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Darren (1599 KP) rated Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Don is the new student being sent to a boarding school, he comes from a common family where he has a close group of friends which he would prefer to be around, he does stick out around the rest of the students, easily breaking the rules around the school. Willoughby is the student that must show Don around the school, he fills in the blanks, has a secret and will be the one that helps Don be prepared for everything in the year. Meredith Houseman is one of teachers, he once attended the school, feeling the pride the school embodies, he will end up helping the students against the evil in the school grounds. The Bat is the headmaster, he has been taking bribes to let the fracking happen and isn’t willing to lose the money coming his way.
Performances – Michael Sheen and Simon Pegg both look like they are having a lot of fun playing the stuck up British stereotypes which are here for the supporting roles. Finn Cole takes the lead in this film and he does all he can because this film does try to introduce too many different types of characters, not giving the lead enough time to shine, Asa Butterfield does well with his role too, getting to become a supporting character for once, instead of having the weight of the film put on him.
Story – The story here follows the time at a private British boarding school which sees monsters unleashed on the students, who must fight to save themselves. The weirdest way to describe this film would be to say this is the British boarding school version of ‘Attack the Block’, I say this because we are trying to play into a lot of stereotypes for added comedy to the situation. When we break down this alone we get to see how the British private school system comes off, with the student classes, the students believing they are better than anybody else and how the teachers are trapped in their own illusions. Add in the monsters which is what they feel like, which again disappoints along with one serious side to the story which is almost played out for jokes.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy only works if you find taking the piss out of upper-class English funny, this is what the film is set around getting laughs from. The horror is what the monsters do to the people, it would have been nice to get more time with them, once we do it does work well for blood splatter.
Settings – The film is set on the grounds of a private boarding school, this is put in an isolated location which does help make the film get added horror elements involved.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are mixed because it does feel like the thrown buckets of blood which for the budget isn’t what you want to see, though the creatures do look frightening at times.
Scene of the Movie – Monsters unleashed.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much upper-class British jokes.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun enough horror comedy, it will get the laughs in places and has well created creatures.
Overall: British Ripped apart
Performances – Michael Sheen and Simon Pegg both look like they are having a lot of fun playing the stuck up British stereotypes which are here for the supporting roles. Finn Cole takes the lead in this film and he does all he can because this film does try to introduce too many different types of characters, not giving the lead enough time to shine, Asa Butterfield does well with his role too, getting to become a supporting character for once, instead of having the weight of the film put on him.
Story – The story here follows the time at a private British boarding school which sees monsters unleashed on the students, who must fight to save themselves. The weirdest way to describe this film would be to say this is the British boarding school version of ‘Attack the Block’, I say this because we are trying to play into a lot of stereotypes for added comedy to the situation. When we break down this alone we get to see how the British private school system comes off, with the student classes, the students believing they are better than anybody else and how the teachers are trapped in their own illusions. Add in the monsters which is what they feel like, which again disappoints along with one serious side to the story which is almost played out for jokes.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy only works if you find taking the piss out of upper-class English funny, this is what the film is set around getting laughs from. The horror is what the monsters do to the people, it would have been nice to get more time with them, once we do it does work well for blood splatter.
Settings – The film is set on the grounds of a private boarding school, this is put in an isolated location which does help make the film get added horror elements involved.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are mixed because it does feel like the thrown buckets of blood which for the budget isn’t what you want to see, though the creatures do look frightening at times.
Scene of the Movie – Monsters unleashed.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much upper-class British jokes.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun enough horror comedy, it will get the laughs in places and has well created creatures.
Overall: British Ripped apart
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Me, Myself & Di (2021) in Movies
Oct 29, 2021 (Updated Nov 2, 2021)
Me, Myself and Di is a quirky, comical and well-produced British comedy with a huge ensemble cast including James Lance (Northern Soul, Bronson, Marie Antoinette, Bel Ami), Lucy Pinder (The Royals, Age of Kill), Will Mellor (Two Pint of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Line of Duty), Tyger Drew-Honey (Cuckoo, Outnumbered), Larry Lamb (EastEnders, The Hatton Garden Job), Marek Oravec (Captain America: The First Avenger), Wim Snape (The Full Monty, Coronation Street) and rising star Katy Clayton (Casualty, Shameless), Me, Myself & Di is a fun, feel-good and uplifting love story about being true to yourself.
Rowan Atkinson recommended Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Mr.Hulot's Holiday) (1953) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Dead Set in TV
Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
Dead Set in short - a six part British drama series, set around a zombie apocalypse, where most of the story takes place in the Big Brother house.
