Film Reviews by TB

As much as he'd hate this to be the main thing I took away from this film, this will be another of the movies where the main talking point was Christian Bale's extraordinary transformation from stacked muscle-bound movie star to fat, potbellied slob. For the second time in his career (American Hustle being the first,) Bale has gained an enormous amount of weight to play Dick Cheney, the most influential Vice President in history. And by a country mile, Bale is the best thing about this film. I have to confess that I know very little about US politics, so a lot of the subtler things passed me by. My friend who I was watching this with got much more out of it than me.

From a purely performance level, everyone does good work. Steve Carrell is a particular highlight as Donald Rumsfeld and Amy Adams does a good job of playing Cheney's wife. There are some funny moments, such as the sheer number of heart attacks Cheney has over the course of the film. But for me this only ever was a 3 star film. I never was that gripped by the plot and as much as it was shocking how Cheney worked his way into literally every corner of US politics and power, the film never did an amazing job of actually making me care that much.

The main theme overall seemed to be "A plague on all Republicans," which might play well to the crowd/half of the US who are left-leaning, but is unimpressive to someone like me who is a centrist who likes elements from both sides & has an open mind, and finally goes down like a bucket of cold sick to the right-leaning part of the crowd. Yes, there absolutely was and is endemic corruption on the Republican side, but the Democrats aren't exactly whistle-clean, are they? And I say that as someone who would be far more likely to vote Democrat if I was a US resident...

After the Dark Knight, the consensus among probably a significantly large majority of film watchers/comic book fans was that nobody was ever going to top Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Some people may forget just how, in 2008, earth-shatteringly incredible his take on The Clown Prince of Crime was, not to mention the fact that this was wrapped up in the tragedy of him passing away before the film came out. Jared Leto then gave his take on the role, but was wrapped up in a rubbish film, so it never made much on an impact, despite potentially great flourishes.

There had been rumblings for a while that Todd Philips had wanted to make a Joker centric/standalone film, but also one that emphatically WASN'T a comic book film in the traditional sense. Also, absolutely crucially, he wanted this to be an extremely dark and violent film, without the stupid limitations of making it 12A/PG-13 rated so that it could be marketed to children & stuff as many people as possible into the auditorium to make as much money as possible. In many ways, it was a massive risk, but it's success has been staggering, becoming the highest grossing R-rated film of all time (over a billion dollars.)

For me, as much as I have given this 4 stars, it was a real toss up between that and 3 stars. The reason why I in the end gave it 4 was because of the profound effect that the film had on me. The main thing it does so incredibly well is really shove in your face and make you confront how people with mental illnesses were treated back then and are still, to a certain extent, treated today. The film is set in the early 80's in Gotham City, but in many ways could easily have been lifted wholesale from Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. It is clear as the film goes on, just how much of a debt Joker has to this film, as well as The King of Comedy (which I haven't seen but know the bare bones of the story.)

As mentioned above, the main drawer is Joaquin Phoenix. This is a soul-shattering, tectonic-plate moving performance. Arthur Fleck, who will become the Joker, is clearly an unbelievably trouble man, who suddenly snaps after repeated violence & trauma pushes him over the edge. Starting off by killing people who threaten & assault him, he then moves on to his co-workers and finally celebrities, as he spirals into dispair & destruction. The other performance that really impacted me was Zazie Beatz as Arthur's friendly neighbour, who seems to be one of the only calming flickers of light in his otherwise hideous life.

Other positives include the incredible locations and look of the film. You can almost smell the rotting rubbish & backed-up sewers of Gotham, as well as the beautiful way the film is photographed. Hildur Guðnadóttir's soundtrack is also incredible & richly deserved her Oscar win as well.

But for me, this film does have it's problems. One of the criticisms hurled at it by people who hate it is that it is almost propaganda for alt-right/incels & likely to incite violence. Whilst I have never believed that films/games/music make people violent (it is a far more nuanced situation, with people who are prone to violence anyways who these things affect most,) I can see why the criticism has been made.

