift your perspective, with his Southern drawl and calm and measured demeanour. It is a risky move on Holland’s part but one that definitely pays off and shows his outstanding range as one of Britain’s brightest young talents.

That inherent goodness cannot be applied to the other members of the cast however, with Robert Pattinson almost stealing the entire film as the mesmerising Pastor who has hoodwinked the town into worshipping him as their connection to God, all the while lying to them and wreaking havoc on young girls around town. He is a character you absolutely loathe and it is a testament to Pattinson’s performance that he draws this kind of emotional response from the audience. His monologue about people’s “delusions” leading them to sin is truly spellbinding and will have you glued to the screen as you realise how well this man can twist the townspeople into accepting his word as the truth.

As is the case with any film of this nature with multiple storylines, there are those that simply aren’t as engaging as the others. The serial killer storyline seems to plod along as a sidepiece with no real relevance, apart from an early interaction with a key player, ultimately falling flat and failing to carry as much impact as it should. By far the least interesting however, is that of Deputy Bodecker. Sebastian Stan is great in the role, transforming himself into the grimy overweight policeman in debt to the mob and working as an enforcer while he polices, but ultimately his storyline just does not really matter. His place in Arvin’s narrative is never really solidified and ultimately doesn’t carry the weight that the film thinks it does, leading to something of an anticlimactic finale that doesn’t quite reach the dramatic highs that have come before.

The Devil All the Time is one of the most bold and risky films that Netflix has put out; a dark and violent exploration of the depravity that the human condition can extend to. While its subject matter certainly won’t appeal to a broad audience and the constant narration can be incredibly annoying, the excellence of the A-list cast’s performances cannot be overstated, with Holland and Pattinson in particular delivering awards worthy turns. This isn’t a casual watch by any means but if you find yourself in the mood for a good drama and something that will make you think then give The Devil All the Time a chance. I haven’t stopped thinking about it for almost a month and the more I do the more I am convinced that this is one of the best films of 2020.

The Devil All the Time stars Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Donald Ray Pollock and Bill Skarsgard – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Bill Skarsgård, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Netflix, Riley Keough, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, The Devil All the Time, Tom Holland

Movie Reviews

Enola Holmes

Post author By Mark
Post date September 29, 2020

Sixteen year old star Millie Bobby Brown is arguably one of Netflix’s most important assets, having risen to superstardom with the smash hit Stranger Things and cementing herself as a teen celebrity powerhouse outside of the show. As her adventures in Hawkins continue to chug along season after season, Brown has attempted to branch out into movies, with a supporting turn in last year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters and now a starring role in Netflix’s own Enola Holmes. The film follows the relatively family-friendly adventures of the infamous Sherlock Holmes’ little sister – created by author Nancy Springer years after the works of original author Arthur Conan Doyle – as she travels across England in search of her mother, crossing paths with her famous family and a host of characters on the way. In a year deprived of summer blockbusters, Enola Holmes just might be the closest we’ll get to replicating that unbridled fun and joy of going to the movies, even if it is rather disposable at the end of the day.

Enola Holmes’ biggest strength and weakness lies in its tone. The film clearly owes a lot to the likes of Deadpool and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with the youngest Holmes sibling constantly breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience directly. It works for the film’s opening scenes when it is used as a clever device to humorously breeze through mountains of exposition and establish all the key players in the case to follow, but it quickly devolves into tedium when Enola starts shooting you looks every five minutes as if she’s checking to make sure you haven’t drifted off. At some points it gets so bad that it almost feels like a Victorian episode of Dora the Explorer with Holmes asking us the audience how we should navigate the plot of the film. The annoyance of these scenes is alleviated greatly by Bobby Brown’s natural charisma and charm as Enola and the fact that the film spends a good chunk of its opening minutes establishing the impact of the mystery on the young detective and getting you along for the ride.

The ride in question isn’t a terribly interesting one to be fair and functions as a sort of light version of a classic Sherlock Holmes case as Enola must unravel the mystery of her mother Eudoria’s (Helena Bonham Carter) sudden disappearance whilst on the run from her oppressive older brother Mycroft (Sam Claflin), who wishes to send her to boarding school to receive a traditional education. Along the way, Enola is entangled with the young Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who is hesitant about taking his father’s position in the House of Lords in order to pass an ambiguous bill that will “change the future of England”. What begins as an intriguing mystery with puzzles and clues for Enola to solve takes a shift into the mundane once Tewkesbury’s involvement becomes more prominent and the film becomes a more generic whodunnit investigation into a mysterious assassination plot on the young politician. It is a shame given the rather interesting mix between Deadpool and the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes films that is established early on, which wraps you up and makes you think you’re about to experience something truly different. As it devolves into more generic action set-pieces, the film does retain its sense of fun – arguably shedding its family friendly image with some pretty intense late game violence – but that twinkling of something special is missing and it never really manages to recover, stumbling towards a fairly messy and abrupt conclusion that wraps everything up far too conveniently.

Once again Netflix has spared no expense with their original content, bringing in an absolute smorgasbord of great British talent, from Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin to Harry Potter veterans Fiona Shaw and Helena Bonham Carter. Cavill in particular shines as the legendary detective; giving Sherlock Holmes a far more laidback, less idiosyncratic feel than previous iterations as he watches Enola slowly unravel the clues laid before her, doling out sage wisdom where necessary. It’s such an interesting performance in fact, that I would happily sit through an entire film of Cavill as the sleuth, provided Sam Claflin also returns as his uptight, hilarious brother Mycroft. Claflin, like a lot of the cast, really hams it up as the high-class aristocrat with some serious self-doubts, screaming and carrying on about Enola’s lack of ladylike behaviour in stark contrast to Cavill’s quietness. It’s a brilliant pairing which really serves to flesh out the supporting cast and take some of the weight off of Bobby Brown’s shoulders – not that she can’t carry it. If Stranger Things hadn’t already done it then Enola Holmes certainly establishes Millie Bobby Brown as one of the finest young talents working today, carrying this giant studio picture with ease, hitting all the right emotional beats and really making you care about her, to the point where I welcome the inevitable sequel just on the promise of seeing her on-screen again as Enola.

