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!

  • BRWC At #LFF: The Front Runner Review

    BRWC At #LFF: The Front Runner Review

    I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of The Front Runner at the London Film Festival. This political drama, steady burn, is about the paradox of celebrity, and the constant pushback of where the moral buck lies between the person with fame, the reporters who make the fame, and the audience who devour it. The movie had some sticking points but raises some very interesting questions. Who pays the price of fame? Who asks for it? Where do our private lives start and end if we are in the public circle? Where does it deserve to start and end, and who is owed it? 

    It is with the case of frontrunner politician and presidential hopeful Gary Hart that these questions were first asked in America, in 1988. He was the democratic hopeful, seemingly untouchable. That is, until reporters caught a woman leaving his house, who was not his wife, exposing his extramarital affair. 

    The confrontation of the reporters in the back alley with Hart (Hugh Jackman) is a real crux of the film. All of them are unsure what they’re doing, what unknown this new trajectory could venture in to. The reporters are more scared the Hart, who never seems to let slip his real feelings even once in the film, shrouding him in mystery which is a good choice for his portrayal by Jackman. I’ve never seen Jackman with as little charisma as I have in this film, but it works to show the political emotional distance every campaigner has. 

    That being said, the film does sometimes lag. The heavy legal jargon and the tight, swinging close ups require intense concentration, and brings to mind Spotlight but without the intensity and bubbling excitement. The movie raises questions about morality and social scrutiny, but it doesn’t manage to answer them or give a solid argument. This murky ending results in a dark tone, whether this was the intention or not is unclear.

    Lee Hart (Vera Farmiga) plays the stoic and serious wife with aplomb, with a key scene with Jackman at the end, the only time they are ever alone together. In fact, Hart is often shot with the back of his head shown, and every other character talking around him, emphasising the strategic positioning he is constantly being morphed into. 

    Overall, The Front Runner engages the viewer for the first act of the movie, lagging a little in the second and third. The ensemble cast work together well, supporting a toned down Jackman. For a political thriller, it doesn’t quite win the race, but it has its moments and leaves behind a lasting message.  

  • Blue Iguana: Review

    Blue Iguana: Review

    Ex-convicts Eddie (Sam Rockwell) and Paul (Ben Schwartz) are on parole and working in a New York diner. Their lives are a dead end until an English lawyer Katherine Rookwood (Phoebe Fox) walks in with an offer they can’t refuse. What follows is a flurry of gunfire, close combat, stolen jewellery and Eddie’s terrible attempts at tackling the cockney accent.

    While the apparent inspiration for this movie was the action capers of the 80s and 90s there’s a far stronger whiff of Lock, Stock lite here than anyone would care to admit. The smash cuts, the London setting, the jukebox soundtrack and the fact that every other word is an expletive, Blue Iguana shares more in common with the direct to DVD, “geezer feature” than it does the works of Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Bruce Willis or Treat Williams for that matter. The dialogue is dulled to a matte finish and the characters have very specific quirks that only work within the construct of a naff screenplay, for contrivance’s sake. I’m sure the filmmakers thought they were working on something very clever, but sadly this flick is at least 15 years past its sell by date.

    Ben Schwartz play neurotic well but sadly is a one note joke that fails to land and Sam Rockwell is given very little to play with to the point where he is completely wasted. The only saving grace is Phoebe Fox as the wronged lawyer out for revenge but even her character suffers from a She’s All That turn in which the, “ugly” duckling turns out to be a swan after all. All that aside, I don’t consider it fair to apportion blame the to the actors for their underwritten characters.

    It’s not that Blue Iguana is a terrible movie, it’s just incredibly played out and tired. There are occasional, crass, funny moments but these are few and far between. The editing throughout the action sequences is a swing and a miss for what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish but at least they were trying something.

    Blue Iguana is available now.

  • The BRWC Review: Possum

    The BRWC Review: Possum

    Returning to his childhood home, a disgraced children’s puppeteer, Philip (Sean Harris) is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have haunted him his entire life.

    Directed by Matthew Holness, it would be a grave error coming into Possum believing it will share any of the levity and rapier wit he’d previously brandished in Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. Instead, Possum shares a cloak of malevolent dread with the likes of David Cronenberg’s Spider (2002) and this year’s Ghost Stories, directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman. This is a film about the whispers of neighbours, long-buried secrets, the disappearance of children and the cold, bleak possibility of the existence of monsters. A profoundly claustrophobic psychological Horror, Holness sculpts in damp and decay, in mournful loneliness and despair.

    The entire premise hangs on the shoulders of Sean Harris. Philip is a pitiful man with a coal-black past. Riddled with self-doubt and anguish, he fits in perfectly with the desolate landscape of home. Tortured by visions of his creation come to life, he sees the silhouette of his arachnid puppet everywhere. Feeding on fear and fractured memories, the hideously creepy “Possum” isn’t even the most terrifying beast Philip must face.

    As horrifying as the aesthetic is, the amalgamation of Kit Fraser’s cinematography Charlotte Pearson’s production design, Alexandra Toomey’s Art Direction and The Radiophonic Workshop’s audio design is paralysing at times. Reminiscent of the morose soundscapes of Geoff Barrow’s band, Beak> and Clint Mansell’s score for High Rise, there are echoes of the 1970s, of a battered and breaking Britain and the sonic signatures of a generation who grew up on Quatermass, Doctor Who and Hammer Horror. Months from the screening and I’m still drawn back into the melancholic world Holness created.

