Bloody Good Screen
  • Home
  • Bloody Good Screen Reviews
  • Bloody Good Book Reviews
  • Bloody Good News
  • Bloody Good Trailers
  • Features
  • Bloody Good Reads Podcast
  • Snakebite Horrorcast Podcast
  • Videogame Reviews
  • Reviews OLD
    • Trailer Park
    • The Vault
  • JOIN THE TEAM
  • Bloody Good Giveaways

The Last Duel - Rating: * * * * (Reviewed by Vincent Gaine)

12/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Located somewhere between the taut menace of Alien and the tedious mess of The Counsellor, The Last Duel emerges from delayed release, poor marketing and Ridley Scott’s berating of millennial audiences much as its characters emerge from mud, darkness and different versions of ‘the truth’. This emergence presents an effectively disjunctive, trifurcated, medieval MeToo tale of ambition, entitlement, injustice and patriarchal oppression. 
 
The trifurcation is the Rashomon-style narrative, where the same events play out from three different perspectives. The first and most extensive is that of Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), a knight of some standing during the reign of King Charles VI of France (Alex Lawther) in the late 14th century. Jean’s fortunes are closely tied to that of his sometime friend and sometime rival, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), whose perspective is the second that we see. Between these men, and ostensibly the reason for the eponymous contest, is Marguerite (Jodie Comer), married to Jean and desired by Jacques, and most importantly the owner of the third perspective of the film.  
 
While the plotting meanders through the wider politicking of the French court, the central of the story is Jacques’ rape of Marguerite. More precisely, whether their encounter is rape or consensual. Jacques insists it was consensual because he and Marguerite were in love; Marguerite tells her husband it was rape, who believes her, and this leads to trial by combat between Jean and Jacques. The duel itself, as well as other combat sequences, is as gritty and gory as anything Scott has previously delivered, some scenes echoing the almighty battle at the start of Gladiator. The power plays as well as the trial, where Jean stands before the King and demands justice, are handsomely mounted in terms of production design and costume, evoking a sense of period although this is never entirely convincing. Thankfully no one speaks in a faux French accent, but despite this there is a sense of staginess throughout, rather than a fully realised and inhabited world.  
 
This staginess is furthered by the three chapters of the film not only have different narratives, but also different tones and themes. Jean’s ambition colours his chapter and he and his family fall in and out of favour with the King. His fortunes are reframed as a petulant sense of entitlement during Jacques’ chapter, who gets close to Count Pierre d'Alençon (Ben Affleck) and proves himself more useful than Jean and therefore more favoured. But throughout these chapters, and most prominently in that of Marguerite, we see a story of oppression.  
 
It should not need reiteration, but clearly it does: men are awful and patriarchy is brutish. While this may be even more so in the Middle Ages, much of the treatment of women in the film seems thoroughly contemporary. The most prominent example is when the aptly named Le Coq (Zeljko Ivanek) describes rape as effectively a property dispute, since a wife is ‘owned’ by her husband. His dismissive attitude is mirrored by the frivolity of authority – both King Charles and Count Pierre are more interested in recreation than this assault on one of their subjects. Marguerite’s victimhood is repeatedly emphasised, Comer delivering a performance of restrained suffering whether she is facing down Jean’s mother Nicole (Harriet Walter) or her accusers. The central rape is seen twice, which while suitably harrowing is something of a misstep because the footage only varies slightly, allowing for ambiguity when overall the film seems firmly in Marguerite’s camp.  
 
Further aspects of the film do not fit together, resulting in, as noted, a rather incoherent delivery. But this may be the film’s unexpected strength. Narrative and history, especially HIS story – seek to impose order and clarity. Thus do Jean and Jacques impose order on Marguerite, entirely to serve their own interests – public standing in the case of Jean, raw desire in the case of Jacques. Marguerite’s interests, and indeed her life, are of minor concern. But in a modern film, this feels disjunctive and incoherent. Thus, the patriarchal narrative is disrupted and imperfect, just as any oppressive institution must be because of the silenced voices. By bringing in an additional voice that provides discord, the narrative fabric is left rough and incomplete. This is likely an accident on the part of the filmmakers, but it leaves the viewer with an appropriately difficult question to consider: how do we tell stories of the oppressed? Governing institutions insist upon a smooth and neat history, but there is something to be said for a denial of straightforward resolution and an embrace of the contradictory voice.  ​
0 Comments

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - Rating: * * * * (Reviewed by Mark Goddard)

12/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
I am one of a limited amount of marvel fans who actually really enjoyed the first Venom movie. While it may be a bit of a different take on the classic Spiderman Villain it was actually nice to see the anti-horror side of him which you see later in the comics but how does the sequel hold up?

