Polytechnique – Film Review

Posted on October 24, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer: Jacques Davidts and Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Maxim Gaudette, Sebastian Huberdeau, Karine Vanasse, Evelyne Brochu, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, and Pierre-Yves Cardinal

Rating: ★★★★

Based on the École Polytechnique massacre of 1989, Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique is an exploration into sexism and anti-feminism. It’s incredibly respectful to the victims of the massacre and a shocking film from the first moment. The film starts with people just going about their daily lives, and then a gunshot sounds out. It’s a shocking start that echoes throughout the entire film.

The next scene goes back to the beginning of the day with the killer (Maxim Gaudette) preparing for the shooting, while he writes his note explaining why he did it. The note is an exact copy of the real life killer, Marc Lépine’s note that was found in his jacket after he committed suicide. It’s full of hateful remarks about women and how feminists have ruined his life.

Watching the film in 2021, it feels like a template for the incel community. It’s a truly disturbing and sickening thought that there are people who think this way, and the with the voiceover reading out the note in full at the start of the film, you get a true idea of how bad the events are going to be, even if you’re not familiar with the massacre, as well as a sense of how twisted the killer is.

The film is told in a non-linear way through the different perspectives of the killer, who isn’t named once during the film, Valerie (Karine Vanasse) one of the female engineer students and Jean-François (Sebastian Huberdeau), a male student who tries to help the victims. It’s an interesting way of seeing the massacre as it is focusing in on the three people, with the mad panic is happening in the background. It’s a powerful and haunting story that is truly terrifying that someone could do something so horrific.

Villeneuve goes to great lengths to keep the story respectful of the victims. The main characters, other than the killer, are fictionalised, as it says in the opening text. The film is shot in black and white to avoid blood being the focus on screen. There is time spent towards the end of the film focusing on what happens afterwards with the emotional impact it had on the survivors. Villeneuve was given permission to shoot the film at the school where the massacre took place but decided to shoot the film elsewhere.

The film also ends with the names of the real victims shown on screen, contextualising everything we’ve seen and an emotional reminder of the true event. Karine Vanasse, who plays Valeries, also spent time with some of the survivors hearing their experiences.

The massacre is a truly tragic moment in history. Polytechnique is a powerful and emotional film that doesn’t shy away from raising important questions about toxic masculinity and misogyny that is sadly still relevant today. Villeneuve handles the subject with great care and attention to make sure it never feels exploitative of the true events, and he has created something that will haunt you for a long time after viewing.

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – A Heart Breaking and Quirky Coming Of Age Story – Film Review

Posted on October 23, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) - IMDb

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Writer: Jesse Andrews

Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, and Connie Britton

Rating: ★★★★½

Jesse Andrews wrote the screenplay, adapting his own book, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, back in 2012. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon joined the project after reading the script and fell in love with how the dialogue and characters. He also saw it as a way to capture the grief that he was dealing with at the time. Together they created one of the most moving and quirky coming of age films in recent years.

Greg (Thomas Mann) is a social outcast in school. He doesn’t assign himself to any group, preferring to stay under the radar of others. Instead of spending lunch in the cafeteria he spends it in his history professor’s office with his co-worker (not friend) Earl (RJ Cyler). Together they make films, parodies, and spoofs of classic and foreign films. Rachel (Olivia Cooke) is diagnosed with leukaemia and Greg is forced by his mother to spend time with her and slowly they bond, and Greg starts to feel comfortable and find somewhere he belongs.

While the story has some bleak and depressing moments, that isn’t the overall tone of the film. At it’s core it’s about hope. Greg doesn’t have any friends because he won’t allow himself to have any, because that makes him vulnerable. He has made an acquaintance with every group in school, from the goths to the jocks, to ensure that he isn’t bullied. Even Earl, who has been by his side for years, is seen as a co-worker and not a friend. He’s forced to befriend Rachel and that means letting people see his films, letting someone get to know him and being open to someone telling him that they aren’t friends anymore. It’s an emotional and touching story that is gripping from it’s strange opening to the final credits.

The film starts with Greg not sure how to start his story. He takes a classic opening, ‘it was the best of times. It was the worst of times’ and tries to define what that means. It’s shown through stop-motion animation showing what Greg’s describing. Stuff like that appears all through the film. It’s a quirky and odd story and it works perfectly. The strangeness is something akin to Wes Anderson, with the use of animation and bizarre humour.

The parodies of classic films from ‘A Sockwork Orange’ to ‘Don’t Look Now, because a Creepy Dwarf is About to Kill You!!! Damn.’ are hilarious. The love of cinema in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is palpable. Some of the other names and posters for their parodies are genius, that won’t be spoiled here. 