Enola Holmes might not be the best or most memorable film of the year, but it is a whole lot of fun and that is something that is in high demand during the pandemic this year. It easily stands above the vast majority of content Netflix has released this year, with Millie Bobbie Brown cementing her status as a teen acting powerhouse in the fun, if sometimes uneven romp. Surrounding her with an eclectic British cast with brilliant turns from Sam Claflin and Henry Cavill really adds to the fun factor here and if you find yourself in search of a quick jolt of energy and enjoyment then turn to Enola Holmes for some solid sleuthing adventures.

Enola Holmes stars Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Louis Partridge, Fiona Shaw, Burn Gorman & Helena Bonham Carter – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Enola Holmes, Helena Bonham-Carter, Henry Cavill, Millie Bobby Brown, Netflix, Sam Claflin

Movie Reviews

The Broken Hearts Gallery

Post author By Mark
Post date September 25, 2020

Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen. Different spins on the genre are released into cinemas every year with only the rare few tweaking the formula enough to stand out from the pack. The Broken Hearts Gallery may just be the only film to do so in a year almost completely devoid of new releases (apart from a few of those pesky generic rom-coms); bringing side-splitting humour and genuine heart to the tried and tested formula that has plagued the genre for years. With a star-making performance from up and comer Geraldine Viswanathan, this is easily one of the best films released in 2020 and, if it is safe to do so, an easy recommendation for a trip to the cinemas.

Viswanathan plays Lucy, a bright and bubbly millennial without a filter who moves from relationship to relationship without much success, amassing a collection of mementos from her past suitors which adorn the apartment she shares with roommates Amanda (Molly Gordon) and Nadine (Phillip Soo). When her latest boyfriend and boss Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar) dumps her for his ex, Lucy’s latest spiral into depression leads her to meet the down-to-earth Nick (Dacre Montgomery), who she strikes up an unlikely friendship with. When Nick confides in Lucy about his incredibly hipster dream of opening up a boutique hotel, Lucy sees this as an opportunity for catharsis and begins to bring the mementos from her past to put on display in Nick’s construction zone of a hotel – AKA the titular Broken Hearts Gallery – garnering viral fame and a string of lonely lovers whose sob stories force Lucy and Nick to evaluate their own views on life and love.

Sounds cheesy doesn’t it? The premise is inherently silly and might make even the most strong stomached of audiences gag at times, but when it is packed full of as much charm and heart as The Broken Hearts Gallery is, it’s hard to be too upset about anything you’re seeing for too long. This really comes down to Geraldine Viswanathan, who is the heart and soul of the film, which without her would plunge into mediocrity. She brings such an energy and likability to the character of Lucy; an endlessly effervescent sense of joy and wonder at the world that constantly keeps a smile on your face as she attempts to impart this positivity on the all-business Nick. That isn’t to say that Lucy is a one-dimensional character however, and Viswanathan hits all the right notes in making her relatable, in her vulnerability to the men she is pulled towards and the hurt she has bottled up from constant rejection. Add to that her impeccable comedic timing, which she has honed in films like Blockers, and you have easily the film’s greatest weapon, ensuring the laughs are coming a mile a minute.

Surrounding Lucy is a mostly solid supporting cast with Molly Gordon and Phillipa Soo (of Hamilton fame) delivering big laughs and showing a great chemistry between the trio. Their banter is a constant delight and although the jokes don’t always land, there are a few in there that deliver some of the biggest laughs in the film. Arturo Castro does good work as Nick’s friend Marcos, helping to make Nick into something of a three dimensional character (more on that later) and Utkarsh Ambudkar also shines as the completely oblivious and self-absorbed Max. Unfortunately the weak link in The Broken Hearts Gallery comes in the form of leading man Dacre Montgomery as Nick. Montgomery’s performance doesn’t derail the film but he just doesn’t seem to be performing at a high enough level as those around him here, playing Nick extremely straight-laced and not leaving much room for the comedy to flow organically; relying on Geraldine Viswanathan to carry their funnier scenes. It’s somewhat surprising considering his stellar performance in Stranger Things and when the inevitable dramatic moments hit he is excellent and delivers the required gravitas but in a movie as fun as this, which will be remembered for its levity and humour, you really would benefit more from a leading man that can handle the comedy and maybe falters on the dramatic side, rather than the other way around.

The Broken Hearts Gallery is a blast from start to finish, even if it is a fairly predictable one. If you’re expecting a romantic comedy that completely shifts the genre on its head then keep looking, but I’m willing to guess that if you’ve got your eye on this film and have seen a poster or trailer then you know what to expect and will not be disappointed. Geraldine Viswanathan’s performance elevates the typical genre material to something special and the commitment from the entire cast to the comedy (Dacre Montgomery excluded) ensures that you will leave the cinema having shed a tear or two, whether that be from the constant laughter or the emotional rollercoaster that comes with the rom-com territory.

The Broken Hearts Gallery stars Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Arturo Castro and Utkarsh Ambudkar – in cinemas now.

Tags Dacre Montgomery, Geraldine Viswanathan, The Broken Hearts Gallery

Movie Reviews

Tenet

Post author By Mark
Post date August 25, 2020

Watching Christopher Nolan’s latest film Tenet was one of the most frustrating cinematic experiences I’ve ever had. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad film by any stretch; spinning a nail-bitingly tense story of high-tech underground arms dealings and the special unit tasked with putting a stop to them around a typically complex sci-fi conceit: the inversion of time around objects causing them to move backwards. Tenet has so much going for it in the right direction – a top-tier cast with stand-out performances from John David Washington and Batman-to-be Robert Pattinson, stunning cinematography, breathtaking visual effects and a suitably epic score from Ludwig Gorranson. So the fact that something as minor (in the grand scheme of things) as sound mixing almost derails the entire thing is a huge blow. As is always the case with Nolan’s work, spoilers are a huge issue – but worry not, this will be as spoiler-free as possible.

