Babylon – Film Review

Posted on January 21, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Damien Chazelle

Writer: Damien Chazelle

Starring: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, and Li Jun Li

Rating: ★½

Babylon from writer and director Damien Chazelle, is an epic comedy drama set during the final years of the silent era of Hollywood. It follows a wide group of characters as they navigate the changing world of cinema. It starts with a drug-fuelled party where the main characters are all introduced and then follows them throughout the next few years of their lives. While at the party, Manuel Torres (Diego Calva) and Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) dream of being a part of the glamorous movie world, and when they eventually get there (literally the next day) they find it’s not as fabulous as they first imagined. At the same time Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) is one of the most popular actors around, and the incoming sound films is threatening his career as he tries to adapt to the future.

Sadly, the film is just a complete mess. None of the characters feel close to real at all, and I didn’t care about any of them, which made the three hour long film, feel so much longer. Near enough every character in Babylon is incredibly hollow and they just go through a meandering and aimless plot that switches between ridiculous parties one moment and making films the next. The characters aren’t interesting enough to justify it. So many things happen, and the film keeps on throwing elaborate set pieces at you, but almost none of it is exciting or even close to being actual entertainment.

It’s way too long, like seriously way too long. At around what I thought was six hours in, I thought it was coming to an end, but then realised that Tobey Maguire hadn’t arrived yet, and then it took another age before he did appear and it’s not quite over then either. It’s incredibly tedious and just plain old boring. The film should be entertaining, because there’s some extreme moments in it, but it just isn’t. At least it makes Avatar: The Way of Water not seem quite as long as before.

Littered throughout the film are incredibly brief moments that are absolute gems and make it possible to believe that somewhere underneath the literal piles of poop, crass jokes, excessive nudity, and meandering plot, there is actually a good film. There’s some really good moments with Sidney (Jovan Adepo), a trumpet player who is facing the racism within America. There’s an excellent scene between Jack and a journalist (Jean Smart) about the brevity of life and how movie stars will become timeless as people in the future will see them on the screen years after the actor has died. It’s these little moments where the film comes to life, you just have to sit through over three hours to get to them. The score from Justin Hurwitz is also really good and deserves a much better film.

Babylon is pure excess from its hedonistic party that opens the film right through to the cinematic odyssey of a finale. It’s an indulgent mess, that has some great snippets, but not enough to make it worthwhile. One of the biggest disappointments in recent years.

Thanks for reading! If you’ve seen Babylon let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Magic in London – Whistling – Part Five

Posted on January 20, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Before reading the latest part, catch up here: https://ashleymanning.com/magic-in-london/

The building’s icy chill hit Chuck as soon as he walked through the front door. The entrance hall was grand, lit up by candles burning brighter than any he’d ever seen before. In front of him was a staircase, that split into two at the top and headed off into the different wings of the house.

“It’s not normally this quiet,” Fiona said, placing Toby down on a sofa near the bottom of the stairs.

The candles flickered and there was a chill that shot through the air, attacking everything in its path. Chuck moved closer to Fiona, his footsteps echoing throughout the hall.

“Maybe it’s because it’s night-time?” he asked.

“No, it’s more than that. There’s always someone up and about at Whistling. It’s never this quiet. Stay here with Toby, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Fiona didn’t wait for Chuck to reply. She walked through the doors on the bottom floor that led underneath to the left part of the building. Normally one of the guardians would be in there. She fully expected to see her friend, sitting behind the counter eating cereal or watching something on TV, but instead the room was empty. The air cold like the house hadn’t been lived in for years. She slowed down, making each step as quiet as possible, but there was nothing else to hear.

“What happened?” she said to herself, looking around for any clues.

Returning to Chuck, she sat down on the spare seat next to Toby, wondering if the little boy had managed to save her from whatever had happened at the academy, or maybe she could have prevented it if she hadn’t left to chase him.

“What’s going on?” Chuck said.

