Skip to main content

Posts

Adolescence | Average Guy TV Review

Adolescence  charts the impact and aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl. Beginning with the operation to arrest the main suspect, each episode flows in a seamless one-shot. This bold approach makes it feel like the story is occupying a living space, as if there's an actual world out there, rather than what's happening right in front of us. Instead of passing from one scene to another we follow the different characters through their day, or at least their part of the story. Far from your typical crime drama, Adolescence  is more like a dramatic public information film. Highlighting the dangers of knives, the internet and social media. It's a warning, both to teenagers and parents that this is a growing problem, one that causes wide-spread devastation. In fact, Adolescence  feels so incredibly real and hard-hitting that I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a kind of educational tool. This is what you show your kids if you're worried about them getting involved...
Recent posts

Trivial | Average Guy Movie Review

A group of strangers find themselves the unwitting contestants in a brand new online game show. In each round they must answer a series of trivia questions, facing extreme penalties at the hands of the show's deranged host for every wrong answer. But why have they been picked to play? What did they do to deserve a place on the internet's deadliest game show? A gore fest and a game show. Trivial  has all the hallmarks of both. It's reminiscent of the SAW movies in that way. I imagine if ol' Jigsaw had been a fan of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? , his many escapades would probably look a lot like this. As with any good game show or horror movie, this blood-soaked indie features a delightfully diverse cast of contestants, and it's hard to tell which ones will crumble under the pressure, and if any will survive to the very end. While some very good makeup effects make the situation feel all the more terrifying and real, the clips of classic game shows dispersed through...

The Electric State | Average Guy Movie Review

Set in an alternate 1990's, in which a robot uprising has been crushed, and the people experience life through VR headsets. When Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), an orphan who lost her family in a car crash, encounters a strange robot, it sets her on a journey to find her long lost brother. Along the way she'll team up with smuggler, Keats (Chris Pratt) and his robot pal, Herm (Anthony Mackie). The Russos' latest project for Netflix  may be rather expensive - one of the most expensive movies ever made - but that hasn't really translated into anything significant. The Electric State  is a fun adventure flick with likeable characters and some stunning visuals. Strange to say, but the fact the robots look so incredibly real is the one thing that makes it possible to immerse yourself in this world - that and their quirky interactions with our two human heroes. However, the movie is far from anything spectacular - apart from the aforementioned visuals - and it would certainly ...

Captain America: Brave New World | Average Guy Movie Review

In an effort to secure a global future, the newly elected President of the United States, Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross (Harrison Ford) aims to do two things; form a coalition to collect rare and valuable materials from the newly formed Celestial Island, and work with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to reform the Avengers. But when the coalition is threatened by an attack on the president - one that suggests his past may have caught up with him - Sam is forced to go it alone in order to find out what Ross is hiding before it destroys him, and prevent world war 3. Anthony Mackie's first turn at headlining a movie in the MCU , and he proves categorically that he is the right guy to lead this behemoth into a new era. Fair to say that both actor and the character he plays have big shoes to fill with their first solo outing, and they more than rise to the occasion. Sam may have accepted his promotion to 'Captain America', but he's still figuring out what it means for him a...

The Disposable Soma | Average Guy Streaming Review

In the year 2164, the assassination of a popular political candidate will create an opportunity for a failed comedian to seek to become the Empathy party's nominee for President of the United States, and he will choose a genetically modified, super-intelligent, opium-addicted parrot as his running mate. Be aware, this show is disturbing, and despite the presence of talking parrots, it is not written for children. The Disposable Soma  - the brainchild of writer/filmmaker Zeb Haradon - began life as a series of books. Now, by utilising a variety of A.I. tools to generate the imagery and some sound, he has adapted his tale of our depraved and drug-addled future into a streaming series. Which brings us to an interesting question regarding the use of A.I. in filmmaking - a controversial subject, to say the least - and whether it's ever ok to use it. Is it acceptable in this case because Haradon is using it to share his own original idea through a different medium? Given that he has ...

Freelance | Average Guy Movie Review

A struggling video editor takes on a seemingly lucrative job for a mysterious client, only to find out that the films they have her editing are snuff films. Haunted by what she sees, and unsure of what to do, her world soon begins to fall apart. First off, it's worth pointing out that this is not a review of the John Cena/Alison Brie action comedy. No, this is a very different Freelance . It begins as  a sort of love letter to video editors and their often unappreciated craft, in much the same way  The Fall Guy  is to stunt workers. The opening credits made using editing software is a nice touch too.  And yet, at its heart this is a real mind-fuck of a movie. One that deals with some difficult subject matter, and what makes it really scary is it feels in some way possible. Thankfully however, director John Balazs and writer Michael Gerbino's approach to all this nasty stuff was to be authentic, unflinching and hard-hitting, without being excessive. Although,  if...

Hellboy: The Crooked Man | Average Guy Movie Review

When a routine op goes wrong, Hellboy (Jack Kesy) and fellow B.P.R.D. agent, Bobby Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) find themselves lost in a remote part of the Appalachians. There the pair cross paths with local man Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), who has returned to the area to face his demon (Martin Bassindale). Sensing the evil that lurks there, Hellboy resolves to help Tom with his quest. Maybe I've just had my head in the sand, but the release of this latest Hellboy  reboot seemed to come and go unnoticed. I remember the trailer dropping back in July, and then radio silence until I saw it on iTunes . Unfortunately, now that I've watched it, I'm pretty sure I understand why.  Before getting into the bad I'd like to point out that Jack Kesy did not have an easy trench coat to fill, and he did a grand job. Naturally, he's the one driving this story, and there are times that if it weren't for Big Red you'd likely give up. His take on Hellboy is the perfect blend o...