Pep Reviews

Enola Holmes (2020)

Millie Bobby Brown’s latest collaboration with Netflix is a light-hearted, sweet story of Sherlock Holmes’ little sister who gets to solve some mysteries of her own. There are some great moments in it with the fourth wall breaks meaning that we see a comedic side to Brown that haven’t seen in any of her other roles. Animation and references to silent films create a nice atmosphere for the exposition for this period piece and the tongue in cheek humour is very entertaining.

It is a very British film and is much more diverse than most period dramas with Adeel Akhtar and Susie Wokoma being included in the main cast which is encouraging to see. The film challenges toxic masculinity as well as create empowering roles for women. Much of the action shows off Brown’s capability to commit to a role despite her young age and shows her range beyond El from Stranger Things. Henry Cavill’s Sherlock is a stark contrast to Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal and is a far tamer version that gives him a much more human quality.

There is an inevitable political element that comes with a female centred story but it fits nicely into the historical context with Helena Bonham-Carter’s suffragette role. Overall, it was perhaps slightly too long, but it was a very entertaining and fun watch.

‘Enola Holmes’ is available to stream on Netflix.

The Gentlemen (2019)

Guy Ritchie’s latest film demonstrates that in this time of diversity and unique perspectives, stereotypes and male dominated films can still be churned out like clockwork. The narrative technique is fairly entertaining and enjoyable with Hugh Grant as the orchestrator of the whole affair and the self-referencing is quite a modern take. It is refreshing to see Grant outside of his usual bumbling rom-com staple.

However, many of the jokes and characters are unnecessarily racially based. It shows an ignorance or dragging of feet in what could be a chance to give the likes of Henry Golding and Bugzy Malone a real opportunity to show off their skills. In a year when the real world is striving for real change, this film feels as though nothing ever will. The jokes fall flat if you actually look even the slightest bit into them because they are just so reliant on outdated stereotypes.

A hefty cast of big-name actors (Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughy) does not distract from Michelle Dockery’s ability to hold her own, although her character still ends up in a typical submissive female position. An unnecessarily high swear word count masks any kind of clever dialogue in a gangster film that is still made for the 20^th century it seems. It relies on the shock of violence, brutality and foul language to create characters rather than any kind of emotional depth.

‘The Gentlemen’ is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Honey Boy (2019)

Honey Boy is a sweet, simple indie film based on Shia LaBeouf’s life which gives some insight into the father-son relationship, particularly in relation to alcoholism, violence and the film industry. It demonstrates the chain of the violence and alcoholism through the parenting and family relations. It also examines the masculinity of the father-son relationship.

This film gives the very talented young actors Lucas Hedges (Ladybird) and the absolute gem that is Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) the chance to really show off their skills. FKA Twigs also appears as a friend to Otis who also lives in the motel complex. Shia LaBeouf stars in the role of his father, which he excels in, as well as being able to boast writing credit for the screenplay. It has a nice structure, flashing forward and back from his twelve and twenty-two year old self, and has some good, realistic dialogue that ties it all together.

The montage scenes, the lighting and the set dressing makes it so that you are really sucked into the world of the motel where much of the story takes place. The scene where Otis is on the phone and is speaking (acting) the words of his parents through him is genius and really demonstrates a child’s position between the separated parents. There is an absurdity to it that just breathes life into every scene and LaBeouf takes us with him on this journey and makes it cathartic for everyone.

‘Honey Boy’ is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

The Devil All the Time (2020)

Trigger warnings for abuse, violence, pedophilia, suicide in this film.

In this edition of Netflix Originals going for the period piece-nostalgia for the post-2000 world, non-American actors seem to be just as good at, if not better than, the southern American accent that is a staple in this film. It follows the likes of Stranger Things and The Umbrella Academy in going back in time to an America that is just as corrupt as it is today. As the film develops, it becomes more and more obvious that it is based on a book, with its intertwining storyline and steady, consistent pace.

The southern accent is hard to decipher sometimes and several of the shots will leave you squirming or uncomfortable, but if you enjoy stories about rural, religious America in the 50s to 70s then this film will be right up your street. Robert Pattinson gives a convincing performance of a preacher who abuses his power to coerce young girls into sleeping with him. His accent is almost a caricature but he really demonstrates the manipulation of Christianity on its followers.

Tom Holland shows that he can do dark and brooding as well as a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man in this non-franchise movie. Bill Skarsgård’s performance is also a delight to watch. There are dark themes of sacrifice, religion, and violence in this examination of family and small town affairs. It is fantastic if you feel like watching two hours of doom and gloom, and want to see some ‘serious’ acting.

‘The Devil All the Time’ is available to stream on Netflix.

Tenet (2020)

Tenet is relentless, action packed and an intense experience to say the least. It is not for the faint minded. If it’s not trying to learn about ten new terms or understand a new law of physics, then it’s trying to appreciate the beautiful cinematography and the pure scale of the production before it moves onto the next mind-blowing plot point. The sound mixing is less than desirable at some points and makes it difficult to hear the dialogue, but Ludwig Göransson’s score is brilliant.

Christopher Nolan trusts that the audience paying attention and wants to solve the puzzle, which is the best thing that a viewer could be asked to do. It lets them know that he cares enough to challenge them, leave things unexplained or to the imagination. Time travel is taken into the espionage world in a new way that draws on actual theoretical physics.

A high concept film, Nolan once again tackles the fascinating theme of time in a heart-racing, engaging way. Knowing that there is little to no green screen, and that he really did mean crash a 747 when he said he was going to crash a 747, makes it even more impressive and should make every filmmaker want to strive for more practical effects. It is a welcome return to cinema post-lockdown.

‘Tenet’ is in cinemas now.

