Showing on Netflix

Based on the real life story of Rudy Ray Moore, Dolemite provided a surprising treat of a film.

I’ve always enjoyed Eddie Murphy especially his earlier work and this sees him back at his best with a story almost built for him to tell. Set in the early 1970’s It tells the story of struggling entertainer Moore, played by Murphy, who creates an act based on some old tales that have been kept alive by some of the poorest in society, Moore feels that there may be a comedy act to be built from them and sets about creating Dolemite.

The character is a success and Moore is constantly driving to take it further pushing him past what he is constantly told is beyond him, until he finally sees the lights of “the big screen” and is determined to put Dolemite on it.

That determination and will to succeed is what really won me over and delivered a very different film to what I’d expected from the first 20 minutes, which looked like it was going to be Murphy doing a 2 hour stand up routine of 1930’s jokes, but instead what we get is a heartfelt story of the battle to succeed and importance and value of taking others with you, be it spotting something in Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Lady Reed or admiring the community theatre of Keegan Michael Key’s Jerry he was keen to uplift those around him.

Dolemite provides a warm, humorous story which seems to capture 1970’s America, especially the life of it’s poorer black community, as the screen is filled with the colour and sounds of the era (well at least what I imagine the era was like) and provides Murphy with the chance to showcase so many of the things he does well.

It wasn’t the film I expected but I think it was much better for it.

Showing on Netflix in the UK.

If you were to look up the quintessential low budget, British comedy ghost story (even though it’s Irish) then you would probably find Extra Ordinary staring back at you.

None of that is a criticism, Extra Ordinary is a quirky comedy filled with likeable characters plenty of humorous set pieces and lots of nods to well known horror.

Co-writer Maeve Higgins stars as part driving instructor/part ghostbuster Ruth, who finds herself drawn into the world of Martin Martin (Barry Ward) who is haunted by his dead wife and then finds his daughter the centre of attention for a satan worshipping former pop star Christian Winter (Will Forte). Ruth is tasked with saving the day while battling her own personal demons.

The story bombs a long, with the occasional interlude from brilliantly created 80’s VHS recordings of her fathers ghost hunting TV show and a selection of ectoplasm collecting adventures and the occasional bit of theatrical gore.

It was an enjoyable 90 minute low budget comedy, with enough charm and laughs to carry it off, it won’t change your life but you’ll have fun for 90 minutes while your life stays the same.

Showing on Netflix UK.

Inspired by Lois Lowry’s book, the Willoughbys tells the story of four children who have the misfortune to be lumbered with two very unloving parents who spend all their energy loving each other leaving them with no love left for their children, this inspires them to hatch a scheme to get themselves adopted in the hope of finding the loving parents they desire.

What that brings us is a fast paced colourful animated adventure, not anything as subtle or original as the best animations that we have got used to from Pixar, but it was a fun 90 minutes nonetheless, from Ricky Gervais’s not overly annoying narrating cat to Maya Rudolph and Terry Crews’s surrogate parent figures who all keep the story moving a long after a sluggish opening and while it has plenty of site gags, the film also does what all good children’s tales do and delves into some darker areas.

The animation is striking with plenty of oversized characters and lots of colour to fill the screen. It should be remembered that the story does explore some dark sides that earn it a PG rating, so perhaps be careful before showing it to the youngest of children.

The Willoughbys is unlikely to win awards for originality but it was, for me, a fun story with plenty of energy, colour and humour to whisk you along and if you’re looking for some lockdown family fun then this may fit the bill.

Available on UK streaming services for rent.

Just Mercy is based on civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson’s book which explores the shocking story of the wrongful conviction of black man Walter McMillan, for the murder of a young white girl Ronda Morrison in Alabama, on no more than false testimony and the desire to see someone found guilty for a terrible murder.

Just Mercy patiently tells the story anchored by two strong central performances from Michael B. Jordan (Stevenson) and Jamie Foxx (McMillan). It doesn’t particularly do anything new or surprising and is a pretty standard telling of this kind of story, with lots of the tropes and characters you expect.

However, that is not a particular criticism as the real life story is powerful enough that it doesn’t need any cinematic gimmicks to tell it. The film very much relies on the true life stories own incredible arc to carry it along, two strong central performances make sure it is well told as well as good support from the always watchable Brie Larson and Tim Blake Nelson.

What Just Mercy does is take its time to tell its astonishing story of a broken justice system more focussed on convicting someone based on race than seeing justice done, flagrantly disregarding evidence that proved a mans innocence and happy to create its own to meet its own ends. There is no particular grand standing court appearances and you don’t get any “you can’t handle the truth” moments and it takes time to be as shocked by some of the legal decisions made as we are.

I’m a big fan of films like this that highlight real world injustice and anything that shines lights on institutional racism should be encouraged and in Just Mercy’s case it delivers its message well and certainly left me astounded and disgusted that supposedly educated modern society still allowed (and allows) deplorable institutional racism to not only exist but flourish.

