Moonfall – Film Review

Posted on February 3, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
Moonfall (2022) - IMDb

Director: Roland Emmerich

Writers: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, and Spenser Cohen

Starring:  Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland

Rating: ★★★

Roland Emmerich is back with what he does best, an end of the world disaster film. This time around it’s about the moon spiralling down on a collision course with Earth, knocked out of orbit by unknown extra-terrestrial life. The stakes couldn’t be higher, as a small group of astronauts and scientists try to save the world.

Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), a disgraced astronaut, is approached by a conspiracy theorist, K. C. Houseman (John Bradley) about the moon being out of orbit. Brian doesn’t take it seriously, and K.C. leaks the information online. At the same time Nasa has come to the same conclusion and starts working on ways to stop it, bringing Brian back into the fold as the only astronaut who can complete the mission.

Moonfall is exactly what you think it’s going to be. Ridiculous, loud, explosive, and a lot of fun. It’s perfect popcorn entertainment. The action is exciting, the effects are mind-blowingly good, and it has a decent sense of humour. Is this the type of film that you’re going to be completely emotionally invested in? No. But it is brain dead entertainment at its best. You can switch off and enjoy the pure adrenaline action.

It pushes everything to the limits. The moon is getting closer and closer, with each cycle around the Earth getting shorter. There are moments where cars are jumping using momentary loss of gravity, a rocket that is taken from a museum that manages to get the heroes into space, defying the odds, military who think the only option is to fire nukes, regardless of the fallout. It’s everything you’d want from a film like this.

Essentially there are two main plots, one following Brian, K.C., and Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) as they travel to the moon to stop the collision. While the other plot follow’s Brian’s and Jo’s children as they try to find somewhere safe on Earth. The space side of things is more entertaining and exciting, while the Earth side tries to keep you emotionally invested and keeping the stakes high. This is a really long film for what it is, and while it’s never boring, the Earth side could be cut down a lot. There are a few things, such as their car being robbed at gunpoint and then a chase sequence with people trying to steal oxygen tanks that just don’t need to be there. It’s needless padding while you want to watch the stuff happening in space.

Roland Emmerich obviously knows what he’s doing with disaster films, making some of the greatest of the last few decades and Moonfall is no exception. Visually it’s simply amazing. The effects and CGI are flawless, there’s not one moment where you aren’t completely immersed into it believing this is real.

Moonfall is exactly what you want it to be, pure fun and adrenaline action. It’s too long, like most films of the genre, but it’s still entertaining and enjoyable. Roland Emmerich has done it again.

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger – Review

Posted on February 3, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett Episode 6 Review: From the Desert Comes a Stranger | Den of Geek

Director: Dave Filoni

Writer: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni

Starring: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, Pedro Pascal, Timothy Olyphant, Mark Hamill, and Rosario Dawson

Rating: ★★★★

Much like last week’s episode of The Book of Boba Fett, chapter 6 doesn’t feel like it’s part of the same show as the first four episodes. That’s mainly because Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) is barely in it. He wasn’t in chapter 5 at all, and in this week’s he’s barely a cameo. Instead, it focuses again on The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), showing him seeking out and finding Grogu.

It’s hard to talk about this week’s episode without giving things away, so be warned there are spoilers ahead. The Mandalorian quickly finds Grogu in this episode, who is being trained by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the ways of the force. The digital de-aging of Luke Skywalker is phenomenal and somehow even better than it was in The Mandalorian. There’s something still a little distracting about it at first, but it’s still really good and once you get used to it then it’s not a problem.

While in The Mandalorian Luke’s appearance felt more like a send-off, this time around he’s a vital part of the story, appearing in more than half the episode. It doesn’t feel like his story is over here either. It also feels like you can see how Luke goes from Return of the Jedi to The Last Jedi here. There’s a disregard to Grogu shown here, when Grogu has a flashback of jedi being butchered, there’s no empathy from Luke. Like the viciousness of the Luke’s appearance in The Mandalorian there’s a lot of his father on show here. It’s really interesting to see his character arc more fleshed out with missing details being uncovered.  

