Tag Archives: Fayssal Bazzi

Sunny Nights: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a profoundly chaotic show, some of that is intentional amusement, and some of that is unintentional interactions of tone and pacing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Will Forte looks at a snow globe covered in blood.

Sunny Nights Review –

There are times when a single pitch is enough to get you to take a chance on something: Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden are siblings who get in over their heads with Rachel House, a mobster, as they try to push their spray tan business in Sydney. That is a sentence that makes you want to see how the hell they pull such a chaotic idea off. Well, it worked for me if nothing else.

So, to set the scene, American siblings Martin (Will Forte) and Vicki Marvin (D’Arcy Carden) have moved their spray tan business, Tansform, to Sydney, Australia. Martin is going to get back with his wife after they separated and she moved to Sydney. Vicki is there to help get out of the life she’s in and make some bank. However, they are both profoundly outside of their element, even before Martin gets catfished, and all of a sudden, they are up to their ears in debt and might just have the mob after them all because of an exploding crocodile. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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How to Make Gravy Review: A Deep Dive into Generational Trauma

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TL;DR – I was not sure what to expect with this film going, but a deep exploration of generational trauma was the surprise that the film needed, that and gravy.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Art of rescuing his dad from jail.

How to Make Gravy Review –

One of the many odd traditions that happen in an Australian Christmas, along with seafood for Christmas lunch and the need to make Santa learn how to surf in his winter outfit for some reason, is that a song about making gravy becomes fantastically popular. It is a sad song of regret and longing for the family at a time when connections are fraught, and it has always felt like an odd choice for a Christmas song, but I didn’t get a say in that collective cultural choice. But will that song make a good film? Well, that is the question we will look at today.

So, to set the scene, last Christmas, everything changed, especially when it was the first Christmas without their grandmother. But no matter what happens, the family comes together and quietly judges that Joe (Daniel Henshall) lost his job. There is the joy of all the family coming together, but then the undercurrent of loss because one person is no longer there. Joe was struggling with everything and just does not want to talk to everyone, even though wants him to speak. Soon, a tipping point was reached, and Joe didn’t come home. Now, all his son Angus (Jonah Wren Phillips) wants for Christmas is to see his dad again.

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C*A*U*G*H*T: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it never truly commits to its absurdist premise, there are moments when it shines.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this film.

The Hostages.

C*A*U*G*H*T Review –

There is a version of Australian comedy that takes a very irreverential look at power structures. Where no one is immune from the castigation, it is within this space that we find ourselves today, delving into a geo-political quagmire that only Australia could do.   

So to set the scene, we open on a hostage video in progress as four captured Australian soldiers, Rowdy Gaines (Ben O’Toole), Albhanis Mouawad (Lincon Younes), Phil Choi (Alexander England), and Dylan Fox (Kick Gurry), on the island nation of Behati-Prinsloo plead for their lives. It is heartbreaking as the prisoners are attacked on camera when they don’t follow the script, even more so for the Australian government, which officially states that it has no armed forces in the region. It is a simple call for help … help to survive … help not to be murdered … until the cameras cut, and the four celebrate how good the take was. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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