    Steeped in rhyme, rot and an indelible performance from Sean Harris, Possum is a slow trickle of ice cold water down your spine. It’s a haunting experience that isn’t for the nervous or intensely empathetic. It will prove divisive and those who don’t jive with a purposefully stark and slow-going experience will likely find it frustrating but I adored every sickly, sorrowful second.

    Possum is released in the U.K. on Friday 26th October.

  • Glass Jaw: Review

    Glass Jaw: Review

    1995 Bakersfield California, the scene is a mess of beer and trailer park. Young Travis Austin (Jack Fisher) and his father Sam (Jon Gries) watch a televised boxing match while developing gambling and fighting amidst a lethargic ambiance of unemployment, domestic violence, poverty, alcoholism and non-identifiable meals. And that is the first 5 minutes.

    Sam’s advice to his young son Travis as he is about to hand him over to foster care services is worrying. “You’re going to meet some real pricks, don’t be a weak-arsed bitch, never let them know how scared you are, and If anybody upsets you, hit ‘em first and you hit ‘em hard. Bam.”. Travis nods with serious enthusiasm and holds onto the only photo he has of himself and his dad. After a last punch directed to his father, the family drive off. Abandonment has rarely looked this bad. We can only hope it’s going to get better from here. And it does. Travis Austin’s adult life is in stark contrast to his childhood. He has become a formidable character – loyal and resilient – from whom everyone wants a piece. The heart of the story is whether it is possible to overcome deception, disappointment and the whole array of despair. Along the way there are coaches and boxers, including Eddy (Reynaldo Gallegos) and Joe (Brandon Sklenar), to contend with in and out of the ring. A slow-revealing script keeps the viewer guessing.

    Filmed boxing matches are among the earliest film recordings. From the beginning of cinema, boxing and films have been linked. The violence, anticipation and often rousing story were perfectly suited to the screen. Some of the standouts from the genre are Buster Keaton’s Battling Butler (1926), Tod Browning’s Iron Man (1931), Raoul Walsh’s Gentleman Jim (1942), Robert Gordon’s The Joe Louis Story (1953), Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980), Jim Sheridan’s The Boxer (1997), Michael Mann’s Ali (2000), Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man (2005), and of course Stallone’s Rocky Balboa (2006). Some female-inspired documentaries are Susanna Edwards’ Golden Girl (2016) and Meg Smaker’s Boxeadora (2015). At the top of many best-of lists is Body & Soul (1947) by Robert Rossen. A frequent theme of all these films is young male rises above his difficult circumstances to achieve material success thanks to boxing. GLASS JAW does not sway too far from this theme, but includes the sorrow and anger of loss and grief – of a child and of a parent, of the fight inside, as well as interesting and alarming insights into prison and boxing life. And it does it well.

    GLASS JAW was written and produced by, amongst others, the two main characters of the story, adult Travis (Lee Kholafai), and his supportive on-screen girlfriend Dana (Khorrina Rico). They attempted to crowd fund after working on the script for three years, and this is obvious with poignant dialogue in which the actors excel, particularly the grieving coaches Frank (Mark Rolston) and Eddy. They attracted an excellent cast and crew including rapper Boosie Badazz (aka Lil Boosie), who plays a boxing bettor and underground fight club operator, as well as cinematographer Jeffrey L Kimball, ASC, including fantastic scenes of Los Angeles, and some remarkable drone sequences, as well as director Jeff Celentano.

    This film is an example of independent persistent filmmaking with a small budget, providing a complex story, which left me wanting more.

  • Nae Pasaran: Review

    Nae Pasaran: Review

    In our current climate, filmmakers and creatives are taking the opportunity to highlight the doom and gloom that is raining down across the globe. Spike Lee and Jason Blum are showing us results of the human race turning against each other and Charlie Brooker is showing us a potential (yet so real) world where we’ve all gone completely bonkers! What a joy it is then, that documentary filmmaker Felipe Bustos Sierra’s debut delivers a pearl of a film that highlight the greater good of us humans.

    The film tells the inspirational story of Rolls Royce factory workers in Scotland who, in 1974, refused to carry out repairs on airplane engines used in Chile’s violent military coup.

    Sierra films in both Chile and Scotland, interviewing the factory workers themselves, survivors of the Coupe and ex-air force members. Along the way, he plays back interviews to other interviewees and captures intense emotion.

    Despite some CGI moments which go against style and tone at points, the no thrills lighting and sound compliments the story. The archival footage and photos are quite remarkable and the fact Sierra has managed to include so much makes the story richer.

    There’s no high stakes, no over-dramatisation of what’s going to happen next. The events that play out during the production are as engaging as any fictional drama. Not only is Sierra director and interviewer but also connects both countries. The moments where the survivors of the Coupe are thanking the factory workers via pre-recorded footage is a real tear-jerker.

    The film highlights a very important part of global history and what true humanity is. Plus, it shows filmmakers everywhere that if they’ve got a good lead and a passionate team, you can produce inspirational and engaging film.