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martimusross
Film matters and a fair appreciation of these high art products becomes ever more important, I live by this maxim.
The purpose of any criticism is not to destroy casually the work of others, but to recognise excellence and areas of improvement and to add to the understanding of what was intended and has that intention been realised within context.
Lastly, criticism needs to call out any sort of doctrine, ideology or political stance that seeks to pervert public thought for its own purposes, a gentle liberal approach to life is good as a stance, but if this leads to a dumbing down, liberal authoritarianism or societal controls on freedoms of expression this must be steadfastly resisted.
Film needs to be brave and not just give the public what is wants in the pursuit of profit and recognition, like any great art it must exist in some purity and often we all need to be presented with shocking and upsetting thoughts and images in contradiction with our own lives.
Reluctantly if film matters so do awards and critism helps to contain and restrain the excesses of those who would seek to subvert the Oscars and the Baftas for their own narrow political reasons. An award must fundamentally be there to recognise excellence and any other result is a significant betrayal of public trust, brings that organisation into disrepute and ultimately damages the very industry it was created to promote and support.
Film enriches our world.
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Great Fun!
Kingdom of the planet of the Apes
It was great fun.
We were far into the future so far we had a brand new story. After a gentle start, three friends searching for eagle eggs as their right of passage into adulthood, the movie turned into an emotional rollercoaster of loss and transformation.
The CGI was faultless and Noah, the films lead conveyed every emotion through a glance and a snarl it really was excellent.
The story was overall was really very well done, I won't say much as that would ruin the movie. We can expect several more as this was very much the beginning of a new franchise.
I'm gonna give this a firm 8 outta 10, the acting was great throughout as were the action sequences and music, overall a great night out.
The Garfield Movie (2024)
Just About Okay!
The Garfield Movie
This was a good movie, not great, just good. It was written for a very young audience and much of the attitude we expect with Garfield was missing, little sarcasm or dry humour, however there were some moments of brilliance, but much was quite predictable.
The animation also was strange in places, Some of it was straight from the cartoon, quite simplistically drawn, then other moments it was detailed and reminiscent of the last two movies. I had got so used to the last Garfield movies I expect to be like that. In much the same way Paddington is drawn in his first two movies.
The story was not very good I'm afraid it will seem to be overly contrived relying on an origin story. This format has been done to death from Harry Potter to Star Wars, no more origin stories that smack of identity politics.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It wasn't what I expected but I did laugh and there were some good cartoon characters. I'm going to give this a firm 6 out of 10 meaning you will enjoy it but it just isn't as good as the previous two Garfield movies.
Ali & Ava (2021)
Depressing Stuff!
Ali & Ava
This was a miserable "love" story in miserable Bradford, the lovers were a grandmother of 5, mother of 4 and a middle aged Indian man with ADHD and marital difficulties, not on the face of it loves young dream lol.
From the start we, the viewer, were oppressed by the weather (it was raining cats and dogs throughout), the characters (down and out on their luck), the drab buildings (needed demolishing) and the overwhelming plethora of issues (mental health, poverty, addiction, race and discrimination). As you can tell it was not an easy watch.
With that said we did have a few great one liners, the script was okay, and we had some moments of brilliance in the chemistry between the two leads, it was touching and believable.
Overall I'm glad I watched it, I never want to see it again and I'm giving it a firm 6 outta 10, note to self "Bradford is not a holiday destination".
More Than Only (2017)
Trite & Patronising, Self-indulgent
More Than Only
There was some good moments but the structure of exploring a different theme each episode just didn't work because at the end of each chapter there was a trite analysis and a mundane wholesome proverb pronounced proclaiming supposedly what we had just watched.
However I watched many things in these stories that just did not conclude what they did. Firstly the depth of their mental health problems had no quick fix, Michael was in the wrong profession, nursing is about dealing with trauma and being detached, he was unable to function. Justin seem to go through a breakdown, a weak at the beach and hug will not solve this!
Neither of them were suitable parents as they constantly abandoned their child, the child's surrogate interfered and was herself in an abusive relationship.
The acting was bearable but the script was tortuous, I didn't like it really I felt patronised and preached at at the same time. The only thing I did like was the assumption they lived in a post gay world, but is was the structure that did for it!
At best this is a 4 outta 10, with some tweaking this may have achieved a much higher mark!
Palm Royale (2024)
Great Fun!
