film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Category: REVIEWS

Here is where you would find our film reviews on BRWC.  We look at on trailers, shorts, indies and mainstream.  We love movies!

  • Thirst: Review

    Thirst: Review

    Hulda (Hulda Lind Kristinsdóttir) is a recovering drug addict who’s always in trouble with the police. They seem to always want to pin something on her and the latest is the death of her brother that happened the previous week.

    Hjörtur (Hjörtur Sævar Steinason) is an elderly vampire with a taste for men and despite how many times he tries to get what he wants he never feels satisfied. Then one day, Hjörtur is attacked by a couple of thugs and when Hulda intervenes it gives Hjörtur the chance to unleash his powers and get grisly revenge on his attempted murderers. With nowhere else to go, Hjörtur takes pity on Hulda and decides that he wants to repay her for her kindness. Even if it means raising the dead.

    Thirst is an Icelandic vampire horror comedy. The kind of horror comedy that’s a throwback to movies such as Re-Animator and The Evil Dead in terms of its outlandish plot and its buckets of blood that it throws to thrill horror fans.

    Unfortunately, it seems that Thirst is not as well thought out as it may seem. With a lot of characters thrown in just to add a bit more tension, Thirst isn’t really the kind of witty and insightful horror comedy that speaks about our modern life while dealing with the supernatural.

    Instead, Thirst is for fans of copious amounts of blood with admittedly well-presented practical effects and perhaps more dick jokes than is really necessary.

    There was a real chance here to have two people who are outcasts to properly bond and come together to fight the forces of evil. However, the relationship between Hulda and Hjörtur is a mixed one as one minute, Hulda is warming to her vampiric partner only for him to do something horrific which she finds unforgiveable and yet by the end she is fearing for his safety.

    Supporting characters are introduced with little to no explanation and whereas there may have been a chance to do some wry family comedy, Thirst is more interested in the gore and the special effects than the story. One for the fans of throwback horror comedy, but not for anyone expecting much humor or a coherent plot.

  • We Are The Geordies: Review

    We Are The Geordies: Review

    By Trent Neely

    We are The Geordies, a new documentary film from James DeMarco and Zhara Zomorrodian follows the Newcastle United Football Club during the 2016-2017 season. After years of a relative lack of success, controversial decisions from upper management, and relegation from the Premier League to the second tier Championship League: this documentary follows fans of the team through the ups and downs of the season as the team seeks to gain promotion back to the Premier League, and perhaps even win a championship under beloved manager Rafael Benitez.

    At the heart of this film is a love letter to fandom and what fandom means to people. Over the years, many have questioned how sport fans can be so passionate about a team they usually have never played for. The interviewees featured here have varied backgrounds when it comes to their individual stories of becoming Newcastle fans. For some, it is a generational obsession, passed down from parent to child, leading to core moments in people’s upbringing. In some cases, kids are even named in tribute to important figures in the club’s history.

    For two interview subjects, the passion was formed as part of making friends in grade school and has served as a pillar of the friendship up until the present day. One person interviewed comes from a culture where an obsession for football is not as prevalent. Yet, when she is in that stadium that does not matter, she is simply one of the fans. This concept is displayed constantly throughout the film. We see fans on the day of matches as they get to set aside the pressures of life, illness, and work. Once there, they are able to be present for a moment in time and show their love for their team with thousands of other people as passionate as them.

    The crew on this film does much to help the audience connect with this fandom. Rarely do the interviews feel formal or staged. They serve to inform us about the passion of the fanbase, but one also gets the sense listening to the interviewees that they are grateful to have documented testimony of their love for their team to share with the world. Despite their varied backgrounds, the one common thread present in all the interviews is the shared never-ending hope that the team will succeed and that no matter what, their support will never waver.

    Interviewers talk with people in their homes as they share stories of the important games they both saw and missed, talk about photos and pieces of memorabilia and memories formed with friends and family at matches. We follow fans on train rides as they talk about all the logistical hoops they had to jump through just to go to one match. During matches themselves, cinematographers James Grieves and Esther Vardy along with DeMarco make the camera itself a presence in the stands.

