El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) Review

Review:

*Originally written October 11th* 
*Spoiler free*

Breaking Bad was something very special to me, a TV show that affected me like no other, to the point I'd call it my favourite piece of media ever made. It ended perfectly and nailed the landing where so many shows don't. I was very sceptical about the idea of a film continuing the story of Jesse Pinkman, even with the involvement of Breaking Bad's creator Vince Gilligan. I was certainly excited to go back into this world, but at the same time so ready for this to be an unnecessary disaster. 

Thankfully, this turned out to be so many things I didn't know I needed and more. El Camino follows on directly from the events of Breaking Bad's finale, showing Jesse escape his captivity and try to rebuild his life after suffering through these horrific events. It works perfectly as a epilogue to Breaking Bad, as Jesse is a character that deserved a redemptive finale after his unsure looking future based on when we last saw him.

Jesse Pinkman has always been my favourite character from Breaking Bad. While it was Walter White's story, Jesse always seemed more innocent and likeable, despite starting off as a burnout junkie loser before maturing and growing as the show went on. It was an interesting parallel to Walt, who only got worse as the show went on, while Jesse was always trying to better himself while going through the ringer when it came to horrific events and loss. 

Aaron Paul effortlessly steps back into the role, giving a powerful performance full of range and emotion. It's one of the rare times I've actually cared deeply about where things will go for a fictional character. It's amazing to see how much Jesse had changed over the course of the series. Paul portrays Jesse's emotional trauma with nuance and subtlety that brings so much to the character and events. We see a lot more of the time he spent in captivity and how twisted things got through flashbacks. 

Flashbacks has always been a trademark of Breaking Bad and used effectively. El Camino is no different, making use of showing Jesse during the events of the finale and over the course of show while bringing back some familiar faces that I won't spoil. All used to poignant and wonderful effect in order to show how much Jesse has changed. 

El Camino is exactly what I wanted in terms of plot. I love films and TV shows that put character over plot every time, taking time to get inside the characters head space rather than constantly trying to move the plot forward. In terms of plot, El Camino is simple and moves at a very slow-burning pace, while it's full of surprises and callbacks to Breaking Bad, your enjoyment will very much depend on how much you care about Jesse as a character. It's also very much worth mentioning that there is absolutely nothing here for you if you've never seen Breaking Bad. 

While character is certainly the focus here, that's not to say El Camino's plot is lacking. The endgame and stakes are set up very quickly and we follow Jesse as he has to get to this predictable, but very satisfying place. While it wraps up neatly and delivers a very bittersweet ending to one of the best written characters on TV, Gilligan does throw some curve balls and takes the plot to some unexpected places, making for some very intense and stomach churning watching. 

This could have easily felt like an extended episode of the show, but thanks to the shows incredible cinematography and cinematic style already, the transition to film is pretty seamless. This is a gorgeous film, making use of the beautiful cinematography of New Mexico and using some wonderfully inventive visual styles that make what could seem like mundane scenes feel engrossing and fun to watch. Dave Porter's pulsating score is also worth mentioning, filled with some callbacks to Breaking Bad's score, but feeling new enough to be its own thing. 

What really struck me is just how sad I was when this ended. I never thought I'd ever see this character in anything ever again and now 6 years later it might seem like that will actually be the case, but I'm okay with that. Vince Gilligan did the impossible, added to an already satisfying finale of TV with an equally as satisfying epilogue that leaves the story in a place that feels perfect and one I hope they don't ever revisit.

I know we've got another season or two of Better Call Saul on the way, but it feels like this story beyond that sequel has been wrapped up. I'm just a little concerned by the title "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie". Does Vince Gilligan plan to release more films from the Breaking Bad universe with that subtitle? I guess it depends on the success of this, but I'm torn on it. Part of me doesn't want them to risk diluting a perfect thing, but then again, Vince Gilligan has proved here that he'd only return to Breaking Bad if he had a story worth telling and he clearly knows what he's doing. Time will tell.


El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is everything you could possibly want as a fan of Breaking Bad. It's a tense, emotional, beautifully shot ride that says goodbye to one of TV's most sympathetic and compelling characters thanks to Aaron Paul's powerhouse performance playing Jesse Pinkman one last time. Yeah, bitch.

