Film Review Club

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent sees Nicholas Cage play a heightened version of himself. With his career in decline, he is forced to take an appearance gig for a wealthy Spanish businessman, but he soon finds himself caught up in a CIA scheme to take down a powerful arms dealer. Nicholas Cage and Pedro Pascal is the bromance I never knew I needed! The two of them worked incredibly well together, delivering some of the best on screen chemistry I’ve seen so far this year. For me, the best parts of the film were when it was just the pair of them together, the humour landed every time and they made an incredibly silly storyline so enjoyable. The irony is that the central protagonists virtually tell you what the worst part of the film will be… the finale action sequence that ruins a story about friendship in order to create a Hollywood blockbuster. They tell the audience this whilst creating their own script, then go on to lead us into exactly that and that adds fuel to the fire for

Casino Royale is the first of five Daniel Craig Bond films. Having just been promoted to 007, James Bond is tasked with stopping international mob banker Le Chiffer by beating him at an ultra high stakes poker game.  It was nice to revisit the first Daniel Craig Bond film, it’s been years since I have, but unfortunately I enjoyed it far less upon this rewatch. The film kicks off brilliantly with a cliche spy introduction to the new James Bond and it soon follows up with an impressive action chase across a construction site, which was extremely entertaining. However the rest of the first act and the entirety of the second was just unnecessary filler that, if I’m honest, bored me. Nothing of significance really occurs except a couple of mediocre action scenes that delays the antagonists plans. Now the third act is where the film really hits it’s stride, the moment Eva Green arrives portraying Vesper, the accountant assigned to assist Bond, the audience finally has an interesting relation

Operation Mincemeat follows a top secret team during World War 2 as they try to execute a plan to deceive Nazi forces, luring them away from Sicily to Greece, leaving Italy open to attack. A war drama that is based on true events and real war heroes. Operation Mincemeat really took me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was, it’s a war drama that competes with the likes of The Imitation Game in terms of quality. Despite being based on the true story about a top secret plan to deceive the Nazi forces, it’s actually very character driven. Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen delivered fantastic performances as Ewan Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley respectively and the performances from the supporting actresses Penelope Wilton and Kelly Macdonald helped inject heart warming charisma into the film. I am always so intrigued by storylines that can teach the audience about historical events, rightly shining a light on the unsung heroes that so many people of my generation are

Season 6 joins back up with Thomas Shelby as he plans to infiltrate the far right party in the United Kingdom, whilst commencing business with his American rivals associated with his cousin Michael Gray. We also see the Shelby family rocked by personal issues, illnesses, deaths and addictions but will they be enough to halt Tommys plans. This was the 6th and final season of the beloved Peaky Blinders TV show, with the finale film set to start production in 2023. First of all I want to say that this was a fantastic season, it might not have been as exciting as previous seasons, less action certainly but the intricate storyline allowed for strong character development and created some of the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen from a television series. I really enjoyed the heavy focus on Tommy’s psyche, little changes to his habits that made the little moments count throughout the 6 episodes. I won’t be including any spoilers but there are so many beautiful interactions betwee

The Northman follows Prince Amleth as his future kingdom is taken away from him by his uncle, who murders his father and kidnaps his mother. Now a grown man, a Viking raider, Amleth is reminded of his oath “avenge his father, save his mother, kill his uncle”. The Northman combines the artistry of Robert Eggers with the violence and brutality of the Viking genre. With the later taking a backseat to allow for the outstanding acting, dialogue and cinematography to rise to the forefront of this beautiful feature film. This is Eggers’ third film and in my opinion, it’s his best yet! The performances from the entire cast are exceptional but Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor Joy and Nicole Kidman stand out in particular. What I enjoyed about Eggers direction within the genre was how he didn’t try to glamorise the Viking way of life. Even when his protagonist was living it, it was uncomfortably brutal and hard to watch and that is a realistic take on what they were actually like. He also manage

Bel-Air is the highly anticipated remake of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, following Will as he moves to Bel-Air from Philadelphia after ‘getting in one little fight and his mum got scared’. Although this time the series takes a new direction as a Drama rather than a comedy sitcom.  I will be honest, Bel-Air had no right being this good and it absolutely proved me wrong. I, like many others thought it was a silly idea to remake an absolute classic but the new direction has created a drama series that I  thoroughly enjoyed. Despite sharing the same characters and core foundations of its predecessor, it felt unique and oddly refreshing. The casting was brilliant, with Jabari Banks tackling the role of Will and with the odds stacked against him, he smashed it out of the park! The same can be said for Olly Sholotan who played Carlton, who took the character in a completely new direction which really impressed me. The whole cast impressed me to be honest, the acting elevated this drama and ma

