Film Review

Interstellar (2014) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Critically-acclaimed director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Memento, The Dark Knight) tries his hand at the sci-fi genre for the first time with ‘Interstellar,’ as the beautiful cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema and an incredible score by Hans Zimmer all lend themselves to this story of mankind venturing to another galaxy in search of a new world for our species, and although not perfect, the film is pretty entertaining overall.

Plot Summary: When Earth’s future is being riddled with disasters, famines, and droughts. There is only one way to ensure mankind’s survival, interstellar travel, as a newly discovered wormhole in the far reaches of our solar system allows a small crew to venture where no one has gone before…

Nearly every visual throughout the film is stunning, as along with the gorgeous cinematography, lighting and CG effects. The film really nails the shots within space perfectly, making many scenes look as if a majority of their shots had been taken straight from a NASA satellite, even integrating a great blend of colour and darkness. Many of the planets the crew visit throughout the narrative, however, although very cinematic, never really looked ‘otherworldly.’ Usually looking more like an attractive screen-saver, and although colours are used, it’s definitely a very contained colour palette when it comes to the planets. Many of the interior spaceship sets are also very striking in their appearance, hitting a great mix of modern-day and futuristic/high-tech technology.

Matthew McConaughey portrays ‘Cooper,’ the protagonist of the film, and as per usual, he does a great job within the film as a father who wants nothing but a great future for his children, and although none of the characters get much development throughout the story, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine (and even Matt Damon with his short appearance) all raise the bar high for the level of acting on display.

As already mentioned, the cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is fantastic throughout, having slow-panning shots along with a variety of still shots for character scenes. All of this is being backed up by the unbelievable score by Hans Zimmer, legendary composer for films, such as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Gladiator’ and ‘The Lion King,’ as well as a few other Christopher Nolan films alongside this one, his calming, unique and very science fiction-like soundtrack really lend themselves to many of the impressive shots within space. In particular, the track; ‘Cornfield Chase,’ a wonderful track which has since become one of the composer’s most beloved pieces of work.

Easily the best scene of the film for me was near the ending, as it’s around the conclusion of the film that we get some of the most amazing visuals combined with an extremely emotional moment, as a character undergoes a realisation and the film goes full circle, connecting itself back to some of the film’s early scenes. This climax really gives us some payoff for everything we’ve watched, it doesn’t quite make up for the long runtime, in my opinion, but it’s still somewhat satisfying.

One of my biggest issues with the story and the film in general really, is the extremely slow pacing, as although it’s not boring to watch it by any means. The film does move along at a very slow pace, as I found in particular the first thirty minutes of the film can really drag on a first watch, as the story gets development only in small pieces. This is when the writing by Christopher Nolan and his brother is put to great display, however, as we learn many small details about the characters and world of the film which come back into relevance later.

In summary, I wasn’t massively impressed with Christopher Nolan’s first sci-fi outing, although I was entertained for the most part whilst watching, and the visuals and music were a joy to experience. The long runtime and slow build-up stops the film from being super rewatchable for me, as it never becomes as memorable as ‘Inception,’ ‘The Prestige’ or ‘Dunkirk’ through its story and characters. The film was still very well made, and I do feel Nolan would benefit from a stronger story in the future should he chose to return to the sci-fi genre. Final Rating: low 7/10.

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Man of Steel (2013) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Being one of the most iconic and beloved superheroes of all-time, it was inevitable that ‘Superman’ would come to life on the silver screen once again. This time from director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch), a director I’m not particularly fond of due to his weak focus on storytelling and overreliance on action and CG visuals. And, unfortunately, ‘Man of Steel’ is no exception to this.

