Sorry, Baby

 

Its difficult to get the balance of a portraying a serious issue and finding the absurd comedy within it. Sorry, Baby manages to capture this near impossible feat without diving deeper into complexities and yet the characters within the story feel natural, nothing is forced. There may be one or two encounters within the film that are definite staples of an indie drama but aside from these, the story plays out in a satisfying and above all, realistic way. Perhaps the reason why this film is so bitingly comical is because of its naturalistic characters and their behaviours. 

Three years after being sexually assaulted by her advisor during Grad school, newly appointed college professor Agnes reflects on the time its taken for her to try and heal. She welcomes back her best friend Lydie who helped her through the initial shock, recognising how far both have come in the last few years.

Full review over at Filmhounds

Saint Clare

 

Religion and horror go together like bread and butter. Add in a devout protagonist who believes all the murders she commits is an act of god and you’re looking at a somewhat enticing premise. Though Bella Thorne made her name from playing mean girls and evil ditzy types, here, she is Clare. She believes in god, attends church, sings in the choir but also struggles with her compulsives need to kills people. Having done the festival circuit in 2024, Saint Clare is finally making her way to our small screens. Unfortunately, this is not quite the film that was herald.

College student Clare appears normal on the surface but tries hard to hide sociopathic tendencies. When girls start disappearing from her small town, with little concern from the police, Clare takes the investigation into her own hands when one of her friends goes missing.

Full review on Filmhounds. 

Oh, Hi!

 

Imagine you met someone, you hit it off and by date three, you feel you’ve found your person. Months deep into a relationship, you take a romantic trip together, only for this to go completely off the rails and result you committing a crime and dragging your friends into it as well. But the worst part, who you thought was your person doesn’t actually feel the same way. This is the premise of Oh, Hi! We’ve seen films where dating is difficult, degrading and miserable but something positive happens in the end or at least hopeful.

We’ve seen films with dramatic break-ups, tragic breakdowns and all that’s in-between. We have even seen films where you think you’ve found love only for it to sour almost too quickly and suddenly, which is sort of where Oh, Hi almost sits in the realm comedies with romance mixed in. But what Oh, Hi! has is one small thing to set it slightly apart, handcuffs. Co-written as well as starring Molly Gordon as love struck Iris who goes on a weekend getaway with her boyfriend Isaac, played by Logan Lerman. But after a day and night of fun, food and sex, Isaac lets out that he doesn’t see their relationship as serious, let alone as boyfriend and girlfriend. This devastates Iris who ends up having a bit of a meltdown and tries to convince Isaac why they should be a couple. This would all be ok if it wasn’t for the fact that Isaac is handcuffed (after kinky sex play) to a bed and Iris refuses to let him free. At least, not until he’s heard her out.

While the scenario of being kept prisoner by the woman you thought you were casually dating would be anyone’s worst nightmare, the film does very well to not fall into the horror category. Iris merely believes they are meant for each other and just wants Isaac to give her a chance. This is wear the comedy is and thankfully stays throughout, especially when Iris realises what she’s doing and how bad the situation is. Roping her best friend and her boyfriend into the mix just adds to the comical and yet dire situation, particularly for Isaac. As well as the comedy, the film does take a couple of bizarre turns; when Iris seriously considers murdering Isaac to avoid any embarrassment and when the third act includes a car chase.

There are more quiet moments that avoid the film slipping into ‘crazed woman’ territory. Iris is genuinely heartbroken, as she states many times, that she was made to believe by Isaac that their relationship was more than just casual. She points our his behaviour and planning a romantic getaway definitely sends the wrong message. They recount tender moments they’ve shared, showing that Iris’ behaviour is quite so unwarranted. What makes this relationship so believable and at times easy to hope for is that Lerman and Gordon have fantastic chemistry, even when things become chaotic. Of course we know what Iris is wrong, we also don’t want her to end up in prison for kidnapping.  

Although there are some far-fetched moments, you become invested in all the characters and really hope for an ending that satisfies all.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

 

(MAJOR SPOILERS) Jurassic Park and World both have their triumphs and flaws, the latter trilogy receiving the most criticism for bringing the dinosaurs into civilisation and as others have pointed out, forced this entire franchise into a corner with little room to develop. From the outset, Rebirth is exactly that. Negating all that has come before and summing up the current situation in a few short paragraphs to set the scene. The scene is set, dinosaurs are dying, those alive are thriving in one specific area, again and have been left there, again, to their own devices. There was hope that maybe the franchise will turn an intriguing corner.

The Jurassic franchise does seem to back peddle at every turn. When in doubt, claim there was yet another island where nefarious things were happening. Need a bad guy? Who does society as a whole despise? Pharmaceutical companies, perfect. What’s the bizarre reason for travelling into the danger zone? Some dinosaurs could be key to curing a life-threatening disease (but not cancer), great, so we just need some samples. This entire set up is near perfect, if formulaic, but would have provided enough entertainment as well as the usual peril that comes with dinosaurs. We may have even got more information on what exactly was happening on the island and more than just that one off speech about how humans are terrible and we’re killing the planet. But unfortunately, for some ridiculous reason, the studio (I’m sure) decided we HAVE to have kids appear in the film. Enter the biggest problem, aside from the design of the D-Rex, the family on the boat.