That spoiler-free promise becomes immediately difficult to uphold when you have to try and explain the concept of Tenet, but the basic premise involves John David Washington’s “Protagonist” being recruited by a shadowy organisation to investigate a potentially world-ending discovery: the reversal of an item’s entropy causing it to flow backwards through time. Think a bullet exiting the wall it had been lodged in and flying backwards through the air to land back in the chamber of the gun or a car chase flowing in reverse. It’s difficult to visualise when you read it but rest assured Nolan does his best at capturing the mind boggling and making it visually plausible. There are a few spots where this device begins to strain that plausibility, but by the time you reach these moments you’ll likely be far too confused to worry much about them. The journey of the “Protagonist” eventually puts him on a path towards Russian billionaire Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh), a man who may know the most about this mysterious technology, and his wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), forcing him to enlist the help of colleague Neil (Robert Pattinson) to infiltrate the shadowy organisation Sator controls and unlock the secret to time inversion.

As with all of Nolan’s work, Tenet is incredibly well made, from the set designs and costuming which gives the whole affair a real spy movie flair – like some kind of sci-fi-tinged James Bond film – right through to the top tier effects, a lot of which are practical this time around. Where the film does employ special effects to render its time inverted sequences, it does so to jaw dropping effect. Buildings that have exploded piece themselves back together from the wreckage with rubble flying upwards and flames shooting back into explosions, freezing instead of burning in their reversed state. It should come as no surprise to anyone that has seen a Nolan film before and while the effects never reach the spellbinding highs of Inception, there are some incredibly inventive scenes that deserve a spot in Nolan’s highlight real. Another central pillar to any Nolan film is the score and in-demand composer Ludwig Goransson (known for his work on Black Panther and The Mandalorian) does not disappoint, delivering a pulse pounding soundtrack worthy of frequent Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer’s lofty standards. Hitting all the right highs and lows, with those blaring horns that Nolan’s films have become synonymous with, Goransson’s score adds that epic flare to almost every scene and will give your eardrums the rattling they have been missing from trips to the cinema.

Unfortunately for Tenet this fantastic score works as something of a double-edged sword. Nolan and his team seem to have made the downright bizarre choice to mix the score in heavily whenever anybody on-screen is talking to maddening effect. It’s not an exaggeration to say that by the halfway point of this meaty epic I had only been able to understand about a quarter of the dialogue that had been spoken. In a film already so complex and exposition-heavy (Nolan has clearly done his homework and wants us to know about all the scientific theories that explain this time inversion concept), it seems like an obvious thing to go quiet on the background noise and music in scenes where facts and theorems that are central to our understanding of the plot are rattled off. Those Inception horns I mentioned earlier are blared constantly during these scenes, leaving you clueless as to what was said to the point where when someone in the film references a piece of dialogue said earlier you’ll have no clue what they are talking about, you just have to take it on faith.

This wouldn’t be the glaring issue that it is if Nolan didn’t feel the need to complicate the story of Tenet to a frankly ridiculous degree. If you’ve seen any time travel film you’ll be fairly well equipped to grasp what you’re about to see. Nevertheless Nolan seems convinced that his take on the concept is something completely groundbreaking when the reality is – apart from some of these inverted action scenes – it is all pretty standard time travel fare. Twisting the story beyond its already confusing time travel elements is the editing, with choppy cuts that don’t seem to blend very well together failing to give you a proper idea of where our characters are in their globe spanning adventure; one minute we’re in India before a quick trip to Italy and then right back to India. It’s something very atypical for Nolan and along with the sound mixing debacle mentioned earlier it’s quite perplexing that these issues weren’t called to attention in the editing bay, especially given the extended delay during the pandemic that would have given ample time to fix these gripes.

Fortunately these issues are mitigated somewhat by excellent performances across the board. John David Washington cements his status as a leading man following a brilliant turn in BlacKkKlansman; as a man thrust into this extremely covert world spy scenario and completely out of his depth, with nothing to rely on but his own wits and judgement over who he chooses to trust. As a surrogate for the audience, the somewhat clueless nature of his character allows Nolan to unload mountains of exposition in a way that doesn’t seem too boring but there’s only so much you can take before it starts to get a little overwhelming. Beyond that, Washington shows a command over the screen reminiscent of his father Denzel, and with a long career ahead of him Tenet will be remembered as one of his best early performances that showcased the promise of this young talent. Pattinson and Debicki both do great with the roles they are given, with Debicki given a bit more to work with as the beaten-down wife of Kenneth Branagh’s tyrannical criminal mastermind. Her exploration of domestic abuse and the burden of not being able to escape Sator as it means leaving her son behind is especially powerful and one of the most engaging emotional relationships throughout the film thanks to her stellar performance. The real highlight here is Branagh, putting on a wild and deranged display as the unhinged Russian with too much confidence in his status for his own good. Branagh steals every scene he is in, playing the character dangerously close to an 80’s action movie villain stereotype but pulling it back in the quieter moments where Sator gets a chance to show his intellect. This is a man three steps ahead of anyone else in the room and in a film so complex the simplicity of the threat he represents is a welcome counterpoint.

Tenet is not Christopher Nolan’s best film, in fact it might not even be in the top 5; but as with his entire filmography it is still an exceptionally well made movie, from its visual flair to its technical impressiveness. The frustrating complexity of the story and the bizarre decision to mix the dialogue in with the score forces the audience to trust the fact that they know where Nolan is taking the story, even if they do not know themselves. Given Nolan’s track record, this isn’t a huge gamble and I won’t exaggerate and say that the sound mixing completely derails the film as the addition of subtitles on future home viewings will likely fix the issue. Nevertheless if you’re going to pay to see this in the cinema – and for a lot of people this will be their first big post-quarantine viewing – you’ll want to understand what you are watching. For a director as precise as Nolan to overlook this, or even worse to do it intentionally is bizarre but Tenet is still an incredibly engaging, inventive film featuring terrific performances from its entire cast that more than earns its spot in Nolan’s incredible body of work.

Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Himesh Patel, Michael Caine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Kenneth Branagh – In cinemas now.

Tags Christopher Nolan, Elizabeth Debicki, John David Washington, Kenneth Branagh, Robert Pattinson, Tenet, Warner Bros

Ranked

RANKED – Christopher Nolan Films

Post author By Mark
Post date August 21, 2020

Christopher Nolan is one of the finest working directors today. It’s an irrefutable fact. The man has made 10 films to date and most, if not all, are excellent pieces of cinema. The man can seemingly do no wrong as far as the box office goes as well, as one of the rare few filmmakers whose films consistently appeal to large audiences and rake in big bucks. Understandably then, with his new film Tenet poised to hit screens Warner Bros is keen to get it to as many people as possible. With the current pandemic sweeping the world this is proving easier said than done with Tenet‘s release date constantly being shifted back. Whilst we may not know for sure when we’ll see Nolan’s latest we do know that his other 10 films are pretty widely available to watch now (Following excluded), so there’s never been a better time to dive into Christopher Nolan’s filmography. We’ve done just that, attempting to rank them all from least to most great. It’s a tight line to walk in some respects and honestly, if you have the time you should check them all out, but if you want to know the best of the best, read on.

10. Following (1999)

Nolan’s first film Following barely even qualifies as one by today’s standards, clocking in at a measly 70 minutes. It is even more impressive then, that Nolan’s debut feature never feels rushed or half-baked; taking its time to lay the important pieces of its twisty narrative and letting certain scenes sit to heighten their impact and hint at connections between story shreds. Following also introduced audiences to Nolan’s obsession with time and non-linear storytelling, two features that would become a staple throughout his career. Here we follow a young nameless writer (Jeremy Theobald). Jobless and hungry for inspiration the writer spends his days targeting random people and following them throughout the streets of London, searching for an interesting story to tell until he begins following Cobb (Alex Haw), a young man who takes the writer under his wing as a burglar, targeting apartments in the middle of the day and taking whatever they want. Cobb is a curious young individual though, and seemingly doesn’t rob to amass riches or things, but rather to disrupt peoples lives and force them to reassess their place in life and the things they consider necessary. When Cobb and the writer burgle a young nameless Blond woman’s (Lucy Russell) house, the writer strikes up an ill-advised romance with her, ingratiating himself further and further into her life until she asks him to burgle something incredibly precious for her. Nolan’s demonstrates an early mastery over story control and shot composition, making what would in lesser hands be an incredibly confusing narrative easy to piece together and understand, whilst keeping you guessing about where it is heading at all times. Whilst the dour ending may not appeal to some, it is nonetheless an incredibly impressive debut feature and an essential viewing in tracing Nolan’s growth into larger, more complex stories.

9. Insomnia (2002)

When you think of Christopher Nolan’s later lofty, high-concept work you wouldn’t necessarily expect that the man had tackled a fairly standard cop procedural story before. That’s exactly what Insomnia is, but as is tradition with Nolan, with a twist. Adapted from the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name the story focuses on Al Pacino as Detective Dormer who travels to the small Alaskan town of Nightmute to assist with an investigation into the brutal murder of a young girl. Nightmute is in a curious part of the world however, with daylight stretching on for days on end without darkness, wreaking havoc on Dormer’s sleep schedule and causing him to slowly lose his grasp on reality and rational thinking. This is all exacerbated when a terrible tragedy strikes Dormer and his partner Hap (Martin Donovan) and the killer slowly begins to circle the detective and play with his slowly deteriorating mind. As far as an adaptation goes, Insomnia nails all the right aspects of the original film whilst throwing in a few new tweaks to update the film for English-speaking audiences. Going into this expecting an intriguing murder case however is the wrong mindset as the film is more concerned with analysing the character of Dormer and the slow unravelling of his mind. It works due to the two anchoring, powerhouse performances of Al Pacino and Robin Williams, both of who are on their A-game and willing to show completely different sides of themselves to the audience, particularly Williams. It’s an extremely dark role for the famous comedian and one that he absolutely commits to, instilling his mysterious character with a carefully calculated demeanour and facade that hides the more sinister presence lurking within. Pacino similarly wows as Dormer’s behaviour gets more and more erratic as the case goes on, sacrificing all shreds of morality that he has in order to solve the case and save his soul in the process. Whilst these performances are great, the film does move at a particularly slow pace which may be off-putting to some. If you can stand the length however, you will be rewarded with a rich character study that shows two of the finest actors ever to do it at their peaks.

8. Dunkirk (2017)

The main lead in Dunkirk, British soldier Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) tries to go to the bathroom twice in the opening 5 minutes of the film and is stopped short by enemy gunfire. He never tries again and we’re led to believe he held it in the rest of the movie. That’s one of the best ways to describe the experience of Dunkirk, a film that puts you right in the thick of it during the English and French Allies escape from the beach of Dunkirk following a loss at the Battle of France. There’s a constant feeling of dread and tension that seeps into you whilst you watch Dunkirk, almost without you knowing, and it’s only once that final title card comes up that you feel the pure stress you have been under begin to ease. The film is composed of many overlapping story threads that together make one cohesive picture. One arc follows Tommy and a rag tag group of soldiers who attempt to leave the beach on multiple different naval crafts, another puts you in the air with Air Force pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) as he attempts to protect the boats ferrying soldiers back to Britain, and yet another follows a civilian vessel crewed by local sailor Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance), his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and local school boy George (Barry Keoghan) as they venture into the deadly waters of Dunkirk to bring back as many soldiers as they can. All of the performances in Dunkirk are phenomenal, there’s no doubt about that, in particular Mark Rylance as a sailor who seems acutely aware of the terror he is sailing into but knows he has a duty to help those who defend his country. The film manages to evoke the horror of war and the constant fear of the enemy without every really showing you the enemy. There are bombs dropped and enemy fighters flying overhead but they are given no face, no human figure to grasp onto and it somehow makes the whole experience that much more terrifying, almost like a horror film. Some unseen force is constantly lurking and even when it isn’t physically there its presence is constantly bearing down on the soldiers and testing their mental strength. Being Nolan he seems determined to play with the timeline here, intentionally showing scenes out of order and at different intervals so that when we see a plane flying overhead in one scene early on we see the converse side of that scene from Farrier’s perspective an hour later. It’s a needless addition here and distracts attention away from the already brilliantly pared back and tense story, a departure for Nolan. Nevertheless Dunkirk is a phenomenal war film that will not soon be forgotten.

