Ralf1138 Reviews

Ashens and the Quest for the Gamechild (2013)

A lot of fun with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments

[7/10 · 28 December 2020]

I had the opportunity to see this recently, having watched Polybius. I have to say, I do think Polybius is better, but this is a lot of fun and there's tremendous skill already on display here.

Stuart Ashen holds the whole thing together, a special skill of his that can be overlooked when accolades go to quirkier actors. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and a few gorgeous cult-movie in-jokes. One on a flight of stairs had me in stitches, it was so unapologetically random.

Ashley (Millie Reeves) was wonderfully OTT. The stuff of nightmares, but in a good way. Chef Geoff (Dan Tomlinson) was just the right level of helpless and clingy, which made him great fun to watch. I thought Marian (Kerry Gilbert) was a bit lacking, especially if the character was based on Marion Ravenwood. I don't know whether it was the way the part was written and directed, or a bit of a misfire in casting. Nemesis (Chris Kendall) had many excellent moments, but I thought he suffered from being another Jim Carrey zany-type without the necessary grounding and presence which gives such characters longevity.

As with Polybius, there are some great cameos, not least from Warwick Davis, Victoria Broom and Fawn Mead.

Overall, very enjoyable.

Spaced (1999–2001)

A quirky bundle of joy from start to finish

[10/10 · 28 December 2020]

I thought this was glorious. Brilliantly written, constantly funny and a quirky bundle of joy from start to finish. Everyone was so well cast in their roles and you can see why the likes of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have done so well. They're already so good here (as is Jessica Stevenson), so job done. I loved the way the storylines unfolded, the unexpected drawing on well-known movies, the development of relationships and the over-all good-heartedness of the whole thing. I could happily have watched a third series, but as it ended in a satisfactory way I wasn't left feeling cheated. This is surely the bench mark for all comedy series.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

A joyous, glitzy romp. Just the antidote for 2020

[10/10 · 27 December 2020]

This is such a guilty pleasure. Why and how does it work this well? The heart of it is so strong, I think. There is so much truthfulness in Ferrell's persistent dreamer who will go forward, no matter how much he is laughed at. McAdams is delightful and matches him perfectly. They are both such a pair of innocents and have you rooting for them right from the start. Dan Stevens is insanely good. Off the charts! I also loved Melissanthi Mahut (Mita) and thought she oozed charisma, matching Stevens pound for pound.

The whole movie is a joyous, glitzy romp, just the antidote for 2020. I thought the music was cracking too and there's one particular song, beautifully presented by the gorgeous McAdams, that gave me genuine goose bumps.

Ashens and the Polybius Heist (2020)

Decent movie with some big plus points

[8/10 · 24 December 2020]

This was certainly a decent movie. A couple of parts did make me physically wince. Co-writer Stuart Ashen referring to himself as "famous". Really? The use of "whatever" twice in the first scene. Just lazy. Was it the same shot used twice too? God I hope not.

It's a good comedy heist. All the pieces are in place and it goes at a good pace.

Stuart Ashen plays a version of himself and can certainly act. I thought he could cultivate a bit more vim though. Benny (Eli Silverman) is good but could tighten up his delivery in places. Kept reminding me of a younger Bill Bailey. Agonist (Stuart Barter) needed a much firmer directional hand. I have a feeling that his Stuggy rep had director Barmania twitten, so he let him spend a lot of time delivering his dialogue to the floor. A shame as he was genuinely funny and on point at times, showing flashes of what can only be described as genius and a rapid, quirky delivery on a par with Jessica Stevenson in Spaced, so it's a pity Barmania didn't encourage greater discipline as it would have paid dividends. Jarred Christmas on the other hand managed to be also slightly famous and across the board excellent. He and lawnmower-woman did beautiful things together. In fact, she (Joanna O'Connor) was excellent too, and reminded me at times of original Leia. Wondered if this was on purpose? My other front runners would be the lovely Vocal (Katia Kvinge) and Yiannis (Yiannis Vassilakis). Kvinge's downtrodden Irish misanthropic misfit was very convincing, with a refreshingly natural delivery and she nailed all but one of her accents. Vassilakis waded through a large amount of ill-judged character material and somehow still came out smelling of roses. Very William Thacker. Dan Hardcastle surprised me by being rather good with excellent comic timing. A couple of times he was slightly undermined by Vassilakis pulling focus a bit at the side of a shot. Oh lord yes, Dan Tomlinson. Well, he got better, but his first few lines! Who let him get away with that? Jeez. I should also mention Jonathan Ashen (Nigel Fairs) who I thought was brilliant, if underused. He could teach Barter a thing or two about focus. Lesson to Barmania, it's not all about the celebs.

Smaller parts I really liked were mattress man, heist bucket man, the weary security guard who had to put up with Jake/Kevin and, naturally, the ever-excellent Robert Llewellyn.

The film looks good, the cinematography is of a high standard, the sound effects are particularly well thought out and it's certainly a bonus to watch with headphones so you can enjoy the extra nuances.