My Thoughts on Good Boys

Good Boys is an odd premise on paper. Basically, take all of the wild and raucous antics of Superbad, but have the characters be twelve year old boys. The result is a film that, as pretty hilariously invoked in the trailer, its own leads can't actually see. And yeah, the trailers for this were pretty good, setting it up as kind of like a live action South Park. Actually seeing Good Boys, it's definitely not a bad film, but it's also really not as good as it could have been. The plot basically follows three kids who lose a drone when spying on a neighbour, and spend a whole day trying to get it back, all the while encountering some crazy, wildly inappropriate things. This is an idea that lends itself to funny situations, even if the actual plot itself is pretty thin, but the jokes are well spread here, and the ones that work definitely get laughs.

I guess one problem I have with the jokes is that, well, they all revolve around one specific idea; these kids doing things they're not supposed to because they don't know any better. That's not to say that that's not funny, but after a while, it'd be nice to have some sort of variety. I didn't have as much of an issue with it as some critics had, but it's still something that holds the film back from being as funny as it could have been. And also, because it's a modern, mainstream comedy, the vast majority of the jokes are in the trailer. So when these things do happen, their impact is hugely lessened and they're much less funny. I didn't really laugh when these things happened, and the stuff I really found funny wasn't in the trailer at all. Don't get me wrong, there are jokes that really work ( Stephen Merchant's cameo and a hilariously angsty walk home were definitely the highlights), and there are some incredibly funny lines here, but the jokes are hit and miss, and the ratio is pretty even, so for every genuinely funny gag, there's another that winds up dead on arrival

Not that you can fault the cast for that. The three young actors here are actually great. Jacob Tremblay gets a chance to exercise his comic chops, and again proves why he's one of the most exciting young talents at the minute. He actually proves to be a pretty funny performer, nailing the balance between brashness and innocence that stops the premise of the film from completely falling flat. Brady Noon is also pretty awesome here, not just hilarious but also really able to convey his character's (surprisingly well written) arc, where he has to make a choice between fitting in or following his passion for singing. But Keith L Williams is undoubtedly the standout here. Every line he says is absolutely hysterical, and the way his character's (often incredibly inconvenient) honesty is used is really, really funny and fuels some of the film's best jokes. The film is definitely hit and miss with both its comedy and its quality, but the three leads are consistently awesome, and surprisingly believable. The film would have fallen flat incredibly quickly if you didn't believe in these characters, but you actually do, and for all of its stumbles, this is one thing that it does really well

Speaking of stumbles though, there is one thing here that really bothered me in the third act, and that's the constant attempts to be heartwarming. Look, I get what they were going for, and it just didn't work. It felt so forced, and even though the cast were undoubtedly committed, I just found it so hard to care what was going on. I guess it's because the heartfelt conclusion feels too small scale here. I'm not asking for something overly profound, but the actual resolution feels kind of inconsequential, and so it's really hard to feel anything, especially because it happens so late in the film. The first two acts largely focus on the comedy, so when it tries to be sweet, it's too late for anything to actually resonate, and although I definitely appreciate what they were going for, I don't think it worked half as well as it should have. The sentiment is definitely nice, almost going for a similar thing to Stand By Me, but very unlike that film, the plot was too basic and rooted in comedy for that kind of idea to work. 

That's an issue that only really affects to home stretch, because everything else is actually really entertaining for the most part. The film never drags or outstays its welcome, and even if the jokes don't always hit, they're never bad enough to derail the film altogether. It's actually a decently fun time, one that was obviously made with a lot of enthusiasm, and when it's funny, it's really freaking funny, with the hits registering a lot more than the misses, which definitely compensates for their slight infrequency. Despite the content, it's actually harmless fun, a movie that doesn't achieve everything it sets out to do, but does the things it does well enough to prevent that from really being much of an issue. True, the stumbles are hard to ignore, but the things Good Boys is good at are definitely worth the price of admission, because although they don't quite outweigh the problems, they do make it a really fun time. It's unbalanced, but when it's fun, it is quite fun

My Thoughts on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Some things feel like they'll never arrive. "Quentin Tarantino's Manson Family Movie" has been on the horizon for a while now, and now that it's finally here, what do we do with ourselves? This is (apparently) his penultimate film, and now that it's here and all of the speculation is done, we now feel dreadfully close to the end of an era. Which is apt, because that's kind of what Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is about. Set in 1969, it follows a down on his luck actor and his stuntman, who's also his best/only friend. Parallel to their story is the story of Sharon Tate, who would be murdered my the followers of Charles Manson. This story has been told many times in many films, most of them shit and tasteless. Once Upon a Time does something very, very different with it. Exactly what happens won't be spoiled, but rest assured, it's a typically wild take, while also being his most purely passionate film in years