The entire cast is perfect. Thomas Mann is great as the awkward teenager. Olivia Cooke is just as excellent as the emotional heart of the film. RJ Cyler is great as Earl, and it’s through him that we learn about Greg’s life. The rest of the cast are all fantastic, and there’s an incredibly funny cameo by one of the biggest stars around (honestly, it’s worth watching the film for that scene alone). 

Watching Rachel’s struggle with cancer and her life being reduced from school-life, talking about prom, to being a shut in, stuck in her room, is an emotional journey. At the same time Greg is finally coming out of his shell and starting to enjoy life. The film is about beginnings and endings and it’s something that will make you shed a few tears at points. Overall it’s a hopeful film and this is a comedy that has many laugh out loud moments, it’s not too downbeat or depressing.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a special film. The passion behind the film is very evident and this is a very personal story. It’s about loss and beginnings, finding yourself in life and taking chances even though that makes you vulnerable. Simply put it’s a masterpiece.

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dear Evan Hansen – A Deeply Flawed but Still Emotional Musical – Film Review

Posted on October 23, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter
Reviews: DEAR EVAN HANSEN is Okay, And Here's Why…

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Writer: Steven Levenson

Starring: Ben Platt, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Danny Pino, and Colton Ryan

Rating: ★★★

The release of Dear Evan Hansen, in the UK at least, has been overshadowed by over big releases and is barely getting showings at a lot of cinemas. It’s ironic that a film about feeling isolated and like no one can see you, is hard to find a screening for. The film is an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name and is written by Steven Levenson who also wrote the stage musical. The Perks of Being a Wallflower writer and director Stephen Chbosky directs the adaptation, melding the stage play into a new format.

Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) suffers from severe social anxiety and is a loner at school. He starts the new school year with an assignment from his therapist to write letters to himself in the morning, willing a positive day ahead. After the first day back doesn’t go as planned, he writes a more negative letter to himself. Connor (Colton Ryan), the only person to sign Evan’s cast for his broken arm, finds the letter and takes it with him. Later, the letter is mistaken for Connor’s suicide note, giving much hope to, Connor’s mother Cynthia (Amy Adams) that Connor had at least one friend. Not wanting to make the grief worse, Evan goes along with lie and pretends that he was friends with Connor, until it spirals completely out of control.

While the film does hold a lot of emotional weight, it never feels like it really tackles the deceit at the centre of its plot. Evan’s letter to himself really annoys Connor, and the next thing we know about Connor is that he’s committed suicide. It’s not a big leap to assume that it’s the letter that pushed him over the edge, so not only does Evan potentially hold some blame for Connor’s suicide, but he also places himself at the centre of the grieving family, telling lies that will eventually come out and make everything worse. There is a really dark undercurrent to the film that isn’t really explored. Evan isn’t really punished for lying and that sums up the film’s biggest issue. It doesn’t know how to tackle its own plot.

Despite that, it is still a very moving film. As the audience you are asked to make your own mind up whether Evan does the right thing or not by lying. It’s undeniable that it gets out of control, but when Evan is first presented with the lie it’s debatable whether it was the right thing or not. Regardless of how you feel, the film does a good job at making you feel sympathy for Evan and why he follows the path he does. Through Connor’s family he finds what has been missing in his own life. Even though you know the revelation must happen, by the time it does happen you really don’t want it to, and that’s a testament to how good the performance is. Ben Platt, who is reprising his role from the original stage production, obviously knows the character inside and out. There isn’t anyone else who could do Evan justice in the same way on screen.

The film does a decent job at tackling mental illness, through Evan and those around him. One of the central themes is that you can never tell who is dealing with depression or anxiety, that a lot of people hide it, and that’s shown really well throughout, especially in context of social media and modern life. The Song ‘The Anonymous Ones’ is when this is really shown and it’s one of the best songs in the musical.

‘The Anonymous Ones’ is one of two new songs that aren’t part of the stage musical. It’s a great addition to the soundtrack, which is already filled with upbeat and catchy songs. There isn’t really an ear worm song that will stay with you for days after watching it, but they all fit and work nicely in the film itself. There is a great song, ‘Sincerely Me’, which is where Evan is faking emails that he and Connor wrote to each other. It’s a funny and upbeat moment and one of the highlights of the film.

Dear Evan Hansen doesn’t quite pack the punch it’s trying to, but it’s still a moving story. It deals with mental illness in a powerful way and does have a lot of moving moments. Sadly, the central lie isn’t really dealt with properly and the ending doesn’t quite feel complete because of it. The songs are still great and it’s still entertaining while you’re watching it.  

