A Complete Unknown – Movie Review

TL;DR – A wild exploration of one of the most prominent musical writers of an age or two, but also of a time and movement in American music that I don’t think we’ll see again.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Bob arrives in New York.

A Complete Unknown Review

There are a lot of musical biopics out there in the world, some more earned than others. But there is an understandable power behind them, given music’s ability to move your soul. But when you think back to which songwriters have had the most impact on music in the modern era, few names are in the same ballpark as Bob Dylan, and it makes sense to explore his life and the effect it did have and well is still having to this day.   

So, to set the scene, one cold New York night, a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arrives at the hospital bed of his idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) after hearing he was unwell. Bob is an expert in Folk Music, having picked up sounds from across America. Luckily for Bob, who was also visiting Woody at that time, was famed folk musician Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who brought the young man under his wings. Soon, Bob will be captivating the New York Folk Music scene, but being a singular talent comes with as many downsides as successes.  

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The Brutalist – Movie Review

TL;DR – Elegant, stunning, and powerful, it is a film that will stay with me for a long time even though I don’t think I will ever watch it again.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

An upside-down Statue of Liberty.
An upside-down Statue of Liberty.

The Brutalist Review

Today, we look at a film that absolutely captivated me from start to finish, and given that it is three and a half hours long, that is a lot of runtime to have to keep you engaged. However, I think you might see how each and every step captivates, even when the film can be deeply uncomfortable.  

So, to set the scene, László Tóth (Adrien Brody) is a Hungarian Jew who was separated from everyone he loves during World War Two. Escaping Europe by himself, he manages to make it to America and go live with and work for his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) in Philadelphia. Things are tense in the closed environment. However, a chance encounter with Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) puts him into the orbit of the powerful, industrious Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), someone who might just let László create his brutalist masterpiece.

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American Dreamer – Movie Review

TL;DR – It was a profoundly odd film that was also surprisingly charming.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

Peter Dinklage and Shirley MacLaine laugh in the sand.

American Dreamer Review

There are times when you want a big, bombastic work of cinema, and then there are times when you want a smaller character work where an actor can really dig into a character. Today, we get to look at the latter, set in the odd world of academia, which I understand, and the stranger world of real estate, of which I do not.

So, to set the scene, Dr Phil Loder (Peter Dinklage) is an adjunct professor of economics, which means he is not high up on the academic totem pole. He is not well thought of and will never have the money for the house he wants [look … relatable]. As people say, “he is a dreamer, not a doer”. But one day, when looking at the houses he can’t afford, he comes across a listing for a home that is well out of his reach but with a ‘Live In’ option that cuts millions of dollars off the price. It seems too good to be true; the owner gets to stay there until they die, but she is old, so that shouldn’t be much of a wait. 

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Wolf Man – Movie Review

TL;DR – It is a film that starts out like a sprint, but it may have forgotten it was not that kind of race towards the end.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A truck hangs horizontally, held up by some trees.

Wolf Man Review

Well, not that long ago, Universal attempted to re-create a shared universe for all those classical monster films that they still held the rights for, and well, the Dark Universe was so successful that you won’t find it on our Cinematic Universes page. However, in the wake of that, they still had all these monsters lying around, and someone might as well do something with them, which is how we got Leigh Whannell’s fantastic The Invisible Man, a film that lived rent-free in my brain for an age. Well, it is now time to see if lightning can strike twice.   

So, to set the scene, Blake (Zac Chandler) has had an estranged relationship with his father (Sam Jaeger) and the place he grew up in the deep rural forests of Oregon, and he got out as soon as he could. Now living with a Wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), Blake (Christopher Abbott) has everything he wanted but is still struggling. Much of this comes from the legacy of his father, who went out into the woods one day and never returned. Well, the government has finally declared him dead, so Blake can take his family back to his family home to pack everything up and close that chapter of his life with maybe a quiet stay in the mountains to reconnect everyone. This is the plan right until something furry jumps out on the road in the dark, and the family find themselves perched sideways on some trees with a monster about.    

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: The Real Good Guys [S1E7] and Full Season Review

TL;DR – A riot of fun from start to finish.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Jod performs for the droids with a lightsabre menacing those who know.