While there are areas the film could have explored and some of the characters are relatively thinly developed it doesn’t stop it been a powerful watch.

Currently Showing on NetFlix (UK) available for rent on other platforms.

They say the sign of a good documentary is that it will capture your attention even if you know nothing about the subject, but perhaps the sign of an even better one is when you do know something of the topic it still fascinates and surprises.

Todd Douglas Miller does that and more in this fabulous documentary released in cinemas last year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the July 20th Moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission.

It is a story told solely with footage of the day including much never before seen material, there is no modern voiceover or contemporary interviews and this enables Apollo 11 to brilliantly capture the sounds, colours and feel of the era.

The film tells this incredible story through the first hand experiences of all of those involved, not their re-telling of it but their actual experience, from the build up to the launch, the buzz, anticipation and excitement, the power of the take off, through to the patience of the flight and the tension that comes with every decision and of course the wonder of the landing and the triumph of the successful return of the astronauts.

Apollo 11 paints a picture of this incredible feat of engineering and human endeavour perfectly, the complexity of the task, the innovation required to overcome the challenges and the incredible control and calm of the 3 astronauts doing something that nobody in history had ever done, with all the risk and uncertainty that entails.

Apollo 11 does all the things you want from a documentary, telling a story brilliantly, providing insights into its topic and keeping you entertained, intrigued and engrossed throughout.

If the Apollo missions are of interest to you then this is a must see telling of the story, if not and you just enjoy seeing a fantastic story of bravery and innovation then i’d definitely give it a watch.

Available for rent on most video on-demand services.

There was a lot of buzz around this film last year and it featured on many people’s favourite films of 2019. While it wasn’t amongst the very best films of the last year for me you can see its appeal as it oozes with charming story telling.

Built around two well judged performances from Shia Lebeouf (Tyler) and newcomer Zach Gottsagen (Zak) it tells the story of Zak, a downs syndrome adult and Tyler a down on his luck drifter carrying the guilt of the loss of his brother. The two men meet while both on the run, Zak from a care home, Tyler from a feud of his own making.

The cornerstone of the story is the pursuit of Zak’s dream to visit Salt Water Redkneck’s wrestling camp so he can become a pro wrestler.

What unfolds is a charming road movie, there isn’t much original going on but it doesn’t matter as you enjoy the time in the company of Tyler, Zak and later Dakota Johnson’s Eleanor as they take a slow and gentle trip through North Carolina to reach the wrestling camp.

We come across all of the usual tropes you see in a road movie, occasional peril, a selection of interesting characters some to help some to hinder all delivered with wit, charm and beautifully paced.

Its real heart is the relationship between Zak and Tyler two men seen as both having limited potential and worth by those around them, but together they see the good they both possess and that good is what drives them on but also drives those around them to be better.

While it is a little formulaic The Peanut Butter Falcon is a gorgeous story, beautifully paced and told with subtle well judged performances across the piece and in times were we all occasionally need something that shows the best of people, you’ll find that here in abundance.

Currently showing on Amazon Prime UK.

You know when you get something on Amazon and it arrives and you think “that’s not what I ordered!”. Apple Mortgage Cake is the film equivalent!

At the minute I’m trying to mix up my lockdown films with things that sound interesting and this did “single mom tries to save house by baking” kind of feel good story that we sometimes want.

I have two issues with the Amazon description, firstly claiming it’s a 2019 film when it’s from 2014 and then putting it in the Movie section, suggesting a cinematic release. Well it certainly isn’t that, it’s a no questions asked TV movie and not in a modern TV drama good way and nowhere near the quality you’d get from a modern Amazon or Netflix production.

All that said it doesn’t mean it’s terrible and if this was on Christmas 24 (there’s a lot of snow) or Hallmark (a lot of schmaltz) and you liked that kind of thing then this is perfectly acceptable TV movie fair.

It centres on the true story of Angela Logan a single mum in debt and arrears on her mortgage due to factors outside of her control, she has three boys and threat to foreclose on her house just days away. Even with those things going on around her she still gives to the community, volunteering at a Women’s charity and her much loved Apple Cake been the star of local bake sales.

It’s the cake that becomes her saviour deciding to use it as the cornerstone of a mega cake sale idea to raise the money to save her house. From there we find lots of familiar territory, the ups and downs of the enterprise, balancing her private life with trying to save her house and when all looks lost the local community all respond to years of her help by saving the day.

There is nothing to dislike, the story is an uplifting one and Kimberley Elise is fine in the central role, but it certainly lacks any of the cinematic quality you’d hope for, script is clunky and full of cliche, the scope of the film is limited, it’s over sentimental and schmaltz filled with the cheap TV score you’d expect, it even has those cut away scenes into which you’d drop the ad’s.