7. Memento (2000)

Of all his time-bending films, Nolan’s sophomore feature Memento is surely his most inventive and unusual, telling the story of Leonard (Guy Pierce), a man on the hunt for his wife’s murderer who suffers from short term memory loss and uses a complex system of polaroids and tattoos to remember information as his memory refreshes every 15 minutes or so. If that weren’t enough of an original plot, the whole film is actually presented in reverse, beginning with Leonard’s assassination of a man and following the events preceding that murder. Now when I say reverse I don’t mean some opening death followed by a record scratch with a character exclaiming “How did I get here?”. I mean quite literally backwards, with chunks of story preceding the murder interspersed with footage of Leonard in a hotel room hunting for clues which eventually come together and meet up to tell the story of the day before the murder. If you think that this is ridiculous and that you already know the plot let me assure you that not only is this a reasonable assumption (I said the same thing) but trust me when I say you do not know where this is going, as the films closing scenes flip the entire story on its head. Guy Pierce gives a career-best performance here as the forgetful Leonard, a man incapable of making new memories since the moment of his accident but with an acute memory of his wife’s murder and a singular drive to exact revenge on her killer. Joining Leonard on his loopy ride are Carrie-Ann Moss as a young bartender who has her life completely changed by Leonard’s mission and Joe Pantoliano as Teddy, a man whose allegiance is constantly in question but who seems determined to help Leonard catch his man. Memento is one of those films where the hype around the film threaten to overshadow the film itself, but missing out on this one would be doing yourself a disservice. This is the film that put Christopher Nolan on the map, and rightly so, as it is one of the most inventive and unique stories that you will ever experience, with a conclusion so satisfying and unexpected that it justified the man being handed the keys to the kingdom of Batman (more on that later).

6. Interstellar (2014)

Yes, I know the twist in Interstellar is divisive and a bit of a cop-out to some but I happen to love it. Nolan’s most earnest and emotionally devastating film places human interaction and one particular family’s struggle to carry the fate of an entire civilization at the heart of its space opera story: a warm counterpoint to the otherwise sterile, cold intergalactic adventures that the genre is known for. Regardless of your thoughts on the ending you can’t deny that the preceding three hours of Interstellar are a visually breathtaking spectacle and a solidly paced mystery that intrigues from the outset and breaks you down in the same way as Matthew McConaughey’s emotionally scarred astronaut Coop. Coop’s family is irreversibly changed when he is asked to venture out into the cosmos in order to find an inhabitable planet for the human race to continue, leaving behind his son Tom (Timothee Chalamet) and daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy). His journey is further complicated by the increased passing of times in different parts of the galaxy, causing Coop and the rest of his crew – scientists Brand (Anne Hathaway) and Doyle (Wes Bentley) – to age far more slowly than the people they have left behind on Earth. The central relationship of Interstellar is between Coop and his children (played by Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck as adults) and the almost insurmountable guilt Coops bears for leaving them, knowing that it is also the only way that they will ever have a future. McConaughey is phenomenal and the scenes where he is allowed to sit with these feelings and become unhinged are Oscar-worthy. Frequent Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer also returns to score the film, crafting another booming, epic score that highlights all the huge moments while also creating the perfect melancholy soundtrack to Coop’s internal struggles. Interstellar asks for a commitment from the audience: to stick through its almost oppressive runtime and to embrace the human themes that Nolan is placing at the forefront. If you go in with an open mind and enjoy the ride it can be one of the most rewarding and fun sci-fi experiences in recent memory.

5. The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige may just feature a plot and setting better suited to Nolan’s style than any other on this list. The nineteenth-century thriller follows rival magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) as they engage in increasingly desperate attempts to outdo each other following a tragic accident that drove them apart many years earlier. As a tale built around old-school stage magic, this is a film that hinges on misdirection, tricking the audience and providing last minute reveals that throw all your expectations to the wind. These tropes have Christopher Nolan written all over them, and it’s clear he’s revelled in crafting the complex drama that always has one more ace up its sleeve. Jackman falls right into his element as a charismatic showman that soaks up the spotlight, yet he also brings an edge and intensity that hint at what he eventually dug into during 2013’s Prisoners. Similarly, Bale is also at the top of his game here, playing to his strengths as a layered and complicated character that saw the actor lead Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The core of The Prestige comes down to the intense and increasingly hostile battle between these two incredibly different characters, however the downtime between their sabotage attempts and dramatic reveals does tend to weigh on the film over its two-hour runtime. Supporting roles filled by the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine and even the late David Bowie do well to propel things forward, but the real heights of the story come and go like flashes of lightning only to be followed by lengthy stretches of downtime before the next exciting act. While definitely a slow-burn, The Prestige is still Christopher Nolan deep within his element – an intense thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the final curtain falls.

4. Inception (2010)

Nolan’s most original piece of work and highest grossing film outside the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception is a fantastic sci-fi espionage romp with a killer conceit: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb leading a team through the dreams of a corporate bigwig in order implant the idea of breaking up his father’s company in his subconsciousness, thus ensuring Ken Watanabe’s company’s continued survival. There’s a lot on the line for Cobb; who was forced to flee his native America after being accused of the murder of his wife Molly (Marion Cotillard), whose memory stalks Cobb and the team throughout the dreams he enters, threatening to bring the whole operation down and dooming Cobb to prison. It’s a tightly wound, expertly crafted story that constantly makes you question what you know and toys with the idea of reality in a way that hadn’t been seen before and which numerous films have drawn inspiration from (I’m looking at you Doctor Strange) with buildings folding in on themselves and gravity fluctuating and reversing as the team ventures deeper and deeper into the mind. Whilst most will remember it for the inventive story Inception also has one of the best casts assembled in recent years including Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a young Tom Hardy before he broke big. Whilst it is well and truly DiCaprio’s show here, Page, Gordon-Levitt and Hardy all get their chances to shine, with the latter two rising to superstar status following these performances. Cilian Murphy also gets to showcase an impressive emotional range; an opportunity that he had previously not been afforded by Nolan, as the tortured heir to a fortune who must break down the troubled relationship he had with his father and come to understand forgiveness in order to move forward. Let’s not forget the amazing score by Hans Zimmer who practically reinvented the epic film score going forward with booming horns spaced between quieter string sections. Inception may also include his finest single piece of music in the phenomenal “Time” which works as well on its own as it does as a part of the score and never fails to transport you to a dream-like state.

