Category: REVIEWS

Holiday: DVD Review – The film is now out on DVD, so we have reposted our review from February last year.

Holiday is a slow burning slice of life drama about a young girl named Sascha (Victoria Carmen Sonne) whose decisions in her life increasingly take a turn for the worst. Sascha’s boyfriend Michael (Lai Yde) is a crime lord who is in the drug trade business but as the film is told from her point of view, the gritty and gratuitously violent side of his life is rarely shown.

Because of this, Sascha remains relatively innocent and untouched by the darker side of her boyfriend’s career so she wafts through life without a care in a world as she parties and her boyfriend buys her nice, expensive things. However, when she meets Thomas (Thijs Römer) she starts to realise that her life may not be all that she wanted it to be.

For those who are expecting a film with high drama, lots of exposition and plot they may be left a little disappointed as director Isabella Eklöf’s approach sets out to show Sascha’s life as if the audience is a fly on the wall, observing a lifestyle which is gradually turning sour. The tension is slowly built and before the audience realises it, they are spectators to some very disturbing and realistic scenes of abuse. Both emotional and physical.

Make no mistake, Holiday is not a high concept action thriller with a compelling love story where love conquers against all the odds. Although for those more hopeful and romantic members of the audience, you may wish that it was.

Sonne puts in a great performance as the innocent and happy go lucky Sascha, she is a warm character who the audience will like and probably wish better for her. Sonne’s performance guides the audience quite carefully down that road, even to the point where there seems like there is no hope but I believe that is exactly what the story wants its audience to think, it could even be that the audience is led as easily as Sascha.

Yde is equally as good but in a very different way, he manages to capture the kind of abusive, domineering man who might find a girl like Sascha so appealing but his performance never veers into parody and stereotype, staying all too real and convincing.

For those who may start off bored by the seemingly directionless plot, by the end they may find themselves sitting forward in their seats, unable to look away as the events of the film grow more uncomfortable every minute. The escalating drama slowly puts its grip on the audience like a noose and leaves them wondering what would lead Sascha to do what she does.

This leaves the audience perhaps with more questions than answers but if everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow then it would be a far more predictable and forgettable story.

Old-school cops Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) team up to take down the vicious leader of a Miami drug cartel. Newly created elite team AMMO of the Miami police department along with Mike and Marcus go up against the ruthless Armando Armas (Jacob Scipio).

The Bad Boys franchise is one that I have never really been the biggest fan of. Sure, they are fun serviceable movies, but that’s about it in my opinion. I have never watched these films hoping for anything more than an entertaining popcorn movie, because that’s what they are. If you go into any Bad Boys movie expecting it to be a possible contender for any awards, then I think you are going into it with the wrong expectations.

Even though I found the previous entries to be mildly entertaining, I don’t really like them all that much. They, unfortunately, suffer from what I like to call “Michael Bay-isms”. Since he directed those two films, it contains every Bay-ism there is really. Explosions, fast cars, lens flares, you name it.

But this new 2020 sequel to its 2003 predecessor, Bad Boys for Life, brings on new a pair of new directors to (hopefully) inject some brand new life and a fresh vision for this franchise. Something that I was genuinely concerned about before going in to the movie was the fact that it was a sequel that was releasing long after its previous installment. I find that sequels that happen several years after the initial film’s release tend to be not all that great. Nonetheless, I was curious to see what Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah would do with this movie.

This is also a January release, and as most of you probably know, it seems like studios usually dump out the worst possible films in January in hopes that you will forget about them come the end of the year. After seeing Bad Boys for Life, I have to say that I am kind of surprised that it is one of the first releases of the new year, because it is actually a decent film. It is absolutely not perfect, but in the long run, I did end up enjoying myself.

The chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence here is some of the best I have seen in some time. They truly do feel like two best friends reuniting after all these years and seeing them on the big screen together one more time was exciting. They work amazingly off one another. They will often playfully insult each other and it feels authentic.

For the most part, the humor worked really well for me. Granted, not every joke in the movie made me laugh. In fact, there were some moments where something was said that was supposed to be funny, but it just didn’t make me laugh. But I would say that a good 75-80% of the jokes landed, with two in particular actually making me laugh quite hard.

It also has some incredibly fun and fast-paced action sequences that were helmed impressively. I thought that a lot of the film would have shaky cam and would be hard to see what was going on, but that was never the case thankfully. Everything is in camera and looks great.

Something that I really liked here was the main villain, Armando Armas, portrayed by Jacob Scipio. At first, he may seem like a cliché villain which was a bit disappointing, but as the film progressed, the more interesting he became. There are some really strong choices they make with his character that took me off guard.

That being said, his character, and a lot of the characters really, do feel like superheroes. They get shot quite a bit and there is a ton of things in the film that happen to our characters that should seriously injure or possibly kill them, but they manage to be completely okay.

Plus, like I said in the opening, this movie was really just a fun, fast-paced time. Those going into Bad Boys for Life expecting an immensely gripping story with a dramatic story are going to be greatly disappointed because this movie never wants to go for that, which was wise. It wants to be a funny, stylish comedy with tons of fun and exciting action, and it succeeds at exactly that.

Bad Boys for Life may not contain a gripping or dramatic story, but it does contain exactly what it should; exciting action sequences, great humor, and fun performances.

During World War I, two British soldiers — Lance Cpl. Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Cpl. Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) — receive seemingly impossible orders. In a race against time, they must cross over into enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow comrades — including Blake’s own brother.

War films can be some of the most brutal and hard-hitting pictures out there in cinema. A lot of the time, war movies are based on true events and some depict all of the events as they happened in real life. Either way, these movies are often depressing but take you on an emotionally powerful journey with these characters with everything heightened because of the dire situation everybody is in.

My personal favorite war movie from the 2010s has to be Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson. That was a picture that was so emotional, riveting, and had some of the most suspenseful sequences in film in years. Another favorite of mine has to be Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. If I were to compare 1917 to any other existing war movie it would have to be the latter, and that is not a bad thing.

The hype surrounding 1917 for me was incredibly immense. Everything about the film looked like it would be an incredible thrill-ride and now that I have seen it, I can happily report that it is most certainly that and so much more.

You may have heard by now that 1917 was designed to look like it was shot all in one take, and that was probably one of the things that I was looking forward to seeing the most. How would all of the shots look? Would it be easy to tell whenever there was a subtle cut? Well, firstly, the cinematography here is some of the best these eyes have seen in ages. If this ends up winning director of photography Roger Deakins another Oscar for Best Cinematography at the upcoming Academy Awards in February, it would be incredibly deserved.

Every aspect of the cinematography is breathtaking. We as the viewer typically follow behind our main characters, making everything that much more intense. Whenever a character turns a corner, there is always a sense of fear. Will there be somebody hiding behind that corner with a gun and ready to kill? Will there be tripwires or mines on the ground anywhere?

This was one of the most anxiety-inducing movies I have seen in a while, but that is a good thing. There is rarely a chance to breathe here. There are really only two or three moments where we can take a breather. The rest of the time we are always moving and there is always something exciting happening on screen. However, despite that, the one scene in particular where we get a couple of minutes to breathe honestly took me out of the film a little bit. We go from an extremely exciting and white-knuckled sequence instantly to a quiet and almost relaxing scene and that was jarring. It’s also worth noting that the scene felt pointless and really did not add anything of value to the story. It felt like a scene that was added just to increase the overall running time perhaps.

In terms of the characters here, they are decent. While I did want our lead protagonists to succeed in their journey, I feel like I could have cared a whole lot more than I did. We really do not get that much character development which was a shame. The aforementioned Dunkirk had a similar problem for me. That film’s technical aspects were so astounding and it was an emotionally powerful movie as a whole, which was great, but it had nothing in terms of characters. While this is definitely an improvement on Dunkirk with its characters, they still were not as fleshed out as they could have been. This is a film about the situation that our protagonists are in. It is a film that is meant to show us the size, scale, and impact of this event, and is less interested in developing characters, which is both a positive and a negative.

All of the musical cues here are exceptional as well, and it is accompanied with truly masterful editing by Lee Smith. Like I said earlier, I was worried that I would be able to tell whenever a small cut was made with the cinematography, but it was effortless. Plus, all of the exciting action scenes, while not as many as you may think, hit hard. The sound design is award worthy, and really everything about 1917 is. Those looking for a highly immersive cinematic journey into World War I will not leave the theatre disappointed.

1917 is an uncomfortably tense and suspenseful thrill-ride that is boosted with its masterful editing and cinematography that makes you feel like you’re really there.

A DOG CALLED MONEY (95mins, 2019)

Musician PJ Harvey strolls around cold Kabul, searching through the bomb-shocked and abandoned houses, trying to decipher who lived there. In back alleys occupied by musicians and tailors she shares instruments, and witnesses the rapture of the Sufis at the Mosque. The shadow of the US military’s menacing white blimp-drone hovers over, while its soldiers play war games on their computers. 

Forced by the pressure of the crowd, a woman slides down a hill in the rain-soaked Northern-Greek refugee camp in Idomeni. She valiantly hangs on to her sack of belongings while attempting to cross into Macedonia. The line of people – adults and children – appears endless. Seamus Murphy’s camera stays close, filming the wet and worn-out but determined faces. This is starting to feel like Koyaanisqatsi (1982) for a new era. 

Between 2011 and 2014, musician PJ Harvey accompanied photographer/filmmaker Seamus Murphy, a seasoned witness of tragedy, as he travelled to Afghanistan, Kosovo and finally Washington DC; the heartland of where a lot of the world’s damage has sprung. Guided by both the Washington Post’s Paul Schwartzman, and resident Paunie, who present the maligned neighbourhood of Anacostia, this is an example of the deep division between black and white America, illustrated by the juxtaposition of Washington’s icons, death spots, and temples of religion.

By January 2015 they were back in the basement of London’s Somerset House.  PJ Harvey consolidating her experiences and observations into an album, The Hope Six Demolition Project – the ordinary details mixed with the extraordinary moments. Watched through one-way mirrors by members of the public who were invited to the Recording In Progress, the observer now becoming the observed, albeit through one-way mirrors. 

Visual artists are often brought into war zones – photographers, painters, filmmakers. Musicians? Not as often. There’s an initial slight feeling of dark tourism, but Harvey and Murphy are witnessing what people are either fleeing, resisting, ignoring, or don’t have access to. As Kosovo’s Father Sava states: “We want to belong, it’s human nature to look for the clan, to get together.” 

It’s hard to deny the importance of bearing witness, whatever form that may take. Song writing has a long cultural history of doing this and whether you like PJ Harvey’s music or not, her interpretation only adds to this. Murphy’s film reflects the disconnected-interconnected world, exposing the disparate lives that co-exist locally and globally. His captivating collage shows the creative process, the craft, and the collaboration to bring it to life, while not diminishing the power of the images and the people they encountered along the way. 

Find out what else he is doing here: www.seamusmurphy.com

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood: The BRWC Review. Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is an investigative journalist who receives an assignment to profile Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), aka Mr. Rogers. He approaches the interview with skepticism, as he finds it hard to believe that anyone can have such a good nature. But Roger’s empathy, kindness and decency soon chips away at Vogel’s jaded outlook on life, forcing the reporter to reconcile with his own painful past.

The opening frames of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood set up the rest of the film perfectly. Director Marielle Heller wants to welcome you into this beautifully touching and emotionally strong story and the opening of the film being a recreation of the opening to the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was an incredibly sweet and joyful way to kick things off.

Out of all the movies that I have seen recently, this is one of the most wholesome overall. It’s not just because of the sweet and often heartfelt screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, but it is also because of the film’s overall message. Love is an extremely powerful thing and so is forgiveness, and this film says so many important things and says them in a powerful way.

But perhaps my favorite aspect to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is the legendary Tom Hanks himself, who portrays beloved television icon Fred Rogers. Whenever he is on screen, he radiates such a strong sense of love, warmth, and kindness. Hanks is the perfect choice to play such an amazing man, as he is widely known as one of the, if not the, nicest celebrity out there. He did a truly fantastic job portraying Rogers and his performance uplifted me greatly.

He works so well off of the other actors as well, namely the film’s lead actor Matthew Rhys. At the center of the film is a story of these two men, and how Rogers is able to give people a better outlook on life. The film’s lead protagonist, Lloyd, is not one that is easy to root for at first. We see him treating people, particularly his family, rather rudely.

This is an issue that I had with the 2017 horror feature Happy Death Day upon my initial viewing. Jessica Rothe portrayed a character, Tree Gelbman, that was so rude to everyone that it was hard to feel for her for a while. But as the story progressed and we see where her character ends up by the end of the film, and the emotional journey that she goes on throughout the film, you end up rooting for her one-hundred percent by the end. The same can be said about Rhys’ Lloyd Vogel. At first, I thought he was an extremely unlikable character, but after I saw where the film was taking him, I ended up feeling immense sympathy for him and wanted him to be happy.

This movie also utilizes some remarkably clever cinematography by Jody Lee Lipes, making a lot of the scenery look like toys. For example, we may get an overhead shot of a city that it made of sculptures and the cars that pass by on the streets are toy cars, giving it the feeling of the opening of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. It is a gorgeously shot film and its camera work was terrific.

There are some times in which the film’s story can feel a bit familiar and often falls into a lot of the tropes that come with these types of stories, but it was still enjoyable and emotionally powerful nonetheless. It just would have been nice to have had some more originality injected into the way the film played out, as it can often become predictable at times.

But this is a film that is so uplifting and wholesome that it really is quite difficult to dislike and I wholeheartedly believe that there is going to be something for everybody in this impressively crafted picture.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is an incredibly impressive and uplifting film with a touching message and a heartwarming performance from Tom Hanks.