9/10 Dans

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is out now on Netflix in the UK
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Widows (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written November 11th, 2018*

Widows was by far one of my most anticipated films of 2018, based on that cast, premise and the always excellent Steve McQueen directing. I'm a complete sucker for heist films, especially ones made by a talented director. While Widows didn't disappoint, it is a remarkably by the numbers plot elevated by McQueen's tense direction and the talent of its cast.

The premise is simple and effective, after their husbands are all killed in a heist gone wrong, they have to pay back the people their husbands stole from and plan a heist of their own. It's a film planted firmly in its genre and while it lacks surprises or sort of subversion of expectations, it does everything it aims to do incredibly well.

The cast are all great. Viola Davis has been insanely reliable for years now and she's no different here, I could have done with more emotion from her as her character was bordering on her role from Suicide Squad at times (Just looking pissed off and not much else), but she manages to pull off some genuine emotion in moments littered throughout. Michelle Rodriguez was.. well, Michelle Rodriguez, but it's nice to see her do something a bit more high-brow for once and she holds her own against the rest of the cast. Same with Elizabeth Dubecki, who is given far more screen-time than I expected.

The only weak spot of the cast Robert Duvall, who gives a strange performance that came off as unintentionally hilarious rather than effective. It felt like he was manically trying to remember his lines while trying to battle dementia and not really sure what to do with the words he was saying. 

Part of me is curious to see the original ITV series this was based on, but like most UK drama, I imagine it will be pretty cringe and unbearable to watch. I can only imagine they borrowed a few of the twists from the series (One massive one that I called very early on) that  feel a little out of place for a film with this dark and serious tone. I'm not saying the twist didn't work, it just felt a little off.

I'm amazed at how much McQueen managed to pack into a just over 2 hour film too, there is so much going on and characters being juggled that it could have turned out to be an under-cooked mess, but it all payed off wonderfully. The wives slowly teaming up and planning the heist follows a lot of genre conventions, but the heist itself is some of the most tense film-making of the year and McQueen's direction really brings some amazing imagery helped by Sean Bobbit's gorgeous cinematography. 

I was a little disappointed by Hans Zimmer's pretty low-key score that borrowed various elements from stuff he's done recently and it got to the point where I stopped even noticing the score, which is not a good sign. It's weird he'd score a prestige drama like this and utterly phone it in. 

After's McQueen's previous film which was a gruelling masterpiece, it was nice to see him do a film with a bit of a lighter tone. Don't get me wrong, this is a drama that takes itself very seriously, but there are moments of surprising comedy mixed among the brutality. I was actually surprised at how brutal some of this was, Daniel Kaluuya is an absolute psycho here and I love seeing him more and more in big projects. 


Widows is what it is. It's not an Oscar bait drama from an acclaimed director, but instead a genre film that follows a pretty worn formula, but does it so incredibly well thanks to McQueen's assured direction, tension and an excellent cast. 

9/10 Dans

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Gotti (2018) - Blu-ray Review

Review:

*Originally written September 30th, 2018*

You Gotti see this film. Gotti has Gotti be seen to be believed. Honestly, it's The Room of 2018, a film that's an insane disaster on all levels. Structurally incoherent, awfully written, outrageously performed and misguided in the sense it makes out some disgusting criminal to be a hero of the people. 

I'm sure there's a fascinating film to be made about Gotti at some point, probably from a much safer pair of hands (Probably Scorsese), but not from Kevin Connolly (Yes, that one from Entourage). The fact this was meant to be John Travolta's shot at Oscar gold is just hilarious in itself.

Travolta's performance is a hard one to decipher. Part of me knows he's trying his hardest for some shot at awards recognition, but the other part of me just feels he was just here to take the piss. There are some minor moments where a convincing performance comes through, but 95% of the time he's giving such an insanely over the top and ridiculous performance of a New York Italian mob boss that it feels like parody. Travolta's turned up to 11 New York accent is remarkable, making way for some of the most unintentional comedy of the year. The film opens and closes with him overlooking New York at night while addressing the audience and saying "New Yawk, the greatest city in the world" and "There won't ever be another guy like me, even if you live to 5,000 years old", before smash cutting to credits. 

As a crime film it feels remarkably dull, going through the motions and things you've seen countless times in much better films. Made worse by the fact this feels like a jumbled mess of scenes to piece together this monster's life. We spend far too much time on things that aren't interesting and skim over the potentially intriguing stuff. 

