Unfriended Review
The Plot
A group of friends gather online on the anniversary of their friend, Laura’s, death. But things turn dark when Laura starts contacting them online in search of the person who killed her.
The Good
One of the most interesting aspects of this latest sub-genre of the found footage film, which uses a computer desktop as the films ‘setting’, is the idea of an online profile being used as a portal for the dead to communicate. No more ouija boards, now we have message boards or, in this case, Facebook walls, YouTube and Skype profiles for ghosts and ghouls to scare us with. While it doesn’t sound very scary at first, Unfriended occasionally gets under your skin, particularly as Laura begins to message the main character, Blaire.
The Bad
Unfriended is the first widely released film in this new format of desktop based found footage horror, after previous smaller attempts in films such as Open Windows and The Den. And considering it’s cheap budget of $1 million has already been reclaimed (and then some) in its opening weekend, it won’t be surprising to see more like this pop up from now on. It’s just a shame that the novelty intrigue and excitement of watching a film unfold on a computer screen will already be lost by the time the credits roll in Unfriended.
Part of the problem with this format is the sheer size of the screen. Sure, it’s easy enough to watch a computer screen for 80 odd minutes, but when it’s projected onto a cinema screen, everything seems far too big and at some points, far away. Throughout the film, facebook notifications pop up in the top right hand corner which, on a normal laptop is easy enough to flick your eyes to, to quickly read. When it’s in the cinema however, you almost have to crane your neck sideways to catch a glimpse of it, which somewhat takes you out of the action which for the most part, tends to unfold on one particular area.
Then there are the characters. For the first 20 minutes or so, they’re nothing too engrossing, but as soon as one piece of (potentially spoilerific) information is revealed, any interest or even sympathy for the characters will instantly vanish. Suddenly you’ll probably start to take Laura’s side…
Ultimately Unfriended’s worst crime is that thanks to a tiny budget and low production values it’s obscene box office success will cause an inevitable and utterly unwelcome flood of unnecessary sequels and lazy imitators. But then it’s hardly the first time low budget horror films have inflicted that on audiences thanks to a little undeserved box office success.
The Ugly Truth
Unfriended is undeniably one of the most gimmicky gimmick’s to ever gimmick. While Open Windows has some fun with it’s desktop setting, Unfriended strips all its potential away and leaves behind a bare storyline that offers some interesting ideas but never delves deep enough into them, instead settling for the usual lazy jump scares that we’re so very accustomed to.
The Emperor’s New Clothes Review
The Plot
Russell Brand brings his successful viral video series The Trews to the big screen with the help of director Michael Winterbottom, as he tackles the complex subject of the financial crisis in a mere 100 minute documentary.
The Good
Anyone who’s viewed a video on Russell Brand’s The Trews Youtube Channel will know just how passionate a man he is when it comes to politics and finance. You need simply view a couple of minutes of any of his videos to figure out instantly, how this, his latest documentary will turn out.
Opening with Brand reciting the classic titular story of the Emperor who is fooled into wearing invisible clothes, The Emperor’s New Clothes moves swiftly on for the remainder of its surprisingly short runtime (given its extremely tough subject matter) with Brand throwing an alarmingly dense amount of information in his usual jovial manner. And yet, it still manages to keep you informed, entertained and most importantly, interested. While the financial status of the world today is an incredibly tricky subject to present in a way that doesn’t bore audiences, Brand, for the most part, manages to pull it off.
At no point are we, the audience made to feel stupid as he rambles on and on about the 1% in between various case studies (for want of a better phrase) that shows just how the current financial state is affecting the average Briton.
Praise must also be given for pulling off an impressive collection of information and statistics in such a small amount of time. Brand certainly has a knack for presenting his ideas in a mostly coherent way.
The Bad
Unfortunately, with Brand presenting the entire documentary, his characteristics become quite important to how audiences will react to the information given. At one point he even takes a dig at himself when he admits that he is essentially part of this 1% which he constantly reduces to an act of a typical antagonist, which sends an impression that perhaps he isn’t to be trusted completely when it comes to this subject. However, he becomes much more tolerable as the film goes on.
It’s also a shame that nothing particularly new comes to light at any point in the documentary. The impressive, fanciful way in which he gives his presentation is indeed entertaining, but ultimately falls flat when his conclusion is the same as anyone else’s really. No amount of interviewing the general public or trying and failing to infiltrate and interview the big banking bosses is going to change anything it seems. And if it does, Brand most likely won’t be the person who does it.
