The Pale Blue Eye: Satan Riding Large In Rural New York

Summary

A man, played by Christian Bale, investigating a string of grisly murders finds unlikely assistance from a young Edgar Allen Poe, played by Harry Melling.

There is plenty to enjoy about this gothic mystery film though I don’t think anyone would call it perfect by any means either. The atmosphere and central two lead performances certainly create an engaging world, and Bale as always delivers masterfully, however it is with the mystery that things begin to come unstuck.

The mystery itself is not bad, I didn’t see it coming and the twist did feel satisfying at the time it was revealed, however, since then the twist has started to feel far too familiar it is a twist common to this sort of film and narrative and though it does work within the context of the film I criticise it for its over familiarity.

Moreover, I think as with many films the greatest thing going against this picture is its pacing which is nothing short of abominable. The film feels very exciting in the first and third acts but the second feels like an incredibly long slog and becomes more of an endurance test than anything else. Though I will say you should stick it out as the third act is quite lively.

Overall, the cast, atmosphere and mystery do bring something special to this film, however, the familiarity of the twist and the awful pacing make it a taxing watch.

3/5

Pros.

Bale and Melling

The atmosphere

The mystery

Cons.

Though the twist works it feels far too overly familiar and lazy

The pacing is simply awful

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Glass Onion, A Knives Out Mystery: Returning To Excess

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, goes to a private island to investigate a murder yet to come.

Whilst I still think this film is good, it pales in comparison to the first, not hugely, but certainly to a noticeable degree.

The writing is still sharp and the comedy and commentary is still very much on point, I laughed quite a few times during the film and thought that it had a number of insightful points about modern society.

Moreover, the vistas and the locations are still incredible to look at, and the film does present itself as the child of an Agatha Christie book and the excesses of the modern age.

However, outside of the comedy and the beautiful scenery is where the cracks start to immerge, and the hollowness begins to reveal itself more and more. This hollowness can best be seen in the performances, which do greatly lag behind the first film in that the ensemble never really comes together as well as feeling like each actor is playing a cliché or archetype rather than a real person. It feels like a group of actors acting rather than real characters interacting. The weakest member of the cast is probably Jenelle Monae who struggles to emote and gives an incredibly hammy accent turn midway through the film that simply isn’t believable at all, but this is why often musicians don’t make good actors.

Lastly, the runtime is an issue. At the two and a half hour mark the film quickly starts to develop pacing issues in act one and these get worse as the film progresses, there are many needless asides, flashbacks and so forth which whilst interesting to a degree in flushing out the world these characters inhabit, never really need to be.

Overall, still good but in some ways a little disappointing.

3/5

Pros.

The location

The comedy

Craig

Cons

The pacing issues and unsatisfying nature of the ending

The acting is frequently poor

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The Eternal Daughter: You Can Guess The Twist Just From The Title Of The Film

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mother and daughter, both played by Tilda Swinton, head to an old manor house that has familial significance to both of them and slowly mysteries begin to unravel and things plunge towards the gothic.

I was very disappointed by this film. From the trailer I was expecting a classic British ghost story, with maybe a few modern twists thrown in to update things, however, what I got instead was a suitably creepy film that then delivers one of the most obvious twists used far too frequently within horror cinema which then puts the kiss of death on any hopes of the film being good. The twist, which is that the mother is actually dead and the whole time she and the daughter are interacting it is only in the daughter’s head is incredibly obvious and I could have guessed it from the title alone, I was hoping the film wouldn’t go in that direction and would instead do something more clever and creepy but clearly that was too much to ask for.

It is a shame as the film boasts quite a creepy atmosphere for most of its runtime that does deliver some unsettling moments and leaves a lot of unanswered questions to go over after the film ends, both of which are why this film hasn’t scored lower.

To briefly comment on performance, Tilda Swinton is very capable as usual, but I would say she is hamming things up just a little too much at times here and there are moments wherein you could claim she is overacting.

Overall, a sore disappointment.

2/5

Pros.

The creepy atmosphere

The unanswered questions

Cons.