It's also from the mind of Charlie Brooker - the creator of Black Mirror, and the results are pretty good.
The opening episode deals with an eviction night of the British Big Brother series, where everyone involved both on camera and behind the scenes go about their usual business.
As a virus takes hold and chaos quickly ensues, the Big Brother housemates are trapped inside the house - which happens to be pretty secure.
The way that Dead Set is shot is frantic when the action starts. It's nasty and gritty whilst keeping a British dark humour sort of charm without ever going full comedy. In fact, the series is really quite bleak throughout.
The episodes run at 20 minutes each with an extended pilot, clocking in at just over 2 hours and it managed to hold my attention throughout.
Of course, being a Charlie Brooker project, there's an underlying message - as the zombie horde surrounding the house grows and grows, even in death, the public are drawn towards trashy reality shows.
Considering Dead Set is a TV show aired on Channel 4, it's pretty impressive. Well worth checking out for anyone who enjoys horror.
It's also from the mind of Charlie Brooker - the creator of Black Mirror, and the results are pretty good.
The opening episode deals with an eviction night of the British Big Brother series, where everyone involved both on camera and behind the scenes go about their usual business.
As a virus takes hold and chaos quickly ensues, the Big Brother housemates are trapped inside the house - which happens to be pretty secure.
The way that Dead Set is shot is frantic when the action starts. It's nasty and gritty whilst keeping a British dark humour sort of charm without ever going full comedy. In fact, the series is really quite bleak throughout.
The episodes run at 20 minutes each with an extended pilot, clocking in at just over 2 hours and it managed to hold my attention throughout.
Of course, being a Charlie Brooker project, there's an underlying message - as the zombie horde surrounding the house grows and grows, even in death, the public are drawn towards trashy reality shows.
Considering Dead Set is a TV show aired on Channel 4, it's pretty impressive. Well worth checking out for anyone who enjoys horror.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Hot Fuzz (2007) in Movies
Aug 3, 2019
An instant classic
Hot Fuzz is a glorious film, plain and simple.
It's funny, it's crude, it's gory, it's just plain ridiculous at times, and it's very British...
Anyone who lives here in England can confirm - this country is full of little villages and towns where something just seems a bit...off. just like the films village, Sandford.
As Sgt. Angel starts to uncover a sinister conspiracy underneath the idyllic town, Hot Fuzz effortlessly weaves quick humour, with a creeping sense of dread, just like it's predecessor, Shaun of the Dead.
The fantastic trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright hit all the right comedic notes once again, and the film is riddled with famous faces from the British comedy scene.
It evens features once-James-Bond Timothy Dalton, just being generally awesome and villainous.
The climatic battle, (that likes fun at the silliness of the action genre) is good fun, but it doesn't quite hit the mark that Shaun of the Dead does.
It's still a great film though, I'd implore anyone to give it a go.
It's funny, it's crude, it's gory, it's just plain ridiculous at times, and it's very British...
Anyone who lives here in England can confirm - this country is full of little villages and towns where something just seems a bit...off. just like the films village, Sandford.
As Sgt. Angel starts to uncover a sinister conspiracy underneath the idyllic town, Hot Fuzz effortlessly weaves quick humour, with a creeping sense of dread, just like it's predecessor, Shaun of the Dead.
The fantastic trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright hit all the right comedic notes once again, and the film is riddled with famous faces from the British comedy scene.
It evens features once-James-Bond Timothy Dalton, just being generally awesome and villainous.
The climatic battle, (that likes fun at the silliness of the action genre) is good fun, but it doesn't quite hit the mark that Shaun of the Dead does.
It's still a great film though, I'd implore anyone to give it a go.
Rob P (30 KP) rated Dog Soldiers (2002) in Movies
Jan 23, 2019
Great British cast (3 more)
Black/dark humour throughout
Great one liners
One of the last films I remember to use makeup, costumes, and what looks like actual sausages for special effects and gore.
There is no Spoon
Contains spoilers, click to show
This is just one of those films from my youth that will never look back on with anything but pure joy.
The plot has already been laid out here, the reasons to watch this movie aren't really based around storyline. It's more that a group of "everyman" type British soldiers are thrust into a bat sh*t crazy situation, fighting off seven foot werewolves inside an abandoned farmhouse in the Scottish highlands. Comedy is of course going to come with that.