Plot Summary: ‘Clark Kent,’ an alien who as a child was evacuated from his dying world of ‘Krypton’ and soon arrived on Earth, where he began living as a normal human under his newly found parents. But, when survivors of his alien home-world invade the planet, he must reveal himself to the world…

The main issue that I have with this film is that the filmmakers seem to not understand the character of ‘Superman’ very well, as the entire film is extremely bleak, dull and even somewhat dark. In addition to this, ‘Superman’ himself actually does very little heroic acts throughout the film’s runtime. Almost the complete opposite of the original ‘Superman’ from 1978. This is even seen in the colour palette, as the film mostly uses a dark blue and grey colour palette. But, when your superhero protagonist is supposed to be a symbol of hope and heroism, this is definitely not the direction to go.

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Russell Crowe all give decent performances throughout the film, but sadly they never really elevate to anything above acceptable. Henry Cavill is likeable enough as the protagonist but I always found Michael Shannon’s villainous incarnation of ‘Zod’ far more interesting. As he does a great job giving his character a motivation despite how sinister it may seem, as well as making him extremely menacing, very similar to his character in ‘The Shape of Water’ in many ways.

Amir Mokri‘s cinematography throughout the film is mostly very generic cinematography for an action blockbuster, having far too much hand-held camera at points as well as shaking around constantly and utilising many quick cuts during the action scenes, making them even more difficult to follow. The film also uses many artificial zooms when ‘Superman’ is soaring through the sky, which I personally think looks abysmal.

The original score by Hanz Zimmer is easily my personal favourite element of the film, while being nothing new for this composer. Zimmer really brings his ‘A’ game here, and creates an exciting and uplifting score which sometimes really makes-up for the lack of heroism and use of bright colours in the film. I would say this soundtrack is up there as one of my favourite scores by Hans Zimmer, for sure, even playing over my favourite scene in the film when ‘Clark Kent’ learns to fly as ‘Superman’ for the first time.

However, many of the film’s action scenes don’t help the film, as the action within the film ranges from extremely entertaining, as the superpowered characters battle brutally for the fate of the planet. To sometimes being incredibly overwhelming, with constant explosions going off and CG buildings being destroyed left and right. Many of these action scenes don’t even feel very real, due to the enormous barrage of CG effects we get within them, or as ‘real’ as they can be, anyway.

In summary, ‘Man of Steel’ is a mess of a superhero film, as it almost feels like a ‘Batman’ sequel more than a ‘Superman’ film for most of its runtime. Relying very heavily on a dark colour palette and a bleak more ‘realistic’ feel. Alongside the generic cinematography and bland acting. The original score, a few actions set pieces and the occasional attractive visual, are really all the film has to offer to superhero fans. Hopefully, this iconic superhero will have his chance to grace the skies with another outstanding instalment soon. As for ‘Man of Steel,’ though, it’s a disappointing superhero outing. Final Rating: low 4/10.

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Attack the Block (2011) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

From producer Edgar Wright and director Joe Cornish (The Kid Who Would Be King) comes a violent, thrilling and exciting sci-fi spectacle. Despite a smaller budget, the film manages to create an incredibly entertaining film with a variety of brilliant effects. All equalling to a super enjoyable British thrill-ride.

Plot Summary: After an unlucky women is mugged by a tough teenage gang in South London, they reluctantly agree to work together to defend their block of flats when an invasion of savage alien creatures fall from the sky in large meteorites…

After I first heard about this film’s plot, it’s fair to say I went into my initial viewing with intrigued yet cautious, as I genuinely didn’t know what to expect. After watching, I was very surprised that the film was more than just a simple science fiction thriller, as the film is not only very tense during some scenes, but also funny, and even somewhat thought-provoking at points. Having themes of racism, crime and abandonment, most of the action in the film is also very well-executed, not being overly edited, or shot with too much hand-held camera (unlike many action films or thrillers today). The film also manages to keep a really fast pace throughout, only ever having small breaks in between action scenes to develop the characters and give the audience a quick breather.

The main gang of teenagers are portrayed by John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones and Simon Howard. Who, I think all do a great job acting like a rebellious group of London teens, having many comedic moments playing London ‘chavs,’ without taking their portrayals a little too far. Jodie Whittaker also appears in the film as a young woman who gets mugged by the group, and while she is less interesting as a character, I still felt she really helped to give the audience more of a perspective throughout the story. Even Nick Frost gets a small appearance as ‘Ron,’ a drug supplier who has many hilarious moments.