    Yet the focus is rarely on the matches themselves but rather the fans. Close-ups of faces wrought with tension waiting to see if a game-winning goal is scored, shots of sullen yet still hopeful faces after a defeat, or sweeping shots of people jumping with joy at a victory. The editing by Nick Light  is also superb. Scenes of victory chants beginning in the stadium are followed by shots of fans still chanting in jubilation at the train station as fans begin their journeys back home, demonstrating that moments of joy will carry on long past the final whistle. By the end of the film, one can’t help but get caught up in the emotions and the moments shared by this team and its fanbase. 

    If you are looking for a film that demonstrates what being a fan means, how sports can bring together people of different backgrounds and serve as a bond and source of hope whether the team is winning or losing, consider watching this film.

  • Superintelligence: The BRWC Review

    Superintelligence: The BRWC Review

    From boisterous supporting roles (Bridesmaids and This is 40) to movie stardom, Melissa McCarthy has earned every bit of her impressive career arc. Like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell before her, McCarthy has established herself as a marquee comedic voice for her era, taking center stage for several box office breakouts over the past decade (Spy and The Heat). Also similar to those two funnymen, McCarthy’s comedic tenure has been somewhat of a critical mixed bag, often following up triumphant laugh fests with notable misfires (Tammy and The Boss).

    Her latest project Superintelligence (which is opting for an HBO Max release) relies upon a tech zeitgeist set-up for its numerous pratfalls. While admittedly pleasant, this straight-forward comedy mostly finds itself stuck on autopilot.

    Superintelligence follows Carol Peters (McCarthy), a seemingly average woman whose thrust into a life-changing role when a mysterious superintelligence program arrives on Earth (voiced by James Corden). Based on Carol, the A.I. will decide if humanity is worth saving or not, leaving it to Carol’s good-hearted nature to prevent the end of the world.

    McCarthy’s latest re-teams her with writer, director, and husband Ben Falcone, who has shockingly been centerstage for most of her weakest efforts. That losing streak sadly continues here. Falcone’s talents as a comedic character actor have not transitioned to behind-the scenes-work, relying upon sterile stylistic choices to meet the bare minimum for a visceral lens. The routine “studio comedy” look is particularly frustrating given the premise’s high-concept qualities, as Falcone treats the myriad of tech gags with a level of visual disinterest.

    Frankly, Superintelligence rarely does much with its promising set-up. Similar to last year’s tech dud Jexi, the plot never utilizes its AI elements to ruminate on our complex relationship with technology. While I expect some simplifying from a studio comedy, the script mostly leaves its tech elements in the dust in favor of broad gags. Steve Mallory’s effort views his subject through a superficial gaze, basing most of its pratfalls on tech-inept characters outright clumsiness. Add in a heaping of flat pop culture gags (from Law and Order to War Games, Mallory vomits a bizarre mixture of references) and a simplistic parable about expressing yourself, there’s little about this screenplay that feels creatively-drawn.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bRe8sEcOvQ&ab_channel=HBOMax

    Like a lot of McCarthy misfires, Superintelligence frustrates due to its innate promise. McCarthy continues to be affably dedicated to every role she inhabits, while Brian Tyree Henry and Bobby Cannavale add a bright comedic sparkle in their supporting roles. Heck, McCarthy and Cannavale even make for a charismatic rom-com pairing that would be well-served in better material. It’s just a shame that this trio is straddled with murky mediocrity, as Superintelligence rarely finds itself outside of contrived studio formula.

    McCarthy’s next streaming project Thunder Force finds her re-teaming with Falcone in a superhero comedy. As a McCarthy fan, I hope that project utilizes its high-concept premise with more ingenuity than Superintelligence. It’s an unremarkable dud, one that will pass through streaming eyes with mere indifference.

  • The Stand In: The BRWC Review

    The Stand In: The BRWC Review

    The Stand In: The BRWC Review. By Beth Widdicombe.

    The Stand In – a dark comedy starring Drew Barrymore in dual role of both Star and Stand-in, directed by Jamie Babbitt ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’, ‘Russian Doll’, and written by Sam Bain ‘Peep Show’, ‘Four Lions’. 

    Candy Black is a box-office comedy franchise superstar, an American sweetheart with a tagline as famous as she is. Candy Black is also a disenchanted, whiskey and eight ball consuming diva. After an infamous on-set fracas, captured by a disgruntled crew member, she goes into exile on her New Jersey Estate. With interiors and a sloppy appearance to rival other famous recluses Howard Hughes and Greta Garbo, we find her at the lowest of the low, about to go to rehab to escape a prison term for 6.5 million dollars’ worth of tax evasion.

