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...? We Have A Ghost (2023)

 

I’d seen some of the pre-publicity for the Netflix original movie “We Have A Ghost” and it certainly contained enough to warrant inclusion on this blog. A family comedy about a ghost haunting a house? Absolutely! A cast full of cult TV & Movie stars? YES!  It stars genre icons David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow, Hellboy), Tig Notaro (Star Trek: Discovery, Army of the Dead) and Anthony Mackie (Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Falcon). Is it the winner I think it should be? Read on…

Besides the big names, this comedy also stars Jahi Di’Allo Winston as the movies main character Kevin (also from the rather poor genre movie The Dead Don’t Die with Adam Driver and Bill Murray) and Erica Ash (Kendra from Scary Movie 5).

Our plot is that The Presley family, of whom Ash and Mackie portray the parents and Winston as their son (the other brother played by Niles Fitch whose credits include St Vincent – again with Bill Murray) who all move into what can only be described as a “fixer-upper” of a house. Kevin, a bit of a loner, finds a ghost in the attic. The ghost, portrayed by Harbour, can’t speak but his bowling shirt bears the name “Ernest” and despite trying to scare Kevin, the ghost and the boy become friends. Once Kevin’s brother and father find out about Ernest, they start posting videos online and the family, via Ernest, become internet sensations. This draws the attention of Dr Monroe, who once worked for a now-defunct government department researching ghosts. This further leads to more young teen movie escapades as Kevin and best friend Joy (Isabella Russo) try to explore Ernest’s history and resolve his issues so he can move on.

I will TRY not to spoil things here, but I’m putting a spoiler warning anyway as it’s going to be difficult in a movie like this.

Harbour is nothing short of brilliant in a role that brings him very close to Nicolas Cage in a certain category (you will understand this if you have ever seen Willy’s Wonderland* or see the very bottom of this review), how he manages to convey so much with so little really shows he is way more than just Sheriff Hopper. The always wonderful-to-watch Tig Notaro plays quite an important role in this movie, but once she fulfils her role’s purpose, it’s a shame she just disappears from the movie, after a rather startling change in character. Anthony Mackie, unfortunately, plays a generic dad character and doesn’t get much of a chance to shine. However, Winston is absolutely endearing, bringing a genuine vulnerability to Kevin. The always watchable Jennifer Coolidge makes a brief appearance as a medium and she steals all the scenes she appears in.

So, those are the plusses. As with a lot of Netflix movies recently, there are a bunch of negatives to go with the positives. In this case, the movie is far too long. Running at 127 minutes, there are huge chunks of this movie that can easily be excised (pun intended) and still tell a coherent story. Most obviously, to me, is the rather uncomfortable Motel scene, which bearing in mind we are watching children, is creepy and not in the spooky way. The whole Government Department material brings nothing to the story other than give our heroes something to do and what happens to Tig Notaro’s character is a total travesty. There is also one other scene involving out heroes in a car chase with the police that sits awkwardly too. The scene shows the clear death of one of the police, caused by our heroes, but then next scene shows the officer up and about. Maybe I’m nit-picking but there is no way that character walked away from that incident(or maybe they didn’t and that last shot of them is their ghost?). As a writer of a certain age, I found the Social Media section a bit boring and unrealistic. If there really was evidence of ghosts, I think it'd draw more attention that a few fans and a solo department from the government (although the "Jesus" moments ARE hilarious!)

Apparently, the film is based on a short story called “Ernest” by Geoff Manaugh. I haven’t read it so I have no idea what the movie does differently.

As it stands, the movie is “okay”, but if it had been tightened up, maybe by 30 minutes or so, it could have been great. It is frustrating that such an opportunity is wasted. You would not regret spending time in watching this movie, but you may feel that you could’ve done something more constructive in the time.

Year: 2023

Availability: currently streaming on Netflix (as of Feb 2023)

HYBW rating: 6/10               

 

*The Willy’s Wonderland reference: Both Nic Cage and David Harbour don’t speak in either movie. Although Harbour does make moaning noises in this one.

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

Have you been watching…? Moonfall

There’s nothing quite like an apocalypse movie. The spectacle of life as we know it coming to an end. It’s even better when it is some kind of natural catastrophe, so it is with this in mind, I watched Moonfall, directed by epic disaster movie director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day).

The movie features horror franchise “The Conjuring” star Patrick Wilson as disgraced astronaut Brian Harper, Oscar-winner Halle Berry as astronaut Jo Fowler and Game of Thrones star John Bradley as conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman. Michael Pena appears as Harper’s ex-wife’s new beau, and cinema legend Donald Sutherland appears as “Holdenfield”, although this is nothing more than a cameo.