On a rewatch, I also noticed the cinematography by Thomas Townend is surprisingly well-done, while I wasn’t expecting to be terrible by any means. It isn’t nearly as bland as I remembered it being, utilising many different shots in both the action and non-action scenes. The cinematography also benefits many of the various effects in the film, both practical and CG. The film’s effects still hold up today and work very well within the narrative, even many of the gore effects for various character’s death scenes are still impressive, and remain shocking to me even now.

The original score by Steven Price is another element of the film I really enjoy, combining a decent sci-fi soundtrack alongside an almost hip-hop-like beat works really well with the idea of the inner London city clashing with outer-space. I personally believe this to be one of his most underrated scores right to next his original scores for both ‘Fury’ and ‘Gravity.’

Personally, I think the only really weak element of the film aside from a few slightly cheesy scenes here and there, is the film’s sound design, as although I really like the various noises of the alien creatures themselves (as I believe it goes along with their amazing designs extremely well) there are a variety of other sounds I simply don’t feel fit with their placement in the film. Whether that’s because they feel out-of-place or simply come across as a little cringey at points.

In summary, ‘Attack the Block’ is simply awesome, it remains a very exciting film from start-to-finish, knowing exactly what it is whilst not afraid to push itself ever so slightly further to elevate above other films within its genre. While I don’t think the film is perfect by any means, and I don’t believe the sound design could be improved. ‘Attack the Block’ is still a solid sci-fi thriller, and definitely one to watch if you’re interested. Final Rating: 8/10.

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Hell or High Water (2016) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

From the writer of ‘Sicario’ and the director of ‘Starred Up,’ ‘Hell or High Water’ is a tense crime film which feels like more a traditional western on first watch, mostly through its great use of its cast, fantastic original score and classic setting. The film is a heavy slow-burn for the most part, as the story builds up for most of its runtime, eventually leading to its intense climax, which despite being short, does feel satisfying to watch, the entire film overall is truly a brilliant example of a modern-day western.

Plot Summary: A divorced father and his ex-con older brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family’s ranch in West Texas. Robbing as many banks as they can all across the county while remaining one step ahead of the authorities that are hunting them down…

On my first viewing, the film felt very similar to the Coen Brothers’ ‘No Country for Old Men’ (which the film seems heavily inspired by), as the story is very engaging and surprisingly also has a nice blend of dark comedy mixed in with a lot of drama and tension. Not really focusing on action, the film spends more time building up tension and atmosphere. Near the end of the runtime, however, we do see some action, which is relativity well done and does feel very grounded.

Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges and Gill Birmingham all give fantastic performances here and keep the audience engaged throughout the runtime, which is even more impressive when you look further into their characters, as I personally feel their characters could’ve done with a little more development, as they do get bits and pieces but nothing really major, and the lack of any kind of character arc for Chris Pine’s character; ‘Toby Howard,’ really irritated me. However, the rest of the writing here is pretty great for the majority of the film.

The cinematography by Giles Nuttgens is one of the film’s better aspects, truly utilising the location of Texas for its isolation and beauty. Usually then switching to more chaotic hand-held camera movement during the few action scenes, which I think works effectively. However, I do feel the cinematography could be improved, as there weren’t a large number of shots I was incredibly impressed by throughout the film. Interestingly, even though the story is set in Texas, not a single scene was actually filmed there, aa due to State Legislature removing tax incentives, the film was actually shot in New Mexico.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are responsible for the original score, which is possibly my favourite element of the film, really adding to the modern western feel the film is going for, as well as backing up many of the more emotional or tense scenes. The soundtrack here is definitely one of my favourite elements of the film, the film however also makes great use of various songs. Having a variety of country songs play over different scenes throughout the film, quickly setting the tone and establishing the story’s setting early on.