I said this film was about the end of an era, and even though it's only set over the course of four-ish days, you really feel the decline of the Old Hollywood of '69, and the impending arrival of the New Hollywood of '70 as you're watching it. Rick Dalton and his trusty stuntman Cliff Booth are definitely feeling the sting of this, with Dalton steadily heading towards total stagnation, only getting roles as "the heavy" in TV westerns. Booth, on the other hand, is pretty much Cliff's assistant, spending the day drifting around town doing various errands for him.

Right off the bat, the film's sense of time and place is easily its greatest strength. The atmosphere here is incredible, and the way Tarantino sets the tone is really something special. 1969 Hollywood is reconstructed meticulously and deliberately, with no detail left out. As a result, the stage upon which the plot plays out feels more real. It's easy to get lost in this film's depiction of Hollywood. It's a place you want to spend time in and absorb the sights and sounds of. The plot is pretty minimal here, but that's because it's not really the focus. You're essentially following these characters around Hollywood for a couple of days, and although those days are specifically chosen, the stuff that happens during them feels particularly incidental. These are just things that are happening to these people living in a town that's so rich with mythology that it almost doesn't feel real. And that proves to be interesting in itself, as the lore and mythos of old Hollywood comes to life on the screen, enveloping the viewer in such a specific experience. Tarantino has painstakingly recreated everything and made it look so easy, and the result is a town that's not only its own character, but also just a damn fun place to hang out in

It helps that the characters you're hanging out with are so interesting. Rick Dalton is a perfect portrayal of all of the actors of that time who found themselves left behind by the advent of new Hollywood, and his obselescence is something that fuels most of his plot. This allows Tarantino to paint a portrait of the unsung heroes of a transitioning industry, something that Leonardo DiCaprio brings to life wonderfully. His quest to reignite his career is something that we're right there with him on, and seeing how that develops is all the more fascinating because if how genuine it feels. True, his plot feels the most aimless, but even then it is interesting, and becomes seriously rewarding in the movie's home stretch.

Cliff Booth is far and away the best character in the film, and maybe one of my favourite Tarantino characters overall. I could honestly watch this guy wander around for hours, and although some of his plot falters (the Bruce Lee scene is pretty unnecessary), it's mostly Tarantino at the height of his powers, especially when the Cliffster wanders into Spahn Ranch, aka the Manson Family hangout. This scene is electric, powerful filmmaking, slow, unbearable and utterly thrilling. It makes use of the setting wonderfully, and is a standout scene in a film of many. Brad Pitt is amazing in this film, capturing Cliff's freewheeling antics while also nailing his devotion to Rick, without ever having that be his defining character trait. His are the eyes that '69 Hollywood are best seen through, and the casual nature of his plot let us wander around with him and take everything in, and this is where the film's scope is at its most breathtaking

The amount of attention given to Sharon Tate is something that caused controversy at Cannes. True, she doesn't have as many lines as Cliff and Rick, but having now seen the film, that's not actually something that bothers me. Her plot is a passionate tribute to the real Tate, and although she just kind of wanders around being delightful, that kind of makes her story all the more wonderful. It's obvious that Tarantino adores her, and so having all these scenes that basically play out as passionately told vignettes feels like the perfect celebration. This is not a story about Sharon Tate's murder, and it's so refreshing to have a film that just focuses on her and just wants to celebrate her. As for Margot Robbie's portrayal, it's absolutely wonderful. She's such a pleasant screen presence, and her involvement in the plot allows QT to exercise some sensitivity. The lightness of this whole storyline makes it such a pleasure to witness, and watching how it feeds into the climax is incredibly interesting, especially when Tarantino deftly swerves away from obvious bad taste in favour of something that pulses with a genuine love for a actress taken way too soon.

