Movie Review – Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (HΘMΣCΘMING)

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TL;DR – A work of art for all to see.    

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (HΘMΣCΘMING). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –


One of the issues living in Australia is that the likelihood of me being able to go to some of these big tent pole events across the world is quite low. However, in this age of digital connection that is not the problem that it used to be, as connections become stronger around the world. Today we take a look at a film that takes this to heart as it explores not only a concert and how it was made but also the philosophy that went that underpinned it all.

So to set the scene, last year at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival or as it more commonly called Coachella, history was made. For the first time, the festival was being headlined by an African-American woman (and only the 3rd women in their history at that point) when Beyoncé stepped onto the stage to perform. These performances rocked the music world for their choreography, their musical strength, their surprise guests, and because they were full of power.

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Movie Review – Stuck

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TL;DR – When it gets to the emotional core of music Stuck has some real emotional weight, but it has issues getting between those moments.       

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Stuck. Image Credit: MJW Films.

Review –

There are many things that can make a bad day and I can tell you that being stuck in a train carriage with a bunch of strangers for an indeterminate amount of time would be very high on that list. With this in mind, I was captivated with the idea of setting a musical in that setting and where you could go with the pressures and opportunity of keeping everyone in that one space. What we get in the final film is a story with two halves, however, unfortunately, they don’t quite work together.

So to set the scene, it is a day in New York and disconnected strangers are running around in their day trying to get from one place to another. You have Lloyd (Giancarlo Esposito) a homeless gentleman who is getting ready for the day in the actual train carriage. Alica (Arden Cho) a dancer trying to get home and avoid her stalker Ramon (Omar Chaparro), Caleb (Gerard Canonico) who is running between his many jobs, then Eve (Ashanti) and Sue (Amy Madigan) who are just trying to get home on a difficult day. Fate is a precarious thing at times, and this day as they board the train everything grinds to a halt as a police incident closes the train lines trapping the train in-between stations, and as the carriages are locked there is the realisation that they are trapped and the only thing you can do is sing.

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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Winterfell

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TL;DR – In the first episode of the final season all the characters are moved into place, before the onslaught of the coming doom.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Game of Thrones: Winterfell. Image Credit: HBO.

Review –

And so it begins. When that first episode aired back in 2011 everything was different, and it changed the television landscape in a way we are still feeling today. It is with this that I come to the final season with a little trepidation. I don’t know how the show will end, but I know a lot of the characters that we have come to love over the years probably won’t make it and if any show has prepared us for an unhappy ending, this is it. Well, today we delve into the first episode of the final season as the growing disaster looms.

So to set the scene, at the end of The Dragon and the Wolf all hell broke loose as the big bad used Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) reanimated dragon to blow a hole in The Wall allowing the undead to march through. As we prepare for what is about to hit, armies are moving into place as John Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys arrive in Winterfell with their Unsullied and Dothraki armies … oh and two dragons. Word has reached Winterfell of The Wall’s fall, so Sansa (Sophie Turner) has ordered all of her bannermen to retreat to the capital as the last stand because that is where all the armies, even the coming Lannister’s will go to, but then Cersei (Lena Headey) has other ideas. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Movie Review – Guava Island

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TL;DR – A beautiful work on the power of music to shape the world     

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Guava Island. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Review –

There are a lot of things music can be, it can move you, it can move people, and it can move countries. There is the real power in music and throughout the years we have seen the power of music to shape the ideas and the structures that control people’s lives. With that in mind, today we take a look at something a little experimental, but also a little subversive, and also a little fun.

So to set the scene, we open with animation about the world we live in, Guava Island. The island was originally created by the gods to be a resting place for humans from the war that rages around. However, on the island, special blue silk was found and soon one man Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie) had taken it for himself and industrialised the whole island to produce the silk for export. However, all is not lost on Guava Island because one day a girl Kofi (Rihanna) looked out her window and saw a boy Deni (Donald Glover) playing his guitar and every night after that he played all night for her, always trying to get better.

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Movie Review – The Perfect Date

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TL;DR – While it is a bit stodgy at times, it has a real heart to it and an interesting premise.   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

The Perfect Date. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

In recent times, one strength that Netflix has really leaned into is producing quality rom-coms a genre that had been left wanting in the cinematic landscape recently. Indeed we have even been getting the highs of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and given that our lead here with the impressive eyebrows is finding a niche in this genre I was interested to see how it would go. Well, it was fine, but the more it meant on the more it felt like while it had an interesting premise, it didn’t quite stick the landing in parts.  

So to set the scene, as high school is coming to the end, the world is finding out what to do next. For Brooks Rattigan (Noah Centineo), it trying to get into Yale, he wants to change the world, even though he has no idea what it is that he needs to change. He has the chance to go to a public college but he wants to go to Yale but how is he going to pay for it or even get in. Things change one day when one of the rich kids at his school Reece (Zak Steiner) was lamenting that he had to take his cousin Celia (Laura Marano) to a high school social and Brooks steps in because he needs money. During the ‘date’ Celia mentions that he would make a great stand-in boyfriend, well one app made by his friend Murph (Odiseas Georgiadis) later and a new business is made.

