The 355 – Film Review

Posted on January 8, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
The 355 | Universal Pictures

Director: Simon Kinberg

Writers: Theresa Rebeck and Simon Kinberg

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, Édgar Ramírez, Sebastian Stan

Rating: ★★½

The 355 gets its name from Agent 355 a female spy during the American revolution whose true identity has been lost to history. That is explained in a throwaway line during the final scene of the film, just to remind you what you’re watching.

The story is firmly in classic spy territory. A device that can control any electrics in the world has gotten into the wrong hands. By using it, someone could bring about World War III. Mason Browne (Jessica Chastain) teams up with international agents to work together and save the world from certain doom.

It’s the archetypal story for the espionage story, with almost nothing new being brought to the table. It’s not even subtle about it. The device is used at the beginning of the film to bring down a plane, because it can just do that remotely with little effort. The logic of it is basic and simple, it can control electronics. The story plays out pretty much exactly how you would expect it to, with some twists along the way. If you’ve seen any film in the genre before you’ll guess most of them, including the big twist towards the end, almost straight away. It’s full of cliches, right down to the auction that’s unsurprisingly a front to sell the device.

That’s not to say that there’s no surprises to be found in The 355, because there is a few moments of genuine shock, including a really dark and shocking death scene that feels ruthless, almost like it’s from a different film. For the most part, this is a fun high-octane adventure with lots of shoot-outs, chase sequences and a globetrotting story.

The cast are all great and work really well together. The group of characters are all different and likable. They’re also good during the action scenes, with lots nicely choreographed fight sequences. One of the best moments is in Morocco where they are taking out guards while trying to get to the device. It’s done through stealth and the characters all get to shine. The chase sequences are also entertaining, especially a chase sequence in Paris in the Metro tunnels.

Sadly, the film is really let down by its slow pacing and bland story. It’s a copycat of so many films that have come along before, and it’s incredibly slow, to the point of being dull. With a run time of just over two hours, it feels a lot longer. Plot points that feel like a dumbed down Bond story, which isn’t the worst thing ever, but there’s also a lot of bad dialogue that is lazily written. It really drags as it goes on.

The 355 has some great action, and the cast are fantastic, but beyond that it’s not good. It’s a real shame, because the characters created are really great. It would be nice to see a sequel come out it with a more original plot.  

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The Wasteland – Film Review

Posted on January 7, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
The Wasteland. (2022) - IMDb

Director: David Casademunt

Writer: David Casademunt

Starring: Imma Cueasta, Roberto Álamo, Asier Flores, Alejandra Howard

Rating: ★★★

It’s taken almost ten years for David Casademunt to make The Wasteland. He came up with the idea and started writing the film in 2012, and it’s slowly moved into production since then. Finally, it was filmed last year and received its premiere before its global release on Netflix. The Wasteland is an insular horror that manifests mental illness as a monster.  

During the 19th century, Spain was torn apart by wars and violence. Diego’s (Asier Flores) family have escaped the fighting by moving to a small, isolated house in the middle of nowhere. They find an injured man on a boat, who shoots himself after the family patch him up. Diego’s father (Roberto Álamo) takes it upon himself to return the corpse to the man’s family, leaving his son, Diego and his wife (Imma Cueasta) alone. A beast who Diego previously thought was just part of a story starts to torment the household in his father’s absence, with the terror growing slowly every day, and food starting to run low.

Diego and his family live in complete isolation from society and the film doesn’t take you too far beyond their borders of scarecrows at any point. The tone feels less like a period piece and more like a post-apocalyptic story, with the barren wasteland as the main setting. When Diego’s father leaves, it’s just Diego and his mother left, and it doesn’t take long for thing to start getting horrific. Diego’s mother is convinced that there is a beast haunting them, and while Diego can’t see it at first, he starts to fall into his mother’s delusions. Her paranoia and hopelessness at her husband’s disappearance is what fuels the monster that is attacking them.

David Casademunt has masterfully created an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. From the downbeat and washed-out visuals to the tension between Diego’s parents as they can’t agree on how to raise their son in the war torn world. Adding to the creepiness is the great score that screeches along throughout the story.

There are some gruesome and brutal effects in the film, most notably with the man who shoots himself. There’s nothing left to the imagination, and it looks genuinely real. On top of that there’s enough rabbit carcases to make your stomach churn. It’s not an all-out gross horror film, but when it goes there, it doesn’t do it shyly. The most horrific thing about the film is the noises the rabbits make when they are being beaten to death.

