Author: Callum Forbes

I can definitely relate to the concept of this film. Jokes On You is the story of a couple living in a London apartment block. This couple really is made for each other. In that they both love pranking the other one. As soon as the opportunity arises a prank is made. The problem is, while these practical jokes are never made with malicious intent, they do have a habit of happening at the wrong time or go a little too far. And after years and years of such pranks and prods, the two are finding their relationship to strain from it.

Jokes On You definitely has an idea that many can get behind. It’s also an easily accessible film, with its themes flying under the fun of the situation. And the short ten minutes is a good runtime to tell this story. And it is a good story, with a pretty satisfying conclusion. The pacing and tone of the film are off-beat, but deliberately so. This could be seen as either a way to make the film more realistic or more dreamlike. And of course, we have the themes, that include the likes of love, acceptance, the struggle of relationships, the search for happiness and, most prominently, the theme of people not knowing when to stop; whether that be with humour or seriousness.

That last part most certainly is something that affects many throughout the world. I have certainly had my moments where I’ve taken a joke too far, and just as many moments where I haven’t taken a joke well. And when it’s constant you do feel the weight of your emotional state. The film is very good at showing that, and how it often is not a long-term feeling. A joke we can all get over, even if at the time it feels hurtful or infuriating.

The quality of the film making also helps this come to light. There is a great use of setting in this film. It feels like any hometown, and any flat, making this couple feel like your everyday couple, with their own issues and worries. The lighting and camerawork were also well used, at times reminding me of the style of Wes Anderson and others of Jean-Pierre Jaunet (with Amelie at least). It’s also well written, with good dialogue that carries all it needs to with the story and characters in the time given to us. Not a single line is wasted and each one builds the film and give us more understanding of the story and situation. The film’s final moment is also a great example of visual storytelling, and is easy to be admired.

Sadly though, I didn’t find myself enjoy Jokes On You all that much. It took me a little bit to work out why, but I can safely say that my issue lays with the films inconsistencies. I can see what the director was trying to do here; we are to be given the illusion of this being the real world and with a real couple, yet it also wants to be this melancholy dream, with cartoonish sounds and outlandish jokes to make it feel more humorous and just a little sad. But the problem is you can’t do both. Because all it means is that the film is too restrained to be dreamlike while also being too silly to be real. It tried to bake its cake and eat it basically. This inconsistency also made its way into the acting it seems too. The lead woman for example, she is mostly pretty good throughout the film, it’s not a great performance but good enough, but in the opening I was actually cringing from her acting.

The opening also demonstrating what I had mentioned earlier. It starts like a horror film, with the joke being that it is just a joke…and not once did I buy it. And that’s simply because it was too over-the-top to be scary, and it wasn’t crazy enough to make me think we were in a campy horror film. So the fact that it was a joke as easy to pick up.

There really isn’t much more I can say about Jokes On You. It didn’t really engage me, and I wasn’t really laughing or feeling much sympathy at all. I like the concept and I do wish that it would be done again, but this was not really the way to use it. It’s not serious enough to win me over dramatically, and it’s not silly enough to be much fun, leaving us with a pretty bland and forgettable film. Beneath the surface there is something waiting to come out, it’s just going to have to wait a little longer.

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in a double-bill showing with the first one. My feeling on Guardians are actually very positive. It’s one of my favourite superhero films, and is my favourite film in the MCU. That’s not to say Guardians doesn’t have its problems; the directing is fairly basic and James Gunn does fall for some obvious traps (like failing to hide an edit where we are supposed to have the illusion of a single shot), some of the acting is unbalanced and forced and a pretty bad villain does do the film harm. But the writing, the charm of the lead cast (even at those ropy moments), the visuals, the colours, the characters and, of course, the music more than make up for such shortcomings. So, here we have a sequel from the same studio, with the same writer/director and the same cast as the original; so, yes, I was very excited for this one. This and Logan are actually the only superhero films this year that I was looking forward to. How does it fair? Let’s find out.

The story takes a backseat to the characters, as it should do, but for the sake of argument here it is. The Guardians are on the run, on account of Rocket stealing something he should from someone he shouldn’t. In their running’s they find Ego, Starlord’s father, who invites them to his planet. You see, Ego is a god of sorts, and he controls the growth of all on this planet, something that Starlord can also do being his son. However, the group is split; Starlord’s with his dad, Gamora is fighting Nebula, Drax is doing…something, and Rocket and Groot must help Yondu fight off a mutiny. Again, the story is not really the focus, and going deeper would reveal some major spoilers. All you need to know is that something bad is happening to them all.