The plot, well it’s exactly what it says on the tin. The moon begins to fall towards earth. How this set of circumstances occurs is a conspiracy theorist's dream. I won’t spoil it, but it’s not the natural disaster we think it is. As if the notion of the moon falling to earth isn’t enough, the plot is filled with padding and melodrama, relegating the spectacle of what’s happening to second place for most of the first half of the movie. There are lots of set-pieces, but none of them seem to hold any real danger. We don’t really see the impact of these spectacular disaster’s impacts on ordinary people (never mind our main cast!) Sadly, the CGI isn’t great either. For example, the tide and sea levels rise in one scene, clearly killing goodness knows how many people, but our cast move up to the upper floors of the hotel they are in and have a good night’s sleep in the rooms, barely acknowledging the sheer scale of death and disaster around them. When the movie shifts into it’s second half, the plot just gets worse.

I can forgive not concentrating on the death and destruction around them as long as the film has a sense of fun about it, but this doesn’t even have THAT. It’s a mish mash of ideas, thrust together. Bradley steals the show as Houseman and is sometimes the sole beacon of light in most scenes he is in. Pena is great playing a character that I think the audience is not supposed to like, but is quite endearing and one of the best characters in it, making his story arc’s resolution all the more heartbreaking.

Overall, I wanted to LOVE this movie. It should have been brilliant. The script could probably have done with a few more passes, and I’d have happily lost 30 mins or so in exchange for a couple of truly GREAT sequences. I feel the movie is a missed opportunity and a huge disappointment. I’ve since read it was a box-office flop when it came out and gets mixed to negative reviews, and I’m afraid I have to agree with that. I hate to be so down on people’s hard work but I can’t imagine what possessed anyone involved to have wanted to participate. Unless it was like I thought: the premise sounded great, until they saw the script and by then the ink was dry on the contract….. 

Emmerich has made some GREAT movies, and while they all don’t make the best scientific sense, they contain a great sense of adventure and fun, like Independence Day, Stargate, 2012, the Day After Tomorrow, even Godzilla. Sadly, Moonfall falls into the same category as Independence Day: Resurgence...just BAD

Year – 2022

Availability – currently streaming on Amazon Prime

HYBW rating –  3/10

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

 

There has been a lot written about the movie “Nope” since it’s release in August 2022. My intention is to try to write something different, to give a different perspective on it.

Nope is write/director Jordan Peele’s third horror movie outing, following the huge success of “Get Out” and “Us”. Both of those horror movies are firmly grounded in a believable reality. When I heard that Peele was doing a third movie, I wondered would it stand up to the other two? Would he go the way of other famed director M. Night Shayamalan, whose initial movies were equally well received but then  came “Lady in the Water” and it all went somewhat wrong. Can Peele avoid such a calamity?

In a word, yes. Nope is something special. In fact, I think I enjoyed it much more than Get Out or Us.

The movie is set in a rural area of the USA. Rancher OJ, played by Get Out’s Daniel Kaluua (Dr Who fans shouldn’t forget his turn in Planet of the Dead) and his dad run a range rearing horses for the entertainment industry. Within the first few minutes of the film, something occurs meaning OJ has to run the ranch himself and the story jumps forward six months. OJ’s feisty sister turns up and provides a wonderful dynamic with her brother. OJ, however, discloses that their father’s departure was not quite as initially made out. This results in the siblings recruiting Angel, a tech nerd from a local store and the involvement of TV’s Kid Sheriff child-star Jupe, played by the Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun, becoming involved in the increasing mystery of “something in the sky” above the ranch. Interspersed throughout the main narrative is Jupe’s childhood take from his own celebrity days leading to his own current circumstances. It seems irrelevant, and at times jarring with the ongoing bigger story, but it all makes sense towards the end.

I am certainly not going to spoil this movie for you, but as per Peele’s previous endeavours, circumstances are not quite what they seem, and it IS a horror movie so there are chills and screams aplenty.

Several reviews of the movie highlight the meaning of the film, being about the need for entertainment and spectacle, but even if you don’t “get” that from the film, it’s still an amazing piece of work, ranging from the long silence of a barren range in the style of Brokeback Mountain to the breath-holding nightmare of something like Spielberg’s Jaws. The movie is remarkably well cast and believable in their roles. When a movie is so well cast you forget to bother about “what have they bene in before”, then you know you’re onto a winner. So far, so good for Peele, this is definitely 3 out of 3 home runs. Much in the same way that “Signs” is my favourite Shayamalan movie, it’s these smaller stories that appeal to me more.

The story is immaculately well-plotted, even if you don’t think so to begin with. Each character has a back story and come across as rounded and believable individuals. The special effects, when they kick in, are astounding and I have to admit to having seen nothing quite like it in a movie of this nature.

I wrote this not long after seeing the movie, and some time has passed. It still haunts me even now.

Year – 2022

Availability – Still playing in cinemas and available to rent from online streaming services.