For example the scene where Gotti's son dies after an accident involving a neighbour, it is brushed over and resolved so quickly. The character's grieve and get over it within 5 minutes and they do not go into the murder of the neighbour who accidentally killed his son at all. There's just a brief news report of what happened to him. I know it was never confirmed in real life that Gotti had him killed, but it's pretty obvious and it's weird the film didn't even have the balls to address the possibility. Honestly, the Wikipedia page about Gotti is far more interesting.

I feel this was just a scene of random and meaningless assassinations at one point. I swear to god, there is no less than three montages of people getting "whacked" through this entire experience. It's all done in such a poor and cheap manner, it's low-budget, sure, but it's no excuse for a film that got released theatrically to look like a made for TV biopic. It's clear everyone involved in the making of this was just very under experienced for had only worked in TV.

As well, it is appalling that the filmmakers have decided to go the route that John Gotti is a hero of the people and constantly just harassed by the government, despite, you know, him being a murderer and criminal. I'm actually unsure what his other crimes are aside from a bunch of assassinations? I don't think they ever mention once what any of his other criminal activities were? This is all also made so much worse by the use of real footage of random people putting up signs like "Long live Gotti". Fuck those morons. If I was walking down the street and I saw someone praising a murderer and criminal in the streets, I would spit on them. 

I nearly forgot that there's 3 songs from Mr Worldwide himself, Pitbull and there are absolutely horrendous. They feel like something from Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and not a serious gangster biopic aiming for Oscar recognition. 


When it's all said and done, Gotti is worth watching for just how hilariously bad it is and Travolta's completely gonzo performance that just falls flat at every turn. Imagine if Tommy Wiseau had directed Goodfellas, that's what we're dealing with here. It's fascinating and for that I'm calling it now, it's the best bad film of the year. Long live Gotti.

2/10 Dans

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Yardie (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written September 12th, 2018*

This is a hard one to talk about, part of me was really interested to see how Idris Elba would hold up as a director and to my memory, I don't think I've ever seen a crime film based entirely within Jamaican culture. There is so much potential here that is sadly wasted with Elba's muddled direction and just plainly generic storytelling.

This is looking to be one of the most forgettable films of the year. The story is one just so generic and plain. A boy goes into the life of crime after seeing his brother assassinated and ends up in a decade long journey before avenging him. It borrows a lot from much better films, there's a slice of Goodfellas in there, a pinch of City of God and then the ugly feeling of a bunch of straight to DVD Danny Dyer crime thrillers.

Things start of fine, it's a little rushed, they try and pack a lot into the brisk 100 minutes run-time. D's (Aml Ameen) arc is very quick to get going. There really could have been a lot more build up and maybe exploring the relationship between him and his older brother before his death. It could have gone a long way to make us care more about his journey of revenge.

I really would like to rewatch this with subtitles too, there are a few moments where I just didn't understand what the hell the characters said. This is due to the strong Jamaican accents, which is not the film's fault at all, I just personally wished I watched it with subtitles, like I do with every film at home.

Elba just has a hard time making all these come coherently together. There's a tacked on romance that is extremely forced and moments of  tension that go absolutely nowhere. It's incredibly disappointing that an actor with this much charisma is such a plain director. Some of the visuals in Jamaica look gorgeous, but once things hit London, it feels like one of those cheap straight to video cockney crime thrillers. It is gross. I hope Elba continues to improve as a director, because this is not a good start at all.

The most interesting part of Yardie is the absolutely bat-shit insane performance from Stephen Graham, his performance is so over the top and silly, it feels so tonally out of place in this. He's tries to be a coked up Scarface like figure that swaps between a thick Jamaican accent or a British one. I just couldn't figure out if it was intentional or not. It was bizarre, but the most I was entertained by the film, so that's something.

Things come to a very muddled and quick conclusion, to the point I thought there was more, but it just ends? It all just felt very rushed and none of the emotional moments are earned. A character dies towards the end and the lead character is emotionally screaming and I was just thinking "Were we meant to give a shit about a character we'd only seen about twice?". 


Yardie clearly has good intentions from Elba behind the camera, but the end result is something that felt more likely to land with no fanfare on Netflix as an original rather than a cinema release. A messy time all round. A complete waste of a different side of culture we rarely see in cinema.

