film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Joel Fisher

  • The Last Laugh: Review

    The Last Laugh: Review

    Myles (Steve Vanderzee) is a stand-up comedian heading to the top. His material is edgy and hilarious and it’s got the attention of a lot of talent scouts. Then Myles is given his big break as his agent books him for a big comedy event compered by comedy legend and children’s movie star, Reggie Ray (Lowell Deo).

    Although not a fan of Reggie Ray himself, Myles believes that Reggie Ray sold out a long time ago, he still powers through although his recent issues with losing his girlfriend in a car crash which means he has to regularly take medication. However, when Myles gets to the venue and finds a dead body in his dressing room, he realises that the theatre may have a serial killer on the loose.

    The Last Laugh is a horror movie written and directed by Jeremy Berg. Its premise seems solid and as the characters are introduced it seems like the audience may be in for a fun, possibly satirical bloodfest. Unfortunately, it seems that The Last Laugh is not that forward thinking as there’s not much room in the script for any character development and doesn’t even have an interesting antagonist.

    As Myles is met by a couple of dead bodies along his journey to catch a killer, it seems that this is what he should really be doing. Instead, after telling one of the staff at the theatre what he found they assume that he’s joking and they don’t believe him.

    This should logically lead Myles to desperately try and prove the existence of the killer, instead though Myles just ends up being mildly disinterested in finding dead bodies and goes about preparing for the show, no matter how many people are getting killed.

    This is no fault of Vanderzee’s performance though, but in the script and the direction as for long stretches of the rather short running time there is very little indication that there’s been any murders at all. This may lead the audience to think that Myles is perhaps the killer himself, and in this day and age it would have been a mistake to demonise somebody dealing with mental health issues.

    However, even this would have been a more satisfying end than what the movie gives the audience, leaving them thinking they wasted their time.

  • Rialto: Review

    Rialto: Review

    Colm (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) has seemingly got everything sorted in an idyllic life. He’s married to Claire (Monica Dolan) and they have two teenage children, Kerry (Sophie Jo Wasson) and Shane (Scott Graham) and he’s had a steady job for as long as he can remember. However, when Colm’s father dies his life starts to spiral into a deep depression where he contemplates his place in life and what it’s all meant.

    Then one day he meets Jay (Tom Glynn-Carney), a man around the age of Colm’s son and instinctually Colm decides to pay for Jay’s services as a male prostitute. Unfortunately, Jay’s services come at a bigger price than Colm was expecting, however what starts out as a seedy relationship soon turns into something deeper and satisfying for Colm.

    Rialto is an independent Irish film backed by the BFI, directed by Peter Mackie Burns and written by Mark O’ Halloran, adapted from his award-winning play. Rialto explores a man’s life as it seemingly unravels, forcing Colm to lose everything he’s ever valued, wondering how it got to that point.

    With a script that feels authentic, Rialto gives a slice of life in an ordinary Irish town where men like Colm need an outlet before they lose themselves entirely.

    Vaughan-Lawlor gives an outstanding performance as a man who’s starting to realise that he’s lost everything and the relationship between Colm and Jay plays out well, seamlessly turning from one of an illicit encounter, to that akin to a father and son.

    The events of Rialto are also realistically grounded and although the audience knows that Colm is going through great inner turmoil and emotion, it’s never pushed to the front. This makes the audience feel for Colm as he silently deals with his grief, his delayed resentment of his father and his worries for his own children.

    In the end there may be a little light as Colm starts to come to terms with who he is and what his life has become, but the ambiguous ending will be up to the audience to decide whether Colm deserves a better life.

  • I’ll Be Around: Review

    I’ll Be Around: Review

    I’ll Be Around is set against the backdrop of a post punk festival, filled with bands with names like Jentacular, The Motion Pictures and Attempted Choke.

    Most of the band members are in their mid-thirties and considering the way their musical careers are going (standing still), other things start weighing heavily on their minds when they’re not screaming down a mike or writing another song. This is the story of those different groups, the fans and the legends that inspire them and how they all fit together.

    Co-written and directed by Mike Cuenca, I’ll Be Around takes a lot of influence from other films that have mulled over a certain time in people’s lives while those people are still trying to figure it all out. A lot of Cuenca’s script speaks directly to the kinds of people who like the music, are still thinking over their own lives and even film fans who want to be reminded that films are not all laugh out loud, gross out comedies or action blockbusters.

