Tag Archives: Indigenous

The Moogai – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A truly emotional ride through a new mother’s hell realised when no one trusts her that something is coming for her son.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

A tree ringed with fire.

The Moogai Review –

Today, we are looking at a fascinating film that, like Cargo, started life as a short film and then was expanded into a feature. Also, much like Cargo, I have never watched a short film, so I am coming into this world without any preconceived notions about where it would go. Indeed, I only knew that it was a horror film and that the production behind it is Indigenous, a combination I had not seen much of since Cleverman, and I am glad that I made the trek to BIFF to watch this, even if it meant I did not sleep well that night.   

So, to set the scene, it is the 1970s and officers from the government were snooping around the missions, hoping to take away the kids as their fathers were away for work. Agnes (Precious Ann) and her sister (Aisha Alma) run into the bush to escape, but Agnes hides in the one cave she should not have gone into. In 2024, Sarah (Shari Sebbens) has just closed a deal at her law firm and is enjoying the highlife with her husband Fergus (Meyne Wyatt) when suddenly her baby comes without warning, and both almost lose their lives in the process. Sarah is trying to adapt to the trauma and is not helped by her birth mother, Ruth (Tessa Rose), nosing in. But as she tries to sleep, she sees white-eyed children warning her that ‘he’ is coming ‘to take her baby away’.

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Echo: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – There are clearly some rough edges where the production issues the show had shone through. But I do think it found its feet, and it could be the start of an interesting new direction for the MCU.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

End-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode.

A magical portal.

Echo Review –

It is an odd time for the MCU; projects falling to launch and land in cinemas, and failed opportunities like Secret Invasion making no impact in the cultural landscape are everywhere. But there has been hope here and there, and Marvel making a gamble is better than Marvel playing it safe. In that case, let us see if they can bring something new to the table.   

So, to set the scene, Maya (Darnell Besaw) has never had a normal childhood, as her mother (Katarina Ziervogel) was killed. At the same time, she was young, and her father (Zahn McClarnon) took her to New York and eventually brought her into his world, the same world that killed him. A world run by Mr Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He was a powerful man, a man with connections, a man that Echo (Alaqua Cox) would eventually have to betray, but not before he turned her into a murderer. You can turn against Fisk, but the man has a long reach, even when he was the man who had your father murdered. [the first half of the first episode basically catches you up to the end of Hawkeye with some added context]. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Movie Review – Roma

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TL;DR – Delightful, heart-breaking, alienating, immersive, full of complicated people in complicated relationships, a film that I would recommend everyone to see.        

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

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

Roma. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

There is always an interesting feeling when the credits start to roll and the world comes back into focus, and the wave of emotions that have built up over the last few hours comes crashing down. Do you realise that you just wasted the time on something with no substance, or did your whole world change whilst time stood still? Well, today we look at a film that falls more on the later side of that divide. A world where everything is right and normal, and it all can be pulled out from underneath you in a moment. A film that will stay with me for the weeks and months to come.

So to set the scene, we open in on 1970 Mexico City as Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) washes the tiles of the driveway of the house she works at. We watch as she gets the house ready for the day for her employers Sofía (Marina de Tavira), Antonio (Fernando Grediaga), and their children Paco (Carlos Peralta), Pepe (Marco Graf), Sofi (Daniela Demesa) and Adela (Nancy García García). Cleo is an indispensable part of the family, but then she is also not part of the family because she is a maid and this disconnect filters throughout the film. Things in the household shift when Antonio leaves for a conference in Canada and stays longer than planned, and when Cleo meets a man Fermín (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) and the tension under the surface of Mexico starts to rupture.

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