Palm Royale
A cross between Desperate Housewives and Acapulco this was a fluffy story about a desperate interloper looking for social advancement in 1969, in Palm Beach.
The casting agent got this right in choosing Kristen Wiig as the central lead, the script was quite turgid but it was delivered with so much panache and style it was mesmerising. Not to mention the fabulous and over the top styling!
It was stuffed with stars from top to bottom, and Carole Burnett took one of the leads a 91, and delivered in spades.
Overall I enjoyed it very much, I'm giving this a firm 8 outta 10, well worth a watch.
Sugar (2024)
Just About Watchable But Terribly Slow
Sugar
Some good moments but overall is was a labyrinthine clunky mess!
From the start we were subjected to strange and jerky camera movement with angles from above and below somehow making us the viewer feel more in on the action, I found it irritating and enough to give someone a profound headache.
The stilted script and strange dialogue delivered in a cockney accent in Los Angeles by Sugar's handler was bizarre. We were all meant to feel something was a bit off and it was very strange superficial
Style over substance trying to recreate and old fashion private investigator from tv shows and films from the past, and infer sugars point of contact with other human beings was via movies was just too repetitive a scenario. Talk about overworking what someone thought was an interesting theme.
Overall it was slow. It dragged. It was overly complex. There was a whole array of weird acting but the one thing that was good was Colin Farrell. He really was committed to the project and tried his best with the material he was given, he certainly looked the part and I loved the car.
At best this is a 6 out of 10 meeting not really worth watching maybe something to watch on hair night on a rainy Tuesday.
The Iron Claw (2023)
Skip This Turkey
The Iron Claw
Unfortunately the movie did not hold my attention in the vice like grip of the Iron Claw. This was the signature wrestling move of the Von Eric family and the title of the movie.
An entirely American true story that held little interest this side of the pond basically it was an ex wrestler and his wife and their six children and the tragedy that befell 5 of the brothers in turn believing there was a family curse. From the outset you can see it is very difficult to avoid the repetition of the scenarios within this movie and it fell foul of this.
We had some very clunky method acting from Zac Efron and some of his brothers, it really was very minimalist or constantly angry or waiting to explode it was an exhausting watch.
With regard to the hair and make up no one in their right mind can think this was good half the time Zac Efron's wig looked like a dead rodent stuck to his head.
Overall this was at best a 6 out of 10, certainly Zac Efron tried his best as did everybody but the script really was a turkey and I began to wonder why this movie was made in the first place.
Devs (2020)
A Clunky Mess With Some Good Bits
DEVS
It was a painfully slow geek drama that lack any momentum, creepy music and angst amounted to style over substance. Following the clunky beginning we had industrial espionage and murder, what I found unconvincing was the elaborate attempt to conceal the murder when a simple staged car crash would have sufficed.
Sonoya Mizuno won played Lily Chan, the partner of the murdered man, became the central role upon which this entire mini series revolved. Initially I just didn't feel she did enough, but slowly as episode 2 developed I started to enjoy her performance. What was missing was greater characterisation but she was a geek as well so perhaps she got it right.
Amidst this backdrop we had a rogue tech company developing a predictive programme that had the power to look backwards and forwards. However this was clunky as such a programme for just be populated by the mundanity and banal nature of everyday human existence.
One repetitive trope was the phrase "guys can you give me a minute" it was used 3 times in 3 episodes, this was meant to give some profundity to what followed. But it really irritated!
As the series progressed it got slower and they just ran out of ideas, the way to end this with any profundity was a challenge and I can understand why! Overall it was a muddled mess and had a terrible ending so I'm giving this a 5 outta 10, meaning frustrating viewing!
Four Lives (2022)
Well Worth Watching!
Four Lives
This was clearly a very difficult drama to write as the source material was the same series of errors made again and again by the police, and indeed everyone.
With that said the lines written for the first victims family and friends inferred Anthony was both a drug addict and escort, both risky pursuits, when he was neither. Once an impression of Anthony was formed in the CID minds they indulged in assumptions perhaps due to inexperience, workload, prejudice or indeed laziness. I suspect it was a combination of all these factors.
Having known Steven Port, he was just an idiot with the charisma of an empty baked bean can. With regard to his initial interview with the police they didn't see what was before them because they had formed a whole array of assumptions. Had they we would not have had a second victim, and seemingly they were missing a toxicology report for weeks, that may have helped the investigation.
