Tag Archives: movies

Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A wild story of a family that will probably be recognisable to you even in this crazy situation.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Chaos in the Stools family.

Nugget is Dead Review –

Many things foreshadow that the end of the year is near, the temperatures rise, the rains come in, people care about turkey for some reason, there is tinsel everywhere, and Stan will release their Christmas film. Back in 2023, we got the fascinating Jones Family Christmas. In 2022, we got a Christmas Ransom. And all the way back in the past of 2021, we got the film that started it all: A Sunburnt Christmas. They have all been fun, charming events, and the question is: can that follow that trend in 2024?

So, to set the scene, back in Christmas 2010, the Stools family introduced a new member of the family, the puppy Nugget. Many years later, as the family has grown up and moved out of home, it is once again three days before Christmas. However, as their eldest, Steph (Vic Zerbst), has made the decision not to come home for Christmas, one problem is that she didn’t tell her family. They don’t seem like the listening type anyway, and also Nugget (Reuben) is sick. So, now Steph is going down to visit her family, who does not know she is not staying, and they are A LOT. She just needs to deal with them for 24 hours and escape … if everything goes to plan.

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The Boy & the Octopus – Movie Review

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TL;DR – For what is essentially one big ad, it is still charming to boot.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

The Octopus.

The Boy & the Octopus Review –

Can an advertisement have artistic merit? That is the question that we are asking today as we explore a short Christmas film from Disney that is crammed with product placement to the point of rupture. But does that make it not worth the watch?

So, to set the scene, one day, a small boy (Solomon Horta) went swimming in the reefs and found an octopus friend who refused to leave his head. Even when they fly home, it is still there. Now, it goes with him wherever he goes, including the Christmas markets.

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Gladiator II – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It has a strong cast, all the bombast you need, and a solid narrative. It is just frustrating that it has these creative choices throughout that just rip you out of the film.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

The Battle of Numidia.

Gladiator II Review –

Well, 2024 has been the year of the legacy sequel, with Alien: Romulus, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Twisters all trying their hands on it to a mixed success. The next cab off the rank might have the most significant legacy of them all, or at least the most attempts in the past to make a sequel because there have been many. But it has been 24 years since our last outing of Gladiator, and we have to ask, was this the film we needed, or should it have stayed contained in the past?

So, to set the scene, it has been 20 years since the death of Marcus Aurelius, and Maximus Decimus Meridius’s slaying of Commodus did not bring about the grand return of the Republic. Instead, it drove it deeper into tyranny. Rome is now ruled by the Twin Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who care more for blood and entertainment than the people’s health and happiness. Looking to secure their reign, they lashed out at any place defying the Empire using their dutiful general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). The last free city on the Mediterranean was in Numidia, where a young man (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), live. It is a pitched battle, but the Romans win, and the young man who is versed in Roman poetry is carted off to die in the games after watching his wife fall to an arrow. But he stubbornly refuses to die in the arena, which brings the attention of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who has the want to change his position, and now he has the means.

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Gladiator (2000) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR –. When the bombast hits, you still feel what made it a special film all those years ago.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A hand in the wheat fields.

Gladiator Review –

In this day and age, companies are trying to find a way to get people back into the cinemas, and the current plan has a lot to do with bringing back classic films with sequels decades later. That means this week we get a new Gladiator film, which I am honestly looking forward to. But as I was sitting there, I realised it had been a decade since I had watched the first film, and that is something that I had to fix, and there is no better time than the present.

So, to set the scene, it is at the height of the Roman Empire, and the Romans controlled everything from Britain to the Deserts of Africa and Arabia. In the north, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) was fighting a campaign against the tribes of Germania, led by his one trusted general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe). But when Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the son of the emperor, discovers that his father wants to restore the Republic, he kills him. He has Maximus arrested when he won’t declare loyalty to the new emperor. Maximus escapes, but before he can get home, his family is murdered, and slave traders capture him. Now, he has but one choice: die in the arena or win and get revenge for his fallen.

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Red One – Movie Review

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TL;DR – If it was not for a strong start, you probably could have dumped this on Netflix, and no one would have noticed.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Santa Clause lifting weights.

Red One Review –

It is that time of year, and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The shops are dressed up, there is the looming pressure to finish things up before the end of the year, and walking outside feels like taking a shower with this humidity. It is here that a new flood of Christmas Films will be launched, trying to make the most of the holidays, and that is what we are looking at today.

So, to set the scene, it is a cold Philly night just before Christmas, and at the mall sits Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons), listening to all the kid’s wishes for presents and being protected by Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson). But this ain’t no average mall Santa because Santa Claus is real, and there is a global military/political/intelligence apparatus keeping him safe. Well, that is until Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) is paid to hunt down a disturbance in the polar region, and some kidnaps Santa right under the head of North Pole security’s nose on Christmas Eve.

