WatcherFromTheSkies Reviews

Muscle (2019)

Be warned, but a domestic horror masterpiece.

[8/10 · 17 March 2024]

First of all, this is not a date movie. There are some very graphic un-simulated sex scenes that frankly didn't really need to be there. It kind of spoils the film a little for me, as I suppose I am a little conservative.

Anyway, that out of the way, this is an amazing film!

It's a real black comedy, some scenes are laugh out loud funny in the vein of classic British cringe comedy - think 'The Office' or 'Peep Show'. It's definitely not a comedy though, it's a hard as nails drama looking at very real things that can easily blight the lives of the naive and unfortunate, and slowly send them to hell on earth.

Craig Fairbrass gives a brave performance; the performance of his life. He tends to appear in genre gangster films, and here he literally stretches his acting muscles. He's one of Britain's finest film actors and I hope he builds on this role.

Unlike most British films I've enjoyed, I really want Hollywood to remake this, in a slightly less unhinged R rated version.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023)

Beautiful observation of recent Britain.

[9/10 · 15 February 2024]

I often wonder how cinema goers from around the world view Britain. The ones who've never travelled to these shores.

This film is what Britain feels like to me. The space. The people. The mix of small c conservative orthodoxy, with occasional bursts of the sort of determined, quest seeking, 'pilgrimage' featured here.

That's the setting. The story is often almost unbearably sad, and the understated screenplay by the novel's author gradually digs deeper and reveals the true motivations behind these apparently eccentric actions. But even in its darkest moments, there's warmth and hope here too.

The film cannot avoid comparisons with post 2020 Britain. It's set before 'Covid', but the film was (presumably) made afterwards. This is a pre-Covid Britain, and there's a realization that this would have been literally illegal in 2020, when travel was closed down in the name of what is increasingly appearing to be an iatrogenic pandemic, where elderly were forced to die alone, away from loved ones. Harold would have been arrested, and his supporters would have become informers, all in the name of 'the greater good'. Whether many people actually reach hospices now, and are allowed to die naturally, is another question. It's not an overtly political film, but it will subtly bring out your politics.

A modern British masterpiece in my humble opinion.

Avenue 5: Was It Your Ears? (2020) Season 1, Episode 6

Best episode so far!

[9/10 · 28 February 2020]

This felt like the first classic episode. Really great stuff and very funny and not a waste of anything. Cult status confirmed.

Avenue 5 (2020–2022)

Give it a chance (review of episodes 1 and 2)

[8/10 · 2 February 2020]

The short review is: I liked it, so don't be put off by the haters.

Yes it does have pacing issues. It feels like it's trying to cram in too much and sometimes the last joke has barely landed before the next one comes along. Watching this was like a couple of comedy espressos. I didn't really mind as have had more than enough of drawn out, portentous, hour long shows.

It's funny and feelgood. I laughed and smiled thoughout and frankly, what more do you want than that? (no need to tell me) and it's proper sci-fi, but thankfully free of a lot of the technical jargon that people never actually use in the futures most sci-fi writers imagine, where everyone talks to each other as if they have engineering degrees. The future will be a lot like now, where the loud visible majority know barely anything and try to shout things into being.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

A surprisingly sensitive sequel.

[9/10 · 5 October 2017]

Very early on, the film reveals something that sets it apart from the original. But without giving anything away here, it finds a way to maintain its own suspense and mystery. This is the film's strongest aspect; a film about identity that firmly establishes one of its own. This is no pale imitation of Blade Runner.

3D is effectively used to add another dimension to the cityscapes and high rise vistas that otherwise look authentically Blade Runner. It's worth seeing in the cinema as the 3D feels integral, not a gimmicky add on.

A solid 9 and a film best seen before reading too many detailed reviews... so I'll end this one here.

The Brother (I) (2016)

"On the surface, it may appear wrong, but underneath, it restores a balance."

[8/10 · 1 October 2017]

Sight & Sound magazine called this an "interestingly offbeat UK thriller" and it only takes a few minutes of watching to see what caught their attention.

This does initially appear to be yet another entry into the long line of '3 for a tenner', petrol station DVD rack fodder. The sort of mockney B movies that arrived in the wake of 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' each seemingly fighting with the one before to decide who could concoct the most preposterous mix of old school villainy and modern London.

Perhaps this film is different because it's the creation of a Canadian. Someone looking in from outside and making the best use of London locations to tell a familiar yet well executed tale. Yes there are clichés here aplenty but when the film looks this good and the acting and characterization pop the way they do, you can set that aside.

There's a tinge of European seriousness to the proceedings which is welcome. The film isn't without humour but it's refreshing to see a UK gangster film (for want of a better genre tag) that doesn't trip over itself trying too hard to be funny. In fact, modern noir may be a better label. And there really aren't enough of those, especially ones that use London locations as well as this.

All the lead actors put in a good performance but Anthony Head's portrayal of an ageing criminal patriarch standing on the edge of the abyss of dementia is particularly enjoyable.

A score of 8 may seem a little high and that's admittedly based on this ticking a few of my idiosyncratic film boxes. But I think there's enough here for most crime film enthusiasts to find something new. A fresh angle. And that makes it worth checking out.