Author Archives: tldrmoviereviews

TV Review – Jessica Jones: AKA Start at the Bang

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TL;DR – This great if slow start to the season that sets everything into place for the battles to come

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

AKA Start at the Bang

Review –

All your life you have been the physically strongest person around, you can jump off buildings and not get a scratch, you bend metal if it was putty, you can punch someone across a room, but none of that protects you from the daemons that wake you in your sleep. This is the life of Jessica Jones, who depending on who you ask is a private eye, a vigilantly, a hero, a drunk or maybe a bit of all of them. With The Punisher (see review) being its own sort of side project, it is the first series of the Marvel/Netflix TV Universe to sort of deal with the aftermath of The Defenders (see review). With that in mind, today we are going to have a look at its opening episode to see how well it does setting up the rest of the season.

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TV Review – The Punisher: Season One

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TL;DR – This is a show that works just because of the charisma of its lead, however, it would have been better if it was more condensed

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Punisher

Review –

Without a doubt, The Punisher might be the most difficult character to get right in the Netflix TV Marvel Universe. How do you make a man who murders a lot of people, a lot of people, yet still keep him a relatable character. Revenge driven storylines are thus really hard to make work because of this and for every Punisher or John Wick you have a plethora of others that don’t stick the landing. So the Punisher or Frank Castle first appeared in Season Two of Daredevil (see review) where he was one of the best parts of the entire season. However, the question is can a character like Frank work in a series all by himself? Well, that is what we will be looking at today.

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TV Review – Ugly Delicious: Season One

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TL;DR – A fascinating documentary dissecting every facet of food, from its history, its traditions, and the future.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Ugly Delicious banner

 

Review –

As a food culture, we have really started to focus on tradition, authenticity, style and presentation, but have we lost something in the process? This is something that chef David Chang is trying to get to the heart off in his new series Ugly Delicious which he hosts with food writer Peter Meehan. Chang who is known from his Momofuku restaurants is pulling apart what makes food the way it is, what makes something traditional and something rebellious, and what is the soul of the food we may eat on a daily basis.

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Movie Review – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I (JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Daiyamondo wa Kudakenai Dai-Isshō, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 ダイヤモンドは砕けない 第一章)

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TL;DR – This feels like a very respectful translation of the manga, but that also shows that what works on the page does not always work on the screen.

Score – 2 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene near the start of the credits

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Review –

Have you ever watched an adaption of something and gone “this looks like a faithful adaption but it just not for me”? Well, I had that experience this week with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I should start by saying that I am coming to this film not having read the Manga or seen the Anime, so beyond the name recognition I had no idea what I was walking into. As such, this is a review coming from a first-time entrant into the world of Stands, and how well the film did bringing me into this universe. Manga and Anime are one of the areas that have yet to really find its feet when adapted to live action on the big screen, especially when it is Hollywood doing the adaptation, see Ghost in the Shell (see review), and the less said about Dragonball Evolution the better. Like video game adaptations it just feels like it is missing it moment genres like comic books have had. With that in mind, today we are going to take a look at what things translated well into film and what aspects really didn’t.

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Movie Review – Red Sparrow

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TL;DR –  A deeply confronting and often times dull film, there is a single moment that will probably determine if you like Red Sparrow or not, which is a huge gamble for a film like this

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Red Sparrow banner

Review –

Wow, just like Jennifer Lawrence’s last film mother! (see review), Red Sparrow is running the gauntlet of reviews from amazing to trash and everything in between, and after seeing it I completely understand how you could come to such vastly different opinions on it. This is a film that is banking everything on its ending and how much you are going to gel with that is going to dramatically shape how you engage with this film because it can be a slog to get through at times. So what we are going to do today is look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Red Sparrow. Then we will take a moment to look at that ending in a full spoilery moment.

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Movie Review – Game Night

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TL;DR – There are some interesting character and filmmaking choices, but none of that really helps this film do anything more than mediocre-ing its way through to its ending.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and an end credit stinger

Game Night banner

Review –

Game Night is really an odd duck of a film, it has some good character moments, and it is clear that the directors know what they are doing. However, as I walked out of the cinemas I kind of felt it was all a bit meh. So today we are going to unpack what happened by looking at the characters and the story.

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The 90th Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees Ranked from Best to Last

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 The 90th Academy Awards is coming quickly and for the first time, I have seen all the films nominated for the Best Picture award. So today I will be ranking all the films in order from best to last (though to note, because this is the Academy Awards even last is an interesting film). Now, this won’t just be a ranking of 1-9, it will be ordered into categories where films will be listed alphabetically.

As well as that, this list is based on my own personal feelings as to which films connected with me or not, if you are looking for a list about whether or not they are likely to win this is probably not the list for you. If you are looking for that kind of list can I instead recommend Matt Neglia’s and the team’s Oscar Predictions over at Next Best Picture. So let us dive into 2017 which was a fantastic year for cinema, and let me know in the comments below how you would have ranked this year’s Best Picture nominees.

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Movie Review – Mute (Moon II)

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TL;DR – Compelling, brutal, it charts a world of extremes crashing together and the damage that it can do to people.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Mute banner

Review –

Because of who you are, you live almost apart from the world. However, one day you meet someone who completes you, helps you to live your life, it is pure joy. Then one day that gets taken away from you, what would you do? Where would you go? Is there any length that you would not go to get her back? These are just some of the questions that Mute askes among the tapestry of future Germany. Today we will be exploring this fascinating film from Duncan Jones, a gritty neo-noir film of mystery and deception, but also a film dealing with some very real and present issues in the world today.

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Movie Review – Hibiscus and Ruthless

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TL;DR – A beautiful, funny film of charting family expectations

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence as the credits roll

Hibiscus & Ruthless. Image Credit: M2S1 Films.

Review –

‘Families are complicated’, I think that is a phrase that just about anyone in the world can relate to. There is pressure to conform to your parents wants, and there is pressure to try and help the next generation succeed more than you did, and sometimes those two drives crash into each other in explosive fashion. Today we will be looking at a film that deals with just this very issue, as we explore this fascinating film from New Zealand from the same creative team behind Three Wise Cousins. There will be laughter, there will be tears, and there will be bread rolls on people’s heads for some reason.

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Movie Review – Lady Bird

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TL;DR – A coming of age story with a strong emotional centre, and an amazing cast

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

Lady Bird

Review –

Last year I missed seeing Moonlight in the cinemas, due to its very limited release near me. Well, Moonlight went on to win the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards, and I felt a bit foolish for missing it. Well this year I made sure that this would not happen again and the last film on that list is Lady Bird and it has finally been released here in Australia. So today we are going to look at this magnificent insight into families under stress, yet still being resolute in the face of it all.

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