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Venom: The Last Dance – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The Venom films have always had a tension between wanting to be fun character works and needing to fit into this weird franchise they are building. This is the first time that I think the franchise won.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Venom.

Venom: The Last Dance Review –

I know when people think about film franchises, the ‘Sony Spider-Man Universe’ that can’t use Spider-Man is kind of a joke. They have not really helped themselves anyway with entries like Morbius and Madame Web. However, I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the Venom films Venom & Venom: Let There Be Carnage. If for no other reason than it was fun to watch Tom Hardy play off himself in the two roles. But I think we might be at the end of that road today.

So, to set the scene, Eddie Brock / Venom (Tom Hardy) is currently hiding out in Mexico after getting blamed for the deaths in the last film. They make a plan to sneak back into America and head to New York, where Eddie knows a judge that they can bribe to make this all go away. However, while they make their plans, little do they know that out in the universe, Knull (Andy Serkis) is posturing from his jail cell and may have found the way out of his eternal damnation. Oh, and the military wants them too.

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Saturday Night – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A movie that embraces the chaos of its subject matter with such reverence it ends up hurting the final product.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

30 Rock.

Saturday Night Review –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd duck of a film. One that swings wildly, stampeding through the chaos of its subject material with the gusto of a rhino in full tilt. However, that approach is going to be a boon or a detriment for you, depending on how you are approaching this film. For me, I am not someone who religiously tunes into Saturday Night Live. Sure, occasionally, a sketch from the show will bubble into the subconscious like Natalie Portman, Undercover Boss, or the recent Mother. Also, the most impacting sketch for me and my comedy journey came almost wholly disconnected from the show. So, you always know it is there, and its legacy in the movies that have and have not worked and the comics it has brought to the forefront. It is within that framework we look at the film today.

So, to set the scene, it is October 11, 1975, and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is out in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza trying to get an audience to see his show with an NBC Page (Finn Wolfhard). That is because it is 90 minutes before his first show goes to air, and nothing is going right. The studio is having less and less faith in his vision, the cast is in chaos, the crew is in a state of revolution, oh, is that a fire, and why is there a llama? There are only 90 minutes to pull this all together, but that is going to be hard when there is not even a runtime yet.

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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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Double or Nothing – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Snippets of chaos that never come together as a whole

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

The Gold Coast skyline

Double or Nothing Review –

We are currently in the midst of the Brisbane International Film Festival, or if you are friends, BIFF. It is a cozy festival where I always find a gem or two every year. Today, we are looking at a small Aussie movie filmed in my backyard (metaphorically) about what happens when you get trodden on over and over again.

So, to set the scene, Turbo (Andrew Ian Pope) and Nick (Rowan Howard) are cousins who never quite can get their luck together. Turbo always owes people money, and Nick is just trying to get through his parole without rocking any feathers. But they both need money to survive, and this means doing jobs for their boss, Col (John Jarratt), of a more explosive nature. But when there is a shift in management, the boys find themselves up a certain creek without a paddle.

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Joker: Folie à Deux – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is one of those films that the more I have had time to think about it, the less I liked it. Compelling performances are not enough when you are swimming in the thematic shallow end of the pool but pretending you jump in the deep end.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The Joker walks under rain surrounded by colourful umbrellas.

Joker: Folie à Deux Review –

Well, hmm, this was always going to be a complex review for me because I did not connect at all with the first Joker film. While many were rightly praising Joaquin Phoenix’s performance and Hildur Guðnadóttir’s musical score. I came away from that narrative feeling primarily hollow. It felt like this was a movie that wanted to say something about mental health, the role of the press, and the way that societies disenfranchise people and then get upset when they work outside societal norms. But the writing felt like someone wanted to talk about all these issues but didn’t have all that much to say other than ‘see … look … bad’ which, yes, okay, but we already knew this: what are you bringing to the table other than you watched Taxi Driver? But we are in sequel territory, and I am always happy when a sequel can improve on the original work. Well, let’s see if that is what we have today.

So, to set the scene, it has been two years since ‘The Joker’ as Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) has been dubbed, causing a riot across Gotham City after killing a popular TV host live on air. Since then, he has been housed at Arkham State Hospital a place where nothing ever goes wrong at all. However, as his court case for his crimes draws close, Arthur meets a new inmate, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who might be just what he needs or a manipulation that could have drastic effects. Now, in our review today, we will spend the first half looking over some of the general themes. When we get into some of the minutiae of the narrative, we will warn you when we might touch on some spoilers.

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