Reviews

Though most will probably know the name "Hunter S Thompson" for his wilder exploits chronicled in the book and film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" , this movie focuses on some of his more constructive efforts, namely his bid to become Sheriff of the rural town of Aspen in 1970. Humourous japes such as pcp laced cigarettes and roller skating activists are placed alongside more serious themes such as industrial pollution, police harassment, and, inevitably, the war in Vietnam. It all rolls along quite nicely but in the end, the film just doesn't quite go in hard enough. Ironically, leaning into the nastier side of Hunter's legend ( or indeed the darker side of American society at the time) might have given the film the extra bit of tension and pizazz needed to lift it from good to great. Instead, it spends far too much time labouring it's central point, which is that the hippies had some good ideas underneath the craziness, they just needed to get out and vote. I've no idea how succinct this analysis is, I just resented being beaten over the head with it quite so much. Still , this film is an above average watch.

Looking at the other reviews on here, I might be the only person in the world who thinks it, but I thought this movie was great. Maybe it's my own life in punk related music scenes that made this more appealing to me. However I've watched many a punk themed film, and for me this ranks as one of the best. Hipster attention to detail is paramount here, every vinyl, sticker, tattoo, t shirt etc seems perfectly chosen and artfully framed. The soundtrack must be mentioned, with digital noise and jazz mixing in with the expected punk and hardcore. The story it tells is a simple one, as in most slasher movies it's mostly scene setting for sickening violence. Add in some chummy moments and humour along the way and the whole thing just zips by. More punxsploitation like this please.

This could of been a fun movie if the makers had a sharper eye. The soundtrack is pretty great and a lot of the background details are spot on. Even the laughably poor fight scenes could of leaned into their natural humour a bit more with the right edit, however there's just too many flaws here to give it a decent rating- the lengthy expositional speeches about underground scene politics, the off key plot choices and the completely unnecessary 2 hour run time just put it over the edge of redeemability for me, no matter how much I want to like it, and however much I want to encourage film making like this. Watch only if you're so into punk culture you're going to watch it whatever I say, or if you want to see prime examples of the mistakes a film like this can make.

The secret to Dangerous Liasons glory is that it is well aware of how ridiculous the characters are, but the actors pretty much play them straight, which only adds to the fun. Gentle reader, films like this are definitely not my jam, however this is probably the only "period" film I've ever enjoyed, but I was so pleased I watched it. The fact that every scene is decked out in exquisite 18th century pomp of the highest order really works with the other elements of the film- we're meant to find these characters funny, which is even easier when they're sporting pre raphaelite curls and corsets at breakfast. The script is so good I'm going to have to give it a second watch to make sure I've caught all the great lines, and not a single speaking actor seems miscast. Oh, and keep an eye out for a scene based around the phrase "It was beyond my control", you'll thank me later.

Straight up from the start, the only reason I'm giving Top Dog any stars at all is because it's way more entertaining than it ever should be given the sum of it's parts. I genuinely think that it's Brit gangster film's first "so bad it's good" classic. Despite most of the cast acting well most of the time, and the highest of high grade cinematography constantly conspiring to give the film legitimacy, it's laughably bad script and plot undermine it at almost every possible turn. Join the protagonist on an almost completely pointless voyage of vengeance that unsurprisingly causes his life to completely fall apart in the film's car crash of a third act. Keen eyed viewers will note their own laundry list of characters making nonsensical choices and plain weird stuff, such as the obligatory argument in a back room of a pub that's so marred by mumbling it makes no human sense at all, or the sobbing sound that's supposed to be coming from an adult man that sounds like a nervous puppy.

Honestly, what are you really expecting from that title?

Some films make the mistake of over stretching their reach and taking themselves too seriously. Others are perfectly well executed, but never had a strong enough idea to begin with, making them just plain dull. Snakes On A Plane takes a crazy as a bag of frogs premise and twists it into a campy romp which pretty much invites you to laugh at it's many flaws, with enough tension in the right places to keep you watching. Oh and Samuel J shows he's enough of a hard man to carry an entire movie, despite sporting a shiny head and patchy moustache combo which makes him look like a bit of a crack head.

Just don't expect it to be anything like a mainstream movie. In fact, it took me a while to settle into Uncut Gems, it seems so constantly hell bent on wrong footing the viewer. Dramatic tension is consistently undercut, there are several scenes that build a lot of tension only for the expected pay off to never come. Also, for a movie based around gems and con artists, it's decidedly unglamorous, with cramped shots that would seem more at home in a soap opera than a top level movie of this kind. But for all this contrariness, in my eyes it works. By the second half I was fully engrossed, and ready for the films brilliant climax. The films unusual choices on almost every level work towards a unique experience which really sets it apart from most movies with a similar theme. Some won't get on with it, but I think the name "Uncut Gems" will be on people's lips for a long time to come.

