Category: REVIEWS

Carlota Martinez-Pereda’s Cerdita (Piggy) opens with various shots of an open air, natural swimming pool, quiet and empty. There are the remnants of people, a knocked over can of soft drink, scrunched balls of rubbish on the floor, but the pool is deserted when we come to it. It might not seem like much, but it’s a good piece of visual storytelling, because when Sara, our protagonist, played with genuine heart and emotional rawness by Laura Galan, first appears, nervous and uncertain, we understand completely what is happening.

Here is someone who is ashamed of their body. She’s ashamed because she’s big, and she fears other people seeing her. She fears the judgement so much that she feels the only time she can come to the pool, a place to swim and exorcise and better herself, is when there is no one else around.

It’s an issue I myself can relate to. I’m on the bigger size, and that sort of fear from judgmental eyes is something that is very real. And it brings about problems. Not just emotional problems, either. Of course, the emotional pain and anguish fear of being judged can bring is something that effects lots of people, and can bring about serious consequences, but there are more practical problems here too. Exercise, in Sara’s case swimming, in mine an attempt to go to the gym, is about becoming healthier, becoming better and feeling good in oneself, but that fear of judgement will often lead to people being too afraid to do those things. Ultimately, all judgement does is prevent people from becoming better and depresses them. In the case of weight issues, this can also often lead to the dreaded “comfort food”. A never-ending cycle.

Sara’s swim is at first interrupted by a peculiar bald man, played by Paco Hidalgo who brings a menace to the role that really pays off later, who is in the pool fully clothed. It’s odd, but the reveal of a dead body tied and weighted down under the water brings a clarity to things.

Then the film takes a seemingly unrelated turn. Three teens, not so much characters as they cliché popular girls in the Plastics mould of Mean Girls, appear. They bully Sara, at first verbally and then later more violently. It’s quite a harsh watch, and I found it uncomfortable. One of the Plastics, Elisabet Casanovas’ Claudia, doesn’t seem to be as into it as her friends, but she goes along anyway, succumbing to the peer pressure so many of us are also all too familiar with.

Ultimately the trio of bullies steal Sara’s towel, bag and clothes. And this leads to a traumatic, horrific walk home for Sara that she would likely never quite get over.

To go into any further detail risks spoiling what is an oddly satisfying, but uncomfortable ending that is certain to provoke conversation and make audiences think. It may come about in a slightly contrived way, but the questions it raises linger longer after the film ends, and the point is exceptionally well made.

Visually the film is great. Martinez-Pereda perfectly tells her story through the medium of film (the copy I was given for review had no subtitles and was entirely in Spanish, but I had absolutely no issues following the story and the characters, nor their motivations, despite some of them being rather complex). And it looks superb, equal parts stylish and measured, it’s effectively presented and well shot by cinematographer Rita Noriega, with the Spanish sun giving everything a beautiful, idyllic quality that juxtaposes nicely against the less than idyllic horrors unfolding on screen.

It’s called a horror, and I don’t think I would agree with that. A dark drama with some sinister elements sure, but horror… I don’t think so. What it is is an incredibly well made, concise and thoughtful 14 minutes of film, and one of the better shorts I’ve had the pleasure of watching recently.

I didn’t know much about it going in, but that probably worked in its favor. Like all great shorts, it is simple, builds a sense of mystery and tension, and resolves itself with a punchy and memorable ending. I’d be curious to see if there was more story to tell here, and I’d like to know what the repercussions of the ending would turn out to be.

All in all, Cerdita (Piggy) is worth your time. It isn’t perfect, but it has a lot to say and mostly succeeds in what it sets out to do. You could do a lot worse.

Armando (Tenoch Huerta) is in charge of a group of builders while his boss, Tadevos (Karren Karagulian) is away. Then suddenly, one of the men has a serious accident whilst on the site and Armando has to think fast to decide how to deal with the situation.

The builders are all illegal immigrants and are afraid that this latest incident will mean that their carelessness at work may incur another needless punishment. However, when Tadevos finds out, the repercussions of their actions are far darker than they could have ever imagined.

Debris (or Desecho in Spanish) is a short film from director Julio O. Ramos and writer Lucas Mireles, an award-winning film that tells a very compact story, showing exactly how somebody’s life can change in mere moments, all because of the trust we put in others. Ramos’s latest short film shows a realistic and somewhat high concept story told in the space of less than fifteen minutes where all characters are established quickly, building the story up to a shocking finale that leaves the audience wanting to know more.

Immediately the audience is pulled into the situation because it does not feel so far-fetched and as the story plays out, the end will either appal its audience or they will realise that this is just another part of how horrible life can be. Debris does not necessarily set out to have a message, but the audience can certainly take it that way considering the issues around immigrants and their demonization in our modern society.

Instead, Ramos shows his audience a side of life that they may be unfamiliar with and gives them a situation that they may never have considered before. The straight forward, matter of fact nature of the events never over dramatizes the situation, nor do they give the audience a chance to think too deeply about the likelihood of something like this really happening. Instead it creates something in the mind that suggests that it may not be that far from the truth.

