TL;DR – A poignant look at what rock bottom feels like
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Today we continue our dive into the 2019
AACTA Awards Short Film Competition by exploring a short film from one of
Australia’s up and coming actors Hunter Page-Lochard. Here we look at what life
is like when you hit rock bottom and that moment where you realise that you
need to climb up.
Djali looks at the life of Johnny (Hunter
Page-Lochard) who is an inspiring dancer and really good at it until he received
an injury to his leg. However, this is just the first in many setbacks as we
see him hiding in a dark room reminiscing about the past. Only for his brother
Harry (Rhimi Johnson Page) to come and try and shake him out of his funk.
TL;DR – The animation is
fantastic, that characters are charming, and the stories really hit home
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
For a while now, I have been wondering what show is going to fill that Adventure
Time sized hole that is still in my heart. For a long time it was Steven Universe, but with that gearing
up for what might be its final movie I was wondering if anything else would
come along. Well, I don’t know yet if Twelve
Forever will fill that hole, but at the very least it is interesting as all
get up.
So to set the scene, it is Reggie’s (Kelsy Abbott) twelveth birthday, but what
should be a time of celebration for her is turned into a disaster when her
mother Judy (Bridget Everett) uses the time to help her move into the next
stage of her life, the one with deodorant, shaving and bras. Reggie does not
want to grow up, all of which is put in the spotlight when all her old toys are
put into the garage sale. However, all is not lost because her and her best friend
Todd (Antony Del Rio) have a secret, they can escape to a magical realm called
Endless Island. They decide to hide the old toys by burying them under the
ground. The only issue is that on Endless Island what you bury has a habit of
coming to life in unexpected ways.
TL;DR – While it follows a lot of the plot beats of similar films, it stands out on its own by focusing on the characters that are the heart of the movie.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
There are some scenarios that you see get plaid out in cinema over and over
again. Indeed, one of the most popular scenarios is looking at that last few
days before you graduate high school. I think it is so popular because it is
something that nearly every person in the target audience has or will go
through. So it becomes a nexus of past nostalgia and future promise. Either
way, it is a scenario that I have seen put to film over and over again,
especially in the R-rated comedy genre. However, in all the scenarios, I have
never seen a film quite like this.
So to set the scene, high school is drawing to a close and class valedictorian Molly
Davidson (Beanie Feldstein) and her best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are getting
ready to survive the final day of classes. Molly is going to Yale and spent all
her time at school making that happen, and Amy is getting ready to spend a
summer in Botswana as an aid worker. However, Molly’s certainty about her past
is shaken when she discovers that all the kids that partied throughout high
school also got into top universities. Well, there is only one night left
before graduation and Molly know just what to do, she needs to go to Nick’s (Mason
Gooding) party so she can have the full high school experience and she is
dragging Amy along with her.
TL;DR – An odd little film
that I don’t think every quite found its footing but left me feeling intrigued
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Back in my ¡Ay,
Mi Madre! review I mentioned that I wanted to explore more of Spanish
cinema, what I didn’t realise was just how quickly the next film would roll
around. But less than a week later a thriller set in Barcelona arrived on my
desk, and I knew I had to check it out. Well, Boi is many things and thankfully interesting is one of them.
So to set the scene, Boi (Bernat Quintana) is starting his first day as a
private chauffeur in Barcelona, but he has a lot on his mind. Including caring
for his Aunt (Fina Rius) and a breakdown in his relationship with his partner
Anna (Miranda Gas). All of this leads him to completely getting the time wrong
of when his first clients were arriving in the country so he has to rush and
bluff his way into picking up Gordon (Adrian Pang) and Michael (Andrew Lua) two
Chinese businessmen from Singapore. But that is only the start of three very
long days.
TL;DR – A campy schlocky mess
at times, but also kind of endearing when it hits its groove
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
We have been living through an interesting time for Science Fiction on TV, with
the rise of streaming services we have seen a plethora of new shows and ideas
that both look to the future and reinterpret the past. Today we are getting a
Sci-fi show that kind of does both, building upon very real concerns in the
world but framing it in a style of Sci-Fi that we have not seen in a long time.
With that in mind let’s jump in and explore the full first season.
So to set the scene, we open with a normal day on Earth in the not too distant
future after the world has been devastated by a second great depression and the
great flood. Things are starting to return to some sort of normalcy when an
alien ship smashes through the atmosphere flies across the USA and crashes into
a field transforming itself into a huge crystalline lattice. Months later, they
are still no closer to finding out what the artefact is or wants, but they have
picked up a transmission to the Pi Canis Majoris solar system. To work out what
to do they send the USIC Salvare under
the command of Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff) out to investigate. Niko had
to leave her daughter Jana (Lina Renna) and her husband Erik (Justin Chatwin)
behind as Erik is leading the scientific mission at the crash site. But before
too long things start going wrong, and we still don’t know if the aliens are friends
or foe. Now from here, we will be
looking at the season as a whole so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – This is one of those
Sci-Fi shows that has you wondering what the hook is going to be and then it
hits you.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
While there have been a lot of issues, one of the best things to come out of
the new streaming world has been a new wave or really interesting Science
Fiction TV shows. At the heart of this, but by no means the only contributor,
has been Netflix that has had a huge slate of really interesting Sci-Fi
content. Well, today we get to take a look at its newest addition Another Life with an exploration of its
pilot episode Across the Universe.
