The Misfits – Film Review

Posted on February 27, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Renny Harlin

Writers: Robert Henny and Kurt Wimmer

Starring: Piece Brosnan, Rami Jaber, Hermione Corfield, Jamie Chung, Pirat ‘Mike’ Nitipaisalkul, Tim Roth, Nick Cannon, Qais Qandil, Samer al-Masry, Mansoor Al Feeli

Rating: ★★★

The Misfits has gone down as one of the worst films from 2021, with nominations at the Golden Raspberry Awards and a general negative reaction from critics and audiences alike. The film is a heist film, that’s a little bit Fast and Furious. It’s nothing revolutionary but it’s entertaining in parts.

A group of Robin Hood style thieves, known as The Misfits, at least to their member Ringo (Nick Cannon), decide to steal a load of gold from a prison, which would be used to finance terrorism. To achieve this, they coerce Richard Pace (Pierce Brosnan) into joining their gang and help plan the heist.

The opening of this film is absolutely great. It starts with Ringo narrating, introducing the rest of the gang, while also showing that he’s unreliable as a narrator. He embellishes facts and tells you out straight that while he calls the gang The Misfits, the others don’t agree on the name. It’s a quirky and instantly engaging opening. It makes you feel like the whole film is going to be this eccentric and energetic adventure, but it’s quickly dropped. Once the introductions have happened, the narration is dropped, and it becomes a much more straight forward action film. It’s still entertaining and doesn’t drift into the realms of boring, but it’s not quite what the opening promised.

Pierce Brosnan, apart from some questionable accents (a running theme of this film, especially from Nick Cannon’s performance), is entertaining, showing that he would still be convincing as James Bond if they decided to make a nostalgia fuelled entry of the series (which wouldn’t be that out of place with the modern world where Michael Keaton is soon to be Batman again). This isn’t one of those films where a big name lends their name and face for the poster and doesn’t really appear in the film (look at anything Bruce Willis has made in the last few years), Brosnan is central to the plot and gets his fair share of screen time.

Despite the hopeful opening, none of the other characters really live up to their introductions. They’re all kind of bland, and none of them are really memorable beyond the first ten or so minutes. Compared to Fast and Furious, which The Misfits feels like it’s trying to imitate at points, there aren’t a group of characters that you can get invested in here.  Also co-starring is Tim Roth, who seems oddly happy at random points throughout.

Overall, it’s entertaining and passes the time, but it doesn’t do anything that great. Outside of the opening it’s largely forgettable and not something you’ll be recommending or re-watching.

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Withnail and I – Film Review

Posted on February 26, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Bruce Robinson

Writer: Bruce Robinson

Starring: Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths

Rating: ★★★★

Loosely based on writer and director’s Bruce Robinson’s experience of living in London in the 1960s, Withnail and I is an all time classic, British black comedy. Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann star as the title characters, two struggling and unemployed actors living in London in September 1969. They are unhappy about the state of their careers and approaching thirty and decide to go on holiday in Withnail’s uncle’s countryside cottage.

Withnail is a bizarre and intense character, played perfectly by Richard E. Grant. He’s an alcoholic who drinks to survive, even drinking lighter fluid when there’s no alternative. ‘I’, on the other hand is kind of just stuck in life, not really growing up. Paul McGann also gives a strong performance as ‘I’, who in the screenplay is actually named as Marwood, but this is never mentioned in the actual film or in the credits. Despite being both Grant’s and McGann’s first feature film, although they had both appeared on TV, the film is still one they are both widely well-known for, thanks to its enduring cult status.

There are a lot of funny moments in the film, but the biggest laughs come from the opening sequence in their dirty flat with unwashed dishes and the chance of rodents. As the film goes on it becomes less funny, leading to a sad ending. It mirrors one of the themes of the film, about growing up and acting responsible. Paul McGann’s character has to make some life changing decisions in the final moments that resonate long after the credits roll. There’s an underlying theme of the loss of youth and freedom, mirrored by it’s late 1960s setting where ‘hippie wigs are being sold in Woolworths’. The ideals of the main characters are being lost as the 70s arrive, and their twenties fade into their thirties. It’s a sad ending compared to the absurdist humour of the opening.

