Category: 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

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

Movie Reviews

The King of Staten Island

Post author By Mark
Post date July 24, 2020

Some might say that, at this point in his career, Pete Davidson is known more for his public persona than anything he has done on Saturday Night Live. If his new Judd Apatow directed film The King of Staten Island does anything, it shows that he is fully aware of it. Serving as less of a true comedy and more of a character study that attempts to demystify the man behind the public relationships and nervous breakdowns, the film gives you an insight into what makes him tick in a semi-biographical tale of his life, warts and all. It’s a brave pursuit and it’s clear that Davidson has put his heart and soul into writing the film and playing himself, showing just how devastating an effect the death of his father has had on his psyche. It does, however, suffer in the joke department – with only a handful of scenes offering more than a weak chuckle. The film feels like something of a hoodwink, luring you in with the prospect of an exciting young comedic talent and then failing to deliver. If you go in knowing that this is a deep dive into Davidson’s life then you are likely to get more out of it but at this point so long after his popularity has peaked it is hard to believe that the audience is really starving for this introspective look.

Davidson plays Scott, a 20-something stoner who lives at home and spends his days hanging around his friends’ shady basements and local Staten Island parks contemplating his future and dreaming of bigger things. The untimely death of his firefighter father as a child (a fact pulled from Davidson’s real life – his father passed away rescuing civilians in 9/11) has haunted Scott for his whole life, causing some severe mental and behavioural issues that he has struggled to deal with and has numbed through drugs. With his sister Claire (Maude Apatow) graduating, Scott finds himself at something of a crossroads, forced to consider his future and whether he should pursue his dream of opening up a tattoo parlour restaurant, whilst also juggling his casual relationship with lifelong friend Kelsey (Bel Powley) and the arrival of his widowed mother’s (Maria Tomei) new boyfriend Ray (Bill Burr). Whilst navigating this perfect storm of personal problems Scott must also deal with a resurgence of his mental illness, causing him to doubt the right decisions he makes while still managing a number of exceedingly irrational ones.

The key question I have for The King of Staten Island and Pete Davidson in particular is what is the purpose of it? The film’s biggest flaw seems to be that the message is so jumbled and confused that I’m not really sure what the overall themes at play are and to try and get to the bottom of the problem I believe it’s necessary to look at Davidson’s real story. The most understandable part of Davidson’s real-life narrative is his sudden and dramatic rise to fame through his personal life. He was never one of the biggest players on Saturday Night Live during his tenure and it was easy to empathise and feel slightly bad for someone thrust into the limelight because of a relationship with one of the biggest pop stars on the planet in Ariana Grande; it’s essentially the plot of Notting Hill come to life. Davidson’s decision to make the character of Scott so hopeless and almost unlikeable is baffling, especially when the arc to really dig deep into his public persona and the exacerbation of his mental illnesses is seemingly so obvious. The real Davidson likes to portray his image as this slacker loser but in reality has obviously put in a lot of hard work to get to the position he is in today.

Scott, on the other hand, is utterly useless and blames everyone around him for his inability to make decisions. The character’s motivations are woefully underdeveloped, with the storyline around Scott’s desire to open up a tattoo parlour only cropping up when the other, more interesting plot-lines around his mother’s boyfriend or his sister’s inability to move on with her life because of him seems to grind to a halt or run out of steam. It doesn’t ever feel like Scott ever really wants to pursue tattooing as a full time career and as a result it becomes hard to see the admittedly sweet character moments between Davidson and Bill Burr that stem from this plot-line as anything more than a joke. It is unclear if Davidson and co-writers Judd Apatow and Dave Sirus have threaded the storylines in the film together in such a jumbled way as some kind of a visual representation of the scattered thoughts and mental clouding that Scott’s depression causes, but if that is the goal then they have achieved it. The constant switching of Scott’s motivations doesn’t actually work towards building any empathy for the character from the audience, and it’s hard to really get invested in Scott’s love-life with Kelsey when he constantly treats her terribly as he does similarly to his sister. It plays as a straight up drama rather than a comedy, focusing on the devastating ripple effects that a traumatic event can have on a child; following them through to adulthood. It’s just a pity that you have to dig so far into it to really understand what they were going for (even then I’m not so sure; this is just me trying to make sense of it all) and the billing of this as a comedy may be misleading to audiences.

