Daily Archives: November 27, 2020

Nov 27 2020

Beast Mode (2020) Movie Review

Director: Chris W Freeman, Spain Willingham

Writer: Chris W Freeman, Spain Willingham, Drew Fortune (Screenplay)

Starring: C Thomas Howell, Leslie Easterbrook, James Hong, Ray Wise, James Duval, Robert Costanzo

Plot: ‘Bad boy’ actor Huckle Saxton lets fame get to his head and turns into a ferocious beast, ripping Hollywood to shreds. Will he sink his teeth into the role of a lifetime or succumb to the dangers of the Hollywood lifestyle?


Tagline – This Town Will Eat You Alive

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Beast Mode starts when Hollywood producer Breen Nash (Howell) has seen his latest movie bomb, even with the bad boy actor Huckle Saxton (Duval) starring in it, under pressure to make the next film a success, Breen get the money from Pish (Hong) to finance the next movie, only Breen has accidently killed Huckle.

Wanting to go ahead with the movie, Breen looks find a body double to replace him, while performing a ritual to try and bring Huckle back to life, while holding together the production of the film, only the ritual will have side effects.

Thoughts on Beast Mode

Thoughts – Beast Mode follows a producer that wants to make a movie happen after accidently killing the lead of the movie, which will see him first get a body double and then turning to a ritual to try and bring the actor back to life, only for it to have consequences he never planned for. This story could easily be described as a dark version of Bowfinger, seeing at the idea of a producer going to extraordinary lengths to make a movie happen, with the darker side of the film coming from seeing what happens to Huckle. We do have a well known cast here in C Thomas Howell, James Duval and Ray Wise who all don’t look out of place, even if the story doesn’t manager to become as interesting as it believes it could be. There is plenty of satire about the Hollywood system in the film too, and how it will consume people and change them. It doesn’t seem to reach the horror levels it could with what is happening, but it doesn’t hit enough of the comedy marks to be funny enough for a true comedy.

Final Thoughts – Beast Mode is an attempt to bring us a darker version of Bowfinger, only it lacks the comedy or scares.



Nov 27 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – # – 5 to 7 (2014) Movie Review

Director: Victor Levin

Writer: Victor Levin (Screenplay)

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Berenice Marlohe, Olivia Thirlby, Lambert Wilson, Frank Langella, Glenn Close

Plot: An aspiring novelist enters into a relationship with a woman, though there’s just one catch: She’s married and the couple can only meet between the hours of 5 and 7 each evening.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Delightful Look at Relationships

Story: 5 to 7 starts as New Yorker Brian (Yelchin) searches the city for stories, finding them on park benches, before he notices a beautiful woman Arielle (Marlohe) who shares a cigarette with him, wanting to see her again, he does only to learn that she is married with children and the two get to spend two hours together.

The two do start an affair between the hours of 5 and 7 which sees them even meeting each other’s family including Arielle’s husband Valery (Lambert) and Brian’s parents Arlene (Close) and Sam (Langella).

Thoughts on 5 to 7

Characters – Brian Bloom is a struggling author in New York City, he likes to search for stories around the city, he ends up meeting a beautiful French woman, taking a chance that she has one that he hasn’t seen before, he gets caught up in the middle of an unconventional relationship which sees him being welcomed into the family despite her being married, he is caught up in what could be, he doesn’t want to see the bigger picture, even though his work starts to get recognised only for him to know he has found a new story. Arielle is a married French woman that is in New York, she spends time looking for strangers in what is her free time, she enjoys her time with Brian despite being married with children, she shows Brian a different life and culture, which sees the two different cultures being about what could have been. Jane is a woman that Valery is seeing on the side, she knows the situation that Brian is in with Arielle’s husband. Arlene and Sam are Brian’s parents that don’t approve of his decision, you do feel like they might have had a bigger impact on things too, but we don’t see it.

Performances – Anton Yelchin once again shows the world what we are missing since his death, he gives us such a grounded performance that will make it easy to identify with. Berenice Marlohe is wonderful too, with the two having excellent chemistry through the film. The supporting cast all get their scenes and don’t put a foot wrong in this film, they will get the messages they need to over in the smaller scenes.

Story – The story here follows two strangers that meet in New York, they get involved in a complicated relationship which sees them needing to play by rules, with the clash of cultures being questioned at all times. This is a story about relationships, stories and talking to people. We do get to see how sometimes things can become more complicated than they need to, learn the chances can’t always be taken, because of certain things holding people back and people will to just be friends at times. This shows us that you never know what you could miss in life, if you don’t look and see what is in front of you.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy in this film comes from the days of enjoyment you see Brian and Arielle have together, they make each other laugh more than the rest of their lives, the romance here shows how you could meet somebody that make you see life in a different way, one whose vision you want to spend your life with.

Settings – New York is a setting I have always said makes a beautiful location and one that will always be perfect for a romantic backdrop.


Scene of the Movie – Tasting test.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The aging on Brian, looks to dramatic.

Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful look at a relationship people can have, it shows us just how you could meet somebody out of nowhere and the chemistry between the two leads is fantastic.

Overall: Lovely drama.

Nov 27 2020

Fall of a Kingdom (2019) Movie Review

Director: John Wynn, Akhtem Seitablaev

Writer: Rich Ronat, Yaroslav Voytseshek (Screenplay)

Starring: Tommy Flanagan, Robert Patrick, Poppy Drayton, Alison Doody, Alex MacNicoll

Plot: The Mongol Empire had grown to the largest the world had ever known. It’s armies now laid siege to much of Eastern Europe. A small village fights for freedom in the frontier landscape of the Carpathian Mountains.


Tagline – Family. Freedom. Legacy.

Runtime: 2 Hours 5 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Fall of a Kingdom starts as we meet the small village chef Zakhar (Patrick) who wants his sons Maksim (MacNicoll) and Ivan (Myers) to invite the leader of neighbouring village Tugar (Flanagan) for a town meeting, which will see Maksim fall for the daughter Myroslava (Drayton) after rescuing her.

When the small villages find themselves coming under attack by the Mongol Empire, Maksim, Ivan and Petro look to free the people who are being put through the sadistic games.

Thoughts on Fall of a Kingdom

Thoughts – Fall of a Kingdom aims to give us a battle against the odds as a small village looks to try and unite with others to defeat an empire of warriors the Mongols who are sweeping across the lands, killing anyone who stands in their way. We get left in a conflict between the villages who don’t want to work together despite it being best for the people and the empire that will not stop for anyone, seeing people’s true colours. We have solid enough performances, but nobody manages to stand out in anyway through this film, the fights don’t feel fresh, with the battles going into the land of everything we have seen before. The most redeeming part of the film comes from a dramatic water based sequence, which does look super cool.

Final Thoughts –Fall of a Kingdom fills in the basics of a battle between small villages and an empire that will stop at nothing, bring little fresh to the table.

Signature Entertainment presents Fall of a Kingdom on DVD and Digital HD from November 30th