Tag Archives: Film Review

Movie Review – Fractured

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TL;DR – While there is an interesting concept at play here, some clunky delivery stops it from being what it could have been    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Fractured. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

I’m not a parent, but I can say with some certainty that having your child go missing would be one of the biggest fears that you could have. This is why it is so commonly used in film/tv/video games as a way to draw people in because it is a fear we all have and can quickly internalise. There have been some films that have used this technique to real aplomb and others that use it for a quick shorthand to get us to engage with the protagonist. Today we look at a film that tries to do both.

So to set the scene, Ray (Sam Worthington), his wife Joanne (Lily Rabe), and daughter Peri (Lucy Capri) are on the long drive home after a stressful thanksgiving meal at with Joanne’s family. Ray is a recovering alcoholic and Joanne’s dad kept asking him to have some wine, which leads to tension in the car on the way home. They pull over at a random roadside stop because Peri needed to use the toilet only for her to lose her little makeup container. As they search Peri gets spooked by a dog and falls into a construction pit. They rush her to the local ER and as a precaution they run a CAT scan to make sure there is no bleeding and that is the last time Ray saw his wife and daughter and no one knows where they went.

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Movie Review – The Forest of Love

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TL;DR – Starts of being a look in how people explore trauma and then becomes a case study in abusive relationships    

Score – 1 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – I don’t know if there is a no post-credit scene

Warning – This film has extensive depictions of abuse

Review –

I have watched a lot of films in my life and I have review hundreds of them over the years on this site. There have been a number of films that had I not been watching them for review I probably would have turned off the TV or walked out of the theatre but I haven’t because of a sense of professionalism. However, today we view a film that finally broke me. I have not seen the end of this film before writing the review, nor do I care to find out what happened.

So to set the scene, we open in on Japan, beset by news of a serial killer, as we see a certain Joe Murata (Kippei Shîna) being creepy as hell. Elsewhere there is a guy that is new to Tokyo and quickly befriends a bunch of filmmakers. They find out he is a virgin and so they take him to their friend, who then takes all of them to help get an old classmate to appear in their next play. That same classmate who Joe Murata has just set his eyes on.

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Movie Review – Joker

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TL;DR –  A hollow film trying to say something but knowing it actually has nothing to say and hoping you will be distracted by Phoenix’s performance not to notice.  

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Joker. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Review –

It has been a couple of days since I watched Joker and instead of writing the review right away I needed to let this film sit a percolate in my brain for a bit before I started writing. Part of that is because I have talked to a lot of people because there are a lot of different experiences with the film, so I wanted to make sure I knew the different perspectives before I dived in. But also because there are aspects of the film I quite like and those that I really don’t and I needed to work through that juxtaposition.    

So to set the scene, in the 1980s Gotham City is beset by a garbage strike and tempers are starting to flare as the piles of rubbish start to accumulate. On the outskirts of the city lives Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) who works as a clown during the day and looks after his housebound mother Penny (Frances Conroy) in the evenings. Which would be difficult enough for any person but Arthur suffers from a neurological condition that required multiple types of medication and still causes spontaneous uncontrollable laughter. Things are manageable for Arthur but as his life starts to unravel so does he.

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Movie Review – Sequin in a Blue Room

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TL;DR – A film about wanting to grow up but when you are not mature as you think you are to navigate your way through it.    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Warning – There is extensive use of Strobe Lighting.

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

Sequin in a Blue Room. Image Credit: AFTRS.

Review –

Today we review a very interesting film from a first time future director, which you would not know was his first feature unless you were told because it is at a much higher standard than you would expect. It explores coming of age in a realm of digital technologies that can bring people into certain worlds well before they are ready. It is a film that hits many emotions from joy to dark foreboding as it goes on.

So to set the scene, Sequin (Conor Leach) is a 16-year-old that spends his days in school and at night he uses an anonymous hook-up-app to meet up with men. While his dad (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) is supportive he does not know the full extent of what is going on. All of this lead to potential disaster when one of his hookups B (Ed Wightman) leads him into a world he is not ready for and then it all spirals out from there.

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Movie Review – End of the Century (Fin de Siglo)

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TL;DR – A very erotic look at the past and what choices led us to where we are and where we could have been    

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

End of the Century (Fin de Siglo). Image Credit: Stray Dogs.

Review –

So when you blindly pick from a film festival line up without researching anything about films you are about to see, there are some interesting choices that you could end up watching. For me, it was sitting down at watching what might be the most erotic film I have ever seen in a cinema. Like I don’t think you could show this film on late night SBS. But while there is that component it was also a look at what could have been.

So to set the scene, Ocho (Juan Barberini) is an Argentinean poet now living in New York. After reaching the end of a 20-year long relationship he has decided to take a short vacation to Barcelona after having to do some work in Madrid. While looking out the balcony of his Airbnb he notices Javi (Ramon Pujol) walking by in his Kiss shirt and well one thing leads to another (this might be the most glossed over of details sentence that I have ever written in a review). But as they are talking Ocho discovers that this is not the first time they have met.

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Movie Review – Noblemen

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TL;DR – A deeply painful and confronting film about the damage we cause to others and more the damage we do to ourselves.      

