Have You Been Watching...? Gatlopp (2022)

 

Once upon a time, well 1995, a movie came out and immediately entered the public consciousness: Jumanji. The tale of a game that trapped its players and caused havoc. It was a huge big-budget spectacle that spawned spin-offs and sequels aplenty. That isn’t the tale of 2022’s “Gatlopp”, sometimes subtitled “Hell of a Game.”

Yes, it’s a film based on a game that traps its players and causes havoc, but that’s really where the similarities end. Gatlopp is not aimed at kids and has a much lower budget. But it’s FANTASTIC.

The film’s cold open and title sequence nicely set up what to expect. In our tale, four friends who have drifted apart, come together for an evening. One has come into possession of a “credenza” (or as I know them: a sideboard)and inside is a board game called, yes you guessed it, “Gatlopp”. The word turns out to be Swedish for “Gauntlet” or moreso “running the gauntlet” another clue as to what’s about to happen.

In the most movie way possible to make their actions believable, the friends do not read the instructions that come with the game (uh-oh) and as the strange events unfold, they realise they are indeed trapped and must finish the game or……they play it for all eternity.

There are some special effects in the movie, but the main difference is the game forces people to tell the truth, or there are consequences. As the game progresses, the friends lies and cover-ups are brought to the fore and their friendships are severely tested. If they fail, or don’t answer in time, they must suffer, one makes a brief visit to hell, while another finds themselves with an arrow embedded in their leg (yes, that might be a spoiler, but you really won’t see it coming).

For all of this happening and their ridiculous situations, the most important thing for me with this movie is: it’s hilarious. Our four main cast: Paul (played by Jim Mahoney who played bubbly headed “Brosk” in “The Orville”), Cliff (played by Jon Bass from genre comedies “She-Hulk” and “Miracle Workers”), Sam (played by Emmy Raver-Lampman whom fantasy fans may recognise from Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy”) and Troy (played by Sarunas J Jackson who has appeared in drama series “Good Trouble”) are totally believable in their roles and there is a genuine sense that these are real friends who have drifted apart but still care about each other (even one time lovers Sam and Troy). The script is witty and the dialogue does not come across as forced. They speak like real friends speak. Their reactions are believable, even THEY can’t believe the mess they are in. The film is directed by Alberto Belli, who does a sterling job with limited sets and small cast. The message or moral of the story is nothing shocking. One tries to justify the group by saying “We are good people”, only to be told they are not. They are just people. It’s true. They aren’t saints OR sinners. They are just everyday folk who sometimes make calamitous mistakes. This message sets up a very funny, if somewhat startling, final scene.

With a brisk running time of 80 minutes, it makes the most of the short run-time meaning it never feels padded or flags for any meaningful period of time. It’s quick, funny and immensely enjoyable. The effects are good (for what they are. Hell is represented by someone getting a very, very bad sun burn). I hope you do look in on this one.

Year: 2022

Availability: Streaming on Amazon Prime (for free at the time of writing)

Rating: 7/10

Have You Been Watching...? Get Duked! (2019)

 

In my quest to find entertainment that entertains, I quite like to find myself getting surprised by little gems that have gone un-noticed. Get Duked! (complete with exclamation mark) is one of those little gems. If you have ever seen the BBC series “Stag”, you will find some similarities with this little 90 minute Amazon Original, but don’t let that put you off.

Get Duked! (originally titled Boyz in the Wood) focusses on 3 “chavvy” types who have been selected by their school’s headmaster to go on a “Duke of Edinburgh scheme” outdoors challenge. For those unaware, this is a scheme created by the Duke of Edinburgh way back, to encourage team work and community among young people and is still going strong to this day. Mr Carlilse, their teacher (a great turn by Jonathan Aris whom you may know from Sherlock and His Dark Materials) takes the group to the Scottish highlands, where they must find their way to their campsite using team-work, orienteering and foraging skills. Our group is Samuel Bottomley (Ackley Bridge, The Teacher, Somewhere Boy) as slightly-more-reasonable Ian, Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy, Deadwater Fell, T2: Trainspotting) as dim Duncan, Viraj Duneja as wannabe hip-hop star “DJ Beatroot”, and Rian Gordon as Dean. Whereas Dean, Duncan and DJ all know each other, Ian is the slightly quieter one who actually WANTS to be on the expedition.

As our story progresses, the group of 4 find themselves the target of a gunman in the shape of Eddie Izzard and his equally psychotic wife played by Georgie Glen. The two have decided that young people these days are ruining everything and decide they require culling. Clues to this are laid along the way, including an ominous “missing persons” board where the gang are dropped off. As our hapless group try to avoid becoming the newest entries on the board, they find themselves in all sorts of ridiculous scrapes.

As a British comedy about young people there are, of course, numerous reference to drugs, but again don’t let that put you off. The movie is downright hilarious, and probably way more funny that I ever though it should be. The main cast are utterly charming in their roles and their exploration of friendship is a lovely thing developed throughout the movie. There are some hilariously bizarre moments, including what the farming community get up to of an evening, the local coppers trying to find their next big case and some of the funniest deaths ever put on film (probably). All of this builds up to a surprisingly satirical, yet thoughtful, finale that will have you thinking even after the movie has ended.

