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Reviews
The Man from Mo'Wax (2016)
If you appreciate underground music scenes as well as a good rise and fall story, then you'll definitely appreciate this
I didn't know what to expect from 'The Man from Mo'Wax'. I went in cold, I didn't know anything about the plot and genre nor the artist, James Lavelle, whose life is at the forefront. The (very) stylish poster filled with a lineup of edgy characters suggested that I was in for something exciting and energetic which is not only the anti-thesis of what one would expect from a documentary but also an accurate representation of how this film breaks the conventions of a medium that has been allowed to play it safe. From the slick quick cut montages to the merging of archive footage with era appropriate reenactments, 'The Man from Mo'Wax' embraces the grittiness of the time period that makes up most of it's narrative (late 80's - 90's London) and captures what made Lavelle's brand so appealing during that time. The use of old school photos of frantic gigs as well as suitably fast snippets of music by Lavelle's diverse lineup of collaborators not only captured the intense nostalgia the interviewees had for their past work but also had me, someone who was born just as this era of music had ended, wishing that I was a consumer during Lavelle's rise to fame as opposed to the more commercialized and definitely far less earnest music scene of London today. Despite having a very modest budget, I found myself amazed at how creative the use of graphics were in this film, with a particular standout being the montages of shifting record covers, as this level of energy placed into the film allowed it to live up to the sense of the scale that was needed to convey how at it's core, Lavelle's career is a classic rise and fall story.
During my time watching 'The Man From Mo'Wax', I found myself favorably comparing it to the critically adored 2015 N. W. A biopic 'Straight Outta Compton' which itself is a rise and fall story but of course with more well known leads at the forefront. I am among many within my age group who had never heard of Lavelle but the film still succeeded in making me respect his artistry and care about the journey that he embarked on during his career. Like 'Compton', we as the audience are actively rooting for Lavelle as we see every step of underdog journey and raw creativity, whilst still being forced to accept the fall after his rise was a result of his own self destructive ego and dismissal of the very people who helped him achieve success as an artist since day one. For this reason, I would argue that using the medium of documentary as a opposed to a typical biopic was the only way this story could be told. The use of interviews from those closest to Lavelle, as well as his own narration and archive footage, allows the audience to witness the good, the bad and the ugly of this man during his career. This not only allows us to still feel sympathy for him even when he messes up i.e. An old recording of James owning up to his addictions and adultery but also audiences are allowed to decide for themselves by the end of the narrative if he was either misunderstood like his mother argued, the treacherous egomaniac that some of his old friends described him as or even a bit of both.
That said however I do feel too much was going on in the narrative to keep up with every important moment in Lavelle's story. I felt that too many of his collaborators were being randomly introduced and barely any time, except for a couple of brief statements, was given to fully articulate their grievances enough to the point where I began confusing different people (DJ Shadow however was the only exception as he was given enough screen time) with each other as well as with different stories. Overall, I am glad that I saw this documentary not only has it made more open minded about what the medium can achieve but also inspired me as to progress further as a young creative and music enthusiast - if a 14 year old can build an empire just by using his pocket money to get some turntables then I, a 22 year old with access to technology just at the tip of my finger, should be doing even better.
Hawk (2011)
It's definitely different
A lot of work was put into creating the world shown in 'Hawk'. The cinematography and locations are used perfectly to convey how the contrast of pure nature and darkness fits the film's hybrid Fantasy - Horror elements. The green of the scenery stands out beautifully against the dark imagery of haunted Forrests and a misty colour pallets that captures the dread that makes this world (the bright yellow beaks of the hawks was a particularly nice touch in this fitting blended contrast of shades). I would also say that 'Hawk' immediately struck me as a great blend of vastly different mediums of iconic fantasy like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones as the film is clearly not the type of fantasy you grew up watching as a kid and the use of narration (also a great narrative technique to help the audience understand that Rowan's telling the story from childhood to adulthood) is fairytale like in its world building respectively.