Top Boy consists of 4 seasons, the first two are known as Top Boy: Summerhouse and since Netflix have taken over the rights the next two seasons are just Top Boy. Set in the council flat estates in London, the series follows Dushane as he works to reach the top of the drug gangs in his estate, known as Summerhouse. But we also see the estate from an innocents perspective, through Ra’Nell in seasons one and two and then Ats in the following seasons.  I believe that Top Boy is the most realistic depiction of drug gangs in London, showing the dark reality of poverty and organised crime within the inner estates. The cast perform excellently and what I like the most is how the series acts as a platform that gives first time actors their chance to shine, producing talents such as Letitia Wright and Michael Ward but also showcasing the abilities of the two leads Ashley Walters and rapper Kano, who play Dushane and Sully respectively. The drama is the perfect blend of action and tragedy, so mu

The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third instalment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and is directed by David Yates. Dumbledore knows that Grindelwald is moving to take control of the wizarding world and entrusts the help of Newt Scamander to lead a team of wizards to fight Grindelwald and his legion of evil followers. At its very core, The Secrets of Dumbledore is full of heart and charisma, creating a fun film for the family to enjoy. However despite it being enjoyable, is it a great film? I would have to say no, it’s very average and that’s coming from a big Wizarding World fan. This third instalment is heavy on the CGI and the final act set up in the Himalayan mountains made that CGI incredibly noticeable and distracted me from the finale. The plot itself was fine, in the Crimes of Grindelwald we found out that Credence was a Dumbledore and I liked how this film explored that further. One major character is missing from the entire film, with one brief cameo and that was just infuria

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, A Killing of A Sacred Deer is a Thriller horror following surgeon Steven Murphy who mentors a 16 year old boy named Martin. As the weeks pass, Martins sinister intentions start to reveal themselves and Steven’s family pays the price.  I had only heard positive things about A Killing of A Sacred Deer and the amazing cast consisting of Collin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Nicole Kidman certainly pointed towards a great film. However, I was left disappointed, for me it failed to show any signs of a worthy thriller or a horror and I found myself wanting to switch it off pretty early on. The acting was the strong point with Barry Keoghan playing the mentally deranged  Martin incredibly well. Equally Collin Farrell and Nicole Kidman also performed well enough but unfortunately the plot was so disengaging that I couldn’t really appreciate the performances. I didn’t like the fact that we never found out what was actually going on with the kids, I understand wanting t

Set in New England during the 17th century, a family are banished from their plantation and forced to fend for themselves. Choosing to build their home next to a vast dark forest, the family find themselves being haunted by sinister forces.  The Witch was Robert Eggers directorial debut on a feature film and boy did he arrive on the scene with a bang. Immediately you’re pulled into the 17th century through the world he has created and this is complimented by the traditional language used by the actors. This does mean you have to focus your full attention on the film so that you can understand everything the characters are saying and I guess that’s a clever tool to ensure the audience can’t peel themselves away from the screen. The pacing is probably the biggest issue for me, it takes a while for it to hit its stride but once it does, you find yourself submersed in the psychological horror themes that are ever present in the 2nd and 3rd act. That being said there’s a scene at the start

On a remote island, Ephraim Winslow arrives to work as a lighthouse keeper working only with his elderly supervisor Thomas Wake. As the weeks pass and the curse of isolation kicks in, Winslow is haunted by strange and mysterious visions. Directed by Robert Eggers. Robert Eggers has created a carefully constructed film with only two central characters played by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. The Lighthouse is certainly a slow burner but the story of two men in isolation, descending down a path to insanity paves the way for incredible duologues that simply had me amazed. Eggers technique is front and centre, shooting on a black and white 35mm film with an orthochromatic aesthetic that emulates 19th century photography. That aesthetic is enhanced by the nearly square 1.19:1 aspect ratio, that works well with the smaller sets, creating intimate scenes that are perfect for a two person ensemble. The musical score by composer Mark Korven compliments the film so well, it not only builds t

Nobel Prize winning scientist Michael Morbius frantically searches for a cure to his rare blood disease, not only for himself but his best friend Milo too. In the pursuit of this dream Morbius’s experiment goes terrible wrong and he is instead infected with a form of Vampirism instead. CAST & THE ACTING  The best way to describe the acting would be pretty average, I don’t think it was bad at all but it certainly wasn’t inspiring enough to have me fully invested in the characters. Jared Leto delivers a good performance, slightly broody at times but nonetheless I do hope we get to see more of him and his portrayal of Michael Morbius. Now Matt Smith’s performance I have mixed feelings on, I can’t put my finger on whether I loved it or hated it, perhaps throughout the film I felt both. I think he started really well, portraying Milo, the lifelong friend of Morbius but as he started his transition into the main Antagonist I was less impressed. I felt like Tyrese Gibson was wasted as FBI