Reviews

Tired of the big-budget blockbusters that lack any soul or resonance? Brian and Charles might just be for you. Having said that, you'll need to suspend your disbelief as much as you would with most blockbuster fare.

David Earl play Brian, a middle-aged man who lives alone and spends most of his days trying (and failing) to invent helpful gadgets. A stroke of luck (literally) sees his robot creation come alive in the manner of a modern-day Frankenstein.

Charles, as the robot is know, becomes Brian's best friend and companion. Along the way, Brian forms a romantic relationship with Hazel, a resident of a nearby village, and the three of them live out an eccentric but happy life... until Charles is abducted by a local bully.

The film is undoubtedly not for everyone but has a heart, soul and charm that makes for a refreshing hour and a half's viewing. It's also one of the more original films of 2022.

Not often you see an original and unique film in 2022 but this is one of those. Some really good acting, interesting story and solid dialogue with some wicked humour sprinkled in. Thoroughly enjoyed this and could see it becoming something of a cult classic. Andre Lamar's small role was a standout.

The film is based on a short play and you can tell - almost everything onscreen takes place in a small gas station store, the only other scenes take place just outside the small gas station store.

It's not really a comedy and the lines that are clearly supposed to be funny just aren't funny. If I were feeling generous, I'd say it has the feel of 'Clerks' to it, but it's nowhere near as accomplished as that film.

The USP here is that everything takes place in the hours leading up to midnight on Millennium NYE. The build up and heist plotting is actually really well done but the remaining 1hr 15m of the film never really lives up to it.

The lead performance is pretty good (the rest of the cast less so) but you very much get the feeling you're watching actors act, rather than any of it coming across natural or believable.

I've also read comments about how it 'accurately recreats the 1999 era', when the reality is that it's just a few older brands on the store shelves and some clothes (much of which is identical to what people wear today in any case).

Not entirely sure how anyone would rate this 10/10 when it literally defines the term 'distinctly average'. Is it worth watching? Just about. My attention drifted numerous times but I did make it to the end.

Excellent performances and an incredible feel for the era it's set in, but the entire film is let down by an ending that felt rushed and inauthentic. Such a shame because it's a very entertaining film up until the last few minutes. Bradley Cooper's extended cameo is great fun.

While it's competently made, this film really is quite pointless. It makes almost no sense, isn't as remotely clever as it appears to think it is and doesn't go anywhere. I quite like a slow burn horror but this is just tedious and bland. The acting is quite atrocious at times and the plot doesn't hang together at all.

Can't even recommend giving it a casual watch, it's just too sub-par.

A brilliant watch from start to finish, this has turned out to be one of the best TV shows of 2021. Even more impressive given it had to be made under strict Covid protocols.

Some truly standout performances from Murray Bartlett, Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney and - somewhat surprisingly - Alexandra Daddario.

Works well on so many levels and also features so seriously gross-out scenes. It was truly a pleasure to watch and I really didn't want it to end. Looking forward to season two aleady.

Any score over 2 stars must be either paid for or written by people connected to this film. It is literally awful. Not funny on any level and with a group of dismal characters. The premise itself *could* have lent itself to a decent film, but this is the opposite of that. Honestly, you have no idea how bad this film really is.

Films like this don't seem to be made very much anymore but they really should be. Drunk Bus has properly defined characters that you become genuinely interested in. It's also very, very funny at times. It also packs a surprisingly effective emotional punch towards the end.

The tone of the film kind of reminded me of Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and The Wild Life (1984), although it's still very contemporary. Another film that I'd have happily watched another hour of and not felt bored.

Only docked one star because I felt Zach Cherry's character didn't add anything and seemed a little out of place. Other than that, this film comes highly recommended. Seriously good soundtrack as well.

OK, it's clear that somebody has mobilised a social media following to give North Hollywood 10/10 reviews, but after watching the film I'd actually say that score is not far from the reality.

The film looks stunning from start to finish and the performances are surprisingly solid across the board. Special merit has to go to Vince Vaughn, who once again demonstrates he's become one of the finest actors of his generation.

Thoroughly enjoyed this film, it really is a joy to watch, and probably the best praise I can give it is that I was actually quite upset when it ended. It could have gone on much longer, I wish it had.

As the reviews here clearly highlight, this is not a film for everyone. It's a very slow burn but every second reeks of atmosphere and simmering dread. The cinematography is strikingly beautiful and the sound design has been similarly carefully composed. Death, insanity, the occult, bleakness and an unsettling eeriness run through this film at an unrelenting level. This is true horror, rather than the dayglo blood & cheesy one-liner variety. Very interested to see what the director does next.

You are best off simply watching this recorded performance whilst knowing as little about it in advance as possible.

It really is an astonishing piece of work that shows levels of skill in various departments that are nothing short of genius. That it also packs an immense and genuine emotional punch results in an experience you won't forget in a hurry. Remarkable.

Two excellent leads and some genuinely funny dialogue as they navigate their way through a relationship break-up during the Covid lockdown in London. Some A-list cameos and a razor sharp script make this film thoroughly enjoyable.

Although there is a diamond stealing plot device that's introduced about half way through, to be honest it didn't really need it. I could have happily just watched two hours of this couple living their lockdown life.

It's not often you get horror films that are genuinely disturbing, but this one certainly delivers that in spades. Don't expect a standard, linear plot with lots of dumbed down exposition - this film just 'is' brutal, unrelenting and really gets under your skin.

The cinematography is beautiful and the actors all deliver above average performances but the real star of the show is the audio. The sound design elevates the film significantly, to the point where you probably won't get anything like the full effect if listening via TV speakers (or worse). There's a lot of very quiet detail going on in the sound mix that I fear some viewers will miss out on completely.

Only minor fault I can think of is some less than realistic CGI in goats/field scene.

Other than that, It sets you on edge from about five minutes in and doesn't really let up at all. One of the films of 2020 in my view.

It got to the stage where I had to make a reference of the point at which something actually happened of any note. It's a 96 minute film and it took 64 minutes before anything remotely worth watching took place. In fact, of the entire runtime there is a sum total of around 1.5 minutes that are worth watching, and they take place in one short scene. How could anyone involved in this have sat through it and not realised how monumentally DULL it is?

And why on earth pay Crispin Glover to play a role in which he doesn't say a single word and is so heavily made-up that it could literally be anyone?

The two stars are solely for the one gory scene, as that is well done.

From start to finish this film is a masterclass in confronting our views on revenge and on how we choose which 'side' to be on in any given situation.

The two adult leads are almost immediately plunged into a nightmare where children have the upper hand and where respect for adults is thrown out of the window yet the adults still view the amoral, feral youth as children (at least initially).

Eden Lake plays as virtually a documentary of Britain in 2008 and as a film gives us a stark reflection of what is happening in this country today. The only difference being that Eden Lake takes place in the countryside while the real violence in the UK takes place on our city streets.

James Watkins has managed to create real tension, real suspense and some real terror in his directorial debut. So many UK horror films come with great expectations and so many fail, but with Eden Lake, Watkins has crafted a contemporary film that is instilled with the nastiness and vicious spirit of 70s/early 80s horror such as 'Last House on the Left'.

Disturbing, challenging, thought provoking and downright electrifying in places, this is one of the best horror films of the past few years and one of the best British films this decade.