Love Like the Falling Petals – Film Review

Posted on March 24, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Yoshihiro Fukagawa

Writer:  Tomoko Yoshida

Starring: Kento Nakajima and Honoka Matsumoto

Rating: ★★★★

Based on the of the same name by Keisuke Uyama, Love Like the Falling Petals is a tragic romance that’s available on Netflix. It follows the story of an aspiring photographer Haruto (Kento Nakajima) who falls in love with his hairdresser, Misaki (Honoka Matsumoto). Their romance burns brightly and quickly as Misaki is diagnosed with progeroid, which causes her to age incredibly quickly. Not wanting Haruto to see her she breaks up with him and their lives start to drift apart.

The opening of this film lulls you into a false sense that this is going to be a light-hearted rom-com. Haruto and Misaki are both quirky and oddball characters who almost instantly hit it off. Between every hair appointment Haruto spends time studying Misaki’s likes, doing things like rewatching her favourite movie over and over, so he has something to talk about with her. He then turns during an appointment to ask her out, and she slices his ear lobe off. The first thirty or so minutes are full of fun and offbeat moments. After that though, the tone completely changes.

At first Misaki is just ill with a fever, and you think nothing more of it, then she goes to the hospital after extreme pain during the night. The film stops being funny and cutesy and instead maintains a deeply sombre feel for the rest of the over two hour runtime. It’s a heartbreaing story to watch that doesn’t pull any emotional punches. It’s a complete tearjerker.

Both of the leads are absolutely fantastic, with great chemistry between them. They feel like real people and you really get to know them. Their relationship feels real. It’s not perfect but you can feel the connection they share. Misaki completely motivates Haruto to follow his dreams and take photos. They bring the best out in each other. Misaki’s brother is also a great character. He’s beyond overprotective of her since their parents died, and shows a lot of distrust towards Haruto.

Almost everything in this film is designed to make you as emotional as possible. The schmaltzy sentimental opening, through each dramatic and tragic plot beat all the way up to the gut punch of an ending. Kento Nakajima carries the emotional weight perfectly towards the end. It may be a predictable story once it gets going, but it’s masterfully played out.

Love Like the Falling Petals is a life affirming love story. It’s captivating to watch, with two excellent performances from the leads. Something that shouldn’t be lost in the Netflix shuffle.  

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The Spine of Night – Film Review

Posted on March 23, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Directors: Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King

Writers: Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King

Starring: Richard E. Grant, Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt, Betty Gabriel, Joe Manganiello

Rating: ★★★½

The Spine of Night is an animated dark fantasy film from Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King. It’s a very horrific and gory animated film, that looks great and builds an interesting world. The story takes place over several generations and is filled with more traditional fantasy elements from magic and witches, to bloody battles and empires.  

The film is framed by Tzod (Lucy Lawless) telling The Guardian (Richard E. Grant) what’s happened to the blue bloom that she once had in possession. It was taken form her by Ghal-Sur (Jordan Smith), who leaves her for death in the swamp she once called home. Ghal-Sur uses the bloom to become an all-powerful tyrannical leader for centuries to come.

The story starts with Tzod and Ghal-Sur meeting for the first time, when he takes the power from her and then the film skip generations into the future, catching up with what’s happened over the years. It does mean the film feels a little episodic and when you get into one segment it feels like it’s over and replaced with another, each one with less interesting characters. The thread running through them all is Ghal-Sur’s reign.

The animation is great, and feels completely different to most things we get now. There’s something really brutal and raw about it, with a rough around the edges feel. It completely works with the dark fantasy setting for the story. It also works with the extreme amounts of violence and gore in the film. People being sliced up every which way, and its borderline stomach churning to watch.

It’s like Masters of the Universe with a lot more blood, guts and death. It’s a visual feast with some unique and captivating animation. It may suffer from the stop/start chapters, but when it works it has you completely under its spell.

The Spine of Night will be available on Shudder from March 24th

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Night’s End – Film Review

Posted on March 22, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Jennifer Reeder

Writer: Brett Neveu

Starring: Geno Walker, Kate Arrington, Felonious Munj, Lawrence Grimm, Daniel Kyri, Theo Germaine, Morgan Reesh, and Michael Shannon

Rating: ★★★½

Night’s End is a completely new take on the haunted house genre, that feels very inspired by the last couple of years, even if the pandemic isn’t mentioned at all. Ken (Geno Walker) is a shut-in, recovering from a breakdown in a new apartment. Without a job he’s turned to making videos giving out advice online. When one of his friends points out a dead bird falling from a shelf in the background of a video, he starts to investigate the history of his new apartment and finds an unsettling past.

The first ten minutes of the film sets everything up perfectly. Watching Ken making a few videos, his isolated apartment with newspaper covering every window, the dead birds lining a table, the strange liquid in the fridge. You instantly know everything you need to. Ken’s only contact with the outside world, other than through making the videos, is video calling with friends who are clearly worried about him. His character is built up throughout the film with little pieces of information here and there, so you get to know him.