3. Batman Begins (2005)

The first piece of what would go on to become Nolan’s defining trilogy, Batman Begins was a huge turning point for both the acclaimed director and the industry as a whole at the time. Before the 2005 blockbuster was released, superhero movies were definitely not the bankable sure-fire hits that we expect today – especially when these films featured Gotham City’s Batman. The late 80’s and early 90’s saw some passable Tim Burton interpretations in Batman and Batman Returns, both proving too much for 1995’s Batman Forever to live up to. Yet the wheels well and truly fell off with 1997’s Batman & Robin, a circus of terrible one-liners, cheesy overacting and a wooden George Clooney inexplicably donning a bat costume with nipples built onto it. With such a grim history, it was safe to say that expectations were low when Nolan’s Batman Begins attempted to reboot the troubled hero’s film career almost a decade later. However, against all odds, it was just plain brilliant. The franchise was finally represented as the dark, gritty psychological thriller that had defined it off-screen for years, with Nolan’s signature style transforming the hero from a corny joke into a multilayered, complex action star. Christian Bale seems almost born for the role as Batman, bringing a quiet confidence to Bruce Wayne by day and a brooding intensity to the dark vigilante by night. Michael Caine has since become synonymous with loyal butler and caretaker Alfred Pennyworth, and both Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson bring grounded performances to otherwise outrageous villains in Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul respectively. It’s certainly a lengthy start to the trilogy and you tend to feel it at times, but the time spent here building Batman from the ground up pays off immensely throughout the film and the trilogy as a whole. Following entries would go on to perfect the formula, however Batman Begins will always be the huge gamble that kickstarted the silver screen’s superhero renaissance that we’ve been living in ever since.

2. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

As the third and final entry in Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises also proved to be the riskiest. Introducing new heroes, villains and storylines into its almost three-hour runtime would be difficult at the best of times, but the film also needed to deliver on years of development with a fitting conclusion. As expected, The Dark Knight Rises went on to round out the trilogy with a bang, rising to reach the same record-breaking heights as its predecessor did in 2008. Bale once again effortlessly delivers the lead role as Bruce Wayne and his cloaked alter ego, especially in the more focused scenes where he’s forced to pull himself together, broken in both body and spirit. New entries Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and Officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are woven in perfectly, seamlessly slotting into the plot and fleshing out more of the famous comic characters. The return of franchise favourites Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman is also a treat, and each of their characters are given fitting conclusions to arcs as the hero’s allies. The plot itself is a lengthy tale that explores both Batman’s history and legacy, with much of the film driven by Tom Hardy’s brutal and imposing Bane. As a character, Tom Hardy delivers Bane as a fierce and immovable force that stands tall as one of Batman’s toughest enemies to date. However as The Dark Knight Rises moves toward its grand ending, his character begins to lose steam when paired with another new entry, Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard). Cotillard did the best with what she was given, however she was unfortunately saddled with a fairly generic character whose greatest twist was a known factor for anyone remotely familiar with the franchise. It doesn’t detract too much from the rest of the film, but the character is almost completely forgotten in a film already juggling so much. Despite this minor gripe however, The Dark Knight Rises easily brings a triumphant end to Nolan’s revival of the world’s greatest detective, setting an incredibly high standard for not only superhero franchises, but any action thriller worth its salt going forward.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

The fact that The Dark Knight takes first place upon our list of Christopher Nolan films will come as little surprise to most. The second chapter in the director’s Batman trilogy has left a huge legacy for reasons both triumphant and tragic, and it would be hard to find anyone unfamiliar with the film on at least some level. After the runaway success of Batman Begins, Nolan set out to raise the bar even higher by expanding the roster, dialing up the action and delivering constant, adrenaline-pumping tension. Christian Bale reprises his role as the billionaire crime-fighter alongside Michael Caine’s Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon and Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox, with each bringing the experience and pedigree we’d seen during their initial outing. Aaron Eckhart joins the cast as Harvey Dent, performing well alongside a re-cast Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to bring the infamous origin story of Two-Face to life. Yet it’s impossible to discuss The Dark Knight without mentioning the incredible, Oscar-winning performance by Heath Ledger as the infamous Joker. Ledger embodies the enigmatic villain in every scene, creating a character so unique and interesting that Hollywood has since become obsessed with replicating it. Yet Batman’s arch enemy has never been as strong as he is here within The Dark Knight, where his manic and erratic nature mask the fact that he’s always the smartest man in the room. From the film’s intense opening to its dramatic conclusion, the audience is always led to believe that the Joker is a criminal mastermind with nothing to lose – and Ledger just makes it an absolute blast to watch. It’s unfortunate that we’ll never know just what he may have brought to the table for the trilogy’s finale, however it’s safe to say that his final big screen performance will always be remembered as an absolute masterclass. Between stellar characters like these alongside some breakneck pacing, explosive action and a timeless plot, The Dark Knight is not just Nolan’s greatest work to date, but easily one of the greatest films of the past generation.