The second victim we didn't seem to have any investigation.
The third victim was discovered by the same poor dog walker, that was a shocker! The drama ramped up here with the police officer inferring how all gay men live their lives rather than doing their jobs properly. The suicide note was clearly not written by the victim and yet nothing was done!
Of course what is incredulous is the absence of proper forensic evidence throughout.
The forth victim should just never have happened and never was their more gross police incompetence, all carried forward from the previous botched investigations.
Overall this was an extremely well done drama, well written and well acted, when so much of the detail is repeated and so similar it is difficult to keep the narrative impetus. Whilst depressingly familiar it was a story desperate to be told. I'm giving this a firm 8 outta 10.
Patrick Melrose (2018)
Painfully Slow And Repetitive In Parts
Patrick Melrose
The whole thing was frightfully slow
Benedict turned out a complex characterisation of a spoilt aristocrat son, devoid of apparently any redeeming features. Episode 1 confined itself to Patrick finding his own way of dealing with his father's demise using every illegal substance known to man. Benedict specialises in the awkward, weird and over the top, so he was quite rightly in his element.
Episode 2, the event of cold turkey and delirium we explored Patrick's complicated relationship with his sadistic father, expertly played by Hugo Weaving.
In episode 3 we had a stuffy party and Patrick seemed to have arrived at the moment to face some demons.
In episode 4 we had moved on a number of years and despite his best efforts many of his father's traits manifested in Patrick's behaviour, he barely kept the show on the road.
Having watched the lot it was good not great, the pacing was just far too slow and we were three hours in before we had a grip on where the story was going. Benedict seemed to employ a method style throughout when really the script was so well written he could have done less for greater effect. Some of the other cast members were not so strong, the mother was poorly played etc. The camerawork was brilliant but it seemed often to be looking at the wrong thing!
Overall, it was a 7 outta 10, it was just far to slow and to many scenes were repetitive, we had no clear answer why everyone was complicit when I would have told everyone and the police would have been called.
Young Royals (2021)
It Was Perhaps The Worst Teen Drama I Have Ever Seen!
Young Royals
Watched the lot!
Despite the title it wasn't really so much about anyone Royal but a teen drama that sought to introduce one strange contrived dilemma after another.
One thing I find that really grinds my gears is the idea that Royalty are privileged wealthy people who live in their own world and clearly do not know what goes on in ordinary people's lives, is worth commenting on at all, this is exactly what they are and I expect them to be. To have a royal family, whilst seemingly anachronistic in 2024 is the most settled form of constitution, they are figure heads above politics and believe me it works, and nearly every country that has a royal family seem to be the object of admiration across the world.
The overall story was so lightweight, crown prince goes to school and lives through his teenage years, that's it!
I must say come episode 4 series 1 I was getting bored, script was banal, the acting wooden, the romance stilted, the issues superficial. And the suggestion that personal indulgence should come before duty is absolutely, absolutely absurd.
I must add did you see the terrible food, pasta and boiled vegetables and the salad looked like it had died a death!
I have tried to identify why this really was banal rubbish, beyond the excruciating script that had me squirming half the time. It was the stiff acting of the Crown Prince who really couldn't act his way out of a paper bag when much of the show rested upon him, and constant storming in and out over nothing. Lastly they all seemed determined to destroy the school they attended, talk about selfishness.
At best this dross is a 2 outta 10 the two actor that played Simon and August were good. It is difficult to know who this was made for as I didn't know anyone who watched that could identify with any of the issues, at least with Red, White and Royal Blue was a comedy but here they were all miserable all of the time.
Road House (2024)
It Was Terrible!
Road House
Rarely have I been so disappointed in a movie, it was mindless rubbish that encouraged the use of violence and threat to resolve any problem.
Mixed with a diversity ticket-box, crass stereotypes and comic book violence is proved a dated concoction of tired tropes!
We had no script, some appalling action, nasty tattoos and CGI'd action sequences that all grated. Why a mega-star great actor lended his talents to this project is beyond me. Why they made this remake and wasted all the money when it is a total turkey!
At best this is a 3 outta 10, all 3 points given for Jake's unbelievable washboard abs and was is a 6, 8 or 12 pack lol.
Civil War (2024)
It Was Rubbish
Civil War
I was not going to bother writing a review until I read some of the strange and inexplicable movie reviews by other people on this site. My review is so diametrically opposite from theirs I'm beginning to believe I watched a different movie, because the movie I watched called Civil War, was a flaccid piece of garbage.
The movie lacked any discernible story, lacked dramatic impetus, had little or no character development, and the action sequences where we had members of the press walking alongside a tank with the soldiers was entirely absurd.
There was no script to speak of there and much of it seemed largely improvised. Kirsten Dunst seem to have attended the AB School of acting and employed two faces throughout, one of disgust and one of irritation, I have never seen an actress do so little and achieve so little. The initial idea that a Civil War in America and blowing up some of its national monuments is sufficient to sustain a movie is absurd.
At best I am getting this a 1 outta 10, my advice steer clear of this flaccid garbage and watch a computer screensaver instead as that would be more entertaining.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024)
Defies Analysis
Tales of the Empire
Yet another turgid and bland facsimile lacking any heft or relationship to the source material.
You just begin to wonder in which universe this script writers live and who green-lit this tripe. There was no regard for gender balance, and I, as a young white man could find no representation. The simple tropes of all good or all bad, combined with constant threat seemed to be the only drivers employed in the whole show.
I cannot exaggerate my disgust and disappointment at this banal and tedious destruction of the Star Wars legacy.
I'm giving this a firm 1 outta 10, let's leave it there!
Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour (2024)
A Great Show!
Grand tour
Whilst the broad theme was undertaking a grand tour by two people at the start of new lives following divorce, it was about so much more.
It seemed a struggle to stick to the theme as these two gargantuan personalities flexed their muscles. What I loved at the outset was the post-gay world in which they lived, their dramas could be anyone's trauma following a breakup.
Rylan's transformation was inspirational, from first principles to culture vulture and rarely do we see such a strong person being his own person on screen. Rob was on the brink most of the time, waring but honest. I would add whilst they were performing for the camera it did not seem overly contrived emotionally, and Rylan's speech modes changed in the first 30 mins from darkest Essex to somewhere far more easier to understand lol.
Overall it was a great show and they made quite a pair, I think we could send them on a couple more excursions as their journey is far from finished.
I am going to give this a firm 8 out of 10, not that I have any suggestions on how this could be further improved but I did feel it was in places a little rushed.
Rebus (2024)
I was bored!
Rebus
This was largely a formulaic detective series. Whilst we had some committed acting that was convincing it was all so overly contrived.
On top of the stereotypes we had a whole raft of kitchen sink dramas that ate away at any narrative impetus that was frustrating. Just to give a couple of example of bizarre inserts, Michael's wife was a nurse, I have never known a poor qualified nurse or doctor and I worked in the NHS for 20 years. In addition Michael had a job as delivery driver, perhaps on the minimum wage of £23k, but the nurse suggested a food bank. This drip, drip drip of issues was just misplaced not to mention her accusation her friend wasn't one of them now as she had come into money, as if money defines a person. I thought this was very poor script writing.
Just everything revolved around family it was just to much, particularly when they were all so horrible to each other.
I'm giving this a 5 outta 10, this was a reboot that didn't need making.
Monkey Man (2024)
I thought It Was Brilliant
Monkey Man
Dev Patel, I have always been a solid fan, but we have had some very perplexing work over the last several years. But Monkey Man was amazing, and yes, I could make some crass comparisons to John Wick or other solo destructive machine type hero's, but here there was something new in the mix.
It was all Indian despite Dev being from Harrow, and he was a broken man, the plot and his backstory was revealed in a slow and careful way and the violence and action sequences were so over the top they became almost comic.
We had a little dialogue, but Dev acted his socks off, careful micro gestures always within character. I loved the final showdown of a bunch of units dressed as Shiva warriors, it really was inspired. If I have to find fault, it would be that it was overly long but the time flew by so this is a minor criticism.
I am going to give this a firm 8 out of 10 it really was brilliant and I would love there to be a monkey man 2.
Wreck (2022)
It Was Rubbish!
Wreck
Series 1
A very strange teen drama set on a boat
Series 2
A very strange teen drama set at a festival
I cannot form words to express how terrible this was, the whole thing had the depth of a screensaver and populated by me, me and more me vacuous characters.
It was very difficult to identify with anyone in the show no one studied, no one worked, no one paid rent, no one did anything except play on their mobile phones or any other screen available.