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Noblemen. Image Credit: Yoodle Films.

Review –

Oh boy, is this a difficult film to digest, it is one of those films that deal with very important issues in a way that you cannot hide from them. But because you can to hide from them they are shown without restraint and that is really difficult to sit through. An important film dealing with important matters and it made me feel joy and real pain. I also should say right from the start that there are some very confronting scenes in this film and that some people should be careful to check out a more detailed plot summary before watching.

So to set the scene, in a private school in the mountains of India Shay (Ali Haji) is constantly bullied by the upperclassmen as a way of ‘making a man out of him’ but there is one ray of hope because he has just been cast as the lead in the school play of Merchant of Venice. The only problem is the best friend of his main tormenter Arjun (Mohommad Ali Mir) also wanted the role and Baadal (Shaan Grover) will stop at nothing to get it. But that is easy for the upperclassmen, they just have to torment Shay until he relents. Which starts a cycle with lasting consequences.

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Movie Review – In the Tall Grass

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TL;DR – An interesting idea, and full-on creepy, but it did leave me feeling a bit hollow at the end.    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

In the Tall Grass. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

Well it is October and that means it is Halloween month, so it is time for the many, many new horror films to make their way into the world. It is the perfect time for horror and what goes bump in the night but it can be hard to get your head above the crowd. However, if there is any way to do that basing your work on something written by Stephen King is sure one way to do it.

So to set the scene, we open in on a brother Cal (Avery Whitted) and sister Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) as they make their way across the country to San Diego. They are moving to a new life, getting ready because Becky is quite pregnant. They stop on the side of the road because Becky gets morning sickness and needs to let heave. As they wait they hear a voice call out from the long grass on the side of the road. A young boy called Tobin (Will Buie Jr.). They run into grass to try and help the boy but get separated, but that’s okay because they are really close. But soon voices get warped, people get moved around, and there is more than whispers out there in the long grass.

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Movie Review – Solteras (Ready to Mingle)

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TL;DR – An interesting concept that is held back by deeply unlikable characters.     
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Solteras (Ready to Mingle). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

I should open this up with the clear proviso that I am not the target audience for this film so that might have had a big impact on my enjoyment or lack therefore of. However, I really struggled with this film from the start until maybe the last ten minutes.

So to set the scene, Ana (Cassandra Ciangherotti) is the last of her friends/cousins to get married, but that is okay because she is in a long term relationship with her boyfriend Gabriel (Pablo Cruz). Well she was right up until he dumped her in the middle of a wedding. Well, during the middle of the alcohol drinking stage of her break up she discovers her ‘less attractive’ cousin Tamara (Lucía Uribe Bracho) is also getting married. After an altercation, Tamara gives her the details and she shows up not quite ready for what is about to happen.

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Movie Review – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

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TL;DR – A solid horror film, with a good premise that meanders a bit in the middle before coming back strong in the end.   

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Image Credit: Universal.

Review –

I have to admit that I am not as big of a horror aficionado as a lot of the critics out there. I prefer the tension and suspense of a film like Get Out over a horror gorefest. However, I have made it a plan to try and broaden the films I see and also if you ever want me to see a film having the story by Guillermo del Toro is a great way to do it. With that in mind let’s have a look at a film that champions what goes bump in the night.

In 1968 a lot of things are happening, the Vietnam War is in full swing, Richard Nixon is up for re-election, and in a small town called Mill Valley in Pennsylvania, the local residents are getting ready for Halloween. Stella (Zoe Colletti) does not want to go out but is coaxed out by her friends Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) because this might be their last Halloween together. After running into local bully Tommy (Austin Abrams) who is on a date with Chuck’s sister Ruthie (Natalie Ganzhorn) they hide in Ramón’s (Michael Garza) car. Ramón is from out of town, so Stella suggests they take him to the Bellows’ House, the town’s local haunted house. Legend says that the family that founded the town locked their daughter Sarah (Kathleen Pollard) in the basement but she would tell stories through the wall to local children and then the kids would die. Everything is going fine until Stella finds a book, a book of Sarah’s stories, a book that is still writing more stories one by one.

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Movie Review – Between Two Ferns: The Movie

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TL;DR – This is a film of two halves that actively make each side worse for being there. This film was a frustrating experience from start to finish.    

Score – 1.5 out of 5 stars

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

Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

There are a lot of ways movies come into being, some come from novels, some from comic books, and some are even original ideas. However, there is a new trend of finding popular content from the internet and turning it into the new hotness. Well if you are going to head in that direction then one where you can have every celebrity cameo under the sun is a good place to start.   

So to set the scene, up in North Carolina there is Flinch Public Access Television and here we find a TV show host Zach Galifianakis (Zach Galifianakis). For years he has produced the Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, an interview show that is truly horrible. Well after years of doing the show, a camera crew is here to film how the show is put together. Interviewing Producer Carol (Lauren Lapkus), Cam the cameraman (Ryan Gaul), and all the guests. However, things go wrong when a leak in the celling destroys the studio forcing him to go on the road fulfilling Will Ferrell ludicrous demands.

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