Not enough really happens in the story and it doesn’t do enough with the time it has. There’s a lot of Diego’s mother shooting at nothing, and while the atmosphere is great, it’s too tame in the long run to be truly scary. The film really drags on as it reaches its final act and doesn’t leave that much of an impression once it’s over.

The Wasteland is a decent film, but it’s very slow at points and the horror just doesn’t escalate to anything extreme. The atmosphere that David Casademunt is immense, but that’s not enough to make this an essential watch. It’s similar in tone to The Lighthouse, just not as unique or memorable.  

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My Favourite Older Films I Watched in 2021

Posted on January 7, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Throughout the last year I watched 421 films according to my list on Letterboxd. I’m pretty bad at keeping on top of that, sometimes leaving it a week or more before filling in the gaps, so it may not be the actual number, still I watched a fair few films. Most of them were older films from before 2021, and a lot of them where things I’d never seen before. I just wanted to talk about a few that I’m really happy to have finally seen.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) - IMDb

A good friend of mine, Reece, gave me a list of films recommendations to watch, and while I haven’t gotten through the entire list yet, there has been a couple of classics and instant favourites from those I have watched. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is one of those films, it’s smart, funny, sad and everything in between. It’s quirky and strange with an almost Wes Anderson style to it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend it to everyone.

Blow-Up

The famous Nikon F David Hemmings in Blow Up | Spotern

I watched this because Brian De Palma mentioned it in an interview about Blow Out. The premise is pretty similar, a photographer thinks he’s got a photo showing a murder and starts to get paranoid that people are following him. When I first watched it, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t click with me straight away, but just sitting there thinking about it afterwards I couldn’t get it out of my mind. There were bits that didn’t quite make sense, and it was mesmerising in its own way while it was on. Then I looked into it more and it’s unfinished. There are scenes that were never shot, giving it an incomplete feel, but it doesn’t need anything to be added. It’s a fascinating film and something that I will go back to at some point to rewatch and try to uncover more.

Anna and the Apocalypse

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) - IMDb

It’s a zombie, Christmas, horror musical. I didn’t even know what this was when I started it. I honestly thought it was going to be a comedy horror then they started singing. I really loved this film, it’s incredibly funny. It’s something that I kicked myself for not watching a lot sooner. I also recommended it to my mother who also loved it.

Suspiria

Do You Know Anything About Witches?": "Suspiria" at 40 | Features | Roger Ebert

My biggest discovery of the year was Dario Argento. I hadn’t seen any of his films before 2021, even though I did want to. I found Suspiria on Amazon Prime and decided to give it a go and absolutely loved it. It’s such a brilliant horror film with one hell of a score from Goblin. It’s set of an obsession with Italian horror and Argento’s films and I’m planning on watching a lot more in the near future.

Those are my favourite discoveries of the last 12 months. Thanks for reading, and until next time,

Ashley

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Belfast – Film Review

Posted on January 6, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
Belfast (2021) - IMDb

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Writer: Kenneth Branagh

Starring:  Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and Jude Hill

Rating: ★★★★

Kenneth Branagh’s latest film, Belfast, is a personal story about growing up in Belfast during the 1960s. The personal tale was written and filmed after Branagh’s long delayed Death of the Nile was finished and started gathering dust on Disney’s shelves.

As protests and riots start to escalate throughout Belfast, Buddy (Jude Hill) and his family are trying to make the most out of their lives. Without the politics, they’re struggling with money, ill health and Buddy has a crush on the smartest girl in the class but can’t get the scores to sit next to her in class. Buddy’s father (Jamie Dornan) works abroad in England and comes back home whenever possible to look after his family, who are being hounded and pressured by Billy Clanton (Colin Morgan) to help with the riots against the Catholics living on the street.

This is a film about family and the bond that the members share with each other, set against the backdrops of a turbulent and violent times in modern UK history. The family are brilliant, and they feel completely real, you fall in love with them so quickly into the film that everything else is heightened. The refusal to join Billy and his thugs feels scary and you really feel the risk that Buddy’s family is at by doing so. There are moments that are so tense that it caused everyone in the cinema to sit completely still, in anticipation of what could happen.

