Film Review: Father Figures

"The Universe Has A Tendency To Point Us In The Right Direction..."

Renowned for his work as an accomplished cinematographer on an array of American comedies including War Dogs, The Hangover Trilogy as well as the upcoming blockbuster franchise sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, New Jersey citizen, Lawrence Sher, turns to a debut in directing for Father Figures, a messy, overlong and staggeringly sickening road trip comedy featuring Owen Wilson (Wonder) and Ed Helms (Captain Underpants) as alienated siblings, Kyle and Peter Reynolds who embark on a self proclaimed journey known as "Operation Whose Your Daddy" after being informed by Glenn Close's (The Girl With All The Gifts) mother figure, Helen Baxter, that she is unaware of her children's true parentage. With a narrative which twists and turns through redemptive family drama to lad-cultured sex ventures and finally settling for saccharin fuelled cop-out nonsense, Sher's movie is fundamentally unsure of what it entirely aspires to be, and with a two hour runtime attempting to hold it all together, Father Figures is unsurprisingly dour, a film which not only comes across as your run of the mill Owen Wilson centred comedy, but an Owen Wilson centred comedy without any meaningful laughs. 

Settling on air of overripe repetition as our leading duo move from state to state in order to locate their true titular father figure, the screenplay attempts to shoehorn in as many jarring cameos as humanly possible for some form of comedic effect, with the likes of Ving Rhames, Terry Bradshaw and the Oscar winning J. K. Simmons, yes, that J. K. Simmons, each conforming to a soap opera type scenario in which each character has around ten minutes to show off their goods and force some form of sketch show-esque comedic set piece before being entirely forgotten about as we head onto the next underwritten character who swiftly follows such a mould. With Wilson hitting snooze mode and regressing into normality after winning back some form of merits after his performance in Wonder, the star revels in handing the director a stereotypical Owen Wilson performance, one which clashes with Ed Helms' pretentious, all-moaning flannel of a character who not only couldn't look farther from being an on-screen sibling of Wilson if he tried but is the type of American character who believes their life is an utter shambles even with staggering levels of wealth and a high class occupation which of course only acts as a continuous, narrative weaving joke. The jokes are joyless, the script soulless and ponderous, and whilst at times the chemistry between the two stars evoke a sense of enjoyment that the film may be heading somewhere, the concluding act is shameful and for two hours of your life you may never get back, Father Figures really isn't worth the risk.

Overall Score: 3/10

Film Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

"You Can Save Everybody..."

Looking back at recent cinematic history, Danny Boyle's 2002 horror/thriller 28 Days Later arguably sparked the flame for the re-emergence of the zombie franchise, and whilst Boyle's film didn't actually include the classic notion of the zombie, with the creatures actually being regarded as infected, 28 Days Later arguably is the pinnacle of modern horror when it comes to a depiction of the classic monster-based genre of cinema. With The Gil With All The Gifts, the latest from acclaimed television director Colm McCarthy, famous for directing episodes of Doctor Who, Sherlock and Peaky Blinders, follows closely in the footsteps of 28 Days Later by introducing a threat which although doesn't entirely fit the mould of the classic idea of a zombie, could arguably be regarded as such in a dystopian near future where humanity has been thwarted by a fungal-like disease which turns people into "hungries" in a fashion rather similar to the infected within The Last of Us. In fact, plot wise, The Girl With All The Gifts bears a wide range of similarities with the critically acclaimed video game, and whilst McCarthy's latest falters at times due to its' similarities to other works in the genre, its' subversive ending and acting talents result in a solid and effective horror. 

Where The Girl With All The Gifts truly works is in its' desire to focus on development of its' leading characters rather than defunct to the well-worn choice of becoming yet another ultra-violent splatter-fest, with Melanie, the titular girl with all the gifts, acting as a conduit for the audience to understand a world in which a new species has arisen and what they ultimately bring to the fate of the human race. Newcomer Sennia Nanua is electrifying in the lead role as the uncanny, infected child, uncertain of her own existence in a world eroding through the curse of the parasite taking over the population, whilst British mainstays Paddy Considine and Gemma Arterton give the film a slight B-Movie edge to it which harks back to the rough feel of a film like 28 Days Later. Surprisingly, the one thing that does seem rather out of place is the inclusion of Glenn Close who simply acts as the all-american basil exposition character who arguably becomes the least accessible character within the movie. The concluding act is terrifyingly subversive and saves the film from falling into a complete genre cliche whilst the sense of fear you would expect from a film within this particular genre is agonisingly nonexistent making The Girl With All The Gifts more of a delicate touch of drama rather than the full-on horror thrill ride I personally thought it might have been. 

Overall Score: 7/10