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Bright - Rating: * * * (Reviewed by Ian Simons)

7/29/2018

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Netflix originals can differ, you either get something amazing like HUSH or you can get absolute shite, but most of the times films land in the realm of OKAY. Bright is one of these films.

Following the story of two cops in a world where humans and fantasy creatures live side by side, Bright is the tale of racial tensions between humans and orcs and the only Orc police officer ever in the middle. Oh and there is a race of magic wielding people looking to destroy the world that will test the partnership between Will Smith’s Daryl Ward and Joel Edgerton’s Jakoby.

Bright mixes your typical buddy cop premise with a dark fantasy setting well, I like the world building the film gives. Racial issues between the humans and fantasy creatures mirrors real life racial divides between different races in modern days. What the film lacks is that big time big film feel. I could have seen this in cinemas but I think it would have flopped like films such as Valerian. Will Smith was good in a slightly phoned in way. This is no Bad Boys and this partnership isn’t as tight as it should be, especially at the films conclusion. The action was okay, Will Smith is best in these kind of roles where action is key so this gives the film a plus.

Joel Edgerton is my standout in the film. His portrayal of an Orc who has always dream of being a police officer is funnily similar to the plight of Hopps in Zootopia while his struggle with being hated by his own kind and the force he has always wanted to be apart of is the more emotional aspects that keeps the film going for me.

Is this a classic? No and I don’t think the film is trying to be. Bright is totally a popcorn summer action film which didn’t make it to cinemas. If a follow up was to come up I would totally watch it and even with the slight negativity my review may give the film does have enough action and Will Smith comedy to enjoy as a whole.

Ian Simons Says….give it a watch!
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Pool Party Massacre - Rating: * * * (Reviewed by Louis Stephenson)

7/27/2018

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THE STORY:

​Not quite a pool party, but most certainly a massacre!


At first glance, the colourful package in which Pool Party arrives appears to be inspired and marketed towards collectors of 88 Films’ Slasher Classics range. It’s got the reversible sleeve. It’s got the font. It’s got the vibrant, kooky skull artwork where the face of a beautiful woman should be. It even has a decent amount of extras. It’s got it all but the slipcase and a booklet!

The movie itself does little to deter this notion. It’s not inspired by Halloween (1978), Elm Street (’84) or Friday the 13th (1980). It champions the sequels and the knock-offs of these movies on the other end of the spectrum. The cheese-tastic killer pictures, such as your Slumber Party and your Nail Gun Massacres; your Sleepaway Camp sequels and your Splatter Universities.

It’s a hard task finding fault in a project that wears its heart so bloodied and exposed on its sleeve. Our writer/director clearly loves the genre inside and out, and he’s made something that is a tribute to all those movies we shouldn’t have stayed up late to watch, or were too young to rent ourselves from the video store on the weekends. Their faults and shortcomings become his faults and shortcomings. I only wish he’d taken it that step further by rendering each shot with a 70s filter effect to age the footage.

The effects are practical and very gruesome indeed. But be prepared for tongue-in-cheek death scenes and a couple of highly unconvincing severed body parts. In all fairness a few of the kills are actually pretty cool. And some of them couldn’t come fast enough! Due to unforeseen weather constraints during filming, ironically a pool party never actually takes place, ultimately leading to the most irksome character in the movie being given too much screen-time and way too many lines. The bells rang Hallelujah in my head when that ass-hat finally bought the big one. Pool Party’s standout performance.

As for the rest of the cast, most notably Blair, played by Kristin Noel McKusick –cool name – well…they’re not very likeable. They’ve got that “those mean girl bitches from high school” vibe about them – aside from our final girl, of course. The ones that could’ve won favour don’t last very long, but let’s be honest people, it’s not like we watch these movies to witness these people make it out alive!

LAST WORDS
You can scoff. You can shake your head. You can laugh until you choke-vomit out your last swig of beer. But enjoy Pool Party Massacre for everything that it truly is. An imperfect tribute to an imperfect sub-genre of kick-ass horror movies.
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The First Purge - Rating: * * * (Reviewed by Chloe Davies)

7/8/2018

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Most people have heard of ‘The Purge’ by now, the home invasion horror which envisions a future for America where one day a year is dedicated to allowing its citizens let out their frustrations by legalising all crime during this period. Then it spawned a couple more films and now we have the prequel, ‘The First Purge’ which is exactly what the name suggests – and we get to see how it all began.

Firstly, I should mention that I’ve only seen the first film of the franchise, so I didn’t go and watch the film with much of an idea of what to expect or have anything to compare it to in my head. I didn’t have a particularly strong opinion one way or the other of ‘The Purge’, but I was interested to see what would be done with the concept of it with America’s current political state being a constant cause for concern. It’s no secret that Trump’s presidency has been controversial and one way that opposition has been shown towards him is through art. ‘The First Purge’ is definitely an example of this, and it’s so blunt about it that I’m surprised they didn’t have Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ playing during the end credits or have a Donald Trump look-alike as the villain.

Even if the film does completely lack subtlety, it’s nice to see a mainstream film that takes a look at things from the perspective of minority groups. Most of the main cast are African-American including the protagonist, Nya (Lex Scott Davis), who is a passionate activist fighting against the purge experiment. The main problem is that it seems to take itself too seriously overall, even if it does have comedic relief from Nya’s neighbour Dolores (Mugga) who is the best part about it. Can I just have a cut of this film where it’s all from her perspective please?

Overall, it’s difficult to decide how I feel about ‘The First Purge’. It has some interesting aspects with its political backdrop but it’s so obvious about it that it can take you out of the film. There are some lines of dialogue from the antagonists that are flat and boring, but Davis’ performance is grounded and she’s easy to empathise with. I also like the twist, which in a way paints an optimistic picture of humanity. There’s also some good fight sequences to appreciate, especially one between Dmitri (Y’lan Noel) and some mercenaries in a stairway that was choreographed really well. The film definitely has flaws but there’s enough to like about it to make it an entertaining time.
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