Jan 10 2020

1917 (2019) Movie Review

Director: Sam Mendes

Writer: Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Screenplay)

Starring: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays, Colin Firth, pip Carter, Andy Apollo, Paul Tinto

Plot: Two young British soldiers during the First World War are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldiers’ brothers, from walking straight into a deadly trap.

Tagline – Time is the enemy.

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Sensational

Story: 1917 starts as Lance Corporal Blake (Chapman) is assigned to pick one man, Lance Corporal Schofield (MacKay) to get a new mission from General Erinmore (Firth), their mission is to travel across enemy lines to deliver a message to stop a battalion of soldiers walking into a trap set by the Germans.

The two must travel at speed, with time against them, walking into the unknown, knowing they need to get to the battalion to hopeful save the soldiers including Blake’s own brother.

Thoughts on 1917

Characters – We do only focus on two main soldiers, Lance Corporal Blake whose brother is in one of the battalions the two are trying to stop attacking, he is more of a talking, can’t wait to get home, very close to his family, while Lance Corporal Schofield has been in the war longer, seen more horrors, keeps his horrors to himself and isn’t as excited about return home, for his own reason, which we learn through the journey. The two must work together to try and get to the battalions, each step is taking them to the unknown, needing to prepared for anything. We do meet other military people, whose job is to help the two continue their journey if they cross paths.

Performances – George MacKay is brilliant, proving yet again this guy is one of the best rising stars in the industry today, while Dean-Charles Chapman is excellent too, they two do have chemistry that shows off both their strengths in the characters they are playing.

Story – The story follows two soldiers that must travel into no man’s land in an attempt to try and stop an attack, which would see thousands of soldiers walking into an ambush. The story is kept very simple, it is showing as if we are following the two’s every step, seeing each obstacle they must face along the way, which shows the different horrors of war. We don’t get overly close to the two soldiers, while learning a little bit, not having a cheery conversation like other war films. This is one story that is easy to follow, we get the music which prepares us for anything that happens, as well as having a chance to keep us guessing about if, or how they get to their destination.

War – When it comes to the war side of the film, we get to see the environment the men would have been living between the fights, the surroundings that would have been left in the aftermath of the battles.

Settings – The film shows the war effects on the land, we see the destroyed town, the claustrophobic trenches, the fear of no man’s land, it is beautiful and haunting to see the settings.

Scene of the Movie – The line run.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sometimes the camerawork can leave us losing our position in the scenes.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the best war films you will ever see, it is shot like one take, which makes us follow their journey, adding the tension to every single moment of the film.

Overall: Simply Breath Taking.

Jan 10 2020

Savage Creatures (2019) Movie Review

Director: Richard Lowry

Writer: Richard Lowry (Screenplay)

Starring: Greg Travis, Cean Okada, Victoria Steadman, Ryan Quinn Adams, Kelly Brown

Plot: On the eve of Judgement Day, predatory cannibals abduct two young vagabond women harboring a shocking secret – they are ancient Vampires. Following a bloody clash, the Vampires are suddenly confronted with an apocalyptic crisis as soul-stealing alien creatures invade and attack humanity, turning their victims into flesh eating Zombies. The forces of evil collide in a cataclysmic battle for dominance.

Tagline – Vampires. Aliens. Cannibals. Rabid Zombies. Judgement Day just went off the rails.

Runtime: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Cult Classic in the Waiting

Story: Savage Creatures starts as we see the two predatory cannibals Liz (Okada) and Darby (Adams) complete their last kill, for their next meal, when they stumble upon two young women Rose (Brown) and Ursula (Steadman), bringing them back to their home to make them their next victims.

Things take a turn when the two women show their true selves, they are vampires that travel around the world, they have their latest dinner, until the world starts to come to an end for everybody left dead or alive.

Thoughts on Savage Creatures

Characters – Rose and Ursula are two ancient vampires that have been travelling the world for centuries, they have seen the worst of times in human history and are prepared for almost anything that comes their way, except for the aliens, where they must show their survival skills. Liz and Darby are religious cannibals that have been taking victims for years, which they believe is the lords work, with their latest victims being Ursula and Rose. Father Cooper is ready for the battle against the undead that are looking for more victims and gets even more feared, when he learns about the girls.