    I’ll Be Around is Scott Pilgrim meets Clerks with a Woody Allen aesthetic for Generation Y. Without speaking about the wider world around us, I’ll Be Around still speaks to its audience, offering up some experiences and feelings which mainly go unspoken and it will make you laugh out loud while doing it.

    From crying in a public bathroom about the best years of your life being behind you to nervously babbling at someone you’re attracted to that you meet in a coffee shop; these are the kinds of things that the film tells its audience that it’s ok to have done. Because we’ve all been there – haven’t we?

    Starting off slowly, I’ll Be Around intentionally introduces the audience to its vast cast of characters and before you know it you’ll realise you either relate closely to a few of them or at least know one for real.

    The film may overstay its welcome a little as it reaches its final act, but like the characters, life does go on and it shows that it’s ok not to have everything worked out just yet.

  • Hawk And Rev: Vampire Slayers – Review

    Hawk And Rev: Vampire Slayers – Review

    Philip ‘Hawk’ Hawkins (Ryan Barton-Grimley) is a down on his luck security guard who’s bored with his life and also convinced that vampires are real and they may show themselves at any moment. Revson ‘Rev’ McCabe (Ari Schneider) is a vegan pacifist groundkeeper and Hawk’s only real friend, he tries to help Hawk out with his anger issues by teaching him Tai Chi, but Hawk seems to be on the edge and there’s nothing that can calm him down.

    Then one night, Hawk witnesses three men (two men and a gimp) that he’s convinced are vampires and after showing Rev a photo that he took on his phone, they start training to become vampire slayers.

    Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers is a supposed love letter to the childhood movies of writer/director Ryan Barton-Grimley. Taking inspiration from some of the worst supernatural action thrillers of the 1980’s, Hawk and Rev attempts to give the audience a fun film that reminds them of a simpler time and a movie that they half remembered.

    The problem is that Hawk and Rev may be just that kind of thing and it may indeed look to capitalise on 80’s nostalgia, but as far as anything else is concerned then Hawk and Rev is a cynical movie cobbled together to include the kinds of jokes that would appeal to men who haven’t grown up.

    There’s nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia if done in the right way, shows like Stranger Things and Cobra Kai have recently reignited this nostalgia while keeping a modern edge.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWHK_bugcuI

    However, Hawk and Rev’s problem may be that it sticks so closely to the agenda of a silly 80’s action movie that it forgets when the movie is actually made. So, whereas a film like Hawk and Rev may have been perfectly acceptable in the 80’s, it’s not that entertaining today.

    This is a movie that sticks to its guns in terms of replicating the look and feel of the kinds of films 80’s kids may remember. However as far as characters, plot and dialogue are concerned then it may have been nice to have a little originality.

  • The Wall Of Mexico: Review

    The Wall Of Mexico: Review

    The Aristas are a rich Mexican family hiding a valuable resource within their grounds. The local legend is that there is a well in the garden that carries some unique properties and after a test on the water proves positive, Henry (Esai Morales) and his wife, Monica (Alex Meneses) decide that the best thing to do is to protect their asset by any means possible.

    Henry and Monica also have two beautiful daughters, Tania (Marisol Sacremento) and Ximena (Carmela Zumbado) who are typical spoiled rich kids and although Ximena often tries to impart her pseudo-intellectual knowledge onto her little sister, they both still indulge in excesses of alcohol, drugs and sex to pass the time.

    Michael (Xander Berkeley) and Donavon (Jackson Rathbone) work for the Aristas looking after the grounds and it’s not long before Donavon starts to take interest in the Arista sisters and with nothing else better to do, they start to play with their new toy. However, when the security measures around the precious well start escalating, so do the tensions among the household and among the locals.

    The Wall of Mexico is a drama with political undertones written and directed by Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak. If you don’t immediately understand the analogy that The Wall of Mexico is putting across to its audience then you may need to watch more of the news.

    However, The Wall of Mexico is cleverly written so whereas the message may be clear, it doesn’t feel that every single detail is signposted, so to those aware of the racial and class divides that have been running through American politics in recent years it may be more obvious, but not distracting.

    There may not be a lot of people who don’t understand issues surrounding immigration and racism who may watch The Wall of Mexico, but for those who do, they may even have their eyes opened as to how easily things could change if the shoe was on the other foot.

    With a tight, intelligent and insightful script and a great cast, The Wall of Mexico manages to subtly discuss political issues without having to resort to over explaining its points which also raises the question as to how easily the events of the film could happen to anyone.