In summary, ‘Hell or High Water’ is a compelling crime thriller and neo-western, for any classic western fan I would say this is a definite watch. As for more casual viewers, I could see the slow-burning pace being a bit of a turn-off, despite it being used to build tension effectively. Backed-up by its great cinematography and original score, the film makes up for its lack of character depth and exciting action in the long run. Final Rating: 8/10.

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Truth or Dare (2018) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Blumhouse Pictures is a well-known production company, they mainly focus-on producing cheap generic horror flicks that appeal to younger audiences, and although there is the occasional gem in their collection, such as ‘Sinister’ or ‘Get Out,’ it’s definitely few and far between, with ‘Truth or Dare’ being one of their most recent entries, and easily one of their worst to date.

Plot Summary: After a group of young friends play a harmless game of truth or dare during their trip to Mexico, they soon discover their game has turned deadly when someone (or something) begins to punish those who tell a lie or refuse to do the dare they are given…

This now-dull concept has been seen a thousand times before, as the idea of a group of teenagers playing an evil game is nothing new, as films like ‘Ouija’ prove. As the story plays out almost exactly as you would expect, making it extremely predictable throughout its runtime. The film is also one of Blumhouse’s least scary entries to date, focusing entirely on jump-scares without any attempt to build tension or create an eerie atmosphere. The film also chooses to use a ‘terrifying’ CG smile effect on the character’s faces to replicate them being possessed, and due to the low-budget of the film, this effect looks laughably bad.

Unfortunately, the characters and cast that portray them are no better than the cliché narrative, as the entire cast of Tyler Posey, Violett Beane and Sophia Taylor Ali are extremely bland, as all the performances throughout the film feel like nothing more than attractive models attempting to be afraid, with Lucy Hale as ‘Olivia’ being the obvious standout here, purely by elimination, which is more than likely why she was cast as the main protagonist to begin with.

When it comes to the filmmaking, sadly there’s no improvements here either, as each shot from cinematographer Jacques Jouffret is boring and uninspired, with the editing also being very quick choppy at points. All alongside the original score by Matthew Margeson, which is easily the most disappointing element of the film for me, as the soundtrack amounts to nothing more than your usual horror score, with the film’s composer having worked on many great films in the past, such as ‘Kingsman: ‘The Secret Service’ and ‘Eddie the Eagle.’

Of course, it probably goes without saying that the majority of the writing within the film is dreadful, with the screenplay being overflown with cheesy dialogue, over-the-top scenes and stupid character decisions. One character I hated, in particular, was ‘Brad,’ portrayed by Hayden Szeto, as this character was purely built around his homosexuality. Without giving him any further development beyond this, which could not only be seen as pandering to some, but also just simply poor writing.

Another issue I have with the film is the extreme lack of violence due to its low age rating for a horror flick, as the film constantly shines away from graphic violence, always cutting to another shot to avoid showing barely any blood or gore. This is a huge mistake for a horror film like this in my opinion, as although implying violence can sometimes be more effective. In a film about a group of unlikeable teenagers getting killed off, having some creative deaths is at least a great way to satisfy your audience.

In summary, ‘Truth or Dare’ is one of the worst films of 2018 for me, this overdone plot with annoying characters has little charm or entertainment to offer, as it’s bland execution and overall lack of anything interesting feels as if the film is truly nothing more than a complete cash-grab for Blumhouse Pictures. Overall, I’d definitely recommend you give ‘Truth or Dare’ a miss, as I honestly believe any viewer would find paint-drying a more enjoyable experience than this one. Final Rating: low 2/10.

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Chappie (2015) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Neill Blomkamp has always been a director I’ve admired, famous mostly for his smash-hit; ‘District 9’ in 2012, shortly then followed by his second film; ‘Elysium,’ which split many sci-fi fans down the middle, Blomkamp has always managed to impress me through his incredible use of CGI and explosive action set pieces. However, I’ve always found his narratives to be somewhat lacklustre, and this is definitely where the main issue lies with his third film; ‘Chappie.’

