Tag Archives: Drama

The Boy in the Woods – Movie Review

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TL;DR – I look at one boy’s life during truly unrelenting times.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Max alone in the woods.

The Boy in the Woods Review Introduction –

Today, we explore a film that touches on one of the juxtapositions of humanity, our propensity for great evil, but also our profound ability to survive in the face of insurmountable odds. Add to this the fact that this is a real story written by the person who lived through it, and you get a profound setting for a film.

So, to set the scene, during the height of World War II, Poland had been occupied for about two years by the Nazis. It is a place of ghosts as Jewish towns and quarters across the country have been devastated, with few remaining. Maxwell Smart (Jett Klyne) and his family are among the few left, and as they were being rounded up for ‘relocation’, he manages to escape after his mother tells him to run. His aunt finds a place for him to hide out, a farm run by Jasko (Richard Armitage). It is a tough transition for Max, who had spent all his life in the city, but when you are hiding from the Nazis, you need to become someone else. Jasko teaches Maxwell how to survive in the wild, which soon becomes a necessity.  

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Nuremberg (2025) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating film that inevitably feels flawed in its very focus.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

The Tribunal.

Nuremberg Review Introduction –

Today, in the last film we will be looking at for 2025, we have come across one that has given me pause as to how conflicted I am towards it. On the surface, we have a film that could not be timelier as a reminder to a lot of people out there that their time will come and “I was only following orders” will not stand. But it also feels like a film that found the wrong anchor to focus on, and that is an issue for me.  

So, to set the scene, Adolf Hitler is dead. It is in the closing days of WW2 and Nazi Germany is falling apart. The remaining members of the regime are working out whether to run, hide, turn themselves in, or follow Hitler. On May 7th, 1945, the last day of the war in Europe, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) surrendered himself in Austria. In Bad Mondorf, Luxembourg, Dr Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) and his translator, Sgt. Howie Triest (Leo Woodall) had been tasked with a secret mission to look after the mental health of the German regime as they prepared to put them on trial. Kelley sees this as an excellent money-making exercise, but is he truly prepared to investigate the awfully benign face of evil incarnate?

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Frankenstein (2025) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating reinterpretation of the classic work that both works as an adaptation for a modern audience, but also holds true to the core of the original work, creating a fascinating juxtaposition to find a muse about the nature of life itself.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

The Monster looms on the horizon.

Frankenstein Review Introduction –

It is time for the final review before we start our best of 2025 list. We started the year with a rich Gothic-Horror romp with Nosferatu; it is only fair that we finish it returning to that same world, and if we are going to dabble in this world, it is only right to return  to where it all began with one of the greatest minds that helped build the foundation of Science Fiction with the eminent Mary Shelley’s work.

So, to set the scene, in Farthermost North, 1857, the snows and ice creep over the sea as a ship becomes beset in its cold embrace on its way to the North Pole. While stuck, they find an injured man near a pile of blood and being hunted by a monstrous visage, one who cannot be stopped by bullets. Sinking The Monster (Jacob Elordi) to the bottom of the ocean, they wake the wounded Baron Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who tells the tale of how he came to make the very monster that has come to kill him.    

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The Long Walk – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A brutal, uncomfortable film that is anchored in some of the best performances I have seen all year.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

The group walking through a field.

The Long Walk Review Introduction –

Few people have had as many adaptations to their name as Stephen King. Indeed, we already got The Running Man this year. However, before I wrap up my 2025, I knew I needed to explore the other adaptation out this year. A film full of brutality and also camaraderie in a combination that I don’t think I have watched before.   

So, to set the scene, after suffering a brutal civil war in the 20th century, America now lives under a brutal military regime amidst an economic collapse. As a way of ‘bringing the country back together’, every year there is The Long Walk, where one boy from each state has to start walking and keep walking at three miles an hour until there is only one left. If they win, they win money for their family; if they stop, they “get their ticket taken”. Raymond “Ray” Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) is assigned number 47 under the harsh visage of the Major (Mark Hamill). One gunshot, and the slow march begins with all 50, but it doesn’t take long for the first ticket to get punched.

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The Lost Bus – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film filled with tension from almost the opening minutes that keeps you hooked for every spark, every change in wind, and every explosion.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that screened this film.  

Smoke rises over people fleeing.

The Lost Bus Review Introduction –

Today is the last day of 2025 movies catch-up before I complete my best of lists [yes, I have said this before, but I mean it this time]. I am catching up on the films of technical excellence that I want to see unfold. The first cab off the rank is a film based on a real event of a fire catching a city unprepared, which does hit a bit close to home as I look out my window at a dry forest sitting there.   

So, to set the scene, the land is parched, the grass is dead, and the trees are tinder in the town of Paradise, California, as it has been 210 days without rain. It is the sort of situation where one spark is all that is needed for tragedy. It is here that local bus driver Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey) is not having a very good time at all; he can’t catch a break anywhere. What he does not know is that today is the day that California will experience its worst wildfires in its history so far when wind damages an electricity tower and the sparks set all the grass ablaze. With wind gusting and an isolated location, there is very little anyone can do to stop it from becoming something.       