Whatever side of the fence you sit on in regards to the probability of this being a true reflection of real life, there is no denying that not a single second is wasted on the characters and story as it reaches its disturbing conclusion.

Phil (Adam DeVine) has a major dependency issue – he’s addicted to his phone. He has no friends, he has a job writing pop culture ‘Top 10’ lists, and his love life is non-existent. But his Facebook status is about to change. When he is forced to upgrade his phone, the latest model comes with an unexpected feature… Jexi (voice of Rose Byrne) – an A.I. life coach, virtual assistant and cheerleader. With her help, Phil begins to get a real life. But as he becomes less dependent on his phone, Jexi’s artificial intelligence morphs into a tech nightmare determined to keep Phil all to herself, even if it means ruining his chances of finding success.

Let’s just get this right out of the way from the start – Jexi is without a doubt, the most absurdly titled film of 2019. Audiences that are completely unaware of this film and what it is about would have absolutely no idea what Jexi is and what it even means, and rightfully so.

Even though the title is ridiculously dumb, I was genuinely hoping that the movie as a whole would win me over. I wanted to go into the theatre and expierience a fun comedy flick, that, at the very least would manage to make me smile or laugh a couple times.

Unfortunately, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s Jexi is one of the worst films of the year so far. One thing is for sure – this is the worst comedy film of the year in addition. Virtually nothing about the film works, and while watching it, it can be quite frustrating to see where the film could have worked a little bit better if the script had been polished up. There are genuinely a few sequences that could have been humorous if there was a better script.

It is disappointing to see the script so weak, because the writers Lucas and Moore previously wrote the excellent The Hangover, which is one of my favorite comedies of the early 2000s. In my opinion, the two have not written a great movie since Hangover. All of the jokes in this film are painfully dull and often come off as extremely cringe-worthy. Even the marketing is weak, with many of the trailers and posters coming off as dull.

Adam DeVine portrays lead protagonist Phil in Jexi, and he can get quite annoying to watch after just a couple of scenes. The film lets you know early on just how irritating his character will end up being throughout. This is a shame because I genuinely think DeVine is a funny actor, and I really enjoyed him as Bumper in the Pitch Perfect franchise, and he seems like a down to earth guy.

There are a couple of times in which the movie tries to deliver a deep and thought provoking message throughout all of the jokes, but it never manages to land unfortunately. It all comes down to the script, and while trying to bring up a moral of the story, it just does not work because the movie constantly tries to be funny. There’s really no scene in which the film takes its message seriously.

Jexi is an annoying, frustratingly unfunny misfire, with one of the weakest scripts of the year, and a moral that gets lost along the way.

After escaping Jack Welker (Michael Bowen) and his gang, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) goes on the run from the police and tries to escape his own inner turmoil.

Let me just get this right out of the way from the top – Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad is my favorite television series of all time. It is one of those shows, that for me, managed to top itself with every single progressing episode. That is something I don’t think I have ever encountered in a television show besides Breaking Bad. I fell in love with all of the characters – Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut, Hank Schrader, and more. Every episode, I was curious to see what they would get up to, and particularly, how White would try to avoid trouble.

That is exactly why I was extremely nervous about the existence of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. “Felina” is one of my favorite episodes of any television show, and is considered by many others to be one of the greatest finales of all time. The way Gilligan concluded things, with Pinkman’s ultimate escape from Jack and White’s death in particular, being wrapped up beautifully. I really did not want a movie to come along and tell us all these details that we did not necessarily need to know.

But, now that a Breaking Bad movie exists, I went ahead and watched it. I am so happy to report that El Camino is absolutely masterful, and is a truly gripping, emotionally powerful, and brilliant epilogue to one of the most beloved characters: Jesse Pinkman.

The goal of El Camino is not to open up a door for other Breaking Bad movies or to bring back characters that we once knew and loved from that show, but rather, to give finality to Jesse’s storyline. Where did he go after he escaped from Jack? Who does he encounter along the way? Does he finally get a chance to start a new life? All of these questions are explored in a fantastic way.

Ever since the television series, I always thought that Aaron Paul did an amazing job portraying Jesse. He was a greatly complex character with a storyline that resonated with fans all over the world. But I truly did not expect him to be as good as he was in this picture. Everything about his performance here is incredibly raw, riveting, and vigorous. You can tell just by looking into his eyes that he has gone through a world of pain, not just from the events of the last few episodes of Breaking Bad, but his entire life. He is at a breaking point and he just wants a chance at a new life. A chance at freedom.

One of the greatest elements of El Camino is by far the writing by Gilligan. This movie cements him as one of the strongest dramatic writers of this generation, with nearly every moment on screen being filled with suspense and tension that most movies are unable to contain these days.

When it comes to issues with this movie, there are only really a couple that stand out in particular. The biggest one for me is by far, the fact that El Camino, despite how amazing it actually is, does not necessarily need to exist. Yes, it does provide answers for what happens to certain characters, and even shows us some extremely clever flashback sequences with other characters, but at the end of the day, we did not need this movie. I would have been perfectly fine if El Camino never came out, because I did not want the  film to come out to begin with. The reason why is because Breaking Bad‘s ending to practically perfect to me and I thought a follow-up was unnecessary, despite how good it ended up being.

