Cuties (Mignonnes) – Movie Review

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – A deeply uncomfortable film exploring the over-sexualisation and control over young girls.      

Score – I am honestly not sure how to score this film

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

Cuties (Mignonnes). Image Credit: Netflix.

Cuties (Mignonnes) Review –

If there has been one film in recent times that has been entirely destroyed reputationally before it even came out it was the film we are reviewing today. When Netflix released the promotional material, it was demonised across the internet, and from the excerpts Netflix decided to choose it is not hard to see why. The director was hounded off Twitter and labelled an exploitive filmmaker and more. However, those who had seen the film already made it clear that the framing used in the promotional material was not representative of the final product. Well, today we see which is right as we explore the film now it has had its official release.

So to set the scene, we open in on Amy Diop (Fathia Youssouf Abdillahi) as her family makes a new home in France after moving from Senegal. She is trapped between two worlds, the conservative world of her mother Mariam (Maïmouna Gueye), and the more liberal world she has moved into in France. She becomes drawn to some of her classmates who dance in ways that she has never seen (even if they are just the worst in every other way). These crashing worlds come into even more relief when she discovers that her father has not joined them yet because he has taken a second wife.      

Continue reading →

Slim & I – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A beautiful documentary looking back on the lives of  Slim Dusty and Joy McKean  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Awards –

Nominated: Best Australian Film

Slim & I. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Review –

Growing up in Australia, even if you might not know who Slim Dusty is or even if just the name rings a bell, you will still know a bunch of his songs, even if it is only through osmosis. Songs like A Pub With No Beer and Duncan sit in the pantheon of Australian music, and you probably started humming at least one of those tunes to yourself just with the mere mention of the name. However, I must confess that I didn’t really know much about his life beyond those touchstone moments and even less about Joy McKean, the I in Slim and I and the main focus of the documentary.  

The documentary follows a (mostly) chronological look at the lives of Joy McKean and Slim Dusty’s from their start in music through to today. We get to see them go on these gigantic Australia wide tours, raise a family on the road, and also write at least two albums a year which might be the most bonkers part of the entire process. Indeed, over their 50-year love story, they wrote at least 107 albums which is frankly ridiculous. They show this story with a mix of interviews with both Slim and Joy’s family but also with key members of Australia’s Country Music scene like Keith Urban, Missy Higgins and Kasey Chambers. As well as this, we get archive footage going back to the 60s, both professionally shot and also just from home cameras. There is such a varied amount of footage that someone had to be well ahead of the curve in adopting that technology and preserving it all these years.

Continue reading →

The X-Men Movies Ranked from Best to Worst 2020 (Final) Update

Posted on by
Reply

Well, The New Mutants finally made it into cinemas this week, and unfortunately, that means that the X-Men cinematic universe has drawn to a close. It is a sad moment because as you will see from the list below, there were some fantastic films during its 13 film run. However, there were also a couple of stinkers along the way as well. So for the final time, we dive into the world of Adamantium claws, laser eyes, and magnetic powers with our ranking of X-Men films.  

As always with these lists, I don’t rank them 1-10 as I feel that does not adequately reflect my feeling about each of the films and where they fit concerning each other. What we do is the group the movies into categories Fantastic, GreatGood, Okay, and Trash. Fantastic are those films which get as close to perfect when it comes to its impact on me, with compelling characters, stories, and visuals. Great are those films which I thoroughly enjoyed, but they did not move me emotionally. Good are solid films that while they have some issues, they still work and are enjoyable. Okay are films that work, they have some good moments, but you can start to see some of the flaws that almost scuttle the film. Trash are those films which don’t work, whether it is the story, the characters, the visuals, or a combination of all three, they are simply letdowns. Also, within those categories, I have listed the films, not in a ranked but chronological order.

Now I’ll always be comparing the X-Men films to the X-Men Animated Series rather than to the original comics. This is because, for me, we didn’t get the comics where I lived, so this was my first and best experience with the franchise. Also, it has the best theme of the series. All of this led to it becoming my yard post to compare anything X-Men related to. So this, and the fact that personal preference is subjective means that I might have a different order than you, but that is the good thing about reviews because this is where discussion lies. Now there may be some spoilers for you in the list below, but then most of these have been out for a while, so it should not be much of a problem. 

Continue reading →

Map-It: The X-Men Film Series

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – We map out all the locations of the now concluded X-Men film series

X-Men Days of Future Past. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Article –

With The New Mutants getting their cinematic release (finally), the entire X-Men film franchise has been brought to a close. Even though the last couple of films have not been stand out performers, this is still sad as this is twenty years of history coming to a close. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to continue to add to our Mapping Project by mapping out the franchise and its thirteen films.

Now when starting this project, I did have a view that this would be a generally straight forward task. I was wrong. This turned out to be much more complicated than I thought given to the ambiguity of some of the locations. At the same time, some like the Statue of Liberty are clearly straight forward. I spent hours trying to nail down the location of places like the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation.

With this in mind, I tried where possible to situate things using the locations given in the films, or when that was not possible using the original comics as a source. In some cases, neither of these options were available, so I put them in the most reasonable place I could find. In some cases, these were actually in conflict, and in that point, you have to pick one and move on.