If it seems like I’m drawing too many similarities between Davidson and his character and paying too much attention to his real life, it is because Davidson has given the impression that this is his story. In interviews he has made it clear that he hopes this will help audiences understand him and he has gone so far as to shoot the production in his native Staten Island, with many of his friends in supporting roles including rappers Machine Gun Kelly and Action Bronson as well as his childhood friend and co-writer Dave Sirus. Therefore I think that it is fair to draw comparisons between the real narrative and the film, and in many ways this is an excellent look at mental illness and the harm it can cause someone. What it isn’t, however, is particularly funny, which is a shame given Davidson’s track record. He’s excellent in the role, particularly the dramatic scenes and there are a handful of laugh-out-loud moments, but for the most part the jokes fall flat and don’t showcase anything particularly different from the standard fare on Davidson’s irregular “Weekly Update” segments on Saturday Night Live. The real star of the show here is stand-up comedian Bill Burr as Ray, the potential step-father to Scott who isn’t afraid to show him some tough loving in order to stir him into getting his life in order. Burr has always been a phenomenal stand-up comedian and one of the best working today, but his transition here to a key supporting, if not lead role, is wonderful. It isn’t the most joke-heavy role in the film but Burr never fails to make an impact and at the very least brings a chuckle to every scene, even if only through his delivery of a line. I hope that we get to see him in more comedies going forward because the man oozes talent and can clearly translate his stand-up persona to the screen in the right roles.

My experience with The King of Staten Island was an interesting one. I went in expecting a comedy. That is what the trailers and talent in-front of and behind the camera sold me on. As a comedy I can say that The King of Staten Island isn’t a particularly funny one and ranks towards the bottom of Judd Apatow’s filmography; but as a dramatic study of a young man learning to embrace the trauma of his past and accept it as a part of himself in order to move on with his life the film absolutely delivers, with a commanding lead performance from Pete Davidson and excellent supporting work from Bill Burr. While I think the story could have benefitted greatly from making the character of Scott more empathetic and likeable, his story still made me reflect on just how difficult Davidson has had it and I can only imagine how rough it must have been for the guy being thrust into the spotlight. At the end of the day however, the demand for that deep introspective look into Davidson’s psyche probably isn’t as high today as it may have been a few years ago, and I can’t really recommend that this heavy, rarely funny comedy is anything you need to flock to the newly reopened cinemas (in Australia at least) to see.

The King of Staten Island stars Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Maude Apatow, Bel Powley, Ricky Velez & Marisa Tomei – Available to rent on VOD in America and in Australian cinemas now.

Tags Bill Burr, Judd Apatow, Marisa Tomei, Maude Apatow, Pete Davidson, The King of Staten Island

Movie Reviews

Greyhound

Post author By Mark
Post date July 16, 2020

Tom Hanks is one of, if not the finest living actors today. The veteran actor, star of classics such as Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, is also a huge box-office draw, headlining some of the most successful films of all time. As such, it will come as no surprise to anyone that Apple payed a pretty penny to get their hands on Hanks’ latest film Greyhound, a naval war film taking place during WWII that he both stars in and co-wrote. So did Apple’s investment pay off in terms of the quality of the film? It’s not as straightforward a question as it might seem. Greyhound is an engaging battle film with a typically excellent performance from Hanks which does a great job of building an atmosphere of tension and dread. It does however suffer from a distinct lack of characterisation of anyone other than Hanks and a story that is essentially several battle scenes stitched together over the course of one very long voyage between Britain and America. It is not a bad film by any stretch and I was fully engaged the whole time, but it isn’t the next huge classic war film that Apple was hoping for, and definitely is not the content that will draw large amounts of people to the service.

Greyhound follows U.S. Navy Captain Krause (Hanks) on his maiden voyage as commanding officer of the Greyhound destroyer, travelling across the North Atlantic in 1942 as an escort to merchant ships carrying troops and supplies for the war effort on the Front. Once the convoy enters the area of the Atlantic known as “The Black Pit”, their Air Force escort is forced to turn back and the Greyhound is thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a number of German U-Boats stalking the depths. With 72 hours before they enter another patrolled stretch of sea, Commander Krause must rally the other naval ships and ensure as many merchant ships get through to the other side in one piece. It’s a barebones plot, to put it mildly, but director Aaron Schneider gets a surprising amount out of it, steadily building the tension as you anticipate the unseen U-Boat’s first strike, and never letting that go until the 72 hours are through once things kick off. It’s just the right length too, clocking in at a breezy 90 minutes without feeling rushed, letting you sit with the situation and feel the increasingly mounting pressure on the Captain for the full ride, only realising you were holding your breath once the credits roll.