This is a film that can be summed up in one three word sentence; it’s good, but… And that is sadly where people are really going to take issue with it. But before I talk about my issues with the film, I’m going to mention what I loved about it. The cast is great; all return, with Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper back as the Guardians, and all delivering the wit and charm of before. Also returning are Michael Rooker as Yondu and Karen Gillan as Nebula, who are again on top form. In fact the performances are actually a little better in this one. New cast members are Kurt Russell as Ego, and there is no better choice; as soon as I heard that he was cast in the film I knew it would be for Starlord’s dad, it had to be. And he doesn’t disappoint, in fact has Russell ever let us down? I don’t think so. There’s also cameos from Sylvester Stallone of all people, Ving Rhames and David Hasselhoff (who this film has a weird fixation with).

The soundtrack is also as great as ever, with some new songs that include The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. Visually it’s still amazing, and even more colourful this time around. The action is definitely improved, with some amazing moments involving Yondu and his arrow. And the film just does what a good sequel should; it takes the original and builds off it, becoming something similar yet different. The characters are all built up more here. We find out Starlord did emotionally suffer with no paternal figure as a child. We find out more about Gamora’s past, and her relationship with Nebula. In fact, that was my favourite part; Thanos isn’t in this film but we finally hear what he did to these two, and it really helps them develop as characters. It’s also the first time the films have addressed what Thanos is like, whereas before we all had to rely on that geeky friend we all have. Yondu, however, is the one who gets the most depth and character to him. He becomes so much more likable with all they tell you about him. And yes, baby Groot is as cute as you’d hope. And in the end it’s just a fun film.

So what don’t I like about it. Well, I know I said that the story is deliberately taking a seat to the characters here, but this story is really bad. The problems actually come with the concept if you think about it; Starlord meets his dad, all well and good, but what do the rest of them do? And it really isn’t much. They do that thing where they split the team and they all come together at the end (like Empire Strikes Back and Star Trek Beyond), but again they don’t really do anything. There are these golden people who are pretty funny, in that overly self-entitled kind of way, but they serve no point, except to build up a sequel. Oh not again! I also really didn’t like the direction they took Drax. Drax was one of the funnier parts of the first one, so they cashed in on that and now he is no longer that unassuming, overly-literal badass he once was, and is now just a parody of himself. It’s like watching Freddy Krueger in the first Nightmare on Elm Street and then following it up with the Freddy from Nightmare 4, it’s that much of a jump. I’m not saying I didn’t laugh, because I did, but it felt so distant from what he was before.

Speaking of the humour, this is the most comedy focused film of the MCU. It makes sense, with Guardians of the Galaxy being a staple of comic book humour, and with how funny the first one was. And there are some good laughs in here (one involving FTL jumping had me laughing harder than any film in recent memory). But my problem is that they are everywhere, and this time they feel forced. I was actually groaning at numerous attempts at humour here. And it’s not Guardians humour, it’s MCU humour. It’s just people throwing quips and one-liners at each other, and I know the first one kind of did that but they made it feel fresh.

Ultimately the film’s biggest problems are how it feels like just another movie in the MCU and how little the stakes feel. For better or worse Guardians of the Galaxy felt like a separate film from any other in the MCU, partly to do with how it was shot. This time it’s shot like just another MCU film. And I should be feeling the stakes, this time it’s not just a planet under threat, it is the galaxy. But it doesn’t feel personal, I can’t relate to the struggle at hand. It’s just a mess story wise, and that may not be as important to this one as it would for, say, Civil War, but it does drag the film down. In all honesty, it wouldn’t surprise me if the writing process was a little rushed on this one.

Again, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a good film, but it does have some major issues. If you love the first one and think it’s an amazing film then you’ll like this one. If not, I’d say that there’s still something there to warrant watching it. I do prefer this film to the likes of Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3. Maybe I am comparing it too much to the original, but I don’t think my feelings would change much. Do see it by all means, just be aware that it may not live up to that high pedestal you’ve held it by.