The script, if you can call it that, repeated the same scenes, scenarios, feelings and stereotypes ad nausium! Predictable is not the word it just went on and on!
Overall, this was terrible and I was bored throughout. Where did they find so many talentless actors? It was just incredible! At first this is 3 out of 10 meaning total drops and I never want to see anything about this ever again.
Pompeii: The New Dig (2024)
Beyond Appalling
Pompeii, the new dig
I was irritated from the starting credits, the narrator spoke as if everything was so amazing despite everyone knowing about Pompeii, and they have been digging there since the 1740's, hardly new is it! Who was she speaking to, I have no clue.
The music irritated and so much time was wasted looking at unremarkable finds, we found a skeleton in a house, oh it's all so amazing, it was a disaster people died. I found this approach deeply patronising, if not antagonising, they should have sent Mary Beard to bring the romans back to life.
What really drove me mad was revisionist tropes on Roman society, I cannot believe it, this pathologist said she wanted to find out how this person died, duh! Volcanic eruption in 79AD. 30 mins in and we had seen nothing, learnt nothing from the new dig that we hadn't seen in the old dig, no explanation of finds, and the finds they showed us were most banal.
I think the approach of this series of programmes lacked history, the most casual comparison with Margaret Mountford's similar show reveals this series deficiencies in stark relief.
Episode 2 showed promise, establishing that largely the population of Pompeii had fled to surrounding towns and this is why there were no carts found in Pompeii Streets etc
Episode 3 plummeted again to the depths, of a 45 minute program we were 15 minutes in and we had seen nothing new, it was all padding and recap. We then had some strangest historian look at a charcoal drawing and then stating the drawer must have attended the amphitheatre in Pompeii, he must possess supernatural powers to deduce this, talk about overinterpretation
We were shown a whole array of objects that were not part of the new dig and were discovered years ago.
The whole showed lacked any proper historical analysis, the so called experts made inane comments, gladiators were the equivalent to footballers today, the population of Pompeii would not have known what a volcano was despite the Roman Empire lasting 1000 years and covering the known world.
At best this is a 3 out of 10 the whole thing needs redoing properly.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)
It Was Fabulous
Kung Fu Panda 4
It was excellent a seemingly inexhaustible franchise that delivers in spades. The animation was inspired the voice acting impeccable the details and micro gestures were simple incredible.
Awkwafina as Zhen was a total star and is just an incredible talent.
We had all our favourite characters and it was great, was there anything new you I hear you ask, maybe not, but there was just no need to have anything new!
The bull in a china shop bit was a highlight of the visual gags for me but there were so many. I laughed out loud continuously, it was very funny.
I am giving this a firm 10 out of 10 it just couldn't be any better.
Ted (2024)
Comedy Gold
Ted
Season 1
The foul mouthed bear was back on fine form, of course I missed Mark Wahlberg and there golden chemistry but Mark Burkholder did a great job as his partner in crime.
This was comedy gold and the script was tight and inventive and as a serious Ted fan this definitely filled the space before Ted 3. (Please can we have Ted 3).
Seth really does complex comedy in a seemingly casual manner, we had irony, self-deprecation, slapstick, and everything in between, I loved it.
Lastly I must emphasise the strength of the characterisations, not stereotypes but genuine warm flawed characters.
From me this is a 10 outta 10 I will watch it over again and again!
The Bear (2022)
Practically Unwatchable With Some Inexplicable Reviews On Here
The Bear
I watched the first two series and it was a mixture of Succession and Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares. The plot meandered with little focus or direction, what I felt was missing was greater character development from the start, it was a slow burn.
We had some terrible stereotyping, which I won't go into, I agree you don't need a masters degree to work in the kitchen but I feel these employees need to be treated with dignity and respect. Even in a drama there must be some reflection of reality and the modern world in which we live. The levels of swearing was really difficult to here and dumbed down much of the dialogue.
The level of threat, confrontation and appalling language really was very off putting! It was very difficult to like these people. They just had an absolute plethora of issues. It really was too much.
A lot of the time the camera work was so close to the actors faces it was left so many nasty images, what was that all about!
At the beginning of series 2 they tried to introduce a kind of romantic element. It was bizarre. Carmen was certainly in no place to entertain such a relationship and secondly the woman they chose to be the romantic interest was positively predatory. We just had so many scenes where they were just circling like sharks it was really, really unbelievable.