Continue reading →

The Black Emperor of Broadway – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A look at a revolutionary figure in Broadway’s past and the layers of oppression he had to go through to get where he did.     

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Extensive use of blackface

The Black Emperor of Broadway. Image Credit: Vision Films.

Review –

If there is one large blind spot in my art history, it is Broadway. I didn’t come from a musical theatre background, so any introduction to this world is welcome. Today we look at a film that explores this through the life of Charles Sidney Gilpin one of its first Black stars. I should say that before we dive in as a bit of a warning that this is a film very much set in the 1920s and the language and depictions used in the movie are consistent with that time which may be difficult for some viewers.

So to set the scene, Charles Sidney Gilpin (Shaun Parkes) is working in a blackface minstrel show that goes around entertaining white people at parties. He hates the work and tries to get a job a legitimate actor which is difficult in a time when few roles are written for black men, and white people in blackface perform most of them. That chance finally comes when noted play write Eugene O’Neill (John Hensley) writes his newest play The Emperor Jones about a leader of Haiti and he wants Charles for the role.

Continue reading →

The New Mutants – Movie Review

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – A perfectly okay film but a bit of a missed opportunity.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The New Mutants. Image Credit: 20th Century Studios.

Review –

After thirteen films, and running for twenty years, the current X-Men franchise has drawn to a close. Today we review the last movie in the series The New Mutants, though it was never planned or designed to be a swan song it is what it has become. Well, let’s dive into a film that swerves into the horror of what it would be like to wake up one day with powers.

So to set the scene, we open in on a reservation in America when Danielle “Dani” Moonstar (Blu Hunt) is woken up by her father William (Adam Beach) and told to run. All around them, some outside force is destroying the reservation with snow and flames everywhere. William asks Dani to hide in a tree and goes back to help only to be killed, Dani runs form the oncoming storm and crashes down the side of the hill, hitting her head. When she wakes up, she is handcuffed to a medical gurney in what looks like an old hospital. Over the speaker Dr Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga) askes her to calm down and lets her know she is safe, but that she was the only survivor of her reservation, everyone she knows is dead.  

Continue reading →

Map-It: Chef’s Table 2020

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – With Chef’s Table BBQ just being released we take a look back at our map

Chef’s Table: BBQ. Image Credit: Netflix.

Map-It –

If you have been reading my reviews for a long time, then you will undoubtedly know that I have a deep love for David Gelb’s striking food documentary series Chef’s Table on Netflix. It is a world full of beautiful food, fascinating stories, and in-depth exploration into a world that I don’t get to visit. Which is even more of an issue in 2020 because of [waves hands around everywhere]. Well, today the latest season Chef’s Table BBQ came out, and I thought it was an excellent time to jump back in and give the map a refresh.  

Continue reading →

Chef’s Table: BBQ – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – This is a beautiful look at the many factors that make up the world of BBQ.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Chef’s Table: BBQ. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

There are few series on Netflix that have captured my attention more than Chef’s Table. The exploration of food and the journey of those who make it always captures me and brings me into this world. Today we are looking at the next sort of spin-off of the series since Chef’s Table France with a look at the joy that is Barbeque.

One of the exciting things about BBQ is that it means very different things depending on what country you are in. So for this series, their interpretation of BBQ is food cooked under, above, around a fire. As will be mentioned in the series as an Australian, I grew up cooking food over an open flame, and I still try to when I get the chance. This means a series about food cooked on fire is an instant sell for me.

Continue reading →

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR –  Besides one or two interesting moments, it never makes use of its formula   

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!. Image Credit; Netflix.

Review –

Back in 2017 the was this odd animated film that landed in the world. Some despised it, and I found The Boss Baby to be well just fine. Since then, I have seen it pop up occasionally on Netflix where it has done well enough for a follow-up series. Today they take another step as they take on Netflix’s newest format the interactive episode.

So to set the scene, we open in on Staci (Alex Cazares) and Jimbo (Kevin Michael Richardson) as they introduce the audience to the employer training VR simulator. You are a baby, and they are trying to find which of the 16 jobs on offer you are the best fit for. You could work out in the field, in middle management, or be the titular Boss Baby (JP Karliak) themself.

Continue reading →

The Match (La Partita) – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – An interesting proposition; however, the narrative gets muddled and does not recover.      

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The Match (La Partita). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

If there is one genre of films that you can count on to bring the tension, it is the sporting genre, even more so if we are focusing on a single match. This is because there is an in-built timer to all the chaos, you only have 90 minutes in a game, and then there is a winner. You can feel that timer counting down, and will your team win or lose, who knows. The rise of success, the fear of failure, it is a potent combination. Well, today we look at a film that captures all of that.  

So to set the scene, we open in the suburbs of Rome with a local football team Sporting Roma that is the heart of the community even though it has never won a ‘bleeping’ thing. On a football pitch that is just dirt, two teams fight a contest that the referee has a very one-sided view of while a coach Claudio Bulla (Francesco Pannofino) screams from the side-line. It is the final with the team facing off against their main rivals from Milan and star player Antonio ‘Anto’ (Gabriele Fiore) is having a bad game. However, as we soon find out, there is more riding on this game than first realise.

Continue reading →