The twists is incredibly obvious

Swinton goes a little too hammy in her performances

Pacing issues

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Pieces: Peril In The Parish

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film follows the disappearance of a priest’s wife.

Whilst this film is watchable, the mystery really isn’t anything to write home about at all. Everything that happens over the course of the film feels like a checkbox that the writers are ticking off as they go along whilst constantly referring back to the how to write a cliched mystery film guide book. Nothing feels surprising or organic whenever something happens it is met with a well obviously.

In addition the film finds it hard to maintain a sense of tension and for the most part struggled to keep my attention. I found myself getting distracted a lot whilst watching or just switching off because the film was not engaging me in anyway. What makes this worse is the incredibly slow pace that only draws out these problems to a point where they become unbearable.

The film isn’t awful and the performances do raise the bar somewhat and try and make up for the other weaker elements but even they aren’t enough.

Overall, a weak and incredibly obvious mystery film.

Pros.

It is watchable

The performances are mostly good

Cons.

It is obvious

It is cliched

It is boring

The pace is painful at times

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Nightfall: In Service Of A Scream

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Whilst working from home James, played by Michael Lake, hears a scream that changes his life forever and sets him off down a twisting course of mystery.

For the most part I really enjoyed this film, I thought the central mystery was good and it kept me guessing right up until the end. However, the ending for me felt a little obvious and I would have liked it more if they had gone with something a little more out of left field, in which case I would have given the film higher and the mystery would have been great all the way through.

In terms of tension I think the film manages to keep a pretty good tone, the tension slowly ramps over the first act and then really sets into going into act two. In this sense the film is quite compelling to watch and can at times be hard to look away from.

The performances are all good, however, I would single Lake out for praise here as he really does take his character on a journey over the course of the film and isn’t afraid of showing both the highs and lows of the human condition.

Overall, a mostly good mystery film that is a little undone by the ending.

Pros.

Lake

The tension

It kept me guessing

Cons.

The ending is a little obvious and that then derails the whole mystery

Some slight pacing issues

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Enola Holmes 2: Back By Algorithm Demand

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Enola Holmes, played by Millie Bobby Brown, is back for an all new tedious mystery that you will immediately forget about the second the film ends.

So I will say that this film is watchable, and does have a few good moments. I liked the furthering of the romance between Enola and Lord Tewkesbury, played by Louis Partridge, and thought that it was very sweet and I also liked that Enola is now out on her own and is not still at the beck and call of her brothers.

However, I would say that is where the positives for this film end. Mainly my problem with this sequel is that it is totally unneeded, the mystery is far more dull than the first, you don’t care about it and it all just feels like Netflix were screaming for more of the same. Indeed most of the aspects that worked well in the first film, such as the fourth wall breaking, are turned up to the max here and in almost every case they are pushed too far and to a point wherein they become annoying.

Moreover, though Henry Cavill was a strong part of the first film, here he feels pretty aimless. Maybe that is the point, but they force in Moriarty Holmes’ famous nemesis to try and give him something to do and even that ends up boring. In many sense I feel like this film was forced into production before they had a good idea as to what they wanted the sequel to be and so a lot of it comes off as generic.

Finally, a lot of the commentary and messaging of this film is not as insightful or as fresh as it thinks it is, and instead ends up bring out the same old same old feminist lectures that have been done better before. It comes off as try hard and wannbe, if they are going to give the film a message lets at least have it be timely and fresh.

Overall, a fairly needless sequel.

Pros.

Enola is finally her own boss

It is watchable

A few entertaining moments

Cons.

It doesn’t justify its existence

The commentary is tame and tepid

It can’t find an interesting story to tell

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Vengeance: Things Are Different In Texas

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ben, played by B.J Novak, heads to Texas to investigate the murder of his one night stand.

Honestly, I think this film has been a little overhyped. Some of the praise I had heard about this film being a ground-breaking first feature for Novak and that it really went to some interesting places seem to have been misplaced. I thought the mystery was okay, average at best, but certainly nothing to write home about in the way something like Knives Out was. The commentary on life and where we are all going is incredibly pedestrian and seems to think it has something new to say when in fact it is just the same old same old.

