Daily Archives: January 31, 2019
Revenge (2017)
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat (Screenplay)
Starring: Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchede, Jean-Louis Tribes
Plot: Never take your mistress on an annual guys’ getaway, especially one devoted to hunting – a violent lesson for three wealthy married men.
Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Viscerally Disturbing
Story: Revenge starts when Jen (Lutz) is taking on a getaway by Richard (Janssens), she knows he is married with children and he uses her for what he can’t get at home anymore, when his two friends Stan (Colombe) and Dimitri (Bouchede) arrive the getaway seems like a drug and drink fuelled party, until things get out of control. The men leave Jen for dead, a mistake they want to clean up on.
The problem the men will face is the fact that Jen knows how to survive and she wants to get revenge for everything she ha been through, while trying to make sure she survives her terrifying injuries.
Thoughts on Revenge
Characters – Jen is the mistress of Richard, she dreams of heading off the LA in the future, but for now she is enjoying the life she can, by letting the rich businessman treat her to things. This latest trip doesn’t go as planned and she is left to fight for her life after being left for dead, she must heal her wounds, as she proves to be much harder to kill than the men could ever imagine. Richard is the host for the getaway, using Jen for sex, while his wife and kids are at home, it is planned and a hunting trip, when his friends mess this getaway up, he tries to kill Jen to clean up the loose ends, this only becomes harder for him after his friends start getting killed and he is left trying to escape before he becomes the next victim even though he remains calm through the situation. Stan and Dimitri are the hunter friends of Richard, whom have come on this getaway believing they will be going hunting only to take things too far with Jen, meaning their prey is going to be her, until she turns the tables on them.
Performances – Matilda Lutz gives a breakthrough performance, where she makes her character sexy when needed and deadly too, she makes the wounds her character goes through just as devastating as they should be, making you want to look away at times. Kevin Janssens as the lead villain keeps his performance calm through everything, making us hate his character as all his actions in the film. Vincent Colombe becomes the most hateable of the villains as he causes most of the problems, he comes off disturbing at times too.
Story – The story here is very simple which isn’t a bad thing, we have one woman left for dead by three men that have seen their getaway go wrong. This does follow the formula you would expect because it is the party, the event, left for dead and picking off one at the time until she faces off against the leader of the group. The story does take a back burner at times when we focus on the effects being used as wounds are here to shock over anything in the story. there isn’t too much more to say on the story other than simple and effective abilities.
Action/Horror – The action is in the film shows us just how the wounds are received, they are full of blood and will shock you, the horror shows how the one woman is left for dead in the middle of nowhere which would mean she needs to fight back or die.
Settings – The film is set on the edge of a desert, a location that is a helicopter ride away, showing that getting hurt isn’t going to be easy to escape from.
Special Effects – The effects could be the true star of the show because you will wince through certain moments of the wounds when Jen needs to remove something from her body.
Scene of the Movie – The cave sequence, will be shocking to watch.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not sure where it is meant to be set, even which country.
Final Thoughts – This is a shocking revenge movie that is full of blood and will make you need to look away at times because of what will be going through.
Overall: Shocking Must Watch.
Rating
Two for Joy (2018)
Director: Tom Beard
Writer: Tom Beard (Screenplay)
Starring: Samantha Morton, Billie Piper, Bella Ramsey, Emilia Jones, Daniel Mays, Ibinabo Jack, David Elliot, Badger Skelton
Plot: A troubled family’s problems come to a head during a stay in a seaside town.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Truly Fantastic
Story: Two for Joy starts as a small family, mother Aisha (Morton) and children Violet (Jones) and Troy (Skelton) are living the poor life with their own problems, with Aisha struggling with depression, Troy falling in with the wrong crowd and Vi just trying to hold things together.
The three go on a low budget family holiday by the seaside to get away from the troubles back home, here they meet Lillah (Piper) and Miranda (Ramsey) another family with their own problems too and caretaker Lias (Mays) tries to put a positive spin on the caravan site.
Thoughts on Two For Joy
Characters – Aisha is the mother is Vi and Troy, she is stuck in deep depression after the death of her husband, their father, she struggles with everyday tasks leading to leave Vi in charge of the household chores. She does take the children to the caravan to escape for a while, which does try to help her have communication with other adults. Vi short for Violet is the eldest daughter of Aisha, she is the one trying to hold the family together, she will do everything she can while trying to escape the life with her studies too, she desperately needs a friend. Troy is the youngster child of the family, he likes to fish, only he has started to hang around a troublesome older boy that has put gotten him in trouble. Lillah is a fellow single mother that has used the caravan home to escape the traumas of back home, she doesn’t have much control over her daughter, while her brother tries to help her escape the abusive father. Miranda is Lillah’s daughter, she takes a shine to Troy and sees him as somebody she can have adventures with, she does come off like a bratty figure, but it is clear she is dealing with the depression of not having her father around and what he did to her. Lias runs the caravan camp, he only has two visitors and tries his best to make sure they are all having a good time there.
Performances – Samantha Morton gives us a brilliant performance as the mother who has nearly given up hope on her life, we believe the struggles she is facing too. Billie Piper and Daniel Mays complete the adult cast as they both shine too. It is Emilia Jones which give the standout of a stunning performance piece here, as she must hide the pain, she is feeling to remain strong even with nobody around her. Bella Ramsey and Badger Skelton complete the cast and shine on an equal level to the rest of the cast.
Story – The story follows the lives of two broken families that are spending time at a seaside caravan site, they are the only ones here, they must use the time to try and help each other accept what has happened and move on with their lives only for one moment to become the catalyst for the biggest change. If you did see the movie ‘The Florida Project’ you will understand what you will be experience, with the children struggle to find things to do, while the parents have almost given up on their own endeavours. The story is bleak and full of darkness when it comes to everything that we go through, we touch on real matters that don’t always get talked about, especially when the people are going through the problems, this will test your emotional levels through the film.
Settings – The film has a couple of settings, first the housing area which shows how close the family is living close to poverty and just waiting to fall into troubles, before we move to seaside resort that shows us just where the poor families will spend holidays.
Scene of the Movie – The boat trip.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There are certain parts of the Lillah relationship we could have seen more from.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the best dramas you will see this year, it will play on the emotions of the audience and leave you emotionally exhausted by the end of the film.
Overall: Essential viewing.
Rating
Available to pre-order on I-Tunes here
Screening on the Green, Isington Wednesday 20th February, click here for tickets