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TV Review – The Orville: Sanctuary

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TL;DR – If we don’t defend those who need defence why should we save ourselves.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Sanctuary. Image Credit: Fox.

Review –


In the background of The Orville has been a growing problem for the Interstellar Union, and no that is not an external threat, but an internal dilemma. For a long time, there has been a growing unease with Moclus and parts of their culture that seem to go against what the Union stands for. This week this issue comes to a head when the very nature of the Union is called into question by Dolly Parton, sort of.

So to set the scene, after the destruction of a large chunk of the fleet in Identity Part 2, the Interstellar Union is trying to bring more ships online and upgrade the weapons of those ships they already have. The USS Orville is sent to Moclus to get the upgrade and also taxi some engineers to a scout ship, much to everyone’s annoyance. However, the engineers are carrying more than just supplies with them, which puts Bortus (Peter Macon) in a difficult position having to choose his own people over the crew. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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TV Review – Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Casecation

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TL;DR – A heartfelt story of love … in a hospital room … while they wait for a comatose patent to wake up   

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Casecation. Image Credit: NBC Studios.

Review –

One of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s strengths has always been its ability to juggle the comedy and drama. This is not an easy task as it can be a tightrope trying to balance everything without it coming off as half-assed. This week we get an episode that gets that balance right as it jumps from fun to real serious, real quick.

So to set the scene, we open in a hospital as Amy (Melissa Fumero) comes to meet Jake (Andy Samberg), thankfully he is not here on medical business but for the police as there is a mob boss that survived a hit and is now in a coma. The hope is that if Jake is there when he wakes up then the mob boss will give them the info they could use. However, Jake has an ulterior motive, because there is no idea when he will wake up, so he and Amy could share some time alone as it is there anniversary and with their work schedule this is the best chance they have. A case vacation or indeed a Casecation. Which is fine until a topic comes up that neither of them were prepared to hear the other’s response. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Black Summer: Season One

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TL;DR – There are moments of real tension but in the end, it fell a bit flat.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Black Summer: Season One. Image Credit; Netflix.

Review –

Zombies are a concept that and yes I am going to go there, has been done to death. There have been so many different permeations of the living dead and the impact that they would have on the world it is hard to come into this space and have anything new to say. Well, today we take a look at a show that is trying to find some new space, even if it does not always succeed.

So to set the scene, it has been a couple of weeks since the first infection and society is in the state of collapse. There is still hope that the government can contain the spread of the zombies as fighter jets fly overhead and the military is still working on evacuations. We meet Rose (Jaime King) as she is trying to get her family to the evacuation point so they can be taken to the stadium and airlifted out to safety. Well, all of that falls apart as the soldiers discovered her husband’s wounds and drive off with their daughter leaving them behind. All the commotion draws the zombies from nearby and soon those who are left like Kyungson (Christine Lee), Lance (Kelsey Flower), and Ryan (Mustafa Alabssi) have to flee as chaos breaks out. Broken into groups everyone tries to make it to the safety of the stadium. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Movie Review – Dredd (2012)

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TL;DR – A film that combines great action, compelling characters, visual storytelling, and creative worldbuilding making it a must watch   

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

Dredd. Image Credit: Lionsgate.

Review –

There are some films out there that just don’t find their audience the first time around, yet over the years they build upon and continue to find their voice as a slow burn. These are films that are often referred to as Cult Classics. Today I want to take a look at a film that is both of these things. It is an action film, both beautiful and violent, it is a look at society, and also is the home for some of the best one-liners in cinema.

So to set the scene, in the far future the world has been ravaged by war with people crowding into mega cities where violence and murder are commonplace. Long gone are democratic governance and due process, replaced with the Judges. These are judge, jury, and indeed sometimes (a lot of the time) executioners. They have the power to hand out justice as they see fit, only answering to their other judges. One such Judge is Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) who is tasked by the Chief Judge (Rakie Ayola) to give a new recruit Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) an evaluation. She had marginally failed the final test but she is the best psychic the Judges had ever seen so this is her sink or swim moment. They can pick anything to respond to so they choose Peach Trees a mega block with 75,000 residents where ‘Ma Ma’ (Lena Headey) had just killed three men and made an example of them. Judges rarely come to Peach Trees, but when they capture one of her key lieutenants Kay (Wood Harris) alive and take him away to be interrogated, Ma-Ma locks down the entire block forcing the Judges to fight their way out.   

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Map-It – Slow Mo Time: Mapping Planet Slow Mo

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TL;DR – Today we chart every location visited during the Slow Mo Guy’s ‘Planet Slow Mo’ series

Tank shooting. Image Credit: The Slow Mo Guys.

Article –

Article –

Today we are exploring something close to my heart. One of my first ever dives into the world of YouTube back in the day was this little channel (well not so little anymore) of these two guys out of Britain filming things in slow motion.

As a film making technique I have always been captivated by slow motion and to see it used to capture weird and wonderful sights is something I have always love. Over the years whenever there is a new video I always make time to watch it and to this day they are always amazing like creating a fire tornado or blowing up 10ft balloons or even exploding airbags.

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