Tags Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk, Following, Inception, Insomnia, Interstellar, Memento, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige

Movie Reviews

Project Power

Post author By Mark
Post date August 20, 2020

Netflix is thriving in the current pandemic-ridden environment, capitalising on the closure of cinemas worldwide to secure millions of eyeballs on their seemingly endless torrent of original content. Within the myriad of original films that have hit the service during the pandemic, a curious little sub-genre has emerged: the Netflix action movie. First we had Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction; a relatively straightforward hostage thriller with some extraordinarily choreographed fight scenes and mind-blowing action. This was followed by the Charlize Theron led The Old Guard: an absolute waste of a promising sci-fi premise which devolved into tedium with middling action scenes which failed to excite alongside endless streams of exposition. The latest of these is the Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring Project Power, a somewhat inventive spin on the sci-fi genre which falls somewhere in between these two films with only its star power to rely on to get you through the poorly paced plot and boring set-pieces. Despite a solid performance from newcomer Dominique Fishback, Project Power is an utterly forgetful film which may offer a few hours of relief from crippling boredom, but does nothing to spark excitement or a desire to ever go back and explore this world.

Fishback plays Robin, a high-school teenager forced into slinging a particularly powerful drug in order to care for her ailing mother and ultimately pay for a life-saving surgery. The drug in question is “Power”, a pill that grants the user 5 minutes of superhuman abilities specific to that person. What powers does the person get? Well that’s the risk with “Power”; you don’t know until you try it. Maybe you’ll become a Human Torch-like walking wall of flame or maybe you’ll explode instantly and paint the walls red. Needless to say the drug appeals to a vast majority of criminal personalities and Robin has been working undercover with local New Orleans police detective Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to identify the source of the drug and put a stop to its spread. Elsewhere in New Orleans is Art (Jamie Foxx), a mysterious man hell bent on finding his kidnapped daughter, whose fate is inexplicably tied to the creation of “Power”. When the trio’s paths cross, they are forced into joining together to find Art’s daughter and put an end to the spread of “Power”.

On paper the plot of Project Power sounds pretty compelling. It’s a relatively original concept for a superhero film; something of a cross between the Bradley Cooper film Limitless and recent Netflix hit Code 8. It’s reasonably well produced and shot, not coming close to anything Marvel or DC have come out with, but with a decent amount of polish to pass it off as a mid-tier summer blockbuster in regular pre-COVID times. The chief problem with Project Power – and one that I’m starting to realise stretches to most of these Netflix films – is that it is so ridiculously unremarkable and forgettable. The somewhat interesting premise is completely wasted, with the film devolving into a series of cookie cutter set-pieces before culminating in a finale that resembles the Scooby Doo scene where the gang is chased through a series of doors. So intense was the blandness that I found myself forgetting what I had seen only minutes before, and don’t even get me started on trying to remember the plot a few days later to write this review. Netflix is throwing increasingly large sums of money at these sub-par scripts without actually caring about the final product and my mental exercise to try and list all the memorable quality films in the service’s catalogue took far too long to came up with barely a handful of titles. That’s not what you want to hear after attracting top-tier talent to the service and investing hundreds of millions of dollars on films that no one will remember existing after a week. Perhaps that is the business move? Make the films so utterly forgettable that you forget you’ve seen them and rewatch them over and over again. It’s not a particularly consumer friendly approach but hey as long as it increases Netflix’s bottom line, right?

Bringing in A-list stars to these projects almost acts as a double-edge sword in a sense, as the lead trio are quite literally the only good thing about Project Power and their natural charisma carries the audience through the film; not because their characters are well developed (they aren’t) but because you know Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and you like them in other things. Having said that, simply having Jamie Foxx in your movie doesn’t make it good. I should care about Art because his character is appealing and his motivations make sense to me and make me care about his plight, not because he is played by the man who sang “Gold Digger” and I love that song and therefore him in the film. This is a man who has had his daughter ripped away from him and doesn’t really seem all that concerned about it whatsoever. Sure he keeps telling you he’s going to rip through New Orleans to get her back, but then seems perfectly content to sit back and listen to Dominique Fishback’s character rap for what felt like an eternity. This little rapping sub-plot is just one of many that stop the film’s momentum dead in its tracks and while they provide a laugh every now and then; in a film that is struggling to keep my attention as is, any break from the main plot just makes you forget things faster. Despite the film’s problems, Fishback does give a fairly compelling turn as the down-on-her-luck Robin and has the only complete story-arc in the film. She is clearly a talent destined for a bright future, hopefully away from films like this that threaten to waste that talent.

You may be thinking from what I’ve written that I don’t care for Netflix. This isn’t true; I feel it is an amazingly powerful service that gives often unheard talents a platform to have their stories told. There are some truly wonderfully films on the service; just look at last year alone with Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Noah Baumbach’s superb Marriage Story. Clearly the service is capable of putting out good products. When it comes to this particular action genre however, Netflix needs to pick up their game severely and give some proper care and attention to genuinely good scripts, not just interesting ideas. Extraction worked with its limited scope and focus on action and choreography; it knew what it was and did it well. The Old Guard and now Project Power do not. Simply attracting A-List talent to a potentially solid idea without fully fleshing it into a script that takes advantage of that talent is a giant waste. Sure Project Power will be seen by millions of viewers around the world (not recommending you be one of them) but if nobody remembers it even exists, then what is the point of making it?

Project Power stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker, Machine Gun Kelly & Courtney B. Vance – Available to stream on Netflix now.

Tags Dominique Fishback, Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Netflix, Project Power

TV & Streaming Reviews

The Boys – Season 1

Post author By Mark
Post date August 9, 2020

Picture the most crude, irreverent, balls-to-the-wall insane versions of your favourite superheroes and multiply that by a thousand and you’re still not likely to come close to the absolute craziness that is Amazon’s original series The Boys. A riff on the stereotypes of modern superhero movies – which seem to be releasing in a steady torrent these days – The Boys is a breath of fresh air within the genre; poking fun at the character archetypes and superhero mythology that we have become accustomed to in brilliantly inventive, funny and dark ways, whilst maintaining a captivating storyline in a world where superheroes are worshipped as celebrities and the job of fighting crime has been privatised to wring every possible cent out of civilians. With a standout cast of deeply developed characters who are a joy to watch and constantly subvert your expectations The Boys is an absolute win for Amazon and a must-watch for anyone who likes their superheroes with some serious attitude.

