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!

  • You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review

    You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review

    You Cannot Kill David Arquette: The BRWC Review. By Alif Majeed.

    You wonder exactly what prompted David Arquette to make it and what point he has to prove with it when you start watching, You Cannot Kill David Arquette. Especially as it focuses on a “fake” sport like wrestling and on an actor who did show much promise when he started acting. He seems to have a decent life and looks to have it reasonably well. 

    David Arquette’s fame was, to some extent, tainted by him becoming a WCW champion in 1999 in a sham of a match. This incident has become synonymous with the downfall of not just WCW but also the overall reputation of wrestling. Anyone who has a cursory knowledge of the wrestling war would know about the WWE / WCW rating war of the ’90s. As one of the butterfly effects of trying to boost its ratings was when the higher-ups of WCW made Arquette win the world championship belt. Yes, he agreed to do it to promote his wrestling movie Ready to Rumble releasing back then, but it threw a wedge in both WCW position as a wrestling company (tellingly, the company folded months after this incident) and also in his career, which was never the same afterward. 

    The documentary is mainly divided into three sections, like a three-act structure from the Hollywood paradigm. The first section is where David Arquette tries to convince his friends and family and also us, the audience why he wants to get back into wrestling. Maybe it is because the primary protagonist in the documentary is a Hollywood actor, and it follows the rags to riches template to the fault. It tries to set David as a guy who is down and out. You know that it will all be tied together neatly with a bowtie and ribbon by the end. You raise your eyebrows when he says that he has been out of work and failing auditions for a while. But a cursory glance at his filmography shows the guy has been working steadily contradicting what he said. It might not be up to the A-list standards of the promise he showed in the ’90s, but the exaggeration shows a bit at this point.

    The surprising aspect here is the willingness that his friends and family are showing to indulge him in his delusional fantasy of redemption. He, at least in the initial stages, comes across as this overgrown man – child (playing up Dewey from Scream maybe) who is immaturely trying to get everyone to agree to his tantrums. This is all fine, but I still was not convinced why this documentary exists.

    Thus begins the second section, which comprises David Arquette going to different places to train. It is the most amusing part of the documentary. Again, following the Hollywood movie paradigm, this seems like a giant second act. The “wax on wax off” part where he is training to be a professional wrestler. 

    There are many amusing scenes peppered throughout this segment as how these training montages go. It was fun seeing him training with a bunch of kids playing dress-up and getting his ass kicked and then the one where he goes to Mexico and trains and puts on a show at the traffic lights with a group of local Lucha Libre wrestlers. His surprise at not receiving the same amount of tips that the experienced wrestlers do plays up his delusional nature. Purely on an entertainment level, this is easily the best segment of the documentary and the section that works well at paving the way to root for David to succeed as a wrestler.

    In the last section, where the third act begins, he gets around the wrestling circuit on a more serious level. Seeing the way he transformed from overweight to fit actor turned wrestler is commendable. A lot of the wrestling in the arena might be fake and done with a lot of practice and good timing but to see him getting punished and brutalized in the wrestling ring is not just scary, but you almost want to tell him, “Okay you proved your point, now stop.” Only for him to keep on at it and getting critically injured. 

    The man loves wrestling, both as a sport and as entertainment, and it shows. And the need to get rid of the tag of at least being in part ruining the reputation of the thing he loves so much is also incentive enough to “fake” punish himself in the ring. Following the typical 3-act paradigm might not be a bad thing, as it best helps its case in making those points. 

    Beyond the Mat might still be the gold standard of wrestling documentaries, but, You Cannot Kill David Arquette makes its case as one of the better documentaries in the wrestling category. The competition might be less, but it is as much a wonderful tribute to the sport he reveres so much as it about his redemption.

  • Beyond Driven: Review

    Beyond Driven: Review

    Beyond Driven tells the story of Lella Lombardi, former butcher’s delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up who became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975. During one of the most controversial weekends in F1 history, set amid a notoriously dangerous Barcelona street circuit, spectator deaths, driver boycotts, a huge first corner crash, and a shortened race, Lombardi made history and recorded a fete that is yet to be bettered more than 45 years later.

