Road Games – Film Review

Posted on June 10, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Richard Franklin

Staring: Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis

Rating: ★★★★

The 1980s is one of the high points for classic films, from long lasting franchises like Indiana Jones and Karate Kid, to one of a kind classics like The Breakfast Club or The Thing and everything in between. There is a never ending list of classic and instantly recognisable films from the decade. It’s full of unique fashion, hair and music that instantly sets the time and place. There isn’t another decade like it. We are currently going through a revival where there are so many films/tv shows coming out that borrows the aesthetic to give credibility to their show and live in the nostalgia.

It goes without saying that while the ‘must-see’ film list of the 80s is extremely long, that there a films that are more than worth seeing that no one really talks about. When you find one of those gems it’s a miraculous feeling. Road Games, directed by Richard Franklin with a screenplay by Everett De Roche, is one of those forgotten gems that should be considered a classic. In any other decade it probably would be.

Part Rear Window, part Duel, Road Games is a horror thriller following Pat Quid, played by Stacy Keach, a truck driver who is suspicious about a van driver he sees with a hitchhiker one night. There is a killer on the loose killing hitchhikers. He isn’t completely sure and the police won’t take him seriously. As he travels from one side of Australia to the other, he keeps on running into the van driver, antagonising each other. Along the way he picks up Pamela, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and together they try to solve the mystery. Throughout he isn’t even sure if the van driver is the murderer, but there is something off about him. 

This film should be a classic and I can’t understand why I haven’t heard of it before. It’s full of suspense, humour and great performances. It’s incredibly tense and will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to see how the next scene plays out. Pat Quid is incredibly charismatic and charming as the lead role. Jamie Lee Curtis is also great as Pamela, playing off Keach’s character with great chemistry.

Throughout the film, there is a small group of travellers that keep on popping up along Quid’s cross-country journey delivering. They pop up again and again, making you feel that this is almost a wacky race across the country, as they each take the lead from each other. The characters are all quirky and funny throughout. Quid monologues to himself towards the start where he goes through the people he sees on the road, throwing out jokes here and there, he gives them all names, which is how they are listed in the credits. They aren’t fully formed characters, the only ones that matter are played by Keach and Curtis, but the supporting characters are funny and bring a quirky personality to the film.

There are moments of this film that have an insane amount of tension. It doesn’t matter that this film is 40 years old, it feels like it could have been made last year. It’s still funny, it’s still scary and I would say that it is a hidden classic. It’s a damn shame that we got so many pointless Halloween, Phantasm and Friday the 13th sequels but not a Road Games 2 or even a remake in the years since. Road Games is in a desperate need of being re-evaluated. It isn’t widely available in the UK, not appearing on any of the main streaming services, not even to rent. The DVD is pricy¸ and the Blu Ray is just stupidly expensive. Hopefully one day this will change.    

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Nobody – Film Review

Posted on June 9, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Ilya Naishuller

Staring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov and Christopher Lloyd.

Rating: ★★★½

There is a sub-genre of action films about a power fantasy, where somebody has just had enough and snaps. Falling Down is the best example of this and that is what the first half an hour of Nobody feels like. Pure wish-fulfilment of a middle aged man, stuck in life with no real purpose. The film starts with a montage of Hutch, played by Bob Odenkirk, and his mundane day to day life. He misses the bins going week after week, which just makes you wonder why don’t they leave the bin out for the next week and where is all of the rubbish piling up? The bin doesn’t look any fuller each week.

The break from this routine is when 2 people break into the house at the middle of the night. Hutch has the chance to take a swing with a golf club, but decides not to. They only take a few dollars from their bowl of change. It’s the next day when Hutch’s daughter can’t find her kitty cat bracelet that Hutch snaps. He goes off to find the bracelet, and while he doesn’t fulfil that mission he ends up protecting a girl on the bus from a group of thugs. One of those thugs happens to be the brother to Russian mob psycho Yulian Kuznetsov, played by Aleksei Serebryakov. This starts the plot in motion.