Plot Summary: In the near future, crime in the city of Johannesburg is patrolled by a mechanised police force created by the company, ‘Tetravaal.’ But, when one police droid, nicknamed; ‘Chappie,’ is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first machine ever with the ability to think and feel for himself. Leading ‘Chappie’ to eventually realise the chaotic world he has now become a part of…

I find the initial idea very interesting, coming-off almost as a mixture between ‘RoboCop’ and ‘Short Circuit,’ I personally feel the film could’ve been very entertaining if they would’ve chosen to explore these ideas of synthetic life vs. actual living consciousness. Strangely, however, this is not the direction the film actually goes, as we see ‘Chappie’ enter the world of crime alongside a criminal gang, making the film less of an interesting sci-fi with themes of artificial intelligence and more along the lines of a straight crime-thriller, now with a less likeable protagonist.

Sharlto Copley, Deon Wilson, Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver all give decent performances in the film, and while I would’ve preferred Sigourney Weaver to have a bigger role in the overall narrative. I feel Sharlto Copley as ‘Chappie’ and Hugh Jackman as the antagonist, ‘Vincent Moore,’ were both great in their respective roles. However, in easily one of the worst decisions of the film, members of the hip-hop band; ‘Die Antwoord,’ portray the film’s protagonists (with their real names for some reason) and ignoring from their mostly poor performances, they also come off as very unlikeable characters throughout, ensuring the audience roots for the criminal gang even less than before.

Trent Opaloch handles the cinematography in the film, which is pretty great for the most part, yet similar to the rest of Blomkamp’s films, there is far too much use of hand-held camera techniques. Although this approach is fine when it comes to the action sequences, when the pacing slows-down and the story focuses on more dialogue-heavy scenes or crucial character moments, I find it very distracting. The CG effects, however, are gorgeous throughout the film, as every visual effect has enormous weight to it, truly feeling as if it is part of the scene, this is especially clear with the CG effects on ‘Chappie’ himself, as the character interacts with every location, prop and character flawlessly.

The original score by Hanz Zimmer is phenomenal as per-usual, combing a typical sci-fi soundtrack alongside a more gritty crime score. Fitting the film perfectly, and really adding tension to many of the scenes throughout the runtime. I was also very impressed with the sound design throughout ‘Chappie,’ as although most sci-fi flicks usually have decent sound design, I felt ‘Chappie’ really used its sound design effectively to add to the film’s gritty feel.

More than likely just a personal issue, but I also feel the song choices within the film were very poor, as a large number of songs from ‘Die Antwoord’ are used throughout the film, all of which don’t fit with the pacing or tone of the film whatsoever. In addition to this, the fact that their characters share the real life names as the actors portraying them as already mentioned, just makes the entire thing very confusing.

In summary, I’m still not entirely sure what I think of ‘Chappie,’ as whilst it definitely has many flaws and is easily Blomkamp’s weakest film, in my opinion. The film still has certain elements I really enjoy, as some of the cinematography, action scenes and CG effects still impress me to this day, and all display that this director still has a keen eye for visuals. But, his storytelling really does need to show improvement in the future. Regardless of this, I hope Blomkamp gets another shot at directing again. Final Rating: 5/10.

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Looper (2012) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

The first major-hit for director Rian Johnson, a filmmaker who would later go on to direct ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’ in 2017, one of the most divisive instalments in the entire ‘Star Wars’ saga. ‘Looper’ is a unique time-travelling thriller blending some brilliant performances with exciting action and plenty of interesting ideas, and whilst I don’t think the film will become one of the most iconic sci-fi films ever made in the next few years, the film is certainly worth a watch or two.

