Tag Archives: Mystery

Silo: Truth – TV Review

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TL;DR – Murder, politics, and conspiracies, oh my.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Truth.

Silo Review –

Murder, political intrigue, and conspiracy, well, now you are speaking my language. I have enjoyed my time down in the depths of the Silo, but so far, we have been given whispers as to what will be the primary drive as we advance. Well, today, we get more than whispers because someone just murdered the mayor, and that tends to be a catalysing event.  

So to set the scene, in Machines, we learned that Holston Becker’s (David Oyelowo) last act as sheriff was to appoint Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) as his successor. However, on her first day, she is presented with the most significant challenge the Silo has ever faced. Someone has murdered Mayor Ruth Jahns (Geraldine James). Deputy Marnes (Will Patton) is distraught, Robert Sims (Common) from judicial and Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) from IT are trying to manage the political fallout. But everyone knows that the Silo is about to change. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Hypnotic – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a fascinating mess of a film, more of a vibe than anything else.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Ben's eye.

Hypnotic Review –

Sometimes a film comes out of nowhere with no press, no mentions, just all of a sudden, a Ben Affleck/Robert Rodriquez jam is in cinemas. Well, if nothing else, that fills me with intrigue, especially when I have no idea what I am getting into.

So to set the scene, Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) is sitting in his therapist’s office wondering if he will be approved to return to duty. His daughter had been kidnapped, and even though the perpetrator was captured, there was no body. But as he walks out, his partner Nicks (J. D. Pardo) has a mission for him, Banks across America are being attacked, and no one knows how they are doing it. But as they arrive at the Bank of Austin, after a tip about security box 23, Danny sees a man (William Fichtner) walk up to people, say four words, and then they lose control of their lives.

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Silo: Holston’s Pick – TV Review

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TL;DR – We delve deeper into this world and its story, and I am hooked.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The doors to the outside open.

Silo Review –

I was intrigued by what we got when I watched the first episode. It was a familiar scenario, but the creatives behind the show presented it in a fresh way with a time-shifted story that didn’t feel convoluted. However, one big thing missing from that first episode was Rebecca Ferguson, who was front and centre of the marketing campaign before the show was released. Well, episode two is here to fix that.

So to set the scene, we open with Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo) donning the suit as he commits to going outside after he broke the one unbreakable rule in the Silo during Freedom Day. He says his goodbyes to Mayor Ruth Jahns (Geraldine James) and Deputy Marnes (Will Patton) and takes those final steps outside, where he sees a world full of life … maybe. But down in the bowls of the Silo, Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) is declaring his betrayal, as we find out much more than we suspect happened when Sheriff Holston came down to investigate the murder or suicide of George Wilkins (Ferdinand Kingsley). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Silo: Freedom Day – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a solid start to the intrigue that did the best job a first episode can do, making me want to see more.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Allison seeing something that they tried to keep hidden.

Silo Review –

I am always looking for a new genre show with an exciting spin on a setting. While the whole hiding away from the apocalypse in a bunker has been done before, probably most famously by Fallout. However, I am still drawn to this setting for the narrative potential you can find. Let’s bring on this new dystopian/post-apocalyptic/mystery and see what it can do.   

So to set the scene, they do not know why they are there, who built the Silo, why the world outside is a toxic mess, or if it will ever be safe to go back outside. It is on this day when Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo) goes up to his office, takes off his badge, locks himself in a jail cell, and utters the words that chill his Deputy Marnes (Will Patton) to the core “I want to go out”. The only words once spoken that can’t be taken back. Someone is waiting for him out there in the dust, Allison (Rashida Jones), whom we met over three years earlier. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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The Pale Blue Eye – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It has a mood and the performances to match, but the narrative just didn’t hook me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Cadets in formation.

The Pale Blue Eye Review –

It is time to jump back in time when women’s dresses came in many layers, the army was dressed in blue, and mutton chops were everywhere. It is an era I like when we jump into mysteries because it feels like a world where everyone is prim and proper, but that is just a veneer. It is in this world we find ourselves in as people start dying in the most unpleasant ways.   

So to set the scene, it is a foggy night, but from the gloom, we can see a man hanging from a tree. It is 1830 in Hudson Valley, New York, and Det. Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) has just been summoned to West Point Military Academy by Superintendent Thayer (Timothy Spall). They need someone with discretion. A cadet killed himself, and then his body was violated. This is a political timebomb, and the academy is desperately trying to get the case solved before certain senators in Washington find out.                   

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1899: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A dark and compelling tale full of mystery and ‘wait… what?!?!’ moments.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Kerberos

1899 Review –

One of the shows recommended to me is Dark, and I have always meant to give it a look, but finding time to watch three seasons has been elusive. However, when I heard that the creators of Dark had a new series that hit all the same feels, well, it was time to give it a watch. Also, for some reason, Netflix defaults to the English dub of this series. Please, before you watch, make sure you change the language from English – Dubbed to English – Original.