There are a few twists and turns along the way, that keep the movie entertaining for the 90ish minutes that it runs for. Nothing completely original but it’s fun. This is essentially Falling Down mixed with a hell of a lot of Rambo. The final sequence could have easily been lifted straight from a Rambo film. It’s loud, full of violence, death and explosions.

There is a lack of subtly in it’s character dynamics. There is literally a wall of pillows between Hutch and his wife, showing their distant marriage, which she removes once he starts to find himself again. While things may be painted out to you a lot during the early parts, at the same time, the little hints that it gives you to Hutch’s past before the whole thing is revealed is really well done. It’s little things at first. He knows the exact type of gun the people who broke in used. It’s enough to make you think why would he know that, without taking you out of the film. It then builds and builds to the big reveal which is masterfully played out with humour as everyone he tells about his past dies during the exposition dump.

It works for the most part and it is definitely entertaining. Once it gets going there is a lot of humour. There were a few moments where everyone in the cinema was laughing out loud. It does take a while for the tone to settle. For the first half hour, I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be a comedy or a gritty drama about a man on a mission. The fight on the bus towards the beginning is rough and violent. It’s not slapstick, but a well choreographed fight that makes you believe that Odenkirk could be an action hero. After this the film starts to take itself a lot less seriously and the comedy ramps up. It’s a good blend and it works well.

Nobody is a really good film, it’s funny at times and thrilling at others, but it is so close to being an excellent film. There is just something lacking. Bob Odenkirk does a good job as the lead role, but you will wish that he was having more fun with the role. Hutch is barely a character. He has little to no personality and if there was more to him that would elevate the film to another level. Another thing is the way it is presented. It’s bland. There isn’t anything that stands out visually. This film is begging to be a spectacle to look at with action popping off the screen, but it just isn’t. There is a moment towards the end with music when Hutch is driving. It really makes it clear that the film is missing a great jukebox soundtrack to punctuate the violence. I feel that if Nobody had more personality throughout then this would become a comedy/action classic.

I know a lot of people are going to love this film, and it is definitely worth a watch. This is pure escapism and is full of great set pieces and scenes. The fights are well shot and the film moves at a steady pace. If there was more to it, then it would be a must see. It’s enjoyable, and I hope this won’t be forgotten quickly. That would be a shame as it is so close to being a great film. It’s worth watching just to see Christopher Lloyd with a shotgun, which is something I didn’t know that I needed to see.

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New York, New York – Film Review

Posted on June 8, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli

Rating: ★★★½

I just want to start by saying that I watched the short version of this film, which is just over 2 hours. There is an almost 3 hour version, which I’ve heard very poor things about. I’m working my way through Scorsese’s filmography and thought if this was a bad one then the short version was the way to go. Now that I’ve seen if, I will go back and watch the longer version at some point.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, onwards. Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest American directors of all time, especially when it comes to presenting the world as a dark and gritty place. Films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Bringing out the Dead and The King of Comedy, all show the dark side of humanity in an all too real way. That’s not to say that Scorsese’s films only show the dark side of the world. Hugo from 2011, is one of his greatest films and it is a beautiful love letter to the origins of cinema and the grandfather of all sci-fi and fantasy George Méliès. Hugo is an amazing film, that is full of wonder and will make you love cinema.

Way back in the late 1970s, Scorsese wanted to break away from the gritty realism with New York, New York. The sets are designed like those from the golden age of Hollywood, with artificial trees, obviously fake painted backgrounds and curbs that are too tall for New York City. The stylised visuals are a treat for the eyes, especially with the old-style aspect ratio that the film is presented in. If you told someone this was filmed in the 50s, then they would probably believe you. Scorsese didn’t break away completely from the gritty realism, with Robert De Niro playing Jimmy Doyle a saxophone player, trying to make his break. He is a borderline sociopath, full of anger at the world and a controlling streak that is simply menacing. If this was played by someone else then Jimmy could be a loveable, charming selfish scoundrel. Almost like Joey from Friends or Barney from How I met Your Mother. That isn’t how De Niro plays him though. There is charm and there are points where you do feel for him, but for the most part the sinister side of him is visible on the surface. This isn’t someone you like, when you know you shouldn’t, Jimmy is someone you hope you never meet.