Sadly for Novak what makes his film good are the supporting performances that in no uncertain terms upstage his performance. Boyd Holbrook and Ashton Kutcher both deliver really strong performances that make this film what it is. Holbrook is incredibly warm and likeable and Kutcher makes for a villain that is both evil but also at times talking some sense.

Overall, fine if forgettable.

Pros.

Holbrook

Kutcher

It is very watchable

Cons.

It has nothing to say

The mystery is deeply average and nothing particularly new

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Dead Again: The Neo-Noir Really Is Running Out Of Road, Let It Rest

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A private investigator, played by Kenneth Branagh, and a hypnotist, played by Derek Jacobi, help a mute woman, played by Emma Thompson, with Amnesia to regain her memory, sadly it is of a horrible murder.

Honestly I can’t shake the feeling that I have seen this film somewhere before. I haven’t actually seen it you see but the plot is very familiar.

I think widely it is the performances that save this film, at its core you have three very talented actors delivering good performances, which make up for the film’s drawbacks. However, the good acting does not carry between the performers as I found the romance to be very stiff and unnatural feeling.

Branagh really does have a knack for the cinematic, however, I don’t think at this point in his early career he has really worked out pacing as this film has quite a lot of issues on that front. The film often ends up feeling like a slog in which you can’t wait for it to end.

Overall, the performances save it from mediocrity or worse, but the film does have noticeable issues.

Pros.

Thompson

Branagh

Jacobi

Cons.

The romance angle doesn’t work

Pacing issues

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Bodies Bodies Bodies: Hello Fellow Kids

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends gather together to wait out a storm and play some party games, once there things take a turn for the worst and one by one people start getting murdered.

Spoilers Ahead

I thought this film was pretty entertaining, but it was not without its issues. Most obviously, you could tell that this film was written by someone who isn’t Gen Z as though they use some correct vernacular it never really feels authentic and genuine. Moreover, with the expectation of Amandla Stenberg the cast are not members of Gen Z either, these might only be little nit picks I know but as the film has been labelled a Gen Z murder mystery it deserves to be pointed out.

The mystery was well used for the most part, however, it is ruined by the end of the film. Where it turns out that there never was any murderer just a series of accidents and misunderstandings leading to all these deaths then it just feels like a cop out. Honestly I didn’t find the ending funny I found it to be infuriating.

For me the performances were a mixed bag, I thought Maria Bakalova, Lee Pace and Rachel Sennott all gave strong performances whereas Myha’la Herrold’s Jordan felt cliched, Stenberg’s Sophie underdeveloped and Pete Davidson’s David to be totally unlikeable.

Overall, whilst it has some enjoyable moments for the most part this is a decidedly average film.

Pros.

A few funny moments

It is a good mystery until the ending ruins it

Bakalova really shines

Cons.

A lot of the supporting cast are wasted

It feels clearly like someone older trying to write for Gen Z

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See How They Run: The Theater Is A Dangerous Place

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The set of a production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap turns into a crime scene.

For those looking for a serious straight laced murder mystery film look elsewhere. Though I am not saying this film is inherently a comedy, I do think there is a degree of metaness to the film and a commentary on the Whodunit genre more broadly, which worked well for me. Many scenes of this film almost serve as a parody of the genre’s tropes and seeks to subvert and deconstruct. I think these aspects of the film really enhance it and add a sense of quirky charm that will endear this film to a lot of people. I also think the film is very funny and frequently made me laugh as I was watching it.

The performances across the board are great but the main duo of Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are by far the best, they play off each other well and both become your favourite character at different parts of the film. If I had to edge it out I would say that Ronan gives the best performance of the two as her plucky spirit feels infectious throughout.

Overall, a fun whodunit that proves there is still life in the genre, and to a lesser extent in British cinema.

Pros.

Ronan

Rockwell

The charm

The mystery

Cons.

The pacing is a little off, it could have been shortened

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