Tag Archives: Movie Review

Runt – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a delightfully fun film that gets a bit preachy at times and a little unhinged in places.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit stinger.

Runt – I paid to watch this film

A dog running through an agility course.

Runt Review –

There are a lot of things that can make a film Australian: its setting, its production, and the governmental jump ropes it needs to skip through to get funding. There are some films that, even if you removed the drone shots, pans over wheat fields, and set it in a small rural town, you would still know it was Australian, just because of the vibes. Today, we look at a film that is just that, Australian to its very core.

So, to set the scene, the Shearer family lives in the small Western Australian town of Upson Downs. One day, the daughter Annie (Lily LaTorre) found a stray mutt called Runt (Squid). She brought him home, and he soon became an integral part of the family. However, the town has been in drought for 375 days, and local rich snob Earl Robert-Barren (Jack Thompson) took all the local river water for his dam. Life is tight for the Shearers, with Bryan (Jai Courtney) and Susie (Celeste Barber) struggling to pay the overdraft on their overdraft, and her brother Max’s (Jack LaTorre) stunt video channel has not really taken off. However, one day, when Annie sees the canine agility course at the local fair with a cash prize, she sees a way to help her family. The only problem is that Runt does not like to perform when anyone but Annie is watching.

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The G – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a wonderful character piece that maybe promises a touch more on what it can deliver.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

Two men burring a person.

The G Review –

In the current cinema landscape, it can be easy to go for style over substance. We can do the flash and bang and also the alakazam, but we linger on the surface. Things only become interesting once you dig a little deeper. Today, we look at a film that completely understands that even if it does not quite stick that landing.  

So, to set the scene, we open with two men digging in the snow, only to find them burying a body. These are people who know how to get their way. Their next victim is Ann Hunter (Dale Dickey), an elderly retiree who cares for nothing but her granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis). She is struggling to cope with the pressures of looking after her ill husband Chip (Greg Ellwand), but her life is upturned when Rivera (Bruce Ramsay) pushes them into a home with a trumped-up court order so they can steal her house. But there is no way she is going to let them do that to her.    

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The Delicate Cycle – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It makes the most of its one location to explore the emotions of significant life changes.     

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

A washing machine about to start.

The Delicate Cycle Review –

While a short film can be constraining, those limitations can be turned into strengths. You can concentrate things down into their core forms. For example, that transient information that gets passed down from generation to generation. Today, we are looking at a film that is working in that space.  

So, to set the scene, it is just a typical day for Lance (Fred Mancuso) as he gets into the laundromat as early as possible to get his clothes done. Usually, there is no one there, bar maybe Anita (Yassmin Flores), but today there was someone new, a young kid called Adam (Dean Norris Jr.) who is in the process of trying to win at Ms Pacman but also struggling with his emotions.

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The Mountain – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An emotional roller coaster that can have you laughing, crying, and uplifting all in the space of 30 seconds.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Mount Taranaki in poster form.

The Mountain Review –

After a long and challenging week, I thought I would stop in at the movies on the way home from work on a Friday afternoon. I had a number of options, but then I noticed what looked like a fun kids flick out of New Zealand and thought that would be the perfect way to round out the week. I mean, it was, but it was also emotionally devastating on multiple occasions. While also being a delight at every turn. Well, let’s dive in and unpack Rachael House’s directing debut.

So, to set the scene, we open in a hospital as Sam (Elizabeth Atkinson) prepares a sneaky escape with the help of her friend Peachy (Sukena Shah). There is one thing that she wants to do in her life, and that is climb Mount Taranaki. On her way, she runs into Mallory Potts (Reuben Francis), a boy who has just moved to the area with their father Hugh (Bryan Coll), and Bronco (Terence Daniel), who is struggling with relating with his father Tux (Troy Kingi). Together, they decide to climb the mountain, no matter the obstacles in their way.

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Planet of the Apes (1968) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – You can feel its iconic nature at every turn, even if not every part has aged well. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

The spaceship crashes in the lake.

Planet of the Apes Review –

This week Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes landed in cinemas, and while I was watching it, I was reminded of the musical score from the original film. This unlocked a memory of being a kid and watching through all of the Apes films as a family. Well, there is no better time than the present, so I thought tonight would be an excellent time to dive back in and see just how it stacks up with my memories.

So, to set the scene, George Taylor (Charlton Heston) leads a crew on an experimental spaceship that is going near the speed of light. While it was 1972 on Earth, they were sure that it would be 2673 when they all emerged from hibernation. However, something goes very wrong, and the ship crashes into a lake on a barren, unknown planet sometime after 3978. As the survivors, Taylor, Landon (Robert Gunner), and Dodge (Jeff Burton), try to find their footing in this new world, they discover that there are humans, but they are mute and run around in herds. The more concerning factor is that humans are being hunted by apes … who can talk …!        

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The Stolen Valley (Alta Valley) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it starts strong, it unfortunately runs out of gas after the first act as the storyline becomes convoluted.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

The Utah Countryside.