Hanks’ last few projects (The Post, Sully, Bridge of Spies) have seen him lean into his age in films I like to call “Dad movies”. You know the type: true stories that feature an older man in a position of great importance and leadership who use a lot of job specific words and make incredibly difficult, stressful decisions in order to save people or deliver an important message. Greyhound is the latest in this trend and its war-time setting thrusts it even deeper into that “Dad movie” category than those other titles I mentioned. Hanks clearly has a fondness for this time period and the script demonstrates his level of knowledge and understanding of the era, with a heavy use of military jargon and naval vernacular that can be a bit daunting for the casual viewer to grasp when you start. However it does an excellent job of really grounding you in the time period and immersing you in the situation, as the reliance on this technical vocabulary from the outset makes it even more noticeable when the situation becomes increasingly dire and people start slipping up and speaking out of turn and without the proper levels of hierarchy. It’s just another way that Hanks and Schneider build tension and make the film feel almost like horror along with Blake Neely’s great score and the terrifying threat of the constantly lurking enemy.

The issues start to show in Hanks’ script when you take a look at the characters in Greyhound. There’s really only one and that’s Hank’s Captain Krause. Again, he’s great in the role and really sells this man who trusts in his principles, God and his training to get the job done and is tested at every turn. There’s lots of subtle movements and facial expressions that convey the tiredness and the impact the lack of sleep is having on the Captain’s decisions and he is acutely aware that his every decision is taken with a grain of salt as he starts to become more erratic to combat the enemy. The problem is, Hanks is the only person that gets a story arc. Literally nobody else is given anything close to a normal supporting role except for Stephen Graham’s Lieutenant Cole, Krause’s right hand man and the only other actor who gets more than a few lines. Although his performance is solid, even Hanks’ character is severely underwritten as we only ever learn the basics about him. I’m not sure if that was Hanks’ intention, to have you learn what type of man this Commander is through his actions, but there just isn’t anything to him and the audience ends up rooting for him simply because he is Tom Hanks. There is an attempt to give the Commander something of a backstory with one flashback scene introducing his sweetheart back in America – played by the woefully underused Elisabeth Shue – but again, this doesn’t go anywhere and is just a bare minimum device to get you to care for this man, without success.

Ultimately the lack of characterisation stops Greyhound from becoming anything more than a competently executed and well researched representation of one of the lesser known battles of World War II. It is certainly an engaging watch and the devices Schneider and Hanks employ keep you at a heightened level of stress only add to the experience, but at the end of the day when you don’t really care for the characters it’s hard for the film to have much emotional impact. Despite this, any time watching Tom Hanks on-screen is going to be a good time and I can confidently recommend Greyhound as a fun nautical action film. Just don’t expect to be blown away by the next great war picture – 1917 this is not.

Grehound stars Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham & Elizabeth Shue – Available to stream on Apple TV+ now.

Tags Apple TV+, Elizabeth Shue, Greyhound, Stephen Graham, Tom Hanks

Movie Reviews

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Post author By Mark
Post date June 30, 2020

Among the many events the Coronavirus has robbed us of in 2020 is famous annual song contest Eurovision, a colourful collection of performances from representatives of each country in Europe; all vying for fame and glory, with the winning country hosting the following year’s celebration. Given that the 2020 competition has been cancelled for the first time in 64 years, it seems almost too good to be true that Netflix had been working on a Eurovision comedy written by and starring Will Ferrell – the very literally titled Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Unlike his more recent starring vehicles like Holmes and Watson and Daddy’s Home however, Eurovision (if you think I’m typing the full name out every time, you’re crazy) is something of a return to form for Ferrell, an overly long yet frequently hilarious look at an aspiring Icelandic singing duo who dream of winning the famed contest. It may drag in sections and get overly corny at times but the majority of jokes hit like a freight train and Ferrell shares the laughs with a pair of excellent supporting turns from Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens.