In a world where fame is everything (not unlike our own), superheroes are at the top of the pecking order; none more-so than “The Seven” – a Justice League-like group complete with movie deals, merchandising endorsements and reality television shows which capture their heroic deeds and everyday lives. Yes, they’re the super-powered Kardashians. The heroes that make up the Seven are all delightfully over-the-top riffs on established classic heroes including leader of the group, Homelander (Antony Starr) (essentially Superman complete with flight, strength and laser eyes), super-fast A-Train (Jesse T. Usher), Aquaman-lite “The Deep” (Chase Crawford) and newcomer Starlight (Erin Moriarty) – a wide-eyed new recruit who comes to learn the dark price that this level of fame can cost and the moral bankruptcy that it has entranced her fellow heroes. The fame has gone to the Sevens’ heads so completely that they barely blink when A-Train plows through the girlfriend of ordinary citizen Hughie (Jack Quaid) at super-speed, obliterating her in his hands. This minor inconvenience to the Seven and life-altering catastrophe to Hughie sends him on a dark path of revenge and when he is approached by superhero hunter Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), the pair gradually begin to uncover the darker side to this world of superheroes – think enhanced drug rings and covered-up allegations of sexual assault – steadily building their team of misfits as they head towards a showdown with the Seven.

What makes The Boys so special is just how deftly it weaves timely social commentary and hilarious jokes together within the superhero genre without ever coming across as pandering or a cheap spoof. This is a show that clearly owes a lot to the superhero genre as a whole, being based off the comic series written by Garth Ennis, and has a lot of love for those characters and stories, and infuses these classic tropes and characters with overemphasised and extreme traits to make a compelling statement about just how much absolute power can corrupt an individual and warp their originally good intentions. Homelander’s arc in this way is one of the most interesting explorations of the character of Superman without him actually being called that. The man is essentially a God and the constant panhandling and press that he must carry out in order to make the executives of the Vought Company (the Seven’s managing organisation) happy has twisted and corrupted his desire to be seen as a hero so badly that he engages in some truly awful activities to achieve this goal. Similarly, Hughie is plucked from obscurity and forced to learn some hard truths about the world in order to really stand up for himself and make a difference in the superhero-dominated society. Some of the most hilarious (and gruesome) moments in the whole season come from just how completely out of his depth Hughie is in the company of Butcher and his friends and his struggle to adopt the violent methods of the team. Seriously, this show is not for the weak stomached.

The Boys constantly has its finger on the pulse when it comes to these social issues, whether it be its exploration of addiction and the dependency it can cause or the recent #MeToo movement. None of these storylines are ever preachy or purely there for shock value but rather serve to further character’s motivations and story arcs. They’re also subtle when they have to be. There is an initial inciting incident that sparks the #MeToo sub-plot and it is very obvious what has occurred, but the show takes its time bringing up the ways this encounter has wreaked havoc on that character’s mental state and overall self-confidence. When push comes to shove and the season’s conflicts come to a head, the responses of this character feel justified and not shoehorned in; a constant struggle rather than a “remember this scene from episode 1” moment. This kind of background storytelling is constant in The Boys with a number of blink and you’ll miss it references and details that add to the overall storyline of these characters. Despite the Wonder Woman-esque character of Maeve (Dominique McElligott) having a minimal amount of screen-time, I understood her character and her precarious place within the Seven perfectly well based on the subtle cues to her performance and little side comments that other characters make. These are just small little touches but they really go a long way to elevating the show beyond regular, generic superhero fare and making this feel like a lived in world.

Something that can’t be overstated but that will somehow be overlooked by a lot of people is the way that The Boys is presented. The aspect ratio and overall colour grading of the film are far more cinematic than most television shows (superhero or not); so much so that it could stand toe-to-toe against top-tier Marvel and DC films in the overall quality and presentation. It goes that extra step further towards making the whole experience more immersive and imitating that feel of a big-budget blockbuster through camera techniques is an excellent way of hiding the fact that you may not have the budget to match those films. What isn’t going unnoticed in The Boys however, is the performances. The show is full of great ones, with almost no weak links apart from Jesse T Usher’s somewhat varied performance. It’s hard to pick his motivations sometimes and Usher doesn’t always nail the nuance needed to portray A-Train’s fragile mental state. The highlights (hard to pick just a few) here are the always phenomenal Karl Urban as Billy Butcher – a man whose fairly one-note motivation of hatred for superheroes is explored as you spend more time with him and the emotional walls are broken down to reveal a tortured, devastating past – and Antony Starr as Homelander – a man as equally, if not more tortured than Butcher, but who has chosen to see only the negative from his position of power and look past the plights of the people he is meant to be saving. Jack Quaid, the son of veteran actor Dennis Quaid, also gives a phenomenal performance as the new kid on the block Hughie, and the humour he lends to the role keeps it from dipping into the stereotypical “new guy” area that first season storyline’s so often slip into.

The Boys is one of the best, most downright enjoyable shows of recent memory and an absolute triumph for Amazon Studios. An excellent subversion of superhero genre tropes combined with insightful social commentary without ever losing that sense of fun and excitement, the series absolutely sings when it is at its gory best and makes you think during those quieter moments, with thoughtful, well rounded performances from the entire cast which will have you begging for that second season to come sooner. This is one of the rare examples where one show is absolutely worth subscribing to a streaming service (Fleabag is also great if you’re on the fence) but it is hard to imagine the team losing any of the series’ momentum and fun in the second season and if you haven’t seen it, now is the perfect time to go back and experience The Boys for the first time.

The Boys – Season 1 stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Karen Fukuyama, Tomer Capon, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg & Elisabeth Shue – Streaming on Amazon Prime and available to purchase on iTunes now.

Tags Amazon Studios, Antony Starr, Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, Erin Moriarty, Giancarlo Esposito, Jack Quaid, Jessie T. Usher, Karen Fukuyama, Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, Simon Pegg, The Boys