This film is unrelentingly nihilistic, with a really dark & violent undertone the whole way through. As much as Fleck is a loser & this is hammered home to us repeatedly & mercilessly, as the film progresses and his violence gets more extreme, he becomes more successful & famous. And that is something which for many people, including me, have a great deal of trouble with. Accompanied alongside that, whilst Fleck is in mental health care, this is shown as totally useless, which certainly gives a very dangerous message & shouldn't dissuade people from seeking professional help.

So whilst there is absolutely a good film here, I was certainly troubled by some of the themes in it.

Tim Vine's latest DVD is a funny hour of silly, zany comedy. Like with his other DVD's, how much you will like this film is how much overall you will get out of it.

If you find funny, sometimes deliberately rubbish and corny one-liners is your type of comedy, you'll have a blast. If this really isn't your thing, move on, there is nothing for you here.

I liked this show, although it has to be said that, despite the 4 stars, an hour-long gig does really stretch the limits of his act.

This is one of those films which really shouldn't work, but somehow does.

Arnie plays a doctor who, along with his work partner Danny DeVito, has created a drug to reduce miscarriage risk. After being denied the chance to conduct human experiments, the two then cook up the idea of getting Arnie pregnant & trying out the drug on him.

Everyone in the film is incredibly game and keeps a relatively straight face during this farce. It does stretch credulity at times, but never loses its fun side. There are also some quite profound questions about fatherhood & the difficulties of pregnancy.

But I will end by saying that like with many other films, in our current world, there is absolutely no way this film would ever get made today. The outrage machine which is the extremely vocal group of hyper sensitive individuals in the world today would have a collective meltdown if a film in which a man who gets pregnant and is mocked & made fun of for entertainment was released.

A really mixed and jumbled up film for me. Whilst the film's style, music and action is all great, the script is not particularly strong and quite a few of the throwbacks don't land that well.

Henry Cavill & Armie Hammer do have great chemistry, but the stand-out is Hugh Grant as Alexander Waverly, the sarcastic and sardonic head of British intelligence. Hamming it up to the nth degree relishing every line, Grant is an absolute joy.

There are also some good action scenes as well. Unfortunately, as much as there may have been an audience for this film 30 or maybe even at a push 20 years ago, today it just looks out of place & not relevant.

A brilliant film with a very strong powerful message of hope and redemption.

Vicky Knight stars as Jade, who in the opening shots is returning from hospital following a horrific acid attack that her ex-partner commits when they break up and she retains custody of the child. We then see Jade have to try and piece together the bits of her life that were shattered by this attack.

The film itself is great, not only for it's performances but also it's structure. It doesn't have a trace of bloat on it and every minute is meaningful. You see the desperation of Jade to try and claw back what she lost, also determined to try and get facial reconstructive treatment to repair the burns that she has suffered.

Vicky Knight, at the center of this, is sensational. This is her first film role, as well as her first leading role, and she is far & away the best thing about the movie. She gives a totally raw, deeply emotional performance and was absolutely spectacular.

A difficult but also uplifting film.

I really enjoyed this film. Having read the other reviews, I appreciate that there is a very strong variety of opinions, but I can only say it as I see it.

The story of a black couple whose lives are thrown into chaos after a false rape allegation, whilst dealing with the horrific racism prevalent at the time, is a strong story. Whilst not all the narrative choices work, this is still a film I really liked.

The locations in particular are excellently realised & the performances also great. Whilst Regina King was amazing and massively deserved her Oscar, I was also impressed with Ed Skrein as the racist cop Officer Bell. To be able to play a role like that, with all its despicable traits, but still make it a nuanced character is a real achievement.

One complaint which I did agree completely with though was the slowness. Several scenes went on for too long and at just a shade under 2 hours, the running time as a whole outstayed it's welcome. As a 90 minute film, this would have been the perfect length. I'm all for building story, but not at the expense of a great film.

When Free Solo landed in 2018, not only did it make a star out of its bemused & socially awkward subject Alex Honnold, but it reinvigorated the climbing documentary genre. And it's worth remembering how staggeringly successful Free Solo was: $2 million budget grossing close to $30 million just from cinema receipts and winning the Oscar for best documentary.