Ferrell stars as Icelandic native Lars Erikssong, a 40-something dreamer who lives in the picturesque village of Husavik with father Erick (Pierce Brosnan). Together with childhood friend and potential lover Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams) the pair are Fire Saga, a folk duo who yearn for stardom but who have found themselves confined to busting out old folk songs (like “Ja Ja Ding Dong”, an absolute banger) at local bars. Each year, Lars unsuccessfully submits a Fire Saga song for admission to Eurovision until (you guessed it), their submission is accepted through sheer luck and they are thrust into round after round of competition to vie for the title of Eurovision champion. In order to prove their critics wrong and take home the title, Fire Saga must deal with government conspiracies, their own tenuous internal dynamic as well as numerous devious competitors, including flamboyant Russian contestant Alexander Lemtov (Dan Stevens) – all of which threaten to tear the duo apart before they can realise their dream.

It’s not that Eurovision is a particularly different role for Ferrell. It isn’t. He’s playing an over the top character similar to almost all of his other roles, but what might be helping in this particular scenario is the fact that Ferrell himself has written the script, alongside Andrew Steele. Most of Ferrell’s great comedies – Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers – have been written by the man himself and he clearly reserves the best material for his own starring roles. Whilst Eurovision certainly isn’t on the level of those comedies, (I’d liken it more to a Blades of Glory in scope and quality), it does deliver enough consistent gags to win you over. Ferrell’s Lars toes the line at times of being downright annoying but he always manages to pull it back just before you get truly sick of him with a witty one-liner. Unlike some of his bigger, more commercial comedies, there are quite a few subtle jokes here that will fly past you if you aren’t paying attention. The experience is made all the more richer if you are even somewhat familiar with the Eurovision contest’s many varied and, in some cases, completely insane artists and songs which the movie definitely leans into. A particular standout – the Fire Saga song “Volcano Man” – had me howling on the floor with laughter from the sheer absurdity of it and the fact that it could actually pass for a half decent entry in real life. Apart from the contest itself, Ferrell and company play a lot with European stereotypes and culture, with Iceland the brunt of many of these. Some are hokey and never really catch on, like the constant references to elves and Icelandic people’s belief in them, whilst others – like the aforementioned “Ja Ja Ding Dong” – are an absolute winner and will have you quoting and singing along for days after. Despite the constant barrage of jokes, the pacing is all over the shop and drags in the middle quite a bit. The film is just over two hours and you feel every second of it, with a few chunks going without more than a chuckle-worthy moment at worst. The ratio still manages to lean towards more funny moments than not but be warned: there will be times you will be checking your watch.

Outside of Ferrell are a pair of performances that manage to surpass the man himself at times, from two of the unlikeliest of actors – The Notebook star Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens. Stevens may be a relatively new find to most audiences, having cut his teeth on Downton Abbey before moving across to more gritty action in the excellent thriller The Guest and more recently as the Beast himself in Disney’s live action version of Beauty and the Beast. Eurovision shows him in a completely different light and proves that the man has some serious comedy chops. He completely owns his scenes as the extravagant Russian competitor Alexander Lemtov, who takes a particular shine to Rachel McAdams’ Sigrit. It’s such a hammy, over-the-top performance that is almost too ridiculous to take seriously but Stevens has so much raw charisma and talent that watching him surrounded by shirtless men in leather pants climbing on top of him while he belts out his hit song “Lion Lover” with a whip in his mouth is both absolutely hilarious and perfectly believable for this character. It’s a character that is hard to explain and almost has to be seen to be believed but if you haven’t guessed that this is a solid recommendation by now then know that it is. It’s hilarious. Similarly Rachel McAdams, fresh off a great turn in 2018’s Game Night, gets to go even whackier here as Ferrell’s partner in crime Sigrit. She doesn’t get as many chances to shine here as Ferrell and she unfortunately gets saddled with the silly Elf storyline but when she does get her moments she completely owns them, presenting Sigrit as an idiot at times, but one with genuinely good intentions and affection towards Lars. Her storyline is the heart of the film and goes beyond the jokes, giving an emotional aspect for the audience to latch onto and she plays it well, never delving into the dirty tricks of Lemtov or Lars as she tries to win the contest through sheer artistry and love for music.