Venom: Let there be Carnage follows the aftermath of the first movie and we get to witness more of a bromance between Venom and Eddie in this one. Eddie is dragged into a news story involving serial killer Cletus Kasady. Kasady thought he had a connection to our hero however when Venom and Brock solve the age old case of the murders Kasady had committed. However during a scuffle Kasady bites Brock ingesting Venoms blood to create the more brutal symbiote Carnage. It is down to Venom and Brock to work out their differences and face off against a near un-killable Symbiote hell bent on destroy Venom and all those that have wronged Kasady.


Venom: Let There Be Carnage was all I wanted it to be, the age old battle between Venom and Carnage which was visually stunning, if not a little to short. The film in general was a perfect example of how Marvel can create a spiderman universe without even having Tom Holland involved. The Venom character is possibly may favourite of all the MCU characters so far, the film has a perfect level of Humour to break the tension and Tom Hardy shows he is actually loving being the Eddie Brock Character. There were a few things I would have liked to see go differently



SPOILER WARNING!



I would have rather have seen Kasady somehow survive and the Carnage symbiote not just get eaten by Venom and overall I felt well too short. I would love to see more of all the characters, flesh out the Carnage scenes, more Venom and longer fight scenes. However these are just little issues. As an overall package Venom: Let The Be Carnage is a perfect Marvel movie, and the end credits scene! Oh damn!!


This is a perfect Spiderman tie in and I am looking forward to seeing how this new universe will continue going forward with Morbius and Into The Spiderverse 2


Available to Download & Keep on November 29th, to Rent on Digital on December 24th and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD on January 3rd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. ​

0 Comments

Slumber Party Massacre (2021) - Rating: * * * * (Reviewed by Russell Bailey)

12/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
In a surprisingly robust slate of 2021 slashers (Halloween Kills, the Fear Street trilogy, Chucky TV show), the one that proves the most delightful of surprises is Slumber Party Massacre. A remake/sort-of sequel to the 1982 original, it shouldn’t prove such a shock that this new installment works as much as it does. Standing out in a sea of problematic 80s fare, the original were charming feminists interpretations of the Final Girl. Whilst adopting many of the tropes of the subgenre, Slumber Party Massacre (and a pair of sequels) proved, in retrospect, a clever take-down of the films around them. 
 
Flash forward to today and this knowingness is present in this year’s installment. On paper the set-up of a sorority girls in a cabin in the wood being attacked by a maniac with a ridiculously large electric drill feels done-and-dusted. But it is how the narrative weaves itself that will thrill audiences the most, with a series of rug pulls effectively resetting the rules of the slasher game that is being played. Although never quite as compelling as the first reveal, Slumber Party Massacre is particularly enjoyable in its willingness to wrong-foot audiences. 
 
Suzanne Keilly’s script is witty and knowing, with a roster of appealing characters that skew away from the unlikeable victims that have plagued slashers in the past. And this is all delicately played by director Danishka Esterhazy. It’s refreshing to get some female gaze in a subgenre so often taken from the male perspective, and Esterhazy’s direction deftly balances tension with comedy. This reviewer would love to see her handed the keys to any number of beloved horror franchises and will be keeping an eye on her name going forward. Slumber Party Massacre is an exceptional breakout for her, even after festival hits like the Banana Splits Movie and Level 16. 
 
It helps that the cast are all terrific, gamely playing their parts and managing to sell each twist and turn as the story goes on. Hannah Gonera leads the way, bringing a wickedly entertaining quality to her final girl role, whilst Rob van Vuuren makes a suitably loopy killer. But impressively there is not a single poor note in the mix. 
 
To say this reviewer loved 2021’s Slumber Party Massacre is an understatement. It’s an uproariously enjoyable take down of the slasher movie, with any parody handled with a loving hand. Whilst the last act suffers from a reveal too many, it can’t diminish how good this horror is, and this proves to be the best of the recent roster of slashers. 
 
Bring some cookies and your PJs and tune in for a party you’ll not want to end. ​

0 Comments

    REVIEWS

    Film reviews from the Bloody Good Screen team

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.