The Alpinist is in many ways a sequel/follow-on/spiritual successor (even though it is made by a different team,) but with one amusing and very big difference: as much as Honnold was not a natural protagonist/subject, he was relatively happy for a film crew to follow him along whilst he was climbing, plus was fairly open with whatever the filmmakers wanted him to do (submit to a brain scan in order to see how his mind worked.)

But Marc-Andre Leclerc is the total opposite. The only proper full-length interview they managed to conduct with him was just after he had agreed to star in the film. And even in that it is painfully clear that he is not only extremely uncomfortable in that type of situation, but that the filmmakers almost had to nail his feet to the floor in order to keep him there. Following on from that/the first chunk of filming, he then goes AWOL, vanishing off the grid and making clear that "Whilst it was a cool idea to start with, I'm not that into it now."

And this is both frustrating and noble: Marc-Andre doesn't have a pot to piss in. He doesn't own a phone, a car or any mod cons. He lived for a time in a stairwell on a fold-out sofa. He even has so little money he had to negotiate the taxi fare to the airport, after doing one of these climbs and setting a new world record. But he doesn't care about anything like that and for him it is all about the climbing. So in effect, you get a documentary in the very loosest of senses: a totally fascinating man, who couldn't care less about the film being about him, who will vanish at a moment's notice and leave the film crew in limbo. But there is absolutely a purity in how he lives his life.

There are some very good interviews with seasoned alpinists, his mother, as well as with his girlfriend, who is much more open and unbelievably tolerant of not only the living conditions but also the fact that her boyfriend will casually fly to some of the remotest places in the world and scale enormous mountains with no safety equipment.

Marc-Andre Leclerc absolutely is a fascinating person. It's just sad that in this documentary, we never learn a huge amount about what genuinely made him tick. He kept his cards very close to his chest, and let his achievements do the talking. Which, as many artists would quite rightly say, is in the end all that really matters.

Unfortunately, we have now clearly reached the limit of what can be done with the John Wick film series. When the first film came out, it was an unbelievably tightly-edited, brilliantly scripted action film with a great central performance by Reeves which managed to achieve a staggering amount in terms of stunt work, given it's relatively small budget. It was of course extremely successful, which has led to multiple sequels, this one being the third. And, in a really surprising way, Chapters 2 & 3 were both great.

Whilst 2 is my favourite of the whole series, even 3 was absolutely a solid and at times brilliant movie, even with some of its choices. Sadly, Chapter 4 has shown in no uncertain terms that John Wick would do good to keep a very low profile again.

This film is a total mess. The whole mantra of the writers and director seems to be "If bigger is better, then gigantic is perfection." Whilst we have a bigger budget this time around, unfortunately this has only massively increased the problems that were only slightly visible in Chapter 3. The main one, by a country mile, is the length. This film just goes on and on and on and on. Whether it is action scenes (there is a sequence involving a long set of stairs that goes on for over 20 minutes,) or dialogue (a card game which adds nothing to the plot and is again around 15 minutes of running time,) this film just piles on a constant stream of padding.

If I had to characterise it, it is effectively like saying that when they made the first film, they HAD to get it right: the amount of effort to get a new idea off the ground/secure funding, even with an established star, would have been a monumental feat. And then when the sequels were greenlit, there was still an element of "We have to be careful and make sure we create something great." But the attitude now seems to be "We've got loads of money to play with and it doesn't matter what we do, so let's do everything: super-long action scenes, fights which never end and enough exposition to rival War and Peace." And this goes on for almost 3 hours...

Another massive failing is the characters. Whilst Keanu is still very good as Wick, and it's always great to see Ian McShane & Laurence Fishburne on screen, the new additions are mostly a let down. Front & center of this failure is Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis. Skarsgård, who has incredible presence on screen, here quite simply plays a slimy Frenchman. No, I'm not joking, that's it. There is never a hint that he has any assassin skills, which makes his position as the Head of the organisation totally ridiculous & stupid. He is also far too young to be in that position.

Donnie Yen is also wasted as Caine, an old friend of Wick's. As much as the film strains every sinew to make the idea of one of the world's greatest assassins being blind work, it just doesn't, in any way imaginable. This is unintentionally proven in one scene where if a shooter had been targeting Caine & not Wick, he would have been dead.