Will Ferrell comedies have largely been misfire after misfire in recent years but Eurovision marks a return to glory for the superstar, giving you enough laughs and emotional moments to carry you through its uneven, somewhat sappy story. With solid support from Rachel McAdams and a comedy-star making performance from Dan Stevens, this is an easy, enjoyable watch to laugh away some of the time in this pandemic ridden world. Whilst it may not replace Eurovision, it will give you just about the next best thing: all the pageantry and over the top performances, with some ridiculously catchy songs to boot. I know I’ll be singing “Volcano Man” in my head for weeks to come.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga stars Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan & Dan Stevens – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Dan Stevens, Eurovision Song Contest, Netflix, Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, The Story of Fire Saga, Will Ferrell

Movie Reviews

Artemis Fowl

Post author By Mark
Post date June 17, 2020

It’s a weird time to be a movie fan right now. With the closure of cinemas due to the current pandemic new films have become a rare thing, with Netflix reveling in its constant supply of original content, most of which seems to hit their target market quite nicely. Netflix is so far ahead of the pack in this regard and is totally dominating the streaming market during the pandemic, to the point where you would be forgiven for forgetting that Disney+ was even a thing, having seemingly not released anything worth mentioning since The Mandalorian. With a brand name like Disney it is hard to believe that their first big budget, highly publicised release on the platform in months is as bad as Artemis Fowl unfortunately is. Indeed the film, directed by long-time Disney collaborator Kenneth Branagh, is an almost incomprehensible mish-mash of genres and tones; in addition to being one of the most corniest things I’ve seen in years. People throw the word “cringeworthy” around a lot these days, but I can think of no better word to describe Artemis Fowl, a monumental misfire that almost has to be seen to be believed.

Based on the young adult novels of the same name by Irish author Eoin Colfer, the film centres around boy genius Artemis Fowl Jr (Ferdia Shaw), a charismatic young man seemingly burdened with great intelligence, spending his days arguing with schoolteachers about his attitude towards the work he considers beneath him. His nights, however are spent alongside his father (Colin Farrell), a renowned billionaire art dealer and entrepreneur who secretly schools his son in all manner of Irish fairytales and folklore. When his father mysteriously disappears, Artemis begins to realise that the world of goblins and sprites that his father has described is real and finds himself in a race against time to recover the Aculos, an ancient artefact whose powers are never really quantified and which simply cannot fall into the wrong hands as it will destroy the worlds, both fairy and human. You know, the usual stuff. Teaming up with bodyguard Domovoi (Nonso Anozie), fugitive dwarf and expert safe cracker Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad) and fairy police officer Holly Short (Lara McDonnell), Artemis must comb through his father’s studies in order to search for the Aculos and prevent certain doom.

Sounds like a lot of cliched exposition-heavy hooey doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Artemis Fowl’s chief problem is that it is so bogged down with exposition and needless world building that it forgets to give the story strong enough characters for the audience to latch onto. Everyone is so woefully underwritten that you never really get a grasp of who anyone really is. Sure, they all get a scene highlighting their defining attributes; Domovoi is the cranky butler who specialises in martial arts, Mulch is the wise-cracking bandit who can dig under buildings and Holly has a troubled past and wings. That’s about as far as it goes, depth-wise. Even Artemis himself, the so called “criminal mastermind” has been so toned down from the book, devoid of any personality, criminal or otherwise. He’s simply an annoyingly arrogant little twerp, who constantly corrects people and thinks he is outsmarting them only to get one-upped every time. Then there’s the story, or lack thereof. The pacing of it all is such that by the time the first proper action scene rolls around and you think you’re getting to the good stuff, the credits roll. I’m not kidding. The film literally has one scene that you could pass off as an action scene and even that is pretty poor by today’s standards. There are a few attempts to innovate by playing with time and warping characters around the joint and this is where Artemis Fowl is at its best, when nobody is speaking and the story isn’t being discussed. Outside of these small pieces however, the action is largely pretty terrible, lacking the CGI polish of similar Disney tentpoles.