When things start to get creepy, it really picks up. It really plays on the horror with the idea of being shut off from people that you know and only being able to see them online and at the same time finding out your apartment is haunted. The atmosphere that director Jennifer Reeder creates is full of tension. Ken is completely alone and you feel it, as the screen starts to stutter and glitch on his calls you know somethings going to happen, and there’ll be no one there to help.

Ken’s friends are a great set of characters. They’re made up of a childhood friend Terry (Felonious Munk), his ex-wife Kelsey and her new partner Isaac (played by real life married couple Kate Arrington and Michael Shannon). At first they don’t know whether to believe Ken or not, as they’re worried about him having another breakdown, especially once Ken starts drinking again. Michael Shannon is excellent, bringing some funny moments, and seeming to have a lot of fun in the film.

Sadly, the film is really let down by some incredibly dodgy effects and a poor ending. The budget is clearly low, and that’s not a problem in itself, but when there’s some awkward effects it completely takes you out of the film and almost feels like a parody. The ending is also not satisfying at all. It feels like everything that was being built up is rushed to a conclusion.

Overall, the film offers a creepy atmosphere and some great moments. Michael Shannon is completely brilliant, and the film is an interesting and different way to tell a haunted house story. It’s definitely worth seeking out if you’re a horror fan.   

Night’s End will be available on Shudder from 31st March 2022

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Fortress – Film Review

Posted on March 21, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: James Cullen Bressack

Writer: Alan Horsnail

Starring: Jesse Metcalfe, Bruce Willis, Chad Michael Murray, Kelly Greyson, Ser’Darius Blain, Michael Sirow, Shannen Doherty, Katalina Viteri

Rating: ★★½

Fortress is the latest in a long-line of straight-to-video releases starring Bruce Willis. He’s starred in so many in the last few years that he has his own category at the Razzies this year for worst performance. Thankfully Fortress is a step above most of the other releases and turns out to be a fairly enjoyable action film.  

This time around Willis played Robert Michael, who’s living in a retirement complex in the middle of nowhere. Robert’s son, Paul (Jesse Metcalfe), visits him in order to pitch his business in an attempt to get his dad to sign of on using his inheritance for a loan. During the visit the complex is attacked by a group of mercenaries and Robert’s secret past is revealed to his son.

This is pretty much what you’d expect from a low-budget action thriller. There’s a little built of character build-up in the opening act, with an estranged father and son reuniting, then once the bullets start to fly it’s all guns blazing. The characters are solid, even Willis seems to be putting in more effort here than in some of his other recent films. The action is completely passable, but there is nothing spectacular about it.

Plotwise the film moves along at a steady pace, and the film never feels boring. At the same time, it doesn’t ever really feel that exciting. The side characters, mostly a British taxi driver who takes Paul to the complex at the beginning, and a trigger-happy guard at the complex, add a bit of well-needed humour. Willis appears throughout the film and doesn’t feel like he’s adlibbing every line with the rest of the script built around him (which is what Apex Predator felt like). He still spends a fair bit of the film sitting in a chair, but it feels like he’s part of the main story.

Fortress is the first part of a planned trilogy, with the second part already shot and due out later this year. It’s probably not going to be on anyone’s most anticipated list, but if this one is anything to go by it will be enjoyable. Overall it’s a competent action flick that you can switch off to and enjoy.

Signature Entertainment present Fortress on Digital Platforms 28th March and DVD 11th April

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Windfall – Film Review

Posted on March 20, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Charlie McDowell

Writers: Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker

Starring: Jason Segel, Lily Collins, Jesse Plemons

Rating: ★★½

Windfall is a dark thriller from director and co-writer Charlie McDowell that’s just been released on Netflix. Starring three great actors, who give it there all in this Hitchcock-lite story. Jason Segel stars as an unnamed thief who is robbing a billionaire’s house, only to be caught by the billionaire and his wife, played by Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins.

None of the characters are actually named in the film, to add to the minimalist style of the film. It’s minimalist with a soft, almost noir at points, score, as well as the isolated setting and core cast of only three. Jesse Plemons is a self-made billionaire who created code that made jobs redundant and helped companies maximise profits, while Jason Segel is a nobody who breaks in for a taste of the high-life. Lily Collins is something different, stuck in the shadow of her husband, who she feels trapped with, while trying to do good with her charities.

Everything is about the tension between the characters. The rich couple’s relationship is strained, fraying at the edges. The fear that this thief might actually kill them, who at the same time doesn’t really know what he’s doing. One of the better moments is when Segel’s character is demanding money, while the couple try to explain what would be needed and that half a million is a lot heavier and harder to carry than he would think.

Sadly, the tension doesn’t stay around long in the film. The first twenty or so minutes are great as the story is being set up, you feel like there’s an even greater mystery at play. But there’s no big reveals to be found, or shocking moments. Instead the next hour drags on, feeling a lot longer than the ninety minute run time, making you guess at something that isn’t there. It does feel quite dull as it moves on, and the mystery your solving in your mind will probably be better than what’s playing out on screen.

It’s a film about the characters, not about the plot, but the characters just aren’t that interesting to make this great. The performances are fine, but beyond that there’s little here worth watching for. From such a great cast you expect so much more. It’s a shame, and a rare misstep for Plemons, who had been on such a winning streak with recent films.  

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