Category Archives: Got My Cry On

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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Movie Review – The 15:17 to Paris (Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris)

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TL;DR – It has a rocky start, but it sucks you in and hits you with an emotional punch at the end.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a Mid-Credit sequence.

The 15 17 to Paris

Review –

What would you do if a terrorist, or any gunman, to be honest, started shooting at people while you were on a train? This is a question I have had to ask myself today as I walked out of the cinemas. Would you run? Would you hide? Would you confront them and try to stop it? While I may want to think I would do that latter, deep down I know I would likely freeze not knowing what to do, which was an interesting thing to ponder about your life. Well, there are some people out there in the world who know what they would do because it happened to them one day in August in 2015. So today we are going to look at a film that is both a testament to courage under fire and also one of the most fascinating casting choices I have seen in a very long time. It is also the most Clint Eastwood film I have seen in quite a while.

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TV Review – Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time

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TL;DR – The beginning of the end, and the start of the new beginning, this shows what Doctor Who can be when it is firing on all cylinders.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

Twice Upon A Time banner

It is the end of an era as Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat say goodbye to Doctor Who (this is not a spoiler because this was announced 6 months ago) but while it is the end, it is also the start, and that is what is amazing about Doctor Who. So today we look at the last story of the Twelfth Doctor, and a new story of the First Doctor, and also the first story of the Thirteenth Doctor, it was a packed episode.

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Movie Review – Paddington 2

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TL;DR – I don’t think I can say it as good as the first one, but what I can say is that it is full of joy, laughter and feels, and I would recommend it for everyone

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a mid-credit scene

Paddington 2. Image Credit: Studio Canal.

Review –

Ah, Paddington, I do love this film series, I saw the first film when I was a chaperone for a group of teenagers going to see it at the local drive-in theatre. I had no idea what to expect, but the first film was filled with such joy and was genially one of the funniest films I have ever seen. I found it so funny that at one point one of the teenage girls I was with yelled out “IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY BRIAN” … but it was, oh it was. So I was delighted to hear that there was a new movie coming out, but could it live up to the first film, well no, but that doesn’t mean it was not a delightful ton of fun.

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Movie Review – Coco

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TL;DR – Beautifully acted, stunningly realised, with a story that will wreck you in the feels, I cannot recommend Coco enough.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is no end credit scene but you can pretend there is one if you need to compose yourself before you leave the cinemas

Coco. Image Credit: Pixar/Disney.

Review –

Oh wow, I was expecting Coco to be good, it is Pixar after all, but what I was not expecting is to have a deeply emotional experience. So today we are going to break down the many factors that contributed to the success of the film from the acting, to the visuals, the music and of course the story. Coco is one of those films where every facet of the film supports and builds upon the next and create a whole that is amazing to watch.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Into the Forest I Go

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TL;DR – The mid-season finale is both gut-wrenching and fascinating, both an ending and a new beginning.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Into the forest I go

Review –

This week marks a couple of first for Star Trek as a franchise, it is the first time ever that we have had a mid-season finale, the end of Chapter One. As well as this, it is the first time that women’s nipples have ever been shown on screen, though men’s nipples have been fine since the days of The Original Series. Also, this week we get the first gay kiss between two men, indeed there are a lot of firsts. So today we are going to break down what worked in this final episode for a while, and I think it is a good sign that part of me kind of wishes we didn’t have to wait until January to see more.

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Article – The Beauty of Ghibli

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Studio Ghibli Logo. Image Credit: Studio Ghibli.

TL;DR – Art, Story and Music, it is a studio that excels at it all

Article –

So it has been an amazing few weeks here in the great Down Under as local cinemas have brought all of Studio Ghibli’s (株式会社スタジオジブリ) films back to the big screen. This has meant that for the first time I got to see some of my favourite films on the big screen and it has had me thinking, what is it about these films that has engendered so much love around the world? For many people in the world, Studio Ghibli films are their first introduction into the world of Japanese animation or anime, and what an introduction they are. After much thought as to why they work as well as they do, for me, I think it distils down to one factor, on the whole, Studio Ghibli films are full of beauty. So today we are going to look at the different factors that make that so, by taking a broad brush stroke across Studio Ghibli’s entire catalogue from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind¹ (風の谷のナウシカ) to today. To do this we are going to look at the stories, art, and music. Now while we will be talking about these components there may be some minor [SPOILERS] ahead for some of the films.

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Movie Review – Ali’s Wedding

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TL;DR – A good reminder that we are all united as one because we all do stupid, stupid, stupid, things for love

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Ali's Wedding. Image Credit: Madman.

Review –

I’ve been sitting here looking at my screen on and off for the last hour wondering how to start this review. This is such an important film, a real water shed moment for Australian cinema, but how do you properly articulate that without sounding overbearing. To add to this, I am a white Australian with not a lot of experience with some of the cultural and religious iconography, this means that I am desperately trying not to accidentally say something truly stupid. So I hope you will excuse the lack of coherence and come with me as we jump into the world of Ali’s Wedding.

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Movie Review – War of the Planet of the Apes

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TL;DR – Apes Together Strong

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

War of the Planets of the Apes. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

War of the Planet of the Apes Review –

Film trilogies are very precarious things to manage because you have to keep each film working in its own right, but also place it in the context of a greater series. This can lead to all sorts of issues, like power creep when you have to keep upping the last film into ridiculousness, or different creators can come in and you have to balance their views with what is already established, there are studio and contract pressures. All of this can lead to the very common third film fail where things just fall apart, like the X-Men films for example. So given how strong the Planet of the Apes films have been, especially given that they are reboots, I was concerned that they would not be able to stick the landing with the third film. But I was wrong, and I am so happy that I was.

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Movie Review – Dunkirk

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TL;DR – Beautiful and haunting, spectacular yet emotional, a must see film.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Dunkirk. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Review –

Wow, just wow, I had high expectations walking in to see Dunkirk because I have always enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s films, to this day I think Inception would fit squarely in my Top 10 films of all time. Indeed, even when I don’t like a particular Nolan film like Interstellar, they are still technically brilliant. But nothing prepared me for Dunkirk, and now I know I am writing this after just seeing it, and that in time things might change, but as I sit here, I can’t help but feel that this is Nolan’s best film to date.

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