The Ugly Truth
Russell Brand brings his usual comic self to some good use but ultimately fails to produce anything particularly groundbreaking with it. At its true essence, The Emperor’s New Clothes is simply an extended episode of The Trews, and we can get that easily enough by just making a playlist on Youtube now…
Avengers Age Of Ultron Review
The Plot
The world’s greatest heroes the Avengers find their unity and the safety of mankind once again tested when they inadvertently unleash an unstoppable artificial intelligence determined to control the world and destroy them.
The Good
Marvel has carefully transferred their astonishing universe of heroes and villains to the big screen with a consistent success that left long term rivals DC comics embarrassed and hopelessly outclassed. Avengers Age of Ultron rests comfortably on the laurels of the past nine Marvel big screen adaptations, again doing justice to the high standards of the studio and director Joss Whedon.
An all-star cast, past success and an unlimited budget is never a guarantee of quality of course, but in Whedon’s capable hands the billion dollar franchise continues to strut nicely towards another inevitable box office triumph.
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans all clearly enjoy reprising their now well established characters. However, it’s actually Scarlett Johnasson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffao who benefit most from an opportunity to add depth to Black Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk respectively. Largely without the benefit of a solo movie, these characters still have the most room left or exploration and development. In particular the chemistry between Ruffalo’s tormented Bruce Banner and Johansson’s catsuit clad Black Widow is satisfyingly both subtle and surprising. Combined with Hawkeye’s unexpected revelations it provides the film with some genuine heart amongst the CGI mayhem.
James Spader is a particularly welcome addition as the voice of titular villain Ultron. His gravel voiced performance is suitably menacing and breathes considerable life into an otherwise two dimensional villain. The film also boasts a few crowd-pleasing action set pieces, most notably the much anticipated fight between a rampaging Hulk and Iron Man in full Hulk Buster armour.
The Bad
The first Avengers film was the culmination of a decade’s preparation, launching a billion dollar franchise with the near perfect blend of comedy, action and convincing comic book drama. Matching those standards and meeting fans sky high expectations was always going to be a near impossible task for any sequel, even for Marvel’s accomplished creative team.
Age of Ultron largely follows the formula of the first Avengers adventure, but ultimately feels like a holding point as Marvel gears up for even bigger and more spectacular storytelling in the already announced sequels. Comic fans and those familiar with the Marvel cinema universe will already have a good idea of what to expect for the Infinity Wars films and Marvels ultimate villain Thanos. Particularly for comic fans there may be some impatience at how slowly Marvel is building towards that heavily foreshadowed climax.
Though James Spader is an excellently villainous actor, Ultron is a fairly generic threat with the usual army of evil robots. Those that found the climactic battles of Avengers Assemble to be a little repetitive and lacking in real danger will likely feel much the same about the seemingly endless battles with Ultron’s easily disposed of minions. Outside of notable set pieces like Iron Man’s Hulk battle the film’s action often lacks a little variety.
While the film does add depth to some characters, particularly those who haven’t had solo films like Hawkeye and Black Widow, the more established heroes have a considerably less room left to grow. Iron Man, Thor and Captain America have already had much of their issues resolved across eight films. Amongst the increasingly crowded cast new characters Scarlet Witch, Vision and Quicksilver also don’t have nearly enough time to establish themselves. It must be admitted that the most recent X-Men film Days of Future Past which also featured super-fast hero Quicksilver embarrassingly upstaged Marvel’s own lycra clad version.
Overall Age of Ultron takes the predictable path of making things ‘darker’. Ever since Star Wars took this route with Empire Strikes Back, it seems to be acknowledged as the only way to surpass or match auspicious first films. Unfortunately the film is forced to increasingly sacrifice humour to make more room for more angst and inevitable brooding.
The Ugly Truth
Avengers Age of Ultron is another satisfying slice of comic book escapism featuring all your favourite Marvel heroes. It continues to introduce new faces and lays the groundwork for amazing things yet to come. Less ardent fans may find the non-stop action a little repetitive during the film’s lengthy second half but it’s hard to deny the undoubted quality of Marvel’s work. The real challenge for the future will be how the studio maintains its accessible mass appeal as the cinematic universe become as increasingly complex as their vast and complex comic book world.
The Duff Review
The Plot
When high school teen Bianca (Mae Whitman) discovers that she is the DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her more popular friends, she seeks the help of her childhood friend to get strip herself of the label.
The Good
It feels almost wrong to describe The Duff in the way it will no doubt be compared to considering the two films tiny difference of only eleven years between release dates, but it truly feels like a modern Mean Girls! Just typing that out felt wrong. Mean Girls is such a tremendously popular film that still rings true to new audiences eleven years later, but here’s where the difference lies between it and The Duff. Strange as it may seem, Mean Girls was made in a time when the social groups were just starting to change. The geeks have now inherited the earth and this is partly due to the social networking boom that’s been growing more rapidly over the last decade.