It’s not even worth mentioning here that the film is set in Ireland, because the film needlessly beats you over the head with the fact so often that the phrase “Shut the four-leaf clover up” is actually uttered. Again, I’m not kidding. It’s a pity that the cast themselves didn’t get the Irish memo, as every character that attempts the accent invariably decides to abandon it in spots, particularly Fowl himself Ferdia Shaw. He is a young talent and still learning, so it can be forgiven but it is a jarring shift to go from an Irish accent to high class British as often as the shot changes, but that isn’t the worst offender. Josh Gad and Judi Dench, yes the esteemed Dame Judi Dench, have seemingly been given the direction to talk as if they have both a chest infection and a mouth full of marbles, as an excuse for gruff, world weary characters. The paycheck must have been good for Dench, who seems to despise every corny, nonsensical line she is forced to utter as the Head of Fairy Police and Holly Short’s mentor. Her presence brings a certain prestige to the picture, but it is clear that she is well past these CGI heavy roles and her tiredness shows in the performance. To his credit Josh Gad is the standout here, clearly going for something as the charmingly offbeat Mulch Diggums, a portly combination of Gimli from Lord of the Rings and Chris Pratt’s Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. He is clearly having fun experimenting with the comedy here and whilst not all the choices pay off, his presence is a welcome distraction from the tedium of Artemis’ storyline.

What baffles me most about Artemis Fowl is the involvement of Kenneth Branagh in the directing duties. The film seemed robbed of all his sensibilities and style, an incredibly bland journey through a world begging to be a mash-up between Star Wars and Harry Potter and coming nowhere near the greatness of either of them. Branagh has said that he made numerous changes from the book and the finished product just doesn’t do anything to justify that decision, as we are forced to listen to huge chunks of exposition and fairy history at a time. He seems so preoccupied with the sheer scale and intricacies of the world that he has forgotten to actually adapt the book. Despite Josh Gad’s best efforts, Artemis Fowl is ultimately an incredibly boring and corny film that completely squanders the rich property it is based on and does nothing to bolster Disney+’s already scarce original content offerings. Do yourself a favour and avoid this one at all costs, unless you feel like a good 90 minute nap, of course.

Artemis Fowl stars Ferdia Shaw, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Lara McDonnell, Nonso Anozie & Colin Farrell – Streaming on Disney+ now.

Tags Artemis Fowl, Colin Farrell, Disney, Disney+, Ferdia Shaw, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Lara Mcdonnell, Nonso Anozie

Movie Reviews

Extraction

Post author By Mark
Post date May 9, 2020

Chris Hemsworth isn’t unfamiliar with action. As Thor he has seen his fair share of it. However it has never been as brutal as in his new Netflix film Extraction, which sees Hemsworth re-grouping with many members of the Avengers team, including veteran stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave – who makes his directorial debut here – and Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo, who pens the script. Hargrave’s experience in Hollywood as a stuntman and stunt director on countless films is the film’s biggest strength here, outside of the popularity and likability of Hemsworth. The focus is really on the action and in that regard, it absolutely delivers, bringing intense, extremely well-shot destruction and hand-to-hand combat to the screen. Outside of that however, Extraction doesn’t have much else to offer from a narrative and character development perspective, relying on its extremely swift pace and endless madness to propel you through its 2 hour run-time. It’s a case of what you see is what you get, and if you’re in the mood for a good action flick that’ll keep you entertained, then look no further.

Extraction‘s relatively straightforward story follows Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth), a mercenary for hire with a troubled personal history and a pretty heavy drinking problem to boot. When a job comes his way to rescue Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the son of an international drug kingpin in Dhaka, Tyler agrees, thinking it will be a stock standard procedure and a welcome distraction from his painful existence. Tyler’s world is quickly thrown upside down when he realises the importance of Ovi in an ongoing turf war between rival gangs in Bangladesh and Mumbai – including the terminator-like presence of Ovi’s former bodyguard Saju (Randeep Hooda) – testing his ability to trust those around him as he attempts to get Ovi to safety, leaving a path of destruction in Dhaka as he goes.

Let’s address the elephant in the room here: Extraction doesn’t have much depth to it. The story isn’t groundbreaking or particularly well done. It’s serviceable and given a welcome shot in the arm by the presence of Hemsworth. The man just oozes charisma and is a foreboding and charismatic presence, believably mowing down hordes of goons in his path to salvation, and I could watch him as this character for hours. It’s such a tonal shift from the character of Thor, less boisterous and jokey and more stoic and reserved. When things do hit the fan, Hemsworth goes into overdrive; a caged beast set free as his survival instincts kick in and the bodies pile up. There’s tremendous amounts of physicality to the performance and from reports of behind the scenes the film was much more taxing than any of his previous work, with Hemsworth performing a lot of the stunts himself (more on those later). The backstory to Tyler Rake, however, is about as bare bones and clichéd for an action hero as you can get, giving you just enough to feel for the man but not enough for you to really understand how he has processed the tragedy and channels it into his work.