Withnail and I has two incredibly strong performances in the lead roles, and is filled with some great funny moments, but still ends on a poignant note. That’s not to mention the great soundtrack, featuring music from The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. It completely lives up to the reputation that it holds, and is still worth watching if you’ve never seen it before.

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An Overdue Update

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Hi everyone,

It’s been quite a while since I wrote my last update post. I made the decision to slow down a bit with uploading reviews and posts, changing it to just one a day. To be honest, I was getting a little burnt out and needed a little breathing room. I haven’t missed a day just yet, and plan to keep on going like this, at least for the time being.

It’s given me a lot more free time to get on with writing other things. Earlier today I finished up the first chapter of The Teeth Fairies. It’s been an incredibly long time since I actually wrote any fiction, so getting the inspiration to do this is pretty great. It’s a proper attempt at full-on horror. I have a good idea of where it’s going and what the next couple of chapters will be, but as always I’m winging it when it comes to overall plotting.

I’m hoping to go all in on the book over the next few weeks, writing before and after my actual job wherever possible. I’m still going to be reviewing films, manga, and books as well. Tomorrow will be a review for Withnail and I, which I watched because Richard E. Grant is going to London Comic Con and I’ve never seen it before.

I’ve started reading Nightmare Alley, after seeing and really enjoying the film. I’m about 60ish pages through it at the moment and looking forward to reading some more. Once I’ve finished that and the Dario Argento autobiography that I got for Christmas (which I’ve been reading before bed most nights), my plan is to get back on track with some of the books I should have reviewed last year. I pretty much stopped reading towards the end of last year, due to not having enough time, so I’m hoping to get back on track soon.

The only other thing I’ve been doing with my time is getting completely sucked into Lost Judgement, the second in the Yakuza spin-off series. I have a love/hate relationship with the Yakuza games. I really love the story and characters, how much there is to do. However as I like to complete things 100%, I really struggle with some of the side stuff. I find that they get too hard and I end up spending more time on that than I do on the main game. There’s a rhythm dance side mission in this one where to get 100% you have to score over a set amount of points, which took me an entire evening of doing it over and over again. I got it in the end though. There’s so much side-content and some of it is bad, but overall I like most of it.

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Ashley

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Firefly Trilogy – Franchise Catch Up

Posted on February 24, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

My uncle recommended me the Firefly trilogy, as he’s a massive fan of them, especially of Captain Spaulding. Before watching them, my only idea of them is that they are low-budget horror films made by Rob Zombie. I don’t know anything beyond that but I expect them to be violent and gory.

For those that are new, Franchise Catch Up is where I take a series of films (of at least 3 or more) and binge watch them, writing a initial thoughts for each one shortly after watching it. If you haven’t seen the Firefly trilogy and are curious, or you love the franchise and want to see what a newbie thinks, I hope you enjoy.

House of 1000 Corpses

To be honest I had the completely wrong idea about this film. I thought it was going to be a gross out horror film like Saw, but it wasn’t. Instead, there is a lot of comedy some stylish editing and scene transitions and a great soundtrack. I suppose I should have expected nothing less from Rob Zombie. Captain Spaulding is a great character, and the film is a lot of fun in general. It does get gruesome at points, but it’s not the most extreme I’ve ever seen. The first half is a lot stronger than the later half where it becomes more standard horror, with the victims being chased and killed. Overall, it’s good.