4/10 Dans

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American Animals (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written August 29th, 2018*

Going into this I wasn't sure what to expect, I'd not seen a single trailer for it and I had no idea what the plot was. Literally, the only information I had was that Evan Peters was in it and there was a lot of positive buzz, which is sometimes the best way to go into something. I was so pleasantly surprised when I started to realise this was going to be a heist film. Sadly though, while this is a decent enough time, I was a bit disappointed. 

American Animals is based on a true story of 4 students who decide to rob the university's library of their rarest books. There is an odd structure to the film that really disrupts the pacing. It constantly cuts back to real interviews with the actual people from the events, giving it a Netflix'ish true crime feel, but it never truly meshes well, making these scenes feel more distracting than insightful.

The best stuff here is easily the characters struggling with their real lives and their repercussions and anxiety about the heist. There's a big deal made about having to take out the elderly woman overseeing the books, which all of the team are uneasy about, despite the constant claims that no one will get hurt. It's an interesting piece of reflection and morality that I wish the film explored more, it spends a lot of time with it, but it really could have gone deeper.

Of the 4 students doing the heist, the only 2 that get real depth are Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan. Peters character being the rebellious one who is only doing his scholarship to please his family. In all honesty, Peters gives a rather excellent performance and by far the best I've seen from him. He's an actor with so much potential, but his career is mostly wasted in that tacky horror show American Horror Story, this guy needs to break out into real films pronto. Keoghan is also decent, not as strong as he was in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, but he's fine. All the other characters feel like an afterthought. 


The heist itself is mostly gripping and tense and things go worse and worse for the characters, despite the small scale of the crime. There is a lot of build up to the heist and I appreciate that, I just wish I had more fun with this, it was just lacking in something and I just can't put my finger on it. I think I might enjoy this more on a rewatch, but for now, American Animals is just a merely decent crime thriller.

6/10 Dans

American Animals is out September 7th in cinemas in the UK

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BlacKkKlansman (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written August 29th, 2018*

Spike Lee is a director I'm not the most familiar with, I've seen his least critically acclaimed films, the average American remake of Oldboy and the decent (From what I remember) Inside Man, I've yet to see his truly great films, Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing. I went into this with quite high expectations and I was not disappointed. BlacKkKlansman is an angry, angry provocative work of art and possibly the most important film of the year. I left the screening with that same cold feeling of silence I got after seeing Detroit last year.

The story is a fascinating one. A young black cop Ron Stallworth (John David Washington, son of Denzel) goes undercover in the Ku Klux Klan, despite his race. It's an engrossing ride from start to finish and one of the most interesting undercover cop films I've seen in quite some time. Every scene is either tense or has something interesting going on in it, but I was surprised at how genuinely funny it could be at times. Stallworth's phone conversations with David Duke (The Grand Wizard of the KKK) are some of the funniest things I've watched in a while and has a wonderful payoff in the end.

Obviously with Stallworth being black, they have to send in a white cop for the face to face stuff, which leads to some really tense moments. Adam Driver does a wonderful job in these moments and he really is one of the best actors of our generation, I just wish his character had more of an arc, he's more just a tool of the investigation than a real character, which is fine, as this film is more or less all Washington's story. And he puts in an amazing performance, equal parts charming, genuine and cocky, he really lives up to his father's legacy and even has his voice.

What's sad about BlacKkKlansman is just how relevant it is, despite the events happening over 30 years ago. There's a lot of references to Trump's America that fit in well and feel organic while giving the film a real emotional punch. A scene that cuts between a KKK meeting and a Black Power meeting is truly one of the best scenes of the year and the final credit montage is one of ballsiest and powerful endings I can think of. I just did not expect it, but it knocked me down a punch.

Lee really captures the time too, it's filled with references and soul music from the time. There's a little moment where Stallworth and his girlfriend are debating blacksplotation films of the day and it really made me realise I need to check out more of that stuff. Oh, and the clothes and hairstyles are just a joy to look at. We need a resurgence of those in real life.

A lot of what make BlacKkKlansman work is how real it feels. I know it's based on a true story, but I was a little worried they'd do something like turn the KKK into cartoony racists that just say the N word a lot, but they don't. These white supremacists feel like real people and that's a lot scarier. The stuff they say is horrifying and truly awful, it makes me sick that people like this exist. That there are people that believe black people are actually sub-human and that the Holocaust never happened. 


BlacKkKlansman is truly amazing, one of the angriest, political films of the year with excellent performances from everyone and a deep engaging story that leaves you devastated by the end. Fuck racism.