Skeleton Crew Review

Well, it is season finale time for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and I am kind of not ready for it. This has been such a blast of a season that I wish we had gotten more of it. But all good things must come to an end, so today, we will first look to see if they stuck the landing before exploring the season as a whole.  

So, to set the scene, well, the kids Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman) are in trouble. They have made it home to At Attin but in the hands of Pirate Captain Jod (Jude Law), who now knows where the greatest treasure in the history of the Star Wars galaxy is hidden. He also knows who every single parent of the kids is and has made some explicit threats to their safety. The only question is: can the kids get the alarm out before the raiders take the planet? Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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My Top 20 Films of 2024

So far, in our awards, we have looked at Action, Cinematography, Costumes, Emotion, Fun, Music, Tension, Worldbuilding, Best Animation, Best of Australia & New Zealand & Best TV of 2024

However, in this last entry into our Best of 2024 awards, we crown our Best Film of 2024.

All films are subjective, so our list might look completely different from yours. Of the 116 films we reviewed last year, 110 had their Australian Theatrical/Streaming Release in 2024. This is the list from which we draw our entries, and you can see the complete list of movies HERE.

Much like last year’s list, we have had many staggered releases towards the end of the year in Australia. So we may have films here that were released in 2023 for you but 2024 for us, and there may be some omissions here because we won’t get those films until later in 2025.

Highly CommendedThe Beekeeper, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fall Guy, How to Make Gravy, Inside Out 2, The King of the Indies, The Kitchen, Rebel Ridge, The Rooster,  Transformers One, Turtles All the Way Down, Twisters & Wicked   

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Awards – My Top 15 TV Shows of 2024

This was an odd year for TV, with a bunch of shows that started strong and then just didn’t have the hold to keep me, but then we found a higher level of quality this year than many of the past, which has led us to a slightly longer list this year.

 
So this year, we will look at all the shows we reviewed last year, SEE HERE, and pick our Top 15 of the 35 shows we reviewed. For a show to count, it needed to end its run or season in 2024.  

Highly Commended – Buried, Citadel Honey Bunny, Doctor Who,The Gentlemen, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters & Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble [S1E6] – TV Review

TL;DR – We are jumping from strength to strength, making this one of the things I look forward to during the week.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The barrier of Ad Attin is a gas layer.

Skeleton Crew Review

For quite a while now, Star Wars has been a product filled with animosity and frustration where it felt like those with their hands on the wheel didn’t know what they wanted and with no clear leadership at the top, the community became toxic, or more toxic. That is why it has been such a joy to find Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which has seemingly punctured through that malaise and is linked back to what made Star Wars good in the past yet with a modern veneer.

So, to set the scene, well, things are finally looking good for the kids: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman). At the end of Zero Friends Again, they reclaimed the Onyx Cinder and are on their way to At Attin. The only problem is that Jod (Jude Law) and their pirates might have gotten there first. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Works from 2024 That Showed Off the Wonderful Glory of Animation

Animation is a form of filmmaking that is often related to second-tier status, something just for kids. This is done by both the organisations giving out awards and the guilds promoting their members’ work. However, they are not second-tier films; in many ways, animated films push the frontiers of filmmaking and what is possible, and they should be championed for their work.     

Animated films can be hand-drawn, stop/clay motion, or computer-generated; it does not matter, but all of them show the unique techniques of hundreds of artists that bring the work to life.

Our Highly Commended Films in 2024 are The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim & Moana 2

Our Highly Commended TV in 2024 are: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Knuckles & Star Trek: Lower Decks

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The Best Australian and New Zealand Cinema in 2024

It was a fantastic year for Australian and New Zealand Cinema, with each film I saw knocking it out of the park. Some works held up a mirror to society, those that explored Indigenous voices, and those that brought the action to a new level.

This list will look more at the locally made Australian and New Zealand productions/co-productions and not just films filmed in those countries.

Our Highly Commended Films in 2024 are: Better Man, The Convert, Force of Nature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Nugget is Dead & Runt

Our Highly Commended TV in 2024 are: Buried, Nautilus & Population 11

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