And that's the other problem this movie has: repeatedly changing allegiances. Characters change their motivations & loyalties at the drop of a hat. But after that has been done more than once, none of their motivations hold any water from then on. Literally, any of the characters can do anything, for any reason & the film just sets it up so that we need to accept it on face value.

It is quite sad in a way that, after 3 amazing films, this is the result of the 4th: stupid decisions, too much action, a rubbish story and a movie crying out for a decent editor to come along & actually cut it to a proper length. But unfortunately, due to the massive box office haul of this film, the chances of major changes happening is slim to none.

The first Bad Boys was a great buddy cop film, at a time when those types of films were in many ways going stale. It was also a high profile, extremely successful film which had 2 black protagonists along with the way that the environment was to them. The fact that it had amazing car chases as well as great humour & soundtrack was an added bonus.

Unfortunately when the second film came along Michael Bay, who when making the first was a scrappy maverick filmmaker, had turned into the Michael Bay of today: extremely garish, almost pornography -style filmmaking, everything LOUD LOUD LOUD, with a really sleazy edge. Even all those years ago, the moment when they are in a morgue & Marcus hides under a sheet with a dead woman, whose enormous breasts take up a third of the screen and this isn't just a fleeting shot but a long, drawn-out one is just revolting. Some may find it funny, but to me it was disgusting. Which is a shame because there are some really genuinely enjoyable moments in the film, especially the incredible car chase in the first third.

In many ways, the best thing that Bad Boys For Life is that it has not one but two fresh pairs of eyes helming it. There is a real sense of change, but all the elements that you love are not only there but enhanced. The friendship between Burnett and Lowery feels much more genuine in some ways, as is the separate feelings that they have about their situation. And the sudden act of violence which propels things further has been done so well, not a cheap throwaway trick to try and make you care.

Adil & Bilall really deserve enormous credit here. As do Smith and Lawrence. They have together made an amazing and great film and a really enjoyable one. The stunts, script, story and feel are all great. And with a sequel announced with all of them returning is welcome news. I am very excited to see what happens next.

I knew very little about the Williams sisters, apart from the fact that they were both American & incredible tennis players. I also knew nothing of Richard Williams, their father, coach and mentor. The film does show many times how he was not only protective but also overbearing, but crucially his motivations behind this. This film fleshes out how he raised them as well as their sisters and the morals he instilled in them.

The thing that impressed me most was quite simply that Richard never treated his children as cash cows the moment it was realised how good they were. Pretty much any other parent who had lived the life that he had (relatively poor, living in a very dangerous neighbourhood and the victim of repeated, disgusting and despicable racism,) would probably be tempted to use his talented children as a great big ringing cash till, selling them out for every penny he could. But he does the total opposite, demanding that the children be allowed to make their own choices, even if he was also at times overbearing. His insistence as well that they were allowed to be "children" and that they should continue their schooling was also very moving.

As much as there is the elephant in the room about Smith's behaviour at the Oscars, I am not going to give it any further mention. I do not want to detract from the story and also Smith's excellent performance. He has always been an actor who is very welcoming to anyone watching him, whilst being able to project extreme charisma and gravitas. And the role of Richard may be his best performance to date. He makes Richard a complex but deeply moral man who only wants the best for his daughters and for them to in no way go through any of what he had to experience. But as much as this film is called King Richard, Aunjanue Ellis cannot for a second be sidelined as Richard's wife/the sister's mother Brandi. I was really blown away by her and her quiet dignity. She doesn't have much screen time, but the amount she has she does wonders with. It is a shame in one respect that we don't see more of her. And finally, the two young actresses cast are as the sisters are great too, their chemistry real and hard-hitting.

There may be some criticism of the fact that this film doesn't do much new in terms of a sports biopic, but what it does do, it does so well and keeps you so hooked that you don't care. I loved this film and it has made me revere all of the Williams's family achievements, coming from what they did to where they are now.

This film, showing the heartbreak of forbidden love, is incredible.

