Category Archives: 2023 Reviews

Till – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a heartbreaking film that soars thanks to a stunning performance but also struggles to stay out of its own way in parts.    

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Mamie watches the train leave.

Till Review –

I am not sure there is anyone who is going to see this film that does not know what happened to Emmett Till on that awful day in Mississippi. The question is, how do you come to a movie when your audience already knows every terrible beat coming? Till’s answer to this question is to make every moment land with the force of a hurricane.

So to set the scene, it was Chicago in 1955, and Mamie Till (Danielle Deadwyler) is taking her son Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) shopping for a new wallet and shoes because he is about to spend some time by himself down in Mississippi with his cousins. Mamie is concerned because he has never spent that amount of time away from her, and the South is not a safe place to be. But Emmett is having a blast with his cousins until he accidentally ‘offends’ a white woman Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett), and soon some white men come into his uncle’s (John Douglas Thompson) house and drag him out of bed.

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Faraway – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun little story about finding love in a faraway land, where you might find yourself for than anything else.    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film

The Croatian Coastline.

Faraway Review –

Sometimes you sit down to watch a film with no real plan as to what you will watch. You are just looking for something to spark your interest, and the story of a woman finding love in a long-lost house bequeathed to her by her late mother, who no one knew about. That is a good plot hook to make me interested in how that plays out.

So to set the scene, Zeynep Altin (Naomi Krauss) is trying to keep the family together as they prepare for her mother’s funeral. But things are not good at home, as just about every member of her house walks all over her. But it is at this lowest point when the family lawyer tells Zeynep that her mother purchased a home in her homeland of Croatia and left it to Zeynep in her will. What do you do when everyone has let you down? Well, how about you head to the coast and find a new view on life?  

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 18 (The Mines of Mandalore) – TV Review

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TL;DR – We finally make it to Mandalore, and it should be no surprise that it is not as empty as once thought.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Peli Motto looks at a striped down racer.

The Mandalorian Review –

It has been an interesting transition to shift tonally from Andor, with its much more severe and grounded story, back to the romp of The Mandalorian. It is probably a good showing of the strength of the underlying Star Wars universe that both can work within the same frame. This week we do lean hard into that romp because … is that pod racers I see?

So to set the scene, last week in The Apostate, we were reminded [for those who skipped The Book of Boba Fett] that The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) has been excommunicated from his group. Because he showed his face … willing … the shame. He can only seek forgiveness if he bathes in the sacred waters under the mines of Mandalore. The only problem is that The Empire used fusion bombs to glass the planet’s entire surface. It is poisonous. It is cursed. Or is it? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole and the rest of the season, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Last of Us: When We Are in Need – TV Review

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TL;DR – In a show about the end of the world, this is the first episode to truly explore the levels of violence that could be found in the ruins of the old world.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this show.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

"When we are in need He shall provide" banner

The Last of Us Review –

There is a deep breath that you take when you can feel the endgame coming, and you might not be ready for what is about to go down. This is even true for me. Who knows just what is about to go down. So as we head into the penultimate episode of the season, it is a time to prepare ourselves for what we are about to see.

So to set the scene, at the end of Kin, just after Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) discovered the direction of the Fireflies and things were looking up. They were for a moment until Joel got stabbed by some raiders, and Ellie had to drag him to an abandoned house to survive. In Left Behind, Joel begged Ellie to leave him and fly back to Jackson, but she refused to let him die. But now they have bigger problems than a bleeding-out Joel because those raiders might be back for more. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.

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Star Trek: Picard: Seventeen Seconds – TV Review

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TL;DR – A bit of a rocky episode, but that is to be expected when you are at your lowest point.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

Picard's hand on Riker's.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

As far as we know, Thomas Fuller was the first to write the phrase ‘It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn’. As a theologian, he had a particular view on what he meant by that, and being written in 1650, I am not sure he ever would have thought about how those words would be translated in a cinematic context. But now more than ever, It is always darkest before the dawn.

So to set the scene, a while ago in the past, back when Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was new to the USS Titan, he sat down [in another new uniform, I weep for the cosplayers] with his old mentor Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart). Deanna (Marina Sirtis) had just given birth to their son Thaddeus, and they were celebrating. In the now, after deciding at the end of Disengage not to hand over Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the USS Titan-A dives into the nebula to avoid detection. Still, not even that may save them from the Shrike and her captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.

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Aftersun – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An emotional whirlwind – Stunning, Beautiful, and Heartbreaking.     

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Warning – This film contains a lot of flashing lights.