The actual events of the climax won't be discussed here, but just know that it's absolutely bonkers. This is Tarantino in Inglorious Basterds mode, shedding the relative restraint that he's shown with he violence for most of the film and delivering his own wildly violent, strangely funny take on tragedy. Seeing him cut loose with the bloodthirsty madness is definitely awesome, but what makes this scene work so well is the sincerity of it. Again, I won't say anything specific, but Tarantino is easily at his most genuine here, telling an alternate version of the truth that, while violent, also has a lot of love in it. The whole film had been his ode to the era, a broad love letter to the music and the movie stars, but the film is at its absolute best when it gets down to that one specific moment, because it's Tarantino speaking from the heart, and it's astonishing conclusion really feels like the reason he made it. It's such a poignant ending, one that brings everything in this epic to a perfect close

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is kind of amazing. There's a lot to talk about with this movie, and summarising my thoughts on it is pretty difficult. I've only seen it once, and I have no doubt that when I watch it again, I'll notice so much more in it. Any new release by Tarantino is a privilege to witness, and this one feels particularly special because of how much love is in it. This is a really good natured film, one that sees QT working with his best intentions. The result is a hangout movie that throbs with genuine love for a bygone era, a loving tribute to things gone way too soon, be that the studio productions of Old Hollywood, or an actress taken before she could really get started. He replaces the pain of what actually was with an idealistic and sincere what-if, and in the process, highlights the power of film to alter time and reality. This is him using cinema to heal it's most painful wounds, and if his next film really is his last one, then I really, really hope that he uses the same honesty, empathy and kindness that he brings this film to life with. It's not something he does enough, and this movie proves that it's something that he can actually do really well. This is one of the absolute best films of the year, and it leaves me eagerly awaiting whatever he's gonna do next. So yeah, it's pretty Once Upon a Time in Hollygood

My Thoughts on Blinded by the Light

There's been a lot of music movies lately. Maybe that's because the world is a bit of a shitshow at the minute, and the generally upbeat attitudes that these films have is a pretty effective tonic. You don't have to be a Bruce Springsteen fan to enjoy Gurinder Chada's Blinded by the Light. And even if you don't share Blinded's level of Boss fandom, it's really hard not to get swept up in the sheer delightfulness of it. The film (based on a true story) follows Javed, a teenager from a Pakistani family living in England in 1987. His life is less than stellar, with Thatcher's  Britain being incredibly bleak and difficult to live in. It doesn't help that the country is rife with racism, which makes life pretty hard for Javed and his family. He's understandably feeling totally lost, not quite sure of his identity or how he fits in. It's at this point that The Boss comes into his life, with the music of Springsteen completely inspiring him and allowing him to see the world in a different way

Right off the bat, it's not too hard to apply this story to the world we're living in, although the parallels aren't the point. For the most part, Chada keeps that stuff subtextual. This is a totally feelgood story about finding the courage to discover your voice. It's easy for a film to have energy, but what really makes this work is the amount of spirit it has. That's what makes a difference, what gives an overdone story new life, and as a result of this passion and enthusiasm, the film is genuinely feelgood, not pandering or hollow but sincere and honest. It acknowledges the difficulties of growing up, and the harsh truths of our hero's surroundings, but finds triumph and warmth and humour in these difficulties. Javed is an easy protagonist to root for, particularly because of Viveik Kalra's spirited performance. This guy is definitely gonna be one to watch out for, because he's just outstanding here. He nails Javed's angst, but also his passion and naivety. It's an incredibly sincere performance, one that immediately puts us inside Javed's world, and so when the heartwarming moments hit, they feel earned. Kalra is the heart and soul of Blinded by the Light, and his earnest, genuinely likeable performance is what allows this film to deftly avoid clichés or over-sentimentality.

The film treads familiar story beats. Most of this has been seen in other films, but what makes Blinded stand out is that spirit. The Springsteen soundtrack gives it some personality, but the sheer amount of energy and likeability is what makes this film feel fresh. It's so easy to love Javed and want to follow his story, even though we've seen a lot of his struggles before. His relationship with his father in particular feels well done. That's something that could have felt clichéd, but the warmth and realism is what makes it work. This is a genuine film, one that's good natured and sincere, and that's why it works as well as it does

One thing I love as well is how the soundtrack is incorporated into the film. They're not musical numbers as such, but the scenes where the songs are almost like fantasy. It's the words and music of The Boss leaking into Javed's world, giving him courage and energy that he wouldn't have otherwise. They're fun, but they work because of what they represent for our hero. The free him from his grey reality, open his eyes to the truth in his life, and give him the power to stand his ground. The soundtrack lets us feel exactly what he's feeling, and the sequences where the film lets The Boss tell the story are the absolute highpoints

The film runs on pure passion, and not everything in the story works. There's a story about Javed's sister that feels like it finishes before it starts, not to mention an excursion to New Jersey that doesn't do too much for the plot, with the film literally showing postcards from Javed and Roops' trip. These are definitely stumbles, but even then, they're the film trying things that don't quite work, but in this case, it's the effort that counts. Yeah, they're not great, but there's still something admirable about this movie trying different things and not quite having them pan out. Chada isn't playing it safe here, and even when something doesn't quite work, the fact that she tried to deviate from what you'd expect from this story is kind of cool in itself.