    Currently in an anonymous phone relationship with a writer called Steve (Michael Zegan), under the pseudonym of Cathy the Carpenter, she enlists the help of her old stand-in, Paula, as she fears losing him as she cannot give him an explanation for her upcoming hiatus. 

    Paula is insipid, ambitious and currently living in her car and working in an old people’s home…she is in no position to say no to Candy’s request. Like all good stand-ins, she sees the potential for fame, and agrees under the proviso that Candy takes up acting in the future and hires her for her good turn.

    Realising that Steve and Candy’s desire for a quiet life away from fame will ruin her return, Paula gets in the way and separates the pair by moving into a new stand-in role as Cathy/Candy off-screen too. Taking advantage of Candy’s reluctance to return to public life, she steps into all her media appearances, and goes on a Global ‘apology tour’ in her place. As time goes by, she seeps into all aspects of her life, and becomes an unhinged doppelgänger…enjoying the limelight and her new social media stardom. With many cameos from the world of Saturday night television, Graham Norton and Jimmy Fallon to name but a few, bringing authenticity to the film. As the plot continues, we see a more satirical turn on the realities of modern movie stardom, and a reality check on what’s important in life.

    Having fully infiltrated Candy’s life, Paula successfully manages to rid herself of the real Candy – however, as director Barbara (Holland Taylor) says “any asshole can be a celebrity, you’re an actress and a gifted one, stop apologising and start acting” – and Paula soon learns that the grass is not always greener, and not all that glitters is gold.

    This film is an effective look at the trials and tribulations on the life of the rich and famous, the ambitious and ruthless wannabes and a pitch for the simple life. Both leading roles played effectively by Hollywood royalty and old school film darling Drew Barrymore, you will certainly not be disappointed if you’re in the mood for a dark comedy, with an underlying moral tone.

  • Happiest Season: The BRWC Review

    Happiest Season: The BRWC Review

    Like nestling in a cozy blanket on a winter’s day, Christmas films offer a comforting celebration of Yuletide traditions. The great offerings are remembered as iconic holiday staples (A Christmas Story and Elf), while even the cheesy, Lifetime-esque films hold their own guilty pleasure appeal. The latest in the subgenre Happiest Season imbues its traditional formula with a thoughtful lens, with writer/director Clea DuVall crafting an earnest celebration of the seasonal values

    Happiest Season follows Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis), a happy couple who looks forward to celebrating their first Christmas together. When the two travel to Harper’s family (parents played by Victor Garber and Mary Steenburgen), Abby learns that her partner has yet to reveal her sexuality to her parents. Their relationship is put to the test as they’re run through the gauntlet of Yuletide celebrations.

    Like all great romantic comedies, Happiest Season boasts a winning ensemble cast. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis are an effervescent onscreen pair. Stewart’s subdued, yet deft comedic hand matches perfectly with Davis’ bright onscreen presence, allowing the two to morph their archetype characters into lived-in personas. The stacked supporting cast also has a blast throughout the production, with Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Steenburgen, and Mary Holland (who also co-wrote the script) delivering movie star charisma.

    The inclusive sensibility behind Happiest Season‘s LGBTQ identity is commendable, yet it would mean very little if the subject matter wasn’t handled with a genuine eye. DuVall proves she’s the right voice to tell this story, articulating intimate nuances behind Abby and Harper’s relationship dynamic. Both characters are written from an empathetic perspective, with Abby’s frustration for an open-book lifestyle clashing with Harper’s personal insecurities without judgment towards either side. This choice imbues the typically mawkish rom-com conflict with a refreshing dose of reality, allocating genuine steaks for audiences to invest in.

    That isn’t to discredit Happiest Season’s allures as a romantic comedy, with DuVall and company lovingly leaning into the genre’s well-known framework. DuVall’s sensible style handles the set-up’s innate zaniness without getting too cartoon-y, re-packaging the typically artificial business for a more self-assured comedic voice. The laughs here register without vying desperately for the audience’s attention. DuVall’s handling of the traditional rom-com plot beats is similarly well-tuned. There’s a self-awareness streak that never feels overly-sly, as everyone involved seems well-versed in what makes these genre moments sing.

    Happiest Season renders an infectiously warm glow, eliciting the kind of sweatpants-level comfort that turns films of this ilk into beloved staples.