Cherrybomb

Cherrybomb is a song title and funnily enough, I just watched the movie Runaways before I watched this one. The song also features in short scene in this movie. And the movie has some raw power to it, as the song (and the group that sang it) has! But the movie is more than that. It is also more than the beginning suggests.

While you might not entirely relate to the characters, you hopefully still will feel for them. The performances are more than stellar and everyone of the characters has his/her flaws. It's not a perfect movie, but it has some strong points and is made with passion (the actors and the crew involved), which is apparent on screen.

I have not wrote a review for a long time. For some reason I felt like I needed to on this one. It's a pretty simple story about two best friends that like one girl. One of the friends Rupert Grint who plays Malachy comes from like the I would not say rich neighborhood. But his family loves him very much and knows he is going to be successful. While on the other hand you have Luke played by Robert Sheehan. Luke lives a different life style then Malachy. His father is a low down drunk and his older brother pretty much takes care of them both until later on in the film.

So you could say Luke is the wild one and Malachy is like the nice guy. Then comes in Michelle played by Kimberley Nixon which Is very beautiful by the way. She sort of leads them both on in a weird way. But if she did not do this then the movie would not work. So these two best friends compete sort of to win the girl over. I think that is what makes the film work the best. The fact that you don't know who is going to get the girl in the end is what really makes everything work.

It is a drama film with great acting by all the lead actors my favorite being Luke. Even though I myself am more like Malachy. The cinematography is pretty good. You will like getting to know these characters and what makes them the way they really are. I am not going to tell you the end of the film you will just have to watch it for yourself. I also like the White messages at the top and all over the screen that appear to let you sort of know what is about to happen in the film. It kept my attention I recommend it to anyone who likes drama.

Throughout this movie I kept having flashes to this last season of Skins. The whole Freddie/Effy/Cook theme was played out a bit differently, but with the same type of terrible results. Granted, Malachy and Luke had a more respect for each other, but Michelle was the same sort of Effy character. Other than that the movie had the same type of a feel. Sex, drugs, and bit of violence sprinkled together as a coming of age story.

The characters were well played and each had their own problems and envy of the other's lives for one reason or another. Robert Sheehan was commendable in his role as a struggling young man only looking for acceptance and a family above all else. And that's seems to be what made his relationship with Malachy perfect. Sheehan played the perfect balance of needing others while being forced in to a role of independence that was obviously unwanted.

Rupert Grint also did a admirable job in his role of smothered young man looking to spread his wings and be himself, a role he seems to find himself playing again and again lately. He fights with his deep rooted ideals of how people should be treated against his behavior when he tries to get what he wants. Grint seems to find a happy medium in this character and makes him feel true and at time conflicted. My only qualm with his performance is the accent seemed to slip at times and I felt it was unbelievable.

When I walked into the movie I certainly thought I was going to see something much harsher and quite different, the plot summery and trailer were quite deceiving, but I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and expect much more from these actors. The story line wasn't detailed, but it never tends to be with these types of movies. What's left unsaid speaks louder than anything that could be written.

A pretty girl enters in the lives of two friends who might fight one against the other to see who'll be with her in "Cherrybomb". The good guy Malachy (Rupert Grint) and the bad boy Luke (Robert Sheehan) are these opposites forces who work well together; the first is a responsible student who also works in a gym run by Crilly (James Nesbitt), father of the sexy girl; the second is totally out of control, who lives the sex, drugs and rock n'roll motto ,never knowing what to do with his life. Then comes Michelle (Kimberley Nixon) who joins them in wild parties, night outs, provoking both of these guys who are so up for her.

The story follows in a well humored manner, sometimes a little bit depressive (specially concerning about Luke's family with his constantly drunken dad) but as we are told right from the start, the trio is heading to tragic events.

First thing that came to my mind while watching "Cherrybomb" was a subtle correlation with "Something Wild" (1986) with a certain extra thing but never getting to the same level. Here, there's a wild girl messing with the life of a good boy, teasing a bad one and giving lots of trouble to her father, who is trying to adapt his routine to be with her since the mom doesn't want anything with her. I guess one could say this is a teen version of Demme's film but without the energy, the smartness and the rich soundtrack of the classic American film. It lacks a certain appeal in the story, one that makes you deeply care about the characters involved (completed with a lack of answers at the conclusion).

And if the movie worths a view it's mainly of its great cast of actors giving their usual treat which is always good. Grint never fails delivering the nice guy performance; Sheehan has an born ability to play troubled characters who has an dark yet hilarious sense of humor constantly thrown on the other characters much for our delight (the best of show, really! Plus, he's very cute!); and the girl has the right quality to make those boys go nuts for her doing all she wants them to do.

It's not special as it seems to be nor funny, dangerous and bold as it could be, or even longer (screentime was needed). If you need entertainment and some laughs this is the film you look for, complete; more than those goals you won't get, it's just half right with its message. 8/10

If you're looking for a truly forgettable film to fall asleep to, then you'd be hard pushed to beat this slow, soporific piece of celluloid...

The plot plods painfully and predictably along at a pace more suited to a party political broadcast than what is laughably described as a thriller.

The acting wouldn't seem out of place on a TV shopping channel or an ultra-low budget kids TV show. Admittedly, the cast didn't exactly have a whole bunch to work with: the dialogue is nothing short of dismal and the characters are so two dimensional and clichéd that it renders any empathy towards the protagonists nigh on impossible.

The ending is not thrilling or exciting and overall, the story fails to impress.

There is plenty of smoking, so if you are into watching people smoke and tell each other to F -OFF, then this is for you, however I was unimpressed.