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The Rip – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film that purposely wades into the murky world of drugs, money, and crooked cops. You will never know when the bullets will start flying, but you know for a certainty that someone is going to be shot before the closing credits.   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

A cop cruiser approaches at night.

The Rip Review Introduction –

Today, we look at a film that is trying to do something different in the streaming space, trying an experiment to re-add residuals back into a system that has systematically ripped them out of the industry. But while the backend mechanics of the film are very fascinating, that doesn’t mean much if the film lacks any substance. That means it is time to have a look and see if it has some depth to it.  

So, to set the scene, we open with Captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco) of Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT) in Miami getting gunned down in a car park. This sends ripples through the force and agitates Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Ben Affleck) as Internal Affairs and the Feds are looking at everyone at the TNT. There is money on the line, and where there is money, there is potential for corruption. All the cops in the department are feeling the pinch, but one of their own just got murdered, and no one seems to care. But when the police are tipped off to a massive stash of cash, everyone’s loyalties will be tested, because what if IA is right and one of them is dirty?   

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Twinless – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating and often confronting look at a very particular type of grief.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Roman and Dennis dressing up as Simms.

Twinless Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a film that is probably the penultimate film of the year for 2025. A movie that was much requested and with which I knew nothing about before pressing play beyond a vague understanding that it was delving into the dark comedy space. Sometimes this can be a burden, but today’s film is one of those interesting jaunts that may be better with the viewer knowing as little as possible before walking in.

So, to set the scene, we open with a screech of tyres, a sound of a thud, and then an awkward funeral. It is very difficult for Roman (Dylan O’Brien) because the deceased in this case is his identical twin brother. After a difficult fight with his mother, Lisa (Lauren Graham), Roman decides to seek out some help and joins a support group for those who lost their twin. It is here that he meets Dennis (James Sweeney), another twin who lost their twin. Roman’s life is spinning out of control, and Dennis is a stabilising factor, until…

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The Diplomat: Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While there is joy in watching this cast eat up the screen in every frame, this is a messier season as they try to transition to something different.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Military Helicopters flying over Big Ben.

The Diplomat Review –

My background is in International Relations, and it does not come up here as much as I would like, other than the occasional The Hitman’s Bodyguard jaunt. Well, today, given the situation of the world, I thought I would take a chance to have some wishful thinking in a world where the right things still matter, integrity still matters, to pretend for a couple of hours that everything hasn’t just gone to shit everywhere. But to understand why Season Three feels so volatile, we need to look at where Season Two left us.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Season Two, things went from bad to worse when the person, Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney), behind the scheme that blew up the British Ship in Season One has become the new President of the United States after the former suffered a heart attack during a conversation with Hal (Rufus Sewll). What was the conversation you ask? Well, it was informing him that his Vice-President may have committed a terrorist act on an ally, that very same Vice-President who is now the President of the United States. This is not a good day for Kate (Keri Russell) because the person she wanted removed just became the most powerful person in the world. Now, from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Roofman – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A slow meditation on isolation and despair when who you are is not who the world wants.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Channing Tatum dancing through a Toys R Us store

Roofman Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a sort of odd film as we wrap up 2025. Going into Roofman, all the marketing implied that this was a quirky, fun romp of shenanigans. To be fair, there is some of that there. However, the film we got is very different from the one that was marketed.

So, to set the scene, in 1998, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) made a living by breaking into McDonald’s via the roof. He felt it was the only way he could provide for his family after leaving the military. After being arrested, he is sent away for 45 years, but the same skills that allowed him to rob the burger places allowed him to escape prison. Prison plans and a truck trip later and he was a ‘free’ man, but with everyone looking for an escaped prisoner, Jeffery had only one place to hide, in a Toys R Us store.

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PLUR1BUS: We Is Us [S1E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A masterpiece in tension and build-up.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – This episode contains flashing lights.

439D 19H 56M 11S.

PLUR1BUS Review –

Today I begin my first dive into a work of Vince Gilligan. I know his work is quality, but unfortunately for me, by the time that Breaking Bad was accessible in Australia, it had already been mostly spoiled. It also meant I did not have the energy to explore Better Call Saul, even though I know it is excellent. But now it’s the time for fresh starts and as the show came highly recommended by my friends, and some dabbling into science fiction helps things along nicely. I found it the right time to press play.    

So, to set the scene, one evening, two SETI scientists find a repeating message coming from space. It is nothing bouncing off the Moon. It is a code repeated every 78 seconds and sent from 600 light-years away. As the scientists try to break the message, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is busy signing the latest addition of her romance fantasy book. But little does anyone know that one bite and a kiss later, the entire world changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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