The Duff takes this in it’s stride and works with it to create a new high school rom com which just feels simply much more up to date with it’s constant referencing to Twitter, Tumblr, Vine, Instagram and every other social networking platform imaginable right now.
The real trouble with The Duff is it’s premise. A film which has a main premise of an idea that every friend group has a Designated Ugly Fat Friend who is deemed the more approachable in order to flirt with their friends is a dangerous one that could have had a more disastrous outcome. Fortunately The Duff comes out mostly unscathed. This is due mainly to the incredible talent of Mae Whitman. She holds the film on her own spectacularly and with a much respected grace that skims lightly over the line of offence and never crosses it. While the supporting cast do have their moments, such as Robbie Amell’s cute role of the best friend, and Ken Jeong and Allison Janney occasionally popping up for a golden moment or two, Whitman is the force that holds this film together.
The Bad
For a film which tries to defy the status quo and send the message that we don’t need to be labelled, The Duff still manages to hit many of the traditional rom-com rules, to the point where it feels like it’s unfortunately following each step of the rom-com gospel word by word. Because of this the film becomes predictable almost from the very beginning. To all rom-com fans it won’t be anything particularly groundbreaking unfortunately.
The Ugly Truth
The Duff has a good idea as its main premise, and brings a good flow of plenty laughs throughout. However it’s determination to stick to the rom-com guide brings down its chances of being a Mean Girls for a new generation.
Fast And Furious 7 Review
The Plot
Last seen taking down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) in spectacular fashion, Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family are back. And as fate would have it, Shaw has a brother. Who is seeking revenge. And is Jason Statham. Need we say more?
The Good
The Fast and Furious franchise is an incredibly rare gem that only began to find its footing from its fourth instalment. With the first 3 focusing on racing mainly as it’s heart and soul, 4, 5 and 6 kept the cars but dialled down the racing in favour of action. So far we’ve had a bank heist in which a safe is dragged along the streets of Rio de Janeiro and a chase sequence along the worlds longest runway. But, you may ask, how can this be topped? Simple. Replace the traditional three act structure with a bigger, more action packed three set-piece structure.
Fast and Furious 7 includes a beginning, middle and end of pure adrenaline that will keep your eyes glued to the screen. With horror master James Wan (Insidious, Saw) taking the franchise to terrifying new depths. Each action sequence tops the last and just when you think it can’t get any bigger, it does. And then it does again.
Vin Diesel and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson return of course, but the new additions of Kurt Russell and Jason Statham bring an already stellar cast list to dizzying heights. With Russell’s involvement in the next instalment recently confirmed, we can but hope that his scenes were just a tease for what’s to come. A very big tease too!
Of course, this film can’t be talked about without mentioning Paul Walker. From the very beginning Walker’s character has been the driving force behind all bar one film. With his unfortunate passing in 2013, this instalment was destined to be something to be both anticipated and feared. With details of Brian O’Conner’s storyline being kept under wraps and being well aware that to spoil this part of the film would be the worst crime, all we can say is, job well done. Walker’s legacy is respected in the best way possible and will not leave a dry eye in the screen. No matter how many times you see it.
The Bad
After an ending like this it’s almost sad to hear that the franchise will continue. The knowledge that Walker truly can’t come back in any big way is disheartening to say the least, however the promise of more action-packed stories from a franchise that has reached it’s peak is too tempting to say no entirely.
There are only two items to discuss in this section, both of which are the barely passable to be considered truly bad. The first and strongest point to make is that the action, while clearly choreographed brilliantly, is at times brought down by the use of a shaky camera. While it’s nothing as bad as the worst offenders (we’re looking at you Taken 3!) and in retrospect seems almost unavoidable at points, it does occasionally and infrequently, threaten to throw you off guard and make you lose your bearings ever so slightly.
The second point is really nitpicking and probably wouldn’t be noticed by too many but, as a Tarantino fan, I feel the need to point it out. If you have Kurt Russell appearing in a franchise in which one of the main selling points is fast cars and spectacular crashes, surely a Death Proof reference, even the tiniest one somewhere, is needed? Just me? But hey, we still have Stuntman Mike for at least one more film so perhaps if we keep our fingers crossed that much tighter…
The Ugly Truth
Fast and Furious 7 is without a shadow of a doubt, the best in the franchise. The action is turned up to twelve, along with the talent and emotion. With action sequences that try and succeed in topping one another, it demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. And more than once!