TL;DR – Finding a moment of peace on the beach watching the waves roll in.
Not that long ago, I found myself walking along the beach at Boyne Island after a recent storm had flushed the sands with stones, and I found myself in a moment of contemplation as I explored the coast and thought back on my January up to that point.
Continue readingTL;DR – While it had a rough start, it found its feet and became something full of charm.
Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.
The wheel of nostalgia always grinds on, and I think that was why I didn’t think much of when they announced that they would be doing a follow-up to That ‘70s Show set in the 1990s. This was a nostalgia ouroboros. But today, I needed something on the TV as I cleaned and packed the house, and as time went on, I found myself becoming more and more entwined with the show.
So to set the scene, it is an excellent day in the Forman household because Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) is getting ready for a visit from Eric (Topher Grace), Donna (Laura Prepon), and their daughter Leia (Callie Haverda). Red (Kurtwood Smith) is happy with the quiet, but Kitty misses the sounds of the house being busy. While they were only meant to be there for the weekend, Leia found a bunch of friends, including her neighbours Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide) and Nate Runck (Maxwell Acee Donovan), Nate’s girlfriend Nikki (Sam Morelos), the sassy Ozzie (Reyn Doi), and of course a Kelso, Jay (Mace Coronel). Leia was meant only to stay the weekend, but after making connections, she cons her parents into staying for the whole summer. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.
TL;DR – A stunningly devastating film, brimming with empathy and power in equal measures
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film
Warning – This film contains scenes that may cause distress
When I walked in to see Women Talking, I was unsure exactly what I would see. Oh, I expected it to be heavy in tone and subject matter. But I had no idea how they would address that subject, given the immense complexities baked into the scenario. A scenario that was inspired by actual events of the worst kind. However, as I walked out of the theatre, I knew I had witnessed something profound.
So to set the scene, in an isolated Mennonite colony in rural USA, the women have been plagued by attacks where they wake up covered in bruises on their legs. The community leaders say it is demons or that the women are making it up until one of the attackers is captured trying to sneak into a teenager’s bedroom. The police round up many of the community’s men accused or fingered in the attacks, but instead of supporting their women, the men gather up everything they can sell to go into town and post bail for the attackers. They will return in two days, and the women must forgive the attackers or be excommunicated. They have three choices, do nothing, stay and fight, or leave, which have dramatic repercussions on their lives.
TL;DR – This week, we wallow in the murky grey of a fallen world.
Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this show.
Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.
One of the strengths of any great post-apocalypse literature is the way it uses the setting to tell human stories. It changes it from exploitative media to one examining the human condition. But that involves a story that steps out of the accessible black-and-white realm of narrative storytelling and into the murky world of grey.
So to set the scene, it is about ten days before Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) make their way into Kansas City and the city is awash in celebrations and an orgy of violence. The old FEDRA government has been taken down, and across the city, members of FEDRA and their collaborators are being hunted down and exterminated by the new leader Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey). Outside of the QZ, Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his brother Sam (Keivonn Montreal Woodard) are on the run from Kathleen and are almost out of food when a pickup crashes into a laundromat across the road, and a new opportunity arises. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.
TL;DR – We continue our goal to map the Marvel Cinematic Universe by mapping everything up to the end of Phase 4
Well, I didn’t expect to be back here so soon. When we did our map update at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, I am not sure anyone knew just how quickly Phase 4 would be wrapped up. But with my odd need to be completionist with this Map and with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania out next week starting Phase 5, now was the time.
Continue readingTL;DR – Third time is the charm, as the latest entry finds the right balance between fun and drama
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
Warning – There is scenes with flashing lights
A press screening invite rarely comes with homework, but when I sent the invitation to see Magic Mike’s Last Dance, I realised that I had never watched the previous films Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL. I had heard of them and seen moments like the petrol station dance. However, in all that time, I had not actually watched them. Well, this weekend, I fixed that oversite, and well, they were fine, but not exceptional, but can the third time be the charm?