Awaydays puts in a lot of effort but in the end it all doesn't seem to amount to much. It's very keen on reminding you that Northern England in the early 1980s was a very grim, violent place to be and it's got lots of stuff to say about class that it's quite heavy handed about. I think I'd be more forgiving about this if I found any of the main characters likeable or interesting. Apart from being good at violence, they seem to have almost no redeeming features at all. This means when the violence does happen, it falls kind of flat cos you're not invested in it. The main characters coming-of-age arc seems slightly overplayed, given the amount of moody shots and Joy Division songs the movie throws at it. Check out the film's of Shane Meadows to see a take on this kind of film making that really works well.

If you're an adult whose seen a few movies, you've almost certainly seen a better version of this film. If you can accept that, you might get a few laughs and some mild entertainment out of this. The characterisation is poor - too many indistinct characters and alot of the ones you do remember are annoying and derivative. The script has quite a few "do people really talk like that?" isms but some effective plot twists, snappy editing, well framed shots and even the odd funny joke mean it flies by quicker than it really ought to. Plus it's against the laws of God and man to totally hate something that features Mark Heap this heavily.

This is a snivelling psychic vampire of a movie, seemingly only existing in order to drain the life force from any poor soul who watches it. It's made of UK gangster movie cliches - the bland suits, the dubious eastern European villains, the token black character that goes hand in hand with an ill-judged conversation about race, the dead body that turns out not to be dead, the female characters only ever presented in sexy clothing, and so on. If the film had one fleck of energy or charisma this would matter a lot less, but Get Lucky fails at being entertainment as surely as it fails at being art. It's tempting to blame the cast here, but admittedly, they aren't given a lot to work with. At no point in this movie did I care what happened to the characters, nor did I believe any of them to be capable of real violence . The two protagonists seemed like they attended the David Cameron school of charm only to be asked to leave under suspicious circumstances. The two Ikea gangsters on the other side seem more like moody clowns at a UKKIP members birthday party than people who would happily snap your arm at a moment's notice. You might think I'm exaggerating but there's actually many more faults I could list, I'm going to leave it there so I can start to move on with my life. Please, don't watch this movie.

Likeable middle aged rogue tries to go it straight in a small rural town when he starts to find himself almost literally haunted by his own dark past. Somehow the film manages to thread a confusing path balancing the fantastic and the mundane to reach it's bloody, bullet ridden climax. For me, this film did a much better job of bringing together it's various "out there" plot points than most similar efforts on the market. But then again, it does manage to both have good ideas but also not bludgeon the audience over the head with them.

Spree has a similar nihilistic listlessness to Jonas Akerlands Spun, another film with a dangerous energy and a queasy enthusiasm for unorthodox camera work. Joe Kerry does a great job of playing the social media obsessed serial killer/utter loser the film revolves around. We all get to have a good laugh at him when his initial burst of kills gets him zero internet clout. But in the end, we relate to him because we're all caught up in the same endless, ethically void chase for digital validation. Watch if you're in the mood for something different.

If you know the names Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby and Steve Coogan you'll know that they're some of the greatest comedic actors of their generation. I'm struggling to find the exact reasons why Mindhorn seems disappointing, possibly because it lacks the energy of comparable flicks like Hot Fuzz. It scrapes its way to a six because the second half picks up the pace a bit and becomes more engaging. Talent like this will always be more entertaining than the competition, it's just that I'd rather see it stretched into something a little crazier than settle for being merely comfortable.

I've no idea why this film isn't universally hailed as a classic of British cinema. A fantastic ensemble cast revolve around Reece Dinsdales lead, as his undercover cop descends into madness on a colourful journey through booze ups, punch ups, football riots and icky male bonding rituals in urinals. There's certainly a lot of fun to be had here, this is definitely a good film to watch with drunk friends . However, the microscopic attention to detail has me coming back for repeat viewings time and time again. Not a single person with a speaking part is miscast, and the script is quoteable as hell without sacrificing a shred of believability (" don't worry Linda, that's someone else's blood!"). Oh, and the scenes on the terraces look real as hell, probably because they were filmed on actual terraces. So watch it.

It's hard to think of a film thats more ruined by its ending. The opening 20 minutes feature some great acting, scripting and cinematography, things get a bit lost in the middle and then there's "a twist" that undoes all the good work thats been done in the first 2/3rds of the film. In my head the film didn't need a sudden injection of completely new ideas, the world it builds is interesting enough without that.

A sensitive, character driven take on motorbike gang culture (Sons Of Anarchy this is not). Mixes moments of tension, aggression and violence with deep, unflinching melancholy . What lets the film slightly is it's pacing which at times seems off with those ponderous moments going on a little too long. I'm still unsure about the ending.

And this one is no exception. Oceans 8 happily delivers a passable girl version of the franchise, with lush dresses and jewellery alongside the usual elaborate schemes and training montages. No one involved gives a bad performance, but on the other hand this film's not getting mentioned in anyone's obituary either. Watch if you like, just don't expect anything revolutionary.