However, I didn't connect with Rowan's character and the journey he goes through during this narrative. While a slow paced build up is a great way to ease us into the narrative, I felt the story meandered a lot despite the film's best efforts to illustrate how strong Rowan's bond with Tide and how the latter's death impacts him into adulthood. As well as this, I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on, too much is thrown into the history of this world and the presentation of the Gods was very vague (another reviewer said that the mythology shown is apparently Celtic so having that element be clearer in the characters' costumes would have been much appreciated). I felt a shorter first half would have served the narrative better by simply focusing on easing us into this very detailed world and giving the characters' stronger personalities as compensation for the short amount of time that we see them.
Then again fantasy isn't my cup of tea but that often is the reality for many audiences so maybe dumbing things down a bit (whilst not completely sacrificing the originality of the story) would have improved the experience for me as an audience member as there are some really great ideas in 'Hawk' like the alluding to Christianity, which is the dominant religion in our reality, to contrast the intimate and almost timeless world inhabited by many Gods.
Killing Thyme (2015)
A must see short film
I knew I was in for something great when I found out Brian Cox, a veteran actor who I've always admired since I saw him in X-Men 2 as kid, but his always great acting is just one of the many positives of 'Killing Thyme's richness. The opening titles are well done, really stand out and had a colour scheme that fits the allotment which is the primary setting of the film. The opening sequence itself also establishes the setting & is staged really well, having imagery of beautiful well known skyscrapers in background of council estates and quite streets was not only truly inspired but captured how London is both contrastingly vast and small which works well with the small intimate story.
Joe Reynolds is great as Sam especially when it comes to his chemistry with Cox's Norman. Their growing relationship avoids the 'bitter old man warms up to the equally lonely child' cliche since the film takes its time to build up how their shared status as loners brings them together despite how these two are entertainingly completely different in character/experience. Sam's quirks as well as how, as Norman implied, his interest in knowledge is not often typical for many young people these days not only makes him endearing but also sympathetic even when he's doing things that he shouldn't be. His relationship with mother and the work that went into giving their home character i.e. The plants on the balcony, felt authentic and is another example of how 'Killing Thyme" is intimate when capturing how these characters live their lives (Anna always forgetting her keys was a particular nice touch).
The tone shift halfway through the film when Sam attempts to "euthanise" Norman could have easily gone wrong but it felt right and it was a great surprise I didn't see coming. It's realistic that a child would believe the concept of life and death would be easy to understand only after reading a few books so Sam's logic/motivations were always believable even if his 'win win solution' of killing an old man who "wanted to die" and getting an allotment at the same was quite (laughably) messed up. The tension builds up really well when Sam poisons Norman's coffee and the latter kept on walking in on him creating false alarms, obviously I didn't want Sam to succeed but I didn't want him to get caught either because he's generally a good kid; all of this created conflicted emotions in me that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The only problem I had was the really small fraction that made up the ending. While I didn't want Sam to get in trouble, I felt that Norman and Anna's reacted to his "attempted murder" a bit too calmly which somewhat lessens the stakes of what he did. I get that the acting style for the film isn't meant to be too dramatic which works in keeping the narrative grounded but Sam did do something extremely messed up and while I found it hilarious/relieving that Norman simply told Sam to get back to work after the latter's botched euthanasia attempt, I felt the film just ended rather than having a solid conclusion that was built up to. Overall, I am glad I saw this, the three leads gave it there all, I felt various emotions in a small span of time and the themes of life and death were done in a new and engaging ways.
The Girl in the Dress (2015)
Enjoyable but could have been so much more
The concept of 'The Girl in the Dress' is very original and has a lot of potential. The first half shows off how talented the three leads are and how well they bounce off other in the zany situations that escalate between them. The script is very self aware by using the stresses of everyday life and even Henry VIII (whose track record as marriage material is poor at best just like Emily) as an example when it comes to comedic moments. The film starts off with a typical 'cold feet' wedding day narrative and spins it on it's head by not only having a painted statue man enter as the voice of reason but also the reveal given during Emily's friend abrupt arrival further raises the stakes when it comes to comedic potential.
That said, I did kind of find myself disappointed by 'The Girl in the Dress's second half. It felt like a great amount of buildup fizzled out the moment we left the park and the scenery changed to the church. I feel more could have been done to escalate the humor to maintain the hard work that was put into staging the entertaining comedic/narrative buildup at the start. Too much time is spent on a montage highlighting the wedding guests and their reactions rather than capturing how crazy of a predicament Emily has caught herself in, in particular it was a missed opportunity not to show her reaction as the bride and the groom exchanged vows (it would have been gut wrenching and maintained the comedic chaos that is at the heart of the script).
As well as this, the camera angles throughout could have been less standard to keep the audience engaged and while I understand that this is an independent short film that is mostly realistic in presentation, experimentation is appreciated especially when it comes to the endless potential that comes with the comedy genre. Furthermore, the cinematography could have better especially in the park where you have so many bold colors (white, gold, green, pink and purple) in scenery and costume that compliment each other.
Overall, I really liked the ideas that were presented and although this is a comedy, the narrative has heart to it like Emily not only learning but actually getting called out for actions (even then it was still funny when Rob was being as blunt as possible and the way Mary technically kept her promise to hit Emily if she showed up at the wedding was also a nice touch).
Gin & Dry (2010)
A film that can be appreciated by both young and old
I am glad to say that 'Gin & Dry' accomplishes a lot in a short amount of time. The opening perfectly sets the tone for the next 15 mins with smooth looking colorful visuals and music that is age appropriate to the characters' nostalgia for their younger days. Even more impressive is how sincere the performances of the two leads are, like every good couple they contrast and compliment each other in all the best ways (both are nostalgic from being on this Earth for a long time but Albi's boyish energy stands out when he is onscreen with his more reserved wife). The conversations between the two are always tender, which the cinematography amplifies even more, and the actors do a great job at convincing you in seconds that the characters' love for each other has lasted a long time.
While what I mentioned above is the heart of the film, it's the booze heist that makes up a great bulk of the narrative. Nursing homes are often seen as the most mundane places you can be in, especially by those who live in them, but the film uses that to it's advantage by giving the Abi and the other characters strong personalities that stand out. Blending a heartfelt narrative with humor is often a difficult task but 'Gin & Dry' manages to do so with ease. We can all relate to wanting to get hammered for the holidays so it's very easy to sympathize with the characters' endeavors even when they tie up poor Adam, who lets face it is an accurate representation of how even well meaning young people are often oblivious to the experiences of the elderly. The image of Adam getting tied up at the mercy of the elderly characters had me bursting out laughing and captures what I love about the DP's work from the camera movements and angles to the staging, the bonkers dash/struggle to the stash was also a particular highlight.
However, despite my strong enjoyment, I would still say the middle of this film is the weakest part especially when compared to the beginning and ending. I understand that comedy is not the sole genre of 'Gin & Dry' but I still feel that more could have done when it came to the residents bouncing off each other as that would have kept the flow of scene changes more engaging and would'e better utilized the strong personalities that were onscreen. Also, I felt the delivery of the Ranjeet's lines could have been better, I understand that as the most erratic of the ensemble he's meant to ramble in his speech but there were times where I missed what he was saying which is a shame because I really enjoyed his character.
Regardless of this, the film's pacing is done really well and the build up in the finale is amazing. From Albi's compassionate acts to his fellow residents and him putting Adam in his place to that final conversation, 'Gin & Dry' went from just a good film to a great one. I pride myself on being very savy whenever I'm watching something so when I found out that I was wrong (my theory from the start was that Albi was Alzheimer's because his wife was asking him to tell her things that they should both already know and he kept on stumbling when telling the story) it was a great surprise. I did not see it coming at all, the fact that not only was Albi's wife never there but also he has the same conversation with her in his head and is adamant throughout the narrative about not being disturbed [perfectly conveys 'Gin & Dry's heartfelt themes about aging, loss and enjoying your final days as much as possible - A message which still remains on my mind even an hour after watching the film.