Plot Summary: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past where a hired gun awaits them. However, when the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ on the hired gun, they then send an older version of themselves back for assassination…

Any plot involving time travel always has the risk of a potentially messy story. However, Rian Johnson actually manages to avoid many of these issues by having time travel simply be the framework of the story, with the characters and their actions really being the main focus. Focusing mostly on the tense chase throughout the film, the film’s quick pace gives the audience an easy to digest thriller with plenty of substance still underneath its surface, although not completely free of small plot holes in regards to the time travel aspects, the film definitely makes use of some of the ways criminals could abuse the power it gives them.

The protagonist; ‘Joe,’ portrayed by the underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt, delivers a great performance as a man going through life with little direction, as we see a standard day through his eyes before the story truly begins, giving us a clear understanding of how the future functions and his job as a hired gun within it. Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt also have large roles in the film, as Bruce Willis takes on the role of an older version of ‘Joe,’ whilst Emily Blunt takes on the role of: ‘Sara,’ a farmer who soon becomes wrapped-up in ‘Joe’s business. Jeff Daniels also appears in the film as a surprisingly intimidating villain, this is also helped by the writing, however, as we explore each character piece-by-piece alongside the film’s version of the future.

The decent cinematography by Steve Yedlin and great editing by Bob Ducsay both help give the film a great visual appeal, as many of the beautiful shots back-up the film’s memorable scenes very well. Composer Nathan Johnson also lends to the atmosphere of the film through his brilliant original score, which combines the soundtrack of traditional action flick with a unique science fiction vibe, resulting in a score that’s both indelible and dramatic. What’s interesting, however, is that Nathan Johnson isn’t just any composer, but is actually Rian Johnson’s cousin, having penned scores for all of his films, excluding the previously mentioned ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi,’ for which legendary composer, John Williams, returned.

Many of the action scenes throughout the film are also quite well done, as the film truly puts Bruce Willis’ action skills to the test in one particular scene set within a warehouse, which was an absolute joy to watch for me. However, this is actually where one of my criticisms of the film comes in, as sometimes in the film the balance between futuristic and modern-day can become a little unbalanced, especially in one action scene on ‘Sara’s farm. Another issue I have with the film is the element of telekinesis in the story, despite its small relevance near the end of the film’s runtime. I simply felt it doesn’t fit into the world being explored, and was definitely an element that could’ve been cut.

In summary, ‘Looper’ has always been a personal sci-fi favourite for me, as the film really is a brilliant time-travel story juggling a large number of genres that somehow manages not be cluttered. Giving the audience more of a simple narrative with interesting characters, all with a well-crafted sci-fi world backing it up. The attractive cinematography and editing alongside the fantastic score make the film a very pleasant watch. Final Rating: 8/10.

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Colossal (2017) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Nowadays, it’s common to hear complaints about the lack of originality in cinema, and when you’re staring-up at a marquee filled with countless sequels, prequels, spin-offs and reboots, it’s hard to argue otherwise. But, that originality hasn’t gone away entirely; you just have to know where to look. Case in point; ‘Colossal’ from 2017. An unusual film that I can say with confidence isn’t for everyone, ‘Colossal’ is a charming comedy-drama from director Nacho Vigalondo (Time Crimes, V/H/S: Viral – Segment: Parallel Monsters, Pooka!) that combines some phenomenal performances from Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis with a superb visual flair. All coming together to create a memorable and very amusing indie flick.

Plot Summary: When ‘Gloria,’ an out-of-work party girl, is forced to leave her life in New York City and move back to her small hometown to continue her directionless drinking streak. Meanwhile, reports surface of a giant creature destroying the city of Seoul in South Korea at the other side of the world, with ‘Gloria’ gradually coming to the realisation that she is somehow connected to this strange phenomenon…

Although the narrative of the film leans heavily on the mystery of how the monster and ‘Gloria’ are connected. An element of the writing I really enjoyed is that none of the characters are treated like a fool, it doesn’t take our protagonist long to figure out the truth nor does it take her long to convince other people of it. Every decision made by the characters is understandable and realistic within reason. Despite also being an unlikeable character for a large majority of the film, Anne Hathaway manages to keep her character interesting and likeable enough for the audience.