If the premise doesn't grab you, come for Liam Cunningham (AKA Ser Davos Seaworth) playing a bad guy, it's such a brilliant thing to see his range. If that doesn't do it, come to hear Sean Pertwee say "We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch."
The jokes and quotables are thick and fast, the makeup and costumes of the werewolves is still analogue, and the work put into them must have been immense. They are genuinely menacing, and it's nice to remind yourself that not everything needs to be computer generated to have impact.
As a last point, Id like to point out that besides the great cast, the comedy, and the quotes, this isn't really jump scare, or torture p*rn, it's just an old fashioned run and gun, action comedy horror. It also ends in a way I just haven't seen before, with the use of photographs in a particular "action shot" kind of way, set up during the movie. Excellent.
- Rob
The plot has already been laid out here, the reasons to watch this movie aren't really based around storyline. It's more that a group of "everyman" type British soldiers are thrust into a bat sh*t crazy situation, fighting off seven foot werewolves inside an abandoned farmhouse in the Scottish highlands. Comedy is of course going to come with that.
If the premise doesn't grab you, come for Liam Cunningham (AKA Ser Davos Seaworth) playing a bad guy, it's such a brilliant thing to see his range. If that doesn't do it, come to hear Sean Pertwee say "We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch."
The jokes and quotables are thick and fast, the makeup and costumes of the werewolves is still analogue, and the work put into them must have been immense. They are genuinely menacing, and it's nice to remind yourself that not everything needs to be computer generated to have impact.
As a last point, Id like to point out that besides the great cast, the comedy, and the quotes, this isn't really jump scare, or torture p*rn, it's just an old fashioned run and gun, action comedy horror. It also ends in a way I just haven't seen before, with the use of photographs in a particular "action shot" kind of way, set up during the movie. Excellent.
- Rob
Awix (3310 KP) rated King of Thieves (2018) in Movies
Oct 10, 2018
Michael Caine leads a crack team of crock crooks in robbing a safe deposit vault in London in this loosely-based-on-reality black comedy thriller. Quite apart from Caine, the film has an excellent cast (Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone, Paul Whitehouse, and Michael Gambon, plus Charlie Cox for the streaming generation), which will probably be what draws most people to it.
Initially this looks like it's going to be a slightly cosy comedy thriller about blokes who are too old be robbers any more, but - very pleasantly - it quite soon acquires some real heft and gravity to it, with the various members of the gang falling out and attempting to double-cross each other - most of these actors are well-known as comedians, but there is some proper meaty drama here and scenes with a definite tension to them.
Not quite as much Caine as you might hope for, but he is still the guv'nor as far as British film acting is concerned, and this is his best role for a while. Everyone else is good too. The film never quite gets the shifts between comedy and gangster thriller right, and the low budget keeps it from being very cinematic, but it's an engaging movie driven by great performances.
Initially this looks like it's going to be a slightly cosy comedy thriller about blokes who are too old be robbers any more, but - very pleasantly - it quite soon acquires some real heft and gravity to it, with the various members of the gang falling out and attempting to double-cross each other - most of these actors are well-known as comedians, but there is some proper meaty drama here and scenes with a definite tension to them.
Not quite as much Caine as you might hope for, but he is still the guv'nor as far as British film acting is concerned, and this is his best role for a while. Everyone else is good too. The film never quite gets the shifts between comedy and gangster thriller right, and the low budget keeps it from being very cinematic, but it's an engaging movie driven by great performances.
BackToTheMovies (56 KP) rated For Love or Money (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Featuring a wonderful British cast including Samantha Barks, Robert Kazinsky, Tony Way and Anna Chancellor we have the utterly hilarious For Love Or Money.
Our film follows Mark, a man set to inherit £20m on a secret business deal. Little does he know that Connie, a girl he was in love with for many years in high school also knows. A gold digger who hatches a plan to marry Mark to inherit half of his fortune. What Connie doesn’t know however is that quite early on Mark realises what is going on and puts a plan into action.
Labelled as an unromantic comedy this couldn’t ring truer. We have this gold digger hellbent on getting Mark’s fortune. On the flip side, we have Mark who is putting Connie through hell as punishment for her awful actions. The movie never takes itself too seriously and it’s hilarious watching Mark prank Connie at every turn. Every single member of this cast is on point throughout. The plot smoothly flows by with British cheeky charm and whilst sometimes pushes boundaries, it never gets too carried away.
