Author: Joel Fisher

Keith (Alex Carter) and Gareth (David Schaal) are enthusiastic historical re-enactment players who dress up as Roundheads during their spare time and participate in presumably historically accurate battles against the Cavaliers. Alice (Cariad Lloyd) is new to the hobby, but is willing to learn and picks up on the activities quite quickly, much to the delight of Keith.

So, in the middle of the English countryside they meet to help Alice to get into the swing of things and hope that they don’t have to contend with any rascally Cavaliers.

Roundheads and Cavaliers is a short British comedy film written by Kevin Mears and directed by Chloe Thomas. In the same vein as British sitcom Detectorists, Roundheads and Cavaliers takes a look at the more unusual hobbies of the British public and uses it to create characters and set up situations whilst all in the wrap of something quintessentially British, cuddly and very funny. In a very short space of time Roundheads and Cavaliers introduces the audience to its main cast of characters, the relationships between them all and immediately tells the audience the kind of people that they are.

Showing this trio in a warm and friendly light, Roundheads and Cavaliers doesn’t ever condescend the main characters for the hobby that they love in the way that other comedies might do.

Instead, Roundheads and Cavaliers shows a snippet of what could be a full-blown sitcom with enough potential to expand on the characters and expand on the supposed rivalry with the only Cavalier, Adrian (Perry Fitpatrick) who is perhaps roleplaying a bit too hard.

There are plenty of moments in its short run that will make the audience smile and even laugh out loud at the things that the characters pick up on that the audience may not have thought about. Roundheads and Cavaliers may give the audience that warm, fuzzy feeling that they need at the end of a long week as they can relax and unwind.

Watching Alice, Gareth and Keith bravely and accurately re-enacting the battles of a time in British history that are not often covered is certainly unique. Especially in comedy.

Sasha Joseph Neulinger and his sister were the victims of sexual abuse when they were children. They knew their attackers, they were close family members and through Neulinger’s documentary, Rewind, Neulinger goes back into his past to talk about the worst time in his and his family’s life. In fact, Neulinger’s story may be one that many families have experienced before and for many other families it’s their worst nightmare.

Rewind uses interviews with Neulinger’s family members, the psychiatrist that helped him and his sister and even talks to law enforcement to get the full, rounded, raw and honest picture of what happened during his childhood. However, Neulinger’s father, Henry is also a filmmaker and spent many years filming the family in good times and bad.

Rewind uses that footage that Henry took and distributes it throughout the documentary to not only add some colour to the story, but to show the faces of those abusers that hid in plain sight and also shows the effects that it had on the director’s own behaviour. Neulinger’s documentary goes deeper than any other about child abuse could ever imagine, and it’s thanks to his bravery, honesty and his inherited skill as a filmmaker.

Rewind has the rare opportunity to tell a real and unflinching story of abuse and it’s through Neulinger’s ability to tell a story that it thankfully stays so grounded, able to show its audience and not just tell.

The image of child abuse and those abusers leaves a lot to the imagination for those fortunate enough not to have experienced it themselves, but Rewind’s gives the audience a much more detailed depiction of child abuse, the abusers and how abuse can be bred, nurtured and ultimately hidden.

Thankfully, Neulinger hasn’t let the experiences of his early childhood define him and with the help and support of his family and compassionate professionals, he has learned to move on, helping others so that his experiences are not so common.

Rewind is not only a heart-breaking story of abuse and the imbalance of justice, but it shows that there is still life, hope and a future even for those who have been so deeply hurt.

We live in a world where 1% of the world’s population owns 90% of the world’s wealth. We live in a time where there are great political and economic struggle, where the people are being told that if they work hard then they too would eventually rise to the level of wealth that they’ve only dreamed of having. Even if that promise is a lie.

We live in a time where giant corporations with global monopolies over certain markets take advantage of their workers and punish them when they step out of line. We live in a time where the world’s population is sick of being treated like slaves, where the 1% rules over the rest and that if something isn’t done then a revolution may be in the air -and it’s not for the first time.

Capital in The Twenty-First Century is a documentary all about the rise, fall and rise again of the world’s economy and where it all went wrong. Talking to a line of historical and economic experts, Capital in The Twenty-First Century carefully maps out every economic boom and crash whilst clearly talking to an audience who may find the subject too daunting.