Besides the brief flashes of Tyler’s history, that’s pretty much it in terms of backstory or development for the characters in the film. Stranger Things star David Harbour makes an appearance as an old friend (and co-worker of sorts) of Tyler’s who tries to assist him but who may also have his own motives. Harbour tries with what he is given – which admittedly isn’t much – but his presence and performance ultimately ends in a clichéd, forgettable footnote lost in the shuffle of the far superior, and thankfully more frequent, action scenes. Arguably the character who should have been given the most development besides Tyler is Ovi ,who spends almost the entire film attached to Tyler’s hip but who never really makes much of an impact other than an annoying whiny presence that distracts from the action at the worst of times and fades into the background at the best. There’s no attempt to dig into how Ovi deals with being the son of an international criminal or even if he is aware of his father’s business, with the story reducing the character to a series of visual tics meant to denote his fear and his eventual overcoming of them. It seems like a missed opportunity given the obvious potential for a more “buddy-cop” like relationship which could have brought some levity to the otherwise gritty proceedings.

No, what you come to and stick with Extraction for is the action, and boy does it fire on all cylinders, with Hargrave emptying his bag of tricks that he has accumulated over the years to create some of the most jaw-dropping, intense and realistic fight scenes in recent memory. Hargrave is obviously incredibly comfortable behind the camera, with long fluid shots that really allow you to see and appreciate the incredible stunt work in all its glory. There are no quick cuts here to simulate intensity; rather the intensity is brought through the expertise of the choreography, some of which is impressive in its length, with blurringly fast hand-to-hand fight scenes often going on for several minutes at a time. Of particular note is a 12 minute-long simulated “one-shot” scene, which follows Hemsworth as he weaves a car through the crowded streets away from the pursuing police, through to a high speed foot chase through a crowded apartment complex, encountering multiple adversaries along the way. It’s awe-inspiring stuff, and the behind the scenes videos of how they shot it are almost as impressive to watch as the scene itself. Hemsworth is present through almost this entire scene, performing most of the stunts himself, which makes it all the more immersive as he exhibits some serious gun-fighting and martial arts skills that would give John Wick a run for his money.

Extraction isn’t going to change the game for the action genre when it comes to story or character development, relying on many tried and tested clichés to get you through to the next action scene. The film really does shine when these scenes do hit, with Sam Hargrave showing a real aptitude for constructing intense, incredibly well-shot action scenes which keep you locked in and on the edge of your seat. Hemsworth does a lot of the heavy lifting, both physically in these scenes and story-wise, as he anchors the film and provides a charismatic leading man that the audience will follow. If you are interested in seeing some of the best action scenes put to film in recent memory or are just after an exciting flick to pass the time in quarantine, you can’t do much better than Extraction.

Extraction stars Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda & David Harbour – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Chris Hemsworth, David Harbour, Extraction, Netflix, Sam Hargrave

Movie Reviews

Code 8

Post author By Mark
Post date April 16, 2020

Superhero movies are everywhere nowadays. Every year we seem to be inundated with big budget releases from Marvel and DC; well made action films of a generally high standard (Suicide Squad not withstanding) which make boatloads of cash for the studios, prompting dozens more to go into development with higher budgets and effects. Enter the rise of the low budget superhero film. We saw it last year with Brightburn; an interesting spin on a decades old origin story that didn’t quite hit like it should have and now we see it done with much more success in Jeff Chan’s Code 8. Set in a gritty world where powers are despised by society and those with them are hunted, the film is less standard superhero film than it is a sci-fi heist thriller with a lot of heart. Whilst it borrows some concepts from other films and the plot loses its place in spots, the endearing lead performances from cousins Robbie and Stephen Amell combined with solid action, terrific world building and a swift pace make this one enjoyable, easy watch that I would be happy to spend more time with.

Set in the futuristic Lincoln City, built by the same superpowered humans that are now under strict restrictions, we follow Connor Reed (Robbie Amell), a down on his luck handyman working odd jobs to make ends meet and to provide for his mother Mary (Kari Matchett). When his mother’s cancer worsens, Connor is forced to look into other means to earn money for her treatment, taking a job with Garrett (Stephen Amell) – a high level enforcer for drug kingpin Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryk) – and his team. Connor learns to embrace his power here as an “Electric” – allowing him to manipulate and create electrical fields around himself – forming a bond with Garrett and putting his morality at risk as they engage in increasingly illegal jobs for larger and larger pay checks. When the screws begin to tighten around the crew however, Connor must reassess the life he has chosen and take control of his destiny in order to save his mother.