Jimmy meets Francine Evans, played by Liza Minnelli, at party celebrating the end of the second world war and instantly takes a shine to her. Francine is a rising starlet. Despite her constant rejections and wishes to be left alone, Jimmy persists and keeps on talking to her. The next day, he spots her again and while trying to avoid being seen by the hotel staff ends up in her cab and they spend the day together, leading to their lives to be interwoven from here on out.

There are a lot of similarities in the plot of New York, New York to a much more recent film, La La Land. Both feature musicians meeting rising stars and they fall in love. In both films, they struggle to keep the relationship with their growing success. The big difference is that in La La Land you want them to end up together, while in New York, New York you want Francine to get away from Jimmy as fast as she can.

Jimmy is an interesting character and there is more there than what shows on the surface. It is never explored fully, at least not in the shorter version, but there is hints of something. He dresses down for the celebration party, declining to wear his uniform from his time in the army. One of his friends asks him why he isn’t wearing it and he said he traded it for the shirt he is wearing. He is unhinged throughout, but there is hints of a dark past that could have caused him to act this way. It feels that he is always one word away from snapping, and the war could be what pushed him to this point. It’s interesting that it doesn’t give the full story, but gives you enough to have a good guess.

New York, New York is an interesting film filled with potential, there’s just something missing. The visuals are there, the music is there, the performances are great. It’s just a struggle with such a dislikeable main character that you want to fail. If the film was more from Francine’s perspective, then it would be a great improvement, as you want her to succeed. Their romance isn’t believable. Jimmy is not a good guy and Francine can see that from the start and multiple times throughout. You just want her to get away and never have to cross paths with him again. 

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters – Film Review

Posted on June 7, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Michael Dougherty

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler and Ken Watanabe

Rating: ★★

After the boring Godzilla 2014, I don’t think anyone had much hope for its sequel. Which is probably why Godzilla: King of the Monsters, bombed at the box office when it did finally come out in 2019. It starts in the final act of the first film, showing the Godzilla v Muto fight from the ground perspective and the destruction it causes people. Mark and Emma Russel (Played by Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga) lose their son Andrew. Five years skip by and they are no longer together. Emma is working with Monarch to understand the Titans while Mark is off in the wilderness chopping wood, because there needed to be a reason they weren’t at the same place.

Emma and her team witness the awakening of Mothra, and while Emma tries to communicate with her (using a device known as The Orca) an execution style squad comes in and kills the entire team kidnapping Emma and her teenage daughter played by Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things). That leads Mark to travel the globe to save his family while working with Monarch and Godzilla to stop the new Titan that is awakened, Monster Zero (Ghidorah).

Much like the previous film, Godzilla King of the Monsters is seriously lacking in likeable and interesting characters. Most of the film is spend following Mark as he shouts as the so-called experts, telling them obvious things that they should have already known. He’s annoying and doesn’t really have a point in the film. If you removed his character completely the same film would happen, almost identically. They make the mistake, like they did in the first film of killing any character worth caring about too early. In the 2014 film everything fell apart once Bryan Cranston was killed off, and while this one isn’t as bad or boring, it does spend way too much time with people who just don’t matter.

There is no actual character building or growth throughout, instead using paper thin characters to carry the plot along. It just makes no sense why we spend so much time with them instead of Godzilla. They even tint the good guy’s vehicle with a blue tint and the bad guys with a red one, just in case you’re so bored you don’t know which one is which.

Once the monsters take battle, the film improves massively. We go to see Godzilla films for destruction and monster fights, and these are enjoyable once you get to them, the issue is that between them there is just a ton of exposition that is simply boring. Again, like in 2014, too much of the film takes place at night or in the rain making parts of it hard to see.

The score is almost forgettable. One of the best things about the original Godzilla from 1954, is the score. It’s haunting, foreboding and instantly recognisable. There is one moment, when Godzilla re-emerges that a riff on the original kicks in and it’s one of the best bits of the movie. What it really does, is make poor quality of the rest of the score stand out even more. The cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s Godzilla, featuring Serj Tankian on vocals is absolutely great and makes the credits even more of a reward as this plays over the top.