Whilst the whole film does revolve around the pranks and the revenge plot there is another arc. A more subtle and emotional arc that takes place as the film draws to an end. Not the best film to watch for me personally, freshly out of a recent relationship but the film hits home in the more sensitive departments. How far someone would go for money Vs how far someone would go for love. This constant battle between the two contrasting beliefs is endearing to watch.
I can see For Love Or Money being a surprise comedy instalment for 2019. It’s sneaking under the radar. It’s shot beautifully and has a charm that has been rarely replicated in British comedies for many years. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re welling up. It’s a rollercoaster ride that’s well worth the watch!
Our film follows Mark, a man set to inherit £20m on a secret business deal. Little does he know that Connie, a girl he was in love with for many years in high school also knows. A gold digger who hatches a plan to marry Mark to inherit half of his fortune. What Connie doesn’t know however is that quite early on Mark realises what is going on and puts a plan into action.
Labelled as an unromantic comedy this couldn’t ring truer. We have this gold digger hellbent on getting Mark’s fortune. On the flip side, we have Mark who is putting Connie through hell as punishment for her awful actions. The movie never takes itself too seriously and it’s hilarious watching Mark prank Connie at every turn. Every single member of this cast is on point throughout. The plot smoothly flows by with British cheeky charm and whilst sometimes pushes boundaries, it never gets too carried away.
Whilst the whole film does revolve around the pranks and the revenge plot there is another arc. A more subtle and emotional arc that takes place as the film draws to an end. Not the best film to watch for me personally, freshly out of a recent relationship but the film hits home in the more sensitive departments. How far someone would go for money Vs how far someone would go for love. This constant battle between the two contrasting beliefs is endearing to watch.
I can see For Love Or Money being a surprise comedy instalment for 2019. It’s sneaking under the radar. It’s shot beautifully and has a charm that has been rarely replicated in British comedies for many years. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re welling up. It’s a rollercoaster ride that’s well worth the watch!
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Hopkins Manuscript in Books
Mar 21, 2019
Powerfully moving, surprisingly obscure British SF novel. Eerily prescient in some ways: written in 1939 but set from 1945 onward, the story is told by Edgar Hopkins, a retired schoolteacher and champion poultry-breeder who is one of the first men in the country to learn of an impending cataclysm - the moon has been knocked from its orbit and will collide with the Earth in a matter of months. Hopkins' ability to tell the story is impaired by his own pompousness, powerful sense of self-regard and unerring ability to miss the significance of anything going on around him.
Initially it reads like a very black, absurdist comedy, but as the book progresses it becomes genuinely poignant and moving - almost a eulogy for an idea of England soon to be wiped away forever. I have no idea how much the author was motivated by fears of the coming Second World War, but its presence hangs inescapably over the book. The actual science in the book is rather risible, and (like much other mid-20th century British SF) the film also contains race-related elements that some modern readers could find problematic, but the core of the book remains as significant and thought-provoking as ever.
Initially it reads like a very black, absurdist comedy, but as the book progresses it becomes genuinely poignant and moving - almost a eulogy for an idea of England soon to be wiped away forever. I have no idea how much the author was motivated by fears of the coming Second World War, but its presence hangs inescapably over the book. The actual science in the book is rather risible, and (like much other mid-20th century British SF) the film also contains race-related elements that some modern readers could find problematic, but the core of the book remains as significant and thought-provoking as ever.
Awix (3310 KP) rated An American Werewolf in London (1981) in Movies
May 17, 2021
Off-beat horror comedy. Two American backpackers travelling through Europe are attacked by a ferocious beast in the Yorkshire Dales; one of them is horribly slaughtered, the other is less fortunate.
In with a shout as the best werewolf movie ever, although this is partly because of the lack of serious competition. The story hits all the usual beats, but is elevated by a knowing sense of humour (and jokes which really land) and Rick Baker's still-impressive make-up effects (it's hard to know which sequence Landis seems more fascinated by, the transformation or Jenny Agutter in the shower). A fascination with the weirdness of British culture, along with a supporting cast of great character actors, also helps to make the film distinctive. Very funny, very scary, occasionally very gory; a great horror movie.
In with a shout as the best werewolf movie ever, although this is partly because of the lack of serious competition. The story hits all the usual beats, but is elevated by a knowing sense of humour (and jokes which really land) and Rick Baker's still-impressive make-up effects (it's hard to know which sequence Landis seems more fascinated by, the transformation or Jenny Agutter in the shower). A fascination with the weirdness of British culture, along with a supporting cast of great character actors, also helps to make the film distinctive. Very funny, very scary, occasionally very gory; a great horror movie.