9/10 Dans

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The Accountant (2016) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written October 19th, 2016*

While a bit silly, overlong and gets convoluted by the end, I still had a good time with The Accountant. It's a bit messy and all over the place, there's a few story lines that don't add up to much, but it was still a decent little genre film with decent, new and interesting ideas.

Ben Affleck was great, delivering a fairly grounded performance which may or may not be an accurate portrayal of autism (I'm not an expert), his comedy and physical work was also excellent. Anna Kendrick was pretty wasted in a thankless and underdeveloped role. J.K. Simmons was excellent.

I was happy with the pretty brutal action throughout. No bullshit shaky-cam. It was all smooth and impactful. I was surprised by just how funny the film was though, Affleck gave us some excellent laughs with his dry dead-pan humour.

I feel my biggest problem with this film could have been fixed with a shorter edit. While the main side-plot gives us some background on Affleck's character, it really had no impact on the story and could have been dropped. There's also some silly twists towards the end that came out of nowhere, creating a very tonally messy film in retrospect.

But, for the most part: Solid. Would happily see a sequel and more adventures from Affleck's character.

7/10 Dans

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Pain and Gain (2013) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 11th, 2015*

Pain and Gain is a film that shows people can still surprise you. That person being Michael Bay, one of the worst directors of all-time, a man responsible for some of the biggest cinematic abortions of our time: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Bad Boys 2, and the very worst of them all... Transformers: Age of Extinction. He's a director whose films are bombastic, tasteless, racist, disgusting, obnoxious and portray women in a way that sends films back to the stone age.

I have no idea what happened here, but Pain and Gain is great. It's funny, it's violent and the story is interesting throughout. It tells the true story (The film even reminds you that when the more disturbing and crazy things happen) of Daniel Lugo and his American dream ambitions which involve kidnap and extortion. These things get out of had and the kidnap escalates to murder and torture. 

It may seem tasteless, taking these horrible events and putting into a film that is mostly a comedy. While it certainly is an acquired taste if you're able to laugh at something this dark. It worked for me, but there will certainly be people who find this offensive and disgusting.

The film has the usual Michael Bay flare and trademarks, as much as I hate him, I can't knock him for his visual style. It opens with a super slow-motion shot of the end of the film, accompanied by an excellent score, which was done by the guy who did the music for the Transformers films and a lot of other garbage. He must have been on a good day as well.

The cast are excellent. This is probably Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's first real acting performance. He is probably the closest thing we have to a likeable character here, you feel sorry for him because he's an ex-con trying to change. Mark Wahlberg is great here too, playing an asshole, who you root for (Mostly)


If you only have to see one Michael Bay film in your life, make it this one. Pain and Gain might be a little much for some, but it's a blast and a lot of fun. There's an argument for this being absolutely tasteless and offensive, turning these horrific crimes into a satirical swipe at the American Dream, but I feel that's what Bay was aiming for, and he succeeded well.

8/10 Dans

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Sicario 2: Soldado (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written July 4th, 2018*

Of all of the films to be released in the past few years, the original Sicario did not demand a sequel. It was a pretty open and shut film with everyone's story told and wrapped up. But since Hollywood is the way it is, we not only got a sequel, but it looks like we're also getting a trilogy dedicated to this world of shady government agents vs the Mexican Cartel. 

The warning signs of this being a lazy, possibly direct-to-DVD quality sequel were all there. Emily Blunt didn't return (Although writer Taylor Sheridan does have plans for her return in the potential third instalment) and neither did original director Denis Villeneuve. Not even the god of modern cinematography, Roger Deakins return. The only returning players were Taylor Sheridan and stars Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro.

Despite all this and the general unnecessary feeling of Sicario having a sequel, they've cracked out a mostly successful crime-action-thriller. It never reaches the heights of the first, but it comes close at times, giving us a brutal, entertaining and tense experience. Tonally it gets everything right, it's the same violent world where people are killed without any Hollywood over the topness, characters are very moral grey areas, I was genuinely thinking this was on par with the first, until the last act nearly derails the entire thing.

Director Stefano Sollima is not a director I'm familiar with, but he does a damn good job and holding the tension of the original, a scene in the second act with a convoy comes very close. It lacks Deakins gorgeous cinematography, but it still has a nice looking and cinematic feel that makes the most of the beauty and ugliness of Mexico. Del Toro and Brolin still do great jobs in their roles. Del Toro is sympathetic, despite being a complete psychopath  and it was nice to see his character explored a bit more. 