As previously mentioned, the performances here are outstanding, both from Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis, and although he doesn’t appear much throughout the film Dan Stevens is also decent. All the cast have great comedic timing and genuinely excellent chemistry, and along with the film’s well-balanced tone can quickly change to very dramatic. Tim Blake Nelson and Austin Stowell also have small roles in the film, and despite also not having too much screen-time, they are very memorable as ‘Oscar’s close friends.

The cinematography by Eric Kress gives the film a nice visual appeal. Alongside the colour palette consisting mostly of dark blues, greens and purples, in addition to a few brighter blues and yellows. The film really just has a nice look overall, without being too colourful or obnoxious. Any scene containing the giant monster are obviously scenes which use large amounts of CGI, and despite not having a huge budget. Every one of these scenes is fantastic, truly showing off the enormous scale of the creature and it’s trail of destruction to the fullest extent.

The weakest element of the film for me is the original score by Bear McCreary, although I usually enjoy this composer’s soundtracks, creating memorable scores, such as ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ and AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ (including the now-iconic opening theme). This score just feels somewhat lacking in comparison, while not particularly bad, the soundtrack simply lacks any character or originality. Aside from sounding somewhat similar to a classic monster score at points similar to ‘Godzilla,’ for example.

In summary, ‘Colossal’ is the perfect comedy-drama, in my opinion, balancing great performances with an original story and some brilliantly executed emotional/funny scenes. The film is extremely enjoyable all the way through, keeps us a decent pace and doesn’t overstay its welcome, yet still leaves the audience satisfied. The film really just has a great personality to it, and is filled with plenty of memorable scenes throughout its tight runtime. So, I’d say definitely check this one out if it sounds like something you’d be interested in. Final Rating: 8/10.

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Goosebumps (2015) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Based on the iconic children’s book series by R. L. Stine, the film adaptation of ‘Goosebumps’ actually takes a very different approach to its source material. By this time actually having the book series itself play a part in the story, allowing for multiple different monsters from the classic series to appear, alongside Jack Black’s extreme portrayal of ‘Goosebumps’ original author R. L. Stine, of course. This all leading to a somewhat fun yet mostly flawed spine-tingling suburban adventure.

Plot Summary: When angsty teenager Zach moves in next door to the children’s horror author, R.L. Stine, and his teenage daughter, Hannah, he soon finds himself in a strange scenario as the writer’s own monsters are brought to life from their own stories to inflict chaos onto their small town…

Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) directs the film with a fun Halloween-like atmosphere, bringing together many different monsters and creatures ripped straight from their own books, with most of the designs of the monsters being recreated perfectly based on their original designs, despite many of them only getting a few seconds of screen-time, with the haunted dummy, ‘Slappy,’ being the leader of the monsters, and the main focus of the narrative, portrayed as an almost more sinister side of R.L. Stine himself. But, as I’ve always been a huge fan of the original ‘Goosebumps’ television series on Cartoon Network, the film’s lack of scares is quite frustrating as sadly, ‘Goosebumps’ chooses to focus far more on comedy than light-horror to appeal to a new generation of youngsters, which I personally think is a huge mistake.

Most of the cast here give decent performances for a family flick, as Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush portray a couple of teenagers thrown into this mad adventure fairly. Alongside their friend; ‘Champ,’ portrayed by Ryan Lee, who I found extremely grating after a while. All lead by Jack Black’s portrayal of R. L. Stine, as previously mentioned, in addition to his portrayal of the film’s antagonist; ‘Slappy the Living Dummy.’ Who, as both characters, gives a performance a little too over-the-top for me.

The cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe is nothing amazing, coming across as mostly bland and generic throughout, but it does it’s job regardless. Danny Elfman also takes on the original score for the film, and again whilst not being anything super memorable, the score is a decent mixture between a spooky horror score alongside a more traditional family film soundtrack. The CG effects, however, are actually one of the better aspects of the film, as while not outstanding they do succeed in bringing the various creatures to life, alongside many of the make-up effects and costumes, which I personally thought added to many of the action scenes throughout the runtime.

