Metal Lords – Film Review

Posted on April 8, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Peter Sollett

Writer: D.B. Weiss

Starring: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth, Brett Gelman, and Joe Manganiello

Rating: ★★★

Metal Lords is written by D. B. Weiss, who previously co-adapted Game of Thrones for TV. It’s the first thing that Weiss has written since the show ended with it’s controversial, to say the least, final season. Metal Lords is something completely different. It’s a deep-dive into classic metal through a coming-of-age story that’s charming enough to keep you watching.

Kevin (Jaeden Martell) and Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) are in a metal band together, and the battle of the bands is coming up. They are in desperate need of a bassist, and while Emily (Isis Hainsworth) seems to fit the bill, Hunter doesn’t like her. Kevin and Emily get closer and closer, until it drives a wedge between Kevin and Hunter and their long friendship is tested.

The film is a fairly predictable story, and plot wise there’s nothing surprising or new being brought to the table. What makes its different is it’s a love letter to metal music. Director Peter Sollett, who previously directed the fantastic Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, does a fantastic job at telling a story, while also giving an introduction to metal lesson. There’s everything here from the classics like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Judas Priest, all the way up to the modern classics like Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold. If you’re a fan of metal music, then it’s worth watching just for the exceptional soundtrack. There’s barely a moment that isn’t accompanied by great music. There’s even a few cameos from some metal legends.

The cast all do a fine job bringing the story to life, even if their characters, especially Hunter, don’t feel real in the slightest. They all feel like they’re out of a teen TV show, which is especially jarring with the amount of swearing in the film. Despite how fake the characters come across, the film does win you over and by the end of it you’re onboard with them and want them to win at the competition.

Overall, the film is enjoyable. The fantastic soundtrack and metal references save the day. The story is predictable, but it’s all about that metal music. If you’re not into metal music, then probably give this a miss.  

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Becky – Film Review

Posted on April 7, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Directors: Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion

Writers: Nick Morris, Lane Skye, and Ruckus Skye

Starring: Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, and Joel McHale

Rating: ★★★★

Becky is a dark thriller, about a thirteen-year-old girl who reaches her breaking point and turns psycho. Becky (Lulu Wilson) is spending some time with her father, Jeff (Joel McHale) and his new partner, at their holiday home. Becky and Jeff’s relationship is already strained, with Becky grieving for the loss of her mother a year prior. At the same time Neo-Nazi Dominick (Kevin James) arrives at the house to take a key, that Becky has taken.

This film is completely intense in the best way possible. It starts with Becky being questioned about what’s happened, giving vague answers. Time then jumps back to the events, so you know that Becky survives from the beginning. Even so, it’s still an intense thriller. Dominick and his gang use force to try and take the key, but with everything Becky has going on in her life she snaps and starts to fight back, with brutal violence. There are some grotesque moments in the film, especially one sequence involving an eye that isn’t for the squeamish.

Lulu Wilson is absolutely brilliant as Becky, being completely believable as an almost evil Home Alone protagonist. Kevin James is also brilliant, playing a completely different type of character. The usual comic actor is surprisingly sinister and does a great job playing the villain of the story. Their performances are what carry the film.

At the centre of the plot is the key that Dominick is after, but that’s never actually explained. It’s left as a hanging mystery throughout the film, and we never get to find out what it’s actually for. Not that it really matters, because the film is really about a teenage girl murdering the home invaders. It’s not about the plot at all, just the action and violence.

Overall, Becky is a great thriller. It’s dark and twisted, filled with great effects, and really entertaining from start to finish. Really worth seeking out.

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Inheritance – Film Review

Posted on April 6, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Vaughn Stein

Writer: Matthew Kennedy

Starring: Lily Collins, Simon Pegg, Connie Nielsen, Chance Crawford, and Patrick Warburton

Rating: ★★½

Inheritance is a fun little thriller that works as long as you don’t think about it too much. It’s easy watching and enjoyable, but far from memorable. After Archer Monroe (Patrick Warburton) suddenly dies of a mysterious heart attack, his daughter Lauren (Lily Collins) is left to solve the last mysteries of his life. Alongside one million dollars he also leaves her a USB stick with a video telling her where to find a secret. It leads her to a bunker, inside which is a man (Simon Pegg).

The premise of the film is really interesting. Who is the man in the bunker? You’re hooked almost straight away, wanting to know who he is and why he’s down there. It’s a great mystery that slowly unfolds throughout. It keeps a good pace and doesn’t ever feel like it’s dragging. Simon Pegg is really great, in a rare non-comedic role. He’s sinister and is the highlight of the film. Sadly, it does take a long time for him to really let loose, but once he does it’s great. If only there was more of it.  

