film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Joel Fisher

  • Who We Are: A Chronicle Of Racism In America – Review

    Who We Are: A Chronicle Of Racism In America – Review

    America has the biggest problem when it comes to racism against black people compared to anywhere else in the world. America also has a strong history with racism that has not only affected the way people live, but the way that laws are passed and how its people think that racism is acceptable.

    From the earliest days of the founding of the United States, racism has been constitutional. Jeffery Robinson’s documentary, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America explains right from the very start to the present day exactly how that happened.

    Taking moments from his lecture, discussions with those people who have been indoctrinated into a racist ideology and the families of victims killed in racist attacks, Jeffery Robinson lays out everything for his audience to see. Who We Are shows everything from the writing in the constitution that allowed slavery to today where the Black Lives Matter movement is stronger than ever and has white people marching with black people for equality and peace.

    For those who know their history, but tend to ignore the problematic parts, Robinson confronts them head on. Giving examples through history and politics from George Washington to Donald Trump, Robinson’s lecture shows that even when you think it doesn’t affect you directly, racism finds a way to get under your skin. He even reveals that the way black people are portrayed in society has even affected his judgment.

    However, for those who may not be interested in history and politics, Robinson’s interviews with the family of victims of racial attacks may hit home harder. Showing footage of their attacks from either angry mobs or the supposed law enforcers, it gives those who are unaware exactly what it’s like to be black in America.

    Those people who think that racism is just a part of every day life and that people should just accept it would be best served to watch Robinson’s documentary. Those who don’t think racism affects them and that they are not racist should watch Robinson’s documentary and have their eyes opened.

    Because as soon as we rest on our laurels and pretend that racism doesn’t exist or think that there’s nothing that we can do about it – that’s when it happens.

  • Breeder: Review

    Breeder: Review

    Mia Lindberg (Sarah Hjort Ditlevsen) and her husband, Thomas (Anders Heinrichsen) are trying for a baby, but they are having trouble conceiving and Thomas is starting to lose interest because he blames himself for their infertility.

    They live a charmed life though as Thomas is partners with Isabel Ruben (Signe Egholm Olsen), a brilliant neurobiologist who has seemingly unlocked the gene for eternal youth. Over the course of a few treatments, Dr Ruben can reverse the aging process, but there’s one catch. It only works for men.

    However, Mia is soon to learn that her husband’s work comes with a price as their neighbour, Nika (Eeva Putro) turns up battered and bruised and wearing a hospital gown claiming that she’s been tortured by somebody known as ‘the dog’. Thomas immediately puts Nika in his car and heads to the hospital whilst Mia stays at home and tries to find out what’s going on.

    Unfortunately, Thomas never gets to the hospital and when Mia tries to find out where he went, she discovers the awful truth behind Dr Ruben’s research.

    Breeder is a torture porn horror movie directed by Jens Dahl. The set up for the drama seems to be something different that may want to say something about the way women are treated in horror, how they’re expected to be wives and mothers and how the world only sees them as baby makers. Instead, Breeder’s drawn out first thirty minutes only seem to be there to fill time. What the audience then gets is the same kind of torture porn from films such as Saw and Hostel, but when the latter has better social commentary then you know you’re in trouble.

    Women are often the victims in horror movies and in the 21st century filmmakers are addressing this issue or at least commenting on it whilst doing the very same thing. It’s unfortunate then that director Dahl doesn’t seem to have got this message because the whole movie feels like a misogynist’s wet dream even when it’s trying to say that it’s not.

    Female empowerment still has a long way to go when it comes to horror and cinema in general and Breeder seems to set it back a few decades.

  • Old Strangers: Review

    Old Strangers: Review

    It’s been a long time since Sarah (Madeleine Humphries), Michael (Ted Evans) and Danny (Colton Eschief Mastro) saw each other. They’ve been friends since high school, but since the lockdown during the pandemic started, they’ve not been able to see as much of each other as they’d liked to have done.

    So, after the restrictions ease a little and the trio have all had their health checks, they decide to head out into a secluded mountain retreat in order to catch up, relax and unwind after all the madness that the pandemic brought in. Also, Sarah and Michael are especially keen to see each other again because just before the world came to a halt they’d started dating.

    However, as they’re all catching up with each other Danny sees something he doesn’t recognise and like all good curious people, he reaches out to touch it. Although that’s when it stings him and soon the old friends start to realise that it’s not just their friendship that’s changed over the course of the lockdown.

