Author: Joel Fisher

Alice (Keke Palmer) lives with her husband, Joseph (Gaius Charles) on a plantation where they are slaves. Their owner, Paul Bennet (Johnny Lee Miller) is unsurprisingly a cruel man and makes their lives a living hell with regular beatings and other such cruel and unusual punishments.

Joseph remains unbroken though and plans to escape by any means possible, although no matter how hard he tried he finds escape impossible. Then one day after Alice has taken all she can take she runs as fast as she can and escapes the clutches of the slave owner. She keeps running and eventually finds herself on a road where a car drives by and nearly hits her.

A kind hearted truck driver named Frank (Common) picks her up, puts her in his truck and drives her to the nearest hospital. That’s where Alice realises that the year is 1973 and that things have changed since the days of slavery. Although the more she learns about how things have changed, the more she sees the things that haven’t changed at all.

Alice is a drama written and directed by Krystin Ver Linden and is her feature debut which is also executive produced by Keke Palmer. Taking some of the most commonly known aspects of how black people are depicted in cinema (slave and badass Blaxploitation hero), Ver Linden’s script merges the two and brings out the best of her lead.

Palmer plays an exceptional role and takes on the seemingly overwhelming task of depicting two very different sides and does them with ease. Her beginning as Alice, the traumatised and timid slave slowly turns into a strong and confident woman and Palmer’s performance reflects that easily, with subtlety and nuance.

Such a large amount of time has passed for Alice, she learns about the Civil Rights movement and sees people that look like her and it empowers her, realising that her freedom means so much more now. Although the more fantastical parts are not explained which results in Alice’s revenge, it doesn’t matter. Alice’s revenge feels satisfying and just, giving the film a large set piece, although perhaps with Alice embodying her cinematic idol, the finale may lose its message.

There have been many changes in the past couple of years with people and places not being the same as they were in such a short space of time. Looking at places and people as they were may be surprising as the affects of the pandemic have gone from loss to illness. Even those not touched directly by its worst moments have felt a kind of loss and change that they cannot describe or even begin to explain.

The news has been filled with people either going along with their vaccinations, protesting even the slightest bit of change that disrupted their lives and how people have had to change their lives in order to cope.

There’s also been a lot about how health service workers are overwhelmed and overworked as they struggle to cope with the number of new patients. Some which very quickly led to death whilst others have to deal with more long-term repercussions. It seems like life may never be the same again, but to imagine how life used to be may be difficult.

Phases of Matter is a documentary by Deniz Tortum which may have started in one way and has ended up meaning something totally different and more profound as time has passed. Entirely filmed in the hospital where Tortum was born in Istanbul, Phases of Matter shows the everyday lives of the hospital workers and the things they encounter.

However, this is a fly on the wall documentary and not one that has a narrative either, its aim is to show the people who work there as they are as a sign of gratitude from Tortum. Although in recent times it has become something more as it shows great appreciation for what hospital workers had compared to what has happened since, when their lives were changed.

This is no ER or Grey’s Anatomy so the audience should not expect any high drama, scripted or otherwise. Instead, this is just a picture of life in a hospital in Istanbul and the reflection of what it was over the pandemic is shocking because of the moments of stillness and quiet that have been lost since.

Keeping in mind the motives behind Tortum’s documentary would help whilst watching as if he ever went back to do another then it may be starkly different.

It’s not easy being different, but that’s ok because everybody’s different in some way. They could have glasses, be taller than most children their age or they could have really curly hair. They could also have a disability such as being visually impaired or be a wheelchair user.

However, there are some disabilities that people don’t see with their eyes. There are people who have disabilities such as autism and ADHD which cannot be seen, but only observed through behaviour. Just like in school, people tend to treat others differently who don’t behave the same way as they do and if they don’t adhere to the norms of acceptable behaviour then they get treated differently or are misunderstood.

This goes for adults as well as children and it’s usually because the adults don’t take the time to learn why a child is behaving in a particular way.

Teach Me is an animated short film directed by Anna Cottrill, a student at MetFilm School that aims to explain how children feel when they’re treated differently, left out or misunderstood. All because their teacher didn’t take the time to understand their difference.

