Tag Archives: Drama

Movie Review – No One Will Ever Know (Nadie Sabrá Nunca)

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TL;DR – A film that sines in those moments that display the contrasts in our lives.    

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

No One Will Ever Know (Nadie Sabrá Nunca). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

Today we continue our dive into Latin cinema, this time moving away from Mexico and across the Atlantic to Mexico. Unfortunately, I have even less experience here, besides last year’s seminal Roma. Well, today we start to rectify today by exploring a look at colliding worlds at a time of great change.   

So to set the scene, in Mexico, not that long ago, Lucía (Adriana Paz) lives in the rural countryside with her husband Rigo (Jorge A. Jimenez) and her son Braulio (Luciano Martínez). Lucía wants to move to Mexico City and take over a commercial property that her sister Sara (Claudia Santiago) found, but her husband will hear nothing of it. Lucía feels trapped where she is, and there is nothing she can do, well there is one thing, and that is escaping into her own mind, a world of intrigue and mystery.

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Movie Review – Otherhood

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TL;DR – A strong cast, dealing with important issues, even if not all of it works.

 Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Otherhood. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

To be honest, motherhood is not something I have a lot of experience with, so there is a little disconnect coming into a film all about that. But loneliness and frustration at your life choices, well that’s my jam. This all means that I am coming into this film with some interesting overlap. Well, let’s dive into a world of really, really, awkward conversations.  

So to set the scene, for years three women have grown up as friends brought together because their sons were best friends. However, as life has moved on all their boys Matt (Sinqua Walls), Daniel (Jake Hoffman), and Paul (Jake Lacy) have left home and now live in New York City. While they move on with their lives, their mothers Helen (Felicity Huffman), Gillian (Patricia Arquette), and Carol (Angela Bassett) feel left behind especially on mother’s day when no one calls. Well on that day, they have an annual tradition of getting together to catch up and talk about their lives over a lot of bourbon. Well, this time, they decide that enough is enough, and get in a car and drive down to the city to surprise the boys … and well that goes about as well as you can expect.    

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Movie Review – Booksmart

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TL;DR – While it follows a lot of the plot beats of similar films, it stands out on its own by focusing on the characters that are the heart of the movie.      

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Booksmart. Image Credit: Annapurna Pictures.

Review –

There are some scenarios that you see get plaid out in cinema over and over again. Indeed, one of the most popular scenarios is looking at that last few days before you graduate high school. I think it is so popular because it is something that nearly every person in the target audience has or will go through. So it becomes a nexus of past nostalgia and future promise. Either way, it is a scenario that I have seen put to film over and over again, especially in the R-rated comedy genre. However, in all the scenarios, I have never seen a film quite like this.

So to set the scene, high school is drawing to a close and class valedictorian Molly Davidson (Beanie Feldstein) and her best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are getting ready to survive the final day of classes. Molly is going to Yale and spent all her time at school making that happen, and Amy is getting ready to spend a summer in Botswana as an aid worker. However, Molly’s certainty about her past is shaken when she discovers that all the kids that partied throughout high school also got into top universities. Well, there is only one night left before graduation and Molly know just what to do, she needs to go to Nick’s (Mason Gooding) party so she can have the full high school experience and she is dragging Amy along with her.

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Movie Review – Parasite (Gisaengchung, 기생충)

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TL;DR – A truly brilliant work of cinema that works on a character, action, and story level.    

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

Parasite (Gisaengchung, 기생충). Image Credit: Madman Films.

Review –

When you hear that a film has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival you immediately take notice. Because even though the voters at Cannes don’t always get it right, they always at least pick a film that is interesting. Well today not only do we get a film that is interesting, but we also get a film that made me feel multiple different emotions throughout its run time, and made an entire cinema audible gasp more than once, like the whole cinema. Well, Parasite is a more than just interesting film. Now in this review, we are going to avoid saying too much about the ending, but just, in general, this is a film that is best seen with as little information as possible.  

So to set the scene, we open in on the Kim family: father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), mother Choong-sook (Jang Hye-jin), son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), and daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam). They live in a semi-basement flat in the poorer part of Seoul trying to make a living from whatever odd jobs they can find, like folding pizza boxes into shape. Then one day one of Ki-woo’s old army friends who is now in university comes to visit. He lets Ki-woo know of a job as an English tutor to a rich family that would pay very well. The only problem is that Ki-woo never went to university, even though he is qualified for the job, so he gets his sister Ki-jung to fake him up some university records and shows up at the Park family house. Mr Park (Lee Sun-kyun) is a successful businessman who runs a company and spends a lot of time away from the house, so he leaves his wife Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) in charge of hiring and she is apparently a bit dim. Well, when she watching his lesson with her daughter Da-hye (Jung Ji-so) she mentions that they are looking for an art tutor for their son Da-song (Jung Hyun-joon) and Ki-woo knows just what to do.

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Movie Review – Concern for Welfare (2019 AACTA Awards Short Film Competition)

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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.

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Movie Review – Busting Out The Bells (2019 AACTA Awards Short Film Competition)

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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.

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Movie Review – Birdie (2019 AACTA Awards Short Film Competition)

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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.

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Movie Review – Silent Panic

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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

Silent Panic. Image Credit: Indie Rights.

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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Movie Review – Midnight Runner

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TL;DR – A competent film from first-time filmmakers that shows that struggles of trying to start your life again     

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Midnight Runner. Image Credit: Global Digital Releasing.

Review –

All filmmakers have to start somewhere, a place where they can get their feet wet, practice their crafts, and work on telling stories. Today we are looking at a film from John Mathis & Jared Sprouse, which is the first feature film from them as both directors and writers, and it is clear this was a bit of a passion project. However, like all first-time filmmakers, while there is a promise, there is also room from improvement.

So to set the scene, Ian (Ben Weinswig) arrives at his Aunt Renee’s (Dawn O’Donoghue) house to come live. While we don’t know what happened in his past life, it is clear from the way people act that something significant happened with him and his parents. Ian is trying to stay out of trouble and restart his life, however, life is not fair and he gets drawn back into a world of violence where you can’t go to the cops because they are in on it.

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Movie Review – God’s Own Country (2017)

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TL;DR – Much like the Yorkshire Moors that is filmed on, this is a film that is both harsh and yet filled with moments of beauty   

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

God's Own Country. Image Credit: British Film Institute.

Review –

My family originally came from Yorkshire, so when I spot a film set in the region I always give it a watch to try and connect with my past. Well, I am not sure what I expected when I loaded up God’s Own Country, but what I got was a film that was both frank and also a little optimistic in a world of bleakness.

So to set the scene, Johnny lives and works on a farm with his father Martin (Ian Hart), and his grandmother Deirdre (Gemma Jones). He spends all day grafting on the farm and all night in the local town drinking. Wake up, chuck out the contents of his stomach and repeat. Most of his friends have gone off to university, however, because his dad had a stroke and can’t work the farm like he used to, Johnny has to step up and take all that pressure. Given some issues, Martin calls in some help, as they are about to go into calving season, and Gheorghe (Alec Secăreanu) a Romanian farmhand takes the job. There is instant tension between the two because Johnny sees Gheorghe has a manifestation of his failure but he needs the help.

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