Film Review Club

The Lost City, directed by Aaron and Adam Nee follows author Loretta Sage as she completes her latest novel in her famously popular book series. Touring with her handsome cover mode Alan, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who believes she holds the key to finding The Lost City and it’s hidden treasure.  CAST & THE ACTING  The acting was certainly what I expected, cliche and silly yet full of heart and very funny. The Lost City has Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum leading as Loretta Sage and her cover model Alan, the pair display excellent chemistry that can illustrate both hatred and love effectively. With the exception of the very start of the film, both of them executed their dialogue well and the jokes landed more often than not. Daniel Radcliffe portrayed the eccentric billionaire antagonist and I actually enjoyed his performance, very similar to his role in Now You See Me 2. Brad Pitt’s role was just a brief cameo of no more then ten minutes but he was absolute

Michael Bay returns to direct this action thriller and the film follows Will Sharp, an army veteran who is desperate to find the money for his wife’s experimental surgery. Turning to his adoptive brother Danny for help, he is dragged into a $32 million bank heist that goes terribly wrong. Forced to flee in an ambulance that’s carrying a shot cop and an EMT worker. CAST & THE ACTING  The cast is led by Yahya Abdul Mateen the second and Jake Gyllenhaal who play William and Danny Sharp respectively. The pair both deliver great performances! Gyllenhaal the slightly psychotic, yet incredibly smart criminal and Mateen the admirable war veteran who is just pulled back into a life of crime through desperation. I would also say that there is a third lead actor in Eiza Gonzàlez, who plays the EMT hostage inside the ambulance. All three worked really well together and their performances were responsible for creating the tension that is the centrepiece of the film. Gyllenhaal was very over the

Peacemaker was written and directed by James Gunn and it is set right after the events of The Suicide Squad, except this time Christopher Smith has a new team to fight along side. Tasked with stopping an alien invasion, Peacemaker goes on a bloody journey of self development. CAST & THE ACTING  John Cena returns as Christopher Smith, AKA Peacemaker and once again he more than impressed me. He is slowly becoming one of my favourite comedic actors in Hollywood right now. Not only that, he also performs well during the emotional elements of the show. His character really goes on a journey of self discovery and for that journey to be authentic, his acting had to be up to scratch. Which it certainly was! Other actors also returned to reprise their roles, such as Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee as John Economos. Holland, in particular, really stood out and she had a way of really drawing me into her character. Danielle Brooks was a nice addition to the cast as Adebayo,

This crime thriller is directed by Benny and Josh Safdie and centres around Connie, a man who is trying to break his brother Nick, a mentally handicapped individual, out of jail after the pair of them had recently robbed a bank together.  CAST & THE ACTING  Robert Pattison leads the film as Connie and it’s another example of why he is one of the best working actors today. His performance is fantastic and he pretty much carries the film. Good Time looks like it was a very demanding role, his character is the main focal point and he was in pretty much every scene, so he had to show the audience every side of his character. Connie’s persona changed with each person he come into contact with and Pattison absolutely nailed it each time, delivering some fantastic duologues with a variety of costars. Benny Safdie plays his brother Nick and he portrays someone who is mentally handicapped extremely well and the performance was very convincing. The acting across the entire cast was actually

Seven is crime/mystery film directed by David Fincher and follows two detective as they try to catch a serial killer who has committed a string of murders attached to the seven deadly sins.  CAST & THE ACTING  Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman lead the cast as the pair of detectives assigned to catch the killer, playing David Mills and William Somerset respectively. They are both excellent and play their roles to perfection, with Pitt giving a more emotive performance and Freeman portraying a more calculated and thoughtful character. These expressions were emphasised by their performance which created such an interesting dynamic, polar opposites but I appreciated both equally. That final scene in the fields, wow, Brad Pitt blew me away! The scene itself is shocking enough but his performance really gives you a kick in the stomach, you feel the emotion so deeply. Kevin Spacey was cast as the serial killer and he played the part scarily well, his use of facial expressions and delivery of

The Last Kindom returns for its final season before the the big finale film and we are reintroduced to Uhtred in an England which has seen peace between Saxon and Danes for many years. However the return of Brida spells trouble for that harmony and peace starts to crumble. CAST & THE ACTING  The entire cast returns for season 5 with Alexander Draymon reprising the role of Uhtred and he just keeps impressing me season after season! He not only produces the most exciting action sequences but he nails the character to perfection. There are a few emotional moments for Uhtred in this season and Draymon’s performance makes the audience feel that emotion too, which is crucial in building that relationship between the viewer and the character. However he is not an outlier because there is an abundance of amazing performances. For example Emily Cox who plays Brida, she embodies the hatred her character has for Uhtred, but the finest moment of acting was the final interaction between the two