Appearing alongside Luke and Grogu is Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), seemingly setting up her spin-off. It’s great to see these characters again, even if the story they’re part of seems completely unrelated to the one The Book of Boba Fett was setting up originally. There’s a couple of other familiar faces that make an appearance as well, one of which will make any Clone Wars fan rejoice. The episode is co-written by Clone Wars writer Dave Filoni, possibly the biggest Star Wars fan in existence, and it’s no wonder that he brings back some of his creations into live action.

The Book of Boba Fett Episode 6: Star Wars Characters Cameos

Overall, the episode is just great Star Wars. It’s beyond bizarre that we’ve spent two entire episodes of this series away from Boba Fett, especially when there’s only seven episodes to begin with. It’s also a shame that those were the best two episodes of the series. The finale has to bring everything back on track, and it has a lot to live up to while doing it.

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

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Glasshouse – Film Review

Posted on February 2, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Kelsey Egam

Writers: Emma Lungiswa de Wet and Kelsey Egan

Starring: Jessica Alexander, Anja Taljaard, Hilton Pelser, Adrienne Pearce, Kitty Harris, and Brent Vermeulen

Rating: ★★★½

Glasshouse is the feature debut of Kelsey Egan as director and aldo co-writert with Emma Lungiswa de Wet. The story is about a family who are surviving through The Shred, a toxin that causes people to lose their minds. The family’s picturesque life is shattered when they take in a wounded stranger.

The opening of this film is completely absorbing. It starts with a man walking through the woods out into the clearing where the family have been living, he’s shot dead and the children celebrate, knowing that they can use his body as fertiliser. It’s really strange and unsettling to see the calmness and enjoyment about killing someone. It’s a powerful opening it grabs your attention, not letting it go for a moment.

A greenhouse is the shelter that the family are using, keeping themselves safe from the toxin. When travelling outside they must wear masks that are bonnets with a plastic visor in front. It looks like they are from the 19th century, a stark contrast to the death and destruction that is all around them. The mother, played by Adrienne Pearce, is keeping her children, three girls and one boy, safe from the outside world. They play games to make sure their memory isn’t slipping and spend the day being as productive as possible.

Bee, played by Jessica Alexander, is hoping that her brother who left previously, Luca, will one day return to the greenhouse and it’s when she’s out looking for him that she brings the stranger, played by Hilton Pelser, back into their home. Gabe, played by Brent Vermeulen, is Bee’s brother that was exposed to The Shred before Luca left. His mind is slowly deteriorating and he’s becoming a threat to the others.

There is a really unsettling and creepy atmosphere that’s there all the way through the film, it doesn’t take long to set the world up, and then it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, drip feeding you additional information as the story progresses. There are moments that are genuinely awkward and uncomfortable to watch. The youngest sister, Daisy played by Kitty Harris, is always full of joy at the death around her. She’s gleeful when helping turn a corpse into a scarecrow. Kitty Harris is excellent at making the borderline horror of the situation seem playful.

With an ending that will stay with you long after the film is over, Glasshouse, is a unique and strange thriller. It’s deeply unsettling and gripping the whole way through.

Signature Entertainment presents Glasshouse on Digital Platforms 7th February

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

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

American Night – Film Review

Posted on February 1, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Alessio Della Valle

Writer: Alessio Della Valle

Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emile Hirsch, Paz Vega, Jeremy Piven, and Michael Madsen

Rating: ★★★

Alessio Della Valle’s debut, American Night, is an overly ambitious and stylish crime thriller. It feels like something from the mind of Tarantino, with a non-linear plot, vibrant visuals and even an appearance from Michael Madsen. The story centres around a missing painting, and an art critic John Kaplan (Johnathan Rhys Meyers), who is trying to focus on his art gallery.

The first twenty minutes are completely engrossing, and an all-out excellent opening to a film. It’s clearly influenced by Pulp Fiction, it even starts with a scene in a diner, which ends in a robbery gone wrong that we come back to later in the film. The story then jumps about, setting everything up and introducing characters with stylish freezes showing the character name and occupation. After the first twenty or so minutes the film does slow down and focus more on backstory, and it doesn’t quite deliver the same heights that the opening promised.  