Where it mostly all falters is in its script. The last act is a complete mess that nearly destroys everything that came before it. Characters we know make insane decisions that are against what we know of them from two films now and it was bizarre. It just felt very out of place for this universe and made way for one of the most insane endings that felt like a borderline spoof. The last shot that's a Godfather homage also features one of the worst lines of a dialogue of the year and blatant sequel bait. I will give praise to the score for the final scene, which echoes a lot of the ominous music from the first.

I'd be much more against this if the first two acts weren't as good as they were, I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of bring these characters back into the fold for another run at the Mexican Cartel and I was happy this just wasn't a complete rehash of the first. They actually told a new and interesting story that had a number of surprising twists.


I wish I had more today about Sicario 2: Soldado or Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Depending on where you're from, but it fails to live up to the first, but is still a competent and extremely watchable crime film with solid performances from Del Toro and Brolin. It's just a shame about that last act, but I'm still keen for Sicario 3.

7/10 Dans

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In Bruges (2008) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 26th, 2018*

It's been a while since I've seen In Bruges and when I last saw it, I was far too young to appreciate how truly great this hilarious, violent and horrific crime-comedy was. After seeing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri recently, I knew the time was right to finally revisit this.

And it was worth it, this was far better, meaningful and more funny than ever remember it being. Yes, it's violent, foul-mouthed and mean-spirited at times, but it does have a beating heart at the centre of it with the two lead, morally confused hit-men played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. 

After two hit-men fail a job due to the accidental death of a bystander, they are ordered to lay low in the Belgium city of Bruges. Much of the film is just these two characters exploring the city while discussing their feelings of regret and guilt surrounding their work, and it works very well. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Colin Farrell as an actor overall, but he nails it here as the conflicted hitman who caused the death of a child. Brendan Gleeson is also great here as the more focused and more member as the duo, which surprises me as Gleeson is an actor I usually associate with atrocious British crime films, so it was nice to see him pop up one one that was actually good.

By far the most memorable performance was Ralph Fiennes as the boss of the two hit-men, he plays it utterly psychotic and it is just a pure joy to watch every scene he's in. He reminded me a lot of Ben Kingsley's character in Sexy Beast. There's something about his performance that adds a lot to what could have been a one-note psychopath, but Fiennes really manages to bring complexity to the character.

The titular city of Bruges is actually a really gorgeous place too and made for some gorgeous cinematography. The city in surreal and fairy tale like. I always appreciate a film that takes place in a sleepy town that mixes chaotic, extreme violence and bizarre scenes that include a dwarf on ketamine. I'd forgot just how violent this film was too, there is some really extreme stuff here, especially in the last act, which it builds to perfectly.

Even with its dark subject matter, it's extremely funny too and filled with a ton of memorable lines and jokes. There are some fantastic pay-offs to throwaway scenes that are there if you pay enough attention to the dialogue, it almost reminded me of Edgar Wright. I'm sure I'll find even more to love on rewatches with In Bruges. 


Martin McDonagh's debut film is a triumph and so far, the strongest film in his career, a darkly funny, brutal and often touching story of two hit-men in Bruges. I can't wait to watch this again.

10/10 Dans

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All the Money in the World (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 9th, 2017*

"All the Plummer in the World"

Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World will be remembered more for the controversy surrounding Kevin Spacey's removal due to his sexual harassment claims, which in all honesty, is more interesting than the actually film itself.

This is pretty middle of the road Ridley Scott. He's a director who just isn't capable of the greatness he once was. This is far more in line with the director of Body of Lies or American Gangster than the man who created masterpieces like Blade Runner or Alien. There's a fascinating true story here about the kidnap of the grandson of a billionaire and the reluctance to pay the ransom. It's just a shame that is completely by the numbers.

This is by no means a bad film, but it is massively overlong and drags so much. The opening act jumps around in time giving us backstory to all these characters, which wasn't really needed. Scenes that feel they should have tension really don't. There are some moments during the kidnap that are quite engaging, but it doesn't last or it cuts to something else. 

The whole thing surrounding Kevin Spacey is an odd one. We'll sadly never see the Spacey cut, but Christopher Plummer does steal the show as the utterly sadistic and sociopathic Paul Getty. A man who is essential a live-action portrayal of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants. While his performance is a little hammy and over the top, it is certainly effective and elevated the film with his presence.