The Devil’s Rejects

The comedy is toned down and replaced with some more uncomfortable moments. Again, it’s not extreme gore, but it is unsettling to say the least. The scene transitions are even wackier. Spaulding gets more screen time and is just great the whole way through. The moment where he’s threatening the child for not giving him a reason why he dislikes clowns is brilliant. It does have a few laugh out loud moments. It changes gears a lot throughout, when it’s creepy – it’s creepy and when it’s funny – it’s funny. It was almost cathartic when the tables turned towards the end and the final moments in the car were pretty brilliant. I have no idea how Zombie managed to follow this up, but I’m excited to find out.

Three from Hell

After the ending of the previous film, it’s almost impossible to imagine how they can continue the series. Rob Zombie tackles that head on by just stating they survive, all of them. There’s not even a moment of doubt that we’ll believe it when watching the film. I have mixed feelings about this film, the first half is really great and the second half has it’s moments but it’s the weakest of the three. The group are in prison, with Captain Spaulding being executed very early on, probably due to Sid Haig’s declining health (he passed away very shortly after the film was released). The parts with the prison break are great. It’s twisted in the best way possible. When they escape to Mexico, there’s still some great moments, but it’s undercut by the army sent to kill them being awful at their job. They get the jump on them in almost every situation. It is still a decent film, and I enjoyed it but I preferred the first two.

Final Thoughts

The Firefly trilogy is not what I expected. I went in thinking I would be getting an all-out gross fest, but instead, while it has dark moments there’s a lot of comedy. I can’t decide which one is my favourite, but it’s definitely one of the first two. I enjoyed all three, and now want to watch everything else that Rob Zombie has made.

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Ali & Ava – Film Review

Posted on February 23, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Clio Barnard

Writer: Clio Barnard

Starring: Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Ellora Torchia, Shaun Thomas, Natalie Gavin, and Mona Goodwin

Rating: ★★★★★

Ali & Ava is an incredibly moving and honest portrayal of love, that’s filled with deep and realistic characters. It’s a story about love, life, and most importantly music. Practically everything about this film shines brightly from the opening to the final scene. By the time the final credits start to roll, you don’t want it to be over. It’s almost jarring to be taken out of the world the film creates.

Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a landlord who gets on well with his tenants, while trying to forget about his recent break-up. Ava (Claire Rushbrook) is a classroom assistant, who’s ex-husband recently died and is bringing up her children and helping with some grandchildren. They both meet when Ali picks up one of his tenant’s children after school and they instantly connect with each other. Their relationship grows as they get to know each other and start to date.

The characters in this film are some of the most well developed to ever grace the screen. Both Ali and Ava are authentic and filled with nuance and details, and they are brought to life by showstopping and stunning performances from Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook. Every line of dialogue feels natural, every subtle movement and glance feels real. It doesn’t take long for you to feel like you know them as real people. The script is beyond strong, with little lines of dialogue here and there building up the characters.

Ali is struggling with his break-up, still living with his ex while she completes her studies. He’s close to the rest of his family, but they don’t know about the break-up, to the point that he’s accused of cheating as he starts to get closer to Ava. He’s a manic and intense character with a loud personality. He doesn’t shy away from what he’s thinking and has no problem sharing it with anyone and everyone. He goes from zero to seventy miles per hour without hesitation jumping headfirst into everything with all he’s got. Ava on the other hand is quieter, living a more reserved life. Her main focus is her children and grandchildren and making sure that they’re happy.

What brings them both together is their love of music.  Despite having wildly different tastes, Ali is into punk rock and dance music, while Ava likes country and folk. One of the best moments of the film is where they both listen to their own music through headphones while singing and dancing with each other, while as the viewer we dip in and out of each song, showing the genres blending together while at the same time showing the mixing of cultures.

While the film is filled with sweet and sentimental moments, it doesn’t shy away from dark moments. There are some heart-breaking moments of racism and abuse that make the film feel grounded and real. There’s a gritty tone to everything, with the sets and muted colours. A lot of the scenes are shot close-up, making the world feel smaller and more intimate.

Ali & Ava works on every level and doesn’t miss a beat. It’s sweet, heartfelt, and an almost perfect film and is destined to be one of the best films of the year. A true masterpiece.  

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