TL;DR – Absurdist and silly, and while the mockumentary is fun at the start it does feel like it never quite came together.
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene
Review –
Well let me tell you a story, we have a famous actor creating a mockumentary of
a fictional ancestor that he also plays, and we are going to jump back and
forth between him finding out things today and a pretend performance of a
televised play in the 60s. This is a truly bonkers scenario, but that is the
one we have with us today as we explore Frankenstein’s
Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein.
TL;DR – A strong central character is a foundation for an interesting story about family
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
If you have read my reviews before you will know that I am a sucker for a work
of media that delves into family relationships. Who we chose our families to be
and how we relate to people are full of emotional stories to tell and this is
one of them.
Concern for Welfare is a title that
has multiple meanings throughout the short film. On the surface, it is the
police term for when a member of the public has a concern for the welfare of
someone else. This is important for Ali (Nicole Chamoun) because she is a
probationary police officer being shown the ropes by Sambo (Ryan Johnson) her
supervisor. They have to check on an elderly gentleman that people have not
seen for weeks.
TL;DR – A film with the right heart, even if it does not all come together. Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Watching a love one slide into dementia where they forget where they are and
who they are is a heart-breaking process that I and many others have had to experience.
Indeed it is a real shame that more films don’t explore this issue but today we
get to look at some that have.
Busting out the Bells tells the story
of when parents had to tell their young children Jason (James Bingham) and Kate
(Amelia Kelly) that their Grandpa George (Phil Mackenzie) will not be staying
with them this year because they have had to put him into a nursing home
because he kept forgetting things and getting lost.
TL;DR – In some respects this is a very simple film, but it uses that premise to perfectly explore the building tension
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
There are a lot of things films can do, they can excite, they can astound, they
can terrify, and the can crush. However, one of the key things they can do is
let you walk in another person’s shoes for a time, which can lead to some
really powerful moments.
The story of Birdie is, well it is
less of a story and more of a premise. A woman (Maeve Dermody) is on her way to
see a new apartment so she takes the train. This is the framework, but this is
where the tension is introduced because as she arrives at the Redfern station
there are a couple of guys lurking around. You can feel that tension as her
personal security lowers each moment they are around. How she tries to find
people to be near so she is not alone, you feel every moment of this trial.
TL;DR – An interesting look at what it means to be alive, but feels more like an opening act than a complete film.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
The next in our look at the 2019 AACTA Awards Short Film Competition delves
into the notions of what it is to be alive. It explores a world where androids
have become the new working class and the ever reaching effects that would
have.
One area where this film excels is in its production, with some beautifully
framed shots. There is this use of light and colour to bring us into this world
of Andromeda (Kestrel Leah) all situated around story time with a young Ella (Mai
Brunelle) who has not quite worked out what Andromeda is.
TL;DR – A beautiful and haunting animation of the impact of a single day.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Today we start our exploration of the 2019 AACTA Awards Short Film Competition
by exploring Lylah D’Souza’s work Ambulance
that is inspired by a true story that brings real weight to the narrative once
you see it play out.
Ambulance is an animated short film
that charts the story of one day in the Narrator’s (Lylah D’Souza) life. It is
the perfect encapsulation of life because it is the juxtaposition of the
serious and the ephemeral. It highlights the weird things that you remember on
days of stress, something I can deeply connect with.
TL;DR – It starts really strong with moments of real tension, but it is let down by a muddled ending.
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Today we get to look at a film that is almost the reverse of the norm. It is
not at all uncommon for there to be English adaptions of foreign language films
as there is a long history of people assuming that subtitles are a real barrier
for commercial success. Well, today we get to see a film that has made the
reverse trip with Kidnapping Stella
being the German adaptation of the English film The Disappearance of Alice Creed. With that in mind, let’s take a
look at how well a film does going the other way across the channel. Though I
must say that at times this is a deeply confronting film, and you should
probably know that before jumping in.
So to set the scene, we open in on two gentlemen Tom (Max von der Groeben) and
Vic (Clemens Schick) as they go about their day running errands and picking up
supplies. They renovate a room, get a van ready, and put in a new bed. All
really normal, but for the fact that they block out all of the windows, and
that they have masks. Because what they are doing is not renovating, they are prepping
the room for something, and that something is Stella (Jella Haase) who they
kidnap off the street to ransom back to her parents.
TL;DR – A solid, if not very imaginative action flick
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
It has been a while since I have sat down and watched a solid action flick, the
kind where you can get out some popcorn, sit back and not think that hard about
what is going on. Well, today we have an example of just that with Point Blank which is a reimaging of À Bout Portant, a French film from a
couple of years ago.
So to set the scene, we open with Abe (Frank Grillo) smashing his way out of a
window leaving a dead District Attorney in his wake. On the run, with a gunshot
wound, he texts his brother Mateo (Christian Cooke) for a pickup, but just when
he arrives Abe is hit by a car. Later that night Paul (Anthony Mackie) is doing
his rounds as a nurse at the local hospital leaving his very pregnant wife
Taryn (Teyonah Parris) at home resting when he comes to examine the John Doe.
Only to be ambushed by a masked figure, dramatically changing his life.
TL;DR – As the swan song for the Phase 3 it delivers of nearly every front but mostly in heaping amounts of charm
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene (you 100% need to stay for the mid-credit at least)
Review –
To be a bit honest I had some concerns about this film before I walked into the
cinemas. I quite liked the first Spider-Man
and the films since has showed that Tom Holland was one of Marvel’s best
casting choices. However, this film was coming off the double whammy of being
the follow up to both Endgame
and also the first film since the revolutionary Into
the Spider-Verse, and they are tough acts to follow. However, literally
five minutes into the movie I knew I was in for a good time, but I didn’t know
was how much of an impact this film would have on the greater landscape.
So to set the scene, we open with a quick recap of everyone who dies in Endgame, so if you have not seen it yet
get ready for that band aid to get ripped off real quick. It also gives a
little perspective as to how the world adapted to what they now call the blip
with half of the people disappearing then reappearing 5 years later. It looks
like most of Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) friends got snapped and have to
suffer through doing the school year all over again. Well after all the stress
of Endgame, Peter is happy that he is able to take a break because he and his friends
MJ (Zendaya), Jacob (Jacob Batalon), Betty (Angourie Rice) and unfortunately Flash
(Tony Revolori) are going to Europe on a school trip. However, before he leaves
Happy (Jon Favreau) arrives at his aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) charity dinner to let
Peter know that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is looking for him and Peter does
the only normal thing and ghosts Nick Fury. Well you can guess how well that
went.
TL;DR – While there is a kernel of a really good idea here, all the moving parts never quite connect
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
When reviewing films, I really like when I come across a scenario that
intrigues me. Well today we have just such a scenario where people’s lives
become unravelled through no fault of their own, okay maybe a little fault of
their own. However, while an interesting idea is a good start, it is not the
end of the equation and unfortunately that is the case here.
So to set the scene, three friends Eagle (Sean Nateghi), Bobby (Joseph Martinez),
and Dominic (Jay Habre), are out one weekend camping in the hills. They are
catching up and talking about their past and future as Eagle is just out of
jail after being set up in a break and enter. The weekend was great but when
they get back to their car they discover that while they were gone someone had
dumped a body in the back of their car. Immediately the question of what to do
splits the group and things spiral out from there.
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