Michelle Williams also delivers an excellent performance as the mother of the kidnapped grandson, I was a bit distracted by her accent at first, but she quickly won me over. Mark Wahlberg was also well.... Mark Wahlberg, doing his usual Mark Wahlberg thing, don't get me wrong, I really like Mark Wahlberg, but there's something off about him in serious and not goofy roles that are much more suited to him.

I hate to say it, but if he was still alive, this would feel far more suited to Tony Scott, who has always been better at this sort of film than his brother. Scott's direction here is very bland and forgettable, I'm going to have trouble remembering anything about this that wasn't Christopher Plummer in a few days.


All the Money in the World isn't terrible, but it is very forgettable and lacks the tension a story like this deserves. It's lesser Scott and is saved mostly due to Christopher Plummer's excellent performance.

6/10 Dans

All the Money in the World is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Molly's Game (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 8th, 2017*

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Molly's Game, the trailers were fast and flashy, Jessica Chastain looked great doing her usual thing and it's written by Aaron Sorkin (AKA: The God of Writing) and also directed by him. The whole thing came together for an insanely entertaining and immensely interesting true life story.

Telling the true story of an Olympic skier who eventually goes on to host some of the biggest backdoor poker games in America, Molly's Game is one of those stranger than fiction stories that grabs you from the beginning and just escalates in a classic rise and fall story. 

Jessica Chastain is as outrageously good as she usually is, it's only January and Chastain's Molly Bloom is will probably be one of my favourite performances of the year, endlessly watchable as she spouts out Sorkin's dialogue like it's no ones business. Her portrayal of Bloom is one with complex depth and humanity, they don't shy away from the bad side of her character, but it makes you easily empathize with her. I wish they'd explored her drug addiction a little more and how it took its toll, but they more than make up for that with just how fast this thing moves.

I was massively surprised by Michael Cera's "Player X", a man (Possibly based on Tobey Maguire) who helped build Molly's empire. I found it a novelty at first to see Cera in such a role, but he quickly becomes a compelling and sometimes frightening presence that brings a lot of tense moments and situations.

The real star of Molly's Game is Aaron Sorkin, we know he's good at writing, his dialogue is quick-witted and sharp, making things endlessly watchable, but he also does a great job as a first time director. The film isn't overly stylized or anything, it's not an ugly looking film by any means, it just looks a little plain. Not all films need to be stylish and flashy, but Sorkin clearly takes influence from Scorsese, making for a quickly edited piece of entertainment.


Molly's Game might have been one of the most overlooked releases of recent years. Chastain puts in an award deserving performance while Sorkin continues to be one of the best writers of our time, please seek out this fascinating true story. It's worth it.

9/10 Dans

Molly's Game is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Suburbicon (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written November 28th, 2017*

"Suburban life"

Suburbicon is an odd film of two halves, some of it is very good when it wants to be, while the rest of a big mess of muddled ideas that rarely come together to make a great film. It's a weird mix of a crime mystery, black comedy and a drama about race. It's certainly interesting to watch and held my attention, but I just couldn't help but feel a little more work on it could have made for a truly good film.

It feels like a Coen Brothers film (It was written by them), but George Clooney is no substitute for them as a director. He has a decent visual eye to make a nice looking film, but when it comes to balancing a film of many ideas, none of it comes together massively well. He does have an attention for detail in terms of the satirical period setting of the fictional suburban haven of 'Suburbicon'. 

I really liked some of the ideas here. A perfect suburban family in the 1950's are put on the radar of two loan sharks for the mob after Gardner (Matt Damon) gets in trouble and things spiral out of control for him. In the background of all this, a black family move into Suburbicon and the entire town is in an uproar.

If that sounds out of nowhere, that's because it is. These two stories never meet up or connect with each other. It's bizarre. There was potential here for a satirical drama about a family moving into an all white, racist and backwards haven for white people, which could have been an entire film in itself. Instead it's a few random shots shoved in the background of this crime mystery. It was so weird.

I will at least say that the crime mystery at the forefront of Suburbicon is actually pretty decent. Matt Damon was such a strange character that you slowly learn to find out is a psychopath. It helped I had no idea where this was going, making for a fun ride with some surprises. Like most Coen Brothers films, it does get violent and grizzly out of nowhere towards the end. There's some really funny moments of pitch black comedy too.