Fiona didn’t answer straight away, instead, taking the time to actually look at the newcomer for the first time. She thought he looked timid, definitely older than she’s realised, and he lacked any sense of confidence. He could never be a Whistler. Maybe he could have been if they’d found him soon enough, but now he had just the last remnants of whatever power he’d been born with, or maybe he was something else entirely. Through all the books she’d read in the library, all the people she’d helped teach and nurture, and even through her own lessons all those years ago, she’d never come across an adult who showed any potential.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly and then leant back on the chair. “I think something’s happened. I just don’t know what. There’s not a lot of students here at the moment, but there should be someone making noise. At least one of the other guardians poking about. Someone would normally notice us coming and there would have been others worrying about Toby. It just makes no sense at all.”

There was a loud crash that echoed throughout the building, shaking everything in the room. Fiona jumped up and pulled out her knife, holding it at arm’s length as she moved around the room, checking all the doors. Her heat was racing, it was the first time she’d felt anything close to fear within those walls. Another crash and one of the candles blew out, leaving half the room shrouded in darkness.

“Stay in the light,” she shouted at Chuck moving away from the shadow the extinguished candle had left. “If it’s another shadow creature we can’t do anything if they get you in the shadows. It’ll kill you before I could stop it.”

Fiona held her knife out, pointed towards the shadow, and waited, silently hoping that it was just someone playing a prank. She could see Chuck panicking, standing as close to the light as possible, and she pitied him. He wasn’t supposed to be there, but what else could she do. If she’d come back and told Arthur that an adult had seen them after she’d cast a protective spell around herself and Toby, then he would have likely gutted her on the spot for not bringing him back. Arthur was fair, but he didn’t like people who wasted his time, that was for sure.

When there wasn’t another sound echoing throughout the room, she flicked her knife towards the unlit candle and a ball of fire jumped towards it and set it ablaze, making the room even brighter than before.

“Something’s definitely not right. Take Toby and go outside, the moon will keep you lit up so if there is a shadow creature, then it won’t be able to get you. I’m going to go and check the rooms.

Chuck did what Fiona said, even though he knew he wasn’t safe outside, he’d seen that spider thing on the streets of London. Moonlight wouldn’t stop it at all, but he just couldn’t express that in words.

With Chuck out of the way, Fiona moved to the staircase, casting a ball of fire to appear and hang above her head as she walked, holding the knife out with every step. The stairs creaked, exactly in the way they were supposed to. Room after room was empty. The library, the dorms, the lecture halls. All empty and cold, unlived in. In total there were no more than fifteen people on the premises at any time, as much as Arthur had dreamed of more when he first created the place, and Fiona had never realised it was so large until she was exploring it alone. Every step echoed throughout the empty rooms. The entirety of the second floor was empty, as was the ground floor. The kitchen, living areas, training room; all empty.

There was only one place left for Fiona to check, and that was the basement. The students were forbidden to go there. At least until they mastered the basics. That is where the guardians would practice, and Fiona did not want to go down there. Not if there was something loose in the building. She walked through the entrance hallway, underneath the grand staircase. She closed her eyes and cursed. The chains on the basement door were missing. Whatever was going on, she’d find the answer down there, that was a guarantee. She looked up and at the front door, wondering if perhaps it was a good idea to let Chuck know where she was going, but what good would that do? He couldn’t help, and it’s better that Toby has a chance at being safe. Fiona opened the door and walked through, taking the first steps into the basement.

To be continued…

Part Six is available here: https://ashleymanning.com/2023/01/27/magic-in-london-whistling-part-six/! Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Junji Ito Maniac – Episode One: The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Séance – Review

Posted on January 19, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

The first episode of Netflix’s new anthology series Junji Ito Maniac, adapts Ito’s short manga story The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Seance into a twenty minute anime. It follows the Hikizuri family who are mourning the loss of the their parents. Everyday they see off the eldest sibling, Kazuya, who pretends to go to work so he can be a good role model to his younger brothers and sisters. He pretends that their inheritance is actually his wages. It’s a strange power dynamic that he holds over the rest of the family.

While pretending to be at work, Kazuya meets a young woman who is taking photographs by a river. She’s actually trying to take pictures of spirits, since several people have drowned at that spot. Kazuya takes an interest in her and invites her back to the family house to take pictures of potential spirits. Afterwards the family decide to try and contact their parents through a séance and invite the photographer as a witness.

