The following is an editorial from Your Daily Dose of Jack. All thoughts and opinions are solely the author’s and do not represent those of the Drury Mirror.

Throughout 2019 I’ve made it my mission to watch at least one film a day in order to broaden my horizons in the art of film making. I invite you to join me on this journey, as I both watch and share my thoughts, through bite sized reviews, on the vast array of films the world has to offer. My goal is to introduce you to a variety of films, some you have heard of, others you might not have, watching them throughout the weeks as I do from the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!

“The Breakfast Club”

“The Breakfast Club” is a 1985 comedy drama directed by John Hughes following five students who are serving their Saturday detention.

“The Breakfast Club” has a simple setting, one familiar with most people, which in turn makes it very relatable and much easier to watch. It nicely introduces most of the characters in the opening scene, showcasing their personalities and representing the stereotypes as they appear. As the film goes on these stereotypes get broken more and more, with the characters at first appearing one dimensional, nothing more than their stereotypes, but by the end of the film they are much more fleshed out.

You feel like you know these people, what is going on in their lives, and how they all think and connect with each other, none of which would be possible without good performances from everyone in the film. This is all helped by the great writing, funny in most cases but surprisingly emotional in others, never feeling forced or out of place but delivering good humour throughout.

Whilst at times the cinematography can be alright, for the most part it is pretty boring throughout, making for a film that isn’t very visually appealing and can get more and more dull as the film goes on.

Overall “The Breakfast Club” is a film that I didn’t think I’d enjoy, but it managed to surprise me with its excellent characters and writing, only held down by its boring cinematography.

Recommended.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is a 2018 sci-fi action film directed by Ron Howard following the titular Han Solo as he and a crew of smugglers plan to steal some valuable coaxium in order to pay back the gangster they are indebted to.

Throughout the film the acting is pretty average, with no stand out performances despite the high profiles of Emilia Clark and Donald Glover, but it is rarely bad. The few moments that are bad are due in large part to the bad writing, using lots of one liners that end up just being cringe inducing. Despite that the humour is still pretty good, with jokes landing more often than not, and the whole film having a much lighter tone compared to other entries in the series.

Easily the best part of “Solo” is the CGI, which is just incredible whether it be the intricate ship designs, the stunning cityscapes or the lightshow of lasers in firefights, complete with nostalgic sound effects. It all culminates in an audio visual treat that is nostalgic to fans of the series.

However, this nostalgia is routinely exploited, whether seeing how Han met Chewbacca or how he got the Millennium Falcon, and it can often feel forced, as though they are trying to fit in as many references as they can in order to please fans and it becomes more obnoxious as the film goes on.

Overall “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is a fun sci-fi adventure, one that doesn’t require you to pay much attention, with stunning CGI, good action and an enjoyable heist style plot, that is only held back by poor writing and average performances.

Enjoyable enough.

“Swiss Army Man”

“Swiss Army Man” is a 2016 comedy drama directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert following a man who finds a dead body on a beach and becomes friends with him as he slowly comes back to life.

The opening scene of “Swiss Army Man” is jarringly different from the rest of the film, with a slow, sombre start, before the tone completely changes when he finds the body, becoming much more comical for the rest of the film. However, the opening shots still showcase many themes of the film such as loneliness, social awkwardness and trying to find a place to belong.

This is all helped by the fantastically solemn soundtrack, which complements these themes very well and showcases the more mellow scenes of the film perfectly. You do need to look for all of this however, with much of it being hidden within scenes that seemingly don’t mean anything and are just there to extend the running time.

“Swiss Army Man’s” strange concept ends up working in its favour, being very self-aware of how absurd it is, using that to its advantage to create some good humour. However, at times that same humour can get a bit much, and I found it to be quite immature, and whilst the plot is already absurd, there are fairly regularly points that leant a bit too far into that absurdity and made me roll my eyes at its ridiculousness.

Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are both great as the two leads, carrying the film with their friendship which made the film much more interesting and kept me waiting to see how their friendship would develop.

Overall “Swiss Army Man” is a very absurd film at times, with some strange humour that didn’t always work, but is still held up by great performances and a fantastically solemn soundtrack.

Recommended.

“The Babysitter”

“The Babysitter” is a 2017 comedy horror directed by McG follows a young boy who stays up past his bedtime to find that his babysitter is performing a satanic ritual downstairs.