Overall, there was a lot of interesting facets in this first episode, but one
thing I really liked was the production. The design for the Salvare has facets
that are instantly recognisable but also are a little unique. The rings have a
visual language of a rotating gravity ship, but there is internal gravity so
there is an interesting juxtaposition. The standing sets are also really
interesting mixing a bland of high-tech and also
maybe-we-filmed-this-in-a-warehouse-somewhere that kind of works. Also, I am a
sucker for astronomy, so you had me sucked in the moment you stopped at Sirius
A, which they showed in all its glory.
TL;DR – A truly brilliant work of cinema that works on a character, action, and story level.
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
When you hear that a film has won the Palme
d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival you immediately take notice. Because even
though the voters at Cannes don’t always get it right, they always at least
pick a film that is interesting. Well today not only do we get a film that is interesting,
but we also get a film that made me feel multiple different emotions throughout
its run time, and made an entire cinema audible gasp more than once, like the
whole cinema. Well, Parasite is a
more than just interesting film. Now in this review, we are going to avoid
saying too much about the ending, but just, in general, this is a film that is
best seen with as little information as possible.
So to set the scene, we open in on the Kim family: father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho),
mother Choong-sook (Jang Hye-jin), son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), and daughter Ki-jung
(Park So-dam). They live in a semi-basement flat in the poorer part of Seoul
trying to make a living from whatever odd jobs they can find, like folding
pizza boxes into shape. Then one day one of Ki-woo’s old army friends who is now
in university comes to visit. He lets Ki-woo know of a job as an English tutor
to a rich family that would pay very well. The only problem is that Ki-woo
never went to university, even though he is qualified for the job, so he gets
his sister Ki-jung to fake him up some university records and shows up at the
Park family house. Mr Park (Lee Sun-kyun) is a successful businessman who runs
a company and spends a lot of time away from the house, so he leaves his wife
Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) in charge of hiring and she is apparently a bit dim.
Well, when she watching his lesson with her daughter Da-hye (Jung Ji-so) she
mentions that they are looking for an art tutor for their son Da-song (Jung
Hyun-joon) and Ki-woo knows just what to do.
TL;DR – While the premise is strong, the inconsistencies in tone lead to a dissonant ending.
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
In my drive to see more international films, one area where I do not have a lot
of experience with is the cinema from Spain and Latin America. Indeed, most of
my experience comes from interpretations of Latin American culture like the
still excellent Coco.
However, today I start to fix this with a film that explores the difficult
relationship between a mother and her daughter.
So to set the scene, we open in on a day
that no one wishes, for María (Estefanía de los Santos) is returning home, and
not for a happy reunion. Because unfortunately, her mother Paca (Terele Pávez)
has passed away, or maybe not unfortunately given how everyone talks about her.
María had an estranged relationship with her mother that was never resolved.
This means that María has to deal with all the funeral proceedings, while also
dealing with the complicated relationship she had with her mother and that is
all before the will is divulged.
TL;DR – An animated marvel that unfortunately comes off as a disjointed mess at times
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
I’m going to be honest right from the start here, I had some real trepidation
on walking into The Lion King today. I consider the original animated film to
be one of my all-time top
animated films. In the 25 years since I first watched it, it still holds a special
place in my heart, even though those 25 years were filled with hot takes about authoritarianism
and plagiarism accusations. However, something about this remake just was not
jiving with me. Well now that I have seen the full film I am happy to say that
it was not the disaster I thought it would be, but wow does it have issues.
So to set the scene, and if you have seen the original film you can probably
skip this section. We open with dawn breaking on a very special day in Pride
Rock. Because this is the day that the new prince Simba (JD McCrary) is being
presented to the animal kingdom. As Rafiki (John Kani) raised the young cub up
in front of all the animals that have gathered Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and
Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) watch on with pride, but someone is missing. Scar (Chiwetel
Ejiofor) the brother of the king is absent and his absence is notable. He wants
the throne for himself and he will stop at nothing to make that happen. Well,
one day when young Simba and Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph) escape their watcher
Zazu (John Oliver) and take a trip to the elephant’s graveyard an opportunity
lands in Scar’s lap.
TL;DR – Absurdist and silly, and while the mockumentary is fun at the start it does feel like it never quite came together.
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene
Review –
Well let me tell you a story, we have a famous actor creating a mockumentary of
a fictional ancestor that he also plays, and we are going to jump back and
forth between him finding out things today and a pretend performance of a
televised play in the 60s. This is a truly bonkers scenario, but that is the
one we have with us today as we explore Frankenstein’s
Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 