Performances – Kelly Brown and Victoria Steadman as the vampire couple are fun to watch, they get to poke fun at the vampire world too, while the rest of the cast do well with what they need to do in the film.

Story – The story here follows a couple of cannibals that look to get their next victims, only for everything to get turned on its head when the world looks like it is about to end. This is a story that you think you know how it might go, only for it to keep going, bringing everything from the cannibals, vampires, aliens and zombies, that do work together in the film very well, without over staying the welcome. It does bring us an end of the world style film, that isn’t afraid to throw every potential horror villain or creature into the mix, in a fun way that just makes you want to laugh at how everything unfolds.

Horror – The horror side of the film does include many different types of enemies we would get used to seeing the genre, cannibals, aliens, vampires, zombies, while they might not be put into scary versions, they do show us that we are going to be facing enemies that can’t be killed with ease.

Settings – The film does give us a remote location, which does show us how every creature would be operating through the film, away from the view of people.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are low budget, they have a style which does work to help the film reach the cult status the film deserves.

Scene of the Movie – The Vampire turn.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have had more from the Father Cooper character.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun horror that will have plenty going on and isn’t holding anything back from the audience and isn’t afraid to throw the blood at the screen.

Overall: Fun horror.

Jan 10 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2019 – J – The Hole in the Ground (2019) Movie Review

This is going under J because of the young star of the movie James Quinn Markey

Director: Lee Cronin

Writer: Le Cronin, Stephen Shields (Screenplay)

Starring: Seana Kerslake, James Quinn Markey, Kati Outinen, David Crowley, Simone Kirby, Steve Wall, Eoin Macken

Plot: A young mother living in the Irish countryside with her son suspects his increasingly disturbing behavior is linked to a mysterious sinkhole in the forest, and fears he may not be her son at all.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Suspenseful

Story: The Hole in the Ground starts as Sarah (Kerslake) and her son Chris (Markey) are getting used to their new home in the Irish countryside, they learn they have a disturbed neighbour Noreen Brady (Outinen) and a giant hole in the middle of a woodland area surrounding the house.

After losing her son in the woods one night, Sarah is trying to be more protective, but the disturbed neighbour Noreen, doesn’t believe that is her son anymore, similar to what she experienced herself, years before.

Thoughts on The Hole in the Ground

Characters – Sarah is the single mother who has moved away from her previous life, which does have hints of abuse, she has started a simpler life in a small village with her son and soon starts to learn about something strange that has happened to her son, with her needing to figure out the truth before it is too late. Chris is the son who isn’t happy trying to make new friends, he is terrified of spiders and after he goes missing one night, when he returns something has changed in him. Noreen Brady went through a similar experience to Sarah, which has seen her branded crazy by the locals, she can sense more being wrong, though it has haunted her whole life.

Performances – Seana Kerslake in the leading role adds so much to this film, her performance shows the pain her character has been through, despite showing the strength she is carrying on with. James Quinn Markey is great for a young actor, showing the innocent side to his character and the change he has been through. The supporting cast don’t get many scenes but do a good job when called up.

Story – The story here follows a single mother who starts to see a strange change in her son and must decide what has caused this and what she is going to do about it. The story does dive into one of the most famous horror myths, which is clear to see early on, though never directly uses the name, we won’t say just to stop any spoilers. We have the themes of an abuse victim trying to rebuild their own life, while remaining strong for her child. We only focus on the two characters, with any others only offer hints to what is happening. What the story offers, would be the slowly building moments that Sarah is going through, where she is torn about the truth, we focus on dread feeling over any shock value.

Horror – The horror in this film does give us a clear look at dread and gloom, instead of playing of the jump scares, it so easily could have turned too.

Settings – The film takes us to a small Irish countryside village, the house is outside the village surrounded by woodland, which only adds to the unknown coming from inside the woods.

Special Effects – The effects being used in the film are kept to a minimum, which does help when we need to see them happening.

Scene of the Movie – What is Chris up to.