While it doesn’t offend there’s lots of better stuff on on-demand services than this and really it needs banishing off to the Hallmark channel where it will be right at home.

New to Netflix is Love. Wedding. Repeat. The world right now is a challenging place with so many of us under lockdown restrictions, during these times sometimes what you want from a film is light escapism.. sadly what I got with this was something that made the difficulties of lockdown seem like the humourous escape!

Let’s get this out of the way, I really did not like this, that’s not necessarily the films fault as this type of story are not for me, I’m not a huge fan of “farce” type comedy which normally compromise of a bunch of annoying characters who are unable to make simple choices that would easily avert the next “humourous” mishap, leading to an increasingly unbelievable and frustrating scenario.

This one aims to tell a story about how love and relationships are a random set of circumstances that you either grab or you don’t. Focussed on the wedding of Hayley to her Italian love Roberto, the story centres around Hayley’s brother Jack and a paper thin premise of an unwanted wedding guest and an attempt to stop him spoiling the wedding. Alongside this we see Jack’s bumbling attempts to grab a second chance with a previous brief encounter.

The story is familiar and one that Richard Curtis has made a dozen times before, just better. The premise here never really holds, Sam Claflin’s Jack is a pale Hugh Grant imitation with all of the annoying dithering and inability to avert the ensuing disaster with a couple of simple decisions and the basic sense to explain the circumstances of his odd behaviour to the focus of his attentions.

Although only 100 minutes long it felt about 3 1/2 hours as this charmless story with very limited laughs unfolded. There are a couple of bright spots, a humourous narration (that sounded very much like an uncredited Dame Judi Dench) and a couple of nice performances from Joel Fry and Aisling Bea, but beyond that it is a bit of a turgid mess.

These films done well can be a pleasure, but done badly they are nothing more than unfunny, frustrating nonsense and Love. Wedding. Repeat. Was certainly in the latter camp, self isolation is tough enough, it doesn’t deserve this.

Currently showing on Amazon Prime (UK) is The Aeronauts, a based on true events film looking at 19th century scientific discovery.

It tells a story based loosely on that of James Glaisher, a meteorologist who broke the world altitude record to study weather in the upper atmosphere in a balloon piloted by fictional chatacter Amelia Wren, a composite of a number of outstanding female 19th century aeronauts, perhaps most closely tied to real life character Sophie Blanchard.

It is possibly the telling of this partly true, partly fictional story that is at the heart of the problems I had with this film. While at its centre is two watchable and talented actors in Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones the whole thing never quite seems to click.

The characters feel paper thin, never quite developing a back story strong enough to explain why they would take on such an incredibly dangerous adventure and with that there never feels enough jeopardy to the tale from which ultimately unfolds a story I didn’t really care about.

There is a nicely told sub plot with Tom Courtney playing Glaisher’s father in a beautifully judged performance but it is only fleeting.

While I could see that on the big screen some of the effects and set pieces could have looked fantastic again they never really carry the weight or pull you in the way you’d expect at home.

In the end it was a film that never really engaged me enough to care about the characters the adventure or its outcome which is a pity as it had the potential to be a spectacular adventure but it never really hits the heights, which is ironic!

I’ve reviewed a few films I’ve caught up on recently but here’s something new, Impractical Jokers:The Movie which dropped onto video on-demand services last week.

This is a big screen adaptation of the successful TV show, for those who aren’t familiar, the show is a modern candid camera where four lifelong friends create hidden camera challenges for each other competing to avoid the end of show forfeit, a simple format and for those who enjoy it one that works well.

Always two questions with these kind of adaptations, does stretching the 30 minute format into 90 work? Would people who’ve never seen the show find it funny?

The answers for me are just about and I don’t really think so. Taking the second part first, Jokers is an unapologetic film for fans of the show and that’s fine, it doesn’t take time setting up the concept or explaining it to the uninitiated, but with that in mind I’m not sure this will appeal to new audience.

Secondly does it stretch to 90 minutes? Just about, although I did get the feeling that the movie lost the courage of its convictions half way through, it started with a nice setup a look back at the four portraying their younger selves having a run in with Paula Abdul which leads, in a roundabout way, to a roadtrip to Miami, which in itself acts as a device to shoehorn in some Jokers sketches.

The setup is fine but it feels as though they ran out of story ideas as the film progresses ending up with more Joker games than film. The problem with relying on that, is what works so well on TV is the games include an unexpectung public and it doesn’t quite transfer to the big screen as it’s never clear if these are all actors and scripted stunts or members of the public.

As a fan of the show I found plenty of laughs and it could’ve been much worse, but as an idea it was stretched pretty much to breaking point and to non jokers fans, not sure it would’ve worked well enough.

There were snippets of a fun story in there and its a pity they didn’t take the punt on it and instead fell back into more familiar territory which they just about get away with.