American Night is about art. Everything from the pop art of Andy Warhol, through a street performance, film, and even a song by Anastacia, that she wrote especially for the film. It’s all about highlighting the importance of art in our lives and culture, there’s even a literal lecture halfway through that John gives, and other characters discussing how art is the most valuable thing in the world. There are tons of nods towards specific art, a shop called Black Swan, an employee at the diner that looks like Kurt Cobain, while a customer wears a similar ‘New York City’ shirt that John Lennon wore. It’s a tribute to everything that’s come before it.

When the film gets violent it’s energetic and fuelled by blood splatters and screams. The final shoot-out is expertly filmed. There are also tons of visual flairs, such as a shotgun being shot into the ceiling melding into paint being thrown at a canvas. There are many original and interesting scene transitions. This may be Alessio Della Valle’s first film, but he clearly knows what he’s doing with the visuals. There’s also a great score from Marco Beltrami and Ceiri Torjussen, that’s blended with one hell of a soundtrack featuring Iron Maiden, Blondie, and The Velvet Underground.

The same can’t be said about the storytelling. There’s a lot going on, and a lot of characters to keep on top of. It’s a well-constructed mess of excess. It always looks interesting, but at points it’s borderline incoherent. With the way the story jumps all over the place, flashbacks inside flashbacks, and scenes shown multiple times with extra snippets, it’s hard to follow. It starts to get tiresome halfway through and really needed to be cut down a little more.

That’s kind of fitting, because American Night is all about excess. It may not hit every target it aims for, but you can’t help but feel its ambition and admire its style. The opening sequence alone is worth watching.  

American Night will be available on Digital Download from 7th February

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

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

Slapface – Film Review

Posted on January 31, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter
Slapface (2021) - IMDb

Director: Jeremiah Kipp

Writer: Jeremiah Kopp

Starring: August Maturo, Mike Mannig, Libe Barer, Dan Hedaya

Rating: ★★½

After showing at various festivals around the world Slapface has found a home on Shudder. August Maturo stars as Lucas, as a lonely teenager, struggling with bulling both from other children and at home. His mother has recently died and since then he’s been living with his older brother, Tom (Mike Manning) and Tom’s girlfriend Anna (Libe Barer).

The title of the film comes from a ‘game’ that Lucas and Tom play, taking it in turns to slap each other, with increasing force. It’s how the film opens, with an extended scene showing them playing he game. It may sound silly, but the film plays it completely straight and it’s very unsettling. It sets up something that immediately has you hooked and intrigued. Shortly afterwards we see Lucas in the woods being chased by a trio of girls from school who are bullying him, although one is also secretly dating him. His cries for help carry out into the woods and no one hears him.

He’s dared by them to go into an abandoned building, where he finds a monster. Slowly, Lucas and the monster start to bond and become friends, with the monster being incredibly protective of Lucas. Anything that poses a threat to Lucas is quickly taken care of, in a violent manner. Lucas is inevitably blamed for whatever happens, with people not believing his stories of monsters.

The film does quite nicely walk the line between whether the events are really happening, or if it’s all in Lucas’s head. He’s been a bit of a troublemaker, almost getting arrested early in the film and the sheriff telling his brother that his ‘get out of jail free cards’ are running out. There are also strange outbursts of anger that make you believe he’s capable of it, but at the same time some of the things that happen are too extreme. You’re never quite sure whether it’s real or not, and that’s left ambiguous throughout.

August Maturo is excellent in the film, giving a strong central performance that essentially carries the entire film. It’s everyone else that lets it down. A lot of the acting is really flat and wooden, with some incredibly awkward dialogue and very unnatural interactions, especially one scene in a hospital in the later half of the film.  

While the film is a horror, beyond the unsettling opening and a stomach-churning scene with a rat being killed, there’s nothing really that stands out. The monster isn’t as creepy as it should be. Then the biggest issue is the pacing. The first twenty-five minutes or so are really strong and keep you interested, then it just meanders along with predictable plot points until it’s over.

Slapface is a very interesting look at bullying through the lens of horror. It doesn’t quite hit all of the marks it’s aiming for, but it’s an interesting film. August Maturo is excellent in it. It’s not worth going out of you way for, but if you’re a subscriber to Shudder and have some spare time, there’s worse things to do with it.

Slapface will be available on Shudder from 3rd February 2022

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

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