Blinded by the Light is absolutely fantastic. It's pure passion from beginning to end, a powerful, spirited ode to being young and finding your voice. It's strengthened by Bruce Springsteen's music, but not defined by it. The music is incredibly important to the film, essentially allowing you to feel Javed's epiphanies as they happen, but it's not a Bruce Springsteen film. At the end of the day, this is pure, high quality feelgood cinema. It's emotionally driven, optimistic and good natured, so much so that, when it doesn't quite hit the mark, it's easy to forgive. Viveik Kalra is on his way. He's absolutely sensational here, and I cannot wait to see what he does next. This is without a doubt one of my favourite films of the year so far, funny, honest and uplifting. I absolutely loved Blinded by the Light, and I cannot recommend it enough. 

My Thoughts on I Am Mother

I Am Mother is an awesome idea on paper. A film set in a secret facility, where a lone robot raises the last child on the planet, following an apocalyptic event? Sounds pretty interesting. An injured survivor finds her way into the bunker, bringing with her the truth about what really happened outside the facility? Sounds even better. So it's a real shame that I didn't enjoy this film at all. Believe me, it brings me no joy to say this, but I Am Mother was an absolute disappointment. It's an awesome idea for a film, and seeing this kind of thing make it onto the screen is pretty impressive, because original high concept sci-fi is always great to see, and I'm really glad to see so many people enjoying it

The problem for me is that it's just so boring. The film feels like a two hour episode of Black Mirror, one with a good premise but without any real commentary. Those episodes work because they're (usually) around an hour long, just enough time to explore a single idea in depth. I Am Mother runs out of steam with its premise fairly quickly, even when new developments try to change things up. The problem is that core idea, one that's so solid that it's actually kind of difficult to stretch over a two hour feature film. The first twenty or so minutes are pretty good, succeeding on the strength of a really good idea. The problem is when they try to develop that, with reveals that just over complicate a winningly simple idea.

Technically, it's not even that bad. The film looks AMAZING, with fantastic effects. It's shot really well, and all of this gives the bunker such a strong atmosphere. The performances are pretty good too, with the whole thing almost working like an underground play. The general ideas are pretty good, even if the later ones can't quite top the initial premise, or even really develop the plot beyond it at all. It's made of good components, but it's just so freaking boring. All of this stuff is good, it just never quite comes together, with the glacial pacing not doing the already thin plot any favours.

I Am Mother is a great idea that suffers from being stretched thin over a runtime that's definitely longer than it should be. As good as everything around it is, it never quite comes together because of that stretch. It's a dull watch, and while that twist at the end should feel monumental, it's really not, because it's just too hard to really care about anything that's going on, so by the time that reveal comes in, it's just.... kind of something that happens. It's a real shame, too, because this could have been really good, and this kind of high concept sci-fi is definitely something to celebrate when it's done well, but this just doesn't work. I don't hate it, but I also don't think it works, not half as well as it should, anyway.

My Thoughts on Black Mirror (Season 5)

Black Mirror is one of the most consistently interesting series out there at the minute, and when it's at it's best, it's really, really special. After all there aren't many shows that can go from a tense tale about the prime minister being blackmailed to a tender, honest love story set in 1987, to a crazy Christmas episode split in three without breaking a sweat. I love this show, because it always has something to say, and always says it in an interesting, sometimes explosive way. When the fifth season was announced, I was immediately hyped, and when the trailers were released, I didn't really watch them, because I wanted to go in blind and have Charlie Brooker wreck me like only he can. And, having seen all three of them now, I think that the season is, overall, pretty good. Obviously, as ever, some chapters are stronger than others, but on the whole, the show has stayed pretty damn strong.