One thing I find really strange is they pride themselves on straight talking from Chicago, but then they never tackle the real issues or speak about them this was so frustrating.
Lastly, we had quite a concentration on food, but much of the food was not very nice or appetising. Four types of Plumb jus on ravioli hardly floats my boat. No one has spat out my food in years so I must be doing something right.
I want to make a comment about the acting. It was predominantly heavy duty TV method style very much on the Ginsburg model. I find this constant intensity very tiring to watch and the amount of improvisation excessive, I think they should lead by the story have a strong script and deliver the drama. Call me old-fashioned or what.
Series 2 episode 4 the show really stepped up, so far the high spot of the show and yet series 2 episode 6 was the worst. I have had Xmas dinners like season 2 episode 6 lol.
Overall the series lacked emotional intelligence, they professed to all love each other but their actions and words were the very opposite. I found the show quite sterile and lacking heart, at best this is a strange acting experiment and a 3 outta 10 from me, I just can't recommend it to anyone!
Io capitano (2023)
It Wasn't the Tough Viewing I Was Expecting
Io Capitano
This was a simple story about 2 cousins from Senegal who wanted to come to Europe for an adventure. For some this was uncomfortable viewing because the director made is clear from the start, they were not fleeing anything, not war, famine, or anything religious or political and certainly not a brutal dictatorship. In fact their home in Senegal could have been a holiday destination.
Secondly the impetus for leaving Senegal was threefold. Firstly they wanted a cousins adventure together. Secondly many of their friends had also left to seek an adventure and thirdly you could see the two young boys playing on TikTok imagining they had all the things that were presented there. It is only when the mother, challenges Seydou he makes up a story that the house is falling down and he wants to do something for his sisters he wants to contribute, but this was merely said to placate his mother.
The age of the boys being just 16 underpins the naivety of their folly and explains why most economic migrants are young men aged between 18 and 25.
They were clearly economic migrants hoping to make it big in Europe and to a great extent primarily influenced by the internet.
The two boys instigated their own destiny by just placing their trust in different gangs of crooks along the way.
The movie was well done the script tight, great camerawork and the relationship between Moussa and Seydou was brilliantly believable. I'm giving this a firm 7 out of 10.
I would add that the minute these guys arrived in Italy. I would deport them back to Senegal. This is their home and this is where they belong.
The Beautiful Game (2024)
It Really Was Very Good, I felt Better!
The Beautiful Game
Well this was a contrivance from the start, football being used as an absurd anchor, to examine the backstories of homelessness of the football player's. We then had the plethora of circumstances, a new partner and a grown up son still at home, relationship breakdown, zero hours contracts, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, social awkwardness, mental health learning disabilities and attending care homes. It was a smorgasbord of issues.
We had some heavy weight character actors, Bill Nighy, Michael Ward, and even a cameo by Shane Casey as a referee, you certainly couldn't fault the casting.
What I found quite difficult to digest was the nearly black and white presentation of nearly everyone as a victim, not just a victim of circumstance.
Whilst I may appear negative the bigger question is was I persuaded that football can be redemptive and was I beguiled by the saccharine movie, and yes I was in spades. I'm giving this a firm 8 outta 10.
I have seen everything Michael Ward has done and this was excellent, a younger Idris Elba in the making.
Lonesome (2022)
I Was Bored, Seen It All Before!
Lonesome
Who would have thought that a movie director and script writer in 2022 could conclude that some attitude and sporadic nudity was sufficient to sustain a movie.......well it just ain't! At best we had some simplistic emotional exploration but it was shallow.
There was an early scene on the beach with Casey that remained unexplained, in fact it was a slow burn revealing his backstory. When it was revealed it was quite banal, things got complicated at home so he fled to the city. Wow so rare!
What was good was the chemistry between Casey and Tib, this was the only reason I continued watching. Also the losing oneself in transient relationships to avoid emotional entanglements was cleverly engaged with as a coping mechanism in gay life.
Despite the emotional vacuum Casey became "attached" to Tib and then misread a situation that lead to a violent encounter. I got the feeling we were looking at children pretending to be adults, what with the constant storming in and out! As a depiction of gay life this was a rainy Tuesday in Brighton and only slightly more interesting than "hair night" lol!
Always a problem how to end such a movie and I think they went with the right choice. At best this is a 5 out of 10 I enjoyed the camera work but the story was so shallow. It really needed a proper script writer.