Although there are a few funny lines throughout the film, the writing here is one of the film’s biggest issues, as the somewhat original story is dragged down by some awful jokes and very cringey moments, which again falls back on why I would’ve preferred for the film to go for more of a creepy tone over a completely comedic one. The colourful end title sequence of the film is also a great throwback for classic ‘Goosebumps’ fans (despite not adding much to the film as a whole).

In summary, ‘Goosebumps’ was disappointing for me, as I was really expecting something more along the lines of ‘Coraline’ or ‘Monster House’ on my initial viewing; a creepy family flick with plenty of eerie atmosphere, a few original ideas and plenty of throwbacks to the book series. While I’m not completely against the idea of comedy within the story, the film simply comes down to nothing more than your standard family adventure with an overreliance on goofy humour, with the only difference being the slapped on ‘Goosebumps’ name. Of course, I’m also not the film’s target audience, and I could definitely see some families enjoying this spooky adventure for what it is. Final Rating: low 4/10.

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Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

A strange, violent, and very unpredictable film, Dan Gilroy director of one of my all-time favourite flicks; ‘Nightcrawler,’ works all his charm and creativity into this horror/drama/mystery/black comedy? It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what the genre of this film is. Alongside this, similar to some other films I’ve reviewed, I’d say this is definitely not a film for everyone. But for those to who it will appeal, you will surely enjoy yourself.

Plot Summary: Following the discovery of a series of foreboding paintings by an unknown artist, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art…

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is mostly built around the shocking deaths throughout the film, as various characters get killed off in different ways. Leaving the rest of the characters in a state of confusion and panic, this allows the film to delve into bits and pieces of characterisation (granted not a lot) in addition to exploring various ideas of what ‘art’ actually is and we criticise and commercialise it, and despite the film not going incredibly in depth with these ideas, I did still find many of them and the themes of greed and ego interesting.

Jake Gyllenhaal is essentially the main protagonist of the film: ‘Morf Vandewalt’ a very eccentric and strange character who seems to be a parody of over-the-top art critics. Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, and John Malkovich also all lend their talents to the film. Along with the decent writing, their great performances really help give each character a distinct personality. Unexpectedly, however, Zawe Ashton is a true stand out of the cast for me, only really knowing her from Channel 4’s ‘Fresh Meat,’ here she portrays a very different character than ones before.

The cinematography by Robert Elswit also gives the film a very clean look, utilising many different shots throughout. I still think the film could’ve done more with the camerawork, however, especially when compared to Dan Gilroy’s previous films. The does also combine cinematography well with the beautiful sets and locations, giving the film a great visual appeal. The original score by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders also lends its hand to the creepy atmosphere at multiple points throughout the film, yet can also change to more calming or light-hearted when it needs to.

Although the tone can vary throughout the film, it never comes off as unbalanced. Comedy is used at points during the story but never to the point of ruining the eerie atmosphere or character moments. However, when the film does shift into full on horror, we get easily my favourite moments of the film, as it’s these moments we get some interesting CG effects and unique visuals, as well as a great build up of intrigue and tension, with the eventual death at the end of the scene usually being very creative, despite not always being very gory.

My main two issues with the film resolve mostly around the pacing of the film, as the film can come off as very slow and can drag the story down at points, as well as the use of John Malkovich’s character, ‘Piers,’ as this character appears in the very first scene of the film and then again later into the runtime. However, he doesn’t really have any impact on the narrative, and felt to me like the film was just using his bland character to fill up screen-time.

In summary, I couldn’t decide as to what I thought of ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ upon my initial viewing of the film, and I’m still not entirely sure now, as whilst the film does suffer from a fair amount of problems and isn’t the incredibly entertaining piece of gory fun I was hoping it would be. But, I still partially enjoyed myself due to its weird atmosphere and interesting ideas, and it is a film I could maybe see myself returning to at some point. Final Rating: 5/10.

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