Season 5 starts with Striking Vipers, and this episode is freaking bonkers, man. Black Mirror has had episodes about video games and VR before, but there's something about this one that's just so interesting. Like so much of this is stuff that we've seen before, in Playtest, and San Junipero and even The Entire History of You to an extent, but something about how it's been put together is just so interesting. Without giving too much away, the episode follows two old friends reconnecting over the VR version of a video game they used to play all the time. When they get in there, the results are.... unexpected. What I love about this episode is that it's not afraid to explore these two guys, to show them at their most vulnerable and in doing so, pick away at some really interesting ideas, like sexuality. The show has always had something to say about relationships, and the way this episode approaches that idea is really quite interesting. Okay yeah, it suffers a little from previous episodes exploring similar things, but I've never quite seen something like this through the lense of video games. Even if it's maybe a tad longer than it needs to be, it explores its ideas in a medium that allows them to ask these questions, and the fact that it's unafraid to give some of the answers is one of its greatest strengths. It's not one of the show's more shocking episodes, or even one of its more creative episodes, but the way it dives so deep into the psyches of these guys is something that I find really interesting. It asks some really thought provoking questions, and never feels like it's passing judgement when it starts to answer them. I'm not a huge fan of its ending, which feels oddly quite neat, but I suppose Black Mirror has always been more of a conversation starter than a comprehensive study, and that's definitely true here. I'm a huge fan of fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter, and the way this episode homages them is affectionate, and ultimately pretty interesting. Overall, Striking Vipers feels like a remix of ideas that the series has touched on before, but they really work when they're put together, even if there are some issues here that stop it from being one of the show's best episodes. Also cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in more things please

Smithereens is the second episode, and is one of those Black Mirror episodes that isn't science fiction as much as it is a parable about the modern world. Like The National Anthem and Shut Up and Dance, it takes existing technology and uses it to tell a really, really effective story of the world we live in. This is the season's best episode by some distance, one that really benefits from its long runtime, which I realise was an issue for a lot of people, but I don't know, I kind of think it works. It starts almost cryptically simple, with a troubled driver working for a ride share app snapping and kidnapping an employee of a multi billion dollar social media company. One thing I think that the runtime does is it allows us to really see every relevant detail here. There's a lot of stuff early on that comes back in a big way (there's a reason he's looking for the right moment to talk at the group therapy sessions), and the episodes ability to deliver these really powerful payoffs is maybe it's greatest strength. Andrew Scott is absolutely phenomenal here, beginning quietly, before gradually working his way up to one of the most stunning moments in the series, where he explains his motives in heartbreaking detail. The episode is tense, really drawing the whole situation out, always stopping just short of making it feel like it's dragging. It's very much about how normal, everyday people relate to big, monolithic companies, or rather, how they don't. Smithereens understands that it's easy to feel invisible to these corporations, and uses that to explore the fraught emotional states of its characters, giving us not just the perspective of Scott's damaged driver, but also a grieving mother seeking answers about her daughter's death. Okay, so maybe I would have liked a bit more about her, because she's largely forgotten about in the episode's mid section, but that's really my only issue here. It's an episode of gradual payoffs that really resonate, maintaining and intensifying that great tension, before letting it explode into achingly emotional social commentary with an ending that's both devastating and satisfying. This is top tier Black Mirror, a real primal scream of an episode that resonates because it's made of real feeling ingredients. Yeah, I really dug this one

Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too definitely feels like the weak link. This is the episode that will forever be known as "The Miley Cyrus One", partially because her being in this show is kind of surreal, but also because the plot is so thin and clichéd that her presence is really the only memorable thing. Basically, an incredibly famous pop singer releases small android replicas of herself. A shy girl buys one, and when the singer is put in a coma by her aunt/manager, it's up to the girl, her sister, and the robot to save the day. This feels like a weird hodge-podge of better Black Mirror episodes, one that also kind of misses the point of any of them. It's also weirdly comedic, not unusual for this show, but given the lack of any real bite or commentary, the humour makes this one feel weirdly out of place in the larger scheme of the whole show. It's a strange experience, one that kind of lacks a lot of what makes this show good. Some of the jokes do land, and I guess the absurdity of the whole thing is kind of fun, so it's not a bad episode, but it does feel particularly weak given the lofty heights that this show has proven itself capable of reaching. Ideas of AI and public image have been done so much better in other episodes, so definitely watch those instead. That said, in the moment, this episode is kind of fun

It's hard to talk about any season of Black Mirror as a whole because of how varied the episodes can be, in content and quality, but overall, season 5 is pretty strong. Those first two episodes are definitely the highlights, Striking Vipers being thrillingly crazy and fairly thought provoking, and Smithereens being an unbearably tense slow burn that explodes into a fantastic comment on large companies and small people. True, Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too is the season's weakest, but even that isn't bad, just bizarrely out of place. Overall, it isn't the show's strongest season, but there definitely is fun to be had with this latest crop of Mirror-y goodness