So to set the scene, it is 1899, and in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is the Kerberos, a large steamship taking passengers to New York City. The ship itself is light on with passengers because the Kerberos’ sister ship Prometheus disappeared on the same route a month ago with no trace. One night as all the first class passengers are eating their dinner, a young boy Krester (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen), bursts into the dining hall saying they need help because his pregnant sister Tove (Clara Rosager) is going into shock. No one will help but Maura Franklin (Emily Beecham), who rushes to assist, even though the dreams of her being locked up and tortured in a psychiatric institution bare heavily upon her. Captain Eyk Larsen (Andreas Pietschmann) is annoyed that Maura broke the rules, but that is all put aside when the ship has a sudden communication from the Prometheus, which might not be at the bottom of the ocean as most people thought. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Last Night in Soho – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Well Last Night In Soho is a film that threatens to go off the rails at any moment yet somehow manages to hold on just by its fingertips   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene, but there are images during the credits

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

Warning – This film depicts scenes of abuse

Warning – This film features sequences with flashing lights

Last Night in Soho. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Last Night in Soho Review –

Some directors out there have built up such a strong reputation that you know you will be checking out their next film no matter the genre/tone/story. For me, one of those directors is Edgar Wright, who has never once bored me with one of his films. Indeed, we have already gotten his take on a talking-heads documentary this year with The Sparks Brothers, and I was not going to turn down the chance to see two new films from him in the one year. I will say that this is a film that is best seen with as little information as possible, so if you are intrigued, you may want to stop reading here.

So to set the scene, Eloise “Ellie” Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) lives in rural Cornwell but has always dreamed of being a major fashion designer in London. She is obsessed with the style of the 1960s and capturing that time in her work. It was good news for Ellie when she got accepted into the London College of Fashion; thus, she made the long trip into the big city. After some interesting interactions with her roommate Jocasta (Synnøve Karlsen), Ellie moves into a bed/sit in Goodge Place being rented out by Ms Collins (Diana Rigg). This old lady had owned the property for decades. It is perfect for Ellie, but as she sleeps, she visits an apparition from the past, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a singer and dancer in 1960s London. 

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Reminiscence – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It creates a fascinating world and engaging plot, but unfortunately, the story gets lost in places.   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Reminiscence. Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Reminiscence Review –

Tonight is one of those rare occasions where I got to walk into a film with a minimal idea of just what I was going to see. All I had to go on was the poster, which told me who was staring, that the people behind Westworld created it, and that it gave me big Sci-fi vibes. Now that I have watched it, well, that was pretty spot on.  

So to set the scene, the ice caps have melted in the not too distant future, causing the sea to rise, inundating cities like London, New Orleans, and Miami. In some places, they have built giant levees to hold off the water. In others, people live on the ruins of the old world. In the chaos of the rise, wars were fought, and it is here where the technology for extracting memories first was found. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) and his technician Watts (Thandiwe Newton) were veterans of that conflict. They now run the reminiscence technology to help people find what was lost or remember the better times. While it is not going swimmingly, it is enough to stop them from starving, but then one day, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) walks in looking for her lost keys, and Nick’s world changed in an instant.

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Those Who Wish Me Dead – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it starts a bit muddled, it soon picks up, and the third act had me on the edge of the seat.    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Those Who Wish Me Dead. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.

Those Who Wish Me Dead Review –

I am not sure what you feel when you hear the word ‘firestorm’, but for me and I think many Australians, there is a visceral terror as we have all seen that all-consuming force. We know that destruction, year after year, so when you set a film in this world, there is a kind of instant buy-in as to the danger from the moment that first spark gets set off. But for a movie to work, it needs to be more than that, which is what we get this week. 

Set the scene, we open with a group of firelighters jumping out of a plane and parachuting down into the oncoming storm. They’re smokejumpers, and they are trying to make a firebreak and shore up the defences when the wind turns the fire directly at them. A year later, two men walk into the house of a district attorney in Fort Lauderdale, and minutes later, the house explodes, killing the whole family. Back in Jacksonville, Owen Casserly (Jake Weber), a forensic accountant, is getting his son Connor (Finn Little) ready for the day when he sees the news and immediately knows he is next. The two flee to Montana, where Owen’s brother-in-law Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal) works as a sheriff, but just as they get close, the two men Jack (Aidan Gillen) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult), attack.  

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Enola Holmes – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A funny, engaging, and enjoyable film that casts a new spin on an old tale

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Awards –

Nominated: Most Fun.

Enola Holmes. Image Credit: Netflix.

Enola Holmes Review –

As the march of the copyright extension powers forward more and more, few stories are both in the public domain and have enough thematic strength to be engaging after all this time. However, I should note that not even Sherlock Holmes is not entirely removed from this mess. One of the few stories that match both of these criteria is the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. We have reached the point that not only have we had the many different interpretations of the original stories but also original works within the universe. Today we look at an adaption of the later as we delve into a mystery at the heart of a family … well families.      

We open with Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) running through the English countryside giving us a back story of her life with her mother Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter). A life that was full of mystery and joy. However, on the day of Enola’s 16th birthday, she woke up to find her mother missing. The only thing that was left was a single gift for Enola, a box of notes about flowers … or a box full of clues. Hoping to get some assistance she enlists the help of her two brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) … and that goes about as well as you can expect.  

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