The Stolen Valley Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that is wearing its influences on its sleeves. That is not a bad thing. In fact, just last week, we watched Monkey Man do just that, and it was grand. But there is danger in this approach because if people are constantly thinking about other movies and not your own work, well, something has gone badly wrong. Today, we look at where The Stolen Valley lands on this spectrum. 

So to set the scene, Lupe (Briza Covarrubias) struggles to find her place in the world. Trying to connect with her mother, Lizette (Paulette Lamori), learn her native language, Diné, or just get ahead in a world where everyone is taking from her. But when her mother becomes sick, and there are only experimental and expensive options left, Lupe is forced to find her father, who she thought was dead. But a run-in with Maddy (Allee Sutton Hethcoat) after she just crossed local crime lord Antonio (Ricardo Herranz) leads to a dangerous gun-filled chase.

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The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur) (2024) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While there is a solid narrative framework for the action, we end up with a film that has more missed opportunities than times they cut to jiggling nitro canisters.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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

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

A oil pump explores.

The Wages of Fear Review –

Today, we are looking at a remake of a classic novel and a classic film. I have not watched or read the original, but even then, their legacy looms large. Getting a second or third but at the apple can be an advantage because you have seen where things have not worked before, but then, when you are walking on the same ground as a classic, you might be lurking in dangerous territory.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the North African desert as pursuers ambush two cars from World Wide Heath and are just able to get into a local village before getting overrun. But a single stray bullet was enough to take out the local gas well. If the fire spreads, it will take out the entire village. They have only 24 hours to get enough nitro-glycerine to explode the gas pocket. Fred (Franck Gastambide) does not want to risk the ride through occupied territory; good thing the head of the oil company, Anne (Astrid Whettnall), had the perfect leverage, Eric (Alban Lenoir), Fred’s brother stuck in jail for a crime, Fred committed.   

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The Moon Thieves (The Moon Thi4v3s, Dao yue zhe, 盜月者) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While the plot will not be a great surprise to anyone who has watched a heist film before, the cast makes it a fun ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

The interior of a watch.

The Moon Thieves Review –

Long-time readers will know that I love a good heist film, the set-up, the mission when it all goes to pot. However, I have seen how many Western filmmakers have explored the genre, and that is just a tiny section of the filmmaking community. Today, we will start fixing this by looking at a film out of Hong Kong about the surprising world of counterfeit watches.

So, to set the scene, Vincent Ma (Edan Lui) is known in the counterfeit business as someone who creates frankenwatches. These are watches made from original parts but cobbled together for many different watches. This is a lucrative, if dangerous business, even more so when he is called upon by the local crime lord Uncle (Keung To), who is the son of the original Uncle but kept the name. Uncle needs Vincent and Chief (Louis Cheung) to put a group together to replace and steal three precious Picasso watches that have been found in Tokyo. Vincent does not want to do this, but he has no choice. But then, this introduction to a broader criminal world might be just what he needs for his ultimate goal: to find the lost Moon Watch, the first watch worn on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin.

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Force of Nature: The Dry 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There is a solid film in here; you just need to find it through all the messiness.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The Victorian bush.

Force of Nature: The Dry 2 Review –

Back in 2020, there was a great moment when, thanks to the current circumstances, The Dry, Penguin Bloom, and High Ground were the top films in Australia, the first time in an age that three Australian films had managed that. Of those, there was one that was primed for a sequel, and that is what we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, it is a wet and cold morning as four women crash through the bush of the Giralang Ranges to the sound of a coming car. Jill Bailey (Deborra-Lee Furness), Beth (Sisi Stringer), Bree (Lucy Ansell) & Lauren (Robin McLeavy) are cold, wet, and hurt, but all the more importantly, they are missing one of their group, Alice (Anna Torv). It is a dense forest, and searching it will be difficult, but as we discover, Alice is an informant, and her last phone call to Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) was profoundly concerning, making people wonder just what happened up on that mountain.    

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Ashes (Kül) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that does a fantastic job of setting up a world and mystery that unfortunately can’t sustain itself all the way to the end.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Some scenes may cause distress.

The manuscript Kül.

Ashes Review –

Today, we dive back into the world of romance but with a side of danger as we explore Turkish cinema for the first time properly on the site. Romance films can be fascinating because they can meld and merge into so many different genres and take on a broad scope of tone. In today’s film, we dive into the harder edge of the genre, where danger awaits.

So to set the scene, from all appearances, Gökçe (Funda Eryigit) is living her best life. She is a successful publisher with a talent for picking good manuscripts, something that has made her husband Kenan (Mehmet Günsür) fabulously wealthy. But her life feels like it is missing something, missing a lot of things. But when a manuscript called Kül arrives, she is immediately transported into its prose. Being captured by its narrative, it awakens a joy that she had not realised was missing. But when she discovers the bakery in the book is real, and more of the book is real, she hunts down the mysterious man.

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