Jude Hill, who is making his feature length debut, is absolutely brilliant as Buddy. He’s performance is incredible, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him nominated and winning for many awards in the upcoming weeks, on top of those he’s already won. The story is told by his perspective, and it’s really well done. You only learn about things that he overhears. His mother (Caitríona Balfe) is getting letters from the taxman, but it’s only when Buddy overhears an argument between his mother and father that you learn what they are actually about.

Similarly the characters are named Ma, Pa, Granny (Judi Dench), and Pop (Ciarán Hinds), since it’s all from Buddy’s perspective. The rest of the cast are also excellent, especially Judi Dench who gives one of her best performances to date. As the story is from Buddy’s perspective there’s an innocence that really drives home the pointlessness of the rising tensions. He has discussions with a friend about how you know if someone is catholic by their name, before discovering that it’s all pointless. The opening scene shows Buddy and his friends playing on the street, just before a violent attack takes place on the Catholic’s houses. The bin lid that Buddy is using as a pretend shield is then used by his mother to defend them as they retreat to their house. The opening scene is powerful and a striking opening that shows you the loss of innocence straight away.

The film is shot in black and white, with some beautiful cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos, who also worked with Branagh on Murder on the Orient Express, Artemis Fowl, as well as Death on the Nile. It feels like an old kitchen sink drama from the 1960s and it captures a beauty life in an almost nostalgic way, despite all of the tensions in Belfast when the story is set. The only parts that are in colour are the bookending establishing shots, and whenever Buddy and his family go to see a film at the cinema or a play. The arts bring joy to all of us and are a means to escape the horrors of reality and nothing makes that point louder than Buddy watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in all of its colourful glory.

Belfast is a story about family, growing up and surviving through tough times. It’s an incredibly personal story and one that’s filled with love and passion. Branagh’s film is nothing short of excellent.

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The Book of Boba Fett – Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine – Review

Posted on January 6, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
The Book Of Boba Fett' Review: Episode 2 Is A Huge Step Up From Last Week

Director: Steph Green

Writer: Jon Favreau

Starring: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, Matt Berry, David Pasquesi, Jennifer Beals, Galen Howard, and Robert Rodriguez

Rating: ★★★½

After the very strong opening chapter to The Book of Boba Fett, chapter two feels a little disappointing. The dual narrative from the first episode continues here, with a lot more time focused on Fett’s (Temuera Morrison) time with the Tuskens of Tatooine. After proving himself to the tribe at the end of chapter one, Fett is becoming part of the tribe.

This episode also furthers the plot of the story in the ‘present’ where Fett is starting his rule after Jabba’s death. Something that was hinted at previously comes to light here, not everyone is willing to accept Fett as the new ruler. A pair of Hutts arrive on Tatooine to challenge his claim to the throne. The post Mandalorian story feels like it’s building up to something big happening later in the story.

The focus is the past, where Fett proves himself further to the Tuskens by planning to stop a train that’s killing the tribe whenever it passes. He teaches them how to use technology and in return they teach him more of their ways.

While the first episode was very slowly paced, it split it more evenly between the past and present, which made the episode feel shorter, here the majority is set in the past and it feels even slower. It’s also a longer episode, one of the longest episodes of live-action Star Wars so far, and it really suffers for it. Knowing that the flashbacks are going to end up with Fett heading into his story in the second season of The Mandalorian makes this episode feel very inconsequential, and with so much time spend in the past, it feels like wasted screentime which could be spent on the present.

That’s not to say that there’s no value in seeing how Fett got to where we saw him in The Mandalorian. It’s still interesting to watch him grow as a character, learning new skills and the world building is great. There’s more development here to the Tusken Raiders than there is at any point in the main films. In The Phantom Menace they are reduced to essentially terrorists who attack the pod race, here they are more developed and a lot more interesting. You can feel the influence from the Fremen from Dune here a lot more than before.

The action when they actually attack the train is excellent. It’s hard to believe that you’re watching a TV show. It looks great and it’s exciting to watch. Fett also gets to show his more dominant side when dealing with the train’s leader. He’s ruthless, but willing to be fair.

The Book of Boba Fett continues to add to the Star Wars universe and while it doesn’t reach the same heights as the fantastic first episode, chapter two adds a lot to the lore and is clearly setting up what will hopefully be a fantastic rest of the season.

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