For the most part this film is not worth it. It’s way too long, boring and with little pay off. There are some brilliant moments in it, Godzilla’s first appearance, pulsating underwater, is fantastic. There’s an ejector seat mishap which is almost funny enough to give the film some much needed personality. The monsters are really entertaining to watch, you just leave wishing there was more of that.

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Eraserhead – Film Review

Posted on June 6, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: David Lynch

Starring: Jack Nance and Charlotte Stewart

Rating:  ★★★★

David Lynch is well known for his odd, strange, unsettling and often quite funny films. His work such as Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire and Lost Highway have divided audiences since they first hit the big screen. It all started with Eraserhead, which last year received a Criterion Collection release on Blu Ray. Your enjoyment of a Lynch film is based on if you need to understand the film to enjoy it or are simply happy to be sucked into a world of the absurd and just let yourself react to what you see.

Near enough nothing in Eraserhead makes sense in the typical way. It’s strange and unsettling and attacks your senses with a loud ambient noise of mechanical whirling and wind and very little dialogue, combined with a vivid black and white picture. Most of the film is up for interpretation and that’s the way Lynch likes it. He has long said that the film is whatever the viewer thinks it is. He calls it his most spiritual film, but that doesn’t give you the key to unlocking this enigma.

The narrative follows Henry Spencer, who after coming home with groceries is told by his neighbour that he has been invited by his girlfriend, Mary X played by Charlotte Stewart, to have dinner at her parent’s house. Things are not what they seem and Henry is confronted by Mary’s Mother about if he has had sexual relations with Mary, which is because Mary is pregnant. Mary and Henry are then destined to wed and live in his small apartment to raise the child. This may seem like a rather ordinary story up to this point, but this is presented in usual Lynch fashion. Mary’s parents are strange, the chicken writhes on the dinner plate, pulsating out blood. Mary’s grandmother is sitting in the kitchen, not moving. There’s a loud mechanical sound pulsating in the background. And that is just the start of the absurdity. The child does not resemble anything close to human, closer to a bird.

Like most of Lynch’s work there is a dream/nightmare style tone throughout. Even Henry with his child-like qualities, is confused by the world that is presented around him. In Henry’s room is a plant, which pretty much sums up the film. The plant isn’t in a pot, instead the soil is just a mound with the dying plant sticking out. The pot that would hold it together is gone¸ in the same way that the walls around Henry’s mind are decayed. He is a broken man, troubled by the world around him and what we are seeing is the way he is projecting the world around him. His mind is escaping, just like the plant next to his bed. Through this we see the absurd and abstract world. The creature-like child, the woman who lives in the radiator, the strange noise that is constantly assaulting you. Everything is seeping from Henry and being projected out for you to witness. He is troubled, worn down by the world around him, his small apartment, job and finally the anxiety of parenthood. At least that’s the way I see it. As Lynch himself says, everyone sees it differently and there is no right answer.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand every scene or can’t make heads or tails of every action. If you sit back and let the film take you then you will be unsettled by a creeping dread that builds throughout to the horrific finale that will make you feel sick to your stomach. It’s full of comedy, tension and horror. Jack Nance gives a fantastic performance of Henry and one that will stick with you.

If you’ve already seen Eraserhead, or even if you haven’t, then the Criterion Collection edition is worth your time. Not only has the film never looked better, it comes with an array of features, including early trailers of the film, a few featurettes on the making of the film and a 90-minute documentary. None of which will explain the absurdity of Eraserhead, but it will broaden your understanding and appreciation. Alongside these are a few short films of Lynch, from around the time the main film was released in the last 70s. There is also a 60ish page book that contains a reprint of an interview with Lynch from the 90s, it’s a must read for any Lynch fan. To top it all off there is even a tutorial on the disc on how to set up your TV set, with brightness and contrast to ensure that you see the film the way that Lynch intended.

If you haven’t already seen Eraserhead or any of Lynch’s films, then you need to give it a try. It’s not as accessible as some of Lynch’s later work, but why not start at the beginning. If you have already seen it, then buy the Criterion Collection edition and re-visit it, you won’t be disappointed.

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