The other flaw is that some characters that we know and love appear, and we do not get too much time to spend with them. You think that they may get a bit of involvement in the overall story, but they just never show them again. It would have been nice if all of the characters got something to do.

El Camino is an utterly mesmerizing epilogue to Breaking Bad and offers an extremely gripping story, terrific writing, and a riveting performance from Aaron Paul.

Last Blood – Callum’s Take. Rambo has certainly had a very bumpy road throughout his long running series. His first outing, First Blood, is a film that I will always hold close to my heart. It’s one of the best action films of the 80’s, but is also quite provocative and very subversive – it’s also quaint compared to pretty much everything that came out after it. But it never stops being fun, despite its body-count being only one (even then it’s accidental). Maybe it’s because I was way too young when I first saw it (I snuck out of bed at the age of six and found it on the TV), but it has always stuck with me.

First Blood Part 2 and Rambo III, on the other hand, were the same film with a different paintjob. In both, Rambo finds himself in a delicate political situation and we spend more than half of the film focusing on said situation, with slow, slow speeches and dialogue, uninteresting characters and a now hollow shell of a main character. And in both we are treated to a finale of joyfully campy, over-the-top gratuitous violence and good old 80’s action shlock. I find it hard to recommend either, but both have their moments – Rambo III in particular has one of my favourite villain deaths of cinema (the exploding man in the cave scene). Rambo, the confusingly titled fourth film, does fall victim to the same tropes, but is a better executed film and lacks the camp of the others. When the action starts it’s jaw-droppingly shocking, in keeping with the film’s tone.

Now we find our fifth, and presumably final film of the series in Rambo: Last Blood. Sylvester Stallone returns as the titular character to dish out the vengeance he seeks on the bad-guys and anyone working beneath them. With Last Blood we do get what we come to expect from Rambo. Both in a good and bad way. Before I explain the plot, I feel that I need to get into the nitty-gritty first.

Like all the films after First Blood, the direction in Last Blood is pretty flat. In a way, it works to have something told to us so matter of fact. It knows why we are hear and is quick to get to it. With a runtime of just over 80 minutes, the film is a very nuts-and-bolts experience – a definite plus for me. As Crawl earlier this year proved, there is still a place for quick, mindless popcorn fun – incidentally, go watch Crawl when you can, of the two film’s here it is the stronger one. But flat direction also means that when nothing is going on, then truly nothing is going on! The same goes for the cast. Nobody is bad in this film – Stallone mumbles a lot and is at times harder to understand than the Spanish dialogue, but he does as well as he has done with the other films. But they are not engaging. When there is no action or promise of action, we feel nothing – save for one distressing moment in the middle.

When the action does happen, it is bloody. For someone like me, who loves the grindhouse feel of films like Bone Tomahawk and over-the-top bloody violence like in Dredd, this was glorious, a terrific bit of fun. But for many, the violence might be a step too far. Even I’ll admit, at times it was unnecessary. Bloody stab wounds and gun shots are expected, but we have organs and bones being ripped out of bodies here too. The gore reminded me of slasher films. It’s a taste issue as to whether you’ll take to the violence or not.

Now, here is my main issue. The story has Rambo attempting to save his niece from a Mexican cartel that has kidnapped her into sex-slavery. That’s it, that’s the story. Because of this story, and the way it’s filmed Last Blood feels like many things – overall, it’s like Taken, it’s also like Machete, Dragged Across Concrete, Old Boy at one point, before the films starts feeling like an adult-rated Home Alone film at the end. But what it never feels like is a Rambo film. Stallone could have been playing Bob Jones and the film wouldn’t have changed at all.

I would like to say that it at least kept me mildly entertained. But it didn’t! Now, it wasn’t boring. It still felt like a quick film. But I only enjoyed the action scenes, and the preparation for those scenes. The moments involving the sex-slavery were what undid that good will. Now, this is a touchy topic. It does happen in the world, as horrid as that is to admit. Something should be done to stop it. And bringing awareness to the issue and talking about it is the only way that can happen. That doesn’t mean we should enjoy it. So, despite the dumb fun set-up and pay off – much like in Rambo – Last Blood is a mostly unpleasant watch. It’s not exactly well-handled either, occasionally coming off as unintentionally xenophobic, which many people have picked up on.

It’s a tough one. It’s a decent bit of mindless, blood-soaked fun with a strong performance from Stallone and some decent moments of emotion, which is what you’d expect from Rambo. But it’s also misguided in its political messages, is out of touch with the time it is in and, when no action is present, it’s quite tedious – which, sadly, is also what we expect from Rambo too. If I had to compare it to the rest of the series, I guess it’s the worst one. It’s less a Rambo film and more a disposable action film. If that’s what you would want, then you’ll enjoy it fine. Other than that, you might as well skip it.