Using carboard and stop motion animation, Teach Me is a charming animation that gives children a voice whilst seemingly talking on a children’s level about children. However, those who are more grown up will understand that it’s them that they are talking to and that they want to be heard and understood.

Going through many scenarios, Teach Me lets the children talk about their own experiences. Experiences that whether you’re a teacher or were once a disabled child, you may find something recognisable within their stories.

The children also are able to express their frustrations at being treated a certain way and how they wish that it could change if only someone were to listen. This is something that’s so rare in the media that it’s often assumed that the adults know what’s best for the children, when sometimes that isn’t the case at all. Having the children tell their own stories in an environment where they feel comfortable allows them to relax and be honest and having watched Teach Me, hopefully educators will learn something themselves.

Lillian (Melissa Leo) is an actress with an illustrious career on the stage, but it feels like she never really got her time in the spotlight. Her son, Curtis (Jake Weary) has nurtured a talent for music however, and over the years his music career has managed to bring him the kind of wealth and fame that his mother could only dream of having.

Then one day tragedy strikes and Lillian is informed that her son has died of a drug overdose. However, knowing that he’s had a past of substance abuse, Lillian is sure that Curtis would never have put himself in that kind of danger. So, Lillian does what every good mother would do and tries to track down the people responsible for her son’s death.

Measure of Revenge (or Leave not One Alive in the UK) is a thriller from the perspective of a parent, the kind of which many people may have seen before. Movies such as Man on Fire and Taken immediately come to mind when reading the synopsis, however Measure of Revenge also deals with the grief that a mother feels when she loses a child.

Although that doesn’t last too long as her plan for revenge takes her down a dark path.

Tonally, Measure of Revenge is a curious movie. It starts out fairly ordinary and follows Lillian as she tries to come to terms with the death of her son whilst also looking for answers. However, it’s not long before the more unusual elements of the movie begin where Lillian is haunted by the evil parts that she has played on stage and she draws out her plan for murder.

This unfortunately leads to a few moments of unintentional comedy, which in fact would have been better if it didn’t take itself so seriously.

Measure of Revenge wants to be a thoughtful drama about the grief process, but it also wants to be a violent and preposterous revenge thriller. Unfortunately, it cannot do both. Reminiscent of Hammer Horror classic Theater of Blood, Measure of Revenge will make you smile, but for all the wrong reasons.

On 13^th August 1995, Alison Hargreaves’ life was tragically cut short as she died in a violent storm whilst attempting to climb K2. Alison left behind a husband, James and two children Kate and Tom, she was the first woman to climb Mount Everest unaided. However, although Alison died leaving behind a family, she passed on something special to her son.

Tom Ballard picked up where his mother left off and his passion for climbing may have surpassed her own. Unfortunately, Tom also fell to the same fate as his mother, dying in a storm while attempting to climb Nanga Parbat in Kashmir. Tom’s biggest climbing achievement was being the first solo climber to ascend six major alpine north faces in a single winter season.

The Last Mountain is a documentary that pays a fitting tribute, not only to Tom’s climbing career and his achievement, but to his family and his mother who inspired his life’s work. Filmed and directed by Christopher Terrill, the documentary gives him unlimited access to the lives and most private moments.

Moments where James Ballard and his daughter not only go through the grief of losing a son and a brother, but also as they talk about the wife and mother that they lost and her influence on Tom.

Unfiltered and unflinching, The Last Mountain is a documentary that not only deals with moments of loss and sadness, but also joy as Tom Ballard’s life is remembered. Although following the journey from the moment of Tom’s disappearance, the pilgrimage that his sister, Kate takes as she goes to lay Tom’s memory to rest is a touching tribute and something they would be proud of sharing.

Although for those who are not aware of Tom Ballard and his achievements, let alone his mother’s then the documentary may be lost on some. There are snippets of news reports and television shows in which they appeared, also referring to Alison’s Last Mountain, a documentary which mirrors the events of her son’s. However, the documentary never goes into how much of an influence Tom had outside of his family.

This does make The Last Mountain an intimate and proud telling of his story though and something that may have made Tom proud to leave behind as his legacy.