Category Archives: Movie Reviews

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A an odd egg of a film, it reaches for the stars, and there are moments when it almost gets there even if everything else is messy.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Viola Davis.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Review –

Well, I should put all my cards on the table before we start. I have never read the books that these films were based on. But I did watch the Hunger Games quadrilogy back in the day, and they never felt like they came truly together and sort of rode on some particularly well-timed casting. I was not sure how a prequel could work given how we know things end, even more so when I heard that the focus of the books was going to be Snow, one of the least interesting characters from the series, but I am glad to have been only partly wrong.

So to set the scene, it has only been a couple of years since the end of the Dark Days and the Start of the Hunger Games. Coriolanus “Corio” Snow (Tom Blyth) knows this pain well because even though he and his family live in the Capital of Panem, they lost everything in the war and can barely survive. He is looking forward to winning a prize only to discover that people have stopped watching The Hunger Games and that he can only get the money by being the best mentor to one of the tributes in the upcoming 10th Hunger Games. But he was not ready for his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12, who sang and almost murdered her way into the cage after being announced.  

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Polite Society – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A blast of fun from start to finish, even before the wirework starts flipping people through the air.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

The sisters.

Polite Society Review –

During the year, there were those films that I meant to see, but circumstances always got in the way of screening or sessions. For me this year, one of the ones that slipped away was the fascinating Polite Society. Well, it has now dropped on streaming, so I can see if it holds up as well as I hope.

So to set the scene, Ria (Priya Kansara) has had one dream all her life: to become a stuntwoman. She films herself on YouTube, trying to break into her future, and she usually drags her sister, Lena Khan (Ritu Arya), to film. But she can’t master the flying reverse spin kick no matter how much she practices. However, Ria has a crisis of faith when her sister decides to get married to Salim Shah (Akshay Khanna) rather than go back to art school. He is a smarmy wanker, or so Ria feels, but as her life starts to unravel, her future starts looking equally fraught.  

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Quiz Lady – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While deeply predictable, there is still a fun charm to the absurd proceedings.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

bowties

Quiz Lady Review –

As we get to the end of the year, I get a drive to start catching up on the films I have missed during the year, but also a need for something less serious. It is the time for comedies of all kinds, and on that front, we start with two siblings who could not be further apart.  

So to set the scene, Anne Yum (Awkwafina) had a very dysfunctional childhood, but the one good thing in her life was Can’t Stop the Quiz hosted by Terry McTeer (Will Ferrell). Her one only relationship is a hostile daily barb with her neighbour Francine (Holland Taylor). But when her sister Jenny Yum (Sandra Oh) comes back into her life and films her rattling off quiz answers. The video goes viral, which is mortifying for Anne, even more so when a gangster (Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park) kidnaps her dog, Mr. Linguini (Crosby Cookie), to pay for the gambling debt of Anne and Jenney’s mother. She has to get $80,000 quickly, which means doing what she dreads: being in front of people.

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Doi Boy – Movie Review

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TL;DR –  A difficult but also fascinating look at the pressures of Thai life through those who sit at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Doi Boy Review –

One of my goals this year was to hit one hundred films reviewed and expand the cinematic landscape I have explored. Well, we ticked off the one hundred films goal earlier this week, but the goal of increasing my cinema still marches on. Today, we look at our first film from Thailand that drops us into a world on the cusp of rapid change.

So to set the scene, Sorn (Awat Ratanapintha) is an ethnic Shan man who was a former Monk who was pressganged into the military. They had to escape from Myanmar because of the violence. In Thailand, all he wants is the best for himself and his girlfriend Bee (Panisara Rikulsurakan), but there are few opportunities for someone without the right documentation. One industry that did pay well was adult entertainment; that is how he and Korn (Noomsang) ended up working for Madame M (Teerawat Mulvilai) in Chiang Mai. A world of money but also a world of danger.

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Jones Family Christmas – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun, delightful romp through something we have all experienced, a big family Christmas dinner where nothing goes right.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this film.

Warning – contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Australian countryside.

Jones Family Christmas Review –

It is getting to the end of the year, and one of the many constants is that Stan is going to release a Christmas movie. It is one of those odd Australian traditions that have started over the last few years, and they all tend to be charming in their own way. Well, it is time for 2023’s entry, where we end up in rural Victoria.
 
So to set the scene, it is coming close to Christmas time, and Heather Jones (Heather Mitchell) is rejoicing for the first time in the age all of her children Christina (Ella Scott Lynch), Danny (Nicholas Denton), and Alex (Max McKenna) are all coming home. There is tension because it is not good timing for many reasons. For some, it is their first time home from London. For others, they just got dumped, and others are just acting odd. But as all the usual family tensions arrive, the heat, the dryness, and the breeze bring the threat of bushfires to every rural location.

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Godzilla (2014) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – It’s a bit rough around the edges, but it hits hard when it hits. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this film.