Oscar Isaac steals the show in his brief scenes as a claims investigator. I was surprised to see him feature so heavily in the trailers, as his appearance amounts to nothing more that a couple of scenes. Julianne Moore was also fantastic in her duel roles, basically walking straight from her role in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. I just wish there were a few more memorable characters thrown in. The two villains were largely forgettable and not very interesting.


Suburbicon is a mess of ideas that amount to an entertaining and watchable film that's not sure what it wants to be. I feel there's a genuinely great film here after a few more edits.

6/10 Dans (First time watch)

Suburbicon is out now in cinemas in the UK
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The Snowman (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written October 20th, 2017"

"Snow bad"

Where do I start with The Snowman? One of the biggest and most unexpected train wrecks of 2017. Nothing about this film indicated the utter mess it ended up being. It had an acclaimed director, Michael Fassbender, an intriguing story with interesting imagery. Yet, this somehow managed to be one of the worst films of the year.

I'm a sucker for a serial killer story. I recently just watched David Fincher's new Netflix show Mindhunter (Which is awesome. Check it out) so I was in the mood for decent serial killer film. I was a little put off and surprised by the critical bashing this film good, but I went to see it. I thought "It can't be that bad, can it?". Turns out it was.

Everything about The Snowman was a wreck. It's very rare that the cold opening before the main titles would indicate what you're about to see, but it's start spectacular bad. Within 5 minutes we've got horrific and unnecessary CGI, awful writing and some of worst and noticeable ADR I've ever seen in a studio film. I feel like this might have been directed by Tommy Wiseau, but with a moderate budget.

Things don't get better once Michael Fassbender enters the picture as the laughably named 'Harry Hole', seriously. That's the characters name. It was impossible not to laugh when someone said it out loud. Fassbender himself phones it in with a one-note and distant and cold detective character whose sole character traits are that he smokes and drinks a lot. Honestly, play a drinking game where you take a shot every time he smokes a cigarette. You'll be long dead by the end of the film.

I honestly had no idea what was happening with this story either. There are so many unnecessary and pointless sub-plots that only convoluted things and just felt there merely to stretch this thing to 2 hours. None of the links to the case made sense and none of the reveals felt earned. It's just a mess.

The one saving grace of the unnecessary plots was the inclusion of Val Kilmer in the form of flashbacks. It was one of the most bat-shit and insane performances of the year. What has happened to this man? He looks like the demented love-child of Brad Pitt and Tommy Wiseau. I'm pretty sure his voice was overdubbed by someone else too. It was insane. His few moments at least granted the film some "So bad, it's incredible" moments. Sadly, the rest of the film is lacking this.

I'd say a good 80% of the film is Michael Fassbender staring and acting like a dick or slow zoom ins of snowmen, which come off as laughable rather than eery. The only real and genuine positive I can give The Snowman is that it at least some some gorgeous looking scenery, which is nearly ruined at points by the poor direction. 


The Snowman is a train wreck. One of the worst films of the year. I never saw this coming. Laughably bad, poorly directed, incoherent and just mostly boring. I never thought I'd be adding a serial killer thriller starring Michael Fassbender to my worst of the year contenders, but hey ho, here we are. God help us all.

2/10 Dans

The Snowman is out now in cinemas in the UK
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American Pastoral (2016) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written November 11th, 2016*

"American Fruit Pastel?"

I'm a huge fan of Ewan McGregor, people even say I look like him for some weird reason, but I was interested to see how he would do directed. And he did a pretty okay job.

I'm just not entirely sure what the point of this was. It's not what I expected at all. While it's was engaging and really interesting at times, it was also fairly flat and lifeless at others.

After watching this and Big Fish, Ewan McGregor really needs to stop doing American accents. It's.... it's bad. It was great to see Dakota Fanning again though, this time playing a rebellious teenage daughter with a stutter. 

This was bleak and depressing as hell. It has some moments of genuine sweetness, although these moments are placed in flashback form at a moment of where it just makes you feel like shit for maximum manipulative effect.


As a director, McGregor has made a good looking film with an interesting look at politics, race and teenage rebellion in 1970's America, but in the end, the film just didn't have a lot to say and I'm not sure what it was trying to say.

6/10 Dans

American Pastoral is out now on DVD in the UK
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