In the first part of “The Babysitter,” there are some weird editing choices with seemingly random cuts and strange sounds edited in which don’t add anything and start to become a little annoying. Luckily, as the film goes on, these are less frequent and allow the film’s distinct style to shine through, confidently using great music and stylistic on-screen text to create a truly great style.

For the most part the writing is average, but some of the humour is great, using familiar horror and sci-fi references to its advantage, even if at times it can be a little immature.

These references are prevalent throughout, and whilst some are a little obnoxious, others are nice and subtle, such as a character humming the “Friday the 13th” music whilst hunting the protagonist, which is fun to recognise.

Overall “The Babysitter” is a fantastically fun ride if you are a lover of horror films, full of references to many classics, whilst carving out a great style all its own.

Recommended.

“Enemy”

“Enemy” is a 2013 thriller directed by Nicolas Bolduc following a man who discovers an actor who looks exactly like him and starts to become obsessed with finding out more about him.

“Enemy” is an extremely slow burn, taking almost a third of the film to really get going, and whilst intriguing, you do start to become bored watching it. However, the striking yellow and black colour palette instantly grabs you, creating an atmospheric and ominous mood throughout.

This is helped by the off-putting music which keeps you constantly on edge and the great use of shadows to really create a moody tone. The long shots of cityscapes add to this by creating a sense of uneasiness. They seem disconnected, mimicking the protagonist’s disconnection with reality.

These all help to create lots of tension, but it doesn’t ever amount to much. The ominous music regularly plays over fairly monotonous scenes, which greatly lessens the impact it would otherwise have.

This all culminates to an extremely strange ending that most likely has some meaning, but one that I couldn’t decipher.

Overall “Enemy” is a film that is a technical treat with ominous music and an interesting colour palette, but it is brought down by a confusing plot of many layers that the film doesn’t make obvious enough to enjoy.

Enjoyable enough.

“Rec”

“Rec” is a 2007 horror directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza following a TV host and her camera man as they accompany a group of firefighters on a regular call to an apartment building before all hell breaks loose when it appears someone is infected with an unknown virus.

“Rec” has a nice slow start, helping to build the believability of the setting, as well as allowing you to connect with the characters. It doesn’t feel tense, lulling you into a false sense of security, so that the chaos to come has an even greater impact.

The hand held camera can get very obnoxious at times when the camera man is running around, especially as the film goes on and it becomes more chaotic. It makes it quite hard to follow what is going on, but it reinforces the believability.

This believability is the strongest aspect of the film. When the violence starts, it is genuinely shocking, and you almost start to believe it actually is happening as you are so immersed. The acting is also solid, if a little dramatic at times.

Some of the cuts between scenes are abrupt, which is quite jarring but effective in leaving you demanding to know more. You feel the rising panic along with the characters, as you are kept in the dark as much as they are.

The ending, unfortunately, is quite abrupt. It is ultimately unsatisfying and almost seems unfinished, which is strange considering the film’s short runtime.

Overall “Rec” is a tense and believable horror film due to hand held camera use–even if it is a little hard to watch–with an abrupt ending that only left me wanting more.

Recommended.

“Bright”

“Bright” is a 2017 fantasy crime film directed by David Ayer. The film is about an orc and a human cop as they investigate a report of a magic wand and a plot to resurrect a dark lord.

From the start, “Bright” has a boring plot, one that is your typical fantasy plot, though it is set in the modern day. It is clearly trying to draw parallels to the racial tensions of today, and is very heavy handed with its exposition.

This just comes off as insensitive, as if the writer is treating the viewer like a child, trying to be profound when the writer doesn’t have the skills to pull it off. The writing itself is bad. There are many attempts at humour that miss the mark, often in serious scenes that only result in a loss of tension and immersion.

Whilst I don’t mind profanity when used for effect, the amount of it on show here for absolutely no reason is astounding and just comes off as juvenile, making the film much harder to take seriously even though it tries to keep a serious tone throughout.

The makeup on all the fantasy races is nicely detailed, which is true for all of the sets and costumes. However, this only comes across as though “Bright” had a ton of money poured into it. When the film has no soul, no passion behind the plot or characters, the expensive sets and costuming just feel wasted.

Overall “Bright” is a soulless husk of a film with insensitive, bad writing and a boring plot. Its only saving grace is the hard work of all the makeup and special effects artists, who at least make the bland characters look interesting.

Take a look if you’re bored.

Scoring System:

• Highly recommended
• Recommended
• Enjoyable enough
• Decent watch with friends
• Take a look if you’re bored
• Not recommended

Written by Jack Goodman.