Thanks for reading and if you liked this review, subscribe below to never miss a post:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dave Made a Maze – Film Review

Posted on October 22, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Bill Watterson

Writers: Steven Sears and Bill Watterson

Starring: Nick Thune, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Adam Busch, James Urbaniak, John Hennigan, Frank Caeti and Scott Narver

Rating: ★★★

The concept behind Dave Made a Maze is so charming and whimsical that you can’t help but fall in love with it during the first few minutes of the film. Dave (Nick Thune) has a weekend to himself and instead of finishing any of the unfinished projects or fixing the front door he makes a giant maze out of cardboard in the living room. Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) comes home to find that Dave is stuck in the maze and despite repeated warnings, goes in after him with a group of friends. The maze is bigger on the inside and they all end up getting lost on their hunt to save Dave.

The idea behind the film is pure genius and full of imagination. There are so many great and interesting moments in the film. From the keyboard packaging that seeps into the room to the room where they turn into puppets. There is a great moment where a creepy cardboard dummy version of Brynn which is constantly asking for high fives. It’s pure magical storytelling at its best. Sadly, the rest of the film fails to live up to the premise.

The acting is a real mixed bag with a most of the lines falling flat and the characters are just not engaging enough to keep you interested once the novelty of the idea has faded. There is a documentary crew that follow the group around as they search for Dave. They do deliver some of the better jokes of the film, but at the same time the joke goes on too long and starts to become tiresome. 

Even though the film’s set up is filled with comic potential, so many of the jokes just don’t land. They feel awkward and forced. There’s a repeating joke where each character walks into a room and is mesmerised by something, only for someone else to stop them and say it’s a trap. It’s funny once, but it’s just repeated over and over. There are a few genuine laugh out loud moments that work really well, putting a blanket up to stop the minotaur getting in is funny as is the opening sequence where Annie is talking to Dave from outside the maze.

The maze is an obvious metaphor for Dave who is struggling to find a direction in life. He never finishes anything, which is a recurring point that is made time and time again throughout the short run time. The metaphor is nice, but it’s not given any subtlety. It’s spelt out for you in a pre-opening credits sequence that is set halfway through the film, which you have to sit through twice because it doesn’t skip it when the narrative catches up. The film is only eighty minutes long, but it feels a lot longer, which isn’t helped with the repetition that’s just there to pad out the run time.

Dave Made a Maze has a fantastical premise that works so well on paper. It’s really let down by some poor jokes and average performances. The biggest sting is the wasted potential. The film still has some magical moments, the opening sequence is excellent, there are some very funny jokes, and the imagination is off-the-charts. It’s a fun film, but it could have been so much more.

Thanks for reading and if you liked the review, please subscribe below:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Top Five TV Shows of all Time

Posted on October 22, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

After writing about my favourite films, I thought it was worth spending some time talking about my favourite TV shows as well. This was a hard list to make, so before we get to the top 5, a few honourable mentions. While they didn’t make the cut, I also love Friends, The X Files, Once Upon a Time, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, Big Little Lies, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Brooklyn 99. There are two honourable mentions that I want to write about in more detail.

Honourable Mention 1 – Cobra Kai

I didn’t watch The Karate Kid growing up, so when Cobra Kai first came out on YouTube a few years back, I didn’t take any notice. It was only after Kevin Smith gushed about how great season 2 was that I thought it might be worth checking out. I read online that I needed to see the first film first, so about a year ago I watched it and couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen it before. I absolutely loved it. It didn’t appear on my top 50 films, because this is all too recent, which is probably why this isn’t in my top 5 shows as well. Instead of moving to the series, I watched the other 3 films first, and while I don’t think they are as good, I still liked them all a lot. Yes, even The Next Karate Kid.

So, it was finally time to watch Cobra Kai, the reason I had started on the journey in the first place. I watched episode 1, and it was fantastic. I just binge watched the whole two seasons, that were available at the time, and thought it was just brilliant. The best show I’d seen in a long time. I then got Tabby to watch the films and watch the show as well. So I ended up re-watching all 4 films and both seasons within a month of watching it myself and loved it the second time as well. Season 3, I’ve only seen once, but it is still magic. I honestly think that the season 2’s finale may be the greatest cliff-hanger of all time. I was edge the whole episode and then that ending. I couldn’t wait for more. Season 3 wasn’t a disappointment and now I’m looking forward to season 4, which will make up my entire New Year’s Eve this year.