God, I’d love to see how this pitch went. “We are going to make a film where Alec Baldwin is a baby!” I think that deserves a big budget from DreamWorks, don’t you? I would tell you the story to ‘Boss Baby’, but it doesn’t really go beyond Alec Baldwin being a baby. It wasn’t one I was looking forward to because, as I’m sure you’ve all seen, the advertisements for this film were horrible. This looked like garbage. It didn’t look funny, or smart, or have any reason to exist, all it did have was Alec Baldwin as a baby. But, the same could have been said about last year’s Storks and that was hilarious and smart so I risked it once again.

Okay, so what story there is involves a kid with an overactive imagination and his shock when his family extends with a new baby brother. The baby immediately takes over the house; as the adult version of the boy narrates in the film, he calls for meeting after meeting, he blows a gasket when his demands/requirements aren’t met, he practically controls the parents and he seems to be getting all of the love, giving the boy the feeling of being replaced with someone newer (an out-with-the-old scenario). But soon, the kid discovers that the baby can talk, and is indeed a boss of babies. He is on a covert mission to put a stop to a new type of puppy taking over the market. Yes, babies and puppies are at war for the love of people and a new breed of puppy from, I don’t know puppy headquarters, threatens to take all of love away from babies for good. The boy and baby must help each other and what follows is…just weird.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiQR_srtc-E

This plot is so needlessly complicated that I really did have a hard time remembering it, and an even harder time describing it. Alongside this, the story has a very strange structure, with numerous moments feeling like we have started another film. I had to mention that the kid had an overactive imagination because that is a surprisingly key part to the story. You see, the settings will change (sometimes even the animation too) to symbolise that we are in his imagination. This works in moments where we get an insight into the kid’s feelings (like him being in jail when he’s grounded), or in just delivering some fast-paced action or laughs. But, this is undone by the fact that, in what can only be assumed as the real world, there are some outlandish things happening. And I don’t just mean the talking baby; there is action, story and even fantasy elements that happen when the kid isn’t daydreaming. It becomes very confusing very quickly. Even the boss baby’s existence doesn’t make much sense; we get an entire baby world and corporation which basically gives a reason for how babies are born that kids will understand. But we also see the mother pregnant, how does that work?

The final third in particular feels very odd and clustered. There are some bizarre plot points brought in here, including a very odd villain voiced by Steve Buscemi, which are admittedly imaginative, but they don’t connect with what was given beforehand. And when they do, it feels a little forced. This could all have been fixed by the ending, which did annoy me. You see, we actually get a very good reason why all of this is happening at the end, and it’s smart and really heart-warming and, just works. And then it’s ruined in the last three seconds and nothing makes sense again. It’s a good example of sacrificing a story for a joke. On top of that the characters aren’t very good. They’re not bad, or at least the main characters aren’t, but they’re nothing new. We have seen these characters before and done better. The kid was basically the kid from Storks, but with less intelligent writing, and the baby doesn’t really get past that it’s just Alec Baldwin.

But, is Boss Baby funny? And to that I say yes. Sometimes it was because of how weird things were, but there are actually a lot of genuine laughs to be had here. I’ve gone on about the Alec Baldwin voice, but I really like Alec Baldwin. I hear the bad reputation he has as a person to work with, and I don’t doubt it’s true, but watching him as a professional actor (particularly for comedy) I think he’s actually really good. It’s the same reason I like Michael Caine, Baldwin plays himself in most roles (and especially this one, they don’t even hide it), but what a character he is. The acting is actually really good across the board on this one, everyone delivers their lines well and time their jokes perfectly. And the visual humour isn’t bad at all. It’s good, funny slapstick. This, of course, being helped by DreamWorks’ usual great animation. This is a beautiful film to look at.

Film Fixers

And there was actually one theme to the story that I really liked. I think it was really smart parodying a baby as the house’s new boss, which did lead to a lot of laughs down the line, but it’s what comes with it that I really appreciated. The feeling of being the older sibling to a new-born. Particularly when the older sibling gets past an age when the baby is born. It makes the kid, and the story as a whole actually pretty relatable. It’s nice to see, as not many films use this or don’t use it well. It’s a nice, heart-warming anchor for the rest of the film to work around, which to its credit it rarely strays too far from this theme.

It’s hard to say whether or not I recommend ‘Boss Baby’. If you want a nice, easy, fun time then I’d say check it out. But if you want something more, then I think the cluster bomb of a plot will get you down. If you can say to yourself “Alec Baldwin is the boss baby” and think that might be funny, then you’ll enjoy it. If not, there’s more on the horizon.

Why do I live in a world where we have a film that stars Michael Wincott and he is not one of the major villains? Ghost in the Shell is one of the anime world’s most influential, and possibly even among its most important pieces of work. The Matrix, Dark City, Equilibrium, these are just three sci-fi films that took influence. So, it is to my shame I admit I haven’t seen it myself; this is most likely due to my indifference to anime in general. I love such examples as Cowboy Be-bop and the Studio Ghibli canon; but I also find myself hating stuff like Dragon Ball, Naruto and I wasn’t a fan of the classic Akira either. But still, the idea of an adaptation for the more general audience wasn’t an unwelcome one.

Ghost in the Shell follows a character simply called the Major. The Major is a human brain within a robotic everything else, and the top agent in an organisation that…actually the films doesn’t do a good job of explaining that; they beat up bad-guys and save innocents so I guess it’s legit. But when the Major is up against another cybernetic villain, she realises that her forgotten past is entwined with his, and when she starts remembering who and what she once was the line between good-guys and bad become more and more blurred.

Ghost in the Shell might have influenced sci-fi for the generations after its release, but it is also really easy to see what influenced it: Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. In this version at least, it’s the same philosophy and even the same designs and look of Blade Runner. So, I guess it’s a good thing that I love Blade Runner and the look of Blade Runner. If there is one thing that steals the show for this film it’s its visual design. This city is a metropolis. The buildings are huge, with the entire city mixing western and eastern architecture together and is just covered in advertising and neon. It’s the basic definition of cyberpunk, and I have to admit that I have a massive soft spot for cyberpunk (and also streampunk and dieselpunk). The designs, on buildings and characters are immaculate and every single aspect of it works. Every now and then there is a moment of botched CGI, but for the most part the effects are up to standard too.

Another aid to the visuals is the cinematography. I have a feeling that most of the best shots from the film are ripped from the anime, but they’re still impressive to look at. The action too is very well shot and edited, even at the film’s most chaotic I could still tell what was going on, and it was exciting and fun to watch. The film is also helped massively by Clint Mansell’s musical score. I am very tempted to buy the music separately it’s so good, but I’d expect nothing less from the man who gave us the score of Mass Effect 3.

Where the film sadly falters, though is in its characters and story. The film was directed by Rupert Sanders, who gave us the pretty awful Snow White and the Huntsman, and his skills as a story teller have not even slightly improved. This story is better told than Huntsman, but I feel that’s because of the anime he’s essentially just retelling. Also, from what I’ve heard he appears to have pulled the teeth out of the story with this one. For example; I heard that in the anime the Major fights naked (as that’s the only way her cloaking device will work), but being a robot she has no genitals or nipples, here it’s just a bodysuit. It makes sense to make that change, but I don’t know, it kind of makes the film feel less daring. There is another example that involves her past; without spoiling that’s changed here, so where in the anime we got themes of transgenderism, gender identity, gender equality and homosexuality; here we are given…well, nothing. It just feels like a waste of an opportunity for deep discussion.

The writing’s not great either, but considering that one of the three writers on this project gave us Scream 3 that wasn’t very shocking to me. And as for the acting, it was a mixed bag. The Major’s team and the main scientist were pretty good, but the other side characters, and especially the major villain (distinguishable by the fact that he wears a black suit) were awful, and I mean really bad. And then we have the Major, played by Scarlett Johansson, and yeah, let’s talk about that. I hate this topic, I really do but I feel that it needs to be mentioned. Anime is Japanize made, therefore most characters in anime are Japanize; but for the Major they cast a white, American woman, and everybody flipped. Or more to the point, everybody in America flipped, Japan actually seemed pleased with the choice. Personally, outside of the fact that Johansson in this film looks exactly like the anime character, I think that that she did a great job. This is far from her best performance, but it’s still good. And she is more than capable of carrying a film and doing her own stunts in action scenes. Maybe I’m blinded by the fact that she is one of my favourite actresses, but I still don’t see the fuss behind this one.

However, the film’s biggest flaw is of how little consequence it feels. Stuff happens, people die, shots are fired, the Major discovers more about herself, but nothing is achieved. When we hit the credits I really did just feel like we’d walked in a circle. This would be helped if the villain felt like a threat, but…well, you know the answer to that. He’s only going after the Major, and absolutely nothing else. And all other things just feel consequential. And without wishing to spoil, there is a battle that I thought was the build up to the climactic battle, that at the time impressed me…and then I found that it was the climactic battle. I actually turned to my partner and asked “Is that it? Where’s the rest of it?” I actually felt a little cheated by the unintentional anti-climax at the end.

In the end I can, and actually will recommend Ghost in the Shell for its visuals and music, but the characters are uninteresting and the story falls flat. If it’s any consolation, it’s easily the best anime adaptation yet. Although, take that with a pitch of salt because anime adaptations have had the same run as videogame adaptations. Still, just its existence proves the love and power the original has. That’s got to count for something.

What Free Fire basically amounts to is a very violent game of paintball with some of the best character actors of today. I don’t know a single person who saw this trailer and didn’t laugh. It’s one of those ideas that are so good that it makes you wonder why nobody has really done it before, not for a whole movie at any rate. It’s most certainly the kind of thing that’s up my alley and I couldn’t wait to see it. And now I have, and I think it may not be the only time I do.

If you’ve seen the trailer then you know what the story is; a black comedy about arms dealing. This particular deal goes wrong and so the sellers and buyers end up on opposite sides and starts shooting each other, and it carries on for the duration of the film. Let’s be honest, you’re not hear for the story, you’re here to laugh, whoop and have a good time. That’s the target this film sets and it manages to hit bullseye almost constantly.

Our cast is very impressive, in that they’re not exactly the most well-known of actors but, as previously stated, are definitely among the best working today. Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Jack Reynor, Sam Riley and Michael Smiley are among the talent on offer here. Every single one of them, unless you really know your films, are actors who you have loved and will recognise in that “oh, what’ve they been in” way. And, of course, they are on top form here. Not a single one of them felt like an actor having fun, Which I’m sure this film was to them, but characters in a chaotic and obscene situation. They knew exactly what to do to deliver a good performance; nobody was falling behind and taking us out of the film, and at the same time nobody felt like they were over doing it. It’s exactly what the film needed and they all delivered it perfectly.

But the film would not work without stylish direction and quippy writing. Luckily Ben Wheatley knew that too. Personally, I am not a fan of Wheatley’s work. I saw Kill List and Sightseers and was very disappointed by both. He also directed a couple episodes of Doctor Who, but that’s not a show I like. But, for Free Fire I feel he brought enough style and crazy to make the whole thing really work in his favour. The sets are just derelict factories, or specifically a derelict factory, which could have been bland and uninteresting but the set is used to its full potential. It not only has different items and equipment around to keep you guessing as to what will be used against who next, but the layout feels like a paintball or laser-tag arena. This game like set-up easily makes the film feel a lot more fun. And setting the film in the ‘70’s was an oddly inspired choice. The costumes, weapons and make-up make this film feeling like a live-action cartoon. In fact, now I think of it there is an oddly Looney Toons like feel to the film; though I wouldn’t bring the kids.

And the writing is hilarious. I never got sick of hear these people talking. It’s on the same level as Quentin Tarantino and Shane Black with how witty and clever and just funny it is. It has you listening carefully for fear that you will miss any joke. It is very British in humour, mostly sarcastic remarks and laughing at the expense of others, but I’ve always found that to be my favourite humour so I love it. It’s also well-paced and toned so the writing does extend beyond the dialogue too. In fact, Wheatley does such a good job of it that it hides well the fact that the characters themselves are as shallow as the story. It does pain me to say it, but if you are wanting something that speaks for a cause or is a social satire or an interesting character drama beyond the chaos, then you will be disappointed. Free Fire is only here to entertain, and it does it very well, better than most of the films released this year, but it does suffer as a narrative and character arc.

I, however, find this easy to look past thanks to the films style and wit, and the chemistry of the actors. Free Fire is easily the oddest film I’ve seen so far this year, and it’s glorious. One I certainly recommend. Lock and load and join in the fun…or just grab your popcorn and enjoy the show.