Directed by Shawn Levy, The Adam Project follows Adam Reed as he accidentally crash lands in 2022 and is forced to team up with his 12 year old self for a mission to save the future.  CAST & THE ACTING  Ryan Reynolds leads the cast as the older Adam Reed and he brings his usual comedic charm to the film, except this time he is equally matched by 13 year old Walker Scobell. That casting was perfect because his personality, comedic timing and delivery of dialogue rival that of Reynolds and to think this was his first acting role too! The pair have fantastic chemistry and because they are very similar it helped create an authentic portrayal of the same character from different time periods. Mark Ruffalo plays the role of their father Louis Reed and it’s very similar to how he portrays Bruce Banner, he does create a really likeable character so he serves his purpose. Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldaña have relatively small roles but they still deliver strong performances nonetheless. Garn

Vikings Valhalla is the much anticipated Netflix sequel series to the popular Vikings show. Set 100 years after the events of Vikings, we follow a new generation of Vikings as they try to cement their own path across Europe.  CAST & THE ACTING  The cast itself is relatively unknown, there are a couple of familiar faces but I wouldn’t expect casual TV and film fans to recognise them. However despite that, the acting is actually pretty good with a wide variety of passionate performances that create an exciting atmosphere that the audience can really enjoy. For me the standout was Frida Gustavsson who played Freydis Eriksdotter. It was an impressive performance, delivering on the emotional, dramatic side and also on the combat choreography too. Without wanting to compare the series too much I’d imagine she is going to be the Lagertha type of character for this series and she’s seems like a good choice. The two central, male protagonists are played by Sam Corlett (Leif Eriksson) and Le

Dog is a family comedy directed by both Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin. Army Ranger Briggs is tasked with transporting army dog Lulu down the pacific coast in time for her soldier companions funeral, there is just one issue… Lulu is extremely hostile, suffering from anxiety and PTSD from her time in the war.  CAST & THE ACTING  Channing Tatum is the lead actor, playing Army Ranger Briggs and his unique comedic charm carries the film along with the dog Lulu. His delivery of dialogue creates plenty of laughs and the chemistry he has with his canine companion creates a fantastic friendship that melts the audience. There aren’t really any other actors that appear long enough in the film to make them worth mentioning but the actors that do pop up contribute well to the overall charm of the film, keeping things light and funny. I do want to speak about the dogs performance though because she does just as much work as Tatum! She can make you laugh and make you cry and it’s extraordinary

Euphoria is the incredibly popular HBO show written by Sam Levinson and it follows a group of high school students as they navigate the world of sex, drugs, relationships and social media, in this dark coming of age drama. CAST & THE ACTING  I want to start straight away and state that the acting in this show is incredible and not just from one or two actors but the entire cast. Zendaya leads as Rue, a student dealing with addiction and it is one of the most realistic depictions of addiction I have seen from a show or film. She seems to handle every aspect perfectly, the emotion, the body language, the facial expressions, everything! It’s great to see her showcase her talents being the centre of a project. The next person I want to mention is Sydney Sweeney (Cassie) who seems to be able to express extreme emotion with ease and that helps her realistically portray the drastic mood swings of an 18 year old and how they think their problems are the centre of the universe. Jacob Elordi

The Batman is the latest instalment of the DC film franchise and this time it’s directed by Matt Reeves. Bruce Wayne is in his second year as Batman and is looking to make an impact on the city of Gotham. His arrival inspires the rise of The Riddler who goes on a killing spree, revealing the corruption that lives inside Gotham’s elite. CAST & THE ACTING  Matt Reeves and the casting director have done a tremendous job with this film, it’s pure genius to harness the talent of Robert Pattison and turn him into a troubled Batman finding his way during his second year as Gothams iconic Vigilante. What I loved about his performance is how he could tell a whole story just using his facial expressions and body language. Even with his face half covered his eyes and posture translated the emotion directly to the audience. It’s a drastically different approach compared to previous actors but it’s one we absolutely needed. His vocal commentary throughout the film sends chills down your spine,

Batman Begins is the first instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and explores the origin of the Batman. After witnessing his parents murder Bruce Wayne grows up with the hunger to fight injustice. He leaves Gotham a but returns a man determined to fight for his city. CAST & THE ACTING  Christian Bale was cast as Bruce Wayne and he certainly hit the ground running, cementing his place as one of the best actors to ever don the Batman mantle. Physically he got in incredible shape to play the character and mentally he portrayed the troubles of an orphaned Bruce Wayne really well. I do think the combat choreography was a little stiff, but up until this point that seemed to be one of the issues every actor had when playing the character. So I would assume that’s down to the suit hindering agility rather than the actors themselves. Michael Caine was cast as Alfred and he suited the character really well, I do prefer the modern depictions of Alfred where he is military trai