There were two films going on here, one was the film we all wanted and expected, the other was a pointless family survival story where you didn’t care about the characters or what happened to them. The Delgado family were a distraction and rather ruined the flow of the entire film. The raft scene in the river was excited BUT this easily could have been with the other characters of the film. The team trying get the samples could have been bigger and not just consisted of characters you expected to be killed off one by one so that the three named actors would live. But we only needed one team – as we have with previous films – except Dominion of course, as that cast was huge.

Its such a shame that Rebirth couldn’t deliver a on such an open premise. There was so much opportunity to avoid doing what was done before but unfortunately the need to homage absolutely everything was too much, not to mention the whole other movie shoehorned into the film. Story problems aside, although we got to have a few classic dinosaur moments, the second the D-Rex comes into view looking like the spawn of the Cloverfield monster and the Rancor from Star Wars, the disappointment levels hit the roof. It didn’t look like a dinosaur. Was it meant to? Was the entire purpose that they weren’t creating dinosaurs but just, monsters instead? Who knows!

For love of dinosaurs, Rebirth might just be ok, but if you’re hoping the story will hold, it doesn’t. The characters are also nothing to hold on to, with very one note back stories and in all honestly, Scarlett Johansson, barely making an impression on screen. The heavy character lifting is left to Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey who just about manage to keep the film going. I won’t mention the family as they did not make an impression, they should have been in a different film altogether.

As someone who loves Jurassic Park (and sequels) and Jurassic World, and will even defend Fallen Kingdom and Dominion if I have to, I was sorely disappointed. With a supposedly great cast, great director, great set up, the film falls flat.

How to Train Your Dragon (live action)

 

The usual approach to any live action version of any animation is to be cautious. Disney’s tack-less parade of live action remakes that have been one bore after another and in some cases, not as profitable as the House of Mouse had hoped for, have become a staple in the cinematic calendar. Each year a new abomination makes it’s way to the big screen or small screen and reviews are usually middling, good but not great, ok but not necessary. The obvious reason as to why these films get made is, money. Disney want to make money but peddling the same ideas and not creating new ones, which is a creative shame. The worry that other studios that have produced beloved animated films would follow suit had been at the back of my mind for sure. But I never thought it would be Dreamworks with How to Train Your Dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon first arrived in cinemas back in 2010 and was a welcome sensation. Spawning two sequels in 2014 and 2019, along with spin off series and shorts exploring the world of dragons with the same characters. The world built around these characters and their dragons felt like nothing before, hence why the films and extras were so successful. When the filming was quietly announced, it felt like a prank that a live action version was being filmed until suddenly a cast was ensembled and the film had been shot. You could say, the film’s release coincided on purpose with the opening of Isle of Berk at Orlando, Florida and that maybe the two were creates to market the other. All is probably true but we still got a film that we didn’t see coming.

HTTYD is essentially, if not shot for shot, sometimes line for line, the exact same as the 2010 original. But its still feels the same. Carrying the emotional wave, we felt 15 years ago but just a little more realistic. Hiccup is still the outsider in Berk, his father is still the chief disappointed that his son is not exactly Viking material. Hiccup still injures and eventually creates an unbreakable bond with Toothless the Night Fury dragon and together they change the course of Viking and dragon history. Story wise, it is the same. There is nothing to fault the storytelling or the plot, its what we know, what we love and nothing to fault it.

The casting for the film is very satisfying, especially with the re-casting of Gerard Butler as Chief Stoick the Vast. The stand outs are of course is Mason Thames who embodies Hiccup completely and Nico Parker as Astrid who jumps into this role whole heartedly.

But the most magical and they always will be, are the dragons. Apparently, some thought they were too scary for kids, but this film is really for the adults who saw the original, if we’re being honest. The dragons still maintain their characters, which is usually what is lost in live action films when it comes to animals. Thankfully, Toothless still feels and looks like Toothless. The other dragons too have their moments and it’s a relief to still see them maintain that wonder. 

Overall, apart from a few wobbly non important contextual plot points but in essence, HTTYD live action has the same beating heart of the original animation. So, beyond saying, its all for money, if the film is essentially the same, no matter how good it is, what was the actual point?

The Institute - SXSW London

 

As the most adapted author, it is no surprise that there is another adaptation of one of Stephen King’s books making its way to our screens. With The Life of Chuck dancing its way onto the big screens later this year, as well as being the closing film for SXSW London, it makes complete sense that The Institute, a series based on the novel also made its debut at the same festival. With the blessing from King himself, enough to have him on as an Executive Producer, the show already shows promise without delving into this science fiction horror story.

Full review over at Filmhounds.