BAD NEIGHBOURS (2014)

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Again, here we have a premise that could have been a killer. Unfortunately, it comes across as a drama student project. Not left in the oven long enough. The guilty parties specifically being Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. Yawn.

Unconvincingly directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek) this is about a bunch of frat boys (including Zac Efron and Dave Franco) who move into a neighbourhood, next door to a 30-something couple with a newborn (Rogen, Byrne and a baby) . The couple still want to be seen as cool and party heads, but very quickly get tired of the noise and end up calling the police, creating a war between the two parties.

Hilarity should ensue, but the coupling of Rogen and Byrne just doesn’t ring true and either the script they were given was terrible or their chemistry and improvisational skills leave a bitter taste. Seth Rogen being usually adept at this.
It’s embarrassing as their tête-à-têtes go on for far too long and are neither funny nor clever.

A shame then, that Efron and Franco show much deeper comedic skills than the two leads. Efron, who could easily have been written off as that High School Musical kid, is showing the world that he has talent beyond the world of Disney. He was great in Liberal Arts and is definitely one to watch.

Franco shows some great comedic timing here and is also one to watch, stepping out of the shadow of his brother and making a name for himself. He was sturdy in 21 Jump St. A worthy mention should go to Jerrod Carmichael as one of the frat boys, whose delivery and later scenes with the very funny Hannibal Buress are by far the best parts of the movie. Also, the surprise appearance of Craig Roberts (Submarine) felt forced and badly edited, a poor reflection on the film-makers rather than the talented actor.

A sloppy film that, like many others had potential but ultimately didn’t know what to do with itself. Again, half baked. Someone should have shut down the improv-fest betwixt Rogen and Byrne.
Tighten up.

1.5/5

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LOCKE (2013)

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Drive, she said.

One Hardy and his car and it ain’t Mad Max.

This is interesting from the off. How do you make a film about one man driving in his car for the WHOLE film dynamic?

The script for one has to be tight and the performance has to be on target, otherwise what’s the point?
Fortunately for the viewer, Tom Hardy has the acting chops to take us on a journey, literally and metaphorically on that ever-so exciting run from Birmingham to London.

Hardy plays Ivan Locke, who has to make a night-time car journey from Birmingham to London for reasons that will be made clear as you watch.

Tightly directed by Steven Knight who had to wait several years until Tom Hardy was finally available to fit him into his schedule. It was worth the wait. Hardy delivers a performance filled with nuance and layer.

It is very watchable and really shouldn’t be. On paper, one actor onscreen and several top names that only get to give good voice sounds boring, right?

Vocal support comes in the guise of Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott (brilliantly funny), Ben Daniels, Tom Holland, Bill Milner and Danny Webb.

Clearly there is a reason that Locke has to make the journey otherwise it would be fricken boring and this is testament to Knight’s script that he sets the stakes high enough to keep us on board.

The running time is 85 minutes and there is not a gunshot/bomb/terrorist/ kidnapping in sight, yet the tension is palpable.

I watched this after a 4 day festival and my 3 companions all fell asleep, not because the film was boring, each of them stated they wanted to re-watch it. The blame clearly lays in the over doing it of the fest. It intrigued me enough to stay awake and see it through.

A very different thriller that keeps you interested even though you’re on the M6 for the lion’s share of it, possibly one of the most boring motorway journeys in the world made truly engaging.

3.5/5

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