The animation in the first episode is pretty good, it’s smooth and easy to watch. It also adds to the more comical moments of the story. The English dub is also fine, with nothing that really stands out as weak or excellent. What lets the episode down is just how weak the story is. The characters are interesting, but the plot is very cliched and throwaway. You can pretty much see every twist coming before it happens. It’s a strange one to start the series with, since there’s definitely better Ito stories.

Aside from the characters, there are other good moments. There’s some creepy moments, and some unsettling imagery. There’s also a really good blend of comedy and horror, with the youngest sibling being both incredibly angry and excitable almost at the same time. Also, stick around for the final credits which without spoiling anything is one of the best bits of the episodes.

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

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

Blood on the Tracks – Volume 2 – Manga Review

Posted on January 18, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Blood on the tracks is a really twisted horror manga. It follows Seiichi, a shy and awkward teenager who has an incredibly overprotective mother, Seiko. After Seiichi’s cousin started to mock his relationship with his mother in the first volume while on a family trip in the middle of the woods, Seiko pushed him off a cliff top, to what you’d assume would be his death. Well volume two starts with a twist that he survived, but he’s massively injured and is in a coma.

I really felt sorry for Seiichi, as he’s left in the impossible spot, not knowing what to do. He can’t tell people that he saw his mother hurt his cousin because, if people even believe him, he would lose her but he wants to do the right thing. She’s very manipulating of him, and he’s completely dependent on her. Even when the pair are alone in a brief sequence, they don’t talk about it at all. You can tell he wants to know why she did it, but he can’t bring himself to ask.

Seiichi’s inner turmoil is very present throughout the story, with long sequences where he’s expected to answer simple questions where he just can’t. The art style reflects this. It’s manic, and there’s so little text throughout the entire volume, so it’s easy to absolutely fly through it in one sitting. Normally it would feel like a rip-off when you by a manga that can be read so quickly, but it works perfectly for the story and the art is so great throughout that it makes up for it. It’s also completely page turning and you can’t wait for the next big reveal and that makes you read it even faster.

Blood on the Tracks is simply messed up and the way volume two ends is somehow even more messed up than when it began. It leaves a really unsettling feeling in your stomach as the story continues, but you have to know more. Seiko is a demented character and I can’t wait to pick up volume three and start reading straight away.

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

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

Plane – Film Review

Posted on January 17, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Jean-François Richet

Writer: Charles Cumming and J. P. Davis

Starring: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An, and Tony Goldwyn

Rating: ★★★½ 

Gerard Butler’s latest action thriller is Plane. A film that had a working title and at no point did anyone think to swap it for a real one. Despite that, it’s a really solid action thriller that’s simply pure escapism from start to finish.

The opening sequence is the best part of the film, by far. It wastes no time telling you that the flight is going to go badly (not that you needed telling that going to see a film called Plane starring Gerard Butler), and then once the foreshadowing is out of the way, the turbulence starts. As the plane starts to navigate through a storm, it’s incredibly tense and definitely not something you want to watch before a big flight. Then the plane actually lands on an old road in the middle of a jungle, and it’s a lot smoother than you’d expect, but it kind of has to for plot reasons. There isn’t a film if the characters die straight away, and it can’t really be called Plane if the plane isn’t there for the finale.  

The plan lands on a remote island and Captain Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) recruits a murderer who was being extradited on the plane, Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) and they travel to a facility in the jungle to try and find a way of contacting help. While they’re gone the rest of the survivors are kidnaped by a militia group that live on the island, and Torrance decides to get them back. It’s a good thing that the captain was previously in the RAF and is a family man who wants to make sure his passengers sees their families, which is pretty much all the development his character gets, or the plot would be going nowhere fast.  

The entire plot is incredibly simple and straightforward throughout the film, after the plane goes down, it plays out pretty much exactly as you’d expect. It’s not trying to be anything special, just completely entertaining and thrilling all the way through. The action is well shot and exciting, especially close-up hand to hand fist fight that Torrance finds himself in early-on in the film. As  you’d expect there are a few silly moments and some cringe-inducing dialogue, especially during the finale, but by that point the film already has you hooked so they’re easy to overlook.

Plane is a well-made roller coaster. The opening twenty minutes are worth the ticket alone, and there’s a lot of very action throughout the film. It’s not brilliant, but it’s more than watchable. It’s just a shame that it has the dumbest title imaginable.

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

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