So to set the scene, it has been years since Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) gave up the world of stripping, even longer since he made the fateful final ride with his friends from the Kings of Tampa. These days Mike is working as a bartender in Miami when he runs into Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) and lets her get a taste of his talents. Seeing his skill first-hand, she asks him to come to London to The Rattigan to help put together a performance that will stay with people for years to come.
TL;DR – This is the first almost filler episode, where it exists to set up next week’s episode, but it is still an engaging 45 minutes of tv.
Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this show.
After last week’s Long Long Time, very emotionally heavy episode, it is good that we can take a step back from that this week. But this is the week where we get more of the vibes of where the show will go and some of the challenges that will be in the way.
So to set the scene, after leaving the relative safety of Bill’s town, Ellie (Pedro Pascal) and Joel (Bella Ramsey) slowly make their way across America, filling up the car every hour or so because the gasoline is not as good as it used to be. But when the way past Kansas City is blocked at a tunnel, Joel risks cutting through the city to get back on the highway, which is where they get ambushed. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.
TL;DR – An impressively acted story that is let down by forced conflict and unnecessary padding.
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence
Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.
There are these moments that you remember because they touched all of society when they happened. Usually, these are moments of tragedy that cut through the world, but for Queensland and Australia, we had the moment built on triumph. Today’s film is based on that long journey by Jessica Watson across the planet.
So to set the scene, Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft) grew up on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, where water was always on your doorstep. She learned how to sail on the open ocean, catching the wind and riding the waves here thanks to her coach Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis). Jessica had one dream: to sail around the world by herself, which took a bit of a beating when her boat was severely damaged by a cargo ship in the 2009 trail run. But with everything going against her, Jessica is determined to make the trip before the government legislates that she can’t go.
TL;DR – An intense, claustrophobic look at the potential end of the world
Post-Credit Scene – There is an audio queue at the end but not something you need to stay for.
Disclosure – I paid to see this film
Warning – This film contains scenes that may cause distress.
If you look across the media landscape, the post-apocalypse is all the rage at the moment, but what about an excellent old-fashioned apocalypse? A film about struggle against all odds, looking doom in the face, and maybe not getting out alive in the end. Today we look at just such a film that both embraces and is a bit sly about it simultaneously.
So to set the scene, Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge), and Wen (Kristen Cui) have gotten away from the world and are spending some time relaxing in a cabin in the middle of the countryside. A perfect escape from the world, so remote there is no cell service among all the trees and picturesque lake you can swim in. It is a delight until one moment, Leonard (Dave Bautista) walks up to Wen when she is collecting grasshoppers. He tells her not to be afraid, but he and his friends need to get into the cabin her fathers are in, and they need the whole family for something special to stop the end of the world.
TL;DR – Well, if ugly crying in the cinema surrounded by people ugly crying in a cinema is a recommendation for you, then here it is.
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
I am someone who does not mind a good cry in the cinemas. It can be cathartic and shows that the filmmakers have connected with you on an emotional level. However, there is a difference between having a good cry and being so emotionally devastated that you are ugly crying in a room full of strangers. And when I say ugly cry, I mean ugly. Well, today, we are looking at a film that did just that.
So to set the scene, Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) focuses his life on his work, like ranking all the Gilmore Girls from Best to Rory [which like fair]. But one night, after being dragged out to a club, he spots a man across the dance floor that smiles at him, so he waves back. Actually, Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge) was smiling at his friend Nina (Nikki M. James) at the bar, but he took up the bait. It is the perfect meet-cute, bar the fact that, spoiler alert, we know from the start that this relationship is destined for tragedy.
Movie Reviews in one sentence (or you know like the whole thing, whatever floats your boat)
Dedicated to the support and promotion of Australian made films through independent news, reviews, features and interviews.
50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
A Movie Blog for Movie Reviews, Trailers, and More
freelance film critic with an interest in multilingualism, feminist perspectives in cinema and crime dramas.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 