    Lombardi accomplished what seemed as impossible at the time; to finish in the top 6th in the highest tier of motor racing as a woman. She was a trailblazer who defied the social norms imposed by a more patriarchal society. Yet, it seems like her story was not as widely regarded as it should have been. Thankfully, this film delivers a powerful tribute to the late racer, highlighting the influence she had for other aspiring female racers.

    However, Beyond Driven is far more than just the life of Lella Lombardi, as several female racers such as Amna Al Qubaisi and Tatiana Calderón are interviewed about their relationship with the sport. We get a glimpse of their accomplishments and the complications they’ve experienced as women going professional in a male-dominated sport.

    The film really excels in placing women at the forefront of the story. All the talking heads are from women, which makes it feel more empowering for females to witness the representation of passionate and diverse female racers. The decision to only have female interviewees felt appropriate in order for the film to not feel suppressed by a male speaking on behalf of what is ultimately a story focused on women.

    Along with the successes and accomplishments, the film also reveals the shortcomings that come with being a woman in the competitive racing industry. Some of the themes presented revolves around the extra effort these women have to put into training due to their different body physiques. In addition, it looks into the importance of sponsorships and how essential they are in allowing these women to continue racing.

    The story of Lella Lombardi is depicted through some quirky animations and archival footage that prevents the narrative from getting one-dimensional. It does often teeter in between interviews from the other women racers which at times could feel disjointed, especially since these animations feel like short vignettes scattered across the entire film. This was the part where  I wish they would have tied her story more cohesively and maybe developed more upon her issues as a woman living in a time where competing in a Formula 1 race was unorthodox. At times, it feels like there are interesting points that were brought up but never further explained.

    Aside from that, this is an important story to tell. When young females hear Amna Al Qubaisi talking about her first win in Arman and how she’s the first female Arab to win in kart racing, I can imagine the inspiration that would spark in them, knowing that they can not only dream big, but manifest those dreams with determination. It seemed like the filmmakers put tremendous respect into this film, making sure that these women were shined in a positive light.

    Beyond Driven embraces its double entendre by centering the narrative around female racers and their pursuit to go “beyond driven” in order to thrive. The result is sure to inspire many.

  • Make Up: Review

    Make Up: Review

    Make Up is a realist British drama with an aberrant psychological edge. It brings to mind The War Zone with its isolation and atmosphere, but Clare Oakley’s debut is a more inward experience, placing us in the protagonist’s headspace to feel her suspicions and confused paranoia.  

    The premise is simple. Eighteen-year-old Ruth (Molly Windsor) moves down to Cornwall to live in an off-season caravan park with her boyfriend Tom (Joseph Quinn), sharing various odd jobs. Within a day of her arrival, she finds traces of another woman – lipstick on a mirror, stray hairs on Tom’s clothing – that sends her into paranoia. This jealousy, however, morphs into something much deeper and sensual.  

    Ruth’s experience is more circumstance and environment than plot and dialogue. She’s young, unsure of herself and stuck in a bleak, windswept stretch of the Cornish coast, away from her parents for the first time in her life. She wanders from scene to scene, awkward and withdrawn despite the three years she’s been with her boyfriend. Ruth’s introversion requires a performer to act with their eyes and facial expressions, yet while Windsor is generally natural and authentic, she can also be overly blank.

    Her counterpart is Jade (Stefanie Martini), a confident twenty-something who’s unconcerned about others’ perception of her. We see Ruth open up in Jade’s company, basking in the warm light of her bohemian living room. These moments best reveal Oakley’s tactile sensibilities, which are cinematically framed by Nick Cooke’s wide, arresting camerawork. 

    The psychodramatic trappings may misrepresent the film for some, because what Make Up amounts to is a quiet coming of age tale with a heart of social realism under all the menace and pathetic fallacy. It is a minor yet accomplished debut feature from Clare Oakley. 

  • Calendar Girl: Review

    Calendar Girl: Review

    When we think of American fashion week you might think of Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang or Tommy Hilfiger. Or, like me, you might think of no one and potentially have to apologise to fans of fashion that read this review and see my complete ineptitude on the topic.  

    However, even the more fashion conscious audiences would be forgiven for not immediately thinking of Ruth Finley. Calendar Girl is a documentary here to SET THAT STRAIGHT.

    Filmed over five years, Calendar Girl tells us of the rise, and quiet end of the ‘Fashion Calendar’, a fortnightly publication that outlines every fashion show in New York, where, when and by whom. Now that might not sound revolutionary in its own right, but Calendar Girl shows us that this is a truly unique event.

    It’s also driven by kindness, a willingness to give new designers a chance without consideration of profit and a powerful and independent woman who in the 1940s was driven to run her own hugely influential business.

    Calendar Girls takes us through Ruth’s life story and the origins of the publication Fashion Weekly whilst simultaneously recording the last years of Fashion Weekly with Ruth at the helm as it is forced to modernise and take on a new sense of self.

    Christian D Brunn has done a brilliant job of using Ruth herself to tell her story, and her beauty of soul pervades through and draws the viewer in through this unique character. Although the story, the vision, the camerawork and the style are nothing unique and to me, the subject matter is even a little boring, it does succeed in keeping your attention throughout. Calendar Girl also features some beautiful shots of New York and must have been tireless work following Ruth around in what was an astoundingly busy schedule.

    What made Calendar Girl most interesting was that it took something which we all have an impression of and an idea what the characters might be like and throws it away as it introduces someone who completely breaks that mould. Ruth was a successful business woman, a caring mother and a tireless worker. Strange…but exhilarating to watch it.

    Calendar Girl is a solid documentary, easy to watch, interesting and definitely something fashion lovers will revel in as the history of this publication is so unique within that industry despite the confusing name for anyone who’s heard of Calendar Girls. Calendar Girls won’t be something I’ll be sending widespread praise about, but it is good, it features a unique topic and holds its own.

    If you want to learn about a wonderful person watch it, if you love fashion, you NEED to watch it, but otherwise, might be one you miss.

  • All Joking Aside: Review

    All Joking Aside: Review

    Charlene (Raylene Harewood) is an aspiring stand-up comic, after her father dies, she realises that she wants to make his dream a reality, so she goes to New York in order to stand up on the stage in front of a group of people who have had too much to drink and make them laugh, sounds easy doesn’t it?

    Bob (Brian Markinson) is a seasoned comedian whose best days are behind him. Bob retired from comedy years ago due to personal reasons and has never looked back. However, he still hangs around the comedy clubs, heckling the newcomers to see who can take it.

    One day Charlene is that newcomer that feels the whip of Bob’s cynical tongue and after a humiliating moment, Charlene decides that she wants to learn how to be one of the best, and Bob will be her teacher.

    All Joking Aside is the feature debut from director Shannon Kohli and writer, James Pickering. Setting the stage in New York shows the audience just how tough it can be in a city where so many comics made it big such as Jerry Seinfeld and Whoopi Goldberg. All Joking Aside is a slice of that life, showing that comedy isn’t just an art, but a science.

    Written by what seems to be from a person with experience, All Joking Aside knows all the beats, all the put downs and all the things that make the perfect routine. However, those expecting a laugh a minute comedy may be disappointed as the movie takes the form of a feel-good father/daughter movie. Bob says early on that he’s seen this movie before and to an extent he’s right.

    Saying that though, Harewood plays the part of the budding comedienne well, she sells the stand-up comic routines like they were her own and as her comedy gets better, the audience will understand what it takes to make it. Similarly, Markinson feels like a man who has been there and done that and there is a good chemistry between the pair. Not a particularly original routine, but the performances outshine the material.