Sound like something you’ve seen before? Code 8‘s story is not exactly the most original, sticking pretty closely to the standard hero’s journey, with a few twists and turns thrown in to mixed results. What pulls you in as a viewer is the world building: think a cross between the gritty, grounded world of Chronicle and the heavily regulated, robot police force patrolled streets of District 9 or Chappie. There is clearly a lot of lore here that the film teases you with, providing few answers as to the origin of the powered humans or the drugs pulled from their spinal fluid that now fill the streets. Rather than rely on exposition heavy dialogue the film finds creative ways for the audience to experience the world, with a montage of construction workers using their powers to assemble a house of particular note. It might not sound like the best use of budget, especially when there isn’t much to begin with, but it is just one example of a subtle way to show the world and is just plain interesting to see from a street level view – this isn’t Thor swinging his hammer or Iron Man blasting bad guys, it’s a real-life portrayal of these powers in an everyday setting. Speaking of budget, the film does a lot with a little; making the powers less flashy but more deadly brings real life consequences to using them and as a result the characters tend to rely on more traditional weapons, using the powers for utility. Most of the budget goes to the robotic police force of “Guardians” and drones which carry them and they all look spectacular, as if they had been plucked from something with Marvel’s budget.

Beyond the flashy world building and powers is an engaging story that hits with some powerful emotional beats, centered on two key relationships between Connor and his mother and Garrett. The mother-son relationship is central to the overall story, acting as the incentive for all of Connor’s actions throughout the film and Robbie Amell and Kari Matchett do a great job selling this bond. Connor struggles with the weight of compromising his moral code to help her, and her insistence that he let her go and move on with his life and Amell captures this internal tug of war exceptionally well. We see real conflict in Connor as he learns to utilise the powers his mother has insisted he hides, knowing they are the only thing that can provide him with the means to save her in time. This conflict carries over to Connor’s relationship with Stephen Amell’s Garrett, a man with whom he is fundamentally, morally at odds with, but who allows him to embrace his abilities and ultimately use them for good, even if it means using them for nefarious purposes first. The older Amell has cultivated an image for himself as the boy scout superhero Oliver Queen on the popular DC series Arrow and is clearly relishing the chance to play a heel for a change. Whilst Garrett is more of an antihero than a fully fledged villain there is some darker material to work with here and Amell more than proves he has the chops, making the action look easy with his stunt-heavy background on television.

Outside of these two central relationships however, things are bit more rough around the edges, with side plots thrown in centered around a detective (Sung Kang) hot on the heels of Connor and Garrett and a woman (Kyla Kane) with the ability to heal people who has been indebted to Sutcliffe and forced to keep him alive. The police investigation story doesn’t really go anywhere and doesn’t get the screen time to do so, with an attempt to flesh out Sung Kang’s character coming too late in the piece to really do much to endear him to the viewer. Similarly Kyla Kane’s character isn’t really given anything to do outside occasionally healing Sutcliffe and hurling abuse at Connor, with Kane’s performance coming across as boring and wooden. Greg Bryk does what he can with the character of Sutcliffe, giving him something of an energy reminiscent of a Miami drug lord, but without any of the swagger or charisma needed to really pop on screen. Thankfully the action makes up for these poorer aspects, drawing the story away from these less developed areas with some tight, focused scenes of brutal violence, utilising the powers in some inventive ways outside of the usual close quarters hand-to-hand combat.

Code 8 is a surprisingly engaging and effective spin on the superhero genre told from a gritty, realistic world set somewhere in the future. While it might not be the most original or nuanced film ever made, it hits where it needs to; with inventive world building, intriguing powers, solid special effects and a pace that keeps you locked into the story. Outside of a few meandering side plots the film fires on all cylinders, hitting all the right emotional beats with great performances from Robbie and Stephen Amell. If you’re looking for a fun, interesting flick to keep your attention as you while away the time in isolation you couldn’t ask for much more than Code 8.

Code 8 stars Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Kari Matchett, Kyla Kane, Greg Bryk & Sung Kang – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Code 8, Colony Pictures, Jeff Chan, Netflix, Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Sung Kang