Using films, literature, Public Service Announcements and advertisements, Capital tells its story and makes it as plain as day, with some startling parallels to the worst times in the twentieth century and how we live today.

Using many examples to illustrate its points, Capital explains to its audience how we all managed to go through good times and bad, only for them to go back and forth through history. From the Wall Street Crash of the 1920’s to the financial property crisis of 2008, Capital reminds the audience that whenever we feel too comfortable about our lives, then financial ruin may be just around the corner.

However hopeful one time may seem, the pattern that history seems to follow is that we should enjoy it while it lasts because we may never get that time back.

So, for now Capital in the Twenty-First Century serves as a reminder of what lessons we have to learn from our political and economic history. It reminds us that if we don’t heed the warning signs from history that led us down the wrong path, we may be doomed to go there all over again.

Luke (Luke Barnett) and Tanner (Tanner Thomason) are best friends. Luke works two jobs; cleaning pools and trying to sell herbal tea through a scheme set up by his idol, Nicky Steele (Jason Alexander). However, one day Luke loses his job cleaning pools and decides that it’s time for a change.

To make matters worse he also finds out that his dad, a pastor named Mike (Lance Reddick) is having financial trouble and then suddenly it hits him. Realising that Christian movies can make a lot more money than they cost to make, Luke manages to convince Tanner and some of their friends to make a faith-based movie. All they need is an idea, a script and a star – preferably Republican and Christian.

Faith Based is a satirical comedy in the same vein as films such as Bowfinger and Tropic Thunder, using their initial premise to make fun of the film industry, but subtly putting its message across. At first there may be an outcry from certain religious and political outlets, but underneath it all Faith Based is about friendship, making films and having faith – no matter who or what you put your faith into.

With a script written by Luke Barnett, the film takes Luke and Tanner’s real-life friendship and uses it to bring out the chemistry between the pair. Faith Based doesn’t have a forced all-star bromance at its centre, but a real chemistry between its lead actors.

With a sharp, witty script, Faith Based also puts in a lot of fourth wall breaking and laugh out loud moments. Although the partly documentary style does start to feel a bit out of place the more the audience may start to think about it.

What could have been a film that takes a cynical, sniggering swipe at Hollywood and Christianity while trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator turns into a comedy with a real heart at its centre. Cameos from Jason Alexander, and David Koechner as Luke and Tanner’s film idol, Butch Savage will delight audiences as their larger than life personalities fill the screen.

Also, Lance Reddick’s casting as Luke’s father is perfect and icing on the cake for a film that has a lot more to it than first impressions may allow.

Douglas ‘Arm’ Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis) was a boxer on his way to greatness until something went wrong in the ring. Having nowhere to turn, Arm is employed as a heavy by a gang who are in the drugs trade. Then one day one of the gang does something unspeakable and Arm is told to deal with him in the only way they know how.

Arm is hesitant as he has a family to think of, his ex, Ursula (Niamh Aglar) and their autistic son, Jack (Kiljan Moroney), so when Arm does what needs to be done, he decides to do right by them. However, when things go wrong for Arm and the wrong people come after him, he finds himself dealing with the way that his life has turned out and fighting for survival.

Calm With Horses is the feature debut from director Nick Rowland. Set in rural Ireland, Calm With Horses finds its setting in a rather ordinary place, but Rowland manages to keep the tension throughout, even when Arm thinks he’s in the clear. What starts off as something rather predictable ends far more emotionally than anyone could have imagined and it’s down to Jarvis’ great performance.

Although Arm is initially portrayed as a typical hard man and may be hard to relate to, by the end he becomes a more fleshed out character as the audience really feels for what he is going through.

Arm is a man tormented by his past, worried for his future and troubled by his daily life. It’s in Jarvis’ performance that the audience sees a man who cannot help but be the way that he is and yet there is the glimpse of a good man behind it all. The scenes with Arm and his son are a mixture of sweetness and frustration as the audience sees Arm try desperately to connect with his son.

However, he never comes across as abusive because Jarvis shows Arm’s frustration is only born from misunderstanding and not from a lack of love. By the end, there may not be a dry eye in the house, even from those muscle-bound alpha males that may be the film’s target audience.