San Francisco in flames.

Godzilla Review –

With Monarch: Legacy of Monsters starting to air, my thoughts have been brought back to the MonsterVerse. It was a series of films that never got the easy ride that some others did but could still chart out their cinematic universe one monster battle at a time. There is one film in the series that I have never really engaged with: the film that started it all. Well, given how chiefly it fits into the happening in Monarch, I knew now was the time to fix that oversite finally.   
 
 So to set the scene, after exploring the history around nuclear weapons, we find ourselves in the Philippines in 1999. They were about to start a mine when the ground fell out from underneath, taking 40 miners with them. They didn’t find any uranium but a mammoth skeleton of a long-dead creature and an egg. Worse, it looks like there were meant to be two eggs, and one has been opened. Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is concerned about seismic activity near the nuclear power plant when they have a breach as something crashes into the reactor.

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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Aftermath – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a fascinating start, jumping between timelines and preparing us for the approaching mystery.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this series.

The Monarch logo.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Review –

If you look out to the cinematic landscape, you can see a world full of cinematic universes, or at least the attempt to make cinematic universes that never get anywhere. But as my list of them keeps growing, there is one that has been intriguing me, the MonsterVerse. It always felt like it was holding on with the skin of its teeth, but when doing that, it provided some of the best entertainment that I have seen in a while. Today, we jump into its first attempt at episodic television exploring the aftermath of tragedy.  

So to set the scene, we open on Skull Island in 1973, where Bill Randa (John Goodman) gives a heartfelt goodbye before he thinks he will die from a giant spider. The spider met a crab, but still, his goodbye made it out, and in 2013, it was picked up in the Sea of Japan. In 2015, Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) is returning home to Tokyo to settle her late father’s affairs. She was in San Francisco when Godzilla attacked, and the memories run deep as she sees how Tokyo prepares for the next attack. But nothing equipped her for what she found when she entered her father’s Tokyo apartment. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Dome House Six – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An interesting film that packs a bunch at the end but is a bit rough on our journey to get there.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

URSA

Dome House Six Review –

I think one of the reasons I like exploring post-apocalyptic settings is not for the disasters themselves but for the ability to show the best and worst in people. It is the great amplifier of humanity, and good stories focus on this. Today, we look at an entry into the growing genre of the environmental apocalypse, where we have destroyed the Earth and how we go on after that.

So to set the scene, in the not-too-distant future, climate change has wreaked havoc on the Earth’s ecosphere, damaging the atmosphere with pollutants and just generally making it unliveable. Where there is a need, some corporations will fill it, and U.R.S.A. Corporation develops Dome House, a technology to isolate your home from the dangers outside. For those inside the domes, life is safe but also a monotonous routine from one day to the next. But outside, life is barely habitable. It is here where the lives of Sidney (Madyn Rae), Micah (Prem Sagar Krishnan), and Harvey (Jordan Abbey-Young) come crashing together. All while the calm tones of URSA (Charlotte Best) walk them through every aspect of their lives.

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Saltburn – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A torrid and often shocking affair, but one you have trouble looking away from.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains scenes with prolonged flashing lights.

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

Oliver reflected in the table.

Saltburn Review –

There can be a multitude of emotions that can wash over you when the end credits roll. Disbelief, boredom, shock, sadness, horror, resignation, frustration, and even anger. However, never in my time reviewing films have I ever had this particular set of emotions permeating through my mind. A combination of revelation, horror, shock, and sheer amazement. It is this film that we explore today.

So to set the scene, it is 2006, and Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) has made it into Oxford, but he didn’t have wealthy parents. He got in on a scholarship, which immediately set him apart from everyone else there. He longs to be part of the group, and being friends with local heartthrob Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) is the best way to do it. It is a tumultuous relationship, but when Oliver’s dad dies and he has nowhere to go over the summer, Felix invites him back to his family’s estate, Saltburn. A place where wealth is in excess and lives can be changed.  

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Next Goal Wins – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun time that gets held back by some wooden acting and forced storytelling.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Team v the Coach.

Next Goal Wins Review –

I have been enjoying my time at the Brisbane International Film Festival, but as always, things must come to an end. But if you are going to pick a film to end it on, Taika Waititi’s romp about the American Samoa Football Team is an excellent place to do it. This is a sports story that is so infamous that even I have heard about it. With that in mind, let’s play some soccer and see how a team can come back from abject embarrassment.

So to set the scene, American Samoa has been at the bottom of FIFA’s rankings for an age and reached an even lower level in 2001 World Cup qualifiers when, during a game with Australia, they lost 31-0. Tavita (Oscar Kightley) tries to manage the club, but he has become a laughingstock in the soccer community. After some pushing from his wife, Ruth (Rachel House), he applies to the American Soccer Federation for a new coach. Well, this might be a Hail Mary, but at that moment, they have a coach who is about to get fired, and Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) has only one option: take a plane into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

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