But for me, as much as the performances are masterful, the locations & costumes perfect & the script excellent, the thing that blew me away with this film was how it was shot. It is all done on Super 16MM with 30MM film lenses. The result is the closest I've ever seen to a film looking exactly like a dream. I was totally engrossed, hooked and smitten. I love being in that world, with the formal suits, smokey drawing rooms and small intimate bedrooms.

Todd Haynes has created one of the most profound love stories ever. As much as it received huge attention at the time for its portrayal of a lesbian relationship, it is timeless and trancends all boundaries. Everyone brings their A-Game and I was very sad when it finished. I wanted to just be in that world, at that time with those characters. Watch it and have your heart broken.

A masterpiece.

The film which in many ways launched Saoirse Ronan's career and put her front and centre on the list of the most talented actresses working today. This film is a gentle, but also at times powerful & heartbreaking film. It charts the life of Ellis, who is born in Ireland into a large family, but as a young woman does not find the town she lives in a place that she feels that she can make her life in. Her sister makes contact with an Irish priest living in New York City to help Ellis move over to the USA and start a new life there.

The film then follows Ellis as she makes the horrible and hazardous journey across the Atlantic and tries to settle in the USA. She also falls in love and starts to build a life, before having to come back to Ireland again. Things then get complicated with a man who she had been interested in before she left, as well as the family politics.

The whole film is brilliant. I loved not only following Ellis's journey, but also seeing the various characters that she encounters. Saoirse Ronan at the centre is absolute perfection. I loved her & she totally anchors the film. The other cast are great, but the main two that stuck for me were Julie Walters as Mrs Kehoe the strict landlady and Emory Cohen as Tony, Ellis's love in Brooklyn. But everyone does amazing work.

This film doesn't put a foot wrong. It is the perfect length, great script, looks amazing and brilliant soundtrack. It is also, despite it's 12 rating, a very mild and uncontroversial film. Watch it and fall in love with this incredible world.

The Inbetweeners was a cultural phenomenon in the UK. Starting with the TV show, which was so successful that it was given three series and then two movies which broke records for the highest gross for British comedy films in cinemas, this was a concept which whilst it had been done before, at its best felt totally irreverent and fresh.

But, as time went on with the TV series and which was then exacerbated with the films, one thing became painfully clear: The Inbetweeners either worked brilliantly or totally failed. With the final TV series and the 2nd film, it was either the funniest thing ever (Simon trying to lose his virginity in the TV series, Will having a meltdown around a load of spoilt brats who have gone travelling to "see the real world" whilst living in 5 star hotels and off Daddy's trust fund in the film,) or completely unfunny and totally failing (pretty much everything else in the rest of the 2nd film.) For me, the worst thing about comedy films is when they are not only unfunny but aggressively so, with the performances/script getting more and more ridiculous to compensate for this.

And this is everything that this film is and more.

From the opening scenes, it is clear that Joe Thomas, who plays Simon in the Inbetweeners, has been brought in to tap into that fanbase and also to be subjected to many of the same embarrassing things which the characters encountered in that show. But none of it is in any way funny, at all. It just comes off as desperate. In the 40 minutes that I watched it, I saw exactly the same things that I would have expected in the show, but without anything funny to anchor them to. We see Thomas’s character Nick have a sexual accident, get dumped, embarrass himself in front of everyone, get himself into an extremely awkward sexual situation ect ect in the first 40 minutes. I had by then lost all interest in the film and switched it off, as I just didn’t care about it.

It was, to me, just a lazy and cynical cash grab aimed at the extremely vocal & at times crazed Inbetweeners fan base who have never been able to get over that there hasn't been any more content since the second film. And the biggest irony in this whole sorry saga is that after watching this, they will probably feel even more short-changed...

This film isn’t funny, edgy, radical, provocative, interesting or even controversial. It is simply bland, boring & uninspired. Can we please now stop having Inbetweeners inspired films which cast actors from that world and leave well alone. Stop traducing what was for many of us a wonderful and brilliant part of our teenage years.

It might have good intentions, but I just couldn't get into it. It was a very loud, slightly obnoxious film and the central message was noble but the way it was being done just grated.

Not one for me unfortunately.