Honourable Mention 2 – Jane the Virgin

This was so close to being in the top 5. So, so close. If you ask me tomorrow, it probably would be. Jane the Virgin is a parody of a telenovela, basically an exaggerated soap opera. It’s incredibly funny and the characters are perfect. I also really like this show because Jane is a writer and the show goes into the process in a way that I haven’t seen anywhere else. While the show is exaggerated with strange magical realism moments, it’s a pure blast from start to finish. I only watched this because Tabby was watching it and I ended up catching one random episode with her, partway through season 3, and I quite enjoyed it. We went back to the start and I became very invested, very quickly. It’s very well written and is the only TV show that has ever made me cry. I’m sure anyone who’s seen it will know which part.  

So with that out of the way, we’re on to my top 5 shows of all time.

5 – Star Trek

Specifically, the original series. I love all of Star Trek, but I started with the original show and that’s the one that I love the most. While the acting is cheesy, the sets are cheap and some of the later episodes were a bit wonky, it’s still a timeless show. The reason for that is purely the writing. If you go and look at some of the writers who wrote episodes of Star Trek, they were the finest writers of the time. People like Robert Bloch (who also wrote Psycho) and Richard Matheson (I am Legend) wrote episodes. The writing is so great that every other flaw in the series is easy to overlook. It’s the reason why people still watch if 55 years later. Not every episode is a classic, but there are so many, especially from the first two seasons, that are just pure sci-fi at its best.

The legendary sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison wrote the best episode of the entire series (and possibly of the whole of Star Trek) ‘The City on the Edge of Forever’. It’s a magnificent episode, and one of the finest episodes of TV history. There is a book that Harlan Ellison wrote, named after the episode, that contains the original (and some say superior) script, revisions to the script as well as Ellison’s troubled relationship with the show and creator Gene Rodenberry. For anyone who is interested in writing, or TV shows, this is an essential read. It’s really interesting, even if you don’t like Star Trek.

4 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This was the first TV show that I ever watched and really connected with. I absolutely loved it and recently re-watched it with Tabby and thought it was even better now that I’m older. The storylines are just amazing, the dialogue is funny and it set a standard for a lot of shows that came afterwards. The episode from season 5, The Body, is one of the best episodes of TV ever written. I don’t want to spoil it, because it is a major episode, but it’s one of the most emotional and powerful episodes of TV ever. It grounds the show with a more realistic situation, and it really paid off. As a kid I used to think that Angel was a better show, and while I still like Angel, seasons 3 and 4 are just a mess. Thankfully Season 5 made the show worth watching, but it’s not as good as Buffy.

3 – Watchmen

When they first announced the Watchmen show, I was hesitant. It does feel like everyone is rushing to make anything based on comics recently, with a lot of shows varying in quality and getting cancelled after one or two seasons, without finishing. Watchmen was a breath of fresh air to the genre. The idea not to adapt the comic but make a sequel to it, is just genius. You don’t need to know the story of the original to get along with the show, but it helps. The writing is really excellent, and every episode feels vital. Each week it just seemed to get better and better. As I was watching it, I just kept thinking, it can’t get any better than this week’s, but it did. Episode 6 may be the best hour of TV ever made.

2 – Community

I think Community is the funniest show ever made. I’ve watched it all the way through six times and love it more every time. I always find more things to laugh at or pick up on more subtle details. Even though it was never a hit ratings wise, it has one hell of a loyal following that meant it kept coming back. I do think the best seasons are the first 3, but there’s something to love about each season. It’s incredibly smart writing and full of geeky references to films and TV shows.

I first found Community when looking online for shows like Arrested Development. I don’t think it’s that similar to Arrested Development, but I’m glad I found it. I’ve recommended it to many people in the years since, and some love it, some hate it. It’s one of those shows that’s not for everyone, but those who get on with it, tend to love it.

1 – Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks was groundbreaking at its time and still holds up today. It’s a murder mystery show with a strange and bizarre lore, by the end of season 3 it becomes a tale of good vs evil, as well as an exploration about how we can’t change the past. It’s from the mind of David Lynch and Mark Frost. The first two seasons are among the best of TV, the story is gripping and the characters are wonderful. Every episode adds to the enigma of who killed Laura Palmer. A lot of people feel that the series went downhill after the killer was revealed. I think the second mystery is still really good. When the third season finally aired, 25 years later, it was like nothing before on TV. I don’t think there’s been another show that is as daring or experimental. I will watch this time and time again to unravel the mystery further.

What are your favourite TV shows? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Ashley

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments