Film: HUBIE HALLOWEEN
Review by: Leigh

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and to anyone who identifies as non-binary, meet Hubie Dubois. Hubie can be described as a good-willed and sweet-natured adult who is more enthusiastic and committed than any child is about celebrating Halloween. He has a fumbly, mumbly manner of speech, possesses a “Swiss-army thermal” everywhere he goes and is a proud momma’s boy who is mocked and bullied by many of the locals in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. He’s also the latest creation of the writing duo behind Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and The Waterboy, Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, the latter which of course plays Hubie. But this Halloween night, things are going to be very different! A prison escape, a mysterious neighbour that appears to be turning barking mad and a kidnapper all bring panic to Salem and Hubie might be the only one who can save the day.

Is Hubie Halloween aiming to humour Adam Sandler fans or is it hoping to entertain today’s teenage audience? The answer to this is seemingly both, yet I highly doubt it will have accomplished either.

Dabbling in various styles of comedy, ranging between slapstick, prop, horror, cringe and even spoof, Hubie Halloween is surely too juvenile for adults and banal for a younger crowd. But it didn’t have to be this way. The story was never going to be original or significant, but the setting and the tone is what could have turned Hubie Halloween from trick to treat. Being described as a horror-comedy hardly feels accurate while watching the film. It’s too playful and harmless to devote itself entirely to this genre. Had director Steven Brill’s vision been broadened to making a blacker, deeply suburban and decidedly observational style of comedy out of Hubie Halloween, I believe it would have given both earlier mentioned audiences something to cherish. With that, I also envisage Hubie being deadpan, though I acknowledge it’s not exactly Sandler’s style.

2 stars

Film: ENOLA HOLMES
Review by: Leigh

Sherlock fans will already know that the infamous private detective never had a sister, who is the creation of American author Nancy Springer in her young adult six-book fiction series The Enola Holmes Mysteries. Millie Bobby Brown, best known for portraying Eleven in popular Netflix series Stranger Things, shows great versatility and connection with her audience as Enola. It is the morning of her 16th birthday when Enola discovers that her mother (played by the ever-reliably brilliant Helena Bonham Carter) has suddenly vanished, but not without a trace. Only Enola can find and decipher the clues left behind, which leads her towards her mother’s whereabouts but also attracts the attention of Enola’s brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft (Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin, respectively), who prefer to investigate the disappearance without Enola’s assistance.

One of the key moves employed by director Harry Bradbeer that keep Enola Holmes fun and light-hearted all throughout is the use of fourth wall breaking by Millie Bobby Brown, which involves the actor speaking to us and is a style he applied to perfection in the classic TV series Fleabag. His execution at nailing the ideal pacing, however, isn’t quite as accomplished. At about 2 hours, the case-building and mystery is at times stagnant, but does generate a gentle intrigue the moment it progresses. That progression sees Enola cross paths with a young Viscount (Louis Partridge) who is on the run from someone. For the purpose of correctly aligning your expectations with the trajectory of Enola Holmes from here, it should be mentioned that this possibly brief diversion in the screenplay will actually alter Enola’s mission altogether. Without going into any of its specifics, these proceedings play an important role in defining our heroine, yet will close every case it opens and answer each question it raises by the conclusion.

3 ½ stars

Film: THE AERONAUTS
Review by: Leigh

This Amazon production reunites The Theory of Everything’s Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne and is based on an amalgam of the flights detailed in the 2013 book ‘Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air‘. For those who have read the book, aeronaut Henry Coxwell has been replaced by a fictional character named Amelia (played by Felicity Jones), which has understandably earned the film some criticism for its lack of historical accuracy. In The Aeronauts, it’s 1862 in London when Scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) and pilot Amelia take to the skies in an air balloon to study weather patterns and determine whether or not they can be predicted. Their polar opposite temperaments become the least of their concerns as they enter uncharted territory and are forced to depend on each other for survival when the voyage takes a deadly turn.

This central part of the story plays out in real-time with regular interruptions in the form of flashback sequences that rewind the plot back a couple of years. When we are a part of the real-time encounter, The Aeronauts is an attention-diverting and rather exciting experience that features impressive CGI work (especially the aerial views of 1860’s London and changing weather patterns) and (undoubtedly heavily fictionalised) set-piece sequences that place the lives of our central characters in immediate jeopardy. Whenever director Tom Harper (who takes a step backwards with this after the excellent and underrated Wild Rose) aims to provide the story with more context and background via these flashback sequences, they are dull in comparison. I personally feel that Harper had a rare opportunity to challenge himself greatly by setting the entire film within the confines of the basket of the balloon. Perhaps this opportunity has been thrown into the too hard basket!? The only purpose I could perceive from these scenes was to inflate the duration of the film in order to achieve an adequate feature-length running time.

Overall, The Aeronauts doesn’t sit on cloud 9 for long enough, but does remain worth seeing if you’re interested in gaining some insight behind two things that we all take for granted – the ease of accessibility and safety in flying at high altitudes and the ability to forecast the weather.

3 stars

Film: THE OLD GUARD
Review by: Leigh

I should begin this review by commending the inclusiveness of this globe-trotting actioner, which borrows some of the same-old tricks in an original story based on the graphic novel series by Greg Rucka. It isn’t often that an out and proud same-sex couple are among the primary characters and are given the central romance in a film belonging to this genre. I read that Greg Rucka’s contract with Skylance Media stipulated that a major scene highlighting the romance between the two men from the comic book must appear in the film adaptation. In addition, Skylance Media hired Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct this film, making her the first black woman to direct a big-budget (about $70M) comic book film. Wunderbar. More of this please, writers and studios!

Being based on new material, The Old Guard does take its central plot featuring a covert team of mercenaries with a special and secret ability to some pretty interesting places. This, together with the pacing of the film and the confidence and control exuded by the versatile Charlize Theron in the lead role, always ensures The Old Guard is both solidly entertaining and is in steady hands. All that holds the film back from ever really becoming better than good is its execution in various areas. Let’s start with the action sequences; these appear to be very well choreographed, but the cinematography work doesn’t allow any of them to stand-out or be particularly memorable. The music added to many of these scenes add funk, but simultaneously made me feel as though I were watching a violent music video. I was honestly expecting Rihanna or Beyonce to pop out for a cameo at any moment! Though original, the storyline’s trajectory can be quite foreseeable. And finally, Harry Potter actor Henry Melling’s casting and performance as this film’s main antagonist did not work at all for me.

3 stars

Film: EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA
Review by: Leigh

Much like the star, writer and producer of this Netflix distributed movie, I too was introduced to Eurovision courtesy of my partner. Though I can’t exactly claim to be a fan quite like Will Ferrell or my partner, Eurovision certainly is effortlessly eye-catching and fabulously fun! As we know, for the first time in its 64-year history, the Eurovision Song Contest sadly had to be cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, is the timely release of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga the perfect antidote?

Well, its instantly and intentionally cheesy temperament as it very playfully imitates the Eurovision Song Contest certainly gets the film off to a perfectly endearing start. Visual components, such as the acting, costume design, hair and make-up are the most notable features that enliven this music-driven comedy. Now, it’s no secret or spoiler to reveal that our unlikely duo act will more than likely enter the contest and even make it all the way to the final. How they get there though isn’t going to be foreseen by many and its opportunistic eventuality succeeds at being darkly comical.

This movie really began to accumulate ‘the feels’ from a terrifically filmed singalong sequence that features past and recent participants and winners of the real-life song contest. This is guaranteed to be a highlight of the film for Eurovision fans! To my surprise, the pairing of Rachel McAdams (whom I just LOVE so much) and Will Ferrell as Sigrit and Lars worked really well. I often have difficulty appreciating Will Ferrell’s style, but this is close to the best I’ve seen from him. Of course, not everything works in this film and it is sometimes too silly, but I’d be quite surprised to discover a Eurovision fan who wasn’t able to enjoy most of what this wonderfully enjoyable movie has to offer. So yes, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is as close to being the perfect antidote as we’ll have.

3 ½ stars

Film: IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS
Review by: Leigh

Through the eyes and via the experiences of a 10 year-old indigenous boy in Alice Springs, Australia, this observational documentary takes viewers inside the home and classroom of its young subject. Given the remote location of Dujuan’s original home in the Australian outback, his family are forced to situate themselves closer to the city in order for him to have access to schooling education. However, as we witness throughout In My Blood It Runs, Dujuan is completely disengaged by the school’s one-way approach to curriculum and is beginning to intentionally rebel against authority. These struggles are ominous warning signs for Dujuan and his concerned family.

In My Blood It Runs truthfully uncovers and illustrates the main reasons attributed towards this. Throughout the documentary, Dujuan makes it very clear how closely his cultural heritage and the land align with his personal identity. He’s also quite passionate about a topic that’s very hot right now – racism and incarceration of his people. Yet, the education system and his teachers seem to incorporate very little to nothing of this. Worse still, there is a clear display of cultural insensitivity in classrooms that is quite unfathomable and is completely unacceptable. Though we do gain some insights into Dujuan’s life at home, I would liked to have seen In My Blood It Runs run for longer than 81 minutes and dedicate that time to further exploring this significant part of his life. We do learn that Dujuan enjoys boundless freedom everywhere, except for where it is permitted, which is at school. So surely aspects such as this also play a role in the overall situation.

The big question is; can In My Blood It Runs make a difference and help to inspire change? Well, given that Dujuan is the youngest person ever to address the United Nations Human Rights Council and actions being taken here, I believe with the active support of us, yes it will!

3 ½ stars

Film: LITTLE WOMEN
Review by: Leigh

My first-ever LITTLE WOMEN experience could not have been viewed at a better time! This film effortlessly took me back 20 years in time to when I first started to really fall in love with cinema and relived that precious feeling over again, stirring such deep emotion in me that not many movies achieve.

Greta Gerwig’s splendid writing and directing work succeeded strongly at making me feel a part of this family, whose close-knit relationships is something I never had in my own childhood and upbringing. She has extracted some truthful and valuable themes and lines of dialogue from this classic story and told them in such an eloquent and powerful manner.

A magnificent ensemble of some of the best and most favourite actors and faultless filmmaking in every aspect elevate the total joy and poignant moments there are to be had watching LITTLE WOMEN. This film is accessible to all ages and audiences, and is everything I just love about cinema!

5 stars