The film starts to fall apart with how ridiculous everything is presented. Archer leaves her daughter the video, confessing a secret that he had hoped to deal with before his death, and is very vague about it. So when she meets the man, she doesn’t know why he’s down there. Pretty much everything in the film would be solved if he left a letter explaining it or didn’t tell her about it at all.

Lauren is an impeccably moral led character, as the district attorney, she follows a strict code of right and wrong, but doesn’t call the police when she finds the bunker. The film spends the opening ten minutes going to painstaking lengths to show you that Lauren has high values, only for them to disappear instantly.

Thankfully it all comes together in the end, with a good finale that doesn’t disappoint. There’s a few twists, even if they aren’t that surprising, and the film ends on a strong note. It’s a good time while it’s on. Overall, the film is never boring, always keeping your attention. It’s not amazing, and a lot of the plot falls apart the more you think about it, but it’s still entertaining to watch.  

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Operation Mincemeat – Film Review

Posted on April 5, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: John Madden

Writer: Michelle Ashford

Starring: Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Penelope Wilton, Jonny Flynn, and Jason Isaacs

Rating: ★★★½

Operation Mincemeat, which is written by Michelle Ashford and directed by John Madden, tells the true story of the secret mission to deceive Hitler into believing that Allied forces were planning to invade Greece, while they were actually planning to invade Sicily. By convincing Hitler of the fake plans, it would mean less resistance in the actual invasion.

Colin Firth is excellent as Ewen Montagu, a judge turned intelligence officer, who leads the operation, along with Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen). Together they develop the plan, and then take the corpse of a homeless person in order to float the body with fake documents to the coast of Spain in order for German spies to discover and report the documents with the evidence of the Greece invasion. They enlist Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), who helps them develop an imaginary life for the body, so it can hold up to scrutiny from German spies.

The actual story is interesting to learn about, and the film does a good job at explaining what happened. The cast are all great, with all the characters feeling realistic and natural. They feel very authentic, as does the sets and costumes. It’s easy to get completely absorbed into the story. Just thinking that it worked is amazing enough, especially with how unbelievable the story is at first. It does a really good job at creating tension throughout the story, even though we all know the ending going in.

Jonny Flynn, who plays Ian Fleming, stands out, giving a more exaggerated, almost comedic, performance than everyone else. Most of his moments seem to be there as a wink to the audience for writing James Bond after the war, rather than his involvement with the operation. He mentions ‘M’, which is his own codeword for John Godfrey (Jason Isaacs), as well as mentioning novels at any moment. He even states that he’s writing a spy story at one point.

Being a dramatized version of actual events, there’s a really forced love triangle between Ewen, Charles and Jean. Ewen and Jean connect quickly, which causes a lot of jealousy from Charles. A lot of the film is focused on this, which just feels a little strange. The actual operation goes quite smoothly, with very little issues, so it feels like as interesting as the story is, there just isn’t enough there for a full-length story, so there’s a bit of padding through sub-plots. Ewen’s brother is under suspicion of being a communist sympathiser and Russian spy, while Charles is trying to get the body of his own brother back home to be buried. It may be called Operation Mincemeat, but there’s just as much time spent with the subplots. Thankfully, the film is engaging throughout and the subplots don’t feel like baggage but more just building up the main people who were involved with the operation.

With a great cast, great direction, and an interesting piece of history, Operation Mincemeat is a really entertaining film. If you’re interested in history, especially of World War II, then this is worth watching.

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Good Time – Film Review

Posted on April 4, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie

Writers: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress, Taliah Lennice, and Jennifer Jason Leigh

Rating: ★★★★

Robert Pattison stars as Constantine “Connie” Nikas in The Safdie Brother’s Good Time. After his brother, Nick (Benny Safdie) is arrested during a failed bank robbery, Connie stops at nothing to break his brother out of prison, taking everyone, he meets down with him along the way.

Good Time is an incredibly fast-paced and intense film. Right from the opening scene where Nick is attending a therapy session, this film is full-on. It’s filled with close-up shots as characters speak, and you’re just thrown into the story. There’s very little introduction, and you know straight away that this is something different.

The Safdie Brothers expertly craft a film that just ramps up the tension consistently. It’s completely over-the-top, and there’s not one point where you aren’t completely invested in what’s happening on screen. The events are borderline ridiculous, to the point that if the tone was slightly lighter then this could be a Harold and Kumar film, right down to the appearance of White Castle, but instead this is a dark crime thriller.

Everyone gives outstanding performances, with all the characters feeling very real. Robert Pattinson is beyond excellent, giving one of the best performances of his career. Good Time is one of those rare films that has you hooked all the way through, and you’re just completely involved and when the final credits start to roll, it’s hard to believe that over a hundred minutes have passed.

Overall, Good Time is an engrossing and captivating film. It grabs your attention straight away and doesn’t let you go until it’s over.

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