    Old Strangers is a horror movie written and directed by Nick Gregorio. There have been many opportunities to write stories and make films about the pandemic since it began. There have been romcoms about people finding love in a difficult time, horror movies about people being trapped in their homes as an unknown threat hunts them and there have even been highly realistic dramas that depicted the events as they happened. Then there are films like Old Strangers which show a time where it seems that things may be getting better and we can reconnect.

    The characterisations of Danny, Michael and Sarah feel authentic and there are some great details in their interactions with each other. The audience may believe that they really are old friends reuniting and trying to get their lives back together, which may make what comes all the more shocking.

    Clearly influenced by a particular Fifties science fiction classic, director Gregorio brings the story right up to date albeit without the political commentary. Either way it will delight fans of science fiction and horror whilst maybe even putting another conspiracy theory in there for people to laugh about.

    Old Strangers reminds us that no matter how our friends change, we’ll still always know who they are.

  • The King’s Man: Review

    The King’s Man: Review

    Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) is a member of a secret society which helps to keep order in the world by putting the right people in the right places to ensure the world keeps turning. However, not everything is under his control and after an attack, Orlando’s wife dies in his arms leaving him and his son, Conrad (Harris Dickinson) to keep fighting the good fight.

    The thing is though that just before she died, Orlando made a promise to keep their son out of danger and to never see war again – although that’s easier said than done. Especially when there’s an evil cabal bent on world domination and war.

    The King’s Man is a prequel to the Kingsman franchise which sets out to explain how everything started for the secret organisation. However, this prequel does things differently than the previous movies in the franchise which may surprise some members of the audience and deter others. Gone are the gadget laden set pieces and the far from subtle comedy, instead the Kingsman prequel has decided to take a more serious tone. So, those expecting to raise a smile while the action takes place may be disappointed.

    Having been delayed several times, even before the pandemic took hold, The King’s Man may have been a troubled production from the start. As mentioned earlier, the different tone that the prequel takes may have rubbed audiences the wrong way which may have led to reshoots and edits, but it seems that the final product may have been an edit too far.

    This results in the story being uneven where characters are set up and relationships are formed, but with very little for the audience to hold on to. This is because where it seems that the audience are meant to feel strongly for certain characters, the chance for an emotional impact is lost because it just doesn’t feel like enough has been built to warrant it.

    Also, it feels as if the filmmakers wanted to make something significant out of the villain’s reveal, as for most of the film the villain is shot from behind, in shadow or wearing a mask. Unfortunately, when it does come time for that reveal it feels underwhelming, which again may be a result of editing a little too much out of the film.

    At a runtime of two hours and ten minutes it does make the audience wonder what was cut as it feels that The King’s Man may be too long already. The mixture of action and real-world historical events don’t really work either and may only benefit those who are well read in that time in history. Despite a couple of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameos and fun performances from Rhys Ifans and Tom Hollander, it turns out that The King’s Man is far from enough to save a flagging franchise.

  • An Exquisite Meal: Review

    An Exquisite Meal: Review

    Beth (Victoria Neugent) and Mark (Ross Magyar) are going to their friends, Dave (Mike Jimerson) and Irene (Amrita Dhaliwal) for dinner. They find their friends quite pretentious as Irene is a budding writer who has had no personal experiences of the things that she writes about and Dave is a self-proclaimed master chef who had promised to make them an exquisite meal.

    Then more guests arrive and personalities clash as things start to get out of hand. There’s also the question of what Dave is really cooking for dinner.

    An Exquisite Meal is a satirical horror comedy about people whose pretentions elude themselves when they are around other people. It becomes clear quite quickly how Dave and Irene are presenting themselves as the perfect couple. However, over the course of an hour, writer/director Robert Bruce Carter shows that Beth and Mark are just as susceptible to showing themselves up for who they really are.

    Then there’s the other guests that arrive; Edoard (Bassam AbdelFattah) who has a questionable French accent and Annie (Emily Marso) whose flirtatious nature nearly lands her in trouble.

    The film is like watching a dinner party that you weren’t invited to and the comedy comes between the awkward moments that people often have when they reveal a little too much of themselves. There are also some very funny observational moments littered around the script which bring out the nuances of the characters and may remind the audience of the characters in Knives Out.

    However, there is a lot that it seems that Carter wants to say in his script and unfortunately, he may have given himself too little time in which to do it. Cut into chapters and seemingly written in parts to show the different sides of his cast of characters, Carter highlights the audacious and the absurd side of people who barely know each other. Although in doing so it may reveal the pretentions in the director himself.

    This becomes evident as although An Exquisite Meal is set up to perfectly lampoon its guests and to discuss how these people are in the real world, the real message stays buried. This means that Carter may have run out of time or didn’t really know what to say.