An image of Sophie pixelated by the old camera

Aftersun Review –

If one film has been bubbling away in my subconscious since last October, it was Aftersun. Everyone who had seen it spoke of it almost like a transcendent experience, but it has taken a long time to make it down to my realm and longer for me to make it to the cinema. However, if the saying all good things come to those who wait had a physical manifestation, it would be Aftersun.

So to set the scene, it is sometime in the past [I think the late 1990s before everyone had mobile phones], and Calum (Paul Mescal) goes on a family trip to Turkey with his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio). Sophie lives with her mother, which is a chance for them to bond, but there is some apparent awkwardness for all. Calum is trying to build a relationship, while Sophie is at the age where she is finding her independence. Is this trip the start of something better or the beginning of the end?

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Tár – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A phenomenal performance in a severely dull film   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Records on the floor.

Tár Review –

This will be a difficult film to review because it is a movie of two very distinct parts, performance and narrative. Thus it becomes a work of incredible highs and deep lows, and trying to pass that feels like climbing a mountain. But climb we will as we dive into this fascinatingly frustrating film.

So to set the scene, Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is at the height of her career. She is the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, being asked to do masterclasses at the Juilliard School, she has a book coming out Tár on Tár, and she has a beautiful homelife with her wife Sharon Goodnow (Nina Hoss) and daughter Petra (Mila Bogojevic). But there is a growing sense that Tár is walking on shifting sands as actions of the past start bubbling to the surface.     

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 17 (The Apostate) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A bit of a disjointed episode, but still with the flashes of joy that this series has nailed.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Grogu.

The Mandalorian Review –

Well, when we last left you in Chapter 16 (The Rescue), we were at a high point for the series, where they made a significant creative decision that would have ramifications throughout any future show. Or at least, that is what we thought at the time, and then The Book of Boba Fett sort of became The Mandalorian season 2.5 and then backslid on all that growth. For the first time I can remember, I started this week with more than a bit of trepidation, which was not completely gone when the end credits rolled.

So to set the scene, after The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) found the Jedi and completed his quest of returning Grogu to his people, he found himself at a loss as to what to do. But in The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 (Return of The Mandalorian), he found The Armourer (Emily Swallow) and discovered a new calling, one of redemption. Because he once removed his helmet, he is now an exile from his people. The fact that it was for a noble reason was not good enough to break his sacred oath. Now he needs to bathe in the waters under the mines of Mandalore. The only problem is that The Empire glassed the planet altogether, leaving it poisoned … or maybe not. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Creed III – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Creed III is electric, every punch matters, every emotion hits, and I was captivated from start to finish.   

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Creed III Review –

If there was ever a film to remind you not to judge a book by its cover, it is the first Creed film. Creed I was a film that, on the surface, felt like it would not amount to much. A spin-off of a film series that itself had already gone well past its prime. But boy, was I wrong. That first Creed was an emotional punch to the stomach while also being a technical masterclass in how to film boxing for cinema. Then they followed it up with Creed II, which came out swinging just as much as the first. Now, Creed III is one of my most anticipated films this year as we see if they can pull off a hat trick.    

So to set the scene, since winning his rematch with Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been going from strength to strength on and off the ring, especially in his family life with Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) and their daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). But when he finally retires, his past comes back to haunt him. When Donnie (Thaddeus James Mixson Jr) was young, he had a friend Dame (Spence Moore II). But, unlike Donnie, Dame never got a lifeline and has spent a long time in jail. Now he is out, Dame (Jonathan Majors) is looking to show the world that he deserves to be in the ring, that it was not handed to him, and now former friends find each other on opposite sides.

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The Last of Us: Left Behind – TV Review

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TL;DR – This episode shows that The Last of Us knows how to go small just as well as it can go big.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this show.

The

The Last of Us Review –

We are at an interesting point in the season. You can see that we are on the cusp of the end game, having tramped almost across the continental USA during the season. However, we might be entering the darkest times, or at least the darkest times so far. But for me personally, this show has already emotionally wrecked me in episodes like Long Long Time, and I am not sure I am ready for it to twist the knife it has already stabbed in me.   

So to set the scene, in Kin, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) finally made it to Wyoming after walking for months after escaping Kansas City in Endure and Survive. It was a moment of celebration and also deep self-reflection for Joel. But more than that, they finally got a solid lead on the Fireflies, The University of Eastern Colorado. They had already left, but breadcrumbs on a map showed a new destination in Salt Lake City. Finally, an endpoint to their travels, well it would be, but then someone had to go stab Joel, and Ellie has to keep him alive. Or should she do what Joel says, leave him to die, and return to safety? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.

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