The Social Dilemma (2020)

Cleverly titled to reference the 2010 film The Social Network, this new Netfilx documentary delivers some hard truths 10 years on from the award-winning film. It is an essential watch in this age of disinformation and fake news, and is fantastically timed to all relevant issues of today. It argues that social media is not merely a tool, but rather a manipulation and shows us how close to our own personal Matrix we actually are.

It is not surprising and as soon as they say it, it’s like we’ve known it all along, but it’s great to have it all in one documentary and explained by actual ex-industry professionals. We don’t really want to hear that we have been being manipulated for capital gain by the very device that has become so essential to everyday life.

It takes the form of many other Netflix documentaries (with some added dramatisation) so the style is very familiar, but it seems that The Social Dilemma has done what The Great Hack only scratched the surface of. It shows that we are evolving faster than we can even keep up with, despite humans having created these very technologies. The subjects take some responsibility and even offer opinions and solutions about what should be done in the future, but ultimately there is barely any progression within the narrative of the documentary. It warns and suggests, but ultimately it makes you question whether even now they are telling the truth.

‘The Social Dilemma’ is available to stream on Netflix.

Life (2017)

The possibility of hostile alien life being tackled in space is an interesting subject to explore, but this film executes it poorly. If you know anything about space then you can see some glaringly obvious errors in the way that it is portrayed by the actors and visual effects. Perhaps it was too expensive to have all the actors’ tears react to the zero g or they just flipped a coin to see whose bodily fluids got to float. The lack of continuity is so distracting that even in the most dramatic moments, and there are some very dramatic moments, the audience is taken out of it by these careless inaccuracies.

Luckily for the filmmakers, space is always going to be cinematic, but it seems that they only want to reconstruct the International Space Station on film in order to destroy it. This film adds to that predictability of space movie storylines. Still, it was well-paced and thrilling, as well as having some gruesome and uncomfortable shots of the characters’ demises.

It demonstrates man’s ignorance and stupidity in the face of unknown dangers which is what drives the storyline. All of the starring actors (Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal) have some shining moments but none of them stand out particularly. The ending is a bleak and terrifying one and a bit of a shocking twist if you have a more optimistic view of storytelling.

‘Life’ is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Radioactive (2020)

Radioactive is Amazon Studio’s biographical drama film about Marie Curie. It focuses on the relationship with her husband Pierre Curie, her discoveries and the future for those discoveries. Rosamund Pike portrays Curie as a headstrong, awkward and stubborn woman, who is clearly a feminist before her time. The film focuses not just on her life but on the influence of her work, both the good and the bad and the truly frightening, with nods to Chernobyl, Hiroshima, and radiotherapy.

Her main battle seems to be her as a woman and an immigrant from Poland versus the old white Frenchmen, the Nobel Prize committee, and then later on the press. She wants to be considered as a scientist in her own right but it is through her husband that most of her achievements come.

It begins with her death and then flashes back to her meeting her future husband. The rest of the film moves around in time but it is easy to follow. There is more of a focus on her later life than a chronological journey from childhood but with the radioactivity to explain, this was probably a better choice to fit into the hour and forty-five-minute run time.

There are some cinematic moments, a frequent use of vignette edged shots and visuals that go well with the science that is being explained. It is also fascinating to see the characters fiddling around and holding a material that we now know is so dangerous. Overall, it is a film that is compelling despite the science lesson.

‘Radioactive’ is available to stream on Prime Video.

After We Collided (2020)

This sequel seems to have learnt lessons from the mistakes of the first film. Instead of many minutes of screen time being taken up by the two main characters Hardin and Tessa staring at each other for what seems like a socially unacceptably long time, there is a little more action in After We Collided.

It is much truer to the source material that was kept to a minimum in the original probably for the simplification of plot. The new additions to the cast (Dylan Sprouse, Charlie Weber, Louise Lombard) add a little depth and definition to the storyline that is still cringe filled at times, but there are more humorous moments with much more going on plot-wise. We learn more about Hardin’s past and glimpse some of Tessa’s as well which sets the next film up nicely.

It still feels like a familiar teen romance movie for ‘serious’ film watchers to roll their eyes at, but there is also a diversity and inclusiveness that should be celebrated, even if the unhealthy relationship between Tessa and Hardin is a questionable thing to be exposing to a young audience.

Much like Tessa, this chapter of the series we move from the innocence of After into a steamier, sex-filled sequel. It will be a hit with fans of the book as it involves a lot more of the raunchiness of the novels, however, fans of the original might not enjoy the step up from 12 to 15 rating.

‘After We Collided’ is in cinemas now.

Venom (2018)

Tom Hardy has all the edginess and brawn to pull off the role of anti-hero Eddie Brock in Sony Marvel’s Venom. This film is far from the glorious, polished and glamourous superhero films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It treats the attainment of superpowers as more of a bad hangover or a case of worms than any big reveal of strength and power, which means that Hardy almost always looks tired and sweaty.

A reluctant hero, Eddie fights his new power almost until the very end but eventually decides to work with it for good. The issues that fuel the Life foundation’s villainous scientific endeavours are relevant and therefore understandable to the audience. Riz Ahmed’s Carlton Drake is a classic villain who is toying with powers bigger than himself but it is a nice change to see a South Asian actor play the intelligent villain. Michelle Williams shares great chemistry with Hardy as his ex-fiancé and never comes across as a damsel in distress.

The car-motorbike chase is a good way to demonstrate the symbiotes power as well as how overpowered Eddie is becoming. The San Francisco hills add some extra danger to it as well. The battle between Venom and Riot is reminiscent of a video game in its animation but that doesn’t make it any less epic as a finale. Overall, Sony has proven that they can make just as good a superhero film without the backing of Disney.

‘Venom’ is available to stream on Netflix.