Our main cast are supported by Izzard and Glen, but there are also appearance from Game of Thrones stars James Cosmo and Kate Dickie, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace star Alice Lowe, Sunshine of Leith’s Kevin Guthrie and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance from Dr Who’s Young Amy Pond Caitlin Blackwood. Hidden away behind one of the masks is one-time Steve Wilson from Prisoner Cell Block H himself James Smillie.

It’s been a while since I laughed out loud so much during a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s very well written, tightly plotted and with some great directional choices. There are also some very funny little background details so keep your eyes open!

I was also quite surprised to see one of the producers was none other than Hollywood Spider-man star Tobey Maguire.

Overall, if you enjoyed movies like “Attack the Block” and Tv Shows like “The Inbetweeners”, you will find plenty to enjoy in this.

Year: 2019

Availability: at the time of writing, streaming on Amazon Prime

Rating: 8/10

Have You Been Watching...? Black Adam (2022)

 

I love a good superhero movie. While Marvel enjoys a huge following and appreciation, Detective Comics movies seem to struggle with popularity. That being said, I adore Man of Steel, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Shazam. Now, this new entry, “Black Adam” was one I’d not heard of before, but gathered enough that it is set in the same storyline as “Shazam!” Would this movie, led by Dwayne Johnson, be a hit or a miss? I settled down to find out. However hard I thought about this, it’s going to be hard to discuss my thoughts without talking about plot. So, beware: SPOILERS AHEAD!

SO our story begins in Kahndaq, an Middle Eastern country under the control of a criminal group (Intergang!). A group of rebels attempt to find an ancient crown (Crown of Sabbac), forged by a magical metal that can be used to unite the people and rise up against the tyranny. The crown belongs to a mythical legend who freed the people of the land once before from evil king Ahk-Ton, and is an iconic hero. Plot happens, and the hero is resurrected in the form of Black Adam. Now, Black Adam is not the hero everyone hoped he would be and in an attempt to reign in the problem of an all-powerful god like entity, imbued with the power of the Gods from Shazam!, who can be called in to save the people and stop a reckless god? No, not Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg or Batman AKA The Justice League. We get a knock-ff version of the X-Men, complete with Jet. Now, DC fans, please don’t go mad with this – I don’t know who any of them are and have approached this movie as a cinemagoer, not a fan. This group consist of previously unheard ofs “Dr Fate” (Pierce Brosnan), a “kind of” Dr Strange. “Atom Smasher” (Noah Sentineo) a wise-cracking kid who can grow to a huge size similar to……Antman, “Cyclone” (Quintessa Swindell) who can control the weather (well, wind) kind of similar to Storm, and “Hawkman” (Aldis Hodge), a winged flying superfighter, the only one I can’t think of with a Marvel alternative. Supporting our Anti-Hero Adam, is freedom fighting archaeologist Adrianna (who accidentally unleashes Black Adam) and her son Amon, played respectively by Sarah Shahi and Bodhi Sabongui. Plot turns out that Black Adam is not the hero everyone thought he was, but is in fact “Teth-Adam”, the father of the original “Adam” who was imbued by his son’s powers when he was killed and went on a murderous rampage. It is Amon that gives him his new name Black Adam. Movie eventually crawls to an end after a set-piece featuring actual zombies, but stay for the credits as a JL member makes a cameo.

This is a long movie and sadly, not a very good one. Not one of the characters is sympathetic or endearing, coming across as a long list of cliches and stereotypes. Johnson is his maudlin best as Adam, but for some reason, despite being imprisoned for thousands of years, adapts remarkably well to 21^st century life and pop culture, even taking on a catchphrase from Amon. Brosnan is his usual charming best as Dr Fate, but the character is so two dimensional he is nothing more than a cartoon, and I can’t imagine what went through his mind when he read the script (he may have signed up before reading it). Another downside is the over-reliance on computer generated imagery. There’s far too much (not just in this move, but superhero movies in general these days).

It's not ALL bad, though. Saboguni is a great little actor and brings an innocence and charm to Amon, while Sentineo plays Atom Smasher with the awkwardness of an adolescent. While great fun, it’s hard to believe he would ever be dispatched to reign in Black Adam. When one of the main characters is killed off, I felt nothing whatsoever as I hadn’t (as a viewer) been given enough about them to care. The movie also raises a VERY important question, that is mentioned in the film: In a world where they have all these superheroes, why do none of them come over to help the citizens of Kahndaq? The answer is fully addressed in the film and leaves a very bitter taste. I can’t help but agree with the question. Why aren’t they being saved? Who can answer this? At the time of writing, “Shazam – Fury of the Gods” has yet to be released so I don’t know if this is a set-up for that movie or not.

I hate being negative about movies and shows, because a lot of people work really hard on projects like this. However, Black Adam is a terrible movie. There is far too much CGI and exposition, characters are woefully under-developed and plot points are so easy to spot coming that there is nothing in the way of surprises for the viewer. DC fans may enjoy it and get all the references, but after a run of quite enjoyable DC movies, this feels like the first major mis-fire for them.

Year: 2022

Availability – cinema, at the time of writing not available commercially.

HYBW rating – 2/10