Author Archives: tldrmoviereviews

Awards – The Musical Scores of 2018 That Overflow You

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One factor that I will always look out for with a film and that is the musical score. I can get caught in the world of the music, as it sits in my head in the days, weeks and months that come. There is immense artistry in weaving emotions from music, having us slip into the world that is created, fear the oncoming dread even if we do know why, or rejoice in the triumph of that final victory.

Music charts the cinematic world, it guides us, it can lift us up, and it can crush our souls, this is its power.

Before we start, an honourable mention has to go to Deadpool 2 for having the gumption to get Céline Dion to sing a completely straight rendition of the title theme, over some of the most ridiculous film titles. So without further ado, these are the musical score that moved us in 2018. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.  

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TV Review – Bloom: Season One

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TL;DR – This series explores the temptation and addiction that we can have with capturing the past. However, while it introduces a lot of important themes, it does not really have the space to digest them all.   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bloom. Image Credit: Stan.

Review –

If you could be young again for a day or so, would you take that opportunity, would you try to fix some part of your life? However, what would you do to keep staying young, would you hurt people, would you kill, what if going back meant losing who you were? These are all really deep questions and I don’t know how I myself would answer, but today we are looking at a show that posits these exact questions and more.

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TV Review – Doctor Who: Resolution

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TL;DR – With the last episode for a year, we get the return of a villain past, and not really a whole lot else, which leads to an interesting if forgettable episode.  

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Doctor Who: Resolution banner with the whole gang. Image Credit: BBC

Review –

The debut season for Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall has come and gone, and while I generally enjoyed it, it has been divisive among the fans, and no not just because The Doctor is a woman now (though there are still those people, sigh). The show pretty much used this season as an opportunity as a soft-reboot and a good entry point for new people joining in without years of storylines to catch up on. All of this meant that we got some amazing episodes like Rosa and the Demons of the Punjab but there was also an awful lot of filler and constant use of ‘oh the bad guy is not the actual bad guy.’ All of this lead to many episodes feeling undercooked and the drive to have all new enemies for the series probably didn’t help. Well, today we look at the epilogue for the series and its first ever New Year’s special and see how well it does for the last Doctor Who episode for over a year.   

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TV Review – The Orville: Ja’loja

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TL;DR – This first episode was all about us getting back into the groove with The Orville and its juxtaposition of absurdity and sincerity, but not all of it works.  

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Ja'loja. Image Credit: Fox

Review –

I finally got the chance to see Season One of The Orville early this year when it finally got a release down under, and I was struck by how funny and also how many serious issues it tackled. It was not just a Star Trek parody with the first officer and captain being exs, okay it is totally that, but it is also a beautiful sincere look at the work, with some fantastic characters and alien races. Now that Season Two is about to start, I am really interested to see how the show evolves going forward, and can it keep this interesting juxtaposition going.

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Awards – Explosions, Guns, and Punches, Oh My. The Best Action of 2018

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Explosions, Guns, and Punches, Oh My. The Best Action of 2018

A good Action sequence is something that is truly amazing to watch, as it can be as expansive as explosions crashing across the screen, or more intimate, like a duel between two people. This gives the best action scenes such a range and in 2018 we were given some truly amazing spectacles.

For me the best action scenes are those that excel in every element, whether that be live actions, special effects, digital effects, or animation and bring every facet to shine. It is also the category that looks at some of the department’s people don’t often fully understand like stunt coordination or the 2nd unit.

So without further ado, these are the moments of action that awed us in 2018. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

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Awards – Tension That Kept You On the Edge Of Your Seat!

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Tension That Kept You On the Edge Of Your Seat!

Tension is one of the most difficult facets of filmmaking to pull off because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses then the most important part of the film falls apart.

In 2018 we continued to see some excellent use of tension used to build mystery, or to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even the ticking clock of inevitability.   

So without further ado, these are the moments of tension that kept us on the edge of our seats in 2018. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

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Awards – Cinematography That Made You Go Wow!

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Cinematography That Made You Go Wow!

Cinematography is an art form that can be as bold as a gong crashing after a moment of silence, or as subtle as the tide coming in. It is something that elevates a film to the heights of accolade or turns a film into a frustrating mess when it misfires.

While at the heart of cinematography is the Director of Photography or Cinematographer, to get something from the script to the final shot takes a whole team of professionals, and it is their talent that we champion today.

So without further ado, these are the moments of cinematography that took our breaths away in 2018. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

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Movie Review – The Favourite

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TL;DR – At times funny, at times perplexing, and at times very dark, it explores the world of immense power and those who want to obtain it, and the damage that can do.    

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The Favourite. Image Credit: Fox Searchlight

Review –

We live in a world where thanks to technology we can explore galaxies far away, to fantasies imagined in every which way, but sometimes reality can be stranger than anything we can muster. Today we are exploring a film that is set around the power politics of last years of the House of Stuart as different people position themselves in an ever-shifting world. This would be interesting enough in itself, but in both a less and in some cases more dramatic way this is what really happened (or at least what was alleged to have happened) in real life. It is a snapshot of absolute power, but also of sadness, and regret.

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Movie Review – Holmes & Watson

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TL;DR – This is one of those films where you walk out thinking three things, 1) how dare you charge people money to see this, 2) I am embarrassed for everyone involved in the film & 3) how dare you charge people money to see this     

Score – 0 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Watson and Holmes. Image Credit: Sony

Review –

Sometimes you see a film and you have to wonder ‘how did this get greenlit’, like people paid over 40 million dollars to put this together, agents recommended this movie to their clients, and they even got Alan Menken to write a story. However, instead of being excited when every big name cast member walked onto the film, you felt sad, like ‘oh no, they dragged Hugh Laurie into this mess too.’ Why is that, well this is because this is the worst film I have seen all year, and since I am writing this on the 31st of December, I doubt that will be surpassed because this is also the worst film I have ever reviewed. Hey good news Pixels, you are not on the bottom anymore.   

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Movie Review – Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

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TL;DR – While there is some clear potential in the interactive story model, my particular playthrough of Bandersnatch was less engrossing and for me more frustrating than anything else.     

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

Black Mirror is a series that is always looking to be on the cutting edge of narrative storytelling. It twists worlds in on itself, leads the viewer down the garden path only to cut their legs out from underneath them, or destroys the nostalgia we have for the past, or indeed the hope we have for the future. So, when it dropped a couple of days ago that there would be a feature-length episode, well that was some interesting news, but then when it was announced that it would be a ‘chose your own adventure’ with multiple endings and user interaction, well this went from intriguing to must watch in a heartbeat. However, now that I have seen it I feel that maybe the idea did not match the execution. Also, because this is a chose your own adventure, it actually makes it difficult to review because my experience is going to be possibly a lot different to what yours will be. Maybe I just drew the short straw and hit all the frustrating options, maybe you’ll be luckier than me, which from the discussions on the internet might just be the case, I just simply do not know. Well with that in mind let’s take a dive into a world with multiple paths and endings.

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